Loving Mr. Wright

by Brenda Barrett

  Caleb took the card—a million and one ways in which he could spend the money was running through his head, but above all, the thought that God had made a way for him was persistent in his mind.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  It was the first time that Caleb was actually going to Erica's house in the night. He had started walking it in the evening and when he had neared the town he had almost stopped at a phone dealer and gotten himself a cell phone, but he realized that he would have nowhere to charge it.

  He needed to get some electricity up into the hill first. His head was still ringing with the offer that Farmer McGregor had made that afternoon. He glanced at his watch as he turned into the affluent neighborhood. It was seven o'clock. Erica should be home by now. He had tried to memorize her schedule but she had laughingly told him that it changes every other month.

  This month she was working in the mornings, from ten to six. He hastened his footsteps as he felt a fat drop of rain on his head. When he turned into the driveway it was raining so hard that for a moment he thought he had taken the wrong turn. He saw lights on upstairs and he rang the doorbell.

  "Who is it?" Erica spoke through the intercom.

  "Me," he said happily.

  She ran down the stairs. He could hear her footsteps coming down and she appeared before him in a sheer teddy, her eyes wide. "You are in the rain, come in."

  He stared at her from head to toe—maybe visiting her at night was not such a good idea after all. He ran his eyes over her full breasts and her tousled hair and her slim toned legs and backed away shaking his head.

  "Maybe this was a bad idea."

  Erica looked at him askance and then looked down at herself. "You caught me preparing for bed. I'll get changed…you come in."

  She backed away from the door and he got a perfect glimpse at her perfectly proportioned butt. He stood in the doorway a while longer.

  In the past, before prison, he would have had no problems seducing Erica. His body wanted to—oh how it did, but he had made a little bargain with God. If God could get him out, he would be celibate until he got married.

  No relationships with just any woman, she had to be Godly: good values, upright, basically virtuous—she had to be as far from Julia in character as possible. He had promised God.

  God had done his part. Now he had to do his and Erica was not making it any easier on his anatomy. He actually stood in the rain contemplating the forty-five minute walk back to the hills.

  Erica came back downstairs in a harem pants and a flowing top. In her hands she had a pair of jeans and what looked like a shirt, she rested them on the banister and walked to the door hands akimbo. "I am as decent as can be. I won't even let you see my pinky finger."

  Caleb grinned. "I was just cooling off out here."

  "Well come on in," Erica said, heat traveling up her neck, "I have some of Theo's clothes for you to change into. In case you didn’t realize it, you are wet."

  Caleb came to the door and stood before her. He smelled of Old Spice faintly. His warm brown eyes were drinking her in and for a minute, Erica felt faint.

  "Erica," a rivulet of water slowly traveled from his clean-shaven head and Erica watched, it transfixed, as it settled on his red lips.

  "Yes," she whispered hoarsely.

  "Would you be my girlfriend?"

  "Why… yes of course," Erica said formally, and then she touched her lips to his. It was as if an electric charge raced through both their bodies and they were not even touching. They were just connected at their lips.

  Caleb took over the kiss, exploring her lips thoroughly and then a guttural moan wrenched itself from him and he dressed back from her.

  "Where should I change?"

  Erica leaned on the wall weakly, a hand over her chest. "The bathroom is through there." She pointed to the left, "no—there." She pointed to the right.

  Caleb looked at her dreamy expression and chuckled. "I'll be back, girlfriend."

  "Hurry back boyfriend. I'll be in the kitchen."

  Erica fixed chocolate tea. She was moving as if she was under water. Her hearing hadn't normalized yet and she still felt shivers all over her nerve endings.

  So, this is how it felt, she kept repeating in her head, the raw sexual attraction that she thought had been missing with all the guys she had ever been out with. She had actually reached the grand old age of thirty-five and she was just feeling it.

  She wanted to hug herself, she wanted to cherish the feeling forever. The feeling was new and exciting and words failed her. She laid out the tea cups and pot and sat down at the breakfast nook. She had turned on the outside light and it illuminated the raindrops running down the windowpane. It was a night for lovers and she felt a longing in her body so intense that she almost jumped when Caleb sat across from her.

  "Your thoughts were far away from here I see."

  He cradled the cup she had placed on his side of the table and stared at her intently.

  "No... er ...I was thinking that this weather was a...er..."

  "Weather for lovers," Caleb grinned, "you can say it."

  "I am repressed," Erica sighed.

  Caleb laughed. "You don’t kiss like you are repressed. You kiss like you want to be set free."

  Erica blushed. "I had a relationship once…back in high school before I was a Christian."

  "High school? Wow, Erica, I am impressed." He looked at her warmly. "I had several relationships," he shrugged. "However when I kissed you just now I felt like I was kissing a woman for the first time. It felt new and exciting and so right."

  Erica covered her face. "I don’t know where to look. I am so overwhelmed."

  Caleb laughed. "This is refreshing; the woman of many words is tongue-tied. I must admit that I have no experience with repressed women, but I am enjoying this."

  Erica looked through her fingers. "I held out against my ex-boyfriend Jay-Jay because I decided not have sex before marriage. But now my firmly held morals are saying you are an old maid, jump Caleb now!"

  Caleb took her hands. "I made a promise to God when I gave my life to him, that I would hold on to my firmly held morals too, so you are fine. We'll just have to help each other, okay?"

  "Okay," Erica smiled.

  "I went over to Farmer McGregor today and he offered to buy five acres of the land from me…the part with the cocoas that is closest to his land. I was excited when I heard the figure but I'm going to pray about it before making a decision and of course I had to ask for your opinion as well."

  Erica grinned. "That's great."

  When she heard the figure, she gasped. "Well, that would be really good for you. You could stop this notion that we aren’t equal and you'd be the real big man in our relationship, but you said you would pray about it. Listen to what God says."

  Caleb nodded. "Were you going to bed just now?"

  "No, I was going to watch a movie…Rabbit Proof Fence, a friend at work said it was moving and inspiring and it made her cry. I was going to get my Kleenex and one of my energy bars and watch it."

  "I'll join you," Caleb said. "I am also going to get a cell phone so that we can talk, isn't that what boyfriends and girlfriends do?"

  "Yes," Erica laughed, "among other things."

  Caleb grinned and kissed her on the cheek. "Among other things."

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  When Erica dropped him off at his house, he stood at the doorway and watched as the car backed out of the yard. The rain had let up and there was only a light drizzle that disappeared from his eyes in the car's headlights.

  He went inside the house contemplatively. He had made the big step and committed himself to a woman. He had prayed about it but tonight he had just come right out and done it.

  He now had a girlfriend and felt like a kid in a schoolyard when he thought about it—like he now possessed a new and shiny unexplainable thing. He removed his borrowed clothes and pulled on a pajama bottom—Erica had promised to bring back his clothes dry. The thought of h
er made him smile and he lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

  Today was really wonderful: he went to farmer McGregor's house and met Dina and her daughter, Priscilla, a young girl who wore her insecurities on her shoulders. She needed to be disciplined by her parents or that rebellion could get out of hand, Caleb thought.

  His mind drifted and for the first in a long time, he wondered about Colleen. She would be about seventeen now. He grimaced. Her birthday was in February, which would be in four months time. Colleen had always loved her birthdays, mostly because he used to throw the most elaborate parties for her as he had always had a soft spot for her.

  When he married Julia, she was just six. He could remember looking at her and seeing himself at that age, except in his case he didn’t have a mother and she didn’t have a father. He had vowed to be the best father in the world to her. He had reasoned that he could be the sort of role model to Colleen that he and Julia never had.

  Julia had also been brought up rough. She had family but they were not very closely knit and Julia had left home as soon as she could. She used to be a party girl; the high profile girlfriend to several reggae stars. She had the kind of beauty that they preferred and she used to proudly refer to herself as eye-candy.

  She had gotten pregnant for one of her entertainer lovers and he had dropped her like a hot potato, declaring that the child wasn’t his. When Caleb finally met Julia, at a party one Friday night, she had been intent on bagging another lover to take care of her and her daughter.

  He had been caught up in Julia's web and went as far as to marry her. His father had taken him aside and told him not to do it, but he hadn't listened.

  What did his father know? Caleb had thought at the time. His father went through women like he did his socks. Caleb wanted a different life for himself. He wanted to do things right, so he married Julia, became an instant father to her child and bought a lovely three-bedroom house in a new housing development in St. Catherine.

  Life for him was very good. He loved his job, loved his wife, and had a lovely family life. Then things started to go sour. Julia got it in her head that she wanted to do law and decided to go back to school; then she had an affair with her law professor.

  Caleb remembered the exact moment when Julia turned into a monster. He had gotten home from work and instead of the usual happy greeting, Julia picked a fight with him about some innocuous topic. He couldn't even remember what it was about. Then things rapidly took a turn for the worse. Even then, he hadn't figured out that it was over. That same month, he had bought her a new car.

  It was a Wednesday, May 6th. It was a rainy day and he had a slight cold, but nothing to make a fuss about or miss work over. He was at work, and in the middle of baking his famous Danish puffed pastry from a recipe that he had gotten from his Danish friend, Hans. He could still see the stainless steel appliances of the hotel kitchen, the banana cream frosting, and the giant Danish that he was fashioning when the police came to arrest him.

  He tightened his eyes in remembered agony—he hadn't even put chopped almonds on the top as he wanted to do. They had carted him off, and to this day, it burdened his thoughts when he thinks about that pastry; so perfect and yet so incomplete, just like his life.

  He wondered if anybody had eaten it, he sometimes wondered if the junior staff had remembered to put the chopped nuts on top—he would never know. As soon as the hotel heard that he was in court, they distanced themselves from him.

  He tried to sleep after that but the thoughts were banging around in his brain. If only, he hadn't gone to that party; if only he hadn't met Julia, or seen her in her tight red dress or seen her seductive lips. If only he hadn't encouraged her to go to law school. His teeth clenched and he broke out into a sweat. If only… if only.

  Argh, he hissed out loud and then got onto his knees. "Lord, I ask for your peace that passes all understanding. I have been here before, Lord, so many times, and I ask once more for your help. Only you can soothe my soul."

  He stayed on his knees and waited for the peace that he asked for and eventually he felt it. He got up and went under the sheets and slept like a baby that night.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  It took Caleb two weeks before he made up his mind. He and Erica had even gone as far as to make up a list of pros and cons for selling the five acres. They had more points on the pros than they did the cons and he was satisfied that this was the way that God wanted him to do it.

  When he called Farmer McGregor, he was thrilled about his decision and had invited Caleb to dinner to discuss the deal. "Along with your girlfriend of course," he had added jovially.

  Caleb decided to wear all black. His long sleeved shirt was opened one button at the neck and he folded his arms, looking out at the scenery and waiting for Erica to pick him up. Since they had removed all the trees and shrubs obscuring the view, he realized that it was really a nice spot in the hills to live.

  He leaned on the wall contemplatively, with a car it would not be hard to drive to and from work. He could even rebuild at a location that had a better view and rent out the house. Even though he had not gotten the money yet, his mind itched to spend it to restore himself to where he was six years ago.

  He had been ambitious; the world was his oyster and he had several things to conquer. He resolved to temper his enthusiasm by committing his plans to God. Anything can happen in a person's life, and as he had found out the bitter way, no one was guaranteed a happy ending.

  He stared out at the greenness and a feeling of gratitude to God overflowed his heart. Over the last five years, he had learned that he was not self-sufficient. He didn't like it, he even fought against it, but God had been patient with him and for that he was thankful.

  Right at that moment Caleb Wright was thankful-not bitter.

  He was grinning when Erica drove up. She had cut her hair in a pageboy style and it showed up her delicate features. Her eyes looked bigger than he had realized and they had almost an exotic tilt at the side, her cute button nose actually had freckles. He hadn’t realized that before and he spent a good deal of time staring at her.

  "Hey you, handsome guy," Erica got out of the car. "Aren't we going to dinner?" she was dressed in a wine red dress that fell in neat pleats to her knees.

  Caleb grinned. "Yes. Why didn't I realize that you had freckles before?"

  Erica grinned. "Make-up. I hate them so I cover them up."

  "But you look gorgeous…you look younger somehow." Caleb kissed her.

  Erica shook her head. "I have on minimal makeup. Are you saying all this time I looked old?"

  "Oh boy," Caleb grinned. "Your hair style makes you look years younger."

  "Oh," she put her hand to her hair. "You like it, huh. I told my hairdresser to give me a Halle Berry trim to match my slim body."

  She threw her hands over Caleb's shoulder facing him front way. "I am happy you like it. "

  "I do," Caleb bent his head and kissed her again. The kiss had a deep drugging effect on him. He just wanted to kiss her forever; she tasted like mint chocolate.

  They stopped kissing and stood hugging.

  "Dinner is at six," he finally said. His hands were trembling when he touched her hair. "We have to go."

  Erica sighed. "I don't want to leave your arms."

  "Neither do I. but the faster we get this land business settled, the faster I can make my move on one Erica Thomas."

  Erica giggled. "Let's go."

  *******

  They drove to the McGregors' house and arrived a minute after six. Dina was at the front with a welcoming smile on her face.

  "Come on in. Mackie asked me to send you guys straight to his office. You can do business and then we can have dinner. Since it's so near to Thanksgiving in the US I got a turkey, and I can't wait for you guys to taste it."

  When they entered the office farmer McGregor was on the phone; he had a pencil behind his ear and was scribbling on a paper.

  "Hold on a sec, Harlan," he said in the
phone. "Have a seat, young people." He indicated to the chairs in front of his desk.

  Erica and Caleb looked at each other, smiling softly.

  Farmer McGregor cut off his phone call shortly after that and then looked at them. "So this is Erica." He rubbed his chin. "You are Fred's girl?"

  Erica nodded. "You know Dad? "

  Farmer McGregor laughed. "When I squeeze in a little golf, I always see Fred on the course. I wonder how he does it with his supermarkets doing so well. When does he ever work?"

  Erica grinned. "That's a question many people ask."

  "Good family." Farmer McGregor nodded.

  "So Mr. Wright," he looked at Caleb fondly, "I spoke to my lawyer. He said we can get everything tied up in six weeks. I will have a surveyor over the place in two days and then we are on our way."

  Dina pushed her head around the door. "Uhm, Mackie can I borrow Caleb? I want him to lift that sack of corn that you almost broke your back with."

  "Okay," Farmer McGregor waved off Caleb. "The old back almost gave way today. If it's not too much trouble, can you move it for me?"

  Caleb got up. "Sure, after you," he said to Dina.

  Erica looked at Farmer McGregor warmly. "You are extremely kind to Caleb."

  Farmer McGregor shrugged. "I can spot a business opportunity a mile away: his land is adjoining mine and I have been after Reba for years to sell me some of the land but she refused, said that when Caleb got out she would let him decide. Unfortunately when Caleb got out she was gone."

  Erica frowned. "Got out?"

  Farmer McGregor rubbed his back absentmindedly. "Yes, yes, I patiently waited for him to approach me about the cocoas and then asked him about the land. Didn't want to rush or crowd him; I figured he'd need time to adjust."

  Erica was confused. Get out from where? Where had Caleb been?

  The phone rang and farmer McGregor picked it up again. "Oh yes Harlan…excuse me a sec, Erica."