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Chapter Thirteen
Randy threaded the truck in and out of traffic. Horns of angry drivers blared after him, but he didn’t give a damn. The excitement of finally going home was an impenetrable armor against anything that might want to spark his temper today. He finally decided that his days of staying at the Motel 6 had come to an end. Why suffer in filth and decay when you could put yourself up in luxury accommodations? Terri’s home sure wasn’t a five star hotel, not without her there to cook and clean and meet all his needs, but for now, it was far better than anything he’d had for the last year.
Dark thoughts seeped into his head, bleeding past that barrier he had erected and slicing into his happy mood like a needle through cotton. Terri wouldn’t be there to greet him. She was too busy gallivanting around town like a cheap whore on a Saturday night. He was so tired of her games, tired of her running from him, tired of her making him chase her. And he was sick and damn tired of not knowing where she was. Usually she would make things easy for him. After a fight, she would hang out at her usual haunts and he would give her an hour before showing up and dragging her home. Now she was making him dig, and Randy didn’t like getting his hands dirty.
Thankfully, his old pal, Jerry, came through with the money, making Randy six grand richer than he was yesterday. Now he could afford to take care of some things, like buy food, clothing, and most importantly, the supplies he would need for the day he and Terri finally reunited.
The tires jumped over the bump at the end of the drive and Randy pulled forward, parking just outside the garage doors. He’d never been this blatant about his arrival before and a part of it struck him as strange, but he forced himself to feel what he knew to be true: that he belonged there. Shoving open the door, he grabbed his duffle and stepped down, planting his booted feet on the hard concrete like he owned the place, and immediately met the curious gaze of his new neighbor.
“Afternoon, Ma’am,” Randy greeted her politely, flashing a large, disarming smile that crippled most women’s fragile minds.
Like he expected, the woman blushed deeply and looked down at her hands, smiling demurely. Randy approached the row of low bushes that acted as a barrier between yards and offered his hand. “We haven’t met before. I’m Randy,” he introduced himself.
“Sandra.” She shook his hand with a soft, feminine grip. “Are you visiting someone?”
“Nope, I live here.” At her questioning look, Randy explained. “My wife purchased the place while I was away, so you could say this is a surprise homecoming.”
“A soldier then,” Sandra said, smiling knowingly. She didn’t know a thing, but he let her believe what she wanted. “I don’t see much of your wife. She keeps to herself a lot, but I can imagine why now.” Her eyes traveled from his head to his toes and back up again. “She must have been waiting for you.”
Randy nodded and stepped away. Hefting the duffle over his shoulder, he excused himself and made his way up the path to the door, where he crowded the entry to mask the fact that his only key was a metal nail file. Thankfully, the entry was small and fairly enclosed, an alcove recessed into the house and surrounded by shrubbery.
When the locks finally gave way, Randy stepped inside. Admittedly, he was a little miffed to find the house still empty, the air stale and the silence deafening. He recalled a time when Terri would greet him at the door, throw herself into his arms and kiss him silly. Whatever happened to those days? Terri got lazy, that’s what.
Honestly, he didn’t know why he was allowing himself to get so bothered. It wasn’t like he expected her to be there anyway, but it didn’t change the fact that he was annoyed. Playing the avoidance game, Randy decided to get settled in his new home. He began with washing his clothes. It took a while, but eventually he managed to wash and dry everything without shrinking anything. After that, he took the fresh stack of clothes into the bedroom and hung each piece up alongside Terri’s, just like they used to be. Well, almost. Terri was much better at these things than he would ever be. After clearing himself a couple of drawers and putting the remainder of the clothes in them, Randy fixed himself something to eat.
She didn’t have much in the way of groceries, so he settled for a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup and a glass of water, which was unacceptable, but unavoidable at this point. At least it would fill his empty stomach, but he would have to stop by the store soon and pick up some meals.
When he was finished eating, he didn’t feel much like watching television, so he went through the house, taking a closer stock of the things he had only enough time to skim over before. She’d kept a lot of things from their old place, namely furniture, but he noticed most of the photos she used to keep hanging on every available wall and surface were missing. Not a single picture of the two of them sat out, and that ticked him the hell off. Not only was she pretending to be single in public, but she was living that way too.
Wading through the organized mess of a guest room, Randy was determined to find those damn pictures. He knew she had them somewhere. Terri had always been very particular about those sorts of things, believing them to be a record of the past, of their existence so they would never be forgotten. There was no way she would have tossed them in the trash.
After pushing a path through bulky pieces of furniture and nearly shattering a lamp in the process, Randy located the closet, where he found their photo album. He pulled it down and dusted off the cover. This was the record he was looking for. Satisfied with his find, he took the album into the living room and plopped down on the couch, then began flipping through it.
All the evidence of their happiness that he would ever need was in those pages. Pictures of them on their first date, first anniversary of the day they met, their wedding day, all stared back at him. In all of them was a common theme: happiness and love. It shined in Terri’s eyes, in her bright, wide smile. The pictures grew fewer after that, thinning out into a few memorable moments, but one thing remained constant, and that was the look of pure devotion shining in Terri’s eyes in each and every one.
For Randy, this was further proof of how much he and Terri belonged together. A love like theirs could never die, and should never be allowed to. Like a flower on a hot summer day, it had begun to wilt, but with a little attention, it would blossom again, more beautiful than ever.
Renewed determination made Randy feel energized and ready to take on the world. They would be together soon, he was certain of it.
The ringing of his cell phone shocked him out of his reverie, and Randy yanked it off the table where he had left it earlier. He barked a hello.
“Mr. Cunningham,” said the male voice on the other end.
“Yeah,” Randy growled. “Who’s this?”
“Your friend, Jerry, contacted me, said you needed help tracking someone?”
That was fast, Randy thought appreciatively. He liked that. “Yeah, my wife.”
“I see.” Randy heard the click of what he assumed to be a pen in the background. “To get started, why don’t you tell me a bit about your wife.”
Randy started with the basics, her height, weight, color of her hair and eyes, before getting into the more embarrassing details. “I think she’s staying with another man, maybe her boss, or someone she works with. I’m not sure. All I know is he drives a black Mercedes.” Randy relayed the description of the man he had seen walking up to the house with her that night from her bedroom window. “Do you think you can find her?”
He could hear the smile in the man’s voice. “Given enough time, I can find anyone.”
After the call was finished, Randy decided it was time to try out his new bed, which turned out to be his old one, just a little lumpier than he remembered. Resting his head on one of the pillows that still held a trace of Terri’s perfume, he let himself imagine the day when he would once again share the bed with his wife.
Good thing that day wasn’t too far away.
