Sue (19 page)

“I’m so glad my therapist takes
evening appointments. I’d hate to have to miss work for this crap.” She stared
out the window at the shoots of green sprouting here and there. Spring was
usually her favorite time of year, but summer followed. And summer was when
she’d met Zeke.

Melvin glanced at her. He seemed
unsure if he should say anything. Sometimes she fairly danced out of her
appointments, happy and optimistic. Other times she exited in a somber mood,
withdrawn and uncommunicative. There was also the possibility that she might
snap at him no matter what he said. He remained silent.

“Don’t pay any attention to me,
Melvin. I’ll feel better once I get something to drink and maybe a bite to eat.
I’m just tired.” She marveled at how time passed. It had been almost a year
since Zeke came into her life and demolished it.
Almost a
year.
And where was he now?

Chapter 27

In the middle of April, another
woman went missing. She lived in a rural district outside of Nashville.
Sue remembered the terrifying incident in a crumbling tenement somewhere inside
that city months earlier. Zeke had tied her to a chair. She shuddered at the
memory and quickly shut it down, focusing instead on the information in the
article.

This one was quite detailed, hats
off to the journalist. Connie Lucas, age thirty-eight, stout, ordinary-looking,
short black hair, glasses, and wearing a wholesome expression in the photograph
provided to the newspaper.
A farmer’s wife.
Stable, solid, predictable.
Not prone to irrational or
spontaneous actions. Yet, apparently she walked away from her home in the
middle of a sewing project, the fabric pinned beneath the presser foot of her
Singer, the cord of her iron still dangling from the electrical outlet. “Connie
never leaves her iron plugged in,” the distraught husband told reporters. “She wouldn’t
do that. Something’s wrong. Something or someone took her by surprise.” When he
returned from chores that day, he’d found the front door unlocked, gaping open,
and Connie’s car parked in the driveway like always. No signs of a struggle. No
clue where she’d gone.

After printing the report, Sue
added it to her file. Zeke’s sickness seemed to be escalating, just like it had
with her. He was taking his time traveling, but Zeke was definitely getting
closer.
Closer each day.

Somehow Sue and Melvin had fallen
into the habit of having dinner with her folks every other week. Sue had mixed
feelings about this development. One Sunday as they were driving away, Sue
asked Melvin, “So, when are you going to introduce me to your parents?”

He checked the rearview mirror and
pulled to the side of the road. Carefully putting the car in park, he turned
toward Sue. “I had no idea you’d even want to meet them.”

Sue immediately regretted bringing
up the subject. She covered her discomfort with a bright smile. “Well, sure.
Why not?”

“They live pretty far away.
In
Kansas
.”

Sue looked at him in surprise. “Kansas?
How did you end up here?”

“I grew up here. My folks only
moved a couple of years ago. They wanted to be near my grandparents; they’re
getting old and need a lot of help.”

“Oh.” Sue suddenly realized she
knew very little about Melvin and his circumstances. Most of their
conversations up to this point had centered on her and her problems. She
blushed, knowing she’d been self-absorbed. “Well, do you ever see them?”

“They come back as often as they
can, whenever my uncle is available to step in and take over for them. Their
house is still here; that’s where I live.”

“So they plan to move back
someday?”

“Yes, I suppose.” He looked away.
“When my grandparents...don’t need them anymore.”

She put a hand on Melvin’s arm.
“The next time they come back, maybe I could meet them?”

He smiled. “Sure. That’d be great.
In fact, they’ll be here in a couple of weeks. We’ll go out to eat or
something.”

When Sue met Melvin’s parents she
found them to be charming people. His mother had a sparkle in her eye and a
delightful sense of humor and his dad was earnest and polite.

Their dinner was relaxed and
enjoyable. Sue could clearly see where Melvin got many of his positive traits.

Later she asked timidly, “So, what
did you tell your parents about me?”

“That you’re my friend.”

“Do they know about Zeke and all
that?”

He looked surprised.
“Of course not.
Why would they?” Seeing Sue’s face flush
with embarrassment, he said in a firm voice, “Look, Sue. You have to understand
something. I took an oath of confidentiality when I went to work for Will. And
even if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t tell them your secrets, Sue. I wouldn’t tell
anyone.”

Sue exhaled in relief. “Thank you,
Melvin. I wouldn’t want them knowing about it. It’s humiliating.”

“Wrong. It’s not humiliating; a
tragedy is what it is. I wish it hadn’t happened to you. But I don’t think you
should feel embarrassed. It was all just a mistake and it’s in the past now.”

She raised her eyebrows but said
nothing.

Chapter 28

Melvin arrived at Sue’s apartment
one evening early in May to take her to a movie. She let him inside, struck
immediately by his downcast expression.

“Give me a minute. I’m almost
ready.” She headed for the bathroom to put finishing touches on her makeup and
Melvin sat down without a word. Sue paused. “Melvin, is something wrong?”

“There
is
something
bothering me. It’s just that I don’t feel right being paid to hang out with
you.” His face was troubled.

“You’re not paid to hang out with
me; you’re paid to escort me places, everything else we do is just for us.”

He slipped out of his jacket and
slumped back on the sofa. “Sue, I need to ask you something and I want a
truthful answer. Okay?”

She walked to the couch and sat
beside him, puzzled. “Okay.”

“Do you like me?”

“Well, yeah.” Sue’s heart rate
picked up. “Why?”

Melvin ducked his head, fiddled
with the jacket in his lap. “If I wasn’t paid to be here, would you still want
to see me?”

Sue considered the question; she
didn’t want to get into a discussion of this nature, but Melvin seemed
particularly vulnerable for some reason. She’d never seen him this agitated and
it affected her in surprising ways. She noticed he was holding tightly to one
of his jacket pockets and knew his inhaler was inside; she sensed he was
keeping it near, just in case. In a reassuring tone, she stated, “Definitely.
We’re friends, right?”

“I hope so.” He heaved a sigh. “But
we need to do something about this weird business-type setup we have. I’d
rather be here because you want me, not because it’s my job.”

“I do want you here, Melvin. I
thought you knew that.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to be sure of
things.”

“Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll talk to
my folks about it; it’s really their thing anyway, not mine. It makes them feel
more secure.
And me, too.
But honestly, Melvin, I just
plain enjoy your company.”

He seemed partially relieved, but
still not his usual cheerful self. He raised his head and met her eyes. “I’ll
still look out for you. I’ll do it because you matter to me. That’s reason
enough in my book.”

“But don’t you need the money? You
know, for school and everything?”

“Will’s got other jobs for me, you
know. I’ll make out fine.”

“But, if Will gives you other work,
will you still have time for me?”

“I’ll make time, Sue.” He laid his
jacket aside, rose, and walked to the window. Parting the shades, he peered
outside.

“Okay, then. It’s settled.” Sue
gazed at Melvin’s back, shoulders hunched in a posture of sadness.

Dropping his hand from the blinds,
he faced her, his expression still troubled. “That’s good. That’ll take a load
off me.”

Sue hesitated, weighing her words.
“Melvin, what’s
wrong?
You’re not yourself at all. I know something’s
going on. Please tell me.”

He took a shaky breath. “I’m sorry,
Sue. It’s not you. It’s today’s date. We don’t need to go into it or we’ll be
late for our movie.”

“To hell with the
movie.”
Sue patted the couch next to her. “Sit down. Please.
Talk to me.
What about today’s date?”

Melvin walked over slowly, face
down-turned, and sat beside her. “I go through this every year. It’s a bad
anniversary.”

Sue racked her mind. Was this when
his girlfriend broke up with him? “Anniversary of what?” she asked quietly.

“A fire.”
His voice was flat.

Oh, god!
Reality slammed
home. She should have known, should have remembered.

“Maybe you’ve heard about this, I
don’t know. Did
Will
tell you my family’s house caught
fire when I was a kid?”

“He mentioned it once but didn’t
really elaborate.” She put her hand on his and squeezed lightly. “Tell me what
happened.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know if
I want to get into it.” His hand crept toward his jacket, but he pulled it back
his movements listless. “It was awful, really bad. But you’ve got your own
troubles. I shouldn’t shove mine off on you.”

“
It’s
okay, Melvin. You can tell me anything.” Sue took his hand
gently
in her own,
soothing him. “Please tell me.”

Melvin leaned forward, chin
trembling slightly. “I was sleeping when I smelled the smoke. When I came fully
awake, I could hear the smoke alarm wailing. Without thinking, I just jumped up
from the bed and ran as hard as I could outside. I could hear the crackling of
the fire and it was the most horrible sound I’d ever heard. I was choking, too.
The smoke made my eyes water and burn.”

He ran his hands over his face,
dragged them downward,
cupped
his mouth. Then he
sagged against the back of the sofa and dropped his arms to his sides. “Anyway,
it was a chilly night and I remember how the ground felt like ice on my feet. I
was so scared, Sue. I could see the blaze licking out of the windows like red
tongues. I was crying, looking around for my parents. Neighbors were gathering
outside, yelling and looking for the hose, but it had been rolled up and stored
away for the winter. I could hear sirens.

“I couldn’t find my folks. Turns
out they were trapped in their bedroom by the fire. They couldn’t open the door
because it was too hot. I guess my dad broke through the window and dropped my mom
to the ground before escaping himself. I didn’t see it, though, because I’d
realized Davy, my little brother, was still inside. Nobody was paying attention
to me. I ran back inside. I couldn’t breathe. It was horrible. The smoke was
really thick by then. I closed my eyes and found my way by memory to his room.
He was in his bed, not moving. I thought he should be crying and scared like I
was. But he was quiet. I grabbed him by the arms and picked him up. I fell and
he landed on top of me. It seemed like the air near the floor was a little
easier to breathe, so I started crawling, pulling him along. He still didn’t
cry out! I thought he was so brave. I wanted to tell him everything was going
to be okay; I’d get us both out of there. But I couldn’t speak.

“When I could see the front door I
got up and lifted him. He was only a toddler but still pretty heavy for me to
carry because I was just a kid, too, you know.

“Nothing in my life ever felt
better than that first breath of clean air once we got outside. I thought we’d
made it, we’d be okay. I laid Davy on the ground and bent over him, choking and
trying to pull air into my lungs. He was so still and I realized he wasn’t
breathing. I started pushing on his chest, shaking his shoulders, trying to get
him to wake up. I was coughing and crying like crazy.

“Some firemen, paramedics,
someone...I don’t know who...they took him from me and worked on him. They
worked on me, too, but I kept trying to see Davy.”

Tears rolled unchecked down
Melvin’s cheeks. Sue felt them gather in her eyes as well.

He removed his glasses and wiped
them on his shirt, then continued, “Anyway, Davy didn’t make it.”

“I’m sorry, Melvin.” Sue put her
arm around his shoulders.

He leaned against her. “I wish you
could’ve known him, Sue. He was the cutest little kid. And he loved me. He
thought I was the biggest, smartest, greatest person in the world. He was
always copying me, following me around like a pint-sized shadow. God, I missed
him so much. I still miss him.”

“How old was he?”

“He was three.”

“And how old were you?” Sue kept a
comforting hand on his back.

“I was seven.” Melvin wiped his
eyes on the back of his hand.

“Seven! Oh, Melvin, you were just
little yourself. How terrible for you, for your family. How did you guys get
over a tragedy like that?”

“You never get over it. You just go
on.”

“Did they ever figure out what
started the fire?”

“Not really. They think it was
electrical.
Nobody’s fault.
My dad blamed himself for
a long time, thought he somehow should have known the wiring was bad. It was a
while before any of us were able to smile again.”

“So do you have any other brothers
or sisters?”

“No. It was just Davy and me.” He
slid out from under her arms, replaced his glasses, and picked up his jacket
from the sofa. “Excuse me for a minute.” He rose to his feet and then
disappeared into the bathroom.

Sue paced the living room a few
times, then approached the bathroom door and stood uncertainly outside it. She
could hear the tiny press of the inhaler and several deep breaths. The series of
sounds repeated.