Read Online Somewhere In-Between by Donna Milner - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Donna Milner
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up at the unlit office Julie struggled with the burning sensation rising in her throat, then threw her car door open and climbed out. She had a key to the office. Slamming the door behind her she strode over and stomped up the back steps. But as she approached the landing she slowed down. What was she thinking? Exactly what was she going to do? Burst in and throw all the lights on, hoping to discover⦠what?
She stopped, spun around and fled back to the car. Inside, feeling like a fool she resisted the urge to bang her forehead against the steering wheel. She shoved the key in the ignition. Then, not caring that the motor screeched, she gunned it and sped out of the parking lot.
On the ten-minute drive home she practised deep breathing, while she talked to herself.
Drive slowly. Donât jump to conclusions. There are multitudes of explanations for this.
She just had to take the time to figure it out. He had phoned, hadnât he? She hadnât had the chance to ask Darla the details of their conversation. Perhaps he and Valerie had worked late and then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. That made sense. Realtorsâ accounting can be complicated, even more so during a marriage break-up.
Thereâs probably a message on the phone at home explaining everything.
But there wasnât.
By the time Julie was ready for bed at 11:30 there still was no call, and no Ian. Fighting her growing anger she locked all the doors. Darla had her own front door key, and Ian had an automatic garage door opener. If he doesnât have his key to the inside garage door, thatâs his problem.
Upstairs, brushing her teeth in the ensuite bathroom, she spotted a bottle of Ianâs sleeping pills next to his sink. Unlike Ian, Julie had never felt the need for them, but tonight she was so keyed up. This weekend was going to be busy, with two open houses and a buyer transferring to town. Her day would start early tomorrow and she needed sleep. She picked up the bottle. One should do the trick. Ian always took two, but he was used to them. She shook out one of the tiny pills and placed it under her tongue, letting it dissolve as she climbed into bed. Darla would be home in less than half an hour. Even if the sedative kicked in before that, Julie had always been able to sleep with one ear listening for her daughter.
Opening the nightstand drawer she retrieved the eye mask her sister had given her. She rarely used it, thought of it more as a joke, but when she wanted to give Ian a message not to disturb her she donned the black silk mask. She did so now, securing the elastic strap behind her ears and blocking out any light. She didnât want to face him tonight; didnât want to think about any of this. She liked her life exactly the way it was and a part of her suspected that beneath her anger was a growing panic that things were about to change. To divert her mind while she waited for Darla, she laid in the false darkness and reviewed her pending sales, mentally opening each file, checking the subjects, closing dates.
She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, while out on the highway, her happily-ever-after world was about to shatter with the unheard metallic scream of steel against concrete lamppost.
Less than two hours later she had clawed her way up from oblivion to Ianâs hands digging into her shoulders, shaking her like a rag dollâ the scent of Tabu perfume filling her nostrils.
8
Dad saw me. I wish he hadnât, although there wasnât a whole lot I could do about it. I watched his car come up the highway, then pull over on the side of the road. Who wouldnât stop to see if they could help at the scene of an accident so close to home? Certainly not Dad. But he got more than he bargained for, an image that will stick in his mind forever. The police had arrived only a few minutes before. He would have heard their sirens on his way home.
The blue and red flashing lights illuminated his face as
She stopped, spun around and fled back to the car. Inside, feeling like a fool she resisted the urge to bang her forehead against the steering wheel. She shoved the key in the ignition. Then, not caring that the motor screeched, she gunned it and sped out of the parking lot.
On the ten-minute drive home she practised deep breathing, while she talked to herself.
Drive slowly. Donât jump to conclusions. There are multitudes of explanations for this.
She just had to take the time to figure it out. He had phoned, hadnât he? She hadnât had the chance to ask Darla the details of their conversation. Perhaps he and Valerie had worked late and then walked to a nearby restaurant for dinner. That made sense. Realtorsâ accounting can be complicated, even more so during a marriage break-up.
Thereâs probably a message on the phone at home explaining everything.
But there wasnât.
By the time Julie was ready for bed at 11:30 there still was no call, and no Ian. Fighting her growing anger she locked all the doors. Darla had her own front door key, and Ian had an automatic garage door opener. If he doesnât have his key to the inside garage door, thatâs his problem.
Upstairs, brushing her teeth in the ensuite bathroom, she spotted a bottle of Ianâs sleeping pills next to his sink. Unlike Ian, Julie had never felt the need for them, but tonight she was so keyed up. This weekend was going to be busy, with two open houses and a buyer transferring to town. Her day would start early tomorrow and she needed sleep. She picked up the bottle. One should do the trick. Ian always took two, but he was used to them. She shook out one of the tiny pills and placed it under her tongue, letting it dissolve as she climbed into bed. Darla would be home in less than half an hour. Even if the sedative kicked in before that, Julie had always been able to sleep with one ear listening for her daughter.
Opening the nightstand drawer she retrieved the eye mask her sister had given her. She rarely used it, thought of it more as a joke, but when she wanted to give Ian a message not to disturb her she donned the black silk mask. She did so now, securing the elastic strap behind her ears and blocking out any light. She didnât want to face him tonight; didnât want to think about any of this. She liked her life exactly the way it was and a part of her suspected that beneath her anger was a growing panic that things were about to change. To divert her mind while she waited for Darla, she laid in the false darkness and reviewed her pending sales, mentally opening each file, checking the subjects, closing dates.
She drifted off into a dreamless sleep, while out on the highway, her happily-ever-after world was about to shatter with the unheard metallic scream of steel against concrete lamppost.
Less than two hours later she had clawed her way up from oblivion to Ianâs hands digging into her shoulders, shaking her like a rag dollâ the scent of Tabu perfume filling her nostrils.
8
Dad saw me. I wish he hadnât, although there wasnât a whole lot I could do about it. I watched his car come up the highway, then pull over on the side of the road. Who wouldnât stop to see if they could help at the scene of an accident so close to home? Certainly not Dad. But he got more than he bargained for, an image that will stick in his mind forever. The police had arrived only a few minutes before. He would have heard their sirens on his way home.
The blue and red flashing lights illuminated his face as
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