by Helen Styles
“This isn’t about winning or losing. It’s about that man out there becoming obsessed, and obsession is a dangerous thing.”
“Maybe I’ll think about it after we set a date.”
“Chuck came in here four mornings in a row after you dumped him, just to irritate you. Why would he start again?”
“I don’t know.” Avery said, her big eyes staring into Joanne’s.
“Obsession, that’s why. He knows you’ve moved on, and now he wants you back even more. It’s the making of a true crime movie if you ask me!” She said and fanned herself with the napkin again. Mr. Trevor walked into the kitchen at that moment with a scowl on his face.
“Why is that Neanderthal in this restaurant again, Avery?”
“I didn’t invite him, sir.” She replied in a small voice.
His face softened and he looked at Joanne. “Table six wants some dessert.”
Joanne left without a word and Mr. Trevor looked at Avery uncomfortably before speaking. “Avery, I know this isn’t your fault, but if he causes trouble again, I will call the police this time.”
“By all means do.”
He nodded and cracked his neck on each side. Mr. Trevor was a man of slight build and Avery knew the size of Chuck alone could be intimidating. “He’s the only table in your section right now, so why don’t you stay back here and take a break.” He turned to leave and looked back at her. “Don’t worry, Avery. One day this whole thing will be behind you.”
“I hope so.” she whispered.
When Joel came to pick her up, she decided not to mention Chuck coming to the restaurant. They drove in near silence that Avery attributed to them both still being tired from the trip. What she didn’t know was that Joel had returned to her apartment building around midnight, and parked across the street. He stayed there until after three in the morning, just watching the front of her building.
He took her near the historic district to a small jewelry shop that Avery had ogled on several of her window shopping expeditions. When they stepped into the store her feet sank into thick red carpet, and all of the display cases shimmered and glowed with beautiful pieces of jewelry. Joel took her hand in his, and they began slowly scanning the case with wedding and engagement rings. Avery liked everyone she saw. A woman in her mid-thirties appeared before them with a polished smile and her manicured hands folded in front of her.
“When is the happy day?” she asked with a slight accent. Avery thought it sounded German.
Joel looked at her and grinned. “The sooner the better, but we haven’t set a date yet.”
The woman nodded and turned her attention to Avery. “Shame on you, Miss, for keeping this man waiting!” She winked and Avery smiled bashfully. “Now, what are you looking for?”
“I don’t really know, they’re all so beautiful.”
Joel grabbed her around the waist and pointed to a yellow gold set that was inlaid with designs of white gold. “That one is really pretty.”
Avery nodded and asked to see it. The engagement ring was a princess cut and fit her finger perfectly. She thought the design work on the band looked like ocean waves and she was in love with it. She looked up at Joel and smiled.
“Is there a wedding band for me that would match?”
The woman nodded and reached under the glass to a wider duplicate of the band in Avery’s hand.
“I really like it, how much for all three?”
The woman retrieved a calculator from under the counter and began punching in numbers. She looked at Joel with a smile. “They are only $3,069, for all three.”
“Great! Do you finance or should I…” he was interrupted by Avery handing the rings back to the woman.
“Can we see something else please?”
“Certainly.” She said and placed the rings back in the case on their velvet fingers.
“What are you doing? You don’t like them?” Joel whispered.
“I love them, but it’s too expensive! I don’t need something like that.”
Joel looked at her a moment. “No, you don’t think you deserve it.”
Avery didn’t respond and followed the woman to the other end of the counter. The three of them talked for over thirty minutes, but Avery couldn’t decide what to do. To her they were all too expensive. At one point she picked a tiny diamond that was only $199.00, but Joel ran a hand over his face and told the sales lady to not even bring it out.
“Avery, I want you to have nice rings! Hell, I want a nice ring!”
“Ok, get yourself one, but please don’t spend much on mine.”
Joel was frustrated and Avery knew it. “Let’s go get ice cream at that cute little shop across the street and we can think about it.”
“We close at eight.” The woman offered.
Joel took a step towards her and mumbled something that Avery was sure was a complaint about her. The woman nodded curtly and winked again. She didn’t seem bothered by Avery’s indecision.
While they were in the ice cream shop they still couldn’t come to an agreement about the rings, but Avery noticed that Joel was only arguing halfheartedly. Avery told him she needed to go the restroom, and Joel smiled and said he would just meet her at the car. When Avery came out she could see Joel’s car still parked in front of the Jewelry shop but he wasn’t in it. She crossed the street and looked through the front glass of the jewelry shop. Joel was signing a slip of paper and when he was finished, he slid it across the counter and the sales lady handed him a small bag with a smile on her face.
When Joel walked out of the shop he too had a smile on his face. Avery crossed her arms and tossed her hair back with a snap of her neck. “You bought them anyway, didn’t you?”
Joel looked a bit sheepish but couldn’t stop smiling. “I want you to have nice things.” He set the little bag on the hood of his car and pulled a small black velvet box from the bag. He opened it in front of her, and she could see the beautiful white and gold rings sparkling under the street light. Joel took the engagement ring of the set out of the box and reached for her hand. Avery will never forget how it felt when he slid the ring onto her finger. Chuck had picked her ring and tossed it to her from across the table of a McDonalds. This was completely different.
Joel looked down at her hand and rubbed her knuckle with his thumb just above the ring. “It looks good on you. I can’t wait to wear mine.”
“I can’t wait to wear my other one!” Avery giggled.
“Come on; let’s go back to my house. Excuse me, our house. I want you to decide what kind of decorating we need. Oh, and we need to pick a date!”
The house was far cuter than she had imagined. It was tucked into the end of a cul-de-sac with trees behind it and nice azalea bushes in the front. The house was painted a light green and blended in nicely with the surroundings. Avery noticed a round window just above the door, causing her to fall completely in love.
“Joel, it’s wonderful! The bushes will be gorgeous in the spring!”
He unlocked the front door with a smile and gave her the tour. “As you can see there is a living room, kitchen, and this tiny room to your right is supposed to be a dining room, but for the life of me I don’t know why. It’s too small. Upstairs are the two bedrooms and bath.” He led her up the stairs to the bedrooms, and she was impressed with their size.
“It’s wonderful, Joel!” she hugged him tightly before pulling him back down the stairs. “I was thinking,” she said as she walked, “that maybe the wall that separates the kitchen and dining room could be knocked out. It would open the space up.”
Joel looked at what she was talking about and turned to either side. “It would, and the best part is how open the entire first floor would become.”
Avery nodded and grinned. “I just made my first decorating decision!”
It was after midnight before Joel dropped her off in front of her building. They were both tired but excited about the future.
“Ok.” Joel said turning slightly in the driver’s seat. “I’m
going to set something up with my parents for this weekend. I’ll shoot for Saturday night.”
Avery nodded. “Should I dress up for the first time meeting?”
“Wear whatever makes you comfortable.” He said with a grin. “You’re marrying me not them. I personally like those tight little pink yoga pants.”
Avery smacked his arm. “Well, I’m not wearing those!”
“What a shame. Anyway, call your mother. We can plan on going to see her the following weekend.”
Avery’s face became serious. “Do we have to?”
“Yes. I need to meet her at least once.”
“You can meet her at the wedding, if she comes that is.”
“Of course she will, and don’t worry about the wedding. We can make it as big or as small as you want it.”
“I told you, Joanne will more in likely be my only bridesmaid.”
“Sounds good! I have a friend from high school still whom will stand as my best man.”
“Really? Who’s that?”
“John Hensley.”
“Oh my goodness!” Avery said and slapped the tops of her thighs. “I had forgotten about him! He was your best friend!”
“Yeah, he still is. He lives in Canada now, and if he can’t get here, I’ll have my father stand in. So, as you can see, this will be a cake walk.” His grin was contagious, and she leaned over to grab his chin so she could kiss him.
“I see you are a master at organization, and your leadership skills could be legendary.” Avery stepped out of the car and leaned back in. “Breakfast tomorrow like usual?”
Joel lightly smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand. “I almost forgot! No, I can’t. I have a meeting at nine.” He watched the disappointment crawl across Avery’s face. “But, I’ll come by here after work. I need to sample your cooking before you get the wedding band.” He said mischievously.
“Ha! Well, in that case, we’re having sardines and crackers!” She shut the door on Joel’s laughter and waved as he drove away.
Avery was happily humming to herself as she walked up the stairs. Mrs. Barrimore’s gentlemanly friend was walking down the steps towards her, and tipped his fedora in her direction. Avery waved and thought to herself that it was odd for him to be there that late. Guess love is blooming for us all. She thought to herself as she unlocked her door. Otis met her with loud meows, and she realized that she hadn’t fed him before she left.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Otis!” She dropped a handful of food in his dish and he began crunching on it loudly. “You could skip a meal or two big boy.” His only response was a flick of his tail.
Avery walked into the kitchenette to make a cup of tea when a light knock sounded at her door. She paused and stared at the door for a moment and set her mug on the counter top. Maybe it’s Joel. She went to her bedroom window and looked out to see if she saw his vehicle. She didn’t see it, and she looked both ways on the street for Chuck’s as well. Satisfied that Chuck wasn’t out there, she walked to the door as the light knock sounded again. That must be Mrs. Barrimore. Only she would knock like a bird. Avery thought to herself as she unlocked the door.
The force of the blow was sudden and the wind was knocked out of her lungs as she fell onto her back. She heard her front door slam shut and her eyes widened in surprise as Chuck’s face appeared above hers a split second before he covered her mouth and nose with a damp cloth.
Joel was happy that his meeting was a short one. He was able to walk into the Brick Oven at 10:01, and he couldn’t wait to see the happy look of surprise that would be waiting for him. Instead he was met by the frantic eyes of Joanne as she motioned for him to sit down. He watched in confusion as she rushed into the kitchen area. He scanned the restaurant for Avery, but didn’t see her. He did see the new waitress on the far side taking the order of an elderly couple, but no Avery. He felt his stomach clench as nervousness spread through his insides. Was she sick or hurt?
Joanne came back through the kitchen doors with Mr. Trevor on her heels. They came to his booth and they both slid in uninvited.
“Joel,” Joanne began, “please tell me you’ve talked to Avery this morning.”
“No, I haven’t. I wasn’t supposed to come in because of a meeting, but it broke early. What’s going on?” he asked and looked from Joanne’s sweaty face to Mr. Trevor’s pale one.
“She didn’t show up for her shift!”
“She has never missed a shift, or called out.”
“I left for a bit and went to her apartment, but she didn’t answer when I knocked!”
“Joanne and I have both been calling her all morning!”
Joel felt like his head was going to spin off as he looked from one talking person to the other. Joanne and Mr. Trevor opened their mouths at the same time to say something else, but Joel held up a hand to stop them and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Just hold on a minute!” He had Avery on speed dial and he listened as it rang through to voice mail. “Avery? Call me as soon as you get this message!”
Joanne looked at him with pursed lips and her head cocked to the side. “Don’t you think we’ve tried that? Look, you put that new lock on her door, do you have a key?”
“Yeah, for the dead bolt, but I don’t have the original key for the door knob.” Joel stood and walked to the door.
Joanne pushed Mr. Trevor out of the booth and chased after him. “Wait! What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to the police.”
Joel was surprised when he walked into the police department. He was expecting chaos as criminals were being booked or questioned. He had never had any real experience with the police. A counter with glass in front of it was what he first saw, and a pudgy woman in a dark blue uniform greeted him with hooded eyes.
“Can I help you?”
“Yes.” Joel said, trying to sound surer of himself than he felt. “I need to file a missing persons report.”
“Name?”
“My fiancé, Avery Kaery.”
She gave him an amused look. “How long has she been missing?”
“Since either last night or early this morning.”
“And she’s over the age of eighteen?”
“Yes.”
“Sir, we can’t file a report until she has been missing for at least twenty four hours.”
Joel stared at her open mouthed. “Her ex-boyfriend has been practically stalking her.”
The revelation did nothing to change the woman’s expression. “Do you have any proof this is foul play?”
Joel felt anger boiling in his stomach. He took his hands out of his trench coat and placed them on the edge of the counter, leaning towards the glass. “Please, is there anyone that can help me?”
“Not for twenty-four hours, sir.”
A policeman at the other end of the counter had overheard the exchange and sauntered towards Joel. His salt and pepper mustache twitched slightly and he had a manila folder in his hand. Joel thought he looked like Sam Elliot, and somehow that was comforting. “Did you ever think that she maybe just has cold feet?”
“No! But thank you so much for your help!” Joel rarely raised his voice, and the sound of it startled him. He turned red faced from them to leave when the other policeman called out to him.
“Now just hold on a minute.” The man lifted part of the counter upwards and came directly up to Joel.
Great. Joel thought. Avery’s missing and now I’m going to be detained for yelling at a worthless cop.
“Look, son, our hands are tied for the first twenty four hours.” He frowned slightly at the desperate look in Joel’s eyes. “I tell you what, why don’t you tell me a few things about the ex, and if the time passes and it truly is a missing person’s case, we will be ahead of the game, ok?”
Joel breathed a sigh of relief and nodded his head. The female officer went back to her paperwork, shaking her head slightly. Joel wanted to stick his tongue out at her tightly curled head, but decided that would be
incredibly childish. Avery’s blue eyes flashed in his mind, and he turned around and did it anyway.
Avery was dreaming of Joel. They were dancing around the front yard of his cute little house and he was holding a little girl in his arms with light brown curls. All them of them were smiling and laughing in the sunlight and a butterfly with purple wings flew into Avery’s hair. She looked back at the house and saw Chuck’s face looming in the round window above the door.
Avery blinked her eyes several times. Her head was pounding and she felt like she might throw up. She tried to figure out where she was, but all she could do was move her head from side to side. Something was tied around her wrists and ankles securing her to the bed she laid on. Fear twisted in her gut, and she frantically looked to the right and then the left. To her right, was a night table with a telephone, to her left was a window with heavy drapes drawn together. She lifted her head until her chin rested on her chest and scanned what was in front of her. A dresser with a T.V. and she could see a small round table with two chairs in the corner by the window.
Motel room. She thought and laid her head back down. As far as she could tell all of her clothes from the night before were still on her body. At least he hasn’t raped me yet. Tears formed in Avery’s eyes at the thought and began sliding out of the corners of her eyes. She heard movement in the bathroom, and Chuck emerged with a white towel wrapped around his waist. He had been working out more, Avery decided. She had never seen his muscles so large and defined. She also noticed a new tattoo over his left pectoral. It looked like her name in script inside of a heart. Water dripped from his short red hair and he shook it like a dog.
“Good morning, sunshine! Did you sleep well?” His grin was completely mechanical and didn’t reach his eyes.
Avery shook her head slowly form side to side. She watched him shrug and disappear again into the bathroom. She twisted her body and head trying to see what was securing her to the bed. Chuck had drilled some kind of anchor into the head board, and she was tied with a kind of nylon rope. The more she squirmed the more it burned against her skin.