Jade Orchid Lovers

by Mei Silk

  “Aren’t you going to answer it?” Sara asked Derek.

  “No, you go.”

  “Why? It’s your house.” Sara walked to the door, her annoyance clear in her tone.

  From the peephole, she saw a tall, handsome man standing in the front porch.

  “Mateo!” Sara couldn’t control her astonishment. “How on earth did you know I was here?”

  “My mom called me. Your dad told her what had happened.” He pulled her to him, and held her. “Are you all right?”

  “I am. Thank you for coming.” Sara sank into Mateo’s embrace, and forgot the nightmarish day in an instant.

  Then she heard her father’s voice behind them.

  “Who is it, Sara?”

  She pushed Mateo away and composed herself.

  “Uh, Mateo, this is Derek, my dad, and Dad, this is Mateo, my . . . uh, boyfriend.”

  “Nice to meet you.” The two men shook hands.

  “Come on in, Mateo. Join us for dinner,” Derek said, smiling.

  Sara saw her father looking at them with a twinkle in his eye and a grin on his face as she and Mateo sat down next to each other at the table. She knew her father worried about her, but she was silently fuming at him for calling Teresa and telling her about her personal problems.

  After dinner, and after an after-dinner conversation where Mateo had persuaded Sara to stay at his home for the night, Sara and Mateo said goodbye to Derek. Before Sara got into her car, Derek gave her a hug and said, “Sara, it’s time to let go of the past. Let Mateo help you through with this. I can tell he’s the right person.”

  “Dad! You sound like a mom.”

  “I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

  With that, the young couple started their cars, and with Sara following Mateo, they drove out of Derek’s driveway.

  * * *

  An hour later, after Sara had emptied the contents of her suitcase, and hung her clothes side by side to Mateo’s in his closet, put her laptop next to his on his desk, and placed her buckwheat pillow next Mateo’s, she found herself swimming side by side with Mateo, in his pool. Mateo had insisted that the best way to unwind from a day’s tension was to swim.

  And he was right. After a dozen laps, she was feeling light-hearted and cheerful, and relaxed. The shadows casted by thoughts of Bill had scattered.

  “How do you like the pool?” Mateo asked her when they were resting.

  “How do I like it?” she said with disbelief. “I love it! It reminds me of the pool at Hearst Castle. I was there with my parents one summer. I remember being disappointed because it wasn’t open to visitors. I thought if I could swim in that pool, I would feel like the Queen of England.”

  “Are you feeling like a queen now?”

  She nodded. “Exactly. This pool is not as big but no less luxurious.”

  “And I am the king then?” he asked in a low and arousing voice.

  She looked at him. He was not jesting. He was serious.

  She giggled at once, and wanted to swim away. But he grabbed her arm, pulled her to him and kissed her.

  She whimpered. She had wanted him the moment he got in the water, but had resisted the thought. Even with a casual touch she would yield, not to mention a fervent gesture like that. Soon, her swimsuit was off her and drifted away, and she found Mateo looking at her with desire-filled eyes.

  “Sara, have I ever told you how wild you made me feel whenever you were in your swimsuit, because it always made me imagine what was hidden beneath?”

  “No.” Sara smiled. “Should I put it back on?”

  “Don’t! I’ll go mad if you do.” He cupped her breasts with his palms, caressing them as he kissed her.

  “Oh!” Sara cried. Ever since they had that late-night swim together at the Y, she had been possessed with the fantasy of making love with Mateo in a pool. And now, when it was actually happening, she had trouble convincing herself that it was real.

  “Are you real, Mateo?” Sara whispered.

  “Yes, I am,” Mateo said, nudging his hard length against her.

  “Do you have to go get your condoms this time?” Sara asked weakly.

  “No, I’m prepared. They’re right here.”

  Sara giggled as Mateo reached over for the box that she had seen him place on top of the rosemary shrubs.

  “So, are you ready?” Mateo came back promptly to her.

  “Yes. I am.” Sara said and cried as his slick length penetrated her, and injected a cool and invigorating sensation that made her tremble.

  * * *

  The campus of WCC was exceptionally beautiful that day. Sara was walking towards the math and science building and felt that something was different. There were Champaca trees and China roses everywhere. Strange, she thought, how come she had never noticed them? She spotted the gardener and went over to him. It was the same gardener that she had seen a couple times before, a middle-aged Latino man with a friendly smile.

  “Nice roses,” she said. “Why all of a sudden? Is there an important event coming up or are we getting ready for the fall semester?”

  The gardener smiled, “No, señorita, I’m planting the flowers for you.”

  “For me?”

  “Yes. It’s your campus, and Mateo wants it to be beautiful.”

  “Mateo?”

  “Yes. Mateo is my son.”

  “Your son? Really?”

  “Really. He loves you. Would you marry him?”

  “Oh.” She felt embarrassed and blessed at the same time. “I need to think.”

  “What is there to think? When there are good things coming your way, you don’t wait, young lady.”

  “How do I know whether it will last?”

  “You won’t know, even if you wait a year or ten years. It might not last. But that shouldn’t be a reason for you to miss it.”

  “Thank you, but I have to go. Will you be here for a while?”

  “Yes. I’ll be here.”

  She shook hands with the gardener and went on walking to her class.

  She was standing in front of the podium the next minute, but couldn’t find her notes. She flipped through her notes in her folders and told her students that she had to go get something from her car and that she would be back.

  She ran to the parking structure and started to look for her car. Then she saw a man coming out of a black car, tall and skinny, wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses.

  “Oh no, it’s Bill,” she heard herself mumbling and started to run. She ran out of the parking structure and into the campus, except that it was no longer WCC’s campus, but the campus of University of Oregon. She saw Jessica talking to the athletes who had been her students. “Help me, Jessica!” she shouted.

  But Jessica only waved at her. And then Bill grabbed her from behind and said in a menacing voice. “I got you, Sara.”

  Sara startled awake. It was shortly before midnight. What a bizarre dream. Then she remembered where she was. She was lying right next to Mateo, in his house. It was Mateo’s arm that was around her waist. Her stir woke him.

  “You okay, sweetheart?”

  “Yes.” Sara turned and saw his cute, sleepy face. She stroked his hair gently and stamped a kiss on his cheek. He smiled and soon went back to sleep.

  Lying awake, Sara thought about the dream. Too much had happened the day before. That was why she’d had that dream. The scene was horribly familiar though. It had happened to her once, when she had just become an assistant professor. She had to go back to Bill’s car to look for notes, since they went to work together. She had to go ask Bill for the car key first. Bill had suggested that she should have just lectured without the notes. But she refused, since she didn’t want to miss anything important.

  “They wouldn’t know even if you did,” he had said.

  “But I would,” she insisted.

  And that was the first time she lost some of her respect for him.

  * * *

  She was trying to go back to sleep when a
thought suddenly horrified her. She had indeed left her notes at home. She had noticed it the day before when she was lecturing. She’d written notes for the entire week on Friday night, just before she left for the camp. And she’d put all of them into the folder. During the day when the students were taking the test, she wanted to go over the lecture notes, but couldn’t find them. After the class, she’d been so distracted by the whole Bill thing, the matter went out of her mind completely. She hadn’t even recalled it when she was packing in the afternoon. And strange, if the notes had been left at home, it would have been on her desk and she would have seen it when she packed.

  She got up slowly and carefully, so she wouldn’t disturb Mateo, making her way to her briefcase in the living room. She looked through her folders and inside the textbook and among the student exams, and couldn’t find a single page of notes. She went out to her car to see whether it was left on the seats. Nothing.

  Sara walked back into the house and sank into the sofa. She had to go home to get the notes, but she was afraid of Bill. What if he was inside her condo? She should wake Mateo and asked him to go with her. She went up to the bedroom and looked at Mateo. He was snoring softly and contently, his head leaning towards her pillow. She bent towards him and was about to call his name when she remembered he’d told her he had an important meeting with a group of investors early in the morning, regarding a big real estate development project. He had done a lot for her already, and she didn’t want to trouble him more. After all, they were not really in a close relationship yet.

  Withdrawing her hand, she walked to the closet and got dressed. Putting her cell phone in her pocket, she closed the bedroom door carefully behind her.

  Chapter 19

  Mateo heard the sound of a starting engine. That’s unusual, he thought sleepily. None of his neighbors would go to work at midnight. He went back to sleep, vaguely recalling the fact that none of his neighbors lived close enough to his property for him to hear them starting their cars at all time. He hoped Sara wouldn’t mind . . . His eyes popped open and he rolled to the side. Sara was gone. There was only her pillow next to him.

  Mateo got up and ran out of the house. But the white Corolla was already gone. Going back to his house, he quickly dressed up and called Sara’s cell phone.

  “Where are you, Sara?” Mateo asked as soon as she answered.

  “I’m in my garage. I think I left some notes in my house. Don’t worry, I’ll be back soon.”

  “You should’ve woken me. I’d have gone with you.” Mateo sighed. “It’s not safe for you. Stay in your car. I’m coming.”

  “Mateo, there is no need for you to come. I’ll be all right.”

  He hung up, racing to get dressed.

  * * *

  The community was quiet when Sara got out. She’d ignored Mateo’s words. After all, she was just going to run and get her notes. She’d be perfectly fine. It was no use waiting for Mateo just so she could go into her own home. She looked around her carefully, trying to spot any suspicious men or cars on her way to her garage. She walked to her house cautiously, getting ready to scream if anything moved in her way. But thankfully, no one showed up in her way and nothing happened. She got to the house safely. Before opening the door, she checked the yard and the windows from outside. Everything looked exactly the same as she had left it in the afternoon. Then she took a deep breath, unlocked the door and turned the doorknob.

  The door was pulled opened before she pushed it. And before she knew it, she was grabbed and dragged inside, a gun pointing at her temple. She hadn’t even had time to scream when her mouth and nose were covered with a big hand and a sack with a strong chemical odor was put over her head. Her assailant pushed her down to the sofa with her face down. She struggled as she felt ropes binding her, but soon lost her will to fight and her body fell forward limply. She complacently let herself be carried over a bony shoulder and out of the house. Bill must have drugged her, she thought as she felt the night air enveloping her at first and then the smell of the interior of a car. Her mind shut down, and she was consumed by darkness.

  When she awoke, Sara found herself in the backseat of a car moving on the freeway. The sack had been removed from her head. Before she recognized the driver, she heard the chillingly familiar voice from the past.

  “How was your nap, baby?”

  “Bill! What are you doing? You’re crazy. Let me go!” Sara cried.

  “Damn. Triple dose of nitrous oxide lasted less than thirty minutes? You can’t trust a dentist. Anyway, calm down. No one can hear you scream anyway. I’m taking you back to Oregon, baby.”

  “I’m not your baby. We’re over!”

  “No, we aren’t. We’re going begin a new life.”

  “You’ll begin your new life in jail.”

  “Go to jail?” He laughed, “I’m too smart to go to jail, baby. I’ve arranged everything so that I won’t have to go to jail. I’ve recently purchased a house with a basement. You’re going to live there for the rest of your life.”

  “You’re insane, Bill. The police will be looking for me. They already suspect you for stalking me.”

  “You went to the police? You bitch!” Bill shouted and glared at her from the rearview mirror.

  She had gone from baby to bitch in less than ten seconds. Bill had become crazier than she had remembered.

  “What do you expect?” Sara yelled. “You broke into my house and stole things.”

  “I wasn’t stealing. I was packing for you. And I accidentally took your notes. Huh-huh. Is that what you came back for? You haven’t changed, Sara.”

  His evil laughter made Sara sick. “I can’t believe you did that, Bill. You’re crazier than I thought.”

  “You don’t know me, Sara. You’re not as smart as I thought either.” After a moment’s silence he said, “I have a backup plan. We’ll go to my uncle’s farm in Fresno. We could go to Mexico. I know someone down there. What’s his name? Jorge, the guy who used to be my dealer before the police busted him. He runs a hostel right by the border. I was there last summer. It isn’t a bad place to spend the rest of your life. I’m sure you’ll find the Latino culture fascinating, Sara, considering who you’ve been sleeping with lately.”

  * * *

  Mateo saw a black Chrysler leaving the community when he got to Granola Drive. He had an impulse to follow it but decided to check with Sara’s first. He dialed Sara’s cell phone number and got no answer. Then he called her home phone also and got no answer. He dialed 911 as he turned around and headed towards the same direction as the Chrysler had.

  * * *

  Sara heard her cell phone ring in her pocket but couldn’t free her hands to reach it.

  “I bet it’s your lifeguard boyfriend. Sara. He’s been calling. Too bad he can’t guard your life just when you need him. He missed us by a mere thirty seconds. ” He laughed and shook his head. “Sara, can’t you do better than that? Lifeguard? You’re tired of brains and going for muscles this time?”

  “Stop it, Bill.”

  But he wouldn’t. “I knew it. Women always have a weakness for guys with useless features. Muscles, huh? What does a guy need them for nowadays? It’s not like we’re living in prehistoric times. No one needs to hunt big game. What a waste of time to go to the gym to build up a bunch of cells and fibers. Just to get a woman into bed with you? Imbeciles. I can’t believe you really care for that kind of guy.”

  Sara was furious but she repressed her anger. From experience, once Bill got into a diatribe like this, her response would only agitate him more.

  Her silence, however, did not help much either. Bill’s speech only became more bitter and rancorous.

  “Now I have finally proved it. All women are sluts. It doesn’t matter how many years of education they get. That’s why women are the inferior sex. Even a Ph.D. couldn’t change your horny nature. You might be properly dressed, but inside, you’re a harlot. Just look at the way those dumb athletes followed your ass around. Now let me a
sk you, did you sleep with the entire basketball team at UO?”

  “That’s too much, Bill.”

  “Shut up and let me finish. Just why did they vote you to be athlete math coach three times in a row? No one in the math department had ever had that honor, not that it’s worth a damn to anyone. Not even a genius professor like me. And no one would believe that you earned it with your brain. Tell me, did you tutor them, or strip for them?”

  Sara tuned his voice out. She had heard similar accusations before their divorce, but not to such a degree. She was reluctant to look at Bill, but from her occasional glances, she saw that his eyes were too bright to be normal. He might be under the influence of drugs, because he had always had fear of driving on the freeway. And he was driving too fast and erratically, ignoring signals from cars on other lanes and zigzagging like mad. He almost crashed into the Tacoma that had waited impatiently to get into the lane. He was now madly blasting the horn and cursing the driver. “Why do they let women drive? They’re brainless and blind!”

  * * *

  Mateo’s heart went cold when he heard the horn and saw the black Chrysler nearly crashing into the truck. After getting caught up with the car twenty minutes ago, Mateo was sure that Sara was in the back seat. He had meant to stop the car, but didn’t want the criminal to panic and hurt Sara. Sara’s life was in the hands of a maniac. And all he could do was to follow them. If he did anything rushed, Sara could get killed. The police had already been to Sara’s condo and found out that it had been broken into, and that there were signs of abduction. They were on their way and had advised him to keep following the car, but not to confront the criminal.

  * * *

  Sara shivered. They were on the I-5 north, about a hundred miles out of LA. If Bill was serious, they could be in Fresno in less than an hour. Sara had been to that orange farm. It was huge and there were no other families around. No, she wouldn’t get there. She couldn’t imagine being alone with Bill in a place like that for even a minute. She would rather die. That’s it! She would shout and scream and make him mad so they could crash. Sara took a deep breath, but she couldn’t do it. That would be rash and useless. She had to try something different.