Chapter 4

The intense light of the afternoon sun blinded her momentarily as she stood under the threshold of her home. The shadowed outline of a woman appeared before her eyes and little by little her bright face, her red hair and traces became clearer as Mary Louise finally recognized her.

"Emma…"

"It's nice to see you, old girl," Emma replied with a big smile. "Sorry, but I couldn't pass on the chance to remind you that you are older than me … two months, thirteen days and six hours." Mary Louise smiled and then the two women shared a warm hug after years of absence.

"Please come in," Mary Louise asked, and both women walked into the house, settling in the living room. There were still boxes around from their moving in and the spacious parlor had very scarce furniture: a couch, a big table with some chairs at the far end and a shelving unit with a medium-size television. "It's so good to see you," Mary Louise exclaimed, visibly moved at seeing her friend again. "So good."

"I heard about your father. I'm really sorry," Emma added in a low voice.

"Thanks."

"We used to get on well with him when he lived here. When Sam and I moved to the house opposite this, he was the first to welcome us."

"Yeah, he was always very friendly… strict in some aspects, but a good, honest man."

"And now you and I are neighbors," Emma added with a smile, trying to divert the direction of the conversation when she noticed that Mary Louise was getting too emotional. "I saw your children this morning, waiting for the school bus."

Mary Louise smiled. "My three shining stars."

"And your eldest?" asked Emma.

"Lou… Louise is my eldest," Mary Louise explained with a hurt expression, realizing what her friend was asking. "The baby I was expecting when we last saw each other was never born."

"Oh I'm sorry."

Mary Louise nodded sadly. "After my miscarriage, I had problems getting pregnant again. It took me five years to have Louise, and another five to have my boy. But then my Theresa came just a year after her brother."

"A nice family," Emma remarked with a smile. "I only have my young man. Sam and I wanted a second child, but somehow time went by, and we never found the right moment to be parents again."

"You're still young enough to be a mother again."

Emma laughed at the comment. "Oh I don't think I could go through pregnancy again at my age. My son starts university next year and I feel too old to run after a little child."

"Well, you will have to do so when your son gives you a grandchild," Mary Louise added with a wink.

"For his own welfare, I hope that won't happen for a long time," Emma replied. "As far as I know, he doesn't have a girlfriend now. He's an excellent student, and I think a girl would be too much of a distraction for him."

"I know what you mean," Mary Louise sighed, as she brought to mind all she had to give up on when she had to marry John. "But it's difficult to ignore your heart's call… especially at that age."

"I know," Emma said in a melancholic tone. "I still remember what it was like to be young and in love. But you're right. Time flies, and before we realize what's happening, we'll have grandchildren to spoil." Mary Louise remained quiet after her friend's comment and her face seemed troubled, which Emma was quick to catch. "What's wrong, old girl?"

"I… life won't let me see my grandchildren."

"What are you talking about?" Emma asked with a confused frown.

It took Mary Louise a few seconds to speak up and then she whispered, "Emma… I… I'm dying."

"Wh…what?" the redhead exclaimed and Mary Louise's shining eyes told her that she had heard right. Emma reached out to take her friend's hand as she dared to ask, "Is it your heart?"

"Well, that's just one part of the problem," Mary Louise replied. "My pregnancies haven't made it easier to improve health wise and Tessie's birth was particularly difficult. My doctor says I shouldn't have had so many children but I wouldn't have it any other way. My kids are my life… literally."

Emma nodded ruefully. She knew that Mary Louise had developed a rare heart condition when she was fifteen. When doctors had discovered her problem, Mary Louise had been devastated, and had cried her fears and frustration to Emma for endless hours. Yet, the months and years that had followed had proved to Mary Louise that she could have a perfectly normal life. She simply had to make a few changes in her customs, but as far as Emma could remember, Mary Louise had never complained much about her heart.

"But you've been doing good, haven't you?" Emma added. "Sometimes doctors are just a bunch of scaremongers."

"Maybe you're right, but as I told you, that's not all. About five months ago I was diagnosed with a cancer," Mary Louise said and at Emma's expression she smiled. "I'm afraid it's the end of the road for me, girl."

"But … but there are treatments… medicine has progressed so much in that field. There must be something to be done," Emma exclaimed, reluctant to believe the reality her friend was telling her about.

"Yes… chemotherapy. I'm doing it… just for the kids, especially my Lou. If it was just me, I wouldn't go through it. I have no energy."

"What does John say about it?"

Mary shook her head. "He left me a couple of years ago. I couldn't be a real wife to him, and he… he logically turned to somebody else… younger, healthier, and with no problems. They're even expecting a baby."

"Oh Mary, I'm so sorry."

"My life's a mess, isn't it?" Mary Louise remarked wryly. "This family is still afloat thanks to my daughter. I can't do much… you know, because of my heart, and she is the one who cleans the house, does the laundry, cooks most meals and looks after us. Sometimes she acts more like a mother to my other two children than I do."

Emma smiled, and as if on cue, they heard the front door open and the voices of children reached them. Theresa and Jeremiah ran into the living room, greeted their mother and Emma quickly, but politely, and then rushed into the kitchen, eager to sink their teeth into the sandwiches they knew Mary Louise had made for them.

Lou slowly came into the house after their siblings. She walked up to her mother and gave her a kiss. "Lou, honey, let me introduce you to my very good friend, Emma Cain."

"How are you, Mrs. Cain?" Louise asked respectfully.

"Fine, thanks. It's nice to meet you," Emma replied with a smile.

"How was your first day at school, honey?"

"Good, it was good," Lou replied casually, without getting into much detail.

"Do you go to Seneca High School?" Emma asked and when Lou nodded, she added, "My son Samuel also attends classes there and he's your age."

"Yes, I … I met him today. We were in English class together."

Emma smiled. She knew her son too well, and she was sure that Kid must have purposefully ensured he met Louise. Emma had noticed his strange behavior this past weekend, doing anything to be outside and have a good view of the house opposite theirs, and she knew the reason was their new, young neighbor. Emma could understand why her son found Louise so interesting. She was really pretty, there were no frivolities in her looks, and even though she was different from the girls that he had dated in the past, Emma had the hunch that Kid might like her because of that difference.

"Kid… as everybody calls him… he's a good boy and friend. Well, since you're new in town and I imagine you don't know anybody here, you can well tag along him and his friends. Of course I'm his mother and obviously biased."

Louise smiled. She liked Emma's open affability and from listening to her mother's stories about her friend, it was as if she already knew the red-haired woman. She didn't feel like she was a stranger, but part of her family. "He seems like a nice boy," Lou replied politely. Of course she didn't plan on making friends here after having too many disappointments in that department in her short life. She had learned the hard way that people did not have the patience or loyalty for someone like her. It was natural. Her responsibilities got in the way to do things young people did, so she had become a lonely type.

Lou didn't contradict Emma's words and instead she said, "If you'll excuse me, I'll go to my room now."

Lou shared a smile with both her mother and Emma, and then walked out the staircase. Once in her bedroom she left her books on her desk and opened her wardrobe doors. From inside she took out a knapsack, placed it on the bed, and carefully put a blue jacket and blue baggy pants inside.

Louise sighed tiredly and walking over to her bay window, she flopped down on the seat below it. She flexed her legs, resting her feet on the wooden sill and threw a casual look through the glass. From there she saw Kid and his dad playing basketball at the front of their house. Lou watched them intently, noticing the friendly relationship that father and son had. Their gestures, their laughter, their playfulness, and their body language told Louise as much and unwillingly she started to think of her own father. Her father used to be her best friend. They also played basketball just like Kid and his father were doing right now. Actually, they used to do so much together, but everything finished the moment that woman disrupted her family. The long conversations, the laughter, the smiles, the strolls and the games were over when her father had chosen his lover over his wife and children. It had been a terrible blow for Lou, a wound that still festered in her soul, and she felt that had meant the end of her past life as she knew it.

Everything changed almost overnight. Her dad wasn't around anymore, and soon the effects of her parents' divorce became noticeable. They had to leave the family house and settle down in a tiny apartment in another neighborhood… a place they could afford, and with mom getting sick; their situation became worse and worse. Her father came to see her siblings, and of course her, but Lou always refused to go with him. She couldn't forgive him for what he had done and for what he still did to his family. He had stopped paying child support long ago, but like usual, mom had refused to fight him for her rights.

Lou had tried to talk her into reporting him for failing to meet the divorce agreement, but it had been useless. Lou knew that despite of what had happened between her parents, her mother still loved him and felt unable to do anything against him. It was not right. That money her father was refusing to give belonged to them. Their economic resources were very scarce and there had been many precarious times in which they had to fight hard to make ends meet. Despite everything, her mother never asked her father for anything. Lou could understand her at some point but not completely. If Lou were in her shoes, she would have battled against him tooth and nail. But she knew that her mother was sick and with no energy or strength to endure another legal process.

Lou kept watching through the window. Kid and his father stopped playing as, after leaving Old McCloud's house, Emma came to them. The woman and her husband kissed and Lou shifted her gaze. She didn't want to think about her father anymore, how affectionate he used to be to her mother or what she had lost and actually missed with all her heart. As she looked away, her eyes focused on Kid. Emily was right. He was a real catch and Lou could understand why Samantha seemed so eager to mark her territory, even though apparently Kid wasn't nothing hers to mark. Lou kept studying him as, unbeknown to her scrutiny, he kept bouncing the ball as his parents had gone into the house. He was very athletic, muscular in the right way, with well-formed legs and arms, and a flat abdomen, which she could have a good look through his clothes. Somehow Lou had the feeling that Kid was much more than fiber and flesh. His handsome face displayed an expression of something good behind his intense blue eyes, his skin, his honest smile.

His smile. Suddenly, Lou found herself looking at his ample smile and she realized that his eyes had located her behind the window and were directed there. Like a flash Lou threw herself off the window seat and fell on her knees on the floor. Her cheeks were flaming with embarrassment and she remained crouched, hidden from his sight, for a few minutes. Then, little by little, she dared to lift her head and have a look through the window. Kid was nowhere to be found; he was gone, which brought about a strange sense of disappointment to her heart. She shook her head to get rid of what she considered silly nonsense, rose to her feet and retrieving the knapsack from atop her bed, she walked out of the room with a weary expression of resignation on her face.