“Pleeaase,” Emily sure was being persistent.
“Will Gloria be able to survive without you?” asked Abigail with a faint hint of anger, much too small for either of them to notice. Emily gave a confused look, almost as if she had no idea what Abigail meant by that remark. This in fact, would be true indeed. Emily knew that Gloria spent more time with her, over Abigail, but she was unconscious of Gloria’s reasons for doing so, as well as the damage it had inflicted upon Abigail over the course of many years.
“Can we mom? Can we please? The party is tonight at eight, at Kevin’s house. Can we mom?” pleaded Emily. Gloria didn’t know what to say or how to react. A night without Emily; she was Gloria’s only way to James. It’s only one night; it won’t even be for the whole night, a few measly hours, surely Gloria would be able to manage. Emily eagerly waited for an answer. Abigail was fully prepared to hear a big no.
“W-who would take you there and…and back?” she asked very slowly.
“No problem. Abigail has a car, she’ll be more than happy to drive” replied Emily giving Abigail a reassuring nudge to which Abigail responded by rolling her eyes.
“Go…go to the party have fun,” answered Gloria even slower and a little shaky.
“Thank you!” said Emily giving her mom an extra big hug, “Hey, I just remembered how are the orchids in the garden, have they bloomed yet?” asked Emily completely changing topics. Gloria’s eyes lit up. Before James passed away, he made the garden just for her, it was beautiful and together they made it extraordinary. After the incident, the garden quickly became Gloria’s sanctuary, whenever Emily was not around.
“Yes, they’re most beautiful. Do you want to see them?”
“Of course,” instantly Emily and Gloria left the living room, leaving Abigail alone, with no one to talk to, with only her thoughts to keep her company. Abigail closely watched them head for the garden, in the backyard; she could remember a time, when she was younger, how the whole family would play in the yard for countless of hours. She could recall the love that surrounded her; she could almost hear the joyful cries. However, all those memories were just memories, nothing more.
Later that day, a little after 7:30, Emily was pushing herself to get ready, painting her nails, while trying to pick the perfect outfit, Gloria was helping her. Abigail had been ready for quite some time and was waiting for them.
“Oh, mom, I can’t decide, blue sandals or green sandals?” asked Emily pacing back and forth, while biting her lips. Gloria couldn’t help but a smile. Watching Emily walk to and fro, send Gloria back in time. Whenever James got nervous, he would pace around in circles non-stop while chewing his lips, Emily did just the same.
“I like the blue sandals,” answered Gloria with a soft smile.
“You are so right. Abby! Abby are you ready? I’m ready,” called Emily.
“I’ve been ready!” shouted Abigail all the way from the living room, impatiently.
“Okay, uh, did I forget anything, oh, geez, my phone! No time, I got to go. See you later mom, don’t forget, tomorrow, you and me, movies,” said Emily giving Gloria a tremendous hug. Before Gloria could say good–bye back, Emily and Abigail had already left the house. Gloria was completely alone, as she slowly walked down the corridor from Emily’s room, leading into the living room, she could vividly see her past memories roaming about the household. She saw the time when James would dance with her in the patio, under the moonlight. The time when they got back from their honeymoon, how James carried her through the threshold. She saw everything, every little detail. As the memories slowly drifted by, so did the hours, Gloria felt more and more tense. Ten minutes felt like an hour. It was almost as if time was intentionally moving slower.
Finally, the clock hit 12; Gloria thought for sure they would have come back from the party. She fervently waited and waited and waited. No one came, no one called; the clock now hit 1 a.m., but still nothing. Gloria was so nervous, she could feel a certain kind of void within her, quietly swallowing her whole. She wondered what could have happened, whenever Emily went out with friends, she would call every hour. However, over four hours had passed and she hadn't called once. This was completely out of Emily’s usual. Even though Gloria was exhausted, she dared not shut her eyes, not even for a brief moment. She was far too worried. Suddenly the home phone, in the kitchen, burst out ringing, breaking the silence. Gloria rushed over to answer it.
“Emily! Where are you?” she asked desperately.
“What? No, this is Abigail. I was calling because I was wondering if Emily was with you,” asked Abigail slightly annoyed by the fact that all Gloria cared about was Emily.
“No, she-she’s not. I’ve been…all alone,” replied Gloria in a low voice.
“Okay…that doesn’t make any sense. I haven’t seen Emily in the party for the last two hours. I thought maybe she got a ride home from one of her friends or something…” Gloria had no idea what to think or say. For a short moment they both kept quite. Silence fell, but quickly ended, “look, Emily forgot to bring her phone, so there’s no use trying to call her. I’ve been asking around for quite some time and no one has seen her.” Again, Gloria was speechless; her hands began to shake. Abigail waited for a response, for an answer of some kind.
“I’m going to ask around one more time, don’t get all panicky- I’m sure this is nothing to stress over,” with that Abigail hanged up the phone. Gloria was dumbfounded; she was left immobilized by fear and doubt- doubt that it was nothing.
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