Hadrian's Wall (39 page)

“All this seems foolish to you, doesn’t it?”
He asked in a sorrowful tone.

I was startled. Of course, being jealous of
a goblet was absurd, but he had no way of knowing what I was
thinking. It took a few seconds until I realized he was answering
my question with a question —not reading my mind or something. The
penny dropped and I regretted having provoked him.

“No, just...” I said, trying to fix what I’d
done. “I imagine that when there’s a fortune like yours involved,
it’s necessary to take certain precautions.”

He gave me a hard smile, but he didn’t
respond. He looked at me and I felt awash with the impact of his
irises.

“I took a break from my guardians today, but
you need not worry. You’re safe with me.”

The regular waiter, not the one who wore
black, arrived with my Coke. While I was mixing my drink, I tried
to organize my thoughts.

“I’m not worried about my safety. After all,
no self-respecting villain would waste his time threatening an
insignificant person like me.”

The look he gave me was so cold that I
quickly added, “But apparently, your relatives have fear what might
happen to you, despite the fact that you seem to be the kind of man
who doesn’t fear anyone.”

Adrian shook his head, pressing his lips
together.

“You’re quick, I have to admit...” His lips
twitched a little, like he was trying not to smile. “When you feel
threatened, the sarcasm shoots out of your mouth like deadly
arrows.”

The annoyance vanished from his face as if
by magic, giving way to understanding.

“I wonder how difficult it must be for you
to be in an unfamiliar place, away from everything and everyone
you’ve ever known. Sometimes the best defense is to attack, but I
don’t want you to feel threatened. I just want to help you,
Melissa.”

Calm, compassionate...the perfect
physician...a man imbued with an unwavering sense of equanimity. He
made me feel immature and ashamed of myself.

“Quick, you say...” I deliberately ignored
the part of the sarcasm and everything else. “Actually, if I were
faster, I would have solved all your secrets.”

Mmmm...I was teasing him. What could I say
in my defense? Did the Coke go straight to my brain? I’m pathetic!
I couldn’t even claim the influence of alcohol.

Adrian leaned toward me, his eyes
sparkling.

“Do you want to unveil my secrets?”

There it is: the fateful question.

“I don’t know...” I whispered.

He stared at me in a complicit way. I
suddenly realized that his eyes were dark.

“Everything in its own time, Melissa...in
its own time,” he whispered, using his mesmerizing tone. “You set
the pace. I’m more than willing to follow it. Don’t be afraid of me
because all I want is your wellbeing.”

We lost each other in one of those
‘eye-to-eye’ moments. His eyes were black now.

The spell was broken when the waiter arrived
with our cheeseburgers. I filled my mouth with fries, eager to have
something to do that would prevent me from uttering any more
bullshit.

Adrian was right. Those were the best
potatoes I’d ever tasted in my entire life!

14

PATIENCE IS A
VIRTUE

As we drove through the streets of Hadrian’s
Wall, Adrian didn’t say a word but the atmosphere between us was
still enjoyable. Occasionally, I looked down at the gifts that lay
in my lap. I was still baffled. I never would have thought that
he’d do something like that—celebrate my birthday after it was
past. He did it because of a comment I’d made when we talked in the
hospital’s cafeteria. He had memorized my words. Now, my heart was
overflowing with emotion, but at the time, it was not so. At that
moment I’d wished for the floor to open beneath my feet and swallow
me.

The scene came back to my mind. We were
sitting at the restaurant table in the club. As soon as he revealed
his intention, I told him that celebrating my past birthday was an
absurd idea.

Adrian replied, “A very special moment
cannot go unchallenged.”

I really didn’t understand the magnitude of
the situation until I saw the lighted candles coming from the other
side of the VIP section’s folding screen. I didn’t need to count to
know there were eighteen candles.

The head waiter brought the cart in person.
As he approached, the house lights were dimmed to highlight the
flickering candles neatly arranged on a huge, white, decorated
cake.

“I can’t believe it!” I said. Adrian was
already standing beside me.

“Happy Birthday, Melissa! Now make a wish
and blow out the candles.”

I took a deep breath. Make
a wish...what could I wish for? Going to college? Doing a good job
for his father? Making new friends...or rather making
true
friends? Capture the
heart of Adrian Cahill...or at least secure his friendship? What
could I possibly ask for anyway?

Then one desire starting taking shape in my
mind: I wanted to be happy...and, if possible, beside him.

Once I blew out the candles, the smiling
head waiter cut a generous piece of cake for me and one for Adrian.
Instead of tasting the cake, I watched while he tasted his piece.
Until now, I’d seen him eat only very little − as if he had no
appetite. It was hard to imagine how he could keep his athletic
body so fit, given than he ate less than an anorexic supermodel. As
I expected, Adrian’s smile was more like a grimace of disgust − as
if he was being forced to eat camel dung.

“Tell Edgar this is excellent!” he told the
head waiter, who was standing by, anxious for a comment.

Edgar was obviously the restaurant’s chef. I
tasted my piece and closed my eyes. The cake was absolutely
delicious. I was ecstatic.

I heard someone clear his throat and looked
to the side. The head waiter remained standing near the cart. What
else did he want? I looked questioningly at Adrian.

“Your things are disturbing him,” Adrian
informed me.

What things?

When I failed to respond,
Adrian added,
“He wants you to take the
packages from the cart.” He sighed. His expression remained
indifferent, except for the glow in his playful green
eyes.

I looked at the cart and it was then that I
saw two small, gift-wrapped packages hidden behind the cake.

“For me?”

Adrian nodded, the look on his face
pretending boredom.

I picked up the packages. “I can’t believe
this,” I mumbled.

I noticed that some people were watching us,
whispering among themselves. Obviously, they’d deduced that it was
a birthday celebration. That sucks! I hated being the center of
attention.

“What an exaggeration!” I mumbled again,
sitting down again.

Adrian gave a sardonic chuckle. You ain’t
seen nothing yet!” he said.

He sat next to me, watching me awkwardly rip
off the wrapping paper. I wondered what was inside the packages,
however, I was already anticipating a polite way to refuse them. I
was surprised. The two objects were strange—a kind of calculator
and a magnetic card.

I sat back and looked at the things without
understanding what they meant.

Embossed on the card was my
name and the name of a bank. No, not a bank...a store.
Wait!
Not a store...a
video rental store.

“You would have accepted a fur coat?” Adrian
inquired derisively, resting his chin on his hands.

“Never!”

“Because you would be embarrassed if I gave
you a gift that most people think is expensive,” he deduced,
smiling at me.

“No,” I frowned, “because I abhor any kind
of killing−especially of animals. Humans are able to defend
themselves. Most animals cannot.”

He seemed perplexed. I could tell by the
peculiar way he tilted his head.

“Hmmm
... Some animals are predators...and they kill their
prey.”

“Animals kill to survive. Humans are the
only animals I know of that kill for other reasons, sometimes for
no reason...” I shook my index finger at him without realizing
it.

Adrian laughed, making me realize how much I
was acting like a quarrelsome child when the subject was protecting
wildlife. He put his hands up—gesturing surrender. “But you just
ate a cheeseburger!” His lips curved into a mocking grin.

I stared at him, embarrassed. With eyebrows
raised, he waited for my reply.

“I’m working on this...”

The way you devoured it, I suggest you
intensify your efforts,” he replied.

“I know it seems a bit hypocritical, but I
think dinosaurs did not eat meat because they deliberately wanted
to kill other animals. They did so because they needed to eat. I’m
having some difficulty with that. I’m a dinosaur trying to become
one hundred percent vegetarian. I just need to convince my
stomach.”

I thought he’d laugh at my witty response,
but his expression suddenly became somber.

“You and the dinosaurs are not alone.” He
lowered his eyes, staring at his plate for a long time. When he
looked up again, his face was controlled.

“Suppose that a predator is forced to kill
another predator to save a helpless creature, could you forgive
him?”

Why did I have the impression that we were
no longer discussing the protection of animals?

“Well, if there was no other way...if it was
in self-defense or a matter of survival, I guess I could not
convict him.”

He glanced at the goblet and pursed his
lips. I could see that my answer did not satisfy him.

“Even if this predator did not have the
option kill, but rather just lost his mind? Could you forgive him?”
He shifted in his chair.

Undecided, I narrowed my eyes. Because of
the way he was staring at me, I felt that my response was crucial
to something, so I stopped joking and tried to be as sincere as
possible.

“If he’d lost his mind, he would not be
completely guilty. The question remains whether he would kill
again. How can you trust someone who cannot control himself? But if
he makes a genuine effort, his actions will determine if he
deserves a second chance.”

Adrian remained silent and thoughtful for
some time. I felt that my words had impressed him deeply.

“I think he would have to make sure that it
doesn’t happen again,” I said, feeling the need to explain. He
nodded.

Minutes later when I was looking for the
right words to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled
between us, he resumed control of the situation.

“You would not have accepted a jewel as a
birthday gift, right?” he wondered aloud, his tone of voice
light.

Of course not!
But I limited myself to shaking my head. My ironic
smile must have said it all.

“I thought so....” He smiled too. “I know
how you love movies, so I opened an account for you at the video
rental store in town. You have six months to feast on their
collection. You can take as many movies as you want at any time.
There are no limits. If there are any movies that you want to watch
but they don’t have them in stock, the staff will help you obtain
them, as much as possible.”

I was speechless.

“No doubt, this is a tempting gift...and in
my case, much harder to refuse than the jewel.”

“That’s what I thought too.”

“You think of everything, don’t you?”

“Everything. Always.”

I looked at the other box.
Inside was a simple, black calculator. The only striking thing
about it were the initials
HW
etched in elegant red calligraphy. Then I realized
that it was anything but simple. Opening it, I found a tiny screen,
four times the size of a mobile phone screen. I could see that it
was multifunctional because there were several little buttons. A
notepad was attached to it by means of a rubber band. It contained
information about the standardized test for admission to college,
the email address of the entity administering the test, and related
sites.

I showed him the notebook and asked, “What
is this?”

He looked at me cautiously, as if unsure
what reaction could expect from me.

“Well, for starters, this is a PDA.”

“PDA?”

“A Personal Digital Assistant. It’s for you
to organize your appointments...and there will be many since you
seem determined to set some personal goals. It has several
functions: video games, camera, television, radio, laptop, GPS,
mobile phone...”

I raised my eyebrows.

“That’s it? You didn’t forget anything?” I
asked sarcastically.

“Oh, yes! I almost forgot! It can be used as
a flashlight, too!” Adrian resumed his calm demeanor. “Seriously,
it has many functions. You can download anything you want from the
Internet, you can use it to draw your sketches before beginning a
work of art...

“It converts phone calls into holographic
transmissions. Very simply, the phone, which is transmitting the
call or sending a message to you, has the ‘camera function.’ Its
‘safe mode’ invades the gate access via Internet and all existing
firewalls, capturing the image of who is the other side, even if he
or she tries to remain anonymous.”

“Agent 007 would love this type of
device...” I said, joking.

He gave a wry smile.

“We say, ‘the Secret Service’ appreciates
these little toys.”

My smile faded.

“This PDA has a tracker, speakerphone,
blu-ray, if you want to burn and to interact with your favorite
movies. If you want to edit the scene of a movie that matches your
mood on a particular day, you can paste it directly into the
virtual page of your diary...like a blog in motion.” His smile
widened. “It was developed especially for you.”