Till Life do us Part

Till Life do us Part_______________

Lidia Cosgrove at age twenty didn't think much about living. But on the flip side she never thought about death either. Things happened for her but never to her. Lidia had been born to affluent and influential parents. Her family loving and attentive never seemed out of sorts or offbeat. Not picture perfect but a living mosaic of great family life. It seemed each event in Lidia Bryce Cosgrove's life simply indicated that another wonderful event would be taking place soon. Her grandparents on both sides still lived and in fact not a single soul close to Lidia had passed away or even been struck with a serious illness. All this would signal a charmed life indeed but eve more impressive than this were these three facts: Lidia was considered beautiful or at least cute as a button by almost everyone she met. Second fact, Her mind was sharp and only once did the girl earn anything other than an 'A' in school, only once in twelve years. Third fact: Her attitude about life exceedingly upbeat was tempered by at least some humility and wit. A saving grace...no one seemed capable of hate for Lidia, not to her face...usually not at all.

Her boyfriend Alex Dover so impressed with her charmed life felt out of sorts when around the family for perhaps the better part of a year. In the last year of high school Alexander transferred in and met Lidia as a lab partner in biology. The two hit if off. On their third date Alex revealed that his mother was dead. Cancer killed her at age fifty when Alex was fifteen. Lidia seemed so shocked by this that it concerned him. At all times it was as if she lived in a fantasy world...but not figuratively. It was a literal and real thing, a nearly perfectly happy life. Like Heaven granted and God maintained, the Cosgrove house an Eden on Earth. It was hard to argue with Lidia as she'd see both sides of any contention and be willing to change plans in a heartbeat to better fit the other person. It was maddening to a point but also amazing to behold. In time the Cosgrove "Eden" marked him too, changed him. Things just went right for him. With his new girl friend as study partner his grades improved as did his dress, vocabulary and caliber of friends. Once College and a high paying job seemed out of reach but now it could happen for Alex Dover...it really was like a dream come true.

Alex stood naked looking at himself in the mirror. What he had in his hand sparkled under the bright light in the bathroom. Steam obscured the full length mirror as Alex towled off. Putting down the shiny object just long enough to get dry; he never took his eyes off it. For the past three days he'd carried the diamond ring with him every place he went. Tonight he'd have a perfect evening with Lidia and then ask her to marry him. Of course she'd say yes and that too would be perfect. The image in the mirror became more clear...A broad shouldered brown skinned fellow. An angular jaw with large wide set eyes of storm gray and a straight nose that just did fail to dominate his face. Dark blond hair cut close showed ears just the right size, close to his head. Large hands and feet connected to mighty arms and legs. A strong athletic body made from hard work since age eleven reflected back to proud eyes. Alex put on his deodorant and slipped on his black boxers. Tonight would be truly special.

Lidia Cosgrove combed her black hair. It was long, straight and lustrous. Beautiful emerald eyes, large and bright, sat wide between an almost dainty ski slope nose. Her creamy skin neither alabaster nor dark and her complexion flawless. A beautiful not too thin body was envied by many. Yoga and moderate weight training helped but also her genetics gave her so much she never had to earn. Lidia understood this and was thankful and happy for it. Her boyfriend was built the way her father had looked in his early years. Both were just over six feet tall. And even now her father exhibited traces of his youth as he'd maintained himself strikingly well in his old age. Next year her father would be sixty and he often was guessed at fairs and amusement parks as fully ten years younger. Also her mother could pass for much younger as well. In truth, not because of flattery either, they'd been mistaken for sisters more than once. Rian Cosgrove two years older than her husband appeared to be forty-something to most people. In fact both managed to snag gifts from the carnival crowd. They even had all their "treasures" in the basement on shelves. One wall was for all the things Roman had won and the other wall displayed carnival winnings Rian amassed. Over the last thirty years a number of shelves needed to be added. It was a strange hobby some said but in the end everyone mused at the display and it often broke the ice for interesting conversation all through dinner and into the night. Lidia smiled to herself as she checked the mirror. Her small tight white dress clung to a shapely body and at once Lidia knew that this wardrobe choice would get Alexander going. Her boobs were high and tight but yet they bounced just enough to appear they might drop right out of the dress. That sort of thing kept everyone watching. Lidia loved it too. Checking her cell she realized Alex would be arriving in ten minutes...the boy was punctual to a fault.

Arriving on time Alex presented Lidia with a red rose. His black sweater showed his strong physique. His jeans were new but didn't reflect the way he usually dressed when they would go to an expensive restaurant and then to a club. Usually he wore more expensive attire. Alex smiled and without pause knelt in the door way. Lidia held the rose in her hands, already she was shaking. Rian and Roman walked up behind their daughter as Alex pulled the ring from his pocket. "Lidia Cosgrove, will you marry me?"

After a joyful yes and several rounds of hugging and tears the family sat down to a wonderful dinner. Rian had feigned a dinner party but instead she'd known that Alex would pop the question and created a feast for the occassion. Roman purchased wine bottled the year Lidia was born and had it chilled and waiting. He also would have made the first toast at the beautiful cherrywood table amid the piping hot food fit more for Thanksgiving than any dinner party, but that never happened. A knock came at the door instead of a ringing. The door bell was used often and so the knock just as the wine glasses were raised to the newly engaged couple felt so out of kilter that for several moments no one seemed to know what to do. Roman set down his glass and smiled, "One moment, sorry." When he opened the door a wailing sound emitted from the front of the grand house. It carried through the great room and into the elegant dining area. Rian jumped up from the table as the wailing seemed to penetrate the house from every angle. Another few heartbeats passed...Rian and Lidia realized it was Roman that was wailing. Fearfully the family went to the front of the house. The front door was closed and a stranger in a black leather jacket loomed over Roman but his face was stricken. On the floor Roman made unintelligible sounds as he knelt before a child on the floor. Rian saw that the child was dirty and somehow his body appeared misshapen...no mangled. Blood slickly covered Roman as the man tried delicately to hold the stomach of the child. Bloody globs exhuded out of a ghastly jagged wound. "It's Darren, oh God...he's dying. Call somebody," The strangled voice barely could be undestood as words. Rian clutched her chest. Her long red dress flowed around her as she stiffened and abrutly haulted. She'd seen the child on the floor but the grungy gothic young man is what she locked her eyes on. The boy wasn't Darren. This made no sense. Not Darren. Just as she closed her eyes and began to believe it wasn't her son Rian heard her daughter speaking on the cell, "Yes, emergency. My brother is hurt, please send an ambulance. He's bleeding to death in the living room, dying...I don't have time. I don't have time, hurry."

The police stayed for only an hour. Darren pronounced dead at the scene had been taken away. The family was in the garage making ready to travel to Grandmother's house. They couldn't, would not, stay in the house. Lidia appeared to be nearly as white as her dress. "Darren my brother is ten years old. He's just ten..." Her voice trailed off trying to make sense of what she was saying. "Mom, so Dare was staying at Robert's house so the grown-ups could have a night together. So what happened?" No one answered in the autumnal cool of the garage. Roman had stopped wailing and crying. For now Roman was stood forlorn and silent. He clutched at the boy with a fierce look in his eyes when the authorities told him they needed to take the body away. Roman insisted they call him Darren. No one did. The faces were stone and the voices so even and calm. The young stranger that brought Darren to the house found the boy in the woods at the edge of the road not a half mile from his home. In fact the family Darren was staying with tonight was not home and were officially considered missing. The stranger was on his way to a friend's house a short walk away and heard the child moan. Darren moaning in the woods at the edge of the road. An old woman getting her mail saw the stranger, named Cain, stop to listen. Then this woman too heard the sound of the boy moaning for help. Cain moved into the woods and found the tortured child. The old woman got her car. While she was gone to get it the boy told the stranger where he lived. Darren wanted to go home. Because of the pleading: Let me go home, please. The woman drove the directions Cain gave. Darren directed the two strangers the short distance to his home. And at home the boy had died.

Lidia stood by the car with her mom and dad as Alexander got in the driver seat. Rian didn't want anyone touching her. Her arms were crossed and she neglected to answer most questions. Roman cast a worried look to Lidia as Rian climbed into the SUV. Getting into the front with Alex and refusing her husband's attempt to hug her close or hold her hand. Many times she'd softly grunted a 'No.' or moved away when her husband tried not only to comfort his wife but find comfort. Estrangement was the mood...like old friends that just could not pick up where they left off and in honesty had nothing left to say. Roman and Lidia climbed into the back. Roman wrapped his strong arms around his daughter and began to softly weep. The SUV backed out of the driveway and into the street and after a short moment picked up momentum heading north.

Cain took off his boots, he never wore socks with them. He'd been allowed to clean up at the police station. Never was he a person of interest because of Mrs. Brenneck but still he went downtown to answer questions and had been at the scene, the house, of the death for almost thirty minutes. Then twice that long since he had to show them where the child was found and then head to the station to write down everything he could remember and to record his statement. The nearly eighty year old Mrs. Brenneck spent about the same time at the station. It'd been horrible getting all that done but it paid off. Sitting in his dingy apartment in his old ratty recliner Cain propped his feet on the coffee table. Reaching into his pocket he took out the five thousand dollars. The entire time at the police station, at the Cosgrove house for that matter, Cain kept thinking how he had the money. It gave him glee. His cell rang. Pulling it from his leather jacket and opening the little device in one motion he answered. Not a single sound came to his ear, "You're welcome," Cain said. The call ended immediately. Nothing needed to be said. The call signaled everything was going as planned. Talking to no one Cain got up and walked the short distance to the refrigerator to get a bottled beer, "If they ever figure out how this happened and why..." Cain popped the cap and took a long swig and smiled at the money in his other hand.