by Carys Jones
Brandy jumped at his touch. He’d surprised her. But what was more surprising was the realization that she’d spent the better part of an hour staring into the cupboards.
“What time is it?” she asked with a start.
“Quarter past five,” Aiden explained as he moved past her to drop his briefcase on to the table. He glanced around at the open cupboards and noticed Brandy’s pained expression.
“Is everything alright?”
Brandy nodded stiffly but her lips pulled into a sharp line.
“Are you sure?” Aiden took a step towards her and placed his hands on her slight shoulders.
“How come all the cupboards are open?”
Brandy’s lower lip started to tremble.
“I…,” She cleared her throat nervously. “I was just trying to get to know my way around your kitchen. Trying to learn where everything was but…” her entire body crumpled and she raised a hand to her temple and sighed.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Aiden asked tenderly.
“It’s everything!” Brandy shook herself loose of his grip and stepped back from him. “It’s this kitchen, this house, this place!”
She gestured around the room as she spoke.
“I wanted to cook you dinner, to make this place feel homely but I can’t because this isn’t my home, it’s hers. Everywhere I go she’s there. I feel like an … intruder!”
Brandy thought of the apartment she had left back in Chicago. A space which had firmly been hers. Now she was a stranger in a home living in another woman’s shadow and it was taking its toll on her.
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
“I’m not being ridiculous!” Brandy cried defensively. “This was her home, Aiden. Where she lived with you, with your daughter. She chose the drapes, the carpets. She made this place a home and now I’m here like some imposter! I hate myself sometimes!”
Frustrated tears glistened in Brandy’s dark eyes.
“First of all, she didn’t choose the drapes, or the carpets. Nothing has been done to the house since I moved here. Second, you are not an imposter! Don’t ever hate yourself!”
“Then why keep me locked inside like some secret shame?” Brandy shot at him, her pooled tears now burning against the heat of the accusation. “I’ve not been out once, Aiden! And this was my home town once!”
“I didn’t think you’d want to go out!” Aiden defended himself. “I thought you wanted to remain here, away from the judgement of Avalon.”
“I did, I do!” Brandy threw her hands in to the air in frustration. “I was building a life for myself in Chicago…” The anger in her eyes thawed into sorrow. Slowly she lowered herself in to a nearby dining chair.
“I had my piano and the salon. I had purpose. I was discovering who I was. Here, it’s like I’m Brandy White again instead of being Brandy Cotton. I just sit in a house all day and wait for my man to return.”
She dropped her head in o her hands. Aiden placed a comforting hand on her back and pulled another chair up beside her.
“I didn’t know you felt like that.”
“I want to feel proud to be here.” Brandy lifted her head and wiped some stray tears from her cheeks.
“I want to walk the streets of Avalon and hold my head up high. I want to keep playing my piano and I want your house to feel like home.”
“And it will,” Aiden insisted, reaching forward and tucking a stray lock of bright-blonde hair behind her ear.
“It takes time to adjust,” he sympathized. “And you’re right, this house should feel like home to you. Tomorrow, let’s go to Home Depot and you can pick out everything you like. Hell, you can even order a piano online if you like!”
“Really?” Brandy’s face brightened, revealing her magnetic smile which instantly lit up the room.
But her smile quickly died on her lips as she furrowed her brow and looked at Aiden with concern pinching at the edge of her eyes.
“I can’t just take your money, Aiden. I have some of my own to pay for things but not much. I need to pay my own way. I can’t be a kept woman like I was with Brandon.”
A chill shot down her spine upon saying her deceased husband’s name. Brandy did her best to banish the sensation and focus on Aiden’s loving, attentive gaze.
“We’ll figure it all out,” Aiden promised her. “You most certainly will not be a kept woman. You’re a gifted piano player and I’ve no doubt you could earn money from that.”
Brandy nodded hesitantly.
“I just want you to be happy.” Aiden edged closer to her so that their noses were almost touching. “We’ve both suffered in unhappy marriages which means we’ll work harder to make this relationship work.”
“So we’ll go pick some stuff out at Home Depot?” Brandy clearly couldn’t hide her excitement at the prospect as her eyes glistened and a faint smile tugged on her ruby lips.
“We’ll get whatever you want,” Aiden grinned. He was so close Brandy could smell his cologne which was still strong even after a day in the office. He smelled so good. Brandy wanted to reach out and pinch his cheek to make sure he was real. She’d wanted this for so long; for their life together. But she was quickly learning that even happy endings aren’t perfect.
“I love you,” she whispered into the small space between them. Her heart swelled as she released the sentiment. Chicago offered her everything she’d ever wanted; except Aiden. She’d moved her entire life for him but she didn’t regret it. Love was so rare and precious she knew it was worth fighting for, worth moving for.
“I love you too,” Aiden echoed. Then he reached for the back of her head and drew her lips against his. At first the kiss was soft and delicate, but it quickly deepened. Brandy lost herself in Aiden’s embrace, managing to forget all about her anxieties over living in Avalon.
*
“Mommy, who that man?” Meegan asked, her eyes rounded with curiosity. She was holding her third doll, the one which had come via the stranger.
“I’ve told you,” Isla rolled her eyes at her daughter’s reflection as she sat at her vanity unit and applied her make-up in the mirror.
From the bed Meegan watched her mother get ready for a night out and bunched her face up in confusion.
“Who that man?” she repeated, stroking the hair of her new doll. Her small legs kicked over the edge of the bed and she spluttered slightly against the overly perfumed air surrounding Isla. But she refused to go back to her own room. She loved watching her mother get ready and apply her make-up, it was like watching a magic show. At the start her mother was normal but by the end she looked like a princess.
“How many times?” Isla uttered in annoyance. “His name is Guy, okay? Now, do you want Mommy to put some blusher on your cheeks or not?”
Meegan eagerly hopped off the bed with a giggle and raised her dimpled cheeks up towards her mother’s large brush which was dusted with rose-tinted powder.
*
The nearest Home Depot was located about an hour outside of Avalon. Brandy wound down the car windows as they drove, savoring the sensation of the warm air pressing against her cheeks and dancing through her hair. In Chicago the air always felt heavy as though it were weighed down by too many scents. Here the air was lighter, purer. It smelled of heated Tarmac and Brandy found it oddly comforting.
Aiden drummed his hands against the steering wheel in time to the country song which was playing on the radio. Brandy arched an eyebrow in his direction as she noticed the absent smile he wore as he mirrored the rhythm with his hands.
“Since when do you like country music?” she laughed. Aiden ceased drumming, his cheeks turning red.
“I guess it has grown on me since I’ve moved here,” he explained, his hands now still against the wheel.
“Country music is the best music,” Brandy enthused as she stretched back in her seat and briefly hummed along to the melody.
“It’s sung by real people who understand real pain,” she continued.
They dr
ove on without saying another word, letting the music from the radio fill the space between them. Brandy continued to hum along and after several minutes Aiden resumed drumming his hands on the steering wheel.
*
The parking lot for Home Depot was about half full which wasn’t that surprising considering it was late on a Saturday morning. Aiden stepped out and stretched, his limbs grateful for the release after an hour behind the wheel.
“Wow, it’s pretty big,” Brandy observed as she took in the vast building looming up at the far end of the parking lot. It was modest in design but not in scale. It’s flat roof and long bare walls cut an imposing figure on the landscape.
Aiden compared the building to Eastham Prison where he had first met Brandy. It gave off the same feeling of being a structure built for a sole purpose; to house something within. There was no warmth to the building, no unnecessary embellishments. The store’s logo was attached to the far end of the wall, just above the entrance. Everything seemed simple and functional, just like they had at the prison.
“Not the most pleasant place to look at, is it?” Brandy turned and asked, her tone bright. Aiden wondered if perhaps she had made the same comparison as he had. But the sparkle in her eyes convinced him otherwise. She seemed only to be brimming with excitement.
“There must be so much stuff inside!” Brandy continued as they walked towards the entrance. Aiden could already feel his skin heating beneath the exposed sun.
“Have you never been here before?” he wondered as he slipped his own hand against Brandy’s and intertwined their fingers. His pulse quickened upon the connection but he tried to appear calm and collected but he couldn’t deny the thrill which sparked through him, igniting all his senses. He felt like all his emotions were being jumbled together as if he were a teenager with a crush.
Brandy squeezed his hand and gave him a shy smile. Her cheeks were slightly flushed which pleased Aiden; clearly holding his hand had the same effect on her.
“No, I’ve erm…not been before,” Brandy answered as they moved out of the heat and into the welcome cool of the store. The sudden change in temperature was almost unnerving. Aiden’s previously warme skin instantly broke out in goose bumps.
“I didn’t really get out much when I was in Avalon,” Brandy added with an edge of melancholy. Aiden released her hand so that he could wrap his arm around her shoulders.
“Well I’m going to take you everywhere!” he promised with a sincere smile.
“I look forward to it.”
They grabbed a shopping cart and sauntered behind it as they went deeper into the store. Together they drifted down the aisles as if in a dream. They were oblivious to the other shoppers around them; lost in their own private world.
Brandy cooed and giggled over various items she found and the cart soon began to fill up with curtains, cushions and tins of paint. Aiden watched in quiet awe as Brandy excitedly wandered up yet another aisle, approaching everything with childlike wonder. He envied her ability to always see the good in the world, he also admired it. Despite everything she’d been through; the hardships of her early life, the brutality of her first marriage and finally being wrongly accused of murder, she still retained a bright, optimistic outlook. The life she’d endured would have crushed most people’s spirits but Brandy had arose from the ashes like a golden phoenix; powerful and beautiful.
“What about this?” Brandy was holding a scented candle jar. She drew it up to her nose and sniffed deeply. Her face crinkled slightly and then she smiled.
“Ooh, it smells like winter,” she gushed approvingly. “Smell it!” she held out the candle to Aiden and he lowered himself so that he could sniff the colored wax. He had to admit that it did indeed smell of winter. There were hints of pine needles with undertones of candy cane.
“It would be a nice candle to light at Christmas,” Brandy was holding the candle up to her eye line, turning it round and scrutinizing it in great detail as though it were some wondrous artefact she had just discovered.
“Well what have we here?” The smile which Aiden had been wearing promptly fell. His entire body stiffened as he turned in the direction of the voice; a voice he knew all too well.
A feeling of dread washed over Aiden as he glanced down the aisle and saw Clyde White standing just behind him. He was holding a basket in which a few modest items had been placed. Clyde looked first at Aiden and then his gaze passed to Brandy.
Aiden wanted to grab Brandy’s hand, turn and run back down the long aisle, whisking her away from Clyde White and his cruel judgement. The goliath within Avalon’s community would surely still hold a grudge against her, refusing to accept that she wasn’t to blame for his beloved son, Brandon’s death. The blame for the crime lay with the real killer, Father West, but like most of Avalon, Clyde was reluctant to accept such a truth.
“Out for a little shopping trip?” Clyde asked. He delivered the question pleasantly enough but his words were dripping with malice. His hand tightened its grip on his basket as his eyes darkened and narrowed.
Brandy nervously dropped the candle she had been holding into the shopping cart and stood behind it, using it as a barrier between her and Clyde.
“I see you’ve bought the Whore of Babylon with you,” Clyde remarked cruelly. Aiden clenched his jaw and reminded himself to remain calm.
“I didn’t even know your wife had left town,” Clyde continued. “I bet her bed is still warm. Are there no depths you won’t sink to?” He lifted his gaze to deliver the question directly to Brandy.
“Leave her alone,” Aiden ordered sternly, instinctively wanting to protect Brandy from Clyde’s barbed words.
“So are you two like a thing now?” Clyde spoke with a supercilious air.
“Yes,” Aiden nodded. “We’re together.” He knew it was going to come out sooner or later. In less than an hour all of Avalon would know and they’d be waiting at his home upon his return with their pitchforks sharpened. But he loved Brandy; there was no shame in that. Yet his cheeks burned and he wasn’t sure it was solely from anger.
“Did you run his poor wife out of town?” Clyde sneered as he addressed Brandy, his contempt for her obvious.
“You always were a wicked little viper. Be careful.” His stony gaze flickered back to Aiden. “This one will ruin you like she did my son.”
“Clyde…” Aiden raised his hands in a placating gesture but Brandy jumped in before he could continue.
“I’m just trying to get on with my life, Mr White! Avalon was my home once and I’m hoping it can be again. I don’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Avalon will never be your home!” Clyde spat the words through barely parted lips. “You’ll always be hated here. You’re a fool to return.”
He gave the couple one last hateful look before turning back down the corridor. But then he paused, briefly turning on his heel as if forgetting something.
“I hope you see him everywhere you go,” he barked, the veins on his neck beginning to tremble. Aiden held his breath. He was willing the older man to leave, not to stir any further trouble and cause a scene.
“I know I do,” he added somewhat sadly, his head lowering. Then he continued to walk away. He’d almost reached the end of the aisle when he plucked his cell phone from his pocket. Aiden shuddered as he realized the judgement he’d soon be facing from everyone in Avalon. He was least looking forward to explaining himself to Betty. They were in such a good place professionally now; all that would be undone.
Brandy sniffed and wiped a hand across her eyes, slightly smudging the mascara she’d carefully applied that morning.
“Are you okay?” The sound brought Aiden back to the present. He reached for her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“I’ll always be hated here,” Brandy stated bleakly. She looked up towards the fluorescent lights overhead, blinking rapidly.
“Don’t listen to Clyde White, he’s just a bitter old man.”
“He’s wrong anyway.�
� Brandy lowered her head, satisfied that she’d overpowered her need to weep. “I don’t see Brandon anywhere,” she said defiantly. “We didn’t go anywhere together, at least not during our marriage. He doesn’t haunt my steps.”
“Good.” Aiden leaned down and kissed her cheek. “You’re unbelievably tough, Brandy.”
“We’re both going to have to be tough.” Brandy sighed. “Soon all of Avalon will know I’m back and then we’ll have Clyde times ten to deal with.”
She looked down in to the shopping cart and her shoulders slumped.
“Can we just pay and go home now? I’m done with shopping for today.”
*
Aiden was tired long before his head hit in the pillow. The intense heat of the day had managed to linger into the night and so the bedroom window was cracked open, the newly hung curtains dancing reluctantly in the breeze.
In the darkness where dreams are made, Aiden hoped to find respite from the stresses of the day but instead he found only further turmoil.
He was standing in the middle of a rain-slicked road. It was dark but light enough for him to make out the distant silhouettes of trees. It was eerily silent. The air felt charged with unseen energy, like the calm before a storm.
“Aiden!” a voice hissed directly in his ear and Aiden turned with a start. His heart was hammering madly in his chest, frantically flooding his system with adrenalin to enable him to either fight or take flight.
Justin Thompson was standing beside Aiden, his hair flattened against his head. Not from rain but from blood. Aiden realized with horror that half of Justin’s face was awash with blood which seemed to pour off him like an angry, relentless river.
“Don’t just leave me,” Justin begged. His voice now sounded distant despite his body’s proximity to Aiden. He reached for his friend and Aiden gasped as he saw his hand. The skin had been crudely torn away to reveal the bright white of bone which now clasped Aiden’s shoulder. The skeletal fingers gripped him with surprising force.