Midnight in Brussels (20 page)

It had been determined that the cause of the fire had been faulty wiring by the electricians who had been doing the renovation. Nothing was salvageable from Amanda’s apartment – not the machines, not the mirrors and other décor she’d collected for the shop, not the beautiful garments she’d made.

Now all she had was Richard. She was too tired to think of anything else. She loved him, she knew she did. She’d loved him all along; she just wasn’t ready for a commitment so soon after being married to Arlie. She’d been caged by Arlie and she fought being caged by another.

Now all she craved was a protective and secure feeling with a person she knew would always be there for her. One who would never abandon her, one who would stand by her no matter what, one who would take care of her. She believed she would have that with Richard.

She had her chance in the world; she almost achieved her dream. She almost made it, but she failed. She figured that was more than most people achieved, and it didn’t matter anymore.

As she stepped from the final rung of the descending steps of the plane, she ran right into the arms of Richard, who was striding quickly toward her on the tarmac. They held on to each other tightly. Yes, she felt safe in his strong arms and didn’t want to ever leave them again. This was where she belonged … with Richard.

Paula tugged at Amanda, “Hey, I want to hug you, too, baby girl. You’ve got Richard for the rest of your life. My turn is now.”

Amanda and Richard laughed as they stepped back from each other and Amanda wrapped her long arms around her sister.

“Oh, honey, you’re a sight for sore eyes! You’re gonna be all right now.”

“I hope so. I hope so.”

They held on to each other for several moments.

Finally, Rachel stepped back and said, “Now where’s my baby A.G.?” She squatted down and held out her arms as Drake led the toddler to her. “There he is! Come here to your auntie Am, sweetie!” She swept him up and smothered him with kisses.

A.G. giggled as he called out “Auntie Am, Auntie Am, Auntie Am,” to his daddy.

“He can talk? I can’t believe it! He’s too young to do that.”

“We’re been teaching him, hon,” Drake said. “He’s so smart, you just wait and see what all he can do and say. We’re so happy to have you back home. And Richard has missed you, too. He’s at our house more than he is at his own these days.”

“That’s right, Amanda,” said Richard. “But now we can plan our wedding. I’m so eager to take you home with me. Here. Here’s your ring. Let me put it on you right now.”

He offered the ring to Amanda and she lifted the appropriate hand and finger to once again accept the commitment. It was on her finger to stay this time.

Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at the beautiful diamond while memories of Bruges, the cobbled streets, lacemaking, her shop, Antoine and the girls, the waterways, and the cafes flooded her mind. She felt a loneliness she couldn’t explain. She wiped her eyes quickly, hoping no one would notice.

“My darling, you needn’t cry, you’re home safe and sound, now. Come here.” Richard pulled her to him once again, lifted her chin with his thumb and kissed her on the lips, soft and long.

She didn’t resist the kiss. Here it was. Here was her Prince Charming. Yes, Richard was the one. Here was where she belonged. She had to put Belgium behind her. That part of her life was over. She and Richard would have a wonderful life together. Everybody was happy.

Paula was more perky and excited than ever. “Let’s go to the house and have us a big party!” she said as she scooped up baby A.G.

.

Chapter 39

Christmastime turned out to be bittersweet for Amanda. Her mind was filled with thoughts of Christmas in Brussels. Antoine had emailed and told her how festive the Grand Place was; how it was filled with decorations and Christmas lights, and how he hoped she was happy. He said the girls sent their love. He told her about school and that he would get his undergraduate degree in the spring.

It was good to hear from him, although it made her want to be there. She thought she had put all that behind her, but she just couldn’t shake the thoughts of Belgium. She missed it. Now she was sorry she hadn’t gone to Ghent and Antwerp and all the other outlying towns. She’d spent all her time in Bruges as it turned out, other than when she visited Rachel and then Antoine in Brussels. But all that didn’t matter now, it was over. Maybe someday she and Richard could go back there for a visit. He said they would.

“Amanda, where are you?” Paula had just returned from town. “I need some help with the groceries.”

“I’ll be right there!” Amanda called out to her. Her bedroom and bath were off the family room. It was a huge guestroom with a panoramic view of the Kern River.

It took them nearly thirty minutes to unload the SUV and put away all the food and staples.

“I got us some sorbet, girl. Let’s eat some right now, before A.G. wakes up.” She set the container on the counter in front of Amanda.

Laughing, Amanda opened it and began scooping it into two dishes. “So when will Drake be home, did he say when you talked to him this morning?”

“Oh, in a couple days. You know how he is. He doesn’t like to commit to a certain time and day. I think sometimes he likes to keep me guessin’ so he can catch me doing something I shouldn’t be doing.” Paula sat at the kitchen bar and took a bite of the sorbet.

“Ha! And what would that be, pray tell?”

Paula shrugged. “Well, maybe I might get me a lover or something.”

“You with a lover? I doubt that very much.”

“Why would you doubt that?”

“Are you pulling my leg, Paula? You wouldn’t do that. You love Drake.” Lemon sorbet was Amanda’s favorite and she was enjoying it, savoring the tartness.

“Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t have a little something on the side, does it?”

“Oh, Paula, stop it! I know you don’t mean it.”

Paula giggled. “No you don’t. I just might want somebody younger. A toy boy, like on that cougar reality TV show.” With a napkin she dabbed the sorbet that had dripped on her chin.

Amanda laughed. “Now that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

“Well, I might one of these days. You never know. Drake might get too old for me.”

“Let’s not talk about old. I mean, Richard is twenty-two years older than me. If anyone gets a toy boy, it should be me.”

They both broke out laughing and couldn’t stop.

“Have you and Richard done the deed, yet?”

“Paula! No, we haven’t done the deed. And we’re not going to till we’re married.”

“You’re kidding me. You aren’t going to get fitted for the saddle before you take it home?”

“For heaven’s sake, no!”

“My, my, my … aren’t we the old-fashioned one. It’s not like you haven’t done it before, Amanda. Why can’t you do it with Richard?”

Amanda rose from the bar stool and rinsed her dish under the faucet. She’d been asking herself that same question. She didn’t know why she couldn’t make love with Richard. He wanted to, they talked about it, but she couldn’t. “I’d rather not talk about it right now, if you don’t mind.” She thought of Adrian’s lovemaking and how it had awakened something in her. She wasn’t dreading it anymore.

“I bet I know what’s wrong. You’re scared. You ain’t had nobody but Arlie, and I bet he wasn’t the best in the sack. Hon, don’t judge everybody else by Arlie. He seems like he’d be the most boring lay ever.”

“Paula!”

“I mean it. I bet he was, wasn’t he? Tell me, I’ll tell you about Drake.”

“I don’t want to hear about Drake and you making love, Paula. How could you even think about telling me. That’s too personal. All I know is that I didn’t like it with Arlie. Let’s change the subject. So when should we wrap the Christmas presents?”

Paula grinned. “Tonight after A.G. goes to sleep. We can hide them all in the sewing room. It’s too bad Richard can’t be here for Christmas.”

“He had to go to Montana, something about cows.”

Chapter 40

Paul knocked on Rachel’s cottage door. He hadn’t seen or heard from her in a week and he was worried. It was a stormy day in Newlyn on the afternoon of New Year’s Eve.

“Rachel, it’s Paul.”

She opened the door and stood there in her robe, no makeup, her hair unkempt like it hadn’t been combed for several days. “I’m not feeling well, Paul.”

He caught her as her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted. “Oh no! Rachel, darling?”

He didn’t mean to say ‘darling,’ it just rolled off his tongue, although he knew it was okay to call other women ‘darling.’ He knew Belinda wouldn’t mind him saying that to Rachel. So why was he so self-conscious about it? Nevertheless, he was glad Rachel hadn’t heard it.

After he placed her on the sofa, he ran to the bathroom and moistened a towel to put on her forehead. He was patting her cheeks with it when she opened her eyes.

“What happened?” she said as she sat up, removing the towel from her face.

“You answered the door and passed out.”

“Yikes! I’m so sorry. I’m just a little weak, have the flu.”

He frowned. “Are you sure it’s the flu, Rachel? You’ve been having the flu a lot in the past few weeks. Maybe you should get a thorough checkup.”

“No, it’s just that my system has had a shock and I’m still getting over it, Paul. That’s all it is. You have enough to worry about. Don’t worry about me.”

“I can’t help it; I couldn’t take it if both my girls—” He stared tearfully into Rachel’s face for a moment and then covered his own face with his hands and wept.

“Oh, my darling, Paul.” She stood and bent over him from behind as he sat on the footstool, wrapping her arms around him, resting her chin on his head. “You have way too much to bear. Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. You just concentrate on Belinda, and you have to believe she’s going to recover. You know that, don’t you?”

He took hold of Rachel’s arms and pulled her around in front of him. He stood up and held her tightly to him. “Rachel … Rachel … Rachel … ”

They held on to each other, feeling each other’s pain for what seemed like minutes, but was really only seconds. Finally Rachel loosened her grip and so did he. There was a moment of awkwardness, and then they were back to normal.

“I’ll fix some tea. You just sit over there and relax. I want to tell you my new plans, okay?” She went into the kitchen.

Paul took a deep breath, sighed, and sat down on the sofa. “This is New Year’s Eve, you know.”

Rachel appeared in the kitchen doorway, holding the tea kettle. “And five years ago to the day, we met.” She threw him a kiss.

He laughed as she returned to the tea-making, remembering their first New Year’s and all that had followed since. How he and Belinda got together: his heart attack, her rape, the move to Cornwall …

“Here we go, tea for two.” Rachel seemed to have regained her strength. She’d even brushed her hair and put on lipstick.

“So are you doing anything special tonight?” he asked her.

Rachel shook her head. “No. I hadn’t planned on doing anything.”

“Why don’t I take you to the Ship Inn for dinner? Just the two of us.”

“But what about Belinda?”

“She’s really sick right now, Rachel. She told me to get out of the house and do something. Actually, she told me to come over here and take you to dinner. Her mother is with her. I hated to leave, but there’s nothing I can do for her when she’s like this. Those treatments are nearly killing her.” He began to get emotional again.

“All right, I’ll go to dinner with you. Just give me a few moments. Drink your tea, I’ll get ready. Maybe it would be good for both of us to get out amongst the living.” She realized what she’d said and immediately tried to take it back. “Oh, I didn’t mean that like that … I’m so sorry, really—“