| fiction |
A Day in the Life of a
Military Wife
by Adelia Ladson
Jill opened her eyes because she could feel that unmistakable sensation of being watched . She could feel eyes boring into her . She rolled her head to the right and sure enough , her two rug rats were standing there , next to the bed staring down at her . They smiled at her uncertainly .
She yawned , closed and opened her eyes and asked , “ Breakfast ?”
Her son and daughter nodded , stepping back as she threw her legs off the side of the bed and sat up , scrambling with her feet for her slippers . The children headed toward the dining room and she stood up slowly . She was not a morning person and having kids hadn ’ t miraculously made her one either .
She followed them out of the bedroom , stopping on her way to the kitchen to put 4-year-old Maddie in a chair and push her up to the table .
Jill looked out the kitchen window as she was washing her hands and marked the overcast landscape . They lived on the third floor and she had a view of the Schrebergarten behind them . These allotment gardens were places where city-dwelling Germans could go to relax on the weekend , on a small plot of land that was theirs , and tend a garden . However , today , even though it was Sunday and May , the threat of rain seemed to be keeping the weekend farmers away .
She often wondered what it would be like to wander through the little gardens with their little huts and sheds . From her bird ’ s-eye view , it was a secret , sometimes green , place that she couldn ’ t quite see into .
“ Looks like it ’ s going to rain today , Grunts ,” she said using her Army-inspired endearment for her children .
Six-year-old Davie chirped up , “ But we can still go downstairs till it does rain .”
70 MoultrieScene MAY 2024