"What's on your mind?" I quietly ask Francie when her tears finally subside. She lifts her head from my shoulder and looks to a bookshelf across the room, upon which I immediately see the photo of herself and her two friends.
"I was just… remembering the day Jack called and told me Syd was missing…" She quickly relates the tale, leaving me a bit confused.
"Jack said she was presumed dead… after just 22 hours?" Francie nods, leaning back in her chair and rubbing her neck.
"At the time, that was just… it was a minor detail, it didn't register at all. But I've thought about that phone call… well, a lot since that day, and I always did think that was a bit odd." I nod, chalking it up to the fact that Jack was stressed- emotionally, physically, and mentally. Besides which, in our line of work, 22 hours truly is a long time to be missing. "We can keep going whenever Will gets back," Francie adds. I nod again, absently, as I stand and make my way over to the picture on the shelf. I pick it up, studying it… memorizing it… and wishing, not for the first time- nor for the last- that I could have been involved in that aspect of Sydney's life.
Will reenters the room then, carrying two bottles of raspberry iced tea. He hesitates briefly as he catches sight of the picture I'm holding. As he sits back down next to Francie, his eyes remain trained on the image in my hands, and a small smile crosses his face. The look of fond remembrance doesn't touch his eyes, though; it can't block the pained memories of the past. As I look from the picture to the couple in front of me now, something suddenly becomes all too obvious.
They moved on, for the most part. Their lives were changed by knowing her, and by losing her, but they managed to continue on with a life after Syd, going through the normal stages of grief and then moving on to a normal life. That was something I could never do.
I hastily put the picture back down and move to take my seat again. As I do so, the wall clock catches my eye.
"It's already after 6:00?" I say in amazement. Francie glances behind her in astonishment, double-checking her wristwatch to be sure.
"Wow… Michael, we've been here over 4 hours now. Um… do you want to hold off on more until tomorrow, or-" I cut her off with a wave of my hand.
"If you're both up to it still, I'd prefer not to put this off at all."
"I'll stay all night if I have to, if that's what it takes to find out what happened," Will states assertively. Francie nods mutely. After taking a moment to look both of them over, I decide they truly are in it for the long haul, and so I prepare to pick up where we left off. Before I can do so, Francie speaks up rather timidly.
"Um… sorry to interrupt yet again, and this time before you even get started, but…" she glances to the side, faltering. Will looks to me, then turns a concerned gaze on her.
"Fran?" he prods gently.
"Whatever it is, Francie, you can say it," I add. She nods.
"I know…I was just wondering… well, I have another copy of that picture, if you'd like to have it." My eyes dart to the frame on the bookcase, and then slowly trail back to Francie.
"I would love that. Thank you," I reply gratefully. "Everyone ready to keep going?" I question. They both nod, and I sit back, getting more comfortable. "All right. So, we-" before I can continue, I'm interrupted by Francie's desk phone ringing. She glares at it for a moment, looking appalled. The scene is almost comical.
"You might want to answer that," Will suggests.
"Oh, right…" she quickly grabs it, answering angrily. "Do you remember what I told you? Good, and is this a life-threatening emergency? No? Ok." With that, she hangs up and looks back to me with a pleasant. "Shall we?"
"Of course." I pause for a moment, then look at them quizzically. "Uh… where were we?"
"Wellington, New Zealand. Plane… Sark, packet…" Will trails off as I nod, remembering.
"That's right… that stupid packet. Well, I'll tell you this- the info it contained? It turned out to be… not quite what we had anticipated…"
Mwuaha. And yes, I am indeed leaving it right there. Why? 'Cause I'm evil, and because I don't want to get into another flashback sequence in this chapter. And yes, I realize that's a lot shorter than the standard GabsChapter, but deal with it, and I'll make it up to you… I promise. ;-)
And, in case it's not brutally obvious, this thing is not, in fact, going to be wrapped up by the one year anniversary {5 Dec} but hey- maybe it's time for a Man party of sorts…
Jade: The great unknown? Heh… that sounds kinda cool… LOL. So, you want shipperness? Well geez, why didn't you tell me before?? :-p I'll see what I can do…
Jen: Wow… thank you, yet again. I never cease to be amazed that people still like this thing…
Kaley and landi: Here's more for ya! And there will be even more soon… very soon… thanks for the reviews!