“I think we’re being followed.” Peter Van Husen looked over
one shoulder. He could have sworn that he’d just seen someone hop behind the
bandstand that stood in the center of Schuyler Square Memorial Park.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Mavis said, one hand on Peter’s
thigh. They were seated in Mavis’s car and even though she had parked in an
isolated spot and it was one in the morning, Peter still felt on edge. He’d
been on edge ever since he’d met Mavis, his one unflappable nervous system
reduced to jelly. It was like he was becoming a different person, a lying,
cheating rat in a policeman’s uniform. Was it worth it?
Peter looked at Mavis. She looked gorgeous in the moonlight,
her hair loose and soft around her face, her eyes glowing as she gazed back at
him. The logical part of Peter’s brain told him that his wife Chelsea was just
as pretty, if not prettier, than Mavis. It also told him that Chelsea was a far
nicer person than Mavis Schuyler could ever be. But logic wasn’t winning. The
other part of his brain, the rat-like part that sought pleasure above all else,
only cared about being with this woman.
Their affair, the actual, physical,
not-getting-out-of-bed-for-five-hours affair had been going on for almost three
weeks and Peter knew he’d never been happier in his life. Mavis was class all
the way, from the rooms she got (and paid for) at the Schuyler Square Hilton to
the little gifts she showered on him: cufflinks, cologne, cigars. The last
present Chelsea had gotten for him was a hot water bottle and that had been for
his birthday.
Be fair. Chelsea
doesn’t have the money that Mavis has.
Chelsea didn’t have a lot of things that Mavis had. Mavis
was introducing him to a whole new world and Peter couldn’t deny that he liked
it. What he didn’t like was all the sneaking around they had to do but he knew
there was no other way. Peter wasn’t ready to ask Chelsea for a divorce and he
was fairly certain that Mavis was never going to leave her husband. Which meant
that their affair was stupid and pointless since it didn’t have a future but he
didn’t care. Mavis was what Peter had been looking for all of his life and he’d never realized it.
Peter caught a glimpse of someone again near the bandstand.
“I did see someone. Let’s go.”
“Would you stop, please? No one is there. You know everyone
in Schuyler Square goes to bed by eleven. We’re all alone, Peter. Now let’s
make the most of it.” Mavis linked her arms around Peter’s neck and pulled his
face toward hers. For a nanosecond Peter kept his left eye open so he could see
out the back window but the moment his lips met Mavis’s, all thoughts about
someone watching them vanished. The woman had a spell over him that made
everything else in the world disappear.
Ewww. Yuk. Disgusting! Tiffany thought she just might throw
up right there, dead center in Memorial Park. Officer Van Husen and Aunt Mavis
were fooling around! It was positively the most repulsive thing she’d ever
witnessed in her life. First, she’d followed them to the Country Club. While
waiting for the two of them to reappear, Tiffany worked on her journal and ate some
of the candy bars she kept for emergencies in the glove compartment. It felt
weird to be driving again but her counselor—the one Officer Lover Boy had
suggested—said she needed to do the things she used to do before the accident.
Aunt Mavis and Officer Van Husen had shown up again around twelve-thirty. They
drove downtown and parked near the bandstand. Tiffany followed and then crept out
to see what they were up to, feeling an unexpected thrill to be out in the dark
alone. This sure beat sitting at home eating Ben and Jerry's. Maybe she'd write about her new past time as a spy in her English journal.
It was a good thing Tiffany had perfect vision and an even
better thing that she’d brought along Uncle Ron’s night vision binoculars.
Before the windows in her aunt’s car had steamed up, Tiffany saw enough action
to confirm that Aunt Mavis and Peter Van Husen were more than friends. WAY more
than friends.
But what should she do with such dynamite information? After
dropping to her knees and crawling all the way across the park to where she’d
left her cousin’s Ford Explorer, Tiffany pondered her options. Although she’d
told Tyler that she’d spy on his mom for him, she really didn’t want to tell
her cousin about all the repulsive things she’d witnessed. Tyler was flaky
enough as it was; he’d undoubtedly have a freak out to surpass all freak outs
if he knew about Mommy and the Cop. Tiffany decided to pretend she hadn’t learned
anything yet. At least around Tyler.
But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to drop a few
not-so-discreet hints in front of Aunt Mavis. This was golden and she knew it.
If she played this right, she should be able to get a new wardrobe and a car of her own and maybe even a
nice, long stay at a health spa where she could shed some of the weight she was
carrying around. She would return to Schuyler Square thin, firm and gorgeous.
Tiffany put the car in gear and headed for home, a slight smile on her face as she navigated the dark streets of Schuyler Square. She really
was her mother's daughter, through and through.
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