The Ink Well Prompt Link.
Prompt Word: Suspense
Michelle set her coffee mug down on the counter and stared out the back window at the bare trees surrounding the backyard fence. She stared at the shed containing the wheelbarrow she needed; the same one that used to house the lawn tractor that Owen, her ex-husband, took with him. Now there was a huge space in the middle of the shed. On her first Valentine’s Day alone in many years, at least it would be easier to get the wheelbarrow out of the shed and stack the messy pile of firewood that sat on the side of the house. She turned her head toward the sink full of dirty dishes. Then she thought about the pile of laundry upstairs. Would it be a better idea to get a head start on taxes today?
Of course, thinking about her to-do list didn’t last very long, since her mind was mostly occupied by the bottle of Merlot sitting on the table with a typed note sitting next to it. You seem like you could use this lately. Happy Valentine’s Day. Love, Your Secret Admirer. It was sitting on a chair on the front porch when she went to let Cooper out this morning. Cooper almost ran off into the street as Michelle stood befuddled on the front porch, looking down at the bottle of wine in her hands. The clink of dog tags woke her from her confused state as the sound grew farther away down the sidewalk. She darted across the lawn in her robe to catch him.
Michelle looked at the note and said aloud, “You’re right.” She said it in a decided tone; as though the secret admirer had been right all along, and she was finally admitting defeat. She grabbed a corkscrew out of the drawer and poured herself a glass.
Halfway through her first glass, Michelle had the brilliant idea of burning some of the firewood in the outside pit, meaning less to stack later. She walked outside the backyard gate to the side of the house where the pile of firewood lay. On her way back in, with her hands full of firewood and her head in the clouds, she pulled the gate shut, but it didn’t latch. As she made her way around the back of the house, the gate slowly released itself, opening gradually.
Cooper trotted over, first sniffing the glass of wine that sat on the table, then Michelle pulled him up onto the outdoor couch and cuddled him in a flannel blanket. She thought of all the times she’d sat on the couch in a blanket with Owen. Wait, was it Owen who left the note and the wine? Michelle began to contemplate all the possibilities while staring into the fire. Seemed like I could use the wine, she thought. So it’s someone who has interacted with me recently? Her mind combed through the various people throughout her daughter’s school and the neighborhood. The soft waves of the fire made her eyes heavy and she closed her eyes, thinking of the note sitting on the table. Soon, her conscious thoughts swirled into dreams as she proceeded into a slumber. The note now sat on top of a building, and a gust of wind blew it down. She went to grab it, and toppled over the ledge; Falling. Falling. Falling. Jolt. Her whole body flinched from a hypnic jerk as she caught herself in her dream. She then went back to a relaxed sleeping state. The movement startled Cooper, who looked at her with a puzzled expression and decided it was best to hop down off the couch. Lo and behold, Cooper made his way over toward the open gate near the side of the house.
Still groggy, Michelle woke to the movement of a playful Cooper wandering around the backyard and the solid clink of the gate being shut. She saw movement walking away through the tiny slits in the wooden gate, which roused her to sit up quickly, sitting forward to see through the slits more clearly. She hopped up and walked briskly toward the gate to peer over it.
James Adler?! She watched the sturdy high school wide receiver walking away from the gate. She recognized him from the back by his crew cut and sports jersey. No way, it couldn’t have been him, she laughed to herself as she opened the gate.
“James,” Michelle said. He turned around. “What are you doing? Was it you who left the ---” she pointed toward the front porch, and then stopped as something occurred to her. Was the wine for her daughter, Sophia? Both Michelle and James stood in front of each other with confused looks on their faces, but for different reasons.
“Did you leave wine and a note on the porch for Sophia?” Michelle asked, the confused look still on her face.
“Your dog got out.” He pointed toward the gate. Then he smirked. “You mean the wine you’re drinking in the backyard at 10 AM?” For a second, James looked just like his father as he made the snide remark, and Michelle found herself reminiscing about her high school days. She used to be close to James’ father, Tom, but they grew apart when he married. Now, they lived down the street in the same neighborhood and waved to each other in passing, sweeping tension to the side, and carrying on with their lives. It was a strange relationship with the Adlers; a closeness from growing up together, yet an emotional distance from years of unspoken words and slight rivalry.
“Shouldn’t you be in school?” Michelle counterstated.
“How’s Sophia doing these days? Haven’t seen her in a while.” James tried to change the subject.
“She’s at school; where she should be,” Michelle said with a mocking smile.
“Wasn’t me who brought it over,” he said with a shrug.
“I won’t tell your parents you skipped school if you come help me move this firewood.” Michelle pointed toward the backyard shed.
James laughed. “I won’t tell Sophia you’re drinking her wine if you let me have a glass,” he said.
“We don’t know if it was for Sophia. Besides, she’s not old enough to drink it,” Michelle said. There was a nonverbal agreement as they both walked toward the backyard and Michelle went to get a wine glass.
James picked up the already half-empty bottle and handed it to Michelle as she walked out of the house. “Windsor Merlot,” he said, nodding his head in approval. “I don’t think Sophia even drinks wine.”
“How do you know what Sophia drinks?” Michelle asked, suddenly playing detective.
“I’ve seen her at parties with Brad. They usually drink beer together.”
“Ah, yes… Brad,” Michelle said with an eye roll and then pursed her lips. Brad was Sophia’s new boyfriend who was old enough to buy alcohol. She was still unsure how she felt about him. “Yes, Windsor Merlot is my favorite,” she said, changing the subject. “It’s been my favorite since I was about your age. Which is exactly why I thought the gift was originally for me.” She said this while pouring him a glass.
“Maybe it is.” He shrugged and took a sip of the wine. “I’ll wheel it over if you want to stack it on the shelf?” He pointed toward the shelf near the fire pit.
“Deal. The wheelbarrow is in there.” Michelle pointed toward the shed.
James wheeled over the first round of firewood and spoke in a somber tone as he slowly dumped it out near the shelf. “So, I skipped school today because we had to put Gigi down yesterday.”
“Oh, the terrier you guys got when you were a kid?”
“Yea.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that. Gosh, I remember when you brought her home as a puppy.” Michelle’s mind wandered down memory lane again as James went back to grab more firewood. She remembered looking at Tom with the puppy, and secretly wondering what if the dog had been theirs. It suddenly hit her how life was moving by so fast. Wait. Was Tom the secret admirer?
After James left, Michelle went upstairs and through the office area to the laundry room to grab a basket. As she was walking back through, she looked down at the trash can to see a piece of computer paper with a small piece cut out. The piece was about the same size as the note she’d received. Then it clicked. Sophia wasn’t able to buy wine, but her boyfriend could. It was Sophia who left the Valentine gift. She laughed to herself at how sly her daughter is, and how silly it was that she thought it was these other men. She then refused to acknowledge the slight disappointment that followed.
That night, the events of Michelle’s day turned into a vivid dream as she dreamt she was digging a small grave for an animal. Her shovel repeatedly dug into the ground, pulling up mounds of dirt and dumping it into a pile nearby. The animal was placed in the hole, and the dirt was quickly thrown back on top. It was just like her undisclosed feelings for Tom; dug up to the surface, only to be buried again so quickly. It was Michelle who was the secret admirer after all.