by Claire Angel
It was little rude. And I could tell one more thing that he was not at all happy to see me. “Oh, no, no.” I rushed, stepping reluctantly towards him. “I was just close by and wanted to check if you have everything you need.” I felt colors rising in my cheeks at my stupid excuse, but I hid my embarrassment by staring unnecessarily around the house.
“What about Lily and Elle? Did they love their rooms?” I knew Elliot obviously didn’t believe any words I just had said, or perhaps he was just used to staring disbelievingly at everyone. He stared curiously at me for a second before nodding towards the house.
“Elysha loves the trees and the river, at least. And I think she and Lily wouldn’t hate that they have separate rooms as usual.”
I nodded while staring at the house again – just to keep myself from looking into his beautiful green eyes. I was getting mixed signals the way he looked at me and the way he talked to me. The way he talked to me was little rude and it looked like he didn’t like me at all but his eyes told totally different tale. The way his eyes rolled down through my body made my body shiver and my cheeks burn. And it made me totally confused.
Luckily, Lily and Elysha stepped out of the house. They probably heard their father talking to someone.
“Audrey, hey!” Lily greeted while Elysha waved her hand at me. There was a priceless smile on her face.
I stepped onto the front porch and knelt in front of them. “Hi, I was just asking your father if you loved your rooms.” I grinned.
“Well, the bed is really comfortable,” Lily replied cheerfully. “And I could see some part of the river and mountains from my room. I love that.”
I am glad that you liked your room Lily. “What about you, Elle?”
Elle still had Barbie clasped to her chest, and she patted its hair as she spoke. “I—I like it.”
That was it. I felt some sort of emptiness, knowing there was nothing else to ask or do to keep me around the house longer. I stood up while forcing a smile on my face. I was about to turn to leave when a wild idea popped in my head. “You know, I have got a grocery store about twenty minutes’ drive from here. You both could come around whenever you are bored,” I whispered.
“Store? You own a house for rent and a grocery store?” Lily asked.
A genuine smile dotted my face this time. “Yes,” I said. “The store is one of the biggest in Aspen. It is just in the middle of the city.”
“Dad! Can we go today?!” Lily asked instantly as her eyes twinkled.
Elliot was only a few feet away and eyes revealed that he was thinking about it. He, however, shrugged and shook his head. “We had plans to drive around the city and look for weekday camps for you and Elysha. We definitely can’t visit today, but we can do that any time before we leave Aspen.”
Lily obviously wanted to argue, but I gave her another smile. “Anytime is fine, actually. I am always there whenever you are ready to visit. Nice to see you again, Lily…Elle…Elliot.”
Why I am so drawn to this man?
I whirled around and ambled away from the house. For a brief moment, before stepping into my car, I glanced back over my shoulder and noticed Elliot was continuously staring at me.
All I knew was that I didn’t drive by the house to ask if he or his children loved the cottage. I had no fucking idea why I was looking for reasons to visit him again and again when I knew he was too old and too rich for me…
Wouldn’t it be too weird for a woman to find a way into a man’s life when he is almost sixteen years older?
Chapter 2
Elliot
“Elysha, you don’t have to take Barbie with you,” I whispered as Elysha stepped out of the house behind her sister, Lily.
It was our third morning in Aspen, and as usual, Elysha was not leaving her doll. She had taken the tiny plastic doll with her everywhere since she was four and learnt that Shelley, her mother, had bought this Barbie for her before she died five years ago.
I hated to say anything about it as Shelley had bought it for Elysha when she was pregnant. Elysha was growing up very fast and was already getting curious about how her mother looked like and why she wasn’t with us. I was worried if it would leave any bad effects on her mental health. I wanted to her to involve in other activities without taking her doll with her.
Elysha paused at the front porch staring at her feet. I smiled and I approached her. I caressed her hair and said, “You could leave Barbie on the sofa and when you get back, she could be the first one to welcome you back home.”
She glanced up to look into my eyes, and I smiled at her. “What do you think, darling?”
She took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before finally nodding her head.
“Do you want me to take it inside for you?” I asked.
“No,” she shook her head. “I will do it myself.”
“All right,” I smiled and glanced at Lily as Elysha whirled around and hurried into the house. There was a broad smile on Lily’s face.
“What, Lily?” I asked and frowned playfully at her.
“You know she is never going to get over the story that Mom bought this doll for her, right Daddy?”
“I know,” I smiled and paused for a second and asked, “You don’t want me to stop her from being attached to the doll?”
“Well, she hasn’t asked anyone about Mom since she got Barbie. Maybe it is good she continues to love the doll.” Lily shrugged.
My little girl, Lily, has grown up and is mature enough to understand things.
I nodded, considering that it had really been a very long time since Elysha had asked about her mother. Since last year, a day hardly went by without Elysha stepping into Shelley’s room back in Miami or going through her old pictures.
Elysha stepped out of the house before Lily. I smiled cheerfully at her and pointed to the car. “Well, breakfast is waiting.” I grinned.
It took only a few minutes to get everyone tucked to their seats and drive away from the cottage. I drove towards the middle of the city. Aspen unexpectedly was cool, despite that the sun was already up. The rays of light from the sun left beautiful colors on the trees and walls of the homes that surrounded the streets.
As we drove by a park downtown, Elysha and Lily glued themselves to the windows and gasped as water gushed from a fountain, taking the shapes of dancing vines.
“Daddy, look!” Elysha bellowed.
“It’s beautiful, Daddy!” Lily also grinned.
I was happy to see my girls smiling and I deliberately drove slower, giving them a little extra time to watch the kids playing around the fountain before inching the car down the road.
“You know, we could still drive through here after having breakfast,” I said.
“Yes, let’s!” Elysha clapped her hand instantly.
I glanced through the rear-view mirror at her and met Lily’s eyes. For a second, I felt something was bothering her, despite the smile on her face. I should have noticed before we left the house.
“Everything okay there, Lily?” I asked, already getting the car closer to the restaurant I had chosen via Google Maps for us to have breakfast.
“I—I miss home,” Lily groaned, folding her arms.
“We already spoke about this,” I heaved a sigh. Before we left Miami, Lily had been adamant that we didn’t have to travel miles for a vacation. She wanted her camp with her friends, but I wanted something better for all of us – at least, something to keep us away from the life we were used to.
“I know, Dad,” Lily said, getting my thoughts back to her. “I just think camp with my friends was better than staying at a cottage and driving around, looking for food.”
“It is nice place for food, according to the reviews I read online,” I said, trying to cheer her up, but she didn’t budge. Elysha didn’t look like she had a contrary opinion, either.
I stopped the car in front of the restaurant before I whirled around to stare at both of them with a smile. “Being in Aspen is just to get us so
me peace for a while,” I explained. “I always couldn’t drive myself over there and Lily, you hated that you couldn’t move around the house without Jane and Garry.” Jane, was our cook and Garry was my personal assistant and I didn’t have to worry about the girls when they both were there.
“Yes,” Lily whispered.
“You get to play and move around the cottage as you always wished for.”
Lily blinked at me as if she was waiting for my conclusion, and I cleared my throat. “We need this,” I said. “And just to prove that we do, give it a week, and you will love that you aren’t spending a vacation in camp.”
Lily smiled at this, and I reached out to tap her nose. “I will get a treehouse built for you once we return if you try to enjoy yourself the entire time we are here,” I added.
“Promise?”
I nodded, “Promise.”
“Yes, yes!” she beamed.
She reached between the front chairs to hug me, and I winked at Elysha over her shoulder. Elysha also inched close and hugged both of us.
“Alright. Breakfast!” I chuckled, putting an end to the family hug. “Uh, we may get to taste some new food today and see which we love the most. Ready?”
“I am in!” Lily beamed, already stepping out of the car.
“What about you, Elysha?” I asked.
Elysha blinked twice at me and smiled. By the time she stepped out of the car, it felt like the best vacation for me already. It was thrilling to try various dishes in the restaurant as I had suggested and even more delightful to watch Elysha chuckle over a meal of lobsters. Lily preferred the drinks over the meals and had two glasses of orange and pineapple juice. By the time the meal was over, and we were driving back home, I was even more convinced that going on a vacation far from Miami was an excellent idea.
Somehow, I had a feeling that things would be different between Elysha, Lily, and me the moment I saw Audrey stepping out of her car with a reassuring smile when we arrived at the cottage.
Although there was something about her that grasped my attention every time she visited, I got tired of her presence in the house easily. I knew noticed through her long mails that she might be the chatty type of woman, but nothing prepared me for her astonishing beauty, her long legs in jeans, and the way her small breasts sit beautifully on her chest.
When we met for the first time, it had taken everything not to stare at her cleavage or even imagine how it would feel like to have my fingers running over her thighs or her soft-looking blood-red lips.
This was Audrey’s fourth visit since we had reached Aspen. And every time she had avoided my eyes while she spoke to Lily and Elysha. She was young and beautiful, maybe around twenty-three. I was smart enough to understand what was going through her mind. So, I wanted to keep her at a distance. But Lily and Elysha had thrown themselves at her immediately.
“Hey, it is Audrey!” Lily shouted before wrapping her arms around her legs. “You brought us cookies?” she asked, beaming at the cookies Audrey had in her hands above their heads.
“Are these, chocolate cookies?” Elysha asked, hugging her slowly. Audrey seemed surprised and pleased by the warmth she received.
“Uhm, yeah, I brought you cookies and there are some chocolate cookies too and I have dipped some in strawberry cream,” she answered Lily and Elysha’s the same time.
“Perfect,” Lily said. “Dad, we can take the cookies from her, can’t we?”
“Of course, you can,” I finally smiled. “We love cookies, don’t we?” It became impossible to say no or even question her consistent visits. The beautiful smile Audrey wore on her lips made it difficult for me not to stare at her. I had no control and I glanced at the lumps of her perfect breasts in her fitted blouse, her curves, and the way her jeans wrapped around her thick thighs perfectly.
“Yes!” Lily jumped and clapped her hands. She held Audrey’s left hand and led her inside the cottage.
They settled on the dining table and I took a seat on sofa which was diagonally opposite to the dining table. I Audrey stayed for an hour, watching the kids eating the cookies happily. I pretended I was too busy with work on the laptop. She explained how she baked each cookie while glancing at me sometimes. Her eyes were big and deep like a blue ocean.
Before leaving, she, once again, hinted that Lily and Elysha to visit her store. “It isn’t difficult to find. Everyone knows it,” she said, winking over her shoulder at Lily and Elysha, before stepping out of the house.
I rolled my eyes wondering why she couldn’t just let it go. I took a sigh of relief when she left, her presence was affecting me. And I wanted her to stay away at any cost.
I had to control otherwise results will be a complete disaster.
Before I could shrug her thoughts off mind she entered in once again with some paper in her hand.
“I am sorry, I forgot this in my car. Here is a map and a list of places you can visit in Aspen.” She said while walking towards me.
“We came here for a vacation, Audrey,” I said. “We obviously got a map before leaving Miami."
“But my map isn’t just any tourist map,” she argued with a smile. “I have left tracks of how to get to some places easily and even drafted notes on where to get the best meals and vacation camps for Lily and Elle.” It was a sweet gesture and it made my heart melt, I didn’t remember anyone caring for Lily and Elysha like this.
“Google map helps for that nowadays,” I retorted. I didn’t wanted to be rude but it looked only way to make her stay away.
She shook her head and stepped towards me with a broader smile. “No app will tell you how to enjoy a vacation,” she whispered, dropping the map on the table and leaving the house as quietly as she had slid in.
Now I felt very bad being rude to her. She was a sweet and innocent girl. If it was someone else, he/she would have never replied with a smile, to a rude person like me.
As she left I reached for the cookie dipped in strawberry she had brought with so much love, and trust me it tasted heavenly.
***
I thought about weird it was that I liked and hated seeing her come to the cottage at the same time. And I was too distracted with the thoughts of Audrey.
Next day when I again drove Lily and Elysha back to the house from the restaurant, I was glad both of them had their faces glued to the windows as usual. It gave me the time to think about what could be done about Audrey.
“Yay, Daddy! The fountain again!” Elysha said, clapping her hands as we took the same route.
Everything in my life was perfect. I had too much money since I was young. I was married to most beautiful woman on this earth, Shelley. She had long black hair, cute round face, and cheerful nature. Next few years had created the best memories of my life.
“Dad, maybe we could start cooking at home – I can help if you want.”
Lily’s gentle voice jolted me from the past, and I glanced at her, frowning at her idea. “You don’t like the food at the restaurant?”
“I loved the crabs!” Elysha grinned, and I smiled at her too.
“No, I just think it would be a better vacation if we try out cooking together, too,” Lily answered. “We could visit Audrey’s grocery store to get all we need in the house.”
“Oh,” I whispered, finally understanding why Lily had brought that up.
“You really want us to visit her store?” I asked a few seconds later.
Thinking about Shelley had made me oblivious of how fast the trip back home was. I could see the cottage right in front of me as I drove in.
“Yes,” Lily whispered without taking her eyes off me.
I nodded without another word, hoping that would make it easier not to think of the woman with the wavy black hair. Somehow, Audrey made me remember Shelley than my daughters did, and it was gradually making me very uncomfortable.
“So, would we?” Lily asked as I stopped the car.
“Would we what?” I asked absentmindedly.
“Try cooking our
own meals?”
My eyes searched hers for a brief second, “Yes, darling,” I whispered. “We can go to the grocery store this evening.”
An uncomfortable silence fell onto the car afterward, and I cleared my throat and pointed to the house. “We should get into the house,” I said.
“Yeah,” Lily and Elysha said together, and I watched them slip out of the car, hoping the vacation goes as smoothly as I had planned.
Chapter 3
Audrey
I stood in front of the mirror in my office and ran my mother’s comb through my unruly hair. I remembered her standing behind me in front of the same mirror, brushing and oiling my hair to submission before allowing me to help around the store.
