Best Man

Much to Caroline's surprise, Tre didn't try anything further during Christmas, as she had been anticipating after what he'd told her a few nights before the holiday. Whenever they'd been left alone in a room for a mere five minutes or less, she felt as if she were on pins and needles; worrying he'd do or say something detrimental.

But, alas, she lucked out; although it still left her wondering if and when he would eventually try something. And all she could do was hope otherwise.

It was two days after Christmas that Tre, Giselle, Ramona and Estelle had flown back out to California. The drummer got to see his son again and Ramona, her little brother, as well as Estelle returning home to spend the rest of her Christmas vacation with her mother in San Anselmo. This left Mike and Caroline alone in the Orchard Park home.

But not for long.

Dave and Nef flew into Buffalo the day before New Years so that they could join Caroline in meeting up at Chameleonwest to meet with Robbie Takac and Johnny Rzeznik. The rest of the day was spent going over what they wanted to get out of their time back in Buffalo to continue work on their sophomore album, while intermingling other subjects into the conversation, as in how Caroline and Mike were still dealing with the sex tape debacle and Mike's recovery from his second heart attack.

She explained that they were taking everything one day at a time; that their lawyers and the record label were actually heading the battle against the internet company responsible for distributing copies of the tape, hitting them with an injunction, as well as placing a lawsuit against the Blockbuster employee who sold the tape to the company without consent.

But all this wasn't something Caroline wanted to talk about to two of her best friends, considering that it was still the holiday season.

After the meeting at Chameleonwest and an early dinner spent chatting with Dave and Nef, the brunette singer, as well as up-and-coming bassist, headed to the nearest grocery store chain to pick up several last minute items for the small New Years celebration they were planning on having the following evening.

Wrapped in their warmest coats to block out the winter chill and expertly walking through the parking lot of icy, packed snow, the Sinners trio were pleasantly welcomed by the immediate blast of heat being pumped from the store's heating system as soon as they stepped beyond the automatic doors and into the lobby where the carts and the bottle return was.

Passing security detectors and the rows of registers, they agreed to go three separate ways in order to cover the ground more easier. They would each pick up certain items. Nef in general merchandise, walking up and down the aisles for chips, dip and carbonated beverages; Dave in the Deli and seafood departments to get cold cuts and shrimp; and then Caroline in the frozen food section to pick up some ice cream and liquor. And some milk and eggs, because her and Mike were low on those two items at home.

And while Caroline had her face stuffed in the freezer of aisle 16, trying to determine which kinds of ice cream to get, a pleasant announcement came over the store's PA.

"Attention customers, right now in the bakery we have donuts; buy one get one free. We also have rolls; buy one get one free. So stop over to the bakery while these items last."

The voice was female and didn't sound all that enthusiastic. If anything it sounded tired and as if the employee was simply fulfilling a nightly task so she could get rid of the extra product that would only be thrown out anyway.

And, hey! Mike loves donuts. And you can't go wrong with BOGO.

That'd be 'Buy One, Get One.'

Leaving her decision on the ice scream selections behind for a moment, all Caroline had to do was walk a few feet and step out of the aisle and she was facing the bakery. Snatching up a small plastic bag, she opened the donut display doors and began to mill over which kinds Mike would like.

"Hmm...plain is probably better for him," she muttered to herself, grabbing six donuts. At 55 cents a piece, and with them being BOGO, she'd only half to pay about $1.50. That was a steal. "And some glazed for moi," she spoke to herself, further, filling up a second bag.

When she leaned forward to grabbed a twist-tie from the holders below, she found it was empty. Turning toward the bakery counter, she took a few steps closer and peered over it at the back of a woman in a white baking robe-like coat and her long, hay-colored hair pulled back in a ponytail underneath her black store-issued baseball cap.

"Excuse me, miss? Are there any more twist-ties for the bags?" Caroline asked, grabbing the woman's attention.

When she turned around to see what customer was interrupting her from her 'clean down' duties, the employee gave Caroline a solid look before casting her deep blue eyes down at the counter to her left. And while she scoured for the twist-ties, Caroline found herself struck by how familiar this woman looked, despite never seeing her before in her life.

It was more like she looked a lot like someone she knew. A hell of a lot. But she couldn't place the name or the face. She did, however, steal a glance at the name tag the woman wore.

Lucy.

When Lucy stood up straighter with a handful of twist-ties lying flat in her palm, she walked out to the front of the counter and handed two to Caroline, noticing her two bags. As the brunette muttered her thanks and took the twist-ties, her eyes followed the woman as she placed the rest in the holder.

Caroline watched how Lucy held herself. She seemed like a 'tough broad' as some might say. Like she didn't take shit from anyone. And her eyes suggested she had a very sardonic outlook on life, and that her humor was the same. Dry, sarcastic, slightly pessimistic. But generally well-intentioned in the end.

Not only was this woman eerily familiar, but what was also eerie was the fact that Caroline could be so intuitive about this woman, like she was supposed to know her.

For a fleeting moment, Caroline wondered, Omigawd, could this be my birth mother? She looks the right age! But then she took into consideration that Lucy looked absolutely nothing like her. They couldn't be more opposite in their looks if they tried.

But, then, why was she so familiar? Was it a past life thing, maybe? Maybe she really did see her once or twice before, growing up here in Buffalo. If she's working at a local supermarket, she must be local and judging by the worn look she has, she does this for a living and has been here a good while.

"Uh..." Caroline began before her brain could catch up with her. "This is gonna seem strange, but...I feel like I know you from somewhere."

Lucy met Caroline's eyes, as if studying her to make sure she wasn't some crazy person. "If ya come here at all, I'm always here, working. That's probably why."

Caroline shook her head. "No, I've been living in California for the past three years and before that when I was living here I lived in West Seneca. I never shopped in this store location in my life."

Lucy simply shrugged. "Well, I've been working here for twenty-five years. Since '83."

"So then asking if you've ever been to California in the last three years would be a no, then?" Caroline pestered gently, with a shy smile.

"California?" Lucy repeated. "Shit. I haven't been in California in over thirty years, honey."

"D'you live out there?"

"For a time," Lucy admitted, and in a tone that suggested she was surprised at herself for opening up about the subject. "I was young. Ran off with my boyfriend at the time. Got myself in a bit of trouble and when I...when I got my life turned around, I saved up what I could for a bus ticket back home here to Buffalo."

"You didn't like it out there? I love it. It's where I always wanna be. My fiance and I live out there. But I just got a place here too, because I still have family and friends here. And...oh God, I'm sorry. I'm rattling to a stranger and you...you probably wanna finish what you're doing so you can go home."

Lucy considered what Caroline said and nodded, but then shrugged. "To be honest, I don't mind chatting with customers. I hate closing this department because it means I'm left alone back here and I don't wanna end up as one of those crazy people who always talks to themselves," she joked lightly with an awkward smirk that reminded Caroline so badly of someone she knew.

"When'd you leave California, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Spring of '73. I, uh...like I said, I got myself into some trouble, did what I could under the circumstances but I made a lot of bad choices, messed up someone's life pretty bad and when it was all said and done, I got myself taken care of and came back here."

There was a twinge of regret in Lucy's voice and Caroline didn't feel like pushing the envelope any further, but to her surprise, Lucy continued to talk as she wiped down some surfaces behind the counter.

"I ran away to San Francisco because I was all into that hippy phase. And my boyfriend said it'd be great fun. But of course we had no money and no place to stay so we lived on the streets and sold flowers we picked from nearby parks to passerbys who took pity on how ridiculous we were. And then came the drugs and, then...I got in trouble."

"D'you get busted by the police?"

"Luckily, no. Never did, but I wish I had. Maybe then I wouldn't have screwed up such an innocent life." Lucy looked up at Caroline and walked over the counter; a damp washcloth in her hand as she leaned forward. "I don't know why it is, but opening up to a complete stranger is kinda nice. I could never do this with my ex-husband or my son. It's like, I don't give a shit if a stranger judges me, 'cause I'll probably never see 'em again, y'know what I'm saying?"

"Absolutely," Caroline nodded, amazed at how right this woman was. It felt nice to just talk with her, and she didn't know her at all. But, given her career choice, she had to be careful. Although, from the looks of it, Lucy had no idea who she was, so she was in the clear. "So, then...what happened?"

"Got pregnant. And not to say getting pregnant is a bad thing, even though my boyfriend and I had no means of supporting ourselves, let alone a baby, but...we started doing some hard drugs. Cocaine, acid...heroin, even. And then, one day, my boyfriend took off without me. I don't even know where he went. One day he was there, the next...he wasn't. And I was due any day."

"How old were you?"

"Seventeen."

"Wow."

"I know. Like I said, I was young."

"So then what happened?" Caroline asked, as if she were a kid sitting in bed while her mom read her a bedtime story.

Lucy began to walk away from the counter to go back to some 'chores' while still talking. "I gave birth," she replied, sadly. "Had a beautiful boy. But he was sick because of me. Born addicted because of all the shit I'd taken during the pregnancy. Doctors said he had a heart murmur. And I said I couldn't keep him, as much as I really did want him. I knew I'd be a horrible mother and he'd be better off without me."

Caroline's 'Spidey Senses' began to tingle as if this were a story she'd heard before, but from a different perspective.

"I got to hold my son a few times after they put him through a detox program to get the drugs out of his system. And then they did the same to me. Got me clean for a while." Lucy moved further back into the bakery to pick up some metal trays and place them in the sink to soak. "They let me name him, too. Even though he'd be given up for adoption. I asked if I could name him. And they said yes."

"What'd you name him?"

"After my grandpa and my boyfriend," Lucy responded with a reminiscent smile. "Even if my boyfriend went AWOL, I wanted our son to have something of his."

"Which was?"

"Michael Ryan."

When Lucy looked back up at Caroline, she noticed how the younger woman's face looked as if she'd seen her ghost. Her eyes had widened, her jaw dropped slightly and her skin turned a shade of pale.

"You okay?" Lucy questioned.

"What day was your son born?"

Lucy shrugged as she replied. "May 4th; less than two weeks before Mother's Day. Why?"

"Of 1972?"

"Yeah..."

Holding onto both donut bags with one hand, Caroline brought her free hand on her mouth and actually smiled with surprise. "Omigod..."