Chapter 13
Edward left the pub but didn’t go back to his hotel. He couldn’t get Eva out of his thoughts and he felt like he had to see her one last time. He walked the streets until he reached the one in front of the little bed and breakfast where she was staying, wondering if she was still in her room or if she had gone back to Oxford yet. Just standing in front of the place made him feel closer to her. Although he had never been in her room, he did walk her to her floor two nights ago. He walked around the large house and looked for her window, trying not to look much like a stalker when passersby walked past. Walking around the side of the house, he saw an upstairs window light illuminate through the curtains and he secretly wished for it to be hers. As he stood there, looking up at the yellow glow, his heart stopped when she came into view.
“Eva,” he whispered. She disappeared as quickly as she appeared and he pulled his phone, wanting to call her, but slid it back into his pocket when he remembered she didn’t have a phone.
I could call the bed and breakfast number and ask for her, he thought. Did he know her last name? He thought hard through their conversations but realized he didn’t know her full name. He walked through the front door and up to a small desk illuminated by a small desk lamp. No one was around and just before he rang the bell, he saw a book sitting on the top of a pile of paperwork. The front read Guests. He looked around and quickly picked it up, opening it to the last page of signatures. He scanned the names and rested his finger on Eva Brooks. His finger slid along the cursive letters while his heart rate picked up. A pack of stationary sat on the side of the pile of papers and he reached over to steal a piece. With a pen in hand, he wrote to her:
Eva-
I wish to say thank you one last time for a wonderful week with you. You have made Paris a vacation to remember always in my mind. Your eyes have burned a spot into my soul and your smile, so kissable and so beautiful, will be one I will cherish always. I will never forget you and neither will my heart. Perhaps, if it is in the cards our paths may cross again one day. If such a beautiful occurrence happens twice in my lifetime, I will be the happiest man to have forever lived on this planet and I will be sure to make the second-time count.
Stay well and I wish you the best of luck in Bristol.
Until we meet again, if ever.
All my love-
Eddie
He eyed the note one last time and hesitated on Bristol. It was where she said she grew up. He smiled and ascended the stairs toward the window with the yellow light. She seemed to be the only person still awake in that big house. He quietly slipped his folded note under the door and walked away.
Back in his hotel room, he made a cup of coffee and called his partner.
“Hey man,” said Joseph when he answered his phone. “I didn’t get that email.”
“I know. I’ll get you the information you’ve been waiting for by morning. I met with Brian tonight and I got a lot of info we can use.”
“Have you been drinking?”
“Yeah, he couldn’t seem to let go of our good old college days.”
“Let me guess. Crown Royal?”
“Several shots.”
“Man,” Joseph laughed. “How’s the old boy doin’ anyway?”
“It’s kind of sad. He hangs on to what used to be, hoping it will get him someplace.”
“So, he’s not doing as well as we thought?”
“Oh, no. He is. He and I had a long conversation about the successes of our businesses and what we can expect going forward. Maybe even venture our two companies together down the road. We’ve got to hook him up with someone though.”
“What? You mean with a lady?”
“Yeah. It’s been a long time for him. I feel bad for the guy.”
“Lemme guess. He hasn’t had pussy since pussy had him?”
“Something like that,” he said, grinning at Joseph’s crass attitude toward the less fortunate.
“We can do that. Absolutely. I have a list of fine honeys who would take him out and show him a good time.”
“Yeah, we can talk about that. But listen. Right now, I have something to talk to you about.”
“What’s that, man?”
“There has been a slight change in my plans.”
Joseph stayed quiet, knowing it wasn’t good news for him.
“You still there? Did I lose you?”
“I’m here.”
“I’m heading back tomorrow morning but I’ll only be in town for about a week.”
“A week.”
“I’m flying out to Oxford for a while.”
“What the hell is in Oxford? No. Wait. Don’t even tell me it’s that girl.”
“As a matter of fact, it is. But I don’t have much time. I’m going to need your help.”
“With what Edward?” Joseph sounded frustrated. “I need you here. I don’t need you telling me you’re traveling across the continent chasing your dick!”
“It’s not like that.”
“Oh no? You are in search of some female you think you need to have in your life. Am I right? Why couldn’t you have just gotten laid while she was in Paris?”
“I told you. It’s not like that. She’s… different.”
“Different,” Joseph said with apprehension.
“Yes. Everything will work out. I promise you.”
“For your sake, you’d better hope so. What do you need my help with?”
“I sort of told her a few things that aren’t necessarily true.”
“Like… what?” he asked, worried about the answer.
“She doesn’t know I’m rich.”
“Okay, so?”
“And she thinks I’m a struggling teacher.”
“Why would you tell her that? Wait a minute. Does this have anything to do with your midlife crisis you had before taking off to Paris?”
“It’s not a midlife crisis. You have to be in the middle of your life to have that happen.”
“But that whole talk about not keeping a woman because of your social status, don’t tell me you changed your identity to impress a lady.”
“I kind of did.”
“You know a relationship based on a lie will never work out. What the hell is the matter with you?”
“I had to try it. I had to establish that. I didn’t mean to fall for her.”
“This sounds serious.”
“It is. I can’t stop thinking about her.”
“She bit you good, didn’t she?”
“Bit me?”
“Get your ass back here and we’ll figure out what to do from there.”
Edward caught the next plane out of Paris and arrived back in Brighton by lunchtime. His mind was turning on how he was going to strategize his way into Oxford and into Eva’s life without making it too obvious he was following her. If it were anyone else telling him this story, he would have called them perverted or potential stalker. But he knew what he was doing and he knew there was a deep-rooted connection between them, one that couldn’t be set aside in hopes that fate led their paths together again. He was always the doer type, and never settled for sitting and waiting or second best.
When Joseph agreed to meet him for lunch, he made sure he dressed in his blue jeans and white t-shirt to give Joseph the full effect of what he was about to tell him.
It took Joseph a few seconds to realize it was Edward standing at a table waiting for him, but once he did the look on his face was picture perfect.
“What the hell is this?” he said as he approached him.
“What’s what?” Edward looked down at the floor and then turned to look behind him, humoring his partner.
“What are you wearing? Did the dry cleaners lose your entire wardrobe?”
“No.” He held his arms out and his chin up. His James Dean look was not impressing Joseph in the least.
“Then you must be out slumming,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t get it.”
“This is my new look.”
“Dude. We’ve got to talk. Is this how you met your female friend?”
“It is. And you know what? She liked me for me, not my money or my expensive suits. It was pretty fucking refreshing.”
“I dunno, man.”
“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.”
“Famous last words.”
They sat at the table and ordered their lunch with a couple of beers.
“So, tell me about this woman.”
“Her name is Eva. She is spectacular.”
“What does she do?”
“She is a college student at Oxford, studying history and social science.”
“Wow, Oxford. Not bad. She must be quite the looker.”
“She’s… wholesome.”
“Wholesome?” Joseph snickered. “Sounds like someone your mother would hook you up with. Where’d ya meet her? Church?”
“Actually it was a coffee shop. I was trying to sweet talk some French snob and apparently, my French is not what it used to be. After the woman proceeded to slap my face, Eva and her friend found quite a bit of humor in my translation. And apparently, you are too.”
Joseph had a smile on his face one couldn’t pry off with a crowbar. He just knew this was going to be a good story. “You gotta tell me what you said.”
“No way.”
“Come on. Don’t leave a brother hangin’”
“Tell you so what? So you can gloat some more? We all know you aced French in college. We don’t need to keep bringing it up.”
“Come on, man,” Joseph said, trying to hide his chuckling. “Tell me.”
“I… asked her…” he looked down, embarrassed at what had happened, knowing what Joseph’s reaction would be when he found out “if she wanted to see my monkey.”
Joseph burst out laughing almost falling out of his chair as onlookers turned to look at the commotion.
Edward smirked and nodded. “Go ahead. Yuck it up.”
“Awe, man.” He wiped his eyes. “That’s great.”
Edward took a long drink of his beer, waiting for his partner to settle down.
“Anyway, she was sitting there with a friend and I guess I got their attention.”
“Did she run to your rescue?”
“No. I wasn’t going to say anything to them. I went to a different table to lick my wounds but she kept watching me, staring at me and flirting with me so I swallowed my pride and went to her table.”
“And she didn’t laugh you out of the place?”
“I introduced myself and we ended up talking the rest of the evening. Spent the week together until she had to go back.”
“She wasn’t a one-and-done huh?”
“Not even close. I kissed her the night before she left Paris.”
“Wait. What?” Joseph looked like he was just slapped. “You didn’t even get her into bed? The entire week?”
“No, I didn’t. It never even came up.”
“Well, there’s your problem,” he said looking down at Edward’s jeans. “Maybe you should get rid of those things.”
“What the hell. The subject! The subject never came up. What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing’s the matter with me. You’re the one with some serious intimacy problems.”
“See, that’s just the point though. I’m not. We connected on a much deeper level. Sex isn’t everything.”
“Watch it!”
“I’m serious. Try it sometime. Let your mind in control for once. It’s the most amazing feeling to be intimately connected to someone without having to be physically connected.”
“So, when is she expecting you? A week?”
“Well, not exactly. She doesn’t know when I’m going.”
“Are you going to surprise her? Most chicks don’t like surprises if it’s totally unexpected. You might get a bad reaction out of her. I’d call her before you decided to pop back into her life.”
“I… can’t do that.”
“You can’t. And why not?”
“She doesn’t have a cell phone.”
“Who the hell doesn’t have cell phones these days? You sure she’s into you?”
“I told you. She’s not like the others.”
“So, she didn’t give you a number. Did she give you her room number so you know where to find her once you get to Oxford?”
“She never told me what college she went to. I had to find out indirectly from her friend.”
Joseph leaned back and looked at Edward, draping his arm over the back of his chair. “You are kidding me, right?”
“No, I’m not. That’s why I need your help.”
“Maybe she has a boyfriend or husband or something.”
“No. She told me she hasn’t dated anyone for the last few years.”
“Dude, she is not going to want to see you. You were a good time in Paris. That’s all. Give it a rest. She purposely didn’t tell you where she was or what her number was because she wasn’t interested in anything more. Don’t you get it?”
“No, Joseph. I don’t get it. You weren’t with her. When I kissed her, I felt an electricity I have never felt before and when I looked into her eyes I saw that she felt the same way. She didn’t try to get me into bed or promise me anything if I did. She didn’t expect me to come on to her, nor did she act any different than who she really was.”
“Kind of like you? Wait, who were you again? Oh, yeah a struggling teacher.” He pursed his lips and stared at Edward.
“You’re wrong.”
“Man, I hope so. Listen, I know you are going to go through with this no matter what I say, and I will help you. But when she turns you down flat, don’t come back here and think I’m not going to tell you I told you so.”
“I’ll give you every opportunity.”
“Okay then. So, what’s the plan?”