Tomorrow May Never Come

Air swiftly filtered into my lungs as I jogged through the crowded city streets. I did the same thing every morning -- woke up early, and did my morning exercise, jogging all the way from my house in Queens to the Empire-Fulton Ferry State Park, overlooking the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan from across the water. Yes, New York.

New York City...one of the biggest cities in the world. The business capital of the world. Every breath of the city...every heartbeat...is filled with speed. People are always in a hurry here... In a hurry to leave home, in a hurry to reach the office... Always in a hurry to be a step or two ahead of life. There is no place for anyone who can't cope here.

Finally, with one last straining of muscles, I arrived at my destination. Sighing, I let the early spring air rush through my hair as I let it down from the ponytail I had it up in, and took a seat on one of the benches. Looking out at the water, my mind began to wander.

This city taught my many things. It taught me to be independent. It taught me to fulfill my responsibilities, taught me to face life... But it couldn't teach me to love. Where was the time? Everything was always in a hurry.

Suddenly a wave of sadness seemed to flow over me. Whenever I watched the city from afar, I felt like Dad was closer. Whenever I missed him, I came here. He'd bring me here to this park when I was younger, and we would look out across the water at our beloved city together. But...things changed.

Brushing the sad memories aside, I took a shaky breath of the cold air around me and quickly wiped away my tears before they got the best of me. Looking down at my watch, I noticed the time and got up, intent on heading back home to continue with the rest of the day.

I am Kate Phillips...and this is my story.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Hearing her eldest child come in the front door, Denise quickly hung up the phone and wiped her cheeks as much as she could. She always tried to prevent her children from seeing her in such a vulnerable state. When her husband had died, the entire responsibility of the family fell on her shoulders but she never allowed her children to even feel the burden of her sorrows.

Turning toward the entrance hall from her place in the kitchen, Denise cleared her throat. "Where were you?" she asked Kate, who had come in with the mail that had been delivered after she'd left for her morning jog.

"The park," Kate answered.

"The park? Why?"

"To meet someone," Kate replied, cheekily.

"Who?" Denise asked as she took a few tentative steps toward her daughter, who was rifling through the various pieces of mail.

"My boyfriend," Kate answered with a sarcastic tone. She sighed. "Bills, bills, bills... Private and Confidential?"

Quickly, Denise snatched the private letter from her daughter's hands. "That's mine."

Taken aback by how quickly her mother had acted, Kate took a good look at her. She could see the puffiness around her eyes. "Were you crying?"

"No...you were," Denise answered, knowing what Kate went through every time she went to that park, though her daughter tried to deny it.

"No I wasn't," Kate insisted. She and her mother lied to each other every day. It was always the same.

Continuing through the mail, Kate came upon a particular piece that caused anger and frustration to course through her. "Marriage bureau? What the hell is this, Mom?"

"Why don't you go ask your grandmother? It must be some new plan to find you a husband," Denise answered as she started to set the table for breakfast.

"But I don't want to get married... At least not yet. Why doesn't she just leave me alone?"

"Why doesn't she just leave?" Denise muttered under her breath as she continued her way around the table, setting out bowls and plates.

Kate's grandmother, Ally, had two dreams: One, that Kate marry (sooner rather than later), and that Denise died. Ever since the death of Ally's son, a rift between the family had been forged. One that seemed it would never be mended.

Just as Kate was about to go searching for her, Ally came into the dining room, saving her the trouble.

"What is this?" Kate demanded, holding out the letter from the marriage bureau.

"Oh my! Pictures from the bureau!" Ally replied, all too excitedly, and she snatched the letter from Kate, looking through the photos that were included. "They are so good looking!"

Taking the photos from her grandmother, Kate looked at the various men whose pictures had been included. She tried to hold back the grimace when she saw them, but it was no use. They were definitely not her type.

"Ugh... No they're not," she mumbled, setting the photos down and looking up at her grandmother. "I'm not interested in marrying anyone, alright?"

"If you don't marry, how will you have children?" Ally asked.

"I can have kids without getting married. Stop being so traditional." With a sigh, Kate left the dining room, hurrying up the stairs to her siblings' room to collect them for breakfast. She had two siblings: a brother, and a sister.

Her ten-year-old brother, John, was handicapped, and needed the help of a leg brace on his right leg and a crutch in order to walk. In that way, he wasn't like the other boys -- he loved basketball, but due to his condition, he couldn't go out and play sports with the neighborhood boys. But he could be just as irritating as them...

When Kate entered the bedroom, John was situated in front of the television, which was showing a basketball game.

"Johnny, turn the TV off. It's time to eat. Gia, help your brother get his crutch?" Kate said, turning to her seven-year-old sister, Gia, who was playing at her dollhouse.

"Katie, did you see my new dolls?" she asked excitedly, looking up at the older sister she loved and respected.

"Gia, let's go!" Kate persisted.

"This is mommy, this is you," Gia went on, ignoring her sister, "this is Johnny, and this is-"

In that very moment, Ally came into the childrens' room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of her precious grandson.

"So you are awake! You are looking so well today," she said as she took a seat next to John on the bed, placing her hand on his cheek.

"Goodmorning, Grandma," Gia called out, looking at her grandmother with a smile, but she received no response. It broke Kate's heart every day to see the way Ally treated Gia. Ally's love for John could only be matched by her hatred for Gia. Gia was adopted, which was why Ally didn't consider her part of the family. "She's not of our blood," she would say.

Once the family had gathered for breakfast down in the living room, Kate knew it was only a matter of time before a quarrel broke out. It never failed.

"Why is it so cold in here? Turn the heat on for Christ's sake!" Ally complained as Denise went around, pouring cereal into John and Gia's bowls.

"You're always on, aren't you?" she said, her voice showing no sign of a joke.

"What?"

"Nothing," Denise answered curtly, and walked away.

Noticing what was going on as well, John leaned into Kate, as they were seated next to each other. "I bet you a dollar they're going to fight this morning."

"I'm not getting in on this, because I know what's going to happen anyway," Kate answered, taking a bite of the bacon that was on her plate. She was counting down the seconds that were left of peace at the table. Zero.

"This food is nothing like they have back home," Ally grumbled. Ally and her son had moved to America from Australia, and it was in New York that Danny and Denise had met.

"Well then maybe you should just go back to Australia."

"If I leave, what will happen to these children? I'm very concerned about them," Ally said in a patronizing way. She always had some comment to make on the way Denise raised her children.

"You say that like I don't give a damn about my children. I care only about these children," Denise answered, stressing the fact that she could care less what happened to Ally.

"Of course," her mother-in-law replied. "Why would you care about me? I'm only your mother-in-law... I tell you, if my son were still alive today-"

"Only if he was alive..." Denise cut in, glaring daggers at Ally.

"Stop it, both of you!" Kate finally spoke up, rising from her chair. There was only so much bickering she could take in a single morning. Taking out a dollar from her wallet, she slammed it down on the table in front of her brother. "Here's your stupid money. Happy now?"
And with that, she grabbed her bag and stormed out of the house.

The day always started the same: Denise and Ally would always fight, and Kate would always leave angry, and then have to put up her stupid neighbor, Danielle Philips (with one L), and her stupid chatter.

Making her way into the busy Starbucks , Kate spotted Danielle already at the counter, placing her order, and joined her.

"Hey, Dani," Kate greeted her, and Danielle smiled over her shoulder in acknowledgement before turning back to the worker.

"Make that two glazed doughnuts, two blueberry muffins, and two iced mocha frappachinos. What do you want, Kate?"

Unfortunately for Kate, she had to put up with Danielle because they were best friends. Some days, Kate wondered how she had gotten into that. Kate always said Dani had two problems: the weight she would never lose, and the fact that she was never sad about that.

"One double espresso to go, please," Kate said to the barista, who nodded and went to make her order. Once the girls had everything, they made their way out of the coffee shop and toward the ferry station to get to Manhattan.

"So, look what came in the mail for me today," Danielle said, sipping on her iced frappachino as she handed a letter to Kate. Dodging other passerby as they made their way through the busy ferry station, she took the letter from her friend, looking it over.

"What is it?"

"A blind date application."

"A what?" Kate asked, surprised. "You can't be serious... That is completely lame of you." Handing the letter back to Dani, Kate was abruptly stopped when someone's shoulder collided with hers, the hot coffee in her hand spilling all down her front.

"Oh my God! Great, just great. Just look at me," she groaned, trying to wipe away the hot liquid.

"Oh my God, just look at him!" Danielle nearly squealed, pointing excitedly to a young man around their age. "He is so cute!"

"Jesus, get a hold of yourself," Kate mumbled.

"But-"

"Shut up! I swear, all you care about is boys, boys, boys," Kate nearly shouted at her friend, not noticing the man who had bumped into her had stopped nearby to offer a napkin to wipe herself with. She also didn't notice that he was listening to their conversation. "What will happen, hmm? You get the guy you want, get married, have his kids, and then what?" Kate continued. "He'll leave you. They always do. What will you do then?"

"...I'll get married again? Duh," Danielle answered, as if it was the obvious answer.

"You know what, just forget it."