Page 8 of Hemmed

“Unfortunately, that means nothing,” smirked Doug.

“God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“No, no. Don’t be sorry. Just because a man or woman is gay doesn’t mean they can’t have perverted tendencies. And they don’t always have to be with the same sex.”

“This is just so weird,” said Meredeth. Ghost nodded at the women.

“Tell us the rest.”

For more than an hour, the women walked them through every step of their experiences at the tailor’s. They were detailed and calm in their explanations. When they were finished, both women were shaking, wiping tears from their eyes.

“Are we crazy?” asked Meredeth.

“No. You’re not crazy. You’re being cautious, and you should be. I know you’ll be out a lot of money, but don’t go back there for your garments,” said Ian.

“Listen, I understand,” said Jade, “but I spent a fortune on those suits, and I can’t afford to buy more. I need those for work.”

“I can pick the suits up with them,” said Tailor. “I’ll pretend to be their brother.”

Both women stared at him, then laughed. He frowned in their direction, confused by their reaction, and then they sobered, trying to hold the laughter.

“What?” he asked the others.

“Maybe I should pretend to be the brother,” said Alec. “You don’t even look like you’re from the same species, let alone gene pool.”

“Hurtful, man. Seriously hurtful.”

CHAPTER FIVE

Miller and Jean knocked on the door of Sor’s cabin. They’d called the woman to see if she would speak to them, and she agreed.

“Nice place,” said Jean. “Not your average camp in the middle of the bayou. It reminds me of the bachelor pads we had.”

“Yeah, he’s done a lot of work on this, and it shows.”

The drapes fluttered, and then they heard the locks disengaging. Both men stepped back, not wanting to intimidate the woman. She cracked the door, and they were greeted by puffy, swollen eyes.

“Nelly?” asked Miller, trying to keep his voice low and soft so as not to scare her.

“Yes. Are you the men that Mark said were coming?”

“Mark? Oh, Sor, yes,” smiled Jean. “Sorry, we know him as Sor.”

“I forget that he uses a nickname,” said the woman, opening the door wider for them. “Please come in.”

The cabin was definitely a man’s cabin. The furniture was mahogany brown with only one lamp in the room. It had a decent kitchen with a full-sized refrigerator and stove. It was clean and well-maintained but not exactly feminine in any way.

“Ma’am, are you comfortable here?” asked Jean. “We could move you somewhere more, uh, bright.”

“I’m fine. Thank you, though. I’ve become used to this. It’s actually comforting and warm in a strange way. I owe Mark, Sor, a lot for letting me stay here. I don’t know what I would have done. He said you wanted to talk about what happened to me?”

“Yes. We have a few other women that have had a similar experience, and we’re investigating this.”

“Well, at first, I thought my soon-to-be ex-husband set me up, but there was no way he could have known which boutique I would go into that day and where I would buy that dress. He would have divorced me either way.”

“We’re sorry to hear that. It’s his loss,” said Miller.

“Did Sor tell you that my husband and his wife decided to leave us on the same day and get married?”

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