Lola's knuckles turned white as she squeezed the chair. Her faced burned as the truth of what she had said hung in the air.
She didn't deserve to be here, to feel the kicks and the movements of their baby. All of the joy she might have felt had been shoved so far
away, hidden in a place she wasn't sure even existed still.
One breath in, one breath out.
One breath in, one breath out.
Her heart rate still thudded in her ears, but her breathing began to level. She squeezed her eyes tighter to focus.
One breath in, one breath out.
A knock sounded on the wooden front door, disturbing her concentration. Gloria moved slowly from her stiff position, past Lola and down towards the entryway and peeked through the peephole then opened the door.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am, I'm Officer Pascal," the young man said holding a manilla envelope. "I'm here to deliver this document to Lola."
"Sure, I remember you." Gloria said, confusion in her voice.
"Oh I'm sorry, you're probably wondering why your husband didn't just bring it home. I guess there was some urgency, and he was unable to make it. I was headed out anyway and said I dropped it off."
"Oh, well, of course. Please come in. Just give me a moment to fetch her."
Lola stood numbly for a moment having overheard the conversation, but had recognized the police officer's voice immediately. He had been Kyle's first friend on the force. She started to smooth back her hair and dry her face, as Gloria peeked around the corner eyebrows raised in question. She reluctantly nodded. All the rubbing wouldn't hide her blood red eyes.
Officer Pascal stepped into the dining room, and smiled broadly at Lola, then quickly lowered his gaze as he took in her blotchy tear-stained face.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything," he said looking down at his shoes. "I just needed to hand you this." he said quickly giving her the envelope."I'm not sure what is."
"It's fine, Bryon, you didn't interrupt..." Lola mumbled. She stared him, standing there tall and proud in his uniform. His belt held strong at his waist. Kyle had called it his Batman belt. He was taller than Kyle had been, and thicker chested too, with blonde hair and gray eyes.
"Oh well, if I was being honest, I also wanted to check and see how you've been."
Lola stared blankly.
"Ok...well I should be going then." Bryon said quickly.
"I'm sorry, no, please..." Lola said. "I...I just.." she struggled for the right words.
"It's the sorrow...isn't it?" Byron whispered, leaning forward his eyes barely reaching hers.
Lola coughed a dry laugh, and rubbed her forehead with her fingertips.
"I tell you what, if you could use a breath of fresh air, I can meet you for a cup of coffee in about thirty minutes?"
Lola felt her head nod slowly.
"Great, I'll see you soon." He smiled and turned to walk out the door.
Lola took a deep breath, then studied the pamphlets that still littered the table. She considered picking them up, but thought better of it. Maybe her mom should be the one to hold on to them.
Thank you so much for reading! This prompt gave me a surprise new character I wasn't expecting!
If you would like to start from the beginning to see a fuller picture, I've linked all the parts below! And thank you to all my readers! @freedompoint, @cecicastor, @dreemsteem, @bennettitalia, @thefarmerswife, @thegreatdayne, @scribblingramma, @whatisnew, and @quirky.countess
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