by Lilly Wilder
Slowly, as if the weight of the world was on his back, Ozul turned around and walked out of the lodge. No one spoke for a while, everyone trying to gather the courage to say something, and not look at the body that was lying on the ground, in the middle of the room.
Rene was the first to snap out of shock.
“Isabella,” she addressed Hyde’s ex-wife as kindly as she could, “why don’t you take Parker out for a second?”
She even managed to smile at the poor woman, who looked like a scarecrow, with messy hair and her make up a mess from all the crying. She was still holding Parker pressed tightly to her, making sure he didn’t see the body, even by mistake.
“I’ll do that, thank you,” Isabella nodded, then hurried out, leaving the three of them alone.
Hyde rushed to the nearest bathroom, and washed his hands. Rene and Jesse listened to the sound of the running water. It was soothing, like balm to their tired souls. When Hyde walked back out of the bathroom, only his hands seemed cleaner. His face was equally exhausted, his t-shirt equally bloody. He stopped next to Rene, and sighed.
“Fuck…” he raked his fingers through his hair. “This is not how I wanted it to end…”
Despite everything, he sounded sad, as if Culore’s death hurt him.
“I know,” Rene placed her hand gently on his shoulder. “It’s not your fault.”
“I just wanted him to go away, to leave me alone, and to leave us alone.”
“I know,” Rene repeated underneath her breath.
“I might sound like a dick saying this,” Jesse stated, “but this is the best way this could have ended.”
For a moment, they were all looking at Culore’s body. Suddenly, Hyde walked over to it, and bent over. He reached out, closing his eyes.
“Now, he can rest in peace,” Hyde said, more to himself, than to Rene and Jesse.
He stood up, and looked around.
“What are you looking for?” Rene asked.
“My phone,” he replied.
“Who are you going to call?” she wondered.
“The police, of course.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Jesse inquired. “What if we just buried him somewhere in the mountains? No one will ever know.”
“No,” Hyde shook his head, determinedly. “We need to do it the right way. Inform the authorities. Let someone else bury him, properly.”
“But, how will this look?” Rene asked.
She could already imagine the accusatory looks of any policemen who’d come here to see what happened.
“We’ll just tell them the truth,” Hyde assured them.
He sounded calm, a little too calm for Rene’s taste.
“The truth?” she yelped. “Are you serious?”
“I meant, only some aspects of the truth,” Hyde corrected himself.
“Oh,” Rene sighed in relief.
“We’ll just say we came here for the weekend, and were woken up by a strange sound. He jumped me, we fought, I got the knife from him, and accidentally slit his throat. You’ll be my witnesses, and vouch that I’m telling the truth. There is no connection between us, so they’ll think he’s just some random burglar, who thought the place was empty, panicked when he saw that someone was here and acted rashly by attacking me. It was obviously self-defense. No one will question it.”
“And Ozul?” Rene asked.
“He’ll be kept out of the story,” Hyde replied.
“What if they see signs of another perpetrator?” she asked again.
“We’ll deny seeing anyone,” Hyde explained. “We just need to stay consistent. Not change our story once we tell it. They’ll just assume that, even if there was someone else with Culore, he escaped when he realized there was someone in the lodge, which was usually kept uninhabited.”
“OK then,” Rene nodded.
It sounded plausible. Burying Culore in the woods would have been way too suspicious, if someone found the body later on. This way, they could clear their names and go on with their lives.
“Let’s go outside, I need some fresh air,” Hyde suggested, and both Rene and Jesse welcomed the suggestion.
All three walked out of the lodge, to see Isabella and Parker looking at the sky.
“That over there is the Big Dipper,” she was showing Parker the constellations, “and that one over there is Orion.”
“Actually,” Hyde joined them, and pointed up with his index finger, “the Big Dipper is not a constellation, it’s just an asterism. That is a group of stars smaller than what is officially considered a constellation.”
Then, he took Parker’s hand and started tracing an invisible line in the sky.
“See, those two stars over there, right at the outer edge of the Big Dipper are called pointer stars. If you follow the line of these two stars, you can find the famous North Star, which is right… there!”
Parker jumped with joy, as his father showed him the North Star, and Isabella used this opportunity to sneak away, and stand next to Rene. Rene felt a little out of place here, but she tried to convince herself this was unnecessary, after everything that had happened.
“It’s a good thing he came, I was starting to run out of constellations,” Isabella murmured, looking at Parker and Hyde.
Rene smiled, appreciating the friendly comment. She’d heard so much about this woman from Parker and very little from Hyde. He never wanted to talk about her and she understood that. But, Parker was more than happy to tell Rene about her. Everything good, of course. She always wondered, when the time came, how she would meet her. She expected it to be strange, maybe a little awkward. She had hoped it would be smooth and, maybe, the two could even become friends.
This kind of a first meeting, however, was something she couldn’t have imagined, even in her wildest dreams. A hostage situation, where Parker and his mother would be kidnapped and Hyde would have to save them, with a little help from Jesse and herself. It was just crazy beyond any belief and, yet, here she was, standing next to this woman, who managed to smile and even crack a joke, as if her life and the life of her child, wasn’t hanging by a thread a mere hour ago.
“I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced,” Isabella continued confidently, offering Rene her hand.
Shaking her hand firmly, Rene smiled.
“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Isabella seemed to be in the lead of this conversation, but Rene didn’t mind.
She was overwhelmed by everything that had just happened and, right now, her priority wasn’t to wow her boyfriend’s ex-wife. In reality, she just wanted to go home and tell Alice everything that had happened, though she doubted she’d be able to do that. She would probably have to tell Alice the official version they all just agreed upon.
“Me, too,” Rene nodded.
Despite everything, the woman before her was beautiful. Her strikingly blue eyes stood in stark contrast to her dark, chestnut hair, and her body definitely didn’t look as if she gave birth five years ago. Rene didn’t know exactly how old this woman was, but she certainly didn’t look her age.
“Parker has really taken a liking to you,” Isabella continued, and only then did Rene notice a slight South American accent.
That explained her dark tan and fiery nature, which in this instance revealed itself through her wanting to control the first meeting with her ex-husband’s new girlfriend.
“I’m guessing it’s the worms,” Rene laughed, surprised that she could do that so soon.
“Absolutely,” Isabella nodded.
The two women remained in silence for a few moments, not really knowing what else to say, but at the same time, unwilling to go. Isabella was braver once again.
“Thank you,” she said, a little coyly.
Rene realized how looking shy didn’t suit this woman at all. She was much too beautiful to ever be shy.
“For taking such good care of my boy,” Isabella continued, sounding a little mo
re confident this time. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am because of that.”
“You’re very kind,” Rene smiled.
She wondered if Isabella knew about her and Hyde. Jesse was another story. Their unconventional love would probably remained hidden for a while, until they figured everything out. This was new territory for them all and they needed to take it slow, one step at a time.
“I think Hyde chose well this time,” she suddenly added, surprising Rene.
“What do you mean?”
He told her. She didn’t think he would, not this early at least. She thought they had a silent agreement not to mention anything to anyone, especially in front of Parker.
“I know you are seeing my husband,” she said, coolly.
Rene’s eyes widened in shock at her bold comment. She could feel her mouth drying up. This conversation was getting less pleasant with this change of topic.
“When did he tell you?” Rene asked.
“He didn’t,” Isabella smiled back, “he doesn’t tell me much about his life now. I guess I deserved that. But, he does mention you when he comes to pick up Parker and his eyes glow up. I know that look. I used to be the cause of it.”
Rene swallowed heavily. She didn’t know how to interpret this comment. Was his ex-wife still into him? Would she try to get him back? Rene had no idea what to expect. She was never in such a situation, so she had to be careful, for her own sake, as well as for the sake of the child involved.
“But, don’t worry,” Isabella waved her hand dismissively, “I’m not trying to get him back. I did a horrible thing to him and I know that it was inexcusable.”
Rene didn’t want to say anything to this. Hyde did tell her about the affair, but Rene didn’t want to accuse this woman of anything. She doubted Hyde wasn’t attentive enough to her, but sometimes, people just weren’t compatible, and no matter how much one side was trying, it’s never enough for the other person, who then tries to find what they are missing somewhere else.
“He probably told you,” she continued, as if she was asking.
“He mentioned something,” Rene felt a little provoked, and felt like she should say something, but not too much.
“In any case, I just wanted to tell you that I hope you are taking it slow and making sure Parker doesn’t see you.”
“Of course not,” Rene assured her.
“I mean, I know Hyde, and I know he wouldn’t do that, but I wanted to talk to you, as well.”
“Of course,” Rene nodded again.
“Please, don’t take this the wrong way,” Isabella smiled kindly, “I’m just making sure that my son is alright. And, I would like to see my ex-husband happy. He is a good man.”
“He is.”
“I wasted my chance, but you still have it. Cherish him, and he will return it a hundredfold.”
“Thank you,” Rene started, but that was all she managed to mutter, because she could see Parker and Hyde returning.
“OK then,” Hyde sighed, “it’s time to call the cops. So, we all know the story, right?”
Everyone nodded. Rene felt a little anxious, but she knew this was for the best. She could only hope that this little lie wouldn’t eventually come back to haunt them.
Chapter 19
About a year had passed since that unfortunate event, and the three agreed not to talk about it again, unless it was utterly necessary. Everything happened exactly the way Hyde assured them it would. He called the police, and did most of the talking. The police officers who were called to the scene, were happy to talk to him. They were worried about Parker and the two women, and didn’t mind keeping them on the side of the whole affair. They only had to leave a statement down at the police station, but that was that. They got a call a few weeks later, where they were informed that no one would be pressing any charges, as things were clear cut. The guy broke in and what happened to him was the result of self-defense. Finally, the mattered was settled and they all allowed it to die down.
Days passed by slowly, and a sweet, predictable routine was established. Rene spent her free time with Hyde and Jesse when Parker was away with his mother, and they still made sure he didn’t know anything that was going on between them.
“Why are you so against telling him?” Hyde asked her, unable to understand her viewpoint.
“I’m afraid it might change everything,” she confessed.
“You’re silly,” he kissed her on the forehead, as they strolled through the park, all three of them. “Tell her she’s being silly,” he urged Jesse to agree with him.
“I’m not telling her anything, I don’t want her to get upset with me,” Jesse grinned.
“Traitor,” Hyde punched him playfully in the shoulder. “But, seriously now, why not? He loves you, he’s told me so himself.”
“But, he loves me as a nanny, as a friend, not as his dad’s girlfriend.”
“What’s the difference?” Hyde asked stupidly, and she had to laugh.
“Well, for one, I’d spend more time there, more time with you. He might feel like you’re not spending enough time with him and he might blame me for that. That’s the last thing I want to happen.”
“What if we talked to him nicely? He’s a smart kid, he’ll understand.”
“I’d rather wait a little longer, if you don’t mind,” she asked, as nicely as she could, and there was nothing else for Hyde to do but agree. “Oh, and don’t forget about tomorrow.”
“We’ll be there with bells on,” Jesse smiled.
The following day arrived quickly, in anticipation of what was to come. Despite her best efforts to calm herself down, Rene couldn’t stop feeling a little jittery and anxious. She wasn’t really sure if this was a good idea or not. She also didn’t know how it would end. It might go smoothly, but it also might be a total catastrophe. As with most things in life, she had to roll the dice and hope for the best.
She looked at herself in the mirror. It was a dress she rarely wore, mostly because it was hugging her curves in exactly the right places and that made her somewhat self-conscious. This time, however, it seemed to do the trick. Instead of making her feel self-conscious like every other time before, Rene realized that she felt beautiful, she realized it was perfectly fine to feel good in one’s skin.
Then, it hit her. This feeling of self-satisfaction had nothing to do with the dress and it had everything to do with the way Hyde and Jesse made her feel. With them, she never felt out of place, she never felt like she could be better, more beautiful. To them, she was perfect, and they made sure to show her that every single time. Whether it was unexpected flowers, romantic candle-lit dinners or just words of affection, they never failed to show her how much she meant to them.
That was probably why today would be so difficult. Today was the day she would take them to meet her mother. Naturally, she wanted it all to go smoothly, but that had very little to do with her. Her mother was sometimes feeling almost like her old self, and at others, she was someone completely different. That was why it was becoming increasingly hard for Rene to go visit her on her own and she was hoping that if she had them by her side, she might not feel so down.
She put on just a dash of mascara and a touch of her new red lipstick, which made her lips pop just enough. Her idea was to make them irresistible for the guys up to such an extent that they might have to stop the car somewhere by the road, where no one would catch them, and have a quickie. The thought made her all giddy, like a horny school girl and she even giggled out loud. She was grateful for the fact that she was alone, otherwise, Alice would think she’d gone bonkers. Either that, or that she was head over heels in love with Hyde and Jesse.
The guys were about five minutes late, when she heard the buzzer down below. She rushed over, and answered.
“Are you guys coming up?” she asked.
“No need,” Hyde replied cheerfully, “just, get your car keys.”
“My car keys?” she was surpri
sed. “I thought you were driving.”
“Yeah, about that,” she couldn’t see it, but she could guess that he was taking his hand through his lush set of curls as he spoke, and that Jesse stood by his side, listening to the conversation, “we need to go with your car.”
“Seriously?” she asked again, hoping this was a joke.
Her Caprice was a mess. It was barely starting lately, and a few times, it left her high and dry, so she had to catch a cab not to be late to Hyde’s place, before he went to work. So, saying that the Caprice was unreliable was an understatement.