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THE RESTAURANT
It had been a week since Gabi had seen Dr. Sanders. Her nausea was becoming unbearable, especially with the morning rush. The mixture of onions and bacon made her stomach thrash violently. She barely delivered four tables of food before she had to run to the bathroom with her hand over her mouth. Julie was getting suspicious. Her friend wasn’t exhibiting her usual spunkiness. She was quiet and withdrawn. Julie had quizzed her gently the first few days, but decided Gabi needed some space and left her to her thoughts. "Gabi, why don’t you go take a break. I’ll cover for you. You look a little green." Julie was beginning to get the picture, but she wanted to let Gabi make the first move. "Thanks, Julie. I’ll be outside." Gabi stepped through the kitchen and onto the patio. She took in the fresh morning air and it calmed her rolling stomach. She hadn’t been able to concentrate on anything the entire week. She was delivering the wrong plates to the wrong tables and absently adding extra numbers to the bills. Dave had noticed her behavior, but Julie convinced him to wait a few more days to let Gabi get over this funk. Dave had agreed, only after Julie gave in to his demand for a date. Julie stepped onto the patio and slipped silently behind Gabi. She could her Gabi crying softly and wanted desperately to help her friend. "Gabi, please tell me what’s going on? I want to help." "You can’t help Julie. No one can," she began to sob loudly. Julie put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Does he know?" she ventured cautiously. Gabi was caught off guard for a moment, but then realized how obvious she had become with her trips to the bathroom every 15 minutes. She turned to face Julie but couldn’t speak. She shook her head miserably from side to side. She closed her eyes and felt Julie’s arms wrap around her. "Gabi, if there’s anything you need, let me know," she spoke quietly. "Thanks, Julie. I owe you." Julie pulled back and raised an eyebrow to her friend. The two began to laugh and cry simultaneously. They heard Dave grumbling from inside, "Gabi, Julie, come on." THE MISSION Antonio sat behind his desk trying hard to focus on the paper in front of him. He felt sweaty and uncomfortable. He glanced up to find the window open and the fan blowing directly at his face but providing no relief. He had returned from Central America two days earlier. His trip had been difficult to say the least. The village was in shambles and the local priest was extremely ill. Antonio had done his best to help out, but the villagers had been leery of the handsome stranger. He had spent almost two weeks with them before being called back to Sunset Beach. Father O’Brien had had a family emergency and had gone out of town. Antonio wiped the sweat from his forehead and began to write again. He felt his arm moving, but the pen only made strange waves on the paper. He squinted in an attempt to clear his vision, but pursing his face made his head pound like a beating drum. He began to breathe very heavily. He felt the room spinning and grabbed for the sides of his desk in an attempt to make it stop. The sweat was soaking his shirt. He pulled at his clerical collar to loosen the strangling grip it had on his throat. He was gasping for air and he could feel panic rising in him. He tried to stand hoping to make it out into the hall to find one of the Sisters. His legs gave way underneath him and he knocked everything off his desk as he slumped over and fell to the floor. He landed next to the desk and his body began moving, trembling at first and then convulsing violently as the room went black and he lost consciousness. GABI’S APARTMENT Gabi sat curled up under a blanket on the couch. Her attempt at dinner sat on the coffee table as she stared at the phone. She wanted to call…she needed to hear a familiar voice. What would she say? She couldn’t be talked into coming back – not now. She hesitated for a long while before picking it up and dialing the memorized number. "Hello?" the cheery voice rang out on the other end. "Vanessa? It’s Gabi," she said, almost whispering. "GABI, girl, where ARE you? Meg and I have been worried sick. Are you okay?" Suddenly her concern turned to mock anger. "You know, Gabi. I thought we were closer than this. You just leave and don’t say where you are going or when you’ll be back and your girlfriends are supposed to just say ‘Sure, Gabi. See you whenever’." Gabi sat silently on the couch. She knew Vanessa was kidding, but it stung her heart to think that Antonio and Ricardo were probably thinking the same thing right about now. "Gabi, I was just joking around," Vanessa added quickly, sensing Gabi’s demeanor. "I know, Vanessa. I’m sorry. I just have a ton of things on my mind." Gabi’s voice was soft and low. Vanessa was concerned. "So, Gabi. IS everything alright?" There was a short silence and Gabi managed to muster a brave "Yes" for the benefit of her friend. The two chatted comfortably for some time about Casey, Sara, Meg and Michael. Vanessa gave Gabi all the updates and a little juicy gossip. Gabi was glad to speak to her. It gave her a warm feeling to know they all didn’t hate her for leaving so abruptly. They were good friends and she knew they would understand – eventually. Their chatter halted and Vanessa waited for Gabi to ask the question she had anticipated. "So," Vanessa began, "are you going to ask?" Gabi paused. "Well..." she was anxious for Vanessa’s response. "I saw Ricardo yesterday and he seems to be managing alright. I had to go to the station for a story I was working on and we ran into each other in the hall. He looked a few days unshaven and I think he had a hangover, but he managed to chat for a few seconds before he had to go." Gabi was relieved to hear that at least Ricardo was back to work. She was unsure what action he would take when she ran out of the wedding. He tended to fly off the handle easily and she was afraid he might hurt himself or someone else without thinking. Gabi really wanted to know about Antonio, but she was afraid the tone of her voice would be too obvious. Vanessa didn’t know about the situation with Antonio, but Gabi wasn’t taking any chances on losing control. She heard Michael calling Vanessa from the background saying they were running late. Gabi gave Vanessa her phone number but made her swear on Michael’s adorable face that she wouldn’t give it to anyone - not anyone in Sunset Beach. Vanessa promised and wished her friend goodbye. Gabi hung up the phone and looked back at the plate of food on the table. She pushed it away with her foot and sank sadly into the couch. She desperately wanted to know how Antonio was doing. She considered calling the Mission just to hear his soothing voice, but decided it would be too painful to hear him and not be able to speak, so she closed her eyes and prayed for sleep. It came quickly, again she was exhausted. She had a terrible nightmare. There was a man, she couldn’t see his face, but he called out to her from the darkness. His voice was very familiar, but it was panicked and desperate. "Gabi, Gabi." He reached out for her, but just before he could touch her hand, he disappeared. She sat up with a start and realized she was still on the couch. The clock read 2:15. She slowly rose and made her way to the window. Gabi sat quietly on the windowseat listening to the deafening silence of the night. All she could think of was Antonio – his strong arms holding her tightly, her head buried in his chest, listening to his heart beating. She closed her eyes and the tears rolled slowly down her cheeks. It was going to be a long night…
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