can’t be serious,” she said softly.
“I am,” Thomas said. “Now we were in the middle of a very serious discussion. Marlene, please leave – if I need to reach you, I’ll go through your lawyer.”
I narrowed my eyes. What’s going on between them, I wondered. This is so strange. Did something happen?
“No,” Marlene said shortly. She turned to me. “You can’t be with Thomas,” she said.
I shrugged. “I am,” I said softly.
Marlene’s face changed from pale, to white, to bright red. She stood up and glared at me, her green eyes blazing with fury.
“You can’t have my husband,” Marlene said angrily. “And if you think I’m going to stand by and let—“
“Marlene, enough !” Thomas stood up and grabbed Marlene by the arm. For a moment, they tussled. Then Thomas pulled Marlene close and hissed something quietly in her face. Marlene turned to me and glared for another long second before stalking off, her fur coat swishing around her shapely legs.
“June?” Thomas sat back down and put his hand on my arm. I flinched. “June, I’m so sorry about that. I had no idea she’d even be around here.”
I sniffed. “I think I want to go home,” I said softly. “I don’t really feel like being here anymore.”
“June, come on – I’m really sorry,” Thomas said. His own face was flushed and I could tell he was almost as distressed by the encounter with his wife as I was. Still, I couldn’t keep myself from beginning to shake. Tears welled up in my eyes and my face turned bright hot red.
“Thomas, please, take me home,” I whispered in a scratchy voice. “I don’t want to cry – not around all of these people.”
Thomas sighed. He signaled the waiter and asked for our breakfast to be boxed up. As soon as Thomas had paid the tab, he escorted me over to where his driver was waiting.
I shivered as Thomas opened the back seat of the car and helped me inside. As the driver pulled away from Café DeLuxe, I glanced around, suddenly afraid that Marlene was still lurking behind us.
Angela and I spent the rest of the day inside. Thomas sent over a huge amount of catered French food. When I saw that it was from Daniel, I smiled. I would have much preferred being with him at a gorgeous restaurant, but I still couldn’t make myself feel any better. I felt like a complete and total failure. My first adult job and I hadn’t even lasted two years.
I was really pathetic.
Just as Angela and I were packing up the leftovers, there was a knock at the front door.
“I bet Thomas sent over more food,” Angela said dryly. She rubbed her belly and moaned. “June, I’m stuffed! I can barely move.”
I laughed. “Maybe it’s flowers this time,” I said. I walked over and opened the door. When I realized no one was there, I frowned.
That’s when I saw the small brown box just outside of the door.
“He sent something ,” I said, picking up the box and frowning. I turned it over in my hands but there was no return address or hint of who had mailed it.
“What is that?” Angela narrowed her eyes. Just as I was about to rip the tape away from the cardboard, Angela bit her lip. “June, maybe you shouldn’t do that,” Angela said. “What if it’s not from Thomas?”
“Who else could it be?” I gritted my teeth as I ripped the tape away. Immediately, a foul scent filled the room.
“God, that reeks,” Angela said. “It smells like burning plastic and rubber.”
A nervous stab of fear pierced my heart as I pulled open the cardboard. When I saw what was inside, I shrieked loudly and dropped the box to the floor.
“Holy shit,” Angela said. She squatted down. “What the fuck is this?”
I bit my lip. Two badly-burned dolls had fallen from the box and they lay in charred pieces on the floor. The acrid smell of smoke was strong enough to burn my nostrils and I felt tears come rushing back.
“I don’t know,” I said. “But Thomas didn’t send it!”
“June, you should call the police,” Angela said. “This is really getting out of hand. Don’t you think it’s time to take matters into your own hands?”
I frowned. “I don’t know. They weren’t very helpful last time.”