Leighanne woke up to see the sun shining through the pale blue sheers on the window, illuminating the room in a soft glow. She rolled over to see Brian still peacefully sleeping, so she got up and began to get ready for the day.

Once she was dressed, she walked over to the bed and dropped a small kiss on Brian’s forehead before heading out into the hall. She was thinking to herself how today would be much better, and that hopefully Noelle would come to her senses and out of that room when she heard a crash downstairs.

She ran down the stairs, and as she rounded the corner she stopped. Noelle’s breakfast tray was scattered all over the hall. She walked slowly towards the room where the door stood wide open, but it was not at all what she expected to see when she got there.

Howie was standing by the bed, which had been neatly made, and he held a small piece of paper in his hand. Leighanne approached him slowly, and just as she reached the bed he whispered, “She’s gone.”

“What?”

Howie handed her the paper, and on it were two little words. I’m sorry.

As the plane landed Noelle breathed a sigh of relief. She’d made it. She was as far from Orlando and their home as she could be. San Francisco, and Jenn. Jenn would know what to do.

She’d met Jenn in college. They had been assigned as roommates, and were different as night and day. Noelle was the artsy type, majoring in Music, where Jenn was the intellectual type, majoring in Veterinary medicine. However they became inseparable, and still to this day Noelle thought of Jenn as the sister she’d never had.

Thinking about it, it was probably the best place she could go. The only person she’d ever introduced Jenn to was Nick.

Thinking of Nick her eyes began to sting with tears, and she stood up quickly grabbed her carry-on from the overhead compartment. She had to get out of this plane, which seemed to be getting smaller and smaller by the second.

Once she got into the terminal she stopped, took a deep breath, adjusted her carry-on on her shoulder, and headed towards baggage claim.

She was thankful for the fact that the airport wasn’t too crowded. It was a Wednesday morning, so there were a few business commuters, but no real tourist traffic. It made finding her luggage much easier.

Within twenty minutes of landing she was out at the curb, flagging down a taxi. After the driver helped her load her bags into the trunk, she gave him the address and settled in for the ride.

Brian sat at the kitchen table watching Leighanne pace back and forth waiting for Howie to reappear. He’d disappeared upstairs over an hour ago, and had yet to be heard from.

“Leigh, just sit down. Everything will be fine. I’m sure she’ll be back soon, and then they’ll work everything out.”

Leighanne sighed and dropped herself down into a chair. She crossed her arms on the table, then laid her head on them and began to cry.

As soon as Brian saw this he realized that things were not going to be as easy as he had hoped. He moved around to her side of the table and pulled her out of her seat, wrapping her in a comforting hug.

“He’s going to need help, Brian. You have no idea what he’s going to have to face.”

Howie had been in the hall listening to the conversation, and decided this was as good a time as any to make his entrance.

“What am I going to go through?”

Jenn was sitting on her balcony sipping her morning coffee and reading the paper when she saw a taxi approaching. She folded the paper, laid it down on the table, and stood up to get a better vantagepoint.

As soon as she saw Noelle step out of the cab she knew that something was seriously wrong. First of all she never really thought Noelle was going to fly across the country, but there she stood looking as though she hadn’t slept in days. Second, Noelle looked frail, and she’d always been the strong one.

She watched Noelle pay the taxi driver and head towards the building, so she stepped inside and began brewing another pot of coffee.

Jenn was standing at the door as Noelle stepped off the elevator. She embraced her warmly, and then waved her in.

As soon as the smell of the coffee hit Noelle’s nose the nausea was so overwhelming that she had to make a mad dash to the bathroom. Jenn was right on her heels, and then held her hair for her as what little she had in her stomach made its way out.

After things seemed to calm down with her stomach, Noelle lifted herself off the floor and sat on the edge of the bathtub. Jenn grabbed a wash cloth, wet it with cold water, and then held it to Noelle’s forehead.

“What’s going on Noelle? What’s wrong?”

Noelle took a deep breath and let out a long sigh. “I think I’ve screwed up so bad this time that I can’t fix it.”

“You’re pregnant again, aren’t you?”