CHAPTER 4

Evening; Lanelle's shift was almost over. Her last patient was Teddy. She prepared his CPAP machine. Teddy was in bed, hugging his wife's photo.

"Did he tell you?", he asked,

"Who?", Lanelle asked,

"My son",

"Tell me what?",

"His wife asked for a divorce",

Lanelle immediately paused. She looked at Teddy,

"Did he tell you that?",

"He came here to tell me that. He's completely torn. My poor boy",

"Wh _ what happened? Did they have a fight?",

"He didn't give me the details", he sighed, "I wish I could help him. His mother was the only person who knew how to talk to him",

"Just being here for him and listening to him is enough, Teddy", she said softly, "And don't stress about it so much. Tevyn will know what to do",

"Are you sure?",

"Hundred percent",

Teddy smiled. Lanelle put a blanket over him and helped him wear the CPAP machine. She kissed him lightly on the forehead,

"Goodnight Teddy, see you tomorrow",

"Goodnight, Seri",

Lanelle turned the machine on.

…

There was only one thing rolling in Lanelle's mind that made her unable to hear what Yuster had been saying. Yuster was driving, but even with eyes on the road, she could see that she was the only one mentally present inside the car. She had been talking to herself all along.

"Lanelle?", she called, "Are you listening to me?",

"Mh?", Lanelle snapped back, feeling weird that she zoned out, "Did you say something?",

"Oh my God, what are you thinking about? Have I been talking to myself like a crazy person? Where's your mind at?",

She wasn't angry, just concerned. Lanelle was caught, and since they told each other everything, she couldn't hide what was bothering her.

"Tevyn's wife asked for a divorce", she said it like a question, since she also couldn't believe it,

"Who told you that?",

"Teddy",

"Girl, Teddy can't even remember what he had for dinner tonight",

"He's not completely forgetful, he still remembers important stuff. I don't think he made this up. I think Tevyn really told him about it",

"Okay, and why is it bothering you so much? You didn't have anything to do with it",

"I don't even know why it's occupied my mind. Tevyn and I aren't even dating _",

"But you like him", Yuster interrupted her, "And you guys have been flirty lately",

"Exactly", Lanelle felt guilty. It was already hard enough to be in love with a married man, but now that his wife asked for a divorce, the soup was getting sour.

"Tevyn loves his wife, Lanelle. Whether they get a divorce or not, it's none of your business", said Yuster, best friends, hard truth, "You can stress about it all you want, but it doesn't matter, unless you and him did something more recently and his wife found out",

"What? No. Tevyn and I have never even held hands. Yes, my heart skips a beat whenever I see him and my day just turns interesting, but that is all. The way I contain myself, I don't think he's even aware that I have feelings for him",

"Then why are you so worried?",

"It's not even a year since his mother died",

"So?",

"He's crushed?",

"So?",

"I pity him",

"S_",

"I swear to God, if you say 'so' one more time you'll regret it",

Yuster gulped the word, "Okay then. If it's pity, let it be pity. And unless he tells you about it himself, don't ask him. Pretend you heard nothing",

"I know",

Yuster chuckled scoffily as she shook her head.

"What?", Lanelle asked, curious to know,

"It's just _ I don't know, I guess the heart wants what it wants",

"You're holding something back, just say it",

"Okay, you're surrounded by very single, appealing men both at the hospital and back in town, just why in the world did you let yourself fall for a married man like you don't know how complicated that is?",

"It just happened",

"If his wife actually divorces him, will you date him?",

Lanelle didn't have the answer. She turned to face the window, the truth kneading her guts like fresh dough.

...

It's the first night at her new place. It was so different; instead of car honks, there were bicycle bells, instead of revving engines, there was laughter, and silence was replaced by smooth splashing of ocean waves hitting the shore. Eris wished to switch her mother's voice call into a video call,

"Are you settled in?", asked her mother into phone,

"Yeah, I'll open the remaining boxes tomorrow", Eris opened the fridge. It's empty, "I also have to go to the market tomorrow or I'll starve",

"How about the town? Is it good?",

"It is. Everyone is nice so far, and the town is beautiful",

"Did people recognize you?",

"I'm sure some did, but nobody approached me. It's really great, the people, the food, the place _ Oh, and I got a job",

"What?", her mother laughed, "What job? I thought you're taking a break from social media",

"It has nothing to do with that. Apparently, the town's chairperson needs an assistant for his administrative work and hired me", she threw herself on the couch,

"What will you even be doing?",

"I don't know", she shrugged, "organizing files, answering calls, et cetera, nothing complicated",

"Well, I'm happy for you. I hope you get along with everyone you meet",

"I hope so too. When I'm completely settled and familiar with every corner in town, you should come visit, and I can show you around",

"I'd love that honey", she yawned, "Mama needs to sleep. Call me everyday, okay?",

"Alright, night",

"Night baby",

Her mother hung up first. And as soon as Eris got comfortable to watch some Tv, someone knocked on her door. She dragged herself to go open it. And there Deb was, carrying with her a plate of cookies;

"Hello again!", said Deb, smiling brightly, "This is my version of a welcome basket",

"Your version is my type", Eris took the plate, "Come on in",

They got inside. While Eris looked for a tray to put the cookies in, Deb looked around. She looked impressed with everything she saw; the furniture was tasteful and obviously expensive, the different shades of pink on the wallpapers and fancy decorations really gave the place a statement.

"I love what you did with the place", said Deb,

"Thanks, I tried",

"You tried successfully", she walked to the kitchen where Eris was going through the utensils cabinet at the moment, "What are you looking for?",

"A container or a tray to put the cookies in. You're going to need your plate back, right?",

"No, it's all yours",

"Oh", she smiled, "Thank you then", she took one cookie and took a bite. Her eyes widened almost immediately, "These are so good, wow!", she took a second bite, and a third, and the cookie was gone.

"I can always make you some if you want",

"I'll keep that in mind", she then remembered something, "So, Duante, huh?", she teased her,

"Duante?", Deb asked, still slow to grasp the meaning,

"Yeah, the chef boyfriend",

"Oh!", she laughed out loud, "Oh my God, Duante? I'm dating Meshack",

"What?", Eris was a bit puzzled, "Meshack? The one who took our order?",

"Yeah. Why did you think it's Duante?",

"I mean _ it's as clear as day. He looked at you like the rest of our presence don't matter",

"No way", she scoffed, "You really didn't pay close attention",

"Well _", Eris raised her hands as a sign of surrender, "Maybe you're right, but I know when a man is in love, and that look was on Duante's face when he was looking at you", she picked up another cookie and took a bite, "Or maybe I saw wrong",

"Yeah", Deb nodded, but deep down, Eris' words had created a question mark. She didn't fully disregard her observation. Duante was in love with her? How come she never noticed? Maybe because she never paid attention to him. She never considered his simple acts of care as that of a man protecting the woman he loved. To her, Duante was just the brother of the man she's dating. And even though Duante was the first person she knew before Meshack, she never quite thought of a possibility of him falling in love with her.

So, there she was with two voices in her head; the loud one telling her that it's impossible, and the quiet one whispering 'What if it's true?'.

***