Goodbye Lonely (The Bancrofts: Book 4)

by Barrett, Brenda

  "I am expecting Kylie any minute so make it quick."

  "You are so ungracious," Jackie said, pouting. "You know, it isn't good for your current school that you wear so many MIT shirts around."

  Gareth looked down at his shirt, aghast. "I have never really thought about it. I should go change."

  Jackie couldn't believe her good fortune that he had capitulated to her suggestion so quickly. "Yes, and while you are at it could you look in your files to see if you can find any papers written by Lauren James."

  "I wouldn't keep that here." Gareth frowned. "Why would you need that information?"

  Jackie's plan almost fell apart. She hadn't thought about why she should need a paper that Lauren wrote, until Gareth clipped his fingers and brought new life back to it.

  "Yes, I remember. I have a paper on Programming Syntax that she did last semester. I still have not returned those to the department."

  "Sure that will be greatly appreciated," Jackie said brightly.

  When Gareth stepped into the second bedroom that he was using as a home office, Jackie eagerly went to the window and looked out.

  Her heart was beating rapidly in anticipation of Kylie coming by. "Hurry up and come now, Kylie," she whispered to herself.

  She almost jumped with joy when she saw Kylie turning into the Close, her hair was in a puffy ponytail, and as she saw the ponytail move closer to the door, Jackie waited, counting down until she heard the ringing of the doorbell.

  When it rang, she slipped out of her dress and opened it before Gareth could come out to answer.

  Kylie was listening to her iPod and rubbing her hands together. Even though she was in a heavy sweatshirt, she still felt the cold. She raised her hand to knock on the door when it was thrown opened. Her eyes widened when she saw Jackie with her top down. She was pulling up her dress, a pink and white strappy thing, with an embarrassed look on her face.

  Oh, hi Kylie, Jackie said breathlessly. Her hair looked tousled, as if she had just rolled out of bed, Gareth's bed.

  Kylie's mind had barely processed that when Gareth came out into the living room behind Jackie, shirtless.

  "Hey, Hun," Gareth said casually. "I'll soon be there."

  Kylie backed away slowly from the scene in front of her. Jackie and Gareth. No! Gareth had told her that he would never again be with Jackie. She was supposed to be the only girl in his life.

  She heard a churning, heavy breathing like that old ice cream maker her mother had in her cupboard at home, and realized that the sound was coming from her. She was gulping in air faster than her body could process it. Gareth came to the door and stood behind Jackie, looking at Kylie with great concern. "Kylie, what's wrong? Let me put on a shirt; I'll be back in a jiffy."

  "Let her go, honey," Jackie purred. "She's not needed this morning."

  "What the hell did you say to her?" Gareth barked at Jackie.

  "Nothing." Jackie yelped. "I just answered the door."

  Kylie walked fast toward the gate and up the street, her breathing rattling in her chest. “Inhale and exhale,” she heard her mother’s voice in her ear, but she saw the vision of Gareth and Jackie both half naked together and the tears ran down the side of her face as she walked rapidly toward nowhere. Her sense of direction had fled.

  She was wheezing uncontrollably now, and she pushed her hand into her jacket and panicked when she couldn't find her pump. She didn't even realize that she had walked into something solid.

  "Take it easy," said Taj, the solid mass. He gripped her hand.

  "My pump." Kylie wheezed. She was looking at him through tear filled eyes. "My pump." Her breathing was becoming torturous.

  Taj felt in her pocket for her pump and handed it to her.

  She inhaled and then breathed out with a whoosh. She leaned on Taj, her legs trembling. He allowed her to use him as a rock and patted her back for a while.

  "I saw them," Kylie said, tremblingly into Taj's chest.

  Taj just stood there patting her back.

  "I saw them half naked," she whimpered again. "Both of them."

  "Were they actually doing something half naked?" Taj asked.

  "No," Kylie said gulping, "but Jackie answered the door, and Gareth was coming from the room."

  "Jackie?" Taj asked surprised. "You mean my housemate?"

  Kylie nodded.

  "Kylie, thank God." Gareth said loudly, jogging up the road. "Why did you run off like that?"

  "She saw you half naked with Jackie," Taj answered for Kylie. His voice was bitter, and he wasn't sure if it was on Kylie's behalf or his.

  "I wasn't half naked with Jackie," Gareth said exasperatedly. "Well, I was,” he stumbled over his explanation when Kylie looked at him accusingly, "but I was not naked with her. What I meant to say was..."

  Kylie shook her head. "Okay, Gareth that's it. I am tired of this. You can get back with your ex-wife with my blessing. I am through with this. I shouldn't be dating a recently divorced man anyway. Too much baggage."

  "Kylie, come on." Gareth said. "This is unreasonable."

  Kylie walked away from both men.

  "I better follow her," Taj said to Gareth. "Give her some time to get her breath back, will you?"

  Taj walked after Kylie, a tinge of jealousy in his mind as well. He had grown accustomed to having Jackie around, and he had more than just a passing interest in her. He didn't know she was seeing her ex-husband again. He had no business feeling like this when he had Natasha. When he reached up to Kylie, he slowed down to match her steps.

  "You walked all the way from the apartment?" he asked gently.

  "No," Kylie sniffed, "I parked over Mom and Dad's this morning."

  "Want to come to my place for a while?" Taj asked.

  Kylie nodded then changed her mind. "That's where Jackie lives. I don't think I want to see her ever again."

  "Maybe you should rethink whether what you saw was really what you thinkhappened," Taj said to Kylie, softly. "You know, there are some things that are not always what they seem."

  "She has a thing for him," Kylie said adamantly, "She left her cushy high powered job so that she could come to Jamaica to win him back."

  She swiped her eyes with her sleeves. "And Gareth isn't really sure how he feels about her, and I know it. I just chose to bury it because I believed he was my perfect pair."

  Taj frowned, "I see… ‘Perfect Pair’. I know that song by Khaled: ‘When you find your perfect pair, your one and only, you can say goodbye to lonely.’"

  Kylie nodded.

  Taj shook his head. "I used to believe that philosophy too. I thought I found my perfect pair with this girl, April Cole. We knew each other from high school. I loved her, but then we grew up and went to university, and one stupid misunderstanding, which doesn't even make sense, separated us."

  "What happened?" Kylie asked breathlessly.

  "A girl answered my phone late in the night. I was being a Good Samaritan and allowed her to bunk at my place. April took that at face value, broke up with me without a word. A couple of years later she found somebody else." Taj shrugged. "She found her perfect person, and now they are a perfect pair and they are happy. Sometimes I wonder if she hadn't found him if we would be as happy as the two of them are now. I don't know. I guess what I am saying is, work out the misunderstanding before you end things, okay? You might not be happy with the results if you jump to conclusions."

  He tweaked her nose. "Free advice from your psychiatrist brother."

  Kylie cleared her throat. "Thanks, Taj."

  Taj nodded.

  "I kinda resented you... you know?"

  Taj nodded again. "I could tell. I am the brother who came out of nowhere. I might have resented me too."

  Kylie chuckled. "I was being ridiculous. Even my Mom seems to like you, and I was wondering why. Now I know. You are a great guy, and that girl who chose another guy over you was an idiot."

  Taj laughed. "I don't know if that's true. She's still my friend. They are both
my friends. I guess I should be getting together with my perfect pair now. I deserve a happy beginning."

  "What about that detective girl?" Kylie asked curiously.

  Taj shrugged. "She's at work."

  "I hope you get your happy beginning, Taj." Kylie said when they reached the gate to her parents place. "As for me, I guess I am going to have to be mature about my situation and talk to Gareth."

  "That's right," Taj waved to her as she headed up the drive. "Say good morning to your Mom for me."

  Kylie waved back and walked to her car in a calmer state of mind.

  After showering and going to her first class, Kylie was feeling a bit foolish. So, she had seen Jackie half naked at the door. Maybe that could be explained away. Gareth certainly hadn't looked guilty, now that she thought about it. He had looked puzzled and Jackie had that evil smug look on her face. She needed to find out if she had overreacted and then apologize to Gareth. He took loyalty and commitment seriously, and she had doubted him and broke up with him without an explanation. He must think she was juvenile.

  She was leaving the building when she saw Janet Garcia heading through the doors.

  "Hey," Janet said, grinning. "I haven't seen you in a while. How is it going?"

  "Fine. Got a job here for the summer."

  "Are you going to graduation?"

  "Nah." Kylie said, shaking her head. "I am not particularly interested in the whole thing. My Dad had to force me to graduate as an under grad. I think I'll pass for the master’s."

  Janet nodded. "I am not going either. My husband's vacation is around that time and we are taking our children to see their grandparents in Canada."

  Kylie palmed the books she was holding in her hand and asked hesitantly. "Have you heard from Lauren recently?"

  "No. I heard she is missing." Janet frowned, "I also heard that she had some kind of affair with Gareth."

  Kylie groaned. "That's not true."

  "That's what I thought," Janet said nodding. "He was always especially interested in you. I mean I could feel the tension between you two."

  "You could?"

  "Yup you two couldn't fool me. I hope Lauren turns up though. When the police questioned me about her, I told them that she was dating this guy. I can't remember his name. He works in Mass Comm. She went on a date with him the last time we were supposed to have group meeting. I remember I was steaming mad about it. I had no idea she had done her part of the project. But then again, Lauren always seemed to be a bit on the flaky side."

  Kylie nodded contemplatively. "She was, wasn't she?"

  "Yup," Janet said, "unlike you. You are super-serious. Anyway, take care of yourself. I am going to start teaching here next semester. I guess we'll be colleagues."

  "No." Kylie shook her head. "I am only doing this for the summer. I am already offering some of my apps on the open market. Gareth showed me how. I really would like to develop apps full time and games too."

  "Well good for you. Do something practical with your degree." Janet waved to her and left the building and Kylie walked slowly toward her car. She had not seen Gareth today. His office was empty. The lights were not even switched on, as if he had not come in that morning.

  Maybe he was too guilty to face her, or too pissed. Whichever way, she had to say something to him, and she really wished she could see him now.

  She headed to the cafeteria in the Business Center, thinking she might see Gareth there. She was in her lucky blouse, a deep red cowl neck that created the illusion of her having an ample chest. She wore it with a black pencil skirt that Deidra had complimented her on several times. It made her feel like a model, and she walked confidently in the direction of the Business Center.

  "Hey, Kylie," Bradley shouted as soon as she entered the cafeteria. She stopped and waved back.

  She went to the counter and ordered a sandwich and one of their so-called healthy green juices that was laced with sugar. She then went to sit near the windows where she could get a good view of the courtyard.

  Bradley slid into the seat in front of hers and grinned at her. "May I join you for lunch?"

  "Sure," Kylie said. She couldn't remember now what she had had against him. He was very good looking. He was in a green oxford shirt, and had a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He had a camera in his hand, and he set it down beside his tray. If only she had been attracted to Bradley, at least he didn't come with baggage.

  "I am sorry," Bradley said earnestly, "about everything. Last time we spoke I made it seem as if I was interested in your family for news."

  Kylie nodded. "You did, didn't you? You are forgiven. I guess. Just keep my name out of the press."

  Bradley nodded. "Deal. So how are things with you?"

  "Good," Kylie said biting into her sandwich.

  "It sure looks that way." Bradley looked at her admiringly. "What on earth are you doing to yourself? You look lovely."

  Kylie flushed. "Thank you, I guess. I haven't been doing anything extra."

  "I know what." Bradley snapped his fingers. "You have this glow, this confidence."

  Kylie shrugged. "Probably I have been a bit more assertive these days, and I do teach a class now."

  Bradley nodded. "I know. By accident, I passed a class that you were teaching last week. I was pleasantly surprised to see you again. I guess those confidence sessions paid off, huh?"

  "You know," Kylie said sheepishly, "I only went to that one session."

  "So it really cured you?" Bradley asked jokingly, "I should do a write up about how successful it was."

  "I don't think that was what cured me. I think it was..." her mind drifted off to Gareth. It was him. She had decided to throw away her reservations about him, and that had been the beginning of the new and improved Kylie. Now she had blown it by breaking up with him and not giving him a chance to tell her what happened.

  "It was Gareth Beecher, the miracle worker?" Bradley said finishing her sentence and watching her keenly.

  Kylie looked at him askance. "What are you talking about?"

  "I know about the two of you," Bradley said bitterly, and then realizing that his voice was a bit too harsh, he lightened it. "Well, I guess I am pleased for you, if you are happy."

  Kylie was about to say thanks when she saw Gareth and Jackie walking hand in hand into the courtyard leading off to the Kaleidoscope restaurant. She felt disappointment like a hammer leaning on her chest. She didn't even realize when the sandwich dropped out of her nerveless fingers.

  Bradley spun around to see what startled her. On seeing the couple, he spun back quickly and looked at Kylie. "My bad, I thought you two were together?"

  "We..." Kylie's eyes filled with tears. "I can't believe it. Excuse me." She got up and rushed to her car like a wounded animal.

  She leaned on the car weakly before getting into it and wondered how foolish could she be? They were really together.

  After Taj's fancy speech about benefit of the doubt and not judging without an explanation. She had been prepared to act like an adult about the whole thing but they were really together. Gareth and Jackie?

  She hunched her back and got into the car, dejected. That was it. Almost four months together exclusively and he went back to his ex-wife. At least four months wasn't too bad she thought to herself, it was just one third of a year. It could have been worse. They could have been together for a whole year, maybe even have planned a marriage and then Jackie would have claimed back her man. They must even have slept together this morning. The thought made her cringe inside.

  She looked up when she saw Bradley knocking on her car window.

  "What?" She wound down the window reluctantly.

  "Look, I know you are not in the mood to talk, but I can be quiet and a good listener, and you looked so devastated just now."

  Kylie shrugged and let him in the car. "When I am miserable, I usually don't like company," she said as Bradley sat beside her, not saying a word as he had promised.

  "I don't know what it is a
bout Gareth that I love so much," she said sadly. "I just do, and it hurts that he is with her. That witch!"

  Bradley nodded, still not saying anything.

  "I mean," she sobbed, "we have more in common than the two of them do. We click, you know, like putting two opposite parts together."

  Bradley nodded. "Lauren used to say the same thing about him. What is it about you girls and Dr. Leecher?" he asked exasperatedly, deliberately twisting Gareth's name.

  "You know Lauren?" Kylie asked incredulously.

  "Of course," Bradley said, "I dated her earlier this year."

  "You dated Lauren?" Kylie asked like a broken record. "You are the guy that Janet just told me about? Where is she?

  "I don't know where she is," Bradley swallowed. "I guess I was not important enough to be contacted before her disappearing act. I dated her for a while but the only thing she talked about was Gareth this, Gareth that." Bradley looked at Kylie angrily. "She had a whole book about the sex they used to have."

  Kylie shook her head. "I don't believe it!"

  "Believe it! I have been to her apartment, and she has pages of the thing lying around. They did it in the lab, in the parking lot, in his office, in empty classrooms. Your Gareth is no saint."

  "But...I don't believe it. He said that he would never get with Lauren...," her voice trailed off. He had also said he would never get back with Jackie. Now there he was holding hands with Jackie and heading to the Kaleidoscope.

  Bradley snorted sarcastically. "When they found the missing hand in his garden I thought he would be in prison for sure by now, but he is still around seducing the women that he lectures. He needs to be locked up."

  Every word he spoke was like a lash across Kylie's heart. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably. She had believed Gareth about Lauren. She had believed him about Jackie. Now all she felt was betrayal.

  "Bradley, I think I am going home now," Kylie said weakly.

  "Sorry about all this," Bradley said, getting out of her car. "I'll call you later to check up on you. I have your back; don't worry. I am going to expose Dr. Leecher and put a stop to his womanizing."

  "No Bradley, I can fight my own battles," Kylie said weakly, but Bradley had already started walking back to the cafeteria. She sat in the car long after he'd gone, battling a heaviness in her heart that would not shift. Think happy thoughts, her mind told her, but all her happy thoughts involved Gareth.