look at the menu on the wall, “for starters we’ll have the bread with dipping sauces and I’ll have the chili con carne with rice for the main course.” Brenna turned toward Jeff. “What would you like, Jeff?”
“Uh, I’ll go for the volcano meal with a side of fries.”
“Would you like extra chili sauce?”
“Sure, why not?” Jeff put on a brave face and laughed.
“And for drinks?"
“I’ll have a cola please.” Brenna felt like bourbon after today but she had to drive.
“Same here.” Jeff folded his hands on the table as the waitress sashayed into the kitchen with their order.
Brenna looked around the room, tapped her fingers on the wooden table. Jeff broke the awkward silence they had fallen into. “Do you still think your parents could be alive?” he probed.
“The thought, the hope, hasn’t died. I hope they’re stranded on some tropical island all well, eating coconuts and doing the hula,” Brenna laughed and shook her head. “I know it’s silly. Really silly, but it helps to think that way, you know.”
“You have to accept it, Brenna.”
“I know. I have. I mean it was a long time ago. But I still like to dream.”
“It’s my fault you know.”
“What is?”
“Them dying.”
She took Jeff’s rugged hand. “I don’t blame you for anything, Jeff. Nothing at all.” She squeezed his hand, feeling the hurt inside of him. He didn’t show it but she could tell he missed Gran. She must have been his everything.
“If it wasn’t for the affair, your parents wouldn’t have been on that flight. Neither would your granddad.”
“No matter what happened, it was Jim’s decision to leave the country. A plane crash is pretty rare. I think fate had more to do with it than you did.”
“I don’t know.”
“Think about it. Both of my parents didn’t need to go with him. He only needed one of them. Why did they both go? One of them should have stayed with me.”
“Jim was distraught. Your mother was sad for him, your dad was supporting her. All because of me.”
“Don’t do this to yourself, Jess. I suspect you’ve been beating yourself up for enough years already.”
“You’re not wrong there.”
“Did Gran ever get the time to come and see you? She spent most of her time with me.”
“Aye, she did. She still does.”
“What do you mean?”
“She comes and sees me in my dreams. I live to sleep these days.”
Brenna smiled. “Did she move out here when I moved into the city?”
At that thought, he smiled. “She stayed with me in the hotel until she was admitted to hospital.”
“She would have liked being here with you. How come you didn’t live together before then?”
“She was still officially married to Jim. And like you, harbored the thought they could be alive out there. She felt obligated to be faithful to him after what had happened.”
“That’s sweet but silly,” Brenna said as she spotted the waitress carrying a tray in their direction. She placed their drinks and some bread on their table and fluttered to the next. Jeff took a sip of cola.
“We kept in touch, but she felt so guilty, as did I.”
“Let go of that guilt. You’ve more than paid your dues already.”
Brenna and Jeff enjoyed the rest of their meal, and each other’s company, in peace.
The sun shone through the open window and onto Brenna’s face. She woke from a dreamless sleep and squinted against the light. She didn’t remember opening the curtain, let alone the window.
Warily, she hopped out of the warm bed and shuffled into the bathroom. While brushing her teeth, she heard the door open then close. Brenna froze, walked into the room with a mouth full of toothpaste. Sun hit her eyes. She shielded them with her hand and made out a dark shape in the room. The shape closed the curtains, and wild red hair came into view. Brenna shrieked.
“Maggie!” Brenna ran to Maggie and hugged her, taking care not to get toothpaste in her hair.
“I wasn’t expecting you so quickly.” She drew away from Maggie.
“There was hardly any traffic and I didn’t stop for anything. Except for the obvious food stops and such.”
“I’m so glad you’re here.”
“Me too, now go rinse your mouth or at least put on a muzzle before you give me rabies!” Maggie laughed at the sight of Brenna’s foaming mouth.
“Oh, sorry, I’ve been a bit tense, I thought you were… I’ll just go finish up in the bathroom. Won’t be long.”
Brenna disappeared into the bathroom with a wide smile on her face.
“You’re a scruff,