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I only looked at myself, not daring to move, persistent in my resolve to rebel tonight. He saw the look on my face, and the most sinister of smiles crept on his face. He enjoyed it when I fought back, the sick bastard. A sadist ad masochist at heart, my Dennis. He liked it when I didn’t give in.
He staggered into the kitchen, wiping his hands on his back pockets the way he usually did before he got ready to beat at me. He balanced himself on the chair next to mine, looked at the dinner I had set up, and began to laugh.
“My wife, the cook,” he teased.
“You should have some, Dennis,” I said.
Dennis looked at me, then at the food, then at me again. With a snarl, he grabbed the plate of roast beef and flung it across the kitchen. It barely missed my head before shattering against the cupboards behind me. He lashed out, grabbing me by the hair and pulling me to him.
And for some reason, I didn’t fight back.
Dennis looked me in the eye, his snarl turning into something scarier. A look of absolute glee on his face at what he was about to do to me.
“I know where you are, Andrea,” he whispered. “And I’m coming for you. Your brother can’t save you from me, you little bitch.”
He raised his hand, and I woke up.
I sat in bed, sweating and gasping for air, my eyes wide and my heart slamming in my chest. I could feel the air around me like a heavy weight on my shoulders, and the harder I tried, the more difficult it was to breathe. I felt like I was going to suffocate right then and there.
I rolled out of bed, swaying on my feet as I stumbled out of the bedroom and made my way into the bathroom. I could still hear Bobby snoring, and I began to wonder if I really had screamed out of my nightmare, or if the scream had been in my head. I switched on the lights and turned the faucet on, letting the rush of water soothe my nerves. I tried hard to steady my breathing, to calm my heartbeat, but I wasn’t getting anywhere.
I felt my stomach turn, and I quickly knelt in front of the toilet and vomited.
***
Jane Tucker owned a small supermarket close to UCONN, a small family business that had been around since I was a child and had been able to thrive even with the bigger competitors opening up just around the corner. I think the main reason for this was the fact that the Mansfield locals, the ones who knew Jane well, always bought their groceries from her store. It was our way of letting everyone know that no matter what the university brought with it, the community stuck together. A little bit of old town making a stand against the new.
It was behind Jane’s market where I had my first kiss. His name was Lenny Kale, and it was a sloppy and wet kiss, nothing like what my fifteen-year-old mind had conjured up. To make up for that memory, I had brought Dennis here after we had started dating, just to associate a proper kiss with the place. But, no matter what we did, even when we had sex in the backseat of his car behind the market, it was always Lenny I remembered.
Which made me feel oddly happy when I walked into Jane’s supermarket, closely following Bobby through the sliding doors. For obvious reasons, I didn’t mind that the sloppy kiss was what I remembered right now, and not Dennis.
Especially after last night.
I didn’t tell Bobby about the dream, and we had spent breakfast talking mostly about my evening with Andy. He had stayed well after Bobby’s shift had ended and my brother had come home with dinner. We ate, watched a movie, and talked some more about the good old days before I excused myself and went upstairs to sleep. Andy had left an hour later.
I had enjoyed Andy’s company, even after we got past the awkwardness of my marital issues. I didn’t even mention that to Bobby. I had been a little upset at first, hoping Bobby would keep our problems a secret, but in the end, I guess it made sense. Seeing the two of them together last night, it was quaintly reminiscent of our childhood days when my mother would force us to have lunch before Andy went home after an especially long day in the backyard with my brother. They really were close, and I was glad that Bobby had Andy’s support.
“Bobby, sweetheart, how are you?”
I looked past my brother at the elderly woman who vaguely resembled the woman I had grown up to love and fear at the same time. Jane had always been a large woman, and even with old age, she still stood taller than most, albeit a little hunched over. Her skin had turned a dull gray, folding upon itself in areas, but those crystal blue eyes were sharp as always. They found me almost instantly, and she smiled.
“If that isn’t little Andrea Canfield!” Jane chuckled, and I returned her smile, letting her wrap her arms around me in a surprisingly strong hug. “How are you, baby?”
“I’m doing well,” I replied, letting her ruffle my hair the way she had always done when I was a kid. “It’s good to see you, Jane.”
“When did you come in?”
“Two nights ago.”
“And are you here for a while, or just passing through?” Jane asked, leaning against the cashier counter and folding her arms across her chest. Her eyes darted between me and Bobby.
“Actually, that’s why we’re here,” Bobby said. “Andrea’s decided to stay for quite some time. Months, hopefully.”
“Well, isn’t that just wonderful?” Jane smiled. “It would be good to get some life back into that house of yours. No good that house with just a man in it bringing home all sorts of scandals.”
I smiled and nudged my brother, who feigned ignorance. It was cute to see how scared he was of Jane, even at his age. She had a way of making us feel like we were kids again.
“Well, don’t worry,” I said. “Now that I’m there, there will be no scandals.”
