Chapter 26 Lorna Now #2
She was confused—in the place where Mr. Cho’s had stood was a massive construction project.
It looked like a high-rise was going up.
“ What? ” she murmured and scrambled out of the car, staring over the hood at the spot where the drugstore had stood.
She could feel the old familiar thrum of rage.
Would she be denied her quest because she had waited too long to make amends?
How could this have happened? How could she not have known this? How would she apologize now?
Bean got out the other side of the car and tilted his head toward the sky, his explorer hat sliding off and onto his back. He had a disposable camera and took a picture. “It’s really tall,” he said. “Where is the drugstore?”
“That’s what I’d like to know,” Lorna said through gritted teeth.
“But... what about the pie?”
“Exactly,” Lorna said. “What about the pie?” She glared at the construction.
“That lady is waving at us.” Lorna followed Bean’s pointed finger.
There was indeed a woman in a hard hat waving at them.
In one hand, she held a clipboard. The other was free to wave them away.
She began to advance toward them, teetering on very high heels.
Lorna was no sartorial expert, but she couldn’t imagine the thought process that would bring any woman to this construction site in high heels.
Until the woman came closer, which was when Lorna understood.
Well, she still didn’t know why the heels, but she knew who was wearing them. That was Candy Cho.
“Get out!” Candy shouted at them.
“Candy! It’s me, Lorna Lott!” Lorna said, coming around the front of her car.
“Get out! You’re trespassing! You’re not welcome here. Don’t you see the sign? No trespassing!”
“But she came to say she was sorry,” Bean said.
Candy drew up short and stared down at Bean. “Who the hell are you?”
“Hey,” Lorna said.
“I’m her friend,” Bean said, unperturbed.
“Hold on,” Lorna said, putting herself between Bean and Candy. Her anger was ratcheting, pushing against all the light-and-breezy feelings she’d been having lately.
“Why are you here, wasting my time?” Candy demanded of Lorna.
She’d forgotten that Candy was a bit of a ballbuster. “He’s right. I came to say I’m sorry.”
“Sorry! For breaking my father’s heart?”
“Yes. Exactly that.”
“You broke his heart?” Bean asked, sounding distressed.
Candy scoffed at that. “She stole from him, that’s what she did, and got arrested for it.”
Bean gasped.
“Okay, Candy,” Lorna said, a little breathlessly. “It was a long time ago. How long are you going to hold the grudge?”
“As long as I want,” she snapped. “My father loved you and you betrayed him, and he’s not here to tell you himself.”
“Well, I loved him too, and I didn’t betray him. I told you then and I’ll tell you now—I didn’t know my sister had stolen anything. I was devastated she had. Can you at least hear me out?”
“No,” Candy said. “Now get off my property.”
“But she hasn’t apologized yet,” Bean said, frantic.
“Please let me apologize,” Lorna added. “I’m sorry for what happened, Candy.”
Candy laughed. “Apology not accepted. What is the point after all this time? You should have come before Dad died. Go away and leave us alone, Lorna. If you don’t, I’m calling the cops again.” She turned on her wobbly heels and hobbled off. Only then did Lorna notice the sign: Cho Construction.
Lorna was dejected. She’d tried, and that was all she could do. But her effort didn’t feel right this time. It didn’t feel like enough. “Come on, Bean,” she said.
She and Bean were back in the car, and she was staring straight ahead, her mind whirling. The apologies felt so imperative now. How did she walk away from this? Damn it, she felt wetness on her cheeks. She hadn’t cried since float therapy.
“Did you really get arrested?” Bean asked in a whisper.
Bean. She had to pull herself together for his sake. She used the tips of her fingers to swipe the tears from her face. The rage—or sadness (which one was it? It was so hard to tell them apart now)—would consume her if she let it. “Yes.”
Bean reached into his backpack and pulled out a tissue. He twisted in his seat and pressed it into her hand. “Did you go to prison ? Did you try and break out?”
“No and no. I had to pay a fine and do some community service. I had to help clean up some roadways for a while.” She looked out the window at Candy, who was back with two men in hard hats, one holding blueprints. “I don’t know what to do, Bean.”
“You apologized, though,” he said.
“But she didn’t accept it.”
“But she’s not Mr. Cho.”
“Mr. Cho is dead. How do I make amends if she won’t let me?”
“Maybe Mr. Cho’s ghost will let you,” Bean suggested. “Sometimes Dad tells me to think of what Mommy would say. What would Mr. Cho say?”
Lorna blinked. This kid, with his earnest little face, sitting here with his explorer hat crookedly perched on his head, was brilliant. “Are you sure you’re not some AI creation?”
“Huh?”
“Lemme think,” she said, rubbing her temples.
“Mr. Cho was very giving. He would probably tell me I didn’t need to make amends, and then I would insist, and then he would say, ‘Well, if you feel you need to do something, you should do something kind for someone else.’” A thought clicked into place. “The soup kitchen!”
“Yay!” Bean cried.
“He went every Sunday morning to the one on Cesar Chavez and helped hand out meals. I could do that. I could make amends by doing community service in his honor.”
“I could get my community service badge!” Bean said.
“Oh. We’ll have to ask your dad about that.” She imagined Seth might draw the line at a soup kitchen.
“Okay,” Bean said agreeably. “Hey, what about pecan pie?”
“Hmm... The pie at Cho’s Drugstore was the best, but I know a close second.” They drove to Upper Crust Bakery where she bought an entire pecan pie for them to try at home.