Dirty Laundry

           Arthur peered through his peephole at exactly 3:30 on Saturday afternoon. He had barely made it; she was running a little early today. The slight waves in her hair bounced against her shoulder as she walked by. Her shoes were new.

            Today's the day, Arthur thought to himself as he forced himself away from his door. He ran his hands through his long hair and grabbed the laundry basket that rested on the ottoman.

            Arthur slowly opened the door and gazed at her as she entered the elevator. He shut the door behind him and rested the basket on his hip. He decided to take the stairs to give her enough time to start her laundry.

            With each step he took he could hear his heart beating louder and louder.

            When Arthur finally reached the laundry room, he watched as Victoria carefully put each item of clothing into the washing machine. She did not notice his presence at first. It wasn’t until Arthur faked a cough that Victoria turned around.

            “Oh, hello.” Victoria gave a slight smile as she continued placing clothes in the washer.

            Arthur stepped towards her. “Hi, I’m Arthur.” He noticed a loose string on the side of his shirt. He hated when his clothes did that. Words slowly began to rise in his throat, only to disappear a second later. He could not let her see that string.

         What does she think of me?

         Everything had to be perfect.

            Moments of utter silence raced by as Arthur tugged at the string on his shirt until it finally broke off, unraveling part of the seam.

            Victoria looked up, “You new to the building?”

            I’ve lived here for five years. “Uh yes, just moved in.”

         "Oh, welcome to the building. My name is Victoria." Her discomfort was obvious, but Arthur took no notice.

         Arthur desperately racked his brain for conversation starters, but nothing came to mind.

         Victoria forced a smile. "Well, I have to go. Nice to meet you." She still had a basket of laundry next to her.

         This day was not going as Arthur had planned. He had to talk to her. She had to like him.

         Arthur again searched for words, but they were lost within his nervous thoughts and clumsy demeanor. She had to stay.

         With every step Victoria took closer to the doorway, Arthur's anxiety turned into anger.

         It wasn't supposed to happen this way.

         Arthur stepped towards her before she had a chance to reach the doorway. He wasn't going to let her leave.

         Victoria quickly turned as she heard Arthur's footsteps, but before she had a chance to say anything, Arthur grasped her forearm.

         The curve of his wrist left a moist impression on Victoria's arm. She was too confused to react.

         Within a split second, Arthur used every ounce of strength in his body to force Victoria to stay. Her frail body bounced against the hard dryer and her body crumbled to the floor.

         He never let go of her arm. Her smooth skin comforted him.

         Why didn't she like me?

         Arthur felt a tinge of regret as he stared at her body on the floor, but it vanished a second later.

         Arthur turned to leave as he left Victoria with the rest of the dirty laundry.

         She should have talked to me.

Be Careful What You Wish For

Tanner nodded in and out of consciousness as he stared at his computer screen. The clock read 4:45, only fifteen more minutes until the end of the workday.

           Eh, who would really care if I left a little early?

           He arose from his desk and grabbed his jacket from the hanger on the back of his door.

           While putting his jacket on, he heard a sound come from his computer. Tanner sighed. He walked back to his desk and leaned over his chair only to see the “new mail” notification on his screen and clicked it.

           “I know what you did and you're going pay."

           Tanner laughed, but it immediately faded.

           Crazy people. He thought to himself and forced a laugh.

           He looked at the sender. “becarefulwhatyouwishfor@aol.com”

           Tanner immediately closed his mail, shut off his computer and left his office.

         What is going on?

           As he walked down the hall of the firm, he stopped at his friends Richard’s office and opened the door. “Hey Rich, quick question.”

           Richard looked up from his computer. “What do you need?”

           “Did you send me a joke email just now?” Tanner knew Richard’s weird sense of humor and he could have easily been responsible for the strange email.

           Richard pretended to think very hard. “Hm, email, email, email. Joke? Hm…not ringing a bell. What was it?”

           “Oh nothing, never mind. See you tomorrow.”

           “See ya, Tanner.”

           Tanner twirled his wedding ring as he walked to his car. What did I do?  He racked his brain trying to think of the worst thing he’s ever done, but his mind was blank. Some one had to be messing with him.

           Tanner drove home in silence trying to think of anything he had “wished for” recently, and yet again his mind was blank.

           As he arrived at his house, the smell of lemon chicken filled the air. His favorite. “Hey sweetie!” he yelled as he took off his jacket and hung it on the hook by the door.

           Lisa appeared in the walkway. “Hi love, how was work?” she wiped her hands on her apron.

         "Oh it was okay. Same ole same ole." Tanner said as he walked over to Lisa and kissed her on the cheek.

         "That's nice, just give me a minute and I'll have dinner on the table." she smiled and removed her apron.

         Tanner sat at the table and waited as Lisa came from the kitchen and placed a plate of lemon chicken and rice in front of him. She disappeared into the kitchen again and brought out her own plate.

         "How was your day, sweetie?" Tanner said as he took a bite.

         "Oh it was fine."

         Diving right in, Tanner said "Lisa, what would you say is the worst thing I've done?"

         Lisa took a bite. "That's an odd question. Why do you ask?"

         Tanner thought for a moment. "We had an ethics seminar at work this week and I guess it got me thinking."

         Lisa poured Tanner and herself a glass of wine. "Hm. I'm not sure, sweetie."

         "Yeah nothing came to mind for me either. I guess I'm perfect....just like you." Tanner smiled and lifted his glass, expecting her to do the same.

         "Well actually sweetie." she didn't look up, "What about when you screwed that slut from the coffee shop?"

         Tanner looked up as Lisa took a drink of wine. "Um. What?" he set his fork down.

         "Gosh, sweetie. You never listen to me. I said what about when you screwed that slut from the coffee shop?" she said with a smile.

         "Uh. Um. How do you know about that?" he tried to grab her hand but she pulled away and clasped her hands in her lap. "Lisa. Honey. That was months ago. It meant nothing. It was only the one time." he asked again, "How did you find out?"

         "Because, honey. I had you followed," she said matter-of-factly. "And it was not months ago, Tanner. It was last week" her voice remained calm.

         "Lisa, honey. I'm sorry. You know I love you…” He paused, “so you sent me that email?"

         "Oh really? Do you love me Tanner? Is that why you told your little slut you wished you had a way out of our marriage?" Lisa pulled out a gun from under the table.

         Tanner started to get up and raised his hands. "No-"

         Lisa cut him off.

         "Well, sweetie," Tanner heard a click. "Be careful what you wish for."

New Start

It was a gorgeous day; perfect for a new start.

            A beautiful young couple unloaded their belongings into the house that will be their new home. A medium-sized van, parked on the street, contained every physical object of the life they have created together, including their beautiful three-year-old daughter, Beth.

            One house over, Ted, stared out of his window at his lovely new neighbors. He watched as the young, average looking man unloaded the back of a van while a pretty woman in her twenties helped their daughter out of the vehicle and held her hand as they made their way into the house.

            The sun beat down and warmed up Ted’s house until he could not take it anymore. He walked into every room and opened all the windows.

            “John, sweetie, can you unload Beth’s stuff first so we can get her settled for the day?” Jessica said to her husband.

            The open windows allowed Ted to perfectly hear their conversation.

            “Sure thing, Jess.” John kissed his wife on the cheek as they crossed paths.

            Ted cringed and Jessica disappeared into the house with Beth.

            A few minutes later, she emerged childless. John walked by her holding two boxes marked “Beth” in black sharpie, and disappeared into the house.

            Ted moved his eyes from the front yard to the second story of the house, searching for the little girl. After averting his eyes to each window, he finally spotted her. Beth sat in what he assumed was her new room, and she stared out the window at her new surroundings.

            Ted smiled.

            Moving his eyes once again, Ted saw John and Jessica in the front yard again, continuing to unload the van.

            Jess handed John a big box marked “Kitchen.”

            “I think this house is perfect,” Jess began.

            “I agree,” John set the box on their new grassy lawn and embraced his wife. “We can forget everything from the past and move on,” he kissed her on the side of her head.

            Jess smiled, nodded and grabbed another box from the van as they went into their house together.

            Ted ripped himself away from the window and walked to his dresser. A family portrait, crumpled and old, sat on the surface. He picked it up and stared at the younger version of himself standing next to a beautiful brunette woman holding a young boy. He looked happy.

            Those days are long gone, Ted thought.

            He set down the old photograph and picked up a newspaper clipping that lay next to the picture, two obituaries. A picture of the same brunette woman and young boy accented the articles. He looked in the mirror above the dresser at the unhappy, old man who stared back at him. Rage began to stir in the pit of Ted’s stomach and he punched the mirror with his right fist, making the papers drop to the floor.

            Ted shook his hand furiously and blood and glass fell to the floor.

            My family is going to be whole again soon, Ted thought.

            Ted took a deep breath and quickly moved back to the window to see the progress of the family anxious for a “new start.”

            They are going to get a new start, all right, Ted thought.

            Ted watched as the young couple emptied the last box out of the van and walked into their house holding hands. He moved his eyes back to the second story and watched as John and Jess’s beautiful child opened her boxes and set every stuffed animal on her new bed.

            Ted left the window once again and walked to his kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out a batch of brownies he made the night before. With brownies in hand, he left his house and nonchalantly walked next door.

            The door to the young couple’s house remained open. As Ted was about to knock on the open door, he glanced into the house and saw the young couple kissing in their kitchen.

            Jessica quickly noticed the presence of a stranger and broke free from her husband. “Hello, may we help you?” She said out of forced politeness.

            Ted smiled. “I live next door and wanted to introduce myself,” he held up the brownies, “and bring a house warming gift.”

            John eyed him suspiciously as he walked over and took the brownies from his hands. “Thanks,” another forced smile.

            “So where you guys from?” Ted said as John set the brownies on the counter.

            “We just moved to town from upstate.” Jess gave a weary smile to her husband, “We wanted to get away from our old life. This town seems like a great place to start over and build a new life.”

            “Yeah this is a great town for a fresh start,” Ted said with emphasis.

            “Yeah, we thought so too.” John agreed.

            I’m ready for a new start too, Ted thought.

            “Thanks for stopping by,” Jessica said with a smile.

            Ted watched her lips move.

            “Yeah, of course. I’m right next door if you need anything.” Ted said, still staring at Jessica’s lips.

            “Sure,” John said, the politeness completely gone. “See you later.”

            “What happened to your hand?” Jess quickly said with concern as she noticed the dried blood.

            Ted quickly looked at his hand. “Nothing,” he said abruptly.

            Ted left the house feeling satisfied.

            Ted left the house, but remained on the property. He exited through the front door and walked around to the side of the house. He could still hear the couple perfectly.

            “That guy was creepy,” John said to his wife.

            “He was not, sweetie,” Jessica said. “He was just being friendly.”

            John rolled his eyes. “Whatever, love.”

            Jessica smiles. “I’m going to go help Beth unpack,” she kissed John on the lips. “I love you.”

            “Love you too, Jess.” John said as she walked up the stairs.

            Ted watched from the window as Jess made her way up the stairs. As soon as she disappeared, he made his way back to the front door, which was still open. John was in the kitchen, placing silverware in drawers.

            Ted walked back into the house.

            He came at John from behind, his hands wrapped around John’s throat. He tried to fight it, but Ted caught him too off guard.

              “This family needs a new start…and you’re not in it”