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“I doubt it. You are very well liked,” Rita stated.
“So, your friend just up and left? No note?”
“She ran off with her boyfriend. There was an accident, and they skipped town.”
“What about her parents? Didn’t they go looking for her?”
“Like I said, she had a crummy upbringing. Her parents were away when she skipped town, but she left a note saying not to look for her. I went to the house every day for weeks, hoping she would show up, but her mother said I was being a nuisance and to leave her alone. So I did. I went to college, then I got married, had kids, yada, yada, yada.”
Luna stepped up to the easel and was taken aback when she saw the drawing. In her haste to help Cullen with the delivery, she hadn’t had time to look at the sketch she drew when she was talking to the woman named Tori. Luna rarely watched what she was scribbling. To her, it was like automatic handwriting. She tore the sheet off the pad and rolled it up. She couldn’t wait to show it to Cullen and Chi-Chi. But that would have to wait. She had promised Rita she’d read her.
Luna refocused on the person at hand. “Before your friend left, did she give you any indication she was going away? I know I sound like a detective, but any clues could help me get a sense of something. Anything. Like I said, I am not in the missing persons business, but sometimes it’s helpful to talk things through regardless of whether or not they are psychic impressions or just facts.”
“We grew up in the same town, went to the same school, belonged to the same Brownie troop. I remember a big fight she had with her mother about the fee. I think it was like ten dollars at the time. My mom felt sorry for her, so she paid for it.”
“Sounds like your mother was a second mother to your friend.”
“More like a first mother, but my friend became more of a mother to her little brother. Her father would leave money for groceries and she would go to the store with us and shop.”
“Sounds like a troubling situation,” Luna said sympathetically.
“When we got into high school, she started dating a guy. I guess it was dating at the time, you know, making out behind the bleachers at school, maybe a movie. School dances. That kind of stuff.”
“Was she in love with him, or should I say did she think she was in love with him?”
“I never got the impression she was truly, madly, deeply in love. We only think we are at that age.”
Luna chuckled. “And sometimes it carries over through adulthood.”
“Yes, I suppose it can. I’m lucky. My husband and I met in college. We were in a study group together my junior year. Then, after several months, we started going out without a crowd of people around us. By the time we graduated, we knew we were right for each other.”
“When did you learn to make those sandwiches?” Luna’s mind went for the food.
“I worked part-time during college and the first few summers when I was teaching. Then I got pregnant. After the kids were born, I wanted to spend more time with them and started building my catering business. It was something I could do from home, and events were usually on the weekends, when my husband was home.”
“And now you are the queen of gourmet delights!”
“Hardly.” Rita laughed. “But I really enjoy it, especially when I know someone is enjoying what I make.”
“Do the kids help you?”
“Melissa seems to have an interest, but Brian grew up watching Food Network and he only cares about eating, not cooking or preparing.”
Turning the focus back to Rita’s friend, Luna continued, “Did your friend have any interests? Anything she ever talked about wanting to do with her life?”
“Not really. The older we got, the more responsibility she took on at home. Her boyfriend, well, I wouldn’t call him a loser, but he was aimless, too. I think because they both had depressing upbringings all they thought about was getting as far away from home as possible.”
Luna sighed. “And now kids are living with their parents until they’re in their late twenties, if they ever leave at all.”
“Funny how the world has changed so much in twenty years.”
“Technology thrusts us forward before we have a chance to get our balance. I just saw a woman a little while ago and said we are in perpetual motion.” Luna sighed. “People need downtime. Even if it’s just for a few minutes a day. Clear your head. Hit the reset button.”
“I agree, but I’m also guilty of never stopping to catch my breath.”
Luna smiled. “One of the basic precepts of Zen is breath. Through deep breathing, one can clear the mind of anxiety, stress, anger.” Luna looked at Rita, hoping she didn’t lose her with the Zen thing.
“I totally understand the idea. It’s putting it into practice that seems to be the challenge.”
