by Remember Me
bag and walked over to the mayor’s door, leaning her ear up against the door. She could clearly
make out low moans coming from inside.
Margaret decided she had to assure herself that the sounds were what she suspected. She
twisted the knob of the door very slowly and cracked it just slightly, so that she could see inside
the office.
The secretary had her back turned to Margaret, and she obstructed the mayor’s view of
the doorway. Margaret pushed the door open farther to get a good look at the two of them.
Margaret watched for only a second, before the shock of the situation caused her to look
away. She could see the secretary’s skirt up around her waist, and no clothing covering her
below that. She could see only Todd’s silhouette behind the woman, but didn’t need to see any
more to confirm her suspicions.
From the sounds that the couple made, it appeared that this was no first time occurrence.
Both exercised no hesitation, and the two different pitches of voice seemed to sing a harmony as
they shared their intimacy.
Margaret closed the door and walked back towards the outer door, noticing the notepad
still sitting on the secretary’s desk. She smiled as she slammed the door to the hallway and
hurried to join her companion down in the park. Things were turning out greater than she ever
imagined.
Margaret found Carol on the same park bench where they had first met. Carol seemed
nervous as Margaret walked up and sat down beside her. A strange feeling came over her as she
sat there with her friend and she knew they needed to break the silence.
Margaret pulled Carol to her feet and led her away from the park. She knew the visit had
upset Carol, and she wanted to enjoy the rest of the day. She made a point to get away from the
building quickly, and get Carol’s mind on something else.
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The two girls spent the rest of the day together browsing around town and finding fun
things to burn up the day. They walked around town while Carol pointed out some of the
landmarks in the small city. Carol told Margaret that Heather had to leave town for a few days to
visit some friends and she would take Carol’s brothers with her.
The two girls planned to take advantage of the time by themselves and use the
unoccupied house during the days. Margaret had started to feel a closeness to Carol. She knew in
her heart that they were actually sisters. As the older sister, she wanted to help Carol with her
social life. She talked Carol into attending a youth dance that the school district held to keep the
local kids busy.
Margaret retired to her room quite late in the evening. She had missed dinner with her
aunt and uncle to attend the evening dance with Carol. She immediately opened her journal,
eager to write down the events of the day.
“...I’ve just returned from a dance in town. I realize now why Carol has so few friends
here. She is extremely shy around other kids her age. I believe that this coupled with her parents’
social status has led people to believe she is a snob.
I was able to start some conversations with some really nice people at the dance. I even
got Carol into the conversations and feel she’s making progress by letting down the barriers she
has built and allowing some of her peers to get to know her. Her attitude seems to be that if she
doesn’t make any friends, she doesn’t have to worry about loosing them. She seems really
worried that people won’t like her. She is truly a remarkable girl and I hope that I can help some
of the other girls her age realize how nice she is.
We talked a little bit tonight about Carol’s boyfriend. She even showed me a picture of
the guy that she hides from her parents. Her mother won’t even acknowledge the guy. I feel bad
for Carol. He sounds like a really nice guy and he’s treated her quite well. She seems really smart
in the decisions she has made. I’m really anxious to meet him, but it doesn’t sound like he gets to
visit much. She writes him every day and keeps her own private mailbox at the post office so her
parents can’t intercept her mail.
I also learned today that Todd Whitmore is having an affair with his secretary. I’ve met
women like her before. She’s a total home wrecker. She gave me a look while I was visiting
today that made me wonder if something was going on. I could tell by her actions that she was
proud of what she was doing.
The woman didn’t try to hide anything from Carol or me. It was as if she was advertising
the affair going on between them. I’m not sure if Carol realizes it or not. I think she just wants
her father to treat her like a daughter, and not just another constituent. She might not have even
noticed the signs that the secretary is flagrantly flashing.
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Seeing Todd today made me angry. I’m angry at myself, and I’m angry at Jeremy. I’m
angry at all guys like Jeremy. It wasn’t until I watched Todd today that I realized how blind I
was while I dated Jeremy. The two of them are so alike.
The whole time I dated Jeremy, he was showing signs that he might be unfaithful, but I
chose to ignore them. It upsets me even more to realize that I got involved with somebody who’s
just like the man who married my mother. I guess that maybe we’re more alike than I care to
acknowledge. That disgusts me, and it scares me at the same time.
I decided before I came here that I would find some way to leave an impression on
Heather’s life, and try to make her life unbearable, so she can understand what I went through. It
looks as if her husband is taking care of these things for me already. He’s so careless in how he’s
handling his affair, that she’s bound to find out quite soon.
I also got a chance to listen to Heather this afternoon. Carol and I returned from our
shopping trip during a bridge game they were having. We sat in the kitchen eating sandwiches
while eavesdropping on the conversation in the living room. Carol is extremely light hearted in
her play. She mimicked her mother several times while we listened in. She knows her mother
quite well.
Heather seems to live for one thing, and that’s recognition. She thrives on her popularity
and the network of high class citizens she associates with. I understand why many of Carol’s
friends think she’s a snob, they’ve probably met her mother and figure they’re both alike. Carol
is just the opposite.
Heather sets a high standard on materialistic wealth. Her children are wonderful, but she
seems more interested in displaying them than taking an interest in their lives. She has a
wonderful daughter and the two younger brothers seem really nice. She seems to have buried her
secrets deep down inside her. She isn’t like what I pictured for a woman who would abort her
own baby.
Heather displays her family like a trophy. She’s really proud of her husband and what he
has become. I wonder if she would be as proud if she realized that he was having an affair with
his secretary. This whole family seems to be full of surprises. I don’t know what I will do next.
Every day I find more dirt to use against Heather, but in the
condition her life is right now, I
don’t know if I’ll even need to do a thing...”
The next two days passed quickly. Margaret and Carol spent one afternoon swimming at
the city pool, and laid around watching television while devouring ice cream at Carol’s house.
Todd was hardly ever home, and the two girls enjoyed goofing off and playing pool in the
basement. That evening, they watched videos with several other teens from around town.
Margaret felt pleased with the evening. She had forced Carol to invite some people over. Carol
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seemed to enjoy the evening as well, and she appeared more comfortable than Margaret thought
she would. It made Margaret glad to see Carol coming out of her shell. The entire night was a
success.
The following day, Margaret woke up and rode the horses at her aunt and uncle’s house
for the majority of the morning. She used the time to try to decide her next move when Heather
came home. In the afternoon, Carol and Margaret went out with several other girls they had met
at the dance, and had complete makeovers done. She knew that she would have the evening to
herself.
Margaret finished dinner with her relatives and prepared to head into town. Carol had a
baby-sitting job, which her mother had forced her to take for a friend, so Margaret had to spend
the night alone. Her aunt and uncle always played cards with some of their neighbors on this day
of the week, and though they had invited her to come along, she declined.
Margaret decided to go into town and fool around with her new camera a bit. She picked
up several roles of film from a local retailer and loaded her camera with it. The sun had begun to
fall behind the horizon, and she wanted to make it into the city before it got too dark.
Margaret climbed in her car and drove around town looking for some interesting sites to
photograph. She had hardly taken any pictures with her new treasure, and wanted to see what it
could do. She drove past the city building and noticed Todd’s car parked in his stall. Carol had
told her that he had to work late and she decided to investigate it further.
She drove down the road to the farmer’s market and parked her car in the barren parking
lot. She pulled out the duffel bag from the seat beside her and began the walk towards the city
building.
Margaret reached the street which the city building sat along and decided to take an
alternate route. She walked a half block down and found an alley which ran behind the buildings
on the block. The end of the alley opened up to the park, and she knew it would lead her to
Todd’s window.
Margaret entered the alley, and checked to make sure she was alone. The alley had
become a breeding ground for garbage and rubble. It felt creepy as she walked past the old
buildings, unsure of what lurked in the shadows.
Margaret hurried down the dark alley, and found a fire escape on the back of the building
which sat across from Todd’s window. The owners had abandoned the building long ago and
boarded it up. A sign on the back entrance prohibited entry and explained that the building was
scheduled for demolition in a few more weeks.
She threw the bag over her shoulder and jumped up to the scaffolding, using her strength
gained from mountain climbing to pull herself up onto the second level of the escape. Margaret
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climbed up the old metal stairs to the third level of the escape and found an unlocked, old
window.
She placed a hand against the glass and tried to get her fingers beneath the bottom as she
pushed the weathered window up to gain entry into the building. The rusted frame fought with
her, but soon gave way to her unrelenting strength.
Darkness had set in on the city at this hour, and the city dwellers had abandoned the
downtown area. This older area of town had fallen prey to the shift towards large scale shopping
centers. The years of overcrowding and forsaking management had caused the block of
apartment buildings, so close to the center of town, to become unsuitable for living, and too
costly for renovation. Only an occasional car driving down the empty streets left any signs of
life.
The city council hoped to replace the old structures with newer office buildings. They
hoped to revitalize this part of town somehow and create some sort of equilibrium. The block of
aged structures sent property value in the area plummeting and continued to force more of the
businesses to move out.
Margaret slipped through the window and stepped onto the floor. The smell of rotten
wood and mildew filled the air inside and she could taste the dust forced into the air by
improperly sealed windows. The floorboards creaked beneath her feet as she stood there
allowing her eyes to adjust to the light.
The previous owners of the apartment had cleared it of their belongings, which made
walking through the dark room fairly easy. She reached the doorway to the master bedroom and
opened it, making her way towards the window.
The window of the bedroom sat directly across from the mayor’s office. The old glass of
the window had lost its clarity, and Margaret had to force it quietly open to get a clear glimpse
inside the mayor’s office.
Margaret could tell that the mayor didn’t worry about somebody spying on him from the
old building. From the ground below, all one could see was the ceiling of his office, but from this
vantage point, she could see almost the entire office.
Margaret had forced the window open about six inches. She welcomed the odor of the
fresh air from outside as the gentle breeze poured into the room. The carpet inside the old room
had become water logged from leaks in the ceiling, and it made a mushy noise beneath her feet.
It was a large room, empty of any obstacles and a perfect breeding ground for the mildew which
drenched the floor.
Margaret ignored the stench seeping from the floor and concentrated on the view of the
mayor’s office. The window where she stood was approximately forty feet away from his office
window and the ground below looked uninhabited at this late hour.
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A chain link fence surrounded the city office, a remnant from years past when less
desirable people inhabited the old apartments. A lush amount of thick grass covered the grounds
of the city office. The mayor’s office wasn’t the only office with lights on this evening. Another
office on the second floor also had its lights on, but all Margaret could see was the unoccupied
desk from her angle.
The sight before her didn’t surprise Margaret as she looked across through the mayor’s
window. Todd was in the middle of a meeting with a woman city council member. Tonight’s
agenda was apparently pleasure, and not business.
Margaret opened the window farther, so she could see over the desk which obstructed her
view. Articles of clothing covered the office, thrown about during the ruckus which had led to
this event.
Todd and the woman were on the floor near the door and wrapped around one another.
&nb
sp; Their naked bodies moved fluently over the expensive carpet of the office as they rolled around
in a frenzy.
Margaret dropped down and opened up the bag, removing the camera and setting up for
the shot. Her quarry seemed too careless and simple, he made it so easy for her. His punctuality
and reliability were sickening, but she almost expected it.
In less than a minute, she had gone through the whole role of film, obtaining many
pictures which she felt would make a definite impression. She returned the camera to the bag and
quietly left the room. She moved slowly as she crept away from the building. She knew the
trouble she could get into if someone caught her snooping around with a camera.
Margaret’s heart pounded as she scurried down the alley, listening for any signs of life in
the deserted area. She wondered to herself why she had taken such a risk, but found herself
enjoying the thrill of catching the moment on film. By the time she reached her car, she was
laughing aloud.
Heather Whitmore sat at the kitchen table of her home, preparing a small salad for her
lunch. The quiet afternoon allowed her to relax around the home and she had sent her kids out on
errands so she could enjoy some time alone. She heard footsteps coming up the back porch steps
to the screen door and looked up to find Margaret knocking lightly against the hard rod iron
door.
Heather had just returned home this morning after a two day visit to one of her friends
from college. During the time while she was away, Margaret and Carol had spent most of their
time together. Margaret had grown accustomed to the large home with the vast amount of time
she had spent there lately, and even learned a shortcut there through the backyard. She had
almost forgotten that Heather would be home.
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“Hello,” uttered Margaret. “Remember me?”
“Of course, Margaret, come on inside. Carol isn’t here right now, I sent her down to the
store for a gallon of milk. I expect her back any time. Come on in, you’re welcome to wait if
you’d like.”
“Yes, Mrs. Whitmore. I would really enjoy that.”
Margaret sat down across the table from Heather. She felt funny looking at the woman