Side by side, they descended the stairs. From the corner of her eye, Katie caught Steven sneaking glances at her. He was also fidgeting with his hands. She got the feeling that he wanted to hold her hand.
She could see him reaching his hand out, almost touching hers, and then withdraw.
Their hands brushed briefly, and Steven withdrew his, as though singed.
Katie smiled at him, and took his hand.
Steven’s hand was warm and sweaty. He even grinned a little at her, and she grinned back.
As they continued down the stairs hand in hand, Katie felt a stab of guilt. She was reminded of Brandon and how he had said that he wanted to be the one to take care of her. He had said that life would be tough and that she would need love and support. And she had stupidly refused it.
But it was too late now. They had moved on.
At the same time though, she knew her justification was shaky at best. She was just too proud to contact him.
She looked at the man she had replaced Brandon with. Steven smiled shyly at her as they descended.
Katie could tell that he was nothing like Brandon. Katie could tell that Steven would not be able to hold a candle. But he was available. And he was the only person she had right now.
*
1994
Stasha looked like she was completely enraptured in the story. “I guess I was wrong. Steven does sound like he cared about you.”
Katie still had a far-away look in her eyes. “What?”
“I said Steven does sound like he loves you.” Stasha shifted in her chair.
“It was just in the beginning. Then, he tried to stop me from pursuing my dreams altogether. He claims chasing my dreams was dangerous and that he made enough to support the two of us.”
Stasha looked confused. “I see.”
“But I don’t know about Brandon either.”
“What do you mean?”
“I don’t know if he really loves me.” Katie bit her bottom lip. “That day after we broke up was the last day of school. I saw him in the hallway with some blonde. They were holding hands and kissing. One day.” Katie held up one finger. “Can you imagine? One day.”
“Did he say why?”
“He hired some girl to make me jealous to get me to stay. I didn’t know that for six years.
For six years, I thought that he had moved on twenty-four hours after breaking up with me. Like our relationship meant nothing to him.” Katie had a painful look on her face.
Katie sighed. “I don’t know what to do. Steven’s a good guy. He loves me. He’s going to be a good father, a good husband and provide for his family.”
Stasha tapped her fingers on the table. “And why does that family have to include you?
Don’t lie to me. I can tell you’re not 100% satisfied with it.”
Katie moved her chair closer to her friend. “When I was a little girl, I watched a lot of
Disney movies. I would dress up as a princess for Halloween.” She looked down. “But fairy tales don’t exist in real life. I used to expect to find my prince. But I don’t anymore.”
“It doesn’t mean you have to settle.” Stasha put a hand on Katie’s shoulder. “It doesn’t mean you have to settle.”
Katie looked at Stasha with a blank expression.
Stasha looked somber. “So what happened after Prattico’s?”
“I couldn’t find another internship with a fashion designer. I was evicted because I couldn’t find a job, so Steven let me stay at his place. We eventually became a couple. We moved to Toronto when he was offered a partnership with an accounting firm there.”
“You just gave up on your dream?”
Katie stared out the window. The cherry giant tree was waving in the wind. She did not know how to answer her friend.
Just then, the phone rang. They looked around, but the house phone was silent.
The ringing was coming from Katie’s cell phone on the kitchen table.
Katie looked to see who it was, and felt her heart leap up.
She picked it up.
“Hi Katie. It’s me.”
Katie recognized her fiancé’s voice, but there was something different about his voice.
“Hi,” she said uncertainly.
“My sister told me about a little incident that happened on the plane.” His voice was brisk and cold. “I don’t know who this guy is, but I’m coming over on the next flight. We’ll deal with this when I get there.”
Before Katie could reply, Steven hung up the phone. She had never heard such decisiveness and authority from Steven. Shocked, she felt her heart beating louder.
Katie stared at the phone in her hands.
Stasha leaned forward in her chair. “What happened?”
Katie looked up at Stasha. “That was Steven. He knows about Brandon.”
*
Chapter 12
Meanwhile, in Toronto, Steven was packing in his master bedroom when he noticed a picture on his desk. He stopped and turned toward it. He picked up the picture and stared at it. It was a picture of him and Katie standing in front of their house.
It was the day that Steven had asked Katie to move in with him, and Katie had agreed.
Steven was staring into the camera with a slight grin on his face, but Katie was not smiling at all.
Instead, she looked like she was at a funeral. He had his arms around her, but her arms were at her side.
Steven frowned. He wondered why he had not noticed these details before.
He put the picture back on the desk and took a deep breath.
He was disturbed when his sister Tina told him about Katie running into her first love on the plane. He felt like he was losing Katie, that she was slipping out of his spider web.
She was a beautiful girl and he loved her. He worked hard to care and provide for her. He did not deserve this.
He felt his greasy face getting hot as he imagined that his Katie had once belonged to another man.
No, he thought. Just going to Vancouver will not do. I need to know more about my enemy before I leave.
He picked up the phone in his bedroom and dialed a number.
The person on the other side picked up right away. “George’s Private Detective Agency. Vancouver office. This is George speaking.” The voice was gruff and businesslike.
“George. It’s Steven.”
George’s voice changed to friendly and pleasantly surprised. “Steven, my old friend! How have you been?”
“Not good.” Steven gripped the phone even tighter. “I’m getting married….”
“Congratulations,” George interrupted.
“…and I suspect that my fiancée is cheating on me with her first love.”
“Oh.”
Steven breathed out. “Katie and this Brandon are both in Vancouver right now. I want you to follow this Brandon guy around and dig up dirt on him. I’m willing to pay top dollar for this.”
“No problem, my friend. I can dig up dirt on anyone. I’ll dig up enough to bury this guy alive.”
“My sister, the flight attendant, has all his passenger information, including full name and address. I will fax it to you before I leave for the airport tonight.”
“You can count on me, Steven.”
“Thank you.” Steven hung up.
He took off his glasses and cleaned them with his undershirt. His sister had told him that Katie and this Brandon looked really intimate together. And that they had been each other’s first loves. He found it funny that Katie had never mentioned Brandon before.
He put on his glasses and returned to his packing. After he had stuffed his suitcase with shirts, he reached into the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a revolver.
Steven rubbed the handle and then cocked the gun. He did not want to use it, but if Brandon was stealing his girl, he was going to pay.
*
Later that night, back in Vancouver, Brandon was at the bar at Marine Pub. Two empty glasses stood in front of him.
; While he was drowning in alcohol, he was thinking about his fight with Katie. She had told him that she did not love him anymore. That, he did not believe. She had met him at Taylor Park. She would not have come if there were not any feelings there. She was hurt that he had hurt her with another girl one day after they had broken up. But, he had no feelings for her. He had hired Liz to make Katie jealous, so that she would see what she was missing and stay with him.
And she had called him selfish because he had refused to go to New York with her.
But I’m not selfish, he thought. And I need some way to prove that to Katie.
“Harry!” he called out to the bartender. Harry, a thin, gaunt middle-aged man with a receding hairline, walked toward him from behind the counter.
“Another vodka, please!” Brandon banged one of the empty glasses on the counter.
Harry scrutinized Brandon. “Are you driving tonight?”
“I want another vodka!” Brandon felt his face getting warm and red.
“I can’t give you another vodka if you’re going to be driving later tonight.”
“It’s only my third one,” Brandon protested.
Harry shook his head.
Brandon slammed his hands onto the counter. “Give me another god damn vodka.” His voice was low but powerful.
For a while, no one said anything. They listened to the country music blaring from the jukebox, and bits of conversations from other patrons. Brandon thought he caught the words crazy and stupid.
Brandon curled his hands into fists and raised them high in the air. Just as he was going to sock the bartender, he felt soft hands grab his hands and lower them.
He turned around and recognized Liz, a woman his age.
She had long straight blond hair, wide blue eyes and a somber face. Liz gestured apologetically to the bartender. “Please excuse my friend here. He’s obviously had too much to drink and doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Harry shrugged. “It’s fine. Just make sure he doesn’t drive tonight.” He turned around and went about serving other customers.
Liz sat down on the barstool next to Brandon. “Have you been drinking?” She leaned in and inhaled. A powerful vodka scent engulfed her nostrils. “Oh God. You have.” She made a face and pulled back. “I thought you weren’t a big drinker.”
“I’m not,” he said. “I’ve only had two.”
“But you’re a lightweight. You get drunk after two.”
As he took in this beautiful blonde, he replayed in his mind how he knew her. He remembered he had hired her to make Katie jealous. He remembered sitting on the sidewalk by the school crying, the day after Katie left.
He remembered wanting to kill himself. He remembered sobbing uncontrollably. And he remembered soft hands on his skin. He looked up and saw Liz’s worried face.
“Are you OK?” she asked.
He nodded.
“It’s that girl, isn’t it?”
He nodded again.
She sat down next to him. “She must have meant a lot to you.”
Brandon looked at her curiously. “I thought you were only interested in money.”
He thought he might have offended her, but she merely chuckled. “I’m not what you think I am.” She leaned in and looked him in the eyes. “You might be surprised to know that I actually care about people.”
She put a hand on his knees, and he let her. It was not that he really liked her. He just wanted some feminine love and comfort after Katie. But he hated to think of Liz as a rebound though.
Brandon sat still. “Why me? I thought I was just a customer.”
Liz smiled, revealing beautiful ivory white teeth. “I like the way you kissed me.”
She moved her hands up to his thighs and stroked them. He was reminded of how he would touch Katie.
At the thought of Katie, Brandon instinctively moved away from Liz. “I’m sorry.” He took a good long look at her. Her blue eyes were understanding. “I think you’re really pretty and all, but I can’t. My heart’s with Katie.” His voice was soft.
Liz nodded. “I understand, but where is she now?”
Brandon almost could not get the words out. “She went to New York to chase her dreams.”
“So she abandoned you here?” She crossed her arms.
“I wouldn’t say abandoned.”
“I would. She had a good thing going with you, but chose to leave you to go to some far away city all by herself.”
Liz put a hand on Brandon’s knees again. “Her loss.”
She looked at him in a lascivious way and Brandon stared back. The sunlight shone down on her glossy blonde hair.
She was disarming. And he needed someone’s shoulder to cry on.
Liz trailed her hands along his knees, and then massaged his shoulders. Brandon pulled away. “I’m sorry. I can’t.”
“You can,” she insisted. “Why mourn over someone who’s not in your life anymore? That’s like crying over spilled milk.”
Liz batted her eyelashes at him. “Why not move on? Why not focus your attention on something that’s actually here?”
She did not point to herself, but Brandon knew whom she meant.
Before he could decide what to do, she took his hand and rubbed it. Her hand was nice and warm. Brandon felt his resistance melt away.
Katie must be thousands of miles away by now, he thought. But I still want her.
Liz squeezed his hand tighter, and he felt himself letting go of Katie, for the time being, at least.
He remembered that he and Liz became an on-and-off couple soon after that.
Back in the bar, Liz was tapping him on the shoulder. “Hello? Did you hear what I just said?”
Brandon was brought back to the bar. The smell of soggy cigarettes drifted through the air. She looked at him expectedly.
He had no idea what she had said. “What’d you say?”
“It’s Katie, isn’t it? She’s back in your life, isn’t she?”
Brandon did not confirm it, but he did not deny it.
Liz sighed, and crossed her arms. “What happened? You wanted her back but she pushed you away?”
He looked at her with sad eyes. “More or less.”
Liz put a hand on his lap. “I don’t understand why you won’t let her go. She deserted you here. She didn’t even contact you for years. And now she comes flitting back into your life and you drop everything just for a chance to be with her.” The sourness in her voice was palpable.
Brandon looked at Liz wearily, but did not say anything. He moved his lap away, and her hand clutched air.
Liz flipped her blonde hair back, and then grabbed onto Brandon’s hands. “What you and
I had was real.” She looked like she was pleading with him. “And I would never abandon you.”
Brandon shook his hand loose from her grip. “Liz, it’s over. I don’t feel the same way anymore.”
Liz crossed her arms, her face pouty. “You did before. Was I just a rebound?”
Brandon did not want to be a jerk, so he remained silent.
She waited, just staring at him.
Brandon let out a long breath. “I don’t think I ever did.”
Liz glared at him, and then got up and stormed over to the far side of the bar. She waved at Harry. “Harry! Give me some vodka.”
He stared at Liz from far away. He knew exactly how she felt.
Liz ordered vodka, and downed it, and then ordered another one, and downed that one.
Brandon watched as she ordered three more, and chugged all three.
When she ordered a sixth, Brandon grew alarmed.
He approached her and she whipped her head around. She glowered at him, as though he were her sworn enemy.
She raised both arms in the air. “So you’re finally coming over now?”
Brandon said nothing.
Harry the bartender put another glass of sparkling vodka in front of Liz. The alcoholic smell was overwhelming.
Brandon gave Harry a
dirty look. “Why are you giving her glass number six?”
Harry pointed at him. “You’re a lightweight.” He jerked a thumb toward Liz. “She’s a heavyweight.”
Liz grabbed the glass and began chugging it down. Vodka spilled out of her mouth and dripped onto her chin, throat and then chest.
Brandon grabbed the glass from Liz’s hand.
Liz scowled. “Gimme back my drink!”
“You’ve had enough,” he said through gritted teeth.
She stood up. She was a tall woman, almost the same height as Brandon. “What do you care? I know you don’t care about me.” She pointed at the door. “All you care about is your precious Katie.”
She stumbled around, waving her hands in the air. “All I heard when we were going out was ‘Katie this’ and ‘Katie that.’” She was beginning to slur her words.
Brandon stood there and looked around. Other people stopped their conversations to take in the show.
Liz stopped her bizarre dance and stared into Brandon’s face. He could see the blood red in her pretty blue eyes.
She pointed to herself. “When is it my turn? I want to hear ‘Liz this’ and ‘Liz that.’”
Brandon did not reply.
Still pointing at herself, she screamed. “When is it my damn turn?!”
The staff and patrons were silent. They were now spellbound by the live dramatic performance.
Brandon felt his face burn up. “Liz, let’s talk about this outside.”
“No,” she shouted, stamping her feet. “I want to talk about this here.”
Brandon looked at her. He was ashamed at how he had treated Liz through the years. He knew he should have broken up with her to spare her the pain, but the relationship had been comfortable and familiar. He was ashamed to admit that he had been dreaming of Katie the whole time.
Liz’s hair was a complete mess. Her face was twisted like an evil clown’s. When she grew tired of waiting for an answer, she whirled around and stumbled toward the exit.
Brandon felt everyone’s eyes on him.
Liz pushed through the door and Brandon hurried after her.
A refreshing breeze engulfed him as he entered the brisk autumn night. He looked around for Liz and could not find her among the cars in the parking lot.
Then, he heard soft sweeping behind him. He turned around and found Liz sitting on the sidewalk just beside the entrance. A bright light was burning just above her.
Meet Me at Taylor Park Page 12