5: Unexpected Summer Deluge-3
589 Words
A VARIETY OF DANISH PASTRIES and a tall mug of cappuccino were waiting for her when she came out of the shower.
So, he had been running.
She looked at the time, 07:00.
‘What time did you get up?’
‘Five – force of habit,’ he replied as he munched on a pastry.
She wondered if he had called her back.
None of my business, she reminded herself.
She helped herself to a pecan and apple danish. It was delicious. She showed her appreciation with a smile, and he winked in response to that.
Moving with the grace of an African leopard, the prince of stealth, he moved from the centre of the room to his wardrobe, collected a few items and headed for the shower.
She followed him with her eyes, mesmerised.
He tended to kick his heels very slightly inward as he walked, instead of the usual way of only kicking the heels straight out to the back. If his eyes weren’t smiling, he would give the appearance of someone blasé; someone who didn’t give a toss about anyone.
Minutes later, he was out of the shower which was timely because the phone was ringing again. He answered it quickly.
‘Hi, Line.’
Andy tried not to eavesdrop, but it was hard considering she was just four feet away. Well, she reckoned if he wanted to keep the conversation private, he would motion for her to leave, or he would excuse himself. Neither scenario happened, so she stayed put, lounging in an armchair, one leg tucked underneath, eating a second helping of the delicious pastry.
‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Can’t help, I’m in California ... Eight weeks, maybe more. I don’t know. You know what it’s like ... I’m sure you won’t have any problem finding someone to help ... Take care, mate.’
Mate? Um, well.
He turned his attention to her.
‘Any plans?’
‘Nope,’ she replied with an outward hand gesture.
He grabbed his phone, fiddled with it for a bit then unceremoniously declared, ‘Right, we’re going fishing.’
She looked at him as if he was mad.
‘What! Go fishing with what? Where?’
‘Glen Helen Regional Park. There’s a bait shop.’
She didn’t know what to think. The guy was unstoppable, constantly on the go.
‘Aren’t you tired?’
‘No,’ he said, as he tied the laces of his Timberlands.
He looked up to quiz her. ‘Are you?’
‘Not really.’
‘So, let’s go.’
She was going to decline his invitation, but her phone rang. Henry’s name came up; she turned it off.
‘Okay. Let’s.’
He rested his elbows on his knees, stared at her intently.
‘Him again.’
It was said as a statement, not posed as a question.
He knew.
There was no way she could bullshit her way out of it. She just screwed up her face.
‘None of your business.’
As it turned out, he wasn’t being flippant. He took two steps towards her, gripped both her shoulders and gave her two gentle shakes.
‘He’s not gonna go away easy.’ Not taking his eyes off her, he asked, ‘How long has this been going on?’
Swallowing her anxiety, she replied, ‘Six months, about.’
‘Six months! Have you reported him?’
‘He hasn’t really done anything to hurt me,’ she said. ‘I’ve reported him to the cops, but they said there’s nothing they could do. Calling someone doesn’t constitute a crime.’
‘You answered the last time he called. Why?’
‘Because I’ve already had fifty missed calls from him that day, I thought maybe if I answered and told him for a thousandth time “no” that he might finally get it.’
He shook his head and decided grimly that the nutter was a danger to Andy. Sooner or later, it would come to a head.
He gave her a playful hug, ‘Don’t worry; I’ll look out for you. Do you need anything?’
‘I need to get something from my hotel room.’
‘No worries, let’s go.’
This time, they took his rental, just in case Henry, the nutter, was still on stag.
*
- Writer
