by Dorlana Vann
“I was wondering if I could take you up on your invitation.” Brenda asked, now wondering if she should have called first. “You’d said I—”
“I remember! I’m not that old,” Antonio said, even though he looked very much like the Italian grandfather he probably was. “The best seat in the house, coming up!”
They followed him through the modest, cozy restaurant to a busy kitchen, which was alive with lunchtime clatter and the aroma of bread, fresh tomato sauce, and herbs. He told them to sit at a little round table with two chairs. Antonio’s wife got to work setting it up with a cloth, wineglasses, plates, and silverware.
Antonio followed with a bottle of wine, which he poured into their glasses. “I’m so glad you’re here,” he said. “I was beginning to think I’d never have the chance to repay you.” He looked at Neal. “You have yourself quite the woman. Beautiful! Elegant! And very generous.”
Neal’s eyebrow went up. “Huh?”
His confusion didn’t surprise Brenda, but still made her feel a little sad. But coming here reminded her that she wasn’t as horrible as she might come across sometimes, that she had become the woman her dad would be proud of. There were people in the world who actually used the word ‘generous’ to describe her. And she didn’t feel she had been all that generous. She’d worked Antonio’s case against a landowner pro bono. It wasn’t like it had taken that much time.
“And no menus today, okay? I have something special.”
After Antonio left the table, Neal asked, “What was all that about?”
“I tip really well.”
“Right,” Neal said, holding out his drink for a toast. “I think I’m going to enjoy getting to know you, Brenda Fisher.”
She smiled, tapped his glass, and took a sip. “And I want to know about you. Where did you get your love for cooking? Forgive me, but you don’t seem the type.”
He set his glass down and all of a sudden, his relaxed face hardened. “My mom.”
“Did I say something wrong?”
“No, I just try not to think about her.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring up an uncomfortable subject, but you can talk to me . . . if you want, but I understand if you’d rather not.”
His eyes kind of glassed over as his gaze slowly shifted from her to around the kitchen. He inhaled deeply and then said, “When I was in college, she called me home, made me leave to help my dad. I did, and for years, I thought I was running his company. Mom did the books, and she’s my mom so of course I trusted her. You know, at first I thought it was a lost cause. I mean, anyone with a truck and a sign can have a roofing company, but for some reason my dad’s company thrived.”
At that moment, a server came by and set a couple of salads with a light vinaigrette in front of them. Brenda picked up her fork and dug into her salad. “But that’s good, right?”
“He died, and after the funeral and everything had settled down a bit, I was ready to take over what I thought was my inheritance. My mom was still in deep grief when I decided to open the doors back up and start running the company as my own, and I took over the books. That’s when I found out that my mom had been carrying the company for I don’t know how long.”
“What do you mean?”
“The company had been in the red for years. It didn’t make any money. My mom, who had a secret trust fund, had been pouring money into the company and pretending it was successful.”
“Well, that’s kind of nice, yet naughty.”
Neal was frowning, and she wasn’t sure he’d even heard her. He said, “I’ve thought about it all for a long time. And each time I think about it, I go round and round with that, whether it was for dad, if she loved him so much she didn’t want him to seem like a failure. Or if it was to keep control, to keep him under her thumb. And, this is what really gets me, she could have told me. She could have put me first for once and thought about my future, my happiness instead of his. But the conclusion I always come to is that she could have at least apologized.” Neal played with his salad.
Brenda wasn’t sure what to say. He was being so open and honest she didn’t want to say anything to downplay the moment.
Then the waiter walked up with two plates of food. “Antonio’s famous lasagna.” He set them down and walked away.
“I’m sorry,” Neal said, shaking his head. “I didn’t mean to unload on you like that, again. What is it about you that makes me confess my deepest secrets? Are you just that type of person where everyone tells you everything?”
Brenda laughed. “Quite the contrary, I assure you. Everyone is usually closed-mouthed, like what they tell me will be used against them in a court of law.” She reached over and put her hand on his. “And you don’t have to apologize. Thanks for sharing.”
He smiled uneasily, nodded, and then tasted his food. “This is fantastic. The fresh basil and tomato and Italian sausage.”
“I know, right?”
“Thank you,” he said, his eyes sincere and warm.
A rush of contentment flooded Brenda’s body, and she even had the word ‘love’ bouncing around in her head, which she quickly shook off. “Anytime.”
Chapter 22
Neal dropped Brenda off at the multiplex and headed to Home Depot to buy supplies. It didn’t seem so much of a chore anymore, it was more like helping out a friend. He was even enjoying it. It had been a while since he’d worked in construction, and he liked how it made him feel busy, getting his hands dirty. Since it was also nearing the time for him to start school, he hoped it would also keep him from getting overly nervous.
He smiled at how happy he felt. So much had changed in just a few days. At the beginning of this week, he would have never imagined he would be with someone like Brenda. The way she looked at him now made it all worth that stone wall he’d had to break down.
He had no idea where this would all lead, but he couldn’t wait to find out. For the first time in a long time, he felt like his future was on the right track. He could see straight ahead. He would work and live at multiplex, work at the diner, and go to school. He could do it. And now that he and Brenda were together, he couldn’t wait to cook for her and then have dinner with her in the evenings. Maybe she would supply the dessert, he thought with a smile.
As Neal pulled in front of the store, he got a phone call from Brenda.
“Come home now.” She sounded frantic.
“Is something wrong with the plumbing?”
“No, he left. It’s Zadora. I’m upstairs in the attic. She’s trying to kill me.”
“What?” Neal could have sworn Brenda had said Zadora was trying to kill her. He sighed. Brenda, Brenda, Brenda . . . “I’m sure you’re overreacting. Calm down and . . . Brenda? Brenda, are you there?”
The connection had been lost. He called her back, but it went straight to voicemail. This was crazy. Wasn’t it? There was no way Zadora would hurt anyone. But the way Brenda had sounded did worry him enough to turn the motor back on and head home.
Neal tried calling Brenda back as he drove, swerving through traffic, a little more panicked each time he called and she didn’t answer. He called Zadora, but she didn’t answer either. What was going on? As soon as he pulled up, he rushed inside the house, calling Brenda’s name.
He remembered she’d said she was in the attic, so after trying her apartment, he ran to the stairs at the end of the corridor and didn’t stop until he reached the attic door.
And then he came to an abrupt stop.
The attic was quiet and dark. Really eerie, if he let his imagination get the best of him. As his eyes came into focus, he noticed all the boxes and furniture around the large room. There was no sign of Brenda or Zadora. But if Brenda was frightened, maybe she was hiding. He tiptoed around, but the floor creaked anyway. He made his way toward a doo
r in the corner.
He reached out, about to put his hand on the knob when it opened and hit him in the groin. He bent over and held himself, letting out a yelp.
“It’s about time you got here,” Brenda said. “Don’t just stand there, get in here before she finds us.”
Brenda grabbed Neal’s arm, which was attached to the hand that still held his goodies, and yanked him inside the bathroom and shut the door.
The room was dark and red and with the stars over his head from the blow down below, everything felt really strange. It took a moment to focus, to let his eyes adjust to the darkness and the strange red glow.
“Look at all this stuff, Neal. I told you something was wrong with her.” Brenda had something in her hand. “It’s a freaking voodoo doll. Of me!” Brenda shook the doll, then steadied it. “See, she’s trying to kill me.”
Neal’s nerves settled a bit, frustration taking its place. Women. “Shit, Brenda. You had me imagining all kinds of stuff. A butcher knife, a gun, even a pair of scissors. You freaked out over a doll?”
“It’s not just a doll! Look at it. It’s a voodoo doll. She’s using it to try and kill me.”
Neal took the doll, turning it this way and that way. The doll had been crudely handmade and certainly did appear to be what one might consider to be a voodoo doll. Its eyes and ears had been drawn on by a black marker. The body was black and silky with pink little flowers. “Is this your—”
“Yes!” she blurted. “Yes, she used my Chantelle underwear. No wonder you couldn’t find them.”
He scanned the tiny bathroom with a sink and a toilet. But there were things in there that didn’t normally go in a bathroom: a mortar and pestle, candles at all stages of being burned, and bottles of ingredients that he didn’t have in his kitchen. He didn’t want to tell Brenda, but he felt creepy crawlers going up and down his back. But it was all nonsense, right? A voodoo doll! Come on . . . “Does this hurt?” He pulled the doll’s right arm.
She hit him in the stomach, not hard, but added to the earlier incident, he buckled.
“That’s not funny!” Brenda said. “But actually I don’t hurt anywhere.” She touched her body in several places. “I’ve heard of bad witches before but Zadora’s a horrible one.”
“Maybe she hasn’t activated anything yet,” Neal said out loud, then quickly wished he hadn’t when he saw Brenda’s eyes widen.
“I’m calling the police,” she said.
“And tell them what? You found a dolly? Besides, we can’t jump to conclusions. Maybe it’s a gift she was going to give you.”
“Are you serious? She’s not five, nor my child. This isn’t arts and crafts. Look at all this stuff. No jumping, I’m already there. I’m concluding that she wants to hurt us . . . well, me. She wants you to herself and is trying to get me out of the way. I knew it. It all makes sense now. The way her eyes lit up every time I brought up your name. Coming to dinner with her boobs hanging out and holding on to you like she was your date. It was disgusting. And now all this? She is one jealous freak.”
Neal raised an eyebrow and tried to make light of it all. “She’s the jealous one?” He wrapped his arms around her. Brenda’s body was tense, and she actually looked scared. “I won’t let anybody hurt you.” He gave her a light kiss, and he felt her relax a little bit.
“Can I throw her out now?” she pleaded. “Do you at least believe me now that she did all that ghost stuff at the restaurant on purpose?”
Neal didn’t want to answer yet, so he kissed her again but then he heard the floorboards outside the restroom squeak.
Brenda said, “The lease is up, and I’ve been really patient, but now—”
“Shhh,” Neal whispered, putting a finger on Brenda’s lips to make her stop talking.
They heard someone walking in the attic, the squeaks nearing the door. Brenda held onto Neal tighter and then the door handle moved, and then Brenda screamed as the door opened.
A shadowy figure stood at the door and let out an equally loud scream.
When they all stopped screaming, and Neal’s vision adjusted, he said, “Larry?”
Chapter 23
Brenda couldn’t speak for a second. The adrenalin pumped through her body from being afraid she was about to be murdered, and then the shock of seeing Larry standing there in front of her had her heart doing flips.
“Hey, Larry.” Neal pulled away from Brenda to shake his hand.
“Neal? Brenda? Y’all scared the shit out of me.”
“What are you doing here?” Brenda said.
“Haley thinks she might have left some of her developing supplies here.”
After neither one of them said anything, Larry explained, “She’s a photographer. The red light in here . . .” He reached over and flipped another switch that turned the red light off and the regular florescent on. “She develops her own film.”
“Oh,” Neal said.
“What are you doing here?” Larry asked Brenda.
Her heart still thumped, and she was mid-thought about how handsome he looked in his dark shirt and trousers. His hair was styled, short on the sides and a little longer on top and the whiskers on his face were groomed to give just a hint of five-o’clock shadow.
“I, um, am here to sell the house,” she said.
“Oh really?” He glanced at Neal. “Well, what was going on in here when I opened the door?”
“We were making out,” Neal said.
Brenda elbowed him in the side, and he said, “Ow hey.” She wasn’t sure why she’d done that. A reflex maybe? She glanced at Neal’s hard expression and acknowledged the tension that had entered with Larry. “We were hiding from a lunatic,” she said. “She’s trying to kill me.”
“Who?”
“Zadora Hart. She’s a tenant here. Friends with a friend of yours, Maximilian.”
“Oh right. I’ve never met her, but if she’s anything like Maximilian, I’m sure she’s just a little eccentric.”
“No, look at this stuff.”
They could see it all clearer now, all the paraphernalia in the tiny room. Brenda grabbed the doll out of Neal’s hands. “Look, she has a voodoo doll of me. And look!” She held the doll close to her face and then into Neal’s face. “See, there? A blonde hair, my blonde hair, is taped to the top of it.”
“I would move out when all the good story stuff starts to happen.”
“I’m serious. This isn’t funny. I’ve got to get out of here. It’s starting to freak me out.” She walked out of the bathroom, carrying the doll, and made her way to the stairs.
As she practically ran down the steps, she said, “I was just talking to Neal about calling the police. Don’t you think I should call the police? Or at least tell her to pack all of her creepy stuff and get the hell out.”
Neal answered: “Let me talk to her. This doesn’t seem like her, you know.”
They made it to the bottom of the stairs, and Neal stepped in front of her, blocking her path to Zadora’s apartment.
“I’m just asking to let me to talk to her before you go storming in accusing her of,” he threw his hands up in the air, “whatever you are accusing her of.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Brenda shook the doll to make her point. “She’s crazy. She is!” Brenda felt the anger building up inside of her. “Why do you keep defending her when the evidence is right in front of you?”
“I’m not defending her,” Neal said and then clicked his tongue a couple of times. “Hey, I’m sorry, okay? I just want to figure this all out.”
“Hey Brenda, can I talk to you for a minute?” Larry looked from Brenda to Neal and then back to Brenda, not moving his head, only his eyes.
That’s when Brenda noticed Neal’s hand on her arm. She eased her arm away, pretending she got a
sudden chill, running her hands up and down her arms.
She didn’t miss Neal’s scowl before he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Larry. She hated that he felt the awkward vibe. But for the time being, she had to ignore it.
“Maybe you’re right,” she told Neal “You should go talk to Zadora. If you can get her to leave without a big scene, maybe it would be best. That’s all I want. Just get her out of my house.”
“Do you want to come with me? You know, so we can get to the bottom of this?”
“You don’t want me in the same room with her right now.”
“Right,” Neal said through his teeth and shot Larry another look. “I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” He leaned in and kissed her on the lips, while still looking at Larry.
Brenda’s heart pumped a little faster, but she didn’t dare try to see Larry’s reaction to all of this. And hated that it even mattered to her. She tried to compose herself as she watched Neal until he reached Zadora’s door and knocked. As soon as he walked inside, she turned her attention to Larry.
He had a stupid grin on his face.
“You wanted to talk to me?”
“Is there somewhere private?”
Brenda swallowed, nodded and then walked to her door, with Larry right behind her.
“So,” he said as soon as she shut the door behind them, “I see you’ve been keeping yourself busy.” He glanced around the apartment, which had almost been stripped down to the color on the walls.
“I’m trying to,” she said as she made her way to the kitchen. “The only thing worth keeping was the dining room table. Everything else had to go.” She opened the refrigerator but remembered that she still hadn’t made it to the store. When she shut the door and turned around, Larry stood right there.
