Bridge to a Distant Star by Carolyn Williford

“Don’t you have homework to do? Then get busy on it.” Colleen obeyed, but as she turned to go back into her room she shot her mother an accusing look.
    Bill pulled Maureen into their bedroom, shutting the door behind them. “Tell me this is just a rumor.”
    “It’s no rumor, Bill. I saw Emilie at lunch.” Her voice sounded far away to her ears, as though it were someone else speaking. “Ed’s already hired a lawyer.”
    Bill sat on the bed, staring at the floor. When he finally looked up at Maureen, he appeared stricken. “I can’t … this can’t be true.” Holding his arms wide, Bill pulled her into his embrace, where they clung to each other. Mumbling angrily, he choked out, “I just want to … to punch him. Beat some sense into him.”
    He started pulling off his tie, continuing to mutter to himself, and Maureen got up and leaned against the dresser. She wrapped her arms around her torso, as though hugging herself. She stared down at the carpet and the familiar pattern of roses and vines.
    “Ed’ll eventually come to his senses, Mo. I’ve got to believe that.” He poked his head out of the closet, attempting to make eye contact. “But honestly, even if it does happen—a divorce, I mean—God will take care of Emilie and the kids. They won’t be the first couple we’ve known to divorce. And not the first in your group of friends. Sherry’s doing okay, isn’t she?”
    “Sherry doesn’t have four children, Bill.”
    “But they’re all believers now, aren’t they? Even the youngest?” Bill disappeared back into the closet again.
    Maureen was surprised by the retort that flitted across her own mind. Like that guarantees they’ll all live happily ever after?
    “Maureen?”
    “I want you to tell me that we’ll be okay,” Maureen said softly, wistfully, as she traced the pattern of the carpet with her bare toes.
    Bill hadn’t heard, but she could hear the sounds of his pulling on jeans. When he came out again, he asked, “Did you speak with Colleen?”
    Maureen slowly shook her head. “I couldn’t bring it up in the car, with Aubrey there. And then Colleen’s been busy with homework ever since we got home.”
    He shot her a look.
    “I can’t talk about Colleen now. All this with Emilie and Ed has made me feel so … insecure.” Staring down at the carpet still, afraid to meet his eyes. Calmly, flatly, she stated, “I want to see a counselor.” After she spoke the words, she recognized the familiar yet odd sensation of feeling detached, as though hearing her own voice from a distance.
    Bill scoffed. “Where on earth did that come from? If you’re feeling a little insecure then—”
    “Actually, I didn’t say a little. I feel … shattered, Bill. I don’t understand why, but it feels like every single area of my life is falling apart into these tiny little pieces. I’m trying to grab at them and collect them up, but I can’t because they’re falling everywhere. They keep slipping through my fingers, away from my grasp.”
    “Look, just because Emilie and Ed might be getting a divorce, that doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
    “No?” Her voice rose in inflection. “Emilie was clueless, but Eddie knew about his dad’s affair? A month ago. Well, Colleen is certainly picking up something that—”
    “Maureen. That’s enough. If you’re insinuating that I’m having an affair, then you do need to see a counselor because you’re—”
    “Hallucinating and probably losing my mind. I know that. And I know you’re not having an affair, Bill.” She chuckled. “It’s me. I admit it. I’m clueless. I don’t know who Ed Esteban is, obviously. I clearly don’t know my own daughter either.”
    Maureen paused, caught the motion of Bill’s clenching and unclenching jaw. He stood before the window and stared out, back perfectly straight, hands on hips.
    “Most of all,” she whispered, “I don’t know who I am anymore. Maybe I never knew. But I think it’s time I