There was Marie as well. I couldn’t forget. Sean Green wasn’t good enough for me, but for her? Did Carol find Marie to be broken and in need of removal?
Also, my stepmother. As much as she was ill and didn’t like me, Carol might see her as broken and be ready to throw her away at the first opportunity.
She saw this broken house as standing in the way of what she wanted.
She had come to get rid of it.
Slowly, Jimmy started to reanimate. He moved a little slower, securing each plate in my hand before letting go.
I held on as best as I could. I held my breath often to prevent myself from shaking again. I listened carefully for Carol to come back, in case she wanted to inspect how we were doing.
I took each plate, rinsed it, and bent over to put it in the dishwasher.
And then I took a bundle of silverware, bending over a little longer to make sure they were secure and to arrange them.
I don’t remember standing up again.
Down
DR. GREEN
––––––––
The condo smelled like fried vegetables as he entered, but it was heavy with cleaning solution as well. The heated oil and soap combination was a little off-putting.
Sean entered quickly, throwing down the jacket and his shoes in a lump near the door. He took out his wallet and keys and dropped them into the pile as well. He undid the tie and let it slip to the floor.
His mother would find it, but at the moment, he didn’t really care.
Everything was wrong. The heavy emotion leaving the Sorenson house followed him all the way back.
He had pushed himself on Carol and hadn’t been careful with what he’d said. He replayed the evening in his head, but was there anything he could have done differently? Any moment where he could have said something better?
Lied about who his parents were? Who would have thought she’d have an issue?
Maybe he should have said he was an actual doctor. He should have been honest about being a teacher, perhaps. He’d taken a huge risk, given that Jimmy could have gone to the school and might have found out the truth. Or Marie, who did know he was a teacher, could have ratted him out. Danielle or Derrick might have caught on eventually and could have said something to Jimmy.
He was taking that risk even now if he took Marie out. It only took one of them to say something, and he’d mess things up ever going back.
However, now it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t about taking Marie out. He would have helped her if Sang wanted it.
To Carol, he wasn’t good enough for Sang. That just ticked him off.
The condo was dark except for an odd glow of light in the kitchen. It wasn’t an overhead light, which he thought was the only light in the kitchen. It was a little late for his mother to be up, as she often went to bed very early.
Sean slipped quietly over the floor in his socks. The kitchen door was stuck open wide enough for a hand to slip through. He angled himself to look in without opening it further.
Owen sat at the counter of the kitchen island, a laptop in front of him. His glasses were sitting on the counter next to the laptop. Nearby was one of the small bowls Sean’s mother had purchased, filled with a few almonds.
If Owen had almonds in a bowl, he planned to stay up all night. It was how he kept himself awake, crunching on a few here and there.
Sean also knew Owen hadn’t slept.
Owen stared at the screen, squinting, frowning.
He held the edge of the kitchen counter, leaning in and staring at the screen.
Sean frowned. He figured he’d witnessed the entire catastrophe. These last couple of days had been a disaster.
The last week...
The last few months...
One after another. Always Sang. Always mistakes they made. Things they’d never anticipated. Her stepmother. McCoy. Volto. Carol.
Falling in love with her. That wasn’t so bad, but it was never like what any of them had pictured, he was sure.
Sending her back felt like another mistake. Twelve steps backward.
With the way Owen squinted at the screen, Sean could see it. Frustration etched on his face. Disapproval.
Was he finally understanding?
Sean opened the door enough to be able to pass through, and just so they weren’t disturbed, he closed and locked the door behind him.
Owen’s eyes never fell away from the screen. Sean stood in front of him across the counter, leaning his stomach against the cool of the granite countertop. He crossed his arms over his chest.
“Go ahead and say it,” he said, his voice low. “I messed up.”
Owen glanced up at him, squinting, but said nothing, continuing to frown.
“You’re going to ruin your eyes like that,” Sean said.
“You were never going to convince her,” Owen said in a low voice. “I doubt any of us could have.” He redirected his attention to the screen. “I warned you about pushing it.”
“I was too honest,” Sean continued. He rolled his eyes. “Carol... I should have figured. She was already trying to get her to quit her job. She wanted to redo her schedule, and from the last anyone looked at it, she crossed out most of her activities.” He shook his head. “If she had to stay there, I hoped...”
Owen made a guttural noise. He stood up sharply, leaning over the screen. He grasped the monitor of the laptop. He put his glasses back on, and held the laptop closer.
Sean untightened his arms around his chest, leaning against the island, palms down on the surface. “What? What happened?”
Owen motioned for him to come over and watch for himself. “She’s down. She fainted.”
Sean moved quickly, knocking over the small bowl that had been holding a couple of almonds.
The bowl fell to the floor, shattering into a few pieces.
Sean ignored it, staring at the screen.
Sang was on the floor of the kitchen, near the dishwasher. Jimmy dropped what he was doing, kneeling beside her. He took her hand, saying things Sean couldn’t hear.
Carol came in soon after, paused shortly at the doorway and then came inside. Jimmy tried talking to Sang, patting her face.
Sang was already getting up when Carol knelt beside her. Sang shook her head, motioning for them to back away.
Shaking. Badly.
“My God,” Sean said. His breath caught and his heart seemed to stop at the same time.
Owen reached for his keys on the table and the jacket beside him on the next stool over. “Let’s go. Transfer the feed to your phone.”
Sean pulled his phone out, smashing his finger against Sang’s heart app to open the video feed. He only grabbed his wallet and a pair of sneakers, walking out the door in his socks.
Owen was on the phone on the way out. Sean hadn’t heard it ring, but it might have been Owen dialing someone. “Stay put. She’s up. Only go in if she faints again. She was moving up and down, so it’s most likely her blood pressure.”
They got into Sean’s car, with Owen driving. Sean dropped his shoes into the floor. The phone he put in his lap.
Jimmy and Carol were helping Sang up, talking to her.
Her father stood off to the side, observing but not doing much.