Page 8 of When People Leave

Abby

S ince Morgan was the first one to the front door of Carla’s house, she unlocked it. When they walked inside, Abby couldn’t take her eyes off how neat and organized everything was.

“Whoa,” Abby said.

When Abby visited her mom, there would usually be a pile of clothes on a chair and a set of towels on the corner of the couch waiting to be folded.

Dishes were always drying in the sink, and their mother had kept every People magazine from the last ten years.

A few dishes were carefully stacked on the counter, and there wasn’t a magazine in sight.

The house was dust-free and sparkling clean.

The kitchen smelled strongly of Lysol. The books on the shelf in the living room were organized, and a jigsaw puzzle with only a handful of pieces was waiting to be put in.

It looked like their mother had moved out, except for her cherry-red lipstick on a coffee cup on the side table in the living room.

“Mom didn’t want to leave us a mess to clean up,” Charlie said, her voice cracking. “When I talked to her at the beginning of last week, she was fine. Or at least she sounded fine.”

“You guys should’ve seen this coming before I did. I have four kids and a husband to take care of,” Abby said, then picked up the mug and put it in the dishwasher.

“Are you blaming us?” Morgan said. “How could we know she’d kill herself?”

“I’m sorry, you’re right,” Abby said, then her hands began to shake. “What if this is my fault?

Mom visited me three weeks ago, and the kids didn’t give her a moment’s peace.” Abby put her face in her hands.

Morgan put her arm around Abby’s shoulder. “Mom didn’t kill herself because your kids are nuts,” Morgan said.

Abby suddenly looked up. “Did you just say my kids are nuts?”

“She didn’t mean nuts; she meant…wild,” Charlie said.

“No, I meant nuts,” Morgan said. Abby pulled Morgan’s arm off from around her.

“Come on, you know how much mom loved your kids,” Charlie said.

Abby knew in her heart that was true. The sisters plopped down on the couch and, almost in unison, put their feet up on the coffee table.

“If Mom were here right now, she’d say, ‘No shoes on the table,’” Morgan said.

All three of them slid out of their shoes and let them drop to the floor.

“Do you think Mom was lonely?” Abby said, biting her lip. “People who are lonely might take their own life.”

“If our father were alive, maybe he and Mom would’ve gotten back together, and then she would’ve had someone else to love,” Charlie said.

“Mom said that a few years before he died, he walked out on us, saying he didn’t want to be a father anymore. That’s not the kind of man she would’ve wanted back,” Morgan insisted.

“I wish I could remember him, but I was an infant when he left,” Abby said, curling her feet up on the couch.

“I was three, so I have almost no memories of him,” Charlie said.

“I remember some things,” Morgan said. “Like that he used to tickle me until I couldn’t stop laughing, and I’d almost pee my pants,” Morgan said.

“It’s hard to believe that’s the same man who didn’t want us,” Abby said.

“Someone can have good moments and still not be a good person,” Charlie said.

“At least we had Mom,” Abby said. “She made sure we had a happy childhood.”

“Do you remember when she took us to Solvang for the weekend?” Charlie said.

“That was fun,” Morgan said, then laughed. “Remember that first night when we went to dinner, and she told us we couldn’t have any of the rolls on the table because it would ruin our appetite.”

“And then she shoved them and the butter packets in her purse so we wouldn’t have to spend money on breakfast the next morning,” Charlie said.

“And when the waiter noticed the empty basket and asked if we wanted more bread, Abby screamed from her booster seat that Mom had stolen all of it, and she didn’t get even one piece,” Morgan said. “Abby always ratted everyone out.”

The girls erupted in giggles, quickly becoming guffaws and then silence.

After a few minutes, Abby went into the kitchen and scoured the cabinets for the one vice she knew her mother had.

While the food they’d bought at the deli sat on the counter, Abby plopped a large bag of mini-Oreos on the coffee table, and each of them grabbed a handful and stuffed them into their mouths.

“What are we going to do without her?” Abby asked.

“I have no idea,” Morgan said, standing up and pacing behind the couch. “We’re missing something here,” she said.

“I know. People don’t kill themselves without a reason,” Charlie said.

“She didn’t seem depressed,” Abby said, then pushed the Oreos away, her stomach beginning to ache. Then she stood up and paced alongside Morgan.

“I was going to tell you guys this later, but I’m going to take a leave of absence from work and move in here. I need to find out why Mom did this,” Morgan said.

Abby stopped pacing and looked at Morgan.

“I’m going to join you,” Charlie said.

“Thank you. I’d rather not do it alone,” Morgan said, seemingly less anxious than she had been a few minutes before.

“Wait, what about me?” Abby whined like a four-year-old left with a babysitter when her parents went out on a Saturday night.

“Uh…you have four young kids?” Charlie said.

“So, because I procreated, you want to leave me out?” Abby’s voice went up another octave.

“I think we both assumed it would be hard for you to get away for a week or two,” Morgan said, sitting back down.

“She’s my mom, too,” Abby said. “I loved her, and besides, I haven’t had a break in years!”

“Will Alex be able to handle things if you leave for that long?” Morgan asked.

“He’ll be fine,” Abby said, unsure if she believed it.

She clicked on the notes app on her phone and began typing furiously.

“I’ll go to the grocery store, cook a week’s worth of meals, and put them in the freezer.

Then I’ll pay all the bills, clean the house, and hire someone to watch the kids during the day. ”

“I’m exhausted just listening to you,” Charlie said.

“Great, then we have a plan,” Morgan said. “We all head home and get our lives under control,” Morgan said.

“So, we meet back here in four or five days?” Charlie asked.

“Or, in Abby’s case, a month,” Morgan said. As Morgan and Charlie laughed, Abby gave her sisters the finger, making them laugh even harder.