***
Camille and Kyle spoke either on the phone or through Skype almost every day over the next two weeks. They worked out a schedule of times when it would be best to connect. She basked in their regular conversations, probing but never directly asking about his relationship with his father. Whenever the opportunity presented itself she would include a positive comment or two about his father's work ethics. Hoping it would help to keep him top of mind. Furthermore, she believed that Kyle would open up as soon as he was ready if she managed to lay the groundwork properly.
By week three Kyle was ready to open up.
“It seems like you want to get something off your chest,” she said.
“Well, we’ve been talking so well about everything under the sun over the past couple of weeks and I’m feeling more comfortable with you. So, it might be just the right time to tell you what happened between me and my father.”
“Only if you’re sure about it. Then I’m all ears,” she said while pouring Pinot Grigio white wine into a glass.
Once again, she sat and listened to as much of his story as he was prepared to share. Throughout, she refilled her wine glass and put together a small plate of sliced carrots, celery, and cheese. Every now and then she would cross and uncross her legs, finally pulling them both up on the couch underneath her bottom. Kyle’s voice grew stronger. He sounded angrier than hurt at the circumstances surrounding his mother while telling his story. This led her to believe that he allowed his anger to cloud his vision of what might really have happened. After almost twenty minutes of him sharing, he suddenly became silent.
She jumped right in. “Wow that sounds deep and I admire the love you have for your mother. However, the man you describe doesn’t appear to be the man I work with. While I know people are different when they are out of the office, his love for your mother is very touching. He visits her at least three times a week and spends at least four hours there every time. As a matter of fact, we have to plan our meetings with clients around his visits as he doesn't want to miss even one of those days.”
“Oh,” he replied.
“Also, he makes sure she has everything she needs, including special meals, clothes, bedding amongst other things.” She was trying to make Kyle understand what had been happening in his absence.
“I’ve met your sister a few times at the office and she’s always telling me how your mother would be far worse off than she is now without your father. If you want my opinion, you should be grateful that he’s around. With you being in England you can only do so much.”
Kyle gave no response.
“Are you still there?” she asked.
“Ahh, yeah, I am just thinking a bit.”
“Look it’s none of my business, but this whole thing with you and your father sounds like a big miscommunication and two proud men not wanting to give in. I think you should seriously reconsider your stance.”
“Maybe.”
“As I mentioned before, I firmly believe in family and connections.”
Nothing but silence came from the other end of the phone. She decided to leave it up to him to talk first.
“Leave it with me. It’s a lot to take in right now,” he finally replied. “But I will tell you that it seems as though you are determined to get us talking again. Also, knowing how you feel about family confirms to me that I do want to get to know you better. Besides, I've already put a plan into place to open up a small agency in San Francisco.”
“Oh really? That’s good to hear. What made you decide this?”
“I truly need to be closer to my mother and believe it or not, I had been thinking long and hard about making an effort to reconnect with my father. My sister has been after me for quite some time and she’s right. It’s not good for the family to be at odds like this. Believe me, it's really been weighing on my mind.”
“I hope then that this conversation was beneficial.”
“Actually, it just helped me to realize what I already knew but didn’t necessarily want to accept.”
“Good to hear. That makes me feel better.” She took a larger sip of her wine this time. “When you move back to San Francisco what’s going to happen with your London office?”
“Oh, my partner will run the branch here. But that won’t be happening for some time as I still have to go back to San Francisco to find a suitable location to set up an office. Then I need to find a capable person to run it for me until I move back.”
“Looks like you got a lot of work on your plate.” she replied.
“Hey, I've got a great idea. You wouldn't want to work for me, would you?”
“Yeah right,” she replied with a sarcastic laugh.
“No really, I could use someone like you in my company. You’re smart, well versed and successful in the business.”
“Nice try. But I'm staying put.”
“Camille, don’t think of this as just jumping ship. This new agency is going after a totally different market base than what your servicing now. With my agency, it will allow you to open up new avenues that deal more with women and the changing digital trends in the business. You would have free reign to run it any way you like.”
“Yeah until you come back from London and want to change everything around. No thank-you.”
“Look maybe I’m not explaining myself very well. So let me try this again. I’m fully aware of your dedication to your current job and I respect that. But if you had the opportunity to be solely in charge of running an agency would that not interest you?”
Camille took a few seconds to contemplate what he said to her before she responded. Of course, being in control of an agency appealed to her, but not this one. She could never leave Ellis to work for his son. That would be unethical. Besides she was just promoted to partner.
“Kyle that all sounds well and good but I can't see me doing that. I'm a partner in your father’s firm right now. It wouldn't make sense to leave and run another office. What would be in it for me?”
“I've thought of that and if things work out then a mutual partnership would be a part of the deal. I'll also beat whatever salary my father is currently paying you.”
“This is beginning to sound more like a competition than a genuine offer,” she said as her voice grew stronger.
“That's not at all what it's about. Advertising is in my blood. Obviously, when I return home I want to continue in the business. My father's company is his and I already have my own. Whether you come on board or not, it's going to happen. Initially, I wanted to compete against my father but not anymore. We would be servicing two different markets. I just thought this would be an opportunity for you to branch out and in many ways, do your own thing. Even when I return to the states, my focus will not be on that portion of the business. I want to spend my time on ramping up the social-media end of the business.”
“Kyle, I still don't think it's what I want.”
“Look, just think about it. It's going to take me some time to get this all done so there's no rush. But I will tell you regardless of what you decide, I think you are a strong and beautiful woman. I also believe that we were destined to meet. So, I'm still very interested in getting to know you better even at a distance.”
Camille felt a warm glow invade her body. She knew he was awaiting a response from her, but she wanted to let the word ‘destined’ flutter around in her mind for a few more seconds before she spoke. Internally she was still fighting with herself about spending so much time talking with Kyle. But knowing that he was so far away made her commitment to herself to not getting involved again for a year seem attainable. Then it dawned on her, the year was almost up.
Before her words would form to respond to his comment, the doorbell echoed. Ignoring it she heard Kyle ask if that was the doorbell in the background. Within seconds it echoed again.
She told Kyle that she was going to answer it as she walked towards the door with the phone in her hand. Once there she placed the phone face down on the ledge beside
her keys.
Her body tightened up and her chin dropped down towards her chest. Her nostrils flared before words started to form. Not in her wildest dreams did she expect to see Josh standing in her doorway. He had aged a bit since the last time she saw him but still stood tall and strong. His neat short brown hair that was always on point now appeared untrimmed and begged for attention. She further noticed a distinct stomach bulge over the top of his jeans, clearly indicating he was not taking care of his once well-muscled body. In his hand was a stunning bouquet of her favourite flowers, white calla lilies, yellow roses and red chrysanthemums. Tucked under his left arm she could see a box of the Godiva Belgian chocolates that they used to eat together when they watched movies. Leaning up against his right leg was the largest card she had ever seen.
“Before you say a word, I know this is a surprise to you but I`ve realized what a screw up I`ve been. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I messed it up. Flowers, chocolates and a card will never be able to make up for the mess I`ve made of our relationship, but I had to start somewhere.”
“Josh this is crazy. What are you doing?”
“We need to talk and you wouldn't return my calls or texts, so here I am and these are for you.”
“There's nothing to talk about. You walked away from me and our relationship. What you did was inexcusable. A text message as a goodbye. Really Josh, how weak.”
“I know. I also know that it will take some time for you to forgive me, but I'm prepared to work hard at getting you back.”
“Josh, you will be working hard for a long time if not forever.”
“If that's what it takes.”
Suddenly she remembered she had not hung up from speaking with Kyle and although the phone was face down, he might be hearing her exchange with Josh.
“Look, I can't speak with you now I am on the phone long distance.”
“No problem, I didn't think I would get anywhere on the first try anyway. These items are yours.” He handed her the flowers and chocolates, then bent down to pick up the card. “There will be more like this to come. Believe me. I'm not trying to buy your love back, but I'm prepared to show you at all cost how much you mean to me.”
Camille watched still stunned as he gave her a slight nod of the head, then turned around and reluctantly walked down the hall. She took the items inside, shook her head, laughed nervously to herself then picked up the phone.
“Sorry about that, I hope I wasn't gone too long,” she said hesitantly.
“No, I'm good, but I do have to run. Can we catch up again maybe tomorrow?”
“Yeah sure.”
“Camille, I meant what I said about the business and getting to know you better.”
She smirked before replying, “Okay I'll keep that in mind. We'll talk soon.”
From what she could tell, it didn't seem that Kyle had overheard her conversation with Josh.
She was quick to hang up the phone and leaned the card against the ledge not even interested in opening it. There were obviously going to be words of love and devotion written in there, that she didn't want to read. He was a master at writing words that cut deep to the heart. Every card she had received from him in the past made her forget about how much of a jerk he truly was. It was not going to work this time. That card was never going to be opened.
She took the box of chocolates and flowers into the kitchen and laid them on the counter. Then she wondered what were the odds of something like this happening to her. Two months ago, she had been a single woman vowing to stay as far away from men as possible. She meets a handsome stranger on a plane who turned out to be her boss’s son. Not only did he make her reconsider her commitment to herself, but he made her an offer that could be something worth considering, both personally and professionally.
Then out of the blue, the nightmare ex-boyfriend who could charm his way into the White House, showed up looking as determined as she had ever seen him. Although a reconciliation was still out of the question, his sincere approach was nothing like she had ever seen before. Could he truly be sorry about how he ended the relationship and honestly want to make a second go of it?
She started to mellow a little as she ripped open the chocolate box and tasted one. Her mouth was in sheer delight as she savoured the chocolate and held onto the flavour as it slid down her throat. After all, she thought, we did have some amazing times together. Somewhere deep down she still vaguely cared for him.
“Pull yourself together, Camille,” she said out loud as she walked into the living room to search for a vase. She knew however that Josh was like a tick and was going to continue to try to wear her down. She also knew that if Kyle was determined enough he was going to push to have her work at the new company with him. To wrap everything up in a tidy bow, she also believed that there was no way Ellis was going to let her go without a fight.
***
Josh was true to his word. Every third day over the next three weeks she had received a different bouquet of expensive flowers and a box of chocolates. Her apartment was beginning to look like the local flower shop. She had strategically placed each set of flowers in different areas including her bedroom but was fast running out of space. To think of it, he didn’t spend this much money on her during their entire relationship.
On several occasions, she texted or called Josh to tell him to stop spending his money as she didn't need or want the flowers and chocolate, but he kept sending them anyway. She even resorted to calling his brother to have him convince Josh to stop, but he was of no help. They had gotten along tremendously well before the break-up, so he was egging Josh on to win her back. Eventually, she figured he would run out of money, or find someone else to spend it on. Until then she would just have to grin and bear it. Better yet, she could take the flowers to the local senior’s home and drop them off. At least someone there could enjoy them.
As she walked towards the door the big card still stood by the ledge sealed as tight as the day she received it. She knew that if she touched it in any way, she would be compelled to open it, so every day she walked by and tried to pretend it just wasn't there.
Finally, after a month, the flowers and chocolates stopped arriving. It looked like Josh got the message. Relieved, Camille was now free to close that chapter of her life. She shuffled through the drawer in the kitchen for a pair of scissors. Once found, she headed straight for the front door, picked up the card and started cutting it up. Whatever words were written in there would never be read by her.
Kyle did not pressure her as much about his offer. He made sure though that every time she said something about advertising, he complimented her on how brilliant the idea was and how well it would go with his plans for the new company. She figured this was his way of keeping it in her mind without always mentioning it. Her mind though was made up and she told him so the last time they had spoken. She also made it clear, that pursuing her would be a long process. She was no pushover and had high expectations of the next man she got involved with. He took the news well but clarified that it didn't change his growing feelings for her.
***
“You wanted to see me, Ellis?” she asked noticing the excitement in his eyes.
“Yes, I just had to tell you the good news. My son called me this morning, he said he was coming to town within the next three weeks. He thinks too much time has passed between us and we need to work things out.”
“Oh, how fabulous. I can tell you're thrilled to hear from him.”
“You bet, and if things go well then I want all of us to have dinner together sometime.”
“Name the time and place, I'll be there. Ellis. Thanks for sharing your good news with me.”
“No. Thank you. He told me about your budding relationship and the part you played in this. I owe you one.”
“Ellis, you owe me nothing. Just seeing you this happy is a gift in itself. I wouldn’t trade the chance to see you both back together for the world.”
She left his office
with a kick in her step. Her face was beaming almost as much as Ellis was. She trusted that Kyle would make the right decision and with a little bit of coaxing from her he did. If he was here right now she would hug and kiss him for being the bigger man. Even though he never told her the other reasons why he was mad at his father, it didn't matter. What was important is that he took the first step in reconnecting with his family.
Camille opened up her desk drawer and pulled her cell phone out of her purse. She was so giddy that she almost forgot what she wanted the phone for. She took note of the time and knew it was too late to call, so she turned towards her computer and sent an email off instead.
She typed joyously as though her fingers were playing the piano.
“It takes a big man to take the first step. I trust you felt the same way your father did after you spoke, a great sense of relief. As I said before, there's nothing better than being a part of a united family. Your mother would be proud. Can’t wait to see you in three weeks.”
As she relaxed her shoulders to breathe a sigh of relief, a new message appeared on her screen. She clicked on it.
“Hi Camille, I’m not giving up. I gave you a short break but I still want you back. Josh.”
“Oh no. Not again,” she said as she leaned back in her chair, kicked off her heels and laughed.
She then noticed her reflection in the glass of the art deco picture facing her. For the first time in a long time, she was happy with the confident woman she saw. At that moment, she knew it was high time to trade in her old life, and give herself permission to look forward to a new one.
Walking Through
By Francine Fleming
Her voice was like Billie Holiday’s - rich and bluesy.
I returned my gaze to the lady who was singing the soulful melody….
She opened her eyes and her gaze met mine. A smile spread across her face.
- Francine Fleming
Walking Through and Other Stories Page 10