Chapter 4 - The Transfer of Weight
Elena stepped into the kitchen.
She stopped exactly two feet behind Martha.
The older woman’s breathing was ragged now, a shallow wheeze battling the steam of the red sauce.
The young woman in the living room sucked the grease off her index finger with a loud smack.
"She can finish cooking before she sits down."
The words floated into the kitchen, lazy and dripping with unearned authority.
Elena did not look toward the living room.
She reached out, her cool hands bypassing the stove, and found the heavy knot of the maroon and black fabric at Martha’s chest.
She pulled.
The knot gave way.
Martha gasped, her shoulders instantly dropping two inches as the crushing weight released.
Elena slid her arms under the sleeping toddler.
She lifted the boy, pressing his warm, blue-shirted chest against her immaculate white silk.
The child mumbled, shifting his small, heavy head into the hollow of her neck.
Martha turned, her eyes wide, her wooden spoon dripping red onto the floor.
May you like
Elena simply nodded once.
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