Chapter 3
On her way to see her sister Jaclyn, Chloe couldn’t help but remember meeting Harvey. Many questions lingered in her head. Who was he? Did he know Amy, and how and where? What was he doing on her lawn? Why did he suspiciously sprint away and disappear when he saw her? What did Brandon mean by, I see now what Harvey meant to you?
She switched off the motor of her mind to think for a second, for she couldn’t fathom what she had discovered. Even though her situation might prevent or limit her mobility, her mind has already begun the quest to find out. For her own sanity, she must find out what he knows. Maybe Harvey has something to tell her, new information he didn’t want to tell the police or everyone else. She hoped that he’d show up again. When she arrives, she’d ask her sister, if Jaclyn has ever seen him before.
Driving across the short bridge took less than half an hour, but it seemed like forever for Chloe. When she reached the house, she pulled her car in the driveway of a single-family colonial house. Once she shut off the car engine, she sat there for a moment to gather her thoughts and strength. Then, she slowly marched out to head inside. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she saw her niece Jennifer come running towards her and gave her the usual warm hugs. Chloe suddenly remembered how her daughter used to do the same thing, blanketing her small arms around her mother’s waist like a spider web. Chloe felt the nostalgia of having that warmth once again. Although her current life without Amy is mundane, seeing her niece and nephew always brings Chloe back to the sanity of a pure existence.
Jennifer ran inside the house and screamed her happiness from the top of her lung, “Auntie is here!”
Jaclyn smiled, witnessing her daughter’s excitement. She’s like another Amy, a little girl with a pure heart. They’re the two angels in the family.
“Hey sis, how was the drive,” said Jaclyn, squeezing her big sister until she runs out of breath.
”It was too long but fine,” replied Chloe. She then harnessed her breath and sat on the coach. All she was thinking was about Harvey. “Jackie, do you know a boy named Harvey hanging out with Amy?”
Jaclyn shook her head in disagreement. “Who is that?”
”I found this journal in Amy’s room, and it belongs to her Ex, Brandon.” She leaned back on the coach and continued. “Brandon wrote something about him being sorry that he didn’t know what Harvey meant to Amy. And what’s funny is that on my way out the door to come here, I saw Harvey standing on my lawn, but he ran away when he saw me.”
Jaclyn could see her sister was getting madder, she went and hugged her, so that she can cool down. ”Maybe we should talk to him?”
A few minutes later, they changed courses, and Jennifer and Jaclyn sitting by her side, Chloe shifted her attention to little Jennifer. They had cheese and crackers with coffee and tea.
After picking everything from the table, Jaclyn said, “I found a doctor that specializes in rare human genome disorders. I read most of the reviews about him last night and his works look promising, and we should go visit him.”
Chloe has seen many doctors. A lot of them. But her biopsy hasn’t shown any abnormality in her blood or X-Ray screens. Nobody exactly knows what her diagnosis is. She figured that visiting another doctor now makes no difference. She’s lost hopes of living since Amy’s death anyway. But, seeing Jennifer‘s scintillating smiles, she agreed to go with her sister.
The weather was mild, with slightly delightful breezes and lots of warm sunshine. In moments like this, when the weather is so perfect, it was mother and daughter time to go for a walk.
But Chloe now has lost the stamina to do anything, anymore. Every
Sunday afternoons, it used to be a mother-daughter moment, where they used to have a routine wake in the park near their house. They’d run for about a couple miles back and forth, and then stretch, finishing their rituals with yoga. Today, however, Chloe seemed to lose interest in life itself, even the serene and beautiful weather couldn’t convince her to walk alone, without her daughter in the park, for every second she spends alone feels like a century.