Chapter 2: Part 2 The Consequences

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: it goes on."

-Robert Frost

Nobody said a word for a minute or so. The shock on the faces of her old friends made Maria want to laugh at the irony. Liz closed her eyes pulling herself together.

"How did she die." She asked quietly. Liz had been like another daughter to Amy Deluca and Amy had been like another mother to Liz.

"She had terminal leukemia, they said that she'd had it for about three years before it was diagnosed. They said it sometimes became a silent killer. She had lots of headaches. Flu like symptoms. She finally died four days ago. The funeral will be the day after tomorrow." Maria recited the information as she had for the last couple days to the few relatives they had left.

"OH Maria, I'm so sorry." Liz breathed. She was starting to cry. Max pulled her into his arms and she began to sob. Maria shed no tears. Tears never came. Her mother had lived a full life she had her child and her business and when she went to Tennessee the year after Maria did she found the love of her life, Adam Bennet they were married only a month later and eight months after that gave birth to a set of twins. A boy and a Girl, Joshua and Jessica Bennett who would be six in three months. Maria told her friends about her step father and her younger siblings. Liz had stopped crying but Michael had a pained look on his face. He knew how much Maria was hurting- he could sense it. But he didn't have any right to hope for a way to help take that pain away. He had left first.

Just after maria had told her tale the door to the motel room opened a crack. A little voice said "Momma, is it daddy? Awe you okay?" Maria smiled and pushed open the door a little more and picked up the little girl.

"No baby. Daddy isn't here. These are my friends. You remember the ones I told you about?" Maria asked and the little girl shoved her face into Maria's neck.

"Guys this is my daughter Paige, Paige this is Liz, Max, Isabel, and Michael." Maria smiled the look on their faces was priceless. Maria pushed the door open the rest of the way. The girls were on the bed watching cartoons again. They looked absolutley normal, if you didn't notice Kate's stiff posture. When they heard the door open they looked up.

"These are my other girls. The two other brunets are my daughters Zoe and Alexis. The blonde is my step daughter Kate." Maria made other introductions and fielded questions. Then the hard one came and it came from the one she never would have expected.

"Who's their father?" Michael asked. Maria paused and ushered her friends outside. She didn't want her girls to hear her lie.

"In Tennessee, were divorced." Maria told them. She fielded a few more questions and agreed to bring the girls to the Crashdown for lunch in two hours. Everybody filed out except for Max. He looked at her intently.

"Why did you lie to them?" He asked. Maria tried hard to keep her expression natural so Max couldn't see through her.

"I didn't lie." Maria told him about to go back in the motel room.

"Well does this sound familiar 'Tennessee billionaire, Joe Diego, set to appear in court for the murder of his young son and numerous counts of child abuse, assault, and the attempted murders of his young wife Maria DeLuca Diego and their oldest daughter Paige Elizabeth Diego.' I'd say you lied."