"Jackie, whatever it is, you can tell me."
"Karma just bit me in the ass."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, I don't want to talk about it."
"Now?"
"Ever."
"You're dying?"
"No," she shakes her head.
"You're sick?"
"No."
"You have crabs?"
"No," Jackie almost smiles.
"You're lying?"
"I am going to bed."
Zoey rolls her eyes, and watches Jackie climb the stairs. She listens closely. When she hears the door close, she pulls out her phone, and heads into the kitchen.
"Zoey, I just got home, what could you possibly want?"
"Jackie's acting weird."
"Jackie is weird," O'Hara reminds her.
"She's in her pajamas, and she just went to bed."
"My baby isn't even in bed yet," O'Hara points out.
"I know."
"What did she say?"
"She just said that karma bit her in the ass."
"And?"
"She didn't elaborate."
"I wouldn't worry about her."
"She is in a real funk."
"Just give her time."
"What if we give her time, and space, and it's not what she needs."
"What do you mean?"
"What if she relapsed?"
"I'll be over in fifteen," Eleanor hangs up.
She comes to the back door. Zoey is sitting at the kitchen table, in silence, when she arrives. O'Hara doesn't bother to knock, she just waltzes in.
"Where is she?"
"In bed."
"Asleep?"
"I just checked on her, she was asleep."
"Are you sure?"
"I don't know," Zoey shrugs.
"Is there dirty laundry?'
"What?" Zoey furrows her brow.
"Does she have dirty scrubs?"
Zoey nods, she runs to the basement, and grabs the basket. Eleanor sifts through the basket.
"What are you doing?"
"Zoey, I'm checking her pockets."
They sift through the laundry, and find nothing.
"Where is her bag?" Eleanor questions, tossing the dirty laundry back into the basket.
"In the living room," Zoey answers. She grabs the bag, and brings it into the kitchen.
Eleanor opens the flap, and dumps the contents onto the kitchen table. They sort through each item.
"Wallet, keys, id badge," Zoey begins.
"Toothbrush, toothpaste, stethoscope."
"Floss."
"Is it actually floss?" Eleanor wonders.
Zoey opens it up, she peeks inside, "Just floss."
"Breath mints," O'Hara opens the container. She sniffs them. She examines them, noticing that each one is dual colored, and has icy crystal flecks.
"What about the pockets?"
"There aren't any," Zoey responds, looking side the bag.
"Let me see."
Zoey hands her the bag. Eleanor flips the flap over. On the inside there is a zipper pocket. She reaches inside, and feels around. She pulls out the contents of the pocket. She tosses the papers on the table.
"Parking ticket. Receipt for pizza," Zoey begins.
"Receipt for tuition. And a grocery list. Was she wearing a jacket?"
Zoey nods, and heads back into the living room for the jacket. Eleanor tosses everything back into the bag. Zoey unzips the pockets of the jackets. She reaches inside, and pulls out more papers. They stare at the papers, blankly, in disbelief. They scrutinize the papers, but say nothing.
She clears her throat, "What are you doing?"
They turn around, and find Jackie, staring at them.
"We thought that you were hiding something," Zoey begins, "I was afraid that you might have fallen off the wagon."
"I haven't," Jackie insists.
"She called me, and I came over," Eleanor reveals
"And, so the two of you thought that it would be ok to go through my stuff?"
"We thought you had relapsed," Zoey defends them.
"I get it, but you should have just asked me."
"You lie," Eleanor points out.
"You should have just left it alone," Jackie scolds Zoey.
"I'm sorry."
"So, now you two know."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Eleanor wonders.
"I think that you should go," Jackie tells her.
"Ok," O'Hara nods, guiltily.
Eleanor leaves, and Jackie takes a seat at the kitchen table, across from Zoey, in O'Hara's vacated seat. She looks at the papers, in front of her, and then looks at Zoey.
"So, you're not dying," Zoey comments.
"No, but you're dead," Jackie tells her.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"If I did I would have told you."
"Now I know."
"I still don't want to talk about it."
"So what are you going to do?"
"I am not going to talk about it."
"What do you want me to do with these?"
"Put them back where you found them," Jackie answers, leaving the room. She climbs the stairs, and heads to her room.