“Sounds good.” He pushed away from the door and tossed his keys on the kitchen counter. “I’ll take it.”
“Then consider yourself hired, bro. I’ll be back to you in a day or two, soon as I know the particulars. I’m taking Katy and the kids out to dinner tonight, the drought is officially over!”
“Craig, seriously, man, thank you. You just saved my ass.”
“You’d do the same for me. Talk to you soon.”
“Later.” Jeff disconnected then forced himself to stand still a moment and take it all in. The guilt about what had taken place earlier continued to throttle him relentlessly, but for the moment it took a backseat to relief and joy. He knew it would be a long time-if ever-before he’d be able to forgive himself for what he’d done, but at least at this point the job would allow him to get them out of debt and back on the right track. It also meant he could forget about Jessica Bell, Foster Hope and whatever the hell their creepy company was all about.
From now on, I’ll make it right. I’ll do everything in my power to make Eden the happiest woman on the face of the Earth. I’ll never screw up like this again.
With newfound purpose, Jeff showered, changed his clothes then headed out to the local market. Without care for what things cost, he filled a shopping cart and got all the items he’d need to put together a romantic dinner at home. He’d get the apartment cleaned, make a nice meal, maybe light a few candles and then, over a glass of wine, break the good news to Eden.
He had just unloaded all the groceries when a call came into the house phone. “Hello?”
“Jeff?”
He recognized the voice immediately but pretended he hadn’t.
“Yes?”
“Jessica Bell.”
“Hi.”
“Hi. I wanted to let you know we’ve reviewed your application and everything seems to be in order. Mr. Hope has given me the authority to go ahead and offer you the position. He’ll discuss salary and benefits with you himself. He’d like you to come into the offices where you interviewed tomorrow morning for an orientation and-”
“Jessica, I’m sorry to interrupt, and please tell Mr. Hope I appreciate the offer, but I’ve actually taken another position.”
“I see.”
“But again, thanks for your time and-”
“Jeff, this is very disappointing.”
“I’m sorry, but as I say, I’ve already accepted another position.”
“I hope this isn’t about what happened between us.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, hoping to head off the headache that was drifting in behind his eyes. “That was a mistake,” he said softly. “I’m not upset with you, I-it’s not like we planned it, we-it just happened and I feel terrible about the whole thing. Look, I’d rather not discuss it, OK? I have to go.”
“So there’s nothing I can do to persuade you to-”
“No, there isn’t.”
“Mr. Hope will not be pleased.”
“I apologize if I wasted your time or his, but-”
“Did you hear what I said? Mr. Hope will not be pleased.”
OK, enough. “Well that’s too bad, Jessica, but not my problem.”
“Are you sure?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He shuddered from a sudden chill as a quick burst of nervous laughter escaped him. “Are you threatening me?”
“I’ll let Mr. Hope know of your decision. Good luck to you.”
Though the line clicked and fell silent with disturbing finality, Jeff couldn’t shake the feeling that he hadn’t heard the last of these people.
– 5 Eden entered the apartment looking haggard and exhausted, purse slung over her shoulder, a plastic bag containing items she purchased from the local drugstore in one hand and her keys in the other. Just inside the door, she hesitated and looked to the table. It was set with their good china and silver, their best cloth napkins and draped with a matching tablecloth. Red candles burned in silver holders on either side of a beautiful flower centerpiece, and the aroma of broiled steaks and a hint of garlic filled the air. She smiled cautiously as she dropped her purse on the counter and crept deeper into the room.
“Jeff?”
He stepped in from the kitchen wearing an apron, a large serving spoon in hand. “Good evening,” he said through a wide smile.
“What’s all this?”
“I’m making us dinner, steaks-and not just any steaks but top of the line Porterhouses-angel hair pasta with shrimp in butter and garlic sauce, and a freshly-tossed garden salad. I also grabbed a bottle of really good wine, so why don’t you go get changed into something comfortable and I’ll pour you a glass?”
“Jeff-”
“Dinner should be ready in about fifteen minutes.”
She slumped against the counter, deflated. “Sweetie, are you out of your mind? We can’t afford all this.”
“Oh, but we can.” He grinned.
She watched him a moment, waiting. “We can?”
“Remember the job down the cape Craig was up for? He got it.”
“OK. And…”
“He called this afternoon and offered me a position managing the car audio department. I start in two weeks. Don’t have an exact figure on the salary yet but he said it’d be in the same ballpark as what I was making before.”
Eden stared at him as if he’d spoken Swahili.
“Well don’t just stand there looking all gorgeous,” he said, playfully pointing the spoon at her. “Go get changed. Let’s celebrate.”
Without a word she vaulted across the space separating them and threw her arms around his neck with such force they nearly collapsed.
Laughing, Jeff held her in his arms as she peppered his face and neck with kisses. “Oh Jeff,” she said breathlessly, “I’m so happy, I-are you happy?-we were in so much trouble, you have no idea how bad-this is great!”
“We’re going to be just fine,” he told her, his free hand gently stroking her cheek. Feeling her so close to him and so happy filled him with a rush of joy he hadn’t experienced in months, but it made the guilt stronger, too. She was so beautiful, so unaware, so completely trusting. How could he have betrayed her?
Before he could think anymore about it, Eden kissed him again.
One kiss became two, and two became three, and finally, as they kissed passionately she dragged him back across the room until they had both fallen onto the couch, laughing and tickling each other.
“Dinner!” he reminded her.
As they settled down, him atop her, she gazed lovingly into his eyes and held him close. “Let it burn.”
Later that night rain fell over the city but did little to combat the oppressive heat. Jeff drifted off to sleep listening to its steady cadence, oddly aware that the sound was shifting, changing and slowly becoming something else…the faint rhythm of ancient Arabic music echoing in his ears, the ethereal cries of exotic flutes and various percussion instruments dancing and swaying about him like whispered remnants from some distant time. And then from the darkness came blinding light. Stretched out before him was an open expanse of desert for far as the eye could see; the sand so pale it was nearly white. Shuffling beneath a blistering sun, Jeff trudged up the side of an enormous dune. As he reached the summit he saw a lone tree in the valley between this and the next dune. Large and peculiarly jutting up out of the sand, the tree’s branches were long-dead, gnarled and reached toward an unforgiving sky. Lying at its base was a leopard, its deep golden color and spotted coat contrasting sharply against the white sand. As the music grew louder and more intoxicating, a woman emerged through the waves of heat
