'Come on, Carol. She is a damn adult, and maybe she just doesn't feel comfortable talking about it now. She will reach out if she needs help. Cheryl is a private person, and she will only talk to you if she wants. You won't convince her to. Don't be snoopy and be a pain in the ass for her as well,' she thought to herself.
She sat back against the chair and willed herself to drive away and go mind her own business.
With Karen away, Carey had the whole house to himself. Nelly had stopped going over since Frank wasn't around to be cared for.
Carey had also insisted that she should take her to leave since he could do pretty much everything himself.
"There is a dishwasher. There is food in the fridge, and there is a laundry machine. I will be okay. Karen won't take long. Once she is back, she will call you," Carey had said.
"Okay, sir. Have me in mind in case you change your mind," Nelly had said.
She knew that if Karen didn't return to New York, it would be a while before she landed another job.
It had taken her months to get the one at Karen's, and just when Frank was beginning to like her, her job seemed no more.
More often than not, Liz and Carey would meet after work. It's not like they had anything to talk about. They always sat next to each other and ended up in bed. Little by little, Liz started bringing in her things to Carey's house.
She would carry a cloth or two then leave it there in the pretense that she would pick them up in the evening while going to her place.
Over the weekend, when she was with Carey, she would rearrange the house and one by one put aside Karen's photos.
She was so discreet about it, and Carey was so blind that he either ignored what she was doing or didn't just care any more.
"I think this looks better here," she would say, putting aside anything Karen had arranged.
"I don't know," Carey answered, shrugging.
"It looks so good," Liz would praise herself after making the changes.
"It sure does," Carey would add.
He thought that the house was now full of warmth given its new arrangement and Liz's presence.
~
Calvin, Peter, and Angie were seated on the hospital bench, waiting. The doctors had asked them all to stay outside the room.
"You know, I really don't know what I would have done to those teens had they been alive," Peter said out of nowhere.
"Me too," Angie said.
"Their parents! Oh my! I can't even imagine the kind of pain they are going through," Calvin said, "It's so painful to lose a child. I hope they have strength during this tough time."
"I am so annoyed at them, but I am grateful that our son is here. Alive, even if he can't talk to us. At least he isn't six feet below the ground."
"I heard that the teens have been buried."
"I don't know. I lost touch with the world. It doesn't even matter," Angie said.
"That's not the Angie I know. That's anger talking. The Angie I know cares about people," Calvin said.
"I care about him, and he is lying in that hospital bed. He doesn't know how worried I am," Angie said.
It turns out the two teens had been at their parents' wedding anniversary reception.
They had left the party just when it started to go and pick up some friends whom they had invited.
But they had entered into some party thrown by another friend and drunk themselves silly. When they were leaving, it was already raining.
They didn't want to disappoint their friends, and so they got behind the wheel, drunk , to go and do as they had promised. They never made it to their friends.
Their parents had received the call during the reception, and when they heard the bad news, they couldn't carry on with the anniversary party.
How could they when their kids' bodies were lying on the mortuary slubs?
Frank was sleeping. He was tired from playing all day with a neighbor's kid of a similar age.
Karen opened the fridge and found it almost empty. She looked at the frozen food there, and her stomach grumbled.
'You need something strong to eat,' she told herself as she checked the amount of money she had in her purse. 'You aren't so badly off. You can get some groceries.'
She locked the door and used the lift to get to the ground floor. She crossed the road and got into the supermarket that wasn't far away.
She picked a trolley and headed straight to the grocery shelf. She bent down to look at how fresh they were and their prices.
"You used to love this," she heard a voice say behind her. She knew who it was even without looking.
"Used. Past tense, not present," Karen answered, getting up. Her face was full of disdain, but Sam was smiling. "What are you doing here?"
"Exactly what you're doing," Sam answered.
"Okay," Karen said, walking away, but Sam held her by the hands. "Leave me alone."
"I'm not the enemy here. Am just trying to be polite, but you won't let me. Can we let bygones be bygones?"
"I'm just trying to be polite," Karen mimicked Sam.
"Well, I am serious. Can we move past the past? And be just friends? Cordial, maybe?" Sam asked. He sounded so genuine.
"No, Sam, we can't. I cannot forget what you did to me. I don't know how you can so easily forget that."
"I was wrong. I admit. I've changed. Life has taught me things I was blind to. I realize I did you wrong, and that's why I am trying to rectify it. Do you really think it's a coincidence that we met? Don't you think that it's written in our fates that we would one day meet and reconcile?"
"I don't know about that. All I know is that I am not falling for your bullshit," Karen said, determined.
"It's not bullshit. I wish I could prove it to you. I'm not the same man you met those years ago," Sam pressed on.
Other shoppers were passing by and looking at them. Sam didn't mind.
"I don't care," Karen said, attempting to walk away, but Sam held her by the hand once again. "Leave my hand, or I will scream."
"I will, but I want you to do something for me."
"No. I am not doing anything for you."
"Look me in the eye and tell me you don't care. That all the feelings you had for me are dead and that you will never forgive me. I promise to walk away from you if you do that. I won't disturb you ever. It's now or never, so tell me," Sam said.