by Nella Tyler
She dressed and got into the car and headed to a town where she was unknown. She went straight into the pharmacy and asked for a female clerk to help her. She took her aside and explained that she’d had unprotected sex and wanted the pills that would guarantee she had not been impregnated.
“Oh, don’t worry, I can tell you’re feeling really embarrassed. Don’t. We sell these by the dozens every single day. It has nothing to do with you, it has to do with the world being a mess. Everyone is lonely and clinging to someone for comfort. But the problem is that you’ll need a prescription for them. I’m guessing you didn’t know that since you don’t have one in your hand.” Mackenzie shook her head.
“Well, there’s a walk-in clinic down the street. They’re open and if you go down, they might do an exam or they might just hand you the prescription and you come back and I’ll take care of you. Either way, you’ve got up until five days and they’ll still work, but they’re more reliable the sooner you take them.”
“I appreciate it so much, you have no idea. I’ve never been in this position. I will be honest and say I’m very embarrassed.” Mackenzie’s face was flushed and her hands were shaking.
She headed out of the store and down the street to the walk-in clinic. An hour later, prescription in hand, she re-entered the pharmacy and went straight to the clerk who had talked to her before. It was a wordless exchange because there were other customers standing around. A few minutes later, she left the store and got into her car to drive home. She stopped at a drive-through for soft drink and swallow the pills, gulping the drink dry due to her parched throat.
When she got home, Mackenzie made herself a quick sandwich and climbed back into bed, flipping on an innocent movie while she fell asleep. When she awakened, her stomach was upset and she assumed it was probably the medicine. She drank some water and went back to sleep, waking Sunday morning feeling less nauseous, but just as embarrassed.
She debated whether she should write to Dell. Should she just simply ask him outright if he had any diseases she might have caught? She doubted he would tell her; that wasn’t the sort of thing you admitted to someone, especially if you planned to sleep with them again.
She went back to her computer and decided that under the circumstances, she needed to know more about him. She hadn’t done the background check; she really had no idea when she set out for the dinner that she would end up like this.
She went first onto Facebook and looked for an account in his name. He came up blank. That was a little bit disconcerting because she remembered talking with him briefly about Facebook during the first conversation. She reasoned that perhaps since he was in business, he avoided the social networking site because it could draw some negative it negative attention to him.
She proceeded to Google and typed in his name. She found a man with his name in his town and clicked on it. It only gave a minute small amount of information about him, as it was trying to sell her the opportunity to buy a full report.
Under the circumstances, she decided she wanted the full report and so she got her credit card and ordered it. When it came she printed it out and took it into the living room to read. What she read made her want to get sick.
It seemed that Dell did indeed, have a past. Not only had he never been married, he had never served in the military and had no degree. In fact, he had just finished a five-year sentence in prison for issuing and uttering. She had no clue what that meant. Perhaps he had taken part in a protest? Or, maybe he got pulled over for a speeding ticket and was verbally offensive? Was that the sort of thing that someone could go to prison for? She doubted it.
She went on to read that he had four counts spread over ten years of forgery. This was not his first time in prison, evidently. She had to lay down in the recliner; the room swam and she thought she would faint.
She couldn’t believe she had placed herself at such risk. As innocent as she was, she assumed that other people were upfront and honest like she was. But it was quite the opposite. She felt very alone and completely violated. She needed so badly to find someone to talk to.
She could think of no one else. She went back to her computer and went on to the dating site, praying that he would be there. To her utter delight, he was online. She wondered if he was always there.
AliceWonderland: Harry? Are you there?
HarryM: Hey, pretty lady, where have you been? You had me worried to death. You were supposed to message me when you got home. If I didn't hear from you by tonight, I was going to hunt you down.
AliceWonderland: Oh, Harry. I've done something simply awful.
HarryM: Oh my God, this doesn't sound good. Whatever it is, we can get through it. Tell me, what did you do?
AliceWonderland: I don't know where to begin. I'm so embarrassed. I have no one else to talk to.
HarryM: It's okay. We all do stupid stuff from time to time. Now, tell me what happened and don't leave anything out. I can't see you blushing from here and I'm guessing it's not as bad as what you are thinking it is. You have a tendency to overreact, remember?
AliceWonderland: Okay, so I met the guy at the restaurant. It's a place called Sam's Joint, a local hangout.
HarryM: Yes, I've heard of it. Go on.
AliceWonderland: Well, he was a little different than what I expected. Actually, he was really good looking. I sort of figured his picture couldn't be accurate, but it was. So, we sat down to dinner and he was very authoritative. He took over ordering us wine and was very specific to the waiter about what he wanted. I only ordered a salad, which bothered him. He thought I was trying to make him look cheap. I felt really badly about that, and it put me off my guard. I have this tendency to overcompensate when I think I've made someone unhappy.
HarryM: Yes, I've picked that up from you. Keep going.
AliceWonderland: Okay, this is the really embarrassing part. It's been going through my mind that I've always been a very traditional girl. I've always followed the rules and done everything people told me to do. You might say I've been old-fashioned. So, I started thinking about how long it had been since I had been in the arms of a man, in an intimate sort of way, you know? And, I asked myself whether or not I could be with someone for just a night. Just to experience it for the sake of letting go of my old traditional ways. I hope I'm explaining this in a way that you can understand.
HarryM: You can't hide much from me, pretty lady. I've picked up on this since the beginning. But we can talk about that later. Tell me what happened.
AliceWonderland: So we ate dinner, and he finished his in less than five minutes. I didn't even get to eat half my salad. He asked me what I would think about us going back to my house to watch a movie. That daredevil side of me took over and I agreed.
HarryM: Oh, shit. This is where it starts. What did you do?
AliceWonderland: Well, as you probably suspect, I ended up having sex with him. God! I'm so embarrassed. This is nothing I've ever done before. I can't believe I'm even telling you.
HarryM: Please tell me that you used protection.
AliceWonderland: Well…no. I've already been to the doctor and got a prescription for the morning-after pill and they are testing for STDs. But, that's not the worst part.
HarryM: Oh, my God. What else?
AliceWonderland: Remember the moral argument I was having with myself about doing background checks? Well, I didn't do one ahead of time. But I did one now. Harry, the man just got out of prison! I saw a record there for forgeries and something called uttering and publishing, or publishing and uttering, I don't know what it was. Everything he told me was a lie. He’s never been married and doesn’t have a business, was never in the military, and has no degree. He’s a total, consummate liar. I'm scared. Is this man someone who could hurt me? He knows where I live now. I don't know what to do, and I don't have anyone I can trust to ask.
HarryM: Okay, calm down. First of all, I'm going to give you my email address. I want you to forward that report to me. I have a good friend who
's an attorney, and I happen to have his home telephone number. I'll send it on to him without telling him why I'm asking. Let me find out what's going on, and I'll get back to you. Watch your email. In the meantime, I want you to make yourself a stiff drink and relax on the sofa with a movie or something. We’ll get you through this, okay?
AliceWonderland: Okay. Thank you, Harry. Somehow, I knew I could depend on you to have the right answers.
HarryM: It's okay. From now on, you're going to do this the way I told you to do it, right?
AliceWonderland: I promise.
Mackenzie sent the report on to Harry at the email he had provided. She set her phone to pick up her email and to ding her when one came in. She did as Harry had told her and made herself a screwdriver before reclining on the sofa to watch a movie and wait.
The wait was brief. Harry's email was not.
Well, this could be good news and it could be bad news. It depends on what happened while you were with him. He went to prison initially for forgery. The uttering and publishing you referred to means that he was writing bad checks.
My buddy’s opinion is that this guy targets women who are alone, gets close to them so they eventually trust him. He has to get either a credit card or a bank account number from you to harm you. If he does, he could wipe out everything you have financially. I'm hoping that he paid for dinner and that you never allowed him to glimpse a credit card or check. If that's the case, you'll be fine. He's never gone to prison on any charges for anything violent, so my buddy thinks there's no reason he's going to show up at your door.
In fact, he's probably more scared of you then you are of him. If he had scammed you of anything and you turned him in, he would go back to prison for the rest of his life, no chance of parole. It's what they call the "three strikes and you're out" program. It's meant to discourage people from becoming career criminals.
He was probably going to get to your money, then maybe work around to getting your house and anything else you might have of value. These are typically good-looking, presentable guys who make the woman feel flattered and then take everything she has.
So in my opinion, don't engage in conversation or interaction with him at any level. Forget about him. You've done the responsible thing medically and once you get a green light on that, you can release your breath and know that you got through this unscathed. I think you'll be just fine. Just don't do it again, okay?
Mackenzie wasted no time in responding.
Dear Harry,
I think I love you. Thank you so much for helping me out. You're the only reason I'm going to be able to sleep now.
Mackenzie
Chapter Eighteen
Mackenzie felt as though she'd had a reprieve from her spontaneous lack of good judgment. She knew for sure she had learned a lesson and once she got the test results back that everything was fine, she would put it behind her. She knew even if she had picked up some sort of STD, there were medications to fix those and she'd be fine. Unless, of course, it was AIDS. She made herself not think about it. She would just have to wait.
She set about reorganizing her house, doing all the rearranging she had planned out. She ordered new bedspreads for the bedrooms and an entire new mattress and boxed spring, as well as bedding for her bed. She couldn't bear to think of having laid upon it with that man.
She went to work each day, avoiding Lucy, and she knew Lucy was picking up on this. When Lucy confronted her about it, she said that she was dating and preoccupied with that and really didn't have time to talk about it or have girl time with her. It hurt her to say this because Lucy had always been like a sister to her. But for right now, she was recovering and needed to stay to herself.
Even though she'd had a bad scare, she wasn't ready to give up on having a new man in her life. That would just be punishing herself and it wasn't fair.
She gave some thought to Adam, the man she had met at the bookstore. He had asked her to call him and given her his business card. She didn't know whether he was interested in a relationship with her, but perhaps at least they could have a friendship. He had talked about doing woodworking and she was interested. Spontaneously one evening, she gave him a call.
"I'm not sure if you remember me, but this is Mackenzie Harper. We met at the bookstore."
"Of course I remember. How can anyone forget you?" he said in a charming voice.
"You are charming, indeed. Well, here's the thing. When you and I talked, you mentioned that you liked woodworking, and I wondered if you might be interested in giving me some lessons. I'm doing some minor remodeling in the house and there were a few things that I would like to include in my decorating scheme. They would require my having some woodworking ability. What would you think?"
"I think I would love to teach you, but I think that we should consider it a date and not that I'm a lesson teacher. Quite frankly, I've been thinking about you ever since we met and I would like to see you again. What are you doing this weekend?"
"Are you really sure? Because I would be glad to just make this lessons."
"Mackenzie, would you like to have dinner with me on Friday night?" He cut right through her mumbled second-guessing, and she gave him a mental gold star for that.
"You wouldn't, by any chance, have Saturday night available, would you?"
"Sure, but Saturday is one day further away."
"I know that, but I've been having some bad luck on a few Fridays and I'd rather not jinx you with that. I know I'm being silly; could you please humor me on this?"
"No problem. After all, I don't think this is going to be just a one-time date."
Mackenzie smiled to herself. She was tempted to come back with a smartass remark as she did when she went online, but in real life, she felt obliged to be her normal, reserved self.
"So, where would you like to meet and what time shall I meet you there?" Her voice was even and measured.
"How about if you meet me at the same bookstore, seven o'clock on Saturday evening. We can take my car. There's a little place about twenty miles from here that I discovered one weekend and thought that I'd like to have dinner there sometime. It's located next to a river, and I understand that the fish is caught and then served daily there. You do like fish, don't you?"
Mackenzie smiled, remembering the fated date with salmon filet. She wasn't going to let that horrible person scar her for life. "Love it."
"Great! I see you on Saturday."
"See you then."
* * *
Saturday came eventually and Mackenzie showed up at the bookstore at the appointed time. Adam was stressed in khaki slacks and a casual shirt topped by a sport coat. Mackenzie had also worn fairly casual dress, a Navy, short-sleeved A-line topped with a scarf and a white jacket. She suspected they might be spending some time outdoors and she could wear the jacket or not, depending on whether she was cold.
The restaurant was located on the bank of the river. They chose a table on the deck overlooking the river and watched fishermen down in the water, casting their lines. It was very entertaining. They listened as the fishermen quarreled with one another and good-natured tones, trying to outwit one another's choice of bait or positions on the river’s edge.
When their dinner came, the first fish was excellently prepared and Mackenzie, who otherwise never ordered fish, intended to enjoy this thoroughly.
"So, how has the dating been going?"
"Don't ask, please." She tried not to flush, but Adam picked up on her look anyway.
"Not so great, I take it?" he asked.
"Not so great."
"Would it be fair to say that you're less enthused about it?"
"It would be very fair to say that. In fact, I have no intention of ever talking to anyone online again."
"Yeah, I've heard it can be a pretty woolly world. I never had much luck at it. Of course, there was always Pete and I had to contend with the fact that whoever I brought in my life, would also be in his. So, does that mean that you're totally availa
ble?"
"Yes, it would be fair to say. Actually, since my husband passed, I would say I have been available on an ongoing basis, whether I wanted to admit it or not. I don't think I ever seriously considered finding someone online. For me, it was more about finding someone to talk to. I was lonely. I guess you get that."
"I certainly do. I have my job, and I have my friends, but it's not quite the same. I have Pete, but having a woman in your life is important to a man. Most of what we do, we do for the sake of a woman. Particularly, if she's a good woman."
"I guess I could say that women respond best to a good man. So, let's change that subject – at least, the one with regard to my online dating."
"Whew! It must have been a really bad experience. But, let's talk no more about that. Tell me about the decorating you're doing."
"I finally got around to getting rid of my husband's things. They seemed to be everywhere I looked. They were choking me, in a sense. That's not being disrespectful; it's more about that I seemed to have this feeling that he would walk through that door one day, and if I got rid of his things, he would have nothing to wear. I have finally gotten past that and him, moving on with my life."
"Do you think you're ready for a new man in your life?"
"Yes, I absolutely am. As long as he is the right man. I don't want to settle for someone who isn't right for me, just for the sake of having a man."
"I don't think you're going about to have any problems with that. Any man would be lucky to have you in his life," he said, his eyes sparkling a bit with his words.
"Thank you. I might say the same for you. Anyway, David had a study. I don't use it anymore; it's just become an extra room to keep clean. So, I thought I might convert it into a crafting room.
“I want to try a few things like sewing and maybe working with clay. I saw magazine that had all doll sculptures that made from wire armatures, wrapped in clay. Some of them had clothing made from clay, and others have clothing made from cloth or other materials. They were sort of kooky looking, the sort of figures you might see in a Tim Burton movie, and for some reason that appealed to me.
