Surviving Keith

Chapter 1: Carla

--CHAPTER 1--

Carla

It seemed to be just another day. It wasn't like...something was about to happen or whatever. But then again, how do we actually know if something will happen or what. My husband, Toby Chapman , left the house at exactly 8 am that morning, just like he does every day. I've been married with him for four years now, since I was twenty-one, and though our relationship is something that is not as conventional as what others have, it has always been enough. I know it may seem that I just married him for money (after all, he's rich and he owns a couple of companies here in New York City, and he's also 20 years my senior and has only been separated with his wife for two years when we met) but the thing is...I really did love him, and he loved me, too. What we had was real.

We met four years ago at a local Barnes and Noble. We bumped into each other as we both reached out for a Paulo Coelho book, something that's exactly out of a romance novel, and laughed as we both told one another to just get the book, and ended up not buying it at all. He asked me if i was doing something that afternoon and I told him I was free, so we went out to eat and everything started there. We would hang out, watch musicals together, buy books, talk about those books, etcetera, etcetera. And after four months of dating, he asked me to get married. I know, it's quite a feat and that maybe I should've thought about it and all that stuff, I was pretty young, after all, and only had one other boyfriend in my whoel life (it was back in High School and he turned out to be a jerk), but you know...sometimes, when you feel something for someone that you haven't felt for anyone else, you just acknowledge that feeling and leave no room for doubt. So, I said yes and two months alter, we got married at the Bethseda Fountain. It was beautiful, although I would've enjoyed t more if only my parents and some other old friends were there. You see, since we got together, some of my other friends stopped talking to me and started judging. Not that I could blame them, but you know...you only get married once and you just want to have everyone you love out there for you.

So, fast forward to four years later, I'm currently living at our flat which also houses my bakeshop, "A Taste of Heaven." Baking has been a comfort for me ever since I got married. Aside from that, Toby's 18 year old daughter, Trixie, also lives with us. We may not see each other eye to eye all the time, because she still resents the fact that her father got married to me, and she hates that her parents broke up, but I know that she's a wonderful girl. Sure, living with her is hard sometimes and she always talks back or retorts with soem nasty thing, but for now, Toby and her are basically all I have and I can't just back out of this relationship just because of her.

Again, it seemed to be just another normal day, and then I got that phone call.

I was baking soem cupcakes when my phone rang and for some reason, I dropped the bottle of sugar that I was holding, spilling the contents on the floor. "Shit," I muttered, took a deep breath and answered the call.

"Carla," A female's voice from the other line said. A voice that could only belong to Olivia, Keith's secretary, who hated me with a passion. She's a twenty-something woman with Olive skin, Brunette locks and Amethyst eyes. I wonder what she's calling me for.

"Olivia?" I said back.

"Carla," she said again, her voice stuttering. She never stuttered. 

"What's going on?"

"Carla," she said once more, crying this time, "Carla. he's gone. Toby's gone."

"What? Gone, what do you--"

"He's dead," she said, sending me into a wave of shock and disbelief, |He had a hearta tatck, that's what the doctors said. I'm sorry,"

"That's impossible," I said, 'He was fine this morning,"

"I know," she said, "but...I don't know, I had to make him sign some files so I went knocked on his door and he wasn't answering and when I opened the door, he was there...he's...he wasn't moving and.." she cried, 'Carla, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,"

"It's...that's not true..."

"Carla,"

This time, it was my time to break down.