Testing Vickie

Chapter Fourteen

Hank finishes and my arm goes back to normal. That’s that problem solved. I let Hank meddle around as I stare through the telescope.

“So what’s the story behind the weird mask?”

“It was my ex-boyfriends. Before he died he gave it to me.” I take another glance through the telescope. They’re about to leave for brunch.

“Then why do you keep it on?”

“To remind me of him.” That wasn’t entirely true. Suddenly I feel compelled to tell him everything. Should I? The awkward silence of my contemplation is becoming really annoying. “This is what I’ll wear when I kill his murderer.”

“How will you kill him?”

“I don’t know yet.” I consider the amount of blades I have hidden comfortably under my clothes. “Maybe it’ll be slow and torturous. Under my bare hands and blades. I can carve out every, little, tiny piece of him or her. Then drop the organs off for donation.” Hank looks sick. “Oh it could just be pelting with bullets.” He doesn’t look so sick anymore. “Final option would be to beat him to a pulp with my staff.” I motion towards the not so intimidating staff. Hank laughs.

“You’re going to beat up a guy with that?” He looks at me, then the staff, then back at me. “Yeah right.”

Yeah right my ass. Maybe I’ll just give Hank a beating. I know where they’ll be going. But what about Kenji? Would he? Maybe, but he doesn’t kill Nick there. I head to the staff and give Hank a light jab in the stomach. He doesn’t react. Strange.

I jab him again, harder in the shoulder. “OUCH! ARE YOU RIGHT THERE?”

“Are you?” I say, sweetly. I strike him again at the knees, groin and right thigh before he moves away. I take a leap and tap him on the head as if I would strike him. He shrieks before I even tap him and I laugh.

“Alright! Alright! You’ve proven your point!” Hank looks so scared.

“Good. I’m glad we cleared that up.” And with that I jumped out the window, staff in hand ready to follow until night.

The café played out the exact same way, except I was seated at a table inside with a coffee watching behind glass. Now that I’m ok with Hank, though I don’t trust him still, I look for Kenji. A little girl stares in my direction. I smile at her, a friendly gesture. She starts to come closer and I look around for her parents.

“Hey there, where’s your mum?” She looks like a shy little thing, four years old with little blonde pigtails on both sides of her head. She’s wearing a pink t-shirt underneath denim overalls. She’s very cute.

“I-. I don’t know where mummy is.” Tears are in her eyes. I better help her find her mum, best not to make a scene.

“Can you tell me your mum’s name?” I stare into her hazel eyes, large and innocent. She nods her head.

“Jenny. Mummy’s name is Jenny.”

“Thanks honey. What about your name?” She looks a little shocked.

“My name? If I tell you my name will you tell me why you have a big stick?” At that I got quite taken aback. Normally people would question someone in a mask, not with a huge stick. Then again, this was a little four year old girl.

“You want to know about the stick and not the mask?”

“Mhm.” When she nods her head her little pigtails bounce up and down. It’s very cute. I take a glance at the other me and Nick. He’s going to propose in five minutes. Five minutes to find her mother.

“Ok. You tell me your name first.”

“My name is Charlie”

“Nice to meet you Charlie.” Makes sense. She looks like a Charlie. “Well Charlie, this huge stick helps me walk, you see I had an accident on my knee when I was younger and so now I need to use it to help me walk.”

“You mean like a walking stick?”

“Well. Yes exactly like a walking stick. Should we find your mum?”

“Ok.” She stares at the stick, fascination on her face. I use the staff as a walking stick now and lean on it to walk. I look back at Nick and the other me. He’s about to propose and I will feel so happy.

We walk up to the counter and I ask the man behind it, “Excuse me sir, do you know where a Jenny might be? This little girl has lost her mother.”

“Ah yes, Jenny has been looking for little Charlie. She’s waiting for her in the maternity room.”

“Thank you.” I say, slightly relieved that it didn’t take too long to find her mother.

We enter, my larger hand holding onto her small ones and I see a woman who bears resemblance to Charlie. She looks really worried.

“MUMMY!” Charlie jumps up into woman’s arms. I see them happy and I start to walk out until a burning sensation wrings through my arm again. The other me must be near. I wish this would stop. I grit my teeth through the pain grasp the staff in my right hand tightly.

As I limp out of the maternity room and pay the bill, I see Nick hug her, spin her around. A tear sheds down my eye. ‘I will not cry’. I hurry my limp out of the café until I get back to the apartment. I see Hank there still, wide eyed.

“You ok?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.”

“Because you don’t look fine. You look like you’re about to cry.” I look at Hank in the eye. He doesn’t look like someone I should confide in.

“I’m not, I swear. I’m fine. Why are you still here?”

“I was just waiting up for you.”

“Can, can you go?”

“Yeah, sure. Enjoy your evening.” He finally leaves. What a strange guy. I take a look through the telescope. Well, they’re about to leave. Time for me to leave too.