Chapter 15
Elijah
I stood in the closet as I pondered what to wear, I looked in the closet and thought it must have been easy before when I appeared to be a real dirtbag, just grab anything and it would do to look cool. And if they didn’t like it, I wasn’t going to care.
I wanted to set a good impression, I had no idea how much Kendall knew of me, but since I didn’t know, I wanted to treat her as if it was the first time I had seen her, and in my mind, it actually was the first time.
I opted for black jeans and a figure hugging Rocha Jon Rocha top, it was casually styled and showed off my ripped body a treat, even if I had lost my memory, looking good was still a priority. And my clothes now had to tell a different story.
I had just gotten dressed and made my way downstairs. I could see the headlights of Peter's car as he headed up the driveway. I had so much I wanted to tell him about the previous night’s date with Kendall.
“Hi, Pete. How you are doing?” I asked as he entered the kitchen.
“Not, bad, how you been doing? How are you getting on with work?” he replied.
“Forget that, all that is okay, I had a date with Kendall last night, it was awesome,” I beamed.
“I was nervous as hell, I may have dated a lot before from what you told me, but fuck, this was scary. She’s a beautiful woman and so kind. I felt sorry for her, as her dog died a short while ago, and I might even take her to buy another one." I was excited by my own words.
“She must have been impressed with you,” Peter replied as he grinned from ear-to-ear.
“I think so. We’re going out again tonight. I might take her for Italian, a bit of wine and candlelight to set the mood. What do you think?” I asked in the hopes that he would help out.
“That’s a great idea, you will have plenty of time to talk,” he still grinned at me.
“Did you bring the photo album with you before I forget?” I asked.
“Yes, it’s in the car, I’ll just go and get it.” He walked through the garage toward his parked car.
“You gonna keep the cars?” he asked as he returned with the photo album.
“I might get rid of the McLaren, it’s a nice car, but not very practical, the others I can live with, a bit sporty but not way over the top.
“Why do you think we were never close, or should I say why weren't we this close before?” I waited.
“I don’t know. Maybe it was because Dad took you under his wing and left me to my own devices,” he replied. “You may have learned all of his good points and a few of his bad ones while you were growing up, but you have put a lot of hours in at work that’s for sure.” I could sense that he felt proud of me and it made my heart tingle.
“I don’t know either, maybe I might remember if my memory comes back enough, I just hope I don’t turn back into the person I was before,” I said.
“Well, if you get on well with Kendall, I’m sure she will help you to remain the brother you are now. She has stood by you no matter what, she’s like you say, a good woman,” Peter responded in a genuine tone. Happy for my happiness.
“Anyway, I must get off, I have a date of my own in a while,” Peter said.
“You sly old dog you, kept that quiet didn’t you?” I said in a cheeky tone.
“It’s nothing serious, just a bit of fun. You know how it is,” Peter smirked.
“Actually, I don’t know how it is,” I laughed. “But no matter what happens from this point forward, I’m glad you are my brother. You are a good brother, and I appreciate what you have done.”
“Come on then if you’re going. I’ll race you,” Peter said laughing as he ran toward his car.
***
I arrived at Kendall’s apartment and texted to her that I was waiting downstairs in the Audi. It was a hell of a car but comfortable, and it was easier for Kendall to climb in and out of that one compared to the others.
Kendall came out from her apartment wearing a figure-hugging silver dress which showed off her gorgeous curves. Her long blonde hair was blown by the light, summer wind. I opened the door for her, and she got inside. I quickly closed the door and jumped into the driver seat.
“Where we off to?” she asked as she tussled with her windswept hair.
“You hungry?” I asked as I took her in.
“I’m starving, I could eat a horse!” she said as she laughed
“I can’t get you that, will Italian do?” I replied with a wink.
“I love Italian, it’s my favorite,” she turned her head toward me, and I saw her bright eyes.
***
We arrived at Ginalo’s, and the owner had been very helpful and given us a table in the quieter part of the restaurant, I wanted to know Kendall more, and this setting was the best place to achieve it.
The waiter guided us to the table, the lights were dim, and there was a solitary candle on the table, the flame flickered and cast shadows which danced across Kendall’s face, her beautiful eyes glistened as she talked.
“Now, because I know nothing about my past life, tell me about you,” I asked. I wanted to know her, and she melted me.
“Well, I come from a small town in the Midwest and wanted to go into nursing, but when that didn’t happen I changed my vocation to business administration, which is the reason I’m working for you,” she said as she moved her hair back behind her ear.
“There must be more than that, or is that just the condensed version?” I said with a smirk.
“There is more. I just wanted you to know how I got to where I’m. Oh, and as a child, we lived on a farm and had lots of dogs and farm animals, I also had a horse named Bobby, which I was always riding every chance I had,” she said in her relaxed tone.
“So, you are a real animal lover then?” I moved my chair closer.
“Oh, yeah, I just love animals, they are so loving and caring. Just like me,” she said as she laughed.
"I see." Her face was caught so well by the flickering light.
“Although we had a farm, Mom was a vet and Dad worked the land. We had the best of both worlds until Mom died,” she said as she bowed her head. “After that, Dad was never the same. They had been together since high school, and their only love was each other.”
“It sounds nice. I wish I could find a nice woman like that. I’m getting to the age where I should be settling down a bit more,” I said as I imagined us growing old together.
“Well, you never know. It might happen one day,” she said as she winked coyly.
The dinner we had was excellent, and the service was perfect. The waiter’s choice of the wine was dead on and matched the meat perfectly. The dessert we had was a fine ice-cream, and Kendall had a lot of fun at my expense when it was running down my chin. She didn’t smile when I offered her my spoon with some ice cream on, that part of the dinner was priceless. Her mouth had opened as I slowly inserted the spoon and she sucked off the ice cream, it was very sensual and set the tone for how I felt about her.
***
We left the restaurant, and I told Kendall I had a large photo album I wanted to show her if she was willing to come back to my house to look at it. She graciously accepted my offer, and we headed off home.
“Have a look, and I’ll make us coffee.” She belonged there with me.
Kendall sat on the couch, her dress rode up her thighs, and I couldn’t help but notice, then she placed the album on her lap and started looking at the pictures in reverse order, she said she wanted to see where I started and not how I came to become me.
“So, when was this last picture taken? Oops, sorry, I forgot. You won’t remember,” she said softly.
“No need to apologize, you are human after all,” I said with a cheeky grin.
As I looked at the pictures, I had a strong sense of my Dad, it was hard to explain, but it made me feel a little uneasy. We continued looking at the pictures, and Kendall told me other stories of her childhood when one of my photo’s related to her past.
“Ah, this one. We did the same, my friends and I built a raft from old plastic drums and went sailing in the lake,” she said pointing at the picture of me and Peter on the water. "But as we were girls. It fell to pieces, and we had to swim to shore,” she said as she laughed. She had a warm smile.
“Well from the look of ours, it didn’t look like it would fall to pieces,” I replied.
“I’m not sure if I should ask, but why is your Dad always with you and not with Peter as well?” Kendall asked as she looked into my puzzled eyes.
“I wish I could answer you, Peter and I have asked ourselves the same question since my accident, and we have no answers either. Peter said I was Dad's favorite, but why I don’t know,” I replied still uneasy about it all.
We arrived at some photos of Dad and the business when it first started, I looked at them and had a little flashback, I could picture my dad yelling at the builders and yelling at me, yet he comforted me after and said he was sorry.
I was puzzled by this, why would he scream at me and then apologize? Was he just in a mood? I had a thought of him, what about if he had been abusive toward me and I had shut this out of my mind? My mind filled with images and thoughts, most of them involved my dad abusing someone, yelling at them or being a bit of a dick.
“I understand what Peter meant now,” I said to myself out loud.
“What’s that?” Kendall asked.
“Peter said I inherited some of Dad’s good bits and also some of his bad parts as well,” I said. “Perhaps I had turned into my dad without realizing."
“It’s possible if you were with him a lot of the time,” Kendall replied.
“But why did he not like Peter? I mean, was there something he did as a kid that Dad didn’t like?” I asked.
I had an image of my Dad, he was playing with Peter, and I was crying at the side of the garden. Then he stopped what he was doing and came to see what I was crying about. I can remember saying Peter is not my real brother, and Dad called him over and spoke to us in turn.
When he spoke to us, he finished by giving us a mighty wallop which started both of us crying. He also said to me he was going to make me tough like him. Was I the weak one and Peter the strong one? I wasn’t sure this was a good answer, why would he leave all the fortune to me?
“I’m feeling a little uneasy, I’m having all sorts of flashbacks and images popping up of my Dad, which don’t make any sense to me,” I said to Kendall. I felt a little unwell.
“It’s okay. We’ll stop looking at the pictures if they are upsetting you and making you feel a little anxious. At least I’m here with you, so you have no need to feel alone,” she said.
Kendall closed the photo album and placed it on the couch, she took hold of my hand and rested her head against my wanting shoulder. I was a little more relaxed, and the thoughts were happily diverted by having Kendall this close to me. Then she stroked my hand, and I placed my arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer into me.
I felt safe with her. She was truly beautiful in every sense of the word.