Providence Ch. 05

Isaac ran his hand over his hair while he drove to church. He'd gotten used to this routine now, living like a bachelor when he felt he was anything but.

I've got three kids and now an ex-wife, he thought. My life is a joke, and she's the one laughing.

He pulled into the parking lot, scanning to see if the Foster's SUV was already in the lot.

Not yet, he thought.

Lately he'd had Mari on his mind and it surprised him. She wasn't normally his type as he'd always been drawn to Latinas.

Look where that got you, you dum-dum, he berated himself as he thought of Lena.

He had to admit to himself that even after eighteen years of hardship, he still cared about her. She'd given him nothing but grief, but she'd also given him three beautiful children he loved.

For that, he thought, I'll always be grateful.

He made his way up the steps to the Sunday school class he attended. Most of the class was already there and there were few open seats, so he sat in the back. It was normal for Kenzo and Mari to come in a few minutes late, so he settled in.

Arthur, the teacher, waited for everyone to sit down, then pulled out his phone to read a text. Isaac looked at him, then glanced at Arthur's family sitting down. He noticed that Arthur had red eyes, like he'd been crying, then glanced at his daughters, who were sniffling.

Whoa, he thought. Who died?

"Class, I... I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but..." Arthur started, and Isaac could tell he was working hard to compose himself.

"I'll just read this text to you from our elders... Late last night, we got a call that a family from this church needed our help. Kenzo Foster and his children, Lucas and Elise Foster, were involved in a serious car accident with a drunk driver.

According to the sheriff, the car flipped over several times, crushing it and the EMTs needed to cut the frame to get them out. We are heartbroken to say that none of them made it. They were pronounced dead on arrival when they got to the hospital," Arthur read, before sobbing into his phone.

He put the phone down, while gasps and stunned silence filled the room. Isaac looked at Arthur, his mouth agape in disbelief. One of the ladies started to sob loudly and she was soon joined by others.

"What about Mari?" someone asked.

Arthur couldn't talk, so his wife, Daphne answered for him. "She's in the hospital, but she wasn't part of the accident. They had to sedate her after she came to the morgue to identify the bodies," she choked out.

Isaac couldn't believe it. He'd just seen them on Friday and even had dinner with them.

Oh my god, he thought. There's no way.

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Mari opened her eyes. She groaned, feeling like she'd just spent the whole day at the gym. She looked around her, then shot up.

"Wh-where am I?" she gasped, not recognizing the hospital bed nor the room around her.

Don and Liza weren't there. A nurse came up to her, looking wary.

"Where am I? What happened? Where's everybody?" she asked.

"Mrs. Foster, you're in the hospital. We had to put you under sedation for a bit to calm you down," said the nurse.

Memories flooded back to her, and Mari remembered last night. She looked at the nurse and asked for a glass of water. After she drank, she asked, "So, what else do I need to do? Is there anything I need to do down at the morgue or for discharge?"

The nurse replied, "No, Mrs. Foster. Once you identified them, they went right to investigate. I'm sure the sheriff's office will be in touch with you soon. I'll bring your papers for discharge but afterwards, you're free to go. How do you feel?"

"I'm fine. My throat hurts, but I'm fine. So... that's it? I just...go home?" she asked.

The nurse nodded.

It felt anticlimactic for this to be the end, she thought. What am I supposed to do now?

After another two hours for discharge, Mari picked up her personal effects and headed for the door.

Oh, I don't have a car, she thought.

For a couple of minutes, she hesitated on what to do. Should she call somebody to pick her up? Should she call an Uber? Should she just walk back to the house?

I'll walk, she decided. No use being a block away from the hospital when I can walk.

She started slowly, making her way out the sliding doors. It was late afternoon, and she looked up at the sky. It was January but she didn't even feel the chill in the air. She turned back around and debated whether she should go back down to the morgue but decided against it.

I'll see them again soon enough, she thought bitterly.

She walked the block to her house, and she thought that brief walk lasted for hours. Nope, she thought. Just fifteen minutes to walk back to this memory.

She rounded the corner and saw three cars parked in her driveway. She wondered how they knew when she was getting out, but then realized the hospital staff had probably informed Don and Liza when she was discharged. She recognized Don's sedan, Kevin's truck, and Rachel's minivan.

Their owners were outside, talking amongst themselves when she walked up to them. Rachel turned around and her husband Aaron with her.

She ran to Mari, wrapped her arms around her, and said, "Oh Mari... I'm so sorry. I wish you'd texted one of us to pick you up so you wouldn't have had to walk," before she let her go.

Mari just looked at her blankly then at the men.

I must look a sight to them, she thought.

She did, as her visitors took in her form. They saw a woman with disheveled hair and wrinkled clothes, but what made it worse was the look in her eyes. There was no light in them, no gleam, no twinkle. She looked as if she had aged ten years in twenty-four hours.

"Here, Mari, let's go inside," said Kevin, raising his arm so she could lean on it.

Mari waved it away and held on to the rail as she walked up the stairs. When she got to the door, her hands shook so badly that she dropped her keys, prompting her to say, "Shit!" before she could think.

She turned around to her visitors and apologized.

"Here, let's get this door opened for you," said Rachel, picking up her keys and turning the lock.

She walked in front of her and flipped on the lights, making Mari squint.

"Listen, why don't you sit down at the table right here and I'll get dinner ready," she said.

Mari did as she was told, sinking into the dinner chair. Kevin, Aaron and Don took their seats around her and observed her while Rachel started puttering around the kitchen.

Aaron cleared his throat and started to talk. "Mari, we are so sorry to hear about what happened. I've talked to Kenzo's mom and grandmother and informed them of the accident. We're here to help you every step of the way. The other pastors are on their way too. We'll be here to talk through the arrangements and handle it so you don't have to. Just tell us what you would like to happen and we'll do it."

Don and Kevin didn't say a word.

Mari just looked down and nodded. "Thanks for telling them. I couldn't do it," she said, quietly.

A knock at the door prompted the men to look up. "There's Ben and George," said Don.

The other two elders came in and greeted her. Mari acknowledged them and they took their seats too.

"Alright, we need to get some dinner in you before we do this," Rachel said.

"Do we have to do this now?" asked Mari.

George replied, "No, we don't have to do this if you don't want to, Mari. But, this gets harder to do the longer we wait. If we do this now, we can arrange it sooner and you won't need to worry about it later."

"Ok, then," she said. They ate dinner in silence. Everything tasted bland, and Mari couldn't remember what she ate or what she drank, or anything else for that matter.

"Thanks, Rachel," Ben said.

Rachel cleared the table and left Mari's, but she handed it to her. "I'm done. Thanks, Rachel," she said. Her plate was untouched.

Rachel exchanged a look with her husband and sat down. Aaron took out a piece of paper and wrote out an outline. "Mari, we're going to arrange the service now. Do you have a funeral service you prefer to have the visitation?"

"N-no. I'd like for them to be at the church," she said. "Seems only fitting. We spent most of our time there."

Aaron nodded. They stayed with her to work out the service, but Mari had stopped paying attention.

When it was time to go, Rachel touched her on her shoulder. "Hey... we're done. This part's over. Why don't I help you get ready for bed?"

"I'm good, Rach. I don't need any help getting ready for bed," she snapped.

The men got up, shook Mari's hand, and waited for Rachel.

"Girl, I know this is going to be tough. But hang in there. You're not alone. You've got all of us behind you. You got that? We're going to take care of you, I promise," said Don, before gathering her in a bear hug.

She just nodded into his chest.

When they left, she looked around the house. Rachel had cleaned up dinner, swept the floors, picked up the children's toys and clothes strewn about, and tidied up the house.

Wow, when did she do that? She thought. That meeting must have lasted longer than I thought.

She checked the doors to make sure they were locked and turned off the lights. Padding her way to the bedroom, she was surprised to see that her bed was made too.

Rachel, she smirked.

Turning on the lamps in the bathroom, she turned the shower on. She stripped off her clothes and went in the shower. Automatically, she reached for her phone to turn on some music, as she always did. The blues came on, and she stayed under that warm water until it ran out. She stepped out, dried off, then got dressed.

All of this, routine. No thought to it, just automation.

That is, until she got under the covers. All alone, she thought.

Then she sobbed. Sobs turned to cries, then wails. She'd curled up under the covers, screaming herself hoarse. She had no idea how long she stayed in there until her phone beeped with a message. Then two, then three, until she opened her eyes and looked around. With groggy eyes she looked at the time.

Oh shit, it's one in the afternoon, she thought.

She bolted up, worrying that she'd slept in so late and feeling angry Kenzo hadn't woken her up.

I hope he made the kids breakfast and lunch, she thought, walking into the kitchen.

Then, the emptiness of the house brought that startling new reality back to bear.