Forbidden
An excerpt from the fourth story in the collection, You Never Know and other stories
Listen to an audio recording:
Forbidden tells the story of a painful love affair between Greta, a single teacher of Home Economics, and Bob, the married high school principal.
Excerpt:
On her first day back, Bob dropped in on Greta’s last class to see, or so he said, what our future homemakers are up to today. His presence acted upon her like an itch she couldn’t scratch and, before she snapped at another girl over nothing, she had the class put away their sewing and leave before the bell.
Greta stood and faced him across the table. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Does it constitute a problem if I ask how you are?” He stood up.
“Aren’t you afraid someone’s going to walk in on us?”
“Greta, we need to talk.”
“I am not going to be your mistress—”
“Greta, I love you.”
“Forever if that’s—”
“Are you listening?”
“What you think.” He was coming toward her, she saw with her head down.
“Stop, Greta. Stop and listen to me.” He took her by the shoulders. “Please.”
She let him sit her down, and waited as if perched on burning coals while he closed both classroom doors. His knees when he sat down lightly touched hers, and she turned and slid her legs over the side of her chair.
“Marion’s not ... she’s not ... well.”
“I’m sorry.”
Here it was, the time for the excuses a married man contrived as insurance: a wife, his position, money, children though he had none that she knew of. Greta placed her hands in her lap so that she could read her watch and gave him ten—no, five minutes. She turned her head, just far enough to still see him shift in his chair like a defendant about to testify before a hostile jury.
They’d married young. Marion was pregnant, but she lost the baby. They tried after he got his first teaching job for a family, but she had one miscarriage after the other. The last time she suffered a nervous breakdown. For a while she seemed to recover but fell into a deep depression. She wouldn’t hear of adoption. To shut out the neighbourhood filled with other people’s children, she drank. It got so bad that he had to have someone come in and watch her, make the meals and look after the house. He couldn’t remember when they’d slept together last, or talked without hurling hateful accusations.
“I’d hoped that moving to a small town would help her make friends. Get her involved in something. But she won’t leave the house. Won’t dress or look after herself. Now there’s you there are times when—”
“Then leave.” Greta wedged her hands under her haunches and bunched her shoulders.
“I can’t. We’re Catholic. She is.”
Religion, the next excuse. “So your church forbids divorce, but it sanctions adultery?”
“I know what she’ll do.”
Greta sat up straight. “Because you’ve done this before.”
He leaned back and looked at the ceiling. “It was different. They—”
“I don’t want to know!” She pushed her heels against the floor, and slid back in her chair.
“Please, Greta, just give me—” He pressed his hands together and bent forward. “Give me more time. To find a way.”
“You’ll have my resignation tomorrow.”
“But you can’t—”
“I can.”
“Then tell me—”
Tell him what? That love stories involving a married man with a fragile wife ended only in tragedy? She rose before he could catch hold of her, and walked to the farthest window. It was snowing so fast and thick now that she could see only her own reflection in the cold, misty glass. The reflection of a woman standing, as if impaled, and waiting for him to go.
Coming next: An excerpt from the short story, Eden
Read excerpts from You Never Know, Lost and Found and Fat Chance.
Reader reviews
Great Story Telling! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This book was very hard to put down once I started reading and the stories were well written and interesting. - Wayne Sundstrom, Saskatoon, Canada
Highly recommended! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This collection is an excellent read full of human stories that everyone can relate to. EGE, Victoria, Canada
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An excellent piece of writing, Diane, about an ugly situation.
An interesting story about real people and probably couples we have known in our own families and friends over the years. I've seen it happen with a few relatives of mine and a few friends in years past. In some cases it was quite painful for one of the mates, where that "third" person was involved.