Page 78 of The Monster I Loved
There was a lot of whispering. Plastering a smile on my face, I looked around and, as expected, all eyes were on me. Some of my coworkers’ mouths fell open. Others lost the color from their faces.
“Well, now that’s over with, let’s get back to work,” Mr. Fitzgerald said.
Was he serious? The man would never change.
John turned and took a step but then froze and pivoted around in my direction. “Oh, Summer...Welcome back to our lives.”
Thad’s full-bellied laugh filled the office. “Back? She never left.”
We all looked at him, and I lifted my tea and sipped.
I washappy when Thad and I left work early. Half my coworkers thought I was a home-wrecker who’d ruined Melissa’s happy ending. The others, who might’ve known the history between us, looked at me strangely. Did they think I’d lost my mind, marrying a man who’d killed my dad?
We ended up in town, walking along Main Street. As Thad said, the residents were going to have to get used to seeing us eventually.
“Greek?” Thad asked.
I shook my head, craving something heavier. “How about Italian? There’s a new Italian restaurant that just opened, and their handmade pasta is really good.” Before I could point him in the right direction, music began to play out of nowhere. I looked around, like many others, to find the source. There were large speakers outside the music hall. I smiled, thinking they’d play a few holiday tunes, maybe “The Monster Mash.” Suddenly, a group of people who’d previously looked to be casually crossing Main Street froze, then lurched their hands forward in sync. On second glance, their torn shirts and creepy makeup should have gotten a second glance from all of us. But in Tarrytown, everyone gets to express themselves however they want, so it wasn’t unusual for people to dress a little differently, and it was October, after all.
The group began to dance as “Thriller”by Michael Jackson blasted from the speakers. A crowd lined the sidewalk, watching as the dancers moved their bodies like zombies in time to the music. Thad and I stood in front of the nail salon. From outside the music hall, smoke billowed from a smoke machine. I stood there grinning like a child, chills running down my arms, totally caught in the moment. Halloween magic.
When I looked over at Thad, he was nodding at the performance. The lights hit his features just right, adding definition to his chiseled face.Your jawline is already sharper than a razor. How do you manage to look even more like a model?Life wasn’t fair, apparently. A man like Thaddeus could mesmerize with the most basic movements; even the bob of his broad neck demanded attention. He stood with his hands tucked into his pants, eyes locked on the dancers as they strutted their stuff. I had to admit they were pretty impressive, but Thad was the only attraction on Main Street I couldn’t take my eyes off of. He smiled from ear to ear. I watched the lines that formedaround the corners of his eyes, and wondered why his looked so beautiful, while mine made me look old. Ugh! Suddenly, it hit me.
I must be in love. They talked about it all the time, how falling for someone could make even their birthmark a work of art in your eyes.
Gosh, I do sound like a hopeless romantic. As the realization dawned on me, I couldn’t believe I’d seriously fallen for Thaddeus again. Whether it had returned or was always there, buried under all my hate and resentment, I didn’t know. In that moment, I just accepted it. There was no use in fighting any longer. For me, everything would always be about him.
He leaned over and whispered in my ear, “They’re pretty good, aren’t they?”
I smiled. “They sure are.”
Joining hands, I led Thad to the restaurant as the dancers received their applause.
Thaddeus
My phone rang.Lifting it to my ear, I said, “Yes?”
“Thad. It’s Daisy.” She spoke in a shaky voice.
Immediately, the call transplanted me back to that terrifying time. Sweat lined my forehead. I trembled, wondering what life-shattering news Daisy would deliver this time.
“What?”
“You won’t tell Summer will you? That it was me who told you?”
I finally released the breath I had been holding. This call wasn’t going to shatter my life. “No.”
“Thanks.”
Loosening my tie, I explained in detail. “Daisy, I’m not trying to lie to Summer, but it would devastate her, and it finally occurred to me that loving her means it’s my job to go out of my way to prevent that from happening...again.”
The woman started to cry and rambled into my ears. “I made a mistake.”
“Depending on who you ask, we both did. Plus, I don’t want to take another person away from Summer. I already took Clive.”
Daisy took a deep breath. “Guess we have to find some way to coexist. Summer is an important part of my life.”
We chatted for a minute, attempting stumbling small talk before we gave up and ended the call.
