Would You Bargain With Hell?

The days didn’t blur together anymore. Each day was in its own right exciting. On Tuesday Sophie asked if we could go out, just the two of us. Little Sophie is the most overlooked child. Her hair being at least a level darker than that of her sisters, she had to fight to fit in.

She told me how she wanted to be a dancer, and be a ballerina in Swan Lake, until she saw Black Swan and got completely thrown of track. Now she was pursuing a dream of being a housewife. She had a crush on a boy called Colton who was Mrs. Lawson’s oldest son. I met Colton a month ago at a dinner party; I remembered how Sophie turned red.

She was naïve like a child, contrary to her being eighteen just like Celine and Marie. She asked about Patrick and how things were going and I told her things were well. We went shopping and I bought a new necklace, dropsy and crystal. When we got home Sophie kissed my cheek and ran up to her room. I smiled and saw Gentry- who had grown pot-bellied.

I kneeled and called him over. “Hey buddy,”

He wagged his tails and licked my hand. “I miss you too.” I kissed his head and got him a cookie from the kitchen.

On Wednesday Grace got invited to a charity bingo ‘abomination’ as she called it. But she had to keep up appearances, what with her pregnancy and all. She hustled us all too some shelter and we played bingo. At one point I had five in a row diagonally but she told me not to raise my hand, to let the less fortunate win. I admired that.

On Thursday Patrick invited me to his house, since his dad had flown in with some of his other family. He wanted me to meet them. So he organized a fancy dinner. He picked me up, without a chauffeur and he drove me even further upstate. A house similar to the Tamerlane’s. It was beige with brown shutters and beige columns.

He kissed me before he got out of the car and opened the door. He held my hand and first I saw his mother, who I had met before. She smiled and kissed my cheeks, calling her husband in.

A tall man put his arm around Mrs. Howell; he was a tower, taller even than Patrick. His hair was dark and his face defined. His brows were thick and his eyes blue. I shook at first, as his face remained still. He finally let loose a smile and reached a hand down to me. I shook.

“So you’re the fancy lady Patrick’s always on about. You did good scout.” He winked at Patrick, who grew red with embarrassment.

I met two uncles, one aunt, a cousin, and a disoriented grandmother.

The Howells were remarkably down to earth about everything, ending a conversation about stocks to talk about the park being demolished on Third Avenue. I was halfway through my pasta when Patrick grandmother said “Patty boy, when are you going to marry her?”

I felt my cheeks get warm and Patrick choked on his water. “Grandma-.” He coughed.

“Susan, leave the boy alone, they are young still.” His father stepped in eyeing Patrick.

“I’m just saying, why wait?” She pestered.

“I’m only nineteen grandma. People don’t get married now.” He fought, and the table fell silent.

“I got married-,”

“I know Gran, you were seventeen.”

She got quiet quickly and apologized.

The next day his grandmother passed away. He didn’t cry in front of me but when he came over he didn’t say much. He asked me to please come with him. I told him I didn’t think I should because of how dinner went, but he asked again, and I could see pain in his eyes. He said it was his fault. I told him I would go.

On Sunday I got on a plane, first class, with Patrick and Mrs. Howell. The funeral was in London, his grandmother’s hometown.

Patrick was holding tough, I assumed for his mother, who was being hysterical. I was walking down the aisle when I started shaking. I took the window seat and Patrick sat beside me. He reached for my hand.

“Rayder, are you okay?” He looked at me.

I nodded.

The pilot announced our trip and instructed everyone to buckle their seatbelts. I froze. Patrick quickly buckled me.

“Rayder, what’s wrong?”

“I think I’m afraid of flying.”

He looked concerned until he broke out laughing, such a happy laugh that I started laughing too, and before I knew it we were flying and it was too late to be scared.

“It wasn’t so bad was it?”

I shook my head and leaned my head back. Mrs. Howell soon ran to bathroom to cry. Patrick followed a few minutes later to check on her and I looked out my window, only slightly scared. I saw a tiny New York. And I swore I saw the bridge. My bridge, except, now I remembered, it wasn’t my bridge. It was our bridge.

Then I started shaking again, because I forgot, no, I pretended to forget, but what if he did something-drastic, and it was my fault.

I reached into my pocket, but of course there wasn’t any service. I would call him, and then he would be okay, and then that would be it.

I didn’t need him. I had Patrick, I loved Patrick, but I mean, I couldn’t let him-die.
I hit the orang buzzer, checking that Patrick was still knocking at the bathroom. A smiley flight attendant walked over. “How may I help you?”

“Is there any way I could make a phone call? It’s really important.”

“Well, it’s not really for passenger use, Miss.”

“It’s really really important please.” I begged, and she nodded.

“Follow me.”

She took me into a small room for flight attendants and opened a phone cabinet.

“Dial one-oh-six, then the phone number you need reach.”

I nodded and mouthed thank you, dialing the number for Scrappy’s bar. It rang a few times.

“Hello?”

“Scrappy?” I recognized the voice.

“Yes, who is this?”

“I’m Rayder, a friend- I knew- Is Mason okay Scrappy?” I shook my head at how pathetic I sounded.

“Oh hi Rayder, I haven’t seen you around. Mason’s alright yeah, he’s at the dartboard, want me to get him for you?”

I smiled. “No, no thank you, and Scrappy, can you not tell him that I called?”

“Why not Miss?”

“I don’t want to mislead him. Just make sure he stays okay. Alright- I gotta go.”

“Rayder hold on-,”

“What?”

“He misses you.”

I hung the phone back up and composed myself.

“Thank you very much.”

The flight attendant nodded and walked me back to my seat where Patrick waited.

“Hey, I wondered where you got to.”

“Just to the bathroom, how’s your mom?”

“She lost her mom; she’s not well you know?”

I nodded looking down.

He touched my face. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize.”

“Huh- Oh, no your fine, I never knew her.” I smiled to reassure him.

He kissed me and leaned his head on my shoulder.

“Hey Patrick.”

“Hmm?”

“I love you.”

He looked up at me. “I love you too Rayder.”