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Glenn G. Coats

Waiting for Maeve

– 1 –

I decide to drive through town. Scarlett is bundled up in the back seat. Her book bag hangs on a headrest. “Grandpa, stop the car,” she says. “This is not the way Mommy drives me.”

To Scarlett’s surprise, I do end up at the right church where classes are held. We walk in and I introduce myself to her teachers. Today the students will be learning about the letter P as well as the importance of brushing teeth.

I pick Scarlett up on time. She reminds me that I have forgotten her snack for the ride home. “Mommy always brings me a fruit snack,” she says.

from time to time
midday flurries
Braxton Hicks contractions

– 2 –

I clear away the cereal boxes and glasses, bring a box of crayons and colored pencils to the kitchen table—along with watercolors and brushes, paper of all sizes, and one cup of water for each of us. “One day you can teach your sister how to make pictures,” I say.

Scarlett draws a purple fish tank with a purple fish inside; purple bubbles rise from a purple filter. Next she draws her grandmother, makes the eyes big with lashes all around, yellow nose, red smile, and a pile of blue hair.

We move onto paints, one painting after another, dinosaurs and space ships. Soon we are mixing colors together, blue-browns, brown-greens, and there are hills, water, and a boat in the middle.

Pages are left out to dry on countertops. They curl like wet leaves in the winter light.

frozen branches
at the top of the stairs
a shortness of breath 

– 3 –

“We will see your sister soon,” I keep repeating as my car slows to a crawl. I click on headlights as the snow swirls along the highway. Scarlett is watching out the window and singing songs she learned in school. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. We play a game of I Spy. “I spy something yellow,” she says, and I ask if it’s car lights on the hill.

The wind rocks my car from side to side like a cradle. “We’re almost there,” I say, just as we spot the sign with a blue H.

 mountain air
 the newborn’s fingernails
 thin as petals 

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About the Author

Glenn G. Coats lives with his wife, Joani, in Carolina Shores, North Carolina. His recent collections are Degrees of Acquaintance (Snapshot Press, 2019) and Furrows of Snow (Turtle Light Press, 2019).