Page 132 of Evil Hearts

Chapter Three

Francesca

I t’s been a few hours since my rendezvous with Victor. He’s always been a reliable lay. I have to get the faux flowers out of here before he gets back though. Victor is a surprisingly jealous florist.

The small stain on my shirt. Fuck. How did I forget about that? Closing my office door, I take off my blouse and pull my spare out of my top desk drawer.

I learned my lesson about being unprepared when a small child threw applesauce on me in the early days. I will have to make a mental note to replace that.

My phone vibrates on my desk. Victor’s face illuminates the screen.

Victor:

I think a meeting tomorrow to go over things again is absolutely necessary, Frankie. Perhaps by that time, I won’t walk in on faux arrangements. You wound me.

Snorting, I turn my screen off and pull on the gray blouse. I have business to attend to. Starting with donating the silk flowers to the local cemetery. Mister Walton, the caretaker, will be here to retrieve them within the hour.

What do I have to do in the meantime? I should probably do my administrative computer work. I have files to clean up.

After an hour of droning on behind my computer, I get an alert someone is at my back door. Mister Walton appears on my ring camera and tips his hat.

Running out of the office and down the hallway, nothing but the sound of my shoes clacking against the tiled floor echoes around me as I get to the back door. I unlock the deadbolt and open the door.

“Good morning Miss Stein. I’m here for those flowers you wanted to donate,” he says with a smile.

“Right this way, Sir,” I say with a smile as I step aside.

Mr Walton walks in ahead of me and I close the door as he does. We take two steps into the hallway before he stops turns around and looks at me.

“How are things with you and Victor?” He asks with a mischievous gleam in his eye.

“What do you mean how are things with me and Victor? He is my florist and a pretty good one if I do say so myself.”

I don’t know what kind of answer he’s looking for here.

“You know what I mean. You two are the talk of the town. Everybody knows that you two are a couple with as much foolin’ around as the two of you do,” Mister Walton says with a shrug.

“A couple? Me and Victor? I suppose if we had to put a label on our relationship it would be something similar to that.”

Mr Walton shakes his head and sighs. “Young people these days.”

What an amusing sentiment. I am considerably older than everyone in this town. I suppose it’s for the best that they are ignorant of that. If the church found out, I would have to relocate again. I would rather not be interrogated and burned again.

Mister Walton walks ahead of me and stops just short of my office where I have the silk flowers gathered in two cardboard boxes. He points to them and I nod. He picks up the larger of the two and I pick up the smaller one.

“Thanks for the donations, Frankie. Some of these graves wouldn’t have anything on ‘em if it weren’t for you…” his voice trails off.

“You know I will always try to give what I can,” I say, trailing behind him to the back door.

We get the flowers loaded up in his truck and he tips his hat at me again before climbing in. Mister Walton is a strange one, but always so pleasant. Walking back inside, I lock the door behind me and walk back to my office. There has been a weird influx of people driving around the back lately. Better safe than sorry.

As I walk Into the office, I see my phone buzz once and the screen turns black. Victor is probably texting me. He is the only one who ever does. I wonder what he needs. It hasn’t been long since I saw him.

Mister Walton’s words echo in my mind. Are we a couple? The thought makes my chest feel fuzzy. Maybe I should talk to Victor about it. What are we exactly?

Victor:

Can I come by tonight? Are you busy?

Then a minute later.

Victor:

I don’t think I can wait til tomorrow.

Laughing, I text him back.

Me:

Tonight’s fine. My last service ends at 6. See you at 8?