Her Only Salvation

by J.C. Valentine

  Thankfully, his old pal, Jerry, came through with the money, making Randy six grand richer than he was yesterday. Now he could afford to take care of some things, like buy food, clothing, and most importantly, the supplies he would need for the day he and Terri finally reunited.

  The tires jumped over the bump at the end of the drive and Randy pulled forward, parking just outside the garage doors. He’d never been this blatant about his arrival before and a part of it struck him as strange, but he forced himself to feel what he knew to be true: that he belonged there. Shoving open the door, he grabbed his duffle and stepped down, planting his booted feet on the hard concrete like he owned the place, and immediately met the curious gaze of his new neighbor.

  “Afternoon, Ma’am,” Randy greeted her politely, flashing a large, disarming smile that crippled most women’s fragile minds.

  Like he expected, the woman blushed deeply and looked down at her hands, smiling demurely. Randy approached the row of low bushes that acted as a barrier between yards and offered his hand. “We haven’t met before. I’m Randy,” he introduced himself.

  “Sandra.” She shook his hand with a soft, feminine grip. “Are you visiting someone?”

  “Nope, I live here.” At her questioning look, Randy explained. “My wife purchased the place while I was away, so you could say this is a surprise homecoming.”

  “A soldier then,” Sandra said, smiling knowingly. She didn’t know a thing, but he let her believe what she wanted. “I don’t see much of your wife. She keeps to herself a lot, but I can imagine why now.” Her eyes traveled from his head to his toes and back up again. “She must have been waiting for you.”

  Randy nodded and stepped away. Hefting the duffle over his shoulder, he excused himself and made his way up the path to the door, where he crowded the entry to mask the fact that his only key was a metal nail file. Thankfully, the entry was small and fairly enclosed, an alcove recessed into the house and surrounded by shrubbery.

  When the locks finally gave way, Randy stepped inside. Admittedly, he was a little miffed to find the house still empty, the air stale and the silence deafening. He recalled a time when Terri would greet him at the door, throw herself into his arms and kiss him silly. Whatever happened to those days? Terri got lazy, that’s what.

  Honestly, he didn’t know why he was allowing himself to get so bothered. It wasn’t like he expected her to be there anyway, but it didn’t change the fact that he was annoyed. Playing the avoidance game, Randy decided to get settled in his new home. He began with washing his clothes. It took a while, but eventually he managed to wash and dry everything without shrinking anything. After that, he took the fresh stack of clothes into the bedroom and hung each piece up alongside Terri’s, just like they used to be. Well, almost. Terri was much better at these things than he would ever be. After clearing himself a couple of drawers and putting the remainder of the clothes in them, Randy fixed himself something to eat.

  She didn’t have much in the way of groceries, so he settled for a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup and a glass of water, which was unacceptable, but unavoidable at this point. At least it would fill his empty stomach, but he would have to stop by the store soon and pick up some meals.

  When he was finished eating, he didn’t feel much like watching television, so he went through the house, taking a closer stock of the things he had only enough time to skim over before. She’d kept a lot of things from their old place, namely furniture, but he noticed most of the photos she used to keep hanging on every available wall and surface were missing. Not a single picture of the two of them sat out, and that ticked him the hell off. Not only was she pretending to be single in public, but she was living that way too.

  Wading through the organized mess of a guest room, Randy was determined to find those damn pictures. He knew she had them somewhere. Terri had always been very particular about those sorts of things, believing them to be a record of the past, of their existence so they would never be forgotten. There was no way she would have tossed them in the trash.

  After pushing a path through bulky pieces of furniture and nearly shattering a lamp in the process, Randy located the closet, where he found their photo album. He pulled it down and dusted off the cover. This was the record he was looking for. Satisfied with his find, he took the album into the living room and plopped down on the couch, then began flipping through it.

  All the evidence of their happiness that he would ever need was in those pages. Pictures of them on their first date, first anniversary of the day they met, their wedding day, all stared back at him. In all of them was a common theme: happiness and love. It shined in Terri’s eyes, in her bright, wide smile. The pictures grew fewer after that, thinning out into a few memorable moments, but one thing remained constant, and that was the look of pure devotion shining in Terri’s eyes in each and every one.

  For Randy, this was further proof of how much he and Terri belonged together. A love like theirs could never die, and should never be allowed to. Like a flower on a hot summer day, it had begun to wilt, but with a little attention, it would blossom again, more beautiful than ever.

  Renewed determination made Randy feel energized and ready to take on the world. They would be together soon, he was certain of it.

  The ringing of his cell phone shocked him out of his reverie, and Randy yanked it off the table where he had left it earlier. He barked a hello.

  “Mr. Cunningham,” said the male voice on the other end.

  “Yeah,” Randy growled. “Who’s this?”

  “Your friend, Jerry, contacted me, said you needed help tracking someone?”

  That was fast, Randy thought appreciatively. He liked that. “Yeah, my wife.”

  “I see.” Randy heard the click of what he assumed to be a pen in the background. “To get started, why don’t you tell me a bit about your wife.”

  Randy started with the basics, her height, weight, color of her hair and eyes, before getting into the more embarrassing details. “I think she’s staying with another man, maybe her boss, or someone she works with. I’m not sure. All I know is he drives a black Mercedes.” Randy relayed the description of the man he had seen walking up to the house with her that night from her bedroom window. “Do you think you can find her?”

  He could hear the smile in the man’s voice. “Given enough time, I can find anyone.”

  After the call was finished, Randy decided it was time to try out his new bed, which turned out to be his old one, just a little lumpier than he remembered. Resting his head on one of the pillows that still held a trace of Terri’s perfume, he let himself imagine the day when he would once again share the bed with his wife.

  Good thing that day wasn’t too far away.

  ***

  The house hadn’t been that hard to find, not for a man like him. He’d skipped right over the well-hidden drive that carved a winding path through the dense forest a couple of times, narrowing down the location with each pass.

  Now he stood there, squatting behind an evergreen bush. In the daylight, he’d be able to identify it, but out in the countryside night was so black you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. Right now, the only source of light came from a square window on the west side of the two-story cottage where he could see the woman in question sitting on a couch, her feet folded on the cushion beside her and her head resting in the crook of the shoulder belonging to the man who had his arm around her. He presumed this man to be the troublesome bump in the road that needed to be carved out.

  They were watching television, the very picture of a wholesome, happy couple—real family material there. Too bad the woman was an adulteress and the man a home wrecker. There weren’t many things that bothered him, but after his last stint in the pen, he’d found God, and if there was anything he’d learned well, it was that God hated sinners. These two were the worst of their kind, as far as he was concerned, and he felt it would be a job well done once he carried it out, something he would have
been happy to take care of for free if he wasn’t already getting paid for it.

  Leaving his hiding spot, he jogged across the open lawn and around the house for a closer look. Tonight was a fact-finding mission. The husband he’d spoken with earlier wanted to be the one to carry out the job. All he needed to know was his surroundings, map out the floor plan wherever possible, and assess the level of security. Peeking in windows, he noted the first floor was standard with living room, dining room, kitchen and what appeared to be a small bath. That meant that all the bedrooms, probably three judging by the size of the house, were on the second story.

  Around back, there were two fairly new, large metal doors set into the ground. This would be an old cellar entrance. He touched his fingers to the thick chain looped through the handles, gauging its strength, and finding it to be one of the strongest of its kind. Nothing he couldn’t get past with a little persistence and the right tools, though.

  Finished with his inspection, he crept back around front, stopping for a moment to peer inside at the couple one last time. He was just in time for the show. Gazing into each other’s eyes, the man made the first move, dipping his head to capture the woman’s mouth. The connection was so strong, it sent a heat wave right through the glass, and he backed away before he could be noticed.

  They certainly didn’t look like “just friends.” Definitely something to take back to the husband, he thought, sprinting across the lawn to his car where he’d left it hidden at the opening of the drive about a quarter mile back.

  ***

  After Terri took a long soak in the tub, Luke managed to talk her into sitting down to watch a movie with him. He even made her hot chocolate topped with a mound of tiny marshmallows to entice her. He wasn’t ready for bed just yet, and maybe he wanted to spend a little more time with her, he thought guiltily.

  He could tell she was tired, and about halfway into the movie, her eyes began to glaze over and her lids started to droop. He took the opportunity to pull her closer, meeting a little resistance at first, but eventually she relaxed enough to rest her head on his shoulder. They’d been sitting that way ever since, well past the end of the movie and two episodes of Law & Order.

  Terri let out a yawn, and Luke, looking down at her, tilted her head back, studying her delicate features while he pushed her hair back from her face to clear the view. He was just thinking how beautiful she looked, how good she felt in his arms, when her eyes lifted to his. Something moved between them then, warmth that overpowered the connection that had spurred their first kiss. He couldn’t explain it, but he knew that he felt it.

  Her head already tilted back, Luke met her halfway, pressing his lips firmly against hers. The thought that he could see spending the rest of his life this way, with this woman, was just being realized when his ears picked up the low beeping of his security beacon, snatching his attention away.

  Jumping to his feet, Luke rushed to where he had his alarm system installed on the wall opposite the couch, and checked the data. Terri, alarmed at his sudden change of mood, was right behind him, peering over his shoulder.

  “What’s going on?”

  He didn’t hesitate to fill her in. “The alarm picked up movement outside. Something tripped the sensors.”

  Her shoulders visibly relaxed, no longer overly concerned. “It could just be an animal, then, right?”

  Luke simply shook his head. “The system wasn’t put in place with rodents in mind. It was intended for human bulk.”

  “Well, maybe it was a bear,” Terri said, clearly agitated. “There are more than just rodents wandering in the woods, you know.”

  Luke turned to her, putting his hands on her shoulders. “I understand that you might be a little upset right now, but I am just trying to tell you the truth so you know what we’re dealing with.” His kissed her forehead and steered her back to the couch, pushing her down onto the cushions and resuming his seat beside her. He took up her hand as he worked to assure her. “I didn’t see anything on the cameras, but I assure you, someone was out there just now. But I don’t want you to worry—”

  “Not worry,” Terri whimpered. “How can I not worry when you tell me someone is lurking around outside?”

  “I can tell you that because when I bought this place, I installed the best security system money can buy. It’s practically impenetrable. Even the military would have to appreciate what went into it.”

  Doubt turned Terri’s mouth down into a pretty pout and created a crease between her brows. “How can you be sure?” she asked, then immediately followed up her question with another one. “And why in the world have you made your home into a fortress in the first place? You live in the middle of nowhere. What are you warding against—the boogie man? Giant mosquitos? What are you afraid of?”

  He had hoped not to have to reveal this part of his life, but knew this was the time. If they had any hope of making anything of this, whatever this was between them, then he had to be forthright. “You already know I don’t lead a…conventional life,” he began. “You can see that in the club and what goes on there, but what you see is only the half of it. I deal with some shady characters every day to get done what I have to get done, and that means my life isn’t as quiet as I would like it to be.”

  Terri’s expression was strained. “Are you in trouble, Luke?”

  “No, nothing like that,” he said quickly. “It’s just that, when you grow up like I did, in the kind of life I lead, you learn pretty quickly to watch your back and to be careful who you put your trust into, you know what I mean?”

  Terri was quiet for so long, Luke started to grow nervous. Finally, she breathed in a steadying breath. Her response was hesitant when she said, “I can’t say that I understand what you are saying, but from what I do know, I get that you don’t exactly lead an honest life.” Luke grimaced, wishing that he could be better in her eyes. “And I can only imagine what you are into that you keep hidden from the rest of us, but I also see the good in you, and I’m hoping it outweighs everything else.” She looked up at him then, her eyes searching. “I need for that to be true,” she said, the desperation ringing clear in her voice.

  Wrapping his arms tightly around her, Luke felt the overwhelming urge to change everything just to make her happy, anything that would take that sad look from her eyes. “I’m not a bad person,” he insisted, his voice thick with emotion. “I just never thought I could be anything more than what I have always been…until now. I don’t want this life anymore, Terri.”

  Terri pulled back so she could look at him. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that, until a few days ago, I was wandering through life, going through the motions, but I had blinders on. I didn’t really see, or want to see, what things were really like. But everything has changed. Now I know what I want, and that’s you.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  It seemed like they had just started planning it, and now it was here. Terri bent to fasten the straps on her patent leather heels that were a shade of green that reminded her too much of the bottles of beer Randy used to favor.

  Righting herself, she pushed open the locker room door and shoved her way through the thick mass of bodies that had accumulated at the mouth of the hallway. Once behind the bar, a sea of green met her. Each member of the wait staff was dressed in a skimpy halter/skirt combo and wore a little top hat with a springy clover bouncing spastically on top. The customers all wore something festive and green, as well, and mixed with the laughter, music, and lively conversations, it was sheer bedlam.

  Yes, St. Patty’s day had finally arrived.

  Drink orders came left and right, and Terri, Cathie, and Marianne worked feverishly to keep up, while Sara, Rose, and a couple of part-timers hired for the season worked the floor. Sunday, Bloody Sunday played in her ears and Terri could feel herself smiling as she filled glasses with green tinted beers and liquor specially ordered for the event. She was actually having fun.

  “How we doing?” Luke sho
uted over the noise as he stepped between her and Cathie, accepting cash from a couple of men across the counter.

  “Freaking awesome,” Cathie said brightly, popping her bubble gum and winking at a man a few feet away. “I’ve already made my rent in tips alone.”

  “Sounds like you won’t need me to cut you that check, then,” Luke said with a teasing grin.

  Cathie slapped him on his rear as she reached for a bottle from the shelf behind them. “Don’t even think about it, mister.”

  As she settled her attention back on work, Luke glanced at Terri. “How are you doing?”

  Terri slid a couple their drinks and made change before answering him. “I look like a giant leprechaun, but I’m having fun, actually.” She slid a look in his direction. “How are you enjoying the new uniform?”

  Luke looked down at the outfit she had forced him to wear. It was green like everyone else’s, but the similarities stopped there. He wore silk dress pants, and Chippendale green silk vest and a little green bowtie. She wanted to laugh, but he shot her a look of warning, so she bit it back, smiling widely as she filled another drink order.

  “I don’t know how I let you talk me into this,” he complained.

  “Faced with a roomful of women who wear skimpy clothes everyday of their life, I don’t think you had much hope of getting out of it,” Terri said. “Most of these women want payback. Besides, I think you look great.” She blushed the minute the words left her mouth, but the quick change in music drowned her out.