CHAPTER 6: TRACY TODAY

Present Day

Charlie Brown had just left the hospital after another visit with his father. He was no longer being treated for the cancer, but was on hospice care at that point. He was still alert, but was eating far less than he did when he was healthy. His appetite was dwindling. As he was heading for his car, he bumped into a beautiful brunette.

"Oh, excuse me," she said.

"No, it was my fault," said Charlie Brown. "I was looking at my phone at a text my sister sent to me." The woman looked at him as if she knew him.

"Charlie Brown?" she said.

"Do I know you?" he asked.

"It's me. Tracy Donovan."

"Tracy?!"

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back!" Tracy wept. The two of them hugged, but Charlie Brown was stunned, but returned the hug after a few seconds. "So what made you come back after all this time?"

"My father's sick, Tracy. Cancer."

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. How are you? Are you okay?"

"Aside from what's going on with my old man, I'm fine. Ever since moving to Anchorage, I've been doing some lumberjack work."

"I can see. You've gotten bigger since high school. Almost as big as…"

"Blake?"

"Yeah…" She looked down.

"Whatever happened to him?"

"He felt so guilty about what he did to you, after he finished his suspended sentence and his charges were forgiven, he enrolled in the military. Before he was deployed, he tried to look you up, but you had no social media."

"Outside of emailing and YouTube, I don't do social media at all."

"Anyway, he went to a run-down town in some third world country. His platoon was gunned down. No one survived."

"Jesus!"

"His parents were distraught. He had finally turned his life around, only for that to happen. I was saddened, too. He harbored so much hurt for being responsible for your suicide attempt. He felt a lot of guilt over it."

"He may had done the actions, but it was Violet that planned it out. He was as much a victim as I was!"

"I later explained that to him. I think he still felt some responsibility because he let Violet rile him up. Anyway, enough about the past. How are you doing today? Any wife? Kids?"

"Still a bachelor, I'm afraid. After moving to Alaska, I did date, was even in what I thought was a good relationship with this girl named Tina, but she was like Violet-Lite. Not quite the bitch she was, but damn near close. I immediately broke it off with her. How about you? Any men you dated?"

"A few. I actually married one of them." She showed off her wedding band.

"Nice diamond!" said Charlie Brown.

"Thank you," said Tracy. "You know my husband. You remember your friend Shermy, don't you?"

"Seriously?! You and Shermy got together?!"

"After the fallout from what happened with you, he broke up with Violet, and after you left town, we started talking to each other about what had happened. We kind of hooked up after that."

"I thought Shermy and his wife, which is obviously you, had moved out west, like Oregon or something."

"We did for a while. We recently moved back to Sparkyville."

"I heard Lucy had punched her after what had happened. Is that true?"

"Kind of. You see, I was pissed at what she did to you. While after her mother ripped her a new one for what she did, Lucy threatened to match the black eye I gave her.

"That was you that punched Violet?!"

"I would have done it again if I could. Charlie Brown, you are a great person. I never cared about your flaws or shortcomings. It was the person and their heart that I cared about. I know that you'll probably go back to Alaska after visiting your father. I do want to keep in contact with you. And Shermy would be happy to hear from his dear friend again."

"I will be here for a while, Tracy. Give me Shermy's number, and I'll call him up sometime this week."

"I will. And Charlie Brown?"

"Yeah?"

"Welcome home." Tracy gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him smile. "I'll tell Shermy you will be calling him."

"Thanks, Tracy. I'll see you around sometime."

"You too, Charlie Brown."

END OF PART 3