CHAPTER 14 - SUE
Sue had just finished drying her hands on a dish towel when Digger's excited bark on the front porch announced Carter's return. With her portly figure, gray hair, and soft eyes, she was genuine warmth and kindness personified.
"Honey, you won't believe who I met on the beach!" Carter's voice came muffled through the front door. He was still struggling to take off his boots on the porch when Sue opened the door, just to get almost run over by Digger, who headed straight for his food bowl in the kitchen.
"Ally?" Sue guessed as she bent down and grabbed hold of the one boot that was giving Carter trouble. There weren't that many options with less than a handful of residents.
"No. Well, her too, but before that!" He paused for effect, "we have a new neighbor!" Carter announced as he held on to the bench to steady himself while pulling his foot out of the boot. "Her name is Julia, and she's staying at Larry's place." He looked at his wife as if they had just scratched off the last number to a winning lottery combination. He knew how much Sue missed the social interactions they used to have in their old neighborhood; the chats across the fence, the impromptu cups of coffee or the summer barbeques and not to forget the annual block parties. Although they enjoyed the tranquil life away from all the hustle and bustle of the city, they did miss the casual company and familiar faces that had become like family to them during the forty some-odd years in their old house. Until half of their neighbors sold out to a developer who decided to build a new condominium complex and a shopping mall a mere block from their front door, they had never considered living anywhere else.
"Well, you don't say!" Sue's put the boot down and stood up. Her beaming eyes were exactly the reaction Carter expected.
With an 'I'm proud of myself' look on his face, he headed into the house that was filled with the sweet aroma of homemade applesauce and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. "Ahh... The best oatmeal on the West Coast!"
CHAPTER 15 - JULIA
Exhausted and tired of having to talk, to explain, to interact with anyone in any way, Julia was still curled up on the chair. A few stern knocks on the door kicked her into reality and put her right back on edge.
"Everything OK? Hello!" A female voice came through the door.
Having lost track of time and too irritated to think clearly, Julia was sure that this had to be Ally again. "Go away! I told you..." She yelled, as she jumped up and stomped to the door. Ready for battle, she yanked it open and found herself face to fist with Sue, who was just about to knock again. "I didn't need anything else!" Completely disheveled, she hadn't even stopped long enough to check who she was yelling at. All the more baffled she was by the unfamiliar face.
"Oh. Who are you?" Not the smoothest of first encounters, she had to admit.
"I just came over to introduce myself, when you didn't answer I got worried. Sorry for the intrusion." Sue still looked more concerned than hurt by the undeserved attack.
"Don't be! For the hundredth time, I'm fine. Just go away! Leave me alone! That's why I came here. Why can't everyone just leave me alone?! Please," she pleaded, while tears were starting to flow down her cheeks. Her shoulders dropped and whatever fight she had left in her suddenly evaporated.
Sue stepped forward without hesitation and took Julia's deflated frame into her arms. Even though Julia still towered over Sue's much smaller figure, she willingly surrendered to the hug and let her head fall onto Sue's shoulder.
"Oh dear! My Lord! I've got you. Come, let's have a cup o'tea." Without a second thought, Sue held on tightly to Julia's limp body and led her into the house.
Moments later, Julia found herself lying on the sofa, her legs covered by a blanket, her back propped up by two pillows. She nervously picked at the fringes of the fluffy throw and did not look up as Sue talked to her from the kitchen.
"Found them! Got the tea bags! A nice hot cup coming right up, don't you worry, dear. Hope you don't mind me rummaging around your kitchen like this. You just take a breather over there." Sue stirred the steaming liquid in two mugs, picked them up carefully and maneuvered around the breakfast counter behind Julia. She gently lowered one of the mugs onto a cork coaster on the coffee table. "There you go, dear. Nothing a nice cup o'tea can't fix."
Julia looked up at Sue, exhausted and surrendered. "You have no idea."
"Oh, my—what's wrong with me? You must be wondering which crazy ol' bat is invading your home like this! Anyway, I'm Sue. I believe you met my husband earlier, Carter that is." She watched Julia as she was taking a careful sip of her hot tea. Sue made herself comfortable in one of the two armchairs, folding her hands in her lap, apparently settling in for the long haul, with no intentions of leaving. "Well?"
As Julia finally looked up, she met Sue's curious but kind eyes.
"I'm sorry. I have no idea what got into me."
"Whatever it was, it just had to get out. No need to apologize, dear. Glad I was there and glad to be here now, looks like you could do with a friend."
"That's just it, I came here to get away from it all, but people just won't leave me alone."
"When we don't want it that's when we need it the most." Sue sounded very zen, leaving Julia puzzled.
"What?"
"Hmm... Love, maybe? Each other, a shoulder to lean on? My granny, rest her soul, always said 'There's two things you just cannot run from, yourself,' now that would be just plain silly... 'and human kindness.' Oddly enough, it somehow always finds you."
Julia had never lost composure like this in front of anyone before. Come to think of it, not in private either. Her ability to keep it together no matter what had gotten her through the worst times of her life. And yet, there was something about Sue that made Julia open up in a way she hadn't done in years, possibly ever before. Maybe it was because she was a stranger, and there was no history between them, no image to uphold. Julia tried to explain to herself.
"But it makes it even harder-"
"What? To give up? That's the whole point! Look, you don't have to tell me what's going on, but I have a feeling you didn't come here just for a vacation." Sue's words were pointed, but she sounded remarkably kind.
Julia was gazing out the window, only half aware of what Sue was saying.
"Larry has taken in quite a few strays over the years, and somehow they always want to get away from something. Don't know what it is about this place."
Julia was still looking out at the Pacific Ocean, a realization forming in her mind. Before she knew it, she had said it out loud: "I've always wanted to live by the ocean, and now I am here to die."
CHAPTER 16 - TOM
Tom knew he couldn't put this off any longer. He was staring at the phone in his hands, trying to postpone the inevitable. The kids had a right to know, and it was his obligation to tell them. He had already called Mark, but Mel was Julia's little girl. The two of them had always had a closeness neither he nor Mark could share. There would be questions. Hell, he had a million questions himself but not a single answer!
The note just made it worse. What was he supposed to think? He simply couldn't wrap his brain around it! He had tried to respect Julia's wishes; he really had, but eventually, he just had to pick up the phone and call every friend and acquaintance he could think of. They all had been as surprised by this as he was. In an odd way, he felt vindicated; they hadn't seen this coming either. He hadn't been the only one to miss all the clues—assuming there had been any. With every call, there was also a growing sense of betrayal and guilt. As if he were somehow badmouthing Julia or, on the other hand, admitting some wrongdoing on his part. Surely, he had to have done something to make her leave? Leave, the more often he said the word, the more real it became. No point in putting this off any longer. He took a deep breath, dialed the familiar number, and waited for the call to connect. After only a few rings, Mel answered cheerfully.
"Hi, Dad! Are you back home? Mom said you were traveling."
Knowing how much agony this call was going to cause physically hurt Tom. It was one thing for Julia to take off, but leaving him to clean up her mess wasn't fair. It broke his heart thinking that he was about to wreck Mel's world.
"Hi Honey, yes, got back a few days ago. Listen, I just got off the phone with Mark. I've got something to tell you." No sense in dragging this out.
"Dad? You sound serious. Is Mark OK?"
"He's fine honey. It's your Mom..."
CHAPTER 17 - MARK
"Get you another pint?" Brian called out from somewhere in the group of patrons crowded around the bar of the cozy London pub. His blond curls cascaded out from under his worn-out baseball cap that, with its faded 'Melbourne' logo, clearly identified him as the Aussie in the group. When Mark didn't respond, he stuck two fingers between his lips and let out a sharp whistle. The noise level dropped instantly, and Brian used the pause, "Hey!... Markey!... Mate!" Still nothing. Wherever Mark was, he was clearly not on the same planet.
The red-haired girl sitting with her back towards Mark turned and poked him on the shoulder. "That's you, right?"
"What?" Mark looked up as if he had just woken up from a bad dream.
"Another pint?" Brian was still holding his place at the bar.
"Got one, thanks!" Mark reached for his glass and held it up as proof.
"You sure 'bout that?" Brian grinned at him from across the room: the glass was empty.
Mark could only guess that this must be oddly satisfying for his friend, to catch him in another universe, when Brian was usually the scatterbrained one who, at times, ended up at the center of rather embarrassing situations. For once it wasn't the Aussie but the Yank who had spaced out.
"Never mind, I'll fix it." Brian turned and waved at the bartender.
Mark put his empty glass back down on the table. He had no recollection of finishing his beer. In truth, he didn't remember much of the last eight hours since his phone had lit up with his Dad's cell phone number at 10:30 am. What had started out as a relaxing Saturday had instantly changed. He was worried. Not a deep, sinking dread that you can't dig yourself out of; just a quick, sharp pang, a second of 'something is wrong.' After all, Dad never called this early. 10:30 am for Mark was 4:30 am in Chicago. What the heck had his dad been doing up in the middle of the night?
"There you go, Mate." Brian put a pint of ice cold lager in front of Mark, pulled out the chair across the table and let himself fall down on it causing it to tilt backward. For a few seconds, one arm flailed to keep him from falling over, all the while maintaining a firm grip on his glass, determined not to spill even a single drop. Just another day at the office.
"Whoa, easy there! You OK?" Mark had gotten used to Brian's whirlwind presence and genuinely enjoyed the Aussie's company. Brian had transferred to the London head office a few months before Mark and had instantly taken him under his wings. Mark initially suspected that Brian was simply glad to have found one person that knew even less about the British ways than he did. As it turned out, Brian was simply happy to make friends. Whenever you needed a distraction, Brian was your guy. He was the first call Mark made after getting off the phone with his Dad.
"I got it. Cheers!" Brian raised his glass and downed half of its contents while Mark barely sipped at his. He was slipping back into the memory of the morning, still struggling with the news. If there was one thing Mark never had to worry about growing up, it was whether his parents would split up. More than just a few of his friends had to put up with being shuttled back and forth between their divorced parental units, but for Mark, this had never even been a possibility, let alone a fear that he had lost sleep over.
His parents had always been in sync, two hands of the same body, a team, a unit that was simply inseparable. Come to think of it, he had never even seen or heard them fight; not that he could remember anyway. Granted, it had been a while since he had last called either of them. A few weeks? A month? Maybe two? Regardless, a relationship like theirs just couldn't have changed that quickly!
"You alright, Mate?" Brian had been watching Mark leave the building again a little while ago. "Hey, Earth to Markey, am I coming in loud and clear?"
"Uh... What?" Mark hated feeling like this. He thought of himself as a realist living in the moment and enjoying every second of it. The last few hours? Not so much...
"You look like you were about to crack the meaning of life, like any second now. Anything you'd care to share with the rest of the team, Mate?" Brian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest, this time careful not to tip back.
"I'm OK, just thinking about stuff." Mark shook his head a few times to clear his mind and rejoin reality. Whatever the issue was, he was convinced that it wouldn't last very long. It made no sense whatsoever, and for that reason alone there couldn't be a real problem. End of story. Besides, what was he going to do about it here, thousands of miles away?