Darling (14 page)

She turned onto the interstate and sped north, past the Papermill exit where she would have needed to get off if she was going to take the back roads home, and smiled. She was committed now and she liked that.

Ten minutes later she was taking the Emory Highway exit and it wasn’t long before the gas stations, bars, and restaurants gave way to great, dark fields and thick woods. She turned her radio down and slowed to a crawl, careful now that she navigated the tiny, twisting country roads. It was quiet out, the only noise an occasional cricket or barking dog, and she thought of
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
. It had been one of her favorite books growing up, though she never really understood it until she reread it as a teenager.

But out here in the dark, everything black and formless outside of the influence of her headlights, she thought she understood how Ichabod must have felt. Anything could be going on in those dark fields and darker woods, all kinds of unnamed blasphemies occurring inside the black shapes that rose up at the end of driveways, any number of horrors far worse than the Headless Horseman and—

Stop it.

Why was she doing this to herself tonight?

She was relieved when she came upon the single streetlight marking the steep hillside road to Raynham Place. She frowned as her phone rang, clutching for it as her eyes fixed on the curves ahead of her.

“Hello?”

“Hey, babe.”

“Hey. I’m just pulling up.”

“Ah, shit. I’m sorry. I’m gonna be late.”

“Late?” She pulled into the parking lot but left the car running. She stared up at the face of the building illuminated from underneath by a series of tall lamps. It gave her the impression of someone standing in the dark, shining a flashlight onto their face from below, shadowing their features and whispering, “Boo.”

“Yeah. Our network went down so I have to enter all of my sales and training logs by hand.”

“How late will you be?”

“Shouldn’t be much longer. Maybe forty minutes.”

“Oh.”

“Mike can let you in.”

She sighed.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry. Can’t be helped.”

“Great. Me and Mike. What will we talk about?”

“Sports? Politics? Religion?”

They both laughed.

“I don’t know. Pretend you have an interest in video games or anime and you guys might hit it off. I gotta go.

See ya in a few.”

“See ya.”

She hung up. Her and Mike, alone together for almost an hour? She couldn’t think of a more awkward evening. She didn’t have anything against Mike; she liked him sometimes, in a kid brother sort of way, but she had nothing in common with him. And she had never spent any time with him without Dennis around.

She sometimes had the impression that Mike didn’t care for her. It went beyond his usual weirdness, beyond the cold shoulder he would give her at breakfast when she stayed over. It was almost like jealousy. Could that be it? Was Mike jealous of her time with Dennis?

Or was he jealous that Dennis had found a replacement for Allison and he hadn’t?

Whoa. Where did that come from?

She shut the engine off and went inside.

* * *

The first thing Dennis heard when the elevator opened was laughter. It was muffled behind some closed door and he couldn’t tell which apartment it came from.

He walked down the hall, fumbling with his keys, and stopped when he was outside his door.

It came from his apartment.

He looked around, made sure he was on the right floor. The television must be up too loud.

He opened the door and stepped inside. He paused, confused, staring at Eileen on the floor. She sat with her back against a chair, her knees tucked into her chest and her face red. A deck of cards was spread out in front of her and she cackled like a hyena. Mike sat on the couch across from her, a can of Coke in his hand, chuckling. They looked up at Dennis standing there, shocked, and then looked to each other and busted out with more laughter.

“Alright,” Dennis said. “What did I miss?”

Eileen jumped up and gave him a kiss. “Mike just told this story…Oh, you gotta hear it. Mike. Tell it to Dennis.”

Mike laughed again and shook his head. “He won’t get it. You have to know the guy.”

Eileen winked at Dennis. “I’ll get you some wine.”

She darted into the kitchen and Dennis followed. She poured them both a glass and yelled “Mikey. You need another Coke?”

“No. I’m good.”

Dennis raised an eyebrow. “Mikey? Did I just step into
The Twilight Zone
?”

She smiled. “I guess you did, because we’ve been having a blast. Turns out we know some of the same people. A couple of his old classmates work under me at the mall and his manager is a guy I dated in high school.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yeah. Wait until you hear this story. It’s great.” She shoved a glass into his hand and scampered back into the living room.

Dennis shrugged. Thank God for that
.
If they had found some common ground, that was one more worry off of his shoulders. Maybe breakfast wouldn’t be so awkward from now on.

He saw a box of pizza open on the table. It was still warm and he piled a few slices onto a plate and went out to join them. He sat on the couch next to Mike and took a huge bite.

“So,” he said, through a mouthful of cheese and pepperoni, “what’s this story that’s so funny?”

Eileen threw a card at Mike. He grabbed it and tossed it back. They laughed. “It’s just something stupid my manager did.”

“Is this Eileen’s ex-boyfriend?”

“Uh-huh,” she said. “And he’s just as asinine as ever.”

“Well, go on.”

Mike shook his head. “We built it up too much. You’re not gonna think it’s funny.”

“Look, if Eileen was about to keel over, I’m sure it’s hilarious. Tell the damn story already.”

“Okay. So Beau decides one night that he’d play a practical joke on the customers.”

“Go on.”

“So he changes out the Coke with Pepsi and serves everyone Pepsi all night.”

Eileen and Mike giggled.

“I don’t get why that’s so funny.”

“Because,” Mike went on, “he thought he was being badass, like that was some kind of genius
Punk’d
stunt or something.”

Eileen laughed.

Dennis shrugged; he still didn’t get it. “Okay. Did anyone call him on it?”

“This big guy came up at the end of the night and said ‘Hey, man, this is clearly not Coke.’ And then he started cussing.”

“Really?”

Mike lowered his head and smiled. “No, I made that up.”

“I think,” Eileen interrupted, “you do have to know him. Beau always thought he was badass, like Mike said, but never had the guts to go through with anything serious.”

Dennis took another bite of pizza. “I guess I’ll take your word for it.”

Mike and Eileen burst into laughter again.

* * *

Right before the movie ended, they heard Mike snoring on the couch. When the credits started to roll, they turned off the lights and left him sleeping.

They crept into Dennis’ room and Eileen changed into her nightshirt. He followed her to the bathroom, sliding his hand up her shirt while she brushed her teeth. She smacked it away, smiled, and finished her nightly routine. Then they made love and, though neither of them would admit that’s what they were doing, deep down they both knew.

Afterward, as Eileen lay on her stomach and Dennis ran his fingers along her back, they both felt like talking about where they were. Instead they talked about Mike.

“I’m just surprised I had such a fun time with him tonight,” she said.

“Now you see why I keep him around. Mike’s a social retard sometimes, but he’s a good guy at heart. I’m just glad you two finally hit it off.”

“Tell me about it.” She rolled over onto her back. Dennis’ fingers continued their motion on her stomach. “Has Mike ever had a girlfriend?”

He thought for a moment and shook his head. “I don’t think so. He’s been on a date or two, and I know there was this girl he went to high school with that he was head over heels for, but I don’t think he’s ever had anything serious.”

“So he’s still a virgin, right?”

“As far as I know. Why?”

She shrugged. “I was just thinking of that woman across the hall from you guys.”

“Margot.”

“Yeah. Her.”

“Did Mike mention her?”

“Not in so many words…”

“It’s never ‘in so many words’ with him.”

“Well, I’m starting to see your line of thinking. Maybe it would be good for him to just experience a woman, ya know? Help him grow up a little.”

“That’s what I’ve been saying.”

“Yeah, but it sounds smarter coming from me.”

He pinched her hip and she yelped and twisted away.

“Has he talked to his parents since moving out?”

“Not that I know of.”

“They’ve really done a number on him, haven’t they?”

“A few numbers, I’d say. Like six digits.”

She nodded. “I forget sometimes how lucky I am to have good parents. Aside from my dad, that is, but we don’t really count him.”

“Good? Shit. You might as well have sprang from the loins of Ward and June Cleaver.”

She laughed. “If June’s first husband ran off, then yeah. No, Mom and Steve, they fight, and we disagree on things, but they’ve always been good to me. I turned out okay.”

“Well, I don’t know about
that
...”

“Shut up.”

“What about your brother and sister?”

She shrugged. “They didn’t turn out
bad
, they just have messed up ideas about relationships.”

“I’d say.”

She propped herself up on one elbow and turned toward him. “You know, you never talk about your folks.”

“No. I guess I don’t.”

“I mean, I know your mom is...gone, and that you and your dad aren’t too friendly, but...” She trailed off.

He was quiet for a long while. “I don’t like...”

“Talking about it? I kind of figured.”

“
Thinking
about it.”

“I’m sorry. I always feel like I’m digging too deep with you.”

“It’s okay. I guess I’ve got a bit more dirt to sift through than most of the guys you’ve dated.”

“I just ask because I...” She paused and he hoped she would say it, that she’d be the one to open the door. “I care,” she finished, and he was equally as glad that she had left the door closed.

“I know. You have a right to know some of my secrets, I guess.”

“
Some
?”

He laughed. “If you knew all my secrets, the mystery would be gone.”

“Whatever. You’ve tap-danced around this enough. It’s okay if you don’t tell me.”

“No, I...I want to, I think.” His hand found hers and gripped it tight. She gave him a little squeeze. “I need to, maybe.”

“I’m here.”

Thoughts flashed through his mind in rapid succession. A crib. Bouquet of flowers. Beer cans rolling around on the floorboards. Clenched fist dripping blood. Bits of hair and scalp stuck to shattered glass.

He decided, once again, to give her the condensed version. “It’s nothing interesting. Just a car accident when I was little. Mom’s birthday, of all days. They had been talking about having another kid. Dad was pretty messed up about it. Started drinking a lot. I guess that’s hereditary. Anyway, he never really recovered. Took a lot of it out on me. That’s why I moved out the day I graduated high school.”

“Do you guys talk?”

“Rarely.”

She kissed his cheek. “You’ve been really lonely, haven’t you?”

She hit something, touched some deep part of him that he hadn’t even known existed. His lips quivered and he could feel tears forming. He sucked in a sharp breath and held them back. “I don’t know.”

She kissed him. “You don’t have to be.”

They locked eyes and, not for the first time since they started seeing each other, Dennis lost himself staring into her. His stomach twisted, hair stood up on his arms. He screamed at himself to stop, but his tongue ignored him.

“I love you,” he said.

It was quiet. To Dennis the moment stretched out for eons. Eileen stared at him like he was a stranger. He had the horrible thought she would stand up, say she didn’t feel the same, get dressed, and sprint out the door.

She reached up and kissed him. “I think I love you, too,” she said.

They made love again and this time they allowed themselves to recognize it as what it was. It made them feel whole and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.

Chapter Nine

Eileen screamed. Dennis jolted awake, rolled over, clicked on the light. The alarm clock read
3:36 a.m.

She sat up, covers tucked to her chin, scanning the room. Her breath was labored. Her brow glistened.

“Babe? Eileen? What is it?”

Her eyes found his face and she cried. She cuddled close to him, burying her head into his shoulder as she wept. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, rocking her back and forth, one hand running through her hair as he whispered that everything would be okay.

After a few minutes she calmed down and pulled away.

“I’m okay,” she said and wiped the tears from her face.

“Wanna talk about it?”

She stared at him, eyes wide, shoulders trembling, and chewed her lower lip. She shook her head, lay back down, and rolled away. He turned off the lights and cuddled under the sheet.

The soft hum of the air conditioner lulled him back to the edge of sleep. He thought he felt the first stirrings of a dream himself when her hand fell on his shoulder.

“I think maybe I do need to talk about it.”

He clicked the lamp back on. It stung his eyes. He tilted the shade away, aiming the light onto the wall. It created a giant yellow circle and cast the rest of the room in an odd array of dim light and weak shadows. Eileen’s pale, shaken face was faded in such an environment, as if she were an actress being projected from a faded print of an old movie.

“Nightmare, huh?”