As she went about tidying up as best she could, Tina thought she heard rather odd noises outside. However, every time she looked out the window down at the wooded area, she noticed nothing unusual. She put a load of clothes in the washer and noticed that Trent didn't have a dryer. Odd, she thought, considering that Trent could easily afford one, but during the years she worked for him, she realized that there was something very mysterious about him that she couldn't quite place her finger on. No one seemed to understand him - even those closest to him. He didn't think like everyone else did; he was just … different.
Tina remembered seeing a clothesline out back when looking out the window of the bedroom and decided to use that opportunity to catch some fresh air while hanging out the clothes to dry.
About a half-hour later, she tugged the basket around to the back, relieved to see more than enough pins on the line. She had already decided to flop them over the line, had it proven to be her last resort.
The forest trees were tall and clumped together; only a few spacy areas were spotted among them. Although the air was fresh and birds were chirping from all directions, Tina started to have an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. A cloud of uneasiness enveloped her. While hanging the clothes, she glanced out at the woods several times. Then suddenly, she heard a noise. Looking toward the woods, far beyond the trees, something caught her eye. Though quite a distance away, she could clearly see a dark, handsome young man apparently in his mid-twenties standing there staring at her. Seconds later, he disappeared. Not knowing if her eyes were playing tricks on her, Tina immediately dropped the shirt she was holding and headed into the woods after him.
As she walked hurriedly, a tremendous feeling overwhelmed her, for the farther she went, the darker the surroundings became - as if nightfall were quickly emerging. Now terribly frightened, she turned around, quickly hung out the last piece of clothing on the line and rushed inside the house.
Most of the day, she spent thinking about what she might or might not have seen - looking outside the windows from time to time to see if anyone was out there. Thankfully, the strange noises she had been hearing had ceased. Being in the middle of nowhere was a frightening thought for her and she had no idea how far the closest neighbor was. She anxiously waited for Trent to return home. And at around 6:00p.m., he pulled up on the driveway and she met him at the door.
"Darling, I'm so glad you're back!" She hugged him tightly.
"Whoa! Was I really gone that long? Is everything all right?" He asked.
"I'm just happy you're here. That's all. I really missed you."
Trent kissed her on the forehead and proceeded inside. He gave her a duplicate key for her apartment.
"I got in touch with the landlord," he started. "When he realized I was the guy who furnished him that large loan a few years back, he had someone come by right away and drop off a spare. I told him you were my fiancé."
"Yeah. I told him this morning you were coming by for it," Tina smiled. She sat down on the couch seemingly in a world of her own.
Observing her behavior, Trent sat down beside her and asked: "Is there something wrong, honey?"
"I think someone's been watching me today, Trent."
His facial expression deadened. "What? How do you know that?"
"I heard these weird noises and when I went outside to hang the clothes out to dry, I saw a man in the woods... at least I think I did. He was just staring at me."
Trent's heart sunk. "Describe him to me."
"Well, I could see that he was in his twenties, black hair, dark eyes, very handsome."
"How close was he to you?" Trent asked.
"Actually, he was quite a distance away, but strangely, I could see his face clearly. Didn't know I was that far-sighted. We looked at each other for a few seconds, then he just disappeared. Look, Trent, this place is creepy."
The person Tina described was unfamiliar to Trent, but he had a strong suspicion that it was no prowler.
"I'm sure it was nothing," Trent said after a brief pause. "No one comes out here for any reason. I think it's just too far out for anyone to be interested. And as for the weird sounds... animals make strange noises in the woods and sometimes they echo in much closer than they are."
"Maybe you're right. Maybe my mind was just playing tricks on me," Tina replied.
* 2 *
Greg returned home after work with a handful of red roses and a tall bottle of champagne. However, this time, there was no Liza cheerfully greeting him at the door and no soft music pervading the air as he stepped inside. The stench of garlic and onions roved from the kitchen and clashes of pots and pans were heard coming from the same direction. He walked toward the kitchen with the roses and champagne still in his hands, and saw the slender lady with the long, silky, black hair and saddened face stirring a pot of soup and staring blankly into it.
"Hi," he said, standing at the door.
Solange didn't reply, but continued stirring the pot again and again. Greg slowly approached her, close enough to see the sadness in her face.
"I'm really sorry about the other night, Liza. I don't know what got into me. You know I never talk to you that way." His heart grieved for a response, but received none. "See what I got for you... the best roses in the store."
She glanced at them, then looked into the pot again. Greg took her hand, took the pot spoon away from her, and gently pulled her away from the stove.
"Please, Liza, look at me... I'm really sorry about everything. I didn't mean to treat you the way I did. You're the most decent woman I've ever met and I'm speaking candidly from my heart." He lifted her chin with his finger and looked into her eyes. "Take them, please," he begged, handing her the roses.
She slowly accepted them, at the same time wishing that she hadn't.
"I'll take over the soup now. Sit down right there," he said pulling out a chair at the table. "We're gonna make this evening special."
He rested the champagne on the table and hurried to the stove. After tasting the soup, he added a dash more salt to it and allowed it to steep through for a few more minutes. Afterwards, he dished up two bowls of it.
Solange had placed the roses near the edge of the table, but Greg moved them to the center of it before sitting down. He poured two tall glasses of champagne on ice, gave one to her, then took one for himself.
"Let's raise our glasses in a toast to each other," he said with unshared optimism.
Solange did so slowly-gradually relieving herself of the intense rancor she was feeling for him. She was aware of what fierce anger and hatred had led her to do in the past and was battling to compose herself in order to avoid it ever happening again.
After dinner, Greg tried his best to appease her in any way he thought he could. She remained silent, however, unaware that her thoughts were stinging him like the lash of a prickly whip. Before long, with a tinge of forgiveness in her heart, she returned to her bedroom to be alone.
* * * *
That week, Solange received a letter from Victor. Greg was at work and she was glad. She had never uttered a word to him about Victor and the truth of her departure from France, and by the way things seemed to be heading, she had no intention of telling him either. The letter read:
`My dearest Ana,
`I am very proud to know that you are safe and happy in America. I, on the other hand, have not lately been so blessed. I have been plagued with a stomach virus that has been quickly spreading here, but no need to worry; they say it's completely curable once tended to as advised.
`As for the other thing, nothing has sprung up and it seems as if nothing ever will.
`I hope to keep updated on your progress in America. Now, I must go. My condition doesn't allow me to write for very long.
`Love Always,
`Oncle Victor.
The letter had managed to lift her spirits. Though somewhat settled in America, Solange desperately missed France. Having been raised there brought back so many loving memories of h
er parents. When they were alive, everyone respected her because of the family name and although she had been told from a young age that she was adopted, she always knew that she was deeply loved and never felt like an outsider. Now just Victor was left - the only person she considered her family.
* 3 *
As he lie in bed one night staring at the ceiling, Trent drifted off to sleep. A woman came into view: She was jogging alongside the woods. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail and was bouncing off her back as she ran. Then his eyes drifted toward a grotesque beast watching her through a patch of trees as she approached. She was almost close enough and her keen observer seemed anxious for the right moment. The second she crossed his path, he reached out and grabbed her through the clump of trees covering her mouth with his thick, hairy hands and carrying her far into the woods. He warned her not to scream or the others nearby would surely kill her.
"I protected you from them," he said to her. "If they spotted you before I did, they would've killed you like all the others."
Suddenly, they heard violent noises. Gunshots and grenades, and horrifying screams. Something was happening. He showed her a safe, clear path to the road and urged her to leave quickly and to never return. She ran as fast as she could, remembering the last look on his face before she left him.
At that moment, Trent woke up. He remained in bed staring up at the ceiling again, this time with green beaming eyes and racing thoughts.
* 4 *
Solange never prevented Laurie from visiting her in spite of Greg's outright disapproval. As far as she was concerned, Laurie was her only friend now as Greg seemed to be drifting farther and farther into some dark reality. As time progressed, the arguments and the apologies persisted, and Greg was obviously losing control.
Solange and Laurie no longer sat out and talked on the porch anymore since Greg could have pulled up at any time. Instead, they decided to remain inside the living room so that if he did come home unexpectedly, Laurie could quickly escape through the back door. Solange eventually confided in her about some of the problems she was having with Greg. Sometimes, she forgot that she was speaking with a little girl since Laurie seemed so far beyond her years.
"Why don't you just leave him and go somewhere else?" Laurie asked one day.
"I have nowhere to go, Laurie," Solange replied solemnly. "I'm new to this country, remember?"
Laurie thought for a moment with a thumb beneath her chin, then said, "There's this secret place I know of a few blocks from here. I go there when I want to be alone. You're welcome there anytime, Liza. Just tell me when you want to leave and I'll take you there. Believe me, if you died there, no one would ever find you..."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I'm the only one who knows about it, too. I always say to myself that if Auntie Hazel died, I'd live there instead - fulltime. This neighborhood's too creepy for me."
"Why do you say that?" Solange asked.
"I know you think my Auntie Hazel's weird, but she sees and knows things. Miss Dorothy next door is a real spook. I don't think her father lives there with her at all. Everyone thinks he's dead and has been for ages. Yet she claims she's always tendin' to him; never goes outside, not even to the grocery store. She has everything delivered to her like she's some invalid or somethin'."
"She does?" Solange was surprised.
"Yeah."
"So, how does she earn a living?"
"She has money, all right - government money. She pays some guy every month to bring it to her. She even convinced big folks down there in the agency to believe her idiotic story. That's why I say, when I get older I'm leavin' this place."
Solange forced a smile, wishing the same thing for herself - to escape the cruel world of dominance and dependence; to be her own woman as she always intended. However, she found herself terribly afraid to take the first step.
"So, do you love him?" Laurie asked seriously.
"Yes, I do. Greg has done so much for me. At first when I realized how deeply I cared for him, I wanted to stay here forever. He made me feel so special and saved me from the slashes of that brutal world out there. It's like he said: If he hadn't come to my rescue, I might've been living in some slum, if living at all. I'm afraid I wouldn't have had it this good if he didn't," she confessed.
"Does he hit you?"
"No, no. Sometimes when he gets into his crazy moods, I feel as if it's his next move, but he never does," she replied. "It's as if he fights to restrain himself. But I'll be all right. Things will get better soon… I know it."
Silence ensued as Solange twiddled her thumbs and avoided Laurie's eyes. She was extremely depressed - the worst Laurie had ever seen her and that worried her little friend immensely. Solange was like a mother to her - the only person she ever talked to the way she did and truly learned to love, besides her Aunt Hazel. Something had to be done, Laurie surmised. Liza must not be fooled into thinking that things actually would get better between her and Greg.
"I gather you haven't spoken to Auntie Hazel yet," started Laurie. "So I think I'll ask her permission to tell you what she told me. Liza, I'll do whatever it takes to convince my auntie that you should know and when I do, you won't believe the story she has to tell you." She shook her head as if the words were incorrectly expelled. "I mean… you would believe it if you're sensible, but if you don't, I'll pray for you. Promise."
Solange chuckled. "Your Aunt Hazel actually lets you do that? Pray, I mean."
"Sure. She believes in God. It's just that people think she doesn't because of the way she talks sometimes. I don't do it in front of her, but I know she knows I do it 'cause she taught me to."
"All right, Laurie, you talk to her. I won't want to go behind your back and do it myself anyway. The last thing I want to do is cause you any trouble."
Laurie stood up. "I'll go and ask her now. Keep your fingers crossed, okay?"
"Okay," Solange managed a half-smile.
While Laurie was gone, Solange sat on the couch feeling sorry for herself; she was on the verge of giving up entirely on any hope of happiness in her future. Nothing seemed to have fallen into place and she felt utterly lost and filled with uncertainty. Her biggest regret since leaving France was not following through with securing a job in America and moving on to her own place like she had intended. Maybe if I had stuck to the plan, she thought, I would now be able to see the silver lining in the cloud.
Laurie returned ten minutes later and this time did not bother sitting down. "She says to come to our house at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. She said she would reveal to you what she could… whatever that meant. She saw the whole thing, Liza, so I don't know why she said that. Anyway, I gotta go back and help with some chores. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Laurie left quickly without giving Solange a chance to say a single word.
* 5 *
Dawn slipped in with droplets of rain trickling from the roof of the old house onto the wet ground. Through a gap in the curtains, the sun shone briskly upon Trent's eyelids, forcing them to open. He turned away from the sunlight, then glanced at the alarm clock. It was 9:15. He rolled off the bed, took perhaps, the quickest shower he had ever taken in his life, then got ready for work.
As he waited in the lobby for the elevator, he looked at the busy first floor and reminisced on how different things were when he first took over Foster's company ten years earlier. The number of clientele had increased substantially since then. Peter purchased up to forty percent of shares in the company and later became an active, working member. Together, they made the business what it was and had a great time doing it.
The men seemed to click automatically since the day they met. They both came from wealthy, influential backgrounds; the main difference being that Peter was a huge extrovert and in some ways spoiled and a big spender, and Trent was the exact opposite. However, their differences appeared to work perfectly for them as business partners.
"Mister Matheson, are you coming?" Janice Moore asked after the elevator doors slid ope
n.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Must have been day-dreaming." Trent cleared his throat on entering. "So, how are you this morning, Jan?"
"Wonderful Mister Matheson; so blessed to be here once again." She smiled.
"It's great to know you love your job so much. I suspect that's why you perform so well in Proof."
Jan smiled again. "Mister Matheson, I don't want to sound bold or anything, but I've been meaning to ask you... are you free for dinner tonight?"
Totally shocked by her question, Trent took a few moments to reply.
"I'm really… sorry Jan," he finally said, "but I already have plans for tonight. I'm flattered that you asked, though."
"Maybe some other time, then?"
"Yes, perhaps some other time."
Janice exited the elevator on the second floor and Trent rushed out on third. He said a general 'good morning' to everyone, then entered his office. A minute later, he gave Tina a call and requested a moment of her time.
"So, what's the rush, my darling?" Tina asked after shutting the door behind her and blowing Trent a kiss.
"I'm late, too late," he replied, fumbling with the files in his work tray. "I wanted to work on Brent McKinney's file before this morning's meeting so that I could give everyone an updated report on the profits we accrued from that account, as well as Ross'."
"The meeting doesn't start until eleven," Tina said, glancing at her watch. "I can compile the information in one package for you on both accounts in about twenty minutes. You'd still have a few minutes to spare."
Trent was relieved. "Thanks a mil, honey. By the way, did you sleep okay last night?"
"Sure. Why?"
"Just wondering."
Tina started to leave. "Oh, by the way, I have something to tell you tonight when you come by." Her smile revealed nothing.
"Really? I wonder what that is." Trent said.
Immortals- The Complete Real Illusions Series Page 10