U, Me & She

Chapter 1 - Case & Point

  She slouches behind the steering wheel of the drivers side seat to go unnoticed as she watches him and her walk by.  In denial about what she is witnessing, she sees what's occurring but cannot believe that he would do such a terrible thing to her.

  Cringing at the sight of the two of them holding hands, she makes an attempt to call his cell phone only to be greeted immediately by his voicemail.  Wanting to leave a message, she hangs up at a loss for words as he made no attempt to retrieve his phone to review his missed calls.  As he and her stroll a great distance from her vehicle, she sits up in her seat and proceeds to reapplying her lipstick while glancing at herself in the mirror.

  "What is it that she has, that I don't?" She asks herself as she adjusts her shirt to show more cleavage before tossing her loose excess items, spread across the passenger seat into her purse.  Suddenly, she hears a vibration from her phone from inside her purse as she quickly retrieves it to see who was calling, only to be disappointed to see that it was yet another of the many phone calls from her not so secret admirer Phillip.

  Ignoring his call, her phone illuminates a missed call notification as she tosses it back into her purse and proceeds to exiting the vehicle.  As she presses the lock button from her remote, the vehicle chirps indicating it is locked as she glances down the street to locate the couples whereabouts, then spots them throughout a massive crowd.

  Noting their location, she puts three quarters into the parking meter then makes her way through the entrance of a nearby restaurant.  Immediately, she was greeted by the hostess, "Welcome to Henry's.  How many people are we seating?"  "Just one." She replies, with a courteous smile.  The waitress approaches her with menu in hand and says "Ma'am please follow me." As she follows the waitress, she notices that she was being led to a seat at which she didn't desire and requested a balcony seat atop the roof of the establishment.

  "That's not a problem ma'am." The waitress says as she proceeds to leading her towards the stairs to the balcony.  Upon reaching the top of the stairs, it appears that very few people were utilizing the roof top at this time as the waitress looks around and says "Ma'am, is it anywhere in particular you would like to be seated?"  She spots a table that has a clear view of the street traffic and chooses it by pointing it out to the waitress.

  Upon being seated, she is given a menu to review.  "Ma'am I'd like to welcome you once again to Henry's. Our special of the day is clam chowder.  I'd like to also inform you that it is now happy hour and all drinks are 50% off for the next two hours.  Can I start you off with something to drink and an appetizer?"  Glancing at the menu while occasionally looking down from the side of the building, she tells the waitress "Can I get a long island iced tea with an order of mozzarella sticks?" "You sure can." The waitress says as she jots the order in her tablet.

  "One long island iced tea and a basket of mozzarella sticks coming up.  Let me know when you are ready and I'll be right back with your order." She then smiles at the waitress as she continues reviewing the menu to choose her meal.  She sees the waitress head down the stairwell as she quickly grabs her purse and unzips it pulling out several .30 caliber (7.62 mm) bullets and wrapping them neatly inside a napkin.  Looking over the side, she takes a few moments to spot them through the numerous pedestrians that flooded the streets of downtown Charleston.

  Keeping an eye on them, she returns to her seat and finishes reviewing the menu to choose her evening meal as the waitress returns with her drink and appetizer.  Placing the items on the table, she says "Here you go ma'am, please be advised that the mozzarella sticks are fresh and that they are very hot.  Wouldn't want you to burn yourself." The waitress then pulls out her pen and tablet and asks if she is ready to order.

  "Yes, I'll take the lasagna, with garlic bread and a side of broccoli." The waitress pauses for a second to jot down the details of her order as she sits with her hand carefully placed over the rolled up napkin.  "Okay ma'am, let me repeat your order, you'll be having the lasagna with garlic bread and a side of brocoli?" She nods her head and replies "Yes." As the waitress grabs her menu and says "Your order should be ready in about ten minutes.  Is there anything else I can get you?" Smiling at the waitress she says "No ma'am, thank you." As she takes a sip of her drink.

  The waitress departs as she resumes her eery observation of the couple from the balcony.  As they waited in line for a carriage ride, she became nauseous at the site of them as they provided everyone around them a premier of their public display of affection.

  Suddenly, she is startled by an alternate waitress who approached her table with a box.  "Excuse me ma'am, are you Ms. Jamie Taylor?" The waitress asks.  "Yes." She responds as the waitress tells her that she has a gift for her from someone anonymous.  Observing the box, it was covered with gift wrap and had a large bow on top.  "Thank you." she says as she grabs it from her and adds "I wonder who it could be from?" The waitress smiles at her and says "Somebody's a lucky girl." Before the waitress goes about her way.

  She waits with the box sitting atop the table until the waitress is completely out of her sight before she proceeds to opening it.  As she lifts the top, she looks inside as the site before her exuded that of joy.  Closing it quickly, she looks around to count the number of customers that sat near her to equal a total of four whom all sat at the same table.  Comfortable in knowing that the balcony guests meals achieved its goal, she watches them place a tip on the center of the table as they lethargically awaited their receipt.

  Moments later, their waitress approaches them with receipt in hand thanking them for coming by as her own waitress heads her way simultaneously with her order.  She sets the plate in front of her and takes the parmesan cheese shaker from the pouch of her apron and adds a layer of cheese atop her lasagna.  "Do you need anything else ma'am? The waitress asks as she shakes her head telling her that everything was perfect.  The waitress leaves once again to tend to other customers.

  Finally alone, she looks around before opening the box once again to reveal an already assembled .300 Winchester Magnum Sniper Rifle.  After loading the cartridge with bullets from the napkin, she inserts the magazine then sits along the ledge as steam rose from her plate.  In just the nick of time, she sees her opportunity as the couple board the carriage.   She adjusts her line of sight ensuring for the perfect shot.  Taking a deep breath, she rests her finger on the trigger then musters the courage to squeeze...