Odds of Love: Past Wounds

Episode 2

Richard Norland walked down the long winding aisle of the Episcopalian church where he had wed all his ex wives and where all his children had been baptized.

He walked down the aisle of the empty room until he got to the expensive bronzed casket at the front of the room.

He stopped in front of it and stared at the body lying inside of it.

It was him.

He was dead. No. It could not be true. He couldn't be dead. Could he?

" No , you're not dead , " he heard from behind him and he turned to see a woman he only knew briefly from gatherings at Spencer and DuBuis's house. From the newspaper pictures after the accident.

Pamela Perkins sat merrily on one of the pews , her long shapely legs crossed sexily, a cheerful smile on her heart shaped face.

" You bitch," he retorted as he strode over to her. " You stupid bitch. You almost killed....."

" I know. I know. I almost killed the man you love. But I didn't. He's still alive. Just a teeny tiny little bit damaged. You're still alive too. "

He waved his hands at the casket. " You call this alive? Really? And if this is my funeral I must have been hated. My children didn't even come. My brother. "

He swallowed hard. " Nigel. "

Pamela stood up and gracefully walked over to him. " Your brother is in a state of depression. Even his brilliant mind can't comprehend the level of grief he feels. And Nigel. Nobody has seen him since......"

Richard snapped," I thought you said I was not dead! "

" Well you are and you aren't. You're kinda half way. You're really on the operating table. You had a moderate heart attack. Too much work. Too much cigarettes. Too much coffee. Not enough fun. You just went into cardiac arrest actually. It's up to you. "

" What is up to me? "

" Living. Or dying. " She started to fade away even as he looked at her.

" Wait! Don't leave me ! Not yet. What do I have to do to live? I want to live. And what will happen to Spencer? And Nigel? What do you mean he hasn't been seen? "

Pamela glimmered before him. " To live you have to love. To love you have to trust. Who do you love? And do you trust them ? "

Richard turned around and suddenly he was not in the room anymore.

He was in a very seedy looking motel room watching Nigel sitting alone on a double bed. He was drinking a beer and crying.

" Nigel," he whispered and reached out to touch him.

" Yeah," he heard Nigel say. " Yeah. It's time to end this miserable shit they call my life. "

He saw Nigel wrap his hand around a small black gun and lift it up slowly.

" No ! ," Richard screamed right before he heard the gun shot. " No ! "

" It's up to you," he heard Pamela say.