Wilson's Hard Lesson

by K. Anderson

  “What do you mean?” he asked in a puzzled manner.

  “What I mean is that you have a date with that Samantha lady. I’m not going and you are.” I was smiling now.

  “Well, now! Look at you trying to be cupid. Why are you not coming along?” he asked.

  “I’m a bit hung-over and have errands to run. We will have dinner together. You came all the way from Florida for my graduation so it is time that you deserved a little treat as well,” I said and sipped on my coffee. It energized me and my nerves loosened up. I could feel my brain becoming active again.

  “Okay. So what time do I have to leave?” he asked.

  “Well, I told her you will meet her at ‘The Dine’ in about two hours so if I were you, I’d get up and shave, put on my best clothes and leave to beat the city traffic.”

  “You’re right. I cannot keep a woman waiting,” he said and got up. He kissed me on the head and then went to his room. I sat there changing channels for a while, trying to find something good to watch. I heard him say from the other room, “Should I dress classy or casual?”

  “Daddy, it is a lunch not a dinner date. Put on something casual. I don’t want you to die out in the summer heat,” I replied.

  “Would jeans and a tee-shirt be okay?” he asked again. God! Dad was acting like a teenager.

  “Yes! It would be fine. You’re a handsome lad who can pull off anything,” I replied. The apartment was a mess. Dirty dishes in the sink and dust on the furniture. I realized that today was going to be spent cleaning up after all.

  I got up and took a large trash bag from the kitchen. I scooped up every wrapper and beer can. I was trying to plug in the vacuum cleaner when Dad stepped in the living room and for a moment I halted to look at the man. He wore dark blue, faded jeans and a black shirt. His hair was neatly parted to the side and he was wearing strong cologne that had my mind fogged up for a little while. I saw how he tried to retain his youth. His strong jaw line and freshly shaved face did not give away his age at all. He looked like he was in his 30s even though he was about to end his 40s.

  I whistled at him, “Boy! That woman is going to fall for you hard this time,” I said.

  “You think so? Well thank you,” he said.

  “Okay, so I called a cab and it will be here any minute. I gave the driver instructions so you’ll be there without a hassle. I’ll call you up and we can meet for dinner later on, whenever you are ready,” I said and went on vacuuming the room.

  “Sure,” he said and checked himself in the mirror placed in the living room.

  “Your cab is here so better get moving,”

  “Goodbye; wish me luck,”

  “Best of luck, Daddy.” He shut the door behind him. I could sense that he was falling for her head over heels. It was okay because I really wanted him to be in a relationship providing how hard he struggled with his love life.

  I cleaned up my apartment and made a few calls. It was time to get the graduation celebrations over with, and hunt down a good job. I looked over at the clock and it was almost half past five; I decided to ring Daddy up and ask him for his plans for the night.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Hey, honey. I was just about to call you,” he replied.

  “I’m sure you were, Daddy,” I said sarcastically.

  “I’m at the central park right now with Samantha. She would like you to join us for dinner at her place with her son,” he said. This gathering was something that I really had not planned for, but upon noticing how excited my dad’s tone of voice was, I obliged.

  “Okay, text me her address and I’ll see you guys around seven,” I replied. “Have an awesome time. Goodbye.”

  “Sure, I’ll text you right away. Goodbye, sweetie.” And he cut the line.

  About 15 minutes later, I got the text from her that had her address. It was not that far away after all. A half an hour drive near the outskirts of downtown area and voila!

  I took a shower and put on a black dress with white polka dots on it because the heat was not tolerable and I wanted loads of air. I pinned my hair back up into a French bun and then with a tad bit of makeup, made my way out.

  I reached her house which had a vast front lawn neatly kept.

  The woman had a love for gardening and I could infer it from the way the grape vines and roses were in order. I made my way through the driveway and knocked on the door. In a couple of moments the door opened and there on the front porch stood a tall man with the body adorned to him by the gods, if you ask me. He was above six feet tall with a muscular build and piercing green eyes which made my soul quiver. He had a beard that gave his face a sleek shape and more rough look with a dragon tattoo which travelled from the side of his neck to the other end. A knock on the door had changed my life forever.

  He stood there, smiling, “Hello, you must be Karen! I’m Jake. Samantha’s son,” he said. His voice was coarse but at the same time his manner of speaking was slow and polite. He showed me inside and all that time I kept looking at that gorgeous man who had in the first glance stole my heart from the very start.

  I saw Dad sitting in the living room and joined him.

  “I’m glad you’re on time,” Dad said as Jake joined us sitting opposite me on the sofa. He smelled of cigarette smoke and mild whiskey.

  “Well yeah, so where is Samantha?” I asked as my nervousness stammered my speech.

  “Mum’s in the kitchen,” replied Jake.

  “She’s a real cook. I just found out about it today. The woman loves to cook,” said Dad in a proud tone. He liked women who were independent but maintained that feministic touch in themselves as well.

  I kept looking at Jake, and I could feel that he kept looking at me as well. My heartbeat was pulsing out of the room and my palms were getting sweaty. It was not love but rather a craving. I craved him in a manner I rarely craved any other man in my life. He just seemed perfect to me during that hour. It was highly weird how I had acted out, but the charm in his manners had wooed me from the start.

  “Dinner is ready!” Samantha called out from the dining area.

  “You have a very beautiful house, Samantha,” I said, in order to occupy my mind with something else.

  “Yes! Jake helped me design it. People in the construction business really know how to make even the smallest of places look wonderful,” she said.

  I sat down at the left corner of the table and right beside me, Jake took a seat. It was as if there was no escaping him or his charm. Dad and Samantha sat on the opposite ends of the table.

  “Well, yeah you could say that. Jake really did a wonderful job,” I replied.

  Everyone started passing around dishes as the air smelled of roasted chicken with butter. I helped myself with some mashed potatoes because my gut had butterflies in it that would not settle and let me eat. I ate a little and time flew by but with him it seemed like an eternity.

  After we were done eating, I helped Samantha clear the table. My dad and Jake went out to the porch to drink a beer or two.

  “The dinner was delicious,” I said, trying to keep up the conversation.

  “Thank you, doll,” she replied and went into the kitchen. I heard footsteps behind me but was too busy clearing the table when I felt someone weigh a bit on me and I looked back, it was Jake. My heart began to beat more loudly against my chest. I was closer to him than ever and felt his breath on my face.

  “Well, sorry! I was carefully going to grab that glass over there but you turned around,” he said, laughing.

  “Let me get it for you,” and as he backed off, I took a deep breath. I ended up handing the glass to him and my hand brushed against his.

  “Thank you, pretty lady,” he said with a smirk on his face.

  “You’re welcome,” I replied and turned around. I did not want him to see me blushing.

  “Aren’t you going to come out to the porch and have a drink or two?” he asked.

  I really did not want to drink providing my low alcoho
l tolerance, but it was rude if I declined so directly and ended up saying, “Sure! I’ll join you in a minute.” The words came out of my mouth all by themselves and I did not expect it to be that way.

  “Great,” he replied and went out.

  My dad came in moments later. “I’m having a great time. Are you doing okay, honey?” He noticed that all the color had drained from my face because I was nervous.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I’m going out to the backyard to have a drink. Do you want to come with?” I said.

  “No, I’ll have a little chat with Samantha if that is okay with you?” he asked.

  “Sure.” I walked out of the room to where Jake was standing, looking in the distance.

  I grabbed a beer that was placed on the table and stood right beside him.

  “So tell me about yourself?” he asked.

  “Well, there is nothing much to tell. I just graduated from college and now struggling to find a job,” I replied.

  “I see, well best of luck with that,” he said.

  The moonlight pierced through half his face and half of it was covered in darkness which made way to a beautiful glow on his face. He was half smiling at me and I wanted to keep talking but there was nothing I could say.

  “You’re really pretty,” he said.

  “Thank you so much. You’re not that bad, either,” I replied. It took me by surprise. We stood very near and in the air I could hear him exhaling and inhaling smoke from his cigarette.

  “Karen! Honey, should we get going?” I heard Daddy call out from inside.

  “We should,” I said in a loud tone and then directed towards Jake, “So, I’ll see you again?”

  “Sure,” he replied.

  “Where do you work at?” I just needed to ask him because I was planning on dropping by there, while making up a reason. I needed to see him again.

  “Taylor and James Construction Company,” he replied and smiled. We shook hands and he leaned down to kiss me on the cheek, “It was wonderful meeting you, Karen.”

  The brush of his lips against my cheek had sent shivers down my spine and I felt weak to my very core. I stammered on my words, “It was nice, umm, meeting you as well. I hope to, umm, see you soon.” And with that, I walked out of there.

  “Dad, let’s go,” I said and passed by the living room in a hurry.

  Samantha walked right beside my father, “It was lovely to have you over for dinner, Karen and David. I hope we’ll get together again,” as she looked my dad directly in the eye and smiled.

  “We will,” Daddy replied, and I saw Jake making way to the small corridor where the three of us were standing.

  “Take care,” Samantha said. Dad and I walked to the end of the street. We wanted to walk instead of taking a cab for some reason.

  “Had a great time?” he said.

  “I sure as hell did,” I replied.

  We walked silently back to my apartment and did not say much.

  Chapter 3

  During the next two days, neither Dad nor I said much about Samantha. It was time that Dad flew back to Florida and I start scouting seriously for job opportunities. I still could not get Jake out of my mind; for some reason, the man had left more than an impression but a permanent imprint.

  At the airport, I dropped Dad off and saw Samantha there as well.

  “I just wanted to see you father off,” she said as we both hugged.

  “I can understand. It is really nice seeing you,” I replied.

  “Dad, I should get going,” I said. “Call me when you get home.”

  “Will do, honey!” Dad said. We hugged and said our final goodbyes. I had a job interview in about an hour and left for it. Samantha stayed back with my father.

  During the course of the next three months, there was little interaction between me and Samantha, but Daddy had told me that he was genuinely interested in her. She even went to Florida to visit him. I was caught up in life badly, but during lonesome nights there was this nostalgic feeling about Jake in my mind. We had an intimate connection.

  My phone rang while I was coming back home; it was Daddy.

  “Hello,” he said, but his voice sounded really nervous.

  “Hi, Dad! Is everything okay?” I responded.

  “Yes, everything is fine. I’m flying in on the weekend. I thought to let you know,” he said.

  “Okay. But is everything alright with you?” I was nervous and worried.

  “Yes, everything is fine. I just need to talk to you in person,” he replied. “So see you on the weekend.” And he cut the line.

  I really had no idea what he was going to talk about. Dad always had this manner of surprising people. Three days later, I was at the airport waiting for him to land.

  We said our hellos and hugged, but my curiosity was getting the best of me. I couldn’t wait to ask him about this visit.

  “So, what is up?” I said on our way back to the apartment.

  “Do you really want to have this conversation now? In the back of a cab?” he said with an annoyed tone.

  “Yes, sir! Right now. Give it to me,” I replied in a cheeky manner.

  “Well, I’m going to propose to Samantha and that is why I flew here from Florida,” he replied, and as each word hit me, I could feel my whole body going numb. My father was going to marry someone he met a couple of months ago. I was half-heartedly crushing over the son of that woman. I was crushing over my own stepbrother. The marriage really did not bother me because I wanted my father to be happy, but then the feeling of lusting over him made me feel super guilty.

  “I’m so happy for you,” I replied because there was nothing much I could say to him at that moment.

  “You’re taking it better than I expected. She will be a great step-mother to you, Karen,” he said and hugged me.

  “I’m sure,” I replied, but my mind was twirling with other thoughts.

  “So when are you going to propose to her?” I asked as we took his luggage out of the trunk of the cab and moved upstairs.

  “I’m thinking about tomorrow. I already got her a ring. I’m taking her out to dinner so that is when I pop the question,” he said eagerly.

  I sighed and then smiled back at him. “I hope it goes really well and she says, yes!”

  “Oh, she will. I’m positive about it,” he replied.

  I fixed us some dinner and we watched television all the while chatting about the big day tomorrow.

  “I’d better catch some sleep,” I said and got up to go to bed.

  “I cannot even sleep. I’m really nervous. Good night, darling,” he said and I kissed him on his forehead.

  “Don’t worry, everything will be okay.” I walked out of the room into my own, closing the door behind me.

  Jake was soon enough going to be my step-brother. I had not seen the guy in months but could not stop obsessing about him, and this time, he would end up being my brother. I really did not know how to take the news.

  The next day I woke up to a loud bang in the kitchen.

  “I’m sorry. I was trying to make you breakfast but failed miserably!” Dad called out from afar.

  “It is okay! I’ll clean it up later,” I replied and tossed over to the other side. Dad walked into the room and sat by my side. “Do you want to hear the way I’m going to propose her?” He sounded eager and telling him that I would rather not seemed really rude so I smiled and agreed.

  Dad had prepared a whole speech telling Samantha how wonderful she is and how she changed his life, at the end he would ask her to marry him. It was awfully cute and a side of me hoped that she would say yes while the other was just numb to whatever was happening.

  Around five o’clock that evening, Daddy went out to Samantha’s place to pick her up and head out for dinner. I went to the bar and drank a bit with my old friends. I needed to blow off some steam and had this urge to tell someone about crushing over my soon-to-be step-brother.

  “It is perfectly okay. Incest counts as long as it is a bloo
d relationship. He isn’t really your brother,” I heard Armani say to me. He was the type of friend who would always tell you exactly what you wanted to hear.

  “Yeah, who cares? If he is hot then better go for it before he goes out of stock,” said Leena. People around me really did not care and I guess the point was valid enough. He was my step-brother and we shared no blood so it was okay. I remember singing karaoke in the bar and then hailing a cab to take me home. I was drunk and upon reaching the door, I saw Dad sitting on the sofa.

  “I was worried sick about you. You could have answered your phone,” he said.

  “I’m sorry, the battery was really low. So how did it go? Tell me all about it?” I said.

  “She said yes! We’re getting married by the end of this month. A little ceremony with close family and friends,” he replied and I responded with a happy shriek.

  “I am so happy for you. Congratulations.” And then I dialed Samantha’s number without realizing that it had been so late in the night. I wanted to congratulate her as well, but she did not answer and I figured that she was asleep by now.

  Daddy and I ended up drinking more in celebration. I went to bed when the sun came up and the next day was spent dealing with a bad hangover.

  Samantha called Daddy and I to dinner to which we both agreed. It was the same scenario and as I knocked on the door, Jake opened and greeted us.

  “Hello!” he said and shook my dad’s hand.

  “Hello, young man,” Daddy replied.

  “Hey!” I said and all of us made our way to the living room.

  The sight of him had ignited the same lust in me and I wanted to claw into him right then and there. The dinner was followed by a light chat and discussion of the wedding plans. It was decided that the ceremony would be small and I would get to be one of the bridesmaids.

  Samantha and I chatted over clothes and planned the event. The wedding was in a chapel, but the reception would be in central park. I kept glancing at Jake every now and then who smiled at me. After a little while, I went out to the back porch in order to get some air. Planning weddings was hard and I just wanted to clear my head for a while.