One That Came Back (4 page)

Luke's Letter

The next number of days went by in a haze for Emily. Somehow, in her drug influenced mind, she knew that taking the medicine was doing her no good. Sure, she slept, but her dreams were disturbed and she hated being suspended between waking and sleep. The next morning, when her mother brought the pills, she refused to take them. She wanted her mind back, not the drugged one. Towards the end of the day, she began to feel more like herself.

Somehow during the ensuing days of haziness, her clothes were shed, and she’d been wearing one of her mother’s terrycloth bathrobes. On the chair under the window, her clothes sat neatly folded. She brought them to her nose, confirming her suspicion that they had been freshly laundered.

After taking a shower, she dressed and made her way down the stairs following the scent of warm cooked food. Her mother and father were in the dining room seated at the table.

“Emily!” Her mother stared at her in surprise.

“Hi, Mom.” She gave her a kiss on the cheek, then rounded the table and did the same for her dad.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked.

“Tired. But I can’t sleep my life away so I don’t have to deal with reality.”

“Sit, I’ll bring you a plate.” Her mother disappeared into the kitchen, returning a moment later carrying a plate of meatloaf with gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas.

Emily smiled. It must be Wednesday. That was her mother’s meatloaf day. “Looks great, Mom. Thanks.”

“What do you want to drink?”

“Iced tea?”

“Sure.”

Her mother hurried back to the kitchen as her father cleared his throat. “I’m glad you’re finally up. Justin called. He said he had some news.”

“What kind of news?”

“He didn’t say. Just said he wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh.” She wondered if Justin had told her dad and he just didn’t wish to say anything, like a silly control thing. Or maybe he simply didn’t know. She shouldn’t jump to conclusions without asking.

Her mother brought the iced tea and sat back down. Emily waiting for them to say grace then realized they must have already done it. She tried a bite and nearly moaned with how good it tasted in her mouth.

They continued to eat in stilted silence, as if they were afraid to say anything to upset her.

It began to get annoying. She knew she’d been a burden the past few days but she wasn’t a leaf petal, she wasn’t as fragile as they thought she was. If they only knew… She shook her head to clear the thoughts and images running through her mind. “Good meatloaf, mom. Did you change the recipe?”

Her mother gave a little shrug. “Justin’s mom has a different take on meatloaf. She mixes in ground pork and uses this garlic and herb blend of breadcrumbs. Your father liked it very much when we had dinner at her house last week.”

Her father’s cheeks colored. “I was just being polite, Amanda.”

Emily nearly laughed out loud.
Well, this is interesting
. Sam Dougherty had never liked another person’s cooking over his wife’s in his life. Even restaurant food paled in comparison to Amanda Dougherty’s culinary skill. This odd bit of tension over something so mundane was almost funny, it was so precious. Then Emily thought of something else.

“Wait a sec,” Emily said, catching the whiff of a conspiracy. “Why’d you eat at Justin’s mom’s house?”

Her father muttered something like ‘done in by meatloaf” and her mother blushed. They both went back to their food, stuffing large bites of meatloaf inside their mouths to save them from having to answer.

Their actions were entirely visible. Emily bit back a smile and a head of annoyance. “Come on. Out with it.”

“Oh dear.” Her mother covered her mouth and her eyes grew big. “We weren’t supposed to say.”

“They wanted,” said her father gravely, “to wait for the Memorial Day picnic to make the announcement.” He acted as if Emily had uncovered some ancient secret no one was supposed to know.

“Announcement? Are they…?”

“Yes.” Her mom nodded. “They’re getting married.”

An image of Luke and her in front of a priest saying vows popped into her head. Blinking heavily she pushed it away. “That’s wonderful.” And then another thought hit her. “Why didn’t Angela tell me herself?”

“You’ve had a lot of things on your plate, dear.” Her mom patted her hand. “She didn’t want to—”

“Oh, for heaven’s friggin’ sake! I’m not a broken doll! I have the capacity to be happy for my sister even if my life feels like shit.”

“Emily!” Her mother’s mouth popped open and her eyebrows disappeared behind her curled bangs.

“Language!” warned her father.

“Language?” said Emily indignantly. “I’ve heard you use that word a few times, Dad. And while we’re at it, I’d appreciate it very much if you didn’t treat me like I was going to break at any second. I’m not the fuck-up you all think I am.”

Her mother’s face turned bright red.

“Emily!” Her father shouted and then muttered, “That stupid Wade boy.”

“This is not about Luke!” She glared at her father.

He stood and fumed. “You know what? I don’t give a pig’s eye what you think this is about! You act like you are all high and mighty and know better than anyone! You ignore our advice and when things go all wrong, you cry that you’ve been treated unkindly. You still don’t listen to your parents! And when the shit hits the fan, and it always does when you’re around Emily, you come crawling back here expecting us to be all understanding and forgiving. You put your mother through hell these past few days!”

Emily opened her mouth to shoot a retort back at him and then pressed it firmly shut as she clenched her jaw. He always had to be so friggin’ unreasonable! He—

“Hey, hey, what’s all this?”

All eyes turned as Justin spoke from the entrance of the dining room. Still in shock, Emily realized Justin’s status in the family had changed. He felt comfortable walking into the house without knocking.

“Sorry, son,” said her father. He stood and shook Justin’s hand. “Everything’s fine here. But unfortunately, the secret’s out. Can’t keep anything from a Dougherty woman. She’ll scope it out, even if your heart’s slowly stopping.” He shot a look of warning at Emily, as if daring her to say more.

“That’s okay,” said Justin with a smile. “Angela’s been dying to tell Emily.” He coughed. “I mean, she’s been anxious to let you know.” Justin leaned toward his future father-in-law, a teasing smirk on his lips. “I understand there’s a lot of super-secret girl stuff that goes on before a wedding. Highly top secret.”

Her father rolled his eyes. “I suppose.”

“You look better Emily.” Justin took a seat opposite her at the table. “I have some good news.”

“Would you like anything?” Emily’s mom got up, ready to make a plate of food for him.

Justin waved his hand. “I’m fine, thank you. I’m on my way home now. I won’t be here long. I want to catch up with Angela before she heads into work.”

“So what’s the good news?” Emily suddenly wanted something to look forward to, anything to get her out of the house.

Justin shook his head. “It’s crazy. All the charges against you have been dropped.”

“That’s wonderful,” enthused her mother.

“How?” Emily stared at him, trying to process what he meant. “Why?”

Justin smiled, pleased to have surprised her. “The DA said he looked over the case. Apparently, with the little evidence there was, it was easy to see that Evan was trying to make your life difficult. He’s dropped the theft charges, and because of what he termed ‘an overzealousness to prosecute’ dropped the traffic charges as well.”

“Isn’t that unusual?” For all the stress and anxiety she’d been through the past while, it didn’t seem like the case would be dropped that easily. “It’s all dropped? Just like that?”

“Just like that.” Justin laughed. “I’m not going to question our good fortune. Neither should you.” Justin stared at her, his eyebrows raised. “Hey! Be happy, Emily. We won!”

Emily could easily imagine why Justin would be happy. With this miraculous ‘win’ he’d look like a legal god to his employers. She knew she sounded bitter inside her head. Her father’s outburst a moment ago continued to stew in her mind. It seemed to take the tarnish off of what should feel good. She also missed Luke. She wanted to know where he was and if he was okay. She forced a smile. “I am glad. Sorry, if I don’t show it.” She rubbed her forehead. “I think I’m just still groggy from the anti-anxiety pills.” Or whatever they were.

Justin stood. “Now be ready at eight sharp Monday morning. I’ll pick you up for your hearing on the restraining order against Evan. While we’re at it, we’ll get back your bail money.”

“Aren’t you going to be here for Sunday dinner?” Emily’s mother suddenly came back to life.

“Of course.” He winked. “Wouldn’t miss it.” He kissed his mother-in-law-to-be's cheek and slapped Emily’s father’s shoulder on his way out.

“Good night, son,” said Sam Dougherty warmly. He walked Justin to the door.

Seeing how her father was with Justin made Emily’s heart sink. He apparently thought of Justin as a son—the son he always wanted. She was happy for Justin, but at the same time knew that Luke would never measure up to those standards. He hadn’t back in high school and he never would now, even with a successful business and real life. Luke didn’t stand a chance. Maybe they didn’t stand a chance.

With her father out of the room, Emily carried her half empty plate to the kitchen and told her mother she was going to bed early. She faked being exhausted and headed back upstairs.

Emily woke the next day before her parents were up. She checked her phone, just like she had checked it a hundred times the previous night. There was still no message from Luke. She was worried. It had been days and he hadn’t made any effort to contact her. She wanted to know how Helen was doing but didn’t have Gibs’ number, and Luke hadn’t replied to her texts.

She sighed, frustrated already and not even out of bed yet. Her phone beeped, warning her that the charge was low.

Had Luke been arrested that day? What happened? Emily used what precious battery was left on her phone to do a Google search, trying to find a news report or a follow-up, but there wasn’t much information. She found one article on the shooting.

Gang Violence Hits Westfield

Five unidentified victims lost their lives in a shoot-out on the residential street of Carmel Street Friday evening. Police have given no details, citing this incident as an ongoing investigation. Neighbors identified one victim as Francis Gibson, a long-time resident of Westfield. They called him a quiet man who was friendly with his neighbors.

“We never expected anything like this,” said Olson Cooper of Carmel Street. “And certainly not from Frank. Sure, he drove a motorcycle, but he was a motorcycle mechanic so you’d expect that. I feel for his wife. She’s a lovely woman.”

Neighbors also report seeing motorbike riders wearing gang colors, but couldn’t identify which one.

According to neighbors’ reports, the scene was cleared before midnight after many police officers cordoned off and investigated the scene.

Using Gibs’ full name, Emily did another Internet search and found his obituary, which led to a memorial page put up by the funeral home. Tears ran down her face as she read the poignant remembrances of a man well-loved by those who knew him.

Emily read them all but didn’t find one from Luke. It worried her. If anything, Luke would put up a memorial to his employee and friend, right? Unless he wasn’t able to because he was in jail or been dragged away somewhere. She went to send him another text and her phone battery died just as she started typing.

The visiting hours for Gibs were this evening and Emily resolved to go.

But first she needed to get out of this house.

She heard her mother stirring in the hallway and then the close of the bathroom door. Shortly after, her mother descended the stairs, the creak of the old steps marking her passage.

Emily rose from her bed and began pacing. She needed to go home and change. She had no dress clothes or anything appropriate to wear here at her parents’ house.

The doorbell rang, and Emily flew to the window to see who it was.

Her heart sped when she spotted a motorcycle in the street. Squinting, she realized it wasn’t Luke’s and the crush of disappointment made her want to cry.

Forcing the silly tears away, she hurried down the stairs, realizing it was Saks’ bike.
Speak of the devil.
“I’ll get it, Mom,” she called out quickly.

Emily was at the door before her mother could travel the length from the kitchen to the living room.

“Saks!” She hugged the big lug tightly, so incredibly happy to see him.

“Hey, Emily!” Saks chuckled and unwrapped her arms from around his neck. “I brought your overnight bag.” He handed it to her.

“You’re a life saver.” The timing couldn’t be more perfect. “Have you—”