“Miss, as I told you yesterday I really can’t tell you anything about him. He will let you know who he is when he is ready, until then you have to receive all the packages.”
“Okay then.”
“There is one other thing I was supposed to ask you today.”
“Are you happy?”
“What?”
“He wants to know if you are happy.”
“You can tell him that I am not happy, I am sick of all the secrecy and the gifts, I can’t be bought.”
“Miss I know this must be hard for you, but the way this guy feels about you is really special, he has never did anything like this in his life and I think he has been waiting all his life for you.”
“All his life, how old is he?”
“What?”
“I said how old is he?”
“What does that matter?”
“I really hope he is not some old weird guy that’s trying to buy younger girl affections.”
“Miss, he is most certainly not an old weird guy.”
“Now I really have to go, I do have other deliveries you know besides you.”
After I watch the man leave I go back into the house. I lock the door behind me and take a seat up at the kitchen. I put the box on the counter then start unwrapping the outer packaging. I slip off the cellophane wrapping to reveal a box. It is very clear to see what he has given me. A Blackberry, as I open the box I discover inside there is a little white envelope just like the ones on the flowers. Inside there is a note which reads,
“I don’t have your telephone number so here is a phone that only I have the number for please wait for my call.”
I take out the white phone from the box to see that the phone is on. I begin to search through the phone, to see if there are any more clues as to who this is. I look in the messages but there is none. I look through the contacts but also there is none. There are no pictures, no emails no nothing on this phone; it is just a blank canvas. I lean back in my chair still not really taking all this in. It was hard enough to accept when it was, flowers and jewelry I was receiving, but now that this man has sent me a phone, I begin to think that this is getting more serious.
I try to do a few things around the house to distract myself from checking the phone every few minutes. I have already cleaned the kitchen and the living room. It is only after one, so I grab my purse and of course my new phone and head out the door. I make sure I lock the door behind me, still with that feeling of uneasiness.
I take a drive along the coastal route and park my car halfway along the beach. Whenever I feel like I need to think, this is always where I find myself ending up. I walk along the beach looking out at the water. As I gaze at the open sea, I feel immediately a sense of calm. I make my way further along the beach to the little white hut that sells cold refreshments. In the cold bitterness of winter, I decide to get a hot latte and a cinnamon waffle. I sit down at the nearest bench, next to an older woman she is sitting alone with a little black dog at her feet. Her face seems emotional as she stares out at the sea. I feel that maybe I am making her feel uneasy so I turn away and begin to eat my waffle. Somehow, I feel drawn to this woman, I do not really know what it is, but I feel like maybe she is familiar to me. I pick up courage and turn to face her.
“Excuse me mam, are you okay?”
The woman turns to look at me but does not answer, so I decide to take a different approach I say.
“I just love the sea don’t you?”
The woman looks again but still no answer.
“Do you come here a lot? I always seem to find myself here whenever I have something on my mind, is there anything on your mind mam?”
“I only come here when I need to think back,” she says in a rough voice.
“Do you want to talk?” I ask moving a little closer.
“No!” “You are just like him, always talking shut up go away, leave me alone!”
I jump up in surprise, I walk away but I glance back to her she really looks familiar but I just cannot place her anywhere.
Driving home, I turn up the radio so loud I cannot hear myself think. However, after the day I have had, that is really all I want just now not to hear my thoughts. For they will be overtaken by the looming phone call I am so impatiently waiting for. As the car comes to halt at the red light, I take a glance in my rear view mirror. What is that? No it could not possibly be. I turn my head around, and gaze out the back window of the car and yes, what I see is what I thought, it is a black Lamborghini. I pause and think is this man following me? Am I in danger? As the light flashes to green, I push my foot down as far as it will go on the gas pedal. I try my best to dodge my way through the mid-afternoon traffic, all the while keeping one eye on the black shiny car that is I getting ever so close to me now. I just manage to catch the next light but the car behind does not. I whizz around the streets and start to go up the hill, if make a left turn here I can take a shortcut to my house. I make the turn and there it is my little brownstone cottage style house with a white picket fence and red blossoming roses climbing up the outer walls. My house is a little tired looking but certainly, that is part of its charm. I pull into the drive and Sophie’s car is not here. So as quickly, as my feet will carry me I run into the house, lock the door and breathe a sigh of relief.