Angel of Love - Crossing Paths

This is very loosely based on a couple real events and how I would imagine the dialog playing out. Please vote and comment. Thank you!

-L2RL

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Karen James was reviewing work emails on her phone and not paying attention when she bumped into Joan, almost knocking her to the ground. Although she hadn't seen her in fifteen years, Karen still looked pretty much the same and Joan recognized her almost immediately.

"O my goodness, I am so sorry ma'am. Are you alright."

"Yes, I'm fine. How have you been Karen? I heard you and that boy from out-of-town got divorced."

Karen steadied herself and tried not to get defensive. She was still working on not responding negatively to abrasive statements. It had been one of her ex's most effective tools against her. He would goad her into an argument, get her to react, then claim she was too aggressive and was the one to blame for all the problems in their marriage.

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name. How do I know you again?" Karen asked. Having lived in the same small town with parents active in their church, most everyone knew who the James kids were. Karen always had a hard time keeping track of all the people her parents knew.

"I'm Joan Patterson. Tommy's mother. You remember Tommy? You had such a crush on him when you were in high school."

Karen drew in a breath at those words. She was back, and the old drama seemed to have waited for her return. Joan Patterson had gone to school with Karen's parents. They were not close friends; Joan never came over to their house. But Karen remembered Tommy. He was a year ahead of her and she had all but thrown herself at him. He knew she liked him but it wasn't mutual. He didn't know how to tell her he wasn't interested. He and his friends thought Karen was beyond strange and often teased her about being different. She would fight back tears each time she watched him and his buddies crack jokes at her and walk away. It had been hard to get over the sting. A couple years after Karen graduated, her Mom saw Joan at a party and Karen's crush on Tommy was all Joan talked about, much to her Mom's annoyance. Three months later Karen's Mom succumbed to lung cancer.

"Oh. Hello Joan. I didn't recognize you. How are you doing?"

"David and I are taking it day by day. This time of year is hard. Tommy was our Valentine's Day baby. We always considered his birthday to be a more important occasion. I told your Dad that I found those 'Angel of Love' poems you wrote Tommy when we were going through his room. It was strange that he kept them all these years. One even had a picture of him with wings."

Karen drew in another breath. She had found out about Tommy's death a year after the accident. He had been on his way home when a truck merged into his lane at too high a speed, pushing Tommy forward and into the median. He had died from his injuries on what had been Karen's wedding anniversary. Dad had forwarded Joan's letter with the poems to Karen and she was never sure how,or if, she should respond. Joan's letter had brought back those old feelings of embarrassment at Tommy's rejection and the loss of her Mom. It had compounded the negative feelings Karen felt during the divorce proceedings. But she saw a familiar look of pain in Joan's eyes and felt she would be wrong to walk away.

"Joan, are you free for the next hour or so? Can we sit and talk?"

They walked into the French bakery. The gentle smell of yeast, sugar, chocolate, and coffee made the atmosphere comfortably intoxicating. Karen ordered ham and cheese croissants and two chamomile teas, adding milk and sugar in the raw. The two women sat at a bistro table in the back, away from the growing line. Taking sip of her tea, Karen began.

"My Dad forwarded me your letter last summer. I previously had not heard about the accident. I am sorry I didn't offer my condolences sooner."

Joan looked down at her croissant. It was fresh out of the oven, but she had no appetite.

"It's just so sad that you and Tommy never reconnected. You had married and moved away, and he was working. He had girlfriends from time to time, but no one whom he was serious about. My grandson would sometimes ask 'Uncle Tommy, why aren't you married?'"

Karen had seen that statement coming. No one had known much about her ex when they had gotten married. At first he seemed to be the one who accepted her free-spirited nature and unique outlook on the world. He hadn't been rude to her like Tommy was. He had seemed to be enamored with her quirks. She had thought she found her person, realizing only after he emotionally abused her and walked out that she had been very, very wrong. Looking back, Karen knew Tommy wasn't her person either. But that was ok. Karen needed to be her own person.

"Joan, I understand the pain of losing someone you love very young. If I lost my child I don't know if I would be able to get out of bed. But I don't think Tommy and I would have been right for each other."

"But he kept those poems you wrote. He had them for over ten years."

Karen kept taking deep breaths, hoping that sharing the realization she had come to years before would somehow help Joan.

"Tommy and I were kids. Neither of us had much empathy. I was different and I don't think he knew how to handle me. To be honest, I didn't know how to handle myself at that time. I wrote those poems and gave them to him without thinking how he and his friends would react. I was impulsive and infatuated. Even if he did enjoy the attention, it was probably too much for him."

"I still don't understand why he would still have them if he didn't actually care about you. Perhaps if he had said something, maybe things would have been different" Joan said, her voice lower and breathing more shallow.

Karen reached into her purse and pulled out her tissues, offering Joan a couple to help control the large drops rolling down from the corners of her eyes.

"I understand losing him is hard. I still get upset when I want to call or hug my Mom and remember that I can't. I also know that there was nothing any of us could have done to prevent her passing. My getting together with Tommy couldn't have prevented the accident."

Karen took another breath. She always had believed in signs, though others considered it to be yet another thing that made her strange. She hoped that Joan would receive her next words the way she intended them.

"I don't know how many times you had been through Tommy's things between the accident and finding those poems. Tommy might have forgotten about them and just left them with other stuff from high school. However, I believe in signs and that perhaps you finding the poems was Tommy's way of telling you that he is ok and that he loves you. Perhaps he is watching over you and wants you to keep on living."

Joan reached over and took a third and fourth tissue. "I see what you are saying. Sometimes when I think about what mischief Tommy did as a child, I think I hear his laughter. It's almost like he's still here."

Karen reached over and took her hand as Joan continued to sob. Once the tears slowed Karen looked into Joan's eyes and asked, "Have you given thought to Valentine's Day this year?"

"No. David and I tried going out for dinner last year, but that was a terrible mistake. The restaurant was too crowded and the food was awful. All we kept talking about was Tommy's birthday dinner the year before."

"Well, I am also changing up my Valentine's Day plans this year now that I am happily single. Dad, his girlfriend, myself, and the rest of the James kids are meeting at the arena for public skating in the afternoon. Then I am making dinner. Nothing fancy; just my mother's roast beef with chocolate cake for dessert. I would love to have you and David join us."

An alarm sounded on Karen's phone, signaling a reminder from work. Taking a business card from her purse she said, "Joan, I have to go dial into a conference call. Here is my number. Talk to David and let me know what you decide. It was good to see you."

"Thank you Karen. It was nice to see you too." Joan stayed seated, while Karen gave her a gentle hug, picked up her tea, then walked out of the bakery into the afternoon sun. Joan started to sip her tea and finally took a nibble on the croissant. The Gruyere cheese and shaved ham matched perfectly with the flaky pastry and for the first time that day Joan felt her mouth curl up into a smile.

Karen ran back to her car. After closing her door, she said a small prayer before dialing into her call.

"Mom, Tommy, thank you for crossing my path with Joan today. Hopefully this will be the start of good things for everyone."

THE END