15:30

Fifty One

It was more than three months since Tara's cathartic feat with Jay. She didn't think about him that much. She had stopped thinking about Chris too. All she thought about was her job and her ever loving boyfriend Mandy. That night had done her good. It helped her leave her past in the past. Another year had gone by and she was healing.

For Thanksgiving of 2030 Tara and Mandy decided to take a little holiday, a long deserved one at that. Miracle was at home with Heather and Olivia. This was their first Thanksgiving apart, but Tara needed it. They drove to Mandy's family home in Connecticut. Mandy's father had passed away a long time ago so it was just his mother eagerly waiting for them. This was Tara's first time meeting Mandy's mom, even though they had video called on multiple occasions in the past. Both sides were thrilled to see each other in real life. Mandy's mother was a delight. She was a cheerful old lady who loved her son dearly. Despite Mandy being a successful lawyer at Vogue, she never let it get to his head. Thanksgiving dinner was peaceful and full of cheer. Tara felt stability in her life after a very long period of uprising. So this is what normal people felt like.

After dinner and saying good night to Mandy's mom, they went back to his old room. The room was just like Mandy had left it.

"Once I was off to college, I barely ever returned. Even after graduation and law school,I've always avoided going home."

"Why is that sweetie?" Tara asked patiently.

"This place has bad memories. My dad died a brutal death."

They both sat on Mandy's old bed. Mandy was staring at the floor and Tara looked at him nurturingly.

"We don't have to talk about it, unless you want to, okay?"

"I want to."

"Go ahead. I'm listening to you."

"The night that dad died, there was an intruder in our house. The intruder wanted to rob our house. After having taken some valuables from downstairs, he made his way up. Dad realized that someone was there, and followed him upstairs. The intruder was in this very room. He had a gun. Dad had his gun as well. He shot the intruder but missed. This infuriated the trespasser and he fired at dad. He was successful. Dad died on this very spot. The chaos woke me up and there was nothing I could do to stop him. The intruder rushed out before we could call the police.."

"I'm sorry," Tara said, gripping his hand. It was her turn to be there for someone.

Mandy took a deep breath.
"I can never bear to come back to this room. It's too hard for me."

"I get it," Tara said, removing a handkerchief from her pocket and wiping her boyfriend's moist eyes.

"Thanks," Mandy said, sniffing.

"Come on, we should go to the guest room."

Tara held his hand as they made their to the guest bedroom.

"Thank you for coming with me. When I went to the kitchen to help mom with the dishes, she said she really liked you. She thinks you're fantastic."

"I really liked her too. She's an amazing woman. She raised you right."

"Thanks. You saying that means the world to me."

Tara kissed Mandy on the cheek.

"So uh listen, I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Sure. Mandy, what's up?"

"I'm planning to ask mom to move to New York. There's an apartment that is on sale, a few blocks away from mine. Plus you know, she's getting old and feels terribly lonely here in the suburbs. Plus I'm her only child and I want to look after her."