Unexpectedly, Milo - Matthew Dicks [39]
Less than a minute later, Christine broke the silence. “Let me ask you this: If you were living at home with me and had found the camera, would you still feel the need to protect this girl’s privacy?”
“I don’t know,” Milo said. “I mean, if I were still living in the house, we probably would’ve watched the tapes together. It wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Exactly. So why don’t you want me to see them now?”
“Well, now I know what’s on the tapes, and if I were Freckles, I would want as few people to see them as possible.”
“Freckles?”
“Oh, yeah. She has freckles on her cheeks, so that’s what I’ve been calling her. In my head, I mean.”
“I don’t get it, Milo. I’m your wife. We’ve been married for three years. You find a camera and some tapes in the park and won’t let me watch them, even though you admit that if we were living together, I would’ve already seen them. What the hell is going on here?” She was still holding tape number six in her hand and shaking it at him. “What’s so special about Freckles that prevents me, your wife, from watching?”
“Look, Christine. This has nothing to do with Freckles. If I had found the camera with you, we probably would’ve watched the tapes together. But we didn’t. And now that I’ve seen them, I know that she wouldn’t want you to watch. Wouldn’t want anyone to watch. Not even me.”
“Not even you?”
“Yes, not even me. Look. I can’t take back what I’ve seen. I can’t go back in time. But I can keep others from watching. Keep her tapes as private as possible until I find her. It’s what she would want.”
“You think you know what this girl wants? You don’t even know what the hell I want. How are you supposed to know what a stranger on a tape wants after watching … what? Two hours?”
“It doesn’t take long to see …”
“Bullshit. You don’t know anything. I asked for a little space and you got yourself an apartment and a six-month lease. I needed some time to think and you emptied out the attic of furniture and dishes. I wanted a chance to work on our marriage, and you’ve started decorating a new home. How the hell would you know what this girl wants when you don’t have a goddamn clue what your own wife wants?”
With that, Christine threw the tape that she had been holding (still tape six, Milo noted) at her husband, missing badly and striking the hood above the oven with a metallic clang. She was breathing heavily and on the verge of crying, struggling mightily to hold herself together.
Milo decided to wait another moment before speaking. Allow her to calm down before responding. Oddly enough, he was pleased with the direction that the conversation had taken. He didn’t want his wife to be angry with him, but since she had become so, the topic had shifted away from Freckles and her tapes and onto their relationship, which is where Milo thought their attention should be focused anyway. Finally, when he thought she had dipped below the boiling point, he spoke. “I’m sorry, Christine. I know that I misunderstood you about getting the apartment, but I honestly thought that this is what you wanted from me. You heard what Dr. Teagan said. Most people would’ve thought the same thing.”
“Fuck Dr. Teagan! Fuck you! Fuck this whole goddamn thing.” Now Christine was crying. Tears streamed from her eyes, and her nose was beginning to run. Milo moved forward in an attempt to comfort her.
“No!” Christine said, rising from her chair and backing away. “I can’t believe this. I come over here thinking that we’d have dinner, fool around, and talk about things. Maybe get back on track. But now I find out that you’re keeping secrets from me. Can’t even trust me to watch a tape of a girl that you’ve already seen. Did you plan on ever telling me about her? Did you?”
Once again, Milo wished that he could lie to his wife, but could not. “I don’t know. Probably not. Maybe after I found her and returned the camera and the tapes, I would