A Long and Lonely Mile

Chapter 12

The crash was revoked in the same fashion in which it had occurred: in the blink of an eye. Marigold saw the exit ramp pass by in her periphery and decided to follow the interstate for a while longer. A formidable spot to pull over and collect herself appeared minutes later. This gave her enough time to acclimate to everything from the falling rain, to vent's warm blast of air, to the simple blessing of feeling her lungs expand and deflate around her beating heart.

Once she pulled over into the safety of the road's gravelly shoulder, she unbuckled her seatbelt, tilted her seat back as far as it could go, rolled up in a ball and wept like a child. The sound of her phone ringing only fueled her tears and the quick chime that followed to let her know that the caller had left a voicemail made matters only worse. She knew that the call was regarding Tristan and the gut wrenching decision that she had made to end her own life.

She knew that the voicemail would plague her conscious during the ride home. So, when she felt ready, she gave it a quick listen. In the end, it was Jake who decided to make the call. "Learning" of Tristan's suicide from her brother should have softened the blow, but it didn't. Marigold hadn't run out of tears just yet and gave herself more time to "recover". After starting the engine, she remained on her back for a few minutes, allowing the breeze from her heater to move across her dampened face and dry it as best it could.
The weight of her phone in the palm of her hand was strangely grounding. She had already been selfish enough this evening, what harm would there be in doing one more selfish thing before driving home? She dialed her landline and pressed the cold screen to her face. Two rings later, his voice filled her ear.

"Casey residence," the formality in his tone caused Marigold to smile. It was crooked and broken in parts, but a smile nonetheless.
"Casey residence?" She teased. "You're my boyfriend, not my butler. How was work, Fancypants?"

"Long, tedious... I missed you every second of it."
She tried with all her might to suppress it, but a tiny sob sounded in the back of her throat.
"Darling? Is everything alright?"

"I'm fine, William. Don't worry about me. I will be home within the hour. I just... I just had to hear your voice. Sorry if that is silly. My god, I'm so selfish..."

"Marigold, my love" his voice was so soothing and tender that it was as tangible as a kiss, "you are not selfish at all. Saints and angels themselves must envy your selflessness and grace."

She tried to close her eyes, but the vision of the burning church appeared and they snapped open instantly. "I love you. I love you and I'm sorry if I worried you."

"There is nothing to be sorry for. Moxie and I will eagerly await your arrival. Be safe out there in the rain, my love."

Marigold forced a smile as was her way. "Sorry that your first real phone call had to be so shitty..."

"Seeing as it came from you, it was nothing short of a gift. I love you."

A new wave of tears overcame her as she hung up. Surely, he suspected that something out of the ordinary had happened. The idea of causing him any more pain ignited a vicious pattern of overthinking. When she finally felt confident enough to drive again, Marigold wrestled with her thoughts. She shuffled through her CD's and cassettes for a distraction. Bob and Doug McKenzie's "Great White North" album won out in the end because it is fabulously ridiculous and just long enough for the commute that she'd fallen into after missing her exit.

The album ended just as she pulled onto Main Street. Most of the shops were closed save for a few local restaurants and the neighborhood market. She pulled into the market's parking lot and returned shortly after with a large container of tomato soup, two chef salads from the deli and a glass bottle of chilled sparkling water. She'd considered snagging wine instead, but she was going to be falling asleep with a foggy enough mind as it was.