Chapter 11
The Wisteria Arch
Alianna arrived outside the gardens just after six o’clock, as agreed. She found Rionan waiting for her under the shade of a tree, leaning against its trunk, a half smile on his handsome face. She felt his eyes scan her, moving down from her face, taking in the sight of her, and up again.
At home, Alianna had found herself reaching for dresses that she rarely got the opportunity to wear, and had video-called Natasha, who helped her pick out an outfit.
“The red one. Definitely the red one,” Natasha had said through mouthfuls of popcorn, as Alianna stood away from her phone, holding up a floaty red summer dress, and a light blue casual day dress.
The red dress was a bit more of an occasion dress, but wouldn’t look out of place on an evening stroll through the gardens.
Plus, she found herself wanting to make a bit of an effort.
“You’re sure the red one isn’t too over the top?”
“You’re only saying that because it’s red. Wearing a red dress can sometimes be a statement, but it isn’t a bad one. Be the girl that’s confident enough to wear the red dress, Alianna.”
“You’re right. My hair?”
“Down. Curl it. Keep your makeup subtle, natural, but match it to the dress. Maybe a bold lip colour. I want pictures before you go, alright?”
Alianna had done just that, sending a mirror selfie of her finished look before leaving the house.
The dress plunged down towards her cleavage, stopping before nothing was left to the imagination, and hugged her waist. From there, it floated outwards and down, its loose chiffon material light and airy, stopping at her knees.
She had paired it with some simple gold earrings, chunky black wedge sandals, and she had curled her hair as Natasha had suggested, brushing it out to create a loose, salon blow-out look.
Approaching Rionan, she carried a small, brown picnic basket. He eyed it suspiciously, although the smile didn’t leave his face.
Rionan was wearing another pair of formal black trousers, with a black shirt. The top two buttons were again undone. Alianna felt like he’d been dropped out of a fashion magazine, into the gardens, like a figment of her imagination.
“You look positively wonderful,” Rionan smiled, dropping into a mock bow. “Although you look just as nice in an apron.”
“You’re too kind,” Alianna replied, motioning for him to stand up. “You know, I’m not sure how long you’re going to be in Porthan, but it’s warm here, and you’re once again wearing trousers. I think we are going to have to go shopping to get you some shorts.”
Rionan smiled but said nothing, returning his gaze to the basket in her hand. “What’s that?”
“A surprise,” Alianna beamed. “You’ll see.”
As they stepped into the gardens, Alianna’s jaw dropped.
“What…how is it…” Her words trailed off, and she gazed in wonder, turning in a slow circle to take in the fauna, the butterflies that moved between the bushes, and the life that bloomed around them.
“I thought you said it had seen better days,” Rionan commented. He would not be revealing that he had been here last night, that it had looked tired, and he had given this garden a much-needed injection of energy. “Looks lovely to me.”
“It….it had. The last time I was here, it was bedraggled, everything just looked like it needed caring for, but had nobody to do it…now it’s,” Alianna didn’t finish her sentence. Rionan waited. “It’s beautiful.”
Rionan paused for a moment, his eyes not leaving Alianna’s face. He took in her genuine expression of awe, of wonder, and noticed how her eyes glazed over in appreciation of the space around her.
“It is.”
Alianna turned to him, sniffing briefly.
She tried to ignore the well of emotion rising in her chest, caused by seeing a place she truly held dear looking cared for once more.
She smiled warmly, eyes glistening. He noticed that her breathing was deeper and steadier than it had been when she arrived.
“Come on. Let’s go for a walk. This place is bursting with colour tonight. I want to see it all.”
***************
After an hour of walking and talking, laughing at each other’s jokes, and discussing the various flowers that were blooming in the garden, Rionan and Alianna sat on a bench which overlooked a small water fountain.
Atop the fountain was a statue of a couple, holding each other and resting their foreheads together, as water sprayed down over their heads.
“Am I finally going to find out what’s in that basket?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, opening it. She pulled out two glasses, handing them to him, and then pulled out a large bottle. The liquid inside was a summer orange colour. She held it up, beaming.
“Mimosas!”
He laughed, looking from the bottle, to the glasses, to her. “First, I buy a phone while I’m here. Now, I am going to have my first mimosa.”
“Absolutely. Not just any mimosa, though,” she took one glass, filled it, then reached back into the basket.
From a small, previously covered dish, she pulled out a strawberry which had been partially cut down the middle.
She gently slid the strawberry onto the glass, passing it back to Rionan. “A strawberry decorated mimosa.”
“Wow. All this effort, just for me?” he smirked, accepting the glass, and waiting for her to fill her own.
“Yep. Now you’ll think of me whenever you eat strawberries – or drink mimosas – or do both together.” She tapped her glass against his and brought it to her ruby red lips, drinking half of the glass. He watched, saying nothing, but smiling at the small gesture.
“You have just rubbed the strawberry over your nose,” he commented, pulling his own off the side of his glass. “Maybe eat them first?”
“I think that would have been a better idea, yes,” Alianna remarked, rubbing the side of her nose slightly. She watched from the corner of her eye as he opened his mouth and slid the strawberry onto his tongue, eating it with a gentle “mm.”
Alianna swallowed, averting her eyes. She returned to her glass and finished the mimosa.
“Thank you for this,” he gestured to the glasses. “It has been a while since I have been able to enjoy a calm walk with a friend, let alone a drink in the company of one, too.”
“Why? Busy with work?” she asked, waiting for him to answer as he took several gulps of his drink.
“Sort of,” he motioned to the bottle, silently requesting that their glasses be refilled. “It’s all a bit complicated.”
Alianna considered for a moment. She felt emboldened – possibly by draining her drink as quickly as she had poured it. She could hear her friend’s voice in the back of her mind: “Be the girl that’s confident enough to wear the red dress, Ali.”
“Complicated as in, it would be good to talk about it? Or complicated as in, the last thing I want to do is talk about it?”
Rionan stilled.
“I’m sorry. I pushed too far; it’s none of my business.”
“No,” Rionan shook his head, turning to face her. “It’s not that. There aren’t many people I can discuss my hardships with. I have a role to play. A person to be. I am the one people look to in times of difficulty, you see.”
“That must be hard,” Alianna said solemnly. Rionan took another few sips of his drink. “Everyone needs somebody to talk to.”
“I think you’re right. I haven’t had somebody to talk to for…a while. I have some close friends, but things back at home have been…tense. I have a role to play, and that is what I have done. I haven’t been able to speak as myself, with no pressure, for some time.”
Alianna allowed her eyes to roam over his face as he looked earnestly at her. He must have been in his early thirties, at most. How lonely had his adult life been, not to have anyone to speak to when he felt low?
“I’m sorry. I know we don’t know each other well, but you can talk to me.”
She wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she thought she felt his hand slide closer to her own on the bench.
“Thank you. Where I am from – where I work…things have been difficult. I’m here to look for a way to resolve things. Make them better. Return things to the way they were.”
“I see. What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m hoping I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Can I help, Max? As in, help you find it, or decide what it is you need?”
Rionan considered her words. She was sure his breathing faltered. “I think you might already be helping me, even if you don’t know it.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. They stared forward, at the water fountain, in quiet, comfortable silence.
Alianna’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt his fingers graze the tips of her own. She looked down to where his hand rested next to hers. He continued to stare forward at the fountain, seemingly in deep thought, which she chose not to interrupt.
As quickly as the moment came, it seemed to pass. He looked back at her, eyes warm again, a smile on his face. He lifted his glass to his mouth and drained the remainder of his drink. “Another?” he asked.
“I’m glad I bought a good-sized bottle with me,” she laughed, refilling both of their glasses and popping a strawberry into her mouth.
The evening air rolled lazily around them as the light began fading from the sky.
They walked through the gardens, exploring narrow pathways in the hedgerows, looking at weatherworn statues, stopping to watch the bees as they hopped from flower to flower.
Alianna found herself feeling incredibly safe in his company.
“Are you in a rush to get home tonight?” Rionan asked, looking down at her. They stood underneath an archway which was wrapped with wisteria, hidden away from the outside world. Alianna considered.
“No, I don’t think I am.”
Rionan turned to face her, saying nothing.
He peered down at her, his light blue eyes sparkling with intrigue.
Alianna blushed, but ignored the voice in her head telling her to look away.
The wind ruffled her hair, sweeping it around her face.
Gently, Rionan raised a hand, tucking her hair behind her ear, running the strand between his fingers.
The air around them seemed to buzz with an energy that had her feeling alive, feeling awake, feeling so interconnected with everything around her in this moment.
“What?” she eventually asked, still refusing to break his eye contact.
“I’m just thinking about how beautiful you look this evening. I’m thinking about the effort you made to bring me something, something that made me smile. I’m thinking about how easy it is for me to talk to you.”
Alianna’s heart began beating more wildly in her chest, quietly hoping that he would close the distance between them.
She saw him flare his nostrils slightly, his eyes moving down to her mouth.
Time seemed to slow, and she felt like they remained in this moment for a long while.
Neither of them speaking, or being the first to look away.
Finally, Rionan cleared his throat.
“Do you want to keep walking?”
Alianna hesitated. No, she did not want to keep walking.
She wanted to stay here, under the archway, hidden from this world.
She wanted to be reckless and foolish with a man that – if she were being honest with herself - she knew very little about, had shared a handful of hours with, but felt strangely connected to.
Almost as if he could read her thoughts, she noticed him flare his nostrils slightly again, inhaling sharply, and his eyes fixed on her mouth.
Do it. She thought to herself. There was no way she was making that first move.
Yet, as they stood here, she thought about exactly what she did want to do.
The way she longed to feel those lips on hers.
The way he had tucked her hair behind her ear, and how she wanted him to pull her up against him.
The way she wanted to run her hands through that thick, dark hair, down his back, while she hooked her leg around him…
It was the mimosas talking. It had to be. This was more forward than she had found herself being with any man for a long time. It was also the first time she’d felt confident enough to get the red dress out in a while.
She noticed his breathing had quickened, his gaze locked on hers. The air around them seemed to fill with static.
Rionan took a tentative step towards her, closing the gap between them, and gently caressed the back of her arm, sending shivers down her spine.
“Max?” she asked quietly. He seemed to freeze at the question, jarring him back into reality. He stepped back. One step. Two.
“Yes?”
Alianna had no idea what she was going to ask. Not one. And now he’d stepped away.
“Shall we get going? It’s starting to get a bit chilly.”
Rionan smiled. “Of course. Come on. We can’t stay tucked away here forever.”