His Keeper

Chapter 8

Over the next few months, the pack came up with a company name, Ascension Protective Services. With Mr. Brown’s help they were able to purchase a building, and renovate it into a state-of-the-art training facility, housing vehicles, weapons, and offices for each one of the pack members, including Mr. Brown which would serve as their base of operations. Not only was business thriving, but so were each of the pack members personal lives. They were getting married and starting their own family. That is with the exception of Nate who stayed single because of Stacey.

            Mr. Brown, on the hand, was a bit of a player and almost every other month the pack was never surprised to see a new lady or sometimes two by his side. Despite his player tendencies, he had a soft spot for Nate. Mr. Brown would occasionally bring a lady friend over to see if she would entice Nate. However, Nate remained devoted to Stacey. So, Mr. Brown did the next best thing which was build a loft alongside their base of operations so that Nate could pour his heart into their business. Because Nate’s new love was the business.

            So you see, that’s where I come in. It was around this time, that Nate would come to meet Me. The first time Nate met me was while on his morning run. I was just sitting under a tree, strumming my acoustic guitar, singing softly.

“Excuse me, Sir, but you have an amazing voice, is it okay to stop for a minute here to catch my breath and listen to you sing?” Nate asked as he leaned up against the tree, taking deep breaths.

I nodded and replied, “No worries, sir, take your time, and thank you for the compliment, it means a lot.”

Nate took a seat across from me and just listened to me play for a bit longer. He introduced himself saying, “I’m Nate, it’s nice to meet you, sir.

I quickly respond, “Likewise Nate, I’m Marcel.”

As we continued talking, Nate abruptly asked me, “Marcel, did you sleep here last night.” He immediately amended his statement saying, “I’m sorry to sound so nosey but……”

I smiled and kindly interrupted him, “Don’t be sorry, but yes I did. I like to call myself a drifter. I’m just passing through from town to town. I’ve traveled all over the world and I have had my fair share of adventures. So, I have no complaints about my life.”

A look of sadness flickered in Nate’s eyes, but he quickly changed it hoping that I did not see it. Nate responded, “I’m on my way to get some breakfast would you like to come with me, my treat!”

 I shook my head and replied, “No, I haven’t showered in a while and wouldn’t feel comfortable but thank you for the invite.”

Nate looked a bit disappointed with my answer, but I could already see the determination forming in his eyes and knew he wasn’t planning on taking no for an answer. Nate left me under the tree, to which, I already knew he was going to arrive 15 minutes later with two overstuffed breakfast burritos filled with fried potatoes, eggs, ham, bacon and sausage. He insisted that he would not leave my side unless he saw me hoover at least two or three bites. He also invited me back to his place to take a shower and get cleaned up, but again, I declined. That’s how our friendship started, and this would be the normal everyday routine for us. We would have breakfast together and talk about our lives. How we ended up where we were at this point in our lives and most importantly how he was single with no kids because his heart belonged to his past love, Stacey.

Every time we talked about her; I could hear the excitement at first then a drifting away into anger and then sadness. “I remember the first time I met her, Marcel, as if it were only yesterday. We were both second graders and it was in the middle of the school year when her family moved to our small little country town from Hawaii. She had walked into class a few minutes late as she had been escorted by an office aide who stated “Hello, Class, we have a new student and her name is Stacey.” There she was looking terrified because it was her first time in a foreign place while I sat there thinking to myself, she looked like an angel. I watched as her eyes scanned across the room, then she made direct eye contact with me and I saw all of her fear disappear. She gave me a beautiful smile and winked at me. We became best friends and were inseparable. We always had that connection, but I never had the courage to ask her to be my girlfriend because I was too afraid, she might say no. And then, right when I am able to tell her how I feel, she was taken from me.”

I couldn’t tell him he was right that life was taken from him because of something that he will have to face in the not too distant future. So, instead, I sat with him every morning and listened to their story. And I would watch over him as each year on the anniversary of her death, he would bring her roses, sit at her grave, and just talk out loud like she was right in front of him. He talked to her about the life they would have had and how many kids they would’ve had.