of the time. But I can at least see it and recognize the problem.
I’m probably eighty percent aware of my faults and admit it
when I’m wrong. The other twenty percent of the time I just
don’t care if I’m wrong.” Lucy might have been giving herself
more credit than she deserved.
“But what good does it do to admit those faults if you
don’t try to change them. Saying you’re sorry all the time loses
it’s meaning after a while. It just becomes an empty word you
want to cram down the other person’s throat. Trust me on this.
I got so tired of hearing how sorry Dez was about not being
able to spend time with me, that it was becoming a bad word
instead of a good word.” Alex had begun to think of sorry as a
four letter word, even though it had five letters.
“I guess you’re right. Bonnie just makes me so mad
sometimes. We should talk to someone about what we need to
fix, if our relationship is fixable. Maybe I’ve resented her so
much lately that I didn’t care if my comments hurt her. I guess
taking someone for granted is an easy rut to get in. But I can’t
believe that Dez was such a fool for not spending time with
you. I guess we always look at someone else’s life and think
how lucky they are without really knowing the dynamics that
go on behind closed doors.” Lucy wondered about Dez’s
sanity for letting Alex slip through her fingers.
“You’re right. No one knows what anyone else’s life is
like unless they are part of it. I just wish I had become more
aware a lot sooner. I don’t regret my years with Dez and she is
a good, kind woman that I will always love. In fact she did me a favor because she showed me what I want and need from a relationship. It’s priceless knowledge that I intend to benefit from for the rest of my life. What is it they say Cyn, if we don’t learn from history we’re doomed to repeat it.” Alex was beginning to feel this new knowledge was sinking in and hopefully would send up a red flag the minute she saw any of
Dez’s traits appear in any woman she dated.
“Absolutely. In fact, Lucy, Alex and I have made a
promise to look out for each other. By that, I mean steer her
away from women I see as possible trouble and visa versa.
You know, so we can avoid problems down the road on our
relationship journey.” Cyn was beginning to take a disliking to
Lucy and she wondered why. They had always been able to get
along, but now Cyn was beginning to see her as a predator and
Alex was the prey. It was a situation she wanted to correct as
quickly as possible.
“That’s great that you have each other to keep you
from hooking up with Ms. Wrong. But are you sure you two
can be that objective about the other’s potential girlfriends? I
mean how can you stop the green eyed monster from clouding
your judgment? I’ve heard the, “she’s not good enough for
her” comment more than once.” Lucy thought the two were
headed for trouble if they weren’t honest about how they truly
felt about each other. She figured Alex could be open minded,
but knew Cyn was going to have a tough time approving of
anyone dating Alex when she was crazy about her herself. “Cyn and I have talked and we want the best for each
other. I know that sounds a little naïve, but we can only give it
a shot. The green eyed monster may raise it’s head, or not,
we’ll have to wait and see. But at least we’ve talked about it
which is something that you and Bonnie need to do more
often. I can only speak from my own experiences, and Dez and
I did talk about things. But when talking doesn’t get you
anywhere, then it’s time to move on as soon as possible. It’s
best not to spend any more time and become even more angry
when it serves no purpose.” Alex felt like she had discussed this topic more than once over the past week. Maybe she needed to see a therapist on her own just to make sure she was on the right track herself and not expecting impossible things
from someone else.
“So let me get this straight. You don’t want a
girlfriend that wants to be with you 24/7, but one who makes
time for you. And that’s not what you had with Dez?” Lucy
wanted to be clear on this.
“Yes, that’s what I want. And no, that’s not what I had
with Dez.” Alex wasn’t sure how much she wanted to get into
it with Lucy about her past relationship.
“Okay, so you’re saying Dez didn’t make time for you
at all. Right?” Lucy was now convinced Dez was crazy. “Correct. Dez liked having me around, like one of her
cats. I was a possession that she felt she could take down off of
a shelf and play with when she felt like playing. Trust me, this
doll got pretty dusty sitting on that shelf. So from now on I
intend to speak up, and if they can’t step up and be what they
promised then we cut our losses and move on.” Alex thought
that sounded so cold and matter of fact. She hoped when she
was talking to a potential girlfriend she could make it sound a
little nicer.
“Well, all right. You pretty much summed it up in a
very concise and absolute manner.” Maybe Dez wasn’t crazy,
just intimidated by Alex’s intensity. Alex was beginning to
sound a little bit like “my way or the highway” right now. “I’m sorry, Lucy. It didn’t come out the way I wanted
it to. I’m just trying to say that my next girlfriend and I will
have long talks about what we expect from the other. We’ll
talk about everything from having the windows open or closed
during the winter, to how we’ll handle ex-girlfriends dropping
by or calling all the time. Plus finances, family, friends, pets,
household chores and every little detail that can drive the other
crazy. If it’s not discussed before we get involved emotionally
and intimately, we could find ourselves resenting the other
person for not being more considerate in certain areas. Do you understand what I mean?” Alex was talking to Lucy, but hoped Cyn was hearing what she was saying also. She wanted Cyn to understand there was more to her than just the woman she ate
lunch with.
“Wow, if I would have had those kind of talks with
Bonnie we may never have ended up together. We often fight
about several of the things you just mentioned and it was
probably due to not understanding how the other person felt
about it. You really have been giving this a lot of thought. I
assumed you just got really pissed off at Dez and decided to
leave, or were leaving to be with someone else.” Lucy would
have bet money Alex was seeing Cyn.
“Yes, I’m sure the gossip at school has me cheating on
Dez with Cyn. But that’s not what’s happening and that is the
gospel truth.” Alex never lost eye contact with Lucy as she
made that statement.
Finally getting to the front of the line, Alex was
starving. She could smell the chili fries the whole time they
were waiting. Ordering enough food for five told Lucy and
Cyn that Alex was buying. Looking around for a place to sit,
they chit-chatted about food in general as they waited for the
ir
express cuisine to be ready. Alex suggested they just go back
to their seats. She didn’t want to miss any of the game.
Shaking their heads, Lucy and Cyn would follow Alex like the
good little girls they were.
When they returned to their seats there was plenty of
room for them to spread out. It seemed that only the diehard
fans were still left in the stands. Several proud parents asked
the women who they were related to. When finding out they
were just teachers from Taylorwood there to support the home
town team, they were made honorary parents for the remainder
of the football season. As introductions were made, it was
disclosed that the quarterback, both running backs and one
tight end had parents sitting in their area. To make the cheering
sound much more convincing, Cyn rounded up the scattered
fans and brought them into a more compact rooting section so they could do the wave, not to mention she was hoping for a
lot more body heat and wind breakers.
They just had time to finish their food before the teams
came back on the field. Having hot coffee to drink had helped
warm up their hands and the three found themselves
surrounded by very animated parents for the second half of the
game. Screaming out the names of the players was a lot more
fun, not to mention watching their parents going crazy
cheering on their big boys. During the quiet parts, for time outs
and penalties, they learned of the parents’ occupations and
how many other children they had back at home. It had been
too cold for them to bring the little ones and older sisters were
left to baby sit. The cell phone calls were numerous and Alex
had to laugh out loud at all the reasons given for calling to tell
mom and dad what was going on at home. She liked children
but had never really thought about what a full time job it was
being a parent working all day and then having them around
the rest of the time demanding to be fed, played with, and
helped with homework. Alex was glad she only had a horse as
her child as he didn’t need to be potty trained and lived at
another location. He was almost as expensive as having a kid,
but the best part was that she didn’t have to pay for college. Alex was given several business cards by a couple of
the dads when they found out she was moving. They were
contractors and had trucks if she needed a hand come moving
day. Alex couldn’t believe how wonderful and giving they
were and promised to call if she found herself in over her head.
She looked at Cyn, who gave her a nudge and reminded her
that she had said not to worry about having to move all her
stuff. Alex was beginning to feel like one of the locals and
knew this wasn’t going to be her last football game, with or
without Cyn and Lucy. She had made some new friends and
looked forward to making a lot more.
Chapter 23
Alex awoke, laid in bed and thought about her Friday night with Cyn and Lucy. Hastings had pulled it out in the fourth quarter and won by three points after trailing most of the second half. It was a very exciting game to say the least. The girls had enjoyed themselves more than they thought they would at the beginning of the evening considering Mother Nature decided to let it drizzle off and on all through the last quarter. She had enjoyed her dinner as much as if she had been at a restaurant. The food just tasted fantastic and that may have been because she hadn’t had a hot dog and chili fries for quite some time. Dessert was cookies which Cyn had brought from home and had been keeping as a surprise in her inside coat pocket. The trash bags came in handy to help keep their legs a little warmer as the wind blew through the bleachers with gale force. But for the next game Alex was going to bring along a sleeping bag to sit in.
She took her shower, got dressed, and then made her coffee and breakfast. Dez had already fed the cats, as she was up and out early. Alex hadn’t seen Dez at all during the past week. She realized then that it was truly over, as she hadn’t even missed her. She was not looking forward to getting up in the attic, so decided instead to get online to do her banking and check to see if she had received any e-mails not that she received a lot, but she did get one or two on average per week. As she opened her box she had one e-mail. It was addressed to “Divine Beauty.”
Dear Alex:
Did you miss me? I’ve been keeping an eye on you. You have no idea how desirable you are. I know you, Alex. You are a woman who needs special attention and I’m the one who can give it to you. P. S. You should wear your hair up more often.
Alex wanted to kill, she was so mad. It had to be Richard. How dare he send her an e-mail after his mother had promised she would put an end to this immediately. She was out the door and in her truck before she could think twice. As she was driving to school her cell phone rang. It was Cyn.
“Hey how’s it going? Are you in the truck?” Cyn was surprised. Alex was supposed to be home packing some of her stuff in anticipation of moving.
“I just checked my e-mail and that pond scum, Richard Greenway, sent me a sick message. I’m going to school to tell him, and his mother, what they can do with this job if he stays at school one more day.” Alex was done playing nice, as Mrs. Greenway had promised he would be gone.
“Alex, you shouldn’t even consider facing this guy alone. Plus, how do you know he’s at school?” Cyn thought he could have sent the e-mail from home.
“The e-mail came from the school. It had the school address from using Outlook Express.” Alex had already thought about this.
“Wait for me to get there or go find Frederick. Please don’t do this alone.” Cyn was panic stricken – this guy must be psycho.
“He can’t keep invading my privacy and think nothing of it. He sent the e-mail this morning so I know he’s there. I’m not waiting. He might leave and I don’t want to miss him. We should be in his office, or Mrs. Greenway’s. See you there.” Alex didn’t want to talk about it, and besides she was losing the connection anyway.
Cyn wanted to talk to her the whole way there and listen even while she confronted Greenway. At least she would know what was going on. She was very worried about Alex’s safety and decided it was time Dez got involved. Three women were better than two, and Greenway was a very big guy. She would also give Frederick a call and let him know Alex was on her way.
Across town Dez was at the Parkers’ place doing routine work on Phantom. Megan was there to hold him, but no Sally.
“Where’s your mom this morning? I figured she would be here.” Dez knew Sally had a big crush on her and was even talking about a divorce. Dez hadn’t told her about her breakup, not wanting her to know she was single again. She didn’t like hurting Sally, but she wasn’t her type, not even if she were gay and single. She was hoping she would patch it up with her husband soon. But considering she had been to dinner at their home on Monday and Wednesday night, she knew Sally might be getting the wrong impression so she really did need to tell her.
“Oh she had something to take care of at school. She said she’d be back later this afternoon. How does he look?” Megan liked Dr. Dez, but unfortunately every time she saw her it was because her pony was sick.
“He looks fit, but he could stand to lose a pound or two. You would never know he was so sick there for a while. It was the strangest thing. I can’t say I’ve ever seen an animal go up and down like that, weird.” Dez was baffled about his intermittent bouts with colic.
“I told my mom to stop giving him those vitamins you prescribed, because I knew they would make him sick again. But he’s fine now.” Megan was
beaming as she petted Phantom.
“You mean the Banimine for his pain when he was colicking?” Dez was confused.
“No! Those vitamin shots you told her to give him. He would always get sick right after she gave them. Let me get you the bottle.” She handed the lead rope to Dez and went inside the little tack room, emerging with a small bottle. There was a white label placed over the original label that said “Vitamins.” Dez peeled it off. The original label said “Atropine.”
“Megan, your mother was giving Phantom this?” Dez suddenly realized Sally had been making the pony colic.
“Yes. Why, isn’t it vitamins?” Megan was afraid she had said something wrong.
“Has your mom given anymore of this to Phantom recently?” What was that woman thinking? She could have killed him with this stuff.
“No. I begged her to please stop after the last time he got sick. She said it had done the job and she didn’t need it anymore.” Thank goodness, for Phantom’s sake.
“She said, she didn’t need it anymore?” Dez’s mind started to race. She had heard of women making their children sick, but not their child’s pony. What was it called? “Munchausen’s by proxy.” But why? All it did was give her big vet bills. Who would want that? Oh my god, what an idiot I am. She did it to get me out here – all those late night calls. Of course she gave her own shots, as that way no one would know what she was injecting into Phantom. Dez’s heart started to pound. If she would risk nearly killing her child’s pony, what else was she capable of?
Dez needed to talk to Sally right away. She needed to explain that the two of them were never going to work. Then she remembered the missing drugs out of her truck. She had chalked it up to being forgetful when restocking, but now that she thought about it, she noticed not only the Atropine, but a half empty bottle of Ketamine had come up missing. Both drugs weren’t used that much so their disappearance was not as obvious as the drugs she used every day.
“Megan, I need to talk to your mother. If you see her later, please tell her I must talk to her right away.” In the meantime, Dez was going to drive to school and hope she could catch Sally there. She would try to get her on her cell phone, but first she needed to get out of this “No Service Valley” a.s.a.p.
“Okay, are you done with Phantom? Can I ride him?” Megan had a hopeful look on her face.
“Sure. A nice long walk will help disperse the vaccines. But that’s it. He may not feel all that great tomorrow so check his temperature before you do anything with him, and put his food up in his feeder as his neck may be sore from the shots, Okay?” Dez knew Megan knew all of this but it never hurt to mention it again.
Taylorwood (Alexandria Whitney Mystery) Page 16