Page 13 of Dark Secret

I had news, but I didn’t want to share it yet. Everything had been agreed on the resort I’d wanted to buy. The current owner had the final papers in his hand, and the real estate agent said the rest wouldn’t take long after that. Papers had to be filed somewhere, and deeds had to be applied for. The state would drag its heels, I was certain, they always did, but I’d own the place soon.

I’d given her the single rose I’d bought from a street vendor, and it rested now in a vase on the table. She’d got this look in her eye when I gave it to her, like she’d wanted to cry but had swallowed it down. Was the flower wrong? I thought women liked roses! She kissed me and thanked me for the flower and now her eyes landed on the flower. She got this far away look, as if she was in a happy place. So I knew it was a good thing then.

I didn’t ask her about her family, and she didn’t ask me about mine. From that, I gathered that she had her own past history to contend with. She’d never said anything about them or alluded to them in any way. Maybe she didn’t have any.

It wasn’t beyond reason to think that. In today’s world people died in car accidents, from drug overdoses, got caught in the crossfire of gang wars. Hurricanes, floods, and other storms took others. There was always something. Or maybe her parents hadn’t wanted her.

My father, at least, had wanted me. Mom had only wanted me to ensnare my dad. After that she’d barely had anything to do with me. They called it post-partum depression at first. She’d leave me crying for hours in my crib, in dirty diapers and wet. Dad had to hire a babysitter to take care of me while he was at work. She’d go out, as if she didn’t have a child waiting at home for her.

She’d always been like that, up to the day she’d died. She’d said she loved me that night, but it wasn’t a good kind of love. She’d loved that I’d brought her Dad, and she’d been told time and again that she was supposed to love me. She just hadn’t been able to. She felt guilty that I’d lived and breathed, and if anything, she’d regretted my existence.

I’d pushed up from the table and tried to rid my brain of the thoughts that plagued me now.

“I have cherry cheesecake for later. Or now if you’d like?” She’d looked up at me, eager to please.

“We can have it later. Shall we go for a walk? I need some air.”

“Sure. Let me grab my jacket.”

I was glad she’d decided to join me. I held her hand as we went down to the front exit of the building and headed for the boardwalk. It was a bit windy and the air carried the smell of the saltwater. Seagulls screamed overhead, even though it was almost dark now. They were noisy, but amused Stephanie.

“They’re so big. I bet they could pick up a small animal and carry it off.” She’d moved to my side and put her arm around me as we walked along.

The boardwalk was empty right now, and we’d made it down to an arcade before I knew it. “Care to go in?”

“I’ve never been in an arcade.” Her eyes were wide with excitement. “Let’s go in.”

She’d put her hand down into the back pocket of her jeans and pulled out $50. The jeans were topped by a burnt amber pullover sweater, and she had on black low-top boots. She was sexy, even in her casual attire.

“Hmm, should we make a bet?” I asked and gave her a smug grin.

“A bet on what?” Her head tilted slightly to the left, and she looked confused. It was so sweet.

“Well, you see, you get tickets for all the games you put tokens into. The one to come out with the most tickets, wins.”

“What do we do with the tickets?”

“You usually turn them in for prizes. Care to take the bet?”

“Of course. You’re on, buddy.” She had no idea what she was betting on, but she didn’t care because it was me she’d made the bet with. She knew she’d like whatever I chose as my prize.

Just like she’d loved the other night when I’d tied her down to a wooden barrel and teased her into perdition. Then, I’d let her have what she’d wanted the most, and it had been beautiful. Whatever I came up with as a prize would be equally beautiful.

An idea occurred to me, and either way, I knew we would both win. We went into the arcade and bought some tokens. We started off on the easy games, the games for the kids like Whack-a-mole, and moved up to video arcade games and a few others. We raced in simulations on racing motorcycles, and to my surprise she’d beat me on that one.

We turned our tickets in, and Stephanie used our tickets to get a giant penguin the arcade had behind on the shelves, then we left, happy and laughing.

“So what’s your prize then, sir?” she asked with a gleam in her eye. The lights had come on overhead, and her eyes glistened in the light.

“Have you ever been to New Orleans? I have a few days free and thought, well, it might be nice to wake up with strong Cajun coffee and some beignets for breakfast.”

She didn’t answer right away, and I’d wondered if I’d said something wrong. “Sure, yeah, that sounds good.”

That didn’t answer my question, though. “Have you ever been?”

“Yeah. Uh, a few times. I never really left the hotel I was at, though, and it wasn’t a big deal. Not like this sounds like.”

My old Stephanie was back in an instant, and I’d pulled her close. It didn’t sound like she’d had any fun on that trip to New Orleans. I’d make sure she had a lot of fun on the next trip.