The ocean roared, the powerful waves rising and falling hard against the rugged rocks, foam rising from its blue surface as sea gulls soared overhead. It was a beautiful day; the sun was at its peak in the blue sky, the clouds white and fluffy, hovered like guardians over the dancing trees. Brad shut his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the cool salty ocean breeze wrap around him, along with the many fragrances of Anna’s flowers. He was going to miss this place but more than anything he was going to miss the people that had made it special. It seemed like ages since he’d last seen his wife or stepped foot in his house. The bruises had faded from his face and all that was left, were the dents and scars to remind him of how he’d been betrayed.
“Have you finished packing?”
He turned around to find Anna looking up at him, shading her eyes against the bright sun with her hand, her stance reminded him of the last time they’d seen each other eleven years ago. She had been standing on the shore with her hands lifted over her eyes, her hair pulled up in a high bun and her skirt twirling around her feet as she watched him leave. He remembered the sadness on her face, the fear. He remembered his own hesitation; he’d memorized everything about that day, for years it was all he could think of. There was something in her eyes when he’d said good bye, he knew she was keeping something from him; it was only now that he had come to realize just what it was.
“I don’t have much luggage,” he said with a smile.
Anna chuckled, “right, I forget you weren’t just visiting.”
There was an awkward silence after that, they both stood next to each other, deliberately avoiding each other’s eyes.
“It must be great to have a friend who can come through for you like that,” she said finally.
Brad shrugged, “Yeah. Derek has always been a pretty dependable guy. If it wasn’t for him I’d definitely be stuck here, since I have no identification whatsoever.”
Anna feigned insult, “and what’s so bad about that.”
He looked over at her, his face bland, his eyes thoughtful.
“When are you going to tell her Anna?”
Anna looked away and folded her arms over her chest with a sigh, “when the time is right she’ll know.”
“And when exactly is the right time” he flared, “when am gone? When she no longer remembers me?”
Anna lifted her hands toward him in a calming gesture, “Raj you don’t understand how hard this is for me…”
“Hard for you!” he exclaimed.
Anna winced.
“Let me tell you what is hard Anna; having a daughter that doesn’t know who you are. Living with her, seeing her everyday and always having to remind yourself that you’re a stranger to her, wanting to sit with her and talk with her as a father would to his child and not being able to, because you always have to be careful you don’t say something that would reveal the truth. That’s what is hard, Anna.”
He looked at her indignantly, “when we separate in Trinidad I don’t know when I would ever see her again. I don’t even know what am heading into, there may be a convict waiting to take me out when I get back…”
“Don’t talk like that.”
“That is the reality Anna, my life is in danger and the one chance I get to have something good in my life is being prevented by you.”
Anna pouted her lips and looked away, her eyes bright with unshed tears, she didn’t like when Brad got angry at her, she didn’t like the position he was putting her in and most of all she didn’t like feeling guilty.
“Fine, Brad.”
She turned and stalked away, her arms straight at her side and her steps quick.
Brad glanced back at her, his anger forgotten. All he could think about was what she’d called him, he was Brad again but he wasn’t sure he wanted Anna to think of him that way.