The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven

Chapter 21

Glenn Miller’s “In the Mood” was blasting through the speaker, much to Teddy’s annoyance. He made the mistake of stating he listened to nothing but classical music, so I was trying to liven up his house with jazz. After all, they were very similar, so surely that would not upset his nerves. The long frown on his face informed me that I was wrong, but I danced to the music next to him anyways.

“Come on,” I taunted with an urgent wave of my hand for him to come over. “Dance with me.”

“Sela, I am cooking,” he sighed out with distress. His statement was true, for he was in fact busily working over the stove-top to prepare our dinner.

I childishly lifted up his dish towel and smacked him lightly in the arm. “Dance with me.”

“Afterwards.”

“Promise?”

Teddy grabbed a hold of the towel to tug me towards him. “Promise.” He pecked his lips over mine with a sudden urgency. “Now, have a seat.”

“It’s not ready yet,” I complained. “Why must I sit?”

“The answer is simple,” he reasoned with a raise of his hands. “You are a distraction.”

“A good one though?”

“Please, can I have my normal music back on? I must concentrate.”

I laid a hand over his solid back and leaned over to kiss him on the side of his neck. “Yes, Teddy,” I purred in a naughty way, and then quickly scampered off before he could kiss me back.

The stereo, of course, was in his music room. I walked down the hallway, and then began to skip as I approached the open doorway. My mood had lightened since Teddy and I made up, and now all I wanted was to be incredibly affectionate and near him all the time. He was the complete opposite this evening, but I knew there had to be a logical reason behind it. The music was switched back to his normal radio station, and then I turned the volume down since a commercial was currently playing.

Luna leapt off Teddy’s piano, energized enough from her long nap for her to join me. I lifted her off the ground with supreme happiness. Luna purred in my arms, snuggling her head upon my chest with her blue eyes wide open to take in the sight of me. I swayed her from side to side as I walked down the long hall, humming an unknown song to counteract the droning of a nonsensical commercial. I paused in front of the staircase, and found myself humming with tighter lips. There was an eerie feeling when I looked up at the staircase; a chill ran down my spine that was beyond explanation. I looked downwards at my bare feet, taking in the coldness of the floor. My mind suddenly recalled the first time I met Teddy, and his familiar voice wafting past an open window down to the gardens where I was currently waiting for him. Was he not speaking to someone that day?

I stepped forward quickly and entered the kitchen to ask Teddy about this bewildering scenario that happened some time ago. “Teddy,” I called out. He was too focused on stirring around the mashed potatoes to pay attention to me. I tapped him lightly on his upper arm, which was enough for him to turn to me. “Teddy.”

A warm smile spread across his face and he leaned forward to peck a kiss over my brow. “Yes, my dear.”

“I have a question.” His wooden spoon continued to stir around the silver pot, mixing in the butter and herbs that he had just added to give the mashed potatoes more flavour. I leaned against the side of the countertop and looked down at Luna for some extra strength. “Does anyone live here with you?”

“You know I live alone,” he calmly answered me.

“Always?”

“Yes, of course.”

“There is no other woman here then?” His hand froze for a moment, and then he darted his eyes in my direction for half a second. “Is there?” Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“No, I live alone.”

“Alright,” I submitted, even though I did not fully believe him. I moved away from him to set Luna down on the ground. Her white fur was brushed off the front of my dress and then I moved over to the kitchen sink to wash my hands. “It’s only…”

He laid his wooden spoon down on the side of the pot. “What is it?” groaned Teddy with his posh accent sharper than ever.

“When I came here on Monday, I thought I heard you talking to a woman.”

“But that’s impossible.”

“Yes, I know that.” I blinked nervously in front of him. “No one lives upstairs with you?”

“I am all alone.” The spoon was taken up from the pot with a sharp movement of his wrist. “You must have heard me talking to myself.”

“It was just coffee,” I recited slowly to remind him. “Why would you say that to yourself?”

“Because I liked you from the very beginning.” He turned away from me to retrieve something from the fridge. I observed the way his hand tightened over the handle, the tenseness of his jaw. “And I felt guilty about entertaining the idea. You were supposed to work here, and that was all.” He came over to me with a carton of milk in his hand. “And I wanted more than that.”

I laid a hand over the side of his arm. “Yes, we both knew that from then.” My hand stroked the side of him softly, ruffling up his clean white dress shirt that he was still wearing. “I like the apron you put on. The stripes are nice.” He looked down at the sky-blue stripes that were incredibly thin across the white fabric. “You look handsome in it.”

“In an apron?” he asked with disbelief. The container was slowly poured over the piping hot potatoes to add to the creamy texture he had already crafted. “And you find me handsome? Good.”

I giggled beside him while doing my best not to roll my eyes. “Teddy, come here.” He lowered the milk carton and followed my lead. I stopped behind the back of a chair and leaned myself against it. “I want you to kiss me.”

“Kiss you?”

I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck. “Yes.”

“If I kiss you, I won’t be able to stop.”

“You know that’s not true.” My fingers dragged along the back of his neck. I could feel my eyes darkening before him, pupils dilating with desire. “Just one.”

He physically removed my arms from around the back of his neck. “After,” he whispered. Teddy turned back to the stovetop before I had time to respond, and took up the spoon to smash it hard into the pot. My right hand rubbed the back of my neck as I tasted defeat, wondering why Teddy did not want to kiss me just now. I looked over to my right, catching sight of the open doorway and wondered what could possibly be upstairs that he was so desperate to hide. If I was subtle enough I could find a way to sneak upstairs, but I did not want to ruin a perfectly good night.

Another time then, I decided, before I turned my gaze back to him.