FanStory.com - Some Call It Luck - Chapter 36by Jim Wile

A continuation of the chapter: Abby St. Claire - Summer, 1987

At 7:30 the next morning, I called E.J. I knew he’d be getting ready for work now, and I wanted to catch him before he left.

“E.J?”

“Hi, Abby. Is something wrong?”

I guess he could detect an odd note to my voice. “After your round this morning, could you come down and meet me at the snack bar? I need to talk to you.”

“Sure, Abby.” He paused for a moment. “Did something happen between you and Kenny?”

“No… yes… I don’t know. I just need to talk to you.”

“Okay. Hang in there, kiddo. We’ll get through this. I’ll see you later.”

“Thanks, E.J. Bye.”

“Bye.”

E.J. showed up at the snack bar around 12:15. After the girl who takes my place during my lunch hour came down, we headed up to The Overlook and sat down on the bench. I looked at him and immediately started tearing up. He put his arm around me, and I laid my head on his shoulder. He just waited patiently for me to talk. I finally managed to choke out, “Lester died last night…. Kenny… ran over him as he was leaving my place.” I really lost it then and dug my face into E.J.’s shoulder as he put both arms around me and tried to comfort me.

“Oh, Abby, I’m so sorry! I know how much you loved Lester. You must be sick about it.”

Between sobs I was able to get out, “E.J., I yelled at Kenny and blamed him and… and I told him to go away… but I know deep down it wasn’t his fault. Lester was deaf and must have been lurking right under Kenny’s car and didn’t hear it start up. Kenny wouldn’t have seen him when he looked in his rearview mirror, which I know he always does when he backs out of the driveway. Why did I blame him like I did?”

“No one knows how they will react when faced with a tragedy like that. The natural tendency is to try to find blame. You acted the way most humans would in a similar situation.”

“But I was so mean to Kenny. He was trying to apologize and comfort me, and I cast him away and made him feel worse than he already did. I was such a heartless bitch, but I still don’t think I can look at him without seeing the killer of my cat, even though it wasn’t his fault.”

“You’re being too hard on yourself. I’m sure Kenny understands that you were extremely emotional right then and maybe not totally rational. If he’s any kind of guy, and I think he is, he won’t hold that against you. You two are so great together. I know you love him, and he loves you too. You’ll get through this. It wouldn’t hurt to apologize to him though.”

“I know, and I will. I just don’t think I can face him for a while. And when I can, I hope he can forgive me for being so mean to him.”

“Oh, he will. Don’t you worry about that. He knows what a terrific person you are. He’ll understand this was just your grief spilling out in an unfortunate but entirely normal way. I know a little bit about grief and anger. When I was 18, my mother committed suicide, and I grieved for a long time.”

“Oh, E.J. I’m so sorry to hear that!”

“It was quite a shock, and I was full of not only grief, but rage—at my father who drove her to it. I never forgave him for it.”

“That is awful. I’m so sorry you had to experience that. How did you ever get through it?”

“It just took time, like it will for you too. It might have helped if I’d had a good friend like you to talk to then, but I never really told anyone about it until now.”

“Well, thanks for sharing that with me. It gives me some perspective. And thanks for all your encouraging words. You’re such a good friend to me.”

“You’re welcome. Just call Kenny up when you’re ready and invite him over. You’ll work it out.”

“When I’m ready, I will.”

E.J. Budrowski

2 weeks later
Summer, 1987

Abby is still taking the death of her cat very hard. I hope she and Kenny will succeed in working this out.

When she first told me about how she had fallen for Kenny a while back, I have to confess a momentary feeling of disappointment. Yeah, I knew in my heart there was no real chance of a romance between us, but hearing her talk about another guy the way she did put the final nail in the coffin. I’ve gotten used to the fact that those two just seem to be made for each other, and I hope this won’t cause them to drift apart. She is my best friend, and I want her to be happy.

I know Kenny is taking this equally hard. In fact, he came up to me a couple days ago and asked if he could talk to me. We headed over to The Overlook and sat down together.

“Listen, E.J., I know how close you and Abby are. I assume she told you about what happened with Lester, her cat?” he asked me. He seemed quite downcast.

“Yes, she did.”

“I’m just sick about killing him, and I don’t know if she’ll ever be able to forgive me for that. I’ve tried contacting her for about two weeks now, but she won’t answer my calls, and the few times I tried to talk to her at the snack bar, she just told me she wasn’t ready to talk to me yet. I know she’ll be going back to school very soon, and I don’t know what will happen if we can’t iron this out.”

“Look, Kenny. She just needs time. She knows it wasn’t your fault for what happened, but she needs the time to grieve by herself. That cat was her only friend for a long time.”

“But will she ever be able to look at me again without being reminded that I killed him, whether or not it was my fault?”

“I’m sure she will. You kids are so good for each other. She loves you. You just have to wait it out until she’s ready. I don’t think it will be much longer.”

“Well, thanks, E.J. That makes me feel a little better. I don’t know what I’d do without her at this point. I really love her too.”

“I know you do. Just hang in there a while longer. You’ll see.”

He thanked me, and we parted ways then. Poor guy. I hoped I wasn’t just blowing smoke with him and that my prediction would come true, and soon!

This was really weird for me. Two terrific young kids seeking me out for my advice. Maybe I’m not such a loser after all.