by Sky Winters
“I’m sorry. I just can’t,” she said, her voice trailing off as she made a hasty retreat toward a nearby bar manned by Kellye’s brother-in-law, Mickey.
“Well, look at you,” he said cheerfully as she approached. “If I weren’t a happily married man, I’d confess to anything just for a few minutes in your noose.”
“Been mixing a few of those drinks for yourself, Mickey?” she laughed.
“Meh. Perhaps, but you do look lovely. What can I get for you?”
“Something potent. Poison Hemlock, maybe.”
He grimaced. “Oooh. Rough night?”
“More than just one night. Things have gone to complete shit lately.”
“Oh, I see. You can yak it up with the bartender, but not a ghost. How do you know that I’m not the ghost of someone you executed? You might owe it to me,” came the voice of the guy in the sheet as he walked up beside her.
“Weston? That you under there,” Mickey interjected.
“Yeah, man. What’s up?”
“Not much. Just having a good time. You enjoying yourself, buddy?”
“Mostly. I was trying to get this beauty beside me to give me the time of day, but she is apparently afraid of ghosts. I knew I should have come as a superhero, damn it.”
Mandy laughed as Mickey shook his head woefully at the ghost.
“Man, you’re just trying too hard. You can’t pick up chicks in a ghost costume. I don’t care who you are. Now, if you had come to the party in your natural state, your animal magnetism would have won her over. Seems now that you are out a bed sheet and out of luck.”
“Story of my life, my man. Story of my life…and death, apparently.”
“I tell you what. I like you, so I’m going to help you out,” Mickey told him, handing Mandy the drink he had been mixing. She had no idea what was in it, but if it numbed the pain she felt at this moment, she’d probably have another when this one was gone. “Mandy, this is Weston Parker. He’s a partner at my law firm. Weston, this is Mandy Caldwell. She’s an editor for the Daily Sun. Take your drinks and go get to know one another better,” he finished, handing the ghost a beer.
“I knew I liked you best. I’ll add this to my ‘reasons to make you a partner’ list,” Weston told him.
“I do what I can,” Mickey said with a wide smile before turning to take a drink order from a couple dressed as Bonnie and Clyde…after they had been shot more than fifty times. They were gruesome to look at, even if it was a hilarious idea.
“Jesus Christ,” Weston said as she got a glimpse of them standing there, guts and gore dripping off their bloody costumes. They were eerily realistic looking. So much so that they only added to Mandy’s emotional nausea. She turned to walk away and Weston followed, still chuckling to himself a bit.
“They were hideous,” she said, stopping by a bird bath in the backyard to glance back toward the bar.
“She speaks to me!” Weston said enthusiastically.
Mandy looked at him sheepishly. “I’m sorry if I was rude before. I’m just having a really bad day today. I thought coming to this party would help me out of a funk I’ve been in lately, but it only made things worse.”
“Let me guess. Man troubles?”
“More like little boy troubles from the way he has acted,” she said dismissively.
“Well, you know, the best revenge is living well. That’s what they say anyway. Why not let me take you out and show you what a great time you can have without him?”
Mandy smiled at him. “Thanks, but I’m just really not in the right frame of mind to date right now. It’s not you or anything, I’m just not interested in seeing anyone.”
“He must have done some number on you,” he replied, his voice sympathetic.
“Yeah. Anyway. It was nice meeting you, but I think I really need to get out of here before this night gets any worse. I hope you have a great evening.”
“Very well, Mandy. It was a pleasure to meet you. I’ll let you be on your way.”
“Goodnight, Weston.”
“Goodnight,” he told her, watching as she sat her glass on a nearby table and walked away.
Mandy wove her way carefully through the party. It was packed in both the yard and the house. She caught a glimpse of Cameron and his date, both of whom had now reverted to their human forms. He was still in the sheep costume, but she was just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Mandy couldn’t help but notice that the girl looked very much like herself. That just made everything seem more confusing to Mandy. Why would he choose someone who looked so much like her when he hadn’t wanted her?
Walking home in a daze, Mandy made her way up to her apartment, shedding the costume and washing off the heavy makeup. She looked at herself in the mirror for a few moments and then climbed into bed, crying herself to sleep, something that seemed to have become a very unfortunate habit of late. It was getting old, but the pain was still so fresh to her. She didn’t know how to get past it. It only hurt more to know that he’d had no problem moving on. Although, since he was able to cut her off so easily, she probably never really meant anything to him in the first place.
Chapter Six
By the following Monday morning, she had made a decision not to let herself spiral downward any farther into the depression she’d been falling into for weeks. If she had meant so little to Cameron, why was she wasting her emotions on him? Hadn’t she cried enough over a man who was an asshole at best and a sociopath at worst? What sort of person promises you the world and then just suddenly disappears without a word? The more she considered what he had done to her, the more her disappointment turned to disdain for him.
“He did you a favor,” Kellye told her over lunch the following day.
Mandy scowled, picking at her salad. “I don’t know about that.”
“He did. It’s better that you know he’s a piece of garbage now than to have found out years down the road after you were married and had children tugging on your skirt tails when he abandoned the lot of you.”
“That’s true, I suppose. It just doesn’t feel very nice.”
“I know it doesn’t, honey, but it will get better. Hey, tell me about Weston.”
“Who?” Mandy asked, the name not registering at first.
“Mickey said he met you at the party and hasn’t stopped asking him questions about you. He was really taken with you it seems.”
“Oh, the ghost. I don’t even know what he looks like. I kind of blew him off. I’m just not ready to date again yet.”
“You should reconsider. I haven’t met him, but Mickey says he’s a super nice guy. Most importantly, he’s not a psycho like Cameron.”
“Maybe in time I’ll want to go out with someone again. I’m just too jaded right now.”
“You know what they say. The best way to get over a man is to get under another one.”
“Certainly seems to be Cameron’s philosophy based on what I saw. Of course, he wouldn’t have to get over me if he hadn’t skipped out on me. I guess there was really nothing to get over for him.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you at the party. My sister grabbed me the moment I came in and put me to work in the kitchen. By the time I tore myself away from her indentured servitude, you had already left. I didn’t know why until you told me. Then, I remembered seeing him practically climbing down Amelia’s throat in the corner.”
“Amelia? That’s her name?”
“Yeah. She’s a friend of a friend of my sister’s. She brought him to the party. No one there knew him. I didn’t either. I’d never met him. It wasn’t until you told me what happened that I put two and two together as to who he was.”
“Great. I’ll look forward to running into them again,” Mandy said sarcastically.
“That won’t happen. She told my sister that she hadn’t heard from him since the party. He told her he would call her the next day and didn’t. Then he blocked her from all his social media like she was the freak.”
“Sounds right.
He blocked me too. It took him a couple weeks. Maybe he was deciding if he was going to talk to me again or something, I don’t know. But then he blocked me and that’s when I really began to realize it was over.”
“It took you that long?”
Mandy grimaced. “Unfortunately, yes. I just thought he was having some sort of personal crisis and would come back. Which obviously didn’t happen.”
“Awful. I don’t know why we let men do that shit to us.”
“Me either, but no matter what we tell ourselves, we all do it. We all let them drag us down to their level and hurt us in ways we can’t just bounce back from, no matter how hard we try.”
“Well, it’s over now. It’s time to move on. Why don’t you let my brother-in-law give your number to Weston?”
“Hold up! I’m getting over things, but I’m still not ready to jump back into the cesspool again!”
“Alright. I’ll tell him I tried. If you change your mind, I have the feeling the invitation will be open for a while from what I’ve heard.”
“Perhaps the damsel in distress syndrome. I don’t know why men can’t resist a woman in pain.”
“Or putting her in pain.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Mandy groaned. “I’ve got to get back to the office.”
“Yeah, me too. I’ll talk to you later.”
The two women parted ways, both returning to their offices. Mandy felt oddly content, at least more so than she had felt for quite a while. She knew that there would be moments where the discontent would seep in like rain water through any crevice, but she was grateful to just feel at peace for whatever time it lasted. The night would take it away. It always did. But it was getting better. The dreams had lessened. The loneliness had subsided. She didn’t think about him as much, but unfortunately the result was a sort of numbness that held her in a gray area she couldn’t seem to shake.
Still, life went on and the shock of seeing Cameron with someone else, while it had been devastating at first, had somehow been cathartic for her in the end. It had shown her just how wrong she had been about him and what a complete waste of time pursuing him after their demise had been. There was something innately devoid in his narcissistic personality that she had missed while looking at him through the eyes of love. Now, that love was fading and there was no disguising who he was ever again.
“Mandy? Is that you?” a voice said from nearby.
Mandy had been lost in thought. It was her day off and she had ventured downtown to do some shopping, deciding that she was well past due for a treat for herself. After buying a few articles of clothing in some nearby shops, she’d sat down to have a quiet lunch at one of the sidewalk cafes that were common in this part of town.
“I’m sorry. Do I know you?” she asked. Something about his voice seeming familiar, but she would have most certainly remembered him had she seen him before. He was tall and slender, but athletic. His olive skin complimented his jet black hair and soulful brown eyes. With good looks like that, she would have remembered seeing him before wouldn’t she?
“Of course. You never saw my face at the party, it was covered by a sheet. Mickey introduced us at the Halloween party. I’m Weston.”
“Oh! Yes. It’s nice to see you again, Weston. Or perhaps, to see you for the first time I guess.”
“Do you mind if I join you?”
“Sure. Go ahead, though I feel a bit underdressed with you in a suit and tie.”
“Yeah. I just got out of court. You look fabulous though.” He smiled broadly at her. “I suspect you’d look good wearing nothing but a cotton sack.”
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she laughed as he sat down across from her.
“Have you already eaten or did I get here in time to enjoy lunch with you?”
“You’re right on time, I’d say. He just took my drink order, I haven’t even ordered food yet.”
“Perfect,” he said, not taking his eyes off her face.
“So, you were in court? What are you charged with?” she asked, not wanting to disclose that she had already had a conversation about him with Kellye and knew he was a lawyer.
“Contempt, almost. The judge got a little flustered with me,” he said. “I’m a lawyer. I specialize in corporate litigation, but I sometimes take pro bono cases for the local social services department. I got a little out of hand in defending a single mother against her abusive ex, an asshole who was trying to paint a picture of her that wasn’t very nice in order to take custody of their children.”
“I take it that he was unsuccessful?”
“You take it exactly right,” he said with a sneer.
“A real shark in the courtroom, huh?”
“I’m some sort of animal, yeah,” he said with a twinkle.
“I’ll keep that in mind if I’m ever in trouble and need a good lawyer.”
The waiter appeared with her glass of chardonnay and took Weston’s drink order before returning with a glass of water and another place setting.
“I’d much prefer to have a glass of wine with you, but I have to be back in court in another hour. They’d probably frown on my showing up and slurring my objections.”
“Now, I just feel like a wino.”
“No. Don’t feel that way. If I could, I’d be more than happy to join you.”
“Perhaps another time then.”
“See? Now you’re coming around to my way of thinking,” he said with a charming smile.
The waiter brought out the soup and sandwiches they had ordered. They continued to talk about their respective jobs for a bit as they ate their food, but then Weston raised his hand, waving it around a bit as he finished off a bite of his food.
“Let’s not talk about work anymore. Tell me what you like to do for fun.”
“Fun? I can’t remember the last time I had any?” she said quietly.
“Then we should change that. How about you take me up on my offer to take you out. We won’t do anything boring like go to the theatre or to a dinner party. How about we go up to the lake on Saturday and have an old fashioned picnic and a peaceful walk through the woods where we can get to know all about one another?”
“The woods? On a first date? How do I know you aren’t a serial killer?” she said playfully.
“You don’t.” He waggled his eyebrows at her, grinning. “That’s the exciting part, isn’t it?”
“Exciting for which one of us, though?”
“Remains to be seen,” he said with a big grin.
“Okay. You win, counsellor. I’ll take my life in my hands by going into the woods with you.”
“Finally! A cooperative victim, um, I mean woman.”
“Very unfunny,” she laughed.
“I’ve heard that before. Look, I hate to eat and run, but I have to get back to court for my next case. Can I get your number so I can call you and firm up plans for Saturday or should I just hope you turn up at the lake?” he asked, pulling out some cash and putting it on the table to pay for their meal.
“I suppose I could give you my number,” she replied, writing it down on a scrap of paper from her purse and handing it to him.
“Perfect. I’m looking forward to it, Mandy.”
“As am I,” she replied.
The truth was that no matter how nice looking he was, no matter how funny and charming, she just wasn’t feeling it. Lunch had been pleasant. It was nice feeling attractive, wanted for just a while. Past that, she wasn’t sure she was in a state of mind to pursue any more than just that fleeting moment of happiness. It all seemed so downhill once you got past the flattery stage. In all likelihood, she would probably cancel on him when he called to firm up plans. It was nothing personal, she just didn’t know if she could do it when push came to shove.
Chapter Seven
Later that evening, Mandy looked solemnly at the text message on her phone. It was from Weston.
“I’m so glad that I ran into you today. Looking forward to Saturday. I will call you to
morrow, if that’s okay.”
She put the phone to one side of the sofa without answering him. If only she could go back to where she had been a couple of months ago, before Cameron. Now, although she was able to discern it as being an attractive part of his personality, his charm was somewhat lost on her. She remembered an old song that she’d heard once. It was country, which she usually didn’t like, but the song had struck her as touching. The words went something like, “I could have missed the pain, but I’d have had to miss the dance.” In her case, she couldn’t risk dancing into more pain. She had already lost too much of herself and was just now getting it back.
Rather than thinking about any of it anymore, she got lost in a movie. It wasn’t her usual fare, but a lot about her had changed lately. She couldn’t bear the usual chick flicks that she secretly adored. They only brought her to tears with their fairytale endings, picture-perfect happiness that she would never achieve. Instead, she was soon riveted to a historical action movie that she actually found quite good now that she had given it a chance.
Climbing into bed a few hours later, she had all but forgotten the text from Weston. She no longer bothered putting her phone by her bed or even bringing it into the room with her when she climbed between the covers. After many nights of waiting, hoping for it to ring or buzz with a message, she had started just leaving it out on the table by the sofa. It hardly made a noise these days, which told her that she had invested too much time in the wrong person and become alienated from her friends. She needed to start fixing that.
Her thoughts drifted away as she began to get sleepy. At least that part of her miserable life had improved. Sleep was finally returning. Sweet, dreamless, peaceful sleep. It was long overdue after all the horrid nights filled with nightmares or the nights that were entirely sleepless altogether. It was only one small step on the road to finding some happiness again, but she would take what she could get at this point.
***
“So, I hear that you ran into Weston yesterday,” Kellye said the next day at work. They hadn’t been able to lunch together due to their schedules, but they’d run into one another during a break and had a short chat.
