Instead of spending quality
time with their mom, Katie dropped Carmen first off at the mall. Both she and
Heidi waved as Carmen ran off to join her friends at the entrance to the mall.
Driving to Heidi’s friend house, Katie and Heidi struck up a conversation about
the gossip of her and Carmen’s middle school; enticing Katie with the idle
gossip that her daughters had to endure day-to-day.
Before leaving the car Heidi
lingered “Hey mom,” Heidi called, stepping out of the car and closing the door
behind her. “I was admiring your bracelet; it’s really pretty, all my friends
would be so jealous! Did Dad give it to you?” she commented, speaking through
the window. Katie was lost for words; Heidi was more observant of her
surroundings than Carmen was and guilt settled in, how could she tell her
budding young daughter, her pride and joy, that in actual fact mommy was having
an affair, and this is the gift her lover so graciously bought for her. Katie
just nodded and beamed “Mmm, Enjoy your day hunny.” Katie drove on hoping that
with the windows down the breeze would flow through the car enough to clear her
head from what she had almost encountered with her daughter.
She felt sick to her
stomach. She couldn’t believe that her daughter had asked her about the gift,
how foolish of her to wear it in the first place! Katie glanced at the
offensive gleaming bracelet that hang loosely around her wrist accompanying the
other gift that he had given her, she was usually more careful with concealing
the overgenerous gifts he buys her mostly because it makes her feel cheap, as
if he was buying her for her favours a cheap expensive harlot.
She thought she would call
and maybe thank him for the presents, but then decided against it and drove on.
Taking a form of self-pity she decided to go to the shooting range and let out
her stress by shooting floating placards, a pastime she usually enjoyed in the
company of her partner Tom, but with the anger and resentment bubbling up
inside of her at this precise moment she was more than grateful to endure the
exercise alone.
The shooting range was on
the other side of town. If she went in that direction she would be going pass
his offices, changing her mind about the shooting range, she drove in the
direction of downtown also near his offices, to visit her partner Tom at the
precinct and quickly pulled right towards the exit of her mystery lover’s exit,
crossing and cutting across people parallel to her lane. She had been thinking
about him a long time sub-consciously and decided it was now or never. She
needed to be calm and collected, and think logically if this was ever going to
work he had always had this sort of confused effect on her, even in the
beginning, because love or infatuation as she thought of it was always
blinding. She bucked up the courage and drove on to personally thank the kind
man who posted her such a wonderful package.
Her daily downtown drive
consisted of the same highway, particularly clear this sunny day. She drove
down the highway with the radio up two smidges higher than she normally would
have, blazing through the speakers “Love is a battle field” by Pat Benatar, singing
as loud as she could reliving the days of her precious childhood and trying not
to focus on the task that laid ahead of her.
Signalling to come off at
the exit specified for downtown properly this time, she decided to call the
twins on their cell phones just to check in, to make sure they were both ok and
to make sure Heidi’s suspicions had died down.
“Mom!” both twins cut in
“Lindsay let me have that
dress you wor…”
“Mom, you’d never guess
what! My crush, Nathan who I was telling you about asked me out on a date!”
“Oh wow” she laughed “I take
it you two are both fine then”
“Yes!” they chorused.
“Heidi, I hope that dress is
below the knees! And Carmen, tell me more about Nathan when you come home!”
Having been satisfied with
their answers she hung up on the three-way conversation and turned into the car
park, dismissing the valet and taking a ticket.
Taking the key out of the
ignition, Katie stopped to admire the bracelet one more time; she looked at the
time on her watch and rang Malcolm’s office.
***
Malcolm was Katie’s
boyfriend in college and her now part-time lover. He had a 4.0 GPA average and
was valedictorian of his class; he was on a fast track to becoming the most
sought after graduate in criminal Law. Having had a rough childhood and a poor
upbringing he chose to study law in retaliation of his past, witnessing
unofficial proceedings of the police with his cousins who were practically
raised on the streets and losing a brother to gang culture was a good enough
reason to study and educate himself to find freedom. He decided to be on the
right side of the criminal justice system rather than the wrong side. So, when
a law firm in London approached Malcolm with more than 3 zero’s on the pay
check it was an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Until he had decided to take
the Job in London to become a junior executive, Katie and Malcolm, were
engaged. They were both inseparable, anyone who knew them could see they were
two souls with one heart. When Katie, entered Malcolm’s life, it was life
changing for him. It was as if all the pain and suffering he had to endure
throughout his life had stopped. When he finally confessed to her how bad a
childhood he had on their 11 month anniversary, a secret he didn’t bear to just
anyone - she told him exactly how proud she was of him to become the success
that he is, and it was then, that precise moment, that the shackles around
Malcolm’s heart unlocked and began to truly love Katie with every piece of his
body that was possible – he was so consumed by love. And it was that night he
proposed.
Malcolm always spent money
on Katie he sometimes couldn’t afford, always calling out on favours that his
cousins could possibly pull for him, something he thought was necessary in
order to keep the one he truly loved in his life. Everything was perfect in
both their lives, until the night Malcolm told Katie he was offered a job in
London.
***
It was at Beluchi’s a hit
Italian restaurant on Western Avenue, and they were booked in the normally
packed restaurant curtsy of Malcolm and his many contacts. Malcolm had pulled
out all the stops, their own intimate booth, roses, candles, a chilled bottle
of the restaurants finest champagne and a pre-ordered menu on the way. Katie
was wondering how Malcolm was going to pay for it, but dismissed it because she
was intoxicated by just being in his presence. He had ordered a traditional
Italian chicken dish for Katie and a plate of oysters for himself, as they sat
eating and drinking – soaking in the atmosphere of the restaurant and the love
that flowed between the both of them electrically. She started stroking
Malcolm’s leg, hoping to make sure that he knew where this was heading after
their meal. Malcolm smiled, put down an empty oyster shell, mopped his upper
lip with the napkin and placed his hand gently in Katie’s.
“Katie, I have something to
tell you – it’s huge for me but I don’t know what it means for us”
She smiled encouragingly,
looking deeply into his eyes, “tell me”
He cleared his throat. “I
got a job offer in…”
“Omg baby that’s great!”
“Let me finish Katie”
He paused. “I got a job
offer in London and I accepted it”
Katie’s smile disappeared;
she wanted to join in his excitement, but the thought of losing him was
unbearable. Her hand slid from his and she rubbed her shoulders as if she were
cold, pondering her next move.
“I’m happy for you.” She
managed to say past the tears lodged in her throat
“When do you leave?”
“At the end of the month”
“So soon…” she lingered
“Maybe” she thought suddenly
“I can come with you” she beamed ecstatically feeling foolish she didn’t think
of it before. Malcolm smiled, “I was thinking that, but wouldn’t you want to
finish college?”
“Yes, but I could transfer
to a college in London and continue my studies there!” she thought on her feet
putting the puzzle quickly together.
“Or we could just try a
long-distance relationship?”
“But I won’t get to see you”
“Of course you will” he
laughed “I will pay for your plane tickets personally to come and visit me, and
we could spend plenty of time together!”
“Ok, I guess that could work
too”
And the subject was never picked up again.
The first six months Malcolm
was in London, Katie went to visit him. They spent 3 days just cooped up in
Katie’s hotel room, reconnecting and remembering each others body from the time
that was lost in-between. They abused room service and watched sunrise and
sunset from their window. The rest of the days Katie had left in London, they
went sight-seeing all around London, picking up little trinkets and gifts for
friends and families back home. Malcolm left Katie outside of a coffee shop and
told her to wait for him. He put his hands over her eyes,
“Guess who”
“Um, Denzil Washington?”
“Close, keep guessing!”
Katie swivelled around in his arms and pecked him on the lips; he smiled down
and presented her with a box.
“What’s this?” she asked
innocently.
“Why don’t you open it and
find out?” he smirked
“Yes sir” she saluted, and
opened the box. Inside was a pair of earrings with tear-dropped shaped pearls.
She gasped. “Malcolm! You
shouldn’t have”
“Yes I should, it’s your
leaving present. I didn’t want you going home empty handed, whenever you wear
it you can think of me” he lingered.
Katie didn’t think anything
of it but proceeded to put them in her ears. “Thank you” she smiled.
Malcolm dropped her off of
at the airport, and they kissed one last time “I love you” they both whispered
and Katie disappeared into the terminal.
It was the last time they
saw of each other.
It was the disappearance of
Malcolm that motivated Katie to change her major from English to forensic
science to help track Malcolm down.
***
Having moved back to Chicago in the winter from living in
Europe he hoped to rekindle the affair. He thought by showering her with gifts,
a thing George had stopped doing since they got married, this would somehow
have her back in his arms, as he sat comfortably in his revolving leather chair
looking out of his fully glassed office which he received on becoming partner,
he stood up and stretched as he watched Chicago’s hustle and bustle from the 13th
floor, he was feeling lucky and asked Margo his secretary to hold all his calls
as he had a feeling someone was going to pay him a visit, as his cell phone
began to ring.
Hanging up the phone, Katie
quickly tried to do something fancy with her hair, and re-applied her lipstick.
Pulling down her casual shirt covering her stretch marks that she was trying to
get rid of and the semi-flat belly she tried 12 years trying to flatten again.
Stepping out of the elevator
into one of the offices in the complex, the plush air-conditioned lounge
greeted her with a cool breeze, after coming in from the deadly heat global
warming was producing in Chicago today.
Taking in the scenery of
‘Williamson & Williamson’ she walked to the desk and asked Margo a loyal
and jealous friend to her boss, to see if he would accept her visit. Margo
hesitated to let her through, and eventually pushed aside her personal issues
with Katie and became the good secretary Malcolm had always believed she was.
Margo watched as Katie walked in through the double glass doors and envied
everything about her, she touched her hair and thought she needed to make a
hair appointment with Michael straight away.
Politely knocking the door,
and hearing his strong masculine voice, she entered the plush environment.
“3 hours and 47 minutes, a
new record” was what greeted her when she walked in. “What took you so long to
come and personally thank me for my gift?” Katie smiled and sat down on the
leather sofa which lined the wall of the office, she crossed her legs and she
thought of how to answer his question, she thought about his question over
again, but couldn’t help but glance at the male figure standing in front of
her; his muscular face just the right shade of caramel brown, she heard about
gorgeous black men but she never thought she would see one of them; her eyes
traced down his body, gazing at every stitch and button in his dark blue jacket
that complemented his skin colour quite sexily.
Malcolm smiled and licked his lips for moisture and stood in
front of Katie as he caught her of guard day dreaming and waited for her reply.
“I er... had a lot of things on my mind” she replied as she snapped out of her
thoughts, he flashed that gorgeous smile again at her with those pearly white teeth
and at once she melted like butter, realising that he was seducing her just by
looking at her, she gathered her things and headed for the door. “Malcolm,
thanks again for the bracelet” she just managed to make sound audible.
She quickly burst through
the office doors trying to leave as quickly as possible before he said
something that would make her stay.
Malcolm stood in his office
still mentally playing the image of Katie, having not seen her for 2 days, he
knew she knew that he was mentally undressing her and she didn’t want to act
upon her whims so he hurriedly went to go check if she was at the elevators.
After rushing out of his
office, Katie waited for the elevator to come up, noticing that the elevator
was on the 3rd floor and she was on the 13th, she took
the stairs knowing that Malcolm would soon come to see if she was waiting for
him. She got to her car and exhaled, she had got to stop taking cases with
gorgeous men. She just sat in her car breathing deeply, picking up the phone
she called George.
“George, I’m coming to your
office”
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