Chapter
13
A Serialized Story of the
Not So Distant Future
April 4, 2005
Part Thirteen
The next morning, Sam and his Mom headed out early to Long Island, hoping to avoid weekend traffic. They stopped for gas, which Sam insisted on pumping. He supposed that 5.59 a gallon might be considered reasonable these days. He was also amused to discover the small animated ads on the pump handle, and on the ad space over the pump.
Long Island hadn't changed all that much, it was still flat and boring for as far as the eye can see. It took over an hour to reach the cemetery, and Sam was quiet most of the way; he just wasn't up to talking.
They walked among the rows of headstones, Sam's legs were stiff from the car ride, and he moved like a zombie, somehow it felt strangely appropriate. They stood before Gaby's headstone, Sam was glad to see that someone had brought fresh flowers recently, it hadn't occurred to him to do so.
"Mom, can I have a minute alone."
"Of course dear."
"Gaby. I'm sorry, I can't really believe you're here. This just feels empty to me." Sam said. For a moment, he thought he heard her giggle, but that had to be his imagination. He did overhear his mother saying something, and he turned to look.
It was Gaby's family, they were brushing past his mother and Gaby's brother Anthony was striding quickly towards Sam, his manner suggested that this would not be a polite encounter.
"So you woke up." Anthony said.
"Hello Anthony." Sam said, looking him in the eye.
"Get the hell away from her, you have no right being here." He shoved Sam, who easily lost his balance and fell on his rear.
"SAM! GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Martha yelled.
Gaby's parents stood there silently as Sam got back on his feet. "I loved her more than you could possibly know." Sam said through gritted teeth.
"You killed her you bastard!" Anthony took a swing this time, but he seemed to be moving in slow motion. Sam just stepped aside and walked around Anthony as he swung. As Sam moved towards Gaby's parents and his mother, he realized that they were moving slowly as well. The world snapped back to normal in a second though.
"What the---" Anthony said spinning and tripping over his own feet.
"SAM!" Martha Quinn had been reaching in her bag for something, but stopped and did a double take when she realized Sam was ok.
Gaby's parents had the strangest reaction of all, Sam was closest to them when time snapped back to normal. "He's the DEVIL!" Gaby's mother screamed burying her face into her husband's chest.
"Yeah, good seeing you too." Sam said, he was limping as he walked, but moving as fast as he could.
Sam and Martha walked away from Gaby's family, leaving them bewildered over what had just happened.
"Sam, what just happened back there?" Martha asked.
"Anthony was always an ox, ten years go I would have flattened him." Actually, Sam had no clue what had just happened, but he didn't want to scare his mother. "Please tell me you weren't reaching for a gun in your purse."
"Oh no!" Martha laughed, "just my cell phone, it has a built in panic button for emergencies."
"Thank god, I don't think I could handle a gun totin' mama." Sam joked.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to finish your visit."
"It's ok. Gaby's not really there, she's here," he said indicating
his chest. "This place just felt empty to me."
"Did you hurt your leg?" Martha said, noticing Sam's limp.
"Actually, it's my back, but it's not too bad. Actually, I'm starving, can we get something to eat."
"Sure Sam, we'll go somewhere nice."
As they reached their car, Sam noticed that someone had made a large
gash in the door with a key. "Mom, look at this."
"Oh dear. Well, they won't get away with it, there's a motion sensitive cameras mounted in the car. I'll have Robbie take care of them."
The stopped at a steakhouse, and Sam ordered a cheeseburger and fries. He was tempted to order a chocolate shake as well, but he knew that his eyes might actually be larger than his stomach at this point.
He surprised himself by eating three quarters of the meal. It must have been the adrenalin rush of the fight with Anthony, Sam hadn't been particularly hungry earlier. While they were eating, Martha's cell phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Mom, It's Robbie, is everything ok"
"Yes dear. (It's Robbie)" she whispered to Sam."I'm having lunch with Sam right now."
"I was worried when you didn't show up at church this morning."
"Sam wanted to visit Gaby, you understand."
"Oh, uh yeah. That's ok." Robbie said.
"I'll talk to you later dear, my food is getting cold." Martha said. She sighed and said to Sam: "He is such a bother about church, I get sick of it sometimes."
"Amen sister." Their waitress said with a wink. The waitress had been quiet up until now, keeping even the pleasantaries to a minimum.
Sam smiled, it was good to know that the whole world wasn't nuts.
-------------------------------------------------------
Your Local Chapter of ARF would like to remind you, that if you
can't make it to weekly services, arrangements can be made for
religious services to be performed in your home. ARF is also
delivers meals to shut ins and sponsors clothing drives for the
underprivileged.
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