The Marriage Contract (32 page)

              Ugh!

              My teeth clenched, as I turned to my side, staring out the window, as the wind rushed through my open locks.

              For that moment, I focused on the rural neighborhoods, watching the cows walking freely along the bright green grass. When the truck neared the sign, “Welcome to Sandsville”, my heart leapt, as I thought of what a mess I’d been dragged into by Richard’s conniving lie.

              Compared to New York, Sandsville was something out of a black and white film, for everything in that town was a flashback of the 1950’s. The roads were narrow, and the houses were aligned in a straight row down the street, colored in pastel shades. Most every lawn was neatly trimmed, with outlandish bushes shaped as animals placed before white picket fences. A young boy drove by in a shiny, metallic blue bicycle, giving me a small smile, as he threw the afternoon paper to the steps of the nearest home. Through the open windows, I noticed women with multicolored rollers in their hair- gossiping on large cordless phones, pacing their living room. Teens dressed in outdated designer rags, sat on the front steps of their home, talking hurriedly amongst each other, as though fearing that outsiders were listening in.

              Everything looked just as I’d left it- drab, but nevertheless, warm.

              “Well, it looks like we managed to get here with our heads still attached just fine,” Uncle Jeffrey joked.

              I choked out a stiff laugh, feeling terribly apprehensive as the car neared the periwinkle house at the end of the road.

              “You alright, June bug?” Uncle asked.

              I swallowed a breath, running a hand through my locks, as the orange ends tangled through my fingers, struggling to slip past.

              “Huh…oh…oh, I’m feeling great,” I lied. “I’m really…um…excited.”

              I feared he could sense my lie, but thankfully he smiled back, focusing on the garage ahead.

              While the truck drove into the cave of the open garage, I could feel the beats of my heart accelerate, as Richard’s lips hovered beside my ear.

              “You’re going to fall for me, Dorothy,” he whispered. “In fact…you already have.”

Chapter Twenty One

              Slowly, I closed my eyes, exhaling a deep breath, and counting down from ten to one. My hands clenched against the soft fabric on my lap- my chest heaving, as Richard’s minty breath blew into my neck.

              “If you don’t back off,” I whispered, my teeth clenched. “I swear you’ll lose a very vital part of your body somewhere down south. Don’t test my patience.”

              Though my eyes were tightly closed, I could feel his smirk extending from cheek to cheek, as a light chuckle escaped from his lips.

              “Did you say somethin’?” Uncle Jeffrey asked.

              I turned my head towards Uncle, who drove the car to the end of the dimly lit garage, before turning off the engine. My thumb held down a button by the door, rolling up the window- my gaze taking in the familiar garage. Apart from the walls, which were pressed with a fresh coat of cream paint, everything was as I’d left it two years ago.

              “No,” I lied. “You’re hearing things.”

              He laughed. “I think I’m getting old.”

              I stuck out my tongue. “You think?”

              He ruffled the top of my head, messing up my already frizzy hair, giving me a cheeky grin. I shot him a smile, as he got out the car, pushing the door closed. Richard followed his lead, exiting out, and swinging the door closed.  While Uncle went to the back of the garage, closing the door, Richard approached my window, staring at me in that way of his. That way in which the light would catch the glimmer in his eyes, forcing them to seep into mine, causing me to look away.

              But instead, I looked past him, leaning my head against the car seat, my seatbelt still attached over my chest. My bubble gum pink bike still rested against the wall of the garage, a rainbow tassel hanging off one end. When I got off the car, a blast of nostalgia hit me, and for a moment, just for a moment, I wanted to cry.

              I missed home.

              I missed my baseball bat that rested in a worn out wooden shelf at the front of the garage, on top of a stalk of books, all jumbled together, threatening to fall off the edge. The ceiling bulb illuminated the cement ground, as a life size poster of an astronaut hung against the other side of the wall, the bottom part pressed with duct tape.

              “Are you getting out now, or next year?” asked Richard, leaning an elbow against the windows edge.

              I sighed, lifting my eyes towards his, giving him a tired smile.

              “Step back,” I said, glancing at the ground, then back at him.

              He wiped a thump against the corner of his mouth, brushing away whatever was there, though I saw nothing. But then again, why was I staring at him wiping his mouth?

              I shivered, diverting my gaze, as a gust of discomfort slinked through my spine.

              He eyed me speculatively, as though trying to figure me out, his eyes roaming over my face, before stopping for a moment, on my lips.

              “I’m not the kind of guy that steps back from things,” he whispered, leaning his head towards me.

              I blinked at him, not quite registering what he meant. My mind was already in a haze, and his riddling words, only increased my headache.

              “I don’t care what kind of guy you are.” There was a light tremor in my voice. “I just need to open the door, and unless you want this door to slam into your stomach, then I suggest you move back.”

              His brows rose, as he finally stepped back, while I unlocked my seatbelt, throwing the door open. Facing my back to him, I pushed the door, hearing it snap closed.

              Without turning, I stared at his reflection from the window, watching as he looked back at me, as though waiting for my next move.

              The feeling of ‘what next’ lulled into my mind, and for the first time in a long time, I didn’t know what to do.

              From the corner of my eyes, I watched Uncle Jeffrey approach us, his red jerry curled locks swaying over his shoulder. My gaze followed the long strides of his steps, as my mind calculated all the things that I would tell him once he stood before me. In three seconds, I would turn to my Uncle, admitting that the man that stood in his garage, was an imposter, and that the real James was back in New York, in the arms of another. I would tell him that I married for the greater good, but not out of happiness, nor love. I would cry, and shout, and scream in the hollow cave of the garage, that my entire marriage was a sham, that it was all a lie.

              But when Uncle did approach, my throat went dry, and as I turned towards him, I could only smile weakly.

              Richard’s golden eyed gaze bore through me, but I ignored him, focusing only on Uncle.

              This is it, Dorothy. Tell him. Tell him that your marriage is nothing but a joke, and you only came back to Ohio, because New York had only given you a brick load of pain.

              “You alright, June Bug?” Uncle asked. “You’re looking awful sick.”

              My mouth opened, and out came a thousand words, screaming out the truth. But alas, the words were soundless, drifting out only through my eyes, which I could feel Uncle reading, but not quite understanding.

              “I’m fine,” I told him. “I just…I…I think I’m a bit car sick. And…I have something I wanna ask you.”

              Richard eyed me suspiciously, crossing his arms over his pale blue t-shirt.

              “Well go on,” said Uncle. “Ask me anything.”

              I glanced once more at Richard, who looked taken back, almost afraid. As I turned towards Uncle Jeffrey, taking a gentle step towards him, placing a hand against my neck, I noticed that he too, looked worried.

              “Is Aunt Molly inside the house?” I asked. “Or…I mean…will she be coming tonight? I’ve got something to say to her. Just…girl stuff.”

              Uncle Jeffrey’s marble blue eyes- narrowed, before slowly turning to Richard, staring suspiciously at him.

              I ran a hand through the string of my locks, licking my bottom lip, and swallowing a breath. I didn’t like the way he was looking at Richard, as if blaming him for my apprehension. If anyone needed to be blamed, it was James.

             
James.

              I shook my head, erasing the image of him from my mind, before snapping a finger towards Uncle’s face. He shook, turning his head towards me, giving me a stiff smile.

              “Stop over thinking,” I told Uncle. “Honestly, I feel kind of car sick, that’s all. And I really do need to talk to Aunt Molly about something. It’s gross girl stuff, and trust me, you don’t want to know.”

              “You’re lying to me,” said Uncle Jeffrey. “I might not have a fancy college degree, but I’m smart enough to know when my little girl is lying—“

              “Look at me,” I said. “Seriously…is this the face of a liar?”

              I smiled playfully at him, crossing the fingers of my left hand over my back, hoping he’d fall for it.

              “If something, anything was wrong, I swear I’d tell you,” I said, placing a hand on his arm. “Believe me! Now, you can head inside first. I just want to mentally prepare um…James…before he meets the family. He’s really nervous. Look, he hasn’t said a word for the longest time. He’s totally freaking out. Isn’t that right, James?”

              Richard, who looked genuinely afraid for the first time since I’d met him, turned his steely brown eyes towards me.

              Uncle Jeffrey took a step back, looking Richard square in the eye, as though challenging his gaze to divert.

              “That’s right,” Richard agreed. “I’m…very nervous. Very, very nervous actually. Extremely nervous to be exact.”

              I glared at him, annoyed that he was stumbling on his words. The curl of his lips after he uttered the final “very”, came out as almost a whimper, as the dim light from the ceiling splashed over the side of his face, giving him almost an innocent glow.

              It was the first time I’d seen him off guard, exposing a piece of humanity I didn’t know he had. The one thing that drew me away from Richard- was that his every move towards me, was artificial, as though he had an ulterior motive. But as he stood before my Uncle, looking weak and taken aback, I realized that he too, was human. A crappy human, but a human nonetheless.

              Uncle Jeffrey’s eyes squinted, as he smiled, slapping Richard on the arm.

              “No need to be nervous, son,” he said. “I’ll tell them you’ll both be ready in a few minutes. How’s that?”

              I nodded. “That’s perfect. Thanks, Uncle Jeffrey.”

**

              I glowered at Richard, my hands dangling by my sides.

              “You know, I could kill you right now,” I said. “That’s how mad I am. Who the hell gave you the right to manipulate my Uncle, come into my house, and turn my already ridiculous life, into an even bigger joke?”

              I took a step towards him, my hands shaking by my thighs, my eyes starting to sting. Richard pressed a hand against his head, as though it were aching, as he took a step back.

              “Dorothy, I—“

              “Don’t cut me off!” I snapped. “You crossed the line this time. You know why I came here?—“

              “Dorothy, please,” he said. “Just hear me out—“

              “No! I’m done with hearing you and James out! God, I’m such a fool! Listen to me, and listen clear. In about two minutes the door to the back of this garage will open, and someone will tell us to come inside, but before that happens, I need you to run. Run fast, and run as far as you can to the nearest bus stop, and get to the airport—“

              His eyes widened, as he stared at me as if I were nuts. Shaking his head, he tried to place an arm around me, but I moved to the side, refusing his touch.

              “It’s too late,” he said. “I’m already here. You can’t get rid of me—“

              “You lied to me!” I accused. “James would never tell you to come in his place! I can’t trust you just as much as I can’t trust him. You’re both liars, and either you get out now, or I’ll tell my uncle everything, and trust me, he will kick the living crap out of you—“

              “You’re bluffing,” said Richard. “And I may have lied, but that doesn’t mean I’m like James! I wouldn’t cheat on you--“