This Side of the Sun (The Sun Trilogy) (8 page)

As I sat in Saul’s truck, the engine on and CD playing softly, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. I was exhausted, likely from the stress of the past hours and days. It was hard to keep the images of the explosion out of my head. The reality of how many people had died began to sink in and knowing that the baby Saul had saved was now
gone from the world was nearly too much to bear. I was unable to fathom why a life had been taken so young. I willed my breathing to slow.

I was startled when the truck door finally opened.

“Hey, easy, it’s just me,” said Saul with a worried look.

I nodded. He stepped into the cab and sat beside me. Just after shutting his door he turned to face me and enveloped my hand in his.

“You father wants me to take you home so he can talk to you.”

“Saul, no…”

“Shhh. Just listen. I told him I’d leave it up to you.”

“I can’t deal with him right now.”

I looked him in the eyes.

“I understand, Hattie. I do. You have enough to deal with as it is.”

“None of them were there. They don’t understand. Please, can I come home with you tonight?”

“Of course you can,” he said as he leaned forward and kissed me gently on the lips. His smell was intoxicating. “We’ll grab some take-out on the way. Is Chinese okay?”

“Sure,” I breathed against his cheek. “Anything’s fine as long as I’m with you tonight.”

***

We drove for several minutes not talking. It was an unusually comfortable silence. After a while Saul slowed the truck and pulled into a small parking lot. It was a red building with bright yellow trim that looked like at one time it had been a fast food joint, complete with an old drive-up window. The sign out front read
The Peking Duck
.

“Best Chinese in town, I hear,” said Saul with a little smile.

I looked at him sideways and he chuckled. “What’s funny?”

He kissed my cheek. “Just a bad joke. It’s the only Chinese place in town.” He winked at me and his smile grew.

“Oh God,” I moaned, exaggerating despair. “Don’t tell me you’re a dork.”

“Without a doubt, I am,” he laughed again.

“I like your laugh,” I said, more seriously.

“And I like you,” he returned. “Do you want to wait here or come in with me?” he asked.

“I’ll come with.”

“
Alrighty then. Let’s go get ‘er done.”

“Dork,” I said under my breath, teasing him.

“You know it,” he whispered back, into my ear. His breath sent shivers up my arms.

We both climbed out of the truck and stretched before going into the restaurant. As we met at the rear of his truck, he took my hand in his. We walked hand-in-hand to the door, which he held open for me.

“You don’t have to hold it open,” I said.

“I know, but if I didn’t I’d feel like a louse.”

We walked to the counter together.

“Two for dinner today?” asked a young host.

“We’re actually picking up an order for Meyers,” said my companion.

I looked at him slyly. “When did you call it in?”

“Oh, back at the steakhouse just before I left.”

“Clever man.”

“Nah, just a dork,” he said, flashing his smile at me again.

The host walked to the kitchen and returned with t
wo plastic sacks. “That’ll be $26.12.”

Saul pulled out his wallet and counted through some cash.

“Saul, let me pay for half?” I asked.

He stopped leafing through the bills and looked at me for a moment as if he were deep in thought. He shook his head side to side just twice and continued. Pulling out two
bills, he handed them to the host.

“Keep the change, man.”

“Thank you, and enjoy your meal,” said the man.

I brushed a couple of loose hairs behind my ear and took one of the two bags when Saul handed it to me.

Once we were through the doors and back outside, Saul spoke. “Thanks for offering to pay, but not on this date, okay?”

I looked over to him and nodded. “Okay.”

“Let’s get this home before it gets cold.”

I smiled and walked with him to the truck. We set the two sacks between us and started on the road again.

“Smells good,” I said. “What did you order?”

“Wonton soup, fried rice, and Mongolian chicken.”

“Yum.”

“I should have asked if you like it
spicy.”

“I’m sure I can handle it.”

He glanced sideways at me and grinned.

***

The rest of the drive went by quickly. I carried my purse to the door while he took both sacks of Chinese food. The smell in the truck had driven my stomach wild, and it was now growling with hunger. Sitting beside Saul had made me hunger in other ways. I waited patiently as he unlocked the front door, and followed him inside. The house was much brighter than the last time I had been there. Curtains were open and it felt welcoming.

“Do you want to eat in the kitchen or living room?”

“It doesn’t matter,” I answered. “Either one.”

“It’s chilly in here. How about I light a quick fire and we can have a picnic in the living room?”

“Sounds great.”

“Mind throwing a blanket on the floor and setting the food out?” he asked me.

“Sure.”

He closed the front door and walked over to me,
standing close. He leaned down and rubbed the tip of his nose against my cheek. My entire body began to relax from the simple gesture. As I began to close my eyes, he slid the plastic bags of food into my hands.

“Let’s hurry. I’m starving,” he whispered.
I wondered if his words held a secret meaning.

Soon the fire was lit and the blanket spread. We sat across from each other with our legs crossed, eating straight from the containers, using chop sticks. I hadn’t had much of an appetite since the explosion and it felt good to indulge.

“How is it?” Saul asked me.

“Good,” I said after swallowing a bite of Mongolian chicken. “But it’s gonna leave behind some serious onion breath.”

“I suppose it’s a good thing I like onions then,” he said with a chuckle.

“I like you, Saul. You’re funny.”

“I try my best,” he said as he set his chopsticks down on a napkin. “And I like you too.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course. Anything.”

“Was it wrong of me? To leave dinner?”

He leaned back, resting on his arms, and uncrossed his legs. “I think right now, whatever you need to do for yourself is the right thing. Within reason, of course. You’ve been through a really horrific experience, and it’s just gonna take time.”

The fire was warming the room
finally. I set my own chopsticks down and closed the container of chicken, setting it aside.

“Looks like there’s leftovers,” I said.

“We can have them tomorrow. I’ll go toss ’em in the fridge.”

“Want me to do that?” I asked.

“Nah, I need to change my shirt anyway. Dropped Mongolian on it.”

He stood and gathered the food containers and left the room. I
stood and walked to a wall that housed a bank of bookshelves. Some held books, all hard bound, and others held framed photos and a few odds-n-ends. The room had begun to grow darker with evening approaching and shadows were creeping into the corners. The firelight was soothing. I turned when I heard Saul returning from the kitchen.

“Hey,” I whispered.

“Hey yourself. I brought some wine in if you want some?”

He held out two cobalt blue wine glasses and a bottle of red wine. I wasn't a big
wine drinker, but after the surprise appearance of my father and his wife, I nodded my head. He walked to the coffee table, where he poured each glass about half full.

“Nice shirt,” I said.

He had come back wearing a button-up in vertical yellow and gray stripes. I turned back to the photos on his shelves. One of them in particular was of an older man and a young boy holding fishing poles. The boy held a fishing string with five trout, all of them on the small side. The older man had an arm around him and both were grinning.

I could sense Saul standing behind me.

“Is that you?” I asked.

“Uh-huh. I was oh…
maybe nine years old there? And that was my Pops: my grandpa. He used to take me fishing every summer. Just me and him.”

“He loved you,” I said absently.

“The feeling was mutual.”

“This was his place?”

“Yup. He died last year. My sister and I were probably the only ones who ever went to visit him once he went senile. His own kids put him in a group home, but the staff said no one else ever came to visit except me and Lina. I would have come to live with him here instead of putting him in that home, but my aunt and uncle refused.” He sighed heavily. “They trumped me in ‘next of kin’ order.”

“And in the end he willed the place to you?”

“Yeah. He left it all to me and my sister. The house, the land, and what money was left. Oh man, the looks on their faces when the attorney read the will.”

“Sounds like you
were good to him, Saul.”

“I’d give it all back to have him here again. Grandpa Perry was the greatest guy. Kind, gentle, and funny as heck. When my own folks passed away I was only twenty. He was the only one who helped me out. I was an adult according to the rest of the family, so should be able to fend for myself. The truth is I was a mess. My sister was just sixteen, but they had the same opinion there. Pops left her enough money for college, so she headed to the East Coast as soon as she was able to access her part of the trust when she turned twenty this year.”

I turned to face him and took the glass of wine that he held out. “Do you think she’ll ever come home?” I asked.

He shrugged. “It’s hard to say. Our parents dying was hard on us both, but especially her. I fly back to Virginia a couple times a year to check on her.”

“Mind if I ask how your parents died?” I took a sip of the wine and found it to be unexpectedly smooth and palatable.

He took my free hand in his and led me to the couch, where we both sat. I situated myself sideways to face him and drew my feet up underneath myself.

“It was an airplane crash. My dad was a pilot. Small aircraft. They were flying up in Alaska for their anniversary and the plane went down. The mayday tapes mentioned engine trouble.”

“God, I’m so sorry.” I placed a hand on his thigh.

He took a drink of wine and hung his head. “They were good people, like my grandpa. They lived good lives. I’m glad for that.”

He set his hand on top of mine and we sat quietly while staring at the fire. The sun was setting in earnest.

“How’d you find out about the baby?” I asked, breaking the silence.

“I went over to the hospital to ask about her. There was a news crew there. I guess I just felt a need to check on the little one.”

“I was thinking,” I said after taking a drink of the wine. “If you would have gotten to the baby first, instead of me, maybe she would have lived.”

“You know who lives and who dies isn’t in our control, Hattie.”

I looked down at my lap and nodded. “But she was just a tiny baby. What am I in this world? Just some…nobody.”

“No, never say that. You’re so much more than you think.”

I finished my wine in one long drink, the warming sensation it left going down my throat a bit unnerving. Saul held his arms out to signal me closer, and I leaned over so that he could hold me. His arm around me was heavy and warm. I yawned, feeling the wine begin to weave its wicked little grip around me.

“Is it okay if I stay tonight?”

“More than okay. If it were up to me I might just keep you around for a long time.”

He moved a bit so that he could easily lean down to kiss me. His lips felt hot on mine and his kiss tasted of sweet wine.

“I’m sorry you had to hear about the baby like you did,” he breathed. “But even more than that, I’m sorry you’re hurting so much.”

Before I could respond his mouth found mine once again and he kissed me with passion. His hands gently slid my sweater down over my shoulders and as our kissing mutually deepened, I shrugged the sweater off. His hands were gentle in discovering my bare skin, as my layered tank tops did little to cover much of me. Not meaning to, I whimpered into him as he moved his mouth to my neck.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice gentle and full of concern.

“Yeah. It just feels good,” I said. His mouth began to explore my skin and as he tasted me with his warm tongue, I continued. “Really good.”

“Let me make it feel even better?” he groaned.

His hands found their way up my shirts and he reached around to unhook my bra. I leaned forward to make it easier, and quickly he was helping me remove all my layers. He buried his face between my breasts and his hot breath nearly made me melt.