More Babbling On

Previously
“I guess I don’t know. Who do I think I killed anyway?”
“Now we are getting somewhere.”

She looked out the window, looking for him. His “walks” never usually were this long. Something was wrong, she knew it.

Continued...
“I am so sick of his shit” she told herself. She could not be late to work again on account of waiting on him to come home. He was usually useless for hours after a walk any. She would shock her manager instead, and be early for once.
She put out the cigarette she had finally gotten lit off the stove's eye and opened her dresser. She laid out a clean uniform on the bed, placed her apron and “Alice” nametag on top. She hated that name tag. Her name was not “Alice” and they knew it. They gave it to her because they said she looked like the actress that played “Alice” on that T.V. show from before she was born. She had seen an episode on Nick at Nite once to see what was so funny about it. It did not help at all. She did not see any resemblance between herself and the TV Alice except they both had dark hair and waited tables. She was thankful they didn’t call her “Flo”. She decided that today she would demand a new nametag with “Dana” on it. The joke had gotten old.
She looked out the window for him for five more minutes before going to shower. She loved her showers, but this time she could not relax. She kept leaning out to try and hear if the phone rang or the door opened. She rushed and washed purely essentials and got out within five minutes. He would be so proud, but he was still not there to have seen it.
She went to her nightstand for her post-shower cigarette and remembered why she cared so much he was out in the first place.
“Bastard!” she screamed.
Charlie exited the liquor store with two packs of cigarettes. He always bought two packs because he and his wife didn’t smoke the same brand. He placed her pack in his right breast jacket pocket, straightened his tie, checked to make sure his lighter was where he last placed it, and sat back down in the empty storefront.
His thoughts had left him alone for the past ten minutes. What he had been hoping for turned out to be worse once he got it. He started to doubt his innocence. He ran back in his mind through the last few days, looking for any blank spots. Any holes in his memory, but every moment he could account for.
He decided the next logical step would be to get a newspaper and look for some unsolved murder that happened recently. He got back up and went back into the liquor store and bought yesterday’s newspaper and two packs of cigarettes. He always bought two packs of cigarettes because he and his wife didn’t smoke the same brand. He placed her pack in his left breast jacket pocket, checked to make sure his lighter was where he last placed it, and decided he really needed to get back before Dana started to worry.
“Is Dana dead? You might be walking into a room full of cops and the media and just when they decide they are looking for you, in you walk. Do you think you should go back?”
“Christ” he said has he collapsed back down in the storefront. “I killed Dana?”
“Not yet,” His thoughts had once again returned, “but there is still time.”
“Already done it once” a new thought said, “so what is a second?”
“Does he have a reason?”
“Did he need one before?”

Continued...