Author's note: Wow, a Sarah piece. I have never even thought that I would be writing a Sarah piece. But, times change and I feel a kinship with the character. It's not easy being the only girl, no? Anyway, I couldn't resist. What would Sarah do if Jack cheated on her? Son Coeur Brisé, my interpretation in three parts. Let the first part begin. – Stress
. .
Son Coeur Brisé
(Her broken heart)
.
And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose
I. MAIS JE SAVAIS DÉJÀ
(but I already knew)
They didn't think I knew but I did. And, even if I didn't, the piteous gazes they gave me when Jack's attention was elsewhere occupied told me the entire story. They felt sorry for me but their loyalty to the great Manhattan leader kept them from saying anything out loud. But that was fine.
I already knew.
I'm not too sure when I first began to suspect that he was being unfaithful. The first few weeks following the strike were great. But as the long summer nights gave way to the autumn chill, I felt Jack's embrace begin to slacken. He no longer clung to me like a lost child that feared I would disappear should he loosen his hold.
The nights in between his visits to my family's apartment became many. As a rule I never sought him out down on Duane Street. "You're too classy a dame to be there," he told me once. Classy? Hardly. Naïve? Maybe. Stupid? Not at all.
A persistent nag at the back of my mind started to make itself known. For every suspicion it voiced, I supplied it with an excuse for Jack's newly erratic behavior. When he arrived at my home, his hair disheveled and his shirt buttons askew, it was obviously because he had been in a rush to see me that night. When we stole away to the rooftop for a quick peck and his breath murmured another name, I had just heard wrong.
Jack Kelly was a dreamer who had given up on his dream to stay here with me. I couldn't believe at first that he would throw it all away for some two-bit floozy.
Would he?
The nagging persistence became a pressure that continued to build. It needed release. In order to find such a release I turned to the one confidante of Jack's that wouldn't lie to me. David, even when we were children, could never lie to me.
And it was in his eyes. In those crystal blue eyes I saw the truth. He smiled sadly when I implored him to answer to my suspicions. "He really does love you, Sarah."
Love. As if Jack Kelly really understood what love was. I was lucky enough he understood mild infatuation.
I saw her, too. And I would have been far better off if I had never seen her face.
They were together that day; that's how I know it was her. And even if I hadn't chanced upon the pair mid-embrace I would have known. The woman scorned always knows.
Did he ever look at me like that?
I was out running an errand for my mother. She had needed extra potatoes for supper that night on the chance that Jack joined us. It had been a month since the strike ended; she figured she would make a special dinner to celebrate. I obliged her and went to the market.
It was across the street for the market that my eyes spied them. I don't know what it was about them that caught my attention. Perhaps it was the peals of laughter she was emitting as he tickled her. Or it could have been that they were kissing in public; the actions that went against society's expectations always brought a crowd around. I should know.
Did he ever kiss me like that?
For a moment I was frozen, my heart was frozen. Do I approach them? My nagging suspicion had been confirmed. Do I confront him?
I could do neither. My heart, iced over, shattered into a million pieces. They stabbed me all over and I felt the pain anew every time I looked his way. His eyes lingered on her lips and he smiled that smile. His smile. The smile that I fell in love with. The smile that forced the corners of my own mouth down.
I remained on the street opposite of the pair long after they continued on their newspaper selling. Long after they left the market, I remained.
I never bought the potatoes that day. But that was alright…
Jack Kelly never showed for dinner.
