Just as Molly and I were getting ready to leave, Ruby called. I recognized the tune I’d chosen for her ring. I fished for my phone in my bag and swiped to answer, "Hello stranger."
"I know. I'm sorry, we got a little busy with a wedding at work. How are you, and how's Molly?" Ruby asked.
"We’re fine. We're actually on our way out for a bit of shopping.”
Ruby squealed. If there was anything she loved more than beauty, it was shopping. "Can I come? I’m bored at work and it’s my lunch hour."
"Sure," I said.
We arranged to meet in an ice cream shop on Fifth Street.
"Ruby will meet us there," I told Molly.
She grinned in response. “I like Ruby.”
“Yes, she’s lovely, isn’t she?”
Molly nodded enthusiastically.
The Uber was already waiting. I got Molly in and we were on our way. I’d opted to use an Uber for the ease in leaving, plus it was difficult for someone to follow you when you were using an Uber.
Still, I turned back to look out the back window.
At first, I didn’t even want to go out of the house because of my fear of meeting Stan, but I told myself I couldn’t live like that. I wouldn’t allow him to turn me into a mouse. I relaxed when I saw no suspicious cars following us and leaned back in the seat. “Is pink still your favorite color?" I asked Molly.
She shook her head. "No, I like blue now," she said softly.
I smiled happily. Before too long, no one would be able to differentiate between Molly and any other five-year-old girl. Fingers crossed, it wouldn’t be long before she would be chatty, cheerful, and carefree.
Just like a kid should be.
We got off on Fifth Street and I held Molly's hand as we hurried into the ice cream shop.
Molly spotted Ruby first. She called her name and dashed between tables to where Ruby was seated.
Ruby jumped to her feet and enveloped Molly in her arms. "I have missed you so much, beautiful girl," Ruby was saying when I reached them.
"I missed you," Molly said shyly.
"Molly is doing so well," Ruby said to me.
I reached out and stroked Molly's hair. "Yes, she's doing awesome."
We sat down and ordered ice cream. Vanilla for me while Ruby and Molly ordered a rainbow mixture of ice cream flavors.
"Yuk!" I said.
"You don’t know how to choose ice cream," Ruby said while she and Molly giggled.
We kept our conversation mild and included Molly. Ruby was good with kids and she kept Molly giggling throughout. When the ice cream came, Ruby and Molly laughed uproariously as they dotted ice cream on each other's noses.
Afterwards, we went to a kid’s store and had a ball picking cute outfits for Molly. With Ruby for company, the outing became a dress up party. We laughed until our stomachs ached.
“I wanted to get a dress as well,” I said to Ruby. “It might be a bit boring for Molly.”
“Say no more.” Ruby nodded. “I saw a kids’ play area downstairs. Find us there when you’re done.”
I paid for the outfits and we said goodbye outside the store. I knew exactly where to get the dress I had in mind. The store was on the third floor of the mall and I took the elevator. I loved clothes stores and I forced myself not to linger as I ogled all the outfits. One day, maybe, just maybe I would see my own designs in some of these stores.
I saw my dress from a distance, hanging from a hanger away from the rest, as if it had been waiting for me. Leafy green and sexy as hell. I grabbed it and carried it with me to the changing rooms.
I grinned as I stripped, imagining Luke’s reaction when he saw me. It fit me like a second skin, but it was the plunging neckline that stole all the attention. It made my breasts look even bigger than they were and squeezed my tits into a deep valley of cleavage.
I adjusted it and stared at myself in the mirror. The leafy green color went well with my red hair. My phone vibrated and I reached for it. Probably Ruby, asking why I had taken so long.
As I read the message, my blood went cold.
Beautiful girl. Whose daughter?
My eyes darted around the changing room. He had seen me, and I had no doubt in my mind about it. My legs trembled. I needed to get out of the mall. Fast. I gripped the hem of the dress and as I was about to pull it up, the doorknob turned and a figure entered.
A scream rose up my throat, but before it could come out, he clamped his hand on my mouth. Fear gripped me and I couldn’t think.
With his other hand, he pulled me against him, squeezing my chest, so my breasts were pushed half out of the dress. His eyes dropped to my cleavage. “You’ve become even sexier than I remembered,” he growled.
I tried to dislodge the hand clamped on my mouth. It wouldn’t move an inch. I tried to calm myself down. To recapture my cool. We were in a public place. He wasn’t going to hurt me. Except he could break my neck and leave me slumped on the ground and no one would know.
Until Ruby raised the alarm and they searched for me all over the mall, no one would be the wiser. I thought of Luke. I thought of my sister and her family and I made a promise. If I got out of this, I would call her and make more of an effort in keeping touch.
Tears sprung to my eyes. I didn’t want to die. I was just beginning to live. For the first time ever, things were looking up. I had a chance at making a success of my life and being happy.
“Tears? Have you missed me?” Stan whispered in my ear. “I’ve missed
