Devil In A White Dress

Fifty Three

Cowen and Thembi rushed from their home in the BMW 7 Series with both anxiety and astonishment bursting. Today, he was going to see his daughter after waiting dozen years. His little baby was coming home and nothing could explain the confusion as to why she'd decided to.

It was October 9, 2008. The same cursed day Emma dissected, stabbed, mutilated Peter and Willie, and mauled Susanna Towers to death, Cowen watched Thembi go down hard during a brawl against a ten-year old Melinda. She was rowdy since that age, dishonest, careless and disheveled but part of Cowen still supported her. She was daddy's best girlfriend. Melinda ran away on that night and overstayed her welcome in her boyfriend's house.

The two went out partying, drinking, fornicating and doing whatever hooligan teenagers did for their whole life. Thembi didn't talk to Cowen during their daughter's absence because of how broken and demented she was. Hell broke loose in those times. It took two years before Melinda was influenced to return. The same thing happened at sixteen; right after prom night, Melinda ran away again. Thembi believed a demon had actually possessed their daughter.

Or maybe, their house had been infested with some evil spirit because she never knew why Cowen kept his cool and pretended his life was still in the brink of sanity when he knew well that everything had turned into a big turmoil of never-ending nightmares. After she'd ran that day, she was never found until her eighteenth birthday landed.

She came back, and Cowen was the one to open the door on her arrival. Scratches and bruises were visible around her neck, but they had turned very latent when she entered the dark of their living room. Her back illuminated physical abuse from someone with ill intentions.

Now Melinda was all grown up and deep into working towards her dreams of becoming an artist. When she refused to come home and see mommy and daddy after finishing college, they were no longer bothered till she decided to come back again.

Driving towards the cinema a few blocks away from work; Cowen saw the confusion in Thembi's eyes as she clutched her bulging tummy and listened to an ABBA song on her I-pod. She's nervous, Cowen muttered to himself, and indeed his wife was.

"You don't look so happy," Cowen said to her, knowing well she couldn't hear him from the racket in her ears. She unplugged her earpiece just to be sure it was just the music that was speaking.

"You nervous?", Cowen inquired plainly.

"Yeah. I really am, Matthew", Thembi confessed, "I'm shivering. Really. I can't believe she wants to come home and actually see us."

"It's okay. I know. I feel the same way," Cowen sympathized, "You don't have to say anything. Just stand there and look sexy while she talks."

Thembi giggled. "I'm sure she'd be taller than the last time I saw her. I don't know anything about Melinda anymore. Who she's dating? Who she's seeing? Who she's fucking? If she's now a faggot? If she's been to prison? I just don't know. It's all bitter memories."

Cowen noticed the pain and anger in her tone of voice rising and calmed her down.

"The only way she can understand us is if we both be civil," he said.

"This is hard, Matthew," Thembi confessed, unplugging the earpiece again, "I can't. I don't think I can be civil while standing there and looking at her."

"Same here", Cowen lied, understanding how slow she said those words, "I've been going through some weird shit lately."

"Enlighten me. I'm all ears," Thembi replied, "I don't want to bother myself with this."

"I walked up to the diner," he went on, "I asked Betsy what Melinda and her friends were up to.."

"Who the fuck's Betsy?", Thembi inquired in a rush, taking out a cigarette.

"You remember. Red-haired waitress. On my way out, this blind man whom I've never ever seen before walks right up to me and calls me by my name. He said, "I saw the devil today. And she wore a WHITE dress."

"Devil in a WHITE dress," Thembi voiced out, "Sounds like one of those trashy Mexican hocus pocus tales they tell to their kids."

"Doesn't it sound too sinister?", Cowen inquired calmly, "I'm sure it's the gimmick of a dangerous serial killer."

"It's definitely a joke on my opinion," Thembi finalized as she picked the lighter, "You're popular. Someone's obviously trying to pull your legs, Matthew. Wake up."

"He was very skeptical, I know. But he said something that spooked me. He said Only I can stop her. He kept on using the word her. Like he knew this woman personally. Let's not forget he's blind. These things don't happen to me occasionally, Thembi. And I'm spooked."

"Still not buying it, Matt," Thembi said, "Neither should you. You know Devil in a WHITE dress, there was a song I heard about it."

"Hey. No smoking," Cowen hushed his wife, his hand swiped the cigarette out of her mouth as she was just minutes away from igniting the lighter.

"Get bent, Matthew", she grunted below her breath and accepting defeat.

They parked a few yards away from the cinema, premiering Hansel & Gretel, Birds of Prey and Ghostbusters 2020. When Cowen saw Melinda, anxiety vanished from his mind. When Thembi saw Melinda, she wasn't feeling so high-and-mighty about it anymore. When Melinda saw her mommy and daddy, she wasn't smiling though she looked erratic in her beautiful dark ponytail, blue jacket dress and pink Ballerinas. The marks of her former abuse were still imprinted on her face but it hadn't been visible like the last time.

Cowen was the first to hug her, right before Thembi, whom she didn't know was about to deliver her little brother. It had been a while.

"I might not stay for a long time," Melinda said while smoking a cigar.

"We understand," Cowen agreed to his daughter's choice.

"I've got two new jobs," she continued, "Writing articles for the paper back in Queens and getting help in establishing my art gallery. So, I'm a bit overworked now."

"We understand," Cowen solemnly replied, but he needed to get things straight. He didn't care about those things, all he wanted to know is if her former abuser got in touch with her, or for some reason, finally had knowledge of her whereabouts.

"Has he had contact with you?", he bravely asked his daughter, unable to resist the temptation to look at the fading scars left on her face.

"Who?", Melinda shot back.

"Rick," Thembi now joined in to back him up.

"No," she simply stated, "I'm sure he'd be dead by the time he found out where I was hiding from him."

"Don't be so certain, sweetie," Cowen said, "I know a detective in the Department. He can be on the lookout for you in case."

"It's not necessary," Melinda spoke firmly, "I know you're both doing the best to protect me, but I've been out there on my own for a very long time. But I can't pretend that all the things he had done to me back then are dead and gone. I will always remember it, no matter how it hurts."

"I know how it feels, sweetie," Thembi spoke as she embraced Melinda in her shoulders, "But do you promise not to run away without letting us know. You promise to talk to us anytime you're not comfortable with the way things are?"

"Yeah. It's a deal", Melinda smiled, grabbing both her mother and little brother in a hug.