“This is hard for her, Viktor. She’s never had a relationship with a man for this long before and I think a part of her believes you’ll walk away like the others. Don’t forget, her own father left her,” she reminded him. “I think she struggles to open up, especially when she thinks it might be fuel for you to walk away.”
Brenda had a point but he still felt frustrated about being kept in the dark about important things.
“Do you want me to talk with her?” Brenda offered.
“No. I want to talk to her about it.”
“Okay.”
“What’s his name?” Viktor asked.
“Derek.”
“Has she told anyone at work?”
“I don’t think so. She says it’s not a big deal, he’s just being persistent. She thinks she can keep it under control.”
“What do you think?”
“It concerns me that he continues even though he knows she’s in a committed relationship and she said no.”
Viktor merely grunted in response as he pondered the situation and how he should handle it.
They arrived at Amanda’s apartment shortly before 4:00. By the time Viktor got Brenda settled and made her some tea it was 4:30. He felt anxious and upset that Amanda was hiding things from him. He sat on the couch next to Brenda watching the news with a cup of tea and completely zoned out as his mind raced. His phone received a text message 15 minutes later.
“That was Amanda,” he said. “She’s running late. Doesn’t know how long.”
Brenda could see Viktor was still in turmoil about Derek and couldn’t help wishing she hadn't brought it up.
“I’m going to go for a walk.” He suddenly stood up. “If Amanda gets home before I’m back, have her call me.”
“Are you okay?” Brenda asked.
“Yeah,” he replied, though clearly the opposite was true.
Amanda texted him when she was on her way home so he came back before she did. He put on a smile and tried to pretend that everything was fine. When Amanda finally arrived she was blissfully unaware that anything was amiss. They settled on a restaurant and Viktor drove them.
When they returned from dinner, Brenda said she needed to lie down. She felt tired but also wanted to give them space to talk. She went into the bedroom and shut the door.
“You want to watch a movie?” Amanda asked Viktor.
“Sure. But there’s something I’d like to talk about first.”
“Oh … okay.”
Viktor gestured towards the couch so she took a seat and he sat down next to her.
“I feel I should be honest with you,” he started, causing Amanda to tense. “I’m very upset that you didn’t tell me about this medical issue you were having.”
“But Viktor, I told you why …”
“I know. I understand why you didn’t want to tell me. But I’m telling you, that’s not acceptable to me.”
Amanda sat back feeling nervous.
“I don’t want you to keep secrets from me, no matter what they are.” He looked her in the eyes trying to gauge her reaction. “Just like, I’m sure you don’t want me to keep secrets from you.”
“Of course,” she agreed.
“With that said, is there anything you might want to tell me? Anything else that you’ve been keeping from me?”
She sat for a while appearing deep in thought before shaking her head and replying, “No.”
He just looked at her, feeling disheartened. Was she really lying right to his face? “There’s nothing else happening in your life that might be significant or causing you some distress?”
She slowly shook her head as she seemed to think about it again. “Other than possibly having cancer, there’s really nothing else.”
Viktor didn’t know what to say to that. He began reasoning that maybe the situation with her coworker paled in comparison to her medical issue so it just wasn’t on her mind. Or maybe she didn’t really see it as a problem. Either way, it left him perplexed and questioning her honesty.
“Viktor, is everything okay?” she asked.
He smiled and tried to push the doubts from his mind. “Yeah. I just want you to be honest with me.”
“I am Viktor. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what was going on.”
“Okay.” He nodded his acceptance of her apology. “You can talk to me about anything.”
“I know.” She smiled and then leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you.”
He stroked her hair and looked deep in her eyes. “I love you too.”
He stayed to watch a movie with her. As he held her in his arms he found it hard to believe she was lying to him. There had to be another explanation. He decided he should talk it over with Brenda before drawing any conclusions.
Chapter 33
The next morning Viktor arrived at Amanda’s while she was getting ready for work. Brenda let him in and then returned to the stove where she was cooking oatmeal.
“You found something edible?” Viktor joked.
Brenda chuckled. “Yes. I think maybe we should go grocery shopping today.”
“Agreed.”
Amanda came out just then wearing a different purple top and the jewelry he bought her. He broke into a huge smile when he saw her. She walked up to him and gave him a kiss.
He gently caressed her cheek. “You’re wearing it again.”
She smiled. “It makes me think of you.”
“So my diabolical plan is working?”
She giggled. “Yes. It is.”
“Breakfast is ready,” Brenda announced. “Viktor, you eating with us?”
“If there’s enough.”
“There sure is,” Brenda assured him. “We have coffee too.”
“Perfect!” he exclaimed.
They ate breakfast and then Viktor and Amanda said a long goodbye before she tore herself away to go to work. Viktor sighed after she left, still feeling conflicted about their conversation the night before.
Brenda got ready to accompany Viktor to the store to buy food for Amanda. She wanted to ask how it went but was afraid to ask. Everything seemed to be normal so she assumed it went well.
“She wouldn’t tell me,” Viktor said bluntly as they drove to the store.
“Really?” Brenda seemed surprised.
“I asked her if there was anything else going on in her life and she said no.”
“Huh.” Brenda was
