by Amy Vansant
Emily’s lip curled as she thought about the emails, texts and constant ringing. Stupid phone. She couldn’t help but think if it hadn’t been ringing all afternoon, Sebastian would have stayed.
They said their goodbyes. Sebastian kissed her and thanked her for a wonderful day.
“My pleasure,” she said.
“Well, that goes without saying,” he said.
“Ha,” she said, not feeling as playful as she had earlier. She still felt like throwing up. She deserved to feel queasy for prying. She felt guilty for looking at his phone and sick over what she had read. If she hadn’t looked at his messages, she’d feel just fine.
She also knew she’d check for new messages the next time.
Emily closed the door behind Sebastian and wandered into her living room to flop on the sofa. Now she felt depressed. Maybe she should text Sebastian something like, “Help Sebastian!! I am depressed and I need you!! Let your smile change the world, never let the world change your smile! You are special!”
The worst part was she knew she couldn’t blame the situation entirely on Greta. Sebastian lived in her house. He could leave any time he wanted.
Emily suspected Sebastian didn’t want to hurt Greta, but soft-hearted men were easily manipulated. Sebastian was on his way home, where Greta would sit, fragile and teary-eyed, her huge knockers heaving... Anything could happen.
If Greta kept working on him, Sebastian might never find the strength to leave. Did she know about Emily and their blossoming relationship? Had he told her? If Greta knew, she might double her efforts; do almost anything to keep Sebastian from her.
Could she blame Sebastian’s reticence to commit? He barely knew her. Given the time to grow, Emily felt confident her bond with Sebastian would strengthen, but between Greta and his housing situation, he might run screaming from everything, just to clear his head. Bad timing killed love all the time.
Emily fell back on her sofa and stared at the ceiling. She hated seeing both sides of a story. It immobilized her; kept her from forming solid opinions and from acting on those opinions. Other girls might demand that Sebastian commit; demand he leave Greta. Emily felt that would push him away. She wouldn’t want ultimatums thrown at her. He had to come to his own decision.
Emily had a choice. She could end things until Sebastian moved from Greta’s, or, she could be herself and continue her course. If her heart was broken in the end, at least she’d have fought for what she wanted.
Emily felt a tear slide down the right side of her face. She refused to wipe it. She tilted her head to encourage a tear to fall down the left side of her face, in the interest of symmetry. She forgot about her problems for two minutes, until she felt a tear drip into her left ear.
Mission accomplished.
She returned to dwelling on her plight.
Emily worried a stronger woman would choose letting Sebastian go until he came back to her. The old, “if you love something let it go, if it comes back to you it is yours.”
Did that shit ever work?
She sighed.
She sighed a more ragged sigh.
Much better.
She made her decision.
Screw it.
She sat up, teeth gritted.
It’s on, Greta.
It’s on like Donkey Kong.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sebastian didn’t show at the Rover the next night. Emily left the moment the competition ended. She was sick to her stomach with worry. She imagined the worst; Greta had re-seduced Sebastian.
Emily pulled into her driveway and sat in the car, staring at her steering wheel, overcome with sadness. Her phone rang. She picked it up and read the caller ID name printed in bold across the screen.
Sebastian.
Emily’s heart flipped like a pancake.
“Hey!” she answered. “You didn’t go to darts.”
“You home?” asked Sebastian.
“Yes.”
“Stay there.”
The phone went dead.
Emily ran inside to primp and let the dog out. Should she change into something more comfortable, or stay dressed? She sniffed at her clothes. They smelled like smoke.
Fifteen minutes and an outfit change later, an old Mercedes flew into Emily’s driveway. Sebastian hopped out of the passenger seat, spotted Emily peering through her bay window and motioned for her to come outside as he walked toward the door.
“Come on,” he said, as she opened the door and popped out her head. “We’re going to look at an apartment.”
“Now?” she asked. “It’s nine-thirty!”
“Ryan knows a guy. He’s got some big house on the water that he inherited from his mom and he’s renting a room.”
Sebastian bounced on the balls of his feet, rushing Emily towards the car. He opened the driver’s side back door and she stepped in. Sebastian closed the door and jogged to the other side of the car.
“Let’s go!” he said, sliding into the passenger seat.
“Hey Emily,” said Ryan, looking in his mirror to back out of her driveway.
She waved to him. She tucked her feet to her knees. She couldn’t drop them to the floor; it was littered with empty beer cans.
“Are you big into recycling?” she asked.
“Passenger leavings,” said Ryan. “They’re animals.”
“Oh, I am so going to die,” Emily whispered under her breath. She found a seatbelt amidst the fast food wrappers and aluminum.
“So,” she said. “What have you boys been up to tonight?” She motioned to the sea of forgotten beer cans.
“Makin’ plans, movin’ mountains,” said Ryan.
“Okay,” she said. “That makes no sense.”
“Oh it totally makes sense,” said Sebastian. “Flimmity flammity flim flam.”
“Riiight,” she said. “Why do I feel like I probably should have drunk more?”
Emily thought she’d mumbled the last sentence, but seconds later, a full beer can hit the seat beside her and bounced into her lap.
“Drink up, Johnny!” said Ryan.
Emily covered her face with her hand and shook her head.
“Please don’t tell me my chauffeur is drunk,” said Emily. “Seriously.”
“I’m not drunk, I’m the double D! The designated cabbie!” said Ryan.
“He’s just high on life,” said Sebastian. “And about eight Cokes.”
Emily peeked through her fingers at the beer in her lap. She shrugged and cracked it open.
“This is the worst taxi ever,” she said, taking a sip.
“The worst?” asked Ryan. “Or the best?”
Ten minutes and half a beer later, Ryan pulled into a long, winding driveway. One light glimmered at the end of the pitch-black dirt road. The light silhouetted the shape of a man standing like a sentry in front of his garage. He held a shotgun diagonal across his chest.
“Whoa,” said Sebastian.
Emily slapped her pockets, looking for her phone. She wanted to tell her mother that if she went missing, she was chained in a shotgun-toting dude’s basement, at the end of a lovely tree-lined driveway.
Ryan didn’t hesitate. He pulled beside the armed man and rolled down his window.
“Hey, you know where they keep the women around here?” he asked.
“Haw!” The giant with the shotgun released an ear-deafening laugh. “What’s up Ryan, I forgot you were coming!”
“So, he always greets strangers with a shotgun?” Emily whispered to Sebastian.
Sebastian grimaced. Emily suspected he wouldn’t be finding the apartment of his dreams tonight.
“Come on in!” said the man, dropping the gun to his side.
Ryan turned off the engine and they got out of the car.
“So Teddy, this is Sebastian, the guy looking for a place,” said Ryan, gesturing to Sebastian.
Sebastian and Teddy shook hands. Sebastian’s hand looked like a child’s, wrapped in Teddy’s beefy paw.
; “And this is Emily, Sebastian’s, uh, friend,” said Ryan.
Teddy nodded and bowed in her direction.
“Hello, Sebastian’s uh-friend,” he said.
“Uh, hello,” she said.
“Well c’mon inside, people,” roared Teddy, turning on his heel and walking to the house. “Quit gawkin’ and start walkin’!”
The house was huge. They rounded the garage and left the glaring driveway light. A softer, yellow glow shone through the windows facing the river, providing enough illumination for Emily to see the house’s gray shaker siding, spotty with wear and missing pieces. The garden lining the side of the house, brimming with plant husks and skeletal bushes, looked like a graveyard where chrysanthemums went to die.
Teddy pushed opened his front door, enveloping the group in a fog of stale air. The entrance hallway featured a coat rack with two missing hooks and six pairs of huge shoes scattered against the wall. A staircase led to darkness on the left. Teddy led them straight ahead and through a doorway on the right, into his kitchen.
Towers of papers, used plates and silverware merged to create the countertops’ ragged landscape. Emily had seen post-party frat houses with better housekeeping.
“This is the kitchen,” said Teddy. “It could use a little straightening.”
It could use a flamethrower, Emily thought, spotting something scuttle beneath a plate.
Emily lightly touched Sebastian’s arm. He glanced at her and she could see the horror in his eyes. Once at a Dart Night, someone had splashed a drink on his pants. He’d fought the urge to leave, but finally did so to change and return pressed and spotless. If a little drink spill sent him into a tailspin, this kitchen had to be fodder for his nightmares.
“You got a beer, Teddy?” asked Ryan.
“Don’t drink,” said Teddy. “Not for five years.”
Everyone in the group offered the obligatory nod of approval.
“Good for you, Ted,” said Ryan. “Not my thing, but good for you.”
Emily thought a guy who met people in his driveway with a shotgun was probably a good candidate for sobriety.
“Let me show you the room,” said Teddy.
Teddy led them through a surprisingly formal living room. In the dim light, Emily saw old-fashioned furniture, Hummel-like statues and giant doilies draped over the backs of chairs. It looked like the home of someone’s spinster aunt, not Lennie from Of Mice and Men.
Teddy started down a thin, dark hallway. At the end of it, he pushed open a door and motioned for them to go inside. Emily heard the flip of a light switch, and the room appeared bathed in a dim yellow glow.
“Oh, I guess the other bulb’s out,” said Teddy.
The group fell quiet. Everything in the room, from the silver tray of perfumes to the housedresses and furs piled on the bed telegraphed the space as an old lady’s bedroom. A rocker sat in front of the only window. The room smelled like someone’s attic had thrown up in it.
“This was Mom’s room,” said Teddy, his voice soft. “She died here last spring.”
“Oh hell no,” mumbled Sebastian.
“She lived here the last five years of her life. It still doesn’t feel real to me, you know?” Teddy hung his head.
Ryan slapped Teddy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry to hear that, Ted.”
Emily looked at Ryan. He caught her looking and winked. He knew Sebastian wouldn’t live in this house if it came with a new truck and a lifetime supply of bacon. Ryan either brought Sebastian for the sheer amusement, or he didn’t know the state of things at Teddy’s Funhouse. Either way, same result.
Emily heard Teddy sniff. He was crying.
“Give me a second. You all go and take a look out that window. Momma used to love sitting in that chair looking at that view. I think you’re going to love it too, Sebastian.”
Teddy excused himself and clumped down the hall. A moment later, they heard the horn-like blow of his nose.
“Go on, Sebastian,” said Ryan. “Check out your new view.”
“You have got to be kidding me. I’m not living in this house of wax.”
“The chair at the window,” said Emily, motioning to the rocker in front of the view. “It’s like Psycho.”
“I know, right?” said Sebastian. “That’s exactly what I thought!”
Ryan snickered. “So you don’t want the place?”
“I want to get the hell out of here,” said Sebastian.
Emily felt a bout of giggles creeping.
“You don’t want to take a peek at the view?” she teased. “Maybe try on a wig?”
“No!” said Sebastian. “If I walk past that bed something is going to grab my ankles.”
The hall bathroom door opened and Emily bit her lip to stem the giggle-tide. She looked away. She knew if she met eyes with Sebastian she was going to explode.
“Sorry about that,” said Teddy. “Whatcha think of that view?”
“Beautiful,” said Sebastian. “Really nice.”
“Isn’t it? Did you see the dock?”
“Uh...” stammered Sebastian. “Did I see the dock...”
“Let’s go down the dock,” said Teddy, striding down the hall.
“Let’s go see the dock!” said Ryan, pointing his index finger in the sky. He followed Teddy.
Sebastian looked at Emily. “What’s that, Mother?” he whispered. “Please, Mother. It’s just a girl, Mother.”
“Stop!” Emily hissed. “You’re going to make me start giggling again!”
They followed Teddy and Ryan, pushing through a rickety screen to the backyard. From the patio, they couldn’t avoid the view and, to be fair, it was breathtaking. Although the night was dark, the river sparkled under the lights of the large houses that lined its banks. It reminded Emily of the magical boat ride and glowing shrimp.
The group walked downstairs to a long ramp leading to the pier, Emily last in line. She felt her smooth-bottomed shoes slip on the sharply angled ramp. She slid, flailing for the handrails as she flew two feet off the ramp and directly into Sebastian, who caught her under her armpits as she sped by. They balanced, both in danger of falling. Emily’s left leg dipped off dock and into the river, before Sebastian won the battle and righted her.
“Whoa! Easy, Flash!” said Sebastian.
Emily pulled her soggy shoe out of the drink, panting, adrenaline coursing through her veins.
“Thank you,” she said, holding on to Sebastian, still unsure of her feet. “I’d have gone in head first if you hadn’t caught me.”
“I should probably put some kind of traction on that ramp,” said Teddy. “There are a few repairs that need to be done around here.”
“Nooo,” said Ryan. “This place is beautiful!”
Sebastian stood behind Emily and put his arms around her. “I have to lock you down, spazz, before you go flying off the dock.”
“Excellent idea,” she said, nestling into his arms.
Ryan looked at them and smirked.
Teddy told a story about jumping off the dock with his brother as kids. Cozy in Sebastian’s arms, Emily listened to the tale and glanced toward the house.
A dark figure darted behind the garage.
“I’m sorry... is there someone else here, Teddy?” she asked, interrupting his story.
“What?”
“I thought I just saw someone moving up there, by the garage.”
Everyone looked towards the house, searching for movement.
“Shouldn’t be,” said Teddy. “Are you sure?”
She opened her mouth and then shut it. She thought she’d seen someone shrink from the light into the darkness of the trees, but she didn’t want Teddy running for his gun.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Maybe I’m seeing things.”
“Probably hallucinating from your near-death experience,” said Sebastian.
“Could be,” she said, staring where she’d seen the figure.
The group made their way back up the ramp to Ryan’s ca
r.
“Well, I appreciate the tour,” said Sebastian, shaking Teddy’s big paw. “I’m looking at a few different places, but I’ll let you know.”
“No problem!” said Teddy. “Nice to see you again, Ryan.”
Ryan said his good-byes and they drove back up the winding driveway. Although there was enough room to turn the car around, Ryan reversed the entire way.
“Ryan, you are on crack if you ever thought I’d live there,” said Sebastian.
“I had no idea, dude,” said Ryan. “I swear. I haven’t seen that guy in years. I just bumped into him and he mentioned he was trying to rent a room on the river and I thought of you.”
Ryan paused before pulling out on to the main road. Sitting in the back seat, Emily had the best view of the street. The left clear, she checked right in time to see a dark sedan peel from the side of the road and roar away.
“All clear?” asked Ryan.
“Looks good,” said Emily, wondering about the car pulling away at their approach.
Had that been the person near the garage?
Emily couldn’t shake the feeling that it had.
“Where to?” asked Ryan.
“If you could drop us back off at Emily’s house, that would be cool,” said Sebastian. “Is that okay, Em?”
“Sure,” said Emily, trying not to sound happy.
“You’ll have to give me a lift to work,” he added.
“No problem.”
“You don’t want to go to the Rover or something?” asked Ryan. “I can take you home afterwards?”
Sebastian looked at Emily and made a face like a man trapped on a rapidly descending rollercoaster. Emily understood. The only thing scarier than spending the night in Teddy’s dead mother’s room was the idea of Ryan driving them home after drinks at the Rover.
“Nah,” said Sebastian. “I’m beat and I have to work tomorrow. And then I have to go to my niece’s birthday party.”
Ryan shrugged. “Your loss.”
“No doubt,” said Sebastian. He turned to Emily. “Hey, you want to go to a little kid’s birthday party tomorrow?”
“Me?”
Sebastian looked around the back seat. “Is there someone else back there?”
