Long Lost Love

Chapter 4

Luis found himself confused and heavy hearted once again. He sat in Matt's office three times a week. His first month with Pastor Matt was spent trying to place the broken pieces together in a way that would make sense.

"Luis, you've made progress. Don't be hard on yourself."

"I love her, Matt. And I did every possible attempt to avoid this."

"As we've come to conclude Luis, she did not share your beliefs which only made it that much more difficult to come together and place God in the center of your marriage."

"Yes, I understand. But why did she allow it to go on for so long?"

"I can not answer that, I'm sorry. Let's just pray that God will give you the opportunity to ask her and that she may have the answer to bring you solace and maybe even closure." He tapped Luis' arm. "So...Have you thought about the Encampment I told you about?"

"Oh! I forgot about that. Sounds interesting, but I'd like to meet with you a few more times, before I go off on my own."

"That's fine with me Luis."

"Thank you Pastor."

Luis walked into his home like he had many times after Laura left. But today was different. As he walked into the living room, he noticed all the memories of his marriage were gone. Colorful fluffy pillows she had on the couch and on the chair were also gone. He quickly walked into the bedroom. Bed was the same as he left it in the morning. He slowly opened her closet door with his eyes shut hoping to see her clothes still hanging, but he feared that she had come by and taken what was hers. He opened his eyes slowly, her clothes hung. Surprised, he phoned Max, but Max had no clue what he was talking about, so he thought about calling Laura, but dialed Karen.

"Karen? It's Luis."

"Hi Luis. Is everything okay?"

"I'm not sure. Has Laura been by the house today?"

"No. Not that I'm aware. Why? What happened?"
"All our wedding pictures are gone along with her fluffy pillows...but her clothes are still in her closet."

"Let me make a call. I'll call you as soon as I can."

"Thank you Karen."

Luis walked in the kitchen, opened the refrigerator door and noticed a week's worth of pre-cooked meals.

"What in the world...Who did this?" He said to himself.

Why would she cook for me? She's never done that. Luis felt a glimpse of hope rising up and then wondered about the wedding photos and pillows.

"It just doesn't add up."

He grabbed one of the cooked meals and warmed it up in the microwave. He sulked in his calabaza con pollo as he leaned against the kitchen sink. He savored every bit of it too. He hadn't eaten calabaza con pollo since he was living at home. His mom's face came to mind.

"Luis, you need to call your mom." He told himself.

He quickly grabbed his phone.

"Hola mama."

"Mijito! I'm guessing you found the calabaza con pollo?" She asked

"Tu mama? You made it?"

"You sound surprised, mijo. I thought you might want a home cooked meal, so I cooked a week's worth for you." She said with concern.

"Aye mama, you didn't have to do that. But I'm glad you did. It's just like I remember it."

"I hope you don't mind, but I took some things off the walls and gave those fluffy pillows to your hermana."