Free Perfect Imperfections by Unknown Page B

you. I hope you know that. And, when you are ready to talk, if you want to, we are going to be there.”

CHAPTER 12
    It had been a long time since Sam had met her friend Sharon, so they decided to meet at a new coffee shop that had opened near Sharon’s house. When the coffees arrived, Sam emptied the brown sugar sachet into hers and said, “You know, I can never thank Dave enough for helping me get this job.”
     
    Judith — she had been a mute pawn in this game. When Kim walked out on Dave, Judith had felt terribly let down. With all that Kim had put Richard through, the days of agony when Kim refused to come and meet him, that had been all for nothing. All that he had done for her and the Noyes family was of no use.
    However, it was unfair on Judith’s part to force Kim to live with someone because they felt indebted to that person. That was wrong at every level. In fact, Judith should have felt better that Kim had finally ended the relationship that she and Richard had been against. But somewhere between not knowing this person Dave and getting deeply dependent on him, they had grown to like this person on an individual level. He had built a one-on-one relationship with Sam and Judith. Kim didn’t need to be part of every conversation they had, and Sam had grown to accept that Dave would always be a part of their lives.
    Actually, even though Sam always knew that her parents’ initial resentment against Dave was because they considered him to be a cradle-snatcher, she had always been fond of him. He loved her sister and that was enough for Sam to love him and to accept him as part of her family. Despite all of Kim’s flaws and struggles, he loved her. He had been there for her when she had to support her family and be strong for them. It made Sam feel good that there was someone looking after her big sister when she looked after the family.
    Dave had brought out the best in Kim. He had encouraged her to be her individual and unique self. But now, they were at a crossroads that Kim had imposed on them. It was difficult for her to think about what Kim had done and to imagine what it must have done to Dave.
    Sam had thought of meeting Dave after that evening, but Dave just didn’t seem to want to meet anyone from the family. He had only told her on the phone the morning after the proposal, “Sam, take care of yourself and of your family.” And that was that.
     
    “You know, Sharon, sometimes it makes me so angry that Kim can be so blind.” Sam took a sip of her coffee and placed the mug back on the table. Her eyes didn’t stray from the tissue paper held in her fingers. “You know what the worst part of all this is?” she continued. “What she did to Dave… it just doesn’t make any sense. They were so happy, he made her so happy. It just doesn’t make any sense.”
    There was a long pause before Sharon asked, “Have you or Aunt Judith spoken to Kim about it? Or, has she come up to either of you and discussed what went wrong all of a sudden?” Sharon was one of the few people who had actually been present at the party.
    “Oh, you know how Kim gets!” said Sam. “She will keep things bottled up, never share her feelings. And, God forbid if you try.” She raised her hands as she spoke. There was real annoyance in her voice now. “If you try to coax her, or try to have a conversation that even remotely involves her feelings, she just clams up. You know, like one of those touch-me-not plants. I don’t understand why she has to make things more difficult than they need to be. You just have to wait it out, wait till she figures things out for herself. Then, she will come to us. But how long will that take? That is anybody’s guess.”
    “Is she still at home these days?”
    “No, she goes out. Wanders around, I guess. Doesn’t tell us much of where she is or what she is up to. Just at the mall or at the beach, or something vague like that.” The waiter came with their order of some baklava to go