by P. A. Jones
“Why are you here, Samantha?” Her mere presence irritated me. I felt an urge to walk out of the hotel. But I stopped myself from walking away with lots of self-control. “I hope there are a few other members on your team attending the meeting.” I couldn’t think of being in a room alone with her. No, that’s not happening in a million years.
“Nathan, please. Let’s keep our professional and private lives separate. I’m here on a professional visit and let’s keep it simple.” She was still smiling. “And yes, two of my team members are attending the meeting.”
“I hope so.” I gave her an angry look. Two other people soon joined her, a lady named Julia and another guy named Tate.
“Hello, sir, nice to meet you. We both work in the PR department under Miss Samantha and we are here to welcome you to our team. We have scheduled a presentation for you about what we will be working on this year,” Julia said with a sweet smile on her face. She was younger than her job profile indicated.
“Same here.” I greeted them and followed them to the meeting room. The meeting room was awesome; it was specious and covered with glasses from two sides making sure that sunlight shone on the right spots. One complete wall was covered with an LCD screen.
When we entered the room, Samantha took charge and started the presentation with the introduction of the company. She was articulate as always, but sometimes in that hour-long presentation she had to take unnecessary breaks and she took some tablets as well. I watched her carefully; there was something wrong with her. She tried to hide her sickness with makeup, but she was definitely ill.
After an hour, she took a third break. She took some pills and turned back to continue.
“Ma’am, if you want I can take it from here,” Tate said.
“Thanks, Tate, but I can do this.” She smiled back at us. But her smile was weak and faint.
“What’s the deal with her? Is she sick?” I asked Julia who was sitting next to me.
Julie looked at me like she was deciding something. “I shouldn’t be telling this to anyone, but she is sick. She has been diagnosed with leukemia, blood cancer.”
“Oh, shit.” That helped me to understand her situation. But leukemia at this age? Damn, this is really bad. I didn’t have any feelings for her, but still she had been my wife for few years and seeing someone on their deathbed can really shake your heart. I should talk to her once.
The presentation finished in another half hour. We had a lunch planned after that. While Tate and Julia enjoyed the multi-cuisine lunch, Samantha opted for just fruit. She wasn’t even able to finish it all. One time, she had to cough in her handkerchief and when she was done, I saw small traces of blood on her hanky. What is really going on with her?
It was time to say goodbye to the team after lunch, but my heart wanted to talk to Samantha once. I wanted to know what was really happening. Though she had betrayed me, played bad games with me, still as a human and old friend, I thought I needed to know her condition.
“Samantha.” I called her while she was leaving the hotel.
“Yes.” She turned around.
“Can I have a moment with you, please?”
“Sure.” She asked her team to go ahead and came towards me. “What happened, Nathan? Any issue with the contract?”
“Nope, wanted to have a cup of coffee with you. Just like old times ,when we were friends.”
“Why the sudden interest, Nathan?”
“I heard about your cancer Samantha. And I’m sorry for that.”
“I don’t really need your sympathy, Nathan. But thanks for the offer,” she said.
“One coffee, Samantha. I’m not going to be your friend again, that can’t happen, but there is a bond of humanity which will always remain between us.” I said it with my heart. I cursed her, but I never thought that she would get in such a horrible condition.
“Okay. Let’s go to Starbucks then, like old times. I’ll ask my team to go ahead,” she said.
I waited for her a couple of minutes and once she was back, we headed to a nearby Starbucks.
“Tell me about this boxing, Nathan. You seem to have a grip on this one,” she asked as we sipped our coffee. “And how is Eva?”
“She’s fine.” I wished that from my heart. “And yes, I think I’ll do well if I continue in boxing.”
“That was your passion from the start. I remember us fighting over your boxing and money.” She giggled. “Those days seem like a fairytale now.” Her smile was weak and faint. Her life energy was missing from her smile.
“When did this happen, Samantha? I mean your cancer?”
“A few months ago I found out about it.”
“I hope it’s curable.”
“Nope, it isn’t.” She looked at the horizon. Her eyes were filled with the sadness. But then she looked back at me. “I found out about it in stage 4, so there is no cure for it. I have maybe two or three months left. Could be less than that, as well.”
“I’m so sorry, Samantha.” I touched her hand for a second. It felt bad to see her dying like that.
“Hey, but It’s good. I’ve been doing many things lately. Enjoying my life, traveling, doing my job very well and I got to meet you again. And finally I’m understanding how beautiful life can be.” She wore a pretty smile for a moment. “Hey, is that Eva there?” She asked while looking over my shoulder.
I turned around. Eva was standing there with Chloe, looking at us. “Yes, she is there.” I had a feeling to go and talk with her, but then I really didn’t deserve her.
“Are you doing fine with her? What will she think after seeing us together?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter. Let’s enjoy our coffee.” The coffee actually tasted bitter to me.
“Are you fine, Nathan? Is everything alright between you two?” she asked with a hint of care in her voice.
“Don’t worry about that.” I didn’t want to talk about that with her. “Tell me, where are you staying these days?”
“L.A. I work there mainly. I came here to welcome you and actually see you one last time. I’m not sure if I’ll get that opportunity again.” Her face reflected many emotions.
“Don’t worry, Samantha. I feel you will live to the fullest and maybe you will get another chance to meet me.”
“Yes, maybe.” She looked at her watch. “I think we should get going now. I’ve a flight to catch, and before that I need to meet my team here once more.”
“Okay, Let me drop you at the hotel then.” I stood up. Eva wasn’t there. I sighed for my broken relationship.
“No, I’ll manage. I actually have some work here. I’ll complete that first,” she said.
“Okay. See you then.” I waved her goodbye.
I messaged Mason before starting the car.
Met Samantha again. She is dying Mason, stage 4 cancer. I think you should meet her once.
Chapter 25
Eva
“What the fuck? I can’t believe your mother could be such an ass.” Chloe was burning in anger. She clenched her hand around the pillow in her lap. The moment Mason left the canteen, I had come back to my dorm and told everything to Chloe.
“Even I don’t believe it.” It was still a shocker for me. I wanted to go to her and ask her about this. “I want to go and ask her about the shit she did with Nathan.” I clenched my hands around the corner of the bed I was sitting on. I could feel the way she tried to manipulate me into everything. “Every word she said, everything she did for me was to get Nathan out of my life. If she wasn’t my mother I would have ...”
“I want to kill her myself for putting you through all this.”
“I’m going to meet her soon and clear things up with her,” I said, still burning with fury.
“But why go about it this way?”
“It’s a calculated risk for her, Chloe. Everything is business for her. I just need to go and confront her before she even thinks of manipulating me anymore.”
“If I were in your place, I would have
already run a car over her.”
“Calm down, dear. We are not going to do anything reckless here,” I said. I was not surprised to see her as angry as she was. My mother wasn’t good in her eyes and they didn’t get along well.
“Why are you acting so soft, Eva? You should go right now and ask her about this shit. Aren’t you angry at her?”
“I’m very angry at her. But I want to wait for Nathan. I want him to open up to me.” He chose to be the saddest part of our story. He was the one who should have told me all this. But he didn’t. I wanted him to look in my eyes and tell me that mother did wrong with him and us.”
“Come on, you can’t let her go like this,” Chloe said in disappointment.
“I’m not letting her go so easily, Chloe. She thinks she is powerful because of her money. I’m going to wipe out that money from her some day and then I’ll ask her all these questions.” A firm decision was building in the back of my mind: a plan to defeat my own mother. If she thought she had the power, she forgets then that I’m her daughter.
“But Eva, she actually ruined your emotional life. If it wasn’t for her, you be in Nathan’s arms right now. Anyway, what are you going to do about him? You know he is innocent now.”
“I’m going to wait until he comes to me; he should learn his lesson. Don’t worry, he’ll come to me soon. I just need to give him time to think it over.” I wanted desperately to meet Nathan and hug him, kiss him, make love to him, tear off his clothes and suck that beautiful chiseled body in my eyes, but I was going to wait for him.
“Is Martha still in New York?” Chloe asked.
“I think she is. I’d seen her schedule. What are you doing this evening? I’m planning to go and shop for groceries. Are you coming?” I had some money left with me that Nathan had given me before going to L.A.
“Are you going in your car?” Chloe asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“Can you drop me someplace? Don’t worry, it is on your way.”
“Sure.”
***
A few hours later, we were driving to the grocery store. “Can you drop me here?” Chloe pointed to Starbucks.
“Do you want to have a cup of coffee before you leave for your meeting place?” Chloe hadn’t told me about the actual place, so I was just teasing her.
“Sure.” She smiled and we parked the car near the Starbucks.
As we entered the Starbucks, I paused, Nathan was sitting there with a girl .
“Is that Nathan?” Chloe asked.
I looked at him closely. How come he is here? I recognized her; it was Samantha. What the fuck? I dropped my handbag, my body shaking in anger. What the hell is she doing here? My knees went weak. I couldn’t bear that lady in Nathan’s life. I was going to fall right there, but Chloe supported me and took away.
“Who was she? And why are you looking so tense?” Chloe asked.
“No one. I just had a moment of weakness. Can we go back home? I don’t feel like getting coffee or groceries. We’ll shop for it tomorrow.” My head started hurting. What was the meaning of all this? Why was Nathan with Samantha, again?
“Okay, but are you sure you can drive?”
“Yes, I can. Don’t worry.” I waved her goodbye and entered my car. No, I can’t drive this. And I didn’t want Chloe to stop because of me, either. I let my head fall down on the steering wheel and relaxed. My mind went thoughtless for a minute. I just couldn’t think of any reason for Nathan meeting that bitch, Samantha.
This was the second shocker of the day for me, first Mason telling me about my mother, and then Nathan with Samantha. The second one was devastating. A numbness spread across my mind. The path of my life was scattered somewhere and I couldn’t find it anymore.
My cell buzzed. It was someone unknown. I hung up. It buzzed again. I again, hung it up.
Someone knocked on my car door. Without looking up, I lowered my window, must be a police officer.
“Hello, Eva.” A feminine voice came through the window.
I looked up, surprised. To my utter shock, Samantha was standing outside. She looked paler than when I had last seen her. Something was terribly wrong with her; her eyes looked shallow and without life.
“Can I come in for a minute?”
“For what?”
“I need to talk with you about something.”
“What? Do you want to manipulate me now?” I was already furious that she had been sitting with Nathan. I had seen her acting like a jerk and she was the reason Nathan had to suffer a lot. But how could Nathan meet her again? That doesn’t make any sense. I won’t let her do that again to Nathan. She wasn’t welcomed in my life or my car at all.
“Can you look at this please?” She handed me something. It looked like a report.
“What is this?”
“Can you please read it once, Eva?” She coughed. She looked desperate.
I opened it. It was a doctor's report; it was her report, actually. She had stage 4 leukemia. My jaw dropped when I read that. “What the heck? You have cancer?”
“Yes. And that’s why Nathan asked me to have a cup of coffee with him. I never told this to anyone else, but I saw you looking at us. And I don’t want me to be reason for your breakup.” She paused to take a breather. She was surely struggling with life.
“I’m already burning in hell for what I did to Nathan. I just don’t want to do that again.” She started sobbing uncontrollably. “I couldn’t say it to him, but I regretted my every action when I read this report. I don’t have much time left in this world and now I’m realizing how awful I have acted with you both. I even took money from your mother to get in between you two.”
She gave me another shock by speaking my mother’s name.
“You took money from my mother?” I asked in horror.
“Yes, I did.” She sighed hard. Now I could see why she looked lifeless from the start; she was regretting every awful thing she had done in her life. “I just want to tell you one thing, Eva. Nathan is a gem and I was a fool to lose him from my life. I don’t know what’s going on in between you two, but don’t make me the reason of anything. At least not when I’m dying.”She took the report out of my hand and walked away.
“Samantha…” I called her.
“No, Eva, I’ve said enough. I wish you both a happy life.” She walked away without even looking at me.
Chapter 26
Nathan
I walked into my house without any motivation to work or eat or do anything. Eva wasn’t there and that was reason enough for me to feel demotivated, like my life was a big ball of boredom. And then she saw me with Samantha. It was bad, very bad. What would she be thinking about Samantha and me? Do I have to care about that? Anyway, she is not coming back and I shouldn’t even be asking her to.
Really, "What went wrong?” was the question my mind kept searching. I am going crazy like this. I need to do something or else I am done for. Dark shadows of hopelessness covered me. My mind was dabbling with all the negative thoughts and I couldn’t stop them. Is there really a way to stop all this or will I die like this, roaming in the desert of darkness.
I need to box with someone. Yes, I need to. I changed into my training clothes and headed to the club. Boxing was the only thing that could save me from all this mental stress.
It was late afternoon and I thought the club would be quiet, but it was full of people.
“Hey, dude, what are you doing here?” one of my club mates asked when he saw me.
“Aren’t I welcome here anymore?” I asked in surprise.
“No, we thought you are injured and not allowed to play for a month. Mason told us.”
“And where is that jerk?” Then I remembered he had some crisis in his company.
“He is there fighting with Peter. That’s why we all are here.”
“What the heck?” He told me he had some issue and now he is fucking himself with Peter.
I dashed forward, making my way through many people. When I cou
ld finally see Mason, he was in the air about to hit Peter. In a fraction of a second, his knees hit Peter on his chest. Peter fell down on the ground and Mason was on his chest, punching his head.
“Fuck man, what a crazy match,” one of my club mates screamed, thrilled.
Even I had never seen Mason so angry like this, at least not since our college days. He just fucked the shit out of Peter in only one match.
I jumped up the ropes. “Are you going to kill him, Mason?” I shouted at him. Nobody was stopping him and he might hurt Peter badly; I didn’t care about that, but I wouldn’t have liked Mason in trouble.
Mason looked up in surprise. He looked back at Peter and released him. As he walked out of the ring, two members went inside and helped Peter to get on his feet. Many people witnessed the fall of a champion.
“What was that, dude?” I asked.
“Nothing, man. Just like that,” Mason replied.
“No, dude, that can’t be the real reason. There must be something behind all this.”
“Nothing.”
“Did you receive my message about Samantha a couple of hours ago?”
“Yes, and that is the reason...” He bit his tongue.
“What? You beat that bastard because of Samantha?” I asked in surprise.
“Nothing, dude.”
“No, tell me now.”
“Because of her, I wanted to beat someone. I was freaking out. I never thought that she would die like this.” He sounded sad.
I didn’t know about his dormant feelings for Samantha. “I’m sorry, Mason. I didn’t know you still had feelings for her.” Surprisingly, it didn’t feel weird to me. “I’m sorry, dude. But when I met her yesterday, she looked so lifeless. I couldn’t stop myself from telling you.”
“It’s okay, buddy. I forgot her long ago, but there is still a corner of my heart that does care for her.” I patted him on his shoulder. I sympathized with him.
“I wish the best for her as well. When I met her yesterday, Eva saw us both.”
“That’s worse. Did you tell her the truth about Samantha? You are ruining your already awful relationship.”