A CRY FROM THE DEEP by Unknown Page A

stopped near the triumphal arch in Washington Square Park. As she’d remembered, the park was full of young and old alike, walking through or sitting on benches, soaking up the sun. The magnolia trees were in their last stage of bloom; a pink carpet of petals covered the ground.
    Catherine grabbed her bag from the back seat. “Thanks again for the day.”
    “Glad you’re on board.”
    There it was again. The way his eyes searched hers, as if he wanted to say something he’d been holding on to for a long time. It was disconcerting, not knowing what it meant, if anything.
    Someone honked behind Daniel’s car, shutting off any further talk. She got out of the car, swung her sports bag over her shoulder, and watched Daniel drive off. He never looked back, and she was left feeling she’d put too much weight on the look in his eyes.~~~
    When Catherine walked into the restaurant, Richard and Alex were sitting at a table in the corner—the one they’d always sat at when they were still a family.
           “Mama,” yelled Alex. She came running out from behind the table and gave her mother a big hug. “Close your eyes. I want to show you what Grandma gave me.”
    Catherine smiled. “I will, but let me sit down first, okay?”
    Alex’s eyes crinkled as she giggled. “Of course. What was I thinking?” She rushed back to her seat as Catherine settled into a chair across from Richard.
    “Were you waiting long?”
    “No,” said Richard. “We just got here ourselves.” He had taken off his tie, and his blue oxford shirt made his eyes bluer.
    It felt good, the three of them together again. It was almost like old times. She turned to Alex and shut her eyes. “Okay, I’m closing my eyes. What’s the big surprise?”
    “You can open them now.” Alex held up an old-fashioned china doll in a cream ruffled dress with a bonnet to match. “Grandma said it was hers when she was a little girl. She said to take good care of it, because they don’t make them like this anymore.”
    “Ah, dolly’s so sweet,” said Catherine, taking the doll from Alex. “Does she have a name?”
    “No. Grandma never named her.” Alex said this with the widest of eyes, as if this was some kind of sacrilege. “I’m going to call her Mathilda.”
    “That’s a nice name. Mathilda, it is.” Catherine handed the doll back and then said to Richard, “How is your mother?”
    “Spirited, as usual. She asked about you.”
    Catherine pursed her lips. “I don’t know when I’m going to be able to see her.”
    “Don’t worry about it. She knows you’re busy.”
    “That’s good.” She picked up the menu. “I guess we should order.”
     
    ~~~
     
    After dinner, they walked through Washington Square Park, where Alex ran off to climb on the bars. Catherine and Richard sat down on a bench overlooking the play area. It was there she told him about her vision. “She looked so old fashioned, as if she’d stepped out of a Jane Austen novel. I even tried to take a photo.”
    “How did it turn out?”
    “Nothing. All I got was a blur. I don’t know if it was because she wasn’t there or because I was too nervous to keep still.”
    “It’s unusual, having a hallucination—”
    “Why are you calling it a hallucination?” She was beginning to regret telling him anything.
    “You know why. When people see things when they’re awake, that’s what they’re called.”
    “Oh, Richard, I know that,” she said irritably. “But this seemed more than that. I’m not crazy.”
    “Calm down,” he said gently. “No one said you were.”
    She bit her tongue. Should she say more? Since she’d already opened the door to her seemingly ghostly encounters, she might as well tell him the rest. Catherine sighed, and said, “There was this man, too. He was hanging in the dark behind her. It seemed he wanted her to go with him, but she couldn’t move.”
    “What did she look like?”
    She grimaced. “A bit like me.” She turned to see his