Alone in Rome

Chapter Three

Kate still hadn’t heard a word from Elise, who was likely so ashamed she'd left the country. The rest of her phone calls all went pretty much the same, bar the lovely old florist lady who was kind enough to offer her a partial r****d and store credit. Awesome! Free flowers for life, she thought. Okay, maybe not life, a few months? She figured she would stop by the florist on the way home and pick up something nice to cheer her up. She had always loved freshly cut flowers and felt they brightened up even the dullest of rooms.

On the way to her parent's house, Kate swung past her old apartment to pick up the last of her things. She was staying in a hotel for the weekend but figured she would stay with her parents for a while, at least until she found a new place. Not that she really wanted to, but Kate had frozen her accounts and couldn't exactly afford the $200 a night hotel stay for much longer. She was yet to actually fill them in entirely with what had happened but she knew she would have to get it over with tonight. 

As she walked the steps to her now old apartment, an overwhelming sadness took over. She hurried to the front door, opened it and stepped inside. It did not feel like home anymore, and if she was being truly honest with herself, it never really did. Kate picked up her laptop, a few toiletries she had left behind and started to make her way out. As she walked past the guest room, she saw her wedding dress hanging in the doorway. Kate actually contemplated taking it with her but decided it was only going to make her feel worse, especially if she had to look at it every single time she opened her closet. She walked down the five flights it took to get back to her car, grateful she wasn't carrying the huge pile of lace and fabric she had left upstairs. As she pulled away, she could see Ryan turning into the street. She was just far enough so that he couldn't spot her, but she was certain she could see he wasn't alone. 

Kate drove over to the florist, where she met the lovely Agnes and Marek. Two Polish immigrants whose dream was to bring their love of poppies to the rest of the world. Well into their seventies and both still clearly very smitten with each other, Agnes and Marek invited Kate in for a coffee and a slice of poppy seed cake. While ever so grateful, Kate declined the invitation. She was actually bordering on jealousy; such a sweet old couple, how lucky they were to have found each other and share such a full and happy life together. If only she could be so lucky. She said thanks to the lovely couple and headed back to her car with a beautiful bunch of red poppies and yellow tulips in tow,  the tulips were her mother's favourite.

When Kate pulled up in the driveway of her parent's old colonial-style home, she sat in the car for a good twenty minutes before she summed up enough courage to get out and knock on their front door. She did have key's, but she obviously left those at Ryan's apartment. Well done Kate, now you'll have to go back to get those which means you will have to see him, again. Ugh, she sighed as she thought to herself. 

As Kate was about to knock for the third time, she could finally hear her mother coming to the door. Kate lead with the yellow tulips, they had such a beautiful orange tinge to the tip of each petal. "Hey Ma, I brought you some tulips from the florist we were using for the wedding. They were free because guess what! We're not having a wedding anymore." Insert hysterical laughter here. If only it was that easy, she thought.

 As Kate's mother Dianne answered the door, she handed her the tulips. "Hey Ma, good to see you." They kissed each other on the cheek and proceeded to the kitchen. Dianne went searching for a vase and Kate snuck into her old room to dump her bags. She managed two quick trips to her car before her mother caught on and asked her what was going on. She thought about telling her everything but figured it wouldn't be fair to Elise, considering they hadn't even spoken yet and Kate had not heard her side. 

She kept it simple and told her mother that she and Ryan were over and were in turn no longer getting married. She did mention the cheating but definitely skipped over a few major details. Like the fact that the woman he cheated on her with was Kate's older sister which would also make her Dianne's oldest daughter. When you think about it for long enough it's actually quite sad. 

Elise had lived at home her entire 32 years and had never had a real relationship. Nothing worth mentioning at least. Kate had given Elise her first real job, as an administrator in her legal firm and that's what finally gave her the push she needed to move out. Other than the hints her parents had been dropping the last four years she was living with them. Elise was always a little unmotivated. She had no real passion for life and was happy just plotting along, waiting patiently for the crumbs Kate would eventually have to throw her way. Elise had taken it upon herself to steal a pretty big crumb this time, but Kate knew better than to throw her older sister under the bus. Especially when it came to their mother.