Fragile Hearts

Adelyn sitting at her desk couldn't focus on her project, rattling through her brain was that kiss. She would not forget the tenderness of Sandra's lips anytime soon.

"Adelyn!" A voice filled with irritation bellowed.

Startled and confused del turns around "Yes? What?"

Mrs. Len looks at her while holding out a document "I've been calling your name, what's gojn on with you? You've been zoning out all day."

Adelyn grabs the document and sighs "Sorry, I guess I have a lot on my mind today."

"Oh? Trouble in paradise? Mary hasn't come by in a while, did something happen?" Mrs. Len imposes her need for gossip.

Adelyn thinks about her questioning and realizes she hasn't even noticed that Mary was absent. Mrs. Len notices the face of surprise and offers her unwanted advice as usual "Looks to me that she has found herself another woman, why else would she be avoiding you?"

"What? That's a bit of a leap isn't it." Adelyn scoffs at the notion "She wouldn't do that... ?" Her confidence in her own words was minimal at best.

Mrs. Len places her hand on Adelyn's shoulder and leans in closer "Look, I'm just saying this because I see what goes on around here and you know I'm looking out for you girl. That woman was showing up almost every day for lunch for the past 6 months but where is she now? Think about it." She pats her shoulder and walks off.

Later that day Adelyn attempts to contact Mary, each time she is sent to voicemail. "Ok something is wrong, I've been so distracted lately I didn't even consider Mary's feelings." Sighing Adelyn tosses her phone onto the counter before starting up the coffee maker. She wanders around her kitchen fretting about these new revelations. "Should I go to her house? What did I do to make her avoid me?"

She stills herself a moment when the phone rings "Hello?"

"Hey, its Mary." The tone seemed dry and to the point.

"Hey, I think we need to talk." Adelyn attempts to sound upbeat but when has 'we need to talk' ever sounded anything but bad.

"Oh really? Did you decide you need something boss?" Arrogance in every word.

"Um no, I just wanted to talk to you..I was concerned...that maybe there is someone else." Her voice cautious but to the point.

"Hahaha are you kidding me right now? you're accusing me of cheating? You're a real piece of work boss. You're the one with a problem." She spat back at her.

"Excuse me? I have a problem? you're the one who has disappeared all of a sudden, no visits, no calls, not even a text message. What the hell is going on?" Defensive and confused Adelyn snaps back.

"You really don't know? What a joke, if you don't know by now you'll never know, Christ. I'm done with this shit. You don't care about me, you just like what I can do for you."

"Fuck you Marilyn, you won't even talk to me about what the problem is. you're more of a child than I thought!" The sting of her words hit hard even to herself, she regretted them immediately.

"I'm a child? I'm not the one lying to save her own skin! Do you think what you're doing is the right thing to do? All you're doing is hurting people, but I'm the bad guy? How bout I let a certain someone in on the big secret. You essentially killed her daughter yet you prance around like your some noble savior under the guise of helping her. Take some responsibility for what you're doing to the people around you!"

"I am taking responsibility! I have been volunteering at the hospital and taking care of Sandra from the beginning, not telling Margret was to protect her!"

"Protect her? No, it's for your own selfish prerogative. Why have I even stayed this long knowing you have feelings for some stranger in a coma! Seems you and 'Sandy' have become quite the pair."

"I do not have feelings for her! I'm being there for her like I should have been for ...." Adelyn trails off remembering her brother's accident.

"Should have been? You mean she's not the first person you put into a coma? Jesus your more fucked up than I thought!"

"That's not what I mean." tears push at Adelyn's eye lids.

"What you should do is come clean! Your always so reserved even with me. Why won't you tell me everything? Why do you seem like you go somewhere else when we are intimate?"

"I...I didn't realize... I didn't think.... I'm just doing what I believe is right..." Adelyn settles on the aspect of the argument that she knows she can defend.

Mary interrupts "Yeah I know. It's always about Sandy. But why? Yeah your car accident put her in a coma, but why do you fight so hard for someone you don't even know, but so little for someone you do?"

"You don't know what your talking about!" Adelyn dismisses her.

"Then tell me! Tell me why!" Mary's voice fills with rage.

"I...can't, I'm sorry. I just can't!" Adelyn resigns herself and pulls away.

"Click" Mary hangs up, the sadness and pain in her voice still echoes in Adelyn's ears "What have I done....maybe I am a terrible person."

Adelyn heads over to the hospital for her volunteer work as scheduled. With a dark air around her, she did her rounds checking off her duties as they are completed.

Continuing until a small voice interrupts her "What's the matter?" Bobby inquires. He is still undergoing treatment but doesn't have to stay every day anymore only a few days out of the week for radiation.

Adelyn puts on the most cheerful smile she can muster "Hey buddy, it's good to see your recovering well." speaking softly.

"Yeah I'm ok, momma says the ray-ea-son will fix the bad thing inside me." Bobby tries his best to sound out the word his doctors used to describe his treatment.

"That's right, soon you'll be running and playing with all the other kids." smiling Adelyn's face seems happy except for the sadness in her eyes that she could not hide.

"But why are you sad?" Bobby inquired further.

"I um" she sighs "I think I...just got dumped." Trying to put into simple terms what had occurred earlier that day.

"Did your boyfend not want you anymore? My mommy got dummed too, she said that's what happens." His pale little face turned solemn.

"Well...yeah...um I guess sometimes when life gets too hard people don't get everything they need to be happy...and that can make them leave even if they don't want to." Adelyn awkwardly explains.

"Do they come back?" His little eyes full of optimism.

"Sure they do buddy." Trying not to crush the little hope he has.

"Will Sandy come back?" His eyes look towards Sandra's room across the hall.

"I hope so buddy." her brow furrows.

"Oh" Bobby thought. He quickly grabs a piece of paper and Adelyn's lucky pencil and begins drawing. "Here" he hands her his drawing "We will be together forever now cause it says so right here" he points to one of the squiggly lines on the paper next to a simplistic stick figure drawing of them together."

Adelyn smiles holding the drawing tenderly "Thank you, I love it."

She makes her way towards Sandra's room feeling a bit better. Upon entering she finds Margret and Mary talking, the aura in the room feels tense. Margret looks up from her hands locking eyes with Adelyn, red flushed her face.

"How could you keep this from me! Since the beginning you've lied to my face? Is this true?"

"I ..I can explain!" Adelyn's heart beat out of her chest.

"No! Leave my sight, my heart can't handle this right now!" Margret's voice was filled with anger and disappointment.

Adelyn closes the door behind her hearing soft muffled sobs from inside the room Adelyn unable to bear the sadness burst into tears and runs away.

That night Adelyn drank herself into a heavy dream state. She awoke to Sandra's warm embrace, her emotions rose to the top and poured out. Tears ran down her face as she clutched Sandra's body tightly, her weeping gently twitching against the sleeping woman. Waking to her lovers sadness Sandra immediately wrapped Adelyn in her arms "hush now, it was just a bad dream. It's ok, I'm here." She strokes her hair as she whispers, attempting to calm Adelyn's shaking body. "Honey, everything's ok, your here with me safe in our bed."

"I ...I...I'm so sorry" Adelyn wails into Sandra's embrace. Her tears soaking through her night shirt as she attempts to catch her breath. "I know it was selfish." Adelyn whispers with a shaky breath. I need to tell you something."

"What is it baby, you know you can tell me anything?" Sandra still soothing the shaky woman.

"I'm not who you think I am." Adelyn's voice cracks and quivers.

"Enough of that, I know exactly who you are. You're kind and sweet and caring. I knew when we first met in that bar. I was intoxicated and it wasn't from the alcohol."

"Which bar was it?" Adelyn asks quizzically.

"Oh dear, maybe we should see a doctor about this memory loss." Concern in Sandra's soothing voice.

"No... I do remember a bar. Was that you? I don't remember how we met." Adelyn's voice full of confusion and sadness.

"You don't remember? You came right up to me said something weird and walked away, enough about this, your scaring me."

"I'm sorry, I don't want to scare you." Adelyn embraces Sandra and gives into the moment thinking 'It's just a dream anyway.'