Against The Odds (13 page)

“I
don’t know. I guess this weekend is going to
be the ultimate test. I think we must just
be there for both of them.”

~ ~ ~
~

Clayton and Zane left late that afternoon and Clayton,
anxious to see Rebecca, was speeding like a maniac. Zane chatted
away about obscure legal matters, hoping to distract himself from
this ferocious man. He knew that Clayton was a nice guy and
harmless, but he seemed to have a wasp in his bonnet. He was a
little anxious and barely responded when he was spoken to.
H
e
had better relax or we will be killed. John would never forgive me
for getting myself killed.
John would convince himself that I had done it out
of spite, to punish my parents for their refusal to accept him as
my lover.
He could see
the scene. John, the melodramatic attention-seeker
, would be
standing at his grave, pointing at his father.

You, you! You killed the
most important person in this world. You, with your pretensions and
pseudo-Marxist principles, you killed him. You drove him over the
edge of life, no support, no love. Where were you, when he wallowed
in the abyss of his despair, rejection and pain? Don’t you dare cry
now! What do you cry for? You never loved him! You never cared
about the most wonderful man in the world. Dry your false tears!
Dry your tears!

Zane shuddered at the thought
.
I cannot afford to
die now. I would have an awful funeral. No dignity, no grace. It
would be a terrible thing to do.

“
Clayton, please slow down a bit. Are you okay?”

“
Yeah, sorry Zane. I am just a little edgy.”

Yeah, I am sure he is.
Rumor
has it that some
woman had finally put her claws in him, that he was having picnics
in the park with her and that he was completely besotted. Well, he
deserves it. He has been a real pig to women all his life. He
deserves a little rough ride. I heard that he was so distraught
over her that he was seeing a shrink. Well, you go girl! Teach the
bugger a lesson. Let him know how it feels to be treated badly.
Anyway, while I am here, I might as well hear it straight from the
stud’s mouth.

“Yes, I am sure
you’re anxious to see her. I believe
she is a model?”

“
A model?” Clayton laughed.

“
Not a chance. She is a child psychologist. I am surprised you
haven’t met her. Rebecca Raymond.”

“What? You are dating Rebecca Raymond? No way. She is the
most beautiful
woman I have ever seen. No way.”

“
She is beautiful and also very complicated. She drives me
insane sometimes.”

“
Rebecca and you. That is the weirdest thing I have ever
heard. You are so different.”

“
How so?”

“Let’s face it. You are a bit of
a ladies’ man.
Rumor has it that you don’t exactly care about them, that you leave
once you have...ur....had enough. Rebecca, well, she is a class
act. She does not mess around. I think every attorney in criminal
court looks forward for days she will be around, so they can drool.
She is also very sensible. They have all tried to date her. I think
she only went out with Kevin Ryan Junior, but that didn’t last
long.”

“
The young man with a flashy car?”

He
could feel the hair on the back on hi
s neck rising, but he
calmed himself.
Let it go, it is not important.

“Yes. I think that was part of the problem.
I heard that she hated the way
he tried to show her off, as if she was one of his cars. She dumped
him and he once tried to cause a scene
in court. She was
very calm and rational and he felt really silly, especially when
she called him ‘spaz’. That tall hunk, Adcock, apparently gave him
a good talking to. I thought they were an item, but now, you are in
the picture.”

“
Spaz?”

“
Yes, you know, what you call your annoying little brother or
sister. I think some people still call him that.”

Clayton was laughing. He
could just see her, haughty
and cool, degrading the man. The image pleased him
immensely.

“Brad Adcock is a good friend of mine.
We hang out together, and he would step in that situation. I am so
sorry he couldn’t join us this weekend. He knows how to have fun,
but he had a car accident. But I think his ego is more bruised than
his body. He met some woman who is driving him crazy.”

Clay smiled at the image of Brad
fuming incoherently that his red girl had hang up on him and just
left him in the hospital. Brad had gone all mushy in the head. He
knew the feeling. He thought about Rebecca. How he never understood
her too. He had psyched himself up for a huge fight with her, when
he would have to force her to come this weekend. But, to his
surprise,
she
had called
him and told him, ‘if it was still okay,’ she would like to come.
She had so sweet and demure that he had been a bit
suspicious.
Will she just vanish at the last minute? Will she go to her
parents or find some excuse to get out of it?
He had anticipated
this and had
been happy to arrange his affairs so that he could leave later,
when he was sure she was on her way. All this planning, however,
had been in vain. Jackie had phoned him just now to tell him that
she had arrived and was enjoying a sundowner with Blake.
Well, I
will never know this woman. What made her change her mind?
Jonathan had said he thought she was tired of fighting and really
wanted to see if it worked.
How could it, when she does not tell
me the truth?
She is probably banking on charming me so that
I can forget.
But, he could not forget, how could he? The
moment he touched her he would remember her butterfly and all the
other things that bothered him. She could only get away with it if
she never touched him.
She is in for a rude surprise if that is
her plan.
They had two cottages with an inter-leading door. He
had seen to that. He was determined that she would not escape him.
He wanted her, all of her, but she had to be honest with him. This
weekend, he was determined to know the truth about her and why she
had his butterfly.

Clayton
did not know just how much truth he would find out and the cost of
that truth.

*****

Everyone
had arrived, except Clayton and Zane. The other couple, Melissa and
Arnold Jackson, had settled in nicely. They were a quiet pair, who
spent most of their time alone. Melissa was an interior decorator
and her husband was an accountant. He was a sullen man who spoke
very little, while Melissa seemed to enjoy socializing more. They
chatted briefly to everyone and then went to their cottage. They
only emerged again in time for dinner.

It
was already 8 o’ clock and they all went to dinner.
Where is
Clayton
? He should have been here an hour ago. He is
surely taking his time.
Jackie was a little apprehensive. She
knew that she had phoned a long time ago to tell him that Rebecca
had arrived, so he should have been here already. Jonathan was
worried.
What if he has a ‘lion episode’ on the way? He might be
killed and poor Zane, having to find out that the man is also a
lion.

Rebecca was starting to fret.
What if The Darkness had got him?
What if he changed his mind?
She went outside and called him on his cell
phone.

“Hello
?”

Gosh, it is not his voice.

“
Hello, can I speak to Clayton?”

“
Rebecca? It’s Zane. Hi and hold on.”

“
Princess.”

“Clayton, where
are you
?”

“
What’s wrong Princess, can’t wait for me, can
you?”

“
Clayton, this is serious. Are you okay?”

“Princess, relax and p
lease stop tugging at your
dress like that. It is so suggestive.”

She
turned round and there he was. Her heart missed a beat and she
rushed to him.

“
I was worried about you.”

“
Thought I would be eaten by monsters?”

“
That’s not funny.”

“Okay, relax
. Zane had some present we had to wait
for. Some art that Double J had envied and he had to collect it.
Unfortunately we had to wait, because the guy went out to lunch.
Sounds like one of your friends.”

Rebecca was not listening to him. She had gone and
hugged him.
Okay,
so far so good. No electric shocks.
Also, she was happy to see him. At the
back of her mind lived the fear that The Darkness would get him
before she did.

Zane was standing there, listening with absolute
glee.
Wow,
the magic between them. Wow! Stud-muffin Clayton Giles, the
untouchable is in the arms of a woman and he called her
princess.
He savoured
the moment and imagined how he would captivate his audiences at
dinner parties with this story.
Especially since Ice Maiden had flung
herself into his arms like that. Wow!

“
Listen you two, I am going inside. John is probably demanding
that the police go and look at the bottom of the river for my body.
See you inside.”

“
Hi Zane. Will see you later.”

Clayton
was beaming.

“So, you p
honed to check if I was alright? That is
very adorable of you. I like it. Perhaps I should be late more
often?”

“Don’t you dare. Clayton it was getting dark and we were
all worried. I think you had better go inside so that everyone can
see that you
are in one
piece.
”

He
kissed her and then led her inside the restaurant. Jonathan and
Jackie were very happy to see him and Jackie gave him one of her
special hugs. She was whispering something to him and he was
teasing her. Zane thought it was so typical of Clayton to
have
one woman inside the restaurant and another outside. He
clearly had not changed that much.

Blake and Chad were simply staring at him, bemoaning the
unfairness of the world, that he was not gay.
Why are all the good ones
straight? It was a sheer act of discrimination by the
gods.

The dinner was great fun, with John entertaining them with
bizarre and obviously untrue gossip. They all chatted to each other
and Rebecca was pleased to be there. She had been so pre-occupied
lately that she had avoided social
functions and now she
realized how isolated she had become. She looked up and saw that
Clayton was watching her. His eyes were dark blue and she dreaded
what he might say, or ask her.

“
No, Clayton, not here, not now.”

Everyone stared at them and laughed
.

Blake
said, “oh down boy, not now,” and giggled.

Clayton
joined in the laughter but was quick to point out, “but when,
Princess?”

He
touched his heart in mock pain and the men nodded and laughed,
identifying with his torture.

“That
is not what I meant, you beasts.”

Zane was really happy he had come on this weekend.
This is such a
bonus.
He would never
have believed all this if someone else had told him.
It is too juicy.
Stud-muffin is badly, badly burnt. He is in love with the Ice
Maiden.
He saw how Clay
looked at her, how his eyes would light up and then darken. The man
was in serious trouble and Zane loved it. She was not exactly
averse to him either. She kept stealing glances at him and he was
sure they were having a little chit
-chat of their own. It
was in their eyes, the way he looked at her and she would look
back, as if responding. Although Clayton had joked about it, he was
quite sure that there was something serious about to happen before
Ice Maiden stopped him.
She is
such a spoil sport.
Clayton’s eyes had been dark and intense,
not in a sexual way, but in another way, more serious, more
important.
Damn. It would have been interesting to hear what he wanted
to say.

Clayton had been watching her and thinking,
will you tell me
your secrets tonight?

She had been thinking,
he wants to know everything tonight. Do I
have to tell him? Do I have to?

Well, do you want to discuss it now, my dear?

And that’s when she had spoken. They had not realized what
had happened and in the joking and
teasing that ensued, both
of them forgot the moment.

After dinner, while some were getting drunk and raucous,
Clayton and Rebecca slipped away to their cottages. Rebecca was
keen to get him into her bed and he was keen to hold her, get
shocked and then be
told
everything. Those were their
expectations.