Chapter 4 - The Great Cleaning
The next hour was a blur of motion.
Callie’s father watched Dustin like a hawk as he threw clothes into suitcases.
Dustin was crying, begging, and then screaming.
He went through every stage of grief in sixty minutes.
Callie sat at the table with her mother, finishing the wine.
She felt a strange, hollow peace.
The locksmith arrived at 10:00 p.m.
The sound of the drill against the metal door was the most satisfying noise Callie had ever heard.
Dustin was pushed into the hallway with three mismatched bags.
"You can't do this! It's ten o'clock!" he yelled through the door.
"There's a hotel two blocks away," Callie shouted back.
"I’d suggest you use your own credit card."
"Oh, wait. I canceled the authorized user on mine ten minutes ago."
Silence followed.
Then, the sound of Dustin’s footsteps fading down the hall.
Callie turned back to the room.
The chefs were finishing up, the kitchen sparkling.
The sommelier packed the remaining wine into a box for her parents.
"Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad," Callie said, her voice finally breaking.
"I'm so sorry it turned into this."
Her mother hugged her, holding her tight.
"Don't you dare apologize, Callie."
"This is the best gift you could have given us."
"Seeing our daughter stand up for herself is worth more than any dinner."
They stayed for another hour, helping her move the last of Dustin's junk to the curb.
When they finally left, the apartment felt huge.
It was empty, but it was light.
Callie sat on the floor of the living room, her phone in her hand.
She opened her messages.
There were forty-seven missed calls from Gertrude.
Twelve from Paige.
And a string of texts that started with "Please" and ended with "I'll kill you."
Callie blocked them all.
She opened her banking app one last time.
She looked at the $8,000 charge.
It was the best money she had ever spent.
It was the fee for her freedom.
She lay down on the rug, looking up at the ceiling.
She thought about the rosemary potatoes and the three-milk cake.
She thought about how hard she had worked to be the "perfect" wife.
She realized that Gertrude hadn't just eaten a meal.
She had eaten a parasite's last supper.
Callie closed her eyes, sleep finally claiming her.
But she wasn't done.
She still had to deal with the house at Lakeside Estates.
May you like
And she had a plan for that, too.
***
