Chapter 13 #2
try the bourbon too,” I tell him, having no clue what that
means.
I steal a quick
glance at Moira and she gives me an encouraging smile, then leans in
toward me. “I strongly suggest you only have one. It can sneak
up on you.”
I lean back toward
her. “I need the fortitude to get through tonight.”
She snickers at me,
and I love that we are back to where we can joke with each other.
After Clint gets all
the drinks poured, he hands them out to each of us. I take a sniff of
the bourbon, and the scent is pleasing. Woodsy, smoky…
slightly sweet.
“I’d
like to make a toast,” Randall says, “to welcome Zach
home. I’m so happy to have him back where he belongs.”
Cara and Clint call
out, “Here, here,” but Moira doesn’t say a word.
She knows I’m not happy with those words just uttered.
Everyone takes a sip
of their drink, except me. I look directly at Randall. “I’m
sorry, Randall. But this isn’t my home and it never will be.”
The warm smile
slides off Randall’s face, and he takes a step toward me. His
eyes are sad. “I’m sorry, Zach. That was insensitive of
me. I know you must be very angry with me right now, but I’m
hoping you will forgive me and accept my friendship. I really only
wanted to make sure you were okay and give you an opportunity to come
here. If you don’t want to stay, I’ll arrange for you to
return whenever you want. Until then, I hope you will let me share my
memories of your parents with you, and you will at least have a good
experience while you are here.”
Man, that was good.
So good in fact, I actually find myself warming up to the old man. I
nod at him and make an attempt at a smile, but before I can say
anything to him, Cara steps up to my side and loops her arm through
mine. “Oh, poo. Zach is going to have such a fabulous time here
that he’s never going to want to leave. I’m going to make
sure of it.”
Cara then leans in
and presses her body into my side. She’s soft and she smells
good, but I’d rather have Moira standing this close to me. Cara
is beautiful and has a stunning body from what I can see, but she
doesn’t overwhelm me the way Moira does.
Nothing has ever
overwhelmed me the way Moira does.
“Let’s
head in to dinner, shall we?” Randall says as he offers his arm
to Moira. “Zach, you can escort Cara in, and I’ll take
the lovely Dr. Reed.”
My hackles raise
slightly to see Moira loop her arm through Randall’s, but he
does nothing more than give her a kindly pat on the hand. However, my
gaze cuts over to Clint, who is walking in just behind, and his eyes
are pinned on Moira’s ass.
It makes me want to
kill the motherfucker, but I know Moira wouldn’t take kindly to
it.
Cara leads me into a
large dining room with a table that seats twenty-four by my quick
count. Leading me to a chair near the end, she releases her hold on
me. She stands there, staring at me, and I wonder what I’m
supposed to do.
Shrugging my
shoulders, I pull my chair out and sit down, then watch as Randall
escorts Moira to the chair opposite of me, and pulls it out for her
to sit in. Okay… so that’s a custom I didn’t know
about. I look back up at Cara, but she’s already pulling her
own chair out to sit down beside me.
“In polite
circles, Zach,” Cara tells me primly, “a gentleman should
pull out a chair for a lady.”
Moira puts her hand
over her mouth to hide a smile, and I can’t help but say, “I’ve
lived in a savage world for a long time, Miss Cannon. I don’t
belong in polite circles.”
Randall guffaws over
that and takes the seat at the very end, and just to my right, while
Clint sits down next to Moira.
Immediately, servers
come in and start placing plates with silver, domed lids over them
before each of us. Once everyone has one, they all lift the lids in
one coordinated move. I look down at my plate, not recognizing a damn
thing.
“We’re
having roasted duck tonight with asparagus and fingerling potatoes,”
Randall says beside me and, as I look up at him, he must have seen
the lack of recognition on my face. “But if you don’t
like it, I’m sure we can whip up something for you.”
“I’m
sure it’s fine,” I tell him because I’ll eat
anything. “It sure looks better than spider monkey.”
Moira laughs, and
Cara makes a choking sound. “You eat spider monkey?” she
asks with disgust.
“And howler
monkey,” I tell her with a grin. “As well as snake,
alligator, and grub worms.”
She gasps and
wrinkles her nose. “It sounds awful.”
“It’s
actually pretty good,” Moira says across the table, giving me a
warm smile. “At least the alligator and monkey I tried were. I
would have liked to have tried the snake… particularly the one
Zach killed just before it was getting ready to take a nip at my
ankle.”
I laugh at the
picture and nod. “That would have made you a mighty fine meal,”
I tell her, returning her smile, which is private between the two of
us.
“Well, thank
goodness for our creature comforts here,” Cara says.
“Zach…
what’s been the hardest thing you’ve had to acclimate to
here?” Clint asks curiously, as I start to cut into the duck. I
place a bite in my mouth, and it’s fucking delicious.
After I swallow, I
tell him, “I miss the simplicity of my life back in Caraica.”
“How so?”
Randall asks.
“Well,
everything here is about rules. You live in the land of the free, but
you are governed by so many rules that it’s hard to keep track
of sometimes. For example, if I want to cross the street, I have to
wait for the light to turn green. In Amazonia, I go where I want,
when I want, without anyone telling me differently.”
“Ah, but that
rule about the green light is in place for your safety,” Cara
points out.
“Agreed,”
I tell her. “And I understand that well, but it’s a
product of having too many people and too much technology. Your life
here is actually stunted to some degree because of that.”
“You’ll
get used to it,” Cara says dismissively.
I take another bite
of my food, but then Moira pipes up. “I think what Zach is
really saying, is that in Amazonia, he grew up with absolute freedom.
He didn’t have rules and boundaries to shape him, but led his
life the way he wanted. When someone is given that amazing
opportunity, I think the potential to become whatever you want is
endless. Sometimes, simple is better.”
I look across the
table at Moira and am humbled at the way that she gets me. I first
thought she would try to change me into something I’m not
capable of but, instead, she celebrates my diversity from this life.
She appreciates it.
I give her a smile
of thanks and return to my dinner.
The rest of the
meal, I’m happy to let Cara and Clint do most of the talking.
Randall has taken a backseat, refusing to overwhelm me, and I just
listen to Cara prattle on about her latest shopping expedition, and
Clint talk about some new sports car he just purchased. I get the
feeling these two don’t do much but spend their money.
“Oh, I have an
idea,” Cara says with a wide smile. “Clint and I will
take Zach out on the boat tomorrow. It will be so much fun.”
“Moira can
come too, right?” I ask because I get the feeling that she was
deliberately not invited.
“Absolutely,”
Clint says, shooting Moira a weird smile that sets me on edge. I
notice Cara looks put out.
“Not
tomorrow,” Randall says. “I want to spend some time with
Zach. He’s only committed to two days here, and I want to be
able to talk to him about his parents. I want to take him over to the
house he lived in as a boy. But if he wants to stay, I think that
sounds like a fine idea.”
I turn my head in
surprise to Randall. “My parents lived near here?”
Randall nods with a
smile. “I actually bought their house when they went missing.
It went into foreclosure, and I always hoped they’d come back.
When I found out that you were alive, I went ahead and transferred
the deed into your name. It belongs to you now, Zach.”
I swallow hard,
emotion overwhelming me. I’ve been remembering bits and pieces
of that little house, but I never thought I’d get to see it
again. Putting my utensils down, I wipe my mouth with my napkin. All
so very civilized.
When I place it back
on my lap, I say, “Thank you, Randall. That means a lot to me,
and I’d like to see that tomorrow as well.”
“Absolutely,”
Randall says. “We’ll leave after breakfast.”
For the first time
since we landed in Georgia, I’m actually thinking that I may
want to stay here a few more days than originally planned. Just so I
can take the opportunity to see everything from my past.
That way, there will
be no wondering. I can have closure. It will be easier, I’m
sure, to let it completely go when I finally return to Caraica.