Chapter 2 – Tragic Hero

"So erm you ever get married again?" Susan asked. Sitting down comfortably. Grabbed the electronic menu card and quickly glanced at it.

"Yes I did" Abby answered vaguely, sitting down opposite.

"Oh my, I thought you said you wouldn't!"

"Well you change when you're older" Abby shrugged.

"Coffee?"

Abby nodded. Susan tapped on the card to order two coffees. The days with waiter and waitresses taking orders are long gone. They still exist, they only bring the items. These days everyone orders electronically, which transmits to the serving counter. Ideal for people who like to take their time to order their food and drink.

"What does your husband do?"

"He's dead" Abby answered quickly.

"Oh? I'm very sorry" Susan apologized; she cocked her head forward scanning the menu. She is trying to avoid asking the question how did he die? "So you've been at county all these years?"

"No I left about 10 years ago, I left to look after Maggie"

"Oh.. Is she erm." Susan winced; trying not to say is she dead then?

"Yes she gone now. I had to care for her when she diagnosed Alzheimer's, what a combination, Bi-polar and Alzheimer's. You bare not to think. She had the condition a few years but it got progressively worst. Tried to put her in a home at first but she was too stubborn eventually we did manage in the end. That put my mind at rest but I had a persistent problem with the home. They would keep phoning me at work, at home even in the middle of the night. It got so bad at work; they were on my back about the issue. The whole thing has caused a tension between the hubby and me; our sex life completely went out of the window. Every time we got intimate the phone rang! I decided to quit county and go to care for mom. I was temporarily separated from my husband; the only time we had a time for each other is that he had to divide his time with Chicago and Tampa Bay. He would come over every weekend and sometimes in the week depending on his work schedule. It was suppose to be temporary but it lasted a year. Maggie didn't do anything but terrorized the carers. The home never had such a large turnover in employing staff there! Maggie got frail and weak. When she died I came back to County after I heard a vacancy for the chief".

"Oh? I'm very sorry"

Abby half smiled at Susan, looking sympathetic. The assistant comes to the table, handed out the coffees.

"So what's Carter doing these days?" Susan asked, thinking that he might be taking an early retirement due to his stinking rich inheritance.

"He died… Carter was my husband"

"What?" Susan gasped, putting her hand in front of her mouth "When?"

"2 years ago"

Susan's face turned into sadness from the shock of hearing the news. "Oh my god! I'm surprised no-one informed me"

"We did try get hold of you but you moved on somewhere else." Abby taking a sip of her coffee.

"I moved on to run a free-clinic" Susan bottom lip started to quiver and tears welled up in her eye. "Sorry. I can't get over that, was he ill?"

"No he was killed"

"My god!"

"John was out on his business meeting. He was making his way to the Union Station to meet a respectable client. Minding his own business with a daily newspaper under his arm and a coffee in the other hand. A little girl's dog suddenly broke away from its leash and ran on to the road. There was a truck coming down the freeway. The dog ran out in front of it, barely misses it. To her reaction the girl ran after her pet. The driver of the truck as he realised the girl came running out from nowhere. Slammed on the brakes and the truck jacknifed. The little girl froze on the spot as she watched the truck skidding along. John's instant reaction was to save the girl by running across the road, pushing her away. Unfortunately it was too late … the truck hit John, killed him instantly. The girl lived; she was laid on the floor when trailer swung round. It would have decapitated her if she's had been standing up. I feel so angry with John, he underestimates his capabilities, keeps forgetting that he is not as young as he used to be."

Susan tears rolled down her rosy cheeks, she grabbed a napkin from the dispenser, wiped the tears away from her eyes and blew her nose. Choking back the tears, she said "He always been above his capabilities, that's just Carter…"

"I'll never forget that day. I was on my day off. At home, having a crisis with our daughter Robyn."

"You both had a daughter?" Susan shook her head, Abby's a mother!

"Yes she's 17 now"

"Carry on hun…"

"I suspected that our daughter was hiding something from us. She blurted out that she was pregnant. I went ballistic because John and I always stressed those facts about sex education. Keep yourself protected but we misjudged her naivety. I was trying to control my emotions at the shock. I was so angry. I was yelling the place down at the fact our daughter is only 15… and pregnant. Robyn sobbed her eyes out. I was dying for a cigarette, haven't had one since I fell pregnant with her. There was a knock on the door. It was the police. I thought shit! They've come round to see about a domestic disturbance. No. They told me there was a tragic accident and they wanted me to identify the body. I started to tremble and managed to calm myself down, trying not to get worked up, as the body could not be John's."

Abby paused for a few seconds and drew in a deep breath before carrying on talking.

"The police took me to mortuary. They pulled out the body and uncovered the body. God … my world came to an end… it was John. The shock was asphyxiating. I was in pieces, kneeling on the floor. Hysterically beating against the floor, trying to get rid of the agonizing pain. I did this in front of the police officer. He tried to comfort me, the state I was in, and it had triggered him off too. John lay there looking peaceful. His grey hair was matted with dried blood, I barely recognized him because of the oedema on the side of his head from the impact. The rest of his body was black and blue. He died of internal injuries. His body was literally crushed as a result from the impact. I left the mortuary feeling empty and numb, trying to figure out how to break the news to our daughter. I broke down again it when it dawned on me that Robyn was carrying our first grandchild, the child that John will never get to see. He would make a fantastic grandfather"

Susan blew her nose again. She placed her hand on Abby's and gave her a gentle squeeze. She can see the sadness in her eyes.

"I'm sorry" Susan mouthed in her cry. "I last time felt like this being upset after losing a colleague was Mark Greene"

"The funeral…" Abby sighed, "It was the biggest turnout I've ever seen in my life, it was like if he was someone important like the president"

"He was important… important to you and Robyn"

They both sat there in silence drinking their coffee for a moment. They shared a few glances and smiles.

"I still can't believe that you two did finally get back together in the end" Susan putting her mug down.

"10 years we been married, yes"

"Why didn't I get a wedding invitation?"

"Because he whisked me off to the Bahamas on surprise trip and got married there"

"How lovely, how romantic"

"Just like what you and Chuck did, got married in Vegas the spur of the moment"

Hearing Chuck's name wiped Susan's smile off her face. She sat back with uneasiness. The past she wants to forget… It has tarnished her for the rest of her life…