Chapter 11
Derek parked outside the entrance to the yard and walked up the drive. He admiringly brushed his hands against the beautiful white orchids that lined one side, separating the rich green lawn from the stone driveway. The ripe open petals, dancing around him, perfumed the air with its light fragrance. Derek closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the cool breeze swirl about him.
The white house standing amidst these rows of beauty was probably half the size of Brad’s house but he thought it was the most beautiful building he’d ever laid eyes on. He was so enveloped in the landscape that for a moment he’d forgotten what he was here for.
Eventually, he made his way to the front door, knocked and waited. There was no reply. He shifted his weight impatiently and looked about him; then he peeped into the window through the drawn curtain. The house was well furnished from what he could see, and quite homey with varnished mahogany chairs and sensible gold upholstery. He straightened up and turned toward the yard, and heard a low humming sound coming from behind the house.
As he stepped off the veranda the sweltering heat overwhelmed him, stinging his head and neck and with it came the feeling of dread. He had no idea how he would go about doing this, all he knew was something had to come out of it, he considered this as he made his way to the back.
He found the source of the humming. Someone dressed in long sleeves, faded, baggy jeans with a red bandanna tied on their head, stood with their back towards him. The source of the noise was the weed-whacker they held which was scattering sharp pieces of grass all around the yard. Derek winced and lifted his arm protectively over his eyes as a few escaped pieces were lashed against him. The nipped like tiny prickles.
He took a step back and called out, “excuse me!”
“Hello!” he tried again, trying to scream above the roaring machine.
There was no response.
Derek backed away until he was safely away from the flying grass bits and then dropped his arms with a resigned sigh.
When Anna turned around her heart leapt at the sight of a man sitting against the wall of the house, looking at her. It took her a while to recognize who it was but when she did her spirits sank and her defenses were immediately drawn up.
She shut off the weed-whacker and placed it on the ground next to her feet.
“What do you want” she asked, removing her grass covered goggles as she made her way toward him.
Derek’s head shot up and he jumped to his feet, dusting off his trousers as he did. He wore an uncomfortable smile as he made his way toward her.
“I’m sorry,” he chuckled, “been waiting for you to turn around to see me. Didn’t make sense trying to compete with that,” he motioned to the machine on the ground behind her, keeping his eyes away from hers.
Anna’s blank stare and indignant frown sobered him and he suddenly realized that this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d thought; there was obviously still some tension from the last time they’d met.
“I’m sorry…” he rubbed his head thoughtfully, “I tried the front door, there was no response.”
Anna pursed her lips and dashed the back of her hand against her sweaty forehead, “if you think you’re gonna accuse me of anything on my property you’ve got another thing coming,” she was strangely calm when she spoke.
Derek gapped, then squinted at her, his head jutting forward slightly, “I… I…” he paused and swallowed hard. He had never imagined apologizing would be so difficult.
Anna took of her gloves and stuffed them into the back pocket of her jeans, “what’s the matter Mr. Reed? Cat got your tongue? Where’d all that charm and charisma go?”
Derek grunted, “look am sorry alright. It was really rude of me to have even suggested… what I suggested.”
Anna looked at him for a long unnerving couple of seconds and for a moment Derek thought she was going to take the route of torture by forcing him to give her a play by play review of his embarrassing behavior. But instead she smiled; her face seemed to come alive, bright, like a ray of sunshine had been injected into her cheeks.
Derek gapped again and there was a strange feeling inside him, as though his stomach had lurched and his heart had given up beating for a moment.
“I… I…” he stammered, not entirely sure what he was trying to say.
Anna smirked, “would you like a drink Mr. Reed. It’s really hot out.”
Derek nodded, not trusting himself to speak.
He followed her into the house, and as he stepped into the living room the smell of freshly baked bread drifted toward him.
“Oh wow, homemade bread!” he exclaimed, with a broad grin.
Anna looked over at him and smiled pleasantly. Again his stomach did a somersault and he leaned against the couch and folded his arms above his racing heart.
“Would you like a slice?” she asked.
She was bare feet, having removed her boots at the front step, yet still quite disheveled; which made it hard for Derek to understand how she was having this effect on him.
“Oh I wouldn’t mind,” he said trying to sound nonchalant.
“Have a seat, I’ll be right back,” she said.
Only when she had left could Derek relax. He leaned back against the cushions and exhaled, all his energy seemed to have been drained from him in that short moment. He was confused, he’d never been so wound up by anyone like this, maybe it was the embarrassment of facing her or the fear of a soured response. What was even more disturbing was the fact that she’d accused him of being flaky; of course he probably deserved that after calling her a con artist – indirectly.
“Calm down man,” he whispered, “you’re acting like a teenager.”
When Anna returned she was dressed in the same faded jeans, but had replaced the stained long sleeves for a plain white t-shirt with no sleeves and her hair was pulled back, revealing the smooth curves of her oval face, but she didn’t look any less unkempt as she did when she’d left.
“Sorry about that,” she said, through a sigh.
Her voice broke into Derek’s snoozing brain and dragged him back to a state of consciousness; he realized he must’ve looked like a complete fool sitting there staring at her with his jaw loose like a semi retard, but she was so overwhelmingly beautiful even in her faded jeans and torn t-shirt. It’s not that he hadn’t noticed back in Trinidad, it was just that a man’s mind is set on different things in the presence of his troubled best friend, he tends to be more protective first off – at least that was Derek’s take on it.
Anna led Derek into the kitchen and made him a sandwich while he sat at the dining table, looking at her with a distracted expression on his face.
“You didn’t clean up,” he said suddenly.
Anna turned around with a surprised expression on her face, “excuse me,” her tone was daring, insulted even.
Derek gathered that she wasn’t asking a question, in fact he was quite sure she’d heard just what he’d said and it didn’t make him in the least bit comfortable.
“uh I was… I thought… you know,” he pointed his thumb over his shoulder and shrugged awkwardly.
“It’s nothing. Never mind.”
Anna glared at him as she placed a saucer with a very wholesome looking sandwich in front of him and a glass of cool Mauby, they clattered before him noisily, making him jump in terrified anticipation. Then she sat down in the chair adjacent to him with a glass for herself.
“I’m sure all the other ladies you encounter just duck and powder their noses every time you look at them,” she said snidely, “but I really don’t care what you think… Mr. Reed and am not gonna take a shower just ‘cause you’re here. I just want to know what you want.”
Derek looked up at her, his tongue working the soft whole wheat dough and ham about his mouth, savouring the combination of sweet, salt and starch, as well as the time it gave him to gather his thoughts and not make a complete fool of himself
again. He finally swallowed and took a long drink of mauby, which he put down with a contented sigh.
“Is this the canned one? It sure doesn’t taste like it; by the way call me Derek.”
Anna stared blankly, “it’s from the bark, homemade,” she said in a crisp monotone.
Derek grinned, “I’m so missing my grand ma right now, what a treat,” he looked up at her with cool brown eyes, “thank you very much.”
Anna nodded, “now about my question,” she persisted, glancing at her wrist watch.
Derek nodded, his jaw working on another mouthful.
Anna leaned back and took a sip of mauby. Derek was beginning to aggravate her, she looked out the window at her partially cut lawn, she had planned to finish before noon so she could start pruning.
Derek noticed her quick change of mood and realized that he was probably not as charming as he thought.
“It’s about Brad,” he said finally.
The impatient look in Anna’s eyes faded and they acquired depth, making her brown eyes appear brighter and bolder than they were seconds ago.
“What about him?” she asked.
Derek shook his head as he swiped the paper napkin across his lips; he then squeezed it into a tight ball.
“He’s slipping, I’m afraid he might lose himself again.”
“What are you talking about?” Anna asked; her brows furrowed in confusion.
Derek shifted uncomfortably in his chair, then sighed, “a while back, Brad had this drinking problem. He’s a problem drinker, whenever things go wrong in his life he turns to the bottle. I thought he was over it but a few days ago I went to his house, he’d downed a bottle of brandy, two bottles of wine and a half bottle of vodka in a week.”
He pulled is chin thoughtfully, “he’s on the verge of becoming an alcoholic if he isn’t already.”
Anna sighed, her face drawn with concern, “I spoke to him two days ago, he seemed fine.”
She looked away and they were silent for a while.
“But what does that have to do with me?” she asked suddenly, almost annoyed.
“Brad’s always had a soft spot for women and you and Mara are the two most influential ones in his life right now and I figure if one’s driving him to the bottle… or bottles,” he paused and leaned his head to the side thoughtfully, “then the other one can keep him from it.”
Anna gave a dry chuckle, “I don’t know what Brad told you about me and him but…”
“Please Anna, we’re all he has right now… and he’s not listening to me.”
Anna pursed her lips thoughtfully, “what do you suggest I do?”
“Come back with me.”
“What? No!” and she shot to her feet, “Derek, that’s a ridiculous suggestion,” she said, reaching for his plate and glass.
Derek spread his arms and shook his head helplessly, “just think about it, you can’t help out over here,” he said, getting up to follow her to the sink.
“With you around Brad would have something else to occupy his mind.”
Anna squeezed a bit of dish washing liquid onto the sponge and squeezed it into a bowl of water.
“I can’t occupy his mind Derek, he has a wife, that’s a recipe for disaster right there.”
“Come on Anna, I wasn’t thinking about it that way. You’re just a friend giving a supporting shoulder.”
Anna paused and took a deep breath, “you don’t understand Derek, it’s not just about Brad,” she turned pained eyes on him, “I’m gonna be setting myself up for trouble.”
“Oh? But don’t you have a boyfriend or something?” he looked confused, his eyebrows arched quizzically.
“What? No. He’s just… we’re dating. Why am I even answering you? Who told you that anyway?”
“Well to answer your first question, I’m just an irresistibly charming guy who you absolutely can’t say no to. And secondly, your kid told Brad who might’ve spilled it during a drunken stupor over you… you know, ‘moving on with the doctor’, so…” he shrugged and grimaced.
Anna rolled her eyes and started scrubbing at the saucer that wasn’t even dirty with an annoyed grunt.
Just then the front door opened and Mike’s heavy footsteps could be heard. His low grumble of a voice was heard in response to Casey’s high pitched question.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Anna said, turning an aggravated gaze upon him.
Derek lifted both hands before him protectively, “sure, sure,” he said, “but you haven’t given me an answer.”
Anna turned and yanked open the creaking kitchen door, then she turned to him, “I’m pretty sure I did,” she said, inclining her head to the outside.
Derek sighed in resignation, and made his way out, “alright, but I’m here if you change your mind.”
Anna narrowed her eyes at him and slammed the door in his face.
It was a cold, cloudless evening and Anna wanted to be alone. She sat on a wooden bench under a flowering flamboyant tree, with rich red petals littering the ground around it, now dim in the fading light. She sniffled and wiped the tip of her reddened nose with a paper napkin she’d picked up from the dinner table, now crumpled and soggy with her tears.
She wasn’t crying because her date with Neil had turned out to be a complete disaster; she was crying because she felt that he might actually be right. They’d been on a few dates before this, but this was supposed to be ‘extra special’ according to Neil. He’d picked her up in a borrowed car, well decked off in a crisp, Khaki suit, with shiny brown leather shoes and a fresh hair cut, and he was grinning from ear to ear. But Anna couldn’t fathom the unwavering feeling of dread, lying right on the floor of her stomach like an anvil, that rendered her ridiculously quiet, that took the taste out of her mouth and the charm out of her company.
Neil was oblivious to her soured mood and continued to chatter all through the soft jazz instrumental that accompanied their dinner, until their orders arrived and Anna could hardly get it down. Noticing how she looked indifferently at the food as she scattered the salad with her restless fork, he looked over at her with a frown and motioned to her plate.
“What’s the matter? Not what you wanted?” he asked.
Anna shook her head and tried to smile, “oh no… I mean yes. It’s fine,” she replied.
Neil looked unconvinced, his fork perched over his half empty plate, “you sure?”
Anna nodded and took up a tiny forkful of lasagna which she stuffed into her mouth and chewed with a smile.
Then came the scary part; the dreaded highlight of the evening. Anna knew what was coming the moment he set his charming gaze on her, and she squirmed under his bold look of admiration.
“You know Anna I’ve been looking forward to a night like this for a long time,” he chuckled, reaching across the table to take her hand.
Anna flinched a little, she wasn’t prepared for that, as a matter of fact she wasn’t prepared for anything Neil was about to say. Her muscles grew taut with fear of what was coming.
“I mean it’s no secret how I feel about you, I think everyone knows,” he smiled.
Anna grimaced.
“I really want to take this relationship to the next level,” he smirked.
Anna stared at him; there was nothing particularly wrong with Neil. She looked at him and she saw a handsome, stable, passionate and serious man, in another place or time she would’ve probably jumped at the opportunity, but something scared her, something kept her from being able to accept him.
He was looking at her expectantly, his charming smile still in position on his face, his hands still holding hers, which had now gone cold with apprehension.
“Uh… Neil,” she sighed, “I… can’t.”
It was hard getting those two words out, even harder was watching the joy disappear from his face, as sheer disappointment and confusion took its place.
“What?” the disbelief in his voice tore at her.
He withdrew his hands from hers awkwardly and leaned back, shaking his head in disbelief, “I don’t get it,” he said, “what’s wrong? Am I pushing to hard…I mean it’s only been four years!” he blurted.
Anna winced, she knew his reaction was more out of hurt than cruelty but it didn’t take the sting out of it. He was right, four years was a long time for a man to pursue a woman, only to get a lame “I can’t” without knowing what it is he was about to ask.
“There are just some things in my life that…”
“Get over it Anna. Please don’t tell me this is about that guy you had hanging around. Is it because he’s your child’s father, is that it?”
“I don’t…” she started.
“Or maybe you just don’t know how to let go and move on with your life. I’ve been hearing the same old nonsense for the past three years you kept beating around the bushes.”
Anna gapped, she was speechless. How was she supposed to respond to that? Not that she wanted to, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under the table and stay there until they turned the lights off.
“Come on Anna what is it? Do you find me that repulsive? Am I not rich enough for you?” he looked directly at her a look of genuine hurt on his face.
“Of course not!” she exclaimed, “You’re a wonderful guy, it’s just I….” she sighed and looked away, then she turned and looked at him, focusing on the bridge of his nose, “I don’t know what I want.”
Neil clasped his hands and looked away, his jaw hardened angrily a grim expression on his recently smiling face.
“You know what? Fine, just… forget it, I’m outta here,” he said sullenly as he rose from his seat and tossed the napkin down on the table, refusing to look at her.
“Good night Anna, can’t say I had a good time” and he walked stiffly away without even glancing back at her.
Hence the reason she was now sitting under a tree, wallowing in self pity and remorse, taking a moment to cry and be the pitiful woman she felt like sometimes. In her current state the last thing she wanted was to meet anyone, especially Derek Reed and she didn’t expect to neither, which is why she was rather surprised to find him standing above her, looking down at her with a worried expression.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Anna looked up at him, he was a white shirt on a shadow in the pale moon light and shade of the flamboyant tree but his voice was like a soothing breeze.
“I’m fine, just go away,” she urged hoarsely, trying to hide her tear stained face from him.
He stepped forward and came around to sit next to her, she got a faint whiff of axe and a spicy after shave. He was simply dressed in a lime green shirt jack with the first two buttons undone, revealing a chain with a gold ring resting on the centre of his chest, the light from across the street bounced off it giving it inspiring qualities. His grey slacks and leather slippers gave him a relaxed air so unlike the pompous, rich boy look he usually flaunted.
“Did your date stand you up?”
“No.”
He looked away thoughtfully then turned back with an air of urgency and revelation, “he cheat on you?”
“No,” she replied again, her tone revealing the preposterousness of it.
“Okay, he lied about the fact that he likes men?”
“What? No! just stop,” she cried in annoyance.
“Well you know I won’t until you tell me what that bastard did to make you cry.”
Anna looked over at him suddenly, surprised at the sincerity in his voice and even more taken back with the boldness in his eyes when she looked at him.
“It’s fine,” she said her tone softer and more accepting than before, she shrugged and looked away, “he didn’t say anything that wasn’t true.”
Derek reached over and touched her shoulder lightly, when she looked at him he was wearing a reassuring smile.
“It’s alright,” he said, “I didn’t like him for you anyway.”
Anna smiled, “yeah sure.”
They sat in silence for a moment, letting the night fall around them, listening to the rustle of the trees, feeling the gentle evening breeze caress their skin.
“Derek?”
She looked over at him as he turned to face her, his face solemn and thoughtful, “yes?”
“I’ll go back with you… as long as you’re paying.”
Derek smirked, “paying? Baby girl I got my own jet.”