Before making her decision, she peeked through the cracked opening. At the center of the circular, mirrored room sat a small round table and two chairs. An open bottle of red wine, two half-filled wine glasses, and two lit candles completed the setting. She smiled and pulled the door halfway open.
“Geno,” she called out. No answer came. “Geno,” she repeated. “This all looks very nice—romantic—but I’m not sure it’s a good idea. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression.”
Again, she waited for his reply. She looked around the room and tried to find the hidden panel he would emerge from.
“Are you here? Can you hear me, Geno?” As she waited for his reply, the lights in the room dimmed, freeing the light from the flickering candles to dance around the mirrored walls of the room. Reggie squinted to adjust her eyes to the sudden darkness, but it was difficult to see through the light pollution of the setting sun streaming through the open door behind her. She stepped inside and closed the door. Her hand remained on the handle behind her back. Her eyes adjusted and a smile came over her face.
“Wow! This is beautiful. I never would have guessed that a carnival attraction could be transformed into something so romantic.” She remained positioned with her back against the door. She twisted her wrist to test the handle. She was comforted by the knowledge that the handle was loose and she could leave in an instant.
“Where are you, Geno? Please come out.”
Instead of Geno’s voice, jazz music filled the room from hidden speakers.
She grinned and let go of her grip on the back door. She raised both hands and said, “How did you know I love jazz?” Her arms lowered to her sides. Then she laughed and shook a pointed finger around the room. “I get it. You saw my CDs in the cab. That’s how you know.”
She took another look around the room. The candles, the wine, the soft lighting, the mirrors, and his perfect choice in music all played together in lowering her guard.
She smiled and shook her head. “You know what? Aw, what the hell. How could I say no to all of this?” She walked to the table, sat down, and raised the glass of wine. “Now, get out here. I’m not going to drink alone.”
In her position at the center of the circular mirrored room, she didn’t see or hear Peepers as he stepped out of the mirrored panel behind her. He walked along the mirrors until he entered her view. Thinking it was Geno, she smiled and turned to face him. Peepers stopped and faced her. She screeched and jerked back. Half of the wine spilled from her glass. She put the glass on the table and remained seated with the chair backed a foot from the table.
“Who are you? Where’s Geno?” she stammered. “Geno!” she hollered. Her arms crossed over her chest.
“My name is Peepers. I represent the Guild of Fallen Clowns. On this day, your life will change.”
Reggie stood, sending her chair sliding to the wall behind her. She looked around the room for the door she had come into the room from. It was gone, replaced by another mirrored panel.
“Where’s the door? Where did it go? Let me out of here now. I’m not into this. You’re scaring me,” she rambled as she looked past Peepers for the door.
“Peepers here to help Regina.”
She stopped looking for the door and focused on Peepers. “Hold on! You look like that statue thing someone left in my cab.” Then it hit her. “Wait, that means it was Geno’s. He lied to me!” Again, she called out, “Geno, get out here now! I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I’m not interested.” With her eyes on Peepers she continued, “So you can call off your buddy in the creepy costume and show me where the door is.” She stared at Peepers and added, “Let me out and I’ll get this guy’s statue.”
Peepers smiled, exposing his mouth full of pointed teeth. “Geno isn’t here. Peepers figure not needed in here. Peepers will set you free.”
Still wide-eyed from the glimpse of Peepers teeth, Reggie backed up against the wall.
“Please do it then. Set me free. Show me where the door is.”
“Soon. Peepers set you free soon.”
“What do you want from me? Are you going to rape me? Oh my god, this was a trap and you guys are going to rape me.” She slid to the floor.
“Peepers not interested in sex.” He motioned toward the table. “Peepers will set you free after we drink.”
Regina looked up at him. “You’re not going to rape me? You just want to have a drink of wine with me, then you’ll let me go?”
“Drink and talk. Then Peepers will set you free.” Peepers returned her chair to the table and sat down in the other. He poured more wine into her glass and took a sip from the other one. His eyes closed as he savored the flavor.
Regina rose to her feet and remained pressed against the wall.
Peepers looked at her and took another sip of wine. He didn’t pressure her to sit with him. Instead, he continued sipping the wine until his glass was empty. He refilled his glass and she watched as he examined it, holding the glass out in front of him as he swirled the wine.
“Good wine,” he said without looking at her.
“One glass—if I drink one glass you’ll let me go?” she said.
Peepers glanced over at her and looked back at his wine. He enjoyed another sip and ignored her question as he continued to swirl between sips.
Regina moved toward the table with caution. Standing across from Peepers, she grabbed the back of the chair. Peepers paid no attention to her as she eased the chair out and sat down. Her eyes were glued on his every move. Peepers filled his glass for the third time. He placed the near-empty bottle on the table and before lifting his own glass, he reached his long, bony finger to the base of her glass and slid it toward her.
She reached for the glass, picked it up, and pulled it to her chest. Her eyes returned to her captor. He sipped his wine and she took a sip from her glass.
“Geno doesn’t want you,” Peepers said. She didn’t respond as she took another sip.
“Regina is alone. Always alone.” Peepers gulped the remaining wine from his glass and placed it on the table. He lifted the bottle and tipped it over her glass. She rejected his unspoken offer to top it off with an open hand covering the glass. He pulled it back and emptied the bottle into his glass. Before placing it on the table, he turned and studied it in his hand.
“Regina’s heart always empty like bottle.” He put the bottle down and focused on her. She stared back. Tears welled in her eyes until they overflowed and dripped down her cheeks. She wiped her eyes in her sleeve.
She glared back at him. “So what, I’m alone. Is that your game? You and your asshole friend Geno get off on picking up lonely fat girls? Does it make you feel better about your own sorry ass lives by telling them how pathetic they are? What do you want from me? Why are you doing this?” She wiped away more tears.
Peepers grinned and leaned across the table. “Mother and father, only love Regina knew. Both die when Regina just three.”
“What? How do you know that? What’s going on here?”
“Regina’s only love. Yet she too young to remember feeling.”
“Who are you? Please stop doing this. Please let me go.” She reached for her wine and chugged it down. She slammed the glass back to the table and stood.
“I finished my glass. You promised to let me go if I had a drink with you. Now please let me out.” She turned and looked at the mirrors for the door to be revealed. The only thing she saw was her reflection and those of the table, two glasses, and an empty bottle of wine. She stopped, and with her back to Peepers and the table, she saw the reflection of his wine glass rising from the table and tilting. The floating glass returned upright and lowered to the table. She spun around. Peepers’ arm rested over the back of his chair, folded at the elbow with his chin resting on his closed fist. His legs were crossed. He smiled and moved the hand out from under his chin and waved it in a semi-circular motion around the room. Her eyes followed his movement as she scanned the remaining mirrors. He
was there in front of her, but he didn’t have a reflection in the mirrors.
“What are you?” Her voice quivered. “Are you a vampire? Do you want my blood?”
Peepers turned back to the table, put his elbows down, and lowered his face into his hands. “Why do they think vampire? Vampires not real. Stupid humans think Peepers is vampire.”
“You’re not a vampire? Then why can’t I see your reflection in the mirrors?” she asked.
Peepers lifted his head from his hands and faced her. “Peepers is spirit. Peepers here to set Regina free from pain in heart.”
With a confused look, she relaxed her protective stance. “A spirit? Like an angel?”
“Yes, Peepers like angel.”
“What kind of angel? Why are you dressed in black and—well, scary looking?”
Peepers stood. “Mother and father wait for Regina. Peepers free Regina to feel their love.” He stepped closer.
Regina stiffened as she realized what was happening. “Oh my god! You are the Angel of Death, the Grim Reaper. You’re here to end my life.” She backed up to the wall. Peepers stopped and watched her as she slid to the floor.
“Does Regina desire love?”
She looked up at him and mumbled, “Yes, but I don’t want to die.”
“Death where Regina find love.”
“Really?”
“Regina’s mother and father wait.”
“Mommy— Daddy,” she whispered.
Peepers sat beside her. Her head leaned on his shoulder.
“Will it hurt?” she said.
“Nothing like pain of empty heart.” He held her head as he slid her back to the floor. She closed her eyes and allowed him to gently release her head and fold her arms over her belly.
“I’m coming, Mommy and Daddy. I love you both,” she whispered in preparation for crossing over.
Peepers stood above her with his feet planted beside each of her hips. Regina’s eyes remained closed. “I can’t wait to see you. I’m ready. I’m ready to feel your love and to love both of you.”
Peepers silently unsheathed his dark sword. He smiled as he placed the pointed tip to her breastbone and waited.
Regina stopped praying and opened her eyes to see the sword pressed against her. The sight was too much for her and she shut her eyes tight. “Please don’t make it hurt. I’m almost there, Mommy and Daddy.”
Peepers laughed and her eyes sprung open. “Grim Reaper,” he chuckled. He raised the sword and slashed it across her chest. She screamed and looked down at the foot-long gash oozing with blood.
“Peepers no angel. Peepers more like vampire myth,” he said. His sword rose above her. She screamed and attempted to squeeze free through his legs. The sword sliced through the air and stopped as it chopped into her shoulder. Regina’s screams intensified. Peepers face filled with joy as he drank in her fear. He pried the sword from her bone and raised it above his head. She looked up in terror and held out her hand to stop his blow. Swoosh! Her hand flew from her arm. Blood squirted from the stump.
She became woozy from the extreme horror and loss of blood. Her head turned to the side. Before she passed out, Peepers reached down and grabbed her face. He jerked her head back to face him. Her eyes rolled into her head. He shook her and waited for her focus to return to him. Then, with one hand still holding her face, he lowered the sword to her throat and leisurely carved to the bone.
He leaned his head to her neck and breathed deep as her last breath gurgled from the blood-filled gash.
Chapter 24
Brenda looked back at Sammy fast asleep in the back seat. “He’s already out,” she said as she turned and looked at her father driving the car.
“He takes after his mother. You used to fall asleep as soon as the engine started.”
Brenda smiled. “Really, you never told me that.”
“Oh sure, sometimes when we put you to bed, you wouldn’t stop crying. Your mother and I would put you in the car and drive around the neighborhood a few times to get you to sleep. It worked like a charm. Most times you were out before we got out of the driveway.”
“Why didn’t you guys tell me about that? It might have come in handy when Sammy was teething.”
“I guess it didn’t come up because your mother died before Sammy was born, and…well, I, eh…”
“It’s okay, Daddy. You’re here now, and that’s all that matters.”
Sam gritted his teeth and punched the dashboard in front of him. The Peepers figure bounced in front of him where it was tucked between the window and the dashboard.
“It’s okay, Daddy, really.”
“No, it’s not okay. I should have been there for you and your mother. I should be there for you and Sammy. It’s not okay.”
Brenda checked to see if Sammy was still sleeping. Then she looked back at her father. “It wasn’t your fault. The doctors told you not to blame yourself for what happened. You did your best.”
Sam stopped the car at a red light and took in a deep breath before slowly letting it out.
“I’m sorry, Bren, it’s just that it wasn’t supposed to be this way. You all deserved better.”
“Look, Dad, you don’t have to go with us to church tomorrow. It’s a big step and if you’re not ready—”
“No, I’m okay. I need to focus on today forward. I want to spend more time with the two of you.”
“But it’s okay if you decide not to go. I shouldn’t have brought it up. How ’bout we go to brunch together afterwards? We’ll meet you at the diner.”
“No, I should go with you. God knows I don’t deserve to be there, but as long as I’m not there to ask for his forgiveness, he might be okay with it.”
The light turned green and Sam pressed on the gas. Peepers slid back from the window and teetered on the front edge of the dashboard. Sam pushed it back against the window.
“I’m not going to argue with that logic,” Brenda said. “You may not have attended church since long before I was born, but I’m sure you know it doesn’t work that way. You have to stop beating yourself up.”
Sam didn’t respond. He was lost in his own thoughts and Brenda became concerned from the despair in his face. “Why don’t you stay with us tonight? I’ll make popcorn and we can watch a movie or something. Or sports, if there’s a game on; we can watch it together. I won’t mind.”
Her offer succeeded in rescuing him from his thoughts. “Sports? Since when did you want to watch any sports? Do you even know what sports are playing this time of year?” He laughed.
Brenda laughed with him. “Okay, I’m guessing—baseball?”
“Good guess,” Sam said.
“I don’t care what we watch. I just think it would be nice to spend more time with my daddy.”
“That sounds nice, and I appreciate your willingness to sit through a baseball game, but I know what you’re doing. You’re worried about me.”
“I always worry about you.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. I’m doing fine. Really, I’m good.” He drove up Brenda’s driveway and put the car in park.
“Are you sure, because I make some mean popcorn.”
“I’m sure, Bren,” he said. He looked back at Sammy, still sleeping in the back seat. “Let me help you get him in the house.” Sammy’s eyes opened and he looked at their loving faces watching him. He yawned and stretched.
“I don’t think we’ll need any help. He doesn’t like being carried when he’s awake,” she said.
“Oh, that’s right, he’s a big boy now,” Sam said.
Brenda got out and opened the rear door. “There’s my big boy.” She helped Sammy out of the car and held his hand as she leaned through the passenger window. “The service starts at ten. It’s okay if you change your mind. We’ll sit in the back so it won’t be hard to find us.”
Sam smiled at his daughter and told her he would see them both at ten. Brenda turned and walked toward the house.
Sam waited until she was
safely inside before backing out of her driveway. He pressed the gas and turned the wheel left to navigate a bend in the road. The sudden jolt sent the Peepers figure flying from the dashboard. Sam’s right hand jetted out to catch the figure, but he was too late and the figure landed on the passenger seat. With the car on a straight road, Sam looked down to see the figure standing upright with its back resting against the seat.
“Wow, what are the odds?” he whispered to himself as he glanced back at the precariously positioned statue. His focus returned to the road and from his right he heard, “My name is Peepers.” Sam’s head spun toward the sound. He looked at the motionless figure, shook the crazy from his head, and looked back at the road.
“I represent the Guild of Fallen Clowns.”
Sam turned back to the figure again. “What the fuck is wrong with me?” he said before returning to his driving.
“On this day, your life will change.”
These words sent Sam into a nearby parking lot, where he slammed on his brakes and parked the car. He looked back at the figure, which remained in the impossible upright position next to him.
“It can’t be,” he said. He reached for the volume button on his radio and turned counterclockwise. It didn’t move. He twisted it clockwise and the radio clicked on with the sound of Heart’s “Crazy on You” playing.
Wild man’s world is cryin’ in pain. What you gonna do when everybody’s insane.
He flicked it off and looked back to the figure. His right hand moved to within a few inches of it and stopped. After a short pause, his index finger jutted out and pushed into its shoulder. It showed no resistance as it fell over on the seat. Tears welled in Sam’s eyes and he leaned forward with both arms hugging the steering wheel. “This can’t be happening. Please don’t do this to me again, God. I can’t go back there.” He sobbed for a minute before regaining his composure. His right arm lowered from the steering wheel and he turned for another look at the figure. It remained motionless on its side, where he left it.
Sam sighed and raised his head to look up to the sky through the front windshield. The brick wall of the building in front of him blocked his view. A neon sign flashed “Riverside Bar & Grill.”