Dead End

Tonight he was going to follow her. He hadn’t as yet. But tonight was different. It was their first anniversary. And she was going to sleepwalk again because he had heard her get up. She had showered and was now standing before the mirror  applying makeup, though she didn’t need any. She looked hotter than Jessica Alba in her stunning sea green evening gown with the pearls he’d gifted her for their anniversary. He was mystified that she could doll herself up like this with eyes tightly closed while she sleepwalked. It cast a spell on him.

As her gown trailed over the stairs and she opened the front door, he tiptoed after her in his pajamas keeping a safe distance. She didn’t lock the door. He knew she meant to return soon.

It was past midnight. Being a weeknight and this late, there wasn’t a soul on the street. She had always struck him as bold but this could be scary for any woman being alone on a dark secluded street leading up to the state highway in a couple of miles. He hadn’t been keen on this property but she had fallen in love with this seclusion. Privacy was sacred to her. She had said  that when they were dating two years back.

She had turned left and he knew it led to a cul - de - sac. He tried to take cover behind the tall cypress trees that stood guard to shut off the white mansion. She climbed the steps leading to the entrance and rang the bell. He couldn’t see much from his hiding spot, so he now hid  behind the bushes next to the ten flights of steps to get a better view.

He wanted to call her back, and take her in his arms with all the tenderness of his heart. He longed to take her home and break her spell with a long thirsty kiss. But someone was already opening the door. He now realized it was her friend Nicole, who lived alone after her boyfriend died last year in a tragic drowning accident in their own swimming pool. Andy used to have seizures, and must have had one that evening, he learnt later from Stephanie.

Nicole embraced Steph and was leading her inside. Perhaps she knew about Steph’s sleepwalking. But why was she awake and waiting for Steph this late? Maybe Steph would now awaken and retrace her steps. But he saw her kissing Nicole and their bodies entangled in a hungry embrace. Steph and Nicole let their dresses fall around their feet and their lips met as they closed the front door to shut him out.

Was there quicksand around because he felt sucked in? He couldn’t lift himself up as he crumpled in a heap next to the steps. All he could feel was a loud banging in his head that was more deafening than the IED exploding right next him when he was serving in Afghanistan.