She sat in her car quietly waiting. She stared out into the darkness. It was raining, and she was getting tired of waiting. She knew that she must wait though, because it was obviously something very important. What awaited her was going to change her thoughts about everything, and would leave her with more questions than answers. Little did she know how well someone so close to her could hide something so big for so long. But after all it did help when there were accomplices to help you out. Now that the relationship between the accomplice was over he was free to tell the truth.
Just as she readies herself to give up a car pulls up behind her. A gentleman younger than herself knocks on the driver's side window. She turns the car off, and gets out. She shuts the door, and follows him back to his car. They sit down in the backseat, and the car takes off.
"So what do you need to talk to me about?" she asks.
"Double lives," he tells her.
"Excuse me?"
"Secrets, lies and excuses,"
"Ok?"
"There is a lot about then that you don't know,"
"There can't be that much," she sighs.
"Yes there can,"
"Then why don't I know about it?"
"Because I made a promise, and for her I tried to keep them,"
"So why aren't you honoring it now?"
"Because you need to know the truth,"
"What truth? You make it sound like there was some terrible travesty that happened,"
"There was,"
"She was just a little bit lost, but she's back on track,"
"You don't have any idea,"
"What are you even talking about?"
"You don't understand,"
"Of course I do," she tells him.
"Not even close,"
"How do you figure?" she asks.
"Because you don't even know half of the story,"
"Really?"
"Don't you think that the queen of gossip would have told me?"
"No,"
"Why not?" she questions him.
"Because she didn't know. We didn't tell her,"
"So?"
"She should have realized it. But sometimes you're so convinced of something and you're so unwilling to tell the truth that you lose it,"
"Ok?"
"Look there isn't easy way to go about this,"
"Obviously not, or you would have just told me over the phone,"
"I know," he agrees.
"What made you change your mind after all of this time?"
"I know that you don't think that I have a conscience, but I do. And to be honest it was just kind of eating away at me. I never thought that it was right that you didn't know,"
"Didn't know what?" she huffs in an agitated manner.
He sighs, and then hands her an envelope. She takes it from his hand and lifts the flap that is tucked in on the inside of the envelope. She takes out the content of the envelope. She carefully sifts through the half a dozen pieces of evidence. She looks at him with a look of befuddlement on her face. She raises an eyebrow, and waits for an explanation.
"Do you understand now?" he asks her.
"No I'm even more confused than before," she admits.
"I figured that you would be,"
"So?"
"That's the answer behind everything,"
"How can it be the answer I don't even begin to comprehend what it is. I know what it is, but I don't understand how it's the answer,"
"I'm sure that you don't. It's a long story, and I shouldn't be the one to explain it,"
"But?"
"But I can tell you the simple facts,"
"So go ahead,"
"I will, it just takes time to formulate the way that it should be put. I don't want to say something stupid, as I often do,"
"If you aren't prepared then why are you here?"
"I am prepared, at least I thought I was,"
"But?"
"It took a lot of courage to be able to come here. I was so focused on getting here that I kind of forgot about what I actually had to do,"
She sits and looks pensively out the window of the moving car for a while before making any indication of what she might be thinking. They sit silently for awhile during the ride. Finally he breaks the silence, "I'm truly sorry that I didn't tell you. I definitely should have even if she didn't,"
"Why? It wasn't your place,"
"I know that but I feel obligated,"
"To what?"
"I don't know,"
"Me?"
"No... just obligated,"
They stop off at a restaurant to grab a quick bite to eat. They don't talk much at all. They definitely don't discuss the situation at hand. Instead they talk about the weather and what's the best thing on the menu. After their meal he pays, and they head to the parking lot. She stares at her shoes as she walks.
He extends her arm out in front of her to stop her.
She turns her head and looks at him. He stares back at her and says, "Pole,"
"What?" she shakes her head not breaking eye contact.
"There is a pole there," he points directly in front of her.
"Oh," she sighs as she looks in front of her. She walks around the pole, and thanks him as they get to the car.
On the ride back she waits for him to start the conversation. He waits for her to do the same. Neither of the two say much until they're nearly half way home.
"Riley,"
"Excuse me?"
He points at the envelope, and repeats, "Riley,"
"First?"
"Uh huh," he nods.
"It's,"
"She's..." he corrects her and then stops.
"Is she...?" she doesn't have to finish for him to know where she's going.
"No,"
"But is she...?"
"Yes," he admits as he nods his head.
"So when?"
"The end of that August," he tells her.
"Oh,"
"Let's stop dancing around the question. What do you really want to know?" he asks her.
"The whole story, or at least the prologue," she admits.