Sweep Me Off My Feet

*****

The next few weeks were what Angela could only think was hell on earth. Knowing that she was a means to an end for Michael had felt like a knife to her heart and what was supposed to be a home for her, a sanctuary for her and Brandon, started to feel like a prison. Leaving him became the first thing she thought about when she woke up and the last thing she thought about when she went to bed. She hated having to share a bed with a man who had maintained a lie so long just to save face with his peers. She found herself crying herself to sleep on most nights and what enraged her even more was the fact that Michael did not even have anything to say for himself. He would come home, sit at the table as if everything was normal, and then spend some time with Brandon or even tuck him in before he retreated to his study. It would usually be for an hour or two before he went to bed. That was when Angela felt the knife in her heart being twisted and plunged deeper. He would lay next to her without saying a word and he would not even move a muscle when he heard her sobbing in bed next to him. However, even though she was unhappy with what was the biggest decision of her life, she had noticed that her son was happier now than she had ever known him to be. He was already at his new school and he had already made some friends. The new school was a one-stop shop for parents. They catered to children of all ages, from pre-school to high school, and her son had settled right in. He was looking forward to seeing his teachers and his friends, and overall, he had a great relationship with Michael. Knowing that leaving would probably break her son’s heart was what made her stay. The connection she saw between Michael and Brandon could not be faked. Michael loved her boy and Brandon had warmed up to the new father figure in his life… how could she leave? How could she deny him everything she had ever wanted for him? That thought was the reason she stayed. She now understood what people in abusive marriages and relationships meant when they said that they would stay for the kids’ sake. And then there was Candy whose life had drastically changed ever since she got married. Candy loved her new life as a model and the excitement she usually had when speaking of how much she loved her new life deterred Angela from confiding in her best friend about her discontented marriage.

When she woke up on Thursday morning, she found herself thinking of the same thing. She closed her eyes and pushed the thought to the back of her mind before she pulled herself out of bed. She reached for her phone and switched off the alarm before looking at Michael’s empty spot.

“What else is new?” she wondered as she walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower. She then put on a pair of black pants and a green long-sleeved crotchet sweater before she went on to get Brandon ready for school.

Her morning was relatively easy. All she had to do was drop Brandon off at school and then do some grocery shopping. But then again, every morning for her was easy since she stopped working at the store. She never thought there was a day she would miss the wild days at the store, but lately, she was missing the peace of mind that came with managing the store. After dropping her son off, she drove to the grocery store and pulled up her grocery list. Even though her new home sometimes felt like a prison of some sorts, there were a few things she had to look forward to each week among them grocery shopping. She did not know whether it was the fact that she could now take all the food she wanted from the shelves without being concerned that the money she had would not be enough that gave her a high every time she got to the check out station… whatever it was, she loved being at the grocery store.

She had just filled up her cart when she pushed it to the butcher’s stand, her last stop at the store.

“Hi, Kovac,” she said to the Hungarian butcher who always seemed to have a permanent smile on his face.

“And how is my favorite homemaker today?” he asked.

“Fine. Can’t complain.”

“The usual?”

She nodded.

“Yes, and did you save me some salmon today?” she asked, and Kovac nodded as he reached for a tray in his refrigerated shelf.

“This came in this morning from our local farmer,” he said, and she smiled. “What do you say? Half a pound?”

“Yes, please.”

Angela was never a big fan of fish, but after having salmon in Hawaii, she had developed a taste for it. She waited for Kovac to wrap up her order as she looked through her phone for a salmon dinner recipe. She had only made salmon twice and it had been a wild success, but she was looking for something different this time around. Lately, she had found that her time was best spent learning new ways of preparing food. After getting her meat, she proceeded to pay for it, and as she waited for her groceries to get bagged, she thought she saw a familiar face from the corner of her eye. And it was not just any familiar face. It was her ex, Brandon’s father, but when she looked up, he was not there. She took a long, deep breath as she looked around. Could she have imagined seeing him? She had not seen him in such a long time and she could not think of any reason why he would even cross her mind now.

“Come on, Angela. Snap out of it,” she thought as she pushed the cart out to the parking lot. She kept on reassuring herself that she was imagining things even when she felt uneasy in the parking lot, almost like someone was watching her. She had just put her last bag in the trunk of her car when she suddenly heard it, Deshawn’s unmistakable voice.

“Well, well… if it is not Angela Carter.”

Startled, she turned around, dropping her keys and phone. She nearly fell over as she bent to pick up her keys and phone.

“So, it is true. You did sell out,” Deshawn said as she slowly backed up against the car.

“What do you want, Deshawn?” she hissed, trying hard to sound confident even though her knees were begging to give way.