Shadows in the Dark

Chapter 17

On a warm Saturday evening, Wendy left her apartment for a walk. She had learned to ignore stares and comments. She  hoped to blend in with all the tourists. She liked to walk past The Landing and down River Road where there were fewer cottages on the deserted stretch of beach by the river. It was never totally deserted because the teenagers like it best. She had seen plenty and again wished some parents would worry more about their own kids than her. She was a prostitute who was paid for services in her apartment, according to the most recent whispers. How could she defend herself against those charges?

Both the ice cream shack and fish shacks were crowded.  She hoped everyone was too interested in their food to notice as she walked by. She kept her head down and picked up her pace. She didn't see the couple crossing the street until she almost walked into them. She looked at them and stopped dead in her tracks before running down the street. She heard him call her name, but she didn't stop. How could he bring her here? She kept asking herself that over and over.

She was breathless by the time she had passed Todd's large house and was around the bend on River Road. She was afraid they would come after her in his car or find her on the beach, but she didn't think anyone but locals knew to look on the stretch past the inn. It wasn't hidden it was just out of the way. When she reached the sands, she found a spot close to the dunes. She watched the tide come onto the shore. She didn't know yet if it was going out or coming in. It was still light, but the moon would be up soon.

She kept repeating, why did he bring her here? Over and over again in her head. Wendy was trying hard to forget the last time she saw her. Her name was Summer and she had blond hair to match the season. Wendy was told she was beautiful, but she thought Summer was gorgeous. Summer was too friendly — the kind of friendly to make a person weary. She lived in the building where Wendy had lived with Harry. Wendy had been in the laundry room washing their clothes. She was a good wife, she always washed and ironed, so Harry looked impeccable at work.

She was carrying a basket full of their clothes when she saw Harry in the lobby by the post boxes laughing with Summer. Her hand was on his arm and she was standing much too close. Wendy felt like an intruder, but they didn't even see her, as she stood with his underwear and socks in her hand. She was invisible just like the last time, but she refused to just walk away.

She walked up to them and tipped the clothes on the floor at his feet. "I warned you. I'm done."

She went straight to Mark's apartment because she had no place else to go. Mark tried to talk to her, but she refused. He went next door to Harry, but she didn't care. She never should have trusted him after the first time. All she felt was stupid for agreeing to move with him. She should have stayed in England. American girls were no match for her. Summer was no match for her. She had tried really hard not to think about that night.

She stayed where she was until after it was dark and she was too cold. She saw clusters of kids splattered across the beach. Closer to the dunes, she could see shadows of couples and hear intimate sounds in the night air —heavy breathing, giggling, whispering, and the telltale sound of a zipper. She knew those sounds and felt empty hearing them alone on the beach.

When she returned home, she wasn't surprised to see that familiar car. He was waiting for her.