One Last Call Before Goodbye Chapter 06
Louise shifted quietly in front of Darlene and smiled at Marshall, her eyes slightly red.
“Diagnosed five years ago. I’m still going through chemo.”
Watching Louise’s thin shoulders, Darlene clenched her fists so hard her nails bit into her own flesh. Blood beaded on her palms.
Marshall fell silent. After a long pause, he set the bottle back where it had been. “Call me if you ever need anything.”
Louise nodded. “Take care on the road.”
With a click, the front door closed.
Darlene held Louise tightly. “Louie…”
Louise tilted her head back, forcing the tears away, then turned and gently stroked Darlene’s cheek. “I get it. You don’t want Marshall to know you’re sick. But it breaks my heart, seeing you like this…
“Lena, none of this is fair to you.”
Those trembling words tugged at Darlene’s heart. She collapsed into Louise’s arms, tears streaming down her face.
Indeed, none of this was fair to her. And yet she also felt guilt, and the ache of leaving Louise behind.
Their parents had died young, leaving the two of them with only each other. Once she was gone, Louise would have no family left.
Night fell. A light rain began to come down.
Even with the painkillers, Darlene was jolted awake by the pain. Not wanting to wake Louise up, she could only grit her teeth and bear it.
Just then, her phone buzzed.
Fighting through the ache, she picked it up. A message from Marshall.
“Something came up. I have to leave early. Changed my flight to tomorrow.”
Her fingers went still.
She’d thought he’d be in town a few more days, that she’d get to see him a few more times. Even from a distance, that would have been enough.
But she could feel her body growing heavier by the day. Maybe ending things sooner was for the best.
“Okay. Safe flight,” she replied.
Marshall didn’t respond.
Clutching her phone, she stayed awake all night, torn between memory and reality.
As dawn finally broke, she got up.
After leaving a note for Louise, she took a cab to the airport.
As always, JFK was bustling, people surging in every direction. She stood near the entrance, checking the departures board for flights to D.C. while watching the drop-off lane she had just come through.
Not long after, a taxi pulled up. Marshall stepped out.
After a moment of hesitation, she walked toward him anyway. “Marshall.”
Surprise flickered through his eyes, then slowly sank into something deeper. “You’ve been waiting here since early this morning?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Thought I’d come see you off.”
She paused, then managed a desolate smile. “We never got a proper goodbye. So this time… Let’s call it making up for that.”
Marshall’s breath caught. Something heavy and nameless pressed down on his chest.
They stood face to face, a small distance between them—or maybe it was all five years.
He looked as if he wanted to say something. But faced with her calm eyes, nothing hidden, he just clenched his fists.
“I’m going to check in now. You…”
He stopped for a beat. When he spoke again, the words came out heavier. “Take care.”
With that, he pulled his suitcase and started toward security. But after a few steps, he turned back.
“Can we … hug? As a goodbye.”
Darlene was stunned for a second. An unspeakable sadness rose from the depths of her heart.
Fighting back the sting in her eyes, she nodded, stepped forward, and wrapped her arms around him gently.
He was so warm, and he carried that scent she knew by heart.
She buried her face against his chest and closed her eyes, drinking in that single moment.
Only then did Marshall seem to react. His arms, slightly stiff, wrapped around her in return. His breathing, faint and heavy, stirred against the top of her head.
A few seconds later, he let go and stepped back.
“Darlene… Goodbye.”
She looked at him, her eyes red-rimmed, but a relieved smile touched the corner of her lips.
“Goodbye. For good.”