-JOANNE –
The present >
As the revelations from Trinity poured forth, I found my jaw plummeting in stunned disbelief. My mind, once nimble and quick, now labored to organize this flood of disorienting information. Trinity’s words had transformed what I thought I knew about Lisa and Hardy into a harrowing tale of deceit, confusion, and unrequited love, leaving my comprehension reeling.
I was trying so hard to stay composed.
It wasn’t just the fact that Trinity and Lisa had something going on. Well it was part of it. But it was mainly the fact that the woman Hardy was pulling all lengths for, pulling down seas and mountains for. Restraining every one that breathed out her name, the same woman that he had clearly offered his entire life to never loved him.
It was shocking.
Deeply.
She only married Hardy to live a stable life?
The fact that Hardy was clueless was alarming.
Trinity let out a tired smile.
“I’m sorry for boring your day out with this”
I shook my head.
“No. It’s good you shared this, but what exactly has been haunting you?” I asked.
“Everything” she scoffed.
I raised my brows to understand what she really meant by everything.
“Oh it’s just that. For the past four days I’ve been having the same nightmare about Lisa’s hanging. I got the first few weeks she died. And I can’t get past the fact that it was my fault. She had died because of me” Trinity sounded really broken, it was instantly contagious.
I got on my feet.
“Trinity. It is not your fault, none of it all is your fault”
“Joanne, she begged me to leave. But I wouldn’t let her,” Trinity sniffed.
“And how is any of that your fault at all? You did the right thing. With your position and your loyalty to Hardy, it was the only right thing to do. Because if she really wanted to leave, she would have done so without your permission. And even if she really liked you and wanted you to leave with her- and what if she really left you, and one day you both get tired of each other. What would happen to you? Or her?”
Trinity nodded slightly.
“And Hardy doesn’t know about this, I’m scared what about what he’s going to do when he finds it”
“One day or another he’s going to find out. Maybe not from you but Trinity. I promise you. None of this is your fault. You’re only going to make your fever worse if you keep crying like this”
I walked up to the drawer in my room and pulled out one of my freshly washed handkerchiefs, before passing one it to Trinity.
“Thank you,” she said lightly.
Watching her wipe her scarlet and swollen face. Trinity took a deep breath before turning to me.
“And I feel sorry for Hardy. Because he’s Hardly has time for women. Ever since his father died he took over the family business alongside his. It has given him less time to actually associate, and I feel very sorry that the first woman he actually learned to love was the one who never had any intention of showing him what love was actually like”
As I listened to Trinity’s impassioned confession, my feelings towards Hardy underwent profound words.
I had long since discarded any inkling of sympathy for the man, because of the coldness forged by his selfish actions and the cruel ways he controlled everyone around.
Yet, with each syllable uttered, a warmth began to melt my bitterness, the embers of empathy shook by the human heart unfolding before me.
In that moment, the shared humanity I had once felt with Hardy, the part of him that Lisa’s passing had extinguished, burned bright in my heart.
Everyone deserves to be loved.
Every single soul on earth.
If only he knew.
He was always fond of yielding power and might within the people around him.
How In the world would he feel if he found out about Lisa.
I knew it was rough of me, but I yearned for a reaction when he would learn of this.
“It’s okay Tri..” my voice was calm as I paid Trinity’s back.
No wonder she hardly talked about relationships.
Now I feel like crying for her.
The first woman she had to love was her boss’ wife who reciprocated the same feeling, but got pregnant and died.
It was greatly tragedy upon tragedy.
And somehow it felt like my limbs had been tied to this people. Even if I was done being used by Hardy to Lure Lisa’s killer and was sent back home.
I would always be connected to this place.
I made sure my statement of assurance towards Trinity was transfixed, and after sharing another sob of regret, remorse and loss. I allowed Trinity to have my bed and called for a doctor.
Of course, not a lot of people know this but one of fevers greatest symptoms are horrible nightmares.
The ones that would drive down the back of your brain’s mental screen and terrify the living out of you before continuing to eat on your fears.
Once the doctor had granted Trinity a merciful reprieve in the form of sleep, I made my quiet escape from the room, seeking solace in the solemnity of the dining room.
The gentle warmth of the troom and the hushed silence of this sanctuary provided a necessary refuge from Hardy’s volatile presence.
In the stillness of this space, I could at last give vent to the tempest of emotions that had been churning inside me, a storm of sorrow, anger, and uncertainty.
–
I didn’t know how much and how long I spent alone in the dining room, lost in my own world.
But I revived back to life when a soft knock on the dining table, sent a knock too within my entire body.
I threw my head up to see Theodore in front of me.
His dirty blond hair was down and he was wearing a blue T-shirt that almost matched mine.
“Are you okay?” Was the first thing he asked.
“I am” I nodded and pulled a faux smile that would erase any form of suspicion that I wasn’t from his head.
“Okay good, this just came in for you,” Theodore said, pushing a beautiful small box that was wrapped in all different kinds of flowery gift wrapper.
At the top of the box was a small tag that had my name ‘Jo-Anne’ written there with tiny hearts around this.
“Me?” I was beyond surprised as I took in the box.
“Yeah”
“From?” I asked, already tearing the box apart to see whatever was inside.
Because I had seen a lot of movies and my instincts were starting to kick in at that moment, pulling all Trinity had said back in my room.
I got on my feet and took a step back, away from the box.
There could be a lot of things inside. Anything.
The fact that during our vacation I felt like I was being watched, and before Lisa died despite being unsure, she had told Trinity the same thing.
“Don’t worry, it’s okay”
Theodore said in assurance with a warm smile, seeing me panic.
“You never know,” I pressed.
I dragged the box forward and pulled it open only to see a small pink envelope with a golden pattern on it.
I lifted up and the sender’s name was written at the bottom.
‘The White ale-o house’
I immediately opened the envelope to read the invitation letter inside.
-*Dear Joanne, the women at the Ale-o house are excited to tell you about your congratulatory party we have talked about. It will be happening on the Twentieth and we will be more than glad to see you there as you are indeed the star of the show that day.
From the ladies of the white Ale-o house
With love.
Anne shaw-
I closed the letter and for a second, my heart skipped a beat.
It would be happening soon.
The party. The party to celebrate my pregnancy.
It has been the same party that had been thrown for Lisa and the night she had died.
Fate was rewriting, but this time, I would be prepared and I hope Hardy really knows what He’d be doing.
“The party?” Theodore asked.
“Mmm hmm.” My nod was heavy.
“Don’t worry,” He began.
“I know,” I nodded. I was sure.
I was scared too but my surety was beyond anything.
I knew Hardy and I were not on speaking terms. Not like we always had been. But I knew I had nothing to worry about.
I would not be weak .
“And when is it happening?” Theo asked.
“The twentieth of this month. Which is like in four days.” I threw the letter back in its box.
“The twentieth ?”
I was surprised to see Theo’s eyes widen in shock.
“Yeah? Why? What’s wrong?” My eyes searched his eyes.
“The twentieth is the day of the city’s annual public parade,” Theo explained.
“The what?” I grimaced.
Theo sighed.
“Let’s just say. It is a day that a lot of bad things could actually take place and it would go unnoticed”
“Wait”
My heart was beating like a crazy animal’s as I tried to really understand what Theo was splattering into my ears.
“Public parade for what?” I asked.
“During every electoral campaign. It’s like a fuckin obnoxious tradition here, during campaigns, a certain party with power parade in the city for awareness and some shitty act of kindness. They do that like four times in a year, and this is its second. The entire city would be busy, noisy, there’d be fireworks all sort of. You might want to cut off your ears. That’s what the day is like”
“Shit”
I heard myself say.