Brett Barney - Remember Me.txt

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.

  A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?

  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 167

  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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  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 168

  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.

  A Novel by Brett Barney Remember Me?

  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 170

  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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  © 1995 Brett Barney Literary Page 171

  “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