WICKED TALES

ONE

I clocked out of work, grabbed my belongings, and headed out towards my car. It was the holiday break so the staff was off for the week. I was relieved but also sad. Relieved that I wouldn't have to bust my ass for a week but sad that I had no one to spend Christmas with. I shrugged it off and thought to myself that it wasn't the first lonely holiday spent by myself and most likely wouldn't be the last.

I stayed with my daily routine I had kept up with after work. Fast food for dinner, a couple of bottles of wine, and a movie rental or book from the local library. I didn't feel like watching a movie so a book it was. I decided to go and check out a book before getting a bite to eat so I drove the short two miles to the library. I greeted the librarian, took a look around to see what caught my eye, and there it was. A sign with the new author in bold print made me wonder what the book was about and who wrote it. The author was a gorgeous middle-aged woman and from what I can tell from reading the synopsis on the back, it seemed like a very interesting read.

I checked out the book and headed to get my meal and drinks. After about an hour of errands, I finally made it back to my small one bedroom apartment. I kicked out my shoes at the door, pet my awaiting cat Sharon and got ready to dive into my steak, egg, and potatoes wrap. Sharon came purring by my leg that indicated that she was just as hungry as I was. Of course, I stopped my meal to feed her but before I did so the book, which was titled The Life Of Diane caught my attention again. There were two reasons the book was so interesting to me. One, the author was a knockout and I was surprised that I had never heard of her. Two, the title of the book was a bit more interesting than the author since my name was Diane. I grabbed the book and made my way to the kitchen to made Sharon her dish of cat food.

The first chapter was an easy read about a guy named Jeff who was a loner and a dreamer. He lived in a run-down one-bedroom apartment above a mom and pop store. He worked often and oddly had a feline companion named Sharon also. The chapter was short, about five pages long and I knew I would get through the entire book in about two days. I called for Sharon to come and eat and went to go do the same. Once I was done I cracked open the first bottle of wine, wrapped myself inside my blanket, and proceeded to chapter two. The author told a story that was a little familiar to me but I thought nothing of it. Her character Diane had some similar traits that I also had but I've read many books where the main character resembled me.

Chapter two was a little boring and dry but what happened in the next chapter was what had drawn me in. Sharon was done eating and wanted some attention as usual after she had filled her stomach with the cheap cat food and tap water. She jumped up on the arm of the sofa purring as she nestled close to me to get warmth and gentle caresses from me. Right after reading that part of the chapter, my Sharon had done the same thing. I chuckled to myself and thought how weird that was. Shaking the thought from my mind, I grabbed my glass of wine, finished the last sip, and went to pour another before diving back into the book. Satisfied that the glass was refilled I started reading again but was startled when Sharon darting onto the table, spilling the freshly filled glass of wine. I cursed in frustration, trying to save my phone from being damaged by the liquid. Sharon was nowhere in sight as I went to retrieve a rag to clean up her mess.

My phone rang, I checked to see who it was and seen it was my ex-boyfriend Jeff, most likely calling to try to rekindle a flame that died almost two years ago. I sent it to voicemail, cleaned up the spill, got cozy on the sofa, and continued to read my book. Sharon ran across my coffee table and spilled my glass of wine that I just poured. I was irritated as I went to get a rag to clean up her mess and then my phone rang. It was my ex who I knew was calling to beg me to get back with after being apart for two years. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I stopped for a moment and wondered if this was a joke. If somehow some mysterious way someone was playing a joke on me. Like I said before, I've read quite a bit of book where the stories seemed similar to my life but this one topped them all. I mean the things that I was reading were happening in real-time. Needless to say, I was freaked the fuck out. I sat on my sofa for a while and debated if I wanted to continue to read the book. But as the old saying goes, curiosity had gotten the best of me or was it killed the cat. Regardless, I was now drawn more to the book. I continued to read.