Chapter 27

Marqi stared out the window at the nothing view. She couldn’t tell at all why Dennis had chosen this piece of property, excepting for the fact that he was able to buy acres and acres of undeveloped land so as to prevent the encroachment of future neighbors. Other than that, it was a lot of nothing for many yards around the lawn, followed by wooded areas that were probably full of ticks. Having been raised in the city, her natural curiosity about woodland creatures was somewhat stinted.

She had spent a late night with Dennis screwing on his dining room table. She hadn’t seen the housekeeper at all for two days since his return. She knew Mei was there, of course; the beds were made, the food prepared and laid out, but somehow the woman was invisible. She considered going down to her quarters, but didn’t want to seem nosy.

She was bored, though. She missed school. She didn’t much miss her mother who as far as she knew, was still in France with her internet boyfriend. She did miss the random socialization rituals like frat parties a little more than she expected. She had rarely gone, but at least had never wanted for invitations.

With a sigh, she turned from the window and went to the nearest armchair. She slumped down in it, drawing her knees up to her chin, the rough denim scraping against her neck. She had obviously not listened to her own advice. She had told Dennis months ago that she wouldn’t end up his pet; his prize. Yet here she was. Nothing to do but fuck and wait for him to eventual tired of her and cast her aside. Then what would she do? Be starting her life over at 30? She wondered how long he would enjoy her. She wondered what kind of fool she was to put herself in this position. No money, no education… She had turned exactly into the kind of woman he thought she was when he’d met her. Only she had a feeling she was a lot cheaper than the women he paid.

“I have a meeting in town. I won’t be back until late,” Dennis said, startling her as he crossed through the room to grab his briefcase off the desk. He left without a goodbye or a kiss, but she supposed it was thoughtful of him to at least tell her not to expect him for dinner. He exited the room and a moment later she heard the front door close. Distantly the car engine idled then grew fainter as the car crunched down the gravel drive.

For a few minutes Marqi sat silently in her chair, staring at the plush den. Her gaze fell on the closed laptop seated on Dennis’s desk. Licking her lips, Marqi rose and went to the machine, hesitating only a second before opening it and punching the power button with her index finger. She only had to wait a moment before the screen flickered to life, welcoming its host. There was a Firefox shortcut on the desktop, and Marqi used the touchpad to click it. She sat in Dennis’s chair while the search screen came up.

She checked her freemail account, deleted a lot of spam, and answered a message from her friend Julie back home. It was largely general and asked her what she would be doing over the next school holiday. Marqi kept her response vague and cordial, then signed out. She found an internet game site and wasted the rest of the afternoon on solitary puzzle games.

So this is my life now, she thought. She tried to chase away the disappointment, but it lingered stubbornly. She looked out the window again at the now darkened landscape. She wondered if this was what it was like to be married.

“Oh, missy,” the housekeeper gasped when she turned on the light in the room. “I didn’t know you were in here.”

“That’s okay,” Marqi said hastily closing the laptop. “What are you doing?”

“I’m cleaning,” Mei answered suspiciously, “what are you doing?”

“I was just checking my email, jeez,” Marqi said defensively.

The two women stared each other down, then the younger woman relented. “Did you eat dinner yet?”

“No.”

“Good,” she replied. “Let me make you something for a change.”

The woman opened her mouth to protest, but said nothing, and after a moment, nodded her head.

Marqi smiled. At least for an hour, she had a purpose.