Perfect Strangers (8 page)

It was as though the last fortnight had simply not passed, that they were still on the hillside together, the dawn coming up just over the hills. Emmanuel, his eyes filled with burning desire, lowered his lips to Violet's and kissed her, deeply. She lifted both arms and wrapped them around his neck, holding onto him as though her life depended on it.

The kiss broke off and the two remained together, their faces inches apart, as they studied one another intently. Finally Emmanuel spoke again:

"I've come back for you," he told her softly.

Lady Violet swallowed.

"That is everything that I have ever wanted," she said, her words barely more than a whisper, and Emmanuel lowered his head to hers once more, kissing her.

Chapter 13

Veronica woke to someone nudging her arm. She snorted and sat up, trying to blink the room into focus, squinting in the light. She was in a sitting position and realized that she was still in the chair in the living room. Her book lay tumbled on her lap, and Greg was standing over her, wearing his dressing gown.

"Hey there," he said, and looked up at him, the light still hurting her eyes. "I woke up and you weren't in bed."

"Oh, yeah," Veronica replied, stretching. "I couldn't sleep last night so I came down to read. I guess I dozed off."

She picked up the book and flipped through the pages, trying to find her place.

"You couldn't sleep?" Greg repeated.

"No."

"Was it ... because of me?" he asked.

"Oh, no sweety, I don't — no, it wasn't because of you." Veronica got up from the chair and the two stood apart from one another, Greg not quite meeting her eyes. "No, I just couldn't sleep. That's all."

"Well
… okay," he said. "I'll go get some breakfast started."

"Okay sweety," she said, and Greg turned to go into the kitchen.

Veronica flipped through the pages of her book again, finding her spot and marking it before putting it back on the table. She went upstairs to the bedroom, stripped down and got into the shower.

When she came out again she could smell breakfast being cooked. Greg had certainly gotten better at making meals, that was for sure. Veronica got dressed and went down to join him in the kitchen. They chatted about minor things, and after they'd eaten Veronica offered to clean up while Greg got ready for work.

"Thanks babe," he said, getting up from the table. "I'm running a little late anyways."

"My pleasure," she said, and she took the dishes over to the sink and started washing them. When she was almost done Greg appeared in the kitchen again, adjusting his tie.

"Okay, I'm heading out. I'll see you tonight maybe?"

"Yeah, maybe. I'm not sure yet what I'm doing today."

"Ah," Greg said. He stood a bit back from her and, though Veronica was still focusing on the dishes in the sink, she had a feeling like he was watching her, wanting to say something. After a minute, though, he just said, "Okay, well, I guess I'm off then. Have a great day."

"You too," she replied, and he left, shutting the front door behind him.

Veronica finished the dishes in silence, letting the sink drain when she was done. Drying her hand on a dish towel, she walked over to a window and looked out. It was a beautiful day, one that shouldn't be wasted inside. And the house felt so big to her, so empty and encompassing.

Her mind went to her purse, where the scrap of paper containing Jason's phone number lay tucked away. She hadn't called him yet, not since he gave it to her. Biting her lip, she looked up at the clock
— it was still kind of early. She decided to do a bit of gardening, perhaps until the middle of the day.

When noon rolled around Veronica came back inside, sweaty and with small smears of dirt on her forehead. Her stomach was rumbling and so she made herself a bit of a snack. While she ate it she looked at the clock again
— half past twelve. She needed another shower after the work she'd just done, so when she finished eating she hopped in and gave herself a quick rinse.

Coming back out and getting dressed again, it was almost one o'clock. She looked over at her purse, perched on top of her dresser. Narrowing her eyes, she finally walked over to it and opened it up. She fished through and found the scrap of paper, opening it up and seeing the ten digits written upon it.

She took the paper with her down to the kitchen where she picked up the phone receiver. Taking a deep breath, she punched in the numbers and held the phone to her ear. It rang once. Twice. Three times. Just when she figured that he might not be home there was a click and Jason's voice came on the other end.

"Hello?" she heard him say, a tinnier version of himself.

"Hey Jason?" she replied. "It's Veronica."

"Veronica," she heard a smile coming through as he said her name and she felt herself relax. "How're you doing?"

"Um, not too bad," she said. "Are you … having a good morning?"

"Yeah. I'm in the middle of a job right now, so that's been keeping me busy."

"Oh, okay," Veronica said. "Um, well, if you had some free time today I was wondering if you wanted to get together?"

A pause on the other end. Veronica held her breath, unaware that she was doing so. Then Jason's voice came back on:

"Yeah, I should be able to do that." She let the breath out slowly. "Want to meet at the bluffs, say, in an hour?"

"I'd love to," Veronica responded. "I'll see you in an hour."

"See you then," he said, and she heard the phone click.

She hung her end up and leaned back against the wall. A smile crept over her face and, turning, she left the kitchen to go back upstairs.

~~~

The bluffs were beautiful at this time of day. The sky was clear and you could look out for miles over the water, watching the wind create waves, destroy them, their entire life cycle over in a second. The horizon went on forever, and the surface of the water was a ceaseless, ever-changing mass of blue and white.

The view, however, was currently being missed by two occupants in the back of Jason's car. Inside Veronica was facing the back, straddling Jason as the two locked lips, struggling to get their clothes off. Jason's hands ran up Veronica's sides, the sounds of heavy breathing and skin hitting skin punctuating the air. She shirked off her coat and let it fall to the floor, grabbing Jason's leather jacket and pulling it down off of his arms.

She stripped his t-shirt off and quickly dropped her head down, kissing his hard pecs, taking his nipple into her mouth. He held her there for a second before guiding her back up, their lips meeting once again. Veronica allowed herself to become naked at his hands, felt his strong grip on both of her breasts when her torso was bare.

It was Jason's turn to use his mouth. He pulled her body close and took a breast into her mouth, massaging it with his tongue, making her throw her head back. She felt the warmth channel all the way down her body, to the tips of her toes. He reached down and began undoing her pants, and she returned the favour.

Both zippers being pulled down, the couple took a second to shed themselves of the rest of their clothing. Once done, Veronica climbed back onto Jason's lap, finding his hardness pressing into the exact place she wanted it. She helped to guide it in, and when the two were together they made love, their bodies held close together, Veronica's head a foot above Jason's.

She could feel the heat glowing on his skin, his hard muscles in contrast to her own softness. His hands roamed wildly over her, his mouth exploring her frame like an animal. At some point he grabbed her and they flipped, so that she was lying on her back and he was on top of her.

She looked up and saw him through a hazy light. He moved into her with such passion, and as he did their eyes locked together. She saw him smile
— the first actual smile she'd ever seen on his face, and she smiled back. He lowered his head to hers and they kissed. Veronica was lost for thought, all of her senses being wrapped up in this single moment.

~~~

When their dance finally ended Veronica and Jason lifted themselves up, leaning back against the leather seats. She felt the coolness of the upholstery against her back, Jason's arm wrapped around her shoulders, his body next to hers. They looked out the front window and saw the view that the bluffs gave, the surface of water only just visible from this angle.

She felt herself yawn and turned to nuzzle against Jason's chest, putting her hand on him. As she ran her fingers over his skin, she felt the raised bumps of his scars. She opened her eyes and focused, seeing the criss-crossing lines, white against his skin. He'd never talked about them before, and she'd never inquired. She could hear his heartbeat, almost quiet inside of his chest.

"Jason?" she said.

"Mmm?"

"Where did these scars come from?"

She felt him stiffen for just a second.

"They're nothing," he finally said. "I got them a long time ago."

Veronica ran a finger down one of them, following the path it made.

"There are so many of them," she said under her breath, and suddenly Jason's hand grabbed hers, moving it down to his thigh.

"Don't," he said, his voice sounding flat.

"I'm sorry," Veronica said.

She tried running her fingers over his thigh instead, keeping with the intimacy from before. But the moment was gone.

"Who's car were you working on earlier?" she asked, attempting to break the silence.

"This guy Zander's. He got my number off of Kyle. It's a pretty easy job. I should have it done by tomorrow."

"Wow," she said. "How long have you been doing that kind of thing on your own?"

"Ever since I learned, when I was a kid."

"And you learned it yourself? Like out of a book?"

"No, my-
… I was taught."

"By who?" Veronica asked. She was curious to know where you learned something so practical.

Jason paused a second before saying, "My old man."

"Oh, wow," she said. "I think that's great that your dad would teach you something that you can use later on in life. My dad never taught me anything, except how to do my taxes and even then I still screw it up every year. Do you two still work on cars together often?"

"Look, can we just drop this please?" Jason said, and Veronica realized that his chest was rising and falling quickly. "I work on my own, okay? I haven't needed him for a long time."

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry," Veronica said quickly. She felt herself blush as Jason's body gave off a different kind of heat. He was still breathing heavily but he didn't say anything. The tension between them grew.

"I'm sorry," Veronica said. "I didn't mean to bring up anything to hurt your fee-"

"What part of 'drop it' don't you understand?" he snapped, cutting her off. "This is none of your business, all right? I fix up cars, and I've been doing it for fifteen years. I'm fucking good at it, and it's no thanks to my old man who left me without even saying goodbye. So you can just keep your prying questions to yourself, okay?"

Veronica felt her throat start to tighten up.

"Okay," she got out. "I'm sorr-" but Jason was getting up, pushing her off of him.

"Stop saying you're sorry," he said. He wasn't looking at her. "Look, I should get back to the shop. I've got work I need to do."

He grabbed his pants off the floor and started pulling them on. Veronica blinked hot tears back. She grabbed her own clothes and put them on as well. When the two were dressed Jason got out, holding the door open for her. She climbed out and he shut it behind her. Immediately he opened the driver's side door.

"Bye," was all he said, and he closed the door, separating him from her. She stood there as his engine roared to life, and he drove away, circling around her in the parking lot, leaving it and disappearing down the road.

She was alone in the parking lot, no other car there but hers. She walked slowly back to it, got into the front seat, and put the key in the ignition. But she didn't turn it. She didn't have the strength. Her throat tightened and her lower lip began to tremble. She blinked and felt her eyelids become wet, burning already from the salt. Taking a shuddering breath in she let it out and heard herself moan, a sad, pathetic sound.

That was what did it. Veronica let out one sob and another as hot tears started to run down her cheeks. She grabbed onto the steering wheel and lowered her head, hiding her face, her shame. Her body was wracked with weeping moans, her sides hurting, her eyes scrunched tight. The sound of her pathetic voice echoed around the car and back into her own ears. Outside, the cool wind blew silent, completely disinterested in the car sitting lonely in the sunny parking lot.

Chapter 14

Veronica put her key in the front door and let herself in. She walked into the dark house, the silence surrounding her almost foreboding. She shut the door behind her, her face flat and expressionless. Dropping her purse, she walked into the kitchen and turned on the light.

She sat down at the table and glanced up at the clock. Almost four in the afternoon. Not like it mattered. She looked around the kitchen and noticed the drying rack, full of dishes. Dishes from this morning, from when Greg made the two of them breakfast. And then he left for work so they could have money to survive, and she went off and fucked another man in the backseat of his car …

Her throat started to tighten up again and Veronica grimaced. She looked away, forcing herself to think of something else. A deep breath in, and slowly out. The tightening went away. But that just left nothing in its place. Her body and her mind, filled with nothing.

Maybe she was just tired. Maybe she just needed to lay down for a bit and see if that would make her feel better. She got up from the table and went to her bedroom where she lay down on top of the covers. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes slowly blinking. They drooped down, and down, and before she knew it her eyes were closed and she had slipped off to sleep.

~~~

Veronica was in the forest she went to with her walking group sometimes. The smell of pine was in the air; the twigs and leaves crackled beneath her feet. She looked around and saw trees to either side, their branches close to her but not quite touching. And up ahead on the path there was Jason, walking away from Veronica, his back to her.

Veronica raised her hand and tried to call his name, but no voice came out. Jason kept moving, seemingly unaware that she was behind him. She tried running to him but her body felt like it was stuck in mud. She couldn't go any faster than she was.

She felt an emptiness inside of her and fell to her knees. She tried calling out again but he couldn't hear her. He was moving farther away. Veronica felt warm tears start to run down her cheeks and she sobbed, she sobbed his name. He turned a corner and she watched him disappear, leaving her alone. All alone.

Veronica fell onto her side, tears still coursing down her face. A hand found itself on her shoulder and shook her. She turned to see who it was and there was Greg, his face stricken with worry. He shook her again and she heard him calling her name, his mouth hardly moving.

"Veronica!" his voice came in slowly. "Veronica, are you all right?"

Veronica blinked and the bedroom swam into view. Greg was sitting on the bed beside her, his hand on her shoulder. She sniffed and heard a wet sound inside her own nose.

"What?" she asked, confused. She could feel the dried stains of tears on her cheeks, fresh ones carving their way through them.

"You were asleep," Greg said. "Were you having a nightmare? You were crying and moaning."

Veronica sat up, sniffing again. Greg reached over to the bedside table and grabbed a Kleenex, handing it to her.

"Thanks," she said, taking the tissue and wiping her eyes with it before blowing her nose. His stare never left her.

"Is everything all right?" he asked.

"Yes," she said, not quite meeting his gaze. "I was just tired so I took a nap. I guess I had a bad dream."

"Do you remember what it was about?"

The image of Jason's back walking away flashed in her mind. She pulled herself back into reality and shook her head.

"No," she said.

"Hmm. Well, I hope it doesn't happen again," Greg said. Veronica smiled and he quickly darted forward, giving her a kiss on the cheek. The stubble on his face grazed her. When he sat up Veronica smiled again.

"I'm going to go get some dinner started," Greg said. "Want to join me?"

Veronica sniffed.

"Sure, that would be nice," she said.

They got up off the bed and walked out of the bedroom together, Veronica keeping the Kleenex scrunched up in her hand.

~~~

When they got into the kitchen, Greg went to the cupboard to get out a couple of pots; one for pasta, the other for sauce. Veronica opened the fridge and started taking out what they needed while Greg set the kitchen up for working. They didn't speak, and soon the only sounds in the kitchen were those of onions sizzling in hot oil, of knives chopping through length of celery and peppers.

When the sauce was simmering, Greg grabbed the second pot and filled it with water, putting it on the boil. Veronica watched him work, concentration etched on his face. He took hardly any notice of her, and when he did look her way all he did was smile. Veronica felt a pang in her chest. The water started boiling and Greg put the dried pasta in, stirring it with a fork until it was all submerged.

Veronica swept over to him and put her arms around his stomach. Greg stiffened at first, but then relaxed into the embrace. He turned his head slightly and she kissed him on the cheek. She felt him smile, the muscles in his cheeks pulling back to create the effect. He turned around in her arms and kissed her on the lips, the two in full embrace for the first time in a long time.

Veronica felt her chest tighten again as this man's body pressed itself against her own. She kept her eyes shut tight but warm tears still flowed down her cheeks. A loud hissing sound suddenly came from the stove top and Greg broke off the kiss, whirling around to save the pasta from boiling over. Veronica quickly broke away from him, turning to hide her face, wiping her tears away. She went to the cutlery drawer and grabbed too many of everything, taking them to the table to set their places.

The meal was good, though neither Veronica nor Greg spoke very much. When they were finished she offered to clean up, taking Greg by surprise. He hovered around for a bit in the kitchen until finally leaving to go watch hockey. Veronica slowly did the dishes, and when she was done she joined Greg in the TV room. Again surprised, he made room for her on the couch where she snuggled up next to him, tucking her knees up against her chest.

As the hockey game played on the TV, Veronica lowered her head to Greg's chest and rested it there. He lifted a hand and placed it on Veronica's head, stroking her hair. She felt her head rise and fall with each breath that he took. Greg leaned down and kissed the top of her head, and Veronica blinked away two fresh tears.

When the game was over Greg suggested they go to bed together. Veronica nodded silently and the two walked upstairs together. They made love that night, Veronica holding tight to Greg as he moved inside of her. In the darkness of the room he felt her hand place itself upon his chest. He moaned and moved faster as Veronica's fingers grasped at his skin, trying to find the slightly raised bumps of the scars from long ago.