Loving Mr. Wright

by Brenda Barrett

  "So it's all set then?" Farmer McGregor asked in the phone. "Good, good. I'll tell him…Five or six course meal at your house…" He scribbled down the information.

  Caleb entered the room and sat down, he squeezed Erica's hand. She returned the gesture, but a feeling of unease was creeping over her—where had he got out from?

  Farmer McGregor hung up the phone, and handed Caleb a piece of paper. "Congrats, son. I told Harlan Donahue about you, he spoke to his son, Chris, who is in charge of Villa Rose. They want to test your skills in the kitchen before they take you on. Be at their house at five on Monday. Apparently, they are having a dinner party. If the food is good, you are hired."

  Caleb took the paper gratefully. "Thank you."

  "No problem," Farmer McGregor said.

  "Now shall we go and see what Dina has prepared, she has been in the kitchen all morning."

  Erica reluctantly got up, and wondered what she was missing?

  She needed to question Caleb about where he had got out from.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Erica hadn't gotten a chance to question Caleb that night. She was sitting at home alone Monday evening; anxious to give him the cell phone she bought for him as a gift. He was supposed to get electricity today and she had no idea if he was now on the grid. The phone was supposed to be his welcome-to-the-modern-world gift.

  She looked at it again. It would be so nice to talk to Caleb whenever she wanted, instead of having to drive all the way to his place to do so. She wanted to talk to him to find out if he was nervous about the dinner that he had to do for the Donahue's. She had offered to drive him to their place but he had needed to go from in the morning to prepare for the dinner and she had to be at work at that time. He had been ecstatic about the assignment and she discovered afresh how much Caleb loved being a chef.

  He had spent the night talking about some dishes he had made and what he would do to impress the Donahue's that she didn't get the chance to ask him where he had gotten out from.

  The question had been riding her mind all night, so much so that Erica called Kelly to brainstorm about it and to warn her that her boyfriend might start working for Chris Donahue, but Kelly wasn't home. She was on an outing with her husband.

  At least she had gotten the chance to have a long conversation with her niece. The little girl filled her in on her little world and Erica was quite happy to sit and listen, even though Farmer McGregor's statement was niggling the back of her mind like an unwanted insect wriggling in her ear.

  So tonight here she was, lonely and curious. The phone rang catapulting her to the present and she shook off her doldrums and answered.

  "Hi Erica, it's Phoebe."

  "Oh, hi Phoebe," Erica answered curiously; Phoebe only called when she wanted a lift somewhere.

  "Are you free tonight, or are you planning to fornicate with that guy?"

  "Phoebe!" Erica gasped. "Can you be anymore obnoxious?"

  "Of course," Phoebe said deadpan, "I have been obnoxious several times before this."

  "Well," Erica sputtered, "Caleb and I are not fornicating, such an old fashioned word for a young girl…he is working."

  "Oh," Phoebe said interestedly, "has he started driving his own vehicle yet?"

  "Nooo," Erica said getting exasperated, "why?"

  "Just curious," Phoebe said, "I could steal him from you if he were."

  Erica sighed. "Why did you call me?"

  "I have an issue. Last night I came in from work and Ma gave me a note and a rose that was delivered from Mr. Ezekiel Hoppings."

  "The rich guy?" Erica asked curiously.

  "The ugly rich guy," Phoebe said. "After we talked at lunch I kinda, sorta decided to pay him some attention, you know."

  "You did?" Erica gasped. "Pheebs, don't play with the man's heart. He doesn’t seem like the kind of person you can wrap around your little finger and play your little games with."

  "Well… I just smiled with him at church last week. My hat blew off, he handed it to me, and I gave him a smile. He asked me how I am. I told him I am fine... that sort of thing.

  I was wondering, would you like us to go check out his mansion? I have never been up there, you know. Bluffs Head is where the rich and famous live. I want to see what I would be letting myself in for if I encourage him."

  "Well, I have something to do… " Erica's voice petered out. She knew it was never okay to lie, no matter what the provocation, and her conscience was already pricking her.

  "What do you have to do?" Phoebe asked huffily. "You just said that the guy you’ve been spending every single day with is working."

  "Well, I … I just don't want to go anywhere," Erica said petulantly, "I have the right to say no."

  "Okay," Phoebe said, a sound of hurt in her voice. "I guess I'll just walk all the way to the road, charter a car to take me to Mr. Hoppings' house so that I can see what everybody is talking about. If I'm kidnapped you can always tell the police where you last heard that I went. I wish I had a friend with a car who could take me to this place but apparently because I am poor…"

  "Oh brother," Erica said, "why don't you go to his place in the day?"

  "It's not that dark outside," Phoebe said, "I can still see it in the half dusk."

  Erica exhaled. "You are… I don’t know what to say. I'll pick you up in twenty minutes, and don't believe that it's because of your pathetic attempt at emotional blackmail."

  "Thank you so much, Erica. Do you have binoculars?" Phoebe asked humbly.

  "No," Erica said abruptly, "why on earth would I… never mind. See you soon."

  *****

  When Erica reached Phoebe's place, Phoebe was standing at the gate; her wavy waist length hair out, and a pleased smile on her face.

  She is so gorgeous, Erica thought silently. She is young, healthy, and beautiful. Why am I even out of my house ferrying Phoebe to spy on someone else's house? She was still asking herself the question when Phoebe entered the car, a whiff of expensive perfume accompanying her.

  "Nice perfume," Erica said.

  "Thanks," Phoebe grinned. "The bank manager gave it to me for my birthday."

  Erica looked at her, her eyebrows raised. "Are you and him in something?"

  Phoebe gasped. "Heavens no, the man is married and has crooked teeth."

  Erica giggled.

  Phoebe had a low threshold for humanity's imperfections. That is why she found it odd that she was even remotely interested in Ezekiel Hoppings.

  "I was bored, that's why I am even here," Erica said glancing at her. "Something's on my mind."

  "What?" Phoebe looked at her, her big brown eyes curious.

  "Well, yesterday we went for dinner at Farmer McGregor's."

  "I know his sons," Phoebe said grinning. "They bank at my bank; they are all gorgeous."

  Erica rolled her eyes. "Anyway, he said something about Caleb being let out and I can't think of what he could have meant."

  Phoebe studied Erica intently. "There are only two places a person can be let out from. It's either prison or a mental institution."

  Erica looked in the rearview mirror and then stopped the car. "No! What about school? Isn't there a popular expression that says let out from school? And Caleb was studying something in Europe."

  "Yes," Phoebe said searching in her bag for her pack of gum. "If your head was stuck in the sand and you were too in love to consider other options, I guess school could work as an excuse."

  She giggled when Erica gasped.

  "I once dated a guy who was let out from Bellevue Hospital. I met him at the bank. He was so fine. He had the cutest puppy dog eyes in Jamaica. I had no idea that he had serious mental issues. Let's just say that when he didn’t take his medication he was a monster.

  "He didn’t like how the medicine made him feel so he started weaning himself off them but I didn't even realize that he was acting strange. I just thought that when I saw him hiding in the bushes near my yard that he was so smitten with me he couldn't leave
me alone.

  "One day he turned up at my gate, naked. Naked as the day he was born asking Poppa if I was at home. He almost gave Poppa a heart attack. He wouldn’t leave until his parents and doctor came to pick him up."

  She blew a bubble with her gum and glanced at Erica. "It's not so bad when they are on medication, but watch out, when they are not things can get ugly really fast."

  "What are you saying?" Erica looked shocked, "Caleb looks so normal."

  Phoebe shrugged. "I had thought that Todd was normal too. Of course, there is another explanation for Caleb. He could've been let out of prison. Remember that night when you were so eager to pick him up and I had wondered if he had been deported? He might have been—you know—booted from foreign lands for unspeakable crimes."

  Erica opened her mouth. "But that's… that's impossible. Why would he go to prison?"

  "Are we going up to Hoppings' mansion or what?" Phoebe asked, exasperated. "Why don't you ask him? The two of you spend so much time together; you should have known this by now."

  Erica started the car and drove toward Bluff Head slowly. It was the most exclusive community in St. Ann with its gorgeous homes and spectacular views of the sea, but Erica didn’t see a thing. Her brain was churning with the question, was Caleb mad or an ex-con, both options made her shiver with fear. He was her Mr. Right and her dreams were heavily invested in him.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Erica couldn't wait until Tuesday morning to come. She had dreamt all sorts of lurid dreams. The latest one was of Caleb turning up at her gate naked and acting crazy. She had woken up quite disturbed with the whole thing, and though she was contemplating Phoebe's theory, that he was mentally unstable, she doubted it. He had never acted like that around her and she hadn't seen him popping pills.

  She refused to think about Caleb being in prison—what on earth could he have done to warrant being sent to prison? The idea was ludicrous, but the thoughts were too insistent for her to take lightly so she called her father. Didn’t he warn her that he was going to hire a private detective to find out what Caleb was hiding?

  She listened to the phone ring and then her mother came on the line.

  "Morning Mom," Erica said wearily. Her mother had been haranguing her about the amount of time she had been spending with Caleb and she wasn't in the mood to hear about that now.

  "Well, well, well," Lola said, "I have no children… Kelly is in Cayman busy with her new job and you are busy with your new man."

  "Ah Mom," Erica sighed, "we should do lunch, maybe go down to New Beginnings and check out Froggie."

  "Nope," Lola said. "Your heart is not in it, besides his wife is constantly there these days and she's pregnant. It just doesn’t seem right to check out Froggie with his pregnant wife is around."

  Erica grinned. "Yes it does seem bizarre. I guess we just have to kiss our fascination with Froggie goodbye."

  "Well, I have a violin lesson with one Monsieur Juvern; want to come?" Lola asked.

  "Not today" Erica said, "maybe next millennium."

  Lola chuckled. "I miss my grandkids. I could've, probably, carried Thea to this lesson with me."

  "I miss them too," Erica sniffed. "Last night Thea told me that she has a boyfriend."

  Lola laughed.

  "Can I talk to Dad?"

  "Sure," Lola said, "he's right here, putting on his cap to go to one of his infernal golf games."

  Erica heard a smooch then Fred came on the line. "Hey baby girl, what's going on?"

  "Dad," Erica paused, "did you get to check out Caleb."

  Fred grunted and she heard a shuffling of the phone. "No, I have not checked back with the detective. I should give him a call next week. He said he was leaving the island on business. What's wrong? Why do you ask?

  "Just curious," Erica said brightly.

  Fred was silent for a while. Erica imagined him thinking about her vague answer and then he sighed. "I am going to tell you exactly what I know as soon as I find out."

  Erica hung up the phone after telling him goodbye and wandered into the kitchen. She was surprised to see Caleb outside, sitting on the patio.

  "Hey you, why didn’t you call?" Erica asked him.

  He looked at her, a twinkle in his eye. "I was just enjoying the view and I honestly thought you hadn’t gotten up yet," he glanced at his watch. "It's just six-thirty."

  Erica went over to him and sat on his lap then hugged him. "Didn’t sleep well last night."

  "Oh," Caleb looked at her, concerned. "What's wrong?"

  "Well … how did your job go?"

  Caleb frowned. "Great! I got the job. I met my new boss, Chris Donahue. I told him I go to Three Rivers Church and he was quite friendly. I mentioned that you were my girlfriend and he couldn't wait to escape me. Were you two together?"

  Erica grimaced. "No. Actually, my sister had an affair with him and had his baby."

  Caleb was shocked. "Isn’t she the one married to the pastor?"

  "I have one sister," Erica said, getting up and leaned on the railing.

  Caleb shuddered. "Is she and her husband still together?"

  "Yes, they love each other."

  Caleb frowned. "That has to be the case! I don’t think I could stay with that kind of deceit though. I would be so angry," he clenched his fist. "A child-for somebody else, while married to me?" He shook his head in awe.

  Erica looked at him speculatively. "Are you speaking from experience?"

  "Huh?" Caleb asked, his mind had wandered briefly to Julia and her affair with that fat law professor. He wondered if they were still together but he doubted it. Julia only used men to get what she wanted, when they served their purpose she moved on.

  "You seem passionate about the subject, as if you have been intimately acquainted with a situation like this."

  "Not quite," Caleb sighed. "My ex-wife had an affair."

  "Oh," Erica moved closer, "did it drive you crazy?"

  Caleb nodded. "Yes, I was devastated."

  "So you were in a mental institution?" Erica asked cautiously.

  "What?" Caleb looked at her askance.

  "Farmer McGregor mentioned that you were let out and I have been puzzling about it all night, I couldn't sleep."

  Caleb sighed and then got up.

  "Are you cured?" Erica asked frightfully. "Are you going to fly off the handle at anytime?"

  Caleb chuckled and stood in front of her. "No I was not in a mental institution."

  Erica looked at him contemplatively. "Then that leaves prison." Erica said backing away from him nervously. "Were you in prison?"

  Caleb looked at her for a long time and marveled at how quickly the perception of people could change. Here was Erica, the love of his life, her eyes wide with fright backing away from him as if he just threatened her life.

  He would have found her reaction funny at any other time but he always feared that Erica couldn't handle his past. He wondered what would happen if he told her the full story. Would she forever have that little doubt at the back of her mind that he was what the authorities said he was? Would she believe the stories about him?

  She only knew him for six months, how could he expect her to believe him when even his close friends, whom he had known for years, all condemned him—one going as far as to send him a letter filled with scornful words while he was in prison, down and depressed.

  His own father had abandoned him and doubted his innocence. He didn't even know if he was dead or alive. He had effectively distanced himself from Caleb. After the prison sentence was handed down, his father had given him a disappointed look and didn't even visit him in jail. He shoved his hand into his pocket.

  "Caleb?" Erica asked tremulously, "were you in prison?"

  Caleb sighed. "Yes, I was."

  He turned away from her and stared out at the scenery.

  "For what?" Her voice was hoarse.

  "I can't tell you now," Caleb said turning back to her, "not when you have that scared look on your face,
like you are ready to bolt."

  "Just tell me," Erica said. "I can't believe you waited all this time to tell me that you are an ex-convict. How long were you in prison?"

  Caleb slumped his shoulders. "Five years, four months, three days and two hours."

  "That night we picked you up, you were just getting out?" Her voice was high-pitched and squeaky and Erica started backing toward the door. "I picked up an ex-con."

  "Yes," Caleb watched her carefully.

  "Five years…" Erica said wonderingly. "Are you a murderer? Thief? Rapist?" She shuddered.

  Caleb watched her silently and then crossed his hands, a stubborn expression on his face. "I'm not telling you when you are in this mood."

  "You are not telling me!" Erica shrieked. "I can't believe this! The one guy... the one guy I thought was THE ONE is an ex-con!"

  She ran her fingers through her low-cropped hair. "What's wrong with me? Why do the wrong sorts of men find me attractive?"

  Caleb recoiled at that. "Erica, you are overreacting."

  Erica ran through the open patio door. "I am sorry I can't deal with this." She then locked it and watched him through the glass like a trapped animal, skittish, and afraid.

  Caleb took a step toward the door and she stepped back.

  He stared at her long and hard, his mind warring with him. Just tell her and get it over with, but another part of him whispered. She says she loves you and at the first sign of storm on the horizon, she retreats—how like a woman.

  He made up his mind after seeing the stark fear in Erica eyes that he couldn't get through to her and then he waved in frustration; the look of pain and frustration scorching her through the glass. He walked off the verandah in a huff.

  Erica stood at the door and watched him walk away; it took her several moments to calm down. She ran through the house and locked all the windows and doors. It was a good thing that she hadn’t given him a key, the panicked voice in her head said. She wanted to do so last week, but had resisted, thank God!

  After her strenuous run through the house, she sat cross-legged on the bed, her head in her hands. Her pulse was racing and she could feel it even through her fingers. She was sitting on something hard and when she took it up she saw that it was the cell phone that she bought for him. She placed it in her lap and caressed the sleek lines on the face of it.