I tried to open my eyes but they were so caked with dried tears it was difficult to do. I rubbed away some of the crusty residue from my lids and blinked several times trying wash the dried film from my vision. I was still dressed but my body felt cold and clammy; I could feel the damp pillow case under my cheek as I tried to get my bearings. I looked at the clock beside the bed and saw it was four in the morning; I lay there, trying to remember what day it was, it...it was Saturday; that's when everything came flooding back to me and my eyes filled once again with the moisture of despair.
After several minutes I stumbled toward the washroom to rinse my face. As the cold water slowly brought me back to the living I started to recall more of the events from the day before. It was a little after five o'clock in the afternoon when I hit the mattress; shit, I thought, I just slept for eleven hours; I must have been completely drained emotionally and didn't even realize it.
I wondered if Jean made it home after being released from jail. She had nowhere else to go at that hour unless she stayed in a motel but I thought I'd made it clear that she should come home; after all, we had the terms of the divorce to discuss, no sense putting it off; if we can act like two civilized people through the weekend and get things hashed out then I can see my attorney on Monday.
I took a quick shower and threw on some casual clothes. I checked the spare bedroom to see if she was in there but it hadn't been disturbed. I got a little worried but not like I normally would; she was a free agent now, or at least would be soon, it was not my job to worry about her anymore.
I walked down stairs to start a pot of coffee. As soon as I hit the last stair and turned the corner I saw her lying on the couch. I walked up and looked down on her; I'd never seen her look so bad. Not just her eyes but her entire face was red and puffy; her make-up was badly streaked and had dried in such a way it gave her the look of a very sad clown; her normally soft, auburn hair seemed darker and was matted from tears she shed while laying down, probably in her cell.
My God how I wanted to put my arms around her, smother her with kisses and tell her everything would be okay; instead I steeled in my resolve and continued to the kitchen to make the coffee.
I sat at the head of the table where I could look through the doorway and see her. I think she was having bad dreams because every once in a while her arm would jerk violently or she'd let out with a small yell.
I was on my third cup and still hadn't had a coherent thought. I needed a distraction; I looked out the window and saw the earliest hint of dawn peaking in. There was a park with a pretty little lake only a few blocks away; I had been there many times but never at sunrise; I grabbed a camera and headed that way on foot, I just needed time to think.
It turned out to be an extremely productive morning. By the time the sun first crested I had already picked out the locations from which to shoot and got several scenic shots of the early morning sun dancing along the water and through the trees.
About the time I was getting ready to go back home I saw two soccer teams suiting up at the other end of the park. I spent the next hours getting some great actions shots. I gave my card to both coaches and told them if they contacted me I would send them a proof sheet of what I had; between the coaches wanting shots for the team and the individual players wanting shots for themselves, I had no doubt I would make several hundred dollars from the morning's effort.
I was headed out of the park when I saw Judy Anderson, she lived a couple streets away from us; I had heard she was pregnant but hadn't seen her to congratulate her. I guess my information was correct because she was walking behind a baby buggy.
"Judy," I called as I approached, "Congratulations on your gift from God," I said looking into the buggy.
"Hi Dalton, thank you so much," she said proudly.
"Is it a he or a she?"
"It's a he, Stephen Gregory," she answered, "he'll be three weeks tomorrow."
"He's absolutely beautiful," I said; of course seeing her with her newborn son only reminded me of what I had lost. Even before we were married I dreamed of Jean and I being proud parents, now it didn't look as if that was ever going to happen.
"Judy, the sun is still pretty low, great for portraits, would you like a couple shots of you and Stephen; on the house, no charge?"
"Oh, Dalton, would you?" she asked getting excited.
"Absolutely, why don't we go over to that tree, you sit at the base of it with him in your arms; is that okay?"
"Anything you say, you're the photographer," she said with even more enthusiasm.
I picked a nice grassy spot where the sun would shine on her back, highlighting her blond hair and the outer edges of her body. I added just enough flash to even out any harsh shadows and took one of the nicest shots I'd taken in a long time. I got off only two exposures though before little Stephen started to fidget.
"He's probably hungry," his mother said. "I guess we'll have to go home, I'd be too embarrassed to feed him here," she said with a smile.
"Huh, why would you be embarrassed?" I asked not thinking.