Reyona only smiled.
"I am sorry, I am rambling. The problem now is that Thomas has not been found yet. Mary told me you made arrangements for the bodies at the morgue until he could be found. The police have found nothing about him, and I don't know what to do with the kids."
Reyona wondered how that was her problem.
Then she said, "I am sure Thomas would be back from wherever he went soon, and he would take them off your hands."
"But we don't know when that would be, do we?" Fiona said anxiously. More to herself, she muttered, "I don't know how a son could be so unfilial! His mother and daughter died on the same day, and he had to choose a time like this to leave home. My aunt would be crying in the afterlife right now."
Reyona was beginning to think of all the things she could be doing with her time at that moment instead of sitting to hear a tale she already knew about.
Fiona must realise she was already losing her because she quickly apologized for her rambling again and said, "Maria can't keep up with the care of the children. The couple are both old, and they wouldn't even be allowed to have custody of the children because they are not related to them."
"What about you?" Reyona said, with a hint of annoyance in her tone.
"I have to go back. I don't have much time left." Fiona said in a sad tone.
Okay, that was it. Reyona reached for her cane and gave the woman a saccharine smile "Sounds like your problem. Thanks for wasting my time."
"Hold on, please," Fiona said as she quickly stood up anxiously. "I meant I don't have much time to live. I can't keep them. They will end up in the system if I keep them."
Shocked, Reyona asked automatically, "What is wrong with you?"
"I have stage IV colorectal cancer. Inoperable. I just found out last month, and that was the reason why I wanted to come and make amends with my aunt. I didn't want to leave this earth with that fight being the last thing between us," Tears pooled in Fiona's eyes as she continued, "But now, it is too late. I know it is very selfish of me to ask this of you, but it was all I could think of. I…"
She quickly sat as Reyona sat back, then she moved forward in her chair, swiped at her tears, and continued, "I already made arrangements with my mother-in-law. She would take my children back to Portugal with her, but there is nothing I can do for these kids. I want to use the five months I have left to prepare my children for when I will no longer be with them. I want to spend every single minute of my last days with them, and I don't have the means to cater for these children too. It wouldn't be fair to them. Also, I can't stay here for long or wait till Thomas is found. He had done this before; back then, he left home for more than a year. I don't know if this is another jaunt of his. I can't waste the little time I have waiting around to find out."
Reyona was speechless. She reached for her water and sipped as her brain whirred in thought. "What exactly do you want from me?" she said finally.
"I know you don't have any obligation towards these children, but any help you could offer would be more than enough right now. I have no idea where their mother is, but until she or Thomas comes around, I don't want the children to end up in the system, please. I have seen what can happen to children in the system. For the sake of my aunt, I don't want them to have to face such horrors. They look like likeable kids. I just can't do this on my own. Please help me."
Reyona only stared at her.
Fiona looked at her, then looked away in shame.
Then she stood up and said, "I will still be around in the next two days. Maria said that my aunt's place has been sold, but I think they will still let me stay for the next two days. I will need to sort out these things before the new owners come around. Please, I will be looking forward to your call. If I didn't hear from you, I will understand your answer. Once again, I am so sorry about this. I wish I had another option."
With that, she brought out a two-dollar bill and stood up gingerly from her seat.
Reyona indicated that she shouldn't pay, as she said, "You have another option, though. For your health, I mean. Why not chemotherapy?"
Tears trailed down Fiona's face as she said, "It is much too late for me."
Then she looked at the bill in her hand and nodded at Reyona as she said, "Thank you once again."
She tucked the money in her old purse, wrapped the thin, black shawl over her shoulders tightly around her body, and left.
Dumbfounded, Reyona kept looking at her as she slowly walked down the lane.
Just as Fiona got out of her range of vision, Reyona's spiralling thoughts were invaded by something unexpected.
Memories upon memories flooded her mind so unexpectedly that she almost passed out from the overwhelming surge.
Her mind's eye became like a series of motion pictures as she could suddenly recall Fiona.
Not the thin, emaciated woman who just left, but the beautiful, plump, confident woman who had opened her eyes to what he was blind to.
Almost like she was in a trance, it took her a while to realise that the ringing she was hearing was not in her ears; it was her phone.
She slowly reached for it as she saw Toria's number on it.
"Hello! How long is this going to take exactly? No complaints here anyway, just asking because I am having a fine time with your card, you know."
Tears rolled out of Reyona's eyes as she said "Toria, I remember."