A Perfect Husband by Douglas Wickard

Author:Douglas Wickard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Untreed Reads Publishing
Published: 2012-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

THIRTY-ONE

Melissa stands defiantly behind the glass entranceway of the mall. Watching.

Smitty fumbles his way back to the truck—the macho provider—stroller tucked under one arm, the other hand reaching out to protectively embrace his wife. It’s obvious from her body language; the good wife wants nothing to do with him. Every so often, he turns to see if Melissa’s still there. Still staring.

She is.

The glass doors automatically open, jostling Melissa from her position. A young couple pushes past her. The guy ditches a cigarette as they enter, hand-in-hand, their hair spiked straight up, Mohawk style, and dyed black.

Behind her, the arcade is at full tilt. Pinball machines and animated video games shriek metallically. Pubescent boys match testosterone on one another, their whoops and hollers escalating with each winning point. Lines of suckers snake down the hallway waiting to buy tickets for the latest movies. A popcorn machine floods over the top as uniformed losers scoop up large containers of the buttery comfort food. The smell makes Melissa hungry.

A mischievous smile lights up her face. The poor little wife. What must she be thinking? And what a stroke of genius on her part. Clairvoyant. Magical. Who would have guessed that a quick trip to the Crystal Run Mall would provide such a prize?

What’s this? Is this new man in her life staring her down? Is that what he’s trying to do?

He jerks the stroller up into the back of the truck and catches sight of her. She is not budging. She has her mind made up. She will stay here all night if she has to, eager to stalk her new obsession. He doesn’t scare her. She will have him.

And soon.

The glass doors automatically open as Melissa leaves the noise and confusion of the mall and walks to the edge of the curb. She keeps her eyes glued on her target. She snickers, as he yanks at the piece of paper stuck under his windshield wiper. He crumples it into a small wad and throws it onto the ground. Pink note paper, miniature Valentine hearts decaled all over it.

She doesn’t care. She made her point.

The night air is chilly. She forgot her sweater. The sky is overcast. The parking lot streetlights cast an ominous glow as Melissa strolls nonchalantly between the rows of parked cars. She can still see the red taillights of his pick-up. They turn left onto the mall causeway. She unlocks her car door and slides in. Following is an art form, keeping far enough behind, but close enough to make him squirm.

Coldplay breaks into song as Melissa puts the Mercedes into reverse and backs out of her perfect parking space.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.