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“What? You’re not serious, Polly,” Ryan argued, stunned by her words. “Olivia won’t give me the time of day.”
“Not right now, she won’t. But I have hopes,” she said, briefly interrupting what she wanted to say as the server came laden with the plates with food.
The day’s special was Moroccan couscous and it smelled great. Ryan would have preferred a steak and looked at his plate doubtful. After the first forkful his doubts vanished. Whatever the cook mixed in this couscous was very tasteful. “Thank you,” he mumbled between two bites and the server left satisfied that they liked the food.
“You see, ever since she was born, Olivia knew she was perfect, the most beautiful, smart and accomplished girl in school, in the family, among our friends. Our parents always told her so and encouraged her to aim high because whatever she wanted in life she could get.” Polly picked at her food, although she was hungry and the couscous was one of her favorites.
“But they weren’t as supportive of you,” Ryan remarked.
“This is not about me. I’m telling you this in confidence so you can understand why Olivia is the way she is. It was not vanity at all. Olivia was and is perfect, beautiful, ambitious, hard-working, and smart. Boys were pursuing her since she was very young. Oddly she favored no one, saying that when she’ll meet her very special one, she’ll know it.”
“Fussy then, as she is today,” Ryan concluded polishing his plate.
“No, Olivia is not fussy. She was choosy perhaps because she wanted to be sure. So she had no particular boyfriend in high school, college, or law school, although she dated some. My parents started bringing home various young lawyers who were pleased to meet Judge Moore’s beautiful daughter.”
“Not for you? Why not? After all you were the eldest.”
“Ryan, this story is not about me. First, when I got a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing, my parents were disappointed and washed their hands of me. When I accepted a position of teacher in Laramie, they were only too glad that I was out of their house and out of their concern. You see, they had been worried that I’d be jobless with such a useless degree.”
“Did they change their minds when you started writing books and became successful?” Ryan asked curious.
“Are you kidding? That was the drop that overflowed the bucket. It was not like I was writing a masterpiece. My books were fictional nonsense that people read to pass the time when commuting in the subway and abandoned in the first trash can when the ride was over – their words.” Polly took a deep breath and blinked to chase away the tears that threatened to fall.
“I’m so sorry, Polly.”
She shook her head. “Anyhow, after two years working as a young lawyer in Denver, Olivia met and fell hard for a jazz musician, called Miles. Why? No one knows, not even Olivia. He was not especially handsome, smart or amusing. The truth was he was not a bad fellow, just somewhat flighty. I think the fact that he was not impressed by her at all was why Olivia was attracted to him. It was like he was not aware that men turned their heads when she walked by. He didn’t go out of his way to please her or to do what she wanted.”
“I guess life is funny like that,” Ryan observed digging into the dessert placed in front of him by the server. He was not aware that they’d ordered it, but he didn’t care. It was a sweet confection called ‘Savarin’, a soft spongy shell filled with candied fruits and topped with whip cream. Delicious. So good in fact that it almost distracted him from the woes of the beautiful Olivia.
Polly continued. “It is sad that she fell for such a thoughtless guy. At a party where he’d had a little too much to drink, she heard him talking to another man about her. The man remarked that Miles, the jazz musician, must be proud to have such a beautiful fiancée. At this, Miles scoffed and said beauty didn’t matter when she came with money and paid his bills.” Polly paused and dabbed at her lips with the napkin.
“I guess she was not pleased to discover he was the only man who was not going to spoil her and indulge her like her parents did.”
“Olivia had an inheritance from our grandfather. I’m not sure how much of Miles’ boasting about her being rich was due to his inebriated state. I didn’t like him much before, but he didn’t seem to be so callous and downright cruel. Olivia confronted him. He insulted her by saying that a pretty face with no substance needs an additional quality to make her attractive. She gave him his ring back and they parted ways.”
“Did he try to make up with her?” Ryan asked, signing the bill.
“I don’t know. Olivia never talked about him after that. A year later, she moved to Laramie, not because I was here. Taryn Bowman was looking for an associate in her law firm and I think they knew each other from law school. I’m not sure. Olivia is not very open and she doesn’t confess to anyone.”
“Hmm.” Ryan took her hand. “Polly, I appreciate what you told me and be sure I’m not inclined to gossip. It will all stay with me. But, the better picture I have of Olivia, the more convinced I am that I’m not the right man for her.”
Polly shook her head to contradict him. “You are, you’ll see. You’re perfect for her. You’re handsome and self-assured. You’re not going to let her twist you around. She needs a strong character, yet mindful that she is hurt and unhappy now. It will work great, you’ll see,” she said.
Ryan looked at her amused. For some unknown reason, he was not at all tempted to be the knight on a white charger coming to the rescue of unhappy beautiful Olivia. Why? He didn’t understand well. He liked to spar verbally with her, but didn’t feel compassion for her. It was perhaps because he could never identify with her issues. She was a gifted, spoiled girl, adored by her parents and sister and favored by fate. No, Ryan couldn’t say he had understanding for her.
Polly was smiling at him with eyes full of hope that she could help two lonely people she cared about. Absently, he kissed her cheek and guided her out of the bistro, unaware that people were watching them.
She drove her own car so he followed her home. He refused the polite invitation to have coffee, but held her hand in front of the entrance.
“I’m not sure what will happen with Olivia and me. What I’m sure is that I want to see you again. You’re my only friend in this town and I need to talk to you.”
She thought about it, smiling. “People will think we’re really dating. We’re going to give them the wrong impression.”
“Who cares what people think? I know this is not Las Vegas, but I’m not going to live my life to please some narrow minded people. I’ll come by tomorrow.”
From the inside the house, frantic barking could be heard in the entire neighborhood.
“My dog, Maurice. Poor baby was alone for too long,” she explained with a fond smile for the dratted dog. She opened the door and a mongrel of uncertain pedigree, jumped all over her. Sensing the presence of an intruder he turned and showing his pointed teeth, he growled at Ryan.
“Cute dog,” he said humoring Polly, although he thought exactly the opposite. Usually he liked dogs, but this one was plain obnoxious.
The days went by and the house took shape inside too. The six men worked well, including the two surly ones and no one attempted to break the rules or contradict Ryan. It’s true, he worked as much as they did and his decisions were sound. The contract had been signed. Now he was committed to this project and he was determined to make a success of it.
He was thinking to hire more men and start work on a second house. The land was parceled. He already decided to dig out the foundation for the next one he intended to build, a two story contemporary house. That one was supposed to be the largest. Jeff should have made that one his model home.
Well, the time couldn’t be turned back.
He was carrying inside one of the interior doors, when he saw a cigarette butt in the space between the floor covered in plywood and the newly installed drywall. He felt his blood pressure rising threateningly. To smoke in a space full of raw wood and chemicals like this new construction was extremely dangerous and increased the chance of a fire.
“Frank,” he yelled for the smoker. They were not on good terms and Frank had an attitude, but as long as he was doing the work, Ryan had no complaints. Until now. “What’s this?” he asked Frank pointing at the stub on the floor.
Frank raised an eyebrow and looked back at Ryan with undisguised insolence. “It is, what it is. A cigarette butt. Someone smoked a ciggy.”
“I promised you’d be fired if I catch you again smoking at the construction site. You’re fired,” Ryan shouted upset by Frank’s callous manner.
By now, the other workers stopped what they were doing and turned to see what was happening there.
A muscle was twitching at the corner of Frank’s left eye. “Why am I fired?”
“You admitted you smoked.”
“I did no such thing,” Frank answered in the same high tone.
Pushed beyond reason, Ryan shouted, “Get out of here.”
“You have no right,” Frank said. He carried a hammer in his hand and he raised it above his head ready to strike.
The hammer was easily wrestled out of his grab. “If he fired you, then it means he has the right to do it.” The man who just stepped in was tall and strongly built, with a stern face like carved from stone. He was dressed in western clothes and towered over all the men present because he was tall and had a very commanding carriage. This was a man not to be trifled with.
“Did you smoke inside this building?” he asked Frank in the same tone that commanded a straight answer.
Frank withered and his cockiness disappeared. “Not inside the house, not right now. This is not mine.” He pointed at the cigarette butt. He resembled a schoolboy squirming in front of the teacher fearing punishment.
The stranger speared him with his dark eyes and after a long moment nodded. “I believe you. But it’s not my decision.” He turned to Ryan. “Ryan.”
“Go back to work for now. Consider yourself warned. One small mistake and you’re out of here,” Ryan said.
Frank was eager to escape the confrontation with the tough stranger and the others went back to what they were doing until only Ryan and the newcomer were left in the room.