Page 6 of Sassy Surrogate
“Mr Bailey’s office.”
“Becca, please cancel all my appointments for the rest of the day.”
There isn’t so much as a murmur from the other side of the phone. It would be funny if my current mood were better, since silent isn’t one of her default settings.
“Consider it done,’ she finally responds. “Um, Heath– is everything okay?” The gentle tone of her query soaks into me like rain in the desert. I’m just not ready to deal with it.
“It will be, just not now,” is all I can say. “I’ll be out of contact until I’m back in the office. If you need anything, or if you urgently need to reach me, call Kieran.”
“Will do.” She pauses a moment. “Heath… take care. I’m here if you need me.” I doubt she will ever know how much her understanding in this moment is appreciated. No questions asked, just unconditional loyalty and support.
Ending the call, I power my phone down before tucking it back into my pocket.
I catch Kieran scrutinising me as we’re idling at a red light. The light changes, and as he negotiates a turn, he says, “Ms Brand, where to?”
She rattles off an address, and then turns back to staring out the window. The rest of the trip is made in silence as both of us get lost in our own thoughts. In what seems like both forever and no time at all, we pull up in front of a modest home in a seaside suburb of Cape Town.
Kieran hops out of the vehicle and let’s Ms Brand out. She takes a set of keys out of her purse, and before she can insert one into the front door, Kieran says something to her, and she hands them over. He unlocks the door before disappearing into the house. A couple of minutes later he returns, speaks briefly to her again, then waits until she’s safely inside.
Hopping back into the car, he grins at me via the rearview mirror. “I searched the house, as I’m sure you noticed. All clear.”
“Thanks, Kieran. I appreciate it. Rebecca would have our nuts if anything were to happen to her.”
“Rebecca? What’s the connection?”
“Childhood friends, if I remember the story correctly.”
“Ah. Fair enough. Seems like a lovely lady,” he continues.
Despite my dark mood, I can’t help but chuckle at his not-so-subtle matchmaking attempt.
“So it would seem, yes.”
He and Rebecca have been on at me for the longest time to move on from Felicia and find a “nice girl to settle down with.” Sighing, I rub at the headache that’s settled at the base of my skull.
Once I’m home, my plan is to get blind drunk to avoid dealing with the dark thoughts that are currently swirling around my brain. I know Felicia’s health issue isn’t one of her making but, illogically, it makes me feel as if I’m being abandoned. Again. The therapist I went to years ago at Dad’s insistence diagnosed me with abandonment issues caused by my mother leaving us when I was six.
Who knows, maybe she was right, because I can’t help feeling like Felicia’s abandoning me too. Illogical or not, it’s how I feel. So, I’m going home, and I’ll deal with the tight band constricted around my chest the only way I know how. By not dealing with it at all.
Completely consumed by my misery, it seems like no time has passed when Kieran drags me out of my head, telling me we’ve arrived home. Looking around me, I find we’re parked in the basement of my apartment building.
He silently lets us into the apartment, and it’s only when he speaks to me that my housekeeper, Violet, jumps in fright as she’s dusting in the living room.
“I’ll be in my office,” he says, branching off toward his end of the apartment.
I nod before heading toward my own.
“Mr Heath, I wasn’t expecting you this early, sir,” Violet squeaks.
“Sorry, Violet. We didn’t mean to startle you. Something’s come up. I’ll be in my office, and I don’t wish to be disturbed, please.”
“Yes, sir.”
I head for my bedroom to change. If I’m going to get blitzed, I want to do it in comfort. Pulling on sweats and a tee, I make my way into my office, closing the door behind me. Like I told my housekeeper, I don’t want to be disturbed while I’m exorcising my demons. I don’t need an audience either.
Grabbing a bottle of Kentucky’s finest bourbon and a glass, I settle on the sofa with my bounty and pour the first of many glasses. I sit staring out at the view of the majestic Table Mountain as my mind offers me a medley of a lifetime’s memories I share with Felicia and I take my leave of her once more.
Still, I’ve not found the closure I sought at the end of our marriage; I know I need to move on with the rest of my life. Especially now she’ll no longer be a part of it other than in these very memories that play like a movie in my head.
