Jane drove down to Evans Mechanics. She pulled over at the other side of the road and made her way towards the company.
She was aghast, the fire was almost out and the crowd had started to disperse. “What the heck happened here?” she thought and scanned around but Lisa was not in sight.
She dialed her number several times but no one picked up. She became disturbed and screamed out Lisa’s name as she searched through the crowd.
Lisa sat with her back against the wall. She was weak and her breath was short and shallow. She shivered like a tied up cow calmly awaiting its death.
Faintly, she heard a familiar voice screaming her name. “I am here Jane,” she muttered faintly.
Jane ran around and was becoming tired. She stopped to catch her breath. She bent over and laid her hands on her knees. She brought up her phone and dialed Lisa’s number again.
Lisa did not pick up but Jane heard the familiar tone ringing. ‘That should be from Lisa’s phone. She should be somewhere around here,” Jane thought. She called her name repeatedly and continued to dial her number as she ran along, tracing the direction of the sound.
She rounded a corner and saw Lisa at a distance. She ran towards her in desperation.
Lisa’s face was soiled with tears, sand grains and mucus. Her eyes were clamped shut.
“Lisa!” Jane screamed and squatted beside her. “it’s I.. it’s Jane, open your eyes!” She yelled.
“I should have believed him earlier..” Lisa murmured but Jane cut in, “enough! Just open those eyes.”
Lisa gradually opened her eyes.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Jane muttered. She pulled Lisa up and placed one of her arms around her shoulders. She walked her down to her car and that was when she realized her abnormal breathing.
She made her lay on the back seats, she unbuttoned her shirt and opened up the side glasses. Lisa relaxed and the ventilation helped her airways. Slowly, Lisa’s breath returned to normal and she slept off.
Jane sat in the driver’s seat and wondered what could have happened. The fire was out but the fire fighters were still working.
“Alex, wait! You can’t leave me out, I won’t be happy without you, wait.” Lisa screamed out of her sleep.
Sweat tumbled over her forehead and she shivered.
Jane rushed towards her. She shook her awake and made her sit-up.
Lisa immediately became wild awake, she realized they were right in front of her husband’s company. She remembered the fire and bumped out of the car.
“The fire is out, we should check in,” Lisa yelled and ran towards the building.
“No Lisa, it’s dangerous!” Jane responded and ran after her.
Lisa got to the gates and realized the whole building was sealed off from outside. She ran around and tried to find her way in. One of the officials walked up to her and challenged her.
“Ma’am, you can see the barricade. No one is allowed in, entry is dangerous right now… Our men…”
“Enough! I am the owner’s wife, where is my husband? I need to check the damage. Open up now!” Lisa commanded. “Oh, I see, sorry for your loss but…”
Jane caught up with her and apologized to the official, “I am sorry, she is out of it. Please continue the good work,” she said and bowed to the fire fighter.
She tried to drag Lisa away but she wouldn’t bulge. Jane couldn’t take it any more. She landed a hot slap on her face and yelled, “snap out of it Lisa! Enough of the pity party. This won’t help in any way!”
Lisa fell and sat on the floor. “Jane, my heart… I’m in pain… I can’t breathe… I was dumb… It was that woman… She called ….” Lisa continued to blabber in her hysteria.
Jane walked up to her, she lifted her up and walked her down to her car. She apparently pushed her into the car and drove away from the scene.
Jane drove back to Peterson’s residence. She helped Lisa in and got her a glass of water. Lisa held the cup with shaky hands and brought her mouth close for a drink. Just as she was drinking, the glass slipped. It fell from her grip and broke into pieces.
Jane called Margaret to clean up the mess while she spoke softly to Lisa. “Please, gather your wits, don’t torture yourself. The kids need you right now. Alex needs you too…”
“But he denied me access. He said I should not be allowed to see him… Jane, I don’t know my husband’s present condition, I know nothing, not even the hospital..”
Jane sighed and drew her closer. “He will be fine. He was able to give orders after the incident. Let’s hope for the best… Now Lisa, can you tell me where things began to fall apart?”
“After Alex signed the divorce papers, he tried to convince me not to turn them in. He claimed he wasn’t responsible for Marie’s pregnancy. He was apologizing when he got a call from the office. He left and I got a call from Marie. She threatened that I might not see my husband again. I did not really care and took the threat for granted but after much thought, I remembered Alex couldn’t be responsible for her pregnancy since he had a vasectomy.”
“A vasectomy? Seriously?” Jane exclaimed.
“Yes… he must have had the vasectomy. I tried reaching him but.. his secretary picked up my call and said there was a fire… when I ran over to the company ….” Lisa continued but she was interrupted by a call
Jane’s phone beeped, it was Jeff.
“God dammit! Why didn’t you pick your calls? I was really scared. How was it? How is your friend?” Jeff asked in concern.
“Oh Jeff, thanks she is fine now.”
“Glad to hear, I will keep in touch. Please take care of yourself.”
“Thanks love,” Jane responded and hung up.