Saudade | Loubbie

Chapter Four

"Tam, I don't think this is a good idea." Lou commented, pacing in and out of her room's bathroom, "I really don't." She murmured, stopping by the mirror and started fixing herself, "Oh my goodness." She came out of the bathroom, leaned on the door and gave out a grin, "Tell me this is just one of your jokes. You didn't call her, did you?"

Tammy rolled her eyes. If Lou wasn't like a sister to her, she wouldn't be driving at two in  the morning for her. She should be sleeping right now, breathing in the aroma of her husband. But then her phone rang, and she welcomed an unexpected call from someone. And that was how she found herself slipping into a mom's jeans, shirt pulled down, running towards her car as she drove away to Lou's place.

"I didn't call her."

Lou's eyes glowed. A hand flat on her forehead as she breathed out a sigh of relief. Her face beamed in delight and she was about to laugh when Tammy stood up, a hand on her hips as she smiled at Lou.

"She called me."

"What?"

Tammy eyed Lou's room, "You need to tidy up. Your wife is coming back. She called and asked about you and Dan and I told her the truth." She walked towards Lou, put a hand on the blonde's shoulder who was stunned by the bathroom door, "You need to tidy up because you wife is a clean-freak."

"Oh my goodness." Lou started pacing in and out again, "Where the fuck are you going?"

"It's 2:30 in the morning and I need to be at home because I have kids and a husband to prepare breakfast for." Tammy explained and out she was, trudging down the stairs.

Lou shook her head. Still baffled by the happenings. As much as she wanted to run after Tammy, her feet covered in bandage and were still swelling said no.  She limped towards the door and watched as Tammy landed downstairs.

"You are joking! And excuse me, ex-wife!"

Tammy didn't turn at her, but before she went out of Lou's house, she raised her hand, showed Lou a middle finger along with her just wait and see.

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Lou stirred on the bed. The gentle mockery of the sun rays slowly poking out of her window drapes. She held her head as she sat. The fragments of the forenoon came back and she wasn't sure if Tammy did come or if it was just a dream. But sure, she remembered their conversation - just wait and see - it made her nauseous, spinning her head a little faster, making her dizzy. Just then, she realized that she had been sleeping with her black silky robe wrapped around her body. She paused, the realization hit her. Tammy did arrive. She did talk to Tammy. She heaved a sigh as she looked at the clock. It's Saturday, nearly seven in the morning. Shaking the thoughts of Debbie coming back, she slid the robe off of her body. Her alasbaster skin glowing as she stood in the mirror to fix her face. The short silky black dress that hung on her body just above her knee made her look like a Victoria Secret model; she liked it, really.

A lot had changed since Danny came into their, her life. She had changed her preferences, and now, beckoning towards her 39th birthday, she could be described as that milf - that one word that the teenagers are thirsting over. She never liked sleep-dresses though, she preferred a loose top, an over-sized shirt, and boxers, but everynight, in her attempt to have a dreamless sleep, she would find her fingers in the closet, looking for the one she's wearing at the moment - that short, black and that silky dress that Debbie owned. Well, not anymore.

She closed the door of her room as she trudged towards Danny's. The door had been left slightly opened. Danny was more of a Debbie; she hated to wake up early, and so a seven in the morning was obviously not her type. But Lou liked to still go into her room, admire her kid sleeping, very oblivious to the chaotic world that's stretched out ahead of her. It's been Lou's routine to spend half an hour sitting on Danny's bed. Danny sleeping, and Lou, sulking in the imagery of her beautiful kid resting. Lou tiptoed as she went inside - not entirely  because she wanted to be as quite as possible, but also because of her wounded and swelling feet. As she stood closer to the bed, she was shocked to see an empty one. The sheets crumpled and the pillows were on each side. She looked around, no traced of Danny because her bathroom was still closed.

And then it hit her. Her heart sinking at every millisecond that had passed. Her stomach twitched at the idea, but it was possible. Danny was a smart kid, even smarter than people older than her. She knew she had emotionally hurt Danny at some points, and Danny going away, escaping from home, lurking away from her, was not impossible. She wanted to call Tammy, but her feet felt weak. Her whole body was collapsing and her tears were flooding their way down. Her chest was heavy and every breathe that she did was futile; she barely had the ability to breathe normally. She sat on Danny's bed, brawled her eyes out as she sobbed. She didn't know what to do, where to start, all she knew was that she's left for the second time - first by Debbie, and now, by Danny.

When Lou regained her mind and was a bit stable, she limped her way out. She had to call Tammy for help, so she trudged down the stairs. Her eyes red and puffy and no matter how much she tried to stop her tears, it kept on coming back. She was devastated: how on earth would Danny survive in the city of New York alone? New York was too immense for a seven-year-old kid. When her feet landed downstairs, she cried even more, because Danny was there and she was sitting on the countertop with her feet hanging freely. Face lit up as she stared in awe of the woman cooking pancakes for her.

Debbie.

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