The Glory ( Freen❣️Becky)

1

"You want to open up a store in your hometown? In Surat Thaini? I think that's great," Nam said as she handed Freen a glass of red wine.

Freen nodded her thanks. "The location is all Sam's idea. But it'll give us a chance to be with our mother while we're getting it up and running. And then allow us to check in on her more often if we've got a store located there."

"So you're not going to move her into the assisted living facility after all?" Tee asked as she joined them on the patio.

"That was the original plan, but if we've got a store there, we'll be around more than we are now. She certainly wasn't thrilled with that option," Freen said.

"Sam's been going down there once a week as it is. The cancer is still in remission, but it really took its toll on her the second time. She's fatigued. There's so much she can't do anymore." She took a sip of wine and put the glass on the table.

"While we're getting the store up and going, I'll stay with her. That'll give me a chance to see how she's really doing. I keep telling myself that seventy isn't old."

But they needed to make some kind of decision. Her brother had taken on the role of caregiver for the last couple of years. Not that Freen had refused to. It's just that she didn't dare spend more than one day there at a time for fear she'd run into Becky.

Nam stared at her for a moment, and Freen wondered if she was slipping into her role as psychologist. "You've been very vague as to why you rarely go to take care of her," Tee said.

Freen smiled at her. "Are you intending to put me on your couch, Dr. Kang?"

Nam shook her head. "No. I promised I would never do that to you." She grinned. "Although you would make an excellent study. But I was simply curious if it was something keeping you here or if there was a particular reason you avoided going there."

"What is it you're fishing for, Doctor?"

Nami laughed. "Tee and I have known you for six years now, Freen. Yet you remain a mystery."

"I'm not a mystery," she insisted. Not intentionally, at least.

"Why didn't you bring Heidi?" Tee asked. "You are still dating, aren't you?"

Freen reached for the wine bottle, adding a bit more to her glass before answering. She hadn't seen heidi in two weeks and hadn't spoken to her in at least six or seven days. Were they still dating?

"I've been busy," she said evasively.

Nam gave her slow smile that said she knew she was lying. "And yet another one slips away".

Freen shrugged. "It wasn't serious, as you know."

"They never are, are they?"

"We like her," Tee said.

"Only because she and Nam can talk doctor stuff." Freen raised an eyebrow. "Have I really known you guys for six years?"

"Six years and countless dinners, yes," Nam said. "But we still know so very little about you."

Freen paused, her glance going between her two closest friends. "What more do you want to know?"

"Why do you avoid going home? Why is it your brother insisting you open a store there and not you?"

Freen leaned back, wondering why she'd never told them about Becky. Truth was, she hadn't told anyone about Becky.

"I avoid going back home for fear I'll run into Becky. Becky Armstrong." Saying the name out loud brought back a rush of memories.