Seventeen
“What am I doing here?” Rachel said to reflection in the bathroom mirror. It had seemed harmless enough when she asked him dinner. She thought he was a nice to spend time and they had fun together. She’d never told either man about the other. Really there was nothing to tell.
Her and Curtis had only been on a few dates. That wasn’t really dating. Dating implied some kind of steady relationship. Theirs was more of a strong friendship.
Besides any feelings she may have for him could not compensate for their radically different worldviews. She smoothed down her blouse and went back to the table.
Drew walked around and pulled out her chair. He’d been extra attentive this evening and she was glad that she’d given him a second chance.
“The server was just out with the dessert tray. I told her you’d be back in a minute.”
“Thank you.” She placed her napkin across her lap. “Are you getting something?”
“The pie a la mode looked really good.”
“How in the world can you eat ice cream now?”
“You cold? You could use my jacket.”
“I’m fine. I have my sweater but it’s so cold outside I couldn’t even think of having ice cream.”
“Would you like to see the desserts?”
Drew looked at Rachel as he ordered. “I’ll have the pie a la mode. And could I have coffee?”
“Sure. And you ma’am?”
“What do you have chocolate?”
“We have brownie a la mode, dark chocolate lava cake with Raspberry sauce -.”
“I’ll have that.” She jumped in.
“I’ll be out in a moment with your desserts.”
They sat in silence Rachel sipping on her coffee and Drew his Pepsi. The restaurant was fairly dark with three small chandeliers casting a soft glow over the tables directly below. The rest relied almost entirely on the oil lamp on the side of the table.
They served the desserts. Both were much larger than Rachel had expected them to be.
Drew cut down in to his as if he hadn’t eaten an entire meal with appetizer. Which he had. “I’m glad you agreed to see me again.” He squeezed in between bites of pie dripping with white ice cream.
She nodded, not quite sure what to say. You’re welcome sounded ridiculous but that was the only answer that popped in her head. She picked off small nibbles with the corner of her fork. The chocolate melted in her mouth but her stomach pushed back when she tried to swallow.
“What’s wrong?” Drew asked after he’d wolfed down another bite.
“I guess my eyes were bigger than my stomach.”
“We’ll get it to go. You can come back to my place.”
When he said it her stomach squeezed in to a knot. Curtis’ face flashed in her mind. “Oh, I don’t know. I…”
“I rented a comedy. I was hoping you’d come see it with me.”
A comedy did sound nice. It was certainly better than going home and waiting to be tired enough to fall asleep. “That sounds fun.” She smiled. “I’ll follow you over.”
“Great. I don’t live far from here.”
Rachel had her dessert put in a to-go box and went out to her car. After she pulled out behind Drew she called Shannon.
“Hey, how was your date?” Shannon’s voice was up beat.
“It’s not over yet. I’m following him back to his place.”
“Nice, you will give me every detail tomorrow.” Shannon’s hunger to date Drew through Rachel bordered on nuts.
“Don’t know if there will be anything to tell.”
“Why?”
Rachel would have preferred a little less disappointment. “I don’t know how I feel for Drew. He just….it isn’t there.”
“Don’t you feel anything with him?”
“Sure, there is a bit of physical attraction like any woman has for a handsome man but all I do is compare him to Curtis.”
“Well, then go with it. Don’t tie up a great guy like that if you aren’t serious. But if I were you I’d stay tonight just to be sure.”
“That is so shallow. I will talk to you tomorrow.”
Rachel followed his car out to the edge of town and in to a new subdivision. She could make out homes under construction near the entrance and there were For Sale signs on the empty lots. Drew’s name was on most of the signs she passed as they wove their way to the back of the subdivision.
Drew turned on a gravel drive that led to a large cluster of trees. The moonlight splashed down on the roof of a two-story A frame home that was nearly in the trees. He turned in to the smaller driveway that went to the back of the house and parked the car. A floodlight clicked on illuminating the yard. There were flowerbeds along the house and hedges across the front, at least as far as she could see.
“You admiring my landscaping?” He walked back to her and put his arm around her.
“You certainly have a green thumb.”
“I put in perennials all along the sidewalks then bushes across the front. In the spring I put in a few annuals when I mulch the beds. It doesn’t take much time to do and makes the place look neater.”
“Oh I agree, if I didn’t have such a knack for killing plants I’d have some in my house.”
“I have a gazebo with a swing in the back. I spend a lot of time out there in the summer watching birds and squirrels in all of those trees.”
“This isn’t at all what I expected a single man’s house to be like.”
“I’m an outdoorsman. I don’t like being stuck in a house but I also don’t like looking at a bunch of grass. My grandparents taught me about plants and gardening brings back a lot of happy memories.”
“I thought you weren’t close to your family.”
He started to walk her around the back of his car. “The door is this way.” He took her down a sidewalk that went past a picture window and to the door on the side. “My grandparents are gone.” His voice was low, near a whisper. Rachel stilled her breathing to hear him. “They were good people. Others in my family weren’t. I don’t talk about, or to, them.”
He stepped in the back door and put his shoes on a black mat. “You can put your shoes here.” He pointed. She took hers off and set them on the same mat. He walked through the archway to the next room and turned on the light. His kitchen was neat, not a single dish or spoon was anywhere in sight. Even the towels hanging by the sink on a hook were neatly centered.
The colors were quite bold. She followed him through the house in to the living room. The walls were golden yellow with army green trim.
“Your couch looks like one I saw recently in a decorating magazine.”
“Oh yeah, which one?”
“I’m not sure. I get three or four different ones but I remember the light green couch because I was surprised a green couch would look so nice.” She walked around the corner. “Oh and look at this chair. This pattern really pulls out the green.”
The carpeting was plush and it felt inviting under her stocking feet.
“You’re house is absolutely beautiful.” She said when he walked in to the living room.
“Thank you. I like to have an oasis when I leave work.”
“Did you design all of this yourself?”
He handed her a drink. “No, one of the designers that worked at a parade of homes did some work on one of the models. Her name is Brenda Swartz. I was impressed so I asked her to design my place too.”
“She does great work.” Rachel walked in to the dining room and admired the shelves full of books and trinkets.
“Thank you.” His voice was deep, serious. It made Rachel catch her breath. “I’m really glad you like it.” He came up behind her, put the glass that was in her hand on the table and gently kissed the back of her neck. Rather than surrendering to his touch she thought of how secluded this house was. Guilt mixed with fear and she swallowed hard.
“I value things of beauty. When I find them I want to hold on to them.” He kissed her on the ear then down the back of her neck.
Rachel turned slowly to face him and he kissed her deeply. Fear melted away and she was sucked in to the moment. Her heart was no longer in control.
“You’re all I think about from the moment I wake up until I go to bed at night.” He spoke the words straight from a romance novel. “I’ve tried not to rush things but I need you.”
As if he anticipated her every desire he pulled her in close and kissed her gently. Every primal impulse raged through her body and all thoughts of Curtis vanished. She was here, in this moment. And in this moment every cell of her body screamed to give in to Drew.
He lifted her feet off the ground and carried her the few steps to the staircase. Her breathing quickened. It had been so long since she had a man find her desirable and clearly Drew found her desirable. She didn’t want this to be only physical.
“Are you looking for commitment or a physical relationship?”
He kissed her cheek then whispered in her ear. “I don’t care. I only want to have you. Whatever level of commitment you want.”
Oh she melted. This was much too soon to go this far. She was no virgin but she wasn’t easy either. What if this was all he wanted all along?
And what if Curtis finds out.
The thought crashed in her head. She stepped back from Drew, and sucked in a deep breath, fighting for control. What was she doing? He looked like a clown with her lipstick smeared all around his mouth. Her fingers running through his hair had made little spikes all over his head. His chest heaved, and he gulped in a deep breath as if he’d been running hard.
How did she let things get this far, this fast?
She slowed her breathing down even more. Her body calmed down a bit.
“What’s wrong?” Drew asked, as he ran a hand over his hair, smoothing it back. He reached out and took her wrist.
“I shouldn’t be here.” She looked away.
“You’re right, let’s go upstairs.”
“No I mean this…us…now. We are moving too fast.”
“Too fast? What, do you think I’m looking for a one night stand? I’d hardly say this relationship has moved fast.” He took a step toward her. Icy fingers of fear needled at her.
“Drew…I-.”
“What are you a tease?” He began to make large gestures with his arms as he spoke. “Did you think you’d come over and kiss for a while on the couch and I’d be fine with that?”
“Actually, I thought we were coming for a movie.”
“Oh come on Rachel.” He took another step to her, she took one more back. “You know that after a few dates when a person invites you over for a movie there is more implied.”
She bumped in to a wall. He continued to walk to her. The wild look she’d seen the first night was back and he was now inches away. He took her face in his hands and pressed his lips hard on her mouth.
Then he was calm.
“You are the most wonderful woman I’ve met.” He kissed her forehead and looked in her eyes. “If you want to watch the movie we can watch the movie.” He took her hand and walked back to the living room and picked up a DVD.
She followed him in the room. If she stayed was she safer than if she tried to leave? She couldn’t run fast in pantyhose and he could quickly out muscle her.
But if she stayed he could change his mind at any moment and force himself on her if he wanted.
She began to speak but the words caught in her throat.
“Did you say something?”
The charmer was back. She would try now. “Maybe we can see a movie some other time. I think it would be better if I went home now.”
“Are you serious?” He tossed the movie down on the coffee table and took a step toward her. “You really want to leave.” He stomped out to the kitchen, ripped the door open, and spun around. “Fine, leave.” His eyes were small slivers of blue behind red eyelids.
She needed to leave. Why had she even come here in the first place?
“I’m sorry. I had a nice time but I need to get home.”
“Oh, so you had a nice time. I wish I could say the same.”
“I, uh.”
He marched right over her words. “I was hoping to spend a nice evening here with you but tonight you were interested in playing the part of the tease.” His voice was harsh.
He was going to grab her. She braced herself.
“I’m sorry. I was too embarrassed to tell you. This week is my…well…”
He looked at her for a moment then started laughing. “Oh, it’s…” He laughed some more. “I’m sorry. I…” He walked to the door and pulled it open for her.
“Thank you again.” Her voice trembled and she bent down to put buckle her shoes.
“You’re still welcome to stay and watch the movie with me if you’d like.” His voice was calm again.
She looked toward the living room for a moment, considering his offer. He wouldn’t force himself on her tonight and she wouldn’t have to risk his anger.
No.
Something inside of her though wouldn’t let her stay. She couldn’t remember ever having a gut feeling so strong. She needed to get away from the house and Drew as fast as she could.
“Thank you but no.” She touched his cheek and quickly scooted out the door before he could reply. She walked around the house and paused for a moment outside the large window she’d passed on the way in. As she looked through it Drew came in to view. He clicked on the television with his remote then turned toward her.
Their eyes locked and she froze. For a few moments she was powerless to move. Drew turned and walked toward the direction she’d exited. That gave her the boost she needed to get her legs moving again. She walked quickly, nearly a run. Her healed books clanking steadily on the sidewalk.
Fear wrapped around her throat and her heartbeat thudded in her ears. She jumped in the car and started the engine. The headlights threw their glow on Drew standing where the sidewalk met the driveway less than twenty feet away. His eyes were dark and while she was sure he couldn’t see her past the high beams her blood ran cold.
She backed in the turn around and cranked the wheel without making eye contact again. The floodlight in the driveway showed his silhouette as she pulled down his driveway and out of the subdivision. She watched for head lights in her rearview.
Her heart didn’t slow down until she was out of Drew’s neighborhood and back on the main roads.
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title, then copy the address in the browser.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 16
Sixteen
Rachel turned the air conditioning vents so they blew straight in her face. The sun beamed in the driver’s side of her car. Sweat ran down her back. Slowly her car crept along through the miles of construction zone that appeared a few weeks after she moved to her new house. She sipped on her large coffee. The morning commute was now forty-five minutes because of the orange barrels. She had yet to find that perfect balance between enough coffee to keep her awake the whole trip without sending her running to the first gas station restroom after the construction zone.
She hadn’t slept well the previous night so this morning she was failing at both. Her cell phone rang.
“Hi Shannon.” She said when she flipped it open.
“Quite the night owl. You on your way in yet?”
“How did you know I was up late?” She reached over to turn down the fan so she could hear better.
“I saw you sent me an email at two a.m. Sorry your date didn’t go so well.”
“I wouldn’t say it was a total waste. Especially for not knowing going in that it was actually a date.”
“I told you to stick with Drew.”
“I’m starting to think I should stick with being single. You know he called me a bubble.”
“Why did he call you a bubble?”
“It was some metaphor for how beautiful I am on the outside but lost on the inside. Some church analogy I guess.”
“Is that the only reason he asked you to dinner?”
“Nope. I guess he was inviting me on a date.”
“Told ya.”
Rachel craned her neck to try to see over the pickup truck in front of her but her car was too low. “What do you say to church people who want to impose their beliefs on you?” It was one of three questions that had pounded in her head until sweet sleep came sometime after three in the morning.
“Nothing. I don’t usually talk to them at all.”
“You believe in God though don’t you?”
“Sure but there is more than one path to God. I’m kind of cafeteria style. I think there is beauty in all faiths so I pull from each. That’s make me more spiritual than religious I’d say.” S
She turned the fan up a little more. The sun was baking her arm. “I’d say I believe the same thing. I see so much beauty in nature and the world around me. I don’t need to go to church to feel God.”
“It takes a strong person to go through what you did with Nate and still be willing to see beauty in God.”
She didn’t blame God. Well, God as she defined him. Not entirely. If the God of the Bible was real then it wouldn’t have happened. As much as she prayed it never would have happened. “You know it was good for me.”
“How in the world could it have been good?” Shannon sounded disgusted.
“I didn’t spend my whole life like some people following vapors. I saw without a doubt that I was in this world alone and -.”
“A-hem.”
“Yes and with you.” Rachel added. “But I was headed down this same blind path as my family and Curtis are.”
“You should be the one saving them.”
Rachel edged on to the shoulder and accelerated around the semi that had blocked her exit. “You know, I would, but I respect their beliefs and if it helps them deal with the world to think there’s some big guy upstairs then I’m not going to take it away.”
“You’re a better person than me. I’d throw it in their face the next time they tried to judge me. When do you think you’ll be here?”
“Should be by nine from the looks of traffic. I got around this semi so I’m finally starting to make some headway.” She accelerated around a minivan then hit the cruise control. “I’d say if not nine then nine-thirty.”
“This might cheer you up on your long commute.” Shannon’s voice was at once happy and ornery.
“What’s that?”
“I have a message here that Drew called and would like for you to call him on his cell.”
“And you waited to tell me this?”
“Yep.”
She hung up with Shannon and stuffed her phone down in her purse. She had no idea what to do. She could go out with Drew again. Things had been pretty intense in the parking lot and it was definitely too soon to spend the night.
She felt around in her purse for her lipstick then used the rearview mirror to be sure she got it on straight. If she was honest with herself she wanted to be with a handsome man who acted a bit more like Curtis. Minus the church stuff.
Actually that wasn’t quite fair. Curtis had never acted like some crazed fanatic around her. That could change if they started dating though. Then there’d be the expectation that the little lady defer to her man. He’d never said any of that really. He might be open minded and willing to allow her to have beliefs that were different. There were people of different faiths that got married-.
See, right there was why she hadn’t gotten in to a relationship like this. Things get sticky, people get hurt and there’s no reason for it. It didn’t really matter who was right or wrong because it had nothing to do with life today, here, in this car.
She picked up her phone and scrolled through the phone numbers and keeping one eye on the traffic around her. A good God would not send a good person to hell. Her hand shook as she scrolled down through the Cs.
She couldn’t be with a man who made her uncomfortable.
Through the Ds.
She needed a man who could make her feel like a woman. Someone who could take away the pain. Who could erase all memory of what Nate had done. Some one who could fill her bubble.
Of the two men only one had offered that possibility.
She pushed send on her phone. He picked up on the second ring.
“Could we meet for dinner? I have something I need to talk to you about.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title, then copy the address in the browser.
Rachel turned the air conditioning vents so they blew straight in her face. The sun beamed in the driver’s side of her car. Sweat ran down her back. Slowly her car crept along through the miles of construction zone that appeared a few weeks after she moved to her new house. She sipped on her large coffee. The morning commute was now forty-five minutes because of the orange barrels. She had yet to find that perfect balance between enough coffee to keep her awake the whole trip without sending her running to the first gas station restroom after the construction zone.
She hadn’t slept well the previous night so this morning she was failing at both. Her cell phone rang.
“Hi Shannon.” She said when she flipped it open.
“Quite the night owl. You on your way in yet?”
“How did you know I was up late?” She reached over to turn down the fan so she could hear better.
“I saw you sent me an email at two a.m. Sorry your date didn’t go so well.”
“I wouldn’t say it was a total waste. Especially for not knowing going in that it was actually a date.”
“I told you to stick with Drew.”
“I’m starting to think I should stick with being single. You know he called me a bubble.”
“Why did he call you a bubble?”
“It was some metaphor for how beautiful I am on the outside but lost on the inside. Some church analogy I guess.”
“Is that the only reason he asked you to dinner?”
“Nope. I guess he was inviting me on a date.”
“Told ya.”
Rachel craned her neck to try to see over the pickup truck in front of her but her car was too low. “What do you say to church people who want to impose their beliefs on you?” It was one of three questions that had pounded in her head until sweet sleep came sometime after three in the morning.
“Nothing. I don’t usually talk to them at all.”
“You believe in God though don’t you?”
“Sure but there is more than one path to God. I’m kind of cafeteria style. I think there is beauty in all faiths so I pull from each. That’s make me more spiritual than religious I’d say.” S
She turned the fan up a little more. The sun was baking her arm. “I’d say I believe the same thing. I see so much beauty in nature and the world around me. I don’t need to go to church to feel God.”
“It takes a strong person to go through what you did with Nate and still be willing to see beauty in God.”
She didn’t blame God. Well, God as she defined him. Not entirely. If the God of the Bible was real then it wouldn’t have happened. As much as she prayed it never would have happened. “You know it was good for me.”
“How in the world could it have been good?” Shannon sounded disgusted.
“I didn’t spend my whole life like some people following vapors. I saw without a doubt that I was in this world alone and -.”
“A-hem.”
“Yes and with you.” Rachel added. “But I was headed down this same blind path as my family and Curtis are.”
“You should be the one saving them.”
Rachel edged on to the shoulder and accelerated around the semi that had blocked her exit. “You know, I would, but I respect their beliefs and if it helps them deal with the world to think there’s some big guy upstairs then I’m not going to take it away.”
“You’re a better person than me. I’d throw it in their face the next time they tried to judge me. When do you think you’ll be here?”
“Should be by nine from the looks of traffic. I got around this semi so I’m finally starting to make some headway.” She accelerated around a minivan then hit the cruise control. “I’d say if not nine then nine-thirty.”
“This might cheer you up on your long commute.” Shannon’s voice was at once happy and ornery.
“What’s that?”
“I have a message here that Drew called and would like for you to call him on his cell.”
“And you waited to tell me this?”
“Yep.”
She hung up with Shannon and stuffed her phone down in her purse. She had no idea what to do. She could go out with Drew again. Things had been pretty intense in the parking lot and it was definitely too soon to spend the night.
She felt around in her purse for her lipstick then used the rearview mirror to be sure she got it on straight. If she was honest with herself she wanted to be with a handsome man who acted a bit more like Curtis. Minus the church stuff.
Actually that wasn’t quite fair. Curtis had never acted like some crazed fanatic around her. That could change if they started dating though. Then there’d be the expectation that the little lady defer to her man. He’d never said any of that really. He might be open minded and willing to allow her to have beliefs that were different. There were people of different faiths that got married-.
See, right there was why she hadn’t gotten in to a relationship like this. Things get sticky, people get hurt and there’s no reason for it. It didn’t really matter who was right or wrong because it had nothing to do with life today, here, in this car.
She picked up her phone and scrolled through the phone numbers and keeping one eye on the traffic around her. A good God would not send a good person to hell. Her hand shook as she scrolled down through the Cs.
She couldn’t be with a man who made her uncomfortable.
Through the Ds.
She needed a man who could make her feel like a woman. Someone who could take away the pain. Who could erase all memory of what Nate had done. Some one who could fill her bubble.
Of the two men only one had offered that possibility.
She pushed send on her phone. He picked up on the second ring.
“Could we meet for dinner? I have something I need to talk to you about.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title, then copy the address in the browser.
Friday, February 20, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 15
Fifteen
“Are you sure you want to go out with Curtis?”
“I told you, Curtis is a friend. It’s nothing physical. I enjoy talking to him.” Rachel gathered a small stack of papers and put them in her folder to go home then followed Shannon out the door.
Shannon turned her key to lock the door to the suite their office was in. “And if you weren’t friends with Curtis you could have a real relationship with Drew.”
“I haven’t ruled Drew out completely. You’ve made it very clear you don’t approve of me hanging out with Curtis.”
“Drew may rule it out if he finds out you’ve been having friendly dinners with the mortgage broker.” They walked to their cars parked beside each other.
“I would tell him the same thing I told you.” Rachel beeped the lock open on her Toyota. “Curtis doesn’t think of me like that anyway. We enjoy talking.”
“If you’re ditching Drew I want him.” Shannon smiled and tossed her purse across her seat to the passenger seat.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rachel climbed in her car and turned in the direction of the highway.
She’d been somewhat surprised when Curtis called to ask her out to dinner. They’d had a pleasant enough time eating take out on moving day but they hadn’t met socially without a family member around other than that night. Maybe she should have called Adam to see if he wanted to come along. More than likely he needed some professional advice on his business venture.
She turned in to the parking lot of the Stable and cruised up and down the full aisles looking for a spot to park. She parked finally along the back row. She pulled her thin white sweater around her arms in an attempt to block some of the evening air. Curtis was standing in front of the wooden front door with his hands in his pockets.
“Rachel you’re going to freeze in that.” He when she was a few feet away.
“I hope not.”
“Our table is ready and waiting for us.” He pulled open the front door and gently touched the small of her back as she walked ahead in of him. She walked to the podium and glanced at him nervously. He motioned to a table without saying a word then pulled her chair out for her.
Was this a date?
She placed her cloth napkin in her lap and looked around. She had been to the Stable a few times over the years. The food was excellent for the price but she mostly came to enjoy all the horse things on the wall.
“You know” She started. “This place was a nineteenth century horse stable that they converted in to a restaurant.”
“I’d heard that from someone before.”
Then they were both quiet again.
Curtis cleared his throat and looked over the menu. Neither one was saying anything.
This was a date.
How could she have agreed to a date with Curtis? Well, in reality she hadn’t. He’d called and asked if she’d like to get together for dinner and she agreed. There was really no reason to think that they would be on a date.
Was there a way she could gracefully excuse herself without hurting his feelings? She closed her menu and looked up.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked covering her nervous smile with her hand.
“I was enjoying the way the light moves around your face. You look very mysterious.” He sat back in his seat and smiled.
“Yes, I’m an enigma.” She said and she reached in to the breadbasket. She didn’t like the way his looks made her feel. He wasn’t creepy, no. These were feelings she hadn’t experienced for a long time. Those were the kinds of looks and feelings that left her alone in her bedroom crying. And why would she feel them for Curtis and not Drew?
“You really are a bit of an enigma. You’re nothing like most women I know.”
“How so?” She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. What are you doing Rachel? She was absolutely asking for trouble.
“I can’t put my finger on it quite yet. You’re an interesting combination of self-assured and searching. That’s the best way I can describe it.” He paused and put his finger to his lips. Then as if solving a puzzle he said “You’re a bubble.”
She laughed. “I’m a bubble?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what it is.”
“Why in the world do you say I’m a bubble? Am I round and air headed?” Some of the camaraderie was returning.
He shook his head and leaned on the table. “Rachel, think about a bubble.” He motioned as if there were a bubble floating by their table. “What is a bubble like?”
“Light? Full of air? Made of soap?” She had no idea what he was looking for.
He rubbed his chin then began to speak. “A bubble is beautiful and delicate. You love to watch a bubble. It floats by you and changes colors in the light. It is lifted up on the slightest of breezes-.” He smiled and looked beyond her as if watching one float by them as they spoke.
“Thank you…I guess.” What should she say when a guy called her a bubble?
“But there’s another part to a bubble and that’s the part that hurts me to see.”
“What is that?”
“Inside a bubble is hollow, empty and the slightest outside force will cause it to pop, shatter. Then there is nothing left.”
Rachel’s breath caught in her throat along with her voice. Tears burned her eyes and threatened to spill all over the table. Curtis didn’t speak with a hint of animosity but tenderness, like her daddy’s voice. He reached across the table for her hand.
“Rachel, I’m not saying this to be…well,…I’m saying it because I care about you and I want you to know that if you need someone. I’m here.”
“Are you trying to say I’m going to pop?” One tear managed to escape. Curtis saw it. He looked down at the spot on the table where it landed. He squeezed her hand just a bit.
“Only you know if you’re about to pop.” He smiled just a bit. “I see a delicate, beautiful woman who has everything going for her but you don’t feel complete. You wonder if there isn’t more than this.”
Now she understood. She straightened a bit. “Is this your lead-in to try and get me saved?” She cursed herself. Stupid Rachel always following her heart around like a doggy on a leash. She thought about getting up and storming out.
“No. Not at all. I promise-.”
“You know nothing about me.” There was that old spunk she’d had. “How can you presume to know all the-.”
“Here are your salads.” The server reached in to the middle of their conversation and placed white ceramic plates full of lettuce down on the table. “Can I get you anything else while I’m here?” She looked between the two of them. How was it possible for this woman to be so dense as to not see they were in the middle of something?
“No, thank you.” Curtis said and she walked away. “Rachel-.”
“What?” She picked up her fork and began stabbing at uncooperative lettuce leaves.
“I promise I only invited you because I had so much helping you move and eating take out in your dining room.”
Images of the two of them than night softened her armor a bit but she was still ready. “Okay but I want you to know I like my life. I really do.”
“I’m sure you do.” He still hadn’t picked up his fork.
“I, unlike you, don’t seem to feel the need to find a deeper meaning in everything. I’m happy to live for the moment, enjoy today and not worry about tomorrow.”
“What are you feeling at this moment?” His voice was gentle.
Scared and vulnerable were the first words to come to mind but she wouldn’t say those. “Hungry comes to mind.”
Curtis relaxed and picked up his fork. “Well we came here to eat so let’s do that.”
She picked at the lettuce leaves looking for the cucumbers and tomatoes. That bubble thing was-. Well, everyone was a bubble. We all clean up the outside to look great but inside we’re different people with secrets that hurt people.
“So Curtis. Are you a bubble too?”
He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Do you believe in God Rachel?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe in right and wrong?”
“Of course.” She picked up a sugar packet and flipped it with her fingers then remembered she was drinking Coffee and not tea. She put it back with the other white, blue, pink and yellow packets.
“How do you know what is right and wrong?”
“What does that have to do with being a bubble?”
“Answer my question.” He kept his voice calm. It was inquisitive, not the least bit confrontational.
“You just know, in your gut.”
“Tell me some things that are right and wrong.”
“Helping poor people is good and killing is bad.”
“Is that always true?”
“Yes.” Then she stopped. “Wait, why am I on the hot seat? What about you?”
“You already know I believe the Bible is true and everything else is false.”
“Yes and what does that have to do with being a bubble?”
“I was a bubble when I used to go with the flow. I bobbed up and down with every new trend but inside I was empty.”
“Then you found Jesus and it was all fine.” She’d heard this tired worn out story a million times. Life falling apart with no hope for anything, homeless and hungry then a street preacher gave them a Bible and life is perfect.
“Nope. My life got so much worse.”
“Really.” She stifled a laugh but a bit of it trickled out.
“It got better for a few months but after that there were a couple years of hell on earth.”
“Then why do you still go and try to get other people to go to church.”
For a moment he seemed to be thinking, formulating an answer. “Because this time…I knew there was someone rooting for me and even if things got worse they’d turn out in the end.”
“Have they gotten better yet?”
“A little but they still aren’t quite to where I was before I let Jesus get a hold of my life.”
She no longer tried to hide her shock. “Then why do you still do it? Go to church I mean.”
“I’m not talking about church. A church is just a bunch of people. I’m talking about the church, the body of Christ. I have peace. I sleep better at night. I don’t worry. I may be thirty-something, single with some financial woes but now I have hope that things will get better.”
“I guess it’s not enough for me to hope something will be better when I die. I want it to work here or I ain’t buying. I don’t believe in a God who would send me to hell if I slept in on Sunday mornings.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
What did some financially struggling, plain looking man have to tell her about her life. He had no idea what she believed or why and here he was judging her. “What if you’re wrong? It would shatter your world.” A voice inside told her to stop, not to say the words bubbling inside her but it would feel so good to let them out. “The little perfect land you’ve created for yourself where you are the right ones with your big floppy Bibles and old men in flowing robes. If you would open yourself for just a moment to the idea that there could be another way to look at things it would make your head spin.” She was starting to spit as she spoke.
“And if you’re wrong, and I’m right, then you’re headed straight for hell.” His voice was somber.
“I’ve had enough of this conversation. I wanted to have a nice evening but…”
“Wait…” He reached forward for her. “I’m sorry. I don’t often get to have stimulating conversations with beautiful women. I’m sorry I got carried away. Please stay. Let’s have a nice evening.”
She looked down at his hand, still on top of hers. “Okay. Why don’t you tell me about you?”
“Umm, I think that’s what got us in trouble in the first place. Let’s talk about Adam.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
“Are you sure you want to go out with Curtis?”
“I told you, Curtis is a friend. It’s nothing physical. I enjoy talking to him.” Rachel gathered a small stack of papers and put them in her folder to go home then followed Shannon out the door.
Shannon turned her key to lock the door to the suite their office was in. “And if you weren’t friends with Curtis you could have a real relationship with Drew.”
“I haven’t ruled Drew out completely. You’ve made it very clear you don’t approve of me hanging out with Curtis.”
“Drew may rule it out if he finds out you’ve been having friendly dinners with the mortgage broker.” They walked to their cars parked beside each other.
“I would tell him the same thing I told you.” Rachel beeped the lock open on her Toyota. “Curtis doesn’t think of me like that anyway. We enjoy talking.”
“If you’re ditching Drew I want him.” Shannon smiled and tossed her purse across her seat to the passenger seat.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Rachel climbed in her car and turned in the direction of the highway.
She’d been somewhat surprised when Curtis called to ask her out to dinner. They’d had a pleasant enough time eating take out on moving day but they hadn’t met socially without a family member around other than that night. Maybe she should have called Adam to see if he wanted to come along. More than likely he needed some professional advice on his business venture.
She turned in to the parking lot of the Stable and cruised up and down the full aisles looking for a spot to park. She parked finally along the back row. She pulled her thin white sweater around her arms in an attempt to block some of the evening air. Curtis was standing in front of the wooden front door with his hands in his pockets.
“Rachel you’re going to freeze in that.” He when she was a few feet away.
“I hope not.”
“Our table is ready and waiting for us.” He pulled open the front door and gently touched the small of her back as she walked ahead in of him. She walked to the podium and glanced at him nervously. He motioned to a table without saying a word then pulled her chair out for her.
Was this a date?
She placed her cloth napkin in her lap and looked around. She had been to the Stable a few times over the years. The food was excellent for the price but she mostly came to enjoy all the horse things on the wall.
“You know” She started. “This place was a nineteenth century horse stable that they converted in to a restaurant.”
“I’d heard that from someone before.”
Then they were both quiet again.
Curtis cleared his throat and looked over the menu. Neither one was saying anything.
This was a date.
How could she have agreed to a date with Curtis? Well, in reality she hadn’t. He’d called and asked if she’d like to get together for dinner and she agreed. There was really no reason to think that they would be on a date.
Was there a way she could gracefully excuse herself without hurting his feelings? She closed her menu and looked up.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” she asked covering her nervous smile with her hand.
“I was enjoying the way the light moves around your face. You look very mysterious.” He sat back in his seat and smiled.
“Yes, I’m an enigma.” She said and she reached in to the breadbasket. She didn’t like the way his looks made her feel. He wasn’t creepy, no. These were feelings she hadn’t experienced for a long time. Those were the kinds of looks and feelings that left her alone in her bedroom crying. And why would she feel them for Curtis and not Drew?
“You really are a bit of an enigma. You’re nothing like most women I know.”
“How so?” She leaned forward and put her elbows on the table. What are you doing Rachel? She was absolutely asking for trouble.
“I can’t put my finger on it quite yet. You’re an interesting combination of self-assured and searching. That’s the best way I can describe it.” He paused and put his finger to his lips. Then as if solving a puzzle he said “You’re a bubble.”
She laughed. “I’m a bubble?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what it is.”
“Why in the world do you say I’m a bubble? Am I round and air headed?” Some of the camaraderie was returning.
He shook his head and leaned on the table. “Rachel, think about a bubble.” He motioned as if there were a bubble floating by their table. “What is a bubble like?”
“Light? Full of air? Made of soap?” She had no idea what he was looking for.
He rubbed his chin then began to speak. “A bubble is beautiful and delicate. You love to watch a bubble. It floats by you and changes colors in the light. It is lifted up on the slightest of breezes-.” He smiled and looked beyond her as if watching one float by them as they spoke.
“Thank you…I guess.” What should she say when a guy called her a bubble?
“But there’s another part to a bubble and that’s the part that hurts me to see.”
“What is that?”
“Inside a bubble is hollow, empty and the slightest outside force will cause it to pop, shatter. Then there is nothing left.”
Rachel’s breath caught in her throat along with her voice. Tears burned her eyes and threatened to spill all over the table. Curtis didn’t speak with a hint of animosity but tenderness, like her daddy’s voice. He reached across the table for her hand.
“Rachel, I’m not saying this to be…well,…I’m saying it because I care about you and I want you to know that if you need someone. I’m here.”
“Are you trying to say I’m going to pop?” One tear managed to escape. Curtis saw it. He looked down at the spot on the table where it landed. He squeezed her hand just a bit.
“Only you know if you’re about to pop.” He smiled just a bit. “I see a delicate, beautiful woman who has everything going for her but you don’t feel complete. You wonder if there isn’t more than this.”
Now she understood. She straightened a bit. “Is this your lead-in to try and get me saved?” She cursed herself. Stupid Rachel always following her heart around like a doggy on a leash. She thought about getting up and storming out.
“No. Not at all. I promise-.”
“You know nothing about me.” There was that old spunk she’d had. “How can you presume to know all the-.”
“Here are your salads.” The server reached in to the middle of their conversation and placed white ceramic plates full of lettuce down on the table. “Can I get you anything else while I’m here?” She looked between the two of them. How was it possible for this woman to be so dense as to not see they were in the middle of something?
“No, thank you.” Curtis said and she walked away. “Rachel-.”
“What?” She picked up her fork and began stabbing at uncooperative lettuce leaves.
“I promise I only invited you because I had so much helping you move and eating take out in your dining room.”
Images of the two of them than night softened her armor a bit but she was still ready. “Okay but I want you to know I like my life. I really do.”
“I’m sure you do.” He still hadn’t picked up his fork.
“I, unlike you, don’t seem to feel the need to find a deeper meaning in everything. I’m happy to live for the moment, enjoy today and not worry about tomorrow.”
“What are you feeling at this moment?” His voice was gentle.
Scared and vulnerable were the first words to come to mind but she wouldn’t say those. “Hungry comes to mind.”
Curtis relaxed and picked up his fork. “Well we came here to eat so let’s do that.”
She picked at the lettuce leaves looking for the cucumbers and tomatoes. That bubble thing was-. Well, everyone was a bubble. We all clean up the outside to look great but inside we’re different people with secrets that hurt people.
“So Curtis. Are you a bubble too?”
He put down his fork and wiped his mouth with the cloth napkin. “Do you believe in God Rachel?”
“Yes.”
“Do you believe in right and wrong?”
“Of course.” She picked up a sugar packet and flipped it with her fingers then remembered she was drinking Coffee and not tea. She put it back with the other white, blue, pink and yellow packets.
“How do you know what is right and wrong?”
“What does that have to do with being a bubble?”
“Answer my question.” He kept his voice calm. It was inquisitive, not the least bit confrontational.
“You just know, in your gut.”
“Tell me some things that are right and wrong.”
“Helping poor people is good and killing is bad.”
“Is that always true?”
“Yes.” Then she stopped. “Wait, why am I on the hot seat? What about you?”
“You already know I believe the Bible is true and everything else is false.”
“Yes and what does that have to do with being a bubble?”
“I was a bubble when I used to go with the flow. I bobbed up and down with every new trend but inside I was empty.”
“Then you found Jesus and it was all fine.” She’d heard this tired worn out story a million times. Life falling apart with no hope for anything, homeless and hungry then a street preacher gave them a Bible and life is perfect.
“Nope. My life got so much worse.”
“Really.” She stifled a laugh but a bit of it trickled out.
“It got better for a few months but after that there were a couple years of hell on earth.”
“Then why do you still go and try to get other people to go to church.”
For a moment he seemed to be thinking, formulating an answer. “Because this time…I knew there was someone rooting for me and even if things got worse they’d turn out in the end.”
“Have they gotten better yet?”
“A little but they still aren’t quite to where I was before I let Jesus get a hold of my life.”
She no longer tried to hide her shock. “Then why do you still do it? Go to church I mean.”
“I’m not talking about church. A church is just a bunch of people. I’m talking about the church, the body of Christ. I have peace. I sleep better at night. I don’t worry. I may be thirty-something, single with some financial woes but now I have hope that things will get better.”
“I guess it’s not enough for me to hope something will be better when I die. I want it to work here or I ain’t buying. I don’t believe in a God who would send me to hell if I slept in on Sunday mornings.”
“What if you’re wrong?”
What did some financially struggling, plain looking man have to tell her about her life. He had no idea what she believed or why and here he was judging her. “What if you’re wrong? It would shatter your world.” A voice inside told her to stop, not to say the words bubbling inside her but it would feel so good to let them out. “The little perfect land you’ve created for yourself where you are the right ones with your big floppy Bibles and old men in flowing robes. If you would open yourself for just a moment to the idea that there could be another way to look at things it would make your head spin.” She was starting to spit as she spoke.
“And if you’re wrong, and I’m right, then you’re headed straight for hell.” His voice was somber.
“I’ve had enough of this conversation. I wanted to have a nice evening but…”
“Wait…” He reached forward for her. “I’m sorry. I don’t often get to have stimulating conversations with beautiful women. I’m sorry I got carried away. Please stay. Let’s have a nice evening.”
She looked down at his hand, still on top of hers. “Okay. Why don’t you tell me about you?”
“Umm, I think that’s what got us in trouble in the first place. Let’s talk about Adam.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 14
Fourteen
Logan flipped through the digital photos in his camera. Rachel at various angles and in various places. His favorites were the ones where her shoulder length hair blew in small loose strands around her chin. There were only two but they were the cream of the crop.
He printed an 8 x 10 and put it in a silver vase. He traced the curves of her face on the print with his finger. Rachel was his perfect flower. A thing of beauty that could withstand the harsh winters and grow in to a delicate bloom at the first hint of spring sun.
He laid a stack of 5x7 and 8x10s on the table by his photo album and crossed to a wooden bookshelf with three shelves. Across the bottom shelf were eleven white photo albums. Each of them were identical. He’d bought them for the other women but they’d betrayed him. After they were punished he-.
He looked at the large black Xs of electrical tape on the spines of those photo albums. Bad memories in those white books. Didn’t want to think about that any more.
At the end of the shelf was a wooden jewelry box. He sat on the floor and put the box on his lap. This was where he kept his special treasures. Trinkets from all the women he had loved before. Jenny had come the closest to fulfilling him. Memories stung him. Everyone betrayed him. None had been loyal. Not Aunt Tulla, Not Jenny not-.
He lifted Jen’s class ring and the lock of red-brown hair that he’d put in the box days before the ring. He rubbed them against his cheek. Despite their betrayal each had touched him in a special way. He picked a piece of lint out of the bottom of the box then placed the ring and lock of hair back. He lifted out the small diamond ring and held it up. Large hands squeezed his heart. Rachel would love him.
He put the ring in a black ring box then placed them on top of the other trinkets before closing the lid and sliding the box back on the shelf. Rachel was going to be different. She didn’t throw herself at him like other women did. There was a challenge to her. She was a mature woman who knew how to get what she wanted. He would give it to her all right. He walked to a bouquet of roses sitting on his table and slid a single white rose from the cluster.
The white rose was a sign of purity to many. A rose was a delicate thing of beauty that should be reserved for women who were both beautiful and pure. He picked up a black ribbon from the second bookshelf and began to tie it around the rose. Ten ribbons each cut exactly six inches long were stacked on the shelf. He stopped for a moment.
“Twelve.” He whispered.
“Twelve apostles.”
He looked at the books. “Twelve women.”
Then back at the ribbons. “Twelve roses.”
Of course. He had known she was the one but now he understood why. There had to be others. He had to purify his perfect one through blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Yes the Bible said that. Aunt Tulla had talked about the blood sacrifices in the Bible. Twelve was the perfect number. He sniffed the flower. His heart thudded in his chest.
“But wait.”
He stopped and held up a single finger as if telling an invisible guest to be still for just a moment. “These things take time. They must be developed slowly.” He thought for a moment. “One, only one a week.” His excitement rekindled. “Yes, one rose a week. Make her want it. Build her desire to know me better.” It all made so much sense. Why hadn’t he seen it before? All the lies and betrayal of all the other women were leading to this moment. He walked to the close up of Rachel sitting on top of his stack of pictures and brushed the rose petals up and down the photograph.
“I know you’re anxious. but soon.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Logan flipped through the digital photos in his camera. Rachel at various angles and in various places. His favorites were the ones where her shoulder length hair blew in small loose strands around her chin. There were only two but they were the cream of the crop.
He printed an 8 x 10 and put it in a silver vase. He traced the curves of her face on the print with his finger. Rachel was his perfect flower. A thing of beauty that could withstand the harsh winters and grow in to a delicate bloom at the first hint of spring sun.
He laid a stack of 5x7 and 8x10s on the table by his photo album and crossed to a wooden bookshelf with three shelves. Across the bottom shelf were eleven white photo albums. Each of them were identical. He’d bought them for the other women but they’d betrayed him. After they were punished he-.
He looked at the large black Xs of electrical tape on the spines of those photo albums. Bad memories in those white books. Didn’t want to think about that any more.
At the end of the shelf was a wooden jewelry box. He sat on the floor and put the box on his lap. This was where he kept his special treasures. Trinkets from all the women he had loved before. Jenny had come the closest to fulfilling him. Memories stung him. Everyone betrayed him. None had been loyal. Not Aunt Tulla, Not Jenny not-.
He lifted Jen’s class ring and the lock of red-brown hair that he’d put in the box days before the ring. He rubbed them against his cheek. Despite their betrayal each had touched him in a special way. He picked a piece of lint out of the bottom of the box then placed the ring and lock of hair back. He lifted out the small diamond ring and held it up. Large hands squeezed his heart. Rachel would love him.
He put the ring in a black ring box then placed them on top of the other trinkets before closing the lid and sliding the box back on the shelf. Rachel was going to be different. She didn’t throw herself at him like other women did. There was a challenge to her. She was a mature woman who knew how to get what she wanted. He would give it to her all right. He walked to a bouquet of roses sitting on his table and slid a single white rose from the cluster.
The white rose was a sign of purity to many. A rose was a delicate thing of beauty that should be reserved for women who were both beautiful and pure. He picked up a black ribbon from the second bookshelf and began to tie it around the rose. Ten ribbons each cut exactly six inches long were stacked on the shelf. He stopped for a moment.
“Twelve.” He whispered.
“Twelve apostles.”
He looked at the books. “Twelve women.”
Then back at the ribbons. “Twelve roses.”
Of course. He had known she was the one but now he understood why. There had to be others. He had to purify his perfect one through blood. Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin. Yes the Bible said that. Aunt Tulla had talked about the blood sacrifices in the Bible. Twelve was the perfect number. He sniffed the flower. His heart thudded in his chest.
“But wait.”
He stopped and held up a single finger as if telling an invisible guest to be still for just a moment. “These things take time. They must be developed slowly.” He thought for a moment. “One, only one a week.” His excitement rekindled. “Yes, one rose a week. Make her want it. Build her desire to know me better.” It all made so much sense. Why hadn’t he seen it before? All the lies and betrayal of all the other women were leading to this moment. He walked to the close up of Rachel sitting on top of his stack of pictures and brushed the rose petals up and down the photograph.
“I know you’re anxious. but soon.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Friday, February 13, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 13
Thirteen
Rachel stepped out of the shower and quickly toweled off. She was still miffed with Shannon’s attitude. Why was it everyone thought they had the right to tell Rachel how to live her life?
Curtis had left twenty minutes ago to pick up their Chinese take-out. She wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get there and back. Probably had another twenty minutes unless they were faster than the one she liked to stop at on the way home.
The sticky sweat was gone and she felt human again. Most of her clothes were still in boxes. She dug around in a couple marked “clothes” but found mostly shoes and some clothes she had no reason why she had moved to the new place.
The towel was not providing much protection against the cool fall air that nipped at the moisture on her skin.
“This is taking forever.” She walked to her bedroom door and locked it then flung her towel on to her bed and dug as quickly as she could through the clothes. She saw the edge of a pair of jeans and pulled those out then she dug around until she found enough clothes to make an outfit.
Fifteen minutes later she was dressed, her face painted and her hair dry enough to be presentable. Curtis still wasn’t there but a huge mess was. She gathered a few boxes from the hallway and started down to the living room. The boxes that remained were mostly odds and ends. She found places for those she could but some just moved to a new box she’d label “why did I move this?”
Curtis knocked on the back door and Rachel opened it. “Sorry it took a little extra time. I stopped at the grocery to get some paper plates and plastic ware.”
“Thank you.” She took the bag of food from Curtis and set it on the dining room table.
He pulled open the plates and set the table.
“Place looks really nice.” He lifted out a large white folded box. “I think this is your General Tso’s Chicken.”
“I love this stuff.” She set the box by her plate. “I’m going to have to do something with all these boxes. They’re going to drive me nuts.”
“You can collapse them and put them in your basement.”
“That will work for about a week. I hate clutter.”
“So do I.” He pulled out the last of the food and dumped out little yellow, orange and black packets of sauces. “People say I’m a neat freak but I like to know where things are. I have to mess with so much paper and chaos all day when I get home I want to have order.”
“Yep.”
They filled their plates with food and ate in near silence. Rachel’s body ached. She put down her fork and rubbed her shoulder trying to ease the knot on the right side of her neck.
“Stiff?” Curtis asked.
“Very.” She bit in to her spring roll. She crunched through the outside but then shredded cabbage and vegetables went all over her plate. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to catch some of the food that was falling out.
“Do you want me to get you a napkin?”
Rachel shook her head no. Had this been a date she would have been crawling under the table or hiding in the bathroom. Curtis put her at ease.
“Does it feel like home yet?” He asked after she finished her spring roll.
She looked around the room at all the familiar furnishings that filled the walls of a strange home. “A little. It feels a little funny to be in such a big place after living in a two-bedroom apartment the last five years. I think I need more stuff.” She laughed.
“Don’t worry. Houses have a way of filling themselves.”
“I know. Every time I’ve ever moved I’ve told myself that finally I will able to keep the clutter down but then I find all kinds of things on sale and I fill the shelves with knickknacks and other things until it’s finally bulging at the seams.
“How far do your parents live from here?”
“About fifteen minutes or so.”
“I think it is great that you have such a close relationship with Your mom.”
“Yeah, it’s nice.” She didn’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted and reported back to her mom. “Sometimes she can be a little pushy but I know she means well.”
“You mean like that dinner date she set up?”
“Exactly like that.” Rachel tried to gracefully eat a long noodle but then bit it off rather than slurp it in. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed her poor table manners.
“I’m glad she did it though. It’s been nice to get to know you through this home buying process.”
“You’re not at all what I expected.” She pushed food around with her fork as she spoke. “Usually when mom wants to introduce me to someone…They’re…uh…Not my type.” She said trying to be a bit diplomatic.
“So I’m your type?” He sounded more playful than interested.
“No I didn’t mean that.”
“Really?”
“Oh stop.” She laughed. “Yes, you’re funnier than I expected a mortgage broker to be.”
“What did you expect?”
“You know different professions tend to attract people with different quirks. I guess I figured you to be more uptight.”
“Fair enough. I do have some quirks. Loyalty is huge to me. I find it can be hard to trust people.” His face turned serious. “Before I found this church I didn’t have the best experience with people who called themselves Christians unfortunately.”
“I really don’t get in to organized religion. You have to be careful. I prefer to live in the moment; grab life by the horns and enjoy the ride.”
“For me I like to know who holds the future.”
Rachel shifted nervously in her chair. “Life is about more than a bunch of dos and don’ts. I like to enjoy life.”
“That’s a great perspective. Enjoy life. I agree. Life isn’t always exactly the way we’d like for it to be but we can accept it for what it is and enjoy it.”
She relaxed a bit in her chair. “Exactly. People spend so much time trying to figure everything out. On the one hand you’ve got people reading horoscopes and on the other hand you’ve got preachers on TV screaming about the end of the world.” She took a sip of water. “Live today. If a belief works for someone then I guess it’s good. Some people need something to believe in to make sense of the rat race.”
He put down his fork and pushed back his plate. “Is that how you see life? A rat race.”
“Sure, I’d say for the most part we live in a rat race.” She leaned back in her chair. “You know like my family. They find goodness in church. More power to them. I think that’s beautiful.”
“But not for you?” He leaned toward her a bit in his chair. He wasn’t judgmental which was a nice change for religious people. He asked questions and she was pretty sure he heard the answers too.
“No. I went to church when I lived at home but people at church are no different than anyone else. Most of them just think they’re better.”
“Do you feel that way about me?”
“No, you’re cool.” She moved her hand and the tension that seemed to be building wafted away. “You aren’t closed minded.”
“So you don’t have a problem with me since I believe Jesus is the only way to get to heaven?”
“Nope.” She didn’t mind him at all. He at least lived what he said he believed. She could respect a person with other beliefs as long as they respected hers too.
He looked around her dining room. “I don’t feel right leaving so many things still in boxes. Why don’t I help you get some of these things unpacked before I leave.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Rachel stepped out of the shower and quickly toweled off. She was still miffed with Shannon’s attitude. Why was it everyone thought they had the right to tell Rachel how to live her life?
Curtis had left twenty minutes ago to pick up their Chinese take-out. She wasn’t sure how long it would take him to get there and back. Probably had another twenty minutes unless they were faster than the one she liked to stop at on the way home.
The sticky sweat was gone and she felt human again. Most of her clothes were still in boxes. She dug around in a couple marked “clothes” but found mostly shoes and some clothes she had no reason why she had moved to the new place.
The towel was not providing much protection against the cool fall air that nipped at the moisture on her skin.
“This is taking forever.” She walked to her bedroom door and locked it then flung her towel on to her bed and dug as quickly as she could through the clothes. She saw the edge of a pair of jeans and pulled those out then she dug around until she found enough clothes to make an outfit.
Fifteen minutes later she was dressed, her face painted and her hair dry enough to be presentable. Curtis still wasn’t there but a huge mess was. She gathered a few boxes from the hallway and started down to the living room. The boxes that remained were mostly odds and ends. She found places for those she could but some just moved to a new box she’d label “why did I move this?”
Curtis knocked on the back door and Rachel opened it. “Sorry it took a little extra time. I stopped at the grocery to get some paper plates and plastic ware.”
“Thank you.” She took the bag of food from Curtis and set it on the dining room table.
He pulled open the plates and set the table.
“Place looks really nice.” He lifted out a large white folded box. “I think this is your General Tso’s Chicken.”
“I love this stuff.” She set the box by her plate. “I’m going to have to do something with all these boxes. They’re going to drive me nuts.”
“You can collapse them and put them in your basement.”
“That will work for about a week. I hate clutter.”
“So do I.” He pulled out the last of the food and dumped out little yellow, orange and black packets of sauces. “People say I’m a neat freak but I like to know where things are. I have to mess with so much paper and chaos all day when I get home I want to have order.”
“Yep.”
They filled their plates with food and ate in near silence. Rachel’s body ached. She put down her fork and rubbed her shoulder trying to ease the knot on the right side of her neck.
“Stiff?” Curtis asked.
“Very.” She bit in to her spring roll. She crunched through the outside but then shredded cabbage and vegetables went all over her plate. She covered her mouth with her hand and tried to catch some of the food that was falling out.
“Do you want me to get you a napkin?”
Rachel shook her head no. Had this been a date she would have been crawling under the table or hiding in the bathroom. Curtis put her at ease.
“Does it feel like home yet?” He asked after she finished her spring roll.
She looked around the room at all the familiar furnishings that filled the walls of a strange home. “A little. It feels a little funny to be in such a big place after living in a two-bedroom apartment the last five years. I think I need more stuff.” She laughed.
“Don’t worry. Houses have a way of filling themselves.”
“I know. Every time I’ve ever moved I’ve told myself that finally I will able to keep the clutter down but then I find all kinds of things on sale and I fill the shelves with knickknacks and other things until it’s finally bulging at the seams.
“How far do your parents live from here?”
“About fifteen minutes or so.”
“I think it is great that you have such a close relationship with Your mom.”
“Yeah, it’s nice.” She didn’t want to say anything that could be misinterpreted and reported back to her mom. “Sometimes she can be a little pushy but I know she means well.”
“You mean like that dinner date she set up?”
“Exactly like that.” Rachel tried to gracefully eat a long noodle but then bit it off rather than slurp it in. Hopefully he hadn’t noticed her poor table manners.
“I’m glad she did it though. It’s been nice to get to know you through this home buying process.”
“You’re not at all what I expected.” She pushed food around with her fork as she spoke. “Usually when mom wants to introduce me to someone…They’re…uh…Not my type.” She said trying to be a bit diplomatic.
“So I’m your type?” He sounded more playful than interested.
“No I didn’t mean that.”
“Really?”
“Oh stop.” She laughed. “Yes, you’re funnier than I expected a mortgage broker to be.”
“What did you expect?”
“You know different professions tend to attract people with different quirks. I guess I figured you to be more uptight.”
“Fair enough. I do have some quirks. Loyalty is huge to me. I find it can be hard to trust people.” His face turned serious. “Before I found this church I didn’t have the best experience with people who called themselves Christians unfortunately.”
“I really don’t get in to organized religion. You have to be careful. I prefer to live in the moment; grab life by the horns and enjoy the ride.”
“For me I like to know who holds the future.”
Rachel shifted nervously in her chair. “Life is about more than a bunch of dos and don’ts. I like to enjoy life.”
“That’s a great perspective. Enjoy life. I agree. Life isn’t always exactly the way we’d like for it to be but we can accept it for what it is and enjoy it.”
She relaxed a bit in her chair. “Exactly. People spend so much time trying to figure everything out. On the one hand you’ve got people reading horoscopes and on the other hand you’ve got preachers on TV screaming about the end of the world.” She took a sip of water. “Live today. If a belief works for someone then I guess it’s good. Some people need something to believe in to make sense of the rat race.”
He put down his fork and pushed back his plate. “Is that how you see life? A rat race.”
“Sure, I’d say for the most part we live in a rat race.” She leaned back in her chair. “You know like my family. They find goodness in church. More power to them. I think that’s beautiful.”
“But not for you?” He leaned toward her a bit in his chair. He wasn’t judgmental which was a nice change for religious people. He asked questions and she was pretty sure he heard the answers too.
“No. I went to church when I lived at home but people at church are no different than anyone else. Most of them just think they’re better.”
“Do you feel that way about me?”
“No, you’re cool.” She moved her hand and the tension that seemed to be building wafted away. “You aren’t closed minded.”
“So you don’t have a problem with me since I believe Jesus is the only way to get to heaven?”
“Nope.” She didn’t mind him at all. He at least lived what he said he believed. She could respect a person with other beliefs as long as they respected hers too.
He looked around her dining room. “I don’t feel right leaving so many things still in boxes. Why don’t I help you get some of these things unpacked before I leave.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 12
Twelve
Rachel eased her car on to the side street that led to her new house. The things her dad strapped to her cars roof rack clicked again. “We’re almost there. Don’t fall off now.” The area was much more Suburban than the nice apartment she was leaving behind but Woodhaven was a sweet little town where kids could ride their bikes at dusk on the sidewalk.
It was much quieter too. The trees and tall shrubs that lined the streets and yards help cut down on traffic noise considerably. She turned in to her new driveway and pulled to the back of the house. Shannon pulled her car in front of the detached garage and her dad parked in front of the house. She got out of the car. Everything on they’d put on the roof rack was still there by some miracle.
“You must be the new neighbor.”
Rachel turned to the direction of the chain link fence that ran the length of her back yard. A man with white hair, white mustache and squinting eyes stood with a small pair of hedge clippers in his hand.
“Yes.” She walked to the fence and stretched out her hand. “I’m Rachel.”
“Names Wade.” He dusted his palm on grubby trousers before shaking her hand. “Nice to see someone in this place again.”
“Thank you. I-.”
“Didn’t want to keep you none. Wanted to be a bit nosey is all. I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to get to know each other after you’re settled.” He turned and walked back to his house.
“Nice neighbors.” Shannon said behind Rachel.
“Be nice.” Rachel turned around. Did you see Drew?”
“Drew, Curtis and your dad are all three on the front porch exchanging guy talk.”
She walked along the hedges that separated her driveway from her neighbor. The yard was narrow along that side of the house but the back yard was deep enough that Rachel expected summer entertaining wouldn’t be too much of a problem. She rounded the corner of the house and walked across the grass. The men saw her and abruptly finished their conversation.
“Rachel welcome home.” Drew’s footsteps echoed on the wooden porch. He reached out a small metal ring that held the rest of her keys.
“Thank you.” She looked at the three keys. “Which one goes to the front door?” She held out her palm.
“This is the key to the back door” he lifted a silver key with a round top. “And this little brown one goes to the front door. You also have this one that goes to the garage if you want to lock the overhead door but the former owners said the lock is a real pain.” He lifted the ring by the brown key and handed them to her.
“Great.” She took the keys from him and unlocked the door. The large wooden door groaned open in to a large living room. She stepped in to the living room her footsteps echoing.
“There’s a white shag rug and pad in my car. That needs to go in the living room before any of the furniture comes in.”
To her right an archway stretched nearly the entire length of the wall separating the dining room and living room. Through the dining room to the other side a staircase that led to the second floor was open on the left. From the front door the kitchen was straight ahead and then the basement steps. She could have fit her entire apartment in half of the first floor of this house.
“This is a really nice place Rachel.” She turned to see Curtis standing almost directly behind her.
“I was thinking the same thing.” She stepped further in to the house. Her footsteps echoed on the wooden floors. She needed to remember to buy a rug for the living room and dining room to cut down on the sound.
“Your dad and I are going to start hauling in furniture. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, Adam will be here soon too.”
“Hopefully he’s not chatty.” Curtis let out a small laugh.
“Why’s that?”
“Hands.” Curtis wiggled his hand around as if to imitate sign language.
“Where do you want this box?” Rachel turned and saw Shannon standing on the other side of the screen door holding a small box. Drew was standing next to the truck while her dad piled boxes on top of the one Drew was already holding. Curtis opened the screen door for Shannon then continued out to the truck. Rachel looked at the top to check the label. “The kitchen is straight through there.” She set the slider on the door to hold it open.
Rachel walked out the door for a box and passed Curtis and Drew. “Thank you for helping guys. I’ll have to refer you to my friends.” Both laughed. She lifted a small box and walked in the house.
“This isn’t a bit awkward is it?” Shannon mumbled in to Rachel’s ear.
“Keep your mouth shut and everything should be fine.”
Shannon nodded and walked back out to the front. Rachel put the box along the wall of what was now her dining room.
“Your brother’s here.” Shannon yelled in the house before coming in and plopping down another box.
“It looks like you have quite a crew going here.” Her dad motioned to Drew and Curtis hauling in boxes. “I guess Adam and I can go down to the ice cream shop.”
“Or, you could help and maybe all of us can go.” She scanned the boxes in the back of the U-Haul. “These boxes here look like first floor stuff. The living room is to the left, dining room to the right and kitchen is straight through.” She turned and signed the same to Adam and went back to unload her car.
“Rachel,” Drew walked up to her as he slid his phone in its holder. “I’m going to have to run. I got a call from someone on another property.”
“Thank you so much for your help. You didn’t have to do it.”
“Not a problem at all.” Drew looked around then said quietly. “I’ll call this week to check in and make sure everything is all right.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” When she turned around her dad was smiling a crooked smile at her. “Quite the customer service at that realty agency.”
“Okay dad.” She grabbed another box. When her mom joined them two hours later the truck was emptied except for a few pieces of furniture and they were beginning to fill the kitchen cupboards with dishes and the canned goods she’d brought from the apartment.
Her mom scanned the room. “You’ve got this about wrapped up.”
“Not really. We still have to unpack everything.” Rachel set three square pillar candles on her dining room table.
“I can help unpack if that will help.” Her mom said and she started for the kitchen.
“Actually mom, can you unpack my clothes.” Rachel grabbed a box then hesitated. “I’m trying to organize my kitchen as I go but if you can put the things in the upstairs bathroom-.”
“Sure. Whatever you need done.”
Rachel took a box and led her mom up the steps. Her feet sunk down in the plush carpet. “Isn’t this carpet great mom?”
“Yes it is. Good pad.”
“After ten years of dorm carpet and apartment carpet this feels like a slice of heaven.”
“It is nice.”
They turned down the hall to the main bathroom. “Mom, put the taupe towels in here for now until I get out to buy others.”
“Are you sure you want those nasty older ones in your bathroom?” Her mom crinkles her nose and bent over to open a box.
“I certainly don’t want them out for everyone to see when they come over.” Rachel dug through the towels in her box. “Why don’t you stick the older towels in the back of the linen closet. It’s this door here.” She tapped on a small door in the hallway. “Put out a set of the taupe on the towel racks and put the rest in my bathroom. I’ll try to get out sooner and get the new ones bought.”
“That will be better.”
Beige walls met her in every room. Taupe was a fairly decent color to make the bathroom look a bit better until she could get some paint. Rachel lifted the corner of peeling border behind the bathroom door.
“What color should I paint this?”
Her mom never looked up from the box. “You don’t wanna go too dark. Room’s much too small for deep colors.”
“I know that. I was thinking taupe walls and amethyst towels and accents.”
“That’d be pretty. Nice contrast but soft and feminine.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Rachel.” Someone bellowed from downstairs.
“Be right there.” She yelled back. “I should have four or five sets of those towels so put out one and put the rest in my bathroom. My rooms down there.” Her mom looked up to see the direction Rachel pointed then pulled out more towels.
“Better get on downstairs, now. I got this handled.”
Rachel walked down to her new bedroom and stepped in. The room felt like it could go on forever. There was not a piece of furniture in it yet and she could enjoy the size. The carpet was soft like the rest of the upstairs but it was brighter. A large southern window splashed sunlight across the carpet. Everything was fresh and clean, like a new outfit, and she was anxious to see her things make it comfortable.
“Rachel.” The voice downstairs called out again.
She glanced around the room again and shuffled down the steps. “Sorry, I was looking around to figure out where to put furniture.”
“Good because your dad and I were going to bring in the last of the furniture so he could take the truck back.” Curtis spoke as Rachel moved down the staircase.
“Okay.” She looked at her watch. “That should work out fine.”
“And I was hoping maybe you’d be up to some dinner.”
She crinkled her nose. “I’m not in any shape to go out.”
“I was going to bring it in.”
She looked at her watch again. By the time the truck was empty she’d be ready for something to eat. “Sure. I’d like that.”
“I’ll help your dad finish up then.”
“Where’s Adam?”
“Not sure. Last I saw he was helping Shannon with something.”
She walked through the dining room. The cardboard boxes that were empty sat in a stack on the far side of the living room but newspaper covered the floor. Adam was in the kitchen talking to Shannon in a nasal voice.
“Adam. I want eat with Curtis. It okay you go, take mom dad.” She signed after she had his attention.
Adam looked at Curtis then back at her. “You eat dinner sweetheart?”
“No. We talk.”
Adam nodded and gave her a thumbs up.
“Shannon, Adam is going to get mom and dad home. Curtis and I are going to eat some dinner here.”
Shannon looked at Adam then turned away from Adam. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“It’s nothing like that. He wants to hang out and eat. We’re friends.”
“Uh-huh.” Shannon nodded and pursed her lips.
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Rachel eased her car on to the side street that led to her new house. The things her dad strapped to her cars roof rack clicked again. “We’re almost there. Don’t fall off now.” The area was much more Suburban than the nice apartment she was leaving behind but Woodhaven was a sweet little town where kids could ride their bikes at dusk on the sidewalk.
It was much quieter too. The trees and tall shrubs that lined the streets and yards help cut down on traffic noise considerably. She turned in to her new driveway and pulled to the back of the house. Shannon pulled her car in front of the detached garage and her dad parked in front of the house. She got out of the car. Everything on they’d put on the roof rack was still there by some miracle.
“You must be the new neighbor.”
Rachel turned to the direction of the chain link fence that ran the length of her back yard. A man with white hair, white mustache and squinting eyes stood with a small pair of hedge clippers in his hand.
“Yes.” She walked to the fence and stretched out her hand. “I’m Rachel.”
“Names Wade.” He dusted his palm on grubby trousers before shaking her hand. “Nice to see someone in this place again.”
“Thank you. I-.”
“Didn’t want to keep you none. Wanted to be a bit nosey is all. I’m sure we’ll have lots of time to get to know each other after you’re settled.” He turned and walked back to his house.
“Nice neighbors.” Shannon said behind Rachel.
“Be nice.” Rachel turned around. Did you see Drew?”
“Drew, Curtis and your dad are all three on the front porch exchanging guy talk.”
She walked along the hedges that separated her driveway from her neighbor. The yard was narrow along that side of the house but the back yard was deep enough that Rachel expected summer entertaining wouldn’t be too much of a problem. She rounded the corner of the house and walked across the grass. The men saw her and abruptly finished their conversation.
“Rachel welcome home.” Drew’s footsteps echoed on the wooden porch. He reached out a small metal ring that held the rest of her keys.
“Thank you.” She looked at the three keys. “Which one goes to the front door?” She held out her palm.
“This is the key to the back door” he lifted a silver key with a round top. “And this little brown one goes to the front door. You also have this one that goes to the garage if you want to lock the overhead door but the former owners said the lock is a real pain.” He lifted the ring by the brown key and handed them to her.
“Great.” She took the keys from him and unlocked the door. The large wooden door groaned open in to a large living room. She stepped in to the living room her footsteps echoing.
“There’s a white shag rug and pad in my car. That needs to go in the living room before any of the furniture comes in.”
To her right an archway stretched nearly the entire length of the wall separating the dining room and living room. Through the dining room to the other side a staircase that led to the second floor was open on the left. From the front door the kitchen was straight ahead and then the basement steps. She could have fit her entire apartment in half of the first floor of this house.
“This is a really nice place Rachel.” She turned to see Curtis standing almost directly behind her.
“I was thinking the same thing.” She stepped further in to the house. Her footsteps echoed on the wooden floors. She needed to remember to buy a rug for the living room and dining room to cut down on the sound.
“Your dad and I are going to start hauling in furniture. Is that okay with you?”
“Yes, Adam will be here soon too.”
“Hopefully he’s not chatty.” Curtis let out a small laugh.
“Why’s that?”
“Hands.” Curtis wiggled his hand around as if to imitate sign language.
“Where do you want this box?” Rachel turned and saw Shannon standing on the other side of the screen door holding a small box. Drew was standing next to the truck while her dad piled boxes on top of the one Drew was already holding. Curtis opened the screen door for Shannon then continued out to the truck. Rachel looked at the top to check the label. “The kitchen is straight through there.” She set the slider on the door to hold it open.
Rachel walked out the door for a box and passed Curtis and Drew. “Thank you for helping guys. I’ll have to refer you to my friends.” Both laughed. She lifted a small box and walked in the house.
“This isn’t a bit awkward is it?” Shannon mumbled in to Rachel’s ear.
“Keep your mouth shut and everything should be fine.”
Shannon nodded and walked back out to the front. Rachel put the box along the wall of what was now her dining room.
“Your brother’s here.” Shannon yelled in the house before coming in and plopping down another box.
“It looks like you have quite a crew going here.” Her dad motioned to Drew and Curtis hauling in boxes. “I guess Adam and I can go down to the ice cream shop.”
“Or, you could help and maybe all of us can go.” She scanned the boxes in the back of the U-Haul. “These boxes here look like first floor stuff. The living room is to the left, dining room to the right and kitchen is straight through.” She turned and signed the same to Adam and went back to unload her car.
“Rachel,” Drew walked up to her as he slid his phone in its holder. “I’m going to have to run. I got a call from someone on another property.”
“Thank you so much for your help. You didn’t have to do it.”
“Not a problem at all.” Drew looked around then said quietly. “I’ll call this week to check in and make sure everything is all right.”
“I’ll look forward to it.” When she turned around her dad was smiling a crooked smile at her. “Quite the customer service at that realty agency.”
“Okay dad.” She grabbed another box. When her mom joined them two hours later the truck was emptied except for a few pieces of furniture and they were beginning to fill the kitchen cupboards with dishes and the canned goods she’d brought from the apartment.
Her mom scanned the room. “You’ve got this about wrapped up.”
“Not really. We still have to unpack everything.” Rachel set three square pillar candles on her dining room table.
“I can help unpack if that will help.” Her mom said and she started for the kitchen.
“Actually mom, can you unpack my clothes.” Rachel grabbed a box then hesitated. “I’m trying to organize my kitchen as I go but if you can put the things in the upstairs bathroom-.”
“Sure. Whatever you need done.”
Rachel took a box and led her mom up the steps. Her feet sunk down in the plush carpet. “Isn’t this carpet great mom?”
“Yes it is. Good pad.”
“After ten years of dorm carpet and apartment carpet this feels like a slice of heaven.”
“It is nice.”
They turned down the hall to the main bathroom. “Mom, put the taupe towels in here for now until I get out to buy others.”
“Are you sure you want those nasty older ones in your bathroom?” Her mom crinkles her nose and bent over to open a box.
“I certainly don’t want them out for everyone to see when they come over.” Rachel dug through the towels in her box. “Why don’t you stick the older towels in the back of the linen closet. It’s this door here.” She tapped on a small door in the hallway. “Put out a set of the taupe on the towel racks and put the rest in my bathroom. I’ll try to get out sooner and get the new ones bought.”
“That will be better.”
Beige walls met her in every room. Taupe was a fairly decent color to make the bathroom look a bit better until she could get some paint. Rachel lifted the corner of peeling border behind the bathroom door.
“What color should I paint this?”
Her mom never looked up from the box. “You don’t wanna go too dark. Room’s much too small for deep colors.”
“I know that. I was thinking taupe walls and amethyst towels and accents.”
“That’d be pretty. Nice contrast but soft and feminine.”
“That’s what I thought.”
“Rachel.” Someone bellowed from downstairs.
“Be right there.” She yelled back. “I should have four or five sets of those towels so put out one and put the rest in my bathroom. My rooms down there.” Her mom looked up to see the direction Rachel pointed then pulled out more towels.
“Better get on downstairs, now. I got this handled.”
Rachel walked down to her new bedroom and stepped in. The room felt like it could go on forever. There was not a piece of furniture in it yet and she could enjoy the size. The carpet was soft like the rest of the upstairs but it was brighter. A large southern window splashed sunlight across the carpet. Everything was fresh and clean, like a new outfit, and she was anxious to see her things make it comfortable.
“Rachel.” The voice downstairs called out again.
She glanced around the room again and shuffled down the steps. “Sorry, I was looking around to figure out where to put furniture.”
“Good because your dad and I were going to bring in the last of the furniture so he could take the truck back.” Curtis spoke as Rachel moved down the staircase.
“Okay.” She looked at her watch. “That should work out fine.”
“And I was hoping maybe you’d be up to some dinner.”
She crinkled her nose. “I’m not in any shape to go out.”
“I was going to bring it in.”
She looked at her watch again. By the time the truck was empty she’d be ready for something to eat. “Sure. I’d like that.”
“I’ll help your dad finish up then.”
“Where’s Adam?”
“Not sure. Last I saw he was helping Shannon with something.”
She walked through the dining room. The cardboard boxes that were empty sat in a stack on the far side of the living room but newspaper covered the floor. Adam was in the kitchen talking to Shannon in a nasal voice.
“Adam. I want eat with Curtis. It okay you go, take mom dad.” She signed after she had his attention.
Adam looked at Curtis then back at her. “You eat dinner sweetheart?”
“No. We talk.”
Adam nodded and gave her a thumbs up.
“Shannon, Adam is going to get mom and dad home. Curtis and I are going to eat some dinner here.”
Shannon looked at Adam then turned away from Adam. “Do you think that’s wise?”
“It’s nothing like that. He wants to hang out and eat. We’re friends.”
“Uh-huh.” Shannon nodded and pursed her lips.
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Friday, February 6, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 11
Eleven
Rachel wrapped a plate in newspaper and set it down in the cardboard box on her counter. She reached for the next plate and the muscles in her neck groaned. Hopefully she could get out of the office early enough for a massage one day next week.
“How in the world did you get them to close on the house so fast?” Shannon asked as she taped a box of books shut in the next room.
“The house had been empty for four months and they were ready to be rid of it.”
“Drew didn’t have anything to do with it did he?” Shannon still kept his name in at least two or three conversations a day. Rachel hadn’t forgotten how perfect people thought he was for her, even after only a couple of dates. It wasn’t only Shannon. Her mom also made it a point to remind Rachel how wonderful he was. She put the last two plates down in the box and climbed off her step ladder.
“Shannon can you tape up my box too and I’ll label them.”
“Averting the question.”
“No, I’m not. He only helped me find the house. I don’t think he did anything to try to get me a better deal.” Rachel wrote “books” with a thick black marker that smelled similar to nail polish remover. “We need a new marker. This one is making me light headed.”
“That’s why I like it.” Shannon took the marker out of Rachel’s hand and sniffed it. “How did it go when you saw Drew again?”
“Fine. I’ve talked to him quite a bit.” Drew was his usual charming self but Rachel was a bit more reserved on the few occasions they’d been together, professionally, since the night at his house.
“I know but you put him off until after you got the house. Now you have the house. Do you think he will still be so easily put off?”
Shannon had plenty of reasons why Rachel had overreacted to his…aggression that night at his house. She was probably right. Rachel didn’t like to be led on either. On the other hand his reaction was only part of the reason she didn’t feel comfortable there. She felt, unsettled, there. But for the sake of peace she had learned to keep her opinion to herself when she was talking to Mom and Shannon. Those two matchmakers saw wedding bells in their eyes and she wasn’t in the mood right now to go through why it wasn’t going to happen.
“Who said I was going to put him off now? I never said I didn’t like him. I said I didn’t think it was smart to date someone who was helping me find a house.”
“Which makes no sense.”
“Whatever.”
Shannon picked up the box of books and moved it to the other side of the living room. There had to be at least three dozen boxes that needed to be moved in to the truck still sitting in this front room. Things were multiplying. There was no way she’d had all this stuff in her apartment. She picked up a long narrow box and started loading DVDs in to it.
“So are you going to go out with him again?”
“Who? Drew?”
“Of course.” Shannon brought CDs off of the music rack and stacked them next to her.
“I’m not sure. That Curtis guy is kind of cute too.”
“Right.”
“You don’t think so?”
“He’s not your type, remember.”
“Yes.”
Of course she remembered what happened before but Curtis was different. Curtis was kind, gentle and funny.
Just like last time…
But this was completely different. He did nice things for no reason. Never once had they mentioned relationship but he brought her a dozen roses at closing. They were different colors and when she asked him why he’d said “Because I wasn’t sure which color would go you’re your new house better.”
Shannon wouldn’t see that though. All she remembered was when she had been hurt, in college. Shannon picked up the pieces. She had no idea how she would have gotten through those first couple of years without Shannon supporting her…watching out for her.
“So are those the only roses you’ve gotten recently?”
“Huh?”
“Remember the little gift on your car.”
“Why in the world would you bring that up?”
“I noticed the flowers over there on your table.”
“Curtis gave those to me.”
“Ah.”
“Nothing like that. He was at Mom’s when I stopped in to see Adam and he-.”
“No need to explain to me.”
Rachel’s cell phone chimed across the room on the end table. Shannon picked it up and looked at the screen.
“It says unknown.”
“Give it here.” She took the phone and flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“Jeremy Wright. Our cars met about a month ago.”
“Oh Jeremy, hello.”
“I hadn’t heard from you on a bill. You aren’t going through your insurance are you?” His voice was at once concerned and scolding. It wasn’t a combination Rachel liked.
“No, I haven’t had the time to get it fixed. I’m in the process of moving.”
His voice softened. “I didn’t know you were moving. When will that be?”
“Right now.”
“Oh, your moving at this moment. I’m really sorry to interrupt. Give me your new address when you get settled and I’ll send your check as soon as you get a quote.”
“You can send it to my address on the business card.”
“I’d feel better knowing that you got it and it wasn’t intercepted at work.”
“It’s fine. I’m co-owner so I usually open all the mail. You can use that address.”
“Oh, well then good. I see the address right here. I’ll wait to hear back from you.”
“Okay, bye.” She flipped the phone shut.
“Guy who hit your car?”
“Yep.” Rachel put the phone back on the small wooden end table and resumed packing. “Drew will be there today with my keys so we’ll have to call him when we get the first load in the truck.”
“Why’s that?”
“The old owners forgot one set of keys so I didn’t get them all at closing. Drew offered to bring them by when we moved in.”
“I’ll bet he did.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Rachel wrapped a plate in newspaper and set it down in the cardboard box on her counter. She reached for the next plate and the muscles in her neck groaned. Hopefully she could get out of the office early enough for a massage one day next week.
“How in the world did you get them to close on the house so fast?” Shannon asked as she taped a box of books shut in the next room.
“The house had been empty for four months and they were ready to be rid of it.”
“Drew didn’t have anything to do with it did he?” Shannon still kept his name in at least two or three conversations a day. Rachel hadn’t forgotten how perfect people thought he was for her, even after only a couple of dates. It wasn’t only Shannon. Her mom also made it a point to remind Rachel how wonderful he was. She put the last two plates down in the box and climbed off her step ladder.
“Shannon can you tape up my box too and I’ll label them.”
“Averting the question.”
“No, I’m not. He only helped me find the house. I don’t think he did anything to try to get me a better deal.” Rachel wrote “books” with a thick black marker that smelled similar to nail polish remover. “We need a new marker. This one is making me light headed.”
“That’s why I like it.” Shannon took the marker out of Rachel’s hand and sniffed it. “How did it go when you saw Drew again?”
“Fine. I’ve talked to him quite a bit.” Drew was his usual charming self but Rachel was a bit more reserved on the few occasions they’d been together, professionally, since the night at his house.
“I know but you put him off until after you got the house. Now you have the house. Do you think he will still be so easily put off?”
Shannon had plenty of reasons why Rachel had overreacted to his…aggression that night at his house. She was probably right. Rachel didn’t like to be led on either. On the other hand his reaction was only part of the reason she didn’t feel comfortable there. She felt, unsettled, there. But for the sake of peace she had learned to keep her opinion to herself when she was talking to Mom and Shannon. Those two matchmakers saw wedding bells in their eyes and she wasn’t in the mood right now to go through why it wasn’t going to happen.
“Who said I was going to put him off now? I never said I didn’t like him. I said I didn’t think it was smart to date someone who was helping me find a house.”
“Which makes no sense.”
“Whatever.”
Shannon picked up the box of books and moved it to the other side of the living room. There had to be at least three dozen boxes that needed to be moved in to the truck still sitting in this front room. Things were multiplying. There was no way she’d had all this stuff in her apartment. She picked up a long narrow box and started loading DVDs in to it.
“So are you going to go out with him again?”
“Who? Drew?”
“Of course.” Shannon brought CDs off of the music rack and stacked them next to her.
“I’m not sure. That Curtis guy is kind of cute too.”
“Right.”
“You don’t think so?”
“He’s not your type, remember.”
“Yes.”
Of course she remembered what happened before but Curtis was different. Curtis was kind, gentle and funny.
Just like last time…
But this was completely different. He did nice things for no reason. Never once had they mentioned relationship but he brought her a dozen roses at closing. They were different colors and when she asked him why he’d said “Because I wasn’t sure which color would go you’re your new house better.”
Shannon wouldn’t see that though. All she remembered was when she had been hurt, in college. Shannon picked up the pieces. She had no idea how she would have gotten through those first couple of years without Shannon supporting her…watching out for her.
“So are those the only roses you’ve gotten recently?”
“Huh?”
“Remember the little gift on your car.”
“Why in the world would you bring that up?”
“I noticed the flowers over there on your table.”
“Curtis gave those to me.”
“Ah.”
“Nothing like that. He was at Mom’s when I stopped in to see Adam and he-.”
“No need to explain to me.”
Rachel’s cell phone chimed across the room on the end table. Shannon picked it up and looked at the screen.
“It says unknown.”
“Give it here.” She took the phone and flipped it open. “Hello?”
“Rachel?”
“Yes?”
“Jeremy Wright. Our cars met about a month ago.”
“Oh Jeremy, hello.”
“I hadn’t heard from you on a bill. You aren’t going through your insurance are you?” His voice was at once concerned and scolding. It wasn’t a combination Rachel liked.
“No, I haven’t had the time to get it fixed. I’m in the process of moving.”
His voice softened. “I didn’t know you were moving. When will that be?”
“Right now.”
“Oh, your moving at this moment. I’m really sorry to interrupt. Give me your new address when you get settled and I’ll send your check as soon as you get a quote.”
“You can send it to my address on the business card.”
“I’d feel better knowing that you got it and it wasn’t intercepted at work.”
“It’s fine. I’m co-owner so I usually open all the mail. You can use that address.”
“Oh, well then good. I see the address right here. I’ll wait to hear back from you.”
“Okay, bye.” She flipped the phone shut.
“Guy who hit your car?”
“Yep.” Rachel put the phone back on the small wooden end table and resumed packing. “Drew will be there today with my keys so we’ll have to call him when we get the first load in the truck.”
“Why’s that?”
“The old owners forgot one set of keys so I didn’t get them all at closing. Drew offered to bring them by when we moved in.”
“I’ll bet he did.”
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
A Face in the Shadow Part 2 Chapter 10
Ten
Logan watched her get in her car and start down the road.
“Yes, Rachel, Yes.” He whispered. He knew she could sense his presence. He was drawing her to him. She wanted to move here, to Woodhaven, where she would be closer to him and their life together. Of course she was the one. “You’ll say yes to me won’t you Rachel?” She drove down the road to her other life but soon, soon she’d be here. In his territory. He was drawing her in closer to him. Patience was all that was required. After love was patience.
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
Logan watched her get in her car and start down the road.
“Yes, Rachel, Yes.” He whispered. He knew she could sense his presence. He was drawing her to him. She wanted to move here, to Woodhaven, where she would be closer to him and their life together. Of course she was the one. “You’ll say yes to me won’t you Rachel?” She drove down the road to her other life but soon, soon she’d be here. In his territory. He was drawing her in closer to him. Patience was all that was required. After love was patience.
You are reading A Face in the Shadow by Tiffany Colter.
Tiffany is a writer, speaker and writing career coach. She is a frequent contributor to print and online publications in addition to her regular marketing blog at www.WritingCareerCoach.com
Get each new chapter delivered to you by signing up for the Tiffany Colter Fiction Blog using the link on the right.
This story is copyright Tiffany Colter. 2007. It may not be copied, distributed, sold or included in any larger work without the expressed written permission of Tiffany Colter.
Bloggers may comment on or link to this blog from their own blog. To link directly to this posting click the title then copy the address in the browser.
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