When Kim picked up the phone to call Abby the next morning Nick decided to give her some privacy. He left the bedroom shutting the door behind him. When he made his way to the living room Nick found Marta sitting on the couch reading a magazine. She glanced up at him as she entered the room and sat down on the couch across from her. “You probably think we are terrible parents.” She said looking Nick in the eye. “I didn’t support Kim in her efforts to make her life better. I know now I should have stood behind her.” She said sadly. “If I had maybe we would have a normal relationship today. If I had been more supportive of her as a teenager she might not have turned to an eating disorder to cope with her problems.” Nick felt like he had been walloped in the gut. His head spun for a second before he regained his balance. “Kim had an eating disorder?” He asked dazed. “Has.” Marta corrected. “Debbie said she found Kim throwing up in the bathroom at the airport. I would have thought she would have told you about this before you got married. You should have at least had the choice of marrying someone with a problem.” She said shocked. “I thought I taught that girl better than to lie about something so important.” She said distantly. “Wanting to hide something like this is normal. I am sure Kim expected me to reject her just like all of you do.” Nick came to Kim’s defense. “I still think she should have told you. You deserve to know your potential wife has a self-destructive condition.” Marta said bitterly. Nick realized his mother in law’s need to win this argument was driving her forward more than concern over Nick being lied to.

Kim stumbled to the bathroom desperate for relief from the constant weight of the food in her stomach. She had been unable to avoid eating at dinner. Her mother insisted on serving Kim’s plate and had hovered over her until every bite on the plate was gone. After dinner the family had retired to the living room. Kim felt like her mother knew what was on her mind. Every time she slipped away to unburden herself of the food her mother always popped up. When everyone went to bed for the night Kim lay awake staring at the ceiling biding her time until everyone was asleep. When she was sure she would not be heard Kim slipped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Her mission was clear as she padded across the floor her bare feet making very little noise. She knelt in front of the toilet. As with many times before Kim felt powerful as she purged the food from her body and then drained and guilt ridden as she sat slumped on the bathroom floor. “Why do I keep doing this to myself?” She asked into the silence. After washing her face and brushing her teeth Kim went back to bed but found it hard to sleep. Nick snored quietly next to her but Kim did not even notice. Her mind was burdened with guilt over the way she was destroying her body. Abandoning sleep Kim slipped out of bed and went quietly to the living room. Sitting on the couch Kim tucked her feet up under her. A shiver ran through her and she reached for the blanket, which was draped over the back of the couch. As she sat alone in the dark living room her mind drifted back to her teenage years when bulimia started to chip away the foundation of her life. Kim had longed for the kind of life she saw her friends living where family loved each other and enjoyed being around one another. She longed to have late night chats with her sisters and bake cookies in the kitchen with her mother during the holidays. Instead Kim’s family could barely stand to be in the same room together for an hour. As a child she thought it was perfectly normal for family to be this way. It wasn’t until she was in junior high she discovered most of her friends’ families were not like her’s. One afternoon Kim sulked into the kitchen where her mother had been cooking dinner. “Mom I know our family isn’t like my friend’s families. Why are we different?” Marta looked up from the stove. “Why would you say something like that?” she snapped, “Because we never do any of the things I hear my friends talking about. For as long as I can remember you and dad haven’t even been able to stay in the same room together for an hour without getting into a fight about something. Terry and Debbie and I are becoming just the same.” She said meekly. Kim watched her mother clench and relax her jaw. “ I don’t know what you think a family is supposed to be like but this model family you have dreamed up in your head does not exists.” She said through her teeth. Kim gripped the counter tightly determined to pursue this matter to the end. “I just want a normal family. One who enjoys being around each other some of the time at least. One who exchanges gifts at Christmas. Why can we be like that sometimes?” Kim said having to restrain the anger simmering inside her. “Normal families don’t exist!" Her mother’s words rang in her ears as Kim sat in the darkness.

Morning dawned bright but darkness reigned in Kim’s heart. She found her Mother and Father sitting at the table drinking coffee. Nick sat across the table from them.  Kim stumbled to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. Tentatively Kim took a seat next to Nick. Wrapping her arm around his Kim felt the way he had his muscles tensed. It alarmed Kim but she kept quiet. “Why didn’t you tell Nick about the bulimia?” Her mother pierced Kim with the suddenness of her question. Kim faltered for a moment trying to find her voice and the appropriate words. “I understand why Kim didn’t tell me.” Nick said placing a protective hand over Kim’s. “She thought I would reject her just like you people do. Unless you are willing to stop hassling my wife I am going to take her and go home. I see now why she didn’t talk about her family very often. I can only imagine ” Nick said. His tone told them he was not joking. If they did not leave Kim alone he would take her away and Nick just might never let her come back. The thought of never seeing struck fear into Jack’s heart. “I think Nick is right.” He said trying to force his voice to stay calm. “I think Kim and Nick should work this out on their own. They don’t need us trying to fix their problems.” He said. Marta stiffened but did not say another word.

“Do you want to go home now?” Nick asked Kim later the same day. “I know things have not have been easy on you and I realize now I made a mistake in changing our travel plans to come here.” He said gently. Kim sighed as she looked out the window. “All my life I have wanted a normal family, but I know in my heart it will never be. My mom can’t accept the person I have become and my dad means well but he is very overprotective of me. Part of me wants to leave and go back to the secure world I have made for myself in California at the same time I want to stay and see if I can somehow make this work with my parents.” She said sadly. “How about this? We will stay for two more days and if things have not gotten any      better or have gotten worse we will go back to California.” Nick suggested. Kim thought for a moment before she replied, “I guess that sounds okay.” She said finally. 

“It’s great to hear your voice again!” Abby said ecstatically. “I thought you might have dropped off the face of the planet. How is Cancun?” she continued. “We aren’t in Cancun.” Kim said after a moment. Silence hung heavy as Abby contemplated what to say. “He didn’t know. Nick thought you would be happy to spend time with your family.” She said finally. “After he told me I was a little hopeful things might be a different this time but my mom has been her typical self. I feel her breathing down my neck every time we sit down to eat and especially afterward. She made sure to make sure Nick knew. She figured I wouldn’t have told him if I didn’t have to.” Kim said sadly. “She was right. I guess I should have told him on the plane when I found about the change of plans. I haven’t really had a chance to talk to him about it yet. My mother decided to drop the bomb this morning. She and dad cornered him this morning. He didn’t react as badly as I thought he would at least not yet. When it really sinks in he will probably demand a divorce. The most confusing part to me is why is my mother so set on making my life miserable. Why else would she tell my husband something which would make him want to leave me?” Kim said between sobs. Kim heard a muffled conversation on Abby’s end and knew she probably needed to go and take care of Grace. Making an excuse Kim ended the conversation. Putting the phone back in its cradle Kim lay down on the bed and curled up on her side. Pulling a pillow down she sobbed into it. Kim cried herself to sleep. Nick found her an hour later. Instead of waking her up he quietly climbed into the bed next to his wife and wrapped his arms around her.

A scream broke the silence of the night and jolted Kim and Nick from their deep sleep. Kim struggled out of the darkness and fog. Her mother was screaming. Kim made her way down the hall quickly and threw back the door to their room. The bright morning sun was shining through the open blinds. Her head had been clouded Kim had not even realized it was morning. She glanced back to her mother who was still screaming. What she saw made Kim go weak in the knees before her medical training took over. Her father lay on his side on the floor next to the bed. Numbly she went to him and knelt down to try to locate his pulse. When she failed to feel the throbbing beats she glanced up at her mother. She didn’t have to say a word. Marta read the truth in her eyes. Nick gently brought Kim back to her feet and helped her move to her mother’s side before reaching for the bedside telephone to dial nine-one-one. Kim wrapped her arms around her mother and began to sob.

 “He’s gone.” Kim’s voice sounded as dull and lifeless as she felt inside. The silence, which followed, was something only close friends would be comfortable with. “Honey, I am so sorry.” Abby said finally. “I was never close to my dad. I don’t know why him being gone has hit me so hard.” Kim said, “He was still your dad even if he was not the best one in the world.” Abby said quietly. “When is the funeral being held? She asked next. “Saturday morning.” Kim answered tearfully. When Kim hung up the phone a few minutes later she drifted to the living room and sank on to the couch. Her mother and Debbie had gone to start making funeral arrangements. Nick was bringing Kim over to make the final decisions later in the afternoon.  Since her father’s death Nick had been hovering over Kim. Every time she turned around Kim found Nick lurking nearby. She knew he was concerned over her but him always being so close was starting to make her feel smothered. After everyone else left Kim had pretended she wanted some vanilla ice cream and had asked Nick to run get it for her. She knew he would not refuse since she had not been eating well.  After he left Kim decided to call Abby and tell her about her dad. Through out the conversation Kim had a feeling Abby had something up her sleeve but she never could quite pin point what it might be. Abby had not been as affected as by the news as Kim thought she would be. It almost seemed to Kim Abby had already known what she had called to tell her like someone else had told her. She quickly dismissed the idea when the full scale of her own grief hit her not for the first time that day and not for the last time either. As Kim walked past the door to her parent’s room later in the day as she was preparing to meet her mother and sisters a surge of emotions hit her and Kim thought for a while she would not recover. She stood frozen staring at the closed door in front of her. Memories flooded her mind of few times when she would have a bad dream and her mom would allow her to climb into the bed with them. She would clamor into the bed and her dad would snuggle her in close. It was one of the very few fond memories Kim had of her childhood days. With her father gone Kim felt even more of her past had slipped though her fingers. This realization crushed Kim making it hard for her to breath. She staggered to the couch and lay down. Closing her eyes she felt the silent tears slipping down her cheek but made no effort to wipe them away. 

Nick took his time buying the ice cream. He had sensed Kim might be in need of some time to herself. Nick had known he was hovering too close but he couldn’t help himself. Her health was at stake. He worried her father’s death might send her spiraling into another bulimic episode. When he left for the grocery store Kim had been lying on the couch. Purging had not seemed to be on her mind and Nick hoped things stayed that way. When he pulled his truck into the driveway at Kim’s parents home he could not detect any sign of life in the house. This alarmed him for a moment until he realized Kim had not been very active when he had left early. She was probably still on the couch where he had left her. Retrieving the plastic shopping bag from the seat beside him Nick got out of the truck and walked to the front door. As he stepped over the thresh hold Nick spotted Kim lying on the couch. She had changed clothes and he was puzzled for a moment until he remembered the meeting in a few hours with the funeral home director. He noticed the streaks where tears had run down her cheeks and dried. Her eyes were closed and Nick thought at first she was asleep. He walked quietly past her to the kitchen and set the shopping bag on the table. “I can’t do this.” She said her voice dull and lifeless as if all the fight had been taken from her. Nick went back to the living room and knelt in front of the couch. Putting his face close to her’s. “This is not going to be easy but I am going to be beside you the whole time and you will get through this.” He said seriously. She sighed and then sat up in the center of the couch. “I guess I need to finish getting dressed.” She said. When she tried to stand Kim found her legs were weak and sank back on to the couch. “Why don’t you let me fix you some ice cream before you try standing again? You’re probably a little weak from the stress and not eating well.” Nick said going to the kitchen. “I guess I could use something in my stomach” Kim admitted finally. After sticking a spoon in to the middle of the ice cream Nick brought Kim the bowl and placed it in her hands. She dipped the spoon into the soft substance then brought it to her mouth. When the bowl was empty Nick took it from her and brought it back to the kitchen. A knock sounded at the door while Nick was coming back to the living room. Kim got up to answer it. Nick followed on her heels. Kim swung the door back and her jaw dropped. Abby, Gary and Grace stood on the front porch. Kim shrieked and grabbed Abby in a tight hug. Nick stepped up to shake Gary’s hand. When Kim had calmed down she invited them inside and both couples took a seat in the living room. “I can’t believe you came.” Kim said still stunned. “When I heard how upset you were on the phone I knew I couldn’t stay away. As soon as I got off the phone with you I called the airport and booked us on the next flight. We would have been here sooner but this was their first opening. I had to take what I could get.” Abby returned. “I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. I did call Nick later the same night and told him.” Abby said smiling in Nick direction. Nick glanced at his watch and frowned. “I hate to break up this happy reunion but if we are going to make it to the funeral home to meet your mother and sisters we need to be leaving.” Nick said regretfully. Slowly Kim stood and went to gather her things. She emerged from the bedroom a few minutes. “I guess I am as ready as I will ever be.” She announced grimly. “You’re going to make it through this.” Abby said putting her arm around Kim’s shoulders. The two couples parted ways outside. Gary and Abby had plans to check into their hotel room then find somewhere to eat lunch.  Kim wished her parent’s house was large enough for them to stay there but Kim and Nick were sleeping in the only extra bedroom. Kim would have gladly given up the room since sleep was not something she was going to do much of in the nights to come but she knew Nick would never allow her to give up her bed. She was forced to concede a hotel room was needed. She lean her head against her seat’s headrest and turned to look out the window. Thought rush through her mind at the same speed as the scenery outside the window. The drive was quiet as both Kim and Nick were both lost in their own thoughts. When Nick pulled into the parking lot of the funeral home Kim was still deep in thought. As much as Nick would have liked to of known what was going through her mind he decided it might be best to let her have her space. They walked into the office together but Kim’s mind was mile maybe even years away. Nick found Marta, Debbie and Terry waiting inside. Kim hugged each of them numbly before they were ushered into a large room full of caskets. They did not need to be told what to do. They each realized the morbid task, which lay head of them. As a group they browsed through the room running their hands over the smooth wood and surveying details here and there. They stopped in front of a dark mahogany casket with cream-colored interior all of them were instantly mesmerized. “This is the one.” Marta said softly. A series of affirmation met her words. When all the details had been settled the somber party made their way out to the parking lot and silently climbed into their own vehicles.