Beast of Venery (20 page)

              “And please don't involve the cops in this, it would get so messy. Tell little Andy one of his building sites looks good but he should probably have his safety manager check the crane next time the steel bars go up.”

              With those words, he slowly turned his feet away from her, stuffed his hands down his pants pocket, and strolled leisurely up the path before it curved, like nothing in the world could ever bother him. Within seconds he was gone from her view.

              She just sat there on the ground, in the same spot, stunned at the encounter. She wasn't really sure if he was going to come back around the corner of the path and hunt her down like her death was his highest desire. Not yet able to calm her racing breath she kept her eyes focused on the trail where he had disappeared and waited. Waited for him to come back, or just stand quietly behind a tree or a tall bush and watch her drive away.

              Minutes passed, and nothing. Nothing happened. The slight breeze made the tall grass around the pond sway and the surrounding sounds crept back into reality. The ducklings were still busy swimming as if nothing ever happened, and the rest of the world around her stayed kept rolling. Only her world was once again halted while everything else kept on going. Why was life so unfair?

              Her arms trembled slightly as she pushed herself away from the ground and walked almost backwards aiming at the parking spot where her car was still parked in peace.

              Sometimes she wished she could become a stationary dead thing, such as the car, or a tree, something that couldn't have feelings, couldn't be afraid, and couldn't feel hurt.

              The car keys rattled heavily in her hand as she tried to push the right button unlocking the door to the driver side before she sat herself down onto the seat. Putting the keys in the ignition she was thankful her car was new enough to never have a problem stalling. The car started up smoothly, which made the car doors lock automatically. 

              Quickly she peaked in the back seat and on the floor underneath the passenger seat making sure she was alone in the car, and that nothing else than her own belongings were in the vehicle. With the shock still making the adrenaline pump quickly through her body she pushed down the gas pedal a little too much and made it rev fiercely, but off she went. Away from what she previously thought was one of the most peaceful spots in the city.

Chapter 12

              Her car spun up on the gravel covering their drive way and she parked it quickly along the side of the garage. Without grabbing any of her paper purchases from the back of the trunk she nearly ran up the steps to the front door, taking two steps at a time. She pulled out the house keys from her purse and unlocked the door with unsteady hands and stepped inside.

              “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear...”

Immediate silence fell over the room as well as the guests, whom apparently had been thoughtfully invited by Andy for a surprise birthday party in her honor of turning thirty. It startled her and she simply stared back at the group of people crowding their living room, and realized her expression seemed mirrored in their faces.

              “What the hell happened to your face? Are you okay?”

              Andy was the one who broke the silence and hurriedly placed his raised champagne glass down on the living room table which was decorated with birthday gifts in wonderful wrapping papers to her liking. They were all surrounding a large birthday cake in brown fudge with her name written in the middle as a centerpiece.

              No one uttered a sound. Only Andy's shoes shuffling over the hardwood flooring could be heard in the silence that stretched out among the guests, some close friends and the rest of his family; his parents, brother, and sister with families.

He quickly walked over to grab Danielle's face in his hands.

              “Babe, what happened? Have you been in an accident? A car accident?”

              His eyes looked her whole body over and he felt with his hands up and down her arms, over her face again, ran finger tips through her hair before they turned back to her face and his gaze locked with hers once more.

              “Say something. Are you hurt? Should I call a doctor or do you need to go to a hospital? Your lips are swollen and your bottom lip looks like it has even been bleeding a little."

              His thumb softly brushed over the sore spot on her lip and automatically she winced back turning her head away from his touch and sucked her lower lip into her mouth to soften it up with saliva. 

              “Your cheeks are very flushed and look a little sore. Please say something, tell me what happened.”  Silence. Shock.

              “Hey mom, can you get some ice in a towel, for her face?” He didn't even look back at his mom for the request, just kept Danielle's face steadily in his hands, rubbing his thumbs over the pink skin that spread across both her cheeks, and his eyebrows knitted together in deep thought.

              Realization finally hit her and she understood she had to say something. She couldn't just imagine her thoughts being transmitted automatically into his brain, making him simply understand what had just happened downtown in the park.

              “Did you know that Brian was released from prison?” She finally managed to say, looking bluntly into his face.

              Andy's eyes became wider than she had ever seen them, and in utter shock, his hands fell away from her face and landed with a slap on his thighs. A united gasp filled the dead space of the room and a glass shattered against the floor at the back of invited guests.

              “Here you go dear, please sit down on the couch with me and I will get you something to drink.”

              Jo, Andy's mom, gently grabbed her by the arm and pressed the cool, moist towel filled with ice on the side of her face. Stunned and shocked from everything that had happened, she let Jo take the lead over to the couch where they both sat down together. She was holding the towel to her face and Jo was rubbing her hand softly over her knuckles on the other.

              Silence finally broke when Andy's dad, Vernon, turned to the quiet group of guests still hovering on the outskirts of the room, not really knowing how they should handle the situation. Not knowing if they should stay around or leave and go home.

              “Alright people, since we're all close family and friends we all know the story behind this and unfortunately I think we need to postpone this birthday party to a later time when things are not the way they are today.”

              Clasping his hands together, as if getting the attention of a heard of wild animals stumbling in different directions, he guided them out the front door. Guests left their birthday gifts on the side table by the front door, and patted Andy's back and shoulders on the way out of the house, mumbling heartfelt apologies and offering help if needed. Andy still stood in silence, his hands opening and closing into tight fists along his thighs, nodding frequently to each guest as they left the house through the front door held open by his dad.

              Andy's brother Greg and his wife Sara were the last ones to leave the party, but before they stepped onto the front porch Greg turned and faced both his brother and his dad.

              “Just let me know if you need me to shoot him, bro. I would not have a problem with that at all.”

              “Watch it son.” Pointing a firm finger in Greg’s direction. “A stupid stunt like that would end you up in prison yourself. If prison was out of the picture Brian would have been dead long ago. Believe me. No one treats a woman like this, especially not my daughter-in-law.”

              Vernon's eyes went dark and peered into Andy's face, which had gone from rosy anger to pale white relinquishment.

              “Don't let this get you down, bro. You cannot let him win. We're all in on this. Seriously, if you need anything, and I mean ANYTHING let me know.”

              With that sentence Greg left the party and stepped out in the darkness, walked down the steps of the porch before he hugged his wife tightly. Walking together they clung to each other until they reached their parked car in the driveway.

              '
What was it about tragic events like this?'
She thought, sitting motionless on the soft couch
.

              Her family spread and moved apart when things got tough, but Andy's parents and siblings seemed to turn any issues into feeding events for closeness, and bonded together like superglue to fingertips. That's what she loved about Andy, about his whole family really. Nothing was dealt with personally, it was all a family event. Throughout the years when anyone mentioned Brian, they had all patted her back and told her how strong and beautiful she was and how unlucky he was to have been such a creep and lost her to Andy. They always told her she was way too good for him. Said she was almost too good for Andy, and winked at him jokingly.

              “I know. I'm a very lucky guy.” Was his standard answer, flashing a grin that made her insides melt like jello on a hot summer day.

              The Drew family had always seen her as one of them, and Jo and Vernon repeatedly said they were so happy to have another daughter in the family. She wasn't in love with only Andy, she was in love with his whole family.

              When Danielle and Andy sat down with the family during one Sunday dinner, about a year into their relationship, they decided to spill the beans about Danielle's background living with Brian, and what type of relationship they'd had. The silence had spread among the guests around the table, just as it had done today at her birthday party. Andy's sister's fork stopped and stayed midair, carrying a piece of chicken, during the whole explanation. 

              Andy helped Danielle fill in some gaps of words whenever she found it too embarrassing to finish a sentence about Brian's behavior, or rubbed her back while she explained gory details of the type of relationship Brian demanded, and how and why she finally left him.

              When it was all over she had shyly looked over at Andy who softly smiled at her and nodded, rubbing one of her hands in his. She did the right thing telling everyone around the table her story. His other hand never left her back as he turned to face each and everyone around the table and said,

              “Well that's it. Now you know. Those are the things we're dealing with at the moment.”

              Jo's eyes turned watery in the middle of the discussion making her excused herself to quickly walk into the bathroom down the hall and close the door behind her. When she returned a few minutes later Vernon's hand rested soothingly on hers, rubbing his fingers over the thin skin of her knuckles, the way Jo held Danielle's hand today.

              “That was very brave of you to tell us your story.” Vernon eventually said, still holding on to Jo, looking straight into each of his children's and in-laws' eyes around the table, before turning his warm gaze back to Danielle.

              “We're a very tight knit family, as you might know, and what concerns one of us concerns us all. I just want you to know that you don't need to be embarrassed about any of this, and if he would ever cause you any problem in the future, you'll always have our back. No matter what.”

              At that point everyone around the table nodded in unison. In a split second Jo slid her hand out from beneath Vernon's on the table, left her seat to rush around and grab Danielle by the shoulders. She pulled her into a long, tight hug that seemed to last forever, swaying her back and forth. When she finally stepped back a few small streaks made from tears went down her delicate face.

              “You can always talk to me, my darling girl. Always.” She said, and kissed Danielle's cheek. She squeezed Andy's shoulder on the way back to her seat at the other end offering them all the support they would ever need.

              Perhaps it wasn't as bad as she thought it would have been telling them all her darkest moments before she met Andy. It felt good telling them the back story she felt could doom the whole family if Brian one day went nuclear crazy and came after them all. He had always been a loose cannon, very unpredictable, and she didn't want anyone else to get hurt or stuck in things
when
and
if
the shit hit the fan.

              “My high-school boyfriend slapped me once too when we were going out, because I wouldn't sleep with him in the back of his car.” Greg's wife Sara suddenly blurted out breaking the precious moment. All heads turned in union.

              “Hey,” she said, arms held up on each side of her body in defense. “I figured since we were already sharing things I thought it was the right moment to add this to the pot. And, Danielle needs some support here.” She turned to her sister-in-law. “Don't worry darling, we all have our shit to deal with, so never think you're alone. Somehow we've all been there and we all came out stronger on the other side. And being in this family helps a lot, trust me. These men would hunt anyone down.”