The Boy With Two Hearts

Prologue

The year was 1982. The Russian spacecraft Venera 14 just landed on Venus a couple of weeks ago. I was sitting at the kitchen table, fidgeting nervously. I looked up at the kitchen clock. It still said 5:30. I checked my watch. It also said 5:30. Where is he? I thought anxiously. My husband, Grey, was supposed to come home half an hour ago. I was really worried about him. I waited five more minutes before I got up and walked over to the phone.

Suddenly I heard a banging at the door.

"Hello?" I called. The pounding continued and whoever it was sounded angry. "Hello?" I repeated. Still nothing. Rain started to drip off the roof. The door bursted open. I screamed and ducked behind the island. I heard boots stomping throughout the house. Leaving muddy footprints. I peeked out from behind the counter to see who it was. It was...Grey.

"Hello?" Grey called. "Anyone home?" He tried again. "Scarlet?" I stood up. Grey saw me out of the corner of his eye. "Hey Scarlet." He started to walk towards me. "What were you doing back there.

I considered lying and saying that I was getting something from down there, but I stopped myself. I suddenly felt angry, and almost annoyed. "You want to know what I was doing down there?" I asked angrily. "I was hiding. Ya know why? Because you just bursted in here with no warning and scared the heck out of me!"

Grey looked dumbfounded and said,

"Well what else was I supposed to do when you lock the door?!"

"You could have used your key!" I replied. "And where have you been, I've been worried sick about you!"

"I was at work!" Grey shouted in my face. His face was turning an ugly red I had never seen before. "Jesus, Scarlet, you want me to make more money so we can have a family and then you get all in my face when I work extra hours!" He fires at me.

"There is a difference between working late and not telling me about it!" We both turned and looked out opposite windows.

"Listen Scarlet, I...I just want to say-"

"No" I said cutting him off. "I think you've said enough." I grabbed my coat off the hall bench. "I guess you got your wish." I opened the door. "Now I won't be all in your face." I shut the door behind me. I can hear Grey breaking things and screaming at no one.

"Now where do you think your going in this weather?" I turned. Our nosy neighbor, Miss Green, was tending to her garden. In the pouring rain. In her nightgown.

"Oh nowhere" I answer. Miss Green always wanted to know what's going on in our lives. She's going blind in one eye and her curly white hair is always up in a big bun.

"Well c'mon now, we both know that ain't true" She was from Louisiana and always talked kind of weird.

"Good night Miss Green" I said as I sprinted to the red car in the driveway.

I started to drive but I didn't know where to. Both my parents hated me because I had run away and married Grey at just nineteen. And my sister, Carmen, was in Turkey training to be a teacher or something. Me, I wanted to be an engineer just like Grey. He always believed in me. But I knew our relationship was starting to disintegrate.

So I just kept driving. Away from Grey. Away from nosy Miss Green. Away from those who didn't believe in me.