April 18th 1997

Beep. "You have five new messages. Message one."

"Karen? Karen, are you there? It's Will, pick up. Karen? I know you have your own phone line, he won't hear this. Karen?"

Beep. "Message two."

"Please, Karen. I'm worried about you. You haven't called me in a week, I haven't seen you since you left my apartment. Call me back. Please. Just let me know that you're okay. I just want to know that you're okay. I love you."

Beep. "Message three."

"If I did anything at all to hurt you, I'm sorry. Please talk to me. I just…"

She turned the machine off at that point. She couldn't bear to hear the rest of the message, or the two to come. Karen hadn't taken his calls in a week, hadn't seen him. They were supposed to meet in Washington Square the night after she left for her home, but she no longer had any interest in seeing him. He called her, frantic because she didn't show up. He thought something happened to her. Let him think that. He didn't deserve to have his mind put at ease. Not after the way he betrayed her.

Eventually, he realized that she just wasn't talking to him. Karen couldn't believe that he still didn't know the reason why. It wasn't easy for her to let her guard down; she had done that when she first met Stan. He was first enamored with it, and then over time, the novelty of it all wore off for him, and he let her know. What he once loved about her he was now tired of, and Karen knew that if something didn't change, she would lose him. He was the first one in a long time to show an interest in her, and she didn't want to screw that up. So she put up a guard she didn't think she had and let Stan slowly transform her into the person he thought she should be.

It only took Will to make her understand that she was happier without the guard.

Maybe she shouldn't be so hard on Will. She went into this being unfaithful—one strike for her. And as much as she wanted to leave Stan, she couldn't completely let go of that part of her life just yet. But she thought she showed Will that she didn't care about Stan anymore, now that they were together. She thought that he believed her. He seemed to believe her. So why would he have someone else on the side?

No. Maybe she's going about this all wrong. Maybe she's the other woman. Maybe they met with strings attached. She thought back to something he said during one of their first nights together. I've spent my entire life looking for someone to love me as much as I do them. I thought I had it so many times, but they all grow bored with me. It's how it always goes, I guess. Maybe he thought he had it with this other woman, but when he began to realize that he didn't have a strong connection with her, he decided to try something out with Karen. But why would he be meeting her late at night?

Come on, Karen, it's obvious. He found something for her inside him, and now he's just stringing the both of you along. Although this other woman knows about Karen. She didn't think Will could be so cruel to her.

She couldn't stay home; with the presence—however small—of Stan in the house mixed with the sound of Will's voice ringing in her ears made for an undesirable environment. She left despite Stan's questions of where she was going and hailed a cab to go downtown.

Maybe Washington Square Park wasn't the best choice for an escape. But right now, it seemed so much better than any other place in Manhattan.

She watched the cab drive across Washington Square North before she set foot on the grass. She passed the small playground and stopped for a moment, looking across the way to her old home. If she had tried hard enough, maybe she could have gotten her mother to stay here. She could have grown old enough to be here on her own. She could have run into Will earlier. She could have gotten to him before that other woman did.

Karen heard the sounds of other cars, taxis, forms of life go by. So many people in this city, but she was surprised that the world actually kept on going despite her life crumbling at the foundation. She knew she was alone, sitting on a park bench along the walking path; there may have been one or two people sleeping in the grass tonight, calling this place their home, but she knew that if she didn't go up to them, if she didn't bother them, they would not mind her intruding for just a little bit. She heard a door slam and a taxi drive off. Footsteps coming her way. The place she was sitting wasn't very well lit; maybe they wouldn't notice her and just keep on moving.

She wanted Will here. She wanted to feel the way she did the first time they walked the park, that feeling of defying her mother, of rediscovering herself in his kiss. She wanted to run to the arch and find him there, beg him for forgiveness before pressing her lips against his skin. But she knew he wouldn't show. She knew that he wouldn't be coming here tonight; he probably gave up hoping that she would call, that he would run into her someplace downtown. She knew that the footsteps coming her way didn't belong to him.

But as much as she harbored an anger towards him, she wanted them to be his.

She heard someone clear their throat a few paces behind her. It sounded like a woman. If Will wasn't going to show up, then she wanted to be completely alone. Maybe if she didn't say a word, this other person would go away. But she didn't.

She tapped Karen on the shoulder. Karen didn't budge.

"Excuse me?"

Karen knew that voice. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. She knew she had heard it somewhere before, recently even, but the person it belonged to was escaping her. She didn't have the desire to turn around, though. She wanted to be alone. She didn't need anyone.

She spoke again. "Are you Karen?"

Oh god. Karen turned around.

"He told me I could probably find you here. He said you two are here a lot, so I could try here. I just wanted to talk to you."

Karen knew where she heard the voice before. One week ago. Late at night. She walked the hallway silently before finding them on the couch. His arm around her shoulders. Her head resting against his body. It was her voice. She never saw this woman's face before. She was gorgeous, a type of beautiful that Karen figured she could never achieve. She could see why Will wanted her.

The woman walked around the bench, found a place beside Karen to sit down. It was cold for an April night; although the woman was wearing a coat, she hugged herself for a moment before looking at Karen. After a moment, Karen returned her gaze.

"Hi. I'm Grace."