The Good Deed ~COMPLETE~

Chapter 5: Late For Dinner

Sue grabbed the note before I could. She opened it and read it aloud. "DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT GOING TO THE COPS. IF YOU DO, YOU DIE."

"Who the hell is doing this?" Sue broke down. The reality of the two threats proved to be too much for her tears to hold back.

"I don't know, baby. Don't worry about it, everything will be okay." I did my best to console her.

"Someone has threatened to kill you and now they've threatened me and busted my windshield! Everything is not okay!" Sue buried her face into my shoulder.

"Hey, sweetie, come on. Let's just go to my parents and try to have a good time and forget all about this. I'll pay to replace the windshield."

"I don't care about the God damned windshield, I'm worried about you." She wiped her eyes on my sleeves. "I'm scared that someone is going to hurt you."

"Sue, honey, nothing is going to happen to me or you. Whoever did this is just trying to scare us, that's all."

"Well it worked. We should call the police." Sue ignored the notes warning.

"I don't think that's a good idea. We should just forget this happened and move on." I tried to stop her. She called anyway.

Ten minutes later a light blue and white, Prince William County Police cruiser pulled down Sues street. The officer was young, in his mid-to-late twenties. The officers name badge read, Daniel Healy. He approached and said, "So what's the problem?" He seemed bothered, as if we had interrupted his doughnut break.

We showed the officer the windshield and both threatening notes. For nearly 45 minutes, he took our information, wrote his report and took pictures of the damaged glass. My phone, which I had placed on vibrate, had not stopped buzzing. I did not want to be impolite, so I ignored the vibrations within my pocket. Besides, I knew it was my mother.

Finally, now nearly an hour late for dinner the officer had finished his questioning and handed me his business card. As the cop drove away, I pulled my phone from my pocket. I had missed six calls. Just as I had suspected, all of them were from my mother. I made the dreaded phone call and explained the hold up. She promised they would wait for us to arrive before eating.

November 26th 2005 6:12pm

We hopped in Sue's car. From the inside of the vehicle the damaged glass looked worse. Honestly, we should not have even been driving it. The webbed crack limited visibility substantially. The jagged lines proved to distract and draw the eyes away from the road. Time wasn't on our side either. Darkness was upon us. The sun had already disappeared for the night. Did I mention my thoughts on changing the time?

Sue drove as I rubbed her shoulders and the nape of her neck. We didn't talk much. The tension was thick but there was nothing we could do about it. We couldn't escape our thoughts. We had no choice but to look through the giant reminder on the windshield and it had no choice but to look right back at us.

Half way to my parents' house, I noticed Sue was crying again. Silently, she sobbed. If she hadn't been driving I would have wrapped both arms around her and held her. It pains me to see her cry.

I tried to break the tension with some much needed humor, "Hey, before we get to my parents' house, do I still have the, I just had sex face?" The attempt worked briefly. Sue smiled at the comment but quickly went back into her depression mode.

My parents lived in a retirement community, although, retirement isn't a requirement to live there. You just have to be over fifty to reside there. The neighborhood is highly secure; a large stone wall wraps the perimeter of the entire community. Security cameras and guards patrol the grounds around the clock. At the entrance to the subdivision there is a large gate and a guard station. All visitors must stop and sign in. Only after the guest has been verified by the resident, will the gates be opened. All of this protection comes at a cost; the home owner dues are over $200 per month. Most of the residents feel the security is well worth it.