Broken (20 page)

But I worried about him. I worried a lot. He seemed
fine most days and in school they said he was doing great, he was more
well-behaved and listened better than before. It gave me hope that he would be
fine eventually. Maybe Sarah was right; the not knowing had troubled him. Now
Heather was gone and he could move on with his life even if it was with a big
hole in his heart even if it meant missing his mom. His mother was with the
dwarves in the forest and with them she was fine. That was what he told his
friends and that was what he kept saying to me and Sarah as well.

So slowly we moved on. I started coming home earlier
in the afternoon to spend time with William and I always put him to bed at
night. We got into a nice routine and with the help and love of Sarah we lacked
nothing. At night I met up with
Aiyana
and we hunted
all night and returned to our homes just before sunrise. It was a time of great
stability and calmness in my life.
 

On the inside I was desperate to be closer to
Aiyana
and touch her as a human as well.
 
I was with her every night but that
didn't fulfill my longing for her. It wasn't enough. I missed talking to her.
At night we were animals, thinking and reacting like animals. We shared the
hunt, the prey and the feast. But nothing else. I missed being with her as a
human, discussing important and unimportant things with her. It's going to
sound crazy but most of all I missed dancing with her. We used to sing and
dance in her mother's house when we first met. Being around her always brought
me joy. She had that effect on me. It was enchanting. I never had the same
feeling when we roamed the swamps at night as jaguars. That was something
completely different. That was pure instinct. It was raw and even brutal at
times. It is hard to explain because we did share nice moments out there. We
truly did. But it was unfulfilling, not quite the same as when we had been
together as humans. I didn't feel like we became one. I wanted so badly to
experience that again.

I was always filled with a strange sadness when
sunrise came upon us and we had to separate once again. To be frank; I hated
it. A part of my heart was ripped out every time, a part that was never healed
until the following night when I would run like the wind towards the Twelve
Mile Swamps and her, complete again.

One day something amazing
happened. She called me. I was in my office signing papers I didn't even bother
to read when Julie told me there was someone on line one. "A former
patient," she said.

I picked it up anticipating someone completely
different. I froze when I heard her voice. Everything stopped inside of me, the
blood in my veins paused for just a second. I was completely taken off guard.

"It's
Aiyana
." Her
voice was calm but serious and at first I feared that something was very wrong.

"Is there a problem with
Luyu's
eyes?" I asked.

"No. No.
Luyu
is just
fine. Her eyes are great. Says she has never seen better."

I relaxed. "Okay. That is good news." I
paused. She was also quiet. "Well it is wonderful to hear your voice
again," I said, closing my eyes. I didn't know when I would ever hear that
voice again and wanted to remember every little thing about it for eternity.

She paused. "You too," she almost whispered.

"I’ve missed you."

"Don't," she said. "Don't."

"Okay."

A long pause followed. I heard her breathe heavily. Was
she waiting for me to speak? I looked for words but found none. I was afraid of
saying something that would make her hang up. Then I started hearing her
thoughts again. Small whispering words.
Just say it ... You have
to say it!

"What's going on,
Aiyana
?"
I asked.

There was turmoil in her end and another voice was
suddenly in the phone. It was a male voice.
Oh my God. It was her
husband!

"Hello!" he said. "Is this Dr.
Langaa
?" He sounded pompous already.

I cleared my throat and sat up in my chair.
Aiyana
wasn't there anymore, not even her thoughts. I
couldn't hear her at all. "Yes. This is he. Could you please explain what
this is regarding?" I put on my doctor's voice.

"Of course, doctor. I was calling regarding my
daughter
Luyu
. It has come to my attention that you
recently performed a surgical procedure on both of her eyes is that
correct?"

I went quiet. My heart was beating fast now. What was
this?
Aiyana
had told me she was keeping it a secret
from her husband. Why was he calling asking me that? Had she told him anyway?
Well since he already knew I figured I might as well tell the truth. "Yes.
That's correct," I said using a more normal tone to my voice. "I did
it for free," I said knowing that money was a huge concern in their lives.
"It didn't cost you a penny."

Aiyana's
husband chuckled in the other end. "See that is what I have trouble
understanding. When my wife told me that - I kept thinking but why? Who would
in their right mind do that kind of thing for free? No doctor I’ve ever met,
that's for sure." He paused and I heard him take a drag on a cigarette. He
exhaled heavily. "But I was thinking that maybe you could enlighten me on
that subject, Doctor. Is this pure charity on your account? Is it something you
do as a charity to all people with lesser means or is it just for my wife?
Because it is an awfully nice gesture, I have to say. Some might even call it
generous. And I do like generous people. I like them a lot. So what the little
Mrs. and I were thinking - well it was mostly me I guess - was that we would
like to repay you for your mighty nice gesture by inviting the sweet doctor to
a wonderful dinner here at our house. It won't be as fancy as you are probably
used to, but it will be a free dinner. Now who can say no to that, huh?"

"It is awfully kind of you, sir, but I really
don't think ..."

"Come by at six. You know the address."

Then he hung up.

I sat with the phone in
my hand for long while just staring at it, wondering what the heck was going
on. What was that all about? Michael had found out about the operation on his
own somehow and now wanted to punish
Aiyana
for going
behind his back. But why invite me to dinner? What could he possibly gain by
doing that? I was torn. On one hand I had no intentions of letting this man
boss me around and tell me to come to his house if I didn't want to. On the
other I was hugely concerned about
Aiyana
. What would
happen to her if I didn't show up? That husband of hers seemed out of control.
He wasn't trustworthy and I didn't like his tone of voice. It was
condescending. He was definitely up to something. I just couldn't - by the life
of me - figure out what.

Chapter 24

Aiyana
opened the door
to the small house when I rang the
doorbell. When she saw me she opened the screened door as well. I gave her the
bouquet of flowers I had bought on my way there since I didn't want to show up
empty-handed. I was nervous. Her beauty startled me and made it worse. She
looked gorgeous in a light red summer dress with yellow flowers. It was one of
those intense warm October Florida evenings when the humidity stuck to your
skin. The dampness on her dark skin glimmered in the sun. I had put on a nice
suit but was already sweating underneath and the sight of
Aiyana
made me sweat even more. Her hair was moving like waves in the ocean.

"You look
bea
..."
I said but she interrupted me.

"Don't let him hear you," she whispered.
"Don't compliment me."

She raised her eyes to mine. I smiled shy and flushed
slightly. Michael came out from behind her. She crouched at his presence. It
was the first time I saw him up close. Up until then I had only seen him once
shortly ten years ago and then later in
Aiyana's
memories. He was more handsome than I remembered. He hadn't aged much; he
looked like he was in his mid-twenties. His brown hair was long and thick, put
in a ponytail in his neck. He was unshaven, raw and muscular. The heat left
perspiration glittering on his dark skin. A set of deep brown eyes stared at
me. Then he smiled widely. "Flowers? Now isn't that nice?" He said.
Then he looked at
Aiyana
. "Don't just stand
there. Go and take the pretty flowers that the nice doctor brought for you and
put them in some water."

Aiyana
nodded with her head bowed. Then she reached out and grabbed the flowers. As
she did I noticed she had several bruises on the upper part of her arm.
Something snapped inside of me as I saw them.
Aiyana
didn't bruise easily. I knew that much. She had hardly shown any signs after
the encounter with the wild coyotes while I had been beaten up. Someone had to
have been really corporal with her to leave marks like that. Our eyes locked
for one second as she realized I saw the bruises. Then she walked back into the
house.

"Well don't just stand there. Come on in,
doctor," Michael said with a forced smile on his face. I swallowed hard to
restrain myself before I stepped inside.

"Dr.
Christian!" the scream came from the living room and I barely managed to
turn myself around to look in its direction before
Luyu
was jumping me with a small shriek.

"How
are
your
eyes
?"
I
asked
.

"Perfect, Dr.
Christian. I
can
see
everything
now
."

"
That's
good
."

Michael watched us. "Well what do you know? Even
my own daughter greets you more lovingly than she does me. That is truly
something," he said, smiling. "You have really made an impact on my
family. You must be a very special man."

I didn't answer. I hugged
Luyu
before I put her down. Then I turned to look at
Aiyana
in the kitchen. She took a bowl of salad and put it on the dinner table.
 
Her hands were shaking slightly. The
smell from the kitchen was incredible and for a few seconds I was taken back to
Aiyana's
childhood home where I ate and danced and
played the guitar ten years ago. The enchanted memory made me smile, my eyes
still fixed on
Aiyana
. I missed playing my guitar and
having music in my life. I hadn't played since the day I had realized that
Aiyana
was actually going to marry someone else. I put away
the guitar and never picked it up again. Since Heather hadn't cared much about
music, we never listened to any in the house. I wondered how I could so easily
have forgotten about something this important in my life. How did this happen?

When I returned to reality I saw Michael looking at me
with his arm crossed. I was still staring at
Aiyana
.
I chuckled nervously.

"Need any help in the kitchen?" I asked.

Michael shook his head and walked closer. He grabbed
my shoulder and held it firmly. "
Aiyana
is a
wonderful cook. She doesn't need us to mess it all up," he said.
"Come. Let's drink."

He led me into the living room where he handed me a
glass of whiskey. A door was open to one of the bedrooms where I spotted two
dog-cages. Michael closed the door. "Trying to sell them. I used to have
dogs," he said. "Pit Bull Terriers."

"What happened to them?" I asked.

"I had to have them put down. Bothered some of
the neighbors apparently. Bit a lady and she complained to the police. She
probably had it coming, but anyway I had to have it done. Too expensive anyway,
to feed big animals like that. And you can't trust them either." Then he looked
at
Aiyana
working in the kitchen. "Big animals
like that might all of a sudden turn on you when you aren't looking."
Michael paused and stared into the air. Then he smiled as if he suddenly
remembered that he had a guest. "Anyway. Let's drink." He pushed my
glass closer to me.

"I don't really drink," I said. "Not
since my wife ..."

"
Ahh
, that's
right," he interrupted me. Then drank from his glass. "She left you
didn't she?" he continued once he had swallowed the drink.

I nodded. "Just recently. She had a drinking
problem, so that's why ..."