The Secrets on Chicory Lane: A Novel(47)

“Then just have a few sips.”

“You’re not going to drink this entire pitcher by yourself.”

“I will if you don’t help me.” He took a drink and sighed. “Ahhhh. Best margaritas in town.”

Of course I ended up drinking with him. I could say it was because the beverage complemented the meal, but it wouldn’t be the truth. While I attempted to take it easy, he didn’t and got intoxicated very quickly. The mood at the table altered. At one point, Eddie placed his hand on top of mine. “Shelby, I’ve decided to make the big change.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’ll start packing. I’ll come back to Chicago with you. It’s obvious we’re destined to be together, right? I mean, you felt it last night, too, didn’t you?”

That threw me. “What?”

“Last night. Didn’t you feel it? That bond between us? We’re meant to be together, forever. I’m coming to Chicago. I’ll find a place here where my mother can live and she can be taken care of properly. I’ll move in with you and we’ll get married. What do you say?”

“Eddie, I—”

“Oh, I know it’ll be an adjustment. Especially for me. I’ve never lived anywhere else except Limite and Vietnam. It’ll be a big change. I have to break that invisible umbilical cord that keeps me in that goddamned house. There are things … well, let’s just say I’ve always felt I had to stay there because it was my destiny to turn the place into holy ground—or rather, unholy ground. Becoming a Satanist made everything clear to me. You see, I’m a god. Wouldn’t you like to be married to a god? Then you would be a god, too!”

My stomach reeled. He started rambling and talking fast, saying bizarre, stream-of-consciousness things that sounded very unsettling. Things like how he and I were going to start our own Satanic church in Chicago and become famous like Anton LaVey. There were “relics of Hell” in the bomb shelter that had kept him in Limite, and now he wanted to break free of them.

“But you don’t believe in Satan,” I reminded him.

“No, no, I don’t believe in the devil, but I know he’s out there. He entered me when I was a little boy. I’ve lived with evil all my life, Shelby, and it’s high time I get away from it. You will help me do that, won’t you? We can run away from this evil place, and maybe I can turn my life around. No more black houses—we won’t do any of that if you don’t want me to. No more Satanic rituals. No more Davy Jones’s Locker. No more—”

“Davy Jones’s Locker?”

“Yeah, you remember that? Davy Jones’s Locker. It’s a source of pure evil. Everything that’s wrong with me has come up from Hell through Davy Jones’s Locker and enslaved me. The devil has touched me, Shelby, and I hear him talk to me at night.”

I was beginning to get extremely disturbed. “Eddie, I think we should leave. When did you say you last took your medicine?”

He laughed. “I haven’t taken it in a few days, actually.”

“Eddie, you need to call your doctor.”

“No way. I’m coming with you to Chicago, and we’re going to get married. When do you want to leave?”

“Eddie, you’re not coming with me to Chicago and we’re not going to get married.”

He wasn’t listening. “I know you can’t have babies, and that’s good because I never want to bring a child of mine into the world. I don’t want him or her to have my evil. Evil is hereditary, you know? I got it from my father …” He chugged another glass of margarita.

“Eddie, you’re delirious. Stop drinking and listen to me.”

“Whee, I feel so good! I’m finally going to be happy. We’ll be happy, Shelby. I’ve seen it in my dreams. We’ll live in your palace in Chicago. Maybe we can turn it into the biggest and best Satanic church in America. People will come from all around to—”

I stood. “Eddie! Stop it. Let’s get out of here.” I dug into my purse, pulled out a wad of bills that would more than cover the check, and pulled him to get up and come with me. He followed reluctantly, suddenly confused and disoriented. Once we were outside, I told him to take a breath of fresh air and calm down.

“I’m perfectly calm. I love you.” He tried to embrace me, but I pulled away. I was frightened. I’d never seen him like this.

“What the hell’s the matter?” he asked, abruptly turning from his euphoria to belligerence.

“Nothing. I’m going to drive you home. You can’t get behind the wheel.”

“Fuck you, of course I can.”

“Eddie! Don’t talk to me that way.”

“Are you like all the others, too? You’re scared of me? You’re afraid of big, bad Evil Eddie? Mwahaha, the Devil Man is going to get you!”

He made like he was going to attack me, and I swear I screamed and backed away.

“Eddie! Let’s just get in the car. I’ll take you home and then drive to my dad’s apartment. He can follow me back to your house and I’ll leave your car.”

“No. Spend the night.”

“I’m not going to, Eddie. You’re not well. You need to call your doctor.”

“Fuck my doctor.”