by M. C. Vann
“Well…” He cleared his throat. “I do have some news.”
“What is it?”
“I heard ….” He paused, suddenly breaking his gaze and inhaling a deep breath.
“What is it, Chris? Is it bad?”
He nodded and my heart stopped. What could it be this time?
“I heard … that I could be let out of here soon on parole.”
“Chris!” I punched him lightly in the shoulder. “You better not be joking with me.”
“No, I’m for real.”
“That’s awesome. When?”
“I don’t know the date exactly, but it could be any time.”
“Eve is going be so happy when I tell her,” I said. Tears started welling up in my eyes, and I began sobbing in the middle of the room for everyone to hear.
I said goodbye to Chris after an hour of talking. As he walked past the security doors back to his cell, I couldn’t help, but picture us being a normal family again. It would be a dream come true if Chris was given another chance at life. I knew he would redeem himself.
I arrived home to delicious smells coming from the kitchen. Lily’s beef stew that she placed in the crockpot this morning was making my stomach churn hungrily.
“Hey Al, back already? How’s Chris?” Lily asked as she washed the dishes.
I didn’t answer right away. Emotions from when my brother told me the news now resurfaced. I walked toward Lily’s back and wrapped my arms around her. I felt her flinch slightly, surprised to see me hug her so suddenly.
“You miss him, don’t you?”
When she asked the question, for some reason, Henry suddenly popped into my mind. I shook my head. “He told me he might get out soon on parole.”
“Ally!” Lily turned off the faucet and spun around to face me. “That’s amazing news.”
“Yes, but I don’t want to get my hopes up yet.”
“It’s always good to have hope.”
“I know. Is there any food left? I’m super hungry,” I said as I grabbed a water bottle from the refrigerator.
“Yeah, there’s tons left.” She turned around to continue washing the dishes. “Help yourself.”
After filling a bowl with beef stew and fixing a salad, I sat in the living room and watched whatever was on TV. It came to the climactic scene where the two main characters kissed and immediately I thought of Henry again.
I grabbed my phone from my pocket just to check if he had called me today. Still no call or text. I checked Facebook and searched for his name, wondering if he had an account, but no profiles showed up. Since he was a businessman, I should have guessed that he kept a private life.
I wondered where Henry was at the moment? What he was doing? Was he also thinking of me?
When Saturday morning arrived, still no contact from Henry. I tried not to overthink, but the more I tried to avoid it, the more paranoid I became.
Ally, you need to control yourself, I thought as I laid in bed. I finally pushed myself to get up and take a shower. I couldn’t lay there, sulking all day, and waste such a beautiful day. It was a good thing I didn’t work today since I possessed no desire or strength to get anything done. I didn’t have any other plans either, so I decided to check out the farmers’ market.
I picked up my phone and after noticing that it was dead, I plugged it in and waited for it to charge before heading out of the apartment. Once my phone turned on, it buzzed crazily. There was a total of nine missed calls and texts, more than half of them from Henry. He texted and called last night and this morning. I bit my lip to suppress my smile, excited and relieved he finally called.
But I decided not to return them. He had to know I was busy too. I couldn’t let him know I was waiting around for his call or text. A few more hours wouldn’t hurt him.
I left the apartment and walked to the bus stop since I didn’t want to drive today. When the bus arrived, I sat in the only available seat that was left. I looked at my phone and read Henry’s texts explaining that he had no time to call me because he was busy. I smirked to myself, slightly feeling guilty and at the same time, thinking how satisfying it was ignoring him.
But mostly satisfying until I saw a familiar face across the aisle looking at me with a challenging smirk.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
How did Henry get on the bus without me noticing?
I smiled at him with a curious look on my face. He returned the same affection back before he took out his iPhone. From where I sat, I could tell he was typing a message to someone and when my phone rang, I realized that someone was me.
Did you miss me while I was gone? He texted.
I raised my head to look at him, and he peered up from his phone. I couldn’t help, but smile.
Why do you want to know? I texted back.
His phone rang a second later. He read my message and typed a quick response. Because I missed you.
My heart soared to my throat as I smiled to myself. From under my lashes, I peeked up to catch a glimpse of him. I swallowed my pride and texted him the truth, I did too.
When the bus approached its next stop, I pulled on the string behind me. Henry stood up first and walked over to me as the bus slowly came to a halt. He offered me his hand and I obliged, allowing him to lead us out.
After our hands had separated, I fixed the strap on my bag, unsure of what to say.
“Are you mad at me?” Henry asked, and I shook my head with a pressed smile.
Before he could ask me anything else, I continued down the sidewalk, beaming to myself when I heard his footsteps behind me.
“Aren’t you going to ask me where we’re going?” I asked him as he trotted after me.
Henry reached for my hand, stopping me in place. “No, I don’t have to. I’ll go wherever you go.”
“Even if I jump off a cliff?” I said as we continued walking again, hand in hand.
“Maybe not to that extreme.”
“So, you lied,” I taunted lightheartedly.
“What can I say? I’m a businessman,” he joked right back.
“Tell me, was that your first time riding the bus?”
“Yes,” he said shyly like a child.
“I’m not surprised. How was it?”
“It felt different not driving my own car.”
“Good different?”
“A little,” he said with hesitance.
Seeing Henry experimenting with new things was slightly entertaining. And to be honest, I was happy he was doing it because of me. Although he had many luxuries growing up, even I could tell he must have been restricted a lot as a child — especially in a household with a million expectations.
The weather in late August was perfect.
After a couple minutes, we arrived at the Green City Farmer’s Market. It was around ten, and the usual big crowd packed the area. Hand in hand, Henry and I walked down the street, seeking out the best deals from vendor to vendor. I noticed the many eyes that darted to us as we passed by — most of them females. This was really the first time we went out in public together, and the thought made me rather giddy.
We stopped at a food vendor to purchase a pizza. I made sure to have my money ready and handed it to the cashier just before Henry could retrieve his wallet. I looked at him with a triumphant “I beat you” face, but he just smiled. Knowing the fine gentleman that Henry was, he would pay in a heartbeat.
While we ate the small pepperoni pizza, I realized this was also the first time Henry and I shared something together.
“So how was your business trip?” I asked him as we munched on our slices.
“Better than I planned. I closed a few deals and met up with some old friends,” he replied with a cool tone. “How about you? What did you do during your week?”
“Nothing much,” I said plainly. “The same every day. I wake up, go to work and then come home. Oh, and I also visited my brother Chris. Do you remember him?”
“I think so.”
“Chris said that he might get out soon on parole. Isn’t that great?”
I glanced at Henry to see his reaction but was confused to see he wasn’t exactly on the same page as me. His eyes were focused hard on the ground, and I felt a tight pressure in the air. “Is something wrong, Henry?”
He snapped his head up and looked at me and smiled while he shook his head. “No, I just forgot something. That’s really good news though. I am very happy for you and your family.”
“Yeah, it’s probably one of the few good things going on right now ... Well, besides you, of course,” I admitted blatantly.
“You can have the last piece,” Henry said.
I nodded, slightly disappointed that he didn’t react more touched by my words. “How about let’s share it,” I offered, realizing I was still eating my own piece.
“No, it’s okay. I’m already full.”
“Please?”
Eventually, we ended up splitting the last piece in two.
After the farmer’s market, Henry and I rode a bus to a nearby beach. I could barely keep myself in the seat as the crystal blue waters of Lake Michigan came into sight. Once we were outside, we removed our shoes before stepping onto the warm sand. There was a small crowd enjoying the last moments of summer before autumn came.
“When’s your birthday, Ally? I don’t think I asked you that before,” Henry asked as we sat on our shoes and faced the endless horizon of the blue lake.
“February first,” I replied. “How about you?”
“September thirtieth.”
“Your birthday’s coming up! What do you want for your birthday?” I asked with a gleaming grin. But I quickly thought to myself that there probably wasn’t anything Henry wanted that he didn’t already own.
“What if I said I wanted you?” he asked, the green in his eyes glowing in the sun.
“Then I would say you’re cheesy.” I giggled. His words were truly sweet and wonderful to hear.
Henry started rolling up the ends of his khaki trousers and stood up after he finished. He grabbed my hand, forcing me to stand with him. “Let’s go into the water.”
“No, I’m perfect right here. You go ahead and I’ll just watch you,” I said, remembering my last encounter with water. I pulled away from his hand and rushed to sit back down. But from the look on his face, I could tell Henry wasn’t going to take no for an answer and I gave in to him. I got up unwillingly like a stubborn child being told what to do.
As we walked near the water, Henry scooped me into his arms just like when he carried me into the cabin. My arms wrapped around his shoulders tightly.
“What are you doing, Henry?” My eyes widened with a hint of terror, but Henry appeared totally amused. “Put me down now. I can walk on my own.”
“No, it’s better this way. And more fun,” Henry answered with a tease. He carried me into the water about a foot deep.
“Is the water cold?” I asked.
“No, it’s actually tolerable. Do you want to feel it?”
Before I could answer him properly, he pretended to drop me into the water and I belched out a squeal, holding onto him tighter.
“You better not do it, Henry,” I ordered him, clinging to his shoulders. “If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.”
Henry chuckled at me and I couldn’t suppress the smile on my lips. He carried me back to shore and let me down effortlessly. Then he took out his phone and studied it for a while. I noticed Henry’s feet and the ends of his pants were wet and full of sand while mine were dry as they were before.
“Ally, there’s an urgent meeting at the hotel and I need to be present. I’m sorry for doing this today,” he said.
“No, don’t worry about it. You can go. Work comes first.”
“How about you come with me? It won’t take long.”
“It’s okay. I don’t want to be a burden to you.”
“Ally, you are not going to be a burden to me. Ever,” he assured.
From the way he spoke those words so straightforward and serious, I immediately knew he was telling the truth. Henry grabbed my hand and led me to a waiting car already on the street by the beach. I wondered how it got there so quickly, but then I remembered it was probably Henry’s doing.
We arrived at Pearce Hotel and Resort a few minutes later. The car stopped outside of the grand driveway where two attendants were readily waiting to open our doors. The attendant on my side opened my door and held his hand out to me as I climbed out of the car. It felt a little awkward, but if being with Henry was like this, I should start getting accustomed to it. Henry walked around the car to me, taking my hand in his and led us through the glass doors.
“You can stay in my office while I’m in the meeting,” he told me as we waited for the elevator.
“Really?” I asked eagerly. This will be my first time in Henry’s office. Only now did I wonder how it looked inside — probably modern, sleek and elegant. He seemed like a very organized person.
“Of course, where else would you stay?”
“I don’t know.”
“Don’t do anything you’re not supposed to though,” he warned with amusement. “I’ll be watching you every minute I can.” The corners of his lips curled into a magnificent smile.
“What do you mean? Are there hidden cameras in there?”
Henry chuckled to himself. “You’ll see what I mean.”
The elevators opened to a hallway lined with glass walls. If a person weren’t looking at the lining of the floor, they would probably walk straight into a transparent wall.
We walked down the hallway and passed by the reception desk and the empty office rooms. Further down was a meeting room with a few men and women already seated inside, all dressed in business attire. Henry led me into the meeting room without reluctance and proudly introduced me to his colleagues.
After, he guided me into his office which was located next to the meeting room. The size of his office was like four times the size of my apartment. The corner view was spectacular.
“You can stay in here. There are some magazines on my desk and if you want to use the computer, it’s already turned on. Did you need anything else before I take off?”
“No, I think I’ll be fine.” I smiled, letting myself fall into his luxurious black leather chair.
“Great, if you need anything, just press one on the phone for someone.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
Henry grabbed a portfolio on his desk and walked into the adjacent meeting room. I watched as he sat down at the head of the conference table, facing me. When Henry said that he would still be able to watch me, he didn’t lie. I slowly peered up to catch a glimpse of Henry in his business mode and at the same time, I looked at him, his eyes locked on mine. A state of uneasiness came over me and I quickly looked down at the magazine that I was pretending to intently read.
The meeting lasted longer than I presumed. Henry said it wouldn’t take long, but hours passed by and they were still in the meeting. When a nice bellboy brought me some appetizers, I knew it must have been Henry who ordered them. He probably knew I was hungry.
As darkness swallowed the sky through the glass windows, I took a break from Henry’s computer to admire the sunset. I stood up to get a closer look at the view and amidst the darkness below were the lights of the other tall buildings surrounding the hotel.
“Sorry that took so long,” a voice sounded in the room.
I spun around, surprised to see Henry with his tie removed and his top button undone. “It’s okay. You didn’t know it would take that long.”
“The night is still young. We still have time to do something.” He eyed me curiously as he edged closer. “Actually, I meant to say, what can we do this late?”
Pretty soon, he stood right in front of me. His hands slowly made their way around my back to my waist, causing a stimulating sensation throughout my bod
y. He pulled me against him and our bodies clashed against each other. My heart beats quickened as our eyes locked.
“I know you’re waiting because you want something from me,” he whispered.
I stared down at his chest, knowing all too well what he meant. “And what is that?”
Henry leaned in closer and I screwed my eyes shut, anticipating the caress of his lips on mine any second now…
Except I felt it on my right cheek.
My heart stalled for a moment, not exactly satisfied with the kiss. I expected something more gratifying.
I opened my eyes to find Henry leaning away, but with his hold still on me. I watched his lips curl into another grin. As adrenaline pulsed through me, I leaned on my toes and gently pressed my lips to his. I felt my cheeks heating up as I let myself fall back onto my heels. I kept my gaze down and bit my lips nervously while waiting for the next move — anyone’s move.
Soon enough, Henry’s arms tightened and he lifted me back up so that he could lean in and kiss me. The taste and swift movements of his lips were something I’d never be able to forget.
Nor did I want to.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Henry’s large hands stretched along the sides of my jaw. His thumbs gently stroked my cheeks before pulling away from me. My eyes remained closed as I tried to catch my breath.
“Ally ...” Henry whispered, his hands still cradling my face.
“Yes?”
“Why are you doing this to me?” My heart pounded like a drum against my chest while he pressed his forehead against mine.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I meant … you are one of the best things that has ever happened to me.”
At that moment, I opened my eyes and slightly pulled away from him, searching his eyes. What I was searching for? I wasn’t too sure, but I desperately wanted to believe him when he said those words.
“Say something, Ally,” he spoke with a hint of concern.
“Honestly…” I took a deep breath as I moved my hands over his which were still flattened across my cheeks. Although I couldn’t shake off the strange feeling, I knew in my heart that being apart from Henry would make me miss him — terribly. And I trusted that. I trusted him. “I feel the same way too.”