So Then There Were None

by Annie Adams

“You really need to go to bed,” Alex said.

  And that’s the last thing I remember from the wedding night.

  Chapter Six

  The next morning, I started the process of waking up, having slept through the night, but not able to snap into the present moment without a little coaxing of my brain. This was fairly usual for me, but my reluctance to leave the sleep world seemed even more enhanced whenever I took any kind of medication like the “mickey” K.C. had slipped me the night before.

  Those types of medications also messed with my dreams, turning vivid colorful scenes into dark nightmares where my loved ones turned against me. One particular dream stood out enough that when I woke, I was so angry at Alex, even though I knew it was just a dream, that I had to continue to wipe away my tears for the next few minutes. I couldn’t shake the images of us, on our wedding day. Me walking down the aisle, escorted by my father, Alex standing at the altar, waiting for me. My family sat on one side, his on the other. K.C. stood next to the officiant. Jerome the dog, wearing a circlet of rosebuds with a little pillow tied to the top, sat patiently next to K.C. Our rings sparkled from the center of the velvety pillow.

  When I reached the end of the aisle, I handed my gorgeous, trailing cascade bouquet to K.C., and then turned to face Alex. But something was wrong. I could see it in his eyes. I asked him what was wrong. He very callously told me that he had changed his mind about marrying me, and that he was leaving right at that moment with his new girlfriend, Kourtnee. Or was it Candee? Or Sydnee? It was one of the ‘ees.’ And if that wasn’t devastating enough, his family and mine acted like it was no big deal. In fact, they all went up and congratulated him and ‘ee, edging me out of the picture. I called to Jerome, who remained my one loyal friend, and we escaped through the side door and hid in the stairwell. He tried to lick my tears away and I buried my face in his fur, as I felt incapable of believing my wonderful, sweet, Alex could betray me so coldly and publicly.

  As I woke, the beginnings of reality trickled into my consciousness, but the dream was still so raw and fresh. I felt almost inconsolable, and I wanted to reach out, and cuddle with Alex just to prove to myself it had indeed been only a dream.

  The bedroom was still dark. The only light came from the glow of the alarm clock on my side of the bed, which read five in the morning. I heard Alex snoring away next to me, which was unusual for him, unless he had worked extremely long hours or done hard physical labor. This wedding counted for at least one of the two, so I was sure he couldn’t help but snore. Not wanting to wake him, I decided to wait to cuddle, but reached back and found his hand and gave it the lightest squeeze. He rewarded me by draping his arm over me. I fell back asleep, comforted in the knowledge I had only had a nightmare and that he was still by my side.

  Later that morning, I woke to the sounds of someone stirring around in the room. A sliver of yellow light emanated from the gap left from the open bathroom door. I caught a view of the back of Alex’s t-shirt, which he filled out oh, so well, as he quietly snuck into the bathroom.

  A feeling of contentment washed over me and I closed my eyes and snuggled in to Alex’s warm embrace.

  Wait a minute…

  My eyes flew open and I flipped over on my other side. I was face to face with K.C. and her sleeping mask. I shrieked loudly, and so did she. We sat up simultaneously, her mask still firmly in place over her eyes, both of us still yelling.

  Alex rushed in from the bathroom with nothing but a towel hurriedly cinched around his waist, the ends of it haphazardly clamped together in his fist.

  He’d flicked the light switch, yet K.C.’s arms continued to flail as she groped her way through the dark caused by her mask.

  “What’s wrong?” Alex said.

  “Who’s there?” K.C. shouted. “Stay back, dirtbag! I know Karate.”

  “Take off your mask,” I said quietly, in an attempt to calm things down.

  “Are you okay?” Alex asked.

  I saw K.C. lift the corner of her mask in my peripheral vision. She must have seen Alex in his towel because she let the mask drop back in place and continued groping in a wider swath.

  “Nice try, K.C.,” I said.

  She propped the mask on her forehead and shrugged innocently.

  “I’m sorry for the scare,” I said. I looked at Alex. “The last thing I remember was dancing with you…on the stairs?”

  Alex shook his head and tried not to laugh.

  “No?” I said.

  “No. I’m going to go finish in the bathroom. K.C., you wanna fill her in?”

  “I’d rather you stay here and do it,” she said.

  “What would my buddy Fred say?” he asked.

  “Oh, alright. Spoilsport.” She did a full-face wink and waved him out of the room then turned toward me. “You might be wondering why I’m still here.”

  I gave her a look as if to say, understatement of the year.

  “First of all—don’t panic.”

  Who doesn’t panic when they hear that as the lead sentence?

  “Wh…y?” I held my breath trying to prepare for the blow. It had to be bad. Why else would they be talking this way?

  “Last night after you conked out... oh, it was so cute how Alex carried you up the stairs and put you down ever so gently on the bed.”

  “I thought we were dancing on the steps—anyway, back to the bad news.”

  K.C. laughed. “Oh, no you silly girl. Your beau was practically dragging you up the stairs you were so knackered with that pill I gave you—sorry again for that. He just lifted you up as if it were nothin’ and took you to the room. After he tucked you in we went downstairs and cut a rug.”

  “K.C., why are you still here?” It came out a little too loudly. “Not that I mind! I just need to know what’s wrong.”

  “Listen to me rattle on. Sorry, kid, the van is kaput.”

  “What?”

  “I took one of the last boats out, and Alex, ever the gentleman went with me. He’s quite a dancer, maybe he doesn’t know all the steps, but—”

  “Um, K.C.,” my froggy morning voice rattled out, “the van?”

  “Oh, my goodness. Yes, I guess I’m hungover on a good time. I went to start her and she was dead as my aunt Zelda’s cat. Didn’t even turn over.”

  “Zombie Sue,” I whispered. “Does Fred know you’re here?”

  “Oh yes. I used the phone in the kitchen to call out and let him know I was stuck. It was so late, anyway. Probably best I wasn’t on the roads. I partied too hardy. I sure appreciate Alex giving up his comfortable spot.” She rolled out of bed and put on a guest robe from the closet. “Oh, and Jerome says hello and that he’s having a wonderful time getting all the treats he wants from Uncle Fred and that you’re not to come home yet.”

  “Are you sure Fred doesn’t mind?”

  “Absolutely. He’s having a great time and Shim the cat loves your little guy too. He purrs and rubs against his legs and walks underneath of him to the other side.”

  Alex came out of the bathroom all dressed and handsome as ever. He hadn’t shaved and the day old look definitely suited him. But what look didn’t?

  “Good morning, sunshine. You too, Q,” he said, then winked. “Are you back in the land of the living?” He sat down next to me on the bed and kissed my cheek. He wasn’t much for public displays of affection, even though he knew K.C. very well.

  “Aww. Now aren’t you two the sweetest thing around? If you don’t mind, I’ll head on into the bathroom and shower and put my face on.”

  Alex and I exchanged pointed glances and tried not to laugh as she passed us. Her make-up from the night before had streaked down her cheeks and around her eyes. She looked like an evil clown.

  “I heard you and K.C. danced the night away,” I said.

  “I like to boogie down,” he said, straight-faced.

  “Oh my lord in heaven!” K.C. shrieked from the bathroom.

  Alex’s chin quivered as he tried to hold in his laugh.

>   “She must have looked in the mirror,” I said, then cringed. I shielded my face with my hands.

  He took my hands away. “You look beautiful as always.” He tipped his head and kissed me and I immediately worried about repulsive morning breath, but that thought melted away as he continued to kiss me and I kissed him back. He leaned in and I lay back on the bed underneath of him. His gentle weight melted into me. It was something I had looked forward to for so long. And something I would have to continue to wait for, considering K.C. could come out any minute depending how long it took to apply her face after the shower.

  I stopped kissing him for a second and he paused to look at me. His eyes took on an otherworldly depth. I couldn’t help myself. I pulled him back into me and met his mouth with mine. I heard the shower stop but K.C. continued to sing at the top of her lungs.

  “She’s going to come out here any minute,” I said.

  “What’s that? Did someone say something? I didn’t think so.” His hands had found their way under my t-shirt.

  “Since when have I been wearing this shirt?”

  “Huh?”

  “I don’t remember putting this on.”

  “You didn’t.” He rolled onto his side and propped himself up with his elbow and gave me a look. “Killjoy.”

  I smiled. “This is the t-shirt you gave me.”

  “I know,” he said.

  “You didn’t…”

  “Didn’t what?” He looked so devilish when he gave me his innocent look.

  “K.C. said you both came upstairs with me last night.”

  “And?”

  “And you just undressed me, saw my fancy underwear and all that?”

  One side of his mouth curled into a salacious grin. “Oh, yeah. I sure did. Do you have a problem with that?”

  I knew he could see the look of apprehension on my face. “It’s just that—”

  “I’ve seen you in a lot less,” he said as he trailed a finger down the front of my shirt.

  “The thought of K.C. being here too is just…”

  “That would be weird,” he said. “She just made sure you were okay and then left. I had you all to myself.”

  “Oh good. Wait a minute. I was unconscious. What else did you do?”

  He laughed. “I was a perfect gentleman as always. I thought of a few things to do when you woke up, though.” He lowered his mouth to my ear. “Would you like me to show you what I thought of?” he said in a deep whisper that vibrated at my earlobe and traveled throughout the rest of my body.

  I swallowed slowly.

  The phone next to the bed rang, startling us both. Alex groaned and reached across my body to pick it up.

  “Yes, Pam she’s right here.” He rolled away from me. The look of exasperation on his face echoed my sentiments. “Okay, yeah, we’ll be right down.”

  “She didn’t want to talk to me?” I said.

  “No, she just wanted to know if you were still here.”

  “She was going to come upstairs and ravish you, but I got in the way, I take it.”

  “Something like that,” he said.

  “You don’t look too disturbed by her intrusion.”

  He shrugged. “A guy likes to be noticed.”

  “What? I thought I was giving you plenty of notice just before she called.” I knew he was just joking, but there was a little, tiny, part of the old me who didn’t think it was very funny.

  “Oh c’mon, Q. I was just joking. Come over here. Let me—”

  “No.” I looked at him and his eyes flashed. A line of electricity sparked between the two of us that made it suddenly hard to breathe. I slowly got up on my knees on the bed. Every noise and every sensation became hyper-intense. He swayed a fraction of an inch toward me and I let out a little shriek. I don’t know why, it just came out. I grabbed the nearest pillow.

  My heart pounded. “Don’t you come any closer,” I said through a smile. I wanted the opposite, of course, but if he were to get anywhere near me it would be game over. We’d both have to remove all of our clothes and do some very indecent things, no matter who was in the bathroom, ready to walk in on us.

  He reached toward me, like he was going to crawl across the bed and grab me. I tossed the pillow in his direction.

  “Holy cats! What’s happened, you two? One day together and you’re already fighting?”

  Saved by K.C. But, this hadn’t turned out as the romantic getaway we’d planned, and if we didn’t get out of here soon, one of us was going to blow.

  “I’m going to head downstairs and see about calling Fred and then wrangling up some grub,” K.C. said.

  Alex placed the pillow back on the bed. “Pam just called. They’ve got breakfast downstairs for everyone.”

  “Why don’t you two go down there while I get dressed?” I said.

  “Just throw something on, we’ll all go down together,” Alex said.

  “Oh no. Haven’t you noticed the competition around here? I’m down in the count. I’ve got to make up some ground.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Q. What competition?”

  K.C. jammed her fists on her hips. “I cannot stand to have you two at each other like this. I’m going downstairs and you two can stay here and make up. Take all the time you need, I’ll make sure they save some breakfast for you.”

  Alex shook his head as she left. “What is she talking about? We’re not fighting.”

  “I know. She gets some funny ideas sometimes.” I rubbed my face with the back of my hand. “If this stubble burn is any indication, it’s certainly not fighting we were just doing.”

  “Oh, yeah, where were we?”

  I held up my hand and kept him at arm’s length. “I was just about to get ready. Seriously, go downstairs and eat. I’ll be there—relatively soon.”

  He took my hand from his chest and took my other hand too. He held them in his between us. “Babe, I’m serious. What do you mean by competition?”

  The old me wanted to let the flood gates open, but the new me thought the old me was probably going to say things she would end up regretting.

  “Never-mind.”

  “Oh-ho, no. When a woman says never-mind, that’s code for something’s pissing her off and she’s going to stew about until she takes my head off.”

  “You’ve got a lot of experience with pissing women off?” The new me put the closed sign on the front door and took off for the day.

  “Maybe. He sighed and gave me a long look. “Say what you really want to say, Quincy.”

  “You act so gullible. All these women have been throwing themselves at you. And do they have to all be so gorgeous? It’s like I’m at the house of the models in a reality show, but I’m the ghoulish hired hand they all feel sorry for.”

  “Take it down a notch, Quasimodo. If they really are throwing themselves at me, then I’m the innocent victim here, aren’t I?”

  Suddenly, the air had become very still. I may have heard crickets. Was that a tumbleweed rolling by?

  “Okay…” he closed his eyes for a moment. “Sorry. That sounded ridiculous.”

  Maybe so, but he was mostly right. Damn him.

  “I’m sorry,” I said.

  “Me too. Listen. The wedding is over, we can try to enjoy this weekend before we have to go home. And before we have to go back to work. Let’s be together for the rest of our time here. Okay?”

  I nodded, then gave him a hug. “Okay.”

  I sent Alex downstairs after his stomach grumbled loud enough to hear it back home. I assured him I would be right downstairs. Just as soon as I figured out what to wear.

  Everything I owned could’ve been featured in a magazine fashion shoot. For the next farm-supply catalogue.

  I finally settled on some dark, well-fitting jeans that my sister, Allie helped me pick out, and a linen blouse my best friend Danny brought back for me from a trip to Italy. No one at this party had to know I couldn’t have picked these things out in a million years.
>
  I made one last check that my engagement ring was still on my finger and intact—a habit I repeated several times a day after the scare I’d recently had when I thought my dog had eaten it—and grabbed the key card for the door when the room phone rang.

  I begrudgingly decided to pick it up after a few rings in case it was Alex.

  “Alex, are you coming?” I didn’t recognize the female voice on the other line. It was met by a heavy sigh by me, and then the sound of the receiver being slammed down on the phone. I wouldn’t be taking a message.

  Chapter Seven

  “Why didn’t you go on the hike with the other guys?” I heard one of the girls ask Alex as I sat next to him in the garden room. The buffet had been set up with breakfast foods, including giant, buttery croissants and jams made from locally sourced wild blackberries. We’d signed up for the meal ahead of time, knowing we were staying the weekend.

  “Yes? Why didn’t you go on the hike?” I asked.

  “And miss out on being the only fish in a sea full of beautiful sharks?” K.C. quipped. The others laughed and she winked at Alex.

  I leaned in and said quietly, “Really, though, how come you didn’t go?”

  “We came to spend the weekend together. I’m doing what I want to do.” He flashed a smile that stabbed me right in the heart.

  I’d just spent what little time we had alone worrying about who he’d been flirting with, while he was skipping out on a good time with the guys. All for my benefit.

  I really needed to find the phone number for the new me.

  “I’m so sorry—” I began.

  “No more sorrys.” He picked up a strawberry and held it up to see if I was interested.

  “Thank you,” I said as I took it, trying to explain with my eyes that I wasn’t just grateful for the strawberry.

  “Are you sure you’ve got enough for me to join in?” K.C. asked.

  “Not a problem at all,” Pam said. “As you can see, our numbers are low this morning. Probably has something to do with everyone going to bed only a few hours ago.”

  The doors to the garden room were flung open. “I don’t care what the reason is,” Audra said to Eva as they walked to the buffet. “She knows she has a problem and she’s a big girl. She can do what she wants to her body, but I’m not bailing her out again. I’m done with her.”