Twisted Little Things and Other Stories by Amy Cross Read Free Book Online Page B

waitress pulled the chair out for her. “I suppose it is a new look.”
    “It suits you.”
    “You're so kind.”
    As she took her seat, Vivian carefully avoided looking at the empty chair opposite. Instead, she took a look at the cutlery and straightened the knife, which had been left a little askew. Then she glanced across the restaurant and saw a dozen or so other diners, at least half of whom she vaguely recognized from town. She caught the eye of a few, but they quickly looked back down at their plates as if they too sensed something different about her tonight.
    “I don't know if you need to see the menu,” the waitress said after a moment, “or whether you already -”
    “I'll have my usual,” Vivian replied, turning to her. She paused, before remembering once again to smile. “The same as always, if you don't mind.”
    “Absolutely, and...” The waitress paused, clearly feeling a little uneasy. “Seeing as you're alone tonight, will you still be wanting bread to start?”
    Vivian swallowed hard. “No. No, that won't be necessary.”
    “Giving you the night off, is he?” The waitress smiled. “Your fiance, I mean. Letting you out alone like this.”
    “Harry has another...” Vivian paused, feeling a cold sweat starting to prick her brow, before taking a deep breath and regaining her composure. Her eye was still twitching, but she felt there was nothing to be done about that. “Something of the sort,” she continued, swallowing hard. “Please, there's no need to fuss. I shall simply have my usual.”
    “And wine?”
    She shook her head. “No, I shan't be needing wine tonight.”
    “I'll bring you some water, then,” the waitress replied, before taking a step back, as if she was relieved to be done. “I'll be right back, Miss Carradine.”
    “I'm sure you will,” Vivian replied, watching as the waitress headed back across the room. “I assure you,” she added under her breath, “I am a very patient woman.”
    After a moment, she reached into her pocket and slipped out a small bottle. Her hands were trembling as she carefully set the bottle on the table. She'd planned the evening down to every last detail, and she knew that she had to save the bottle's contents until the end of the meal. Even after everything that had happened over the previous few weeks, after all the gossip and the shock and the humiliation, she was determined to enjoy one final meal at her favorite restaurant, even if – for one – she had to dine alone.
    “I'll make you regret your choice, Harry,” she whispered, keeping her voice low. “What does that Mary bint have that I don't? Why would you run off with her and leave me all...”
    Her eyes were fixed on the bottle, and she couldn't help thinking of the thick, black liquid within. She'd worried that she might have second thoughts, that she'd lack the necessary resolve to go through with her plan, but now she actually felt rather calm. After so much uncertainty and doubt, it soothed her soul to know exactly what was coming next.
    No physical pain could match what she felt in her heart.
    “Table nine will always be ours,” she said under her breath, her voice trembling with tears before she managed once again to pull herself together. Glancing down at the bottle again as the waitress approached, she forced herself to smile. “Always, for all time. No-one will ever be able to take it from us, and one day, I shall have company here again.”
    With that, as the waitress brought over a jug of water, Vivian began to unscrew the bottle's lid. A faint, curling wisp of vapor rose from the rim.

One
     
    Today
     
    “That table right there,” he said firmly, poking her shoulder twice with a pudgy finger and then pointing across the restaurant. “I'll take that table, the one no-one's sitting at! Bloody hell, girl, are you blind?”
    Trying not to appear flustered, Lisa turned and looked over at the table in the far corner. While every other spot in the restaurant was