Page 2 of Souvenir

Picking up the phone, I called an old friend from high school who spent a few years in the police force before leaving to start his own PI business. While I dialed the number, I noticed the slight shaking of my hand. I wasn’t sure at that point I wanted to find out about this woman. What if it was just a coincidence that this woman so happened to be hiding behind a tree as soon as I visited my husband? What if some former business associate had sent those flowers?

“Get a grip, Savvy,” I said, giving myself a metal slap. “You need to know, so just get it over with.”

After dialing, I waited rather impatiently for Ricky to pick up the phone. He did so after five rings.

“Ricky the Rocket, speak to me.”

“Is that anyway to answer your business phone?”

He chuckled. “Ha-ha, only you would call after eight years and scold me about the way I answer my own damn phone Madame McKenna.”

“How have you been?” I asked, taking note of the slight acidic tone.

We’d dated for a while before I met Kevin. He was perhaps carrying some kind of resentment.

“How do you think I’m doing?” Was his reply. “Why’d you call?”

“Why you being so hostile?”

“What you want Savannah?” His tone softened.

“I want you to check something out for me,” I replied, getting to the point. “I will text you a license plate number. Check it out for me and get back to me as soon as you can.”

“I aint doing you no favors, so it’s gonna cost you.”

“Go to hell.”

“Send me the text,” he replied, ignoring me. “I’ll send your bill as soon as I get the info.”

A day later, Ricky returned to me with an answer. The car belonged to a stripper named Stacy Reid, a/k/a Sugar Plum. Why would a stripper be visiting my husband's grave? That uncomfortable feeling began to gnaw at me like mice gnawing through a thick chunk of cheese.

Three days afterwards, after commissioning Ricky to dig into my husband’s past, the news of his betrayal was presented to me. At first I refused to believe, but Ricky was resourceful and found evidence that my husband, who I married eight years ago, had been messing around with Stacy since the last fifteen years. By my calculation, he’d been seeing her for two years before meeting me.

Everything about my married life was now a lie. The love I thought we shared was now a lie. For the past six months since discovering the truth, I slowly came to terms with the reality. Kevin only married me because I was a better option for his business. As a prominent business executive, he could not very well marry a stripper called Sugar Plum.

As the months went by, the heartbreak started festering, turning into anger. A bitterness towards my dead husband was eating away at me. I needed closure, but he wasn’t there for me to confront. What was the use of confronting a woman who was there before me? As far as I was concerned, I felt like the third wheel. For every business trip Kevin took without me, she was there. Lunch dates, afternoons spent in hotels across the city, it was she, not me. Late nights at the officer were perhaps late nights wrapped up in Sugar Plum’s arms as well.

I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to do anything about it. I spent the last three years thinking that I’d lost the love of my life. All this time I thought I’d never be with another man. Then it hit me. If Kevin could screw a whore, so could I.

Chapter 2

Savannah

December 1.

A tremor passed through my hands as I filled out the online form on Enchanting Escorts Inc. The first section of the form was pretty basic. This section was for my profile and instead of my real name, they asked for username. Souvenir – done.

The next questions had my blood singing loudly in my veins as my stomach churned. All I wanted was a date and that was it. One encounter. Why the questions, my mind shrieked.

Would you like to connect with your partner before your date? You may choose to connect anonymously and chat privately through our secure chat app.

Alternatively, you may choose to connect openly with your chosen date as well as not connect all. In the event you choose not to connect, we will arrange your preferred date at a location and time convenient for you.

Will your escort be accompanying you to a function? If the answer is yes, would you like for your escort to pick you up in style? We will arrange transportation.

I reread the section several times and was about to choose ‘not connect’ when the mouse accidentally clicked ‘connect anonymously’. A cry of dismay escaped my lips as the page refreshed immediately.

Thank you for choosing Enchanting Escorts Inc, where your next date is just a click away.

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