Chapter 8

“Damn, that breakfast was even better than usual, Margie. Trust me, you’re getting one hell of a tip!” Hector winked at Margie while Cassie put the waitress’s hands on her breasts.

“Why, thank you, dears ... I won’t forget that ... or anything else, trust me,” Margie swayed her hips and ass more than a little as she dropped the check and walked away.

Just then, however, Hector’s cell phone rang. It was Karl and he didn’t sound good at all.

“Bro ... I hope that you’re sitting down for this. I don’t ... know ... how to tell you this ... without breaking down into tears. I’m not a big, warm, fuzzy guy ... you know. Not hypersensitive and tearful, I mean. It’s ... Mom, Dad, Aunt Haley ... and Aunt Michelle. They ... were in a car wreck very early this morning ... and there were no survivors. They just notified me ... from the morgue. They’re dead, bro. Mom, Dad, Aunt Haley, and Aunt Michelle ... are all dead. They’re gone. It doesn’t seem real, and yet it is,” Karl sobbed as he told Hector the awful news, causing tears to streak down his brother’s face.

“Hector, what is it?” Cassie grew very alarmed, so Hector put the phone on speaker now.

“Karl ... repeat what you just told me,” Hector asked with a very mournful tone of voice.

“Cass, I really hate to tell this ... but ... Mom ... Dad ... Aunt ... Haley ... and Aunt Michelle ... were all killed in a car wreck very early this morning. They went out for something, I don’t know what, and they were hit out of the blue by someone going the wrong way. Head-on collision. Car exploded, no survivors ... including the driver who hit them. That’s what Kirsten just told me, just now, those last details. Sis ... we’re ... orphans now,” Karl burst into tears again.

Cassie began sobbing uncontrollably now, shaking her head, her face ashen as she took in the reality as much as she could. No, it wasn’t possible ... dear God, no! She practically squeezed Hector’s hand to death as she held on for dear life. They both wept now, just as Karl did on the phone and they could hear more crying in the background.

“Sorry, that’s ... Kirsten ... and Bridget ... and Natalie ... and Diane ... and Trevor ... and Jamie. We’re all a mess, bro. Don’t come home yet. You’ll need to be able to drive, and right now, that won’t be possible. You know it and I know it. I don’t want to lose my brother and sister on top of our parents. And by parents, I include Aunt Haley and Aunt Michelle as well as Mom and Dad. They were our parents, too, you know,” Karl discouraged Cassie and Hector from driving home just yet.

It really wasn’t safe, after all. Margie walked back over to the pair and saw them crying, so she held them close, both of them. What had happened? They seemed so happy and alive just minutes earlier, and they were now heartbroken, both of them. What could have taken place in just minutes to alter their moods so drastically? It had to have been a real tragedy, right?

“What’s ... the matter?” Margie asked Hector and Cassie, truly horrified by the dramatic turnaround in their attitudes.

“Our ... brother just called ... and told us that our parents ... have been killed ... in a car wreck. Mom, Dad ... Aunt Haley ... and Aunt Michelle! All gone ... our parents ... are gone. We had four wonderful parents, and now they’re gone forever! All at once ... just like that!” Hector blurted as much as he could through his tears and Cassie’s.

“He hasn’t hung up, yet,” Cassie pointed out that they were still on speaker with Karl.

“Who is that?” Karl wondered now, a bit disoriented by the news that he had to deliver and the way that Kirsten now held onto him for support.

“That’s ... Margie ... our hostess ... and waitress at the Waffle House. Why is she doing both roles, I have no idea, but she is,” Hector informed his brother.

“Because everyone else called out today for some odd reason, leaving me with all of the work until ten. That’s when Lorraine shows up and I’ll be so fucking glad to see her! I’ve been lucky that it was slow enough to serve you two alone, though we want to see business pick up soon.

“Maybe when this long-ass recession ends, and sooner rather than later. Though I don’t know if it will end until the fucking Chinese Civil War ends. That’s been dragging on for years, you know, ever since the Hong Kong and Macao Uprisings,” Margie ranted before catching herself.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to rant and rave, ya know,” their server apologized, “my condolences ... to you two and your ... family on this terrible loss. I really know how to stick my foot in my mouth, don’t I?”

“It’s okay ... call me when you get off work ... we could use the company, right, babe?” Hector told Margie in front of Cassie.

“Nice to meet you, Margie, though I wish that the circumstances were different. I’m Karl, their brother. I have my twin sister, Kirsten, along with my sisters Bridget and Natalie, my big brother Trevor, Trevor’s wife Jamie, Bridget’s partner Diane, Trevor’s father, Tyler, and Ty’s ladies, Aunt Sandy and Aunt Julie. Well, I also have Uncle Red here, but he’s not in the best of health as it is, along with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Stephanie. Guys, this is ... Margie, right, a hostess/waitress from the Waffle House, who has befriended Hector and Cassie on their road trip,” Karl introduced them.