Heather quickly ran. She didn’t ‘t even know where to go. One thing she knew was she wanted to get away from Blake.
Finally she decided to go to Rica’s. Her friend hugged her when she saw the state she was in.
“Can I stay here for the meantime? Just for two days. I can’t go to Pauline’s because Blake knows her place. I just need time to think.”
.”No problem. You can stay here for as long as you want. But is it okay for you if you stay here alone? I have an out-of-town business trip tomorrow morning.”
She nodded. “I will be alright. Thank you. Please don’t tell Pauline that I am here,”
“I won’t. Don’t worry.”
Heather didn’t want to turn on her phone. She was sure that Blake had a lot of missed calls and text messages but his explanation now was useless. She gave him a chance a while ago but he wasted it. She wanted to be alone for two days at most. She didn’t want Stacey to get worried about her if she was away for longer than that. She couldn’t even call her.
***
Eve had a feeling that Heather would not go back to her apartment any time soon and she was worried what Blake would do. So she convinced him to j stay at her unit. Now her fiancé Lance and Blake were drinking alcohol in the living room.
“You can drink as much as you want without me worrying about you. Give me your car keys just to be sure!” She opened her right palm up. With a heavy frown, Blake handed her his key.
“Kristel wants you and Heather to be in this situation. She is unbelievable! She ruined your life in the past and now she is doing it again!” Lance said with a shake of his head.
Blake gulped more booze. “If I knew that it will come to this I would have let them meet face-to-face! I can’t fathom why Heather is still insecure of her! Damn it!”
“One thing that we dislike about you men is you seem to find it so hard to explain things about your exes in detail and even other situations!
A good example is how most of you reply to messages. You always reply with just K or sometimes just an emoticon which is annoying! ” Eve said with a sigh.
Lance grinned. “Babe, you are not talking about me are you? You know that I do my best to reply to your long messages but most of the time I am busy at work.”
Eve just rolled her eyes.
“I was just waiting for her to ask more questions. I have been asking myself what I else I need to do to show her how important she is to me. You women make things very complicated!” Blake hissed.
“Well what happened can’t be undone so all you have to do is wait! Anyway according to you she just said you both need space right? At least you learned your lesson after this. Next time you tell her everything at once especially about your ex! I can’t blame her if she was hesitant to ask you a lot of questions so you should have provided answers to her unasked questions! We are talking about your ex here and it’s normal that she feels insecure or jealous! You are so possessive and jealous yourself but when you are in the hot seat you can’t seem to explain well!”
“I don’t need a space and neither does she dammit!”
Eve glowered at him. “So what are you going to do? We don’t even know where she is!”
“I’ll think of something!” he said through gritted teeth.
I will find you sweetheart! You can never get away from me! He thought.
Heather had a splitting headache from crying all night. Rica just knocked at her door to say she was leaving and she said she prepared some food for her breakfast. She borrowed her phone for a minute to call Joey . She told him that she would be absent for two days. She was glad that the gay designer didn’t ask why. After Rica left, she took a shower to ease the throbbing in her temples. She had no choice but to borrow some clothes and undies from her. She just drank a cup of coffee before going out of the townhouse. It was only 7 in the morning. She took a walk and she was relieved when she found a small park. She could sit there peacefully and think. The weather was gloomy like her mood. There were few people who were exercising several feet from her. She also saw some cyclists. She thought that it was nice just sitting like here on a bench. It would have been nicer if Blake was with her. The thought of him made her want to cry again. He needed a space more than her. It worked before when she left him for the first time. That was when he realized that he loved her. So maybe after this, he would be totally free from of his ex by forgetting good and even bad memories with her. In other words, after this time away from her, he should eliminate Kristel from his thoughts and life completely. She regretted not asking him if he told Kristel about her. Because if she knew that he had a girlfriend already why did she call him and went to the bar to see him? It seemed that he didn’t even tell his ex her name. Kristel didn’t even know she existed. The woman had no reaction when Phil called her name last night. She sobbed. She didn’t know how long she cried with her face on her hands. She felt someone sat next to her. She removed her hands on her face and she saw a white hankie in front of her. An old man, maybe in his 70s was holding it out to her. She took it and said thank you.
“I know why you are crying. It’s because of a man right?” he asked looking intently at her..
She released a small smile and nodded. The old man turned and looked at the trees several meters from them.
“I was the most mischievous teenager among my friends. When we became adults, I was the baddest boy. I tried everything. Weed, cigarette, alcohol, women. My principle that time was to try everything, good or bad before I die. I had a lot of girlfriends. I didn’t stick to only one. I never cared if I was hurting a lot of feelings that time. I only cared about what gave me enjoyment. I was a selfish womanizer. But everything changed when I met Catherine. She was the woman I married. She accepted me for what I am. She put up with my womanizing for many years. She didn’t leave me even when we discovered that I was sterile. When I found out about that, I was so angry and my womanizing became worse. I thought that since I can’t make anyone pregnant, I could fuck as many as I wanted. Catherine finally had it. She left me. That was when I realized how much I loved her. I love her but I didn’t know why it was difficult for me to show her. I did everything to get her back and make it up to her.” The old man’s voice sounded very sad.
She saw a tear fell on his cheek so she handed him his handkerchief. He took it and wiped the tear.
“Most of us men are weak but as they say, behind a successful man is a woman. Maybe not all men believe that it’s true but I admit and accept that it is. I had to lose the only woman I have ever loved before I realized how important she is to me. She changed me. She is my world.” The old man turned to look at her, ” Forgive the man who is the reason for your tears . Believe me, he needs you. If you are crying now because you are hurting, I am sure that he is hurting too. If he can’t open up to you then try to understand him. Most men are like that. It’s not easy pouring our feelings out. Do the first move so you can talk and make things work out. Help him tell you the things you want to hear or do the things you want him to do so you can feel his love for you. Life is too short. I advise you to go back to him. You are a gorgeous woman so I am sure that he is crazy about you.” He said with a smile.
“Oh my goodness Arthur! You still want to try your old womanizing ways? This lady could pass for you granddaughter already! You old Casanova! ” An angry old lady from behind them pinched the old man’s right ear.
“Catherine, love! ” He exclaimed.
***
Heather was heading back to the townhouse but she still couldn’t stop smiling because of Arthur and Catherine. They have an amazing love story. They met again after 30 years. What Arthur said made her realize a lot of things. She had to understand Blake. If she needed to write down all her questions about his ex, she would. She would prod him to talk about everything. She felt much better. She would call him. She walked faster because she was excited to talk to him again. She gaped when someone from behind grabbed her. She wanted to scream but she couldn’t. Someone’s arm was around her and a hand covered her mouth. Her heart was beating fast.
“MMPPP “she protested but his hold tightened.
“You can’t run from me sweetheart.” He whispered in her ear.