Chapter 32

" Hey, Lennox. I happened to have been in one of the offices of this building earlier. What a beautiful coincidence!", She exclaimed cheerfully as she walked towards him. She was beaming as she walked to him.
" Oh, Hello, Hester. I didn't realize you'd seen me earlier".
" Yeah. I was off to deliver some files, you?"
" Business. I was discussing business with a client".
" Can I keep you company this afternoon?"
" I'm sorry, I might be very busy"
" What does it matter, mongrel?", She was grinning. " Please, give me a ride. I didn't come In my car", she said looking at him appealingly.
" It's okay", Lennox said hesitantly as she stepped into his car. He drove off, his destination her house.
"I want to spend the day with you, Lennox. I don't want to go home just yet. Don't take me home", she said. Her eyes looked from Lennox to the road and she was almost frantic as she urged him to veer off the road which led to her house.. for a while, Lennox was skeptical. What if something was wrong in her house? What if there was imminent danger?
"Everything okay?", He asked as he began to reverse the car. She nodded and repeated that she'd love to spend the remaining part of the day with her.
"It's nothing. I just want to spend the day with you. I know it's a working day but I'm not occupied and I'd like to make out with you", she said. The words were ostensible. Not an implication but a definite word. She wanted to have sex with him. He shook his head inwardly and rejected the thoughts.
" Hester, I wouldn't want you to get hurt in the end, I'm not sure I want any of this with you. The first time, I didn't say no. I wasn't selfish and so where you. Let's not continue, Hester", he said. He was choosing his words carefully. He didn't want to hurt her. He wouldn't want to . She began to shake her head.
"I'm not a teenager. I'm a full grown woman and I know what I Nnewant. For now. You ain't sure what you want yet. Maybe you want me as much as I want you��you just haven't come around to it, right?", She asked. Lennox was surprised. She'd misconstrued his words and he had an odd feeling she was trying to shove things down his throat.
"Hester, I didn't mean it that's way. Well, I'm just saying, not like you're not a pleasant young woman, I just don't want to jump into anything with you", he explained. Again, he feared that rejection might hurt her and so instead of being outrightly blunt and saying what he felt she needed to hear to keep her away from him, he played around with the words and she pretended not to get the message. The hint behind his words.
" Don't be ridiculous. No one's jumping into anything with anyone. We're grown people, Lennox. We know what we want. We shouldn't try to tell ourselves that we have no clue or we're unsure about what we want", she cajoled. She was sitting straight her legs crossed and her chin thrust out defiantly. Aristocratic cheek bones that she possessed. She was being petulant now and Lennox found that he was in a quagmire. A woman reluctant to leave him be was definitely a Quagmire.
"What if I told you that I have a girlfriend?"
He ventured. Not sure what the outcome of his words would be. Uncertain of his aim.
"Well, you're a cheat then. You cheated with me on her. How totally hilarious!"
She said viciously even though her eyes sparked and there was nothing remotely hilarious about her tone of voice. The thought enraged her and she wasn't trying too hard to keep her sudden anger in check.
"Well, what if I did and I only had a one time affair with you?" Lennox maintained. He turned briefly and saw the look of disappointment and disgust in her eyes. In his heart, it had been a one time affair that he had no desire of repeating but perhaps, she'd built a sort of emotional rapport with him and wanted more than he wanted to give.
"Well, i do want more than just a one time thing with you, maybe you don't want it too_" Lennox cut her short. He was tired of hearing her say the word.
" I'm certain, Hester, I know what I want and trust me, I don't think it's gonna work between us. You have to stop trying to force things. There's not going to be anything serious between us", he said the last word with a grimace. The same words he'd refrained from speaking, she was forcing out from him.
" It's okay, then", she said but didn't ask him to reverse the car and take her back home. She sat stiffly the rest of the way.
They arrived Lennox's apartment and he was at lost on what to do with her..she began to talk about the weather.
"It's amazing how the sands remain dry in Florida and people splash away in the pools and beaches while several other states are experiencing a toxic winter", she said, kicking off her shoes to massage her heels tenderly..
"True, that. It's amazing indeed", Lennox replied as he strolled to the fridge to grab her a drink.
She crossed her bare legs by the ankles and continued to stare ahead of her. At nothing In particular.
"The weather in Florida is amazing", she said as she received the drink without looking at Lennox "thank you", she said before taking it to her lips.
Lennox got a call from Hector soon afterwards.
"Man, I'm coming over. I got myself a puppy that I intend to show to you!", He said with boyish glee. Lennox laughed a bit before saying
" Alright, bring it, I'd love to see it. Maybe I could get one sometime too".
Hector arrived few minutes later. More like he was already on his way when he called. He was almost surprised to see Hester. He hadn't met her before.
" Hector, this is Hester Woodhouse, Hester, this is Hector. My bossom friend", Lennox Introduced. Hector grinned as he took Hester's hand in his for a brief handshake and thereafter complimented her good fashion sense. She nodded and pointed to the puppy he was straddling at one nook of his arm.
" Is that a Cavalier King Charles spaniel breed ?" She asked, stepping close to examine the puppy.
" No. It's um, a Papillon. I really like furry little ones like this ".
"I'd pick a Dogue De Bordeaux over all of these furry little things. This for one is way too sissy, Hector, don't you see that? You should gift it to Nora if she'd like to keep him", Lennox said.
" Wait, are you kidding me? You have a terrible taste for pets. Look at you picking a wild dog as a pet, man!", Hector was laughing as he plopped down on a chair. The puppy scrambled to the floor and looked on, wide eyed.
"Did you name it yet?", Lennox asked instead as he took a seat jus beside Hester
" Not yet. I've not come up with anything really beautiful".
"You want Nora to name it".
Lennox said matter of factly and Hector laughed as he started talking again.
Lennox ignored him and the Jibes he began to throw..soon, they were all talking about the weather, how beautiful it was, how they loved it. How they thanked God for giving so much sun and dryness to Florida. Hester chipped in tiny little intelligent takes and sipped her drink collectedly until she was set to leave. She didn't let Lennox see him off and she smiled lavishly at Hector as he kissed her hand good bye and complimented on her good choice of hairstyle and hair colour! Lennox rolled his eyes at Hector for what he considered an effort to be the ladies man when it was unnecessary.
"Do take care of your beautiful self, my dear Mrs. Woodhouse", Hector implored lovingly and she gushed with so much appreciation. Her face flushed with pleasure.
"Definitely, sir. Thanks, your company's been good".
She was gone soon and Lennox found himself alone with Hector alone.
"She's one hot woman, Lennox. She's brilliant too. What do you think of her? Wanna get into a relationship?"
"On the contrary. I don't fancy the woman. I find I'm still very much attracted to Kimberly Foster and I should see her soon", Lennox said, startling Hector.
" You're still much into her? Thought the lady didn't want anything with you? Man, you really shouldn't think about her if she doesn't want you to, c'mon".
" She didn't particularly say anything"
" Well she ghosted you!"
" I asked you to call her, you did, and now suddenly, you want me to not think about her?"
"That's not what I'm saying, man. All I'm saying is, if she really doesn't want you, then you shouldn't force it".
"Think I'm forcing things? Well, I've not called her for a while now. I stopped calling her. Maybe, she too has to be able to think straight without having me to bother her", Lennox said dejectedly.
Hector fell silent. They talked about abstract things the rest of the time Hector was there until he eventually left.
Kim woke up with a throbbing headache and a sense of Malaise. She heaved herself off the bed and sauntered into the kitchen. Her throat was dry and parched despite the freezing cold out. She took a few gulps of tepid water from her water flask and took a chair to sit close to the fireplace. She sat facing it, watching the little ebullient flames sparkle while she was lost in a tide of worried thoughts. She held out her cellphone and watched it impassively for a while before dialing the Pattersons. Mr. Patterson picked up .
"Good morning Mr Patterson, how're you and how is your wife doing?" She asked the moment the phone was picked up.
"She's doing good but she's not totally recoverd. The doctor said she would be discharged tomorrow", Mr Patterson replied. The edginess and fear was gone from his voice and in it's place was a relaxed and confident tone of voice.
"Okay. I'll stop by the hospital later and see her. Poor Mrs Patterson", Kim said. She felt genuinely sorry and had felt some sense of embarrassment at seeing an old lady fall but she couldn't help it.
" That's fine. How are you, Kim? Hope you slept well", Mr Patterson asked. He was concerned about her and it warmed her !
"yeah, I did. I reckon you didn't have much sleep yourself, right?", Kimberly asked.
" Ah, yes. I spent the night at the hospital. I was worried sick", he confided.
" I'm glad you're okay now. I'm glad Mrs Patterson's going to be discharged tomorrow. You needn't worry anymore".
" Yeah. My son stopped by too. He came into town a little before midnight and he's still around. I figure he'll stay until tomorrow".
" Oh. That's nice of him".
" Yeah ".
" Do have a good day. I'll see you later".
Kimberly hung up. As she lifted her hands to her throbbing temple to massage gently, a call came in. It was Tessy's.
" Kim, how're you?", She asked groggily.
" I'm okay, Tess. You?"
" I'm good too".
" What's up?", Kim asked when she sensed a reluctance to continue the conversation on Tessy's part.
" Well, I'm in Los Angeles. Joe's not recovered yet. His girlfriend isn't in the country at the moment and I feel sad for him. He's terribly battered. The doctor said he might experiencing a mild case of concussions when he's conscious. He didn't just have fractures, he did hit his head badly", Tessy explained. Kim digested the message slowly and sighed. Everything seemed to be happening at the same time. Bad things all happening at once.
" Joe's gonna be fine, Tess. Mrs Patterson slipped on a drop of vegetable oil and was taken to the hospital just yesterday. I was there, Tess. I witnessed it. She was running around fixing me cookies and readying dinner. I felt horrible, Tess".
" Oh no, poor Mrs Patterson. She's gonna be fine, you shouldn't worry, okay?"
" I called and her husband said she'll be discharged tomorrow. I'm not as worried��I just feel horrible. Every damn thing happening now is terrible".
" Oh, no. It isn't your fault, honey. Don't worry. Everything is gonna be okay, cheer up!", Tess encouraged. Her voice had suddenly taken it's usual blithesome nature and warmed Kimberly like it always did.
" You too. You shouldn't worry over a thing��" she paused for a second and said
" Maybe I should attend church and pray, right?"
" You want to?"
" Yeah".
" Well, that'd be nice. I hope you enjoy church!"
" Thanks a lot, Tess, have a good day".
By the time Kim ended the call, she was refreshed. Her sobriety promptly replaced by a new sense of relief and hope. She would go to church on Sunday and pray. She would endeavor to pray for Mrs Patterson's total recovery, Joe's too and maybe for her dad. She felt an odd sense of fear for him even though his doctor had assured them of his wellness_if he rested more and took his medication serious.
At church, Kim stared more than prayed and worshipped. She liked the fine baritone voice of the preacher and the melodious singing of the choir. She sat next to a woman whose bouffant suit made look bigger than her actual petite frame. She liked how the woman sang the worship raising both her arms up to the heavens. In all, she seemed to like most of the laities. After service, a few members of the church said Hello to her starting with the lady that sat next to her.
"I'm Cindy Patrick, dear, what's your name?"
"I'm Kimberly Foster. Nice to meet you, ma'am".
"Oh call me Cindy. I really do like you, Kimberly. First time at church?"
"Not really. My nanny used to take me to church when I was little and I used to like it then. I guess I grew up and didn't have interest in a lot of things anymore".
" Oh dear. I'm glad you've found your way back to the right path. It's nice seeing new faces here in Church. Here, we are not ashamed to proselytize the message of Christ!", Cindy said. She emitted so much strength that her petite frame shook. She looked to be in her mid fifties and a few tendrils of grey hair peeked out from under her large hat. Her eyebrows were meticulously groomed and her nails polished to a bright sparkle.
"It was nice being in church again", Kimberly said. From her conversation with Cindy, she found that Cindy was a widow with an only child. A son who lived in Toronto. First working as a disc jockey and then as an impresario. It impressed Kim to know. In the end, she got an invitation to dinner by Cindy and she accepted because she'd taken a liking to her.
She left church feeling almost excited that she'd made a new friend.
Hailey reported for work the next day with a broken lip. She couldn't conceal it with a bright rouge of lipstick and the first thing Kim noticed was the split lip.
"Hello, Kimberly. Good morning" , she greeted. This time she didn't force a painful smile . She simply spoke as well as the bloated lip could allow and Kim couldn't help her surprise.
"Hello. What happened to you again, Hailey?", Kim asked as she let Hailey In .
"It's nothing serious, ma'am. I just had a small accident", she said insouciantly.
" Well, how do you keep having accidents? Hailey, someone is abusing you for hell's sakes", she exploded. Hailey stared at her incredulously.
"I told, you. It's an accident. I wasn't abused by anyone", she said collectedly.
Kim began to argue again and then decided against it. Kim peeked up at her over and over again as they sat in the office. Talking few times, she discussing things that she felt might be necessary for all Hailey had to take care of.