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Show house/ 406 sudden rush of energy in my brain. I went to the bathroom to wash, then to the kitchen where I struggled with the odd pieces of the coffee pot, adding extra grounds which spilled over into the water. I bit my lip against an urge to curse, remembering that it was Sunday. Already my family would be leaving for Sunday school in their best clothes. My father would have been up for hours, dressed in one of his/shiny black suits,made over for him Sarah by Aunt Helga or Aunt ' A and would return from his priesthood meeting to pick up the mothers and take them to the big new building at the southwest end of the valley. The gas range had not flamed up and my nostrils prickled. I had an image of myself falling free, flying forever. My stomach turned over. I returned to the bedroom and slipped on a robe, tying the ribbon carefully before the mirrored doors of the armoire. I could scarcely wait for Brian to wake up, but he was sleeping determinedly. I thought of my father, awake for hours. Suddenly an image flashed through me, my father gazing over my shoulder into the mirror. His face was grim, concerned. I tensed, wrapping the robe more tightly, and then he was gone. An involuntary shudder parted the hair on my neck. I stood over Brian, gazing at his body in sleep and a great tenderness welled in me. The hardened muscles were slack in sleep, rippling smoothly - almost soft. There was wholeness there - a consistency of shape and feeling- This body had healed me, in the dark secret places that had been wounded and festering for so long. I sat gently |