The Final Gathering

Chapter 4: Lisa and Cruz

Beep beep beep beep... Lisa's alarm on her phone went off at exactly 6:30am. Eyes glazed over, she leaned over to the end table where her phone was plugged in and turned the alarm off. She sat up and looked down at Cruz who was lying next to her. He had slept through the alarm, like usual, and was snoring obnoxiously loud. Lisa rubbed her temples, feeling the storm of a headache forming behind her eyes. Next to her phone was a bottle of over-the-counter headache pills. Lisa poured some out into her hand. Meaning to only get two, three fell out. Regardless, she popped all three into her mouth and swallowed them dry. Getting out of bed she put on the outfit she had laid out and ironed the night before. She looked in the mirror to brush her hair and put on some minimal makeup. Although her black tank top was sparkly, it was toned down by her maroon colored cardigan and khaki pants. Lisa sighed at the sight of herself. Though beautiful, she looked boring. Deciding that was the best she was going to get she turned to wake up Cruz. Kicking his side of the bed twice didn't seem to do much so she resorted to snapping her fingers in front of his face. He slowly began blinking his eyes.

"Cruz, wake up," she said in a quiet and monotone voice. He pulled the covers over his head for a moment then popped back out. He looked up at her, confused.

"What time is it?" he sounded disoriented.

"It's early," Lisa admitted, "but my parents will be up so I want to keep them company. Get up, let's go. I ironed you some clothes last night and set them aside." She motioned over to his clothes lying on the chaise.

"Oh, thanks" Cruz murmured. He sat up slowly and kissed his wife on the cheek.

"Yup." Lisa sat on the bed and played around on her phone while she waited for Cruz to put on the khaki shorts and blue Polo shirt she prepared. When he was finished she looked up at him. He gave her a thumbs up and smiled half-heartedly. She mimicked his smile and walked downstairs.

Carol and Mike were already wide awake and in the kitchen. Lisa could smell coffee brewing and smiled her first real smile of the day.

"Happy birthday, Dad!" she sing-songed as she jogged over to embrace her father. She gave him a quick, tight hug and then pulled away. She gave a stern look at Cruz and motioned for him to hug her dad. Lisa always did this and it annoyed Cruz more than anything. He returned her look, implying that he didn't need to be told to hug Mike.

"Thanks, my boy! I don't feel a day over thirty," Mike chuckled as he patted Cruz on the back. Cruz returned his motions.

"You don't look it either!" he said with a wink as the men laughed. Lisa sighed to herself, thinking that Cruz was being falsely charming. Hearing her louder-than-intended sigh Carol placed a light hand on her daughter's shoulder.

"Everything okay, hon?" She gazed intently at her eldest daughter, genuinely concerned. Thousands of thoughts raced through Lisa's mind before forging up a smile to show her mother. Nodding, she tapped her mother's hand on her shoulder then brought it down to her side so that they were holding hands. The banter of the men had begun to die down and a quiet hushed over the room. Feeling uncomfortable, Lisa released her mother's hand to motion toward the coffee maker.

"Coffee is ready. Would everyone like some?" Even though she asked she didn't bother to turn around to see if everyone did indeed want some. She already knew they all did and how they liked their cups made so she began preparing them on her own.

Lisa held the door open so her sisters could go out ahead of her. She preferred them to be ahead of her so that she could keep an eye on them. Across the street parked alongside of the sidewalk was a sleek black car. Intrigued, Lisa tried to see into the car, wondering if she knew who owned it. The house that the car was parked in front of was currently unoccupied since their longtime neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Conner, had both passed away. To her demise, the windows were too tinted and Lisa was unable to identify the driver. She jumped as the car started and drove out ahead of them quickly. Instantly Lisa began to feel uneasy. Why was the car parked there? Why were their windows so tinted? Why did they leave as soon as we got outside? These questions, among many, occupied Lisa's mind making her unable to concentrate on anything else.