by Ginny Aiken
Her voice came out in a raspy whisper. “I think that’s enough fishing. We should go home.”
Chapter 7
Alex knocked on Sharmane’s door and waited. Today felt different than yesterday. It was Saturday, but it wasn’t simply that there hadn’t been the usual rush hour traffic to contend with. The week was over and the weekend had begun, a reminder that Monday loomed closer.
He still hadn’t pieced together what happened yesterday. After they’d both collected their wits they’d given up on fishing and instead had taken the boat around the lake a few times, taking turns driving. Since they both stunk like fish, rather than going out to a restaurant Sharmane had invited him to her house for dinner. It wasn’t the same as the countless times he’d been invited to the home of a single woman. The good china had not been set out, no one had taken pains to dress up. The meal was ordinary and dessert was not rich or fancy—only store-bought cookies. Best of all, after dinner they’d both put their feet up on the coffee table and watched television with no hidden agendas.
It had felt relaxed and domestic. And he’d liked it. Unfortunately, he was forced to leave earlier than he wanted because he had to return the boat.
The door opened.
Alex cleared his throat and stiffened. “So what are our plans for today?”
“I have to go to the mall.”
“The mall? You can go to the mall any day.”
She patted her purse. “I have to drop off all my film at the one-hour photo place, because this is the last day of our vacation and I promised I’d give you copies. Tomorrow is back to normal with church and stuff, and Monday is back to work.”
Alex felt like he’d just been punched in the gut. He knew it was coming, but now that the last day had come, he wasn’t ready. Just in case, he’d brought along the watch to give to her, but hearing her say it only proved how much he didn’t want it to happen.
He forced himself to smile. “If we must go shopping, let’s do tourist shopping. Let’s go to Robson Street.”
Her eyes lit up, and he felt somewhat better. “That sounds like a great idea!”
“And you can leave your camera at home today, right?”
She grinned. “Only if you insist.”
The Robson Street shopping area of downtown Vancouver was everything their fishing trip wasn’t. It was crowded, noisy, busy with sights and sounds, and smelled with everything from scented soap to exotic foods to mingled perfumes from the crowd to car exhaust. People talked and laughed, babies cried, traffic rumbled, music drifted from a few open doors, and nothing was still.
She wanted to go into every store, and Alex didn’t mind. He held onto her hand from the moment they left the car and wouldn’t let go, claiming he didn’t want to get separated in the crowd. Together they checked out the wide variety of the specialty shops and checked everything the trendy area had to offer—every imaginable souvenir, holograms, naturally scented soaps, jade carvings and jewelry, and countless handmade crafts.
At the photo store, Alex couldn’t believe his eyes at the number of rolls of film she emptied out of her purse, and she wasn’t the least bit embarrassed about it.
They stopped for lunch at a sidewalk café and treated themselves to frozen yogurt with waffle cones so fresh they were still slightly warm.
Alex made sure to buy a few souvenirs, but every purchase was bittersweet, because he knew everything would remind him of today, their last day together, and how it would end. Very soon, he would have to tell her who he was. And she would hate him for it.
She wanted to stop for an early dinner, and Alex didn’t want to do or say anything to spoil the day. Once seated inside the restaurant, she pulled out all the photos and divided them evenly, since she’d gotten doubles of everything. They laughed at many of them, and others made him feel reminiscent, even though it had only been a few days.
Too soon, she gathered all her purchases and photos and checked her watch. “They said my car would be ready at six, so we’d better go. If you don’t mind, can you drop me off at the auto shop? Then you don’t have to worry about driving me home.”
Alex opened his mouth but no words came out. This was it. It was over.
“We’d better hurry. I don’t want them to close before we get there.”
He had no choice but to follow.
Sharmane wondered if she’d said or done something wrong, because Alex was silent most of the trip. In a way, even though it was strange, she preferred the silence. For their last few minutes together, it seemed right. The finality of their vacation being over left her with such an overwhelming sadness she didn’t know if she could talk without breaking into tears.
She didn’t know if it was good or bad when they pulled into the parking lot at the repair shop. Rather than draw out a long good-bye, Sharmane opened the car door before he turned off the ignition and held out the envelope that she had prepared last night.
“This is for you.”
His eyebrows knotted as he accepted it.
“Promise me you won’t open it until you get home.”
“But—”
“Promise me. Please.”
“Uh, okay, I promise.”
“And thanks for everything, Alex. It’s been a great week. Bye!” With that, Sharmane turned and dashed toward the building before she did or said something she would regret.
“Wait! Sharmane!”
She didn’t stop. It was painful enough to say good-bye; she couldn’t allow it to drag out.
She barely managed to compose herself to face the mechanic. While he searched for the work order, Sharmane watched Alex’s car meld into the traffic and disappear. He didn’t know it, but he’d taken a piece of her heart with him. No matter what he was hiding, even if it was that he was a convicted felon, she couldn’t deny it. The final parting stab in her heart told her what she hadn’t wanted to admit. She was more than halfway in love with him, and now, he was gone without ever knowing it.
Having her car back was a hollow victory. Once Sharmane arrived home, she felt restless when she should have felt good with her life back to normal. Where once she had anticipated browsing at leisure through the scores of photographs, she couldn’t look at them. Instead, she sat on the couch holding a scented soap she had bought today and thought of how Alex had teased her about why she wanted to smell like a watermelon.
She’d lived by herself for years, but because Alex was never coming back, she’d never felt so lonely.
The unexpected rap of a knock on her door made her suddenly grateful for whoever was stopping by for an unscheduled visit.
Her heart nearly stopped when she opened the door. It was Alex.
“I have something for you.” He reached into his pocket.
Sharmane should have felt it coming. She had kept track of the amount of gas and expenses they’d incurred and tucked the cash into an envelope, then given it to him at the last minute on purpose. In a way, it was cowardly, but she had thought it would work, except here he was about to try to return it.
“Please, Alex. Don’t do this. Don’t spoil what was a wonderful vacation by having it end on an argument.”
“We can talk about that later.” He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a small bag. “I was saving this for our last day together, but you ran off before I could give it to you.”
Her heart pounded. She recognized the Butchart Gardens logo. At the same time that she didn’t want a gift from him, she was thrilled that he had. Her hands shook when she pulled out the watch she’d been drooling over. For one of the few times in her life, she was almost speechless. Tears burned the backs of her eyes. “Oh, Alex,” she mumbled, trying to speak past the tightness in her throat. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“Then don’t say anything. I’m glad you like it.”
He stepped closer to take off her old watch and fasten the new one onto her wrist. The rose pictured was beautiful, and the stones shone even more than they did in the artificial light of th
e store. Rather than give the neighbors a show of what was happening on her doorstep, she was about to invite him in, but the sparkle of the watch stopped her.
She tilted it to catch the sunlight. The light played into a rainbow of brilliant colors with the cut of the stones, and the beauty of it stopped all other thoughts. Suddenly, a sinking feeling settled into the pit of her stomach. The rhinestones shone too much, meaning they weren’t rhinestones; they were diamonds, and therefore, the watch was worth far more than she originally thought.
The second she looked up, he cringed, confirming her suspicion. She opened her mouth to speak, but his words cut her off.
“I know what you’re going to say.” He rested his fingers on her arm. “I want you to have it.”
“But—”
He reached into his back pocket and pulled out the envelope she’d given him. “And I’m giving this back. Sharmane, I can’t accept this.”
Her head started to spin. She couldn’t allow this sudden show of male ego to override common sense. She pointed to the street, toward his car. The money they were talking about had to be at least three car payments on his …
Her arm drifted back down to her side and Sharmane blinked, but the sight before her didn’t change. The car parked in front of her house, the only car in the vicinity, was a very new, shiny foreign luxury car. She didn’t know what it was, only that it was well beyond her lifestyle. “Where’s your car?”
“That was my nephew’s car. We traded cars for the week. I have mine back now.”
She stared at the car then back at him. “That car costs more money than I make in a year.”
“If I can afford the car, I can certainly afford the watch.”
“And here I’ve been insisting on paying for my half of the gas and stuff. Is there anything else I should know that’s going to make me feel even more stupid?”
“Sharmane, I—”
The phone rang inside the house, but Sharmane ignored it. “How dare you lie to me.”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you the truth.”
She rested her fists on her hips. “And there’s a difference?”
“Well, technically …”
The phone continued to ring.
“Aren’t you going to answer that?”
“The answering machine will get it. Talk.”
“I might have misled you a little.”
She looked at the car again. “A little? I think you have some explaining to do.”
He dragged one palm down his face. “You know the Arby Building, where we met?”
Sharmane blinked. She remembered it well. It was the high-rise office tower next to the park. “Of course. I was worried that you didn’t have a job, but you work for Arby, don’t you? And it must be a pretty good job, too.”
He squeezed his eyes shut. “It’s a little more complicated than that. I actually—”
The phone stopped ringing. Her recorded voice delivered a cheery message, followed by Barry’s. “Hey, Sharmane! Where are you? I’m calling to remind you that Frank and Darlene’s party is tonight, and it’s not too late to change your mind. You can wear that little red number I got you last week. And that perfume in the green bottle. Call me before seven if you can make it. Bye.”
Sharmane opened her mouth to continue, but Alex stepped forward, forcing her to step back into the house. He shut the door abruptly and crossed his arms. “Who was that? Apparently I’m not the only one to be keeping secrets here.”
“Secrets? You want to talk about secrets? Look who’s talking! What do you do that you can afford a car like that?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t just work for Arby Enterprises. I own it.”
“Own it? You told me your name is Alex Brunnel. Or is it?”
“I haven’t lied to you, although I have been guilty of omission. My full name is Alexander R. Brunnel. I was going to register the name for the business license as ARB Enterprises, but Jason started calling it Arby to tease me, and it kind of stuck.”
She stared at him while his words sank in. The owner of Arby Enterprises would be wealthy beyond her wildest imagination. A millionaire.
Sharmane shook her head and backed up another step. “No. This can’t be happening.”
“Who was that on the phone? How is your boyfriend going to feel about you being out with another man all week? Talk about breaking trust. You led me to believe you were single.”
“Boyfriend? That was Barry, my brother, with another matchmaking attempt! And what gives you the right to talk about trust? You led me to believe you were unemployed, but nothing could be further from the truth. How could I ever believe a thing you say? Get out.”
Before her eyes, his face turned to stone. In an instant, he turned and stomped out. The slam of the door echoed in the silent house.
Sharmane buried her face in her hands and pressed her forehead into the back of the closed door. “Dear Lord,” she mumbled, “please help me. Was I right to be so angry? Is it possible to fall in love with someone you barely know, and then find you don’t know them at all? Why do I feel so empty inside? I don’t know what to pray for, but I trust You and whatever You choose to show me.”
A knock sounded on the door. She wasn’t going to answer it, but whoever it was knocked again then rang the doorbell.
Sharmane rubbed her eyes to make herself presentable then opened the door.
Alex stood in the doorway, water dripping down his face, his wet hair plastered to his head, his clothes drenched.
“It’s raining. May I come in?”
Sure enough, the rain pelted down behind him. Just like the day they’d met, a sudden shower had come out of nowhere.
She nodded.
“Can we talk?”
She nodded again and led him to the couch.
As they sat, he cleared his throat and reached for her hands, holding them gently while he spoke.
“I couldn’t let it end like this,” he said, his voice low and quiet. “I have to explain. I can only say I was being selfish. When we first met, running away for a week was exactly what I thought I needed, but I worried that when you found out about me, everything would change. I justified trading the car so you wouldn’t feel intimidated. I wanted you to think of me just as an ordinary man, so I started to lead you to believe things that were not true. As the week progressed, I wanted to tell you the truth, but by then, everything had spiraled out of control. And then I didn’t want to take the chance that something like this would happen. That you’d hate me, and it would be over.”
She couldn’t comment. She couldn’t speak. She could barely think. A gentle squeeze of her hands made her throat tighten, further inhibiting her from speaking.
“I was starting to fall in love with you, Sharmane. And I was hoping that you could feel even a little of the same toward me.”
All she could do was stare at their joined hands. Everything he did and said indicated sincerity, but she really didn’t know, because she didn’t know who Alex really was. “I’m dying here. Please say something.”
“I don’t know what to say. I thought I was starting to get to know you, but I really don’t know you at all.”
“But you do. For the first time since I can remember, I could relax and not care about who was watching or that anyone wanted anything from me. I didn’t have to worry about people pretending to like me or that I wouldn’t like them. When you threw me out, I stood there beside the car, kicking myself for what I’d done. And when the rain started, it seemed so fitting. I just laid my head on the roof of the car and prayed for God to give me the strength to talk to you again.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak. She, too, had prayed for strength.
“What I’d really like is for us to get to know each other better. Let me show you who Alex Brunnel really is. I didn’t believe in love at first sight but it’s happened, and I’m hoping the same has happened to you. I hope it won’t be all that long, that with God’s blessings, we’l
l soon be married. I love you, Sharmane.”
She wanted to protest, but she couldn’t. Even though she couldn’t justify his deception, she could understand why he’d done what he had.
“I think I love you, too, but this has all happened so fast. I need more time.”
His eyes closed for a few seconds, and she could both see and feel him relax at the same time.
“Can we start by attending church together tomorrow morning?”
Sharmane smiled. “I don’t know if I’m ready to meet your family, but I’d like it if you could come to church with me, and after that, I was going to meet my brother. Do you want to tell him he doesn’t need to play matchmaker any more?”
Sharmane ran her fingers through Alex’s wet hair, and his large hands cupped her face. “Yes, I’ll show him you’ve found Mr. Right.” And his kiss ended his reply.
GAIL SATTLER
Gail Sattler lives in Vancouver, BC, where you don’t have to shovel rain, with her husband, three sons, two dogs, and a lizard who is quite cuddly for a reptile. When she’s not writing, Gail is making music, playing electric bass for a local jazz band, and acoustic bass for a community orchestra. When she’s not writing or making music, Gail likes to sit back with a hot coffee and a good book.
TEST OF TIME
by Pamela Kaye Tracy
Dedication
To the faculty, staff, and students of York
Christian College during the ‘79–’81 school years.
Friendships made in the presence of
Christ are everlasting.
“Do not judge, and you will not be judged.
Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.
Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”
LUKE 6:37
Chapter 1
Peach. And mint green. She’d chosen the colors because they made her think of sherbet, cool and summery. The peach-colored wall did feel cool to Rebecca Payne’s cheek, but there was nothing summery about the empty room now. Her bottom lip trembled, but she bit down to stop that foolish impulse. It was just a room, an empty room, nothing more. Reba forced herself to step away. Inanimate walls offered no comfort. Still, for the last three years, this room had been the hub of Reba’s home. Hers and Ray’s.
