"Where are you staying?" I asked her. She looked kind of embarrassed.
"Well, I uh, I don't know. I just kind of came her on the spur of the moment." I smiled.
"That's okay. You can stay with Nicole and I. There's no way I am letting you stay at a motel or anything."
"Luka, really, you don't have to do that. I can-" I cut her off.
"No, I insist. Come on, we'll take the el back to my apartment. You should really rest or something. Besides, you don't want to hang out at the ER all day." Abby looked hesitant for a moment.
"What about Nicole? Are you sure she'll be okay with this?" Actually, I wasn't sure. They didn't used to get along but that was five years ago. I'm almost positive that Nicole won't care. Even if she does, oh well, It will only be for a little while.
" She'll be fine with it." I reassured her. She smiled.
"Thank you." I watched as she walked over to where the little boy was sitting and scooped him up into her arms. She walked over to me. "Can you wait a minute? I want Jonathan to use the restroom before we go." I nodded.
"Sure, I'll meet you at the doors." I watched her as she walked out of the lounge. I quickly turned to Chen.
"Can you cover me for a few?" She wiped her eyes and nodded.
"I can't believe this happened." Chen said. "It's not fair, especially to Abby."
"I know." I sighed. "Well, I'm going to go wait for her, thanks for covering me. I'll be back as soon as I can." I left the lounge and stood by the exit. I certainly hadn't expected something like this. John and I had never been real close friends or anything but none the less, I felt that this was a real tragedy. He was one hell of a doctor but most of all, he had made Abby happy.
"All right, we're all set." My thoughts snapped back to the present when Abby spoke. We walked out the doors, silent and lost in thought. I looked aver at Abby, she had Jonathan in her arms and he was resting his head on her shoulder. She looked so different, older, I guess but it had been awhile since I last saw her, what did I expect? She turned her head to look at me.
"We don't have to take the el. I drove here." She drove here? I stayed silent as Abby led the way to her car. Finally we reached a small blue sedan, a few scratches on it and a car seat in the back. She opened the door and put Jonathan into his car seat and then went to open the drivers side door. I stopped her.
"I'll drive. I just want you to take it easy." Abby handed me the keys.
"Thanks, I was hoping you'd say that." I laughed.
"What if I had made you drive?" I asked her as we got into the car. She looked at me, a mischievous look in her eyes.
"I would have made you give me the address and told you to walk." I smiled.
"Charming." I put the key into the ignition and started the car. In a moment we were on the road, lost in conversation. It felt so comfortable, like Abby had never left and we had never lost touch. It was crazy. I was sad when I pulled up in front of my apartment. It meant we had to stop the conversation. I glanced in the rear view mirror at Jonathan, he was sleeping peacefully in his car seat. I looked over at Abby.
"He's asleep." I said. She looked back and smiled.
"Yeah, I hate to have to wake him up, he's had a long day." I put the key back into the ignition.
"Well, let's not." Abby smiled. She knew where I was going with this. She leaned back in the passenger seat.
"I haven't been in Chicago for a long time. I think I need to jog my memory...make sure you take a scenic route." We both grinned as I pulled back out onto the street.
We had been riding around Chicago for almost an hour. I'm glad I decided
to come back, I had almost forgotten what a great friend Luka was to me.
For the last hour we had talked about everything from A to Z. Our lives,
our past, what we thought the future would be. It almost made me cry. It
was bittersweet in a strange way, only a few short weeks ago these were
things John and I used to talk about. I remember it like yesterday.
I gazed at John, who was sitting next to me, our fingers intertwined.
I stared into his eyes, seeing nothing but him, hearing nothing but his
voice.
"What do you think our lives will be like in ten years?" he asked
me. His eyes were so beautiful. I was lost in those eyes as I answered
him.
"I'm not sure. Nothing in the future is certain but I do know that
we'll be happy, we'll be in love." I watched as a smile played on his lips.
"That's all I need. I love you, Abby" I watched as he leaned in
closer, my heart beating faster each second as his lips neared mine. I
closed my eyes and felt like I was flying as his lips pressed against mine,
time stood still. Everything could have fell apart at that moment but it
would have been okay because I was in his arms and we were in a moment
that seemed to last forever.
"Abby...Abby..." I opened my eyes and I was back in the car with Luka.
I didn't realize it but tears were running down my cheeks. I hurriedly
brushed them away.
"What's wrong?" I turned to face Luka. I shook my head.
"I was just thinking about John, that's all." I watched his face soften.
"Oh. I'm sorry." he said. I smiled.
"It's okay, it's a happy memory." He looked over at me. I noticed his
eyes at that moment. I remember reading somewhere that eyes were thought
to be windows to a person's soul. At the moment I saw understanding in
his eyes, not a fake understanding, but something totally real, totally
raw. I watched his lips move as he spoke.
"The kind that hurt the most." I lowered my eyes. He seemed to be reading
my thoughts today. I gazed out the window as we pulled back up to his apartment.
We both got out and I opened the back door to get the still sleeping Jonathan.
Luka waved his hand.
"I'll get him." I watched as he gently unbuckled the seatbelt and carefully
lifted Jonathan out of the car. He did it so naturally. Jonathan stirred
but didn't wake up. It was a sweet scene, Jonathan had cuddled up against
his shoulder, sound asleep. I followed Luka up the stairs and too his apartment
door. He put his key into the door and opened it, letting me go in first.
He flipped on the lights and we both froze as we took in the scene in front
of us. It had been awhile since I had seen Nicole but I recognized her
instantly. The person I didn't recognize was the man that she was entangled
with on the floor. I heard Luka inhale sharply. I couldn't move. Nicole
and the man jumped up in surprise.
"Luka!" Nicole exclaimed, grabbing the man's shirt trying to cover
herself. The man had fled to some other part of the apartment. "You're...you're
not supposed to be home...I thought that...that..." We both stood there
as Nicole stuttered. I looked up as Luka turned around and left. I followed
him, closing the apartment door behind me. He was already half way down
the stairs as I followed him. When I got outside, he was leaning against
the building wall, Jonathan still on his shoulder. I took Jonathan from
him and slowly raised my eyes to meet his.
"Luka, are you all right?" I mentally kicked myself, of course he wasn't
all right. He just walked in on his wife cheating on him. Still, it was
the only thing I could think of to say. He kept his eyes lowered. I watched
as he kept on swallowing, trying not to cry.
"I...I didn't expect that." he said finally. I opened my mouth to say
something but was interrupted when the door opened and Nicole walked out,
this time fully clothed. I watched emotion after emotion cross Luka's face
as he looked at her.
"I'll wait in the car." I said quietly and walked over to the car.
I stared at Nicole as she walked towards me. I could feel my pulse in
my ears and I was trying hard not to lose my composure.
"Luka," she said. God, why did my skin crawl when I heard her speak?
"It's not what it looked like." My head snapped up. First she had done...done
this, now she was going to lie?
"Really?" I said, my voice coming out harsh and cold. She jumped back
when she heard the tone. "That's not what it looked like. To me it looked
like you were fucking another man." I waited for her reply. I grew impatient
and angry when she didn't speak. "I thought you loved me. I thought you
were happy. Why? What the hell did I do to deserve that?" She stayed silent
a moment longer, then spoke.
"I didn't plan it, it just happened." I laughed bitterly.
"Yeah, that man just happened to fall into your arms. I'm not that
stupid, Nicole. Stop making shit up. " She glared at me.
"You're obviously stupid enough to not notice what was going on." I
took a step back, staring at her.
"How long?" She lowered her eyes, not answering. "How long?"
She raised her eyes.
"A few months. Luka, I'm moving in with him." I let my mouth hang open.
This was crazy, I can't believe I didn't see this coming. We were going
to have children, I thought we loved each other. I know I loved her.
"Nicole, what? Why? I thought you loved me. We were talking about having
children." I could barely get the words out. "Was it all a lie? Has everything
that has come out of your mouth been a lie?" We both glanced at the door
as the man she was with came out of the complex. I stared numbly at Nicole,
waiting for an answer. She turned and walked towards the man.
"I'm sorry." She said, then turned and walked away. I stood there,
falling apart inside. It was over, just like that, over.