The Broken Hearts Club

Welcome to the Club

     Back to that dreary day, I was rather aggravated. After numerous times telling Victoria to get up, she never did. We were already running late to the Club, and we had to make one stop along the way. Victoria, despite being a kind girl, was stubborn. Recently her latest boyfriend broke up with her after one week. What was this, boyfriend #7 I believe? I had begun to worry that there was something deeper, something wrong with Victoria that caused her to lose so many. So I've been forcing her to attend the Club. She hates it. So to make her feel more at ease, I allow her to bring along Caroline, her best friend. And that, that is our one stop along the way. 
     I banged on Victoria's door once more, yelling that we'd be late. She opened her door, completely ready and an eyebrow raised, "Geez mom, calm down." Her eyes rolled and walked passed me. 
    It was true, we didn't have the best of mother-daughter relationships, but outside of home we were picture perfect. Can't allow people wondering whether the therapist needs therapy herself. 
     We quickly slid into our car, and pulled it into gear. There was clunk and a kapoot and a huge jump that caused us both to yelp in surprise. Victoria quickly held onto her seat, "Mom, we need a new car!"
    "This is a vintage 2018 Nissan Rogue!" I retaliated, "This was my father's car and eventually it will be your car."
    "It's about to fall apart, we could be going down the road any day now and fall apart right in the middle of the highway," Vicky argued, and of course she was right but I shot her a look. The kind of look that said "I am your mother and you will obey". Just as she was about to object, we were met with a brunette and a bright smile along the side of the road. Vicky smiled and rolled down her window, "Care Bear!" 
    Caroline ran up to her, "It's about time, I thought I'd have to walk there!" They both exchanged laughs as she climbed into the back, "Hello Ms Orion," Caroline brightly greeted. Despite knowing our family for nearly 10 years, she always called me 'Ms Orion'. 
    "Good morning Caroline, how are you?" I asked, spying her through the rearview mirror.
    "I'm doing well," she said as a yawn escaped her pink lips, "Oh Vicky, tell me more about that guy you met."
    For the rest of the way, I fell into thought as the young girls talked of boys and general weird teen things. Today at the Club we had a few new members joining, so of course we would have to go over the beginning, telling them about our cause and generally greet them and make them feel openly welcomed. I had ordered delivery the night before, but would still need setting up. Drinks, snacks, brochures, etc,...
    A little more about The Broken Hearts Club that you should know. It's located in the Heart of Chicago in a big building but a small-ish room. When the Club first got it's start, we had a bigger place located in the more popular part of Chicago but after business died down, we were forced to downsize. I can't complain, where we are now is only a block away from Dunkin' Donuts so that is a big plus. 
    I tuned back into the girl's conversation and Caroline had been talking about.. bread? And Vicky just laughed so hard it seemed as if she couldn't breathe. Teens these days. They didn't have a care in the world and were free to do have as much fun as they desired. I envied them. They were allowed to have the childhood I was deprived of. Quick backstory; when I was 16, my friends and I were invited to a seniors party and well let's just say there were no adults, alcohol and a certain cute boy. Nine months later, Vicky arrived. The rest of my teen years were spent tending to her, and when I turned 18, I was married off to the cute boy. Sometimes I think that is why he left. I took away his teenage life.
    We arrived to the Club and I rushed the girls in, both of them still giggling. They raced up the stairs and into the club, I slowly followed behind. As we gathered into the room, I sent out orders to start setting out the snacks. The club room was much like a small loft, on one side there was a small but open room where we had chairs and a small couch sat, on the other side was a tiny kitchen with a sink and mini fridge. There was also a table in between that Vicky and Caroline had used to set the drinks and food on. 
    I opened the curtains and tidied up the pillows, making everything look pretty and set, "Okay girls, pretend like you actually want to be here and not that I'm forcing you to." 
    "No place I'd rather be," Vicky sighed. Caroline punched her shoulder playfully, earning a smile from Vicky. 
    There was a soft knock on the door to our little loft and it slowly opened revealing a red haired woman known as Karen Richardson. She was quiet and not very talkative, although she had been coming to the club for about three months now. "Karen, it's so good to see you!"
    Karen nodded, "Thank you." She immediately went to sit down in a chair.
    "I hope you've had a good week," Caroline beamed, "may I get you something to drink or eat?" Karen simply shook her head and mumbled a 'no thank you'. 
    The next person came tumbling in, this one was new. He was tall, toned and with blue-green eyes. From the side of my eye, I could see Vicky staring. It was obvious that he noticed as well,          "Uh, hello."
    "Hello," I approached him with an outstretched hand, "my name is Elizabeth Orion, welcome to the Club."
    He hesitantly shook my hand, "Evan Darrel."
    "I'm Vicky!" Victoria came over quickly, taking his hand, "I-We hope you enjoy your time here, is there anything I can get you?"
    Caroline came over, obviously holding back her giggles, placed a hand on Vicky's shoulder. Vicky blushed and backed away. Evan nodded, and took a seat near the couch. Vicky grabbed Caroline's arm, pulling her over to the couch.
    The next new-ish member appeared. A man in his early 40s and dark circles around his eyes. This was Francis Harold. He has been coming to the Club for about two weeks now. He lost his wife to frontotemporal dementia, a sad disease that affects the general areas of the brain that are associated with personality, behavior and even language. To see someone you love go through something so terrible, it truly leaves you broken in the end. It was difficult to not feel pity for Francis, he was so sad. I offered him a sympathetic smile and gently pat his back. Caroline jumped up from the couch, quickly walked over to table and grabbed Francis a cookie on a napkin. He took it, patting Caroline on her head. He was a skinny man who desperately needed weight. 
    Another person walked in, a tall boy most likely in his late teens with messy black hair and pale skin. He looked at me and around the room, sighed heavily and took a seat on the couch without a word and pulled out his phone. I rolled my eyes, hoping nobody could see. Boys are still the same as they were in my day.
    Looking at the clock, it was time to start. So I closed the door and gestured Caroline to return back to her seat, and she shyly sat between Mr No Name and Vicky. I laughed in my mind, Caroline was always so shy around guys her age. 
    I took a seat in front of everyone, "Alright, so we have two new members," I gestured to the two boys, "Welcome to The Broken Hearts Club."