She sat on the park bench in the shade, just like she had every day since returning home to Lima, Ohio. Baggy jeans and a loose fitting gray tee-shirt hanging on her waif-like body, stringy blonde hair with dark roots in a low ponytail, dark circles under her eyes that she didn't attempt to cover with make-up anymore, and a big pink bag by her feet. She was a shadow of her former self but no one noticed her anymore, which was just as well. Two years ago, she couldn't take the trash out without someone approaching her. Back then, she could put on a hat and and some big sunglasses and could often get away unnoticed but many times people would at least look twice. She wasn't quite a household name by then but enough people knew of her and she was very recognizable. Her old self would be horrified if she ever saw her out in public looking like this, but a lot had happened since then.
The woman she had come to watch showed up right around three, just like she had every day. She was short, slightly plump, and had a prominent nose but still managed to be attractive. Her full, dark brown hair shone in the sun, and she always had a smile on her face, and noticeable glow to her complexion. She wore stretchy black exercise pants and a black hoodie over a light blue tee shirt that made it hard to tell at first if she was pregnant or just carried more of her weight in her belly area. It wasn't until the woman stopped and held her lower back that the blonde woman that watched her knew for sure. She was pregnant, the blonde knew all about those back aches.
Suddenly she felt the ground beneath her start to spin as she began to struggle for breath. It was like something heavy was sitting on her shoulders, and her hands began to sweat. She came home to Ohio to feel safe, she came to the park that she visited so much as a child for comfort but it didn't help. Nothing did since the incident. Her husband Sam had been sweet and comforting and supportive even though he was hurting just as much as she was, and she'd gone to a well-meaning therapist but nothing could make her feel safe these days. So she'd been going through the motions, getting through the day the best she could, but she wasn't living. She hadn't lived since that day.
It was three weeks after the incident, and she'd only left the apartment once, so Sam suggested they go to their favorite restaurant. She put on a simple black dress, one that hung on her body and didn't show the drastic weight loss that had taken place in just three short weeks. They didn't say much but she was fine. Fine until a couple was seated at the next table with a baby. They were at a pretty fancy restaurant so they didn't expect to see that there, but there it was, seemingly mocking her, and she froze. Last time they were there, she was pregnant and so happy. She had so much to look forward to, live for, and be grateful for. Now she felt like she had nothing.
"Quinn?" he asked, and she just sat there frozen. "Quinn," he said again and after a few seconds she finally snapped back into reality. "I just have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back," she said and walked away. She didn't go to the bathroom, she left the restaurant and headed home. She went down the hallway and turned right into their bedroom. Their apartment had two bedrooms but she couldn't go into the bedroom at the end. It had stayed locked ever since that day. She saw their wedding picture on the night stand. Sam was so handsome. He was so good to her even after she'd ruined his life and she couldn't bring him down anymore. She packed a bag with some of her clothes, wrote Sam a note saying that she was sorry for everything and asked him not to look for her. She told him that she loved him and that she'd call him when she was ready, and took a cab to the airport. She bought a one way ticket to Lima, Ohio and the next morning, she showed up at her mom's house. She and her mom Judy had had a strained relationship, but Quinn didn't feel like she had anywhere else to go. They didn't talk. Judy didn't ask what she was doing there and Quinn was pretty sure her mother didn't even know what had happened to her in the last year and a half. That was fine with Quinn though, she had a place to stay, and she really didn't want to get into it.
Quinn's mind snapped back to reality and she noticed the woman she had been watching was walking toward her. Now or never, she thought and steadied herself as she got up from the bench. She grabbed the silver spoon Sam and surprised her with from Tiffany's and fixed the turquoise ribbon around it before heading in the direction of the pregnant woman. She got a little nervous as she walked closer to her, but she was able to drop the spoon in the woman's open hand-bag without being noticed and walked off in the other direction.