PINEAPPLES AND STILETTOS

EARTHQUAKE

"I can't believe high school is finally over," Anita said to Joanne over the phone.

The evening was cool and the breeze gentle as it blew across the large Victorian house.

Anita stood with her elbows resting against the balcony railing, her eyes fixed on a lone butterfly flapping its wings lazily across the garden. The flowers in their late summer bloom danced to the song of the wind, and somewhere a robin bird was singing.

"Same here." Joanne agreed. "Sometimes, it feels like I'm dreaming."

"No more teachers telling you what to do, or clubs and societies or cheerleading... there's so much about high school that I'm gonna miss," Anita said, her voice laced with nostalgia.

The high school year had been so much fun. She had made a whole lot of friends, including James. It felt weird that so much was gonna change now. And there was college too.

"Ditto. And guess what 'Nita, everyone's leaving Colorado." There was a note of wonder in Jo's voice. "Katrina's in London. Greg's off to New York. Jonathan's coming to Cambridge too. Beth is going to Japan."

"You gotta be kidding me." A small gasp of surprise escaped Anita's lips. " I thought they were all gonna stay."

"Seems like only Amy is staying. Her dad wants her to spend a year here before she leaves for Australia. Even Arthur is going."

Anita bit her bottom lip. "I guess that's how it's supposed to be. Everyone will just have to go separate ways after high school...but it'll be so hard to stay in touch." She groaned.

"It's a good thing we're both going to Cambridge this winter isn't it?" Jo coughed. "Getting really cold out here," She muttered, "Gotta get inside."

Anita had begun to feel cold too. Gently, she pulled the woolen sweater she had on an inch closer.

Jo lived in Central City, a few miles from Fort Collins with her parents and grandmother. Anita had been best friends with Jo since Day Care. Their fathers had gone to the same college together and were still friends.

Anita listened to the soft patter of Jo's footsteps over the phone. She had probably been on the balcony too.

"So what about James? I haven't heard anything about him," Jo asked.

"James?" The name still brought butterflies to her belly and made her heart race. It was hard to believe that they had met only two months ago.

"Yeah. I don't think he'll want to stay in Colorado, don't you think so?"

"Umm..." Anita bit down harder on her lower lip, forcing herself to think only of the pain she was feeling at the moment.

Yet her voice came out broken, the ache in her heart making speech difficult. "He's moved to Nigeria."

For a moment, Jo was quiet.

Then she whispered, shock and disbelief clouding her voice,"You can't be serious. Nigeria? I mean-no offense-you're part Nigerian, I know that. But you can't be serious about James."

"I am, Jo." Anita couldn't help sounding sad. The news had left her devastated, and she was still trying to recover from the blow. "He left last weekend."

"What's he doing there? Nigeria's not really a great place to be right now."

Jo was right, and Anita had said just the same thing to him. But nothing had changed.

"His dad wants him back home. He's the only son so, he has to start learning the ropes of the company now."

"That's...sad. Are you okay 'Nita?" The tender uncertainty in Jo's voice was filled with concern.

"I am." Anita suppressed a sniff. "I'm fine, Jo. Just missing him an awful lot."

She was distracted by a soft knock on the door. Turning, she found Miss Yvonne standing by the door, wearing her signature formal expression.

"Miss Wilson, it's time for dinner."

"I gotta go Jo. We'll talk later ok?"

"Promise me you'll be fine."

"I promise." Anita smiled.

"And don't worry about James. You'll get over him soon."

'Maybe,' Anita thought, '...maybe not'

Anyways she forced on a bright tone and said, "Yeah. Bye,"

"Bye."

The air had grown chiller by the time Anita followed the maid into the house. Her mom and dad were already seated at the dining table, engaged in a conversation when she walked in.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." Anita grinned, pushing all thoughts of James behind as she slipped into one of the silver high backed chairs closest to them.

"Hey, how's my little munchkin doing?" Mr. Wilson leaned over and gave her a hearty peck. A renowned lawyer and writer, he was one of the best in the entire States. Six-foot tall, with charming looks and a great smile, Anita's dad was the very definition of the ideal guy.

"Fantastic." She beamed at him.

"Still worried about college darling?" Her mom asked while smoothing her hair gently.

"Not anymore. I'm actually looking forward to it now," Anita replied enthusiastically.

Mrs. Wilson was tall, elegant and gorgeous. She had honey brown eyes and a voice that could melt a glacier and was the perfect match for Mr. Wilson. They made a lovely couple together.

"I'm glad to hear that," Mrs. Wilson said, "There's really nothing to worry about. Everything's gonna be just fine, darling."

"Not so sure 'bout that cause I'm starving right now." Mr. Wilson cried in mock panic.

Everyone laughed and began digging into the food.

"This is so tasty. Did I tell you, Anita that your mom makes the best dishes?"

"And that's one of the many reasons you married her. Of course dad, I know that line so well." Anita smiled, enjoying her mashed potatoes and lemon sauce. Her mom had run one of the biggest restaurants in America before she became started modelling. As a world-class chef, she was nothing short of excellent in the kitchen.

"When I met your father," Mrs. Wilson smiled as she filled Anita's plate with more fries. "I was working in a small eatery in Broadway. The day we met turned out to be my first time handling a home delivery."

"I had everything in place for my fiancee and her family's visit. I was supposed to meet them for the first time and I wanted everything to be just perfect. Eventually, the chef I hired fell ill and couldn't make it." Mr. Wilson paused to drink from his glass of wine.

Anita's mom continued, her smile never leaving her face, "So, he made the call to my workplace and placed an order for a three course meal. He made it painfully clear how urgent it was. When I was told to make the delivery, I thought someone about to die had asked for a last meal."

Everyone laughed at that.

"I was almost losing it when the door bell rang," Her dad went on, "I opened it and there was your mom." He turned to stare at his wife and Anita could see the love shining in his eyes. So brightly, she knew it had to be something special.

Mrs. Wilson chuckled at the memory. "He was so nervous he didn't even see me till I had set the table and laid out the dishes."

"But," Mr. Wilson interjected, "I noticed a very heavenly scent I just knew had nothing to do with the food. And when she was done and we were discussing the bill, I saw her for the first time. I felt like someone had sucker punched me into a world where no one else existed, just the two of us..."

"Don't be so dramatic, Tony. All we did was argue over the bill. I'll never forget when you mentioned the constitution and the rights of a consumer."

"Alright, I was a lawyer then and still am. But that didn't stop me from falling in love with you."

"Neither did your stubborn fiancee," Anita added. She knew the story so well and had even memorized it. It was the perfect love story.

"To cut a long story short, after a long dreary battle, your mom and I finally got married and three years after our fairytale wedding, you my sweet pie," Mr. Wilson leaned over and gave Anita another peck. "...came along."

"Is this the part where we say 'And we all lived happily ever after'?" Anita's mom asked, her eyes sparkling with delight.

"No. Wait for it." Anita turned expectantly to her dad.

As if on cue, Mr. Wilson mouthed, "One, two, three..."

"And we all lived happily ever after!" They chorused and broke into peals of laughter.

****

The next morning, Anita woke up to the blaring sound of her alarm clock. With a sleepy groan, she slapped a hand over it and rolled out of bed. The sun was just rising, its rays streaming through the window and casting a warm glow on the room. A breeze fluttered in from outside, bringing with it the fresh smell of flowers and dawn.

'Today's gonna be a great day,' she thought, staring at her face in the mirror.

A perfectly oval face with a pointed nose, brown eyes and long lashes stared back at her. She would be going to the movies and doing a bit of shopping with Jo, then come home for lunch. They will make a cooking video for the family i********: page and after that, Miss Yvonne would take her to the art gallery downtown. The evening would be spent at a dinner party in her dad's colleague's villa.

'Okay, it's gonna be a busy and a great day,' Anita thought, stretching her limbs with a yawn. She looked forward to every single second of it. First things first though, she had to take her veggie drink then join her mom and dad in the gym for their morning workout. Mrs. Wilson always waited in the kitchen for her every morning with the bottle of berry veggie.

Forcing the sleep out of her eyes, she sauntered out of her room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen. The big house was quiet, except for the noise of the house servants bustling around. Anita knew her dad would be upstairs, probably doing some paperwork.

She walked into the kitchen and made for the space where her mom often sat in a small couch with the veggie drink and a big smile.

Strangely, her mom wasn't there.

"Mom?" Anita called, a bit worried. The kitchen was usually empty by that time in the morning, except for her mom. But today, there was no sign of Mrs. Wilson anywhere.

"Mom?" Anita called again, retracing her steps while searching the expansive kitchen. The silence she got as a reply made her uncomfortable.

Something was wrong.

The word 'Mom' on her lips again, she rounded the corner that led to the half bathroom at the back of the kitchen. Just about to take a step forward, she froze and the color drained out of her face.

There on the cool marble floor, Mrs. Wilson lay, her eyes wide open and her beautiful face twisted in pain. White foam oozed out of her tiny mouth that had gone slack.

Anita felt her entire body go numb as a dark cold awful sensation gripped her. For a moment the world seemed to be spinning so fast even though it felt like time had stopped.

The spell only lasted for a few seconds.

The next second, Anita let out a bloodcurdling wail.