Esperanza was being shaken by someone. She opened her eyes to find Andy in her face. "What in the hell do you want Andy?" She asked him angrily. Andy moved out of the way of her vision and turned on the television that was in his room. He turned it on to the news. Esperanza saw Nevan's face flash onto the screen.
"Hello, I'm Darcy Douglass, this is the afternoon news at 12:00 with WECT, and we have important news concerning a seventeen year old boy who resided in the Historic downtown area of Wilmington. Nevan Barrett was found dead in his home this morning, by his younger sister. According to his sister, Nevan had been suffering from a long time addiction to cocaine. Autopsy reports show that the teen suffered from a sudden heart attack in the late hours of the night. We will keep you updated on this case as the day goes on…" Esperanza sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Andy…please tell me that either this is some sick twisted joke, or that I am having a really bad nightmare…please…" Andy sat down next to her and let her lay her head on his chest. "Esi…I wish that I could tell you both of those things…but it's the truth. Nevan's sister called me this morning to ask me if I knew anything about it…I'm sorry." Esperanza pulled her legs up and let Andy put his arms around her. "Andy…what do I say to all of this? What am I supposed to do? Was it my fault?" Andy tugged on one of Esperanza's curls. "Don't even say that Esi. It wasn't your fault. He was having a hard time dealing with some issues. He wasn't strong enough…" Esperanza stood up and started rummaging through her clothes. "I need to go check on Nicole. I told Max that I would come over today…and I need to go run to the store…and I need…" Andy ran over to his cousin and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Calm down Esperanza. Everything will be fine…you don't need to go check on Nicole. I'm sure Max has everything under control…you just need to be calm…come on we need to go for a walk." Esperanza grabbed her shoes and reluctantly followed Andy down the stairs. Carmen and Jack saw her coming, but didn't say anything. Andy and Esperanza walked out the door.
To the city of Wilmington, Esperanza must have been an awkward site. She hadn't changed out of her pajamas before she left the house. Now, at the moment, Andy and Esperanza were walking down the boardwalk. Esperanza tied her hair up into a sloppy bun, and a few curls fell down. Frustrated, she took her hair down and threw the hair tie out into the river. She sat down in the middle of the walk way and brought her hands up to her face. Andy leaned up against the railing. "Esi. Do I need to go get your mom?" Esperanza shook her head. "No…don't." Esperanza looked up to see two figures walking in her and Andy's direction. As they got closer, she noticed Nicole's blonde waist length hair flying in the wind. She then noticed Nicole's older brother Max walking with her.
Nicole came running towards Esperanza and Andy when she realized who it was. "Esi, Andy!" Nicole hadn't spent a lot of time on her look this morning. And it showed. Her usual made up face was pale and colorless. Her usual straight hair had waves in it from being up. Nicole fell to the ground and threw her arms around Esperanza. "Are you ok Esi? I just heard what happened…" Esperanza pushed Nicole away. She slowly stood up and went to stand beside Andy. "I'm fine…thanks Nicole…Andy just brought me out here to breathe." Max made his way over to the three and leaned up against the railing. "I had to do the same. Nicole couldn't stay in the house any longer."
Esperanza waved slightly to Max. "Thanks again for last night Max." "No problem Esperanza…no problem…but I had no idea that you and Nevan…were you know…" "Dating?" Esperanza finished his sentence. "Yeah…I didn't make it a big deal to tell you…I was mad at him." Max put an arm around his sister and pulled her closer. "And thanks for helping with Nicole…"
No one knew what to say to each other. Not even Andy could find the words to comfort his cousin. Every word that came out of everyone's mouth was forced…the death of Nevan had taken its toll on everyone. Max didn't know what to say to Nicole, Esperanza, or Andy. He had never had a friend die…and he didn't know if how the three were dealing with the sudden death, was normal. He awaited the next word out of someone's mouth. Andy spoke first, after about ten minutes. "I hate awkward silences." Max nodded his head in agreement. "As do I, ladies." Esperanza kicked the railing and pushed her hair out of her face. Nicole twirled her blonde hair in her fingers. It seemed that neither of them was going to talk.
The four stayed by the river for another couple of hours. Nicole and Esperanza, occasionally adding comments. They were now sitting at Elijah's on the deck. Max was going to make them all eat. "Nicole…do you want your usual?" Nicole nodded her head. Andy gave the menu back to the waitress. "She and I will have whatever he's getting." Andy said pointing to Esperanza, and then to Max. The waitress left, leaving the four in silence again. Andy's cell phone rang, for the first time since that morning. He took it out of his pocket and answered it.
"Hey Uncle Jack…yeah she's fine. We are down at Elijah's with my friend Nicole and her brother Max…yeah we're fine…ok. I'll tell them."
Esperanza looked alert for the first time all day. "What did he say?" Andy put his phone away and looked at everyone around the table. "There's going to be a memorial service for him on Tuesday…his sister said that they are having a funeral, but only for the family…" He turned to Esperanza and Nicole. "The memorial service is in two days. Are you going to be willing to go?" "I don't know…" Esperanza slowly said. Nicole shrugged her shoulders. "What she said…"
Holly walked off the plane and almost tripped down the stairs. Effie caught her arm before she fell. "Maybe it was a bad idea to let you have that wine on the plane." Holly stood back up and straightened out her skirt. "Nonsense Aunt Effie…it was a perfectly ok thing to do." She followed her aunt into the airport, where they picked up their luggage and hailed a cab.
Holly had been to Santorini as a child, and now she could remember why she had loved it. It was the most beautiful place she had ever seen.
Effie and Holly got out of the cab and got their luggage out. Effie paid the driver and waited for him to leave, before she turned to Holly. "I can't wait for you to see Nicolas again. His children have grown up so much. He and his wife have brought the kids out here for summer again. They do it every year you know…I can't wait to see them again! I haven't seen Nicolas and Delia since…two years ago when I was in Atlanta for that conference." Holly watched as Nicolas and a girl…who couldn't have been Delia, made their way down the steps. "Aunt Effie…does Adam know that you are coming to visit an old boyfriend?" Effie turned to Holly. "That is absurd. I am coming here for a well needed vacation with my niece…Nicolas and Delia just happened to be here…he knows I'm staying with an old friend! Come on Holly! I'm not like you. I don't steal the loved ones of others…"
Holly couldn't believe Effie had just said that. She must have had more to drink than Holly had…it was getting to her head. But it was too late to push Effie down the set of steps that they were standing above. Nicolas had already arrived. Effie threw her arms around him. "It is so good to see you! Are you staying in the same house?" "Yeah…and your cousins said that they cleaned out your grandparent's house…do you need help with all of these bags?" Effie nodded and handed Nicolas the suitcase that she was standing by. She then turned her attention to the young girl that had come down with Nicolas. "And it's nice to see you again Kori." Kori reached out her hand to shake Effie's. Effie went in for the hug. "You remember Holly…don't you? You two haven't seen each other in years." Kori eyed Holly. "Yes I remember her…but back then she didn't have blue hair and a nose ring." Holly brought her hand up to her nose. "And you didn't have dark hair…and that many piercings in your left ear." She said sarcastically to Kori.
Kori hadn't had dark hair. She had inherited her mother's almost blonde hair, a trait that she didn't like. She had also gotten her grandmother's blue eyes. She just didn't look Greek. Now, she had darker hair and Holly could tell she was wearing contact lenses…her hair was now brown and her eyes were now green…almost the same color as Holly's. Holly could also tell that Kori had been out in the sun. Nicolas and Effie picked up all of the bags and started back up the steps. Kori stayed in the back with Holly. She started playing with the earrings that dangled from her left ear lobe. "So why are you here? Did you need extra credit points for your history class or something?" Holly laughed at that one. She didn't need extra credit points for her history classes. "It's a long story!" Kori lost grip of one of the bag and almost dropped it. "It's just that you never come here with your family. Your mom and sister came last summer…and trust me…we are going to have a lot of free time…so you are not going to get out of telling why you came here…was it under protest?" "Can you just wait?" Holly could tell that this was going to be a long couple of weeks. Kori didn't look like the kind of person who could annoy the hell out of you, but she was turning out to be that way.
So, I'm kind of grounded. I can only get on the Internet (and computer for that matter) for an hour every day. It takes me a while to write a chapter, so I don't know if I'll be able to update for a while…it's only for a week though…well at the moment it is. So I hope you enjoy this somewhat uneventful chapter! (You want to know something kind of funny? I call Darcy Douglass, 'Darcy 'Doom' Douglass.' She always gets the sad and depressing stories! It's actually quite fun to watch…she has to go from a story about a new business, to the story about the man who was stabbed by his ex girl friend…well the stories aren't funny. I was watching the news this afternoon while I was writing this! (Darcy really does exist!) Rachel