“Are you all right?”
No. I’m in heat. “Yes, I just wanted to see if you would like to sit with me on the beach. The night is young.”
“Give me five minutes to get changed.”
As they sat on the beach clad in swimwear. Saul felt a pang. “I wish I could see you. You said you had brown eyes and hair. I’m thinking Sandra Bullock, or Kate Beckingsdale.” He turned to ask, “Am I close?”
“Not even,” she said. “Try Thandie Newton or Paula Patton.”
“Hmmm… I don’t think I know them.”
“Why am I not surprised?”
Her wry tone made him defend himself. “Sorry if I’m out of the loop. I haven’t had time to go to the movies and even then I’m not good with the remembering names.”
He leaned into her and nuzzled her hair. “You smell like apricots.”
“Hmm…” He felt her edging away from him and yanked his arm around her waist to still her movement. She wasn’t going anywhere if he could help it. What he had planned required close proximity.
“I’ve been a man of my word, haven’t I?” he prodded.
“Yes, you have.”
“It’s much more frustrating that I thought.”
“Saul, you’re dragging and that’s not like you. Get to the point.”
“I want to kiss you,” he said. “I want to feel my lips pressed against yours.”
“Oh, I want you to so bad, but I can’t.” Annie confessed. “If I kiss you, I might forget I’m a child of God and…I can’t.”
He wanted to make her forget but she sounded like she was really struggling. “Okay, no kissing, for now.” He nibbled on her ear and kissed her on the cheek. “Hug me,” he whispered.
She grabbed him tight. He felt the tip of her tongue touch his neck. Now he was confused. Wasn’t this the same woman who lectured him minutes ago? He felt her hands in his hair and read the signs. Her body pretty much told the truth. Saul told himself that he’d sit and let her explore. If it killed him, he would help her keep her chastity.
***
“Saul, I want you but we’ve got to stop,” she croaked while she dragged her hands through his hair.
He groaned but pulled away. Goose bumps rose on her flesh. She missed his nearness. She sat upright and brushed the sand out of her hair and dress. She’d donned a sarong over her bathing suit.
Saul sat as still as stone. Only his deep breaths kept Annie from wondering if he were alive. His face was unreadable.
Compelled, she spoke, “I—I wasn’t trying to lead you on. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not.”
The two words were torn from him. She touched him and he flinched. Surprised, she jerked her hand away. He was mad. Her thoughts raced. Annie grabbed her towel and stood.
What must Saul think of her? She felt guilty of that and the fact that she’d stretched the truth a wee bit earlier. The real reason she stopped the kiss was because Saul didn’t know he would be locking lips with a sister. She needed to tell him the truth.
“Annie?”
Now. She needed to tell him now.
Annie looked at his face. “I’m here.” She couldn’t tell him. Not yet. Annie helped him to his feet and they made their way inside the house.
Troubled, she remained quiet most of the way. She wanted to retreat to her room to think but Saul wasn’t having it.
“Watch a movie with me.”
“Let’s wash up and I’ll meet you in the family room.” It took her ten minutes to return. He was already there. She noted his curly wet hair and ached to run her hands through it again.
“Come snuggle with me,” Saul suggested, having heard her entrance.
Annie complied and soon, they were engrossed in the story. At a pivotal scene, she turned to ask him a question, then sighed. To her dismay, he’d fallen asleep. She pressed the off-button on the remote and tried to move.
She was locked in. “Saul! Saul!” she gave a loud whisper. After several attempts, she released a deep breath. “I give up.” Annie snuggled closer. Within minutes, she too was asleep.
“We spent our first night together,” greeted her when she awoke to consciousness the next morning.
“What time is it? I expected to be up a long time ago! Why didn’t you wake me? We’ll be late to your last consultation with Dr. Pryor if we don’t hurry.” Annie peppered questions at him as she rolled up the blanket he must’ve placed on her while she slept.
“It’s a little after nine,” he answered. “Relax, there was a cancellation so I was able to secure a later time. We go in at eleven.”
They made it to Fawcett with minutes to spare. Saul insisted on stopping at Abbe’s Donuts first. It took every ounce of patience she possessed to accommodate him. She tugged on her jeans, having forgotten her belt, and raced through the door with Saul in tow.
Today was the day they’d find out if he’d been cleared of physical therapy. It took a half-hour for Saul to be x-rayed and another ten minutes passed before the doctor arrived.
Dr. Pryor ushered them into his office. “I’ll make this quick. Saul, your scans look good. Unless you have any residual concerns, I’m officially clearing you for all physical activities. Your bones have healed as they should and I’m happy to say this is your last visit with me, and your last session with Annie.” He faced her with a wide smile. “I for one am glad for that. Annie, your presence has been missed. Can’t wait to get you back into rotation.” With that, he left the room.
Saul gathered his cane and stood. “Wow.”
One word. How eloquent. Annie wiped a tear from her face. “I’m so happy for you. Not all cases have such a promising end. You must be relieved.”
“I am—it’s just a lot to process.”
Their gait was slow as they departed the ward and headed towards the elevator. Annie waved at some of the nurses and fellow therapists. Sari wasn’t on duty until the afternoon.
“It’s been such a pleasure working with you, Saul.” She gulped through her ‘exit’ speech. He came to an abrupt halt at her words.
“What do you mean?”
Annie didn’t answer until they were ensconced in the car. She took U.S. and drove to make the left at El Jobean. “You know what the clearance means. I’ll be packing my bags and returning home. You’ll still work with your vision and mobility specialist for years to come, but you don’t need me anymore.” She injected professional enthusiasm as she tried to cover her sniffles.
“Are you crying?” he asked. “Listen, stop those tears. I’ve no intention of you going anywhere. You belong with me. I make enough money to support you so you have no worries.”
“What kind of nonsense talk is that?” she hurled at him. “I’m going home. I’m not going to shack up with you. My God won’t allow it. Do you want your other leg broken?”
Saul didn’t bat an eyelash. “I wasn’t talking about us shacking up, as you put it. I was talking about you becoming—
She cut him off. She spoke through her teeth. “Don’t you dare say what I think you’re about to say! I’m driving and concentrating on the road. Listen, don’t say another word until we’re back home.” She realized her mistake and corrected. “I mean back at your home.” Annie really wasn’t that mad but she had to stall him.
“Fine, I can wait,” Saul replied with ill-concealed annoyance. He muttered, “Imagine, the second woman I ever think of asking to marry me cuts me off.”
Annie rolled her eyes when she saw he was sulking. Well let him sit and stew. Better that, than deal with her real problem. She didn’t care where he asked her to marry him, as long as he did. She had to talk to him first. He had to know the truth.
She tensed imagining his reaction. She couldn’t get to his house fast enough. Great. There was traffic ahead. She decelerated. She tilted her head to look ahead. “There’s an accident ahead,” she explained to Saul. Her patience was wearing thin and she emitted a loud growl.
He placed his left hand on her lap and patted. “Keep
cool. We’re in no rush.”
Warmth crept up her spine and Annie blurted, “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Even when you’re crazy.”
She inched the car by the scene. Like most of the drivers she turned her head with curiosity. The mangled heap in front of her made her heart leap. “Lord, have mercy on whoever was driving that car.”
Wait a minute…
No! No! She prayed she was wrong. She rolled her window down to get a closer look. She had to make sure before she opened her mouth. She saw the blond hair and the telltale car jewelry. She knew who owned that car!
She grabbed Saul’s hand. “That’s Cassandra’s car!”
Chapter Nineteen
Two accidents in a matter of months. Saul grabbed his forehead. “I’m too old for this. I’m getting you a Hummer. You need something indestructible.”
“Too old for what, Grandpa?” Emily piped up. She looked up from her iPad where she’d been coloring to ask the question. “If you weren’t old then you wouldn’t be a grandpa.”
In spite of his situation, he couldn’t help but laugh at her reasoning. He grazed the stubble on his chin.
“She makes you sound ancient,” Cassandra remarked from her hospital bed. Her throat sounded hoarse from being poked and prodded.
Saul looked towards his daughter and smiled. He couldn’t stem the words bursting from his being. “I’m so relieved. I could be crying now. Instead, I’m rejoicing. A part of me wants to find that fool mechanic and wrap my hands around his neck, but a greater part of me is too busy following Annie and thanking God that you’re alive. I mean who forgets to tighten the lug nuts on four tires?” Anger rose within him.
Her voice caught. “When the tires loosened, and I felt the car drop, my heart gave out. All I could think about was Emily in the rear seat. I screamed but as Annie said, God helped me. I would’ve gone home but I’m here at your insistence.”
“The airbag deployed. I wanted you both checked out completely just to make sure.” Saul looked upwards. “I could’ve lost my daughter and granddaughter twice.” Suddenly the weight of the past several months bore down on him and Saul choked up. The enormity of his experiences pierced his heart. He knew without a doubt that his survival had been a miracle, evidence of a very real God. Annie had pointed that out to him several times but he was just getting it. Who was he that the Creator of the world had interceded on his behalf so many times?
“I’ll be back,” he urged, not wanting Emily to see him break down. He stood outside the door and sobbed quietly. He felt someone touch his arm and then a friendly voice.
“I’m a nurse. Can I help you?”
“Yes, can you take me to the chapel?”
The nurse led him to the elevator and down to the lobby where the chapel was located. Saul thanked her and asked, “Can you let my daughter know where I am? I was standing outside her door when you found me.”
He felt a light pat on his shoulder. “Yes, I’ll do that,” she said before leaving him alone.
He heard the door click shut. Glad to be alone, he spoke. “God, I don’t have much to say because I’m not usually a praying man. I just wanted to tell You thank You for sparing my daughter’s life today—and, my granddaughter.” He gulped.
Saul tilted his head. “God, are you hearing me?” His voice echoed.
“This is silly,” Saul said, laughing at himself. “It’s not like I expect You to answer. Although Annie says You hear prayers and answer them.”
He cleared his throat. Better get back to his prayer. He closed his eyes. “I also want to thank You for bringing Annie into my life. She’s been good for me. I’ve been learning a lot about You from her.” Even though he was alone, Saul lowered his voice before continuing. “I might as well tell you that I love Annie and I plan to ask her to marry me.”
Chapter Twenty
Annie peeked in on Cassandra. In her hand, she held a fast food bag with a hamburger and fries for Emily to eat. Cassandra gave her a grateful look. After she was ensured that they were all right, Annie had left to give Saul time with his family.
“You’re so good with her. I know what my Dad sees in you. Do you have children?”
“No, not yet. I had hoped to have one or two before I turned forty but at this rate…Where’s your father by the way?”
“A nurse told me he’s in the chapel,” Cassandra said. “I want to thank you. Because of you, my father and I have a relationship again and he is Emily’s favorite person in the world.”
“I didn’t do anything,” Annie said, lowering her head, slightly embarrassed by the young woman’s effusive gratitude. She covered her cheeks. “You’re making me blush from your praise.”
“You deserve it,” the younger woman insisted. “Daddy is changing because of you. He’s talking about God and he’s so happy with you. I’m begging you to forgive me for how I greeted you when we first met.”
Annie squirmed with recollection. “It’s old news,” she said, hoping Cassandra wouldn’t continue the conversation strain.
“No, I can’t let it go. I mean I was insulting and I’m ashamed of my behavior. I should’ve never come at you like that about your race. I mean, I’m a fine one to talk.”
She felt ill at ease. “Cassandra, consider it forgotten, although I expected you to tell your father. However, my motives were selfish because then I wouldn’t be stuck with the task. I never thought twice of our difference in race because this town is filled with interracial couples. I was going to tell him today but this trumped my confession. Now I’m afraid that your father will be furious and think I was keeping this from him on purpose.”
Cassandra gave Annie a curious look. “Why didn’t you tell him sooner?”
“I’m scared to death he’ll reject me. I want him to see me and love me as a person—a woman. I don’t want to lose him.”
“I’m going to be blunt. You were dead wrong to wait this long.”
Annie closed her eyes and accepted full blame. “I’ll tell him, tonight. The nurse told me they’re working on your discharge papers so once we drop you off at your home, I’ll come clean.”
“I’ll give you a couple of days. If you don’t, I will. Daddy needs the truth. You can’t build love with a lie as the foundation.”
Saul entered the room within seconds of Cassandra’s warning, ending the conversation. Annie had been half-afraid that he’d overhead, but he was in good spirits.
***
As she pulled into the driveway, Annie was solemn. Saul stirred awake. They entered his home. She turned on the interior lights, feeling drained.
“What a day filled with highs and lows,” Saul declared, mirroring her thoughts.
She brushed past him. “I have to talk to you and I can only hope it ends on a high.”
“Is someone dying?” he asked.
“No.”
“Well, it can’t be that bad.”
He reached for her. Annie took his hand and allowed him to pull her into his comforting embrace. Saul led her to the loveseat and massaged her temples. She bit back a moan. He placed his lips on her eyelids. Then he kissed the bridge of her nose. “Annie, I love you. Will you marry me?”
Her heart skipped a beat and she inhaled. Yes, she wanted to marry him. However she opened her mouth and gave the only answer she could. “I can’t.”
He pulled away.
Annie twisted her hands. The air between them dropped to point of frosty. Lord, give me courage.
While she prayed, Saul reached for her hand. “Why can’t you marry me? Is there a boyfriend that I don’t know about?”
If only it were that easy, Annie thought. She removed her hands from his and placed them in her lap. “No, there is no boyfriend. Saul, I haven’t been honest with you. There’s something you need to know.”
“Annie, just spit it. I’m losing patience.”
With a slight shiver, Annie began, “The day I met Cassandra she told me that her husband was black. She told me you were a
gainst her marrying a black man. When she married Kellan, you ended your relationship with her.”
Saul hung his head. “Yes, that’s true. It wasn’t one of my proudest moments. But, we’ve patched things up since then.” He shook his head. “I fail to see what this has to do with you marrying me.”
Annie looked at his creased brows. She took a deep breath before she said, “I have a problem with that because I’m black.”
“Wh…What?”
“I said I’m—
“I heard what you said.”
Looking at him, Annie couldn’t gauge his reaction. His lips were scrunching and he fumed, taking shallow breaths.
“That’s why I ran,” she said. “I ran from my feelings but I was wrong. God led me back to you.”
“Don’t bring God into this. Because I can’t see Him condoning being lied to and made a fool of,” Saul spat. He gave a chuckle filled with self-recrimination. “Cassie must’ve had a field day watching me lose my head over a black woman. No wonder she didn’t say anything. She was having a laugh at my expense.”
Annie rushed to take his hand. “No, she wasn’t. I promise you that. She urged me to tell you truth.”
He pushed her hand away and cut in. “So, if my daughter didn’t tell you to confess you would’ve kept me in the dark about something this important.”
He was turning her words against her. Her body shivered under his accusation.
“No … I … I had every intention of telling you … but …”
“But, nothing!” he yelled. He stood. “Annie, I appreciate everything you’ve done for me but leave my house.”
No. He can’t be ending things. “You told me you loved me.”
“That was before,” he snarled.
“Before I told you I was black?” she grounded out with clenched fists.
“No, before you lied to me! Now get out!” he screamed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Color Blind Page 8
