a pretend tear and put her napkin down. Scott and Neil did the same without over-doing it, out of respect for Suzanne.
The waitress finally returned with a pen and pad. She saw them look like they were wiping away tears. “Is this an act, or something? It looks like you’ve been slicing onions.”
“We know why they’re why called ‘Weepers’, if that’s what you mean,” Suzanne observed.
The waitress looked up, making a connection. “You’re talking about kids that work at The Onion, right?”
Scott ordered nachos for an appetizer. As soon as she left, he raised his water glass. “To the cause of all our problems…The Onion.”
Their glasses clinked together.
“I can think of several times it looked like I was slicing onions,” Kara explained, “because of what happened there”
Neil looked a bit confused, like he didn’t get what onions had to do with Weepers. It didn’t go unnoticed. He covered it up by quickly raising his glass for another ‘clink’.
The waitress returned with nachos but forgot plates for everyone. This time she was a little embarrassed and quickly brought them. They all dove in. Kara hadn’t eaten since Ricardo’s and even Suzanne was nibbling some.
“Ok here goes,” Suzanne said out of nowhere. “Please…just keep on eating.” There was a brief pause before she started.
“We stopped in front of Casa just for a look. Mom was about to pull away. All I could think was…my mother is just a few feet away. I jumped out of the car and was inside before I knew it. Now comes the hard part.”
They all reached for more salsa, to take the attention off of Suzanne. She took a sip of water to get some composure.
“If she’s going to ‘bolt’,” Kara told herself, “this is the time.” Scott read her mind and gave her hand a squeeze.
“I was there. I can take it from here.”
Suzanne nodded in gratitude.
“Eleanor came down the stairs and stopped when she saw Suzanne. All she said was ‘I always knew you’d come back’. Then she walked by us for a cup of coffee.” Kara remembered her frustration and cut it short. “The Desk Lady, who told Eleanor we were here, asked for Suzanne’s phone number. She’s giving it to her sponsor, whoever that is.”
A sponsor is part of a support group,” Scott explained. “Someone to call when there’s a problem.”
“Don’t tell me this is it,” Neil encouraged, looking at Suzanne.
“He’s right,” Scott jumped in to say. “If you don’t hear from her sponsor in a week or so…give Casa a call. Maybe someone can meet with you and Eleanor.”
“Good idea,” Kara agreed, “When I think about it, I’m not sure what Dave would do if I just showed up.”
A look of optimism returned to Suzanne’s face. If her friends believed
there was hope, it must be so. She wiped a real tear with her napkin. Everyone did the same until she finally said ‘stop it’ with attitude.
The waitress returned for their supper orders. She had to repeat everyone’s at least twice. It was annoying but a diversion at the same time. When she finally left they all looked at each other.
“She’s new,” Suzanne excused.
“Ya think?” Neil added.
“There’s something…familiar about her,” Kara concluded. “Maybe it’s her
voice, or the look on her face when she forgets something.”
She brought their meals on a tray, but forgot who ordered what. They passed the plates around until everyone had the right one.
In the middle of eating, Kara hit her water glass with a fork. She cringed
at the ‘clink’ that was louder than expected. At least it got everyone’s attention. “I have something to say…about me. I keep a personal blog.” She paused, surprised at her sudden nervousness. “So I can say what I’m feeling, like when Dave first came over. There’s only one rule. I have to be honest, even if what I’m thinking isn’t good.”
Everyone was too quiet. Kara searched their faces for a reaction. “Maybe we could start one between us. So Suzanne would have somewhere to say what she feels. She can let us know when she hears from Casa.”
“I’ll set it up,” Neil offered. “Any ideas for a name?”
They threw some words around and finally took the third letter from each name, added ‘b-l’ for blog and came up with ‘blizor’. Their final decision was ‘blizor.us’. Everyone liked it.
“I have a question to kick it off,” Neil revealed, asking for the basket of rolls. He took his time picking one out, aware all eyes were on him. He buttered the roll and took a bite, enjoying every minute.
7-INTRIGUE
On the way home from Cedardale, Kara asked Suzanne to spend the night. She quickly agreed and Mom loaned Suzanne her flannels.
Suzanne arranged the pillows and sat on the twin bed. “I’d like to know something, but it’s not for ‘blizor.us’.”
Kara crawled under the covers. “Sure…if it’s easy; I’m wiped.”
“Scott knows a lot about halfway houses and sponsors.”
“Yeah,” Kara propped up her pillows before answering. “I think it has something to do with his mother. He won’t say anything about what happened to her. I get he doesn’t like to talk about it. He brings up Dad’s drinking problem, and even takes his side.”
“I’m sure he has his reasons,” Suzanne said, seeing she was sensitive about this.
“Now I have one you,” Kara said in a lighter tone. “Remember when the waitress said something about onions and Weepers? See if Neil’s ever sliced an onion. Try to find out without explaining it.”
The next morning Suzanne was dressed by the time Kara rolled over. Mom brought in tea to see how she was.
“I called Jeff last night,” she informed. “I said Eleanor was busy and we’ll try again.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Suzanne was quick to say. “I forgot all about dad.”
Kara poured her tea, suddenly realizing Suzanne was dressed. “Isn’t it too late to bolt?”
“You stepped in last night just in time,” Suzanne admitted. “I don’t know if I could finish about Casa, but I think I can,
