“Nope.” Her head rotates left, then right. “Not far enough.”
“Barbie. This is silly.” I try to laugh, but it comes out as more of a croak. “As soon as the baby comes, Travis will be focused on that.”
The screech from earlier returns with a vengeance. “He will not. He doesn’t even want this baby. He says he should have had one with you. Then you would have been forced to stay with him.”
This is crazy. “That’s not true. I would have left no matter what.”
“Not if Celeste had her way.”
I’m not going to argue the many idiosyncrasies of Celeste Coleman. She probably would’ve done anything for her son.
I decide to try a different tack. “Did I ever tell you that she tried to poison me?”
That gives her pause. “No.”
I take advantage of it and round the corner of the counter.
“At Sunday dinner. She’d put something in my food. I’d be sick the entire night.”
Barbie giggles. “God, she was such a fucking bitch.” The smile is still on her face. “Don’t tell me, Travis didn’t believe you when you told him?”
“Nope.”
“What’d you do?”
“One Sunday, I switched plates with Travis when he wasn’t looking.”
That gets her really giggling. “Did he get sick?”
“Oh, yeah. All night long.”
She throws her head back she’s laughing so hard. It gives me the time to get back to my safe place. Or so I thought. When she looks over at me, her face has suddenly morphed from smiles and giggles to something sinister, like from a horror movie. “You can’t get away, Prudie. I’m way faster than you.”
“True.” I remain still. Something she isn’t aware of…? I’ve pressed the emergency button that’s right below the register. My hope is the cops will be here in a matter of minutes. I decide to ignore that question and continue with the story. “When I told Travis I switched dinner plates with him, do you want to know what he said?”
“What?”
“He accusedmeof poisoninghim.”
She’s smirking now. “He’s an asshole.” Rubbing her belly, she adds, “But he’s the father of my son, so I’ve got to do everything I can to ensure a happy life.” She looks down at her stomach. “For our baby.” She takes another step in my direction, raising the knife slightly higher.
“No.” I shake my head only slightly. I need to keep my eye on her. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Sadly, I do. I’ve spent the better part of six years trying to secure that man, and all I’ve gotten for my efforts is whining and crying.” She sighs. “All that fucking crying over you and now his mother.”
“He’s a crier. That’s for sure.”
Off in the distance, I hear sirens. But does she?
“Even at work. People are starting to get annoyed. There’s a rumor he’s going to be fired.”
“Did he tell you that?”
The sirens are louder.
“Yes.”
“He used to say things like that to manipulate me.”
