Chapter 5
Anna was sitting on Casey’s bad, packing up another bag to take to the hospital when Brad came in. She looked up at him and smiled, he’d been a force in all this; just what she needed.
“Are you okay?” he asked,
“Yeah, just getting a few things together for Case” she replied.
He nodded and went to the window; Casey had a beautiful view of the ocean and the rocks. From where he stood they seemed majestic with white foam rising around them as the powerful waves crashed against them, from here they didn’t look as scary as they’d seemed that day he woke up there.
“That’s a nice view, if I remember correctly this used to be your room,” he said softly, turning to look at her with a smirk. Anna blushed, lowering her gaze, Brad used to stand outside her window late at night call up to her or throw stones, only to have her look out at him so he could send her a kiss. For a teenager he was a hopeless romantic.
“Case loves it,” she finally replied, “but I’m afraid it’s the cause of most of her escapades,”
Brad chuckled, “I think she get’s that from you”.
“Please, you’re the one who kept coming back to my house after my brother almost shot you.”
He laughed, it felt great sharing parts of their past like this, especially those so close to their short teenage love affair. He was convinced he’d loved Anna then, but now he couldn’t make sense of what he was feeling, somehow he liked to think that there were remnants of those feelings now but how could he ever admit that to her, how could he ever admit that to anyone.
“So we’re going to see Casey today?” he was grinning excitedly.
Anna hesitated and bowed her head, the truth was that she didn’t want him along, she felt horrible thinking like that especially when he had been very helpful with Casey and she appreciated it, but he was starting to crowd her. His presence made her uncomfortable and she couldn’t tell if it was because of their past or because she worried about what people might say.
For some strange reason she always seemed wary of the fact that he might see some aspect of her life that wasn’t very pleasant, but she didn’t know why she cared at all.
“I’m going to see Casey, Brad” she said.
Brad looked away and muttered something under his breath, “This is unbelievable…you are unbelievable Anna!” he said finally, his eyes flaming.
“What?” she looked at him with wide eyes.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing…”
Anna lifted a hand to stop him, “Raj I already explained to you why we…”
“Yeah you did Anna. No one knows who I am, my daughter doesn’t know who I am,” he leaned forward and sneered at her, “and whose fault is this?”
She glared at him and shot to her feet, “don’t you put this as though I planned for this to happen,” she tossed a vest into the open bag and yanked the zip closed.
“I’m not saying that, but for a person who never planned for this, you sure are trying hard to keep me from my child.”
She took a deep breath and looked up at him, her chest heaving. This was not what she intended, she did want Casey to know her father, but she was in an odd situation, and the truth was, she didn’t know how to deal with it. She sighed and dropped heavily onto the bed, her lips trembled slightly and she took a deep breath again.
Brad sat down next to her and awkwardly patted her hand, “I’m sorry, don’t cry Anna,” he soothed.
She smiled through the tears that were involuntarily coursing down her cheeks, “Don’t apologize. You’re right, she should know who her father is, it is my fault.”
“No, no” Brad embraced her and pressed his lips to her hair; she leaned against his shoulder and sobbed quietly.
“I have no…idea…what I’m doing” she cried.
Brad rubbed her back and made soothing sounds, he couldn’t help feeling terrible. Since he’d been here it seemed all he did was make Anna cry.
“I’ll stay here, you go” he said as she eased out of his embrace and dashed her hands against her eyes.
“No it’s fine” she said hoarsely, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, “you should come.”
Brad stood around Casey’s bed awkwardly, as Anna tidied her bedside table, and informed her of all the things she’d brought for her.
“Now remember what you have, I expect it all back home when you leave here.” Anna was saying firmly.
“Sure mom” Casey said and she looked up at Brad.
“Hi Mr. Mason,” she greeted him with a wide smile.
Brad smiled back at her, “Hi. How are you feeling?” he asked edging closer to the bed.
Casey shrugged and looked down at her arm and leg, “as good as I possibly can in this situation.”
Brad chuckled, “you must really be missing your freedom, those rocks are lonely without you, I think I heard them moaning this morning,” he teased.
Casey laughed, “I miss them too,” she replied with a grin that quickly faded into a frown, “then again it’s no fun without Tom.”
Brad touched her good leg gently, “you two will make it up.”
After a brief pause Casey cocked her head up at Brad, “So when are you leaving?” she asked.
Anna and Brad exchanged glances, and Brad stiffened, “I don’t know, it depends on some things,” he said, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets.
“Well while you’re here, maybe mom could take you shopping,” Casey grinned widely and Brad looked over just in time to see the look of terror on Anna’s face and his smile faltered.
“No…uh, no it’s fine Case, your mom’s real busy you know” he replied, wincing at the look of relief on Anna’s face, maybe he was confused about how she felt too.
They spent some more time with Casey, not talking about anything particularly important, just chatting pointlessly and laughing at each other’s ridiculous jokes. Anna loved the way Brad and Casey got along, in no time she was glowing and grinning from ear to ear, she looked healthier than she had since the accident. As they were leaving, Anna asked Brad to come along with her to get their travel arrangements done.
“Are you sure? I really wouldn’t want to crowd you,” he said mockingly.
Anna smiled, “no it’s fine, I like having you around.”
That’s not the impression he got earlier. He nodded at her and smiled politely, “Well alright, I would love to come along.”
Anna was very pleasant toward Brad as they made their way to the truck, her expressions and her actions confused him. This wasn’t the Anna he knew, he felt like she was changing right in front of his eyes. The Anna he knew, and was quite sure he’d met here three weeks ago, was a straight forward person, she knew exactly what she felt and never hesitated to say just what it was, she always knew what she wanted, but he wasn’t getting the feeling that the woman sitting beside him was the Anna he’d found.
“So now that my business is done, where do you want to go?” she asked.
Brad shrugged, “you are the tour guide,” he replied.
Anna smiled, “yeah, but any place you want to see in particular?”
Brad thought about it for a while, tapping his index finger on his chin for effect, then he smiled up at her.
“How about the beach,” he suggested.
“The beach? Why? What can you shop for on the beach? Casey said to take you shopping,” she gave him an amused frown.
Brad chuckled, “well first of all, the beach I haven’t seen in a long time, I live deep in the suburbs. And secondly, shells are just as useful as souvenirs and memories are priceless, and considering the fact that I’m dead broke right now, those would best suit the occasion.”
Anna nodded, “alright Confucius, the beach it is.”
Anna took him to the beach close to their home, one of the country’s best tourist’s attraction, with its smooth white sand and clean blue green waters it was easy to und
erstand why.
They walked with bare feet down the length of the shore, it was a cool evening, and the beauty of the sunset coloured the blue-green ocean, as the daylight faded into a cool dim blueness. Brad dug his feet into the warm sand and exhaled deeply as the evening breeze tousled his now thick hair, the long strands whipping around his forehead and ears as though with a life of its own.
“Ah yes, this is what am talking about,” he said with a contented sigh.
Anna was pleased to see him enjoying the solitude; maybe the old Brad wasn’t gone after all, just hidden.
“Remember when you used to take me out here on dates?” she blushed visibly.
Brad grinned, that lopsided flirty grin of his that had always made her swoon, “how could I forget. Most girls would have preferred dinners and concerts…”
He looked over at her and took her hand in his, ignoring her look of discomfort and the sudden stiffness in her wrist, “but you, you never minded just walking down the beach holding hands, talking about us, what our future would be like.”
Anna nodded, “we were gonna build a house over there,” she lifted her hand and pointed to a spot on the mountain, littered with grand houses.
“And I was going to get you a dog, one with the big ears. You were crazy about those ugly mutts.”
Anna laughed.
“I’m surprised you don’t have one. Don’t tell me you hate them now?”
Anna shook her head and slipped her hand out of his, “no, Casey’s so asthmatic, I couldn’t risk it. Besides I couldn’t manage the extra responsibility.”
Brad nodded understandably. They walked silently for a while. Brad was thinking about Mara. What she was doing right at this minute, if she was planning how to spend his money with her partner, he thought about her relationship with the shaggy man, did she like him; maybe she loved him more that she did him.
Anna was thinking about Brad and the situation she’d found herself in. She looked over at him, and said a quick prayer for him and for herself. She didn’t want to make any stupid mistakes, not again, and she knew Brad had a way of bringing that out in her.
“So what’s going on with you and this doctor?” Brad asked suddenly.
His question took Anna off guard and she had to take a moment to think about it, mostly because she didn’t know what was going on between her and Neil. She shrugged and kept looking ahead of them, anything to avoid having to look him in the eyes.
“I don’t know. He’s an attractive attentive man, very practical and straightforward but…” she paused then shrugged again.
“Do you like him?” Brad asked, he sounded strained and distant.
Anna looked over at him, “do I sense some animosity?” she asked.
“Well of course not. You are a grown woman, who you like is entirely up to you,” he huffed.
“Well I do like him, as a matter of fact he asked me out.”
Brad stopped walking, his frown revealing his disapproval, “what kind of guy asks a woman out when her daughter is sick, that is…” he hiked his hands onto his hips and pursed his lips thoughtfully, “he is pathetic, that is what.”
Anna gasped, “Raj that is completely uncalled for,” she snapped.
“But it is Anna, your daughter is sick, you don’t need a boyfriend, you need a doctor.”
“And he happens to be one,” Anna countered, growing more angry.
Brad glared at her, “Please don’t tell me you are going out with him for medical favours,” he said with a sneer.
Anna looked at him in utter shock, “I can’t believe you went there Raj, you know me better than that.”
“Do I?”
They stood staring at each for what seemed like an eternity, all signs of daylight had disappeared from the horizon and the darkness enveloped them, just like their anger. They stood still in the dim evening light, hands balled into fists at their sides, eyes bold and challenging; saying nothing.
“Are you satisfied?” she asked suddenly.
Brad looked at her with a confused frown, “excuse me?”
“Shopping? Are you finished?”
Brad seemed to relax a little but Anna was still very tense, like a lioness ready to pounce.
“Yeah sure,” he replied, shoving his hands into his pockets.
Anna turned on her heels and marched back in the direction they’d come, her back straight and her head held high.
When they got home, Mike was waiting for them. He was sitting in the living room in the dark, the dull moon light streaming into the room revealing his glaring eyes at them over the crown of his beer bottle like a suspicious father.
“Had a nice date?” he drawled.
“Not now Mike,” Anna snapped and she reached over and switched on the lights.
Mike was staring at Brad contemptuously, the corner of his lips lifted in what looked like a sneer. He could be very scary when he wanted to, but Brad was too caught up with Anna’s bad mood and apparent crush on Neil.
“Someone called for ya,” Mike said, “a doctor Manning I believe.”
Anna glanced over at Brad, who was already looking at her, his eyes narrowed accusingly.
“Thanks,” she said and disappeared into her room.
Mike and Brad were alone now, and the tension in the room was almost stifling. They were both looking at each other. Mike kept twirling the beer bottle in his hand, frowning menacingly.
Brad stared at the bottle in Mike’s hand warily, waiting for the move that would turn the beer into an offensive weapon.
“I have nothing to say to you Mike,” he said.
Mike nodded slowly, but there was nothing convincing about it. Brad doubted he’d even heard a word he’d said.
“Neither do I,” Mike grumbled, rising from the chair.
He took a step toward Brad, they stood like two male dogs sizing up the other, Brad could almost imagine Mike sniffing at him, fur raised. But Mike only scowled at him and walked out the front door.