We’ll Meet Again Someday

Riana was entering a series of daily sweeps when she heard a knock on her door. She rose to open it. Audra stood outside. She looked lovely in her floral sundress, hair pulled back with a shiny gold barrette. “Yes?” “May I come in?” asked Audra. “Sure.” Riana stepped aside and then sat back down at the table. She could feel the sizzling heat of the day from there as Audra shut the door behind her. “How is everything in here?” Audra asked. “Okay. Just working, as usual.” Audra slowly swept the room with her eyes, inspecting. The room looked girly, with many cute and colorful decorations. “Looks like you have things pretty much set up.” “Pretty much. My mail should be forwarded here on Monday.” Audra’s bright eyes now came to settle upon Riana. Riana eyed her in return, unsure of what to say. She wanted to chat but was afraid to say the wrong thing. Besides, she wasn’t Audra’s buddy. “Okay, then. Well, tomorrow’s Saturday. Instead of calling first, you can just plan on coming over at one. Would that be okay with you?” Riana nodded. “That would be fine.” Silence once again as Audra gave the room another once-over, her gaze coming to rest on Blondie, asleep in his cage. Voices suddenly sounded in the yard, followed by a timid knock on the door. Audra opened it. It was Emma. Her gaze passed her mother and rested upon Riana. “What is it, Emma?” Audra asked. “Dad’s firing up the grill now and wants to know if you want cheeseburgers or hot dogs?” “A burger will be fine.” Emma glanced at Riana again. “Can she eat with us?” “No, Emma. Remember, she only works for us.” “Thanks for the offer, anyway,” Riana told her. Audra glanced back at her, serious and businesslike. “Okay, Riana. We’ll see you tomorrow.” “See you. Enjoy your barbecue.” Audra left, and Riana’s stomach began to rumble with hunger. She was having one of her financial lows at the moment, so the smell of the food cooking only made it seem worse. She listened to the voices just a few feet from the guesthouse. There would be an occasional tinkle of laughter from Emma, a sneeze from James, a reprimand from Audra. She began to feel sad, lonely, and left out. Riana launched an MP3 file on her computer, donned her headphones, and let her memory peel back in time… Scott, a guy she’d met at a club she’d once danced at, recommended a different apartment complex fifteen minutes away from the one Audra managed. He lived there himself, and so did Amberlyn, which was where they’d met. She was able to get a two-bedroom apartment with the extra money she earned from dancing. Scott—who turned out to be full of false promises about cutting some kind of record deal with a friend, and a thief—helped her move into her new apartment late one night, just two doors down from his. She was sure to go out with quite a bang from the complex for Andrea’s sake. She’d bump her door each time she walked past it with boxes, and even tossed some old junk onto her balcony from the landing on the stairs, like old wire hangers, empty cereal boxes, and other things. Once she was settled in her new apartment, she still wasn’t through with Andrea. Her anger at what she’d put her through over the last few months lived on. She’d made a series of prank phone calls to her, subscribed her to magazines, and done little things like that. But Andrea had found her with Audra’s help and had her served with a summons to appear in court a few months later. Andrea was seeking an injunction against her. Amberlyn had driven her to court, and not surprisingly, she found that Audra had accompanied Andrea. She also noticed a change within Audra that stood out like a sore thumb. Audra was quite pregnant indeed. Her heart went out to the unborn child she carried. Audra would no doubt make a lousy mother. She might not physically harm the child in any way, use drugs, or drink, but she’d be overly strict, domineering, negative, controlling, and insensitive—and this could be damaging enough. She knew this all too well. She had grown up with it herself. Andrea was first to speak in court, complaining of the phone calls, magazine subscriptions, and the profanity Riana had written on her tax bill, which had accidentally been placed in her own mailbox. “If I’d ordered the magazines myself,” Andrea insisted, “why would I misspell my own name? And I’m not about to tell the IRS to eff off either.” While Riana had to suppress the urge to giggle, Audra was next to speak, and again Riana had to wonder why she felt it was her place to get involved. Audra rose from her chair beside Andrea and proceeded to the witness stand. She smoothed out her dark blue maternity dress as she sat down. “My name is Audra Abbington, and for about a year, Riana resided at the apartment complex that I manage, where Andrea now lives. I once spoke with Riana’s probation officer, who said she was from Boston, Massachusetts. Riana would often harass other residents by phone, usually obtaining their numbers from the phonebook, if not directly from the people themselves.” Then it came Riana’s turn to speak. “First of all, I am not from Boston, Massachusetts. I’m from western Massachusetts. I also know that I’m not the only one being threatened here.” She then presented the judge with a threatening letter from Scott’s girlfriend, which she’d received after pranking him as well. In the end, the judge found in her favor based on a lack of evidence. Riana exited the courtroom, stealing a glance at the dismay present on both Audra’s and Andrea’s faces. She itched to smile triumphantly at them but knew it wouldn’t look very good if she did, so she remained stoic-faced. She stayed in touch with Mary until the fall, at which time Mary reported that Audra had given birth to a baby girl. Little did she know that she and Audra would meet yet again so many years later, and under such very different circumstances.