Tav.
I watched rapt as he warmed his palms and then pushed them into an expensive wool coat. The fine navy fibers were cut to his knees, dark suit pants and leather wing-tipped shoes finished off his campaign trail attire.
I’d never seen him look so polished.
He turned then, a warm smile coming over him as he spoke to a woman in a sleekly cut skirt suit. She held her smartphone out, and the two of them took a photo together. He winked and waved as she backed away.
I studied the strong cut of his jaw, considered the warm, intimate way he smiled back at that woman in a way that I’d always thought was reserved only for me. Who was this version of Tav that I’d never met before?
I glanced down to the screen of my phone, teeth cutting into my bottom lip as I hit submit on the California records request I’d just ordered online. I closed the web browser on my phone, disconnected from the cafe wifi, and then turned off my phone. I adjusted its placement in the pocket of my jacket, sliding my thumb along the bumps as I counted which was the correct button to engage the recorder.
I had questions to ask Tav, about a thousand of them, and I planned on doing it at just the right moment.
I walked across the main street of the small seaside town. The cab driver that’d dropped me off at the cafe across the street from where the small political rally was scheduled was still parked further up the next block. He leaned against the back of his cab, disposing of the coffee cup in hand as he watched the crowd of a few hundred people gather closer to the stage.
I reached the sidewalk just in time to hear Tav’s name announced to the podium.
I angled around the crowd, some with signs expressing their support of various political issues. I tuned all of them out when I heard Tav’s rich voice over the cheap speakers.
“It’s good to be on the coast of Maine!” Tav waved and some clapped.
He began to talk about technical advancements and scientific discoveries that could change the lives of every citizen forever. He lost me on much of the jargon, my focus zeroed in on the woman he’d taken a photo with earlier. The angle of her high cheekbones and waves of chestnut hair were familiar. I struggled to recall the exact features of the therapist Tav had found for me last year when I was struggling with so much loss. Could it be her? And why? Was she part of the undercover plan to lock me away too? A therapist undercover prescribing me medications that worked like horse tranquilizers and now a campaign Barbie at his side? My mind blurred and muddled with the storm of possibilities. I recognized grandiose thinking and shades of paranoia when it came on, but that wasn’t relevant to this—she was too familiar.
She beamed as she watched him, taking notes every now and again as he spoke. She nodded her head along with the crowd, and even silently repeated some of the words as he said them. Like she’d heard this speech before, like she’d written the speech. Tav’s mind could never communicate this eloquently, but his delivery was impeccable. The sharp cut of his jaw and slicked side part of his hair gave him a young Kennedy freshness, the sparkle in his eyes clearly translated to this crowd. They chuckled along with his jokes and clapped as if on cue, he had them wooed. Just like he’d charmed me.
By the end of his speech, Tav’s voice grew with emotion. His tone cracked for a moment before he murmured, “Thank you everyone for your support. It wasn’t far from here and not long ago that I stumbled out of these woods not knowing if I’d live or die. I felt your love, every kind word and card and prayer has made all of the difference to me.”
He held a hand over his heart, bowed his head and mouthed the words thank you again, before backing away from the podium and waving.
A shudder skittered through me when the woman in the elegant pantsuit came to his side, circling an arm around his waist and waving to everyone alongside him.
“Who is that?”
“Kimberley Keller, isn’t she beautiful?” A middle-aged woman at my shoulder answered me.
“Are they dating?”
“That’s what everyone is wondering, but they haven’t said so.”
I nodded, eyes on the happy couple as I melted into the crowd. The name Kimberley Keller didn’t ring any bells, but then, why did the soft twitch of her smile? I slipped along the sidewalk, moving behind the stage that was decorated with red, white, and blue streamer paper. Just as Tav’s broad shoulders were ducking into the back of a black SUV, I pushed the record button on my phone in my pocket and cleared my throat.
He turned, eyes wild a moment when they landed on me.
“Hi, Tav. Seen any ghosts lately?” A grin I couldn’t help crossed my face.
“Frey—”
“Don’tFrey,me. What does The Sunday Wife mean?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He grunted, his eyes dark and stormy. A look I’d come to hate subconsciously, and now I realized why.
The look of his lies.
“Skipped your meds, again, Frey?”
Rage flashed through my vision, my balled fists quaking as I prepared to pummel him with all of my force. Instead, he gripped my wrist and yanked me into the backseat with him. I fell in a heap across his lap. He slammed the door closed, locking it quickly and then pushed himself across the seat.
“Back to the hotel, please.” He called the driver. “We’ll talk about this in private.”
