Lottie

Lottie sat on the old concrete bench. She smiled, lovingly, down at the yellow stroller beside her and gently pushed the wheel back and forth with her foot. She reached down into the brown wicker picnic basket beside her that she had carried with her that day, as she did every day, and pulled out half of a tuna salad sandwich. She continued rocking the stroller as she casually snacked on the sandwich. She loved coming to the park, especially on days like today. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining warmly down on her. The wind tousled her dark brown, layered locks. She watched as the neighborhood children played on the jungle gym nearby. The sound of children laughing and playing was one that always brought joy to her soul.

                As she finished her sandwich, Lottie gathered her things, stood up and pushed the stroller down the sidewalk to the park’s exit. As she reached the exit, a short, blonde woman accidently backed into her with her own stroller.

                “Oh, excuse me,” said the blonde woman. “I didn’t see you there!”

Lottie frantically opened the bonnet of her yellow stroller and peeked inside, as the woman asked, “Is the little one alright?”

                Lottie quickly closed the bonnet as the woman leaned in to catch a glimpse of the little one, “Yes, yes,” Lottie said, “please be more careful!” She quickened her pace and left the blonde woman standing on the sidewalk in confusion. Once she had put a bit of space between them, she slowed to a more comfortable gait and continued toward the grocery store. She was expecting company for dinner and wanted to pick up something special for the occasion.

                She turned the corner across the street from her local A & P and glanced around nervously. She approached the front door slowly and looked around to make sure no one was watching her. The automatic doors slid open as they sensed her arrival and she ducked inside. She breathed a sigh of relief as she headed toward the meat section. She was perusing the beef roasts when an older gentleman walked up beside her.

                “The price of these roasts is absurd,” the old man said.

                Lottie grinned and nodded then picked up the smallest roast on the shelf and headed quickly toward the checkout counter. She stood in line behind a young woman with a little girl in tow. The girl looked to be about five or six years old and had immediately taken an interest in the yellow stroller when Lottie joined them at the counter.

                “That sure is a pretty stroller,” the little girl said.

                “Thank you,” Lottie said glancing up at the little girl’s mother.

                “Oh! I sure do miss Amelia being that little!” the girl’s mother said as she inched closer toward the yellow stroller. “They grow up so fast!”

                “Yes, they sure do,” Lottie said nervously, pulling the yellow stroller away from Amelia’s mother.

                Amelia’s mother paid no attention and moved faster toward the yellow stroller reaching for the bonnet. “Can we have a look at ‘em?” Amelia’s mother asked.

                “I’d really rather you didn’t,” Lottie replied. “It’s so hard to get them to sleep, you know.”

                “Oh, I’ll be quiet! I promise. They are so sweet when they are sleeping,” Amelia’s mother said.

Lottie’s eyes widened as Amelia’s mother finally reached the stroller and began to pull the bonnet back. The small roast that Lottie held in her hand fell to the ground as she leaped to stop Amelia’s mother, but before she could reach the stroller, the mother had already pulled back the bonnet.

                Amelia’s mother screamed and grabbed Amelia and jerked her away from the stroller as Lottie attempted to grab the stroller and run from the A&P. As Lottie reached for the handle, she tripped over the roast on the tile floor and fell, bringing the stroller with her and throwing its precious cargo to the floor. She scooted over to the edge of the white blanket and scooped up the withered remains of her baby girl and covered her back up, cradling her in the bend of her arm and gently shushing her.

                “Don’t cry, sweetheart, Mommy’s here,” Lottie said as the crowd that had gathered around her stared on in horror with looks of disgust on their faces.

                “Mommy’s here….”

Reviews

[A. S. Lewis]

Wonderful short story. Surprisingly suspenseful and well paced. I would have liked a tad bit more character development, not necessarily anything super revealing of their history - just a bit more to support or motivate their action. For example, the tenacity of the woman in the store. Another sentence or three of action/description might have provided better support for the behavior. However, overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Is there more or is this a one-shot?

[Dathema]

For now, that is all, but may add more in the future. Thanks for reading! I'm glad you liked it!