Friends?

     You're sitting at a sidewalk cafe going over the menu as you wait for your new friends to arrive.  You met them in a chat room on line and this is the first time they invited you to join them for lunch.  You're a little nervous when a woman walks up and using both hands drops her purse on the table with a loud thud?  "I'm Ashley."
     "Wow, what do you have in there, bricks?"
     "Yep."  She says it as though this is normal and you haven't known her long enough to ask, "Why?"  She takes her seat across from you and downs your full glass of water without even asking, but you can tell she has worked hard carrying the purse full of bricks by the sweat dripping from her chin.  You watch her as she leans back in her chair after dipping her fingertips into a second glass of ice water and sprinkles it on her face.
     Just then another woman walks up with a pained expression and you wonder who the two men are following her.  She doesn't seem to notice them, but when she takes the seat next to you it becomes difficult to ignore them.  The one to the left is pinching the back of her arm, twisting it to the point of making her squirm in her seat.  The man on the right reaches out every few minutes and gives a good yank on her hair, forcing her head to jerk back.  "I'm Bonnie.  I'm glad we finally get to meet."
     "Me too.  How are you?"
     "I'm great.  Everything is really good."  She smiles for a split second before her head jerks back and she winces at the pain in her arm.
     You study her for a few seconds, but trying not to be rude you turn your attention back to Ashley who seems to be fully recovered from lugging the bricks.
     Your attention is captured by a loud crash as a waiter drops a tray of food and falls to the ground.  A woman pushes past him with a sleep mask on and feels her way to your table, "Ashley?  Bonnie?"
      Irritated Ashley answers, "We're right here Carla."
     The woman trips as she feels her way to the empty chair beside Ashley.  "I made it."
     You notice dried blood on Carla's forehead and you wonder what she walked into, but you are speechless as you look around at your new friends.  Just then the last two arrive together, one with plastic wrap covering her whole body, pinning her arms to her sides and her legs together, forcing her to walk like a penguin, while the other has her body bound in bubble wrap.  Though she was smart enough to wrap her limbs individually.  
     During lunch Ashley is forced to feed their plastic wrapped friend and occasionally she or bubble wrap girl help Carla find her water glass.  There is not much conversation as everyone seems to be focused on their own dilemmas.  Nobody else in the restaurant seems to notice the peculiar group at your table, but you are still relieved when the meal is finished and they all make their way out of the restaurant.  You remain at the table for fear one of them might ask you for help.
     The waiter comes over and sits on the edge of the empty chair next to you, "Hey, you're new to the group."
     "I don't think I'll be joining them for lunch again anytime soon."
     "Why not?"
     "Did you notice the woman with the purse full of bricks?"
     "Ashley?  Ashley just carries those for her kids.  She thinks she was a bad mom so she carries around a couple bricks for each of her kids."
     "Okay, but what about Bonnie?  Who were those men?"
     "Ex husbands.  She seems to like letting them torment her."
     "What's the deal with Carla's mask?"
     "I don't think she even knows she's wearing blinders.  Maybe she doesn't want to see things?"
     "And the other two?"
     "Plastic wrap to cover the scars and bubble wrap to play it safe."
     "And you don't see anything wrong with them?"
     "Naw, there just people dealing with life."
     "That's not dealing with life, that's putting up with life."
     "I try not to judge.  Hey, do you need help loading your luggage into your car?"
     "That would be great.  The blue truck along the curb is mine.  We can throw it in the back."
     "You sure have a lot of baggage.  Going on a long trip?"
     "Oh I'm not going anywhere.  I just carry it around."