Chapter 4 #2
“Something happened at work, and I’m on a sabbatical of sorts.” I couldn’t keep the sneer out of my voice, and he must’ve picked up on it.
“Sounds like there’s a story there, but I won’t pry.” He adjusted the vents to make sure I was getting air, which made me smile. So considerate.
“I don’t mind telling you. Any friend of Vicky’s is a friend of mine,” I answered, shifting in my seat to face him a little more. He grimaced, but he quickly recovered.
What was that all about? Mike has officially piqued my curiosity.
“Anyway, I’m an interior designer like Vicky. I’d been working on restoring an older villa for a new client. After a miscommunication with the contractor, a hidden 18th-century fresco was damaged, and the client is holding me responsible.” My head ached just repeating the story.
“That doesn’t seem fair,” he said, merging onto what looked like a major freeway.
“No, it’s not, but in these instances, someone has to bear the blame, I guess.” Looking around at the passing buildings, with the harbor in the background, I smiled. When we got near the arches of Balboa Park, it blossomed.
He must’ve sensed something when I went quiet and stole glances at me while he drove. My eyes took in the shining white arches, and I automatically turned in my seat to look back at them through the rear window as we drove under and away from them.
“Home?” he asked, surprised as his voice lifted in tone.
I hadn’t realized I had said that out loud.
Blushing, I turned back to the front, unsure how to reply.
I worried my bottom lip, trying to figure out what to say, but he must have gotten the hint and didn’t push further.
I wasn’t used to someone being so tuned in to me that they’d notice such small gestures.
I looked at him from the side, sneaking my own glances at him as he drove, one hand on the steering wheel, the other resting on his thigh.
Mike was indeed an attractive man, but there weren’t any big fireworks on my side.
And yet, there was an immediate sense of comfort, which was surprising.
I tended not to trust men when I first met them, thanks to Mama’s promptings.
Still, it made me wonder if there might be some attraction on his end by the way he was acting.
He cleared his throat, and I hurriedly turned back to face the windshield again. “So, any sisters or brothers back home? Or anyone…special?”
I looked away and smiled at the side window. Schooling my face, I turned back to him. “Are you trying to ask if I have a boyfriend, Mike?”
He huffed and squirmed in his seat but said, “No.”
“Well, there’s no one special, and it’s just my parents and me.”
“Oh, we have that in common. Only child,” he said, pointing to himself with his free hand.
“Which means you’re a spoiled brat,” I joked.
“Right back at you,” he said with a wide smile.
I laughed. “In my case, not really. My mother was pretty tough on me. Not exactly the spoiling kind. Wanted me to grow up to be independent.”
“I see. Well, mine have practically lived in Africa most of my life, so Grammy and Grandpa did the spoiling.” When I looked confused, he said, “Story for another day.”
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I went back to looking out the window at the passing buildings. That’s when I heard him release a loud sigh.
“I, I, uh. Ren, ah. Shoot,” he whispered, making me turn back to face him.
“What? What is it?” I asked, searching his profile. Was he out of gas? Got a text I didn’t see?
Looking at me quickly before turning back, he shook his head. “Ren, I don’t even know how to explain the mess I’ve gotten myself into tonight.”
What in the world could have this man so twisted up? The jovial, easygoing guy Vicky described looked as if he were about to come out of his skin or heave. Maybe both. And why was he sharing this with me, of all people? He must’ve taken my statement about being his friend to heart quickly.
“Tell me. Maybe I can help,” I said, hoping to calm him down, unsure what else to say.
He scoffed, which irritated me. Why bother telling me he was in some kind of trouble, then make me feel silly for offering to help him?
“Sorry. Didn’t mean it to sound that way. Especially since you’re the only one who can help.” His voice was quiet, as if he were telling me a secret.
Maybe it was the jet lag, but I was thoroughly confused.
Before I could ask more, he pulled into the cutest neighborhood with eclectic houses that made me think of a fairy-tale village.
Even at night, it was evident that we were not in the city where I had stayed with Vicky before.
Every house was different and had a personality of its own.
This was a designer’s fantasy come true.
As Mike drove down a few streets, I had almost forgotten our strange conversation until he pulled up to the sweetest cottage I’d ever seen.
It was painted soft white and pale blue and must have been near the ocean.
Even with the truck still running as we sat in the driveway, I could hear the powerful waves nearby.
“Ren,” he said, pulling me out of my reverie. “I did something tonight.”
Giving him my full attention again, I nodded for him to continue. His throat bobbed with a hard swallow, and he gripped the steering wheel like a life raft, staring straight ahead.
“Mike, you’re kinda freaking me out,” I said jokingly, trying to calm him. “And I don’t know you well enough to know whether to call someone for you.”
He took a deep breath and, on the exhale, spewed out words that I never could’ve seen coming. “I told my ailing grandmother that you were my girlfriend.”
My stunned face, wide eyes, and gaping mouth made him turn towards me. No, that wasn’t it. It was the gasp that could be heard from space. I was pretty sure I’d dropped my purse on the floor. Or maybe it was my jaw. Hard to tell.
“Ma che dici? Sorry. What are you talking about?” I asked loudly, my hands in the air.
“Ah. P-please, let me explain,” he stuttered.
“I think that would be a good idea,” I whispered, trying to calm down when my mind snagged back to the words ‘ailing grandmother.’
“My Grammy, she’s the most important person in my life.
I owe her, well, I owe her everything. She had an accident last year.
Honestly, I think there’s more about her health that she’s holding back from me, and I can’t get her doctors to be open with me about what’s going on.
” He rubbed the back of his neck, showing how upset he was.
“Oh, Mike, I’m so sorry to hear that. She’ll be in my prayers,” I said softly, reaching out and touching his arm. His eyes followed my hand and remained fixed.
“You’re a believer.” It was a statement, not a question.
“Yes, I am. And I lost my grandparents at an early age, so I understand how worried you must be, especially if no one is being honest with you. That must be incredibly tough.”
The muscles in his jaw twitched, and I had the overwhelming urge to reach for his hand next. Mike turned back to the front and seemed to be having a war within himself as I watched his face darken and his forehead wrinkle.
“I can’t lose her. I just can’t.” He looked at me again, and tears were brimming in his light brown eyes. We were strangers, caught up in a moment neither of us imagined would be happening, but I couldn’t look away.
“You, you said I was the only one who could help.”
He smiled weakly, “Yeah, it’s just like Princess Leia, right?”
“Um, are you talking about Star Wars?” This conversation just got weirder and weirder.
His eyes lit up. “You know it? I love Star Wars and have always wanted to weave that into a conversation,” his shaky voice betraying his attempt at being jovial.
Shrugging, I said, “Not really, but I kind of get the reference. Watched a lot of American TV. Anyway, you told her I was your girlfriend. Could you elaborate? I mean, why lie and why me? We literally just met. When would you have told her that?”
Mike shook his head again, his frown returning. “I was with her tonight. She’s been relentless about me settling down. Been after me for years to get married before she…before—”
“She wants to see you get married before it’s too late.” My voice was just above a whisper, my heart aching for him. Knowing that neither of my grandparents would ever see me walk down the aisle brought about a long-forgotten ache.
“Yeah. And she wants to be there, to see it. Problem is, I haven’t felt that way about anyone, well, ever.
Someone I’d be willing to be that vulnerable, that open with.
” The way he said it made me believe there was more to what he was admitting, but I didn’t push. The conversation was awkward enough.
“Tonight, she tried once again to set me up with someone she thought would be a good match,” he said, laughter bursting out of him at the thought. He wiped his hand down his face. “Candlelight dinner and everything. I was completely blindsided.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter at the visual of that. “You’re kidding me?”
“Nope. She and the Granny Squad are like mercenaries. Every time I visit them, they’re up to no good, including trying to find me a wife.
Knowing them, they were all in on it. Not to mention candles aren’t allowed in her apartment building.
” His eyebrows raised as if he hadn’t thought about that before now.
“Okay, now I need to hear more about these grannies at some point. I’d love to meet them,” I answered, laughing again. They sounded like my nonnas. My grandmothers had been best friends and ruled our neighborhood with an iron fist.
His face became solemn as he said, “That’s kind of what I was hoping.
You see, Vicky had just called about picking you up when I got to Grammy’s apartment, and when she started crying for shooting down her efforts, again, I panicked and said I had a girlfriend.
She was so excited that she demanded a name. ”