by Elena DeRosa
this great apartment that she let move into. You can’t ruin this for me! Just lift the freaking curse, you bitch!!!”
Bitch? Had he called me bitch? I guess he had known how to express his feelings towards me after all. I said nothing.
“I didn’t mean to yell at you. Please, please, please,” he begged softly in between loud sobs. “This is the last time I’ll ever bother you. Just help me.”
“Okay, enough already. You’re embarrassing yourself,” I said. “I’ll tell you how to get rid of the curse.”
“How?”
“You said you got the groom’s head, right?”
“Yeah, I’m looking at it right now.”
“Okay, well you have to take the head back to the location where the curse was issued, bury it upside down in the front yard, and walk around it three times counter-clockwise while saying, ‘lo sono un idiota.’ And that’s it, the curse will be lifted.”
“But the house isn’t there anymore. They knocked it down and put up a small apartment building. There is no front yard, only cement!”
“Well then, it sounds like you’re shit outta luck.”
I never gave Joey a chance to respond. I slammed the phone down, and he never bothered calling back. No tears were shed as I turned my attention back to my Valentine’s Day ritual. I lifted the sheet covering the canvas perched on the easel before me. A silhouette of a woman carrying a broken heart, twenty four layers of paint thick, stared at me. Rather then dip the knife in red paint and glob on layer number twenty five, I slashed the painting with it. I threw away the wounded woman.
I flew out the door, jumped in the car, and raced down the road. I hoped if I hurried, the florist would still have some red roses left.
The End
About the Author
With one foot planted in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Southwest Virginia and the other in the streets of Brooklyn, New York, Elena DeRosa enjoys the best of both worlds. Born and raised in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, Elena primarily resides in Roanoke with her husband, two children, and quirky Malti-Zhu.
A former videotape editor, producer, and freelance newspaper columnist, Elena’s most rewarding career has been the years spent raising her children. Rather than succumb to the inevitable arrival of empty nest syndrome, Elena looks forward to being able to spend more time on her passion…writing. Blogging, photography, and paranormal investigating are her hobbies.
“Fractured Facade,” a novel written as memoir, was her debut book. “The Valentine’s Day Curse,” a short story, is her most recent publication.
https://www.elenaderosa.com
Fractured Facade Synopsis
Marie's peaceful life in Virginia is shattered the moment she receives word from her brother: “I just got a call from a detective. Daddy’s dead.” Rushing to her family home in Brooklyn, New York, Marie seeks answers to her father’s mysterious death only to discover disturbing occurrences and encounter acts of betrayal.
After her questions are amplified and suspicions confirmed surrounding her father’s ex-girlfriend, Marie becomes frustrated by how oblivious so many had been, and continue to be, to the wily con-artist.
Inheriting her father’s scheming ex-girlfriend becomes a journey Marie never imagined she’d be forced to travel.
Written as memoir, “Fractured Facade” is a cautionary tale for anyone concerned about a parent after the loss of their spouse. The survivor, often thrust into an unfamiliar world, finds it quite different from the dating scene of their youth; one where some create facades to mask their true intentions. Sadly, loneliness can cause an otherwise intelligent person to behave foolishly.
“Fractured Facade” is the tale of a father’s death, a daughter’s life, and a sociopath’s vendetta.