| AGAIN BY TORRI |
CHAPTER 4 |
Part 4
Every man that I have ever loved, wanted, desired, fantasized about
has left me.
All of a sudden, like a distant storm quickly approaching,
the lightening strikes,
and then
silence.
Alone again, left to pick up the broken pieces
of a broken heart.
Like a predictable love story,
someone is there to pick up the pieces.
Only to break it again.
The never changing cycle
with ever changing characters,
leaves me wondering.
hopelessly.
Will I ever be loved, wanted, or desired by anyone?
Carlotta's diner is filled with the normal morning crowd. Christian and Roseanne are working the tables, Carlotta is behind the counter, cooking. Tea walks in and sits at the counter.
"Your usual?" Carlotta asks.
"Yes. How are you this morning?"
"Busy. You're going to have to tell me about this Nicholas."
"It's nothing-"
"So, I'm a nothing?" Nicholas says as he sneaks up behind Tea.
"I didn't mean it like that. I was just-"
"I know, I know. You wanna get a booth?"
"Sure," Tea says as she gathers her belongings.
"Nicholas, can I get you anything?" Carlotta asks.
"Yes. Let's see, I'll have-"
"Pancakes, six slices of bacon, a western omelet with extra cheese, and three pieces of sausage. Extra syrup for the pancakes, a large orange juice and a cup of coffee," Tea interrupts.
"I'm impressed," says Nicholas.
They take a seat at a booth in the back. Carlotta watches them with interest, straining to hear any parts of their conversation. Roseanne fills their cups with coffee, gives Tea the evil eye, then leaves.
"So, what have you been up to all these years?" Tea asks.
"I went to Harvard for awhile, but that didn't work out."
"Too much structure?"
"Yep, so I dropped out. My father wasn't too happy, but what could he do? So anyway, I worked for his company for awhile, but-"
"Too much structure?"
"Exactly, so then I decided to go into the Peace Corps."
"Yeah?"
"Can I get you two anything else?" Carlotta asks as she brings their breakfast.
"No thanks," answers Tea.
Carlotta walks away, giving Tea a wink.
"I spent a few years in Africa. That has to be the most beautiful place in the world. And
the work, it was so rewarding. After Africa, I spent some time in Europe, roaming from
country to country."
"Did you save the rainforest too?"
"No, the California redwoods are next," he says with a chuckle. "So what about you? I heard you got married-"
"Married and divorced, twice, to the same man."
"Wow. Guess I can't say you learn from your mistakes."
"Anybody else would have a slap coming to them," she jokes.
"You must have really loved the guy. Let me rephrase that, you must really love the guy."
"Why are you using the present tense?"
"I can see it in your eyes. So tell me about him."
"I'm sure Del told you all about him."
"He told me what he thought was relevant. Now, I want to hear the truth."
"What makes you think there's more to Todd?"
"Because I know that you would never allow yourself to fall in love with someone who was totally unredeemable."
"I'm not so sure about that but, oh well. His name is Todd Manning-"
"I know that much, I'm talking about the Todd Manning that you knew."
"Okay, well, um, he has a daughter, Starr. She is the sweetest little girl, and he's, well he was great with her. Todd is a very complex man. He was abused as a child-"
"That's the connection."
"Yes. His father was a monster, and Todd believed that it was genetic, that he was destined to be a monster too. Todd wasn't a very pleasant person, but that's one of the things I admired about him. He didn't give a shit about what anybody thought about him, he did what he wanted to do. You know, most people in this town hated him. Anytime there was a crime committed in this town, the police would come knocking on his door. So anyway, this girl was murdered, and, of course, he was the prime suspect. To make a long story short, he held fourteen people hostage to flush the killer out. It worked, but do you think any of the Llanview Hypocrites apologized? Nope. In fact, they arrested him for the hostage thing. Anyway, he came up with this plan, to fake Dissociative Identity Disorder, DID, in order to get off. And it worked. His sister suffers from the same thing."
"Vicki Carpenter?"
"Yes. He was acquitted, and we decided to get remarried."
"Wait, when did you get divorced?"
"Oh, I guess I forget that part. We got divorced during the trial, thinking that if I claimed that he wasn't the man I married, and another judge agreed with that, then it would help our case. After he fooled me into believing he had integrated his alters, I agreed to remarry him. Well, on our wedding day, a tape was played of him admitting to faking DID."
"And that was that."
"Exactly."
"So how are you holding up?" Nicholas asks.
"As well as can be expected."
"Don't give me the bullshit Delgado "I'm fine" line. It's me, Nick, the man who knows your darkest secrets, so tell me the truth."
"Okay, the truth is I still love him and I probably always will."
"So, what are you going to do about it?"
"That's the five million dollar question."
