Lana was so frustrated with Frank because she thought she loved him too and knew it was a mistake to marry her husband just for his money, especially when she didn’t love him and he was a very old man. She also wanted to own the little diner herself and fix it up.

    But when her husband told them that he was going to leave town for the week, Lana knew that she couldn’t stay away from Frank for that long.

“I’m going on a business trip for a week, and I’m leaving you Lana in charge of the place while I’m gone.  You, Frank, better keep an eye out for Lana,” Nick told them both.

"Look out, Frank. You'll break a spring leaf."

He just gave her a look in reply.

Lana and Frank were crashing into a little eucalyptus grove beside the road. Before he left on his trip, Nick had sent them down to the market to take back some T-bone steaks he said were lousy, and on their way back it had turned dark. He slammed the car in there, and it bucked and bounced, but when he was in among the trees he stopped. Her arms were around him before he even cut the lights. They did plenty. After a while they just sat there.

"I can't go on like this Frank," Lana complained.

"Me neither."

"I can't stand it."

"I know."

"And I hate Nick," Lana added.

"Why did you marry him?" Frank questioned. "You never did tell me that."

"That's right, I haven't told you anything."

"Lana, how about me and you just go away?" Frank asked.

"I've thought about it. I've thought about it a lot," she answered.

"We'd ditch Frank and just go wherever we wanted, and be carefree with no worries or responsibilities."

"Where though?"

"Anywhere, why should we care?"

"Anywhere, anywhere. You know where that is?" Lana asked.

"All over, anywhere we choose."

"No it's not."

"I'm talking about the road. It's fun Lana, and nobody knows it better than I do. I know every twist and turn there is. And I know how to work it, too. Isn't that what we want?" Frank told Lana.

She sat there a long time, twisting his hand in both of hers. “Frank, do you love me?”

“I love you so much that not anything else matters,” he replied as he kissed her. Her eyes were shining up at him like two blue stars.

Nick was a very clueless not quick-witted old man. Growing up he was always slow who was just a little off and always somewhere else in his head. He met Lana at a bar at a fancy restaurant and she agreed to marry him because she wanted to own the diner and share his money.

    They played it just like they would tell it. It was about ten o’clock at night, after they had closed up and Nick was in his bathroom washing up. Frank was to go up to his room, get ready to shave, and then remember he had left the car out. He was to go outside and stand by to give Lana a honk on the horn if somebody came. She was to wait till she heard Nick in the tub, go in for a towel, and clip him from behind with a hammer. At first, Frank was to do it but they both figured he wouldn’t pay any attention to her if she went in the bathroom, where if Frank said he went in to find his razor he might get out of the tub or something and help him look. Then she was to hold him under in the tub until he drowned. Then she was to leave the water running a little bit, step out the window to the porch roof, and come down the stepladder Frank had put there to the ground. She was to hand him the hammer and go back in the kitchen and call him. They would break the door down, find Nick, and call the doctor. In the end, they figured it would look like he had slipped in the tub, knocked himself out and then drowned. Frank got the idea from a piece in the paper where a guy had said that most accidents happen right in people’s own bathtubs.

That night Frank went down and out to the car, and took a seat in it so he could see the road and the bathroom window. He looked in the kitchen and Lana was still in there. A truck and a trailer swung around the bend. Sometimes those truckmen stopped for something to eat, and they were the kind that would beat on the door till you opened up. But they continued to drive, and a couple more cars drove by and none of them stopped. He looked back in the kitchen again, and she wasn’t there. He saw a light turn on in the bedroom.

Then all of a sudden Frank saw something move back by the porch. He almost hit the horn but then he saw that it was a cat. It was just a gray cat, but it startled him. A cat was the last thing he wanted to see then. He couldn’t see it for a minute, and then there it was again, sniffing around the stepladder. He didn’t want to blow the horn because it wasn’t anything but a cat, but he also didn’t want it around that stepladder. He got out of the car, crept back there and shooed it away.

He got halfway back to the car when it came back, and it started to climb up the ladder. He got out to shoo it away again, and the cat ran for it. So he started back to the car and then stood there for a little bit, looking to see if that irritating cat was coming back. A state cop came around the bend and saw him standing there and cut his motor,  then came wheeling in before Frank could even move an inch. When he stopped he was between Frank and the car. He couldn’t blow the horn now.

“Just taking it easy?” the cop asked.

“Just came out to put the car away,” he answered.

“Is that your car?” he asked.

“Belongs to this guy I work for.”

“Okay, just checking up.”

He looked around, and then he saw something. “Woah, look at that.”

“Look at what?” Frank asked confused.

“Stupid cat, going up that stepladder.”

“Ha,” he replied not knowing what to say.

“I love cats, there always up to something.”

He pulled on his gloves, kicked his pedal a couple of times and left. As soon as he was out of sight Frank dove for the horn. He was too late, there was a flash of fire from the porch, and every light in the place went out. Inside, Lana was screaming with an awful sound in her voice.

“Frank! Frank! Something happened!” she cried.

He ran in the kitchen after her voice, but it was pitch black in there and he didn’t have any matches in his pocket, so he had to feel his way around. They met on the stairs, she was going down and he was going up. She screamed again.

“Keep quiet, for God’s sake! Did you do it?” Frank whispered loudly to Lana.

“Yes, but the lights went out and I haven’t held him under yet!”

“We’ve got to bring him to! There was a state cop out there and he saw that stepladder!”

“Call the doctor!”

“You call, and I’ll get him out of there!” Frank said as he ran upstairs to the bathroom and over the tub.

He was laying there in the water, but his head wasn’t under. Frank tried to lift him as he was sweating, it was hard since he was slippery with soap, and he had to stand in the water before he could lift him at all. All the time he could hear Lana down there talking to the operator. From what he could hear they didn’t give her a doctor, but instead they gave her the police.

After he finally got him up and out of the tub, he laid him over the edge of the tub, and then took out himself and dragged him in the bedroom and laid him on the bed. She came up the stairs then, and they found the matches to ignite a candle to see. Then they went to work on him, by packing his head in wet towels while Lana rubbed his wrists and feet.

“They’re sending an ambulance,” she said.

“All right. Did he see you do it though?”

“I don’t know.”

“Were you behind him?”

“I think so, but then the lights went out so I don’t know what happened. What did you do to the lights?” Lana questioned.

“I didn’t do anything, the fuse must of popped.”

“Frank, he better not come to his senses.”

“He’s got to come through, if he died then we’re screwed. I tell you, that cop saw the stepladder. If he dies, then they’ll know. If he dies, they’ve got us,” Frank said.

“But what if he saw me? What’s he going to say when he wakes up?”

“Maybe he didn’t see anything. We just got to sell him a story, that’s it. You were in here, the lights blew out, and you heard him slip and fall. He didn’t answer you when you called him, so then you called me. That’s all. No matter what he says, you got to stick to it. If he saw anything, it was just his imagination, don’t let him think otherwise.”

“Why isn’t the ambulance here yet?”

“It’ll be here,” Frank assured her.

Soon as the ambulance came, they put Nick on a stretcher and shoved him in. Lana rode with him in the ambulance and Frank followed along in the car. Halfway to Glendale, a state cop picked them up and rode on ahead. They were lifting him out when Frank got to the hospital, and the state cop was bossing around. When he saw him he gave a start and stared at him. It was the same cop.

They took him in, put him on the table, and wheeled him in an operating room. Lana and him sat out in the hall. Pretty soon a nurse came and sat down with them. Then the cop came, and he had a sergeant with him who kept on looking at Frank. Lana was telling the nurse how it happened.

“I was in there, in the bathroom I mean, getting a towel, and then the lights went out just like somebody had shot a gun off. Oh my God, it made a terrible noise and that’s when I heard him fall. He had been standing up, getting ready to turn on the shower. I spoke to him, and he didn’t say anything and since it was dark I couldn’t see anything and I thought he had been electrocuted or something. So then Frank heard me screaming he came, and lifted him out of the tub and that’s when I called for the ambulance. I don’t know what I would of done if they hadn’t come quick like they did.”

“They always hurry on a late call,” the nurse said.

“I’m so afraid he’s hurt bad.”

“I don’t think so. They’re taking x-rays in there now. They can always tell from them but I don’t think he’s seriously injured.”

“I hope so.”

In the end the cops never said a word, they just sat there and looked at both of them.

The nurse wheeled him out, and his head was covered with bandages. They lifted him up on an elevator, and Lana, Frank, the nurse, and the cops all stepped on and they took him up and put him in a room. They all went in there. There weren’t enough chairs, and while they were putting him to bed the nurse left and brought some extra ones. They all sat down. Somebody said something, and the nurse made them keep quiet. A doctor came in and took a look, and left back out. They sat there for the longest time. Then the nurse sat up and looked over at Nick.

“I think he’s coming to now,” someone said.

Lana looked at Frank, and he looked away quick. The cops leaned forward, to hear what he said. He opened his eyes.

“You feel better now?” she asked Nick.

He didn’t say anything back, and neither did anyone else. It was so still Frank could hear his heart pounding in his ears.

“Don’t you know your wife? Here she is. Aren’t you going to speak to her?” one of the cops declared.

Nick strained to say something, but couldn’t say it. The nurse went over again and fanned him. Lana took hold of his hand and patted it as he laid back down with his eyes closed.

Frank led Lana to the car and they no sooner started out than when the cop back there, who was following them, on his motorcycle.

“He suspects us, Frank.”

“It’s the same one, too. He knew there was something wrong, soon as he saw me standing there, keeping watch. He still thinks so.”

“What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know, but we don’t need to be worrying about it right?” Frank asked.

“Right.”

When Lana and Frank got back home to the diner, they both crept into bed, and she started crying. She started to get a chill she was trembling all over, and it was a couple of hours before he could get her quiet. She laid in his arms a while, then they began to talk.

    “Never again, Frank.”

    “That’s right, never again,” he sighed.

    “It was all my fault,” she declared.

    “It was mine too. You can’t blame yourself for everything.”

    “No, it was my fault. I was the one that came up with the idea. You didn’t even want to, I had to convince you. Next time I’ll listen to you, Frank. You’re smart, you’re not dumb like I am.”

    “Except there won’t be a next time, remember?” Frank questioned with raised eyebrows.

    “That’s right, never again,” she answered.

    “Even if we had gone through with it they would have guessed it. They always guess it, look how quick that cop knew something was wrong. That’s what makes my blood run cold. Soon as he saw me standing there he knew it. If he could tumble to it all that easy, how much chance would we have had if Nick didn’t make it?”

    “I was so scared Frank,” Lana whispered.

    “I was scared too, anybody would have been.”

    “You know what I wanted when the lights went out? Just you, Frank.”

    “I was there when it happened, wasn’t I?”

    “I loved you for it. If it hadn’t been for you, I don’t know what would have happened to us.”

    “That was pretty good, wasn’t it? About how he slipped? Everyone believed it, too.”

    “You fixed it. You’re always going to fix it for me, aren’t you Frank?”

    “You’re the only one that ever meant anything to me.”

    “I love you, Frank.”

    “Love you Lana,” he answered as they slowly fell asleep together.

    The next morning, the telephone woke them up. Lana answered it, and when she glided up the stairs, her eyes were shining.

    “Frank, guess what?” Lana exclaimed.

    “What is it?” he asked.

    “Nick’s skull is fractured!”

    Frank winced and replied, “Is it bad?”

    “Not really, but they’re keeping him in the hospital. They want him there for a week, maybe. We can be together tonight, though.”

    “Come here,” Frank said wanting Lana.

    “Not now, we need to get up and open this place up.”

    “Come here, before I sock you,” Frank said teasingly.

    “You knucklehead,” Lana smiled.

The week Nick was in the hospital was the happiest week they both had in their life. In the afternoon, Lana would drive in to the hospital to visit Nick, but besides that the rest of the time they were together. They kept the place open all the time, and business was going great. Then one day, instead of her going to the hospital by herself they both went in and after she came out of the hospital, they went to the beach.

Lana was wearing a pink swimsuit with white ruffles, and when she came out he didn’t know her at first. They played in the sand, and made  drip sand castles. After that they swam way out in the ocean and just let themselves float and rock on the waves. They laid there, face to face and held hands under the water.

“Frank.”

“Yes?” he answered with the biggest smile.

“He’s coming home tomorrow, you know what that means?”

“I know,” he said, the smile leaving his face.

“I have to be with him, instead of you.”

“We can still leave you know.”

“I was hoping you would say that.”

“Just you, me and the road, Lana.”

“Just you me and the road.”

“Yeah, and we’ll be together,” Frank said.

Next morning, they packed. Anyway, she packed. Frank had bought a suit, put that on, and it seemed to be about all. Lana put her belongings in her luggage bag, and when she was done with it she handed it to him.

“Put that in the car, will you?” she asked.

“The car?”

“Aren’t we taking the car?”

“Not unless you want to spend the first night in jail, we’re not. Stealing a man's wife, that’s nothing but stealing is car is totally different.”

“Oh,” was all she could say.

They started out to leave. It was two miles to the bus stop, and they had to walk it. Every time a car went by, they would stand there with their hands stuck out, but none of them stopped. A man alone can get a ride, and a woman alone could, but a man and a women together don’t have much luck. After about twenty minutes had gone by, Lana stopped.

“Frank, I can’t go any further.”

“What’s the matter?” he asked with concern in his voice.

“This is it.”

“This is what?” he asked. “You’re just exhausted from walking in your heels, that’s all. How about I’ll go get someone down the road to drive us to the city. If we do that everything will be alright.”

“No, its not that. I’m not tired. I just can’t do this,” she exclaimed.

“Don’t you want to be with me, Lana?”

“You know I do.”

“But we can’t go back, you know that,” he tried.

“I just feel ashamed out here asking for a ride,” she blurted out.

Suddenly, she remembered something. “I left a note for Nick in the cash register. I wrote how I left because I didn’t want to be there anymore and how I was tired of being married to an old man. I said I wasn’t going back so I have to get back to Twin Oaks before Nicks gets home from the hospital!”

“But we’re not going back. We can get a car ride to the city,” Frank calmly said.

“But then what after that? I have to get home before Nick does, I don’t know what you're going to do,” she responded.

“We can stay in a hotel for a night, and the next day we can look for a job,” he answered.

“I’m leaving, I don’t want to be a part in your crazy idea. I feel like a bum on the streets, and I don’t like it. Goodbye,” she said as she waved her hand, walking in the other direction.

“Lana, you know you’re gonna be coming back,” Frank shouted.

But she wasn’t. She was still walking away so Frank knew he had to run after her and try to reason with her.

“Where are you planning on going?”

“Back home, where I don’t have to make a fool of myself on the street,” Lana replied without even looking at him.

This was the first time Frank didn’t know what to say back, so he agreed with her and they both were on their way back home to Twin Oaks.

Lana and Frank arrived at Twin Oaks in only a few hours since they had only walked a few miles, and when they entered the diner Lana dashed into the kitchen and dove straight to the cash register before doing anything else. She dug through it for a moment and found the note she left her husband behind and ripped it up before crumpling the paper.

    “You alright?” Frank questioned.

    Lana looked down at the note before throwing it away, she couldn’t find the words to describe how helpless she felt. Frank noticed her shaking and the look of sadness on her face.

    “We have to stay together, and I want a better life for myself. I can’t stand Nick, he makes me sick to my stomach. His greasy hair and yellow teeth make me wanna just get out of here,” she explained.

    “I totally understand,” Frank said as he took her by the waist and walked her upstairs into the bedroom.

    As they entered the room they sat on the bed while he held Lana in his arms.

    “What do you think we should do about everything?” Frank asked.

    “I feel like the only way for us to be happy would be if it was only us. Just me and you.”

    “But Nick,” he started to trail off.

    “If he was out of the picture we would be better off with a better life. We could collect all the insurance money and I could open my dream diner,” she stated.

    “I’m not sure about this plan, what about the cops from before? They could be on to us by now, and how would we be able to prove the fact that it wasn’t a planned murder? Doesn’t it seem suspicious that you would open a diner right after your husbands death? With his insurance money that you would receive?”

    Lana responded, “We could create a plan that will take the suspicion off of us. We could stage a car accident because it won’t appear like we planned it. If Nick smacked his head against the dashboard’ when really you could knock him out as we were driving then we could run the car off the cliff after we quickly jump out.”

    “I don’t know if this is going to end good.”

    “Please Frank, we can be together and not worry about nasty old Nick. You know it will be the best for us.”

    “Maybe there could be another way to solve this problem?” he suggested.

    “Frank, it will solve all our problems of being together, and you know it.”

    Frank had to think about it for a moment, “Alright, I can’t believe I’m going through this with you.”

The very next day Lana and Frank took action with their plan, and everything changed.
    It was early in the morning when Lana, Frank and Nick were all eating breakfast together before the diner opened at 8:30 AM.
    “Nick, after the diner closes we should go take a drive, just around the city don’t you think? We can go downtown and just walk around and have dinner. We haven’t done anything fun lately,” Lana told him.
    “What a wonderful idea, Lana! We should do that tonight, and maybe even close the diner early,” Nick replied, “And you Frank should come along with us!”
    Frank smiled and replied, “Sounds fun, I’m excited.”
    The rest of the day was a normal everyday at the diner, Lana ran the diner and Frank worked as the waiter. The whole day Lana was so tense about what would happen later that same day. When the clock on the wall read 6 o'clock, Nick waddled down the stairs and announced that he was ready go to downtown in the city and have dinner.
    “Who’s ready for tonight?” Nick smiled with his big yellow teeth.
    They all smiled at each other and agreed that it was time to close up the diner and leave to the city. Lana closed up Twin Oaks and when Frank came into the kitchen as she was putting the dishes away she was relieved that she wouldn’t have to prepare herself for their plan alone.
    “I’m so anxious for this, if we get caught or if anyone suspects that we staged the accident our whole futures will be ruined,” Lana proclaimed.
    “How many times do we have to go over this? If you’re with me everything will be fine,” Frank answered. “Besides nobody would suspect us if it’s a car accident. You even said it yourself.”
    Talking with Frank reassured her but she was still feeling shaky, even though she thought this was the only way out of Nick’s marriage.  When he grabbed her and kissed her again it made her feel even more comforted.
    “Nick is going to come down soon, so we should leave,” Lana quickly said.
    As Nick comes in they all enter the car. Nick sat in the front with Lana driving while Frank sat in the back. Frank and Lana were so anxious and on edge hoping this time the plan will work. As they were driving Lana’s heart sank looking in her rear-view she saw a sheriff car doing his regular route patrol. As they were driving the patrol car made a sudden left which put everyone back at ease. Their plan was back in motion. Frank looked at Lana and she gave him the nod in response to go ahead with the plot.
    Frank slowly reaches behind the seat for the hammer while Nick was talking with Lana going over their plans for the night. Just as Frank had the hammer in his hand he struck Nick once over the head, knocking him unconscious immediately. They then drove the car alongside the mountain edges causing the car to look damaged for the staged car accident. They quickly jumped out before the car headed off the cliff. Soon after the accident Lana and Frank saw the same sheriff car from earlier heading toward them. They immediately started signaling the car, the sheriff then pulled over alongside the cliff where they were at. Lana ran up frantically shaking and crying, she tried to speak but all that was coming out were sobs. Frank explained what happened to the sheriff while he held Lana in his arms, he wanted to do the same but knew this what mattered.
    Frank stated, “A deer suddenly ran across the road causing Lana to swerve out of control hitting alongside the mountain which lead to Nick bashing his head into the dashboard instantly knocking him out. Me and Lana panicked then suddenly jumped out the car because it was heading toward the cliff.”
    The sheriff then called dispatch for an ambulance while listening and writing down statements. The sheriff looked over the cliff to see the condition of the car when he noticed movement from Nick. He then radioed back to let dispatch know that there was still a survivor. About five minutes later, the ambulance and firetruck arrived at the scene. The firemen then put on their harness and emergency gear and then started climbing down the mountain towards the crushed car. When they grabbed Nick out of the front seat of the car, they carried him up the cliff onto the stretcher and hauled him into the ambulance. Frank and Lana both watched the car drive away with fear and anxiety. They were so afraid that he was going to live, and even more frightened that we was not going to make it.
    The sheriff drove Frank and Lana to the hospital to see Nick, but when they arrived the doctor said that he couldn’t have any visitors and that his condition was so bad that they should probably just go home. When they did make it to the diner, Lana and Frank were so anxious to find out whether or not Nick was going to live. Lana prayed and prayer that he didn’t live, and she felt to guilty but she hid all her feeling inside so Frank wouldn’t think she had any regrets or doubts about their plan.
    The next day, Lana heard the phone to the diner ring and she hesitantly picked it up.
    “Hello?” Lana asked.
    “Hi, is this Lana?” the person on the other line asked.
    “Yes, who is this?” she asked back.
    “This is your husband Nick’s doctor, and I wanted to tell you the results,” the doctor told her.
    Lana felt like she wasn’t ready yet to hear what happened yet, but she knew it was now or never.
    “Last night all the doctors and nurses tried our best to revive Nick because he was unconscious, but this morning he stopped breathing. I’m so sorry,” the doctor said.
    Lana took a deep breath in because she couldn’t believe what she had done.
    “Thank you for calling,” was all she could utter.
    After she hung up the phone, she had to take a minute to let all the information sink in. She knew Frank would need to know what happened but she wasn’t ready to talk about it yet. Frank was still sleeping anyway because she was the one who always opened up the diner, so she decided to wait till the afternoon to tell him. When he walked down the stairs though she knew she had to tell him.
    “Hi Lana, how was your morning?” Frank cheerfully asked Lana with a smile.
    “I got a phone call from Nick’s doctor, and he told me the results,” Lana said vaguely.
    “Well what did he tell you?” Frank insisted.
    “He didn’t make it,” she whispered, feeling shaky.
    There was a silence between them; no one knew what to say.
    Frank reached over and touched her arm, then wrapped his arms around her and gave her a smile to comfort her.
    Lana put on a fake smile and returned to getting ready to open the diner. Frank walked closer to her and lightly stroked her shoulder then back trying to lift up her spirit.
    “This is what we wanted right? Now we don’t have to worry about him anymore,” he told Lana.
    “I know, but I can’t get over feeling guilty. I’m glad we can be together now and we don’t have to hide it but I can’t believe what we’ve done,” Lana replied, looking down and feeling ashamed.
    “I love you Lana. I’m so happy that we can be together now and that you get to own the diner and be happy with the future you’ve always wanted,” he smiled.
    “Me too, but I feel like something not right is going to happen, like we won’t get to last. Like there is another obstacle course that we have to face before we can be happy together,” she told Frank.
    “Don’t think like that Lana, of course everything is going to turn out right,” he reassured her as he leaned over and kissed her.
    When Lana looked up at him, she knew she hadn’t made a mistake with her decision about Frank.

Lana had never loved someone so much as she loved Frank, and now that Nick was out of the picture she felt like she could be free from her husband. As long as the cops never figured anything out that they staged the car accident her and Frank would be happy together. Even though when one of the cops was acting like he was being suspicious, he never said anything after and she hadn’t heard from anything except from the nurse she felt that everything was going to turn out fine.

    Lana and Nick felt as if since Nick was gone that everything was going to be perfect. Since they were so happy and they had the diner and all of Nick’s insurance money, they decided to get married. The very next day they went to church and signed the papers that said that they were married.

    As they walked in the church, Lana exclaimed, “I’m so happy that we’re doing this!”

    “Me too wifey,” Frank said with a wink.

    Lana giggled as she signed the paper. After he signed it as well they kissed and galloped off straight to the beach. As they splashed in the water together, she realized how unconditional her love for him was. Without him she felt like she wouldn’t feel the same joy that he brought when they were together.

    When Lana inherited Frank’s insurance money, she also got to own Twin Oaks. When her and her lawyer were discussing her inheritance from Nick, when he first told her about owning the diner she couldn’t contain her happiness that she screamed and jumped all around because her dream was finally coming true and she got to spend it with Frank, her true love.

    Since the diner reminded her too much of how her life was before when she was married to Nick, her and Frank decided to remodel.

    “Frank,” Lana said as she twirled her fingers in his hair, “I want to remodel Twin Oaks, it’s too old and makes me think of how awful it was to be with Nick. We should paint it pink and have white lights around the walls with chandeliers, wouldn’t that be cute?”

    “Ha ha, that sounds wonderful,” he chuckled. “If you love it I’ll love it. This is your dream and future that you’ve always wanted. This is better than anything we could of asked for.”

    “So glad we didn’t run away that one time, do you remember? I was so mad!” she almost shouted, thinking back at the horrible time before everything turned around.

    “Lana, shh you don’t need to think about the past. Think about how much better it is now that you have Twin Oaks all to yourself, you have Nick’s insurance money and you get to be with me every night,” he said as he kissed her goodnight. Lana giggled before she slowly fell asleep in her husbands arms.

    With Nick’s insurance money, Lana remodeled Twin Oaks and as she was talking with the contractor and making plans for the new diner, she couldn’t contain her excitement much longer. She jumped up with joy as soon as he left with Frank because the diner was going to turn out perfect. The inside and outside was going to be painted pink with sparkles, and the name was changed to Cafe de Lana. Dangling across the front entrance were white lights that glowed at night, and inside the diner was baby pink with white polka dot paint on the walls. There were 5 white chandeliers hanging over the whole diner, and the tables had white ruffle table clothes on it with pink roses in the middle. The waiters uniforms were white ruffle tops with pink name tags, and Lana wore a pink sundress the day Cafe de Lana opened up.  

    Frank walked in the kitchen and said, “You did such a wonderful job on the diner, and you look beautiful in your new dress.”

    “I know, love it! Thanks boo! This was my dream and I’m finally getting to live it. This wouldn’t have been possible without you,” she replied with a smile as she gave him the biggest hug she ever given. Frank felt the love from her pour out from Lana and he embraced her back.

    A month later, Lana gets a phone call and when her mom answers, she’s almost cries since she misses her so much.

    “Oh my God, Mom!” Lana almost screams into the phone, “I miss you so much how come you never called me before? I have so much to tell you! So many good and scary things have happened since we last talked!”

    “I knew you were going to react this way, I haven’t talked with you in the longest time because I’m in the hospital. I knew you were happy with your new husband, and I didn’t want to worry you with my troubles, so I kept to myself,” Lana’s mom stated, “I only called now because I felt like my days are numbered and that I couldn’t protect you from the truth so long. I miss you Lana, baby girl you need to visit me.”

    Lana cried the whole time her mom was talking and when she was done she was hysterical.

    “What happened to you mom? Why didn’t you tell me you were sick!”

    “Talk with me in person, I already bought your airplane tickets for tomorrow. You’re going to be back next week though, I don’t wanna take you away from your new husband for that long.”

    “Okay, I’ll pack my bags right now. I can’t wait to see you mom, I missed you so much! I love you, muah!” Lana made a kissy noise as she hung up the phone.

    As Lana was packing her things, Frank asked where she was going.

    “To my moms, she’s in the hospital and I’m going to be gone for a week. I’m trusting that you will keep the diner in perfect condition, right?” Lana said rushing to pack her toothbrush and perfume and body wash.

    “You can trust me Lana, I love you and I hope your mom is doing okay,” he replied.

    Lana kissed Frank goodbye the next day as she left on the airplane. She walked down and as she turned around to look at Frank one last time he blew her a kiss and she smiled the biggest smile and ran on the airplane so he wouldn’t see her cry. With all the emotions of her mom being sick and her loving Frank with her new diner she couldn’t contain her feelings.

    As soon as Frank left the airport, he went to the bar with his friends and saw a lady singing karaoke with the most beautiful voice he ever heard. The women’s voice, eyes, lips and dress had Frank lusting for her. When she strut off the stage he knew he had to talk with her, so he immediately followed her to the bar. As Frank was approaching, his heart was racing, feeling a bit of guilt for what he was about to do to Lana. The women saw him making his way towards her, she then brushed her hair gently away from her face. She turned and smiled as he introduced himself hesitantly.

    “Hey beautiful voice, I’m Frank. May I buy you a drink?”

    “Why thank you, I’m Claire and yes you may,” she answered as she extended her hand.

    As Frank took her hand, he slowly caressed it while giving her a gentle kiss. Claire blushed after that moment between Frank and her. He instantly insisted on having her come to his place for dinner. Agreeing after his persistence and charm, they drank a few more shots and left for the diner.

    While driving, both Claire and Frank were drunk. As they pulled up to the dinner they barely made it to the door steps. The door busted open, clothes flying everywhere, the stumbled up the stairs barely making it to the bedroom.

    In the morning, Frank woke up, looked at Claire feeling regretful for what he had done to Lana. He then rolled out bed, took a shower and left for a walk to think his circumstances through. When he returned, hearing the showers running, he walked upstairs noticing no one in the shower. He felt a warm hand wrapped around his body, and a warm voice whispered, “Join me.” As she unbuttoned his clothes, all of Frank’s guilt was just a memory. In that moment, he felt like everything was just. He no longer felt guilt for what he did to Nick, and for being in a manipulating relationship. For Frank, this was a fresh start.

    This romantic, lust affair continued for a week. Lana returned from visiting her mom in the hospital, feeling lost and worried for her mom’s condition. The only thing that kept Lana going was Frank, she was overly excited to see her husband. When he noticed her walking through the terminals, he suddenly felt slight discomfort and guilt. Lana on the other hand felt joy and relief as she dashed up to him jumped straight in his arms. She immediately felt that there was something was different about him. On the way home, Lana asked Frank how his time at home was.

    “Did you miss me honey? I missed you so much, you were all I could think about.”

    “Yeah, I missed you too,” Frank said, halfway paying attention to her.

    Lana felt discomfort with his demeanor, feeling as if she had done something wrong to make him feel distant. She began to think that it was her fault, that maybe she shouldn’t have left for such a long time. She brushed her emotions off for the moment, and continued her day with him as if she didn’t suspect anything.  After dinner, Lana took a shower and then headed straight to bed where Frank was laying down with his back turned, distancing himself. She wrapped her arms around his body, while he shrugged her off telling her that he had a long, stressful day. Feeling rejected, Lana pulled her arms back curled her arms and legs up into herself and lay there wondering what she had done to her husband to make him so distant.

    The next morning, Frank woke up quietly, brushed his teeth and snuck out before Lana could notice anything. When she did wake up 30 minutes later, she realized he wasn’t laying next to her. She rolled out of bed and called Frank to see where he was but received no answer. When she went to the kitchen to open up the diner, she noticed a note from him stating, “Be back in time for lunch. Love you, Lana.” Although she was worried about his whereabouts, she still managed to open up the diner.

    At Claire’s house, her and Frank were spending time together in the living room on the couch with his arm wrapped around her shoulder watching TV. During the commercial break and after going through with what he was going to say many times over and over in his head, Frank explains to Claire that he has a wife, and that their relationship shouldn’t continue any longer.

Claire smirks, and says, “I suspected that something was going on between you and another women, but it doesn’t matter to me because I love you.”

“I love you too, but this isn’t fair to my wife, who I also love.”

After weighing her options, Claire decides that she has to try her best to encourage Frank to leave Lana.

“It’s obvious that you want to be with me or else you wouldn’t be here, you would be with your wife instead,” she said back to him.

“True, but this wasn’t supposed to happen with me and you in the first place.”

“Frank, we’ll never be happy together if you don’t leave your wife! Maybe if she was out of the picture we wouldn’t have this conflict.”

“But this was a mistake,” he responded.

“Regardless if it was a mistake, I know in your heart that you want to be with me. So promise me that you will leave her.”

He was quiet, but finally promised in a sigh. Claire didn’t feel as if his promise was genuine, but it satisfied her for now.

It was about noon when Frank decides to leave Claire’s house as he says his goodbyes to her and gives her a kiss. She stands at the door waiting for him to leave as Frank slowly approaches his car in the driveway. He opens the door and sits in the driver’s seat, and when he drives away the both wave bye to each other and Frank smiles and blows her a kiss. She catches it and smiles and blows one back as she watches him leave.

    As he got further away from Claires house, his smile fades away into a frown as he’s contemplating his decision about Lana and Claire. As he’s thinking, he goes back and forth on both women having a conversation with himself.

    Well, Lana has been there for me since the beginning and we’ve been through so many trials and tribulations together. But Claire was there for me when Lana was gone, and she made me so happy during that week. I feel so guilty for doing this to Lana, she’s been the best wife to me and all I’ve done is deceive her. It’s sad because I seem to love them both, and I don’t know what to do or who to choose. This is probably the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life.

    His love for Claire forces him want to take action for the situation, and he considers Claire’s suggestion. He drove around planning what his next move would be on how to approach getting rid of his wife so it would look like an accident without suspicion coming back to him.

    Within the next few weeks, Lana was cleaning the kitchen after the diner closed up. Frank said he was tired and went to bed early as he had been since her trip from visiting her mom. She was getting suspicious emotions but tried her best to hide them. While she was wiping the counters in the corner of the room, she noticed a funny looking object in the flower pot. She quickly yanked it out to discover that it was a handheld gun. Feeling paranoid, she suspects that Frank is going to do something bad to her, and that he’s probably cheating on her as well. Quickly she puts the gun back where it was so Frank doesn’t know that she discovered it.

    As the days passed, all she can think about was that gun and what Frank might do with it. She was starting to feel depressed and even Frank would ask her what was wrong with her and she replies with nothing every time.

    One night, after Frank left again she felt as if she couldn’t take it anymore. She started hysterically crying as she was pacing around the room not knowing what to do. When she found her way into the kitchen, she suddenly stopped and glared at the flower pot where she knew the gun was. She approached the flower pot, reaching for the gun as she removed the safety off of the gun. Still hysterically crying, she looks at the gun for a moment before she slowly puts it up against her head. As her fingers are on the trigger, she can’t help but hesitate because she doesn’t seem to have the strength to pull it. She let’s out a big scream as she throws the gun on the ground. She falls on her knees on the ground sobbing and puts her hands over face as she breaks down. Minutes go by as she’s just staring in the darkness of the night. Finally having the strength to stand back up, she reaches for her car keys and heads towards her car. After she turns the key in the ignition, she drives toward a nearby river under a bridge.

The river had a rapid flow with sharp rocks at the bottom. The dark cloudy skies were making Lana feel even more depressed. It was quiet, and all you could hear was the water flow from the stream and the crickets chirping nearby. As Lana goes toward the edge of bridge, she sits down and contemplates on whether or not she should go through with her decision. Hours pass and she’s still sitting on the bridge thinking through everything that has happened. Crying hysterically, she tried to calm herself down so she could make a rational choice. After she came to her senses, in the distance she heard a car drive by. The car abruptly stops and rolls back while the window slides down. Not knowing it’s Claire, Claire knowing it’s Lana from seeing photos of her in Franks wallet, Lana watches as the car parks and the person inside stepped out and heads toward Lana’s way.

    After receiving a phone call from Frank telling her that Lana was missing and that the gun was gone, she was on her way to the diner to meet up with Frank and discuss their next move. While driving to the diner passing the river, Claire noticed a figure that looked similar to Lana sitting on the edge of the bridge with her legs dangling over, looking perplexed. She knew it was the perfect opportunity to strike, because she knew deep down that Frank didn’t have it in him to murder Lana because she knew that he still loved her. 

    When Claire is close enough for Lana to hear, she calls out, “Is anyone there?”

    Lana was startled and jumps at the sudden appearance of Claire but didn’t think anything of it.

    Claire then asked, “How are you sweety, are you lost?”

Lana stated, “Oh, no I’m fine.”

“Do you need help? Would you like me to call someone for you?” Claire asked in a overly friendly tone.

“Everything’s alright, I don’t need any help. I know my way back,” Lana replied even though she was clearly upset and shaken, as if something had happened to her. Her puffy eyes, makeup streak, paleness, while trembling, which gave it away.

    Feeling sorry for Lana, Claire sits next to her on the bridge, they stare out into the distance where they talk their feelings without saying what actually happened, even though Claire knew exactly what Lana was talking about.

Knowing the situation with her and Frank and trying to gain her trust by relating with her, she says, “Oh honey, I know exactly what you’re going through. There’s a man involved isn’t there?”

    “It’s my husband, I think he’s cheating on me. He’s been so distant lately, and acting so different around me, it’s as if it’s a whole nother person. I also found this,” she says as she motions towards the gun, Lana started sobbing, tears rolling down her cheeks again and managed to say, “I think my husband is planning my murder.”

    Claire panicked, thinking that she found out somehow about her and Frank’s affair, so she suddenly shoved Lana over the bridge while shouting, “Maybe you should take a swim!”

    Lana’s body fell 50 feet off the bridge, landing in the water awkwardly hitting the sharp rocks beneath, instantly knocking her unconscious. Her body rises to the surface face down, flowing down the stream. Claire watched as Lana’s body floated away down the river until she was no longer visible, then picked up the gun and headed towards her car and leaves.

    Two weeks later, Lana’s body is found washed up on the river banks with bite marks all over body from the fishes and other creatures from the river. Her body was pale, eyes wide open, blood dripping from her head.

    One morning, a regular customer from the diner was walking alongside the riverbanks when he noticed a body floating in the river caught on a branch that looked familiar. He approached the body and his reaction was so stunned from what he found that he panicked, vomited and quickly shouted for help. As he screamed, he yelled, “Someone call the police! There is a dead body on the riverbank, help!”

    As people got a glance at the body, they started screaming and running away. When the police and ambulance showed up five minutes later, the news reporters were informed as well and showed up just as quickly. Frank heard the news from other customers at the diner that his wife’s body was found floating in the riverbanks, immediately Frank stops what he was doing, and rushes to his car to drive to the river.

    As soon as he arrives, Frank notices all news reporters, police officers, ambulance, and yellow police tape blocking off the area where his wife’s body was supposed to be found. He darted out of his car, hurdles through the crowd of people that formed and sprinted towards the yellow tape where Lana’s body was later covered up. Suddenly out of nowhere he was overwhelmed by reporters, questioning him millions of questions about his wife’s death.

    “What happened to your wife? When did you last see her? Did you murder Lana? When were you with her last? Any details on the death?”

    Frank was overwhelmed with all the medias attention on his wife’s death, for a second a thought came in his head to break down and confess about what actually happened. The planning of Nick’s death, the money, the affair, and lastly Lana’s death. Instead he puts on a sad face for the cameras and told his initial story.

    “Lana, my wife has been feeling down lately because of the health of her mother, and the death of her previous husband. She told me that she felt like everyone that she cared about loved was dying around her, she even had the idea that harm was going to come to me. She’s been acting depressed and distant, I tried talking to her, but the only response she gave me was the she was okay and that she was going to be fine. Deep down I knew she wasn’t, I would never of expected her to do something so drastic as committing suicide,” Frank explained to the reporters with tears in his eyes and confusion in his thoughts. Although, some of the tears were real because he knew that his love for Lana was real and he only had lust for Claire.

No further investigations were held. There were eye witnesses that proved that Frank was at the restaurant during Lana’s “suicide”. During the time of the incident when Lana “committed suicide” there were no eyewitnesses that saw anyone at the scene at the time of Lana’s death. No one knows what happened.

    Frank was outraged that Claire took the initiative to take matters in her own hands before the plan was supposed to be put into action and murdered Lana. Claire thought that once Lana was killed that her and Frank’s relationship would grow stronger but instead they found themselves fighting almost everyday and Frank was never able to get over his wife’s death. He couldn’t find it in himself to forgive Claire for what she had done and he felt hatred toward  her. All he could think about was Lana and how much he missed the way she cared for him, and how she wore her white headwrap so perfectly on her hair even when she was working. Every morning when he woke up he missed having her beside him and always being so cheerful. He hated waking up next to Claire and the feeling of she gave him so one day he couldn’t stand being around her any longer so he ended their relationship.

    Frank inherits all of Lana’s insurance money she received from Frank and her own insurance money. Before he met Lana, he thought that money was everything but after the death of her, he realizes that there’s much more to life than just that, that life is precious in itself. He learned that money can be easily replaced, but Lana can’t be. He starts to feel so much sorrow, the only way he felt just is to donate all the insurance money to charity that helps runaway kids.

    Frank spends the rest of his days in solitude and regret because he’s afraid that someone will discover the truth about what actually happened. He started being a recluse, avoiding contact with people by closing down the diner and started his life of hitchhiking once again.

    Claire, not affected about her breakup with Frank, finds another rich husband to cling to. Her husband was very old like Nick, and she only agreed to be with him because he was a doctor with lots of money.

    Three months later, Frank reads in the newspaper that a cruise ship of 537 passengers has sunk in the Pacific Ocean. He reads that among the dead they’ve been able to identify some of the passengers who died and he recognized Claire and her new man.