Past Sins Revisited

by Mary Goldberger

  Calida shifted her feet and mumbled, “Sorry” keeping her head lowered feeling the man look at her narrowly before he returned his narrowed eyes to Samson

  “Then I will let it go this time although I wonder why your granddaughter was taking pictures in front of the company,” the man asked lifting an eyebrow at them.

  Samson sighed warily as he said, “Clarice what have I told you about taking pictures without asking for permission?”

  “I was only taking pictures of the building, but when they came out I couldn’t help taking their pictures also,” she mumbled staring down at her hands.

  Samson held out his hand and said, “Give it here.”

  Calida looked up and said with reluctance, “But Grandpa, I have other pictures on this film besides…”

  Samson moved his fingers indicating that she should give him the film and she grumbled as she pulled the camera from the bag and took out the film handing it to him.

  “Do you think I can get it back?” She asked him, and Samson gave her a hard look so she closed her mouth and put the camera back in her bag.

  Samson handed the man the film and said, “I apologize for any trouble she caused, sir, but please don’t tell Mr. Reseda. I would like to finish the month out without any trouble.”

  The man continued looking at them before he said, “All right, this one time I will let it go, but I don’t want to see you again, young lady. Do you understand?”

  “Yes sir,” she muttered sticking her tongue out at him when he turned to Samson, and Samson caught her on it.

  “Clarice,” he said with the right touch of astonishment, and the man turned around as she pulled her tongue back in her mouth.

  “Get her out of here,” the man said a touch of anger in his voice, “before I rethink my decision.”

  Calida muttered under her breath as Samson grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the elevator saying, “Thank you, sir.”

  He nodded his head as he dragged Calida away and the man shook his head hitting the button to take him back up, and as the doors closed a smile crossed his face while humor lit his eyes before his cell rung.

  “Hello,” he answered, and listened for a few minutes before he chuckled. “I got a little distracted but I’m about to do that now. I should have the information within the next twenty minutes.”

  He listened a little longer before he hung up and the elevator doors opened on the same floor he had been on when he heard the elevator before, and he hurried to the personnel office where he had been checking records on individuals who had worked for the company in the past ten years.

  “That was close,” Samson said as they heard the elevator doors close and they walked away heading for his office.

  When they entered, Calida took off her hat and sighed in relief as she leaned against his desk before asking, “When did he start working here?”

  “A few months ago,” Samson told her going over to a file cabinet and opening it as he went through the files before pulling one out. He held it out to her as he closed the door. “Here is his file.”

  Calida took the file from him and went through it only to stop when she said, “He was recommended by Edric Walwyn?”

  Samson nodded his head as he sat down with a snort. “I think he was sent to get some information, but he has been careful so far about what he does.”

  Calida nodded her head as she continued reading the file before she closed it, and said, “If it seems like my brother is catching on to him, let me know and I will see that he gets a warning to be careful.”

  Samson nodded his head as he told her thoughtfully, “Mr. Reseda is very cautious of him, but I don’t think he suspects anything yet, but I will keep my eyes and ears open until I retire.”

  “Hopefully, whatever he is looking for can be found by then because my brother isn’t very nice to those he thinks betray him,” Calida reminded him, and Samson nodded his head.

  “You need to be careful too, Calida,” Samson told her with a frown. “You are betraying him more than anyone else.”

  Calida handed back the file as she said, “He betrayed me first, Samson, and more importantly he betrayed our father, which I can’t condone.”

  Samson stared at the woman in front of him and he saw the hardness in her hazel eyes, and he shook his head wondering where the innocent young woman went that he had known since she was in trainers. He had to admit that the determined and strong-minded woman in front of him was a pleasure to see as he had always known that she would grow up to stand on her own feet just as her father had known.

  “You are so much like your mother, Calida,” he told her, and she looked at him with shock before she smiled her hazel eyes alight with tears.

  “Thank you, Samson,” she said leaning over to kiss his cheek. “And I think I will get going before anyone else asks why I’m here. See you later, Samson.”

  She walked out after giving him a hug and she hurried out of the building one hand clasping the bag to her side. She slid inside the rental car putting the bag on the floorboard of the passenger side before she started the car and drove away heading back to her hotel. The first thing she looked for was the SUV which was missing from where it had been earlier, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still around. She parked the car and grabbing the bag she exited the vehicle heading for the room.

  Once inside, she locked the door and put the bag on the bed pulling the hat from off her head tossing it on the bed. She went to the bathroom pulling her hair down and once in the bathroom, she removed the contact lenses blinking her eyes in relief.

  “Last time,” she muttered as she threw them in the trash and stripped out of her clothes taking a much needed shower.

  An hour later she was sitting on the bed her laptop in her lap and eating pizza when the phone next to her rung. She looked at it warily but answered it.

  “Hello,” she said with a touch of weariness.

  “Calida,” her brother said with light laugh, “why didn’t you come and see your brother when you got in town?”

  “I’ve been busy,” she told him shortly not even going to pretend that she wanted to see him. “Besides, I really didn’t want to see you.”

  “You hurt my feelings, dear sister,” he told her with a sigh.

  “I seriously doubt that,” Calida told him bluntly looking at the door not putting it past her brother to have someone come barging in when he had her occupied. She slid the computer off her lap and stood up slowly eyes firmly fixed on the door.

  “My little sister has grown up,” her brother said with a laugh. Then he said in a slightly different tone of voice, “But remember who runs things, Calida, and what happens when I want something.”

  “I’ve never forgotten, Jeffrey,” Calida told him her own tone strong and filled with steel.

  “Good,” he said dismissing her show of bravery. “Just remember that and we will get along fine. I want to see you, but I know you have other things on your mind at the moment. I also hear that you are dating someone, Edric Walwyn I do believe was what I heard.”

  “I know him,” she said without revealing much. “We met on my first day back.”

  Her brother sighed again as he told her, “Do be careful my dear sister because Walwyn may try to get to me through you.”

  Calida didn’t comment on that statement knowing how true it was but all she said was, “I can look after myself, but thank you for your advice.”

  She knew her words pissed her brother off when he hung up without another word and she sighed slowly as she put the phone back on its base before walking over to the window to peek out. The SUV was back in its spot and she stood there for a few minutes thinking before she grabbed a chair hooking it under the door handle.

  She went back over to the bed and sat down biting the inside of her lip her hand hovering over the phone before she shook her head and made one quick call.

  She picked up her computer and shut off the game she had been playing before she power downed the laptop,
and packing it up. She gathered her things without any hurry her mind reviewing what it knew and what she learned from her short conversation with Jeffrey, and a small smile lifted her lips.

  “So I wasn’t wrong,” she whispered to herself thinking about the small catch she heard in Jeffrey’s voice when he mentioned Edric’s name.

  She checked to make sure she had everything before she slipped on her sandals and grabbed her two bags moving the chair from the door. She was cautious opening the door and although she paid for the night she had done what she wanted and now it was time to go home, and prepare the next batch of data to be sent off.

  She left the rental car in the parking lot along with the other car that Jake would be picking up later and started walking hoping to get a taxi soon watching out for the SUV that pulled after her.

  She kept walking the SUV following her when suddenly a car pulled up next to her and she moved quickly away as the door opened.

  “Calida,” Edric asked with a frown absently noting the SUV that stopped a few feet back. “What are you doing here?”

  Calida clasped the bags a little tighter as she said, “Trying to catch a cab. Where are you heading, Edric?”

  Her eyes were scanning the cars looking for a taxi that she didn’t know Edric had moved until he grabbed her arm and she immediately took a step back getting a questioningly look from him.

  “I was about to get something for dinner since I worked late,” he said lifting his eyes briefly as the sky started to darken.

  “Damn,” Calida muttered looking around her. “I should’ve stayed in the hotel.”

  Edric laughed although there was a sharp look in his eyes as he studied her before ushering her to the car as she said, “Hey, Edric, I can catch a taxi or go back to the hotel for…”

  She didn’t get to finish her sentence as Edric closed the door on her after putting her in the car and as he walked around to the driver’s door he stared at the men in the SUV hard before he climbed inside.

  “Where do you want to go eat?” He asked as he shifted the car out of park and pulled back in the main stream of traffic satisfied when the SUV tried to follow only to tail end someone.

  Calida laughed as she caught the action in the side mirror and said, “Deserves them right for stalking me.”

  Edric glanced over at her as she settled back in the seat before he asked, “So why are they following you?”

  “Because my brother ordered them to,” Calida said without hesitation. “I knew Jeffrey would be gone so I moved back when he wasn’t here. He returned three days ago and now he is trying to find out where I moved as I didn’t move back in the Reseda family home.”

  She looked out the window before she told him thoughtfully, “After my mom’s death, the house never seemed like a home because my dad worked all the time and my brother, well, let’s just say he wasn’t much of a brother although I still idolized him at the time.”

  Edric’s hands tightened lightly on the wheel before he said, “I guess it is only naturally to idolize one’s own sibling.”

  “I guess,” Calida said offhandedly. “But Jeffrey and I are only half siblings as my mother was his father’s second wife. My mom tried to make a place for Jeffrey, but he always saw it as she was trying to replace his own mother and then when he got into his late teens, he started to think something else altogether.”

  Edric frowned as they stopped at a red light and glanced over at her with a sharp, “He started to lust after your mother?”

  “I don’t know exactly,” Calida remarked in a low voice. “My mom just started acting weird around him and then after my eighth birthday she suddenly disappeared. When they found her, she ran her car off the road in to a ditch. I was told that she died on impact, but I still have this feeling that she suffered. After her death, my father started working all the time that he was rarely home and my brother, he just did whatever he did whether it was at home or any place else. Then a six months of my eighteenth birthday, my father had a massive heart attack that he died on his way to the hospital. My brother inherited the company and I decided to move away to attend college.”

  Edric had a feeling that more happened before she decided to leave because according to the background information Tomas did on her, she had been accepted into the local college up until three months before the first day of classes when suddenly she decided not to attend and left. He wondered what the real reason was for her sudden change of mind but he didn’t ask as he pulled up to the same restaurant where they first met.

  “Good choice,” Calida conceded when he parked the car and he smiled as he opened his door followed by Calida.

  They were just walking in the restaurant when Tomas caught their attention walking up behind them. “Ric, I was just about to call you.”

  They turned to see him and Mariah walking over to them, and Mariah smiled as she said, “Good, I was hoping to get in touch with Calida.”

  Calida wrinkled her nose and said, “Why do I have this weird feeling right here” pressing a fist in her gut that Mariah laughed as Tomas shook his head and Edric put his arm around her waist forcing his fingers through her clenched fist. Calida glanced up at him in surprise only to have him look down at her and wink causing her eyes to widen as her cheeks reddened slightly.

  “I’m hungry,” she said trying to pull away so she could walk inside but Edric tightened his hold as he nodded his head to Tomas and Mariah.

  “Let’s eat together,” he said pressing Calida forward as he started walking and Tomas gave him a frown as Mariah chuckled following them.

  As soon as they entered, Mrs. Larina walked over with a huge smile and said, “Calida, dear, you haven’t been in to eat or see us for a while. Is everything okay?”

  “Everything is fine,” Calida said with a chuckle. “I’ve just been busy.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard that you started working at Treston’s Bakery,” the woman said giving her a mocking annoyed look. “I would’ve hired you on the spot if I had known.”

  Calida laughed and scrunched her nose at her as she said, “I know, but at the time I hadn’t decided what I wanted to do. Mrs. Treston knew about me from my bakery…”

  “So she should,” she said gloatingly and Calida narrowed eyes at her.

  “You told her about me,” Calida said.

  “She already knew about you,” the woman stated with a wave of her hand. “I merely gave some added information like Calida Reseda and Calida Lindley was one and the same.”

  Calida rolled her eyes as she said, “Most people didn’t know who was really behind the bakery because I didn’t use the Reseda name when I ran it.”

  That got everyone’s attention as Edric said, “You didn’t use the name Reseda” sharing a look with Tomas as they understood know why they couldn’t find any information on her after she moved.

  Calida didn’t comment as she shook her head and said, “Can we eat please? I’m hungry.”

  She pulled away from Edric’s hold and followed Mrs. Larina as she walked away, and Edric’s eyes narrowed following them both.

  “Hey, Edric, why would she do that?” Tomas asked before they arrived at the table and Edric only gave him a hooded glance as he sat down next to Calida who had a menu open and reading it.

  “Calida,” Mariah said as she settled down herself. “Do you think you can help with a party for my three year old niece?”

  Calida put down the menu and asked, “What kind of party are we talking about, Mariah?”

  Mariah grabbed her purse and pulled out a small notepad which she promptly handed over to Calida who glanced at her for permission before she started going through it.

  When the server came over she was still reviewing the notepad and gave her order absently as she grabbed a napkin.

  “Do you have a pen I can use, Mariah?” She asked only to have Edric hand her one which she nodded her head in ‘thank you’ as she started making notes.

  “What kind of cake is your niece asking for?” Cal
ida asked after the server walked away and Mariah frowned slightly.

  “My sister-in-law is going nuts because she wants something between pirates and fairies,” Mariah told her.

  “Common combination,” Calida muttered as she turned over the napkin and started sketching.

  Mariah nodded her head as she glanced at Tomas who shrugged his shoulders and asked, “What are you doing?”

  With a few more strokes, Calida handed over the napkin and said, “How about something like this? It’s only a rough sketch, but you should see if your niece would like it and let me know so we can find something else if she doesn’t like it.”

  Mariah looked at the sketch and she gasped picking up the napkin before glancing up at Calida who nodded her head. She handed the napkin to Tomas who whistled before he passed it to Edric, and he looked at it as a smile flickered on his face while his eyes shined with pride.

  “She is good isn’t she?” Mrs. Larina said coming up behind him to look at the sketch. “Ever since she was young and her mother first taught her to bake, she could come up with some amazing ideas although some weren’t really plausible.”

  Calida laughed as she said, “But they would’ve been fantastic if they had been in my opinion.”

  “Her mother was a baker too,” Mariah asked glancing at Calida who smiled gently.

  “Her mother was one of the best not excluding her daughter, of course,” Mrs. Larina said and Calida nodded her head at the input before she continued. “In fact, that’s how Mr. Reseda met Calida’s mother and at this very restaurant because Calida’s mother worked here at the time.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Calida said her eyes going wide as she leaned forward.

  “There’s a lot you don’t know,” Mrs. Larina said only to watch something pass over Calida’s hazel eyes. “Or maybe you do more than what you let on.”

  Calida didn’t respond but instead asked, “So dad met mom here?”

  “Almost a year after his wife left him, he came here for dinner one evening and your mother was just getting off when he asked for what at the time was a signature dessert. Your mother even though she was tired, stayed late to make it for him and when he asked her why later, she remarked because he looked as if something was weighing on him and she hoped that the sweet dessert would lift his spirits if only a little.”