A Somers Dream

by Patricia Isabel

  It had been two days since the fiasco with Lynesse and still no word from Penny. Shane was becoming more haggard as each day passed. He kept calling and leaving messages but still, she didn’t respond. Gabe had told him to give her some time that she will call him when she felt she was ready but Shane didn’t believe it. While lying in bed, he tried to think how he would feel if the roles were reversed and he was to find another man in her house. He didn’t like that feeling one bit. Checking, once again, to make sure his phone was working someone rang his doorbell. Shane wasn’t up for any company so he ignored it, hoping that whoever it was would go away. They wouldn’t. Whoever was at the door was persistent and it seemed that they weren’t about to give up. Groaning, Shane got up and slipped on a bathrobe, grumbling as he made his way to the door. When he reached for the handle, his mind shot a thought ‘maybe it’s her’ and quickly opened the door. Well, it was a ‘her’ but not the one he wanted. Lynesse made her way past Shane like as if she had always been welcome there, Shane’s mood just got darker. “Baby, you look horrible” she looked Shane over with a fake look of concern “I hope you’re not coming down with something. Well, no matter, I’m here to take care of you if you do. Do you want a tea? I know that always makes you feel better when you’re unwell” Lynesse made her way into the kitchen to put the kettle on the stove. She was willing to, once again, forget about what happened two days ago and let him get over his shock of seeing her. She knew it wasn’t going to be easy but she was positive that Shane will come around to his senses soon enough. She would wear him down, she had no concerns about that. Shane stood in the doorway not believing what was happening. He wanted to take his head and pound it into the door so as to make it go away but quickly realized that wasn’t going to happen. Was this woman insane? He still couldn’t believe she was there when Lynesse appeared in front of him, taking his hand and leading him up the stairs to his bedroom. Shane was in shock so he let her lead him. “Now you just get yourself into bed and I’ll be back with your tea” and she tucked him in like he was a child. As he watched her leave the room, his senses began to return and the shock had subsided. “You have got to be kidding me”. Not knowing what to do, he picked up his phone and called Gabe. “You need to come over right now” he said with a strained voice “she’s here…again!” Being just woken up, Gabe had no idea what he was talking about “who’s there? Penny?” Gabe didn’t see the reason for him to be there if that was the case. “No!” Shane said “Lynesse!” “I’m on my way” and Gabe hung up the phone and got dressed. As he was driving to Shane’s, he was trying to remember if there was any mention of psychological problems with Lynesse that he had heard in passing once. Unfortunately, he couldn’t come up with anything. There was something definitely wrong with her, that was a given. He knew Shane wasn’t leading her on or giving her any kind of hope of reconciliation, so what the hell was she up to and why? Today was the day Gabe was going to find out, come hell or high water. As he pulled up to the house, he recognized the car that Lynesse drove. Shaking his head, he walked over to the door and walked in. He can hear Shane yelling at her about something or other as he made his way up the stairs and she was giving as good as he gave. “I don’t want the damn tea! I want you out of my house! NOW! How many times do I have to say it, Lynesse? You are not welcome here…ever! I don’t want to see you…ever! Get out!” Shane made his way to the bathroom, slammed the door and locked it. That was one way of keeping her away from him. “Stop being so grumpy, damn it! I came here to see you and to make amends. I know we’ve had our problems but I’m willing to work them out! Stop being a baby! Shane!” Lynesse was yelling at the bathroom door, frustrated that he wasn’t in front of her so that she could make the moves that he had always liked. “There is nothing to work out!” Shane yelled through the door. Gabe can hear the exasperation in his voice and decided it was time for him to step in before Shane really did get sick. Clearing his throat as so to announce his presence, he walked into the room and headed towards the door. Lynesse turned to see who it was and, it seemed to Gabe, that she actually had a look of relief etched on her face. “Gabriel, thank god. Maybe you can talk some sense into him and get him out of that bathroom and back into bed. I made him a tea, he’s not feeling well” Believing that Gabe would surely take her side, she stepped aside so as to give him room. “Hey, Shane. Are you busy in there?” Gabe tried to make the situation as light as possible until he heard Shane’s response. “Yea, I’m busy. Trying to slit my wrists since death seems to be the only way of keeping that bitch away from me” Gabe didn’t like to hear that, even if he wasn’t serious. Looking at Lynesse, he motioned with his head for her to leave the room. “I’m not leaving until he’s in bed! With all this excitement the past couple of days, it’s no wonder he’s sick. I’m not leaving him, Gabriel so forget it” and with that, she took a stance and dared Gabe to move her. He took on her dare and carried her out of the room, screaming. Once he got her in the hallway, he closed the door and locked it. Lynesse began to pound on the other side, yelling at how unfair he was treating her. “You can come out now, she’s out of the room” Gabe heard the click of the lock and breathed a little easier when he saw him walk out. Shane looked like hell ran him over… twice. “You gotta get her out of here before I do something sensible, like throttle her. I’m not going to jail because of that woman” Shane ran his hand through his hair in exasperation and sat on the edge of the bed. “She hasn’t called, has she” Shane looked at his brother and shook his head. Gabe had never seen Shane so bent outta shape because of a woman. His heart went out to his little brother and tried to help think of ways of getting this woman back into his life. “Why don’t you take a trip out there? See her in person? She may be able to avoid your calls but she can’t avoid you personally” Shane looked hopeful for a split second and then it was gone. “I only know her work address” Shane felt it was hopeless and he was showing it. He had no idea on how to find Penny aside from showing up at her work and he didn’t want to do that. When he did see her, he wanted it to be a private affair. “Man you are hopeless, aren’t you” Gabe sat next to him on the bed “there is a thing called the internet. Look her up and if you can’t find her that way, take that priceless plastic thing from your wallet called a credit card and pay to find her. What’s the point of having all this money if you don’t use it? And if you still have trouble, I’ll look into it” Gabe patted him on the back and gave his brother a smile. “Seems to me this Penny means a whole great deal to you and since that is the case, I’m here to help in any which way I can” Shane looked at his brother and not only felt relief but also hope. He gave Gabe a huge hug “Thanks, Gabe. I knew all that already, I just wasn’t thinking clearly.” Gabe returned the hug “No worries. That’s what big brothers are for, helping you little guys to think clearly” They both laughed and patted each other on the backs. Shane was feeling better about the situation and that was thanks to Gabe. “Now, do me a favor will you?” Gabe said as he started to rise and head to the door “Go take a shower. I was able to smell you from the driveway. And while you are delousing yourself, I will deal with her” and he motioned his head toward the pounding on the door that had resumed mere moments ago. Shane got up and headed towards the bathroom “Hey Gabe?” he said before walking through the door and Gabe turned around to look at his brother “Yea?” “Thanks for everything, again” and with that, Shane gave his brother a huge smile and walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Gabe waited until he heard the click of the lock and made his way to the door to which Lynesse was doing her damnest on breaking down. “You’re welcome” he said more to himself and prepared himself for a fight.

  Once Shane was in the shower, he began to feel human again. Having Gabe around not only made him feel better but he also helped him think clearer as well. He still couldn’t understand why Penny disappeared on him like she did. Without her returning his calls, he could only speculate and that was never a good thing in his mind. After his shower, he would need
to find a way to figure things out and the first thing he’s going to do is find Penny. It shouldn’t be too hard, Gabe was right, the internet is full of information for the right price and price has never been a factor. As Shane stood under the shower, it hit him like a bolt of lightning… ‘e-mail’. He had been so down in his own despair he completely forgot about e-mails. ‘Maybe she sent an email!’ he said and rushed out of the bathroom only slipping a towel around his waist and went straight for his computer. As he logged on, he couldn’t help but feel a bit dismayed. ‘But why send an e-mail unless it was bad news?’ he was beginning to panic as he opened his e-mail. Scrolling through countless of spam and crap, he came across a name he recognized and clicked on it. His heart dropped into his stomach as he read what Penny had to say.

  Dear Shane,

  I am writing to wish you congratulations on your upcoming wedding. You can imagine my surprise at the news. I’m sure you understand that our relationship, as it stood, can no longer continue. May you both be happy in the years to come. Best wishes and good luck.

  Penny

  P.S. Please respect my wishes and do not contact me.

  Shane sat there and read and re-read what was said. What the hell is she talking about? What wedding? and then it hit him like a pail of cold water. Lynesse. She had something to do with this. She would be the only person Penny could have met when she came here. A cold chill ran down Shane’s spine as anger began to well up from inside. “I’m going to kill her” was all he could say as he calmly stood and headed towards the door. “Lynesse!” he raged as he picked up speed and hurled the door open.

  Once Shane was in the shower, Gabe opened the bedroom door to find Lynesse ready to pound on it some more. The surprise on her face told him that she wasn’t expecting it to open and she was ready to argue. “Save it” Gabe said as he gently took her by the arm and led her towards the front door. “Where are we going?” she asked, not happy at the turn of events that have recently taken place. “We are going nowhere, but you are” he replied. Opening the door, he continued to lead Lynesse by the arm to escort her to her car. Lynesse had no intentions of leaving, not now, now when she nearly had Shane broken down and ready to accept the fact that they belonged together again. She dug in her heels and began to struggle “I’m not leaving! He needs…” Gabe turned so swiftly around on her that she was startled “Are you daft, woman?! He doesn’t need you! He doesn’t want you! He wants nothing more to do with you! What the hell makes you think he will ever go back to you after what you did?! I want you to leave him alone, Lynesse. Leave him and never contact him again or I swear, here and now, I will bury you myself” The venom in Gabe’s voice made Lynesse shudder. She had never heard him speak in such a tone before that it made her re-think her actions towards Shane. Just when she was about to defend her actions, they both heard her name being yelled out. “You see? He does want me!” and Lynesse struggled herself free and turned to go back but stopped dead as the front door slammed open. Standing in the doorway in only a towel, she saw Shane with a look that she had never seen before and suddenly she got scared. “You lying, conniving little bitch!” Shane screamed as he began to make his way towards her. Lynesse was so taken aback, she instinctively began to back away. “Um, Gabriel?” was the only thing that she could say and began to get closer to him. “Get behind me” was all she heard and she didn’t argue as she quickly hid behind him. Gabriel had never seen his brother in such a rage and he knew he needed to quickly calm him down before things got out of hand. Meeting him, Gabe put his hands on Shane’s chest to slow him down. “Shane, she’s leaving and she’s never coming back. There is no need for this” Shane saw his brother but didn’t hear him, his only intent was to throttle the brunette hiding behind Gabe if it was the last thing he ever did. “You evil whore! You told her we were engaged?!” Shane was shaking so badly he felt he was about to fall apart. Gabe thought he heard him wrong and turned to look at Lynesse. “You did what?” he asked her, surprise written on his face. “She told Penny we were engaged!” Shane said in an exasperated tone, “That’s why she hasn’t returned any of my calls! She thinks I’m getting married! To that!” On that last statement Shane pointed his finger at Lynesse. Gabe turned to look at Lynesse and saw her face go red “You’re kidding right?” was all he could say. This was beginning to become a soap opera and Lynesse was the star. “Well, it wasn’t really a lie. We were engaged once. I just didn’t elaborate” was all she could say in her defense. “You really can’t be serious about that tramp?!” Lynesse looked directly at Shane, “I mean, she’s not even wealthy. She’s never been in society in her life. She was raised poor, Shane. She only wants you for your money, to live in luxury only you can give her. She will do nothing but embarrass you, you know that!” Lynesse was happy with her information, Shane would see her as a gold-digger and the one thing Lynesse knew Shane disliked were gold-diggers. “You had her investigated?! Oh my god! Gabe, step aside. I just want to bury her, right there, in the driveway so that whenever I come and go I can continuously run her over!” and he lunged for Lynesse but Gabe was quick. “Leave! Now!” was all Gabe said to her. Lynesse was about to argue but seeing the look in Gabe’s eyes changed her mind, she ran for her car and locked herself in and drove away. They both watched her leave. Gabe turned to Shane and saw the pain in his eyes “Don’t worry, we’ll fix this. I promise” Shane took an exasperated breath “It’s over. She never wants to see me again. She said so”. and with that, Shane turned and headed for the house. “You’re not going to try and get her back?! You’re just going to give up?!” Gabe said, waiting for his brother to show some sign of life. “You don’t understand, Gabe. She had problems in the past with men being dishonest with her. She wouldn’t believe me if I told her the truth. She asked me to respect her wishes and that is what I’m going to do” and feeling beat up, he made his way to his bedroom, closed the door and laid in bed. Gabe just stood and watched his brother walk away, feeling defeated. Lynesse had done a lot of stupid shit over the years but he never would’ve believed this unless he saw it first. As Gabe walked towards his own car, he began thinking of ways to help his brother and get him back to the man he once was before all this happened. With a grin, he came up with a plan. Shane wasn’t going to like it but sometimes medicine never did taste good. With that notion, he got in his car and drove away with a feeling that things were going to be just fine.

  CHAPTER 16

  When Gabe left Shane’s house one week ago, he went straight to his father’s house. Finding him in his library, reading the paper, he made his way to the chair across from him and took a seat. “I would suggest you put a leash on your wife or you may become a widow again” Gabe stated. “What do I care what Lynesse does?” Holten peered at his son over the newspaper he had been reading. “She had her own mind since before your brother brought her around” His father was seventy years old and his years were beginning to show. He looked more tired and weary than the last time Gabe had seen him. “She has been a loose cannon since day one and I have learned to ignore it” Holten brought his newspaper back to eye level and continued to read. The last thing he wanted to think about was his errant wife and her social blunders. Lynesse was a big girl and Holten was happy to let her fend for herself in her follies. “Well, you may want to hear what she’s been up too. It concerns Shane” Gabe leaned forward in his chair and put his elbows on his thighs. He knew his father and brother were estranged the past five years but he also knew that Holten had been keeping tabs on Shane, making sure he was alright. Holten peered over his paper again and seeing the look on his son’s face, folded it and put it aside. “Alright, what is she up to?” Gabe spilled all that his dear wife had been doing and what it was doing to Shane. Holten listened intently to what Gabe had to say and when all was said, he got up and went to get himself a much needed drink. Holding the decanter, he glanced over at Gabe “Would you like one?” Gabe nodded and Holten poured another snifter of Bourbon. “I’ve had my man keep tabs on her si
nce before the wedding but this is new. This is something that hasn’t been reported. She must’ve found a way to slip past to go unnoticed and cause this kind of trouble”. The ‘man’ Holten had referred to was his lawyer, Mr. Anthony Marks. Gabe can remember Marks from his childhood years and he was old then, can’t imagine what he must be now. “What do you mean by ‘keeping tabs’? Why would you need to keep tabs on Lynesse before your marriage?” Something didn’t smell right and it wasn’t the Ben-Gay his father used for his joints. Holten can be sneaky at times, for good or for bad and Gabe had seen them both. But something just wasn’t quite right with his father’s last statement and he was going to find out what he meant by it. Making his way across the room with two glasses in hand, Holten ignored the questions. “So, you say that Shane has found himself an amazing woman who wants nothing to do with him. Why is he wasting his time then? Tell him to move on and be done with it. No point in crying over spilt milk, I say” Holten returned to his chair and handed Gabe a glass of Bourbon. Reaching for it, Gabe explained that it wasn’t so much that she didn’t want anything to do with him, it had to do with the fact that Lynesse lied to her and she believed it. Things were going great until Lynesse dipped her finger into the pot so, she needed to be found and told the truth. Hopefully, once Penny hears it, she will have a change of heart. “Dad, he’s dying. He won’t eat or drink and when he does it hardly constitutes as nourishment. All he does is remain locked up in his bedroom and sleep. That’s it. I’ve tried to get him up but he won’t have it. His business is beginning to suffer because of it. I’m at a loss” Gabe looked at his father with frustration on his face. He and his father were never really close but they had a relationship which was more than what Shane had with him. Now, he hoped that relationship will help Gabe figure out what to do. “So he’s completely distraught over this woman, you say?” Holten said with a pensive look to him. He was cooking something in that old brain of his and Gabe knew it. “He is” Gabe hoped that whatever it was, it would help his brother.