The Principle Of Chance (18 page)

Monica felt like an outsider; the
two lovebirds were ignoring each other. Her brother was blind, she decided and
needed to wake up.

After
they finished with coffee, Amy popped into Frank’s to run through the finalised
contracts. She found Frank reading some papers. He was pleased to see Amy and
offered her a late night drink.

Whilst Frank was reading the
contracts, Amy paced up and down the room answering Frank’s questions. She
stopped by a desk noticing a large envelope on the carpet. She picked it up to
place it on the desk.

‘Perfect, I will sign them later and
they can be distributed.’ Amy had done an excellent job, Frank knew she would.

‘This was on the carpet Frank.’ Amy
offered Frank the large envelope.

‘The damn envelope!’ Frank swore
aloud. It was too late; he watched its contents tumble out in front of him onto
the carpet.

‘Oh I am sorry! Let me pick these
up.’

‘No! Amy!’ He shouted, but Amy’s
photos were already scattered around on the carpet.

Amy saw the agony in Frank’s eyes.
What had happened to Frank to burst out like that? Then, she followed his gaze,
she saw the photos, - of
herself
.

‘You
do
want to explain
Frank, why you have an envelope full of
my
photos?’ She said with a cold
tone as she picked up a picture of her father. ‘This is my dad!’

‘It isn’t what you think Amy!’ He said
taking a deep breath. ‘It’s even worse!’

‘What? I don’t understand? Did you
hire a detective to get the lowdown on me, and
my
family?’

‘Yes, I did! I am sorry. Let me
explain!’ Frank was fully prepared for Amy to run out of the room, but she sat
down, folding her arms across her chest.

‘I am listening Frank!’

Frank offered Amy a drink. ‘You
might need this.’

‘Yes
I do need a strong drink.’

‘I will start in the middle.’ He
cleared his throat. ‘Amy, you are my Great Niece!’

Amy nearly let go of her drink.
‘What?’ Talk about dropping a bombshell. ‘Frank you are kidding, right?!’

‘No, I’m not Amy, this
is
an
important business. It means a lot to me, I want you to try to understand, -
please listen …’ He started by telling Amy the story of his life.

Amy sipped her drink and gradually
calmed down, she listened in awe; this was some story! Frank talked for a long
time, he knew so much about Amy and her parents and she had so little
knowledge. Amy’s father didn’t like to talk about his past, anytime she asked,
he changed the subject.

‘Frank, why didn’t you contact my
father?’

‘I didn’t want to interfere in your
lives Amy! What could I say? Here I am, Louie, I am your uncle?’

‘You could’ve said that!’

‘Your father had his life under
control; he had a well-paid job, a good wife and had you.’

‘You,….. I can’t believe this, it’s
too bizarre.’

‘Amy, please let me tell you ….!’

‘They died Frank, I was left alone.
Why didn’t you contact me?’

‘I watched you from a distance. You
were perfect. You knew what you wanted and got it. I was very proud of you. The
last thing you needed was me knocking on your door.’

Amy listened to his explanations.
Frank was right. She was ok. She was shattered when her parents died but she
had her career and her work kept her going.

‘Why did you look for me now?’

‘Old age kid!’ He tried to crack a
smile. ‘I don’t have an answer for you Amy, but I am glad I did!’

‘I need to go Frank, you understand
right?’ She stood in front of him, looking into his sad eyes wishing this
was
a dream. She’d got used to being around Frank, she loved every moment of it,
he’d shown Amy a new way of life.

‘Whatever happens Amy, I want you to
know that you mean a lot to me, I care about you like I never cared about
anyone. I screwed this up big time, but I have no regrets sending in my private
eye. Apart from one, you are right, I should’ve contacted you years ago.’

‘Oh Frank, …’ Amy’s eyes filled up
with tears, she looked at him sadly and rushed out of the room.

She saw Justin coming up the stairs,
when he reached her she burst into tears.

****

‘I didn’t know I had this effect on
you Amy? What happened?’

‘You are funny Justin,….’

‘Ok, bad move. Why the tears?’ He
could not imagine what had upset Amy so much. ‘Whatever it is, it will look a
lot better in the morning!’ He said, stopping in front of her suite.

‘Maybe.’ She opened the door but
didn’t go inside. ‘You want to come in?’

‘I thought you’d never ask!’ Amy
stopped crying, went into her bedroom and sat down on the bed.

‘Drink this.’ Justin came in with a
glass of something.

‘What is it?’ She pulled herself up
on the pillows.

‘Gin and tonic.’ He sat down next to
her on the bed.

‘You want to tell me?’

‘No.’

‘Then
don’t.’

‘I do, you probably know this
anyway!’

‘Sounds interesting, I know something
made you cry?!’

‘I need a cigarette.’

Justin searched for her cigarettes
on the bedside table. Amy had a bad habit, but she didn’t need
him
to
tell her that. She lit a cigarette and began to tell Justin her life story!

Justin was a good listener, he
didn’t interrupt Amy; he just sat next to her and kept topping up her drink.

She gradually understood that Frank
was right; she would’ve done the same – kept away. Amy and her parents were
happy. Her father was a proud man. He undoubtedly would’ve shut the door on
Frank. What did she know about her parents?

Her father was born in Hungary but
he’d never told her why he left the country. He never spoke of his family or
past.

‘This is my unbelievable life story
Justin. Did you know?’   

Justin
was stunned; Frank was a dark horse! ‘No Amy, I didn’t. I am as shocked as you
are.’ He replied.

‘I thought Frank would’ve told you.’

‘Not this one, it was his secret and
a highly guarded one.’ It was a blow of discovery for Justin. He had a feeling
Frank’s life would never be the same again after this trip.

‘I don’t know what to do Justin,
things like this don’t happen every day.’

‘Amy I appreciate you telling me…’

‘You happened to be there, on the
stairs….’

‘Just like that, I was at hand?!’

‘You know what I mean…. ’ She moved
closer to him.

He felt a sudden rush of emotions.
He reached out to pull her closer. She didn’t object. He tilted his head and
kissed her gently.

‘I can’t control myself when you are
near me.’ He said huskily. ‘I can’t help it and I’m not even sorry!’ 

Amy, fighting with her own feelings,
didn’t answer. They had been playing this game for a long time. Who was she
kidding? She wanted Justin.

Justin felt Amy’s body relaxing as
he gathered her into his arms. Amy felt her body setting on fire. Justin was
gently removing her top.

‘Don’t stop now.’ She whispered.

‘I won’t, I waited too long for
this!’ His hands were exploring Amy’s body.

‘You are pressing the right buttons
...’ She helped him to remove his jeans.

‘Don’t!’ He held her arm down. ‘Let
me.’ 

‘Do you have a …’ She asked
nervously.

‘I do.’

She was beautiful, soft and sweet.
Justin appreciated every move and every touch. He had waited a very long time
for a girl like Amy.

Chapter Twenty
Three

Frank was the first down for breakfast
the next morning. There was nobody around. He picked up the morning papers, the
butler served up fresh coffee and pastries – then left quietly.

He couldn’t believe what a crazy
thing had happened last night. Amy must be hurt and will probably leave.

The problem was out of his control.
So he screwed up! When he finally thought he was getting somewhere, it all came
to a halt. What a shame that Amy had to find out this way. 

‘It can’t be that bad Frank.’ Jack
walked through the door looking pleased.

‘It is that bad! Amy knows!’ He
said, taking a sip of coffee.

‘She does?!’

‘Yes, found out last night!’

‘Wasn’t your choice – I imagine?’

‘Never mind, I will sort it out, but
you look like you had a good night.’

‘I have had a good night…. sleep,
before you go any further.’ He helped himself to a glass of orange juice.

Frank was pacing up and down
restlessly. ‘What a gorgeous morning.’ He stopped in front of a window to
admire the calm winter scene.

‘I remember when I was young … waking
up many times in the morning in our old, cold cottage. The windows were frosty
and the water was frozen in the bucket as there was no inside tap. The kitchen
didn’t have a floor - it was black soil. I slept in a double bed with my
sisters and brothers, six or seven of us - at least we kept each other warm.’

Something must've happened last
night as Frank was obviously upset. Jack stopped reading, put the paper down
and dismissed the waiter who was ready to take his order.

‘I was only a small boy but every
day I worked in the fields to help my parents with my brothers and sisters. We
needed food and provisions for winter. It was hard. At Christmas we didn’t get
special presents but we were grateful for warm food. My mother, she was a
fragile woman, she did make some little presents for us. I remember my sister
got a doll made from a wooden spoon and had straw hair. My father made me shoes
out of wood. Now I screwed up, the family I hoped for slipped away.’ He turned
around and stopped as he saw Amy standing next to Jack.

‘I didn’t want to interrupt Frank. I
hope you don’t mind.’ She said, looking sincere.

‘Amy, you are here!’

‘Where else would I be?’ Amy walked
up to Frank and gave him a hug.

Frank was frozen to the ground. He didn’t
dare move in case she let go of him.

‘I know that my father emigrated
with his family to America when he was a child. His parents died after he
married my mother and that’s all I know!’

‘I thought you knew?’ Frank asked
surprised.

‘Good morning to you all, early
birds!’ Justin entered, looking fresh in his tight jeans and shirt, Amy was
quick to notice.

‘You will find Monica on the set
already - if I’m not mistaken.’ Frank said, quickly composing himself.

‘I know, just been there. She
ordered some fresh coffee and breakfast.’ The atmosphere didn’t escape Justin,
it was definitely frosty. He’d stepped into the middle of an important
conversation.

‘That woman never sleeps.’ Jack was
engrossed in his paper.

‘How would you know that Uncle
Jack?’ Justin asked testily.

‘Uncle Jack – hey?’ Jack surveyed
Justin. ‘If I didn’t know you better I would give you a word of advice.’

‘Don’t get involved.’ Amy said,
joining them at the table.

Justin watched Amy and couldn’t
decide if he should go over to her for a kiss. There was something going on
here.

‘You look lovely this morning.’ He
said.

‘You don’t look bad yourself.’ She
returned the compliment.

‘Oh for God’s sake give her that
kiss Justin.’ Frank interrupted the pleasantries. ‘You two seem to think just
because we are old we are also blind.’

Justin was already standing next to
Amy. ‘If you insist and she lets me…’

‘You taste even better this morning
than last night Amy.’ He whispered and kissed her softly.

‘All right lovebirds, back to
reality. I believe all is going well Justin?’ Frank was back to business.

‘Yeah. We should finish in a day or
two here with Uncle Jack’s help - Monica says.’

‘I’ll be there when I can finally
finish my breakfast. People keep interrupting me.’ The waiter placed a large
plate of cold ham and cheese in front of Jack.

‘The dailies were good Justin. You
seem to hit the right notes with Monica.’ Frank said appreciatively.

‘Good to hear that Frank!’

‘I will stop by the set later today.
I have some important business to attend to this morning.’

‘I’ll join you Frank.’ Amy said.

‘I was hoping you would. How about,…
meet you in an hour in the hall? We’ll take a trip.’

‘Exactly what I wanted to do.’ Amy
replied smiling. ‘One question, Frank.’