An Arranged Marriage

by C. M. Bryden

  When she saw her father, she’d done a double take, unable to believe the transformation. First of all, he had a new zest for life, made obvious by the spring in his step and his bubbling enthusiasm for Jake and the business. And then there was his appearance, especially his hair! It had finally turned completely to silver, and had been cut in a style that made him look even more handsome and distinguished, and much younger than his years. She was so impressed by his rejuvenation she thought he should take a holiday, and said as much to Jake as they began preparing the meal Andrew was due to share with them later. Perhaps, she thought, after they’d eaten would be the ideal time to discuss with him taking some time away from the factory, now it appeared to be back on form with a new manager installed!

  It was an enjoyable evening for Andrew. He’d enjoyed his meal and his conversations with his daughter and Jake, but it wasn’t until he was about to leave Jane told him it was time he took a holiday and started to enjoy his life again, especially now the business was thriving.

  At first Andrew had scoffed at the idea, refusing point blank to even consider taking time away from work, and then Jake had butted in, telling him he needed him to be fully fit, especially if he was to take over the running of the company again.

  Andrew had listened and taken note, but had said nothing, until Jake told him, straight out that he wanted him to enjoy work, not to find it a drag and it was then Jane had her say.

  ‘As you know, I’m entitled to cheap holidays for my immediate family. If you’re worrying about the cost, it’s one of the perks of my job. If you go into the office tomorrow and speak to Jessie, she’ll tell you what’s on offer at the moment.’

  At the mention of Jessie’s name Andrew started to wonder whether Jane was aware he’d taken Jessie out to dinner after the wedding and that since then, they’d started an affair! Jake was vaguely aware of this but, as yet, hadn’t thought to confide his suspicions to Jane, believing his father-in-law’s personal life was just that, personal, and nothing to do with them! This just goes to show that Jake wasn’t savvy in his relationships with women, and neither was he thinking like a husband. As everyone knows, wives want to know everything there is to know!

  With Jane pushing him to agree to her suggestion, Andrew’s expression suddenly changed and he became quite enthusiastic! Agreeing he would indeed go and see Jessie the next day.

  Later that evening, lying in bed next to Jessie after they’d made love, Andrew told her of Jane’s plans for him to take a holiday!

  It had been getting to know Jessie that had really changed his life; being paired together, and acting as witnesses at Jane and Jake’s wedding. Seeing Jessie sitting alone, once Jane and Jake had left the reception to start their honeymoon and after everyone else had gone to their respective homes, had been a turning point for them both.

  Andrew had asked rather tentatively, if she had to get home to someone. If not perhaps they could spend the evening together?

  Jessie said she was on her own and, being more than a little attracted to him, of course she agreed was being as attracted to him, as he was to her and why not?

  Jessie was an attractive young woman, who looked equally good out of her clothes, as she did in them, as Andrew found out later when, to his delight, he’d speedily removed them after she’d shown she was more than willing to go further, when it came to saying goodnight at the door of her flat. Instead of letting him just give her a chaste kiss on the cheek, she’d taken the initiative and put her arms around his neck, drawing his head down to meet her lips, which had then turned into a long, lingering and meaningful kiss.

  The way she’d moulded into his body made it quite clear she didn’t want him to leave, which was the way Andrew had also been feeling.

  It had been some time since Jessie had held a man in her arms, or been in such close proximity to one, but she knew, from feeling Andrew’s arousal pressing against her, as she leant against the door, he was feeling the same. Being bold, and taking the initiative, she took him by the hand and led the way into her bedroom, where it seemed quite natural for them to undress each other and make love.

  To their mutual delight, lovemaking proved to be wonderful. They were on the same wavelength and later, as they lay together, spent and gasping for breath, they both knew they were right for each other as well. Andrew was everything Jessie had ever wanted in a man; he was kind and loving, but best of all, he was a sexual partner who’d considered her wants and needs first. Even more than that, he made her laugh! A prerequisite, she thought, for any happy relationship. It takes a clever man to laugh a lady into bed!

  As for Andrew, Jessie had all the qualities he needed. He knew he was falling in love with her, until the next morning, when he woke up with his mind was full of doubts. Was he was doing the right thing? Instead of being happy at his good fortune, he’d woken, racked with guilt. Seeing Jessie lying next to him, with her hair spread out like a golden cloud, it was as though by making love to her he’d dishonoured Isabel’s memory. His guilt made all the worse because Jessie was so much like Isabel in personality! Perhaps that was the reason he’d been so drawn to her?

  Jessie could see for herself Andrew was having second thoughts about being with her and, rather quickly, she realised perhaps she shouldn’t build up her hopes of it happening again. Maybe it had been the dinner for two at an intimate and romantic restaurant, where they’d consumed far too much red wine responsible for them ending up in bed. Or perhaps she’d been too eager and desperate for love and was now expecting too much of him, especially as Jane had told her how her father had slipped into a deep depression after her mother’s death. She could see from his face he felt guilty and, instinctively she knew this wasn’t something she could cure with a witty remark and a laugh; it was more serious than that. Andrew had to deal with his guilt and his demons in his own way, especially if they were to have a future together.

  Later that morning, he returned to his country home, his emotions in turmoil, torn apart by his guilt and unsure of what he should do.

  He’d been devastated when Isabel had died and, for a long time, he’d grieved at his loss and was still grieving, for how can you forget someone you’ve loved so deeply and for so long without feeling some measure of guilt? He’d known Isabel since they’d been youngsters, both growing up in Yorkshire. They’d fallen in love in their teens, marrying when they were both twenty-one years old and, after a couple of years, they’d become parents to Jane.

  The three of them had lived happy and contented lives until suddenly, Isabel had been taken from them. For a long time, his life had ceased to have any real meaning.

  He’d never thought of looking for someone else to love until he found Jessie. It was the vibrancy of her personality that had first attracted him when he’d met her at Jane’s office, and then, once he’d got to know her, she’d made him feel young again, and now he didn’t know what to think, he was confused!

  He spent some time looking through the box of photographs Jane had spent time sorting out, hoping they would eventually be included in the family albums. Andrew picked up one of his favourite photographs of Isabel and sat looking steadily at her image, until his eyes closed and he slept in his chair, waking later with his head clear and his thoughts lucid. For the first time in months, his depression had lifted; it was as though Isabel had given him her blessing to go forward with the rest of his life, and more than that, her permission for him to fall in love again.

  By the time Jane had told him he should take a holiday, Andrew had well and truly fallen in love with Jessie. Now he was secretly hoping to make a possible holiday into a honeymoon! As far as he was concerned, there was no point in waiting! He wasn’t a callow youth waiting to grow up; he was an adult who’d fallen in love with a wonderful woman, for the second time in his life!

  But Andrew wasn’t the only one with guilt feelings, so was Jessie. Not that she felt guilty for falling in love with Andrew, it was just that, so far, she hadn’t said anything to Jane! She
felt sick at heart for not telling her best friend she was in love, neither was she ashamed of what had happened, she was just afraid of Jane’s reaction; wondering if she would object to losing her father to her friend?

  Perhaps Jane would think she was too young for him? Or even that she was a “gold digger”, or worse still, that she was looking for a “sugar daddy”? None of these things were true of course, as Andrew had little or no money, ever since his company had been in financial trouble, his only asset was the house in the country, and he’d used that as collateral against a loan for the business. Fortunately for Andrew, Jake had paid this off, but even so, half of the asset in the house rightly belonged to Jane, bequeathed to her in her mother’s will. In any case, Jessie wasn’t interested in country houses; she’d said she wasn’t the country house type! In fact, she hated being in the country for more than two or three consecutive days. The fresh air, or so she claimed, gave her a headache, even going so far as to say it was too quiet for her liking; she much preferred the buzz of the city with its noise and bustle and wanted nothing more than to live where there was a vast choice of entertainment and restaurants, all available within minutes of her front door; as for shopping? How did people in the country manage, when there might only be one small shop in the village, with hardly any to stock a newcomer from the city might want? How could she live without the shops in Oxford Street being within easy reach?

  Having made up her mind, years ago, living in the country wasn’t for her. Jessie knew she was a city girl at heart, as for Andrew, he came to realise his life would definitely change if he chose to live with her!

  Jane, and Jake, left for work at their usual time the next morning, going off in opposite directions, each looking forward to the following weekend, not knowing any plans they might have made, as well as their lives, were about to change drastically.

  Jake’s day had started happily enough. He’d briefly kissed Jane at the main door of her apartment, before walking to where he’d parked his car. As for Jane, she’d watched her handsome husband drive off, before striding to the underground to make the short journey to her office.

  Jake had no urgent plans for the day, except to speak to his mother, who was worried about his half-sister, Sara who was at college in London and who shared a flat with two other students. At just nineteen years old, Sara was, in Jake’s opinion immature for her age. She looked much older, being tall and attractive, with a model figure and, because of this, she was a big concern to his mother, especially knowing her daughter was too young and trusting; in fact, for her age she was quite naïve and gullible.

  She’d been born and raised in Italy, in the small community where her mother and father lived and where they ran their hotel and holiday spa complex. Unfortunately, living in such a rural community hadn’t prepared her for life in a cosmopolitan city, such as London and even Jake had been concerned when she’d insisted on sharing a house with two other girls, instead of moving in with him when she arrived in London to study. It would have been a bit of a squash in his place as he only had one large bedroom and a much smaller one he used as a study, but he could understand why she wanted to be independent; she was after all of age, and could live her life as she wanted but, for his mother’s sake, Jake, had agreed to keep an eye on her.

  Since meeting Andrew and being involved with his business, and then falling in love with Jane and getting married, his mind had been fully occupied with other things and, of course, as we already know, he hadn’t told Jane about his family and this, he was beginning to realise, was going to be a problem before too long; a problem he would have to address; a fact that came to his mind when he finally spoke to his mother an hour later and she told him Sara had gone missing!

  Once Jake had finished his call, and had assured his mother he would find her, he headed straight to the student house. Luckily he knew her flatmates quite well and they were still at home. Sara had apparently left a note, saying she was going away with a young man she’d met and fallen in love with through the Internet and wouldn’t be returning. According to the girls, her relationship with this man, whose name they didn’t know, had started some months ago when she’d logged on to a chat room site and had found a young man who’d said he was looking to make new friends. Being young and naïve, Sara believed him after she’d seen the photo he’d posted on the site that showed him to be young and attractive. She also believed him when he told her he had a good job in the city. Her online relationship had started quite innocently and had progressed from there, with him flattering her and persuading her to tell him more about herself than was wise, until finally, he’d wheedled himself into her affections, grooming her by telling a pack of lies.

  Sara, believing his flattery and all else he’d told her to be true, she was convinced she’d fallen in love. And then, when he suggested they should go away together, and that he would look after her, she’d been foolishly bedazzled by his attention and, quite soon she was more than willing to do as he suggested.

  Her friends had started to worry when she’d told them, a few days earlier, of her intention to go away with the man. They tried to persuade her not to be so foolish, saying she didn’t know him and, being more savvy and streetwise than her, they even told her they didn’t believe him to be the young and attractive man she imagined him to be, but Sara wouldn’t listen. She was adamant; she knew what she was doing, and there was nothing more to say, she’d fallen in love and could look after herself.

  Thankfully, her flatmates had the good sense to contact her mother the next day after they had read the note she’d left, realising she’d already gone to meet him, unaware later, by involving Jake, they would be putting into action a chain of events that would have a catastrophic effect on his and Jane’s marriage.

  Until that morning, Jake had no idea chat rooms could be so dangerous but, once he knew what had happened, he searched on Sara’s computer to see if he could find any clues as to where she was likely to have gone, but without success. Thinking logically, he went through all his options and came to the conclusion she must have left by taxi; she couldn’t have gone far carrying a fairly large suitcase, surmising she must be heading either to the coach, or railway station. Jake plumped for the latter, choosing the station nearest to her flat.

  Thankfully, it didn’t appear to have been more than an hour or so since she’d left, as the girls had heard her closing the door behind her as they were getting up.

  Jumping into his car, Jake raced off to search for her, parking his car as near as he could to the station. To his horror and amazement, he saw her immediately he entered the station. She was sitting with her back to him, her luggage at her feet, a much older man sitting on the bench beside her. From the man’s body language, Jake correctly surmised this must be the man she’d intended running away with.

  Not wanting to cause a commotion, he quickly walked to a position where he could observe what was happening, without Sara seeing him. She looked far from happy and, even from a distance it was quite obvious this was not the attractive young man she’d been expecting to meet.

  Jake thought the man to be in his late forties. He looked seedy and unkempt, even disreputable; certainly not the type of man any young woman would want in her life, let alone his young and impressionable sibling.

  Jake moved his position so he could see her more clearly, making his way towards the shops that lined the concourse; keeping in the shadows, but ready to spring into action at the first signs of her leaving with the man. From her expression, Jake realised she was agonising over her dilemma. He had to fight his natural instinct to rush over and drag her away, knowing he had to let her make her own decision to leave, then, once she had, he would be at her side.

  It took some time for that to happen, because the man appeared to be persistent. His head close to Sara’s, obviously trying to persuade her to go with him, at the same time, Jake was silently willing her to get up and leave. Suddenly, Sara did stand up; at the same time the man grabbed her by her arm
and tried to pull her back down onto the bench, but somehow, she found an inner strength and pushed him away. It was then Jake rushed over and pushed his way between them, his face contorted with rage as he told the man, in no uncertain terms, to leave his sister alone or he would call the police and have him arrested! The man didn’t take telling twice, for he could see Jake meant business, and had the muscles to stop him if necessary. Without waiting for Jake to carry out his threat he promptly left, legging it out of the station, leaving Jake to deal with his distraught half-sister, who’d flung herself into his arms once she’d recognised him as her rescuer, clutching at him as she sobbed with relief.

  ‘Oh Jake, what have I done?’ She wailed.

  ‘Nothing that can’t be mended.’ Was all Jake could say as he held her close, his relief at finding her safe flooding through him, thankful he’d saved her from what could have been an ugly situation? He couldn’t do anything other than hold her close, not until her tears had slowed sufficiently for him to steer her out of the station, to where he’d parked his car and where they sat for some time as she tried to control her emotions. As her sobs subsided, Jake asked her how she’d managed to get herself into such a situation in the first place.

  It wasn’t a question Sara wanted to answer, full of despair as she was and deeply ashamed at her own stupidity, quite different from the normally confident, and outgoing young woman he’d seen growing up. But now, sitting in his car, she was full of remorse as she finally acknowledged the man had duped her, realising as well, he was probably a pervert with only ill intentions towards her.