“What?” I smiled.
“You’re able to allow new ideas and better decision making to flow through.”
“Maybe I will.”
“Aw, that would be great. Wouldn’t it, Chloe?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see you doing yoga.” She looked at me.
“It never hurts to try new things. It was nice seeing you both, but I have to get back to the office.”
When I stepped into my office, Damien was sitting behind my desk.
“Hey. Have you ever taken a yoga class?”
“A couple of times. Why?”
“I was just wondering. Someone told me that a lot of corporate men take it.”
“Are you thinking about taking one?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
“Does this have anything to do with Chloe?”
“No.”
“Liar!” He laughed as he got up from my chair. “Do what you have to do to prove to her that you still love her and want her back. If that means taking a yoga class, then do it.”
It was Sunday morning, and while I showered, I tried to think about what to wear to yoga class. I couldn’t believe I was actually going, but I was doing it for Chloe. Okay, I was doing it for me too. Being able to see her, even if it was only for an hour, was better than not seeing her at all, no matter what the circumstances were. I had no clue what to wear as I stared inside all my opened drawers. Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I decided to suck it up and send a quick text message to Chloe. I highly doubted she would respond, but it was worth a try.
“Good morning. I’m sorry to bother you but I have a quick question. What does one wear to a yoga class?”
“LOL. You’re actually coming?”
“Yes. I could use some mental clarity at the moment.”
“Wear your black athletic pants that are in the second drawer to the left and the matching black t-shirt that is hanging in your closet towards the back by your casual pants.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Her “LOL” made me smile. The fact that she could laugh about me coming to her mother’s yoga class told me that maybe, just maybe, the hate she had for me was starting to disappear. I couldn’t wait to see her. When I wasn’t up all night thinking about her, I was dreaming about her.
****
Chloe
What was he up to? He would be the last person on this earth that I ever expected to see at a yoga class. Just as I was about to walk out the door, my phone rang, and it was Sienna. When I answered it, I narrowed my eyes at her.
“Why are you still in bed? We have yoga in ten minutes.”
“I can’t make it today. I’m sorry.” She pouted. “Me and Sam did our own yoga last night and now I can’t seem to get out of bed.”
“Me either,” Sam mumbled.
I sighed. “I packed the picnic basket.” I held it up.
“Please forgive me. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”
“Yeah. We’ll make it up to you,” Sam mumbled.
“Go back to bed. I’ll call you later.”
“Love you, buttercup.”
“Love you, beautiful friend.”
“Love you both too.” I sighed.
When I arrived at the center, I looked around for Sebastian and didn’t see him. Setting my mat down on the floor, I heard his voice next to me.
“Do you mind if I do yoga here?” He smiled.
Ugh. Why the fuck did he have to look so sexy? His black athletic pants and the black t-shirt that clung to his body sent shivers down my spine.
“No. Feel free. There’s a mat over there.”
“Ah. I guess I would need one of those.”
I let out a soft giggle as he walked over and grabbed a mat. This was going to be good. Once class was over, I looked over and Sebastian was lying down on the mat.
“Class is over,” I spoke. “You can get up now.”
“Actually, I can’t seem to move.”
Laughing, I held out my hand. He moaned as he got up from the mat.
“That is a lot harder than it looks.”
“It can be challenging.” I smiled.
“So what did you think, Sebastian?”
“I feel very stress relieved, Ophelia.”
“Good. I’m glad to hear that.” She grinned.
“Well, I’m going to take off, Mom,” I spoke as I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later. Bye, little sibling.” I placed my hand on her growing belly.
“Bye, sweetheart. Thanks for coming, Sebastian.”
“Thank you for suggesting it.”
I grabbed the picnic basket I had sitting on the shelf in the back of the room.
“Going on a picnic?” Sebastian asked as he pointed to the basket.
“Yeah. Sienna was supposed to be here and then the two of us were going to have a girls’ day at the park, but she had to cancel.”
“Why?” he asked as he held the door open for me.
“Apparently, she and Sam did their own yoga last night and now neither one of them can get out of bed.”
Sebastian chuckled. “I can understand that. I think. I’m going this way.” He pointed to the right as I headed left. “Have a nice day and enjoy your picnic.”
“Thanks.” I gave a small smile.
What the hell was I doing? Get it out of your head, Chloe.
“Hey, Sebastian?”
He stopped walking and turned around. “Yeah?”
“You wouldn’t by any chance want to come with me, would you? I mean, I packed all this food and I would hate to let it go to waste, considering there are so many starving people in this world.”
“Are you sure?” He tucked his hands into his pockets.
“Yeah. I’m sure.”
“I would love to join you.” He smiled.
“Then let’s go. We can walk since it’s such a beautiful day.”
We walked to Central Park and set up on the Great Lawn. Sebastian helped me spread out the blanket and then we took off our shoes and made ourselves comfortable.
“It’s a beautiful day,” I spoke as I took in the sun that was beating down on me.
“It sure is. We’re not going to have too many days like this left.”
“I know. Before you know it, Mother Nature will blow in the snow, cold, and ice.”
Being here with him reminded me of times not too long ago. It felt weird because, as well as I knew him, and after all the things we had done together, it felt like we were two strangers sitting next to each other. I took to heart the conversation that Connor and I had a couple of weeks ago. Sebastian hadn’t tried to contact me at all and I had wondered if he’d moved on with his life. It was gnawing at me, so I had to ask.
“So what have you been doing since you got back from Seattle?”
“Mainly working.”
“Sounds boring.” I smiled as I opened the picnic basket and took out the sandwiches and fruit.
“What have you been up to?”
“Not much. Just work, dinner with my parents, and an occasional night with Sienna and Sam.”
“Sounds fun. Your mom is really starting to show.”
“I know.” I took a bite of my sandwich.
“I really can’t believe she’s pregnant. How old is she again?”
“Forty-six. It’s going to be weird to have a little brother or sister who is twenty-five years younger than me.”
“I bet. Just think, when he or she is twenty-five, you’ll be the big five-o.”
“Weird.” I slowly shook my head and he laughed.
We continued our conversation, both of us treading carefully as not to bring up the subject of us. After a couple of hours, I found myself not wanting to leave him.
Chapter 38
Sebastian
Having a picnic with her in Central Park on such a beautiful day was more than I could ask for. I had missed her so much and being with her, even though we were no longer together
, made me fall in love with her even more. It took every bit of control I had in me not to grab her mouth and kiss her beautiful soft lips. It was difficult for me because I wanted to touch her so badly. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her that we could be us again, but I knew she wasn’t ready.
“Thank you for the sandwiches and fruit.” I gave her a smile.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for joining me.”
“My pleasure. I’m just sorry Sienna bailed on you. By the way, how long is Sam staying?”
“I guess forever.” She laughed. “He applied for permanent residency in the U.S.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Sienna seems to really love him and he loves her. So, it’s good.”
“What about his family?”
“When his mom and dad divorced a few years back, his mom moved to Germany and his dad moved to Scotland with the woman he was cheating on his mom with.”
“And his job?”
“Up and quit. He’s going to find work here, eventually.”
Looking in the picnic basket, I saw she had quite a bit of food left over.
“You sure packed a lot for just you and Sienna.”
“Yeah. I packed a few extra things because on my way home, I’m going to stop and give the rest to Willie and his friends.”
The corners of my mouth curved upwards as I stared into her eyes.
“That’s a good idea. I’m sure they would be very grateful. Would you mind if I came with you?”
“Not at all. By the way, Willie told me that a guy named Sebastian has been stopping by and giving him a few dollars here and there.”
I shrugged. “It’s the least I can do to help him out. You know, I have never forgotten about what it was like for me living in that abandoned house. When I said to you that night that his being homeless was his own fault, I said it out of anger because it reminded me of bad times. All these years, I wouldn’t even look at the homeless people on the street because every time I did, I went back to that time. A time I want to erase from my memory.”
“You shouldn’t want to erase those memories, Sebastian. That period of time in your life made you who are today. You should embrace it and maybe tell your story to others and inspire them. What you did was amazing and all it took was one person to put you on the right path. People come into our lives for a reason and they leave our lives for a reason. They only may be here temporarily, but they’re there for a purpose.”
I wanted to reach out and stroke her beautiful blonde hair and tell her that I knew the reason why she came into my life, but I couldn’t. I didn’t want to rock the boat, so to speak. I wanted to tell her that if she still was dating Corey when she went to London, we never would have met because the thought of having sex with a stranger in a foreign country never would have entered her mind.
“Do you think if we didn’t see each other in London, we would have eventually met here in New York?”
She looked down. I could tell my question made her uncomfortable.
“I’m not sure. Why don’t we go and give this food to Willie and the gang?”
“Sure. I’ll call Eli and have him pick us up. It’s a pretty long walk.”
“It’s a beautiful day, though, and the walk is good for us. Besides, if you don’t keep moving, your muscles will tighten up from today, and you won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow.”
I sighed. “Okay. If you insist.”
We got up from the ground. While she folded the blanket, I grabbed hold of the picnic basket and we walked to where Willie was camping out for the day.
“Hey, Willie,” Chloe spoke as she found him asleep, covered in a blanket on the cement in the alley.
He moaned and then coughed as he tried to open his eyes.
“Willie, are you okay?” I asked as I knelt down beside him.
Chloe placed her hand on his forehead. “He’s burning up.”
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I spoke, “I’ll call 911. He needs to see a doctor.”
“It’s okay, Willie, we’re going to get you some help,” she spoke.
The ambulance arrived and Eli pulled up behind.
“I’m going to ride with him in the ambulance,” Chloe said.
“Okay. I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
“You don’t have to, Sebastian. I’m sure you have other things to do.”
Grabbing hold of her hand, I spoke, “I don’t, and I want to.”
A small smile crossed her lips as she gave me a nod and climbed into the back of the ambulance.
****
Chloe
As I was holding Willie’s hand, his eyes opened while the paramedics gave him an I.V.
“You’re going to be okay, Willie.” I smiled.
“I don’t think this time, kiddo.”
“Don’t say that. The doctors are going to make you feel better.”
Once we arrived at the hospital, Sebastian wasn’t too far behind as I was told to wait in the waiting room while the doctor examined him. I sat in the chair of the waiting room that contained a young girl and her screaming baby. Sebastian took a seat next to me and handed me a cup of coffee.
“I thought you could use this.”
“Thanks.” I took the cup from him.
“Someone over there isn’t happy.” He smiled.
“Are you talking about the baby or the mother?”
“Both. How old do you think she is?”
“She looks to be about seventeen or eighteen. Here, hold this.” I handed him the cup and walked over to where the girl, who looked like she was going to lose it any second, sat. “Someone isn’t very happy.”
“No. She doesn’t feel well and she won’t stop crying. If she’d only stop for a minute, that would be great.”
“May I?” I held out my arms to her.
The girl gave me a funny look and then looked over at Sebastian. “Do you think you can get her to stop?”
“I can give it a try.” I smiled. “What’s her name?”
“Isabelle. She’s four months old,” she spoke as she handed her baby over to me.
I walked around the waiting room with her and began singing Tomorrow Is a Long Time in her ear as I held her up to my shoulder and softly rubbed her small back. After a few choruses, she began to quiet down and fell asleep. Walking her back over to her mom, I carefully handed Isabelle to her.
“How did you do that?” she asked.
“Babies can sense when you’re stressed out, which stresses them out. A little singing always works wonders.”
“Thank you so much. Thank you.” Tears filled her eyes.
“You’re welcome. Unfortunately, when they call you back, she’ll wake up again.”
“That’s fine. Just a few moments of quiet is all I need right now.”
I gave her a small smile and went and sat down next to Sebastian.
“You’re going to make a damn good mother one day.” He smiled.
“Thanks.” I took my coffee from him.
“And a damn good big sister.”
“I’m really excited for the baby. It will be challenging for my parents since they haven’t raised a kid in a number of years.”
“You’ll be there to help them out.” He ran his hand down the back of my hair.
“You know, you don’t have to stay,” I spoke.
“Chloe, I’m here for both of you and I’m staying.”
A doctor walked into the waiting room, asking who was with Willie. Sebastian and I stood up.
“We are,” I spoke.
“Willie has pneumonia and a pretty bad case of it. It seems he’s had it for a while. Because his lungs were inflamed for a period of time, his oxygen levels dropped, which caused kidney damage. Not only that, but the bacteria spread into his bloodstream, and from what we can tell, has infected his heart. It’s a good thing you got him in here when you did.”
“Is he going to be okay, doctor?” Sebastian asked.
“We aren’t
sure.” He looked down. “We’re pumping him full of antibiotics right now, but only time will tell.”
As the doctor was standing there talking to us, someone came on the overhead speaker.
“Code blue, room 104. Code blue, room 104.”
“That’s his room,” the doctor spoke as he turned and ran down the hallway.
Sebastian and I ran behind him and watched through the window as they used the defibrillator and then CPR. Sebastian wrapped his arm around me and pulled me close.
“Time of death, three forty-five,” the doctor spoke as he looked at the clock on the wall.
“No.” Tears started to stream down my face as I buried my head in Sebastian’s chest.
“I’m so sorry, baby.” He tightened his arm around me as his other arm wrapped around me and softly rubbed my back.
The doctor walked out of the room and looked at us. “I’m sorry. We did everything we could.”
“Can we go in there and say goodbye?” I asked.
“Yes,” he spoke as he walked away.
While Sebastian held me, we walked into the room.
“Hey, Willie.” I placed my hand on his. “You’re home now and you won’t have to suffer anymore. You’ll always be warm and you’ll never be hungry. Pretty cool, huh?”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sebastian bring his hand up to his face. Oh my God, he was wiping away a tear. I didn’t want to embarrass him or make a big deal of it, so I ignored it. My heart, which was full of sadness over Willie, was also full of happiness that Sebastian was finally able to shed a tear.
“Well, I think funeral arrangements need to be made,” Sebastian spoke as he cleared his throat. “We’re going to give him a proper burial, no expense spared.”
“Really? You’re going to do that for him?” I asked as I looked into his sad eyes.
“Of course. He wasn’t only your friend, Chloe.”
“Right.” I gave a small smile. “Shall we head to the funeral home and make the arrangements now?”
“Let me call them first and make sure they can accommodate us today.”
Sebastian stepped out into the hallway. Looking back to Willie, I spoke, “Hear that? Sebastian is giving you an all-expenses-paid funeral. Even though I don’t believe in them, I’m going to let him do it anyway. It’ll make him feel better.”