Tragic Love Friday

I hate the Indiana BMV.

It began in July, when my ass went numb in a plastic chair after waiting ninety minutes for my number to be called, only to be informed the new computer system had a few "bugs" and couldn't perform the activities necessary to change the last name on my IDs. I went back at the beginning of December and waited another hour to be sent to the Social Security office for a numi report confirming my number, because even though I had updated my card, the number was still attached to my maiden name.

The following Friday, I sat for forty-five minutes in ANOTHER plastic chair next to a woman who smelled like toenail fungus with eight other people in for the same reason I was, eight other people who probably received the same condescending eyeroll from the clerk when requesting their numi reports because she's sick and tired of the BMV sending everybody and their taxidermist to the damn Social Security office.

Last Saturday I went to the BMV again, where thankfully there was no numbing of the ass; instead, I stood at the clerk's desk for an hour and fifteen minutes, but I was wearing my new Simple shoes, plus I left with an updated license and ID, so no worries. It was all good in the 'hood.

Today I received a letter from the BMV. It states that my driver's license application is missing a signature and sufficient proof of my Social Security number. "Please bring in your original Social Security card," it says.

You mean scribbling the information on the back of my "Get out of jail free" card wasn't good enough? The fuck?

Obviously I'm more than a little pissed, because not only will I be stepping foot into the damn BMV for the fourth time in a seven-month timespan, I also have to fit it in before my ten o'clock dentist appointment, at which time a metal post will be implanted in my gum. It will take every ounce of will power not to march into that facility, grab the receptionist by the collar, and beat her head against the countertop until she fully grasps the incompetence of her employer and sends me on my merry way. Or until she dies. Whichever comes first.

But you don't care about my BMV troubles. You want to know who died in the Dairy Queen parking lot. Some friends you are.

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CHAPTER EIGHT - JENNA

I fell to my knees trying to run out of the car's way.

At that moment, I felt David's strong arms push me towards the sidewalk. I stumbled on my feet and fell hard on my stomache. I felt something pop inside of me. In the corner of my eye, I saw the car smash into my boyfriend, throwing him into the Dairy Queen parking lot. It drove away.

"Oh God!!" I screamed. My hands grabbed my belly. It felt like my insides were oozing out of me.

Then I blacked out.

* * *

The first faces I saw when I woke up were Dr. Foremann's and my parents'. They were speaking in low voices, and my mother was crying. I tried to speak, but only a high-pitched sound came out. All 3 of them looked at me sadly.

"Oh Jenna! My poor baby!" Mom cradled me awkwardly in her arms. Dad just squeezed my hand.

"Don't try to talk," Dr. Foremann ordered. "You're very weak."

[At this point I can only assume they're in the ER. Would your ob/gyn meet you at the emergency room?]

I ignored him. "What's wrong?" I asked, my voice hoarse. "Is my baby OK? Where's David?"

"Calm down," my doctor said gently. He looked at my parents. "I'll need a minute alone with her." They nodded and hurried out. [Because in Frema, M.D.'s world, apparently physicians don't allow family members to comfort patients when hearing bad news?]

I felt empty inside. My arms tried to feel my belly, but I was too weak.

"Jenna," he began in a kindly voice, "a car hit you. You have a mild concussion, and a few cracked ribs."

[I have no idea what it means to crack a rib, but I remember hearing about those types of injuries in my Nancy Drew books. They're totally real, right?]

"My baby..."

"I'm sorry, Jenna. She's gone."

"No." I couldn't breathe. Tears instantly blinded my vision. Dr. Foremann grabbed my hand. "I'm so sorry, Jenna. The impact of the car was too much. She was killed instantly."

[Now, Doctor, don't sugarcoat the news. Be as blunt as you can--you know, REALLY rub it in.]

My head hurt, and my hands finally felt my stomache. The bulge I had loved to touch so much was gone.

[There is a double entendre here somewhere, itching to break the surface, but I'll refrain out of respect for the dead.]

"No, please not my baby," I whispered. "You're joking. Please say you're joking. Tell me Mary Katherine is OK. Tell me!!" I sobbed.

[Because healthcare professionals are famous for their fake-miscarriage pranks.]

I heard the anguish in my doctor's voice as he continued. "You could have been more seriously injured if Mr. Donovan hadn't pushed you out of the way."

For the first time I thought about David. My hero. [Actually, it's the second, but Dr. Foremann was too busy shaking with excitement over the thought of telling you about your dead baby to give your question his full attention.]

"I hate to be the bearer of even more bad news." I heard him take a shaky breath. "He was also killed instantly."

"Oh God no," I whispered.

I had ignored him for days, called him every name in the book, and he still didn't hesitate to save my life.

And now he was gone.

[Along with his Mickey D's pension. Dammit, Kayla!]

* * *

"As we lay David Anthony Donovan to rest [I actually underlined his initials on the page, just in case readers missed the connection between his name and the fatherhood role he never had a chance to fulfill. It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife!], let us remember that he is now with God, and that he will suffer no more. Amen."

"Amen," I echoed. His casket was lowered into the ground, and I felt a part of me die with him.

David's death had caught the attention of the media, so a few TV reporters were present. They were also there when a special service had been done for little Mary Katherine the day before.

A lot had happened during the four days before my loved ones' funerals.

Kayla and Cassie were caught and taken in to the station. (A witness had remembered the car and the description of the passengers in it.) They didn't deny hitting me and David, so they were charged on 2 accounts of involentary manslaughter and attempted murder. [And it's Frema, juris doctorate to the rescue! She can marry two contradictory charges in a single bound! Also makes great fries!] After the charges, they told the whole story. When Cassie realized that David had been killed, she went into a state of shock. She didn't eat, didn't speak, didn't move. She had become like a recluse, isolating herself from the rest of the world.

Kayla just cried. Whenever she was shown on TV, tears were streaming down her face, making herself look like the wounded victim.

Rot in hell, Kayla.

As for myself, I holed up in my room and grieved. Grieved for my daughter, and for David, and all that could've been. [Marriage, infidelity, Big Macs, divorce....] In one instant, everything that I loved most had been taken from my grasp.

Cassie I could understand and forgive. She had tried to save her brother, tried to protect him by trying to kill me. But Kayla was another story. She wanted David because she had no one else. She had been greedy and selfish. [OK, yes, she killed your boyfriend, but to be fair, she had him first!] Well, God had punished her for her actions. She'd lost David, too. But she hadn't been punished enough.

-------

And there are still fifty-three pages to go! You are so lucky.

Comments

[Will Shannon]

First off, in the interest of de-lurking, here I am and hello.

Second, and ultimately more importantly, I too hate anything to do with the state licencing of vehicles.

It was actually protracted contact with these most bloated examples of bureaucratic intertia that caused me to ascribe to the belief that the state is not morally defensible.

I don't even want to admit how many hours I spent as a "guest" of IL Sec'y of State Jesse White...and at so many of their facilities. Be it the one in the State of Illinois Building, Midlothian, 95th and King Drive, Chicago Heights, Elston and Grand or Joliet, they all suck...and to comiserate further, I too was numbed actually by the furniture therein.

Stay strong and fight the man at every turn!

[debi]

Okay I have to be honest,I went straight for chapter 8 and have no clue what happened in the BMV. I was so excited to see you had posted tonight. Well, that is until you torn my heart out. I was in a depressed and crappy mood all day anyhow,(I was one ugly bitch)But now I feel like roadkill. Yes,I feel guilt for thinking David was a jerk,but I didn't know his short but fertile life was about to end in such a violent way.And oh, Cassie can be forgiven? I say let her fry. Kayla too. I actually cried when Jenna was told about the baby. Okay,I gotta get out of the house more. This is alot better than "All My Children" these days.

[Nat]

Oh joy!!!! Sweet Tragic Love Friday Joy!

Best bit of your post was "It's like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife" because it made me choke on my coffee.

Can I guess what will happen at the end of the book? Erm, Cassie will kill Kayla and chop her up and put her in some barbeque sauce. Oh, no, wait, that was Fried Green Tomatoes. Then I don't know! But I can't wait to find out!

(The author of this post apologizes for flagrant overuse of exclamation points!)

[Katie]

I guess I should have forseen the loss of the baby. This is great entertainment :-)

[Silly Hily]

"The bulge I had loved to touch so much was gone.
[There is a double entendre here somewhere, itching to break the surface, but I'll refrain out of respect for the dead.]"

Bwaa-haaa-haaa-haaaaaa!

"She hadn't been punished enough."
Oh SNAP. Jenna said revenge is a bitch.....bitch.

[Sant]

Tragic Love Friday doesn't get any more tragic than this. "She was killed instantly." and David? "He was also killed instantly." and Cassie and Kayla?!? "They were also killed instantly..." Ok doc, now you're just yankin my chain. (I'm sorry, I just couldn't help myself).

Well, as tragic as it is, I have to believe that at least one of David's spawn will make it through gestation. So here's hoping that David Jr, aka, "jail baby", will not only live, but that he will also not be the kidnapping, etc, etc, target of one pissed off Jenna.

PS-- Where the hell is Michael during all of this??? Some best friend (code for, you're missing your window of opportunity, pal).

[Molly]

David, I could have guessed. Not too often you are plowed by a car going 80 mph, thrown into a DQ parking lot (the irony of dying on the blacktop of your employment competitor) and live to tell about it.

The little baby? So so sad. I did find it interesting that she popped though. At the end of each of my pregnancies I felt as though I could have popped. Of course, knowing what I know now (can I possibly fit any more know/now combinations in that sentence? now?) babies don't pop very often.

Get er Jenna!

[Angela]

Oooooh, Kayla's in trooouuuble... But hey now, this is all psycho Cassie's mastermind idea, she can't be let off the hook just because she's batshit crazy!

[Audrey]

"Cassie I could understand and forgive. She had tried to save her brother, tried to protect him by trying to kill me."

Wait...what? That makes it forgivable that Cassie tried to kill you? Jenna, Jenna, Jenna...

I don't think I've commented on TLF before, but I have been tuning in every week on the edge of my seat just the same. Can't wait until next friday!!

[Stacey]

scintillating, as usual!!

[TasterSpoon]

I agree. At least Kayla had "heat of passion" going for her. Cassie? She's a cold blooded manipulator. I'm not sure why she had it in for Jenna, but I suspect there's more of a history between them than we know. I just don't think sibling protectiveness (of you're brother's inability to manage his women) is strong enough to kill over...unless maybe you're in the Mob. Is Cassie in the Mob?

Also? I'm having a very Frema week. I actually went to the gym in the MORNING yesterday (for the first time in about a year), with the distinct thought in my head that if Frema could get her butt out of bed to climb on a treadmill or whatever at an obscene hour, I could get my butt to a spin class at an obscene hour. And it was really obscene. Rude. *Offensive.* It was dark out!

And I came out of the gym afterwards all excited, thinking I was in for a TLF treat - when I realized - it was only Thursday.

[Silly Hily]

Look at me totally turning your comments into a little message board/chat room:

@Sant:
Code for sure. And good point. Where IS Michael?

[David McNelis]

Well...I think I'm going to hell. When I read the line "It felt like my insides were oozing out of me," I kinda snickered and imagined placenta all over the road. Yep. I'm going to hell.

And how on earth do you forgive Cassie but not Kayla. I think you could either forgive both, or forgive neither, but half-ass it by letting one off the hook. Does she realize it was Cassie's idea to begin with? Sure, let me forgive the person whose idea it was to send me to the puffy place in the sky. But the unstable girl that was influenced by her should rot in hell...that doesn't float...of course I don't know what the mental functions of a teenage girl who just had a miscarriage and a boyfriend killed are really like. So I'll shut up now.

On a side note, BMV does blow chunks. Every time I have to go there I think about Patti and Selma Bouvier

[Frema]

Oh my gosh, you guys crack me up. When I wrote the story, it totally made sense to me that Cassie would be so angry. After all, she thought Jenna was ruining David's life! Also, David and Kayla were together for almost two years and Kayla managed to keep her legs closed, so maybe Cassie thought she was the better choice.

Also, I didn't realize until it was pointed out that Michael's missing out on some serious bereavement sex. Apparently I have trouble writing for more than one or two characters at a time?

[Elizabeth]

Oooh, Cassie is going to double-cross Jenna after they become BFFs, right? Wait, don't tell me! Jenna has already forgiven Cassie? for trying to kill her? because she was trying to protect her brother? Yikes, teenage hormones are crazy-wack.

I do like the fact that both the baby and David "died instantly", or perhaps more appropriately, put out of their misery.

Oh, and 53 more pages? Wonderful!

[daddy d]

Oh, yes I care about the BMV problem. This probably of little help. They are much better than they were in the past. Much faster. Wow ... does that help?

[Amy W]

I think I may have to catch up on something...

[Takin Chances]

All I ask is that you to post pictures of you smashing the BMV's receptionist's head onto the countertop.

Random: I watched "The Way We Were" tonight for the first time and Katie (in the beginning) totally reminded me of you. I hope you take that as a compliment cuz I mean it as one. :)

[Jessi]

As if I weren't addicted enough before, I can't even imagine where your teenage mind took it from here! Oh, and BTW, I am so addicted to this story that when my boyfriend sees me on his computer on Saturday mornings, he always asks if I'm reading "that story that one girl wrote in high school." He's not really into details, you know. :)

Love it!

[Emma]

Oh for fecks sakes...where are my Depends? I really could have used them while reading this. I feel bad for laughing while readind about a baby dying. I am going straight to hell.

[Erika]

The car hit both of them? And David still had time to push her out of the way and get tossed into the DQ parking lot? What am I missing teenage Frema???

[Frema]

Erika: Jenna wasn't hit by the car; her injuries were sustained from David's pushing her out of the way. Apparently falling onto pavement causes cracked ribs. (Frema, M.D. was a genius!)

[Isabel]

My Dad had some cracked ribs from a horse accident a few years. So yeah, it's a real thing.

HER BELLY POPPED? That is wrong. Just wrong. (And also, a real fear I had when pregnant!)

I did NOT see the demise of Mary Katherine. Teenage Frema, you are cold for killing off the unborn love child.

And she can forgive Cassie mere days after she tried to kill her? Damn, this girl has found Jesus. I, for one, would never forgive her. I'm just sayin...

R.I.P D.A.D