[EX] Laura, Carolyn, and The Past
The insistent knocking on the door pulls me out of my stupor. I’ve been watching TV for a few hours and have honestly lost track of time completely. Feeling a bit more like a useless lump than I would like, I hoist myself off of the couch. I take a few steps towards the door but feel a tiny burst of pain through my back that causes me to pause.
I take a second to rub my injured back and then continue towards the door. I hurt myself stupidly earlier while I was moving some furniture, and I feel like an old woman now more than I’ve ever felt before. I should have just asked Sam to help, but he’s so busy nowadays and I don’t want to bother him with something like moving some furniture around.
I pull open the door and I’m greeted by a beautiful young woman, with a youthful energy that I’m suddenly finding myself very jealous of. My mood is a little sour right now, but I’m trying not to be snappy when I say, “Hello?”
“Hello! You’re Carolyn, right?”
“Yes?”
“Perfect! I’d like to have a little talk with you if that’s alright. Can I come in?”
How very forward of her. I get people trying to sell me things pretty frequently, but they generally don’t lead with trying to get into my home.
“... I’d prefer that you didn’t. Please add me to your 'do not contact' list.” I start to swing the door closed, but I stop when the pretty blonde woman says, “Wait!” and sticks her fingers in the door. I’m feeling crabby, but not so much that I’d crush some poor girl’s fingers.
I swing the door open and say, “Look, I’m not feeling great and I don’t have nearly as much money as you people seem to think. Leave me alone.”
“... Money? I’m not trying to sell you something! I want to talk about Sam!”
I look carefully at her, and she looks carefully at me. I’m not really sure what’s going on anymore, but this definitely isn’t a conversation I want to have in public. Does she know about me and Sam? Does she want something?
I swing the door open and say, “Come in then.”
She steps inside and I guide her to the couch. If she’s trying to leverage my relationship with Sam for something there’s gonna be a new shallow grave in the backyard.
I sit down on the sofa and she sits down on a loveseat to the side of me.
“I guess introductions are in order. I’m Laura Sinclair, and I teach chemistry at Harris-Hyde. Sam’s in my class.”
“I’m Carolyn. I work at a boutique. What do you want?”
“I want to talk about Sam, and all of our futures.”
I’m a bit confused about all of this. She wants to what now? “What do you mean by ‘our futures?’”
“As amazing as Sam is, he’s only one man, we’re gonna need to plan for both the near and distant future, starting now.”
Suddenly, I understand something. “... Oh my god. you’re sleeping with him?”
“Yeah. We’re kinda like sisters now!”
“You’re his teacher? And you’re sleeping together?”
“Mhm! He’s the love of my life, so even if the circumstances aren’t the best, it’s not like I could turn him away.”
I lean back into the chair, a little taken aback by this turn of events. I don’t mind Sam being with other women, we’ve already discussed this beforehand. But… What's this about Sam being the love of her life? They can’t have been together for more than a few weeks.
Honestly, it reminds me a little of…
Oh my god.
“You said your name was Laura, right? Laura Sinclair?”
“Yeah.”
“The Church of God’s Restored Grace, does that ring a bell to you?”
Laura gives me an alarmed look. “Yeah? How do you know them?”
“I was a member! You were too! I looked after you in the nursery!”
“You were?” she pauses for a moment to think, then almost jumps out of her chair, “Oh my gosh you were!”
“I always wondered what happened to all the kids when the whole thing collapsed. How have you been?”
“I’ve been alright. Do you… still believe in the church?”
“Oh, heavens no. It was all rubbish and I knew even before it all fell apart.”
Suddenly, it’s like a switch has flipped. I know that I’ve been acting a bit curmudgeonly, but it’s not every day that I meet someone who was part of our old church— especially one of the kids I used to take care of!
We talk for almost an hour about what happened, and what’s been going on in our lives since then. The last time I saw Laura she couldn’t have been more than 8 or 9 years old, so there’s a lot of catching up to do.
I get the feeling that our opinions on the church differ a bit. She still seems to believe part of the teachings, but it was those same teachings that forced me to marry… him. Any god that would subject a young girl to something like that isn’t worth following.
Honestly, God can judge me all he wants, his sins are bigger than mine.
Suddenly, we’re interrupted by a sweatpants-wearing good-for-nothing. “Hey, Ma! Are we doing anything for-”
Darren finally deigns to look up from his smartphone and realize we were in the middle of something. His eyes jump back and forth between Laura and me before they finally settle on me. “My grades aren’t that bad, are they?”
Laura lets out a little chuckle, “Don’t worry, I’m not here for you.”
He lets out a relieved sigh.
“This time.”
His breath catches just a little.
I interrupt their little exchange, “Did you have a question?”
“Right, are we doing anything for dinner? I’m a little hungry and if you’re not making anything I’m gonna order something.”
I glance over at Laura. “Laura and I are gonna get something to eat. We could bring you back something?”
“It’ll be super late by then. I’m just gonna order something.”
I shrug, “Alright then.”
With his question answered and his innate fear of anything academic triggered he slinks back to his room.
I leave Laura in the living room for a bit while I freshen up, then we go out to eat. We talk about all manner of things from the church, to Sam, to what it’s like being a teacher. Honestly, I haven’t had someone to talk with like this in a while. I love Sam, but there are just some things I can’t talk to him about. Having platonic friends is a feeling I’d almost forgotten.
Eventually, we get kicked out of the restaurant and, after returning to my home for a bit, we decide to part ways.
“We’re gonna do this again, right Carolyn?”
“I’d love to!”
“How about… same day next month?”
“That sounds good. You don’t need to wait a whole month though. Come over and say hi whenever!”
“I will!”
And with that, she leaves.
What a nice girl. I didn’t think I’d ever say this, but I’m glad Sam’s sleeping with her.