Chapter 19: Left Behind

The service was brutal for Maureen. She was alone among a score of Karen's relatives headed by her abominable father at whom Maureen could not look without feeling a hot wave of hatred. He was responsible for the twisted person Karen had become. He and her mother who had looked away when he had raped his daughter to 'drive that perversion out of her'; the perversion being that Karen had been caught making out with a girl. Now they stood there, self-righteously complaining how their daughter had been led astray by her 'unnatural desires'. It had cost Maureen the threat to turn over Karen's childhood diary to the Altoona DA for them to allow her at the funeral service, but the other mourners looked at her like dirt on their shoes.

Now the door to the chapel opened again and Maureen's heart leaped. It were Joey and Tess Di Rosa who entered, both wearing black, both heading Maureen's way. Like a frigate under full sail, Karen's mother came charging along the aisle.

"May I ask your business?" she asked coldly.

"Is this Karen Langner's service?" Joey asked.

"Yes, and who are you?" Martha Langner asked brusquely.

"Well, why don't you first tell us who the fuck you are?" a belligerent Tess shot back. "I was a patient of Karen, and I want to express my gratitude for the help she gave me. This is my brother. He knew her, too. We also know Ms. Darling, and want to show our support. So, again, what's it of your fucking business?"

"Young lady, you will not talk to my wife..." William Langner gobbled, also drawing near.

"You and your wife can shove it! Karen told me what you did to her, so one more word and you'll need a face transplant! Got that?"

There was something Tess had to do about that temper, Maureen thought, but then again it was great to see the self-righteous assholes put in their place.

"I invited them, they are with me," she interjected. "And if I were you I would not mess with them. Remember, I still hold a certain document."

That put a stop-cock in William Langner's sound emission device. Maureen turned to the siblings.

"Thanks for coming, both of you."

"Hey, I owed Karen," Tess said. "Sorry I lost my cool, but the self-righteous bitch got to me."

Martha Langner had to hear that, and indeed, the furious look she cast at Tess was evident. Tess just shrugged, and Maureen remembered a few things Deirdre had told about Joey's sister. She was an atavism, a true fall back to the violent and reckless ancestry of the Di Rosa family: a Madonna face with the attitude of a cranky Doberman.

The ceremony was brief. No doubt, the minister wanted to avoid any further confrontation and he rushed through the rites. Then the casket was closed and an elevator transported it into the basement where it would be processed to the cremation oven. Karen's parents would get the urn with Karen's ashes and all that remained for Maureen would be the memory of ten years. Maureen felt thoroughly empty when she left the chapel supported by Joey and Tess. It was over. She was alone now. Karen was dead and her daughter had left, maybe never to return. A wave of depression enveloped her but she shook it off.

"Can I invite you two to a lunch? The Langners won't let me attend their banquet."

Tess shrugged and cast a challenging look at William Langner.

"Fuck them. Who'll have an appetite eating with that scum?"

Joey shook his head melancholically. "I had better split. I have a practical course at two, but Tess can stay, can't you, Tess?"

"Sure," Tess volunteered.

Joey gave Maureen an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. Maybe I can drop by one of the next evenings?"

"I'd like that, Joey," Maureen answered. Joey dropped by every other week, and they would talk about the news from Deirdre.

He bid his farewell, and Maureen took a cab to a nearby restaurant with Tess. It felt good to have company in the aftermath of the burial service, even the company of a seventeen year-old high school student. Then again, Tess was seventeen going on thirty, and she had firsthand knowledge of loss and mourning. Yet, their lunch came to an end, and Maureen professed her dread to return to her empty house.

There was a task waiting for her and that was to identify all of Karen's personal belongings and to pack them up. Karen's relatives demanded them and rather than fighting over used gym clothes and a few tech gadgets Maureen had promised to hand them over after the funeral. They would come that evening and Tess spontaneously offered her help.

After dropping Tess off at their house for a quick change into comfortable clothes, Maureen changed into jeans herself and began to sort through their common bedroom. She filled three moving boxes with Karen's underwear, sweaters, pants and other clothing items. There was no jewelry; Karen never wore jewelry. There was, however, a large collection of articles of a more delicate nature. When Tess arrived, Maureen asked her what to do with a dozen strap-on dildos, a variety of vibrators, and several other contraptions. Grinning devilishly, Tess suggested to distribute all those items among the underwear and other clothes, so that her relatives would have to go through everything before turning it over to Goodwill. Tess' suggestion to apply some fresh gliding creme to everything to have them in 'working order' was a bit too much for Maureen, but she followed the other advice.

Two more boxes were filled with Karen's books on physical therapy and her other interest, erotic fiction, mostly male perspective fiction. Those were also interspersed with the professional reading to create embarrassment. Boxes Nº 6 and 7 took a small compact stereo that Karen had used for aerobics classes at the community college and some portable music players, a digital camera, and a few more gadgets.

Then there was Karen's laptop computer which Maureen knew to be filled with erotic images and video clips, some of the former of herself and Karen. She didn't have a password for it, however, and she did not want the Langners to see those. Tess, more computer savvy than Maureen, found a box of software CDs and DVDs and proceeded to install a fresh Windows XP system after replacing the hard drive with one she had quickly bought at a shop near Drexel college. Karen's hard drive now sat in an external drive housing for Maureen to go over the files and retrieve those of sentimental value.

In no time it was five p.m. and the door bell rang. To Maureen's surprise it was Joey. Tess explained that she had briefed her brother and he came accompanied by a heavy set man of medium age whose physiognomy screamed 'mobster'. He was there to prevent things from going out of control, Joey explained, and indeed the man, a Mr. Santini, looked mean enough to deal with Karen's entire family and still keep one arm free for other tasks. He quickly affixed a small label at Maureen's front door bearing the inscription, "Protected by Di Rosa Security", and underneath, "Caution, Armed Response". He smiled at Maureen.

"This gives me authority," he explained. "I'll take it off later when I'll leave."

A little while later two cars drove up, one of them Karen's truck. Karen's parents and two male relatives alighted and approached the entrance. Maureen opened.

"We have put all of Karen's belongings into those boxes in the garage. Help yourself," she said curtly.

William Langner laughed harshly. "I don't think so. I want to have a look myself."

He moved towards Maureen and the two men began to follow, but now Mr. Santini appeared between Maureen and the men almost out of nowhere.

"I'm sorry but I must deny you access," he said politely.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Ettore Santini, of Di Rosa Security. These premises are under our protection and I cannot allow you access unless you have a valid search warrant and are accompanied by a law enforcement officer."

William Langner glared at Santini. "Are you one of her queers?"

"Again, sorry; if that is your interest, you may want to shop around in Camden, on the other side of the river," Santini answered with a sneer.

"What's going to keep us from just going in?"

Santini shook his head and showed the large automatic in the holster under his arm. Then he showed his left hand which held a pepper spray can, and tilted his head in a mocking, silent question. The Langners withdrew immediately and began to confer under their breath. Shooting angry glances at Santini they walked over to the garage. It was empty but for the boxes and they began to haul them to Karen's truck.

Maureen had called the police when the confrontation began and now a cruiser stopped on the street behind the Langners' cars. Two officers alighted and marched up to the door. One of them, a stunning, tall African woman, gave Maureen a sad smile.

"Ms. Darling?" she inquired, and Maureen stepped forward giving her a curt nod of recognition. Numi N'Gomo was part of the scene like Maureen.

She briefly explained the situation and pointed at the garage where Karen's belongings were stacked. The Black officer approached the Langners.

"I'm Sergeant N'Gomo. I must ask you load the belongings of your relative and remove yourself from the premises. You are trespassing Ms. Darling's property."

"This was my daughter's home!" William Langner protested.

"Yes, but it is a private residence. If you believe that you have rights in the property you must file a claim in court. Listen, why don't you collect the items Ms. Darling has stacked and just leave in peace?"

"She's hiding my daughter's possessions!" Langner maintained.

"Sir, have you inspected those boxes?"

"No."

"How do you know if anything is missing? Are you looking for anything particular?"

"No, but there must be more."

Maureen stepped forward. "There wasn't anything more. This is what Karen owned. Karen invested all her money in that truck. She contributed to the living costs, but the house is in my name only, and the furniture is mine, too."

"You lived together. Half of everything is Karen's."

Maureen sighed. "There is no common law marriage or civil union between same sex partners in Pennsylvania, thus there is no communal property. Check with a lawyer."

Officer N'Gomo shook her head. "Mister, why don't you find a lawyer to discuss this. If you think you have a claim, you must file a petition in court. Right now you have to leave the property. If we find you trespassing again we will have to arrest you."

Greed and fear of an arrest battled in Langner's face, but then he gave in. Maureen got in the last words as the four Langners finished loading the boxes on Karen's truck.

"If I ever see you again on my property I'll file charges. Get out and stay out of my life!"

The Langners drove off with their loot without another word. Santini made a quick phone call while the police officers bade their farewell. Then he approached Maureen.

"We'll shadow the two cars for the next hours, just to make sure. I'll have our patrols take a look every hour, too."

"Thanks, Mr. Santini, but I don't know how I..."

"There is no obligation for you. I was here to protect Miss Di Rosa. We were alerted that she might be in danger."

Joey led him outside. "Tell Felix thank you, please," she heard him say.

"No problems, Joey," Santini was heard, but then he was walking to his car and Joey returned.

"Tess called me to come over and I had a hunch it might get ugly. That guy gave me the creeps and with Tess running her mouth as usual I thought it better to have the cavalry around."

"You're a kill-joy, Joey," Tess complained. "I would have loved to fry him."

She brandished a small electroshock device and Joey shook his head.

"Tess, cut that shit. He could have slapped you senseless before you got that thing out. Stop playing Supergirl, damn it! You know the consequences if you get hurt. You want that?"

Maureen looked between the two siblings. Something unspoken was passed between them and Tess nodded, obviously accepting the rebuke.

"Sorry, I got carried away."

"Maureen, is there anything we can help you with? Do you want to come over for dinner?" Joey offered.

"No, that is nice of you, Joey, but I have things to think about. I have to get used to being alone."

"Any word from Deirdre?" Joey asked in a low voice.

"She used her therapist to stonewall me. Some Dr. Wilson. She sounded sincere. Deirdre is still a mess it seems. I spoke her two days ago and I offered to come and visit if she feels unable to come here. But no, please don't, please leave me alone, I can't handle you."

"She hasn't called in two months now," Joey said sadly. "She doesn't take my calls either. I guess she made a decision then."

Maureen shook her head in dismay. "Don't blame yourself, Joey. You did your best, more in fact than anybody would have expected. Maybe the new therapist will help her to see what she has in you."