Chapter 13
“Wanda,” Christopher said from the bottom of the stairs, just inside the workshop. He stayed back enough that if she was surprised, nothing should hit him. “Wanda,” he said louder, and smiled when she started and looked up.
“What?” She frowned at Christopher.
“Thought you’d like something to drink.” He held up the glass and released the breath he’d been holding when she smiled at him.
“Wonderful.” She wiped her hands on a towel and stood.
They met halfway, and after she took the glass, she downed almost all of it at once.
“Sorry, I don’t realize how thirsty I get when I’m lost in the zone, but I thank you.
” She held up the glass and finished it.
“I’m almost done for the day. I’m sure my parents want to go out to dinner.
I love them dearly, but with them here, I don’t get to work as much as I’d like.
Don’t get me wrong, as I said, I love my parents dearly, but sometimes. ..”
“You don’t have to explain yourself to me.
” Christopher sighed. “I called mine to just use them as a sounding board as to what I’ve done, and what I should do next.
Next thing I know, they’re knocking on my hotel room door.
They said they came to see if I needed help explaining things to you.
But between you and me, I think they wanted to check you out. ”
“Why? I’m nothing important.”
“Maybe not, but we are legally married. And I’m sorry for earlier coming over strong and yelling at you. I’m beginning to realize that not everyone works like I do. For that I’m sorry.” Before she could answer him, their parents joined them.
“We’re thinking of going out to dinner,” Randall said. “Would you two like to join us?”
Wanda looked down at herself and sighed. “I should get cleaned up first. Give me thirty minutes?”
“Sure,” Angie said, and looked around. “Is there anything we can do to help you clean up down here?”
“No, I’ve done it. I just have to grab the towels and head up to shower.
” She did that and headed up the stairs, leaving the five of them standing there.
Upstairs, she quickly removed her shoes, and hurried over to the laundry room and stripped down.
She grabbed a robe and promptly donned it and hurried through and up to her bedroom.
After turning on the water, she immediately jumped in and showered and ended up having to wash her hair twice to get all the goo out of it.
Once she was clean, she quickly finished and dried off with her hair in a towel.
Out in her bedroom, she sighed as she opened her closet.
Not knowing where they were going, she decided to wear a sundress and quickly dressed in a pale blue sundress, tan sandals, and she tossed a light wrap on the bed and went back into the bathroom.
She towel dried her hair, and used the blow dryer to promptly finish drying it.
She only used a minimum of makeup, just a light blush, eyeliner, and clear gloss.
After finishing up in the bathroom, she went back to her bedroom and quickly donned her watch and a necklace that her brother Douglas had given her as a high school graduation present.
It was a silver heart that opened and on one side was a picture of their parents, the other held one of the three siblings.
The rings had been removed from the chain she had them on, and placed next to the heart.
With one last look in the mirror, she was satisfied with her appearance and quickly made her way down to the second floor. The only person she saw was Christopher. “Where is everyone?”
“They already left, said something about going ahead and getting a table. Told me to follow with you. That you would know directions.”
“Okay, where are we supposed to be going?”
“Someplace called The Dragon’s Den?”
“Oh, yeah.” Wanda giggled. “Hope you like variety in your foods.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“The Dragon’s Den is a buffet type restaurant. You have everything from Chinese, to Italian, to finger foods. Then there’s meat and potatoes. It’s like ten restaurants all rolled into one, buffet style.”
“You’ve been there before?” Christopher asked as he opened the door and paused when she locked up behind them. Together they went down through the workshop, and she again locked up behind them. He escorted her to a mid-sized SUV, and she frowned when she saw the plates.
“New York?”
“Yes, this is my personal vehicle.” He helped her in, and got behind the wheel. He buckled up, then sighed. “I don’t do airports. I like to be in control, and there’s too much chaos in airports. Too many delays, too many cancellations, too much chaos.”
“What? You drove all the way from New York to here?” Wanda asked as she indicated for him to go. “Take a left out of the parking lot, go five miles, turn right, three miles down on the left.”
“Thank you.” He started the truck and began following her directions.
“Yes,” he said as he picked up the conversation as they drove.
“Actually, I drove to my parents’ house south of Chicago.
Told them what I found out and then I went back to where we grew up in California.
There I found your parents had moved to Oregon, so I went there and thanks to your niece, we were able to find you here in Arizona.
And yes, I drove to all of those places.
My partner called me earlier today, and I’m leaving Sunday to head back home to New York. ”
“Partner? So, you’re gay?”
“What?! NO! I wouldn’t have kissed you the way I did if I was gay.
” He actually jerked the wheel, causing them to swerve in the road, and when he got it under control, he looked at her and frowned.
“Business partner. Work partner. I don’t know if you looked at the card I gave you, but I own my own business.
Evans Investigations, Inc. I started it while a senior in college and Sean Brown joined me a year later.
He called and said I needed to get back.
Works piling up. I just wanted to make sure you were going to contact a lawyer. ”
“I plan to. I have several calls out, waiting to hear back from them. But you have to admit it’s an unusual case.”
“It is. I’d like to apologize for my actions earlier. Since I found out about our marriage, I’ve been on the road. I’ve contacted my lawyer back home, and I’ll meet with him when I get home. I’ll leave you my card and contact information so that when you get a lawyer, you can pass it along.”
“So what? You want me to file for divorce?”
“I was thinking along the lines of an annulment. Don’t worry, if you need help paying for it, I’ll talk to my lawyer and make that one of the conditions. That I pay all or half of your lawyer fees.”
“You don’t have to do that. But let me ask you this. What if we have to go to court?”
“Then have your lawyer contact mine as soon as possible, and hopefully they’ll give me enough time to come down. And yes, I’ll be driving, like I said, I don’t do airplanes or airports. And before you say anything, no bus, or train either.”
“Let me guess.” Wanda giggled as she pointed to the restaurant. “You like to be in control?”
“Absolutely.” He grinned as he pulled in and parked. He got out and helped her out, and they saw their parents outside the door waiting for them.
“Well, if it’ll help, you can always stay at my place if it comes to that. At least save you on a hotel room.”
“Deal. And if you ever come to New York, let me know in advance so I can plan on you being there. You’re more than welcome to stay with me. I don’t have as much room as you do, but I do have a spare room.”
“Thanks,” she said, and they exchanged a look and decided to table their talk until later, if that. They greeted their parents and went into the restaurant. Wanda grinned when Christopher stopped and stared.
“You weren’t kidding, were you?” Christopher stared at Wanda in shock, then looked out at all the buffet tables loaded with food. He looked at the older adults, and asked, “Have you been here before?”
“No, I heard about it when we were exploring the town earlier today.” Randall grinned. “Sounded like fun.”
“Do you need to tour the tables, then make a list as to what you’re going to eat?
” Wanda giggled as she followed the waitress to their table.
Once they were seated, everyone placed their drink order, and the waitress questioned Wanda several times when she asked for ice water with five lemons.
She was surprised when Christopher came to her defense.
“Is there a problem here?”
“Um, no. I was just making sure she actually wanted five lemons for the water.”
“Do you think if she didn’t want them, she would order them?”
“I’m sorry, Sir.” She hurried away, and Wanda looked at Christopher.
“That was uncalled for. I could have handled it.”
“I know, but I had a feeling she would continue to question you. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m hungry.
” He grinned and stood up and headed to the tables.
Wanda sat there and watched as he walked around the fifteen tables and looked at everything before he picked up a plate to start filling it.
She shook her head, and before she could rise to join them, the waitress returned with their drinks.
Wanda saw her glass of water only had one lemon wedge floating.
But before she could say anything, the waitress placed a small dish beside it.
“Here’s more lemons for you.”
“Thank you.” Wanda nodded and squeezed five lemons into her drink, stirred it and took a sip.
“Perfect, thank you.” She stood and went and picked up a plate and began walking around.
She wasn’t starving, so she decided to start with soup and salad.
By the time she made it back to the table, everyone else was seated, and she was surprised when the men stood at her approach and what really surprised her was Christopher holding her chair out for her.
She thanked him and sat down. It ended up that the men sat on one side of the table with the women on the other.
Christopher and Wanda sat between the adults.
They ended up spending three hours talking and eating, and it was discussed that the parents were going to leave the next day.
But they were going to take their time and stop at the Grand Canyon on their way to their own homes in different states.
Christopher ended up driving Wanda back to her place while the other adults decided to go further into town and go out for a drink.
After walking her up to her door, Christopher looked at her, and said, “Let me know if you need anything about the lawyer. I’m leaving here tomorrow to go back to New York.
If you need anything, let me know, and if you’re ever in New York, if you contact me in advance, I can plan for it.
I’ll show you around, and I have a spare room you can stay in. ”
“Thank you, I don’t think I’ll ever need it, but thank you. Same here, you can stay here if you ever come back. If I don’t hear from the lawyers I’ve already contacted by Tuesday, I’ll call them back, and I agree with you. I think an annulment would be best for our situation.”
“Agreed. When I get home, I’ll talk to my lawyer.
” He paused and studied her before he sighed.
“I wish you luck, Wanda.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek, then before they could say anything else, he turned on his heel, hurried down the stairs and waved over his shoulder as he left.
Wanda sighed and went into her apartment and knowing her parents had a key, she made her way to her bedroom and settled in for the night.