Making Progress (A)

Matt

Simultaneously as the last board member left the conference room, leaving me alone with Abigail, my cell phone rang. Normally, I would have ignored it, but I set a specific ringtone for Nicholas' number; I've been waiting a whole week for his call.

"What did you find?" I asked immediately I answered, skipping all the formalities.

"Bad." He replied in the same tone. I tensed up in my seat. 

"How bad, Nicholas? Did someone die?" I secretly hoped that won't be the case. Leaving the country was bad enough, if someone died, I didn't know what I would do. 

I felt a soft hand on my shoulder and looked up into Abigail's concerned eyes. She knew how important this call was.

"Unfortunately yes." My heart dropped. "I'm sorry buddy, I have no good news for you today. I finally found her but I was too late, she'd be dead for over two hours; neighbors said her husband killed her. The kids are nowhere to be found. I'm still trying to find out from my guy that works at the station if there's anywhere they could be." He finished and waited for my response. What could I say? Doris was dead and our kids are missing. What husband? She can't get married to someone else while she's still married to me... Right?

I exhaled, physically and mentally drained. After all these years and I can finally go back to my family, I'm finding out that my wife probably remarried and was murdered and my daughter and her little sibling I've never met before are nowhere to be found? What do I say to that?

Abigail squeezed my shoulder, pulling me away from my depressing thoughts.

"Matt, are you there?"

"Where's the husband?" I finally spoke up.

"Fled before the cops got there. They are still searching for him." He paused. "Look, I'm sorry for your loss, but I promise you that I'll find your kids. I'm just waiting for a call and I'll get back to you, okay?"

"Sure, thanks Nick." I hung up and sank into my seat. What do I do? That thought kept going round and round in my head. Claire would definitely hate me; she would blame me for her mom's death. I wasn't there when she needed me.

"Damn!" I've fucked up big time.

"Matt? What did Nick say?" Abigail pulled up a chair next to mine and sat on it, taking my hand in hers as she squeezed it lightly. Her green eyes held so many questions; questions I didn't have answers to. 

"Please tell me what happened." She took off her kimono jacket and draped it over her chair. She stretched her long legs under the large table and leaned closer to let me know she was ready for anything.

"I'll call Mom and Luciana, then you'll find out what happened." She nodded her approval and waited as I called my sister first.

"Hey!" Came Luciana's bright reply. She wasn't fooling anyone though. With the divorce and her kids, she was definitely drained.

"Hey, hang on, lemme add Mom."

"Ugh! Sure." I almost smiled. My Mom isn't someone anyone would like to talk to; she had a way of killing whatever cheerful spirit you had.

"This should be important, Matthew. I have a meeting in half an hour."

"I'd be lucky if I don't have to talk to you for five minutes straight." Luciana replied to Mom's remark.

"Luciana, you've been avoiding my calls all day! We agreed to..."

"I wonder why!" Lucy said dryly. "Anyway, this isn't about me. Matt clearly has something important to say if he's calling you."

"I don't..."

"Doris is dead." I interrupted whatever Mom wanted to say. Abigail and Luciana gasped at the same time.

"Matt, I'm so sorry..." Abigail began, placing her other hand on mine as well.

"This is terrible." Luciana's voice was faint.

"Oh, please! This is great news! You just made my day, Matthew."

"Mom!" Luciana rebuked. Well, I didn't mind; I expected nothing less. Mom has never liked Doris and I can't blame her.

"Your son just told you he lost his wife and you're saying it's great news? Do you even have a heart?"

"Luciana, when you stop thinking with your heart, that's when you'll start making great changes in life. Doris never even liked Matthew, let alone loved him. And I hate her more because she stole Matthew from Abigail and just happened to be the mother of my grand daughter! The slut..."

"That's enough, Mom!" I said icily, cutting her off. "Whether you liked her or not, she was my wife. You know better than to speak ill of the dead."

"Ignore her, Matt. Some people weren't made with a single drop of kindness."

"I..."

"What about Claire?" Abigail asked softly, unintentionally interrupting Mom.

"Yes, and how did Doris die? Was she ill or maybe an accident?"

"I'm sure the most important question is where are my grandchildren?"

"They are missing." I said flatly, getting more exhausted at the arguments.

"What does that mean?!" Mom's voice rose.

"The cops didn't find them there. It could be they left before she was killed or after. Or maybe her husband took them with him."

"Oh my God, she was killed?"

"Be quiet, Luciana. Matthew, can you just give me a straight answer? Where are my grandchildren?"

"I don't have that information right now. Nicholas has a lead on where they might be, but until then, I've got nothing."

"I don't understand, Matt... Aren't you her husband? And who killed her?" Abigail was chewing on her lower lip, something she did whenever she was nervous.

"Apparently, Doris remarried and her husband..."

"I knew that woman was a good for nothing slut! That is not even the least of my worries; she put my grand children's lives in danger! If she isn't already dead, I would have killed her myself!"

"You know what Mom? You're the only one to blame for this. If you hadn't given Matt your stupid condition and dragged him away from his family, none of this would have happened. But no, you just had to interfere in everyone's lives and ruin it!" Luciana spat. From the tone of her voice, I knew she would start crying the next second.

"How dare you?! Everything I did was just for..." I ended the call. I didn't want to listen to that. 

"Matt, I..." I stood up and grabbed my jacket.

"Don't worry about it. Please tell Beatriz to leave my schedule open for the mean time, I'm taking some time off." I made for the door.

"Matt, please wait. You can't be alone right now. If you need someone to talk to, I'm right here. I can..." I gave her a small smile. It was all I could afford.

"Don't worry about me, Abby. I'll just stay home for the mean time while I wait for Nick's call. I'll let you know as soon as I get something."

"Okay..." She took a few steps and enveloped me in a hug. "I'll check up on you."

"That's not necessary."

"I'll still do it, Matthew. I'm not going to leave you all by yourself." I gave up and nodded. I knew there was no point in trying to change her mind.

"Alright. See you later."