Part 2:
Her gaze was steady as she looked at him. "Is he sick?" she asked quietly, her hand squeezing his.
"Brain tumor." He whispered. "He's having an operation after the holiday. The chances are…well, not the best." He sighed. "It's a long story, I don't want…"
"I'm not going anywhere." She said and the windows shook violently, proving her point.
"He called two weeks ago; he said he wanted to tell me the story for himself. He was rushed to the hospital after he collapsed. He was in restaurant, in the middle of dinner."
"You're upset with him." She observed carefully and he admired her ability to see through him.
"He was in the company of a young woman…who was neither his wife nor his daughter." Her lips formed a silent 'oh' and he continued. "They were having an affair; he was also helping her with financial problems and he bought her a house." He took a long breath. "The affair lasted for more then twenty years."
"Twenty years?" Hadar's voice was high and Myles smiled bitterly.
"Amazing how he managed to keep her hidden for so many years. I slammed the phone the moment he finished talking. Next was my mother, she told me she knew about the affair, she knew it all along and yet she stayed with him."
Hadar shook her head. "It's not that easy to leave. Sometimes it's easier to try and work things out."
"There was nothing to work on. My parents didn't marry for love, they married for status and money and assets." He rose from the bed and started pacing. "I knew there was no love between them, but I thought they honored their marriage vows."
"Were you supposed to go home for Christmas?"
"Yes, my sister managed to convince me." He sighed. "I have nothing to say to him and I have nothing to say to my mother. There will be business associates and adequate women I am expected tolerate while my mother seeks to matchmake."
"That is ridicules." She said. "You're a grown man; you should be able to choose your own wife." She watched as he rose from the bed, pacing in the small space in front of here, his eyes troubled.
"I did make a decision a while ago." He kept on pacing. "I've decided that I will not name my son Myles."
She clapped her hands. "Good for you." She encouraged. "Is there anyone who can be fitted to be a future Mrs. Leland?"
"The situation with my father is a difficult one." He skillfully avoided the question. "If the operation doesn't work then he doesn't have much time left. My mother is pressuring me to find someone to settle with."
"That has nothing to do with your father, Myles, every mother does it. It's a mother gene or something." He rolled his eyes and she continued. "You have to choose the woman you want to marry on your own. Marriage without love is a miserable one and doomed to fail. You said so yourself, your parents didn't marry for love and look what happened."
It annoyed him that she was right and yet, years of tight upbringing could not allow him to agree with her. "You're naïve." He said. "You don't understand how things work."
"I don't think you understand either."
"Only a child would assume everyone has a companion in life. Not everyone can find their soul mate." He spat, suddenly angry at the way the conversation turned. "You're stupid if you still think so. What do you know about my life?"
The silence that followed his outburst was probably the loudest one he ever heard. He cringed at his own words and watched quietly when she rose from the bed and headed towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.
He heard the shower running and sighed deeply, burying his head in his hands. He over reacted and the fact that he called her naïve and stupid probably didn't help either. His mind needed a break but he couldn't stop it from flying all over, was he finally loosing his sanity?
He contradicted himself. On one hand he disliked his parents and everything they represented, on the other hand he hated the cold lonely nights he spent in his house. But finding someone he truly loved was hard and he was afraid…afraid of repeating the mistakes he once did.
She walked out of the shower in wrapped in a hotel bathrobe and he averted his eyes. She didn't speak to him and the cold that enveloped him had nothing to do with the weather outside. "I'm sorry." He said, raising his eyes and searching hers.
"Ata mamash metumtam." She answered and his eyebrows rose.
"Did you just curse me in Hebrew?"
"I said you were an idiot." She spat, brown eyes daring him to open his mouth and respond. Instead, he nodded his head.
"Yeah, I deserved that." He said and then headed towards the bathroom, deciding that the hot water will do him good and the distance might be able to calm both of them.
She breathed heavily, tempted to throw something at his retreating back. The shower only seemed to annoy her further as the conversation repeated in her mind over and over again. But now when she stood alone in the room she felt sorry for him, he was obviously confused. But he had no right to call her stupid. She put on her jumper and some wool pants she found in her small bag. But he had a miserable life and that latest discovery shocked him. She wrapped the scarf around her neck and tied her hair into a ponytail. But he was an idiot!
The bathroom door opened and he walked outside, wearing loose jeans and a sweatshirt, she smiled a little when she realized how it changed his appearance. He hung the towel on the other side of the door when a blinding light filled the room followed by an explosion that shook the windows so hard she was sure they ware about to shatter. She lowered herself to the floor and managed to see him looking alarmingly at the windows when the lights turned off.
Their world turned pitch black as the windows shook violently. She was unable to see anything and she rose from the floor, looking towards the window. The beautiful lights were gone and blackness seemed to cover everything. She rose to her feet slowly and turned towards the general direction of the shower.
"Myles?" She asked, her mind playing with the absurd idea that he wasn't there.
"Here." He stated. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah." She took a hesitant step forward and toppled backwards as they collided and tumbled on the bed. Her cry of pain startled him and his heart missed a beat as he tried to stable himself and remove his body from hers. He knew she was directly underneath him, their position awkward as his thigh pressed between her legs.
"Will you stop moving? I'm trying to get up." He hissed.
She stopped fidgeting and he tried to lean his hand on the mattress and push upward. He pressed his palm on something soft and then frowned when he realized it was also hot to his touch, he increased the pressure.
"Myles, do you mind?" The woman beneath him grabbed his hand and he jumped backwards, rolling away from her, his hand covering his eyes.
"I'm sorry." He sounded mortified. "I thought that was the mattress."
She pondered his words for a moment before giggling. "I know my breasts are small, but no man has ever compared them to a mattress. Should I be insulted?"
He growled with dismay. "God…don't put words in my mouth, Hadar." He found himself laughing, her name slipping off his tongue naturally. "That's not what I said."
"I don't suppose you have a flash light." She said and he shook his head. "I'm not sure if you shook or nodded your head." She laughed softly.
"No, no flashlight."
"I think I have some stick light in my bag." She moved her hands in search for her bag and then pulled out a small stick. He heard a cracking sound and she shook it, the phosphorus producing an orange glow. "There you go; it would last for about three hours."
She put it between them on the bed and he almost imagined that the orange light came from a fire place. He smiled gently. "I am sorry." He said again. "My words were uncalled for, you were trying to help and I appreciate it."
"I think you're confused." She said simply. "You need a break from everything."
"Don't we all need a break at some point in out lives?" He pondered. "I really didn't mean to snap like that."
"Well, I guess we could stop analyzing you for the moment." She laughed. "Just don't do things you might regret."
"So, you got a husband? A boyfriend?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Nope." She grinned, her hands wrapping themselves around her knees.
"A girlfriend?" He raised his eyebrows suggestively and ducked away from a well aimed pillow. "Hey, you are an attractive young woman." He stated.
"You'll say that I'm naïve and stupid, but I'm sick of short and meaningless relationships. I'm waiting around for someone special."
He groaned. "You'll remember the words I said for eternity, right?"
She shrugged. "Maybe." She looked around at the dark room and frowned. "Is it getting cold in here?"
He felt it too. The temperature seemed to drop dramatically without the heater. He tugged the blanket and they both moved to seat against the headboard as he wrapped the blanket around them. Outside, the storm raged on. Lightening struck, followed by an enormous thunder. The windows shook violently and Hadar shrunk beside him. "Do you think the windows will hold?"
He nodded his head, squeezing her hand. "They'll hold."
The entire situation seemed very surreal. He was under a heavy blanket in a deserted hotel, sitting close to a woman he barely knew but for the first time in two weeks his heart was light. His mind seemed to take things slower, not focusing on the confrontation with his family but instead on the woman who sat beside him. Very different from him and yet willing to listen. Younger, surely, and yet seemed to be wiser then him.
She regarded him carefully. He seemed relaxed and content to sit quietly, watching the display nature produced outside their window. The storm in his eyes seemed to vanish and his handsome features seemed younger as he smiled to himself. He had long, elegant fingers, she noticed as he moved his hand through his hair, disheveling it in the process. He opened eyes that sparkled with sudden mischief. "So…you said short and meaningless relationships." He recalled. "What does that mean?"
She cocked her eyebrow at him. "I would assume a grown man like you should know what it means." She shrugged her shoulders, looking at him from behind long lashes as she grinned. "On the other hand, you did seem to have problems with the difference between a breast and a mattress."
He burst out laughing, his clear voice ringing throughout the room. She grinned at him, feeling a strange sense of accomplishment from the sound of his laughter. He lowered himself and rested his head on the pillow, waiting for her to speak.
She rolled her eyes and lowered herself to the mattress, leaning on her forearms as she looked at him. "I haven't been able to last in a relationship for more then two to three months."
"That's something like a month better then me." He said. "How many relationships are we talking about?"
"Define a relationship." She asked and he shrugged his shoulders. "I spent with a lot of men. My last one was one of the many mistakes I did in the romance department." She hesitated. "He was kinda…my supervisor, my trainer, call it what ever you like. He hit on me and I liked him and found him very attractive." She groaned with disappointment. "I did what I always do…I slept with him. It took me a month to realize we have nothing in common besides our work."
"Don't you have regulations against anything like that?" He asked.
"Of course, we do…no one really pays attention to them." He seemed pensive for a moment. "Why?"
"Two members of my team are helplessly in love with each other for the last three years. They won't admit it and we have to suffer their admiring looks and the unintentional touching." He rolled his eyes. "I always thought that they should act on their feelings but you say it ended horribly."
"We were not in love." She pointed out. "We had sex, that's very different."
He nodded his head. "They are very much in love. Everyone can see it but them."
"Then they should take their chances. Life is too short to play those games."
"Maybe they are stuck together tonight." Myles had a huge grin. "They were supposed to drive home together. The planes are grounded and only madmen are driving tonight…"
"It's certainly a good night to be stuck in." she said. "Isn't Christmas eve a time for miracles?"
He shrugged. "I wouldn't know." He said. "Besides, it's already Christmas day, it's two o'clock."
"My mother will freak out." She said. "I hope she wouldn't call the entire Israeli embassy and Start a search party."
"You still live with your mother?"
She laughed. "No, are you nuts? We will kill each other. She thinks I should stop playing around and at least have a baby." He laughed. "My little sister got married last year and my mom worries that I will miss my time and die lonely. You see, your mother isn't the only one." She rolled her eyes.
"How old are you?"
"You don't ask a woman how old she is! That's rude…"
He snorted. "Please, I'll tell you if you tell me."
"That sounded almost…kinky…" He laughed. "Alright…I'm twenty-eight. I had a birthday last week."
"Congratulations. Twenty-eight? You're older then I thought."
She laughed. "I'll take it as a compliment."
"I'm thirty-five." He said, feeling his face reddening as she narrowed her eyes at him.
She opened her mouth several times before speaking. "When you laugh, you look so much younger."
He laughed shortly. "It's been a long couple of weeks. I think I look much better without the dark circles around my eyes. I haven't had a good night sleep in a while."
He moved his legs closer to hers. The room seemed to grow even colder. She noticed the change and her body moved closer to him, reaching for the warmth he offered her. He adjusted his body to her small frame and held her close, her head resting on his shoulder. It was very easy to fall asleep, his eyelids were dropping and the sound of her breathing lolled him into a sense of security and home. He surrendered, finally closing his eyes.
Lightening stroke again and the thunder that followed shook the entire room. The booming sound and the sound of breaking glass that followed it startled him and he rolled them on the bed, covering her body with his own, pulling the blanket above their heads. He opened his eyes and encountered complete darkness; he tried to get rid of the fog that resided in his mind. For a moment he wasn't sure where he was and was startled to realize he was on top of someone. It took him a second to remember.
"Hadar?" He asked. "Are you hurt?"
"I'm alright." Her voice was shaking a little. "Just a little shaken up, did the windows blow up?"
He took a chance and looked around, lifting the blanket. "No, but something else did." He got up from the bed, reaching for his coat. She followed him and put on her own coat as well. He listened carefully before he opened their door. The hallway windows seemed to shatter and the wind blew forcefully in the newly formed wind tunnel. He closed the door quickly, searching the closet for an extra blanket. He found a pillow and tossed it in front of the door, hoping to block some of the wind that blew from under the door.
He barely saw Hadar when she closed the bathroom door, their only source of light quickly fading. "The bathroom window is broken." She said, her teeth were chattering again and she climbed on the bed. "Where is the chocolate?" She asked.
He smiled, searching in the dark for the small package he brought from the kitchen. They split the chocolate and drank some water. He pulled her close to him, seeking warmth. She buried her head in his chest and held tight, trying to stop her body from shivering. Time seemed to stand still and Myles knew the temperature was dropping even more. The wind hollered and his body started shivering, a bad sign.
"This is bad." She whispered. "Maybe we can call some help, is your cell phone working?"
He looked for it in the dark and discovered that the charger never really worked. His battery was still dead. "No battery." He murmured. "We'll be fine. We're dry and we have a blanket." His body kept on shaking and he could feel wind blowing all around the room from under the bathroom door and the main door.
Her hands stroked his arms firmly and he pulled her flush against his body, groaning with frustration when the shivers didn't stop. He felt a strange sense of numbness in his feet, moving them restlessly as he tried to keep warm. Her hands wandered down his back and he yelped when he felt them sneak under his sweatshirt. "C…Cold." He mumbled and she pressed her hands further.
"Myles, we need to get out of those clothes." Her voice was serious as she pulled his sweatshirt upwards.
He nodded his head and removed his clothes slowly, spreading them on top of their blanket. She gasped when he pulled her towards him, the contact shocking her. He caressed her back firmly, careful with his hands. He was aware of her silk underwear, his legs intertwined with hers, and he barely managed to stop the thoughts that the discovery evoked in him.
The tremors in her body seemed to stop and she breathed a sigh of relief, cuddling closer to him. He caught his breath and one of his hands flew to her hip stopping her from moving it closer to his body. She could barely see him in the dark but she felt he was holding his breath. She settled her leg between his and he groaned softly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. "I can't help it."
"I know." She said, her breathe hot against his neck. "It's alright. I trust you."
He laughed bitterly. "I don't trust myself."
They were quiet for a while, the wind hollered in the hallway and the rain wouldn't stop. Myles heard it when the wind seemed to pick up speed again, the windows shook again. It will be a miracle if we'll ever get out of here, he thought and then felt her hand squeezing his shoulder. "Did I say that out loud?" He asked. He felt her nodding her head and sighed, tightening his hold on her.
"They'll find me in bed with a beautiful, almost naked woman." He laughed, caressing her hair softly. "That's one hell of a way to go." She laughed with him. More lightening and thunders followed and Hadar was the one that noticed the smaller window in front of their bed had a huge crack in the middle. She waited for another lightening to confirm her suspicions before pulling the blanket over their heads.
"What is it?" He asked.
"There's a crack in the window, it's gonna blow out." She said.
"How could you possibly see…" The sound of shattering glass answered his question. "Remind me to wear my shoes in the morning." He sighed.
The wind seemed to calm down and Myles thought it was safe to get their heads out. He smiled when his eyes picked up bright light in front of their window. It looked like the power was back, at least at some part of the capitol, but their small shelter grew colder the wind blew all around them and they had no way to escape the cold. He felt that his feet were numb and he closed his eyes again, exhaustion taking over.
"Myles?"
"Hmmm…"
"Myles, if we get out of here promise me you won't go and marry just because your family wants you to." She spoke just for the sake of hearing something else other then the wind, she knew he was dozing off and thought it wasn't safe. Her body was too tired to shiver and her hands were numb as the wind blew around the room. She nuzzled her face in his neck and he mumbled something. She shook him, trying to rouse him into response. "Myles!"
"I promise." He whispered.
"You'll look for someone you at least like?"
"I'll ruin it." He whispered. "Just like I ruined it with her…"
"Who?" She asked and he opened his eyes. The small lights that shone far away from them helped her to see some more and his sad eyes broke her heart.
"The only woman I chose on my own." He whispered. "I met her on my own, I courted her on my own and I messed it up…on my own." Once again, she listened, his hands caressing her back. "She was beautiful and witty and charming. My parents would have hated her; dark skin and sharp tongue." He grinned and then it turned into a bitter smile. "I cheated on her." He admitted. "I am just like him."
"No, Myles, you are not like your father." She wanted to shake him. "You're a good man."
"You don't know me!" He spat, his voice overcoming the wailing wind. "If I love them then I will break their hearts…"
"I think I know you better then anyone else." She spoke, her face inches away from his. "You can't live your life without taking chances, Myles, what about your heart? You can't live without love. Is that the way you see your future?"
"I don't see a future, Hadar; right now all I see is nothing!" He pulled himself up into a seating position, not caring about the freezing cold or the fact that she was straddling him. His lips curled into a cruel smile. "What do you see in your future, Hadar? You were with so many men and yet you claim to love no one. Why haven't you found someone to love?"
The hurt he saw in her eyes pierced his heart and he swallowed hard, his grip around her waist tightening when he lowered them down into the mattress, covering them again with the blanket. She was shaking hard and so was he, her tears covered his neck and shoulder and he tried to sooth her but she was still shaking and he didn't know if it was from the cold or not.
"Because…" She whispered and he strained his ears to hear her. "Because none of them ever bothered to make love to me." She was still shaking. "And it's not stupid, Myles, there is a difference, I know it."
He nodded his head and hugged her tight. He hoped for a good end, hoped for light and miracles, hoped for future and family…hoped for the storm to pass.
