by S.A. Tadej
Chapter 2
Makenzie opened her eyes and saw sunlight streaming in through the sides of her window shades. She looked at her clock. 9:15. Geeze, I have got to stop sleeping so late. Oh well. It is summer vacation after all. I guess I’m entitled. She yawned, stretched, and pulled the covers back. She got out of bed, put her robe and slippers on and headed downstairs to the kitchen.
When she got into the kitchen, her parents, sister, and Teddy were all there. “Good morning everyone.” Makenzie said.
“Good morning.” Everyone replied.
“I just started a fresh pot of coffee.” Natasha said.
Makenzie walked to the cabinet and took out a coffee mug and poured herself a cup. She stirred in some cream and sugar and put two slices of bread in the toaster. When the toast popped, she put the slices on a plate and buttered them, then took a seat next to Teddy. “So what’s everyone up to this morning?” Makenzie asked.
“Well I have a tennis lesson this morning.” Mom said.
“I have to leave this afternoon for a business trip to Chicago. I have a meeting there later this evening. I’ll be back before lunch tomorrow.” Dad said.
“I want to go swimming.” Mia said.
“Me too.” Teddy said. “Makenzie, why don’t you go swimming with us?”
“Yeah. I kind of wanted to leave today. You know, scope out the area a little.” Makenzie replied. She finished her toast and walked to the sink to deposit her dirty plate. “Well, I’m going to go upstairs and take a shower. I’ll see you all later.”
Makenzie showered quickly and debated over what to wear. She finally decided on a white jean skirt with a pink baby doll top. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail and applied some light make-up. She put on a pair of sandals and grabbed her cell phone. She saw that she had two missed phone calls and two new voicemails. Both calls were from Scott, the boy she met at the grocery store. For some reason when she thought about calling Scott back, Caleb popped into her mind. I wish I knew more about him. Makenzie thought. Oh well. I’ll probably never see him again. She didn’t know why, but that thought caused her to feel great sadness.
Makenzie found Scott in her contacts and gave him a call.
“Hi, Makenzie.” Scott answered.
“Hi, Scott. I saw that you’ve been trying to reach me. What’s up?”
“Well I was wondering if you wanted to go for a ride with me?”
“Where to?”
“Well I thought I would just show you around a bit.”
“When?”
“Well I was thinking around 7:00. I could pick you up and we could go for a ride and maybe get some dinner.”
“Okay. Sounds great.” Makenzie gave Scott directions to her home and hung up.
Makenzie grabbed a magazine and her compact CD player and headed out to her balcony to finish her coffee. She turned the knob on the player to radio and flipped through the pages of her magazine, but quickly got bored. She threw her magazine on the table next to her and stood up. She walked to the edge of the balcony and looked out over the backyard. Oh my God. It’s him! It’s Caleb! She thought with excitement. She watched him as he cleaned the pool. Mom must have hired him. Thank you, Mom. Caleb took his shirt off and threw it over one of the lounge chairs. Figures he’s got a six-pack. Makenzie thought as she continued to watch him. She didn’t even notice Teddy and Mia come out by the pool. However Teddy did notice her.
“Hey, Makenzie!” Teddy shouted up at her and waved.
Caleb turned and looked. He smiled shyly as his eyes met hers. Makenzie’s eyes fixed on Caleb’s. Her mouth dropped open slightly as she gazed down at him. After what seemed like an eternity, Makenzie turned away and went back inside.
After much thought, Makenzie decided to go out by the pool. I have to be near him. Maybe he’ll talk to me. Makenzie thought as she rifled through her bikini drawer. She found her favorite white bikini and put it on. Then she tied a long white sarong around her waist. She took her hair down and looked in the mirror. I look pretty good, she thought. She loved her white bikini because it really showed off her tan. On her way downstairs, she ran into her mother.
“Oh, Makenzie, honey, I have hired some help.” Natasha announced. So I noticed, Makenzie thought with a smile as her mother grabbed her by the shoulder. “Come on. I want to introduce you.” Natasha said as she walked into the kitchen. There was a plump, middle-aged woman standing there cutting up vegetables. “Makenzie, I would like you to meet our new chef, Maria. Maria, this is my daughter Makenzie.” Maria put down the knife and offered her hand.
“Pleased to meet you.” Maria said.
“Likewise.” Makenzie replied as she smiled at the woman.
Next they walked into the laundry room where there was a young woman with long jet-black hair putting a load of dirty clothes into the machine. She looked to be in her late twenties. “Adriana, I would like to introduce you to my daughter, Makenzie. Makenzie, this is our new housekeeper, Adriana.”
Makenzie and Adriana exchanged warm greetings. Then Natasha took Makenzie out to the back yard where Caleb was trimming bushes. He was still shirtless and his muscles seemed to glisten in the sun. “Hello, Caleb. I would like you to meet my daughter, Makenzie. Makenzie, this is Caleb. He’s our new groundskeeper and maintenance man.” Natasha said.
Caleb stared intensely into Makenzie’s eyes. “How do you do?” Makenzie whispered as she held his gaze and offered her hand. Caleb wiped his dirty hands on his pants and took Makenzie’s hand, his eyes seeming to burn into hers. Something in his eyes captivated her and she was unable to turn away from his intense gaze.
“Okay, come with me and I’ll introduce you to our trainer.” Natasha said as she turned in the direction of the exercise room. Caleb reluctantly dropped her hand, his fingertips lingering on hers as he pulled his hand away. Makenzie held his gaze a moment longer before turning away, only to look back and see Caleb still gazing at her with the same intensity. Makenzie could feel her heart beating rapidly.
Inside the exercise room was an extremely large man with a shaved head whom her mother introduced as Tony. Makenzie barely paid attention to her mother as she was talking. She walked over to the large wall of windows and looked into the backyard. Caleb was back to trimming the bushes.
“Makenzie! Makenzie! Have you been listening to me at all?” Her mother’s voice broke her out of her thoughts.
“Yes, mother. I’m sorry. What were you saying?”
“I was saying that I hired a new nanny too. Her name is Anna and she starts tomorrow morning. She’ll be moving her stuff into the staff quarters tonight.”
“Oh, okay. Oh I forgot to tell you, I’m going out tonight.”
“With who?”
“This boy named Scott that I met at the grocery store yesterday. I forgot to tell you.”
“Well, do you even know anything about him?”
“He seems harmless enough. I ran into him with my cart accidentally.”
Her mother laughed. “You did what?”
“Oh mother, it was quite embarrassing! I rounded the corner and hit him with the cart. Knocked him flat on his behind.”
“Oh that’s too funny.” Her mom giggled. “What time are you going?”
“He’s supposed to pick me up at 7:00.”
“And where are you going?”
“Just for a drive around town and to get some dinner.”
“Okay. Well bring him inside first so I can meet him.”
“Okay. Just don’t embarrass me.”
“Seems you’ve already embarrassed yourself if you ran into him with a cart.” Natasha teased.
Makenzie rolled her eyes. “Yeah I’m just lucky that way.”
Makenzie walked into the shower room and grabbed a beach towel and some tanning lotion, then walked out by the pool. She didn’t see Caleb anymore. Teddy and Mia were still swimming. She laid her tow
el out on one of the lounge chairs, untied her sarong, sat down, and started rubbing on tanning lotion. She looked out across the pool at the staff building. I wonder which room is Caleb’s, she thought. She looked out at Teddy and Mia who were splashing around in the pool. Looks like they’re having fun. Makenzie laid back on the lounge chair and closed her eyes.
Caleb finished trimming the bushes and walked over to his room to take a break. He noticed Makenzie lying out by the pool. He stared at her for a few moments before unlocking his door. He walked to his kitchen area, fixed himself a bologna sandwich, grabbed one of the chairs and moved it near the window. There he sat watching Makenzie as he ate his sandwich. He had never seen anyone with such an unearthly beauty, her face being that of an angel, the passion behind her deep blue eyes captivating and haunting him since he first laid eyes on her. Her soft voice repeated itself over and over in his head. He never gave love much thought. That was until he saw her face.
Makenzie was deep in thought when a strong hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of her chair. Her eyes bolted open to see Teddy. “No. Please. Don’t.” she pleaded.
Teddy held his grip and pulled Makenzie into the pool. Makenzie screamed as she hit the water and went under. “Teddy, you jerk! I’m going to kill you.” She said as she resurfaced and swam after him. She splashed him as he ducked and tried to swim away.
Makenzie jumped on Teddy and forced his head under the water. He plunged back up and splashed her back. They continued to play around splashing each other. Teddy picked Makenzie up into the air and threw her backward.
Caleb continued watching from his window. He felt a pain in his chest watching Makenzie with Teddy. That must be her boyfriend. I barely know her. Why do I feel so jealous? Why do I want to rip that guy’s face off? Caleb thought to himself. He took the last bite of his sandwich and walked to the kitchen area to put his dirty plate in the sink. I better get back to work. He grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and downed it. Then he walked out of his room, locking it behind him.
On his way toward the front yard, Caleb ran into Teddy. “Hey what’s up?” Teddy said as Caleb came closer. Caleb stopped and stared hard at Teddy.
“I don’t know how you can bear to leave her.” Caleb said as he looked by the pool where Makenzie was toweling Mia off. He turned his attention back to Teddy a moment longer, then walked away. Teddy looked puzzled.
“Huh? Leave whom?” he yelled after Caleb. Caleb just kept walking. What a weirdo, Teddy thought. He shook his head and continued walking toward the house.
Natasha came and got Mia. Makenzie finished toweling off and went to the shower room to take a quick shower. Her stomach was rumbling. It should be about time for lunch, she thought. She finished showering and wrapped herself in a towel. She headed upstairs to her room and changed into a pretty yellow sundress. She brushed her hair and headed downstairs to the kitchen. “Something smells good.” she said.
“It’s slow roasted chicken pot pie.” Maria said. “It’ll be ready in about 10 minutes.”
“Sounds great.” Makenzie replied.
After lunch Makenzie went back to her room and decided to call her friend Hailey from Oklahoma. She told Hailey all about her new home and the embarrassing incident at the grocery store with Scott. She went on to tell Hailey about Caleb and the mayonnaise.
“I was so embarrassed, I thought I’d just die.” Makenzie said.
Hailey laughed. “Well your life sure sounds interesting right now. This guy Caleb does sound really cute. Makenzie, he’s the help though.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing. Its just that our kind don’t usually mix with their kind.”
“What do you mean by our kind and their kind? Last time I checked, people were people.”
“Well I just meant that you have a lot of money and he obviously doesn’t. You know, you’re kind of in different leagues.”
“God, you sound like such a snob. Money doesn’t matter to me.”
“You only say that because you have it. If you didn’t, you’d be saying something else.” Hailey laughed.
Makenzie was growing more irritated by the minute. “Hey, Hailey, I gotta go. I’ll call you back later.”
“Okay. Well good luck on your date with Scott tonight.”
“It’s not really a date.”
“Sounds like one to me.”
“Yeah, well thank you. Talk to you later. Bye.”
“Bye.” Hailey said.
Makenzie hung up the phone and walked to the playroom where Mia was. “Whatcha doing, kiddo?” Makenzie asked.
Mia looked up and smiled. “Want to play Barbies with me?”
“Sure.” Makenzie replied as she sat down on the carpet next to Mia.
Makenzie looked at the clock. It was almost 7:00. Better go downstairs and wait for Scott. Makenzie put a white sweater over her yellow sundress and headed down the stairs and into the great room. Teddy and her mother were sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Waiting for your date?” Natasha asked.
“Yeah. He should be here at 7:00.” Makenzie replied.
“I want to meet him before you leave.”
“Yeah me too.” Teddy added as he laughed a little. “You know…. I gotta check this dude out, make sure he’s safe.” He said in his best Sylvester Stallone voice.
“You two better not embarrass me.” Makenzie said as she glared at them with narrowing eyes.
Just then Makenzie heard a beep from the security intercom. She pushed the button. It was Scott so she buzzed him in and walked toward the front door. Her mother and Teddy followed her. As they walked outside a silver Lotus Esprit was pulling around the circular drive.
“Damn, check out that car!” Teddy said excitedly as he walked toward the Lotus. Scott parked and got out of the car.
“Hi. I’m Natasha, Makenzie’s mother. You must be Scott.” Mom said as she offered her hand.
Scott shook her hand. “Yes. Pleased to meet you.”
“I’m Teddy, Makenzie’s uncle.” Teddy said as he shook Scott’s hand. “Dude this car is sweet.”
“Thanks.” Scott replied. “Well we better get going. We have reservations at 7:30.” Makenzie and Scott said goodbye as they drove away. As they drove around the circular drive, Makenzie got a glimpse of Caleb digging a hole to plant a bush. He looked up and held his gaze on her. She smiled and looked away. After they passed, she looked in the side mirror and saw that he was still watching her.
Scott took Makenzie to an exclusive Italian restaurant where they made small talk as they waited for their food. Makenzie learned that Scott’s last name was Jones and his father was none other than Hank Jones, the oil billionaire. Scott went on to brag that their lavish mansion took up an entire city block and it required twenty-nine servants to run the household. Makenzie felt relieved when their entrees arrived.
After their dinner, Scott took Makenzie for a drive around town. Makenzie turned on the car radio so she wouldn’t have to listen to more of Scott’s bragging. This was a mistake. I just want to go home. Makenzie thought. Her thoughts soon returned to Caleb. She couldn’t get his face out of her mind. The way he had stared at her when she drove away with Scott and the saddening of his expression haunted her. Is it possible he feels for me as I do for him? Makenzie wondered.
Her thoughts were soon interrupted when Scott turned the radio off.
“Do you want to go back to my place for a while?” he asked.
“Oh thank you, but no. I have a really bad headache and I have to get up early tomorrow morning. I’d really like it if you just took me home.” Makenzie replied.
“Is everything okay? Was it something I said?”
Yeah just about everything you said. You’re a stuck-up, rich snob!
“No. No. It’s nothing like that. I’m just really tired.”
“Okay. Well I’m
having a small party with a few friends Friday night. I’d like for you to come and meet my friends.”
“Yeah maybe. I’ll have to see what I have going on.”
Scott pulled around Makenzie’s circular drive and put the car in park. He got out of the car and opened Makenzie’s door for her. Then he walked her to her door. “Well thank you for a lovely evening.” Makenzie said.
Scott leaned in and tried to kiss her. She leaned the other way and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “Goodnight, Scott.” She said as she turned the doorknob and walked inside, gently closing the door in his face.
“That’s it?” Makenzie could hear Scott say after she closed the door. “I pay two hundred dollars for a dinner and all I get is a kiss on the cheek?” Scott continued scowling under his breath as he turned and walked back to his car.
Makenzie locked the door and headed into the kitchen. She made herself a glass of chocolate milk and took it upstairs to her room. She dropped her purse on the dresser, sat on the bed, and took off her shoes. Then she got up and started the bath water. She put her glass of chocolate milk on the ledge of the tub and got undressed. Then she slipped into the tub. Oh this feels so good, she thought to herself as she placed a warm washcloth over her eyes. Caleb’s face soon haunted her thoughts. Once again she was interrupted by a knock at the door. What gives! “What?” Makenzie yelled.
“Hey, its me. Just wanted to see how your date went?” Teddy asked.
It didn’t. Makenzie thought. “I just got into the tub, Teddy. Give me about twenty minutes and come back.”
“Okay. Will do chicky!”
Makenzie finished her bath and put on her long white sleeveless nightgown. She brushed her hair and her teeth and walked out of the bathroom. She set the rest of her glass of chocolate milk on the nightstand. Then her door burst open and in came Teddy. “Geeze, Teddy, don’t you knock?” Makenzie snapped as she grabbed for her robe.
“Not me.” Teddy laughed. “So how was it?” he asked as he jumped up on Makenzie’s bed next to her.
“Another rich snob.” Makenzie said, her expression one of disgust.
“And that’s bad, why?”
“Just not my type.”
“How can you say that? Did you see his car?”
Makenzie looked at Teddy and laughed. His enthusiasm reminded her of a schoolgirl. “Yes, Teddy. I even rode in it. Remember?” she teased.
“So how was it?”
“He was boring. All he did was talk about himself and how rich his family is.”
“So how rich is his family?” Teddy asked.
“Very, very rich. His father is oil billionaire Hank Jones for Christ sake!”
“Wow, that is so cool.”
“Why don’t you date him then?” Makenzie joked.
“Oh, do you think he’d go out with me? Really?” Teddy teased back as he dramatically faked enthusiasm at her teasing.
Makenzie whacked him in the head with a pillow. “Shut up, Teddy.” She giggled.
“So are you going out with him again?” Teddy asked.
“Well he invited me to a party at his house Friday night. But I don’t think I’m going to go.”
“You should go and bring me with you.”
“I don’t know, Teddy.” Makenzie thought about telling Teddy what she overheard Scott say after their date, but was too embarrassed. “I want to meet people out here, but his friends are probably all like him. The thought of spending my Friday night with a bunch of overly conceited assholes just doesn’t appeal to me.”
Teddy frowned. “Well just think about it is all I’m saying. And when you think about it, think about taking your favorite uncle with you.”
“Okay, Teddy. I’ll think about it.” Makenzie lied, knowing that she wouldn’t be attending Scott’s party.