Anna sat silently next to Derek as he drove, staring out at the passing scenery. It had been a long time since she’d left the island, so she could understand how awestruck she was at everything she had been seeing since they’d landed.
She turned and looked over at Derek, he was unusually quiet compared to the way he was going on, on the plane. Now he just drove in silence, grimacing as he focused on the road, his hand resting on the side of his neck.
“You alright?” she asked.
He glanced over at her but didn’t turn, “what do you mean?”
“I don’t know; you’re awfully quiet.”
He shrugged, “it’s nothing,” he said.
“What’s wrong with your neck?”
He looked over at her suddenly and winced. He jerked it back to focus on the road, his face crumpled in pain.
“Had a run in with a cop,” he said.
Anna regarded him thoughtfully, she had expected some smart mouthed response, or a humorous change of subject, but he was unnervingly serious today.
“hmm you are inappropriate but I never pegged you as the law breaking kind,” she said, trying for the kind of light banter he seemed to have perfected.
He smiled the kind of smile that didn’t go beyond the lips, “it’s actually a really funny story,” he said.
Anna listened as he recounted the events that led up to his sprained neck, with a look of concern on her face. Derek tried his best to keep up the element of humor with dry chuckles, and exaggerated facial expressions but Anna wasn’t feeling it. The concern she felt for him and Brad was too much to look upon their experiences with laughter. Not to mention the fact that she was a naturally grave person.
“You should rub that neck and put your brace on,” she said in her mother’s tone.
Derek chuckled, “sure nurse Wright.”
“Well I’m not really a nurse, I’m a receptionist at the hospital.”
He turned to her stiffly and graced her with a disarming smile, “I know.”
Anna blushed; it was his sincerity that undid her. “Wait, why are we pulling over?” she asked, frantically looking about them.
Derek turned in his seat and was attempting to reach the bag on the back seat, “relax,” he said, “I’m just following orders.”
Anna leaned forward and reached the bag he was struggling to get and tossed it on his lap.
“Thanks,” he mumbled, reaching into it and removing a blue tube of muscle rub.
“Here let me.”
Derek looked at her smiling face, then at her outstretched hand and after a brief moment of awkward staring and waiting, he placed it in her hand.
Anna squeezed the gel into her palm and leaned over, applying the cool ointment to his strong neck, rigid with strength, stiff with the built up tension from the long flight.
“Wow you do a better job than my secretary,” he said with a grin.
Anna chuckled, “what is it with you business men and your secretaries?”
He shrugged, “they're like our corporate mama’s,” he said matter-of-factly, “well some of us, for others… you know how it goes.”
Anna sighed, “I always think that I would have a problem with my husband being especially close with a woman like that, especially one he spends most of the day with.”
“I don’t think you should,” he said with furrowed brows, “I think a woman should trust her husband enough to believe him when he says, ‘baby she’s just my secretary’.”
“And how often is that true?” she leaned back and reached for a tissue from the box on the dash board.
“How many guys are you planning to marry?”
Anna looked at him, right into the golden depths of his peculiar eyes, “Just one,” she said.
He smiled, that slow charming smile, that seemed absolutely magical, “then you better make sure he’s the right one, that way you won’t have to worry about no secretary.”
They continued to stare at each other, oblivious to the fading light and the sound of vehicles zooming past. Derek smiled and lifted his neck brace to Anna.
“Brace me, will you?”
The original plan was to check Anna into a hotel before going over to surprise Brad, but they hadn’t catered for time running out so soon. It was dark when they drove into the neighborhood, and they were proud of their quick change of plans.
Derek drove up the long curvy driveway and parked at the entrance of the house. Anna was looking up at it, duly impressed.
“Nice place,” she said, “Raj’s done well.”
Derek nodded and opened his door, “oh and about that name you just used, the wife doesn’t like when other women know stuff about her husband that she doesn’t.”
Anna nodded, “that’s an acceptable condition; don’t know why she wouldn’t know that name… but I’ll oblige.”
Derek walked up to the front door and stepped right in, Anna hesitated. He turned around and smiled at her.
“It’s okay; I do this all the time.”
Anna stepped into the house and was immediately taken with the ornate interior, the rich fabric of the drapes, the freshness of the carpet, the statues, and portraits and framed photos.
“Is this her?” she went over to the fire place and picked up a framed photo of Brad and an extremely beautiful blond, with big bold blue eyes. Both were looking directly at her, their eyes dancing, their smiles wide as they clung onto each other like the young love struck couple they must’ve been then.
“She’s beautiful.”
Derek came and stood behind her, “yeah, so was Jezebel.”
They found Brad in the kitchen, hunched over a bottle of brandy with a bunch of papers scattered on the table top, the half empty glass pressed against his forehead.
“Hey man,” Derek greeted.
Brad glanced up at him momentarily then returned to his sad posture only to jerk his head back up suddenly. His eyes wide with shock.
“Anna?”
Anna shrugged, “hey,” she greeted with a strained grin.
He slammed the glass down on the table top with a bang as he swore, his face flushed with embarrassment.
“What are you doing here?” he asked huskily, not daring to look up at her.
Anna took a deep breath, “I came to see you.”
“Why? I told you I would be fine,” he blurted, still looking at a spot on the table that must have held some importance to him.
“You’re clearly not,” Anna said, her voice a little louder than a whisper.
Brad looked up at her now and he whimpered, tears streaming down his cheeks to his trembling lips.
“I never wanted you to see me like this.”
Derek’s face was ashen, as he shifted his weight uncomfortably, it was now occurring to him that he might have gone about this wrong; that this might be the worse idea he’s ever had.
“Let’s go Anna,” he started to say, but she was already making her way toward Brad.
“It’s alright, we all have our rough patches,” she soothed, bending down to embrace him.
Brad leaned against her, clinging to her like a child. Derek felt like a third wheel, like he was witnessing something he was not supposed to. Quietly he slipped out of the room, feeling like he could breathe again the moment he was out of their space. He sat down on the couch in the living room and bent his head over his clasped hands, he hoped this would work.
Anna was still comforting Brad, trying to think of the best thing to say to him in his given situation - when Derek said he was messed up he hadn’t explained the extent of his situation, if anything, they’d both underestimated it. She lifted his head and combed her fingers through his hair.
“Tell me what’s going on with you Raj.”
Suddenly the side door was yanked open and a strong cold gust of night air burst through the kitchen adding a chill to Mara’s figure standing in the doorway, a look of suspicious confusion on her face.
“Brad?”
/>
Brad took a deep breath and turned to face her, hoping his previous emotional state wasn’t still evident on his face.
“Mara,” he greeted.
But Mara’s icy gaze was on Anna, who was looking back at her with a leveled coolness.
“Who is this?”
Brad hesitated, he looked up at Anna, who glanced down at him a warning look in her eyes, and then he looked back at his wife.
“I’ve been meaning to tell you…” he started.
Anna gripped his shoulder in panic, “don’t,” she warned.
Brad ignored her; he rose to his feet and looked directly at his wife, whose look of suspicion had faded into terror.
“I have a child Mara,” he said coldly, “and this…this woman here is her mother.”
Mara gasped. Anna gapped, lifting a hand toward Mara, “wait before you freak out. My daughter is eleven, Raj… I mean Brad didn’t know until some weeks ago…”
“Raj? Who the hell is Raj?” Mara’s eyes fell upon Brad, “Who are you?” she cried.
Derek dashed into the kitchen, “oh man,” he muttered, hurrying to Anna’s side, “she’s with me,” he said.
“Cat’s out of the bag Derek,” Anna said.
He grimaced and bit his knuckle, “this can’t be good.”
“Mara, now don’t do anything stupid…” Brad warned.
Mara looked frantic, “me? It’s always my fault huh, I lied, I cheated, I tried to kill you, you can’t trust me. I’m a piece of trash and you’re…. you’re just perfect aren’t you?”
Brad was suddenly at a loss for words, why was he suddenly feeling guilty? Why was her pained expression tearing at him? Why did he feel like the most horrible person in the room? It was supposed to be her, she was the bad guy. Was she?
He suddenly wanted to say something that wouldn’t hurt, something that wouldn’t accuse, that would calm her and make her regard him with those pleading, loving blue eyes again, but nothing came. He just stood there like a fool, while his friends watched him take the axe to the final pillar of his marriage.
“Are those divorce papers!” she shrieked.
She reached down and scooped up the papers that were scattered on the table, and her face grew paler, her expression grave. Mara shook her head in disgust, her hurt was evident in her eyes, the eyes that Brad could read like a book, that he understood more than anyone else. Then she turned with a huff and marched back out into the chilly night.
They stood in silence, hearing the angry rev of her engine as she pulled out of the driveway. Brad turned to Derek.
“I think I handled this really bad.”
Anna glared at him, “you think!”