Page 4 of Dare You to See Me
“See You Next what?” she asks, still kneeling. It’s obviously a position she’s familiar with.
“See. You. Next. Tuesday. A c u n t. You are a cunt! A stinky, skanky, husband stealing cunt!” My voice has risen well beyond what is socially acceptable in public, but ask me if I care.
“Soleil. Please don’t do this. We can work this out. I’m weak. I let a manipulative woman seduce me. I don’t even think she’s pretty.”
Meredith sobs harder and I have to admit, that was pretty cruel of him to say.
“A weak man is not someone I want in my life. I’ll have Kyle file divorce papers as soon as she can. In the meantime, don’t call me.” I spin on my heel and start to walk away. Before I’m out of sight, I pause and throw one last dig over my shoulder. “And Gene?”
“Yeah,” he whispers, his voice thick and rough.
“Go choke on a bag of dicks.” I hear a laugh and ayes, girlfrom somewhere in the store.
Looks like we had an audience. Hope they enjoyed this afternoon’s soap opera.
I stomp my way through the store, not meeting the flabbergasted eyes of the other customers. I fling the door open and step out onto the sidewalk, my cold long forgotten, and make it all the way to my car before I completely lose it.
What in the hell just happened?
TWO
SOLEIL
Melancholy music playsfrom the nearby organ as I clasp yet another person’s hand.
“I’m so sorry for your loss.” A whispered condolence in my ear from a woman I barely know.
“Thank you,” I say.
The afternoon five days ago that not only destroyed my marriage and changed my life forever still feels like a far off nightmare.
When I walked out of that store, I drove straight to my parent’s house and ran through the door, falling into Mom’s arms and telling her every last detail of my encounter with Gene and Meredith.
Mom was enraged and while still keeping a tight grip on me, managed to call George, my step-dad, to come home. I continued to cry on my parent’s couch until I heard George screech into the driveway like his ass was on fire. He stomped into the house like an angry giant and scooped me up from Mom’s arms.
I cried in the arms of the man who had raised me for the last twenty years, and Mom recounted what I told her. The more she told him, the tighter his grip grew on me. By the time she was done I swear I could see smoke billowing from his nose. He looked like a raging bull who had been poked by the matador who was about to lose his fight.
“Let’s go,”he growled and carried me outside and buckled me in his truck.
Mom followed behind him with Dahlia in her arms and rushed to buckle her in her booster seat in my car.
George backed out of the driveway and sped off in the direction of my house with Mom following closely behind. We pulled up to my house much the same way he had pulled into his and with the gentle touch that contradicted his mood, helped me out of my seat and guided me inside.
I sat on the couch and snuggled my baby girl, sniffing her sweet scent while feet moved, drawers slammed, and doors were opened and closed. But I could focus on nothing but that sweet girl cuddled in my arms.
If I had nothing else, at least I had her.
George was in the middle of tossing yet another black bag of what I assume were Gene’s things out on the front lawn, when a police car with flashing lights and no siren stopped at the curb.
“Sunny,” he called from his guard on the front porch.
I carefully made my way to where he stood in front of the two police officers and handed over Dahlia. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach and all I could think wasplease don’t let this day get any worse.
The words that followed shattered me more than what I witnessed at the store.
One of the officers asked if my name was Soleil Brooks and when I told him it was, he said, “Ma’am, I regret to inform you that your husband, Gene Brooks was killed in a motor vehicle accident this afternoon. His body was taken to Memorial West Hospital. If you’d like, I will escort you there and answer any questions you may have.”
I stared blankly at him for a moment then laughed loudly.
