The Last Christmas Card II
written by: Phyllis P. Colucci
@FictionTarot
…When he reached his destination, Dom paid his fare and rushed out of the cab, both excited and curious; excited to see his beloved Rosa again, but curious as to why she sounded so desperate…Like the last time, there was Rosa standing at the end of the hallway, in the doorway to her apartment, looking as beautiful as ever. Her dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail, held in place with a long paisley-colored scarf that matched her pale green tailored blouse and olive green jeans. She wore the years well on both her body and her face. Her beauty was undeniable. Dom continued to gaze and admire her from afar, as he walked down the hallway to her apartment door. Once there, she welcomed him in and offered him a seat on her huge burgundy sofa. Dom was a bit surprised that she looked as calm as she did, after he heard the desperation in her voice over the phone. This prompted him to ask her why the urgent request that he come over to her apartment immediately.
Rosa stood silent, as she forced the tears to fall from her eyes. She wanted Dom’s sympathy and she needed his help. Dom recognized Rosa was not being candid with him, and was putting on an act for his benefit. He hadn’t seen Rosa in what could be considered a “lifetime”, then realized that this older, more vulnerable, version of the young Rosa he shared a close friendship with many years ago, may not be that same Rosa. He was taken aback by her, and was not comfortable during this awkward moment. He looked deeply into her eyes as he sat a few feet away from her, and asked, “Why am I here Rosa? You sounded like you were in a life or death situation.” She replied that she was in a life or death situation, and still is. Then she approached Dom, threw her arms around him and pulled him closer to her body, and said, “I need your help. Please Dom. Help me. After all, you were the one who wanted to find me. Now that you found me, I hope you will help me…I told you my marriage to Brian was over, didn’t I?” Dom nodded and waited for Rosa to elaborate, as he slowly pulled away from her grip.
She went on to say that Brian had packed his belongings early this morning, to head back home to Upstate, New York, today, when she and Brian got into a terrible argument which turned into a physical altercation. Dom, still quiet, listened even more closely as Rosa went into detail about their argument. She said Brian was upset that she had brought him back to Brooklyn to work on their marriage, when he felt she had no real desire to work on anything at all. He said she was only using him as her meal ticket until she was fully settled back here in Brooklyn. He accused her of wanting to find Dom, and then cut him loose like a bag of garbage.
Dom asked Rosa if that was true. Rosa responded that it was not the original plan; but once she got back to Brooklyn, her old neighborhood, and back to safe, familiar surroundings, she realized she did not want to work on her marriage, and just wanted it to end. She stressed that they had nothing in common, and that perhaps the marriage should never have taken place. She said at the time, it felt right; but she now believed it was a fantasy. She fell in love with the image of Brian, not the man. The thought of starting a new life with him Upstate was intriguing. She realized she was wrong, and found that they were total opposites. He was the introvert and she was the extrovert. He was possessive of her, and she wanted more freedom in her marriage…She looked at Dom and admitted to him that she missed his friendship terribly, and hoped they could rekindle that relationship now that she was back home in Brooklyn.
Dom continued to stare at Rosa. He could not believe what he was hearing. Those words were the words he longed to hear from her, but now those words seemed empty, unnatural, dysfunctional, improper, and whatever else he could think of that was absolutely wrong. Things did not feel right. Then she started pacing back and forth nervously, staring at the floor, with her fingers pressed against her lips…She said, “That’s not all of it Dom.” Dom asked, “Where is Brian now?” That’s when Rosa fell to her knees with her face in her hands and cried uncontrollably. This frightened Dom. His gut told him something very bad had happened here. Then she pointed to the bedroom door, and continued to sob. Dom ran to the door, pushed it open, and could not believe his eyes. There was Brian, sprawled out on the bedroom floor, motionless and bleeding from his head, as his belongings were neatly packed beside him. Dom checked for a pulse and was happy to find one. He yelled out to Rosa to call 9-1-1, to which she refused. She said, “I killed him! I do not want to spend the rest of my life in jail! Help me Dom! We have to get rid of the body!” Dom was horrified. “Are you insane, Rosa?” he asked. Rosa did not respond. He assured her that Brian was still very much alive, although unconscious, and he needed medical attention right away. So he grabbed his own phone and called 9-1-1 himself.
As they waited for an ambulance, Rosa confessed that she became so angry with Brian because he called her a lying slut, a worthless human being, and a poor excuse for a wife. She said, when he tried to pick up his belongings to leave the apartment, she hit him from behind with the brass bedroom lamp. Rosa admitted she was so full of rage and hate for him at that moment, that she lost control of herself, and wanted to hurt Brian because his words hurt her deeply. She turned to Dom and said, “I should have just let him walk out the door.” Dom replied, “Yes Rosa. You should have. What the hell were you thinking? You are so lucky this man is still alive.”
Then the awful sound of the bell rang. It was EMS. Rosa was grateful Brian was still unconscious, as she feared what would happen to her if he told the EMTs that she had attacked him from behind with a lamp. Dom was secretly thinking the same thing. However, there will soon be questions for sure, and Dom’s beloved Rosa will have to answer them. Dom was now mixed up in this mess as well, by coming to Rosa’s aid in the apartment she shared with her husband Brian.
NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:
This is an excerpt from my novel “The Last Christmas Card.”
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