Just Be True To Me

The man stopped in front of her.

“Please. You’ve got the wrong person. I don’t—”

“This is for you. Your boyfriend isn’t who you think he is.” He checked over both of his shoulders before throwing a package into her lap. “You’ll see the truth.”

She was too shocked to move. After the adrenaline had worn off, the pain in her leg returned. She massaged her hamstring while reading the scrawled writing.

Murderer and Liar

She caught herself before she tossed it into the garbage, staring in the direction the man had left. She read the words once more. How did he know I was running?

Mia tried calling Clifford again before calling an Uber.

***

Clifford stared up at the building’s name. It reminded him of many pasts trips, the majority of which resulted it in instant failure. He combed his fingers through his hair. “I’m not ready for this.” He began walking back to the parking lot. Halfway there, he stopped and looked behind him.

Running was the cause of all the problems in his life.

His shoulders rose and fell. Tingles surged through his legs with each step he took.

The doors slid open, the sun blackening his vision as he stepped through, making him blind as he headed for the reception desk.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Janet Knight.”

Clifford’s leg bounced as he wrung his hands. He checked his watch for the third time, seeing again that not much time had passed. He stood. Reminding himself to be patient encouraged him to retake his seat. His mind was working overtime, attempting to put together what she looked like, using pieces that were scattered throughout his memory. He checked his watch again. His hands were so dry he felt like he could start a fire. He straightened up as an attendant came toward him.

“She’ll be out in a sec. She wanted to make sure she looked her best.”

After thanking her, her grabbed a cup of coffee. The warm liquid sloshed around his stomach as he walked back to his chair. His heartbeat tripled in pace as the situation became more real. The length between this visit and the last dawned on him. Guilt lowered his chin.

He was holding his head in his hands when she entered the room. Janet remained standing in the doorway when he made eye contact. “Hey Cliffy. It’s so good to see you.” She took a step forward.

Clifford’s mind shut off. He bounded the three steps toward her and pulled her into his arms. There was no stopping the tears. He held onto her as if she was a buoy in the middle of the sea. In that moment, he was a little boy again. Pulling away, his tears traced the tips of her thumbs as she held his face. There was no use in talking, his emotions doing all the speaking for him.

They hugged again.

His mother was laughing when she pulled away. “Let’s sit.”

They sat across from one another, holding each other’s hands. Her smile indicated the joy boiling underneath the surface. She held his face once more.

“My baby.”

He leaned into her hand. “I’m sorry it took me so long—”

“You don’t have anything to apologize for. I’m glad you took so long to come back.” Her eyes fell. “I had a few slip-ups. But this time is different. I finally forgave him. And I feel so much better.”

He swallowed hard. “It came up. People know what I did.”

“You need to get that lawyer of yours to get the jury to see that you did the right thing. You protected your mother. That’s what every man is supposed to do.”

“You’ve been watching,” he asked.

“Just enough to keep up. I wish I could testify.”

His heart ached at the thought of her on the stand. Rosario made a reputation of crushing witnesses, especially those that were deemed unreliable. “The prosecutor would have twisted your words.” He wiped the stains that remained on her cheeks. “Seeing you is more than enough to get me through.”

The attendant introduced herself after entering the room. “Do you want to take your walk?”

“Would it be okay if I went with my son?” Janet smiled at him. “His name is Clifford and he’s single.”

“Mom.”

“Very nice to meet you Clifford. My name is Hailey and I’m engaged.”

“When did that happen?” Janet asked, examining the ring. “I told you it would work out.”

“I just love your mom. She’s so positive. I keep telling her when she gets out of here, she needs to look into becoming a counselor. She’s helped me through all my relationship problems.”

“Is that right?”

“When you’ve been through a lot, you know a lot.” Janet hooked her arm around Clifford’s and led the way to the front door.

“Remember to let Rebecca know if you’re gonna be gone longer than an hour.” Hailey shook Clifford’s hand. “Keep her safe. She’s like a mom to me.”

“You don’t have to worry about that.” He winked. “She is my mom.”

On the way out the front doors Janet let the receptionist know that they would be back later in the evening.

***

Tamara parked three spots away from Clifford’s car. The position gave her the perfect vantage point to keep an eye on them. Flipping to a clean page in her notebook, she added salon to the bottom of the list. Throughout the day, she’d watched the woman transform to a much more elegant version of herself, getting a full makeover, hair, new clothes and shoes, and a manicure and pedicure to boot.

She had to admit that the woman was pretty. Though she never got close enough to confirm, she thought that she and Clifford looked alike, as if they could be distant cousins.

Looking through the binoculars showed them fully laughing. She spotted all the signs that a woman showed when she liked a man, the touching of the shoulder, the exaggerated laughter at his jokes, her leg brushing against his.