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Poplar Falls

Page 14

by Arseneault, Pierre C;


  In the early years of their marriage, Sadie had insisted on having at least two kids. But unable to conceive, she dedicated her life to taking care of other people’s kids by starting her very own daycare. Even when she felt her marriage failing, growing apart from her husband, the kids would always fill her heart with joy. But as time passed loneliness set in, and then came Charlie Baker. The first time she met Charlie was at a Jabba-da-Java Coffee Hut. She was getting coffee for herself and her staff. Charlie had always looked for ways to strike up a conversation with any women who caught his eye, and Sadie did just that. So the partially-eaten large slab of dark chocolate sticking out of this little demure woman’s purse was the perfect conversation starter. Soon she was blushing and giggling at his jokes, perhaps more than she should have. But this handsome man had some pretty good guesses as to why she would need such a large amount of dark chocolate on hand at all times. And when he suggested she try the Magnolia Wellness and Rehabilitation Centre, she naturally assumed he worked there. He suggested they could help her kick her addiction to chocolate and perhaps help with why she felt she needed to have said chocolate. Sadie, being a proper married woman, brushed off the flirtatious man she had just met, but couldn’t forget him. He had flirted with her, not in a sexual way but with his eyes and his smile. He had made her feel attractive without being too forward. Soon after, Sadie found herself trying to bump into the man she had met at the coffee shop.

  But now she noticed the way the parents acted around her when picking up their children. The kids themselves hadn’t changed at all. Little Thomas ran to Sadie, opened his arms, and smiled as he looked up at her. Lemkie watched from the door as his son got a big hug from the demure little woman. The same woman he had always envisioned as the ideal daycare owner. She had always reminded him of that Poppins woman from that Disney flick. But after seeing video footage of her with Charlie Baker, he just couldn’t meld what he had seen with the women he now watched hugging his son. Sadie crouched down and Thomas hugged her hard, his little feet lifted off the floor in the process. He smiled wide as the daycare owner set him down and watched him run to his father at the door. He wrapped his little arms around his father’s leg and smiled.

  Lemkie watched as a little girl in pigtails tugged on Sadie’s sweater, and waited open-armed for her turn to hug the beloved daycare owner. Sadie smiled as she hugged the little girl, tickling her as she did so. The little girl squealed in delight as she pushed Sadie away, escaping the tickling that she was enjoying more than she let on. Sadie straightened herself to find the little girl’s father standing before her, wanting a hug of his own. Something that Sadie brushed off as nonsense, as hugs were reserved only for the kids. But the father stepped in and hugged her anyway. And from where Lemkie stood, he could see the man mouth something to the daycare owner as he stole his unwanted hug. Sadie stepped back, eyes wide, and slapped the man across the face. Lemkie watched as the shocked and embarrassed man picked up his daughter and quickly exited the daycare.

  Lemkie marvelled as he watched Sadie quickly regain her composure and turn her attention to the kids as if nothing had happened. She was amazing with those kids, thought Lemkie as he left, carrying his son who was now regaling him with stories of his adventures in daycare. But Lemkie wasn’t listening to his son; instead he was trying hard to associate the demure woman who was so good with kids with the passionate woman he had seen in the Charlie Baker video footage.

  51

  Her gloves off, Marci Grant sat at her desk in her Red Realty downtown office. A space she rented in the only commercial property owned by Agatha Tilley. A building she’d love to own and Agatha has agreed to sell her for the right price. And by the end of the summer, Marci figured on having the down payment she needed to make the deal. But now alone in her rented office, late that afternoon, she was about to find what she had been looking for and she wanted privacy when she did. Trudy always hovered a lot when she was on her home computer, and so the office with her laptop was the best place for privacy. Especially when you were searching the internet for porn. But this time, before she could search further, the very first search result would pique her interest. The headline of the article on the tabloid website told a new story.

  ‘Lucy Shaffer fires agent Doris Davis’. The article briefly mentioned it being over allegations of her being involved in the leaked sex tape.

  After regretting clicking on the article and fighting off a slew of pop-ups, Marci gave up on reading that article and got back to her original mission which was finding the video of Lucy Shaffer naked; better yet, having sex. Today she would finally admit it even if it was only to herself, that Trudy did have valid reason to be jealous about her fascination with the Hollywood star. She clicked on the site which was supposedly to have the video she so desperately wanted to watch, only to have a pop-up block her view, and clicking on it to get rid of it caused her screen to freeze at first. A moment later, a black screen covered in text popped up and disappeared just as fast. Her computer crashed before it could upload the virus. She assumed that was what had just happened as blinding rage filled her. Furious, she grappled with the laptop and flung it into the nearest wall, smashing it open in the process and watching as it crashed to the floor.

  Marci gripped the arms of her chair, breathing deeply in an attempt to calm herself. She looked at the hole in the drywall where the computer had made contact. The laptop lay face down on the floor with a part of it cracked open, the I key on the floor next to it. Good thing Charlie Baker, who helped her install a security camera in her office, had recommended she keep her files on an external hard drive like he did. It was a lot harder to lose your data that way.

  “Fuck!” Marci exclaimed as she wondered if she could get a new laptop of the same brand so Trudy wouldn’t notice. Once she had calmed down a little, she would wonder how to fix the hole in the wall before anyone could find out about it. Maybe Dave could help, she thought. But first she needed a new laptop, and fast.

  52

  Sadie pulled the door open hard as she barged into Vernon’s Meats, trying to vent some of her anger. She stood with her back to the door, waiting to hear it slam, when all she heard was the hissing of the cylinder at the top of the door, doing its job as the door eased closed. Sadie turned and stopped the door before it could fully close, opened it, and yanked on it again only to have the cylinder foil her plan yet again. Frustrated, she grasped the door’s handle and pulled hard. She grunted, gave it her all, as her feet slipped up from under her and she lost her grasp on the handle, falling flat on her ass. She kicked at the door but the soft-soled shoe she wore when at work had no effect on the closed door. She scrambled to her feet, dusted herself off and turned to see the young cashier who worked part time, gawking at her as she held out a plastic bag in front of her.

  Geraldine, the wife of Pastor George, stood across the counter frozen in place. She was obviously stunned at what they had just witnessed. She clutched her purse tightly and gave Sadie a wide berth as she made her way out of the shop.

  “That’ll give those old bitches something to talk about while they fucking knit,” Sadie blurted, her face flushed.

  The young girl with the pierced lower lip set down the bag Geraldine had forgotten to take with her as she spoke. “Geraldine forgot her bag. Um, I’m going to take my break now if that’s okay.” The girl, whose name Sadie couldn’t remember, didn’t wait for Vernon to answer as she scooped up her iPhone from beneath the counter and left as quickly as she could.

  That’s when Sadie saw Vernon peeking from the opening that looked in to the kitchen. He was wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt as he spoke.

  “What the hell got into you?” he said coldly.

  Sadie knew he would have something to say about her entrance and about the bits of chocolate in her teeth. She could feel it on her front teeth but simply didn’t care. She was angry and the more she stewed over it all, the angrier she got. She watched
Vernon disappear into the kitchen again and she could hear the knife on the cutting board.

  The variety of scents overwhelmed her as she barged into the kitchen; she puffed as she threw her purse on the counter and watched as Vernon went back to cutting up onions, tears streaming down his face. He blinked a few times and then held his eyes shut for a moment as he waited for his eyesight to clear up. On the island were mounds of chopped up green and red peppers. He was working on the onions as he made what looked like his best seller, his meatloaf. That explained the scents, Sadie briefly thought.

  “You should have heard what that fucker said to me,” Sadie stated. “And with his daughter standing right next to me, on top of that.”

  “Who are we talking about?” Vernon asked as he squinted at the onions he was cutting again.

  “That Nathan Bourque guy I told you about; the father of that rough little girl who always picks on Thomas.”

  “What about him?” Vernon asked as he peeled more onions for chopping.

  “He said he had a big dick, too, and would love to fuck me with it,” Sadie blurted. “Can you believe that? What the fuck does he think I am, a slut?” Sadie pointed at Vernon. “Don’t answer that!”

  “Well, people are talking, Sadie. It’s not like you did a good job of hiding the fact that you were screwing Charlie Baker.”

  “Are you fucking serious?” Sadie replied, raising her voice in anger. “You’re going to lecture me about not hiding my infidelities properly? You know, everyone in town knows you’re gay.”

  Vernon tried to look at his wife but his vision was still blurred by tears from the onions. A fact he didn’t mind since he wasn’t sure how he could avoid becoming emotional about finally having this conversation with his best friend.

  “I…” Vernon began before being cut off.

  “Don’t you fucking dare deny it,” Sadie said as she dug through her purse to find the small piece of dark chocolate she had in there somewhere.

  “This is not how I wanted to have this conversation,” Vernon replied as he peeled the last of the onions and discarded the peel into a bowl for the compost pile at home.

  Sadie dug out the small piece of dark chocolate from her purse, removed the foil from it, and shoved the entire piece into her mouth. She balled up the foil wrapper and tossed it into Vernon’s compost bowl.

  “I never wanted to hurt you,” Vernon said as he choked back his emotions. “Besides, I can’t come out.”

  “Why the fuck not?” Sadie asked as she tried to savour her chocolate.

  “It’ll hurt my business.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  “It’s true,” Vernon replied. “Say what you want, but people wouldn’t buy anything from me if they knew I was gay.”

  “That’s what you’re worried about?” Sadie replied. “Not me, but your fucking store? I’m your wife, for God’s sake. But you’re worried people won’t buy your fancy sausages anymore.”

  “That’s not what I meant and you know it,” Vernon blurted, clearly upset. He took a stainless steel bowl and scooped green peppers into it and transferred that into an even larger stainless steel bowl. “But I’ve worked hard to build this business.”

  “You’re an asshole,” Sadie blurted as she turned and marched off down a small hallway towards the back office. Wanting to calm herself somewhat, she paced back and forth in the dimly lit office in the back of Vernon’s Meats.

  At least he had finally admitted it to her. He had finally said it. After all the years of wondering, she had decided it must have been true many years ago. But finally discussing it should have been a relief and yet somehow it wasn’t. She supposed that had they had this discussion prior to Charlie Baker entering her life, she could have used the infidelity against him. But Charlie and his big dick and charming personality had taken that from her. She was just as guilty of cheating as he was. Maybe not for as long, but just as guilty and they both knew it.

  Divorce was the only answer. She would keep her business and he would keep his. That seemed fair, she thought. She thought his was worth more since he had less overhead, but she couldn’t worry about that. She wouldn’t allow herself to worry about that. She could finally date again. Date men who were attracted to her sexually. But that did mean leaving Vernon and he really was her best friend. A tear flowed down her cheek as she stopped pacing. That’s when she noticed the new wooden lamp on Vernon’s office desk.

  The lamp had a large beige lampshade which helped it cast its soft glow across the otherwise sombre office. She would remember this lamp had she seen it before. In the next few days, when asked why she had done what she did next, she honestly wouldn’t know why she did it. But she flicked the switch to turn off the lamp only it didn’t go off. Instead it cast an even dimmer light but on the wall next to the lamp it cast a shadow. A clearly distinct shadow she recognized as being very male. She froze as she looked at the shadow in disbelief. And sticking out from under the lamp’s ornate varnished wood base was a note.

  I made this especially for you.

  Dave

  XOX

  Sadie picked up the lamp, yanked at the cord, plucking it out of the wall, and walked back to the kitchen.

  “Who the fuck is Dave?”

  Vernon, who had combined the peppers and onions into a large steel bowl, was in the process of cracking eggs while tears still flowed due to the strong onions in the bowl.

  “Put that back,” Vernon blurted, slamming down the knife he chopped onions with.

  Sadie was holding his new lamp as she stood in the doorway of his kitchen.

  “I’m not concealing my fling with Charlie well enough, you said. What the fuck is this dick lamp doing in your office?”

  “It’s a gift. Now go put that back where you found it,” Vernon replied as he accidentally knocked eggs off the island. Four eggs fell at first, followed by another which slowly rolled off the island and cracked on the floor with the rest.

  “Did he shove it up your fucking ass?” Sadie asked as she waved the lamp around, almost knocking the shade off in the process.

  “Put that back before you break it, you bitch,” Vernon replied. “That’s hand- made.”

  “Hand-made? Gives new meaning to having wood doesn’t it, you fucking asshole!”

  Vernon normally would have thought those jokes were pretty funny. But right this minute, he was more concerned about his angry wife damaging his new lamp that he loved dearly.

  “You’re going to damage it,” Vernon said. “Put that back where you got it, now!” he demanded.

  “Fuck you,” Sadie replied as she slammed it down over her right knee. The lamp made a loud snapping sound and broke in two very pointy halves, splitting along the wood grain. She felt a sharp pain in her knee followed by a light-headedness, as the lamp had been much harder than she imagined.

  “You FUCKING BITCH,” Vernon shouted, and took a step towards his wife and slipped in the mess of broken eggs on the floor. He flailed his arms to balance himself and lurched forward. He grasped at her shoulders to keep from falling. As their bodies crashed together, Vernon felt a sharp pain in his side as he and his wife both staggered. The process slammed the end of the broken lamp against the wall, driving the other end into Vernon’s abdomen. He stopped and looked at the base of the lamp protruding from his stomach. The lamp shade slipped off the upper end Sadie still clutched in her other hand. The shade fell to the floor and rolled into the broken eggs.

  “Fuck!” Vernon said. “You fucking stabbed me.”

  “It was an accident,” Sadie stated as she looked at the base of the lamp protruding from her husband’s stomach. She looked at the top half of the lamp in her hand, two of the four bulbs broken in the sockets. With the shade off, she could see the very top was an intricately carved, vein-covered, wooden dick.

  “Fuck that,” Vernon replied. “Everybo
dy in town is going to say you tried to kill me.”

  “What?”

  “After the way you came in here today,” Vernon replied, and his hands began to shake as he gently wrapped them around the bottom half of the lamp which was beginning to get slick with blood. His face still wet with tears from the onions. “And it won’t matter what I say either. People will say I tried to cover for you if I say you didn’t.”

  “Are you serious?” Sadie replied, visibly shaken as she looked at her empty hand, covered in her husband’s blood.

  “Call 911,” Vernon said. “I need an ambulance.”

  “You seriously think people will think I tried to kill you?” Sadie asked. “That’s what worries you, isn’t it?”

  “I’m bleeding, Sadie. You stabbed me with my fucking lamp.”

  “It was an accident, you fuck-nut.”

  “Just fucking call 911, you chocolate-eating bitch!”

  “FUCK YOU,” Sadie shouted as she stabbed Vernon in the gut with the other half of the lamp. She scraped her own arm with a piece of broken glass from the bulb as she did, but never felt it cut her.

  Vernon staggered back and slipped in a combination of blood and eggs, and fell flat on his back, hitting his head in the process. He groaned and touched the back of his head, checking his hand and seeing blood.

  “I should have left you years ago, you crazy bitch,” Vernon murmured as he squirmed on the floor, writhing in pain from the stab wounds and the blow to the head.

 

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