*****
The sound of heavy footsteps running towards us snapped both Erik and me into high alert. He palmed his gun and gently pushed me behind him.
“Sunrise! Sunrise! We’re all clear, the feds are on the scene now,” said Stephan. Erik lowered his weapon at the sound of Stephan’s voice. Stephan emerged followed by John and two FBI agents, with official jackets and insignias. My knees almost gave out with relief. It was all over, but did they have Christopher? Did he get away? The agents started talking at me and to Erik. Erik answered most of the questions as we walked back. He was the coherent one and I was effectively in a daze.
“You should get her checked out by the paramedic. We’ll get a statement from her later.” That much I heard from one of the FBI agents as we neared the house. They disappeared inside along with Stephan. John and Erik stayed with me to get me around to the front of the house. I didn’t even want to see what the inside looked like. There were so many ambulances in my drive, carrying guys out, that I could only imagine the bloodbath on my floors and walls.
“We never shoot to kill. All those guys will get to spend their time in jail alive,” said John. He’d meant that as a reassurance, but I was still horrified that a gunfight had taken place here. Erik led me to an empty ambulance. A paramedic began taking my vitals and directing me to follow his finger with my eyes while he shone a light at me. After he checked me out and I was good to go, I saw Christopher being led out of my house in handcuffs. He was looking down and never once looked up as they led him to an armored van and loaded him inside. He was the only one of his gang who didn’t have a wound on him.
“How many guys?” I asked softly. Erik looked at me questioningly and I repeated myself. “How many guys did Christopher have come here?”
Erik glanced at the scene of brightly flashing white, blue, and red lights. A huge number of personnel walking in and out of the house, milling around the drive and talking about the crime scene.
“It was seven of them against the five of us all in all. Some of them were trained, but not all. That’s what gave us the advantage. We were able to pick off the few unskilled and then weed out the more cunning ones to take them down. We’re all okay, but Nick, he got grazed on the arm. It’s nothing major.” My eyes widened and I glanced around to try and see which ambulance Nick was in.
“He’s fine, really Tanya. His wife is here with him now. Don’t worry you’ll see him later.” I deflated a little bit at Erik’s reassurances. We sat at the back of the ambulance for a while and just tried to decompress from everything.
“So they were able to get all the evidence they needed to put Christopher away?” I asked Erik after a long silence.
“Yeah, the guy is smart, but he’s cocky and not too careful. He left subtle clues that Nick and Stephan were able to pick up on and exploit. Christopher built a network. He’d import guns from Asia and northern Europe, then he’d export them to a lot of underdeveloped countries. To warzones, and known terrorist groups. His deals were always airtight. But he wasn’t too smart in hiding all of his money or importing the weapons, which were often coupled with imported drugs. The FBI will tell him only half of what they have on him and force him to give up some of his sources; a fake plea deal. Then hit him with the other half of their evidence and keep him in jail for good.” I gave a sigh of relief; it really was all over then.
“I hope he rots. Men like that don’t deserve to be free in the world. They’re a virus,” I said. Erik nodded, there was a small smile to his lips as he laced his fingers with mine.
“They are, and we helped catch one.” Erik brought my knuckles to his lips and kissed each one softly. “Your place is going to be pretty much unlivable for a couple of weeks, so I hope you don’t mind staying with me?”
I smiled and Erik grinned boyishly, though I could tell he was actually a bit unsure as to what my answer would be.
“I’d love that. I hope you live far, far away from here.” Erik chuckled and promised me he did.
“Our farm is pretty far off from here. Both of you are welcome to stay to recover from all of this,” said a deep voice from around the corner of the ambulance. The owner of the voice stepped into view and my eyes widened – he was a near spitting image of Erik. This was obviously his father, though Erik’s dad had greying hair around the edges and laugh lines around his eyes and mouth.
“Pop, what are you doin’ here?” Erik’s southern accent became more pronounced when he spoke to his father.
“I saw it all on the news, then Paul called me and I came down here; this
is
concerning our security firm. Plus, the feds said it was helpful that they could get a statement from me soon.”
I smiled at how they interacted. The doting father who still had it, trying to show up his son.
Erik shook his head at his dad and then looked at me curiously, “Do you want to stay on the farm? My mom makes a mean pot pie, and I know you’ll love her hot chocolate. It gets cooler on the farm at night than it does here.” Erik sold me at pot pie and hot chocolate.
“Yes, that sounds wonderful,” I said gratefully. Both Erik and his dad gave me nearly identical warm smiles.
*****
“You know, my family really loves you,” Erik said as he walked into the guest room with a steaming cup of hot chocolate. Erik’s mom, Ann, had given me orders to stay in bed today and let Erik look after me. She was so sweet and motherly that being around her often made me think of my own mom and how much I missed her.
“Really? Already? I mean, we’ve only been on the farm for a week. They are a pretty great family though,” I said while taking the cup from him. The hot chocolate smelled delicious.
Erik climbed onto the bed next to me and took the remote to find something good to watch. He said, “Yeah, what’s not to love? You’re genuine and sweet and kind and smart and gorgeous and sexy and funny and sexy…” I laughed and Erik smiled lopsidedly at me.
“I doubt they think I’m sexy…or gorgeous,” I said with a chuckle. Erik shrugged.
“You are though, it’s one of those things like; when you see a person you automatically categorize a few obvious attributes about them in your head. Two of your obvious traits are sexy and gorgeous. Everyone thinks it, but doesn’t necessarily say it out loud,” Erik explained. I laughed while rolling my eyes.
“That sounded very scientific Erik,” I said. He grinned and nodded sagely.
“Yup, it is a science. Freud would definitely agree with me.”
I laughed again and nudged Erik’s arm. Ever since we came to where he grew up, he’d been acting so silly and carefree.
“So have you decided when you’re going back home yet? Do I have to join the age old fight for the farm?” said Erik. He grinned at me and I giggled, not really catching what he meant under his quip.
“Yeah, I’ve earned more than a couple weeks’ vacation and my job is giving me as much time as I need. So two weeks is good I think. I guess I won’t have to have you guys as my security anymore either…” I said slowly as the realization dawned on me yet again that Christopher was locked up. He wasn’t coming after me anymore and I was free to live my life without fear of him.
“No…I guess not…but I still want to protect you. I don’t want you going home at night by yourself or anything. Some members of Christopher’s gang might be still out there, and they might seek revenge.”
My eyebrows crinkled at that possibility.
“But the FBI said Christopher gave up names like a treasure trove. All his guys are off of the streets,” Erik added. I bit my lip in consternation. Erik shook his head and then nodded, his expression intense as if he was struggling with something.
“I just
want to stay with you,” he said. My eyes widened at his earnest tone. He wanted to stay with me because he loved me maybe? I loved him and there was no denying that. I needed to know for sure though.
“Why?” I asked.
Erik smiled, that little look of nervousness entering his eyes again.
“Because I…I love you Tanya.”
My heart swelled and jumped for joy at his stuttered admission.
“I love you too,” I said shyly. Erik’s smile grew into a breathtaking one. Joy lit up his features and I was almost awed at how beautiful he was, how he could love
me
and want to be with me.
“I swear, I’ll stick with you through anything and everything baby.” Erik pressed a sound kiss to my lips and then another that quickly turned passionate.
“I’m glad you said that…because I kind of have something to tell you.” I put the mug of hot chocolate down and faced him completely. My mind wandered back to the first couple of days on his family farm. Erik and I had been tangled up in each other as we helped each other move on from what happened. It was his mom that pointed it out one morning. She asked me if I wanted tea with breakfast while she was clearly making a pot of coffee for her visiting family. They had come in to see Erik and meet me as we were obviously a budding couple.
Ann casually mentioned that Erik and I seemed ‘awfully romantic’ and she looked at me knowingly. Erik and I were caught up in each other. We never took things easy when we made love and we weren’t careful either. My eyes had widened and Ann nodded sagely as if she knew exactly what I had realized. She took me to go and get a few home pregnancy tests and they all came back positive. Ever since then I had been waiting for the right moment to tell Erik and now he was sitting next to me, looking at me expectantly.
“I’m…The first night we…had sex. We didn’t use a condom…” I paused, to kind of let Erik’s mind churn the information. After a moment his eyes widened.
“You weren’t on birth control…you
aren’t
on birth control…are you?” I shook my head no and Erik gripped my hands tightly. His eyes were glazed with shock briefly, but then the widest grin spread across his face. “Are we having a baby? We’re going to be a family?”
Amazed that he was taking this so well, I simply nodded. “Yes, we’re having a baby!”
He was excited, to say the least. His features brightened and he pulled me into a tight hug.
“I love you so much, I promise we’ll have the best life,” Erik vowed. Tears came to my eyes as my own happiness enveloped me. I knew that as long as I had Erik everything would be okay.
THE END
Bonus Story 2/10
Come on,
she told herself.
Get a hold. You don’t need to be staring at some new guy at work all day, for God’s sake. What are you, some teenager? You’re nearly forty, Daisy, come on, now, get a hold of yourself. Maybe this would be okay for some star-eyed teenager, but a twice-divorced call center worker?
She shook her head and then the next call came in. Her Fake Voice took over for the next hour or so: that bright and chirpy voice that was nothing like her normal calm-sounding tenor. When the lull in the calls came, she looked once more at Dorian Sykes. He was talking with apparent ease on the phone. The only sign that he didn’t really want to be here was the constant tapping of his foot.
Tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap
.
She knew what that tapping meant. She had done it enough times herself. It meant that one wanted to vacate one’s current situation as quickly as possible, preferably forever, and fly off into some unknown, exciting land. But they were the phone drones. That was their purpose. Who were they to argue their lot? This was them; leave the outside world to its excitement. Then Dorian caught her eye. Daisy flinched, grimaced – not the most attractive expression, she knew – and then Dorian smiled and nodded. Daisy, flabbergasted, nodded back. Then another call came in and she had to be Friendly Daisy again. She actually welcomed the reprieve.
Later that day – after work – she and Angela went to the movies. They had been doing this a lot lately. They were both movie buffs. Angela, Daisy was proud to say, was one of her two friends. She only had two friends. When she was married (both times) she had had wide circles of friends, but it’s funny, isn’t it, how quick those friends dissipate once the marriage collapses. After the movie they walked through the city, past the lit-up taxis and groups of college kids from the nearby college with their brown bags full of liquor.
“Did you see the new guy?” Daisy eventually blurted out, unable to stop herself.
“Hmm?” Angela said. “What new guy?”
“The
new
guy,” Daisy said. She couldn’t believe that Angela hadn’t noticed him – Angela was the Gossip Queen – and she was in no mood for Angela’s pretend coyness. “His name is Dorian-something.” (She knew his name, had overheard it in the break room, but she didn’t want to appear
too
eager.)
“Oh, yeah,” Angela said, like it was the furthest thing from her mind. “Yeah, he’s alright, isn’t he? If I wasn’t a married woman I might have a go at it.”
Daisy clasped her hands to her chest. “Oh, sweet one!” she exclaimed. “How I feel for you!”
“Bite me,” Angela said. “Anyway, are you thinking of making a move on Mr. Muscle?”
“No,” Daisy said. “I’m done with men, don’t you remember? Soon I’ll retreat into a convent and become a life-loving nun. I cannot wait, in truth. I’ll live out my golden years surrounded by like-minded men-hating women. It will be glorious.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “Human closeness is an essential human need, silly,” she said. “That is probably why you feel so attracted towards this man. And
don’t
say you’re not. I saw you looking at him earlier.”
“Cheat!” Daisy cried. “I
knew
you had noticed him.”
“I noticed you, dear,” Angela said. “You were staring like a befuddled cartoon character. I’m surprised your jaw didn’t hit the floor.”
“Sacrilege! Blasphemy!”
Angela rolled her eyes. “Have I ever told you how odd you are?”
“Lots and lots of times,” Daisy said.
“So you like this guy. So what? It’s not illegal.”
That night Daisy lay awake in bed wondering if she could break the covenant she’d made with herself concerning men. She had good reason for boycotting men. Her first husband had cheated on her God knew how many times, and her second husband had been about as clinging as a leech. There was no way she wanted to enter into an arrangement that made her lose the will to live again anytime soon. But then—she found herself thinking of the way his arms had tightened as he’d leaned forward on his desk during one of his calls. She wished she could banish such thoughts from her mind – what would the ladies at the convent say? And yet the thoughts kept returning.
So when Dorian approached her at work the next day – paced straight to her desk, like a man on a mission – she felt her heart lurch in her chest, up, up, almost as though it wanted to squeeze through her throat and leap out of her mouth. Suddenly, her hands had become slick with sweat. She took a quick drink of water. He leaned down to her on the desk. Luckily, the woman who usually sat next to Daisy on the two-person desk was ill, so nobody could hear what he said. But that didn’t stop Angela making kissing faces across the room.
“Hello,” Dorian said.
“Uh, hello,” Daisy said.
He smiled, showing rows of white teeth. “Do you drink?” he said.
“Yes,” Daisy said, confused.
“Good,” Dorian said. “So you’ll come for a drink with me after work?”
Oh, how Daisy wanted to say yes! But it was too abrupt, too out-of-nowhere. How could she just go for a drink with a man she didn’t know? She had been separated from her ex-husband for just over a year, and in all that time she hadn’t so much as looked at another man, until Dorian. And now here he was asking her for a drink. It should’ve been a moment for rejoicing, but—
“No,” Daisy said. “No, I don’t think I will.”
Dorian shrugged. “I’ll ask you again tomorrow,” he said, and then sauntered back to his desk, apparently unaffected by her refusal.
I’ll ask you again tomorrow
. Daisy swallowed.
*****
Daisy talked like a machinegun, words shooting out like rounds, as she paced around her apartment like she was training for a sprint. “The thing is, Jess, I don’t even
know
if I like him. I mean, I don’t know him at all. Who is he? Yes, I had that dream about him, the one I texted you about: he was naked, I was naked, it was awesome. But—I’m done with men. I said that after Mark and I meant it. I can’t just go out with this man now because I’ll be going back on what I said, you know? What sort of person would that make me?”
“I know—”
“Exactly!” Daisy interjected. “Exactly… How can I just go with this man and not beat myself up about it? Is it because we’re in the twenty-first century? Is that it? Is it because I’m scared of being called a
slut
or whatever word people are using these days to brand women with? It used to be Jezebel, you know. But, but—I don’t
think
it’s that. I think it’s something else. Fear? Maybe. Maybe it
is
fear. Maybe I’m scared – terrified – that I’ll mess things up straightaway and then it all really would have been for nothing. I mean, right now if I keep rejecting him at least I can say
I kept my word
. But if I go with him and then I mess it up, I would have broken my word for nothing.”
“Daisy,” Jessica said. She sounded tired.
“Hmm?”
“It’s two a.m.”
Daisy looked at the luminous clock that hung on her bedroom wall, doubling as a nightlight. “Oh, yeah, sorry,” Daisy said. “Um, sorry.”
Jessica laughed: the laugh of a woman who is happily married and doesn’t understand the single woman anymore; can barely remember being a single woman. “It’s okay,” Jessica said. “Do you remember English class at college, when you would talk so fast that Professor Jones would have to keep telling you to repeat yourself? I know how she felt now. I think I caught one word in about five. But here’s my advice, if you want it. Just go on one date with the guy. It can’t do any harm.”
“But—”
“That’s my advice!” Jessica cried, giggling. “You shall not rob me of sleep anymore!”
They said goodbye and hung up. Daisy paced her apartment for the next half-hour under the pretense of cleaning, but the duster stayed unused and it was too late to vacuum. She tried to sleep for a while, but then the sun began to rise, so she went into her library (her apartment was lined with shelves and shelves of books: classics, crime, literature, plays, and so on). She retrieved her
Complete Works of William Shakespeare
and began reading
The Tempest
. For some reason, she felt an unusual affinity with Caliban today; she
was
on an island, after all, only hers was an island of indecision and ignorance and fear.
When it was time for work she splashed her face with water and downed two cups of coffee. That morning, as usual, Dorian came over to her desk, leaned down, and asked her to have a drink with him. “I’ll keep asking forever,” he said, smiling. “I will ask until this world of ours crumbles, if that’s what it takes.”
“I could get a restraining order,” Daisy said, only half-joking.
“You could,” Dorian said, unfazed. “But you won’t.”
He’s right, dearly daring Daisy. You won’t get a restraining order because you like him asking you too much. If you truly didn’t want him to keep asking you could just go and see Human Resources and file a complaint for harassment. Why haven’t you done that yet, you little minx? Is it because you want to touch those arms, to have those arms wrapped around you, to see what he has down below?
“Okay,” Daisy said. “If it means you’ll leave me alone for the rest of the day, I’ll have a drink with you.”
“Great. I’ll wait for you after work.”
“Okay,” Daisy said.
Dorian strolled back to his desk and sunk into his seat. For the rest of the day Daisy’s heart was pounding like a bongo. She truly did feel like a teenager again; she felt as though the angst and the uncertainty of those cruel years had come again and tackled her in her thirties. She even
blushed
when Angela asked her about it. She hadn’t blushed in years.
And then five-thirty came – time for the date, if that was what it was – and she couldn’t fool herself any longer. This was real. This was happening.
*****
They were silent for a few minutes, listening to the afternoon noise of the city, and then Daisy, unable to endure the oppressive silence any longer, had to speak. “Why were you so persistent?” she said. “I mean, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. I don’t see why you have to be so persistent.”
“Then you clearly haven’t looked at yourself in the mirror,” Dorian said.
Daisy laughed. It
was
funny. She didn’t think of herself as the sort of woman who merited such ham-fisted flattery. She was aging well(ish), it was true, and she was careful with her appearance, but she wasn’t super-model hot or anything, nothing like those airbrushed, rake-thin girls in the magazines men seemed so fond of these days. And she was nothing like those porn stars men seemed even fond
er
of nowadays. She realized Dorian was staring at her.
“Yes?” she said, sounding indignant.
“You weren’t talking.”
“Yes,” she said.
He smiled, his blue-white eyes glimmered, and then he nodded. “You’re strange,” he said. “But in a good way,” he added. “You’re strange, like a puzzle. You’re the sort of person I am drawn to. That is why I was so persistent. When I meet a person like you – which doesn’t happen very often – I have to know more about her. That is why I would’ve asked until the men in white coats dragged me away.”
“I’m afraid you’re reading too much into me,” Daisy said. “I work in a call center. That is all.”