Chapter 1 #3
She made her way to the ladder. She looked around and saw no one.
The ladder seemed safe enough, secured to the bookcase wall by some sort of metal contraption.
Just a quick little climb, she thought. She climbed her way to the top of the ladder and looked around.
Wow! This was high. She looked at the books in front of her; Canadian literature.
Suddenly, she heard someone’s footsteps come from behind her.
She didn’t turn around. The foot steps stopped.
Oh no. Quick... pick a book. Quickly, she grabbed a book.
“Be careful up there,” the voice of a man startled her. Actually it scared her half to death and she nearly fell, grabbing a tight hold of the ladder. She was expecting Ellie or Dot. She turned around. A familiar face stood a few feet from the bottom of the ladder.
“We wouldn’t want you with a broken leg and stranded again,” he joked.
This was not the person she was expecting to see now, in this house.
“Oh... I just wanted to check out this book,” she told him as she made her way down, clutching the book to her chest and trying to maneuver the ladder with one arm which proved to be quite a feat.
“Which one is it?” he asked
She looked down. “Volkswagen Blues”
“Good choice,” he offered.
“Yeah, it’s great, isn’t it?” she said, knowing very well she had actually never read it. “When I saw it... I... um...” She looked up the ladder.
“You spotted it from all the way down here. Good eyesight.”
“Well, yeah...” She tugged at her glasses. “These are fantastic. I have super vision. Like a superhero.”
He smiled; still wearing his crisp blue suit. She was painfully aware of her shabby pink velour leisure workout ensemble.
“It’s nice...” he said, hesitating for a moment “…actually, it’s surprising to see you again.”
“I know,” she said, flustered. She was as surprised as he was. “Um... you live here?” she asked, slightly confused.
“No. I just like to randomly walk into stately homes,” he joked, with a hint of a smile. “I like to check out the décor.”
She knew he was being arrogant. Jeez, was it too much to ask to get a simple answer to a simple question.
“How’d the tire do on the rest of your drive here?”
“Good. It was on good.” She wasn’t sure why she had suddenly lost the ability to use proper grammar.
“I hope so.” His irresistible smile made an appearance again.
She loved the blue of his eyes and the freckles on his nose. She didn’t usually care for freckles but he certainly did them justice. He was boyish, but she guessed he was probably about her age, possibly slightly older; the fine lines around his eyes gave away his age.
“You must be my mother’s new reading friend.” He reached for his loosened tie and took it off. She noticed he hadn’t changed his dirty shirt.
“Friend... I’m not sure.” She gave him a sheepish smile.
“Well, it’s nice of you, to come here and read to her.”
She started to feel a little uneasy. It had been a long time since a man had made her feel this way; like a self conscious teenager.
“I see you met Angelina, Michael.” Dot said, having made a sudden reappearance.
“Actually, the name is-” Angela was about to correct her yet again.
“It’s Angela, Mum, not Angelina,” he pointed out.
“Angelina. Angela. What’s the difference?”
He helped his mother into her chair. “Well, I’ll leave you ladies to your books. It was nice to meet you, Angelina,” he joked.
“It was nice to meet you too... again.” She smiled as she sat across Dot and nearly missed her seat.
“What in the world are you still doing here?” Dot asked her. “Don’t you have a home?”
“Yes. You’re right. I didn’t know we were done.”
“Well, you didn’t bring me a book.”
“I didn’t know which one you wanted. I tried to get the information-”
“Actually, I have tons of books here. Let me think about it. I’ll ask Ellie to fetch me a few. I’ll let you know.”
“So, you would like me to come next week?”
“Yes. Have you not been listening?” Dot was obviously quite irritated.
“Ok, I think I’ll be leaving now.”
“She wasn’t too hard on you, was she?” Ellie asked as Angela was putting on her shoes.
“Not too bad. She’s a little abrasive.”
“Little?!” She smiled.
“Why did she sign up for this service? She has plenty of books and I’m sure you or someone else can read to her,” Angela asked, curious.
“She does have many people at her disposal. I think she just wants to torment someone new. I’ve grown calluses all over my body over the years. She doesn’t faze me the least bit anymore.” She paused and looked back discreetly. “Fresh new blood, I suppose.” She smiled.
“I hate to say this but I don’t think I’m going to last past the second visit,” she confessed. “See you next Monday, I hope.” She grinned at Ellie on her way out the door.
Michael could see the parking lot from his bedroom ensuite window.
He was getting out of his clothes, getting ready for a much needed shower.
He had had some business to finish up when he came back from his meeting, and hadn’t had a chance to get out of his dirty shirt.
He smiled at the thought of Angela; what a quirky, sweet little number; feisty and stubborn but delicate and beautiful.
She was sweet all right, but he did notice the diamond on her finger; she was obviously spoken for.
But then again, what was the harm in looking.
She was certainly nice to look at; a little distraction.
He actually liked the fact that she was unavailable; he had no interest in getting involved with anyone; considering what he was going through at the moment.
Besides, there was no way she would last. His mother had managed to get rid of all the others in less than two weeks.
It she lasted three weeks, she would set a record.