Chapter 14 - 13

Jack strolled to the chill spot, imagining all the things that he would have done if he were there in the mist of everything.

'Man, what an action packed day, if it were not for stupid school and it's bad timing then I would have been in the mists of everything, I would have been throwing knives and plates and pans, kicking and punching, jumping on top of people, spinning kicks, you name it I would have done it.'

'And….., how exactly would you have done this, I only taught you so much, the rest is in your imagination, can you believe this boy Elizabeth, he thinks he can take on people four to five times his size.'

Elizabeth laughed, her sweet melodious laughter pulled his attention immediately in her direction as of it was compelled to do so, there she was looking more elegant and sophisticated as ever, beautiful, even more then those popular mean girls at his school, that dirty boisterous girl, with the lice in the hair and mud smudge the face, was long gone, now she is a young smart lady, who is way out of his league.

'Elizabeth..'

Jack tried to speak but only a whisper came out.

C.J walked over to him and put his arm around him and whispered into his ear, 'She is turning into quite a lady, isn't she, now it is up to you to make something of yourself.'

'Jack, why are you looking at me like that, you are making me feel uncomfortable.'

'He makes me uncomfortable too and I am standing right next to him, Jack, buddy old pal, Jackie boy, seriously thing I have to tell you, something important, you really need to stop thinking out loud, it is creepy and scares, children and people around you.'

'Yeah, please stop Jack, we are not trying to be funny or anything but as concerned friends and you wonder, why, Mr Phil, went around telling people you either crazy or possessed.'

None of their words triggered Jack, he was caught in a trans, whatever words they were speaking it fell on deaf ears, as he wondered where his life is going to end up.

'Is everyone moving up except for me, just look at Elizabeth, she was dirty and smelly but now in just a few months time she, is like a royal princess and Sir C.J, he even seems to be more classy then ever, how that is possible, I really do not know, then there is me Mr pathetic Jack Peterson, his friends are growing and going places but him, going nowhere bound to stay in one place for his entire life, want to marry a girl like Elizabeth, not going to happen, you will tie her down, just wait and watch soon, Susan will leave you too, once she realises what a loser you are, hah!, good luck with anyone marrying you.'

These were the thoughts that were rushing through the poor boys head, as he was staring at Elizabeth, who was gesturing with an empty cup, her eyes seemed to have more sparkle, her teeth were as white as pearls, her lips cherry red, illuminating her smile every timed she laughed, her hair silky smooth, blowing effortlessly in the wind, she was turning into a butterfly and him into a maggot.

'Of course he will!', C.J shouted, giving him a hard pat on the center of his back, causing him to snap out of his deep thought.

'Okay, would you like some too, I am definitely pouring myself another cup.'

'Yes, please.'

As Elizabeth was busy pouring tea, Sir C.J took the opportunity to get some words of wisdom in.

'Look, there is nothing to worry about, you still young, you have plenty of time left, change takes time, it is different for everyone.'

'But how…'

'Because, I had that same look the first time I laid eyes on my wife.'

'Wife!', Elizabeth exclaimed.

'Yes, my wife, why do you seem so shocked?'

'It is just that…'

'I know what you are thinking, you probably thinking, how can someone, so handsome and dashing be tied down by a single women.'

Elizabeth giggled and looked at Jack who just rolled his eyes.

'Well, it is true, I was tamed by one girl and her name is Laurie the most beautiful women in the world.'

'Is that not what every man thinks of his wife?'

'Yes, you will understand one day when you get married, hopefully, cough, cough'

'Very funny.'

'Jack quiet!, Sir C.J, could you please tell us the story of how you met your wife?'

'Of course, it is not the most romantic but since you asked, will tell.'

'Great, can't wait to hear how many lands you travelled you to get here.'

'Actually, I did not travel that much.'

'Jack, shhhh, please begin Sir C.J'

'As you wish madam, my story is begins, Once upon a time in this very place, I hate to say, When I was not as rich as I am now, of course, I lived with my mother, father and sister, in the same house I live into day, I renovated it, my dad was a little similar to Jack's he also lost his job, unlike Jack's father he was also an alcoholic, a loser and a horrible man, he did things, which I cannot mention due to your tender age, there was not a person in this world that I hated more then that man, every single day my mother use to wake up early in to bake, oh yes, she was a baker Jackie boy, use to make fresh bread ,buns, sometimes scones , and she would wake up early in the morning and went to go sit in the cold rain, snow and winds to sell in order to put food on the table for us while my father was smelling his own fart under the blanket, so anyway I am not going to get into that story, so I told you that my mother was a baker right, she baked cakes and stuff too, so one day, a rich man, who, was a friend of a friend tasted one of these cakes, or queen cakes, who cares and asked my mother to make some for a fancy dinner party, or tea, so that night before, I tell you Jackie boy, we were baking like crazy, like you will not believe, until like an half an hour before we left, I remember before we left my mother told us that she bought us new clothes to wear, but when she went to go look in her cupboard, there was nothing since that stinking fart face(the muscle twitched in his jaw), gosh!, he took our clothes and went to sell it, so he could get more alcohol but luckily my mother was not someone who breaks down easily, I saw that she was deeply hurt but managed to put on a brave face and told us to put on our church clothes and that is what we did and headed to this house luckily God spared us with great weather, we arrived at the biggest house I have ever seen, at that time because I was not use to being rich, we arrived at big black gates, with golden spikes and two big letters in gold in the center of the two gates, when the gates open and we entered, the aroma of all the flowers just pleased not only our nostrils but also our eyes too, the different colours of roses and of the setting sun's ray, illuminating their colours was just a magical sight to behold at some point, I did not wait to go inside, until my mother called me in by my ears, when I entered inside the house staff was running around like crazy making sure that that everything was perfect, then we were greeted by a man named Francois he first gave us a look, that said who would ask people like this to do catering, he lead us into the kitchen, where all the other chefs and bakers were ready to plated up my mother's desserts, my mother turned to me and said, "You sit down there and be on your best behavior, while me and your sister help to plate up.", I obliged and sat in the corner next to the bin and looked out the window, While my mother and sister were setting up, Francois entered again, in a panic, pacing around saying that someone has not arrived yet and he cannot do two duties at once, so my mother asked him, what is his problem, maybe there is something I could help him with, he smiled at my mother and walked over to me.

"You could do me a favour?"

"Of course"

He walked me out of the kitchen and handed me a tie, it was a fancy tie, it was black, with a fancy gold pattern on it.

"Here is the deal, I need you to put this on now and stand outside and when the guest arrive, you go to the car, open up the door greet them and escort them into the house, could do that for me?"

I simply nodded, to be honest, I wondered if it was all, for such a fancy gift, I was willing to chop wood for the entire night, if he had asked me, he gave me a thumbs up and for the next hour or two I was running up and down, greeting, some nice people and some fake people, but that is not the point of this story , after serving my duty as a door man, I headed back to the kitchen, it seemed to have quieted down a little but my mother and sister were still working hard, my sister was upgraded to a server in the few hours I was gone, the thing that I could not understand, is these people are rich but they are short staffed, where in the world have you of such a thing anyway, it is none of my business, so there I was admiring my newly gifted ty, until something caught my eye, I looked out the window, I saw a large shadow, of course I ignored it at first, or thought it was a snow flake, because through a foggy window and from a distance things look bigger.

'I think you are the only person in the world thinks that way.'

'Shhh!, Jack, gosh, if you can't, stuff your mouth with grass,', she pulled out a handful of grass and handed it to him.

'Hahah, very funny.'

'Then, keep quiet and listen.'

'I think you should listen to the lady, so where was I?'

'A snow flake was climbing down the house.'

'Yes, so there I was, so at first, I ignored it and turned my attention back to my tie, then I turned again, and saw that this thing landed on the ground, that is when Francois came in the kitchen again, pacing around again, panic level five thousand.

'Miss Laurie..Miss Laurie…'

One of the chefs turned to him, 'Calm down, Francois, it is not the first time she doing this, I really do not know why you get so worked up all the time.'

'Of course you can stay calm, it is not your job that is on the line, every time she decides to run away.'

I turned my attention back to the window, I wiped a cleared a space for my eyes, for better visual clarification and saw that it was a human figure and I think it also saw me, because it waved at me then ran off, into the abyss, I looked at Francois and put two and two together, that must have been Miss Laurie.'

'Woow, what brilliant deduction skills, I would have never thought that it could have…'

Jack's taunt was interrupted, by a sharp pain in his knee.

'Ouch!, what was that for?'

'You still have the nerve to ask what was that for, another comment or taunt, one more time, I swear it is going to be more than your knee that is going to hurt.'

Oddly Jack was not scared by this threat but rather it made him smile, 'There she is, I was wondering, where you went.'

'Don't try to be cute with me, please continue, Sir.'

'Alright, so, I said, she waved at me then dashed off into darkness, back in the kitchen, Mr francois, was still stressing his head off.

"Argh, I do not know why she does this every time, she is going to give me a gray head before I am fifty years old, and getting gray hairs is not in my family genes."

"The girl is just tired of being trapped in here, I would run away too, everyday you are being dictated on what to do, how to eat, how to dress, it is just sickening just to watch.', the chef said.

"Henry, I do not have time for your civil rights movement speeches , I need to find this girl but where and how am I going to find her, I cannot attend to guest and still look for a missing girl.'

He started to pace around again, clearly driving everyone mad with his pacing, then the head chef looked at me and smiled.

'I think, I have a solution to your problem.'

'Spit it out Henry, what!, what is it.'

He walk up to Henry with his arms wide open like an ostrich, took a knife of the counter and raised it to Henry's neck.

'Back up, no need to get aggressive.'

'Sorry, I am just tense.'

'It is fine, did you know, when a female in nature reaches a point when she is ready to mate she gives off a pheromone, which not only sends out a signal that she is ready but also how to find here.'

'Okay, thanks for the biology lesson, it is clear proof that those national geographics books in your room is not for show, I am happy for you.'

'Look, your not listening, sometimes you are really blind to the obvious, miss Laurie, is of age right?'

'Maybe, why are you asking this disturbing questions?'

'Look, since miss Laurie is of age and here we have a boy who is of same age of older, whose hormones are all charged up, how old are you again?

'Fourteen.'

'Perfect.'

'I still do not understand.' Francois said holding the knife to his own neck.

'Who better to find miss Laurie then this boy, while you attend to the guest.'

'You're a genius!'

Francois hugged, Henry and turned his attention to me, walked over and kneeled down.

'Say, what is your name?'

'Cather'

'That is a nice name, say, Cather, how would you like a coat that goes perfectly with that ty?'

'Cather and I would like it very much sir.'

'Good, cat- man, but you going to have to do a little job for me?'

'Anything sir.'

'Okay, if you can find this girl for me.', he stuck his hand in his pocket took out a wallet and produced a small picture from it, 'If you can find her for me, then you can consider that coat yours.'

I nodded with great excitement, took the photo from him, I did not even bother to look at it because I already knew what I was looking for, I folded my ty, handed it to my mother, buttoned up my blazer and bolted out the door, I was like a blood hound on a trail of a psycho killer and I am going to be the one to bring him to justice, I ran into the darkness, oddly I have never been to this manner but I strangely knew where I was going, of course there was that fear of getting lost late at night but that did not bother me because the only thing on my mind was how good I was going to look in that new coat, which I myself have never seen, I ran and ran until I ended up in this little up in a hedge that was trimmed into a maze, I looked back and there was no sign of the house but still this did not deter from getting my new coat, I entered, not knowing where I was going but just following my instinct like an animal, I walked and walked to a point, where I heard faint humming, I changed my direction and followed the sound, it got louder and louder, until I reached the center, where I saw her, the moonlight light glistening off the fountains water and on the edge of the fountain there she sat, trying to catch snowflakes with her tongue, I thought to myself what a strange creature but its beauty was extremely enchanting, so I turned my gaze to the ground, took of my shoes off and charged in screaming my lungs out and keeping my gaze to the ground, before I knew it I hit the edge of the fountain and flipped myself into the ice cold water resulting in her bursting out into a uncontrollable laughter.

'I was not even there but I could even see that coming.'

Elizabeth, turned to him, 'My dear friend Jack Peterson, I swear..I swear..', Elizabeth bit her bottom lip, 'If you make one more of your smart ass comments, then I am going to send you to heaven and if they send your spirit back, then I will personally drag you to hell.'

'No..no…., there is no need for violence, we all friends here now, peace be upon us all, Sir C.J, please continue, let us not keep the young lady in suspense any longer, her nerves are almost shot.'

Sir C.J grinned, took a sip of his tea, done a few stretches, threw a stone down the cliff, a few jumping Jacks, took his note book out, read something in it, made his shopping list.

'What is this now?'

'It is all your fault!' Elizabeth shouted at him, her anger vivid in her eyes.

'Calm down now, Sir please continue, I still have a life to live.'

'Okay, okay, uhmm.'

'You were the part where you attacked her like a wild animal but ended in the fountain.', Elizabeth answered.

'Oh, yes that seems about right, so there I was laying in the fountain, in the icy cold water, looking at the bright moon as the creature laughed at my demise and most likely the end of myself because hyperthermia but I did not care if that was the place was going to die, because her laughter was the sweetest sound that I have ever heard, yes, it was an icy death but it was a pleasant one also, I closed my eyes and waited for my spirit to leave my body, until I felt the water move and a voice spoke to me.

'So, how long are you going to lay here, if you think of drowning yourself, I hate to disappoint you but the water is way too shallow for that.'

'Well, no one said, that I could not try, this looks to me like a perfect place to die.'

Before I knew it, she was slowly lowering herself down right next to me.

'Yes, I know, I always tell my father that if I die before him, he should burn my body, then scatter it inside this fountain.'

'I think you get me wrong, I just meant like, to die here would be nice but to be buried here.'

'And what is wrong about being buried here, it is nice, I mean, it is less crowded then a normal cemetery and you get to wonder around here, in and out the maze, scare the crap out of people.'

'That is quite a good point that you make there but I do not belong to your family, so it is the cemetery for me.'

'It does not have to be, you can make this request to your friends, ask them to burn your body and around midnight, some can sneak in here and scatter your ashes all over the place.'

'But what about security, to keep a place like this from intruders, they must be very good.'

'Who, are you talking about Burnie, even a herd of wild beast can sneak past him, so anyway, why are you here?'

'Actually, I am here to take you back home.'

She sat up right and so did I.

'Huh, so may I know the name of my retriever or should I say oppressor?'

I obviously ignored her crazy name calling, you know them rich kids, always finding something wrong with the world.

'Cather.J Kipper, and you are?'

'Laurine Collins and it is a pleasure to meet you C.J'

'Well, it is nice to meet too, Laurie.'

We shook each others' hands.

'Now, what is going to happen C.J?'

'I believe this is the part where I take you home and claim my prize.'

'And why should I go with you, I am my own person, I can do whatever I want to, I do not have to listen to you.'

'But you have to, I really want my payment.'

'Tell me, how much are they paying you to do this job?'

'A coat.'

'A coat, what is that, slang for, a few pennies or pound?'

'No, a coat.'

'A coat..coat?'

'Yes, a coat.'

'A coat!'

She broke out into a hysterical laughter, clutching her stomach as if it was hilarious to desire a piece of clothing and this I found to be very confusing, how rich people laugh at or simple desires but they desire our simplicity happiness and ironically this is something they could never buy, so I asked her.

'What is so funny?'

'I do not know, I guess this is the first time I have seen someone so passionate about a piece of clothing, which is just lying around in my room, a piece of clothing that I change every week, why, are you so serious?'

'I am not, I guess this is the first time I have seen someone laugh so casually about a basic human need.'

'Argh, you one of those, don't this, don't that, not everyone is as fortunate as you, well, I cannot help it if I was born crazy rich.'

'I guess not, we live because we are born, we have no choice, when, where or in what kind of family we are born in or what life we going to lead, no control, over what events take place, that will either make us or break us.'

'Do not tell me, your goth right, because we do have control over one thing.'

'And what would that be?'

'Whether you lead a life that brings you happiness or sadness, whether you choose to laugh at the difficult situations or sit and cry, and tell everyone you meet, how unfair life has been to you.'

'You make a good point, now can we go, it is getting quite late.'

'And why should I go with you?'

'Because it is the logical thing to do at this point, it is getting late, possible wild animals out here an..'

'There are no wild animals out here, unless you count Francois, who is always panicking like an ostrich that lost its egg.'

'I do not think that is something nice to say about someone who cares about you, and that coat is waiting for me.'

'Alright, no need to cry.'

'Really!, thank God.'

'Don't get excited now, I said I will come with you but not willingly.'

'I do not understand.'

'Oh, dear C.J, you simple minded boy, what do you do when a dog or animal does not do what you want.'

'You shout at it?'

'Ha, ahh!, no one shouts at me, what else?'

'Physically force him?'

'Bingo!, is his nameo.'

'So, you want me to carry you back home?'

'If you can catch me?'

(This is why you should have more then one child because if the child is alone, who knows what weird ideas they get in their heads, sorry I just have to put that in, so one day if you two get married and have children, or should I say one of you get married, Elizabeth, remember this, anyway back to the story), So I looked into her eyes and I could see that she has been preparing to say this to someone for a very long time, I wanted to decline because, I was too old for these kind of games but something inside me said, just go with it, help her.

'Okay but not for very long, because it is ver..'

'It is very late, yes grandpa, I understand.'

'Good!, I am glad we have reached a mutual agreement .'

'Want to shake hands on it?'

'Sure.'

I reached my hand out, she took it, I was surprised by the grip strength of those dainty hands, she gripped my hand pulled me down, splashed water in my face then flew out of the fountain, I immediately regretted the decision, because she was faster then I had anticipated.

'Come on!, grandpa, do not tell me that martial art body is nothing but for show.'

I did not reply because at the time I thought that it must have been some fancy rich kid insult.

'I do not like marshmallows, they do not feel natural in my mouth, but I can show you what a wood chopping body can do.

'Okay…,bring it on grandpas, just know I run this entire manner every day, twice on Sundays do not expect it to be easy.'

'Huh!, you obviously do not know who you are talking to.'

'I know, an old geezer.'

I jumped out that fountain dash right towards her, she waited for me to come close, then side stepped me so quickly, that is when I knew, this poor thing has been practicing for years.

'You are going to have to move faster then that, do not disappoint me now.'

'Huh!, I am just getting warmed up.'

To be honest, I never thought that I am going to take a children's games so seriously but she managed to unleash the animal in me, I took off my shoes and blazer, threw it on the ground unbuttoned my shirt a little, done a few stretches, little did I know that she was forming a snow ball while I was doing my thing.'

'Okay, Laurie here I come.'

She yawed, and I attacked, but when I came close again, she smashed that snow ball in my face, laughed and ran into the maze, now, this started to get me hyped up even more, all the things Henry said, is starting to make sense, I was becoming a predator, I was excited to hunt this girl down, as soon as she disappeared into the maze, I dusted off my face, I do not know if that is the correct term, because I snowed myself off, does not sound right, I dusted myself off and went after her, following her foot prints and I even literally started smelling leaves and raising my nose to the sky, hoping to get a scent of her perfume, I was wild man, breathing heavily for some reason, I swear at some point of the night I was developing night vision.'

'No!, no, no, come on, Elizabeth, you have to, forgive me for interrupting but even you have to agree, with me that is a little too farfetched.'

'Uhmm, , Sir C.J, I know you and Jack like to add little interesting twists to your stories but can we leave the mutations and stick to the actual events of that night.'

'Okay, I must admit that I did get carried away a little, let us get back to the story, 'So, there I was, the bright moon, shining bright, lighting up the maze fully, I walked around the corner, then again, I was hit in the face with a snow ball, I realised in that moment that this girl has some weird obsession with hitting people in the face, with snowballs, but I manage to shrug it off because I have been punched in the face before, many times at school, so you could say that my face was impact resistant, I charged in full force and accidentally tackled her down, I honestly, did not mean to, I tackled her back into the fountain pin here wrist to the ground and got on top of her, I looked her in the eyes and she in mine, my heart immediately started to slow down, my breath went from heavy panting to relaxed, everything in that moment seemed so strange, it was like time literally stop and she seemed more beautiful than ever, we just looked at each other for a while until she sneezed.

'Okay, Mr Kipper, you caught me, but I do not want to catch a cold too?'

'Then you should get out of the water.'

'I would like to but there is a boy on top of me.'

As soon a the message reached my brain, it was like I was struck by lighting because I flew off her, right out of the fountain, landing on my behind, I still have a click in my lower back.

'Oh my God, are you okay, what is wrong with you?'

'I…I…, just, do not know.'

'Right, once you done down there, I would like to go home please.'

'Yes, ma'am.'

'Ma'am, what has gotten into you?'

'I realised my place.'

'No, no, do not , do that to me, come on, man, gosh, I am a normal person too, just treat me the same!'

She got out and stormed off, I put on everything and ran after her.

'Miss Laurie, wait!, I do not understand, why you are angry.'

She stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face me.

'Do you know, why I ran away tonight?'

'Why?'

'Because, I am tired, tired of putting up a face that like rich people and hate poor people, I hate speaking bad about my staff, just to start a conversation or to fit in, I hate being told what to do and what not to do, I hate that I cannot walk around town, with other children, I too, want to walk around town, eating street food, explore different shops, playing pranks, I too would like to go to a public school, then to be home schooled, I do not like to say bad things about poor people, I hate pretending that I am better then them, I hate this life.'

Her shoulder dropped, her pupils dilated and it that moment it seemed like all life left her body, of course, I was like, how can you hate a life, where you have food to eat every night, clothes and warmth, luxury but I could have said all of these things but I took the other road of sympathy.

'I see, basically you do not like to follow orders and you hate being alone, am I correct?'

'Uhmm, wow, you figured that out so quickly, you should look into becoming a detective.'

'Hey now, no need to be sarcastic about it, I am just trying to understand your situation.'

'Don't even try, many people pretend to, then the very next day they gone.'

'I know that feeling, being there for anyone and everyone, having to put on a mask that is always happy, never has a problem of their own, ready to help anyone with difficulties, but no one ever, see the tears you cry behind the mask.'

'Okay, sheesh, where did Mr depro come from, gosh, you achieve something that no one has ever achieved before.'

'And what is that?'

'You managed to make me even sadder.'

'Hahah, very funny.'

'I am hilarious right!'

'Man, you must be the most sarcastic person, I have ever met.'

'And you must be the most positive, unoptimistic person, I have ever met.'

'Let us stop, no use fighting, you know what, I just got an idea.'

'What is that, I do not have money on me right now, so all your efforts of robbing me is going to go in vain.'

'No, man, since you said, that anyone can get past your guard, I could come visit you every once in a while if you like?'

'You will!, sorry, I .. got something in my throat, I mean you will?'

'Yes, if you like?'

'I don't know, I have quite a busy schedule, with home schooling and do rich people stuff.'

'Oh, well, I was just trying to help but since you busy..'

'Wait!, wait now, I did not say, I could not fit you in somewhere along the lines of my busy schedule.'

'Okay, so where can you fit me in?'

'Let me see.'

She started to twirl her hair and then also stroked an imaginary beard and mumbling to herself, then stopped dead in her tracks.

'I have come to an conclusion.'

'And that is?'

'Three days a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, between the hours of six and nine pm, does that work for you?'

'Uhmm, I think I could make it.'

'Good!, don't be late, we will meet in the maze.'

'Yes, ma'am, but now we have to hurry up, everyone at the house must be wondering where we are, especially my poor mother.'

'What is that like?'

'What?'

'To have a mother.'

'I do not understand, you have a mother, Mrs Collins, is alive and well?'

'That witch, can never be my mother, such a fake human being, I still wonder what my father sees in her, all she is after is our money, my real mother died, when I was only three months old, she is my step mother.'

'I will not comment on that statement, that is none of my business, I always stay in my own lane, especially when it comes to rich people, they have more skeletons in their closet then a grave yard, yep.'

Laurie, broke into a laughter, a beautiful laughter, this one was different, authentic and real, not like there first encounter.

'I…I..am sorry to laugh but that pose you just did that 'yep', at the end is just so funny, I have nothing against your mother she sounds like a wise women.'

'Yes, she is, lets go.'

'Yes, sir!'

Soon, we arrived at the house, cold and freezing, everyone was waiting outside, immediately, my mother ran over to me, taking her scarf and coat off in the process, Mr Collins and Francois soon followed, a look of great displeasure formed on Mr Collins face.

'Cather, are you okay and why are you wet?'

'I am fine mother,I..'

'Is it this boys faults?'

Mr Collins Jumped in before I could finish.

'No, sir, I sent the boy after Lauren, I had no idea that such a thing would occur.'

'No, father, this is not his fault, it is all my fault, I was trying to kill myself or should I say drown myself, then he jumped in after me and saved me and fransie, I believe you owe this young man something for completing his mission, do you remember?'

'Yes, Miss, I remember very well, I will be sure to give him the best one I have.'

(Of course, Francois, was not going to give me the best looking one but he did give me a decent looking one and I was content with it.)

Mr Collins put his arms around her and led her inside but before she went inside, she gave me a little wink then went inside, my mother on the other hand was very upset with me for making her worry, she did not talk to me the entire way home but as soon we came home, she threw down the baking trays, paced around the kitchen, I knew it was coming but I pretend not to notice anything, so I went to my room, soon after she came in there fuming, I could swear if she could have gotten more angry, steam would have started coming out of her ears but she tried to stay calm.

'So, you had fun tonight huh?'

'A little.'

'Yes, a little, that can't be right can it?'

She walked over to my pillow and started to straighten out the corners of the pillow case.

'I think.'

'Was it nice to run around with a rich girl?'

'I guess.'

'You guess!'

Before, I knew it, she had grabbed the pillow and started whacking me with it.'

'You guess…you guess…you naughty boy, have I not taught you better then that?'

I tried to run, unfortunately, there was no room to run, all I could do was get up and go cower in the corner, after a while the pillow onslaught stopped, I slowly raised my head but was hit in the face again, my mother with drew and sat on the bed and covered her face with her hands, it sounded like she started to sob, I walked over to her an put my hand on her shoulder.

'I am sorry mother, I did not know that this would upset you so much.'

'Sorry about what?'

She threw her head back and laughed.

'You are laughing, I thought you were crying?'

'Why, would I be crying?'

'Because of what had happened.'

'No, my son, these things will happen, whether I like it or not, you are growing up and there is nothing I can do about it, this is life son, you will get married and leave this house.'

'I will never leave you.'

'Huh, you know how many mothers have heard that in their lives, millions, it is okay my son, this is how it goes, now go to sleep and get a good rest, good night.'

'Good night.'

After that night me and Laurie met up, upon her offer, secretly of course and believe it or not but we use to fight just like you two at times, then a two or three years later, I realised that I stood no chance of marrying her, because every now and then, man use to come to her house and asking her hand in marriage, academically inclined man, rich men, entrepreneur and property owners, all of them came, some even from overseas, I had that same look and feeling that Jack has, like you are unworthy, like you are stuck in a rut, the feeling that your life is going nowhere, maybe you are destined to stay one place your entire life, since were born here, we might as well accept it, dreams are for those who have money and whose parents are educated , not for the son of a baker and a drunk, I felt sorry for myself, I mopped around for days, not wanting to do anything even became rude towards Lauren, I was basically a toxic human being, I was making her pay for my insecurity, which was wrong, so one day, I decided that I am going to make something of myself, it was not an easy decision to join the military, to grow you have to suffer, of course this news did break poor Laurie's heart into pieces, of course I did not expect her to wait for me but honestly I would have like to at that moment, I also hated leaving my mother and sister with that man but I had to make something of myself, I cannot be a nobody for the rest of my life, the military was my only escape and they offered a form of higher education too, so this was a good deal for me but thank God, look I do not wish any bad on anyone, but this was truly a miracle Halleua!, two days before I had to leave the old man died, something with his liver, it was a sad day but for me it was the happiest day of my life a burden off my shoulders, I could go, knowing that my sister and mother was not going to succumb to some sort of abuse everyday of their lives, I left for the military and stayed there for about three to five years, studied law and foreign exchange and investments, of course I wanted to go and see Lauren right of the bat but I told myself let me not go and disrupt her life with my presence, how stupid would it be of me to just show up there, I mean what I am going to say 'Hey!, I am back to you want to pick up from where we left off?', how stupid would that be, instead of going there, I came here to this very spot, and to my utter amusement, sitting on that very rock, was Laurie looking as beautiful as ever, of course I did not approach her immediately, I first scanned her hands and saw that there was no ring on it, that gave me a little hope but maybe she also left it at home, I walked over to her.

'Nice, view huh?'

'Yes, very lovely, just so you know, I am not a completely defenseless women, I know how to defend myself.'

'What!, I see your shallow thinking has not changed.'

'How dare you sir!, you do not eve...., Cather?'

'In the flesh, how are you Miss Lauren Collins?'

A smile appeared on her face, jumped up but then then that smile slowly faded away and she lowered herself down back on the rock.

'Let me not get too excited, because you might leave again, by the way when you leaving again?'

'You get straight to the point, well, I am not going anywhere soon, because I am done with the military and I am back for good.'

'Oh, how nice, you want me to jump for joy now?'

'No, I am just answering your question.'

'Like, I care, you did not need not answer my question because it was rhetorical, guess they did not teach you much there, you simply wasted your time.'

'Seems like I did, what have you been doing with your time?'

'Why should I tell you anything, it is not like we are friends.'

'Come on now, there is no need for this hostility, I am just trying to make conversation.'

'Is that what they taught you there, to make conversation, what has become of the military these days, anyway to answer your question, I became a nurse, I got married but that only lasted for two years, now I am a divorced women, who everyone scuffs at because it is always the women's fault why a marriage does not workout and no marriage proposal has ever come since, no one wants to marry a second hand, if you know what I am saying, father is moving to Paris and I am planning to go with him, there is nothing holding me back here, and there is my entire life story in a nutshell, how about you?'

'Interesting.'

'No, need for your piety or sarcasm.'

'I am not pitying you, my story, uhmm, I got my law degree and investment diploma too, I went on missions, and watched many of my friends die, I never got married or fell in love because, I only loved one person, I travelled most of Europe and America and stayed many different places and after all that time, I finally came back and now I am standing here talking to you.'

'Nice, now what do you want to do?'

'I was thinking that, if you not married and I am not married, how about we get married?'

She laughed, then shrugged.

'You, woow, you are so great, you want me to drop everything because you have returned and run back into your arms like a damsel in distress, who does not have self-worth or self-respect, who needs a man because a women is nothing without a man, that is what society dictates for us but I got news for you, I was never one to follow the rules of this rigid society, I will become my own person, I will empower myself, just like you had to leave to make something of yourself, so will I.'

'I know, that is why I will not stop you but follow you.'

'Sorry, I do not use Instagram or twitter.'

'What?'

'I do not know, it is what these kids say now a days, I think it sounds cool.'

'Please don't, leave those things for the young ones.'

'Age is just a number.'

'It looks like it did quite a number on you.'

'That is the rudest thing you could say to a woman.'

'Sorry, I just went with the flow, so Paris huh?'

'Yes, a fresh beginning, a new life.'

'Mhmmm, I guess you will find yourself a nice husband there, who will cook you nice French cuisine.'

'I do not think I would like a French husband?'

'Why not?'

'Because, I already have somebody in mind.'

'Who?'

'I can't tell you yet, I first have to see if he can live up to his promise of following me and being a good friend but now he is just a stranger or maybe an acquaintance.'

'I think he will, this time he will not let her out of his sight, he will not make that same mistake again.'

'I hope so.'

And that is the end of my story, after that everything just magically worked out, I tell you there is nothing more beautiful then true love.'

'Woow!, that is such a romantic story, I love it, I wish that my love life would turn out like that.'

'Thank you Elizabeth.'

'Not bad, for me the ending was a little boring, I would have liked a little action.'

'Please, you do not even know how to defend yourself against a dead mosquito if it had to fall on you.'

'Excuse me, I get private lessons from Sir C.J himself.'

'What kind of lessons?'

'What is going on in your mind these days?'

'I have to agree with Jack on this one, it is highly inappropriate for a young intelligent lady like yourself, to think dirty things like Jack, what will the people say about you.'

Elizabeth hopped to her feet then covered her mouth with her hand.

'What was I even thinking, what will become of my reputation that I have been building up for the past few months, what will become of me, if I have to sink to the level of Jack, which is nothing really, no offense, please Sir C.J!, help.'

She ran over to C.J, and fell at his feet.

'No, no.'

Sir C.J helped her to her feet.

'I would never let a young lady like yourself fall down to that gutter level.'

'You two do realise that I am standing right over here.'

'So?'

Then they both started to laughing.

'What is so funny?'

'You are, you just such a character.'

'Okay.'

'Alright you two, Elizabeth, did I put any snacks in the picnic basket.'

'Nope, not that I know of.'

'Okay, kiddies, it looks like we are going on a little field trip.'

'Where?'

'To, my house, is that okay with you.'

'Really!'

'Yes, Jack do you want to come with?'

Jack tried to play it cool but honestly he could not contain his excitement of going to a rich man's house.

'You have to come with us, his house is insane.'

'Well, since, I have nothing to do anyway.'

'Good!, now line up!, so we can do role call.'

'You have, to be joking, there is only two of us.'

'Jack stop being smart and just stand behind me.'

'She is right, it is better to be safe then sorry.'

'Okay.'

'When I call your name please say 'Yes' or 'Present', is that clear?'

'Yes sir.'

'Good, Elizabeth!, that is everyone is here, time to go.'

'Hahah, very funny.'

'I was not trying to be funny, Let's go!'