“If I had told you I was taking you and Sophie to my live-in girlfriend’s country house, would you have agreed? I doubt it. You’re too proud. So don’t call me names. If it weren’t for your pride, none of this would have happened. Now look at the mess we’re in.”
Tessa was tired of their bickering. “Hey, go argue somewhere else. Leave me and my house in peace. The clock is ticking. In twenty-seven minutes, I’m calling the cops. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Seeing that Tessa was serious, Tony began gathering his clothes and the tools he had brought over to do some repairs. He started to say something about the money he had spent on the house, but Anna cut him off. “Tony, where is your conscience? You should be thanking Tessa for not calling the police immediately, and here you are trying to play the victim. You’re the only one to blame for this stupid situation.”
Silence fell over the house, broken only by the sound of drawers opening and closing. Tessa felt a strange numbness. She watched as the man she had considered her rock meticulously checked to make sure he hadn’t left anything behind. In all the time they had lived together, she had never noticed how petty he was. Maybe there had never been an occasion for it to show. After collecting his things, Tony started packing up the food from the table.
To Tessa’s surprise, Anna stopped him. “That’s enough, Tony. Let’s go. I can’t watch this anymore.”
The man waved a dismissive hand and, without a glance at Tessa, walked out. But she stopped him. “Tony, give me back the keys to my apartment. Right now. I don’t want you getting any ideas. I’ll give you back all your things, but you won’t be coming to get them alone. You’ll pick them up in my presence, with witnesses. That’s not just so you don’t take anything extra, but so you can’t accuse me of anything later. I honestly don’t know what to expect from you anymore. I thought I could trust you, but you’re capable of things I can’t even comprehend.”
Tessa didn’t know where this newfound courage came from. Her anger gave her strength. She wasn’t thinking about the fact that she was physically outmatched. If Tony had lost his temper, he could have easily overpowered her. But the man, his jaw tight, silently took the apartment keys off his keychain and threw them on the floor.
As Anna passed by the homeowner, she slowed down, looked her in the eye, and apologized once more. “I don’t know how to express what I’m feeling. If you can, please forgive me for everything. And I hope your good deed is rewarded. You practically saved my daughter’s life. I’m sorry, and goodbye.”
After seeing her uninvited guests out, Tessa followed them to make sure they didn’t cause any trouble. Though Anna’s apology seemed sincere, who knew what she was really thinking. And Tony had completely shattered his image as a decent person.
Tessa watched like a prison guard as her ex-fiancé and his guest walked to the car. She waited until Anna opened the gate, not wanting to turn her back on the man she had so recently loved. When Tony started the car and drove out of the yard, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been sure she could avoid a physical confrontation. She carefully latched the gate, sliding a metal rod through the loops for extra security. Inside, she jammed the handle of an old wooden broom under the doorknob.
On the bed where Sophie had been writhing in pain, the family photo albums still lay. Though Tessa was ravenously hungry, she couldn’t bring herself to eat the food Anna had prepared. She put a pot of water on to boil for pasta. While it heated, she carefully put the leftover food in the refrigerator. She couldn’t waste it; in the morning, she would take it to her neighbor, who had pigs.
As she tidied up the mess Tony had left, she went to put the photo albums away. But the familiar faces looking out from the pages seemed so understanding, so sympathetic, that she sat down at the table and began to flip through them. The water came to a boil, but she didn’t want to interrupt her silent conversation with her loved ones. She just made herself a cup of tea, glad she hadn’t salted the water yet.
Memories flooded back. Here were her parents and her at the park. She vaguely remembered that day, just flashes of different rides. But the photograph had captured it forever. Now, a grown woman older than her parents in the picture, she admired them…
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