REPERCUSSIONS II
Recap REPERCUSSIONS I
Jade regretted
running away from Delilah. He should have ended that relationship more
maturely. If he had, she wouldn’t have returned to cause him grief. His calves
began to ache. Only then did he realise he had walked from his house in pursuit
of Bech. He stopped, sat on a short wall around a flower bed, and dropped his
head between his thighs. What a mess.
When he
raised his head, his eyes were glistening and his heart was thumping a little
faster. The events of the past few hours kept replaying in horrible detail.
What he should have done when Delilah walked into his house uninvited played
out in 3D in his mind and he felt his heart tear a bit. He had to find Bech and
tell her his side of the story. He should have done that a long time ago. He
recalled one instance when they had been alone in the open-air bar and he had
opened up about his childhood. He had seen the compassion in Bech’s eyes. He
knew she would have understood him but he had been too timid to let it out.
He shot up
and forged on towards Bech’s house. He counted on Bech’s introverted nature and
hoped she was crying at home alone.
He was not
lucky tonight; no taxi stopped for him so he walked some, then jogged some, all
in a bid to reach Bech early.
A few blocks
away from Bech’s, a car sped past him, forcing him to jump aside, barely
avoiding ruining the pretty garden on the sidewalk. It was too late to see the
car or its registration number when he regained his balance. He restrained
himself from shouting after the car; he was reserving his energy and common
sense for Bech. But he was exhausted and he was sweating.
Not long
after, he arrived at Bech’s residence. There was no light on; Bech loved
lights. He took in deep breaths before approaching the door and rapping the
door three times. No response. He knocked again and tested the door handle. It
didn’t budge. Perhaps she didn’t come home. But where could she be?
Jade
considered waiting at her doorstep or checking various hangout spots in hopes
of seeing her. If he waited here, whatever drama would ensue after she saw him
would stay in her house. If he saw her in town, she might accuse him of
stalking her, thereby embarrassing him in public and defeating his purpose. He
didn’t want any publicity in his private life, least of all one that involved
Bech. He was sincere about getting things right with her.
He sat on the
top step. Why was he all worked up about Bech? He had not formally proposed a
relationship with her, neither had she suggested in any way that he was
interested in him. What was he looking for, then? He sighed. Bech represented
wholeness and purity for him. In Bech, he saw redemption. A clean slate. Even
if she did not date him eventually, at this point, he wanted to come clean to
Bech.
While Jade
sat in front of Bech’s door, Bech was at the open-air bar, crying. Lily was
with her still, consoling her. Lily checked the time: they had been there for a
while and it was getting dark.
“Come on,
let’s go home,” Lily suggested.
“Why?” Bech
asked, her voice raspy from all the tears. “What’s there for me?”
“Your bed?”
Bech
chuckled. Indeed. They walked out together and into Bech’s car. When she
started the car, she asked her friend, “What is wrong with me?” She shook her
head, and continued, “He has never hinted at anything. We’re not even in a
relationship. Why am I so distraught? It was just one kiss. It couldn’t mean
anything. Ha!” Bech wiped the rest of her tears.
Lily was
quiet. Bech engaged the engine and headed towards Lily’s house. After assuring
Lily that she would be fine, Lily got out of the car and Bech continued
homeward, her mind in turmoil. She had told Lily she would be fine, but she
knew she would spend the night thinking about Jade. Why had he kissed her? Why
had he tried to speak with her after the kiss when she avoided him? What was he
about to tell her before Lily came in to interrupt them? She sighed. She would
never know now. She doubted she would go to Jade’s house or cross paths with him
again.
As she turned into her driveway,
she saw the slumped figure in front of her door. She parked and jumped out of
her car. Concern overrode her heartbreak and rushed to the stranger – only he
wasn’t a stranger. She frowned.
“Jade, get up.”
“Bech!” Jade sat up and stretched
his legs, wincing as blood rushed into them. “I was waiting for you.” He stood
up gingerly and shook his limbs.
“You shouldn’t have. The weather is
not friendly outside.”
“I needed to speak with you alone.
Please.”
Bech sighed. She didn’t want to
have anything to do with him but he had waited for her. She could be courteous
to let him in for warmth at least, before sending him on his way. He definitely
was not sleeping in her house tonight. She unlocked her door and ushered him
into her hall. Her mug of chocolate had gone completely cold. The mess was
pretty much just as she left it.
“Make yourself comfortable and be
quick with what you have to say. I need to sleep.”
Jade remained standing. He watched
her carefully as she hung her key and set aside a few things to sit down. He
watched her sigh, close her eyes, and rotate her neck. And he felt a small
flame in his heart. Was this what they called hope?
Bech opened her eyes to see Jade
watching her with a strange expression. “Yes?”
Jade took a deep breath. Now or
never.
“Bech, I have a wild past, one that
I thought I had left behind me to start afresh here, with you…,” Bech rolled
her eyes but Jade continued anyway. “Girls threw themselves at me. I tried to
let them down gently but they would insist on having a fling with me. I didn’t
want to hurt anyone. Sometimes, we signed agreements as to how long that fling
would last, after which I was free to go my way. This isn’t the kind of life I want
to have forever. Those girls… they paid me to be their man. Sometimes, after
they had paid, I would talk to them like my sister for them to see the folly of
their actions. None of them has been in my bed, except for my real girlfriend
who died some years back.”
“Really? You want me to believe
that?” Bech looked incredulous.
“I want you to, Bech, but as things
are now, I can’t,” Jade replied.
“What about Delilah?”
Jade shook his head. This was
harder than he expected. “Delilah… hmm… Delilah was a big mistake. She took our
contract beyond the terms. She didn’t want me to talk to any other woman apart
from her, I could not speak with my female friends or say “hello” to hers. She suffocated
me. So, when the contract ended, I told her I was done and wanted to move on. In
fact, I had decided that she was the last person I had such an affair with. I
wanted a real life with a real woman, not some terminal contract. But she wouldn’t
budge. Unknown to me, she had informed her friends and family members that we
were getting married after she finished secondary school. Now, you tell me, Bech:
what was I to do when I found out? I wasn’t ready to marry. So, I ran. And now
she has found me and is bent on destroying me and anyone I care about.”
Bech looked at him. How did he
expect her to believe such a story?
Jade saw the expressionless face
and knew he had lost her. She didn’t believe him, but he felt free at last. The
weight had been lifted. “Bech, I would love to have a real relationship with
you. That kiss… you can’t deny there were many things in that kiss. There was
passion, hope…” he walked towards Bech, who seemed paralyzed in the chair. “I
won’t rush you, but I want to be yours.”
As if struck by the gods, Bech
suddenly shot out of her chair and told him levelly, “Get out, Jade, and don’t
come back here. What do you take me for? A teenager? How do you sell me this
story? Get out.”
Jade was shocked. “Bech? You have
to believe me.”
“When pigs fly. Out. Please.”
Jade walked out of Bech’s hall
dejected. There was no hope for him now. Delilah could do her worst; he had
lost everything.
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