When Love's at Work (19 page)

Pure wished she never had sex before so she
could give Alex a love that was completely pure. Pure, not only her
name, but the way she felt when she was with Alex.

Alex received a confirmation letter from his
lawyer stating the divorce paperwork had been received by the
court. Callie decided not to contest the divorce and signed the
papers willingly, although not without a disdainful look on her
face when Alex showed up on her doorstep promptly at 4:00pm two
Friday’s prior. She hadn’t said one word to him, just signed the
papers and slammed the door in his face.

That had been fine with Alex. He didn’t wish
ill will on Callie, but he wanted his freedom back so he and Purity
could pursue their life together.

The only dark cloud Alex could see on the
horizon was Derek Worthington. He knew he was still out there and
could show up at any time. He had dreams about Purity being
kidnapped and much worse. He wanted Derek behind bars.

Pure shared with him what happened at the
self-defense class. Alex almost headed over to Derek’s home when he
heard the news, but Purity stopped him. The best defense is a good
offense she had told him. That’s why she had taken the class, made
sure she wasn’t alone when she went places at night, and was
constantly on guard for any signs of Derek Worthington. She also
carried pepper spray and a small pair of sewing scissors that had
sharp points.

He knew Purity didn’t want to live her life
in fear, but he also knew that he saw a shadowed apprehension cross
her face from time to time. In those moments, he knew that Derek
Worthington was inside her head.

The lawyer’s letter said the divorce would
be final in three months. He had hoped it would be sooner.

Derek Worthington had been biding his time.
He laughed when he saw Purity and her friends at the self-defense
class. Like that would stop him from carrying out his plan. He had
shown great restraint and patience by not contacting Purity, only
observing her actions. He decided the carnival would be the perfect
place to bring his fantasy to fruition.

He enrolled in the Crescent City Clown
College a week ago. Just in time to volunteer to work at the
carnival. He would go unnoticed easily in his multi-colored wig,
polka dot pants and face paint. Derek had scoped out the grounds
and gotten his hands on the layout for the event.

As Derek waited across the road from Alex’s
home for Pure to leave, he muttered, “Slut.” She had been at his
home every night for weeks. Shoving her affair in his face. It had
taken him six months to get Purity to sleep with him. She spread
her legs for Alex in less than two months. The thought made his
anger surge and he gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles
turned white.

She was practically dancing as she made her
way to her car. Alex stood in the doorway, silhouetted by dim
firelight. “How romantic.”

He followed Pure back to her home, making
sure not to get too close as to arise suspicion. When she got out
of her car at her apartment complex, he wanted to jump out, grab
her and throw her in the trunk. He was tired of all the waiting.
The anticipation was almost too much to bear.

Just a little while longer. Then he would
show Purity Indigo Zyetta who was in control.

“
I’ll see you at 4pm
today,” Bobby said to Meg from the airport.

“
I can’t wait,” Meg
exclaimed excitedly.

“
Me either,” Bobby
replied. He had made all the arrangements except for one. “Oh, and
Meggie,” he paused.

“
Yes?” Meg
questioned.

“
Let’s meet up at Mrs.
Cravens’ house.”

“
Why there?”

“
Trust me.”

“
I trust you,” she
replied. “I’ll be there at four.”

After hanging up, Meg immediately called
Purity. When she answered, Meg nearly shouted, “Bobby’s almost
here!”

Pure didn’t have the heart to tell Meggie
that she knew Bobby was almost here because she was the one picking
him up at the airport. Bob had filled her in on his plan and she
couldn’t be more delighted. And how cool was it that Alex had sold
Bobby the house intended for her? That man never ceased to amaze
her. Meg was going to be thrilled and surprised. For now, though,
mum was the word.

“
Oh, I thought he was
coming in tomorrow,” Pure lied.

“
Nope, it’s today and I
can hardly stand waiting one more minute than I absolutely have
to,” Meg proclaimed. “One weird thing, though.”

“
What’s that?”

“
He wants me to meet him
at Mrs. Cravens home. Isn’t that a bit strange?”

“
I don’t know,” Pure
answered, “Maybe he wants to pick one of her gorgeous roses and
give it to you. Didn’t you mention to him that you used to do that
when you were taking piano lessons from Mrs. Cravens?”

“
Well, yes, I did mention
it to him, but I’m sure he wouldn’t remember.”

“
I wouldn’t be so sure,”
Pure commented. “That brother of mine can remember a lot of stuff,
when he wants to.”

Meg seemed to be satisfied with Purity’s
explanation and the two friends began talking about the upcoming
carnival.

Purity picked Bobby up at the airport around
noon and played chauffer for all his errands so that he could be
Meg’s knight in shining armor upon his trusty steed by 4pm.

“
So, this is it,” Pure
said to Bob as he awkwardly maneuvered his armor-clad body into the
driver’s seat of the white Mustang. She handed him the bouquet of
red roses, then asked, “Do you have the key to the
house?”

“
Shit! Shit! Where’s the
frickin’ key? I had it in my pants pocket, but I changed into this
get up and now where the hell are my other pants?”

The scene would have been comical if Bobby’s
face hadn’t looked so serious. Calmly, Purity went back to her car
and retrieved his pants from the back seat. “Here you go, sport.
Now breathe.”

Bobby took the pants from Pure’s hand and
found the key safely tucked into the front pocket. Bob sighed with
relief. “I want this moment to be perfect.”

“
It will be,” Purity
assured him. “And, Bobby, remember that Meg loves you, so even if
things don’t go exactly as planned, it will all work out just
fine.”

“
Easy for you to say. I
feel like a rusty tin can, my nerves are shot and I’m not even sure
where my directions to Mrs. Cravens’ home are.”

“
Breathe. Your directions
are on the seat next to your helmet.”

Bobby looked over and saw that Pure was
correct. Everything he needed was in the passenger’s seat.
Actually, everything he needed was waiting for him outside Emily
Cravens’ house.

Bob took a deep breath. “Thanks, sis.”

Purity smiled as Bobby drove off to ask the
love of his life to marry him.

Meg saw a white car approach. Could that be
Bobby? She hadn’t asked him what kind of car he was going to rent.
As the vehicle got closer, she heard it sputter and wheeze before
it died right in the middle of the road. Meg laughed to herself.
Poor guy. She had a Comet years ago that used to die at every
stoplight if she didn’t rev the engine.

A man got out of the car, at least she
thought it was a man. It was hard to tell because he appeared to
be… yes, he was dressed in a suit of armor. Now Meg laughed out
loud. What in the world? Was she on a hidden camera show or
something?

The man in armor was walking toward her,
then he stopped, turned around and went back to his car. When he
retraced his steps he had a large bouquet of red roses in his hand.
Suddenly it dawned on Meg, it was Bobby. her knight in shining
armor. Tears filled her eyes as she ran forward to greet him.

Bobby stopped her from hugging him by
putting his hand up. Meg was puzzled, but stood fast. Bob struggled
to get down on one knee as the metal dug into his thighs and
calves. He barely felt the pain because he was so nervous and
excited. The saliva in his mouth had turned to dust and he wasn’t
even sure he’d be able to get his words out.

“
Meg,” he said, “I love
you with all my heart and I want to make you the happiest woman on
earth. Will you marry me?”

“
Yes!” Meg said, beaming
with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. “Can I hug you now?”
she asked.

“
You can, if you help me
up,” Bobby replied. “I’m stuck.”

Meg suppressed a giggle and helped her
fiancée up off the ground. He was heavier than she thought and in
his desire to hang on to the roses and Meg’s arm, something had to
give. It was the roses. They fell to the sidewalk, petals staining
the cement with scarlet color.

“
Damn it!” Bobby said in
frustration as he finally stood upright again. “This is not turning
out like I planned.”

“
I think it’s perfect,”
Meg said, as she removed Bobby’s helmet and laced her arms around
his neck. “I love you and I love that you went to all this trouble
to be my knight in shining armor.” Meg kissed her soon-to-be
husband and Bobby forgot all about his carefully thought out plans
that had gone askew. Meg’s eyes were warm and welcoming and she
felt like home.

“
Oh, the key,” Bobby said
as he pulled away from Meg. “Where’s the key?”

“
What key?”

“
The key to Mrs. Cravens’
house.”

“
Why do you have the key
to Mrs. Cravens’ house?”

“
It’s our house now. I
bought it for you. For us.” Bobby searched the area where the roses
fell with his eyes. He saw a glint of silver under a thorny stem
and bent carefully to uncover it.

“
No, let me,” Meg said. “I
don’t want you to get stuck again.” Meg retrieved the key. “This is
the key to our house.”

Bobby took Meg’s hand and they walked
together up to the door to their new home. Meg turned the key in
the lock and they opened the door to their future together.

Courtney was busy setting up the face
painting booth Purity had conned her into running. It wasn’t going
to be your ordinary flower, heart or animal artwork. No, indeed.
Court specialized in making bruises, scars, bloody wounds and
stitches. The kids would love it.

Sheila Martin had a clipboard and was
happily checking off item after item. The Back-To-School Carnival
would open in less than an hour and everything appeared to be
falling into place perfectly.

A line had formed halfway around the block
behind the temporary gates that had been installed. Security was in
place and the traffic controllers were busily directing cars into
the Methodist Church parking lot about a block away. Sheila had
contributed that excellent idea. Again, Pure thought that Sheila’s
skills were being underutilized. She made a mental note to discuss
possible advancement for Sheila with Judd Broadstreet.

Even though all their i’s were dotted and
their t’s were crossed, Pure couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling
trickling down her spine. She felt like a fish in an aquarium.
being watched with no means of escape.

Alex slid up beside her and placed his arm
around her waist.

“
It’s fabulous,” he
whispered in Pure’s ear.

“
I think so, too,” Purity
replied, trying to shove her trepidation aside.

“
I especially like that
the rides are only one ticket a piece. Means more kids can ride and
they don’t have to choose between food or an amusement. They’ll
have enough money to do both,”

“
The First Aid Station’s
all set,” Sheila said, checking off the last item on her list. “We
are good to go.”

Purity glanced at her watch and then said,
“With thirty minutes to spare. We rock!”

“
Here comes Mark
Watterson,” Sheila noted.

“
Great job, Purity,” Mark
said, giving Pure’s hand a hearty shake with his own.

“
Our team worked hard,”
Purity replied. “Especially Sheila.” Pure directed her gaze toward
her assistant.

Mark extended his hand to Sheila and stated,
“Good job, Sheila.”

Sheila had never been singled out on a
project and the acknowledgement made her confidence soar. All she
could do was smile as she took Mark’s hand in hers, returning his
greeting.

Bobby and Meg joined the group at the same
time Tapestry and Chance made their entrance.

“
Did you see that crowd
out there?” Meg asked.

“
I almost got trampled
just trying to walk on the sidewalk,” Tapestry added.

“
It will be better once
the gates open and everyone spreads out,” Pure said.

Sheila retrieved the big, oversized scissors
from the information booth and gave them to Mark.

The red ribbon had been Sheila’s idea, as
well. It would be a great photo opportunity, as a contest had been
held to choose the youngster who would use the big scissors to cut
the ribbon and officially open the carnival. Four-year-old
Stephanie Watson won the contest by guessing the number of jelly
beans in a jar that had been placed in the community center at The
Kids’ Place.

Stephanie had large blue eyes and curly
blonde hair, currently being held in place with two Hello Kitty
ponytail holders. The stretchy bands matched her Hello Kitty
t-shirt and pink shorts. She was nothing short of adorable.

Five minutes to “show time” saw the group
gathering at the main entrance with little Stephanie holding the
scissors that were twice her size. At exactly 9:00am, Steph cut the
pre-scored ribbon to a wild round of applause and the gates were
opened. The Back-To-School Carnival was underway.