Connie looked on in sadness as she saw Greg Goldberg sitting down next to the stone, his eyes filled with tears and his cheeks streaked. He looked as if her world had been torn in two.
He spoke quietly as if Guy were right next to him. Connie couldn't make out the words until he got up to leave and placed his fingertips to the stone.
Goldberg whispered "Catch you later man" before walking towards Connie, not realizing that she was standing there.
"Greg!" Connie called when she got closer.
Greg stopped dead in his tracks quickly wiping her eyes and feeling embarrassed.
"Sorry" he mumbled trying to get away. Every time he saw Connie he felt guilty, guilty that he couldn't do anything to stop Guy from being killed.
"No, don't be. You have every right to visit him. I bet he loves every minute of it too, feeling all Mr Popularity and all!" Connie said at a weak attempt at humour.
Goldberg smiled out of politeness. "Yeah" he said just as weakly.
Goldberg was trying not to give Connie one of those "you poor poor widow" look.
He knew that look, he'd seen it often after his father had died of a heart attack when Greg was 15. Its the look of pity when someone close to you is gone.
"You know I can't stop thinking about that awful day, what we said to each other, the embarrassment that swept across his face when his middle name was revealed. Averman's stifled laughter. The look of hatred when he first spotted his mother standing behind me in the church."
Goldberg listened to Connie, feeling his own tears welling up again.
"But the image that sticks is the one of him lying on the ground with bullet holes all over him, blood everywhere. That's the last time I saw him alive. His last words were "I'm sorry". Sorry for what? For his mother killing him" Connie was getting angry.
Connie turned towards his headstone "Sorry for what Guy? You did nothing wrong!" she screamed before the emotion took hold of her and she broke down crying.
"Goldberg I couldn't save him" she cried, "he was right in front of me and I couldn't save him" she wept collapsing to the ground.
"Hey, no Connie. You did save him. He died happy and you know why? Because of you. Because he'd just married YOU Connie, the girl he'd been in love with since he was 5 years old" he said putting her arm around the shivering girl.
"You really think so?" Connie asked finally looking up at Goldberg and sniffling.
"I know so" Goldberg replied with a smile creeping across his face.
The pair stood in silence a bit longer wondering how things could become so damn wrong. Guy was gone and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
"You know what I think he meant by saying I'm sorry?" Goldberg mused.
Connie looked up again. "What?" she asked.
"I think he meant sorry for you having to see him like that. Having to live and see the pain that his mother caused him. He thought he'd left it behind him, moved on. He didn't want you to suffer the way he did" Goldberg said thoughtfully.
Connie thought about it for a moment. "You're right. That would be the kind of thing Guy would do," she said smiling for the first time in ages.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
That night an old nightmare returned to visit Connie in her dreams. It was one she thought she'd laid to rest a while ago.
It was her beloved car, the car of her dreams. She was driving, fast. The tears were streaming down her face.
She could hear a voice saying "we didn't mean to hurt you Connie"
Subconsciously she knew it was Mindy, Luis' old girlfriend talking but when she turned to look she saw Julie sitting in the passenger seat.
"It kind of happened. Guy didn't mean to hurt you Connie" she was saying.
Connie could sense something wasn't quite right 'Guy?' she asked confused.
"That's right Connie me and Guy" it was still Mindy's voice but Julie's face.
"NO!" she heard herself scream. "You already took Luis away from us – you're NOT having Guy!".
She swerved the car before she could stop herself and crashed into the tree. She saw Julie fall through the windscreen.
"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Connie screamed and frantically tugged at her seatbelt trying to get out.
When she looked over to the passenger seat again she saw Dwayne slumped in the seat, his face covered in blood. Connie quickly turned away.
She looked out the windscreen gasping as she saw her late husband draped over the bonnet. A bullet hole in between his eyes.
He look up at her with cold hateful eyes "You did this" he accused.
"No!" Connie whimpered starting to cry.
She looked back at the passenger seat and Dwayne had gone.
Guy was sitting there now.
"Yes, it was you" he teased laughing a horrible laugh.
"Guy!" Connie cried out. She hated seeing him like this.
"You" he said as he started to fade away
"GUY! I'M SORRY" she screamed.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
"Connie!" she heard a voice when she woke up.
She couldn't quite comprehend where she was at that point.
She looked up to see Portman through her tear-blurred eyes.
"Huh?" she asked wondering what he was doing at her bed "has something happened?" she asked looking around for Guy.
"Cons you had a bad dream" Portman explained as gently as he could. He felt for the girl. His father had been the same way when his mother died.
"What?" Connie was confused. "Where's Guy?" she asked.
Portman drew in his breath and avoided looking in her eyes.
He was about to say something when she burst into tears and cried "He's gone".
Portman could do nothing but hold her as all the fears and pain that had been buried deep inside Connie came rushing to the surface. He stayed there with her until morning.