Widower
A Laundromat Chronicles Novella
Angie Merriam
Widower
A Laundromat Chronicles Novella
By Angie Merriam
© Angie Merriam 2016
Published by Entertwine Publishing Services
Cover by Entertwine Publishing Services
All rights reserved
License Note
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without authorization of the Author. Any distribution without express consent is illegal and punishable in court of law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Laundromat Chronicles is about a group of strangers that meet in an unlikely place and form lifelong bonds. The first six novellas will introduce you to the cast and tell you their individual backstory. Life, the full length novel tying all of them together, will be released after the final novella Ruby is released.
This has been a fun project that I’m very proud of and truly hope you can connect with the characters as much as I have. Thank you for giving this series a try. I’m forever thankful. Happy reading!
I watch her walk down the grassy aisle, feet bare, honey colored hair falling around her shoulders and a smile that rivals the warmth of the sun. Our small group of friends line the aisle on either side of her but as far as I’m concerned, we’re the only two people in existence.
She slowly approaches me, the smile not leaving her face. Once she’s within reach, I extend my hand out to her. Her fingers intertwine themselves with mine. I can feel her shaking and wonder briefly if she can feel me doing the same. A gentle squeeze from her tells me she does.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Jase Ryan Chapman and Britanny Leanne Chase,” the pastor began, signifying the beginning of our marriage. Our vows are traditional and exchanged through mutual tears. When the words you may now kiss the bride are spoken, I kiss her as though our lives depended on it because they do.
I met Britanny two years ago at the local bar I hang out in. I didn’t go to pick up girls. I was actually coming out of a nasty break up. My ex-girlfriend was certifiable. I wasn’t looking to go down that road again. Now, nights out with a few of my bros, beer and pool, that was my idea of relaxing. Definitely wasn’t looking to complicate my life.
It was a Friday night. I was in a particularly foul mood. I fucked up on a work project pretty bad that day and my boss chewed my ass. He had every right, but that didn’t make me feel better about my screw up. All I wanted to do was head to the bar, grab a booth, and down some beers to relax and clear my head. I was new on the job and the guys were always giving me shit about it. The last thing I needed was to make a rookie mistake to prove the assholes right, but I did and I now just wanted to sit and drink.
Two beers in, the bar door flew open, and a group of three girls stumbled in. I glance up to catch a glimpse of the ladies disturbing my moment of peace. Irritation was boiling until I saw her. Her blonde hair was a piled mess on top of her head. Her shorts revealed cute little legs and hugged the best ass I’d ever seen. I drug my eyes up her body, drinking in every delicious curve. Her shirt fit her like a glove showing a tiny glimpse of her belly. My dick twitched looking at her. She was by far the sexiest woman I’d ever seen, and I hadn’t even made it to her face yet.
Once I tore my eyes away from her body, I looked up to see her watching me watch her. I looked away, embarrassed that I’d been caught. One thing I’m not, a pervy asshole that treats women like they’re worth nothing more than a quick fuck. I take a sip of my beer trying to drown my embarrassment, hoping she’ll go away.
“Hey there, I saw you checking me out.” I looked up and straight into her baby blue eyes. Her body may have made my cock stand up but her face, her voice, her vibe, everything about her felt like a punch in the gut. A fucking sensational punch in the stomach. The kind that takes your breath away.
“Uhh, sorry…” I mutter, suddenly becoming nothing more than a mumbling idiot. In a matter of seconds, she’s turned confident bad ass Jase to some little boy in puppy love. That couldn’t fly. I wanted to know more about her and if that was gonna happen, I needed to get my shit together, quickly.
“Sorry? That’s it? Do you eye fuck all the girls that walk in here?” Her hands found her hips, resting there while she waited for me to answer. She was sassy too. Where the hell did she come from?
“No, actually I don’t. Just you. Guess you’re the lucky one,” I answer honestly, not offering another apology.
“Lucky, huh? What makes me so lucky?”
“Well, look around.” I began urging her to check the place out. “The only people here are old men and scumbags. I know from watching a few of them that they would swoop in on you like roadkill so you should be lucky it’s me checking you out and not one of them.” Offering her a triumphant smile she slowly looks around the small room.
“Who’s to say you’re not a scumbag?” she finally counters.
“Let me buy you a drink and I’ll prove it.”
“I don’t know, my friends are waiting for me.”
“Looks like your friends found their own scumbags. Sit. Let me make my eye fucking you, as you called it, up to you.” I lift my hand for Donny the bartender to see. He’s one of my pals, a good guy. A few seconds later, he’s at my table, and she’s still standing, unsure of me.
“Another beer, Jase?” he asks, barely noticing her. One thing I’ve always respected about him, he doesn’t have a wondering eye. Tons of good looking woman come through this bar but he doesn’t give them a second look, instead he focuses all his attention on his wife.
“And a drink for the lady. I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” Directing the question to her, she shifts her body from one leg to the next. “Uh, I’ll have a Jack and Coke please,” she says, reluctantly sitting across from me.
“You got it. Be right back.” Donny turns to walk away, leaving me with the most breathtaking woman I’ve ever seen.
“So, Jase, huh?”
“Yeah, nice to meet you…” I extend my hand for hers leaving the statement open for her answer.
“Britanny,” she replied, shaking my hand with a shy smile.
We stayed in the bar, talking until closing. Over the next few weeks we talked every day, getting to know each other. A year later I proposed. She’s the one. I knew it from the moment she walked into my life. A year after our wedding we welcomed our son Daniel into the world. Life wasn’t always easy for us in the beginning. Money was sometimes tight and adjusting to the life of parents was challenging but we made it work.
***
“Good morning, beautiful,” I hear her say, trying to nudge me awake. I can honestly say waking up to her every morning is the highlight of my life. Mornings when I can feel her naked body against mine, like this morning, are the best.
“Good morning,” I reply, still trying to wake up. Turning over toward her I feel her hand on my cock.
“Daniel is still sleeping. You know what that means right?” she whispers, squeezing my morning hard on.
“Means I’m getting lucky. Come here.” I pull her close, burying my head in her tits. My mouth finds her nipple and begins to suck, eliciting a moan from her and a tight squeeze on my dick. My hand slips between her legs to find her wet and ready.
“You have some pretty good dreams? You’re already soaked, babe,” I manage to say, cea
sing my feast of her nipples momentarily.
“Only dreams of you, baby,” she moans. “Get on top. I need you inside me right now.”
“Greedy this morning?”
“Always greedy when it comes to fucking you.” She knows that when she gets dirty I can’t help myself. It’s so damn sexy to hear those words come from her mouth. Obliging her wish, I mount myself on top of her and slowly enter her hungry pussy. “Ahhhh,” she moans.
“Shhhh, don’t wake the boy. I have some business to attend to and need some time.”
She giggles just before grabbing my ass, pushing me deeper inside. “Go hard, babe, we don’t have a ton of time, and I’m so horny right now.”
The life of sex with a toddler. Just one of the things we had to adjust to. Gone were our wild romps around the house, not giving a shit how loud or how crazy we were. No more watching her walk around the house naked or eating her pussy in the middle of her cooking dinner. Now, we take any quiet moment we can to have sex. I’m not ashamed to say we’ve screwed in the garage while Daniel was watching cartoons or had quickies during his nap time. In some ways it’s fun. We get to be sneaky, like teenagers about to get caught.
“I’m so close, Jase,” she pants as I continue my relentless domination of her body. Picking up the pace I feel her body begin to shudder. Her legs tighten around me. She’s coming. It only takes a few seconds for me to follow her lead, emptying myself inside of her before collapsing on top.
“I love waking up to fucking you,” I whisper in her ear just as we hear a little voice coming from across the hall.
“And I love waking up to fuck you, but little man is up. Get off, we need to get dressed before he comes in.” Rolling off her, I stay in bed, watching her scramble to grab a pair of yoga pants and a t-shirt to slip on. I pull the blanket up to my chest just as he walks in the door. “Morning, big guy,” Brit says as she scoops him up in her arms. “Hungry?” He shakes his little head yes as she walks out of the room. Just before she’s out she turns to me and mouths “get dressed,” then shuts the door behind her.
I find them in the kitchen, Daniel eating his cereal, Brit drinking her coffee.
“Hey, Champ, whatcha eating?”
“Fruit Loops,” he mumbles between bites.
“You ready for the zoo today?” I ask. We’ve been promising him a zoo day for weeks but our schedules haven’t matched up, until today. The boy loves lions. He shakes his head, a big smile forming below his milk mustache.
“I have a few errands to run before we head to the zoo. I’ll take Daniel with me if you can change the oil in my car while I’m gone.”
“You got it, babe.” I kiss her on the cheek then grab my own mug of coffee. Once Daniel is done eating, he and I plop down on the couch for some cartoons.
“What do you wanna watch, big guy?”
“Scooby,” he replies excitedly.
“Scooby it is.” We sit there together, him watching his cartoon, me watching him. He still amazes me. He’s a perfect mix of Britanny and me. I still can’t believe we made something as perfect as he is. Not a day goes by that I’m not thankful for my family. I never thought I wanted a wife and kids. Wasn’t really the settle down type of guy which is probably why I dated women who were bat shit crazy, gave me good reasons to leave them when I got bored. Now I realize it wasn’t me… I was just waiting for Britanny.
“Okay, Danny, let’s go. Daddy needs to get to work on mommy’s car,” she announces upon entering the room.
“I wanna stay with daddy,” my son whines in response.
“I have to work on mom’s car, buddy, or else you could.”
“I help!” he exclaims excitedly and all I can do is hope he still wants to help me in ten years when he’s older and has his buddies wanting to hang out with him. As much as I want him to stay with me, I can’t watch him and change the oil.
“When you get a little bigger you can help me okay? Come on, I’ll walk you to the car.” Reluctantly, he agrees and slips his little feet into his Superman flip flops. After walking them out and buckling him in, I kiss my wife on the cheek. “Love you, see you in a little bit.”
“Love you too,” she replies then backs out of the driveway. Wasting no time I get to work on her car. The oil change doesn’t take long. Although my father didn’t teach me a whole lot because he was working most of the time, he did teach me about cars. There isn’t much I can’t do when it comes to fixing them. I could have made a career out of it but chose construction instead, reserving mechanics for my hobby.
I slam the hood of her car then hustle inside to get a shower. Before I’m able to step in the shower, I hear a knock at the door. Slipping on some sweats and a t-shirt I hustle to the front door. The impatient knocking is getting louder. “I’m coming,” I call out. Jesus, people are so damn impatient. I pull the door open, ready to give the asshole on the other side a piece of my mind when I’m stopped by two men in uniform.
“Can I help you with something?” I ask cautiously. Why the hell are the police at my house?
“Are you Jase Chapman?” the smaller of the two asks slowly.
“I am. What’s going on?”
“I’m Officer Lenx and this is Officer Smith. May we come inside?”
“Uh, yeah I guess so. Is something wrong?” I ask, opening the door wide enough for them to enter. They both walk in, not answering my question at first. Once they’re inside I shut the door and offer them a seat.
“Yes, sir, I’m afraid we have some news you may want to sit down to hear.”
Not sure what’s going on, and I’m not comfortable with their tone or vagueness, but I do as they say and sit down.
“We’re sorry to have to tell you but there was an accident today involving your wife and son.”
“Britanny and Daniel? Are they okay? What kind of accident?” As the questions flew from my mouth, the looks on their faces gave me all the answers I need.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chapman, but they were killed on impact. A car going over 70mph ran a red light, hitting your wife’s car. The driver of the car is in police custody.”
“Wait, you’re telling me my wife and son are dead?” I ask, barely recognizing my own voice. The anger and disbelief echo in my words.
“I’m sorry, yes. They were both killed on impact. The good news is they didn’t suffer.”
“Good news?? Are you fucking telling me there’s a silver fucked up lining in this? You’re full of shit. Both of you. My wife is not dead! My son is not dead! They went out to run errands and will be back soon. Get the fuck out of my house!!” I yell and stand from the chair, ready to escort them out, physically if needed. They must have the wrong guy. The wrong house. There’s no way in hell they’re talking about my family.
“Sir, we need you to calm down and listen. We know this is hard to hear and we hate being the bearer of bad news but we need you to come down and identify the bodies.”
“Let’s fucking go then! The sooner I see the bodies the sooner I can prove to you that you’re both wrong and when I do I’m suing the shit out of the police department!” Not wasting time to change, I slip my feet into slippers and head out the front door toward my car.
“Mr. Chapman, I think it’s best you ride with us.”
“What the fuck ever!” I yell, turning toward the police car in front of my house. Pissed off doesn’t begin to describe how I’m feeling. Raging? Maybe. A hot volcano on the verge of explosion? More accurate. I know they’re mistaken. I know my wife and son are just fine, probably shopping or some shit. I feel bad for the poor guy who lost his family but I sure as shit am not him. The officer lets me in the back seat before they take their seats and pull away from my house.
The room I’m led to is cold and dimly lit. It smells like death and bleach. It’s nauseating. The officers walk in front of me, both silent as they had been on the way over. As we approach a door, my heartrate picks up. I haven’t seen a dead body since my parents died. The image of them laying side by side i
n their caskets is one I’ll never forget and wish I’d never seen. Two tables stand in the center of the room, both covered with a sheet. It’s not hard to tell from the outline that one is an adult and one is a child. Just not my child or my wife. It can’t be?
The closer I get to the table the heavier my body becomes, my feet not wanting to get any closer. A man in a white coat, the coroner I assume, approaches me from across the room. “Hello, sir. I’m very sorry for your loss.”
“It’s not my loss,” I reply dryly. “I’m only here to prove that it’s not my wife and son under those blankets.”
He looks at me sadly. “I understand, sir. I do wish we didn’t have to ask such a thing of you but it’s necessary.” He rests a hand on my shoulder, comforting. I really want to punch the asshole in the face. No reason. He’s nice enough but he continues to refer to those bodies as Britanny and Daniel, which infuriates me.
“Let’s just get this over with so I can go home. I’m sure she’s there wondering where I am.” Without instruction, I pass the man willing my feet to move my body to those tables. Giving up on the nice talk the man follows me, standing on the opposite side of what is the adult body. I see him give me one more sorrowful look, and I nod that it’s okay to remove the sheet.
His fingers gingerly grab the edge of the sheet and slowly pull it down revealing the same face I kissed goodbye only hours ago. She’s bruised and cut up but there is no denying it. My wife is laying on a table in a cold, hard room… dead. I feel the air literally pulled from my body. I begin to tremble as tears I didn’t even realize I was crying fell from my face to her hers. Leaning over her, I cradle her head against me and kiss her lips gently. “Sir, I need you to tell me her name.” The request is almost a whisper, it is spoken so softly.
“Britanny Chapman,” I choke out, unwilling to let go of her.
I feel a hand against my back. “Mr. Chapman, we need to you identify the other body.” I don’t have to, if she’s laying there then I know it’s Daniel under that sheet. I can’t look at him. I can’t see him as anything but the rambunctious happy little boy he was.
Widower (The Laundromat Chonicles Book 4) Page 1