28: The DecisionDr Feigenbaum glanced up at the clock on the wall behind Eliza. ‘Won’t you be late for church, my dear?’ he asked.
‘I’m not going’ she said.
‘Are you unwell?’
‘No.’
‘Has something happened?’
‘I won’t be going any more. Ever,’ she said.
‘Might I ask why?’
‘God has let me down.’
The doctor shuffled the pages of his newspaper, but said nothing.
She spoke again, her voice expressionless. ‘I want to have a child.’
He put down his newspaper.
‘I will marry you,’ she said. ‘If you still want me.’
‘And your fiancé?’ he asked.
‘He has let me down too,’ she said.
~~~
They were married two weeks later. The witnesses were Alphonsus Feigenbaum and Marta. When the doctor told Eliza his brother had agreed to be his groomsman her heart sank.
‘Don’t worry, Eliza. I told you h
