Unfinished- add on
Rena:
I shoved the package in my closet and didn’t look at it for days. Just thinking about doing something a bit productive was nauseating. My mom called every day within each hour trying to reach me and I finally decided to pick up one of them.
“Did you get it?” her voice was filled with excitement.
I sat down on the worn, navy couch. “Yeah.”
“How far did you get?” I pictured her smiled growing within each word.
“Not far,” I leaned my greasy head back.
I almost felt her heart plummet down to her stomach. “Oh, that’s too bad.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, sorry I have to go.”
“But we just started talking. Rena, I want you to come back home. We all miss you.”
“Look, I’m really busy today. I have a lot of things to get done.”
There was hesitation in her voice. “Rena, if you don’t come home, we’re coming to you.”
Anger bubbling inside, I slammed the phone down into the receiver. She didn’t know what I went through to leave everything behind. She didn’t understand me. What would coming to me and trying to fix something that will always be broken do? It wouldn’t help any of us. The best thing to do was for her to stay there and for me to be here.
Matt:
As I sat and watched people go by, I wondered how many of these people were truly happy. Was it the high school couple with the matching shirts, holding hands and smiling as they ran through the park? Or was it the people who sucked in that deep breath of air as they made their way through the path shaded by the trees? Or was it maybe the parents who strolled their kids by the playground and fountains? How is true happiness shown?
A familiar face appeared before I answered my thoughts. He was jogging by when he abruptly stopped in front of me.
“Matthew Lowenthal?” he asked out of breath.
I looked up to see Mr. Cohen. “Mr. Cohen, I didn’t know you still lived in Chicago,” I stood up to shake his hand.
He wiped the sweat off his neck, “Yeah, well, I couldn’t seem to leave after Bradley-”
“I know. How’s Jen doing?” I cut him off, knowing the sensitive topic of Bradley’s disappearance.
“Jen’s fine. She just finished college, majoring in criminal justice. Anyway, enough about me, how does it feel coming back?”
We sat down on the bench again. “It feels the same actually. Not much has changed since I’ve been gone.”
“What’s it like there?”
I hesitated, not sure if I wanted to step into the horrors I witnessed. “It’s- it’s a lot different from what you would expect. No one can really know what it’s like until they face it themselves.”
Mr. Cohen looked off into the trees, nodding. “I was wondering, and don’t mind if it’s coming off too demanding, but I would like if you would consider working for my puzzle company. I need someone to make house deliveries and it’ll help you get back on your feet. I know it may not sound like much, but it’s a start, right?”
“Yeah, thanks for the offer. I’d like to try it out.” I felt like I owed him for some reason. Maybe it was because of Bradley’s disappearance or maybe it was because Mrs. Cohen had passed away a year after Bradley was gone. Either way, I felt sorry for him and wanted to at least give him some comfort that I was there for him when he needed me.
“That’s great!” he patted my shoulder, “They’re going to be so surprised when they see a soldier working with us! We should all go out for dinner tonight, I’ll bring Jen along. Invite your parents. I’m sure George and Rose will love to hear you’re working for the company.”
My smiled faded. “Rose passed away in the night. George called me this morning.”
“Matt, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” Mr. Cohen shook his head, obviously feeling embarrassed and guilty.
“No, I’ll bring George to the dinner. It’ll be good for him to get out of the house a bit.” I got up to go. “It was nice seeing you.”
He smiled. “We’ll meet where we always ate at seven.”
