"Stop!" the cashier once again cried out, running down the street after the man who got away.
The man stopped and turned around. "I didn't steal anything if that's what you think," he proclaimed.
"Oh, yeah?" the cashier asked. "Then, why did that security alarm go off?"
"How do I know?" the man replied. "Maybe it's time for Bergman's to invest in a new security system. Ones that aren't so damn faulty and make innocent people look bad."
"It's not the first time that alarm went off like that," the cashier admitted. "Most people would stop walking out of the store when we say, 'Stop!'"
"I'm not most people," the man replied. "I was holding a set of keys in the open, that's probably what caused it."
The man noticed a woman walking up the street.
"Ryan?!" she called out in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
"Aunt Carole?" the man asked, very surprised.
The cashier turned around and looked at Carole walking up. "You know him?"
"He's my nephew," Carole declared. "Ryan, what on earth?"
"Can you please just tell this girl that I didn't shoplift anything from that store?" Ryan pleaded.
Carole turned to the cashier. "He didn't take anything from your store." The cashier folded her arms. "Fine, then," she muttered. "If you ever set foot in Bergman's again, I'll be watching you!" she proclaimed as she walked back to the store.
"You won't have to worry about that!" Ryan shot back.
"Ryan," Carole began, still in shock. "Nora said you moved out of your apartment and left town without telling anybody. She's been very concerned."
Ryan DiMarco was Nora DiMarco's only son. Nora had never been married but she got pregnant when she was a senior in high school and raised Ryan on her own.
"I don't know why Mom is surprised," Ryan replied. "The only person who should be concerned about me is me."
"Of course she is concerned," Carole firmly replied. "Why did you decide to come to Pennsylvania?" she wanted to know.
"I've been here for about three months," Ryan answered, looking a little agitated about all these questions. "I'm independent for the most part. I graduated from Tampa University a couple years ago and was ready for some new scenery. Look, I have an apartment and I'm looking for work. Just tell Mom that when you talk to her."
"You're going to be doing the talking," Carole told him, grabbing his sleeve.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "Aunt Carole, don't do this."
"You're going to call Nora from my house," Carole told him, leading him to her car. "And I'm going to stand there and watch."
Lalie was sitting in the living room when she heard her mother's car pull back into the driveway.
Lalie stood up as Carole and Ryan walked through the door.
"I don't believe it," Lalie said, her eyes very wide as she saw Ryan walk in.
He's been here for three months," Carole informed Lalie as she walked over to the phone to call her sister.
Lalie turned to her cousin. "You've been here for three months and you don't even stop over to say, 'hello' to your family?"
"I'm not really into that," Ryan replied in an uncomfortable tone. "As soon as I tell my mom where I am, you won't be seeing me much."
"You've always been like that," Lalie mentioned. "I don't know why you're so intent on being on your own."
"I don't need help from people to make me feel whole," Ryan declared. "I take care of that. And-" Ryan stopped abruptly.
Lalie caught on to his pause. "And?" she asked him with a smile. "Someone special?"
Carole walked back into the room carrying the cordless phone. "Ryan," she said, handing him the phone.
Ryan looked thankful that he didn't have to answer Lalie's last question. "Hi, Mom," he spoke into the phone.
"Ryan!" Nora exclaimed. "Do you know how worried I was when you just moved and didn't tell me where you were going?"
Ryan didn't answer as he walked to the other side of the room to be in more private territory. "You were pretty busy with Heather," Ryan told her.
"But you're my son," Nora replied.
"I know," Ryan replied. "You didn't have to be concerned, you know I'm good at taking care of myself."
"I know you're capable of that," Nora told him in a serious tone. "What the hell brought you to Pennsylvania?"
Ryan smiled as he thought about the reason. "It was just something I wanted to do. Since it felt right to me, I ran with it."
Nora sighed. "You always act on impulse," she pointed out. "I want you to get on the next flight back to Florida."
"No!" Ryan immediately exclaimed. "I'm doing fine here," he assured her. "I used the money from my last job and from my savings, got myself an apartment. I'm in the process of getting a job, too."
Nora didn't answer right away. "Ryan," she sighed. "What am I supposed to say to that?"
"You're supposed to say that you trust me to make wise choices," Ryan replied.
"Of course, I do," Nora told him. "I just don't think it's wise when you run off without telling me where you're going."
"If things don't work out like I expect, I'll move back to Florida," Ryan offered.
"Fine," Nora reluctantly agreed. "I want you to give your new address and phone number to me and Aunt Carole right now. What if we needed to contact you for something before? I had no idea how to get in touch with you!"
"I'm sorry for that," Ryan finally apologized for something as he told Nora both his address and phone number, and wrote it down on a pad for Carole.
"Thank you," Nora replied. "Okay, I'll let you go. Ryan, I'm really glad that I know you're safe and sound."
"I'm glad that you're glad," Ryan replied, clicking off the phone and laying it back down on the cradle.
"You must have had a lot of money in your savings account," Lalie pointed out, looking at where his apartment is located. "That's a pretty expensive neighborhood."
"It's reasonable," Ryan told her, walking towards the door. "You know where to find me, okay?"
"Hold on," Carole said, walking to the door and looking him in the eyes. "Isn't your car on the other side of town? Let me take you back up there."
Ryan felt the oppressive humidity and the overbearing sunrays beating down on him and agreed to let Carole take him back to his car.
Later that evening, Vivian stood over a hot stove, stirring the soup appetizer. The main course was in the oven, at least she didn't have to worry about that.
She reached into the cabinet and took down a book of matches and walked into the dining room and lit the candles.
The doorbell rang as she lit the last candle.
"Frankie!" Vivian called out. "This is like a carbon copy of earlier. Don't come until everyone else has arrived. I want you to make an entrance!"
"I messed up again," Frankie groaned as she looked towards the dining area. "Everything looks wonderful."
Vivian looked down at her watch and realized Kevin wouldn't be there for a while yet. James had gone to Georgia's penthouse to pick her up. "Frankie, come in here for a minute," Vivian said, leading Frankie into the dining area. "Let me go over the seating chart with you."
"Seating chart?" Frankie asked in disbelief.
"Yes!" Vivian exclaimed. "Do you think I want you sitting next to Georgia?"
Frankie shrugged.
"I'm going to sit here at the head of the table," Vivian put her hand on the top of the chair. "You're going to sit there, and Kevin will sit across from you," Vivian explained. "James will sit next to you and Georgia will sit across from him, diagonal from you," Vivian finished.
Frankie nodded her head every time Vivian said a name. "I have no idea what you just said but I think I know where I'm sitting!"
"Right there," Vivian pointed once again to her seat. "Look, I'll give you a polite tap on the foot if I want you to speak up and spark more conversation with Kevin. I'll give you a smile and a subtle wink if I want you to smile more. I'll give you a light tap in the shin if I want you to drop a topic."
Frankie put her hands over her head, trying to take all this in. "I think this'll work, by the end of the night Kevin will have forgotten all about Lalie Mills."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Vivian warned her with a slight laugh. "It'll definitely be a start, though."
Frankie smiled. "Well, let me go back home, I'll come over when I see everyone has arrived."
"And not a minute sooner," Vivian warned her.
Vivian chuckled as a nervous Frankie left the house and went back across the street. "I love having control over people," she declared, walking back into the kitchen to check on her soup.
Chapter 7
Hosted {Fiction}
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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