The Healing Place by Leigh Bale

Righteous Brothers were singing “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” and Angie sang along. Her voice sounded clear and sweet as bell chimes and he felt a sudden lump form in his throat.
    “Okay, we’re looking for Poole Avenue,” he told her as he peered out the windshield. He switched on his left blinker and changed lanes, skirting around the lazy morning traffic.
    “Mommy and Eric used to swim in our pool,” Angie said.
    He glanced at her. “Oh? Well, it’s also the name of the street Dr. Shields lives on. There it is.” He pointed at the sign and waited for the light to change colors.
    “When did your mom swim with Eric?”
    The light changed and Mark pulled out into the intersection, gripping the steering wheel so tight his knuckles whitened.
    Angie shrugged. “I don’t know. Last time Eric came to the house, before Mom left us. He brought a giant inner tube and Mom giggled and went to get ice for their sodas.”
    Denise had invited a man over to their house, before the divorce? While their daughter was home and Mark was gone?
    Knots of anger coiled inside his stomach. How dare she do such a thing?
    He shouldn’t be surprised. Denise had always flirted with other men, even after they married. In the beginning, he hadn’t cared. He provided her with a lavish lifestyle and Denise looked good on his arm at all the company parties where they wined and dined wealthy clients. But after Angie was born, he found himself wanting more, wanting them to be a devoted and loving family.
    He had changed. Denise had not.
    It no longer mattered, but Mark couldn’t help fuming. Bitterness curled around him like a vine of thorns and he fought off the sick feeling that settled in his gut.
    “Um, what were Mom and Eric doing besides drinking sodas?”
    “I don’t know, just stuff. I wanted to swim, too, but they sent me in to watch TV. Mom laughed a lot, but I didn’t think Eric was much fun. He never played with me like you do. He always told me to get lost.”
    Mark wasn’t surprised.
    “Dad, I didn’t like him,” Angie confessed.
    He smiled and patted her knee. “That’s okay, honey. I don’t know him and I don’t like him, either.”
    Mark tightened his jaw. He’d rather shout, but what good would that do—other than frighten Angie and make him feel better? Maybe later that night he’d take a drive alone and scream his head off.
    “Fifteen thirty-four. That’s the address we need, hon. Can you see it?” He purposefully changed the topic, wanting to feel happier before he got to Emma’s house.
    “There.” Angie pointed at a red-brick duplex with a one-car garage on each side of the structure. Emma’s car sat parked out front.
    Mark silently admitted he had expected more. Though he suspected she could afford a nice place, maybe a house just wasn’t important to Emma.
    At the curb, Mark parked the truck. “Let’s go in.”
    Angie slid over as he got out, so he could lift her down. Hand in hand, they walked to the front door and Angie rang the bell.
    A birdbath sat in the middle of the well-trimmed lawn, everything tidy and in its place. Mark expected no less from Emma Shields.
    From inside the duplex, Mark heard the sounds of movement and then the door opened and there stood Emma.
    At first sight of her, his good mood resumed. She looked ravishing and relaxed in blue jeans and a short-sleeved white shirt, her blond hair loose and curling about her shoulders. As she came near, he caught her scent, some kind of clean fragrance he couldn’t quite place. How could plain soap smell so good on a woman?
    “I’ll be right with you,” she said before closing the door again.
    Why didn’t she invite them in?
    “Come on, Angie, let’s wait by the truck.”
    She let go of his hand and sauntered over to the birdbath, smiling at the little sparrows fluttering in the water. As Angie approached, the birds scattered and she giggled. It was good to hear her laugh and to see her taking an interest in life. It