She began to cry in earnest, shaking her head. “I can’t. He’ll kill me, too.”
Ding, ding, ding, Sam thought and glanced at Freddie, proud of him for suggesting this tactic. Now we’re getting somewhere.
They returned to their seats.
Thelma wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“What do you mean that Louis will kill you, too?” Sam asked.
Raising her hands to her face, Thelma shook her head. “He’s not a good man.”
Sam had to summon patience to resist slapping her hand on the table and telling the woman to get on with it.
As if he could read her mind, Freddie glanced at her and shook his head.
Sam scowled at him.
“What did he do?” Freddie asked Thelma in a far gentler tone than Sam would’ve used.
“I still can’t believe what he did. It’s been years and still…” After another endless pause, she dropped her hands from her face and said, “He killed my little boy.”
* * *
Tracy sat across from Mike at a coffee shop in Georgetown that had a busy flow of young professionals, students and parents with young kids. They’d found a corner out of the fray to enjoy a latte for him and water for her.
“I shouldn’t have suggested coffee so late in the day,” he said.
“If I have it one minute after noon…”
“You’re up all night.”
“Yep.”
“Do you want to go somewhere else?”
“No, this is fine.” She glanced at the time on her phone. “I have to pick up Abby from school in an hour. She stayed after for extra help in math.”
“Is she struggling again?”
“Not really. She’s trying to stay ahead of the struggle.”
“She’s such a good kid. I wouldn’t have given a shit about something like that at her age.”
“I know. Me either.”
“I want to apologize for the fight and the arrest and all of that. I’m sure it was embarrassing for you.”
“After what he said, I’m glad you punched him. What’s the lawyer saying about it?”
“He thinks I may have to do some community service, but whatever. I don’t regret it. I couldn’t deal with someone saying Ethan had killed Luna. It took me right over the edge.”
“Understandably.” Tracy focused on her water bottle as she tried to think of something else she could say to keep their conversation going. That’d never been an issue until lately. They used to talk endlessly about everything.
“Why’d we stop talking to each other?” she asked before she lost her nerve.
“I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “I think we let life take us over and lost each other at some point. I sure as hell never intended for that to happen, and I don’t think you did either.”
Tracy picked at the label on her water bottle. “I didn’t.”
