“Bri, I never broke anyone’s heart, never have, and never will.”
Bri meant to ask him about the ladies he dated after his infamous breakup with Christine but thought it wise not to. He might take it as insecurity, and that was the word unassociated with her. She was confident, and she knew and felt it in her being. The only reason she would act the least insecure would be that her trust was shaken, trust not insecurity.
“Wish I could lay my eyes on your ex and make him regret what he’s done to you that I have to suffer to mend.” Bri could sense the anger in him.
“He’s where he belongs,” Bri said. “Wish I never met him.”
“Bri, not all men are evil. I guess I’ll have to fight hard to prove it to you if you let me.”
“Why me?”
“Because I saw a faithful and kind woman in you. I could travel around the world with my head held high, knowing no other man is taking my space in my bed. I could sleep knowing my wife loves just me and not another. I could walk on my street without my neighbors throwing a sorry look at me because another man stole her heart, and am not just a money bag.”
Bri raised her hand and placed her index finger over his lips.
“I can only love one man at a time. I have no energy for two.”
“And that man has to be me,” he said, pulling her closer.
“Let’s have dinner in seven days, then you tell me how you feel. I’ll tell you how I feel, too.”
“What if I die before then?” he asked.
“You won’t.” Then she shuddered at the possibility of it happening.
“But what if?”
“Then… she paused. “Then I’ll know you died proving your love for me,” she said and held him firmly. “No matter what you do, please stay alive. I’ve had so many loses. I need some happily-ever-after.”
“I’ll give it to you.” He cupped her face in his warm, soft hands and kissed her on the lips. She did not resist. She kissed him back, wishing they would go further than that, but he stopped. “I would never take advantage of you,” he said. “When you are ready, I am ready.” She snuggled closer to him, breathing in his perfume, and then fell asleep.
32
⸙
Three days. Three whole days without a sight or sound of Ethan. What was I thinking?” Bri thought as she entered her apartment which greeted her with silence. Her day had been more hectic than expected.
She couldn't possibly bring on her A-game during her photo shoot for a prestigious client without Ethan's face popping in her thought.
She'd hoped he would grow desperate to see her and break the seven days no contact agreement. She sighed and threw her purse on the couch, following her purse as it landed. She shut her eyes. Memories of Fogo island filled her mind. She sat upright. I should probably call him and tell him the deal is off, she thought. But that would make me desperate.
A woman should be sought and courted, like a proper lady. She rose and headed to her bedroom. It was exactly as she'd left it in a hurry in the morning when she'd woken up and was running late for her photo shoot.
She'd planned on buying herself a car before the next winter, which approached with much haste, should she be paid for her services. It would be one of her greatest achievement; save her teeth from chattering under the brutal cold while waiting for a bus that took extra time to arrive due to the snow they'd have to plow through before arriving at her bus stop.
Calling your agent, or client to inform them of your tardiness was unprofessional. They often asked if she didn't have a car, and she was beginning to get embarrassed by the question. With her G2 driving license in hand, all she needed was extra cash to afford the car of her dreams, Hyundai Elantra. Anything between the years 2010 to 2016 would suffice.
She peeled her clothes off her skin, feeling her flesh recoil and break up in goosebumps. Fall is calling alright, she thought and threw on a pair of warm matching pajamas. She headed to the kitchen to fix lunch when a soft knock on the door jolted her. She stood still, careful not to make a sound should her visitor know she was home. She glanced at herself and thought to ignore whoever it was.
Alice had promised to visit in the weekend, so it couldn't possibly be her. Ethan, she knew he wouldn’t come unannounced. She'd told him she disliked surprises. Then, who was it?
She tip-toed to her door, held her breath and peered through the spy hole on her door. She gasped and backed off the door.
“It’s him! She whispered. He knocked again. Louder this time. Bri ran to her bedroom and skidded to a stop before her closet. She yanked the nearest decent clothe within her reach; a T-shirt and a pair of denim jeans, and threw them on before running to her bathroom. A quick 1-2-3 strokes of her hairbrush through her hair, and one-minute face refreshing, and she was ready to usher him in.
Without a word, she opened the door with a broad smile. He held a bouquet of roses and handed it to her. She accepted the roses before he swept her off her feet as he ushered himself into her small, but furnished living room. They kissed as he walked towards her couch. He set her down.
“Wow,” she said. Placing her hand on her lips and smiling. He watched her, smiling too. Bri followed his gaze as he did a quick sweep of his eyes around her living room. He nodded as if complimenting her efforts.
“I missed you,” he said, taking her hand.
“I missed you, too.” She smelled the roses and exhaled. “Thanks for the roses. They’re lovely.”
“Just like you,” he said.
“Thanks.”
“Sorry, I broke our agreement of non-communicado. I just couldn’t do it.”
“I… actually wanted you to break it,” Bri said, surprised at her openness.
“You did? Then why didn’t you call me, say, a few days ago?”
“I wanted you to do it yourself,” she smiled. “I’m glad you did. Want something to drink?”
“No. I’m taking you out to dinner.” Bri’s eyes bulged.
“You are?”
“Yes. Why? You seem surprised.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting anyone to take me out to dinner so….”
“But, first we have to go shopping.”
“Shopping,” Bri said. She raised her hand to her head and scratched.
“Then we go and have something to eat if you don’t mind,” Ethan said.
Bri had never been taken out to dinner before. Though she’d been asked, but she never got to say yes. She preferred her little quiet and comfortable living room. She could fix and eat whatever pricked her appetite, and chewed whatever way she chose, in front of her TV, curled up on her couch, without anyone watching the sway of her mouth, the size of food she put in her mouth, and the quantity of food on her plate.
Bri silently knew she was suffering from anorexia bulimia. She watched every morsel of food that sat on her plate, and picked and chose what she ate. She’d rather control what went into her mouth than torture herself on those machines lined up in the gym just so she could keep her job. As it was, a hundred and ten more girls were waiting in line to take it from her.
“Why don’t we skip the dinner part?”
“Aren’t you hungry?” he asked. Her tummy growled reminding her that she’d nothing all day.
“We could pick up something at the store and head to your apartment if you’d like,” she said.
“Why not,” he said. “I honestly wished you’d say that one day. Didn’t expect it today.”
“Which part weren’t you expecting?” Bri asked, rising.
“Coming to my house.”
“Oh, It’s a house.”
“Yes. Just bought it a few months ago. Used to live in an apartment, too.
“I should get you something to drink while I get ready,” she said and pranced to her kitchen. He rose and followed her. Bri turned to him.
“Just want to know what your kitchen’s like,” he said.
“Nothing much to it,” Bri said before opening her fridge. “Sorry, I don’t have a beer.
”
“I don’t drink,” he said.
“That’s a first,” she said, pleasantly surprised. He’s a keeper she thought.
“Why is that?”
“All the men I know drink one kind of beer or another. Why don’t you drink?” she asked. “Just curious.”
“I don’t like it, don’t like what it does after you’re done with it, and ….” His eyes darted down. Bri followed his eyes which fell on his flat, chiseled tummy which she could see through his Maroon T-shirt. “I don’t want a bulging tummy. Not good for my image as a fighter.”
“That makes the two of us,” Bri said, shutting the fridge door. In her hand was a can of diet Pepsi. She held it to him. “This is what I drink. I wasn’t expecting anyone, so I didn’t get my fridge stocked. He took it from her.
“That’s what I drink, too.” He popped open the can and took a sip as they headed back to the living room. “We kind of have a lot of similarity in our likes.”
“I was just thinking about that,” Bri said, and then felt the need to prod him. “What’s your diet like?”
“Basically meat, vegetable, and fruits.”
“Yes,” she said.
“Um, you were saying?”
“Never mind,” Bri said. “I’ll get ready.”
“Pick whatever you like,” Ethan said, as they entered a female clothing store.
“Thanks,” Bri said, touching one cloth or another that caught her attention. Ethan noticed she often flipped the price tag. He smiled. One thing he liked about her was, she watched her expenses. He noted everything she touched but did not take off the clothing rack. He watched as the other ladies searched for clothes, shoes, bags, and jewelry.
Some of the ladies smiled at him, some flirtatious with their smile, but he smiled back and set his focus on her. At a point, he lost track of her while she wandered to another section of the huge store. He used the opportunity to head back to the clothes she touched but did not pick and took them all off the racks.
Usually, when he took the few girls he dated out to shop, they picked whatever they touched, and when they arrived at the counter, they turned to him and expected him to yank out his wallet. He was the man after all. “A professional MMA fighter could pay for a few expensive clothes,” one of the ladies once said. He’d paid for the clothes and ended the relationship afterward.
He headed to the counter and told the charming lady to please, set them aside, he was coming with more. He searched for Bri and found her sitting on a stool and trying on a pair of black boots. Her purse on the floor. Bri looked up.
“I like these,” she said. “And they’re for sale. I can afford them,” she said.
“You don’t have to pay for them,” Ethan said.
“I know, but I want to.”
“Alright, pick another one, one I can pay for.”
“One pair is enough,” she said. “I only need these. I have enough at home.”
“Alright,” Ethan said, tired of arguing. “Is that all you need?”
“Yes.”
They headed to the counter. Bri paid for her shoes and picked up her bag from the cashier and turned to leave.
“I’d like to pay for those clothes, please,” he said to the lady who gladly hurled out the clothes. Bri’s eyes expanded in shock.
“Ethan….”
“I know,” he said to her and gave her the keep quiet look. Bri gulped. The others in the line behind them watched. When the cashier had finished, she told him the amount and asked if he had a point card to credit his points with, and if he didn’t have one, he would be given a card. Ethan declined and thanked the lady. He picked up the bags of clothes and held them as they walked towards the store exit. A lady hastily brushed past them as they headed to the exit without a word.
“Ethan, you shouldn’t have….” Bri said when the sound of the alarm filled the store. They froze. Everyone at the store and passersby in the mall turned to look at them. The store lady rose from her seat. A security guard appeared out of nowhere.
“Step aside please,” he said. Bri’s eyes fell on his badge. Chris, that was his name.
“There must be some sort of mistake here,” Ethan said to Chris. We paid for everything we have here.” He fished for the receipt in the bags of clothes and found it. He handed it to the guard.
“Probably they missed one of the clothes and didn’t scan it,” Bri added.
“I’d suggest they take a look at the clothes again and match them with what they have on the system,” the guard said. They all headed back into the store. At this point, Ethan looked angry and about to explode. If anything, he hated being labeled a thief. He had never stolen before. Everything he had, he bought with his money.
“Everything seems okay,” the lady said. “The clothes are registered into the system as sold.”
“Can you explain why this is happening?” Ethan said. “Because this is embarrassing.”
“Does this happen often,” Bri asked, visibly shaken.
“Not that I know of. I just started work here like a month ago,” the lady said. Bri noticed her countenance changed towards them. They watched as other customers came and went without the alarm going off.
“Let’s try a second time,” the guard said. “If it goes off again, am afraid I’ll have to search both of you.”
“Okay,” Bri and Ethan agreed.
They headed to the exit, without the bags this time, as Bri suggested. The alarm went off. Bri’s face turned red.
“Alright,” the guard said. “Follow me to the back room.”
Ethan was first.
“This is crazy,” he said, his face flushed. And then, “I only have back pockets,” he added. The guard searched, nothing. He turned to Bri.
“Your purse.” Bri handed it to him. He turned the purse upside down and inside out. Plop. A gold watch, with its price tag, fell on the table. Bri gasped and clasped her mouth with both hands. She turned to Ethan who couldn’t contain his surprise.
“I swear; I didn’t pick that. That,” she said, pointing at the watch, is not mine.” She turned to the guard who watched her with differently now.
“Someone put that in there. I don’t wear gold watches, see,” she said, yanking out her left hand, but it was bare of any watch. Ethan gazed, hand rising to his head and coming back down to his side a couple of times. Bri could sense his distress.
“Oh, God, I must’ve left it at home,” Bri said before the tears trickled down.
“I’m sorry, I have to detain you for shoplifting until an officer comes.”
“No,” Ethan said. He finally found his voice. “I believe her. She’d never do anything like that.”
“This isn’t about what you believe,” the guard said. “This is about facts. The alarm went off because she hadn’t paid for the watch she stole.”
“She must’ve forgotten to put it back,” Ethan said.
“No. I did not forget. I’d never set my eyes on this watch until now. I did not take it! Bri yelled, and then sobbed louder. A male police officer walked in and asked what was going on.
“This watch mysteriously walked into this lady’s purse.”
“That’s right,” Ethan said. It walked in there if she said she did not take it.” After hearing both sides of the story, the officer stepped forward.
“Maam, bring your hands forward,” the officer said as he yanked a set of handcuffs out. Bri hesitated. “Things could get worse if you don’t comply,” he said. With tear-filled eyes, Bri turned to Ethan as the officer read her Miranda rights.
“I didn’t do it.
“I know,” Ethan said, but Bri wasn’t convinced he knew. She felt humiliated and staggered as the officer led her out of the store. This time, the alarm didn’t go. Ethan helped pick up her purse and then hurried forward. He slipped her cell phone between her hands.
“I’ll be there as soon as you arrive at the station,” he said and walked with them out of the mall. He headed to his car, pulled out his phone an
d called his attorney.
33
⸙
Bri gasped for air as she was fingerprinted, and her picture taken before been thrown into a holding cell awaiting her hearing. Ethan’s lawyer appeared a few hours later, asked a few questions, and then let her know the procedure of what’s to happen afterward.
It was a sleepless night. She regretted following Ethan to the mall. I should’ve opted for dinner instead, she thought. Bri sat by the bars that restricted her freedom of movement, among two other ladies detained with her.
She only answered when spoken to. The conversations were far and between. She just wanted out of there, and she wished Ethan could make that happen.
Ethan, she thought, would never feel the same with her after what happened. She wondered who set her up. As far as she knew, she had no enemy, never annoyed, or provoked anyone at work. How did the watch get into my purse? she wondered. Ethan might think I stole it, even if he’s acting noble and stand by me.
The next day, Bri awaited her faith. She would be arraigned before the judge, Ethan’s Attorney said to her. Ethan had given his attorney some change to hand to her so she could call him from the payphone within the facility.
She cried when she spoke to him, and needed him to reaffirm his love for her, which he did. Then she told him her plan. She needed him to know just to clear any suspicion possibly swaying on his mind. If allowed, she would visit the store and ask them to review their camera. She was innocent and would prove it.
Ethan’s lawyer was present, so was Ethan. She turned to him, her hands still in handcuffs, and managed a smile. He smiled back at her and mouthed everything will be alright. Bri doubted it. The judge sat down, and so deliberation began. Everything blurred before her, even the judge's voice. It was as if she didn’t want to hear it.
She thought about the dent the accusation could put on her career. She’d been a good girl until yesterday. She was now a criminal, a shoplifter whom no employee would trust. And, she sighed, her career could be over as it is.
She was asked to stand and pleaded not guilty. And then, her heart leaped for joy when she was asked to sign a promise to appear in court. And then she was partially free to leave. The handcuffs came off. No sooner had she stepped out of the judge's sight than she threw herself on Ethan. He held her so close she could feel his chest rise and fall against hers.
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