CHAPTER 22
Remy
I had just gotten home from a dreadful day at the office. A big contract I was supposed to get had fallen through, the property market was looking uncertain, and there had been a monster traffic jam, which had meant that I had gotten home an hour later than usual. Oh, and I had left my phone at home. I had also had to deal with a number of annoying clients and was really not in a great mood at all. My first thought, after walking in, taking off my jacket and putting down my briefcase, was that I needed a whiskey.
I went over and got my tumbler and the bottle of whiskey, but just as I was about to pour myself a glass, I figured that I should probably check my phone before starting to drink, just in case there were any important messages or calls that may have come through while I was at work. I left the whiskey on the table and went over to the kitchen, where I had left my phone. I picked it up – and then almost dropped it again when I saw that there was a message on it from Danica.
With trembling fingers, I opened it and read it, then had to re-read it a couple of times, because I could hardly believe what it said: she wanted to see me again!
I didn't bother typing a reply – it would take too long. I called her right away, and my heart soared as her phone actually rang for a change.
“Come on, Danica, answer, please, answer,” I murmured as it rang.
Sure enough, she finally picked up.
“Remy...”
It was so good to hear her voice again.
“Hi, Danica. I saw your message. Sorry it took a while to get back to you, I left my phone at home and only got back from work now.”
“That's okay.”
“Do you still want to see me?” I asked.
“I do, if you want to see me again after everything I did to you.”
“Of course, I do. Are you free now?”
“Not right now, but I'll be finished working at the restaurant at nine o' clock. You can meet me there if you want.”
“I'll be waiting outside the restaurant at nine.”
“All right. I'll see you then.”
“See you then.”
I cut the call off and then punched my fist into the air and grinned. This was the best thing that had happened to me all day, and the joy surging through my system quickly pushed out any traces of frustration and exhaustion that had been left over. I went over to pour my whiskey, except that now I wasn't drinking to take the edge off a difficult day. No, now I was drinking to celebrate a new future.
LATER THAT EVENING
I paced back and forth along the sidewalk, checking my watch obsessively. It was two minutes after nine... and now three minutes after nine. Come on, Danica, come on, where are you?
Finally, she walked out of the door. I had to really do my best not to sprint up to her and throw my arms around her, and try to remain calm and dispassionate. After all, it wasn't as if we were back together... yet. I walked up to her with a smile, and while there were tears in her eyes, she beamed a broad, genuine smile at me as well.
“It's good to see you,” she said. “It's really good to see you.”
“I've missed you,” I replied. “I've missed you very much.”
We gave each other a short hug, and it was a little awkward, but I could nonetheless feel the fires of attraction being actively rekindled within me. I suspected the same sort of thing was going on inside her, judging from the looks she kept throwing me. She remained guarded, however, and it was apparent that she was having a great deal of difficulty right now. I needed to be as gentle with her as possible.
“Where would you like to go?” I asked.
“Um, somewhere where I can have a drink, I guess,” she said. “There's a little dive bar just three blocks from here, and it's usually pretty empty on weeknights. Let's just go there and chat over a beer, all right?”
I nodded. “Sounds good. Let's go.”
At the bar, they didn't have much in the way of aged single malt whiskey – well, actually they didn't have any at all, so I reluctantly ordered a beer. They did have some cheap red wine, and Danica ordered a glass of that, which she insisted on paying for herself.
We went to a small table in a quiet corner of the bar and sat down opposite each other. I stared at her for a few moments... God, she was gorgeous.
“So,” I began, “what would you like to tell me?”
She drew in a deep breath, and then let out a long sigh. “Give me a second.”
She suddenly drank a huge gulp of wine, over half of her glass. She let it go down, and then after a few moments, she nodded.
“Well, here goes,” she said. “I've told you a little bit about my past – about running away and taking the money.”
“Yes. And I told you, that was the right thing to do. You did what you had to do to escape your evil and abusive father.”
“I know. But there's more. You see, I never really had a home after that. I stayed here and there, and even spent some time sleeping in parks or even on the street. The reason I never told you where I live is because I live at the church with the nuns. Essentially, it’s a homeless shelter of sorts, only my place there is a little more permanent. The nuns kind of took me in.”
I nodded. “All right. Go on.”
“I've been working hard and trying to save money so that I can at least move out and get a place of my own. And, of course, I took the job at the dance school so that I can pursue my dream of becoming a professional dancer one day... whenever that may be.”
“I see. Well, I'm glad that you're telling me all of this now. And I don't think of you any differently, knowing this stuff.”
She smiled. “Thank you, Remy... you truly are such a kind-hearted, compassionate man... But there's more, I'm not done yet.”
“All right, continue... and don't feel like you need to hold anything back, seriously.”
“Something from my past recently came back to bite me. There was this guy—”
“That bald scumbag with all the tattoos?” I asked.
She looked a little surprised that I knew this. “Uh, yeah, him. He followed me around for a while, and eventually confronted me. He said that he knew my dad, and that my dad wanted the ten grand back. He made some threats. One of those being if I didn't get the money back to him in a week, undesirable things would happen.”
“So, what did you do?”
She sighed and shook her head sadly. “Remember how you helped me to win those dance lessons at my school?”
“I do, yes.”
“Well, I made up a story about my father having cancer and needing urgent treatment, and asked my manager if she could give me a cash refund on the classes. She did it. I took the money and paid the guy... and now I've been left with almost nothing. All I have to my name is a few hundred dollars now. That's why I've been working such long hours. And I was so ashamed, and so stubborn about not letting anyone help me, that I told you I couldn't see you anymore. And I really, really didn't want to drag you into this mess. It's my mess, you see, and I really didn't want anyone else to be affected by it. I didn't want that evil man to... he has a gun, and he made threats against you, Remy. I would never have been able to live with myself if you got shot or something, so that's why I had to, I had to...”
She trailed off and started sobbing softly. I reached across the table and gently put my hands over hers and squeezed them softly.
“Listen to me, Danica,” I said. “I appreciate how considerate you are in not wanting to involve me in this, but there's no way I can step aside and allow this to happen, not when I have the means to solve these problems... and not when I care so very, very deeply about you. I'd give up everything I have, everything I own, just to be with you. Nobody I've ever met has made me feel the way you make me feel. Nobody – and that's more special and precious than all of the money in the world.”
She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “You really mean that?” she asked. “Do you really, really mean that?”
“With all my heart. Now come on, let's get out of here and get over to that shelter. You've spent your last night there. I want you to get all your things from there and pack them up – and then we're going to my place. You're going to live with me from now on. And quit your job at this restaurant. That manager is a total jerk; I've seen how he treats the staff, and you don't deserve to be treated like that. Keep your job at the dance studio though... Because I don't want you to see this as charity, okay? Because it's not.”
She nodded and squeezed my hands. “Thank you, Remy,” she murmured. “You're the most amazing person I've ever met. Thank you... thank you so much.”
“Come on,” I said with a smile, emotion running joyfully through me in a gush of bright colors. “It's time to go. It's time to leave your old life behind and take your first steps into a new life...”