Chapter Five (a)
~~~~~*~~~~~
"....I think it's her Marisa." Gary was speaking into the phone. "Yeah..
well she just came inside of the department store a few minutes
ago. She was driving a car just like the one described in the paper.
A black Volkswagen Beetle...and the headline is still here."
Hoping to kill some time until the woman reappeared, Gary had gone inside the department store lobby to phone Marisa, all the while keeping an eye on the little beetle parked beside his jeep. He had told Marisa about the train accident earlier than morning and had phoned her just to talk and to keep her posted on the situation. Something he often did.
"Well, I think it's best if you waited outside Gary, instead of trying to find her inside...you might miss her." Marisa's voice sounded concerned coming
through the phone.
"Yeah...I think you're right." Gary agreed. He suddenly thought about
the strange way the woman looked at him when she first saw him.
"You know something Marisa?" he said.
"What's that Gary?"
"There's something about her..." he hesitated.
"Like?"
Gary shrugged, " I-I don't know. I can't explain it." he suddenly felt
silly about bringing the subject up and quickly dismissed the thought
"It's...probably nothing." he said shaking his head.
"What Gary?" Marisa prompted. "Is she pretty? " She teased.
"Is she what!?" Gary held out the receiver to look at it.
Marisa placed a hand over the mouth piece, trying really hard to suppress a giggle. She knew that Gary was hesitant when it came to expressing his feelings about any female. After his failed marriage, and a few nowhere relationships, he had built up an invisible wall to protect his heart from being hurt again. And the paper took up most of his time so, Marisa knew how he felt. *Any* insinuation of any kind about him getting "involved" would certainly scare him off. He did not like setups, or blind dates. Whether a rescue was pretty or not wasn't an issue with Gary. At least it wasn't something he would be discussing with her, especially now. Marisa knew this, but teased him for an answer anyway.
"Is she pretty? You know...attractive?" Marisa repeated, grinning at his
irritation.
The sound of her teasing went ignored as Gary glanced down at his watch. It was now 9:10AM. Seeing no sign of the woman, he checked the paper again. The headline had changed.
"Marisa!"
"I'm right here." She sang.
"The headline....it's changed!"
Feeling relieved, Marisa blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank God Gary"
she whispered. " So...the accidents' no longer there? S-Something must have happened to change it."
"Yeah..I-I don't know, but it's no longer here! " Gary answered looking
out into the parking lot. Still no sign of the woman.
"Are you sure Gary?" Marisa asked. "What does the article say now?"
Gary glanced down at the paper again, and read the replaced headline
silently.
' Groundhog sees Shadow, six more weeks of Bad Weather!'
"Keep your umbrella handy." He answered, glancing up from the paper.
"What does that mean Gary?" Marisa asked confused by his statement.
"N-Never mind." Gary sighed, waving away the remark. "It seems as if Miss Chandler has had a change in plans."
"You sound disappointed."
"Howzat?"
The fact that the train accident was no longer going to occur of course was no disappointment to Gary. In face there was actually no longer a reason for him to hang around. The woman was safe.
"I do not sound disappointed!" he snapped, "I...was just...ah ... curious as to what happened to change the headline...th-thats all."
"Well...you can still meet her Gary." Marisa sighed softly.
( Meanwhile............)
Inside of the department store, April knew that the stranger couldn't see her.
But, she had a full scale view of him. Her beautiful eyes revealed a hint of melancholy to them as she surveyed him carefully, looking him up and down.
Who was this guy? And why was he following her?
She thought back on the night when she saw him come into the restaurant.... the night Robert Norse would have died. But after talking to this guy, Robert canceled their date. What was going on?
She shut her eyes tight, not wanting to feel the awful feelings that were beginning to brew inside of her. How she hated men! Married men especially! No! Actually, they were all the same!
She focused her attention back on the man talking on the lobby phone. He looked as sweet as apple pie. But he would probably be no different from the rest of them! Present her as a trophy, an ornament on their arm to be shown around! To attend their expensive elaborate parties, to show off to their friends!
Tears clouded her eyes. April could feel the confusion stirring up again. Her fists
were clenched tight at her sides, the nails of her fingers digging into the palms of her hands. What was the matter with her!? Why was it that any man who showed any interested in her, or who talked to her met with a horrible with death!? Why did she do the terrible things that she did!? She felt so confused!
"Miss?" A faint voice sounded in her ear. Startled, April looked up to see the sales lady staring at her again.
"Are you ok?" The sales lady inquired, a worried look on her face.
Looking down in her hand April realized that she had been crushing an expensive negligee and tears had spilled over onto it.
"Are you ok hon?" The sales lady asked again, this time, eyeing the expensive night gown.
"I'm s-so sorry." April apologized. She reached up to quickly wipe her eyes. "I...I'll take this one." She stammered holding up the wrinkled negligee. She had almost forgotten why she was there.
A sexy night gown was one of many garments she wore as a request from a date. The red wig she had been wearing that night at the restaurant, was Robert Norse's request. He told her that he preferred women with red hair. She had another date scheduled for tonight. What she didn't know was that he was also a married man.
The sales lady led her over to the counter where she rang up the merchandise. April paid, and with a polite thank you, hurriedly made her way to the lobby.
( Meanwhile, out in the lobby.......).
"......yeah, well so far, there's nothing else here...except down at the Piggly-Wiggly supermarket, some genius gets hurt trying to shoplift a frozen turkey by way of his pants!" Gary complained into the phone. "Huh? No....no way Marisa! I'm not gonna touch that one! It serves him right!"
Still on the lobby phone with Marisa, Gary flipped quickly through the paper in search of another headline. So far the article concerning the train accident
had not returned. But Marisa kept insisting that he hang around the store a little while longer just to make sure the woman would be okay.
At that moment, the girl stepped out into the lobby.
"Hold on...I think that's her!" Gary whispered frantically into the
phone. "M-Marisa...I..I..gotta go!"
Marisa jumped as the phone on the other end clicked loudly in her ear. Holding the dead receiver, she felt relieved that the train accident wasn't going to occur. The girl was out of danger now....and so was Gary.
She smiled, picturing Gary in a new relationship. She loved whenever he tried to act uninterested in a woman and by the sound of his voice...she could detect an inkling. He was interested.
"Give her a try Gary." She sighed and hung up the phone.
Continue to Chapter 5 (b)........
~~~~~*~~~~~
"....I think it's her Marisa." Gary was speaking into the phone. "Yeah..
well she just came inside of the department store a few minutes
ago. She was driving a car just like the one described in the paper.
A black Volkswagen Beetle...and the headline is still here."
Hoping to kill some time until the woman reappeared, Gary had gone inside the department store lobby to phone Marisa, all the while keeping an eye on the little beetle parked beside his jeep. He had told Marisa about the train accident earlier than morning and had phoned her just to talk and to keep her posted on the situation. Something he often did.
"Well, I think it's best if you waited outside Gary, instead of trying to find her inside...you might miss her." Marisa's voice sounded concerned coming
through the phone.
"Yeah...I think you're right." Gary agreed. He suddenly thought about
the strange way the woman looked at him when she first saw him.
"You know something Marisa?" he said.
"What's that Gary?"
"There's something about her..." he hesitated.
"Like?"
Gary shrugged, " I-I don't know. I can't explain it." he suddenly felt
silly about bringing the subject up and quickly dismissed the thought
"It's...probably nothing." he said shaking his head.
"What Gary?" Marisa prompted. "Is she pretty? " She teased.
"Is she what!?" Gary held out the receiver to look at it.
Marisa placed a hand over the mouth piece, trying really hard to suppress a giggle. She knew that Gary was hesitant when it came to expressing his feelings about any female. After his failed marriage, and a few nowhere relationships, he had built up an invisible wall to protect his heart from being hurt again. And the paper took up most of his time so, Marisa knew how he felt. *Any* insinuation of any kind about him getting "involved" would certainly scare him off. He did not like setups, or blind dates. Whether a rescue was pretty or not wasn't an issue with Gary. At least it wasn't something he would be discussing with her, especially now. Marisa knew this, but teased him for an answer anyway.
"Is she pretty? You know...attractive?" Marisa repeated, grinning at his
irritation.
The sound of her teasing went ignored as Gary glanced down at his watch. It was now 9:10AM. Seeing no sign of the woman, he checked the paper again. The headline had changed.
"Marisa!"
"I'm right here." She sang.
"The headline....it's changed!"
Feeling relieved, Marisa blew out a sigh of relief. "Thank God Gary"
she whispered. " So...the accidents' no longer there? S-Something must have happened to change it."
"Yeah..I-I don't know, but it's no longer here! " Gary answered looking
out into the parking lot. Still no sign of the woman.
"Are you sure Gary?" Marisa asked. "What does the article say now?"
Gary glanced down at the paper again, and read the replaced headline
silently.
' Groundhog sees Shadow, six more weeks of Bad Weather!'
"Keep your umbrella handy." He answered, glancing up from the paper.
"What does that mean Gary?" Marisa asked confused by his statement.
"N-Never mind." Gary sighed, waving away the remark. "It seems as if Miss Chandler has had a change in plans."
"You sound disappointed."
"Howzat?"
The fact that the train accident was no longer going to occur of course was no disappointment to Gary. In face there was actually no longer a reason for him to hang around. The woman was safe.
"I do not sound disappointed!" he snapped, "I...was just...ah ... curious as to what happened to change the headline...th-thats all."
"Well...you can still meet her Gary." Marisa sighed softly.
( Meanwhile............)
Inside of the department store, April knew that the stranger couldn't see her.
But, she had a full scale view of him. Her beautiful eyes revealed a hint of melancholy to them as she surveyed him carefully, looking him up and down.
Who was this guy? And why was he following her?
She thought back on the night when she saw him come into the restaurant.... the night Robert Norse would have died. But after talking to this guy, Robert canceled their date. What was going on?
She shut her eyes tight, not wanting to feel the awful feelings that were beginning to brew inside of her. How she hated men! Married men especially! No! Actually, they were all the same!
She focused her attention back on the man talking on the lobby phone. He looked as sweet as apple pie. But he would probably be no different from the rest of them! Present her as a trophy, an ornament on their arm to be shown around! To attend their expensive elaborate parties, to show off to their friends!
Tears clouded her eyes. April could feel the confusion stirring up again. Her fists
were clenched tight at her sides, the nails of her fingers digging into the palms of her hands. What was the matter with her!? Why was it that any man who showed any interested in her, or who talked to her met with a horrible with death!? Why did she do the terrible things that she did!? She felt so confused!
"Miss?" A faint voice sounded in her ear. Startled, April looked up to see the sales lady staring at her again.
"Are you ok?" The sales lady inquired, a worried look on her face.
Looking down in her hand April realized that she had been crushing an expensive negligee and tears had spilled over onto it.
"Are you ok hon?" The sales lady asked again, this time, eyeing the expensive night gown.
"I'm s-so sorry." April apologized. She reached up to quickly wipe her eyes. "I...I'll take this one." She stammered holding up the wrinkled negligee. She had almost forgotten why she was there.
A sexy night gown was one of many garments she wore as a request from a date. The red wig she had been wearing that night at the restaurant, was Robert Norse's request. He told her that he preferred women with red hair. She had another date scheduled for tonight. What she didn't know was that he was also a married man.
The sales lady led her over to the counter where she rang up the merchandise. April paid, and with a polite thank you, hurriedly made her way to the lobby.
( Meanwhile, out in the lobby.......).
"......yeah, well so far, there's nothing else here...except down at the Piggly-Wiggly supermarket, some genius gets hurt trying to shoplift a frozen turkey by way of his pants!" Gary complained into the phone. "Huh? No....no way Marisa! I'm not gonna touch that one! It serves him right!"
Still on the lobby phone with Marisa, Gary flipped quickly through the paper in search of another headline. So far the article concerning the train accident
had not returned. But Marisa kept insisting that he hang around the store a little while longer just to make sure the woman would be okay.
At that moment, the girl stepped out into the lobby.
"Hold on...I think that's her!" Gary whispered frantically into the
phone. "M-Marisa...I..I..gotta go!"
Marisa jumped as the phone on the other end clicked loudly in her ear. Holding the dead receiver, she felt relieved that the train accident wasn't going to occur. The girl was out of danger now....and so was Gary.
She smiled, picturing Gary in a new relationship. She loved whenever he tried to act uninterested in a woman and by the sound of his voice...she could detect an inkling. He was interested.
"Give her a try Gary." She sighed and hung up the phone.
Continue to Chapter 5 (b)........