Chapter 15 (Which dreams may come)
I slowly but surely began cooking again. I started with vegetables. I would try out different kinds, to see which were compatible with my condition. I am not fond of fish, and I cannot stomach meat. I think I ate a chicken breast for the first time in a year. Tiger had to help me finish it.
I worked, I loved my work. I was excited when cleaning day arrived. I would do bedding, drapes, quilts. And the cabin would smell as fresh as a garden after a summers rain.
I miss that smell. I am content. I dare not utter the words happy, I fear it would be taken away from me. I began baking. Patrick stopped by one afternoon.
“The aroma reached the house. I had to come and investigate.”
“Pull up a chair, I made scones, biscuits and a sponge cake. I was going to send it up to the house. Would you like a cup of tea?”
“Indeed I would mum, with a spread like this, I feel like a king.”
I smiled. I loved his accent, thick and rich with his hierarchy.
He ate like a gentleman, he ate well. I refilled his cup twice. He is slender in build, dark hair and eyes to match, I think his true attraction is the way in which he carries himself.
He asked me many questions about African history. I told him as much as I knew.
“Too many wars, at times I have wondered if it was worth it.”
I nodded. I ate a scone; it was a mile stone.
“To think during World War two, nearly two-hundred-thousand men left to fight in that war. My grandfather’s father perished in a land, he knew little of. I do agree with you Patrick, there has to be other ways, of reaching an amicable solution. Yet wars are as old as creation, I don’t think man, has moved away from the idea that war is necessary. Even tribal wars, aren’t something to take lightly.”
“Mum have you witnessed a tribal war?” I nodded.
“Yeah, it’s brutal. I shall call it barbaric, not because I don’t understand it. It is what it is. When two tribes clash, the bloodshed is incomprehensive. When one tribe has a dispute over a piece of land. And say for instance, the tribe that attacked, won. Everything is up for the taking, livestock, homes and woman. They rape a woman within inches of her life. Many die because of this atrocity. Some would bore the child they conceived, just to smash its head in with a stone. Hence why I said, it is barbaric in its nature.”
Patrick nodded, I know he was trying to form the images in his mind, he shuddered after a while.
I placed most of what I had baked in tins. Patrick thanked me for my hospitality and for my horror stories, he winked as he left the cottage.
I bathed, and sat on the couch under a comforter. Tiger was asleep on my lap. I was watching M.A.S.H. It was comical. I found myself giggling a few times. I stayed up late, a new commodity, one I wasn’t use to. I would go to bed early, so I could hide from Harry. It didn’t disperse his advances.
I fell asleep on the couch, a first for me. I was warm under Tiger. So I closed my eyes and I slept where I was. The nightmares were persistent.
Emily looked up at me as I entered the building.
I sat down. My head was pounding. Emily stood next to me.
“Nightmares?”
“Yeah, how do you know things I have not spoken of?”
“My mum had the gift. Tell me about the dream, while I make tea, I should have Tylenol in my purse.”
“In the dream, I see Inkosi standing at the door, he beckons me to come to him. When I do. I am holding his lifeless body in my arms. This dream has been on repeat for a week. Why I am I having these afflictions, when I am content?”
“Drink this. Nichole I am hosting a shindig on Saturday, and you are invited. You are no longer a prisoner. So, buy a dress, and get to know my family. I shall not quarrel with you. Gwendoline and Patrick are invited. Go buy a dress, I insist. I need you to get out of your head for a few hours.”
I went and bought a dress. It took me hours to find the right bloody dress, I felt better by the time arrived back at work. I worked past lunch time. I closed late. It was a good day. I think I pushed myself harder so I would be too tired to dream.
I was knackered when my head hit the pillow, no dreams.
I was up early, and at the office before Emily. She looked at me with concern in her lovely eyes.
“You will burnout.”
“Stop getting into my head, I need to sleep Emily.”
Emily smiled at me. “Work, if you break, I shall be there to pick up the pieces.”
When Saturday arrived, I believed I had formed a routine. I didn’t realise how tired I was, until I fell asleep at my desk.
“Nichole, wake up honey. Go home, get some rest. I’ll send a car to pick you up at five. I want you to come before the other guests arrive.”
I went home, really pissed at myself. I bathed, and I lay on the couch. I did set the alarm, or I would have slept, till morning. I bathed again. Fed Tiger, and stared with the tedious job of trying to make myself look better. I had dark rings under my eyes. I was too pale.
“Tiger, this will need work.” He was curled up on my feet, oh what bliss.
I picked him up, after hair and makeup was just right. I had bought a red dress; I cannot say why. It had golden cuffs and a golden belt. I opted for heels. And the car arrived just as I was rubbing perfume behind my ears.
Gran had instilled that in me, she told me, that years back in her youth, children suffered from an illness. It was a serious bacterial infection that affected the bone behind the ear. It could lead to hearing loss. In severe cases. Hence the term, wet behind the ears, mostly children were affected.
The driver opened the door for me. My mouth gaped when I saw her home. She is so modest, yet she lived in what one may call a palace.
Emily came to the car to greet me. “You look stunning Nichole.” I looked up at the building.
“Is that an actual palace?” She smiled. “It might be, you be the judge, sweet Nichole.”
She took me on a tour. I was mesmerized. More guests arrived, and I was left alone. I was lost. I stood where I was, trying to navigate my way back to the parlour. Yes, a bloody parlour.
I felt someone standing next to me, I hopped. I looked up at him and he smiled.
“You are lost, only an assumption.” His eyes smiled when he spoke.
“One might say so. Yes, I think I might be lost.”
He leaned closer. “If you take my arm, I shall slay a dragon, climb a mountain, swim the deepest oceans, hear me dear lady, I shall deliver you to my sister unharmed.”
I laughed. Definitely related. “I am sir, Leo Stanhope, minus the sir.”
I looked up at him. “I am Nichole Atkinson. Lady for the moment kind and noble sir.”
We spoke, and laughed, he bowed when we entered the parlour. Emily tapped her foot at Leo.
“I came to her rescue, hand on my heart. I cannot in good conscience leave a beautiful woman to fend for herself. What would my sister think of me?”
Emily smiled broadly at her brother. “That flattery gets you nowhere, now get Nichole a drink.”
“Non-alcoholic, please.” Leo mocked bowed and brought me lemonade. It was homemade. Delicious. Emily greeted her guests. Leo took me by my elbow, and walked with me to a beautiful couch. Thank God for Finishing school.
I thought he was going to leave, he sat down next to me. I looked at him. His likeness was to his sister.
“Tell me about yourself, lady Atkinson.”
I opened and closed my mouth a few times. “I have a cat.”
Leo smiled. “Good ice breaker, I am hooked, do tell me about this said cat.”
I had to smile. “Calico, his name is Tiger.”
Leo sat bolt upright. “Calico, and named Tiger, if I came over to take you out, would I have to dress in my armour, here said cat, Calico. Might not agree if I asked you out on a date.”
“I don’t think, you need to worry unnecessarily, good sir, he sleeps most of the day, and the night.”
“I see, a sleepy kitten with mittens, I am saved.” We laughed. I was introduced to so many people I lost count of faces and names.
Leo could see I felt overwhelmed. “Fancy a walk in the garden?” I nodded.
The breeze was cold. He removed his jacket and hung it over my shoulders. “Thank you.”
“It is quite a pleasure. I shall say this, because if I don’t, I might not. You are a beautiful woman. Emily told me, but I thought, that’s just Emily, she could see the beauty in a frog. She was right, you take my breath away.”
“Thank you.” I wasn’t sure what to say, screw you finishing school.
He named the various plants. And the art, that adorned this vast landscape that leaves the eyes wanting more. We stopped on a hill, and watched the lake below “Absolutely breathtakingly. Perfection.” Leo looked at me. “I do agree with that statement.”
I glanced at him. He was different to the men I had dated. I wasn’t sure, why this man was flirting with the likes of me.
We danced, a Waltz. I have not danced in years. I knew Leo was older than I, yet he was ageless.
Supper was an absolute feast.
We danced again. But the walking and the dancing was playing havoc with my back. Emily noticed, that I took longer to get from A-Z, her ‘home’ was enormous. She whispered in Leo’s ear.
“May I drive you home?”
“I…can ask Patrick to take me home, I am not fond of being a drag on others, thank you, I shall ask Pat.” He held out his hand to me. “I insist.”
I wasn’t going to assume anything, Emily is his sister, and one can see they were raised well.
He stopped outside my cottage, and helped me out of his Bentley. I was impressed.
He walked me to the door.
“I am really pleased to have met you. Have dinner with me tomorrow, no I retract that, an early lunch. Am I going about this arse over foot?”
I smiled. “In a way yes. I will be delighted to have an early lunch with you Leo.”
He leaned on the top of the car’s roof. “I am really pleased to meet you. Emily spoke highly of you, and I can see why. Sleep well Nichole.”
Leo rang around eleven, he would be at my door at twelve.
He took me to a very fancy tea house. I felt out of sorts. He ordered our beverages.
He looked up at me, away from the menu. “Three failed marriages, two sons, two daughters in law, one grandson, one dog and a cat.” I smiled.
“One failed marriage, one deceased, and a cat. I do not have children of my own.”
“Nichole, my deepest condolences. Was it recent?”
I shook my head no. “No, it was ten years ago.”
Leo nodded. “He was a lucky man, to see the love in your eyes. He was indeed a lucky man.”
My throat was dry. “I cannot conquer with that statement. I think if I had not stepped back into his life, he would still be alive.”
We ordered salads. Leo was appraising me. He looked around him.
“I shall not agree. One is fated. Anyone of us, might die, right here, right now, not by your fault.”
“It was my fault, I stepped into a place I was not welcomed, in my selfish love, I am responsible for his demise.”
Leo wiped his mouth. “I disagree. You do not hold your fate, nor his in your hands. Life will take with one hand, and give with the other. That’s what life is, balance.”
I stood up. He gently took my hand. “It is not my intention to insult you. Please don’t go. You may speak to me freely. I have a closet full of bollocks, we all do. It saddens me, to see the desolation in your eyes.” I sat down. I don’t know why I was acting like a child.
“He was black.” Leo looked at me. “So? I don’t care if he was pink with yellow spots. You loved him. I will repeat myself, he was a lucky man.”
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