Shortly after, Bianca joins Tania as
she heads to the cemetery.
“You okay?” Bianca asks, instinctively picking up that Tania is anything but okay.
“No,” Tania answers wiping away fresh
tears before replacing her hand on the steering wheel.
Bianca detects blame in Tania’s answer.
The mother and daughter hesitate just
outside the cemetery; Tania clutching George III’s ashes in one
hand.
“It’s for the best,” Bianca says attempting to reassure her daughter.
“For whom?” Tania whispers before walking away.
After George III’s ashes are
re-buried in their final resting place, Tania breaks down all over again.
Bianca stands across the cemetery,
hurting to see her daughter in so much pain.
Tania pulls herself together enough
to rejoin her mother. She pulls out a
wrapped package and hands it to Bianca, “I have a surprise for you.”
“What is it?” Bianca asks suspiciously.
Tania is hurt by the distrust she hears in her mother’s voice. “It’s a picture…of him. He visited me last night.”
“A what? A picture of his ghost…”Bianca asks in
disbelief.
“I don’t want it!” She continues shoving the package back into
Tania’s hands; horrified that Tania would give her such a
thing.
“But…” Tania begins not understanding why her mother is responding this way.
“You need to stop this Tania! Let him go!”
Her mother says; her voice sharp and stinging.
“Sorry mom, but I find it hard to do that. I’m not as heartless as you and dad,” Tania stabs back.
Bianca walks away wordlessly and
Tania immediately wishes she could take back what
she said.
Tania watches as Bianca leaves the
cemetery. She can tell by Bianca’s stiff
gait that she has gone too far. Tania
has hurt her mother deeply.
Not willing to face reality any
longer, Tania heads to the only place where she knows she can find a little
respite…the local bar.
If she could dig out the pain that
fills her, she would. But it’s
impossible to do that.
Instead, Tania decides to drown it
out, one glass at a time.
Immediately, she feels a warmness
that starts in her core and begins to spread to her head.
Although the pain has not gone away,
Tania feels loose and uninhibited. She
grabs a stranger by the hand and begins to dance with him…no longer controlled
by pain, but instead the alcohol.
She knows that as a newly married
woman, she shouldn’t be dancing so seductively with this man who is not her
husband, but she doesn’t care.
The guy eventually spots Tania’s
wedding ring and walks away, in an attempt to avoid any trouble. Tania continues to dance.
One moment she is having fun, the
next George III’s face pops into her head.
A sob threatens to take over.
Tania suppresses it and walks over to the bar to order another drink.
This drink is much stronger. Tania takes it down a sip at a time,
attempting to recover between each dose.
Her head is spinning, but it doesn’t
stop her.
Tania is dizzy and her legs can
barely support her. She falls into the
nearest bar stool and waits for the room to stop spinning.
“What am I doing to myself?” She asks, never before feeling so out of
control with intoxication.
Tania knows that Antwain is probably at home waiting for her,
but she can’t stop herself. “Anotha one fa da roa…” she says slurring her words.
The bartender complies by pouring yet
another drink.
“Put it ri hur,” Tania says pointing at a specific spot in front of her
on the bar.
The glass is placed in front of
her. Tania smiles because one glass
appears to be two. She attempts to steady herself enough to pick it up.
Finally, she’s able to pick it
up. She downs it in one gulp.
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