Laura Wiess - Such a Pretty Girl: They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three...

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright 2007 by Laura Battyanyi Wiess

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ISBN: 13: 978-1-84739-605-1
ISBN-10: 1-84739-605-4

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To Chet,
who made a quiet wish
and
got way more
than he bargained for.

Im so glad.

T hey promised me nine years of safety but only gave me three.

Today my time has run out.

I sit on the curb at the back of the parking lot near the Dumpster. The waste from the condo complex bakes in this cumbersome green kiln and the stench is shocking, heavy with rancid grease and sickly-sweet decay. The associations tried to beautify the Dumpster, painting the rusty sides a perky green and relettering the faded RESIDENTS USE ONLY sign, but the battered lid thwarts them, as its warped from rough use and no longer seals the stewing fumes neatly in the box.

Perfect, I mutter and take a drag off my cigarette. Blow a couple of smoke rings and tempt the crusading, condo cowboys to rush from their air-conditioned dens and snatch the forbidden smudge stick away.

But they wont. They keep their distance now, afraid my taint will rub off.

These adults who ache to interfereconvinced their quality-of-life ordinances and PC patrolling make them a village-raising-a-childare the same people who picketed and wrote scathing letters to the editor to prevent my mother from renting a second condo in the front of the complex for my fathers homecoming.

It didnt work, of course. My mothers attorney protected my fathers rights and threatened to sue the complex owner if housing was denied. The owner caved, the condo was rented, and the neighbors were left reeling, hobbled by their own laws.

I wish I could have found him a unit closer to ours, but thisll have to do for now, my mother had said earlier, spraying CKs Obsession along her neck and thighs. And besides, its only temporary until we can live like a family again. Her cheeks were pink, her voice breathy with anticipation. Hes really looking forward to it, Meredith. Being home with us, I mean. Its whats kept him going. I hope you can appreciate that.

I watched her and said nothing. Silence was the key to self-preservation.

Now, where did I leave myoh, there it is. She crossed to the bed, slipped off her robe, and smoothed the lace trim on her white La Perla panties. The matching bra was for show only, as she was almost flat on top. And as far as this whole adjustment period thing goespersonally, I would have let you spend the weekend at your grandmothers like wed planned so your father and I could have had a little time alone first, but thats not what he wanted. Frowning, she examined the delicate, rhinestone heart stitched onto the front of the panties. Hmm. This better not make a bump under my dress. He wants us both here for him and I think that says a lot about forgiveness and a fresh start. Weve all sacrificed, Meredith. I hope you understand that, too.

I studied my thumb. Bit off a hangnail. Dead skin, so no pain. Not bad.

Just stay down, will you? She poked at the glittery heart, not seeming to notice my lack of response. Oh, forI dont have time for this. If it sticks up, Ill just have to cut it off. Impatient, she slid into her dress and presented me with her back so I could zip the new red mini. It was a size two from a Lord & Taylor window display shed designed at the mall and probably not intended for a thirty-nine-year-old with a stranglehold on her fading youth. Careful. This is silk.

I eased up the zipper and lingered, one knuckle brushing the warmth of her neck.

Time, Meredith. She pulled away and shook her hair, poked her feet into scarlet mules, and smoothed the dress from hipbone to hipbone. No lumps, no bumps. Perfect.