It's Our Fiftieth, Table For One

Writing prompt used to help develop my craft of writing. Feel free to comment, etc.

     September 6, became a bittersweet day for Markus, but many years ago, he chose to celebrate the sweetness of this day.  This is the day he met Suzy, and his life changed forever.

     It was the day of the annual Fireman’s Muster in Laurel Mountain, a small country town where his grandparents lived.  The Muster was a huge event for this sleepy little town.  There was a parade, all kinds of food, bands and music playing from noon till midnight, and of course, the Firemen’s Competition.  It was amazing how many fire departments from near and far came to participate in this event.  The parade kicked off the event on Friday evening, and that was when he first laid eyes on Suzy.

     She was riding in an antique 1930 Ford Model A car driven by her father.  Her auburn hair tumbled gently around her shoulders against her pale skin.  Her eyes were a mesmerizing, piercing cool blue.  What really drew Markus to her, though, was her smile.  It was contagious"Markus found himself smiling back at her uncontrollably.  Then…she blue him a kiss.  Markus cocked his head slightly to the left and gave her a wink back.  ‘Damn she’s beautiful’, he thought.  As the parade came to an end, Markus started to walk towards the Muster Field along with the rest of the town.  He momentarily forgot about Suzy as he heard the music starting up and his mind switched over to thinking about beer and food.

     Along the way, he met up with some friends he had met from Lauren Mountain over the years he had been coming to visit his grandparents.  Markus didn’t come up as often as he used to as a youngster, so it was like a family reunion meeting up with them.  They reminisced about all the fun they had fishing, playing ball, tipping cows, and just hanging out on lazy summer days.  While they were talking, Markus saw Suzy across the crowd.

     “Guys!  Wait a minute, who is ‘that’”, he asked his friends. 

     The guys chuckled and Ed said “That’s Suzy.  She’s a beauty, but she’s a little crazy.  She lives up in Planterville, the next town up.”

     “Crazy?” Markus.  “Crazy how?  She like to have a good time?”

     Lenny piped in, “ehhh…it’s kinda hard to explain.  Some of the things she comes out with are just bizarre, and you don’t know if she’s serious or joking.  I’d hate to find out, though.”  The rest of the guys laughed.

     “Well, I’m not afraid”, said Markus and he walked over to Suzy.

     “Hi”, he said with his big flirting smile.

     Suzy cocked her head slightly and in a manner matching Markus’ flirting, she said “Hi” back.

     The two spent the rest of the evening together, talking, drinking beer and dancing.  Markus did not want the night to end.  She was captivating.  What were those guys talking about, bizarre, my a*s!  She’s amazing.  They’re all just probably too afraid to talk to her because she’s so beautiful.”

     As the evening came to an end, Markus said “See you tomorrow?”

     “I’ll see you tomorrow.”, she replied.

     Seriously, Markus could not believe how lucky he was to have met Suzy.  ‘She’s the one.’, he thought.  I’m going to marry her.

     They spent the rest of the weekend together, getting to know each other, flirting, making out, laughing, and dancing.  But when Sunday evening came, Suzy disappeared.  Markus could not find her to save his life.  He asked his friends if they had seen her, but none of them had.  How could this be, he was going to marry her!

     Over the next few years, Markus thought about Suzy, hoping to see her again whenever he went up to visit his grandparents.  He asked his friends if they had seen or heard from her.  Although they knew she was ‘around’, none of them really had any way to get in touch with her.  They didn’t seem to care, brushed off the conversation whenever it came to talking about her. 

This bothered Markus, but life went on.  He went on to college, and got his first job; all of the firsts a young man experiences.  With all his success, he never forgot about Suzy.  Thoughts of her would slip into his mind and the excitement he felt when she first smiled at him would overtake his body.

One evening, Markus was watching the evening news while he was fixing his dinner.  When he heard the name of Planterville mentioned, he stopped dead in his tracks and went to the TV.  What he heard was physically sickening.  ‘How could that be?’, he thought.

The news person went on with the horrific story of the century:

“This quiet little town of Planterville is still in shock after learning of the fact they have been living with a serial killer for what appears to be eleven years now.  Although Suzanne Browning kept to herself and lead a quiet and productive life, she was actually a serial killer.  At this moment, detectives have discovered nine bodies buried along the bottom of the mountain behind her home.  Not all of the victims have been identified, but all nine of them are men.”

Markus listened in horror as he watched Suzy being placed in a police cruiser, with her hands handcuffed behind her and shackles on her feet.  As the police officer bent her head to get into the back of the cruiser, she was smiling the same contagious, flirting smile that first caught his eye.

It was like a part of Markus died that night.  The woman he fell in love with thirteen years ago, whom he thought he would truly marry, was a serial killer.  The woman he could never get out of his mind, no matter how many eligible women he dated.  She was a cold blooded, psychopathic killer!  It was bittersweet. 

He still loved her, yet mourned over the horrendous crimes she committed.  That September 6^th, on the anniversary of the day they met, Markus went to dinner, by himself to celebrate the day they met, and he did so every year after.

“It’s our fiftieth, table for one, please”, he said to the Host.