We live five miles east of Texas, in a ranch that my mom and dad had acquired on the first year of their marriage. The house itself is a neat, oversized cottage that could house 3 to 5 persons. When my mom died of cancer three years ago, the house felt ironically smaller -- a bit ominous -- and dad became quite distant.
We don't talk much. He always uses his ranch as an excuse to avoid conversations. Well, I couldn't blame him. Mom had always been his sunshine as she is his moonlight. So when we've lost her, everything became dark for him.
He remained indifferent to the world until Dianne came along. I don't have any idea how he met her, as I've mentioned earlier that Dad had always been busy with the ranch, he never went out. One morning I just woke up and she's there, sitting with him over breakfast. I really didn't mind, since I could see that Dad was happy. Slowly I saw the sparkle in his eyes come back to life because of Dianne. She never left us since.
I can't say I hate her, but my instinct tells me that something about her was wrong. She just came out of nowhere, we never met her family -- not that she ever mentioned having one -- and I don't even know her last name. I tried to point it out to Dad, but he just shrugged it off, accusing me of not wanting him to be happy. I felt guilty when he said that, so I never brought it up again. But I can't help but worry about him. I guess I'm just being overprotective.
They got married after a couple of months of living together. The only people who were there to stand as witnesses are some of my dad's friends, and me of course. As much as I despised being there, I have to be there to show my support, even when I didn't bother to pretend that I'm happy about it.
The moment we stepped out of the mayor's office, I knew that everything has changed. I knew that Dianne's presence in our lives would finally take it's full effect. I just didn't expect how drastic and sudden it would be. Well, it didn't take her long to make sure I understood that.
A small wedding feast was held at a classy Italian restaurant in town. The food was great, but I wasn't really feeling jovial, so I excused my self and went to the washroom to freshen up. I didn't know that she followed me.
When I came out from one of the cubicles, Dianne was standing in front of the mirror, unaltered by my presence. I gave her a quick, pretense smile, thinking she might want to talk. To my surprise, she turned to my direction and glared at me for a few seconds, murmuring incomprehensibly, and marched her way out of the washroom.
She freaked me out. After she left, I just stood there stunned, quite unsure how to react. After a minute or two, I decided to go back to our table, only to find that the restaurant is already closed.
And no one else is there but me.
To be continued...
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