A Tragic Similarity
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"That was wonderful, Calla," Andy said, setting his napkin down beside his plate.
"Thank you, Dr. Brown," she replied graciously, standing up to clear the table. Ephram stood as well, picking up his and Delia's plates, then followed Calla into the kitchen.
"I think that's the most decent meal we've eaten all week," Ephram said, placing the plates inside the dishwasher as Calla had. "My dad can't cook."
"Neither can mine."
When Calla and Ephram returned to the dining room, Andy handed Ephram a twenty-dollar bill. "Here. Take the girls to Mama Joy's for dessert. Mr. Porter is going to show me his work."
Marcus pulled out his keys, holding them out for Calla. "It's in the garage."
The three climbed into the Durango after Calla unlocked the doors. "You have your seatbelt on, Delia?" Ephram questioned, turning to look at her in the backseat.
"Yeah," she replied, rolling her eyes at him then grinning conspiratorially.
At that moment, Ephram had no desire to know what his sister what thinking. It couldn't've been good. When he realized that they had been waiting at a stop sign for a particularly long amount of time, considering the lack of traffic, he answered Calla's unasked question. "Left."
"Thanks." A couple of minutes later, she pulled into a parking space in front of Mama Joy's. Once inside, they slid into Ephram and Calla's booth from earlier, Delia opting to sit beside her brother.
"Hey, kids. What can I get ya?" the waitress asked, pencil poised above a pad of paper.
"I'll have a hot fudge sundae," Delia said as she began to kick her feet beneath the table.
"I'm fine," Ephram replied when the waitress' eyes turned to him.
"Me, too," Calla agreed.
"Okay. One hot fudge sundae coming up." The waitress winked at Delia as she walked away.
"You remind me of Erin," Calla said, looking at Delia. "You're. . .ten?"
"Yeah," Delia nodded enthusiastically. "How'd you know?"
"Good guess. You're only a couple of years younger than Erin was."
"Who's Erin?"
"My sister."
"How come she wasn't at dinner?"
"I don't think it's something you want to hear about right now."
"It's okay. I'm mature for my age." The waitress wordlessly set the sundae in front of Delia, who took a bite. "That's what Dad says, anyways."
"Well. . ."
Ephram noticed her struggle for the right words. "You don't have to explain."
"I suppose you would find out sooner or later what happened - why we're here. And I'd rather have you find it out from me." She paused. "A couple of months ago. . .I don't think this is a story to tell over ice cream, Delia. Erin's just. . .gone now. But she's happy. And she's with the rest of my family."
Delia eagerly ate her sundae. "I'm done with my ice cream. . .Can you tell me now?"
"A couple of months ago, we were on our way to Josh's little league game in Mansfield. I had been out with friends and we were running late. Dad was waiting in the Durango for me and told Mom to go on ahead - that we would meet her there. She had just pulled out of the driveway and was heading down the block when we came around the corner. Dad and me followed behind her on the highway, the traffic was pretty light outside of Hope Springs. The further out we got, the more traffic we encountered and we eventually ended up a few cars behind Mom, Zeke, Josh, and Erin. I remember that the windows were down and that Dad was lecturing me about punctuality. I wasn't really paying him much attention and was staring out the window. I noticed this semi barreling down the on-ramp - I mean, he had to have been going at least a hundred, that's what the report said. But, Mom was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. . ."
Delia stared up at Calla with wide, understanding eyes. She reached for the older girl's hand. "My mom died in a car accident, too."
Calla wiped a trail of tears from her cheek, embarrassed about crying in front of someone she barely knew. "I told you it wasn't an ice cream story."
The ride back to the Porter house was silent. No one knew quite what to say. Exiting the vehicle when they were in the driveway, Ephram stopped Delia. "You go ahead inside. I, we'll be right there." After Delia solemnly nodded, he turned to Calla. "Do you want to talk about this?"
"Not really. . .What's there to talk about? It's my fault that my mom, brothers, and sister are dead." She sat on the steps leading up to the porch, the wood creaking slightly.
"You can't blame yourself for this."
"I can, Ephram. If I had just been on time for once. We would have made it to the game, everyone would be okay, and we wouldn't have had to move."
"It was an accident. It's just that simple."
Calla could feel the rage building up inside her. He had no idea what happened! There was nothing simple about it. "You don't know what it's like," she said in a low voice.
"My mom was on her way to my piano recital when she was in a car accident. I know exactly what it's like. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over, Cale. It'll just destroy you in the end."
"I don't think it's possible for me to be any more destroyed." She angrily brushed more tears from her face with the backs of her hands. "I thought I dealt with this a while ago. . ."
Ephram didn't know what else he could say. Nervously, he took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. It was all he could think of to do. After a while, she stood up, tugging his hand as a gesture to follow her, but dropping it as she opened the door to go inside.
Andy glanced at Delia yawning on the couch. "I think it's about time to go," he said to Ephram. "It was nice meeting you, Marc." He shook Marcus' hand. "And, Cale. Thanks for inviting us. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of you."
"It was our pleasure, Dr. Brown," Calla replied, as she followed behind the family onto the porch.
"Yeah," Delia half-yawned. "Maybe you could come over and teach Dad how to cook."
Ephram laughed. "I'll see you at school."
Calla nodded, waiting until they had all gotten into their vehicle before she shut the door.
"I feel bad for her," Delia said quietly from the backseat.
"Why's that?" Andy questioned, pulling away from the curb.
"She told us why she moved here. . .She has a lot in common with us."
Andy looked to Ephram for an explanation. Ephram sighed before starting. "She lost her Mom, as well as two brothers and a sister, in a car accident a couple of months ago. She said her Mom had been here once and had always wanted to come back." Andy thought of Julia. "She blames herself for what happened."
"After tragedies in the family, we tend to blame ourselves for what happened. But it's useless-"
"No matter how many 'if only's' you go through, it doesn't change anything. . ."
"I know that better than anyone," Andy said softly. "I spent so much time trying to figure out how things went wrong that I forgot to be a father. I'm sorry about that, Ephram. I wasn't there when you and Delia needed me."
"I didn't help any. It's just. . .it was so hard. And it wasn't fair."
"I know."
That night, for the first time, Ephram and Andy came to an understanding.
.:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:. .:*:.
"That was wonderful, Calla," Andy said, setting his napkin down beside his plate.
"Thank you, Dr. Brown," she replied graciously, standing up to clear the table. Ephram stood as well, picking up his and Delia's plates, then followed Calla into the kitchen.
"I think that's the most decent meal we've eaten all week," Ephram said, placing the plates inside the dishwasher as Calla had. "My dad can't cook."
"Neither can mine."
When Calla and Ephram returned to the dining room, Andy handed Ephram a twenty-dollar bill. "Here. Take the girls to Mama Joy's for dessert. Mr. Porter is going to show me his work."
Marcus pulled out his keys, holding them out for Calla. "It's in the garage."
The three climbed into the Durango after Calla unlocked the doors. "You have your seatbelt on, Delia?" Ephram questioned, turning to look at her in the backseat.
"Yeah," she replied, rolling her eyes at him then grinning conspiratorially.
At that moment, Ephram had no desire to know what his sister what thinking. It couldn't've been good. When he realized that they had been waiting at a stop sign for a particularly long amount of time, considering the lack of traffic, he answered Calla's unasked question. "Left."
"Thanks." A couple of minutes later, she pulled into a parking space in front of Mama Joy's. Once inside, they slid into Ephram and Calla's booth from earlier, Delia opting to sit beside her brother.
"Hey, kids. What can I get ya?" the waitress asked, pencil poised above a pad of paper.
"I'll have a hot fudge sundae," Delia said as she began to kick her feet beneath the table.
"I'm fine," Ephram replied when the waitress' eyes turned to him.
"Me, too," Calla agreed.
"Okay. One hot fudge sundae coming up." The waitress winked at Delia as she walked away.
"You remind me of Erin," Calla said, looking at Delia. "You're. . .ten?"
"Yeah," Delia nodded enthusiastically. "How'd you know?"
"Good guess. You're only a couple of years younger than Erin was."
"Who's Erin?"
"My sister."
"How come she wasn't at dinner?"
"I don't think it's something you want to hear about right now."
"It's okay. I'm mature for my age." The waitress wordlessly set the sundae in front of Delia, who took a bite. "That's what Dad says, anyways."
"Well. . ."
Ephram noticed her struggle for the right words. "You don't have to explain."
"I suppose you would find out sooner or later what happened - why we're here. And I'd rather have you find it out from me." She paused. "A couple of months ago. . .I don't think this is a story to tell over ice cream, Delia. Erin's just. . .gone now. But she's happy. And she's with the rest of my family."
Delia eagerly ate her sundae. "I'm done with my ice cream. . .Can you tell me now?"
"A couple of months ago, we were on our way to Josh's little league game in Mansfield. I had been out with friends and we were running late. Dad was waiting in the Durango for me and told Mom to go on ahead - that we would meet her there. She had just pulled out of the driveway and was heading down the block when we came around the corner. Dad and me followed behind her on the highway, the traffic was pretty light outside of Hope Springs. The further out we got, the more traffic we encountered and we eventually ended up a few cars behind Mom, Zeke, Josh, and Erin. I remember that the windows were down and that Dad was lecturing me about punctuality. I wasn't really paying him much attention and was staring out the window. I noticed this semi barreling down the on-ramp - I mean, he had to have been going at least a hundred, that's what the report said. But, Mom was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. . ."
Delia stared up at Calla with wide, understanding eyes. She reached for the older girl's hand. "My mom died in a car accident, too."
Calla wiped a trail of tears from her cheek, embarrassed about crying in front of someone she barely knew. "I told you it wasn't an ice cream story."
The ride back to the Porter house was silent. No one knew quite what to say. Exiting the vehicle when they were in the driveway, Ephram stopped Delia. "You go ahead inside. I, we'll be right there." After Delia solemnly nodded, he turned to Calla. "Do you want to talk about this?"
"Not really. . .What's there to talk about? It's my fault that my mom, brothers, and sister are dead." She sat on the steps leading up to the porch, the wood creaking slightly.
"You can't blame yourself for this."
"I can, Ephram. If I had just been on time for once. We would have made it to the game, everyone would be okay, and we wouldn't have had to move."
"It was an accident. It's just that simple."
Calla could feel the rage building up inside her. He had no idea what happened! There was nothing simple about it. "You don't know what it's like," she said in a low voice.
"My mom was on her way to my piano recital when she was in a car accident. I know exactly what it's like. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over, Cale. It'll just destroy you in the end."
"I don't think it's possible for me to be any more destroyed." She angrily brushed more tears from her face with the backs of her hands. "I thought I dealt with this a while ago. . ."
Ephram didn't know what else he could say. Nervously, he took her hand, squeezing it reassuringly. It was all he could think of to do. After a while, she stood up, tugging his hand as a gesture to follow her, but dropping it as she opened the door to go inside.
Andy glanced at Delia yawning on the couch. "I think it's about time to go," he said to Ephram. "It was nice meeting you, Marc." He shook Marcus' hand. "And, Cale. Thanks for inviting us. Hopefully we'll be seeing more of you."
"It was our pleasure, Dr. Brown," Calla replied, as she followed behind the family onto the porch.
"Yeah," Delia half-yawned. "Maybe you could come over and teach Dad how to cook."
Ephram laughed. "I'll see you at school."
Calla nodded, waiting until they had all gotten into their vehicle before she shut the door.
"I feel bad for her," Delia said quietly from the backseat.
"Why's that?" Andy questioned, pulling away from the curb.
"She told us why she moved here. . .She has a lot in common with us."
Andy looked to Ephram for an explanation. Ephram sighed before starting. "She lost her Mom, as well as two brothers and a sister, in a car accident a couple of months ago. She said her Mom had been here once and had always wanted to come back." Andy thought of Julia. "She blames herself for what happened."
"After tragedies in the family, we tend to blame ourselves for what happened. But it's useless-"
"No matter how many 'if only's' you go through, it doesn't change anything. . ."
"I know that better than anyone," Andy said softly. "I spent so much time trying to figure out how things went wrong that I forgot to be a father. I'm sorry about that, Ephram. I wasn't there when you and Delia needed me."
"I didn't help any. It's just. . .it was so hard. And it wasn't fair."
"I know."
That night, for the first time, Ephram and Andy came to an understanding.
