48. Accident

Two things:
1. Patois - country accent /dialect. Here it is meant in a derogatory way.
2. Uncle JP = JP Parise - Zach's dad.


Gary Jules - Mad World


ELLA'S POV


I returned from shopping with Marie-Pier just before lunchtime to hear Félix and Rosalie arguing in French.

“But it could have been important!” Félix yelled as I heard something breaking upstairs. I sat in the kitchen and nursed a ginger beer as I heard more thumping and then Rosalie’s patois* reply.

“He’s just checking up!” Rosalie shouted back.

“Well, did you keep the number?” returned Félix's muffled voice.

“No, why?” Rosalie screamed and then something else breaking.

There was a lot more muffled talking, a few raised words, “What? You just don’t think! And you know how important it was to her!" followed by some more of Rosalie screaming, something that sounded like someone hitting the wall and then Félix's voice again. "I don’t want to see you ever again!” Someone should really make the walls thicker in this house, even if that was kind of entertaining.

What the hell had Rosalie done to piss Félix off like that? Most of the time Félix is a pacifist – he never shouts, argues or confronts people so whatever Rosalie had done must have been pretty freaking bad. And apparently it was something to do with me? The only time I’ve been around Rosalie is when she has been with Félix so god only knows what this could be about.

A couple of minutes later I heard thumping down the stairs and then the front door opening and slamming shut. Moments later I heard a familiar sigh from Félix walking into the kitchen holding what looked like the arm to his skeleton that hung in his bedroom. I raised my eyebrows at him, not sure exactly what to say. Sometimes words aren't always necessary. It wasn’t my business to pry, the argument had piqued my curiosity but I knew Félix would always tell me in his own time.

“She broke Arthur,” he said, holding up the skeleton’s arm. Stupid girl, I thought as I remembered back to our eleventh Christmas when Félix had received the skeleton from Uncle JP. Félix had always been interested in being a doctor ever since we were little and then one Christmas he received a life size skeleton, like the ones you see in doctors’ offices and he was beyond delighted. I had named him Arthur, not sure why, but I had liked the name which had just stuck ever since.

“Oh no, is he fixable?” I said looking at the arm that Félix was holding.

“I don’t know; Arthur is the least of my worries right now. I’m kind of glad she’s gone. I needed an excuse to be rid of her, she was like a leech. I felt like I had a permanent shadow. This was just the final straw." Félix saw that I looked puzzled and explained. "Basically Jordan called and she answered, didn’t tell me and deleted the number so I wouldn't know he called and had no way to call him back - selfish bitch. I only know, because I heard the end as I was getting out of the shower.”

I didn’t know what to say. Jordan called? Why would he? It’s over, he made that pretty clear by not returning any of my calls or messages and now hearing that he had called Félix and not me? I didn't understand. This was one huge mess involving, Jordan, me, Félix and now Rosalie. I needed to speak to Gina and I needed answers. I know she's seen Jordan recently - I need to know what she's told him - there is no way Gina is innocent in all of this. I didn’t even have his number to call him back since I had deleted it in frustration that day. I would call Gina later this evening when I had had some time to think things through.

“Why?” I asked. It was the first thing that popped into my head.

“No idea, but Rosalie was being a bitch about the whole thing and she lied and I just wanted her out.” I picked up Arthur’s arm and used his hand to pat Félix’s shoulder which brought a little grin to his face.

“So I gotta thank you, or rather Jordan for giving me that excuse. How was shopping?” he asked, opening the fridge and pulling out eggs and milk to make his usual Sunday morning scrambled eggs.

“Good. I took that dress back that I wasn’t sure that I wanted and I got a couple of new outfits for work. Marie-Pier bored me with why Etienne and I make a good couple. She’s kind of forcing it now, it’s lame that she thinks I want him. Nice guy but no. He's got that geek-chic thing that I just don't get, plaid shirts and Where's Waldo glasses.” Come to think of it, Etienne was right up Noah's street - it was just the look that Noah loved.

“Still?” Félix asked in surprise. By now I would have thought that Marie-Pier would have given up on this whole Etienne thing – she could tell I wasn’t interested but was insistent on this whole cozy foursome: Marie-Pier and Xavier and Etienne and me.

I shook my head, closing my eyes. This week had been mentally exhausting with the completion of our project (extra hours at work and not much sleep), drinks to celebrate, then spending all day yesterday with Noah and then shopping today. I haven’t stopped mentally or physically and I feel like I needed twenty four hours to myself just to relax, zone out from everything and sleep.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes, Félix eating his eggs and me playing with Arthur's arm before the shrill ringing of the telephone cut through the air.

“I’ll get it,” I said, hitting Félix with Arthur’s arm as I made my way across the kitchen to answer it. He was in no position to answer the phone with a mouthful of eggs.

“Oui, allo?” I said not looking at the caller id before I picked up.

“Hi Mrs. Anderson,” I said into the phone as I mouthed ‘Gina’s mom’ to Félix.

“Everything OK?”

“No, not really. Are you sitting down sweetie, I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news to tell you.” I frowned, I barely ever spoke to Gina’s mother but sometimes she called the apartment when we were in Pittsburgh. Gina’s mom is like a grown up version of Gina – she’s everything my mom isn’t. She’s the type who remembers your birthday, brings cake whenever she visits and remembers the name of your pets. I took a seat on the sofa in the kitchen, perching myself on the edge.

“So how’s life in the Anderson household?” I asked trying to put off the bad news.

“Goodish. Actually sweetie, I’m calling about Gina. There’s no easy way to say this." Say what? I thought as I pressed the phone closer to my ear. "She and Max were in Ottawa last night on their way to Montreal and they were on the way back to their hotel after going out. And it happened.” I heard her pause and take a sharp intake of break before she carried on.
“They were crossing the road, Max ran halfway across leaving Gina on the other side. Gina decided to wait as Max said she told him she didn’t want to jaywalk. There was a car coming. The car was out of control and swerving all over the place. Gina wasn’t looking, she was looking straight ahead at Max when the car hit her.”

I could hear Mrs. Anderson sobbing down the phone. I felt numb. Gina was hit? A hundred thoughts flashed through my head, questions without answers, Gina's face and her smile. In my head I could see the flashing lights of the ambulance, a lifeless Gina lying on the pavement circled by a small crowd of people passing by as Max held her hand as the paramedics fought to save her...

“Is she OK? Can I go visit her in hospital?” I asked.

“She was killed outright, the paramedic said she didn’t feel any pain when she was hit. Max didn’t get the license plate of the guy who did this he was trying to revive her, and the driver sped off too quickly. Oh Ella,” she sobbed down the phone. I felt the tears fall quickly as the realisation struck me that she wasn’t coming back.

“Max hasn’t left the hospital, he’s in pieces,” Mrs. Anderson continued. "They've taken her away, but he doesn't know what to do with himself."

“Is there anything I can do?” I whispered as I thought about Max sitting by Gina’s bedside morning, noon and night. “Funeral arrangements, letting people know, anything at all,” I half pleaded, wanting to be involved. For my own selfishness, I wanted to help out, I wanted to .

“No if you can tell Félix, I know how close Gina was to both of you. I’m going through Gina’s friends one by one, you're the first one I thought to call,” My heart wrenched at the thought of Gina's mother calling our friends one by one to let them know. As a parent there can't be anything worse than losing your child.

“When’s the funeral?” I asked.

“We’re thinking next Friday, and it will be in Pittsburgh. I’ll send you the details later sweetie,” Mrs Anderson sniffed down the phone.

"OK, OK," I repeated, trying to take it all in. It was a lot to take in. I didn't know what to say. Nothing I could have said to Mrs. Andersoon would have been right in any consolable way to take the pain away.

Saying 'sorry for your loss' isn't enough - sorry wasn't enough to make up for Gina's life that had just been wiped away by some careless idiot who was too tight to take a taxi. It didn't feel real. None of this felt real. She couldn't be gone, she just couldn't. Good people don't die young, there's no justification in this world, Gina doesn't deserve this, she just doesn't. Life isn't fair.

Part of me was cross with Max - he couldn't save her, he didn't protect her. Where was he when she was hit? On the other side of the road because he didn't want to wait for her. He just couldn't wait for her. They could have taken a taxi or...

As I put the phone down silently on the table, Félix could tell something wasn't right.
"She, she's ....gone," I whispered, wishing anything that it wasn't true.