Page 70 - The Houseguest

felt relieved, but there was a small part of him saddened with the realization that no one cared, still. Just like his life had always been, he could’ve died last night and no one would have cared. He thought of Laura again. She would care, maybe. Or has she forgotten about him completely if she is still alive? In prison, they talked constantly about “social media.” But he never wanted to get involved because it sounded too invasive. Why should he care what other people do in their lives every day and why would he want to post about what he does, where he goes, for them to see? It seemed like a waste of time and energy to him. But now, on the outside, he saw where it might be a useful tool, maybe even to locate Laura. Then he thought, if he did find her, what would he say? Would she be receptive to his contacting her? Would she shun him now as a convicted felon?
The next day he meandered over to one of the two computers the program had set up for training purposes. The times he’d sat at a computer could be counted on one hand. Yet, he didn’t want to ask for help...he could figure this out like he’d always done everything, on his own. Hell, he saw young kids doing it, it couldn’t be that complicated. He stared at the screen trying to figure out what to click first. He peered over to his fellow trainee as if he were cheating on a test. He saw the address: www.Facebook.com – that seems like a good place to start. He tried to perform a search within the search window for “Laura Gabel.” There were hundreds of search returns. He inspected the faces carefully, one by one. He scrolled down further and went through 20 or more Laura Gabels. He didn’t’ see her face. Perhaps she had gotten married? No, that was improbable for a burned-out heroin addict. He
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The Houseguest by Linda Ellis www.LindaEllis.life