Chapter 5

Married twenty years...

Carmine Robertson looked at the rain that fell steadily down her window. The lights were low, the candles flickered in the back ground, their glimmer reflected in the mirror by her bed. She sat on the window seat, the cushion underneath worn and tattered, but still comfortable. Carmine, however was not. Her fingers trailed the paths of the rain as it splattered to and fro, the beating rhythm filled her senses and she pressed her forehead against the cold glass.

As Carmine blew out the candles, Thomas hurried home. As she walked around covering the food with plastic wrap and making room for it in the freezer, her husband was feeling the impact of an air bag slam into his face. As the beautiful brunette with the new dress on slipped out of her stilettos, the handsome business man fell unconscious against the steering wheel of his car. When the housewife and mother of two slid into bed and shut off the lights, the father was placed in an ambulance. As Carmine slept a night full of restless tumbling, Thomas slept the sleep of the dead, his life support echoing through the room...

Carmine woke up the morning of her anniversary and slipped into the shower. She tried to reign in the emotions that were running through her. He'd hadn't stayed out all night in so long that when he wasn't in bed with her that morning, it only confirmed her suspicions. She lost her battle and the tears fell like rivers down her soft cheeks. When she left the safety of the bathroom it was only to climb into her bed and curl under the blankets. There she stayed until she heard the pounding on her door. She slid her slippers on and grabbed her robe, tying its sash as she made her way down the stairs.

She pulled open the door, hoping to see Thomas, though why he'd knock never crossed her mind. Instead she saw the older versions of him staring back at her. The look on her mother and father-in-laws' faces immediately sent a chill down her spine and she swallowed the burning question that was suddenly there. Her lips shook as Thomas' father started to speak, "There was an acci..."

He never got to finish before Carmine fell to her knees and wept. What she wept for she wasn't sure. Was he dead? Was he seriously injured? Had he been with "her"? Had he been on his way home and not with "her"? Carmine didn't know. What she did know was that the word accident confirmed what she already knew, deep in her heart. No matter what, if there was a chance he was alive, she was not going to live without him.

She felt the soft pressure of another and looked up. Her mother-in-law was squeezing her shoulder and she too was down on her knees. "He's alive. He's in a coma. You need to come with us." She watched the mother of her husband wipe away her tears and then she reached out and wiped Carmine's as well. "We called your parents and they are keeping the kids. They said they'd tell them something, but not about this... not unless you want them too."

Carmine stood up on shaky legs and shook her head "no". "I'll tell them later. When I know more." She stared at the parents of her soul mate and clenched her eyes shut, took several deep breaths and asked, "What happened?"

The group moved inside and the door was shut behind them, by who, no one knew or cared.

"There were a couple of kids joy riding last night out on State Road Eight; they were racing another vehicle. It looks like they all rounded a curve at the same time. Thomas coming in one direction, the other two vehicles coming from the other direction. It was head on."

Her green-gold eyes filled with new tears that slid down her face. She sniffed and wiped at her sodden features, before asking about his condition and about the others involved.

"The hospital tried to call you, but no one answered. They reached us early this morning and we came here to get you. All they told us was he was in an accident and was in a coma. I had to call a buddy from the Police Station to get the details on the accident," her father-in-law said.

"Come dear, let me help you get dressed. We are anxious to see him, as I'm sure you are too," the soft words of her mother-in-law reached her ears.

"Was anyone with him? In his car? A woman? Anyone?" Carmine asked. Her heart held tight in a vise of her making and when they answered "no, he was alone" she released it. But there were still questions left unanswered. Where was he going or coming back from? State Road Eight wasn't anywhere near his work.

She mounted the stairs with the older woman and with her help she was ready to leave within the hour. On the way there she called her parents and asked that her father meet them at the hospital. She didn't talk to the kids; she didn't know what to tell them.