“I guess maybe I shouldn’t have let her in,” she said.
Viktor shook his head. “You had no way to know. I didn’t know she had a code to the gate. I disabled the transponder in her car and changed the code we used for deliveries.” He rubbed his head as if he were fighting back a headache. “I’ll have to look at the logs and see what she used.” He sighed heavily appearing overwhelmed. “I’m sorry.”
“Did you really break up with her after we met?”
“Before I answer that, I need to explain a few things.”
“It’s a simple question. And I fear I already know the answer.”
“You do,” he reluctantly agreed. “But there’s more to it and I need to explain. I have a terrible headache. Can I please take something for it first?”
She felt like he was just stalling but agreed. “Fine.”
He walked past her towards the kitchen pantry where he kept a small supply of different medicines.
Amanda followed him, trying to remain calm and polite, remembering her mother’s admonition that she give him an opportunity to explain. “Should I make some tea?”
“I would love a cup,” he answered as he found the bottle he wanted. He shook out some pills and took them with a glass of water.
Amanda started the kettle and then waited to see what Viktor would do next. Tatiana’s words echoed through her head and she couldn’t help but feel insecure in their relationship as a result. She was surprised to learn he had been dating someone when they first met. She had thought he was single and learning that he was not troubled her. Not to mention Amanda couldn’t compare to Tatiana’s highly groomed, supermodel-like appearance.
“Why don’t we sit at the table?” Viktor suggested.
Amanda quietly complied and Viktor sat in the chair next to her. She stared down at the table looking worried and unsettled as he reached out to take her hand. She looked up and tried to smile but her emotions were written all over her face.
“You feel insecure now,” he stated.
“Wouldn’t you?” was all she replied.
He squeezed her hand and exhaled. “When Tatiana and I first met, she was perfect for me. She loved to do all the things that I love to do. We did everything together.”
“This isn’t making me feel more secure,” Amanda said, wondering where he was going with this.
“Let me finish.” The tea kettle went off just then. Viktor rubbed his eyes and ran his hand down his face. “I’ll get it.”
He poured two cups and brought them to the table, passing one to her as he sat back down. She stared down into her cup, fearing she wasn’t going to like what Viktor had to say.
“I thought I had found the person that I could spend the rest of my life with .... But then things began to change. I don’t even know when it happened. It was gradual. But by the second year, all of the things we did together, she didn’t want to do anymore .... The one thing she never lost interest in was my money. I eventually realized that was the only thing she was ever interested in. I think it really hit me when I wanted to go camping and kayaking in Maine last year to enjoy the fall foliage. That was one of the things she said she loved doing when we first met. Anyway, I asked her to go. She said she would come with me if she could stay in a hotel and if I also flew a friend out with us so she would have someone to shop with while I was kayaking.”
“She doesn’t seem like the outdoors type,” Amanda observed.
Viktor chuckled. “No. She’s not.”
“Did you go on the trip?” she asked.
“No. I didn’t want to go alone. I wanted to share the experience with someone ... I wanted to share it with her.”
“I thought you were single when we met.”
“I might as well have been,” he quipped.
She frowned and gave him a look like she still didn’t approve.
“I invited her to come with me, you know.”
“To Scotland?”
He nodded. “She refused. Said there was nothing to do there.”
“Well, we both know that’s not true,” Amanda replied.
He took a deep breath. “I don’t know why I didn’t break it off with her sooner. I think because it was so gradual it became my new reality and I just accepted it as the way things were. Or maybe I was just afraid to be alone. I don’t know … But I never expected to meet you, or anyone like you. And then when I did … Amanda, you can’t even imagine.” He looked down at his tea trying to formulate his thoughts. “I didn’t know if you would want me or if things would work out between us. The one thing I did know, was certain of, was that I didn’t want Tatiana. And I couldn’t bring myself to even try for you while she was in my life. So yes, after I met you, I flew home and I broke up with her. Something I should have done over a year ago.”
“Did you love her?”
“In the beginning I did … Well, at least I thought I did. Really I was in love with who I thought she was, not who she really is. You saw first hand what she’s really like,” he remarked. “It’s hard to love someone like that. I don’t think I even told her those words in the last 6 months at least and she didn’t seem to notice.” He looked her in the eyes. “Amanda, you are everything I want and need. I know you’re not pretending. I love you with all my heart.”
Amanda reached out and took his hand. “I love you too, Viktor. I’m really glad we met.”
“Me too.”
She leaned forward and kissed him on the lips trying not to let on that she still felt insecure about her looks.
“How did your meeting go?” she asked, changing the subject.
He groaned. “Well, it’s not
