Dark Possession by Phaedra Weldon Page B

in
economics and he's already got a job lined up with some company
downtown.
    I know I sound like a school girl…but this
is the first time a guy's shown interest in me. All through school
I was the one sitting alone at a table, watching girls with their
boyfriends. I always wondered how they got them. How did they get
those boys to pay attention to them? Notice them? Back then it was
all about manipulating, uncle. Just like it was with Darren. From
the moment I met him and I knew he was interested in Zoë, all I
could think about was how I could make him look at me.
    And now…
    Now here's a guy who came to me!
    We met at my painting
class. He liked my work. And he came to Sevenanda's Monday morning
because I told him that's where I worked. Then he waited around
until my lunch break and we ate over at Vortex . Uncle…it was the most fun
I've had in years. No magic. No lying. No deceit. It was
just…NICE.
    We met at Front Page News the next
night, and then on Thursday he treated me to Savage Pizza . I thought at first he
was just seeing me because I could eat him under the table (which
is okay since I've lost so much weight), but then last night he did
it! He kissed me! And it was a real kiss, uncle. I called Nona
right after it and we talked for an hour. She was so happy for me.
Happy in a way I needed to hear.
    I don't know where this
will go, or if it has to go anywhere. I told Nona I don't want to
put any kind of strings on this, any kind of limitations. I want it
to go where it will. I want…I want to be happy , uncle. And I think I'm finally
getting there.
    It's Saturday morning…I
always find time to write these on Saturday mornings. I've got
painting class in a few hours. His name's Remi Laborde! He's in
Savannah this weekend with family. He's supposed to be back
tomorrow afternoon and then we're going to catch a movie—I don't
care which one—at Phipps and then maybe an evening at Maggiano's . Yeah, it's
all about the food.
    I wish you were here and you could see I'm
finally becoming a good person again. I wish you could hold me like
you used to, uncle, and tell me things will be okay. Because I
could believe you now.
    And I have a confession to make; I'm happy
about no longer being a part of that world. The one you raised me
in. I don't regret having experienced it, I do regret the things
I've done, but I don't want it anymore. I want this. I want
normality. I want to fall in love one day, and maybe have a
family.
    You think it's possible, uncle?
    I do. For the first time, I really, really
do.
     
     
    Remi looked tired when she met him Sunday
afternoon. He smiled when he saw her, which lit up his face. And he
kissed her as if his life depended on it.
    "You all right?" Rhonda asked him after he
bought their tickets and stood in line for over-priced popcorn.
"Maybe you should go home and sleep?"
    "No, no, I'm fine." He told her and kissed
her temple. "Just had a lot of excitement back home."
    "Oh? Want to tell me about it?"
    "Well, there's this cemetery there called
Bonaventure. Pretty much made famous by that book."
    "Yeah. Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil ."
    "Yep. We just call it The Book. Anyway, my
parents live nearby and we've always sort of used the place to hang
out in. I know it sounds kinda weird, but the cemetery is on the
coast. If you go into the back you can see the marsh and it's
pretty cool." He stopped telling the story once they got to the
counter and ordered a large popcorn and offered to share a
soda.
    When they were in their seats, she prodded
him. "So…you saw ghosts or something?"
    He laughed at her. "No. We
were sitting on this bench looking out over the water when three
people showed up in the water. Just…they weren't there, then they were there. A
woman and two men. One of the guys looked bad—had all these nasty
gashes down his back and his shirt was ripped to hell."
    "What? Where did they come from? Did they
fall off a boat?"
    "I don't know. One of my friends called