The Plan

“I know it’s in here somewhere,” Mina said as she slammed the kitchen drawers closed.

She opened the pantry door, a place she knew to be futile searching grounds, and moved every container and box. Nothing. She returned to the kitchen and began opening drawers like a crazy woman once more.

“Honey, what are you doing?” Mike asked from the doorway.

Mina continued her search without looking up at her husband so he couldn’t see the look of surprise on her face. She didn’t have the strength to deal with him right now. Time was of the essence. “I’m looking for my grocery list book.”

“You mean the little black book?”

Mina froze. The chill running down her spine no longer came from the cool morning breeze blowing through the open window above the sink. She swallowed hard, but it took only a split second for her to compose herself. She couldn’t get caught.

She slowly looked up at him through her puffy bruised eyes. “Yes, that’s the one. Have you seen it?” She gave him her best smile, which wasn’t as good as it could have been since her lip was still swollen and one of her top right teeth was missing.

“You left it out. And you know what happens when you don’t put things back in their place.”

“They get thrown out,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry.”

Mike came to the side of the kitchen island where Mina stood. He laced his arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head. “That’s right. I’m glad you remembered. Good girl. Let’s try to avoid having to apologize.”

Mina tried to avoid shuddering as he nuzzled her neck.

“But since last night’s dinner was a disaster, I wrote a grocery list out for you of acceptable foods.” He placed a printed list on the counter. “I thought by now, you would’ve memorized my list. After all we have been married for an entire year now.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered.

“As long as you’re sorry, and promise to do better, all is forgiven.” He kissed her cheek. “I hate having to reprimand you. It hurts me more than it hurts you. You know that, don’t you?”

Mina could only nod.

“Good. Well, I’m headed to work. You’d better get ready so you can go get everything on that list. Otherwise, dinner might not be done on time. And we don’t want a repeat of last night, do we?”

“No,” Mina said in a choked voice.

“I’ll see you tonight.” Mike gave her a squeeze causing her to yelp from the pain in her ribs.

“Ooh, sorry. I just love you so much.”

Once Mike pulled out of the driveway, Mina sank to the floor and grabbed her head. If she had any tears left to cry, she might be a sobbing mess by now, but she didn’t. At this moment, all she could think about was finding her little black book. Today had been the precise day she had to do things in order for her plan to have the least possibilities of failure.

Mike didn’t know it, but Mina’s escape was inside that book. She had been logging his activities and whereabouts for several months now, but not in a manner in which he could decipher it. If he read the pages, he would see recipes, song titles with their duration times, and weather forecasts.

She shook her head. She had to keep searching, but she also needed to get the groceries to start dinner in case she didn’t find her freedom tonight. The walk to the store normally took her an hour each way. With her injuries, who knew how long it would take her today.

She went to her room and grabbed her largest sunglasses and a wide brimmed hat. She didn’t need anyone to see how hideous she looked today. On her way out the door, she grabbed her house key, her mask, and the cash Mike had left her. By the number of bills she saw, she knew she would have just enough to buy everything on the list and nothing more.

The walk to the store took longer than it normally did, but it felt amazing to get away from the house. She hated the way it smelled, the way it looked, and even the way it felt, from the moment she walked in from her trips. Her stomach always lurched. None of it ever went away until she was outside again.

“Hello, Mrs. Flemming,” said Ivy, the cashier of Pete’s Market.

Mina gave a small wave and a nod before going about her shopping.

Once she found everything on the list, she stood in line.

“Looks like you have an interesting dinner planned,” said the man in line behind her.

Mina didn’t answer, afraid Mike, or one of his acquaintances, would see her talking to a man and misconstrue the situation. She still had the scar at the base of her skull as a reminder of her trip to pick up wine for Christmas dinner.

She had asked someone if they knew which wine paired well with duck. Mike happened to come to the store for wine as well since he left work early for the holiday, and he came across the interaction. The poor young man never saw what was coming. Mina watched in horror as Mike pounded the guy’s face in.

He didn’t say anything to Mina until they reached the parking lot. Then, he let her have it. He slammed her against the car and asked what the hell she thought she was doing. When she tried to explain, he backhanded her and she fell to the ground. When people began to stare, Mike picked her up by the front of her blouse and shoved her into the front seat of the car, slamming her head into the doorframe in the process.

“Mind if I ask what you’re making?”

Mina didn’t answer.

It was her turn to pay, so she scooted forward and waited for Ivy to scan everything.

“Are you okay, Mrs. Flemming?”

Mina’s hands began to shake as she tried to maintain composure, but then she dropped her house key. When she bent down to pick it up, both her hat and sunglasses fell off. She scrambled to pick them up, but so did the man.

Their eyes made contact, and Mina could see the look of pity.

She quickly grabbed her things and put them back on. “How much is it?”

Ivy cleared her throat. “It’s twenty-five thirty-seven.”

Mina’s gut sank. What had she done wrong? She got everything in the precise quantities and weights from the list. She brought her hands towards her mouth, but remembered she had a mask on and shouldn’t touch it, so she balled her hands into little fist before recounting the money Mike had left.

“I’ve got it,” the man behind her said. “I’ll pay for it.”

“No. Please. You can’t. I have to have a receipt. I have to have proof. I must have miscalculated. Maybe I got something wrong.”

“Relax. It’s okay. You can have the receipt.”

“No. You don’t understand,” Mina said as she began to hyperventilate.

“Whoah, it’s okay. I’m sure Miss Ivy can do that receipt for you, right?,” the man said as he looked at the cashier’s name badge.

“Yeah. Yeah. Of course. Mrs. Flemming is one of our best customers.”

Mina took a deep breath as she slid the backs of her knuckles under her sunglasses to wipe away the moisture threatening to spill over. “Thank you, Ivy. I promise I’ll pay it back.”

“I know you will, Mrs. Flemming,” Ivy said with a reassuring smile.

After Ivy packed the groceries, Mina left the store, holding onto the receipt as if her life depended on it. As she began her return trek, she looked to the sky, hoping it wouldn’t begin to rain before she could make it to the house. She didn’t dare to hope.

Today had become a complete disaster the moment her escape plan disappeared. Each step closer to the house she shared with the wolf in sheep’s clothing, made her stomach queasy. She tried walking faster in spite of the body aches. Maybe she would have time to search the outside trashcan for her little black book.

Injected with a new hope, Mina took larger strides, ignoring the searing pain. She had to find her book. It had taken her too long to develop her plan. She couldn’t simply give up.

When she arrived at the house, Mina didn’t bother to take in the groceries. Instead, she placed them on the porch and began sorting through the trashcan. She didn’t have to dig to far before finding her book. The pages were wet and ruined from rotted food, so she left it on top of the trash.

Mina fell to her knees and sobbed. “Why? I just wanted to leave. I just wanted to get away.”

She shook her head and stood. She would have to start allover again, but for now she would start with making sure dinner was ready on time. She carried the groceries indoors and, after washing her hands, she began to prep the meal that would keep her safe tonight.

She hadn’t been prepping for more than five minutes when she heard the doorbell. She wasn’t expecting anyone. Now was not the time for visitors.

Mina cleaned off her hands and quickly went to see who was at the door. Her mind raced to find an excuse so she could get rid of the visitor, but when she opened the door, there was no one there. She frowned.

Mina was about to close the door, but she happened to look down and see her book on the doormat along with a note on top of it. She picked it up wearily, noticing it felt bulky, and looked around before opening the note.

'I understand why you wouldn’t accept my help at the store, my mom went through something similar. Please receive this gift to help you get out and get away. It’s all in cash so you can go off the grid for a while. I hope it helps. GOOD LUCK.'

Mina opened the envelope that had been tucked into the book and couldn’t believe her eyes. She had never seen so many hundred-dollar bills together. Twenty-thousand dollars total.

Her eyes scanned the neighborhood for her savior, but she didn’t see anyone. Still, she whispered, “Thank you.”

That night, Mina felt hope for the first time in a year as she held her little black book and the envelope, inside her bag, tightly against her chest and boarded a bus to somewhere else in the world far from hell.