Mrs. Meany: A Short Story

Johnny stood frozen in his spot as Mrs. Meany spoke. He turned on his heel to face the frail face who stared back at him. She watched him with tears flooding her eyes. “Your mother was such a sweet woman.. She didn’t deserve to die so tragically and so suddenly. Johnny clenched his fists at his sides as he watched her and squeezed the hat. He felt like speaking up and saying that it was all Owen’s fault that he did not have a mother anymore, but his mouth would not open as he watched Mrs. Meany’s facial features change in the glow of the light from the outside that flooded through the window.
“I wish I could have been half the mother, your mom was, Johnny..” She whispered as she turned to look back out the window. “Maybe if it wasn’t for what happened to our family, I could live a normal life. I could be the mom that Owen deserves and the wife Mr. Meany needs.” Her voice got a bit stronger as she held her hands in her lap, tears ready to stream down her cheeks. “Do you know what really happened Johnny?” She whispered and sniffled softly through her nose. Johnny shook his head, deciding to walk closer and take a seat on the plastic covered couch. Owen was probably …show more content…
He had a twin sister named Olivia but days after their arrival, we noticed that their cries sounded very nasally and abnormal for being newborn babies.” She said and looked at Johnny, knowing he probably still did not understand what she was talking about. “Mr. Meany and I took them to the hospital where they ran some tests and checked the babies over. The abnormal and nasally crying happened to be because of the granite dust.” She said and glanced back out the window and then back to Johnny. “We were told that they would be okay with some medicine, and with that we took them home, expecting our babies to be okay. But a few days later, Olivia had passed away because he could not breathe normally. We were so afraid that the same could happen to