Chapter 2

Fastforward a few months... this one's a bit shorter than the last one.

“Remember,” Sadie said into her cell phone, “dinner is your turn tonight. Oh, and don’t burn it this time.” She heard Daniel chuckle and mutter something that sounded like “whatever” at the other end of the line and hang up. She set the phone down and went back to work on her computer.

 

Today was great. She had gotten her first full-nights sleep after months of the continuous night terrors . She was having a great hair-day, the sun was shining, and Daniel would be “cooking” tonight, which translated to Chinese takeout. This was the best she had personally felt in years.

 

“Hmmm…” she thought, “this looks pretty good…. but there’s just something missing …” She typed a couple of words, clicked on a few things, and looked back over her work. “Perfect,” she breathed, as she threw her arms into the air, “another one of my wonderful designs is ready to be sent out to the world!” She printed off the image and put it in a stiff folder and slid the folder into the filing cabinet beside her desk.

 

She smiled to herself as she looked at the neon sign outside that read Graphics by Sadie-May. She was doing what she had wanted to do all of her life. Her dream of being a graphic designer had come true.

 

She couldn’t help but feel a twinge of pain at the fact of Jared having been the one to have suggested that she become a graphic designer in the first place. Ever since they were little, Jared had always openly expressed his jealousy of Sadie’s artistic abilities, but at the same time, encouraged her to push her limits and make the most of it. Even back in the days when the three of them were working for Maxwell, Jared would always pull her under his arm and say, “Yep, I can see it now. Someday, when we get over this, Sadie, you’re going to have your very own graphic design company. It’s going to be big and everyone will know who you are. And I’m just going to stand there, grinning from ear to ear like a big ole idiot saying, ‘Yep, that’s my little sister. I taught her everything she knows.’ Which, of course, we both know is a lie, but the rest of the world doesn‘t have to know.” In which he would end with a wink and them both laughing and then they would continue on their ways.

 

As Sadie let the memories fade, she stood from her seat and began to gather what needed to be put away for closing when the front door opened and a man walked in. She carefully sat the stack of papers she has been holding in a neat stack on her desk and eagerly walked across the room and greeted him.

 

“May I help you?” she asked as she slowly looked him up and down; he had black hair, a serious air about him, and couldn‘t have been older than thirty-five. She gave herself a momentary pause once her gaze reached his eyes. There was some aspect of them that seemed familiar, but she couldn‘t figure out exactly what.

 

“Yes,” he replied, “ I was wondering if I could formally introduce myself. You see, my family owns the new restaurant, Moonlight, next door and I just thought I would be a ‘good neighbor’ and invite you over for a free meal sometime…”

 

“Sure… I guess so.” She replied. “ I’m Sadie-May, Sadie for short. But I guess you already figured that.” She joked, sticking her hand out and nodding her head toward the sign outside.

 

“Michael,” he nodded as he reached out and shook Sadie’s hand, “ and if you must shorten it, please, call me Mike.”

 

“ Alright, Mike, I’ll remember that.” She released her hand from his and began to walk back towards her desk when she looked back over her shoulder. “By the way, could I bring a friend when I get that free meal?”

 

“Of course. If I’m not there when you come by, just tell any of the workers that I sent ya’, okay?” he mentioned.

 

“Got it. Thanks again!”, she waved as she closed the door behind him. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned the “open” sign around on the door to “closed” and walked back to her desk and resumed gathering her belongings and put away the rest of her miscellaneous work tools.

 

Just as she was gathering her purse and tote bag over her shoulder, she looked up at the mirror that hung over her desk to give her hair a makeup a quick once over. As she tucked a single stray hair back into place in her brunette bob of a hair-do, something caught her eye. In her reflection, over her shoulder stood a man with dark red hair and a manic look in his eye. Maxwell.

 

Sadie drew in a sharp breath and quickly spun around to face him but to her shock, there was no one there. She looked back in the mirror and then again to where she expected him to be but there was no sign of anyone much less Maxwell.

 

“That was weird.” Sadie cautiously said aloud, reassuring herself that what she had seen was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. She walked to the front door and paused long enough to switch off the lights, set the alarm, and lock the door before leaving for home, the image of Maxwell in the mirror still burning in the back of her mind.