The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven

Chapter 20

Alone, I wandered over to the bakery at the end of the street. Teddy was busy at the bustling grocery store, which allowed me to escape from him for a little while to explore the village belonging to him. Steps away, I could already detect the scent of freshly baked bread. In the late afternoon it was a welcoming aroma, which filled me with anticipation for the rest of the night I would spend with Teddy.

I swung the glass door wide open, startled to find that I was the only customer inside the store. An elderly lady with dark coloured skin and incredibly short curly hair was quick to greet me. She was absolutely enthralled that a customer had finally stepped through her door. She immediately went around the wide counter, letting her hand slide over the glass case to bring herself closer to me. “Good afternoon!” the lady greeted me with a faint Jamaican accent. “My name is Marjorie. Pleasure to meet you. Now, how can I help you?”

“I was looking for a small cake. Perhaps, a dessert,” I quietly answered her.

“You’ve come to the right place. Come right this way!” she encouraged me, while waving out her hand. “We have Morning Glory coffee cake, caramelized apple loaves, chocolate banana cake, and a whole selection of fruit cheesecakes.” Marjorie motioned me forward to take a look through the glass. “A light velvety chocolate chiffon cake, with trimmings of Belgian chocolate. Perfect for anyone with a sweet tooth. If you want something plain then we have vanilla cake, or perhaps a simple carrot cake.”

“That sounds good!” I exclaimed, for it was my favourite flavour when eating pastries.

“Oh! But we have more too!” she shouted out. “Look! Red velvet, white pearl, toffee, and then we have our pies. Peach! Strawberry, blueberry, pineapple, and then…”

“I think Teddy would like something simple.”

“Teddy?” she laughed. “Is that the name of your son?”

“No, he is a friend,” I breathed out quickly. “Well, my boyfriend actually.”

“A nickname then? Oh! How adorable.” Marjorie’s smile was broad and well set upon her plump looking face. “Lovely. To give a name like that to your boyfriend.”

“He uses that name all the time,” I confessed. My finger pointed at the crumbled apple pie with creamy custard and raisins inside of it. “He will like that one,” I said with utter certainty.

“He goes by that name all the time?” she asked with surprise. Marjorie went around the corner to retrieve the selected item right away. “A grown man too.” She furrowed her eyebrows in a curious way. “I assume he is about your age.”

“No, Teddy is a little older than me.”

“A strange name,” she remarked with the corners of her eyebrows now quirking upwards. She was so puzzled by this situation that she forgot to pull out the pie. It was just then the door to the shop flew open and I heard the familiar tread of Teddy’s soft footsteps.

“Sela? You are still here,” he called out in a voice that rang with pleasure.

“Hello, Teddy.” I reached out for his arm, desiring him to stand close beside me. “We were just talking about you.” His face darkened substantially. “About your name,” I quickly explained. “Teddy.”

Marjorie was quick to intrude into our conversation. “I thought it was a cute sounding name!” she piped up. “Especially for a little boy.” She smiled at him agreeably, but Teddy could not reciprocate her feelings. “A nice pet name,” she added. “If I ever have another dog, I will give him that name.”

“Thank you,” he coldly replied, in a vain effort to hide his annoyance.

“I will just set your pie in a box, and then you can be on your way.” She turned around to retrieve the said item.

Teddy immediately looked down at me from his long prominent nose. “What did she tell you?” he demanded.

“We only talked about your name, that’s all.”

His jaw constricted, and a flare of anger flashed through his eyes. “What name?” he demanded with a true fierceness to his voice.

“Teddy, what’s wrong?” I accosted him, as the other lady returned to the room. “What did I say?”

He became cold and rigid beside me, which only aggravated me further.

My voice was raised with frustration as I added, “I only told her your name was Teddy! Not your full name! Not Theodore Woven.”

“Don’t!” he screamed out, but it was too late. He immediately unlatched his arm from mine and stormed out of the bakery as fast as he could.

My eyes widened in pure horror, for he never behaved this way around me. I could see his tall figure walking far away from the bakery and heading into the parking lot, without ever looking back at me.

“Theodore Woven,” Marjorie uttered with all astonishment. “In here? Well, good heavens.” She drew her hand up to cross herself, signaling a holy gesture that revealed her utter fear of this man that had just stepped into her shop. “You aren’t truly with him? Are you?”

I never answered her, for I was too dejected to even voice my thoughts aloud. A stack of bills was tossed over the counter-top, and with a small thanks, I picked up the heavy box of apple pie that was intended to go with our dinner for tonight. Needless to say I stormed out of there as fast as I could, probably from embarrassment and a sick overwhelming sense of shame. Perhaps, everyone was right all along. The world would have been better if I simply left Teddy Woven alone.

I stepped upon the sidewalk, combing back my hair with the tips of my fingers. I was upset to say the least, for I feared that this was all my fault. For some reason I keep saying the wrong things today, things that would only upset him. Perhaps, if I knew more about his past, I would not so easily step on his toes. The fact of the matter is that I did not want to hurt him, and yet, I continually find myself doing so.

Slowly I strode over the stark white sidewalk, looking over the tops of various cars in the parking lot to find the one belonging to Teddy. His car was easy to point out because it was so old, and the matte navy-blue shade was most peculiar in comparison to other modern day cars. The parking lot was full, mostly because people were going into shops last minute or lining outside of local restaurants to celebrate Saturday night. A long sigh escaped me, for my emotions were getting the better of me. Perhaps, I was a fool to entertain a romantic relationship with Teddy. Without knowing about his past, it would be impossible for us to continue this relationship further.

His head suddenly came into view, once he stepped out of his car doorway. I could hear the loud slamming of his door even from a distance. He rubbed his hand over the hood of his car profusely, as if he was trying to suppress his emotions before making his way over to me.

I leaned against a brick wall, not wanting to go Teddy when he was in a temperamental mood. When he was ready he would come to me, so I pressed the heavy box of pie against my stomach and let the lids of my eyes gradually close. The wind was faint against the side of my face; the ends of my hair brushed upwards to the side of my neck and cheek. I could hear the roaring of car engines and the sounds of laughter from the people enjoying their meals on the outdoor patios. The sound of Teddy’s footsteps appeared; that light patter with the faint scraping of his expensive leather brogues against the hard pavement. Once that distinguishable sound stopped I opened my eyes, and there he was, staring down at me with an apologetic look.

“None of this is your fault.”

“Yes, I know that,” I scolded him quite sharply.

A quirk of his right eyebrow rose upwards, for he was not used to seeing me in such an angry state. He licked his top lip quickly while lowering his handsome head. “Look, I am sorry.” He raised a hand to rest over my right shoulder, feeling the thin fabric of my sunny yellow dress. “I should have told you before to never mention my name aloud. At least, not here.”

“Why not?”

“I can’t tell you,” he sighed. Teddy looked over his shoulders as he heard a group of men walking down the sidewalk, more rowdy than most people as they headed to a tavern. “Not here,” he emphasized, after he raised his chin to finally look at me. “In the car.”

The box of pie was thrust into the center of his chest. “Here,” I rapped out with a deathly stare about me.

“I am sorry,” he meekly relayed, since he knew I was more than upset with him right now. “Let’s go.”

His left hand fell over mine gently; he interlaced our fingers together before giving it an affectionate squeeze. I followed him willingly, bringing my body close to his own before we entered the busy parking lot.

Was I a fool to be so in love with him, I wondered, to allow myself to feel this way? There was a suddenness to this all; the way I felt about him was new and strange. I could feel his careful gaze upon my side profile, fraught with worry that he should lose me after all. If I was smart, I would heed others’ advice about him, remember the red-flags that earnestly warned me to stay away from him. Someone with that many secrets could never give their whole life to me - their whole heart. Still, I had the strangest inclination that Teddy needed me far more than I ever could. I was his lifeline, that grain of sanity that he needed for his own well-being. I was his calming classical music, the never-ending silence of his house, the peaceful lapses of the ocean on a cool spring day. I was his inspiration and his

passion, an innocent flower that bloomed in all its joy. When I finally turned my head to look in his direction, catching that earnest look in his eyes, I began to realize that I was something he dearly needed. He was attracted to me from the start because of my pure, innocent nature. I was something untainted by the world, like the flowers that he cared for about his house. If he represented all that was darkness, then surely I represented all that was light.

“Sela, I am sorry for what I did back there,” he uttered in a broken voice, after we reached his car. “If you want me to take you back home…” He lowered his chin a margin, so he could no longer look me in the eyes. “I understand.”

“Why can’t I say your real name, Teddy?”

“Because of the history my family has here,” he articulated in a sorrowful way. “But I don’t want to get into details.”

“History?” I breathed out sharply. “What kind of history? That woman back there, Marjory, she had nothing but fear in her eyes when she found out your name. Teddy, what could your family have possibly ever done?”

“Terrible things.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he hushed. He turned his head to the left, gazing upon the full parking lot with uneasiness.

I laid a hand over the top of his chest, rubbing it softly to gather his attention. “Alright, you said enough for now. I promise to not mention your name in public if we ever come down here again.” My hand moved upwards to tug at the end of his bow-tie. “You got all dressed up for me tonight?”

“Is it too much?”

“No, you look quite handsome,” I assured him.

“And you look quite beautiful,” he said without hesitation. “I like the lipstick you put on tonight. A light peach shade. I will remember that for the next time I draw your portrait. The one I gave you will be just one of many.”

My cheeks were turning a shade of rosy pink, as I did my best not to touch my lips with the tips of my fingers. “Oh?”

“A bit of a distraction,” he pondered aloud. “Your lips.”

I offered him a cheeky grin, since I was not used to hearing such flattery from him.

His voice was levelled when he asked: “Should we go inside now?”

“Yes, of course,” I piped up. We were both in better spirits, so it felt right that we should return back to his place. “What did you pick up for dinner? Is it still a surprise?”

Teddy never answered me until we sat inside of his car. He turned on the engine by twisting his key in the ignition, and then I watched him put on his seatbelt. “I decided on grilled lamb chops!” he said with glee. “Mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, and I even picked up a bag of espresso. I intend to make you a nice cup of coffee for tonight.”

“To go with our dessert?”

“Yes, my dear.” Teddy wore a broad smile now, which created small crinkles around the corners of his dark eyes. He reversed out of the parking spot with certain ease, and was now finding a way out of the packed parking lot to get back to the main road.

“Do you ever drink?” I prompted up, after I caught sight of the busy patio outside of a two-story tavern.

“No.”

“I do, but it’s mainly on social occasions. I grew up in a household that was incredibly religious, so I never really had a taste of it until I was older.” I turned in my seat to face Teddy. “How come you don’t drink?”

“Bad encounters when I was a child,” was all that he revealed to me. His right hand clenched over the steering wheel, which immediately gave me some level of concern. Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

“I don’t understand. You drank as a child?”

A false smile spread over his handsome face. “No, Sela.”

“Then the experience-”

“-can we please not talk about that now?” he bellowed out with a great burst of anger. “I have to concentrate on the road.”

I bit down on my lip, realizing I had made another error. Perhaps, I was too curious for my own good. If our relationship should ever crumble, I was certain my insatiable curiosity would be the cause of it.

The car inclined upwards, carving down the winding road at a brisk speed. The sunlight was wavering over the horizon; the blue sky lacked its lustre and now a flavescent lighting peaked over the top of the hill in a last effort to spread its light. Soft piano music came through the speakers; the tune was filled with melancholy to fit Teddy’s sullen mood. I stretched out a hand and rested it over his top left thigh. “I don’t mean to be so daft,” I entreated, which made him tilt his head in my direction. “Sorry, I overstepped another boundary again.”

“There is no boundary,” he assured me with his posh British accent, which denoted his high status and upbringing he must have acquired under his guardian. “I don’t drink alcohol because it reminds me of my father.”

“He drank a lot?”

“That is an understatement,” he assured me. “But I would like to change the topic.”

“Okay, Ted.” He laughed at his new nickname, and then I knew for sure that everything was right between us.