FISHER HOME
Claire sinks onto the familiar living
room sofa. "What is happening to me?"
Paula folds her arms in front of
her, grappling for some kind of response. The woman sitting a few feet
away from her is a ghost of the confident woman Tim brought home with him
five years ago, and a shell of the daughter-in-law with whom Paula has
shared so many talks and times. The realization of how much this past year
and its events have changed Claire rattles Paula.
"These are tough times," Bill says
from the entrance to the room. He walks slowly to stand beside Paula. "We
just have to stick together. That's all we can do."
Claire's head is shaking already.
"That's the problem! We just keep getting ripped apart!"
"We're still here, dear," Paula says,
a bit more softly than she'd like.
"For how long?" Claire cries as her
head drops into her hands. "Don't you see what's happening? Everything
is falling apart!"
Bill takes a deep breath. "Claire--"
"Don't try to tell me it's not happening,
because I know it is! Everything is falling apart!" She exhales heavily
and drops her hands, lettng her head to fall down as well. "I told you
this was what would happen, Paula!"
Bill casts a confused glance at his
wife. "What?"
Paula offers him an I'll explain
later, just pay attention look and turns quickly back to Claire. "You
are a Fisher, Claire. That isn't going to change."
"But it is changing! Everything
is! I knew this was going to happen. I knew it was all going to slip away,
even when it started ... It was like it was all too good to be true."
Paula and Bill share another concerned
look. They have dealt with so many difficult situations throughout the
years, but still they are at a loss right now.
"Maybe I'm not supposed to have any
of this," Claire says, her steely gaze focused on the fireplace ahead of
her. "It's not who I am. It never was. Eventually I'm going to be forced
to recognize that, whether I want to or not."
"Claire, no ..." Paula says, but
she knows that her pleas will only fall on deaf ears. Reaching out with
what would be a comforting touch doesn't seem like an appropriate move
right now, either.
"I need to sleep," Claire says suddenly,
shooting up from her spot on the sofa. "I'm going to go to Tim's room."
"All right," Paula says breathlessly.
"What about the kids?"
"Can you handle them for a while
-- please?" Her eyes are apologetic and pleading. "Paula, I can't, not
now ... I can't be with them right now. I just need to sleep. I need to
be away ..."
"Go upstairs," Paula says without
hesitation. "Rest."
With a nod of the head, Claire is
gone.
Travis and Samantha are sitting on
the floor, oblivious to what is going on around them. Even so, Paula has
a sudden urge to scoop them up in her arms. She grips Bill's sleeve. "There
has to be something we can do."
But she doesn't really believe it.
***
Upstairs, Claire pulls the quilt
tightly around her body. This bed has been here for as long as she has
known this house, always made, always there as a reminder of Tim's happy
childhood. There were times when he'd take her up here, before they got
married and even sometimes after, and they'd just talk and try to learn
everything they could about each other.
She wishes she could go back to that
time, with Tim still here. She can almost feel him in this bed, waiting
for her, like he never really left.
Almost.
"Come back," she whispers into the
dark, a desperate plea that dies in the cold air.
One .
Two .
Three .
Four .
Five .
Six .
Seven
Main Page .
Current Episode .
Episode Archives .
Story Recap .
Characters .
Making Prints .
Interact .
Around King's Bay .
Links
