(Continued from last issue)
David and Diane have been married for years; then there is Julie, the young secretary whose axis collides with the couple’s in ways none of them saw coming.
DIANE
The storm did break before I got back home, but the whirlwind of thoughts swirling around in my mind were a lot more tumultuous than the wind or rain of the storm.
I barely noticed it as I drove along the rain-drenched roads. David had kicked me out in favour of his whore – yet again – but this time he had gone a step further and chosen her and their bastard son over our children, and for that, I would never forgive him.
We were way past the point of finding an amicable solution to our problems, and all my thoughts now were of vengeance; keeping the children away from him had not worked, and with him having threatened to take them away from me, it was clear that more drastic and permanent measures needed to be taken.
If only I had managed to get rid of his whore and bastard son when I had the chance to, we would not be here today, I thought to myself ruefully, but then pushed my shoulders back, held my head up, and went on more determinedly; she had been lucky then, but I would not fail twice.
By the time I got home, the storm had passed – both literally and figuratively; having reached a decision about what I needed to do, I felt a lot calmer than I had been when I left the site, and when the children came out to meet me, I was actually able to face them with a bright smile.
“Mummy, where did you go?” Samantha demanded. “I’m bored; can we go to the waterpark?” her sister whined.
Quickly distracted from her initial query by this new train of thought, Samantha nodded eagerly; “Yes! The waterpark! Can we?”
“I’m hungry; can we order a take-away?” Daniel threw in his own request.
“I’m tired; can you let me get into the house and sit down before you ambush me?” I reprimanded them in response, but my tone was gentle, my eyes kind. They were my world, and I loved them more than life itself – and if all went according to plan, I would soon have them all to myself, and I would be their whole world too.
DAVID
I was seething over Diane’s impromptu appearance at the site as I headed upstairs to the manager’s unit after having gotten rid of her, but it was obvious from the moment I walked in that Julie was a lot more upset than I was.
She had set Junior down in his playpen, and was standing by the large window I had found her at that morning, but this time she was not simply admiring the view; she had her arms crossed protectively against her chest, and was rubbing her forearms distractedly either like she was cold, or like she was subconsciously trying to comfort herself.
I suspected it was the latter.
“I’m sorry about that; she shouldn’t have come here,” I apologized sombrely. “Why did she? What did she want?” she asked in response, her tone as sombre as mine had been.
“You know Diane; she was trying to stir up trouble and upset you.”
“Well, she succeeded; I am upset!” she declared, as she spun round to face me. Her eyes were wet, like she had been crying before I walked in, and in them, I saw the source of her sudden burst of emotion; it was not that she was a woman upset by her lover’s wife gate-crashing and ruining a romantic date, it was that she was a woman who was scared, or to be more accurate, terrified.
At this realisation, I pushed aside my own emotions surrounding Diane’s appearance – which were primarily anger and irritation – and quickly moving to Julie’s side, pulled her in for a tight embrace.
“Don’t let her get to you, that’s exactly what she wants to do,” I pleaded, willing her to see through Diane’s stupid games.
“Like I said, she’s succeeding,” she mumbled. “And like I said, don’t let her! She wants to upset you, that’s why she came; the best way to hit back is to ignore her, keep focusing on us, and let her go to hell!”
“I don’t want to ‘hit back’; I don’t want a fight with her; I just want her to leave me alone!” “I know, and she will; I’m going to leave a standing order at the gate that she’s not to be allowed on the property again, and if she tries to insist, they should call police and report a trespasser! I promise, you won’t have to deal with her again,” I tried to reassure her.
She did not seem convinced, and I could still see the fear in her eyes, but she, nonetheless, paused for a moment, and then slowly nodded.
“Alright; I believe you,” she answered softly. The way she said it, in that characteristic Julie trusting way, lit a fire in me, and I was determined that no matter what it took, I would keep my promise to keep Diane away from her.
JULIE
Even with the storm interrupting our romantic picnic by the lake, it had still been a beautiful day – until David’s wife showed up.
She was standing by her car right outside the manager’s unit as we walked up to it, the wind blowing her hair around her face, and yet she seemed unfazed by it, as though she were oblivious to the approaching storm.
Although I’m not the superstitious type – that’s more of my mother’s thing – there was something about the way she was just standing there, leaves, dust and debris swirling around her, dark storm clouds behind her, that had an evil, ominous aura about it, and the mere sight of her, sent an icy chill down my spine.
David was dismissive of my concerns; he seemed to think that she was just playing her usual silly mind games, but I had seen her play those before, and I was certain that this was more than that.
I did however agree with him that we should not let her ruin the day, and so I tried to force myself to push her from my mind. I was not entirely successful in my attempt; I simply could not shake the feeling that David’s wife was up to something – something bad – but for David’s sake, I acted like I believed him when he promised me that I would not have to deal with her again.
The reality, though, was that I was certain this would not be the last we saw of her, and that this impromptu appearance of hers was only a prelude to something much worse when we next did.
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