Prefab Story takes place over a weekend
Remy’s head was tilted to the side resting on his bony hand, blue veins bulging. His eyes were closed, legs crossed, his seated body was perfectly still. Blurred ripples hovered above the coffee and mixed with morning light. Rose bounced up to the table. Carolyn’s small diamond earrings shone against Rose’s olive-skin, blinking sunlight at Remy. The oval earrings had looked delicate on Carolyn’s graceful figure, but with Rose’s bronze skin and slight frame, they stood out unambiguous. Remy looked past the intersection toward the lake, without seeing either. He exhaled. Tiny and dark-haired, Rose squinted in the light and smiled broadly. As she pulled the black Fendi purse strap off her shoulder, Carolyn’s diamond engagement ring, sported on Rose’s left hand, cast back more sunshine at Remy.
Rose’s deep throaty laugh reverberated, “Hey, Remy! Ya’ sleeping out here at the coffee shop? How long ya’ been here?”
“Dad, Rose wants to ask you out to coffee. She is going to ask you about your apartment, how much the payments are, how much I put down, the realtor. Don’t say anything. The lawyers are going to sort it all out. Just say you’ll check and get back to her. Be nice to her, remember the good things about her as a daughter-in-law. I’ll talk to the lawyer later.” Josh said.
Remy straightened his back from the comfortable slouch, his smile performance worthy. He thought how proud Carolyn would have been and felt a pull inward.
“Well, hello. How are you Rose?”
“Great,” she said in upbeat reply.
She sat down.
“Carolyn’s earrings.”
A morning breeze gently drifted. Sometimes even the air smelled like Carolyn.
“I gave those to her for our anniversary a long time ago. Never took them off until the chemo.”
“Yeah, too bad she had to do the chemo. Wouldn’t wish the radiation on my worst enemy.”
Rose did not look at Remy as she spoke, while putting her purse on the seat next to her.
“We were lucky to have her as long as we did,” Remy said.
“You finally got everything settled in the new apartment?” Rose interjected brightly.
“Yup.”
“Good.”
“I got new blinds. Laila helped me pick them out last summer when she was here. I just ordered them last month. Picked ‘em up yesterday.”
Remy looked again at the lake. Light flickered on the water like it did on Carolyn’s earrings bobbing across the table. He did not see Rose’s eyes flit with a grey light then come back to him, smiling agreeably.
“Laila,” Rose articulated. “Laila coming for a visit?”
“Nah. Not now.”
“Yeah. She’s always real busy.”
“Dad, why isn’t Mom answering the phone? Three days and she doesn’t call back.”
“Laila, she’s tired and doesn’t want to answer. Don’t make a drama out of everything, for Godsake.”
“That time I went over to Carolyn’s place and found her on the floor, she couldn’t get up. I helped her off the bathroom floor and back to bed. She took off her engagement ring then too. Think she was afraid she might lose it. She lost so much weight.”
The latte stood between them. Remy studied it, took a sip. The heat fogged his glasses and he instinctively pushed them up on the bridge of his nose.
“You talk to Josh?” Rose smiled, but her cheerfulness ebbed.
“Nope.” Remy’s response was final.
The traffic light at the intersection changed. Cars took off in tempo with the crosswalk signals in the other direction, guiding runners like ducks crossing a bridge, back to their homes after a 3.2-mile circle around the lake on their Friday morning run, sound and motion timed and choreographed.
“Remy, do you need any help with anything at your place. Want me to come over?” Rose prompted.
“Nah.”
“Just got finished getting all the boxes out. Closets straight. I can do it,”
“I…”
“Come on. I’ll walk you home,” Remy put the paper cup down and collected his phone and keys.
In a momentary flash, Rose gave an undetectable, irritated snort under her breath. She took the bag off the chair and stood. Turning to check the spacing between where he had planted his feet getting up and the new position of his chair after pushing it back, Remy saw her face snap back to laughter. In the time it would take to blink, Remy had glimpsed a hand pushing long black hair behind her ear, the engagement ring on one finger and a single diamond earring in profile flashing Morse code to Remy.
“I can make it by myself,” Rose announced, fishing for the keys to the Mercedes, without finding them. She threaded her arm through the strap of the overpriced bag, pulling it across her chest like a bullet proof vest. She threw her shoulders back, tilted her head up, smiling brightly.
“You stay if you want. I’ll come by tomorrow to see if you need anything.”
Remy countered flatly, “I’m going out tomorrow.”
She was nothing like Carolyn.