|
The restaurant we went to for
breakfast afterwards was clean and organized and had an old-fashioned
fifties feel, the warm sunlight pouring in through the windows. We sat
by a window in a booth, the brown leather seats giving off a bright
glare. The sun was shining in my face impairing my vision and I guess
John noticed so he instinctively leaned over to shut the blinds in our
booth a tad.
John let me order a drink after him, and together we waited while they
were prepared in the back. The sound of forks and knives and
conversation echoed throughout the restaurant and I eyed around
soundlessly at the faces of many chewing men and woman and children.
The room was brightly lit with yellow, and it was decently warm inside.
“The Child Services rep seemed pretty fond of you, wouldn’t you say?”
John intervened in my thoughts, adjusting the salt and pepper that was
against the window wall.
I looked at him, forgetting the other munching people. “If mocking me
and keeping an impassive expression on his face the whole time was him
being ‘fond’, then yeah, I guess he was.”
John leaned his arm on the table in front of us. “That guy does that for
a living, he’s used to it all by now.” He paused. “When did he mock
you?”
I shook my head and shrugged. “It just seemed that way to me.”
“He seemed pretty stunned when you told him everything your father has
done, though.” John said. His eyes wandered around at the different
people like mine had previously been before coming back to me. “He was
right though, Shuro. You should have come to them sooner. Who knows what
else your father would have done if you hadn’t run into me.”
“I didn’t exactly ‘run’ into you. It was Mrs. Surrandon that suggested I
see you, remember?”
“And what would have happened if she hadn’t suggested it?”
“How the hell am I supposed to know?”
“I’m just saying the outcomes would not have been good.”
“Yeah I know, alright? You don’t have to remind me.”
The waitress came back with our glasses filled. She placed my orange
juice and John’s ice water respectively in front of us. John thanked
her. I just inspected it, realizing I hadn’t specified a juice with no
pulp, but wasn’t all that bothered by it.
“Are you ready to order?” She asked in a sweet polite voice. Her cheeks
were rosy and she had small green eyes and an eyebrow ring. Her brown
hair was tightly pulled back in a ponytail, and she grasped a tiny
notepad and pen, batting her eyes at John. I noticed by her whole
demeanor and the way she laughed when John made a stupid joke that she
was attempting to flirt. She even touched his shoulder when she would
tell him something.
After we ordered our meals we waited some more in our seats. I folded my
arms. “Bet she’ll be getting an extra tip from you, huh?”
John finished a tiny sip from his water. “What’s that?”
“Lillian.” I had read her nametag. “The waitress.”
“And why would you think I’d give her an extra tip?”
I unfolded my arms and took a sip from my orange juice. “She was
flirting. Wasn’t it obvious?”
John coughed and laughed at the same time. “Flirting? She was just being
a good waitress.”
“Oh so if I bat my eyelashes like this,” I sarcastically imitated her
lame eyelash-bat and continued. “It means I’m just being a good waitress
and not trying to flirt with you?” I mocked her.
John laughed and crumpled up a napkin to casually toss at me. “Be quiet.
I guess I just didn’t notice. I don’t notice those things, you know.
Neither should you.”
I laughed and shook my head.
John looked toward the shut blinds at the sun peeking through the
cracks. His expression changed drastically from when we were laughing
just a short few seconds ago. He looked worried now, pondering something
I didn’t know about.
“Shuro,” he started.
“What?” What could he possibly have to say now? Was it bad news? Why did
he always drop bad news on me every time we were starting to have a good
time?
“I am going on a business trip next week… Emera is coming along. I
thought you should know…”
“What? Where?”
“It’s in Paris, France. That’s where my client is from, and that’s where
the court session is taking place. We’re staying for two weeks.”
“Two weeks?” I repeated, not sure of how to take this news.
“The process of the trial is about a week, but Emera wants to see a few
sights while we’re there.”
“But…Well…When do you leave?”
“In six days. Our flight departs Friday night.”
“I…” I paused, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t laughing anymore. I had
nothing to laugh or even smile about. John knew how I was feeling, I
could tell. He seemed sympathetic and sorry for me even when he should
be excited to tell me the news.
“So, why are you telling me this?” I asked even though I already knew
why and what I had to do with it. I clenched my jaw to keep my lips from
saying anything I might regret.
“Look… I’m going to find a nice place for you to stay, alright?”
“What are you even talking about? Who could possibly want to take me in
now? I don’t want to stay with some random family for two weeks,” I was
shaking my head. “That’s way too long.”
“I thought it would be good for you, to see what it would be like when
you really go to live with another family.”
“Just shut up, okay? You don’t even know what you’re saying.” I tried to
keep my voice hushed so the couple in the booth behind us wouldn’t hear
our conversation. “I’d rather stay with Ron.”
“Shuro, don’t be like that. It’s not worth it. Just trust me, okay?”
“No,” I shook my head.
“Do you trust me or not?” His tone was stern and I got the feeling he
was aggravated by my attitude.
I stared across the table into his intense eyes peering back at me but
didn’t answer. How could he just pack up and leave at a time like this?
Now was possibly the worst time to go away on a business and leisure
trip, and it seemed like he didn’t care.
Silence was all that passed between us after that, John gazing out the
window past the slatted blinds and me with my arms folded over my chest,
eyeing around the room in distress. Everyone appeared so happy, so
opposed to myself with their cheerful smiles and giggles. One couple
even fed each other tiny bites of their own meals. It made me sick.
My gaze stopped on a man engulfing a fork in his mouth who would not
take his eyes away from me. He was sitting with another man, whose back
was facing me. They seemed to be discussing some secret affairs,
exchanging suspicious hushed conversation. My senses tingled as the
other man turned and eyed me and gave me a cynical smirk. Those eyes he
had…
“Holy shit.” I jolted in my seat as if I had just been tazed by a police
officer and my hands went to grasp the table. John obviously noticed my
off behavior so naturally he reacted in an equally atypical manor.
“What’s wrong? What is it?” he asked incredulously.
“It’s them. It’s Edward Marvin and Ben.”
“What?!” John spun around in his seat to follow where my eyes were
staring. He eyed the two suspiciously then looked back at me. “Are you
sure?” his voice was hesitant, his expression more serious than ever and
he leaned in close to almost whisper.
I eyed the pair from the corner of my eye one last time and was
absolutely certain once I saw them glaring right back at me. “Yes.”
“Go wait in the car. I’ll tell the waiter to forget our meals if it
isn’t too much trouble,” John said in a stern yet composed tone, pushing
his napkin aside.
“What? No, I want to see what you do to them.”
“Just go wait in the car,” John retorted forcefully. He stood up and I
stood at almost the exact same time, trying to push my way past him to
get to the bastards so I could give them a piece of my mind. John
struggled with me in the middle of the restaurant, trying to keep me
from doing anything irrational. By now I was sure almost everyone was
looking.
“Are you gonna lock them up? Huh? What are you gonna do?” I lightly
pounded on John’s chest, struggling still to get past him but more
trying to take out the anger Edward and Ben made me feel on John. John
wouldn’t fight back and that bothered me because I needed some sort of
competition. His gentle hands just gripped my wrists but even then it
was with compassion. He was saying something but there was too much
commotion around for me to take in what he was saying.
I saw the two men from behind John start to hastily gather their things
and stand. “They’re leaving. They’re leaving!” I told him almost
hysterically.
“Just go to the car!” John raised his voice and finally turned me around
and gave me a big shove towards the entrance door.
• • •
I waited rather impatiently in John’s Audi R8 for almost an hour and was
tempted to stroll back in to see what was going on when I noticed two
police cars pull up in the diner lot. I immediately pushed the car door
open and sped toward the diner entrance where a small crowd seemed to be
gathered outside. It was made up of five cops, the restaurant owner, a
few pedestrians and employees and then finally John and Edward and Ben.
The officers handcuffed the scandals and forced them into the police
car. I saw the officers talking to John but they were out of hearing
range. One of them jotted down a few things and then patted John on the
shoulder and drove away. I was surprised at how fast they arrested the
two without further information given at the police station.
The crowd dispersed and everyone went separate ways, most back inside
the restaurant. When John spotted me he walked over and sighed. “I told
you to wait in the car.”
“And I did, for about an hour.”
John shook his head and led me back to the Audi R8, his hand over my
shoulder.
“So?” I asked, curious about what had happened while I was in isolation.
“Edward Marvin and Ben Harment were both charged for sexual harassment a
few years ago but their sentence was only for a few months and not in
prison but a more agreeable equivalent. The harassment wasn’t as bad as
what they did to you, though, hence their short sentence. When the
police caught them now they had no question as to whether I was telling
the truth or not. Gregg, one of the officers, is a very good friend of
mine who confides in me. There were no problems. They asked me a few
questions and mentioned they might call you afterwards, but that’ll be
nothing.”
We both got in the car and John started the engine. “So it’s that
simple? They’re locked up? For how long?” I asked.
“Very long.” John didn’t answer my question directly, but by the way he
said it I was satisfied enough.
At least I was content about something for now. It made me take my mind
off John’s leaving for two weeks. As we drove, my mind would wander off
and then get on my nerves by leading back to that stupid business trip.
I wanted to bang my head continuously on the car door to get the thought
out. The silence was unbearable, both of us knowing what the other was
thinking but no one having the nerve to mention it.
“Damn it, why do you have to go?” I broke the still air with booming
rage.
“It’s a matter of business.”
For some reason that made me more irked than I was before. “So you just
don’t care, is that it?” Rain began to spatter on the windshield and the
wipers started automatically, clearing the vision of the path in front.
They made a squeaky sound and the left one was higher pitched than the
right. At least it wasn’t just my voice in the car anymore.
“I don’t know why you’re getting so tempered about this. It’s only two
weeks.” He shook his head. His calmness was exchanged for a dark fury I
never saw in him before, and his hands slightly jolted and banged on the
wheel in which he was grasping firmly. “Damn it, of course I care. If
you think I don’t care then why are you even here? Hell, why would I be
here if I didn’t care?”
I stayed silent, almost in shock yet strangely amused at the way he
seemed to have finally lost that coolness about him. He stared directly
ahead at the road, still gripping the steering wheel tightly. “Do you
know how much I have been through with you, and for you?” He shook his
head now. “To hear you say that you think I don’t care is… I don’t
know…” For the first time John searched for words. He was fighting to
say something else but seemed genuinely hurt by what I had said. But
why? After all I’ve done and said to him, after everything we’ve been
through, I couldn’t believe he still wanted to be with me.
“I’m sorry…” My whisper broke the silence and the rain seemed to mute,
though it still fell just as hard.
“Shuro, I’m sorry I’m leaving you. I want to be there for you,
especially in times like this.”
I swallowed, staring out the windshield blankly. The rain fell harder, a
bolt of lightning illuminating the gray sky for an instant. It was
getting worse out there.
“Shuro,” John started after a few moments, but it was as if he was just
finishing his other sentence. “Back at the restaurant with those two
criminals… I didn’t want you to get involved because I care… I want to
protect you from these things.”
I glanced at him for a second then looked back outside at the passing
houses and streets. “How can you do that when you’re all the way on the
other side of the world?”
John didn’t answer that, and he appeared to be irritated by me. I could
tell by the way he clenched his jaw and stared straight ahead without a
word.
We finally arrived back at John’s enormous yet cozy loft without any
more words and I immediately went over to sit on the couch.
Coincidentally the phone rang right when I sat down. John took off his
coat and rushed over to pick it up. It must have been one of his other
clients; I could tell by the serious straight-to-business tone of voice
he was using. I casually rolled my eyes and walked up to the bathroom to
shower.
The hot water was relieving to my thirsty skin, and I could see the
steam coming off my body. I wondered; John must have really meant what
he said in the car, that he wanted to protect me. He had been telling me
something very serious and meaningful and I threw it back in his face.
He had every reason to be angry, but so did I. We both had different
reasons but they were still legitimate nonetheless.
I used a cinnamon-scented body wash that was no doubt Emera’s, and
remembered how she planned on coming back home tomorrow night. So my
last night alone with John and we were both pissed off at each other.
I dried off and got changed in the guestroom — my room for now —, and as
I did so I heard John’s footsteps coming up the stairs and into his own
room. I heard his voice deep in conversation with someone else, probably
on his Blackberry. Thunder boomed outside, muffled and deep though even
louder than John’s voice in the other room. I just sat on the bed until
I heard John start up the water in the bathroom for a shower. It was
pitch black now, the hour around nine-thirty. I lay back on the bed’s
soft pillow, feeling the coolness of my wet hair pressing against my
cheek.
A while later I heard the water go off next door so I knocked on the
door so I could brush my teeth.
“Sorry,” I said once the door was opened and I entered the steamy
atmosphere of the bathroom. “I just have to…” I gestured toward the
toothbrushes and quickly went to grab the one John gave me.
“Not a problem,” John said casually. He seemed abnormally comfortable
with me in the room even though he only had a towel wrapped around his
waist and was dripping wet. I was trying to ignore his appearance by
applying the toothpaste on the brush ever so carefully.
“Shuro,” John said, grabbing another smaller towel and using it to
tousle his hair dry.
“Yeah?” I almost immediately spun to face him before I put the
toothbrush in my mouth.
“I wanted to tell you sooner…” he grinned. “When Emera and I leave for
Paris, you’ll be staying with my brother-in-law, Rafael. I was just
talking with him on the phone.”
I just gave him a blank stare until he spoke up again.
“So it won’t be some stranger…” he tried to persuade me into agreeing
with his decision.
“Well, he’s still a stranger to me.” I popped the toothbrush in my
mouth.
“He’s someone you can trust, because he is Emera’s brother. I’m giving
you my word he is a good man. He’s thirty-two and lives on his own.”
“Oh, what fun we’ll have together,” I said with sarcasm trying to stop
the paste from coming out of my mouth.
“Well, the good news doesn’t stop there.” John was ignoring my false
enthusiasm. “Rafael is the owner of a car wash and repair shop, and he
said he’d be willing to hire you.”
I paused my brushing for a second, then continued. Maybe this didn’t
have to be that bad. If I did end up suing my father and going to live
with a foster family, I would still have this job: a link back to John.
I guess John noticed my change in expression because he smiled and
patted me on the shoulder. “Think about it.”
I spat in the sink as John left and entered his bedroom, shutting the
door behind him. Once I finished gargling I knocked on the door in the
bathroom that led to his room.
“Yeah?” I heard him say.
“Do I have to wear a uniform?”
I heard him chuckle. “I think it’s just a t-shirt and cap with their
logo on it.”
“Great.” I rolled my eyes.
I couldn’t sleep that night. It was around three in the morning when I
decided to try to fall asleep to the T.V. I had it very low so I didn’t
wake John.
There is something so peaceful about the night. When you’re awake in the
middle of it, it feels as though no one else in the entire world is.
Life is at a pause, movement is only a whisper, and everything is still.
The ringing in your ears takes ages to finally ignore, and you find
yourself wanting this night, this tranquility, to never end. Because you
know if it did, that would mean you would have to continue on with
life’s long journey, endlessly searching for a reason for your
existence.
The hum of the television brought me to sleep eventually, as I had
hoped. The morning would bring about new occurrences that I wasn’t quite
ready for at the moment, but there was nothing I could do to prevent it
from coming. |
