by Jet, M
"We’ll see," she'd finally answered, deciding to simply not address the matter just then.
Chugging her travel mug of coffee, Mary Jane soon turned onto Main Street where the diner was situated. When she swung into a parking spot, she saw no other vehicles around.
Except for an idling police cruiser.
It was far too early for anyone to be downtown yet, and because they were already so familiar with Mary Jane, the management had provided her with keys. She'd been hired to be the opener for the restaurant. So there were also no other employees present. Just that lone police cruiser.
Too tired to be angry, or any emotion really, Mary Jane stepped out of the truck and trudged to the cruiser. She bent slightly to peer into the passenger side window and confirmed that it was Dominique sitting there in the shadows. He rolled the window down and gave her one of his almost indiscernible smiles.
"What are you doing?" she asked. There was nothing angry in her tone. Only tired.
"I asked Doris what hours you'd be working," he commented simply.
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Wow, stalker much?" she said smartly.
He smirked. "Oh please. I'm just making sure you get in the door safely, Mary Jane. I'm a public servant, if you recall."
She couldn't help but smirk back, though she still wasn't ready to show him a smile. "Yes, because this town is just so dangerous."
Something dark passed across his eyes and he was back to frowning. "It's not as safe as you think, Mary Jane," he said softly. Then he nodded toward the door. "Go on in, and lock it back up behind you while you get ready to open."
She gave him a salute. "Yes, officer. Will do, thank you."
Chapter 6
Mary Jane whisked through her busy morning in the diner. Nothing much had changed. All the procedures remained the same, so she required no training. All the same customers flowed in and out, and they were abundantly happy to see her. Even the old grouchy men revealed how they'd missed her over the years. She hardly had a free second to think about any of her personal problems and she quite enjoyed herself, and the stack of cash accumulating in her apron pocket. She thought of little else beyond what she was doing, except that the sound of Dominique saying her name played in the background of her imagination as she worked.
It surprised her that he never came in throughout the morning. But at noon, an hour before she got off, Zander did enter the diner. She thought he was just there to give her keys to the van, but instead, he took a seat in one of the booths.
She walked curtly up to him holding out her hand. "Hey, it’s the middle of lunch rush, so…"
He seemed to be oblivious to how busy she was. "So, I got a new job already!" he exclaimed smiling broadly at her.
She tried not to let her frustration show as she watched three of her tables fill up out of the corner of her eye. "That's great, Z, we'll talk about it when I get off." She wiggled her fingers, inviting him once again, to hand over the keys.
"I'm gonna have lunch, can I have a menu?"
Mary Jane stifled a groan. "OK, hang on a sec; let me get my new customers first, alright?"
"Sure," he said good naturedly.
She buzzed around delivering menus to the new customers and grabbing drink orders. She also refilled coffees as she made her way through the dining room.
"Thank you, Missy," said one of the old farmers who regularly drank coffee in the diner. He patted her hand as she poured.
"HEY! KEEP YOUR FUCKING HANDS OF MY WIFE!" Zander screamed, leaping out of his seat and rushing at the old man.
The entire jam packed dining room fell deathly quiet. Mary Jane stood stalk still, mouth gaping, the breath frozen in her lungs.
A brilliant red color rose in the old farmer's face and he slid back his chair to stand. Though he was dressed in worn overalls and possessed a nondescript appearance, Mary Jane knew him to be one of the wealthiest members of the community. And certainly not a customer the management would want to piss off.
"Excuse me, son?" the farmer asked testily.
"You heard me," Zander growled.
The manager raced across the dining room, fumbling desperately to apologize to the farmer, who turned and angrily stormed out of the restaurant. As the door's bells jingled, signaling his abrupt departure, everyone in the dining room resumed their chatter.
Her manager, Mitch, glared at Zander. "Mr. Barnaby, I'm sorry, but you'll have to leave. And Mary Jane, I need to speak with you."
She glanced at Zander silently praying he would just leave, though he looked close to explosion. After a tense moment of exchanged glances among the three of them, Zander turned and stalked out of the restaurant, tossing the keys to the van on a table as he left.
Mary Jane followed Mitch into the back, out of the view of the customers.
"Mary Jane, come on," he said irritably. "What am I supposed to say here?"
She struggled to fight back tears. "Mitch, I am so sorry. Believe me; no one is as mortified as I am. Please… Don't fire me."
He glowered at her for a long time before he finally spoke. "He can't come in here. CANNOT come in here, do you understand me? It's a diner full of ancient old married men, for Christ's sake. That man looks at you like a grandchild, I can promise you that."
"I know, I know. I understand! You know I don't mind these old fellas, Mitch." Relief washed over her, managing to push back some of her embarrassment. He wasn't going to fire her. As long as Zander cooperated, anyway.
With one final warning, he sent her back to finish out her day.
***
After she left work, she found herself killing time away from home once again. Confronting Zander was the absolute last thing on earth she wanted to do just then. She picked up Jessie from daycare and took her to the park again, where they stayed until it was time to pick up the boys.
In the school cafeteria, Dominique came in soon after her, just as always. He strolled to where she sat and took a seat next to her.
"Heard about your husband's shenanigans," he said without prelude.
She shot him a warning look. "Don't, Dominique. I'm not discussing it with you."
He arched an eyebrow and gave her that infuriating yet dizzy making small smile. "Why not?" he teased.
"It's not funny. And you know why not." Mary Jane groaned. "Would you give me a break? What part of 'go away' are you not understanding, Officer?"
He gazed at her for one of those characteristic long moments where she would die to know what he was thinking. "Mary Jane, if I thought for one minute that you meant it, I would go away."
Her cheeks blazed. They didn't say anything else and soon it was time to pick up their students and they parted ways, leaving Mary Jane's mind on tilt.
***
Mary Jane's life became a busy whirlwind, working six days a week and managing her family. Within a couple weeks, school dismissed for the summer so she no longer saw Dominique each afternoon in the cafeteria. But he was there almost religiously in the mornings when she reported to work. She didn't even speak to him at those times; simply proceeded into the building.
He also stopped in for a quick cup of coffee almost every day that she worked. She couldn't deny enjoying settling back into a friendship with the mysterious man, but she was also glad that she could busy herself with other customers if she felt on the verge of crossing a line.
Zander started his new job on a construction crew and surprised her by doing very well, as far as she could see. He reported on time and stayed all day, and she heard zero complaints from him in the evenings. They were pulling in more money than they ever had since they'd been together. For a time, she began to feel like things were working out.
Four weeks after she started working the diner again, she spent a hot Saturday evening cooking out in the back yard with her family. The fragrant aroma charcoal and grilling steaks drifted on the warm summer air. Mary Jane closed her eyes and enjoyed the breeze on her face, and the sound of her kids, and other children a
ll over the neighborhood, enjoying the beautiful evening.
Zander stood at the grill and she wandered up behind him and put her arms around his waist. He hung his tongs off the grill's handle and turned to face her and take her in his arms.
"We missed you this morning while you were at work," he murmured into her hair.
"Aw, I missed you guys too," she replied.
After a long, lazy moment he pulled back just enough to look down into her eyes. "Since things have been going so well with my new job, don't you think it's time to quit that hell hole?"
Mary Jane's smile faded. She'd wondered when this argument would strike. She didn't know what to say. Afraid of disrupting the peaceful balance that had finally occurred in their household; she thought she should tread lightly.
"It's really not a hell hole, Z," she said gently. "It’s a really nice place. The customers are kind people. I do really well there! And… I like it."
Shadows crossed his face and he frowned darkly. "Oh yeah? Better than you like your family?" He dropped his hands and gave her a little shove back. It was a gentle shove, but a shove nonetheless.
"Come on, Zander, you know that's not true. Don't you enjoy all the extra money? When have we ever been able to afford anything extra? By Christmas, we'll probably be able to afford a trip to Disney World! It's so nice not to worry and struggle, you must agree with that."
"So I guess me working my ass off for you all those years wasn't good enough then?"
I wouldn't exactly call it working your ass off to get fired every other week, she thought bitterly.
She sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quitting the job. Please try to understand. It's good for me, and it's good for us. That's the end of it."
He glared angrily at her for a long moment and she saw the husband she was used to, the one who'd been carefully hidden for the last month, present himself in all his angry glory. She refused to look away, refused to back down. Finally he turned and stalked into the house. For the first time since she'd started working, she watched him peel out of the driveway, undoubtedly headed for the bar.
He left the family's steaks still smoking on the grill.
Chapter 7
Mary Jane's home life imploded once again. Zander went right back to excessive drinking and she had to hire a backup babysitter who would accept kids in the early morning hours that the daycare center did not, just in case he was too drunk to get up and manage the children in the morning. Which started happening frequently. He started missing work and she knew that once again it was only a matter of time before he lost his job.
Numerous times at work, Dominique made comments about Zander's behavior. She honestly didn't know how he could know so much about her personal life, and it unnerved her. Then again, it was a cop's job to know the goings on of his community. Unfortunately, her husband was probably well known drunk among local law enforcement. Whenever Dominique brought it up, she politely put him off. She loved her friendship with him, and she didn't want to let him cross a line she couldn't uncross. She resolutely refused to discuss inappropriate topics with him.
Amazingly enough, Zander lasted another three weeks before he got fired again. His drinking reached an all-time high even though they lost all his income and would scarcely be able to eat let alone blow money on booze. And she had to keep paying for daycare even with him not working, because she couldn't count on him to get out of bed and take care of the kids when they woke in the morning. She didn't know what she was going to do. She began contemplating ways to get him to leave.
One afternoon when she'd volunteered to stay late at work, she stood at the counter talking to Dominique during a lull in business. He was off duty but still in uniform. They were thoroughly enjoying a funny exchange about some of his exploits on the job.
And then Zander stumbled in the door.
Mary Jane nearly dropped the coffee pot she held. It was the first time Zander had made an appearance there since Mitch had banned him from the premises. Her eyes darted around frantically, hoping Mitch was nowhere in sight. And, something about having Dominique and Zander under the same roof made her extraordinarily anxious.
"Come here," he muttered blearily.
The instant darkening of Dominique's expression did not escape her.
She hurried out from behind the counter to meet him where he stood swaying by the front door. "Z," she said quietly. "What are you doing here?"
"I need some money," he grumbled. "Pretty pleeeease?" He gave her a leering grin and his voice was snide and vulgar.
"Just go home and go to sleep," she begged. "You don't need anymore. Please!"
Zander snatched her arm and jerked her against him, simultaneously snaking his hand inside her apron pocket.
Before she saw him coming, Dominique pulled her away and then blasted Zander into the wall.
Though Dominique was the smaller of the two, he had no problem pinning Zander in place with his hands around the drunken man's neck. "Don't you ever, ever touch her again, motherfucker," Dominique snarled, his face contorted like a rabid dog.
Zander squirmed half-heartedly, but Dominique had him. "Fuck you, pig," Zander spat.
"How 'bout me and you go for a ride?" Dominique said his tone full of menace.
The two men stared evilly at each other for what seemed like eternity. Tears streamed down Mary Jane's face as she waited for Dominique to hurt him. That's certainly what it seemed like his intentions were. Everything was changing. Right then, she knew it. Her life was turning upside down again that very minute.
Finally, Dominique unhanded him. "Get out of here," he demanded malevolently.
For once, Zander didn't argue.
As soon as he was gone, Mary Jane sunk onto one of the stools at the counter and dropped her face onto her arms to weep. Dominique came up behind her and rubbed her back comfortingly.
"I'm gonna call him in, get him picked up," Dominique said. He all the sudden sounded the voice of calm when seconds ago he'd seemed like an animal.
Her head shot up and she saw him reaching for the radio clipped to his shoulder.
"Dominique, no! Please, no. I don't know what in the hell I'll do if he gets arrested. He'll just go home, I promise. Please don't."
He studied her for just a moment then sighed. "Don't ever mention this again, Mary Jane. I'll just go follow him, make sure he makes it without hurting anyone, alright?"
She leapt up and threw her arms around him. His arms instinctively encircled her waist.
"Thank you," she whispered against his ear. Then he slipped out the door and disappeared.
***
Mary Jane was exhausted when she finally left work at seven p.m. and picked the kids up from daycare. She felt horrible that they'd been with sitters for so long. At the same time she was unbelievably angry with her husband who'd been home all day preferring to get hammered then be with his kids and save the family money. Plus, he'd once again jeopardized her employment. Something had to change. He couldn't keep doing this to them.
When they pulled into the driveway, it surprised her to find his truck missing. Apprehension began to build inside her as she wondered if he'd come home earlier when Dominique had followed him. And if so, why wasn't he there a few short hours later? An alarm sounded in her mind.
The sitter had fed the kids supper, but she got them inside and situated with snacks in the kitchen. Once they were momentarily content, she called one of the waitresses from Layman's lunch who was off the following day and offered her hours to her co-worker. Her stress and tension was at an all-time high. She had a feeling a situation was brewing that would prevent her from making it to work the following day. So she was relieved when her co-worker agreed to take her shift. One thing at least, she didn't have to worry about.
After they ate their snacks and filled her in about their days, Mary Jane gave the children baths and put them to bed. Once she returned to the lonely quiet of the living room, she felt riddled with anxiety. She knew she should just go to bed;
she was certainly weary to the bones. But, she sensed that they'd reached a point where something had to happen. The situation had to progress. So she sat down on the couch, switched on the TV, and waited.
She only waited a matter of minutes.
Zander slammed in the door and she could smell the pungent scent of whiskey from across the room. She'd never known him to take so much as a sip of anything other than beer. She had no idea what to expect from a whiskey bender, but she could guess that it would be terrible.
He stormed toward her so quickly and angrily that she scurried back on the couch pulling her legs up against her, as a child would do to escape a monster under the bed. But her monster was very real, and he reached down, laced his fingers into her hair, and yanked her savagely to her feet.
She began bawling instantly, seeing him so far past any level of anger she'd ever known from him in the past. He looked insane in the eyes, so deformed by fury she scarcely recognized him.
"You got something going on with that cop?" he screamed, shaking her so violently her teeth clattered together. She became panicked that he would wake the kids, but didn't dare tell him to be quiet.
"No Zander! Of course not! Baby, please!" she wept, begging him, trying to break through to the man he was underneath all of this.
"I don't believe you!"
"Pleeeeease!" she pleaded desperately. "Zander, he's a police officer and you grabbed me in front of him! What was he supposed to do?"
Zander roared. "He's supposed to mind his own goddamn business!" He shook her again. "I EVER catch you talking to that sum bitch again, and I will fucking KILL YOU!"
Before she saw it coming, he drew back and slammed his fist into her left eye. She sprawled at lightning speed to the floor. The hardwood was cool against her face. As unconsciousness closed in, she was vaguely aware of Jessie's feet standing in the living room doorway and the sound of her wailing, Zander's heavy footsteps running across the living room, and the screen door slamming shut.
