Okay, so he is back...but is he still the same Albert he had been in the past? And what happens next? Is it too late for Candy? Is it? And what the heck has he been doing for the last twelve months? Are you eager to know what happened in Congo? Oh, well... you will find out... one day. ;))

For now, Dear Reader, sit comfortably and...

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CHAPTER THREE: STEP ONE, STEP TWO

For the last few months Annie had tried to be patient with her friend but now could no longer hold back as both of her best friends were avoiding each other. It's been nearly a month since Albert came back and nothing was happening. She was worried that if this situation continues, everything will be irrevocably lost.

One day, knowing when Candy's shift was over, she waited outside the hospital. She grabbed her friend's hand and not caring for Candy's strong resistance she dragged her to her apartment on the opposite side of the park. She was in fact so determined that the route through park took less time than usual.

"Candy, I feel really offended by the lack of your trust." Annie had started as soon as the door closed behind them. "You talk a lot about everything else but you and I remember well this symptom. I want to know what's wrong with you and I am not taking any of your excuses."

"But that is the problem, Annie; I do not know what to say." Candy began to give up. "There is just chaos inside me…"

"So tell me about your chaos. It is a pretty good start." encouraged Annie.

"I have been thinking a lot of what you told me about Albert, Annie…" once she broke that wall, it was easier to open up her soul. She talked and talked and talked, and Annie listened. When she finally finished, they both ended up crying. "Do you understand now? I am not sure of anything anymore and I have no right to ask him if he is still… Maybe it changed? Maybe he gave up? It's been so many months now… And he seemed so cold…"

"Silly you..." Annie smiled through her tears, turning the statue of the lion in her fingers, "this lion tells me something else… Plenty of spare time, right!" she snorted. "I'm not an expert but can tell that carving such a sculpture must have taken days, if not weeks! Do you think he would bother himself for weeks to make a present for just anybody? And who was the first person he went to see after he came back? Monty? Archie? Me? His relatives or other friends? No! He went to see you the very next day and I'm sure that the only thing that stopped him from seeing you right after he got back was because you were working. And now I'm asking what stopped you from talking to him!"

"You think I didn't want to?" Candy yelled, sobbing. "I have owed him that for so long but he was so cold and I didn't even know how to start! I met him just once since then, in the bank and he was exactly the same; locked in a tight shell, again, behind the mask of a perfect gentleman. How can I get through to him when he doesn't show anything that matters!"

"That reminds me of some other person I know. She is sitting with me right now and pretending to be a fountain." Annie shook her head and they both laughed through tears. "Silly you…" Annie repeated, "…did it even enter your mind that his behavior could have been just a defense? You just have to talk honestly about it and I'm afraid it will hurt but it is the only solution."

"I know! But I'm just so scared to start! He is really not the same…" Candy hid her face in her palms.

Once again I will have to take matters into my own hands.Annie thought, hugging her friend. Otherwise they will hesitate forever!

She had a plan…

O O O

"Archie, my love, can I ask you for a favor?" Annie asked coquettishly, holding onto her husband's arm.

Archie turned from his desk and rolled his eyes. "Oh, God, I know this angelic look of yours, this is gonna end in tears!" he moaned. "I can see myself regretting this very soon, but yes, darling, how can I help?"

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen!" she laughed and pulled him towards the balcony, where they stood, enjoying the warm breeze coming from the forest behind their house. "I just need you to invite Albert here. I have to talk with him and the last thing I need is Aunt Elroy being around."

"You mean her old falcon nose that she likes sticking into others businesses?"

"Archie, where are your manners?" she scolded him but her soft laughter contradicted her words.

Archie stretched his arms casually, "Faded away God knows when. Or maybe they never existed. But why do you need Albert?"

"It's personal."

"Hey, now I am jealous!"

"Stop being silly, I am serious..." Annie turned and looked away.

"Now I am seriously jealous. Okay, okay, I will ask him... Hold on…" he frowned and his eyes flashed with suspiciousness. "Does your 'personal matter' have anything to do with some sad Blondie secretly climbing trees?"

"Yes. Those two need help but none of them is going to ask for it."

"Maybe I should talk to him?" suggested Archie with a wide grin on his face "You know, man's talk…"

"Please, no!" Annie expeditiously turned to face her husband "I fear if he realizes how many people know his big secret, he might close up for good."

"Well, I would not call now our dear William Albert timid…" Archie murmured under his breath. "But okay, I will think of something."

"Tomorrow then?" she insisted.

"Someone is on a hurry!" Archie reached with his hand for hers and pulled her closer to him. "I really have to toy with this idea of my wife having a secret affair under my nose…"

"Archie, please…" she could not stop laughing as his fingers started to tickle her waist.

"Okay, I promise I will drag him here tomorrow. If he resists, I will use violence!" He said and kissed her nose. This is really going to end in tears… He thought seriously. The question is whose?

O O O

"Archie, what is this business of yours? Can't it wait? I have some work to do." Albert said when they drove into Cornwell's estate.

"You have all your life to be a busy bee. This is your business!" Archie waved to Annie awaiting them on the stairs. "She insisted! I know we could have visited you at the mansion but she was not feeling well enough for the journey" he lied. "I leave you now."

Albert didn't say a word, he just followed Annie silently inside the house. She motioned him to their living room.

Inside the delicately decorated room and set into the wall on the left was a huge fireplace and mantle piece, above that hung an immaculately polished mirror. In front of the hearthside sat two old Chesterfields, a three legged burr walnut coffee table stood between them. On the far side of the room behind the armchairs, next to the patio that overlooked the magnificent forest was a well stocked bar.

"I am sorry we kidnapped you, my dear." Annie apologized. "I promise that it won't take long. You see... I just needed to talk with you."

"Alright…" Albert smiled politely and sat on one of the Chesterfields. "What is the matter, Annie?"

"Would you like something to drink?" she said, walking towards the bar. Archie always insisted on having a well stocked variety of alcoholic drinks for their guests.

"A brandy will be fine."

Annie picked up a large square crystal decanter from the copious amounts of bottles and carafes, took the stopper out and began to pour. The dark golden liquid gurgled its way into the glass. This was one of the things she had to learn, the exact measurements of any alcohol for any specific drink and how they are supposed to be served. She remembered those lessons from her father...

She took the glass and handled it to her guest.

"Please, forgive me for being straight and do not think I enjoy intruding into other people's lives, but this time I had to… I have to be sure… Can you be honest with me?"

"About what?" Albert asked and took a gulp of brandy from his glass. He seemed relaxed, but his suddenly hardened face didn't suggest a light mood.

"What do you think? About Candy of course… Albert..." she called his name softly, "I know you loved her… once. And now…do you still…?"

"May I know the reason why you are asking?" he interrupted with the same, impermeable face.

"I beg you, Albert... It is not easy for me too…" Annie almost twisted under his hard gaze. In this instant she began to worry that Candy might have been right; there was really something new and unknown about Albert. She would have never though it was possible but he scared her a little. "It might be important for both of you." she added shyly.

"I will skip the part of you being a little... rude. But as for asking about my personal affairs, I do not see how it concerns you." Albert said coldly, taking another gulp from his glass. "I assume that there must be a reason and you wouldn't be asking just for the purpose of later gossiping. However, I wasn't aware of the fact that my person has suddenly become such an interesting subject to question... Did she…" he paused significantly "...send you to me?"

"She hasn't got the vaguest idea that I am talking to you. It was my idea only."

"Then I'm asking once again, why do you want to know?"

"Because I cannot look at you both, maybe you are losing the chance of your life!" Annie yelled impatiently. "You would be so great together!"

With the third gulp Albert finished his brandy. Then he reached out and put the empty glass on the table. "'Us' both, Candy and me, great together? The chance of our lives?" He said sarcastically. "There is no 'us', Annie, you are imagining things."

"Oh, am I?" she protested boldly. "And the lion you carved for her? I saw it, Albert. If that wasn't a gift of love, my name is not Annie Cornwell!"

"You are imagining things, Annie." He repeated.

"So you are saying that you don't love her?"

Albert didn't reply.

"I could take your hesitation alone as an answer." Annie said. "But I'd like to hear it from you."

Albert again didn't reply and Annie mustered up all her courage to say what could snap him out of his cold stoicism. "I didn't realize that William Albert Andrew was such a coward that he had to hide behind the mask of a fake coldness." She challenged, exhaling quickly.

That was when all his boundaries stopped having any meaning to him. Infuriated, he got up and stood before Annie, his hands clenched into tight fists. "Annie, what the hell are you on about? What do you really want from me? The truth?" he burst out with sudden bitterness.

Hey, why the hell not? He thought. Let the entire world know about poor old Albert and his dilemma!

"Fine then…" He said as he turned away from the girl and walked briskly to the fireplace. Confessing all to somebody that close was hard enough, he didn't want her to see his face when he did it. Albert stood there for a few seconds staring blankly at the empty hearth. Albert took a deep breath, exhaled and then he began…

"She told me more than once that she doesn't want to love anymore." He uttered with a quiet but tensed voice. He hadn't noticed that Annie could see the reflection of his face in the mirror. "Fair enough. She had told me that her love for Terry was the essence of her existence even if that makes her unhappy and I had seen enough to believe her words! Do you remember her birthday? I saw them both in the garden…" The memory flooded back and he started to get impetuous. "It was then I realized I have no chances to compete with him, even if he is married and unavailable. You want to know? Fine! She was like the air for me, like life, she ran in my blood… I left her to forget and God one knows how much it would take to forget such a feeling! I ran away from her, to learn how to live without her and I have been trying to live a normal life! And now you are trying to damage what I've achieved... Why are you torturing me?"

Annie looked at him, awestruck. Albert, tender? Albert, soft? No way! He scared her with this outburst, yes, but this passion… Even she wasn't completely insensitive to it, she admitted, shocked.

"Oh my God, Albert!" she gasped, almost breathless, "You have so much fire! No woman can resist it, I could swear!"

"Except for one!" he hissed sarcastically and turned to her again. "There is no 'us' and never will be Annie and if you want to blame someone for it, it should be her, not me! I went to see her after I got back but she treated me like a brother. Nothing has changed! And since you insist to know, I will tell you: yes, Annie, I still love her, like an idiot, even though I know how hopeless this feeling is! But God knows what I am going to do to you if you ever dare telling her that!" He looked at her fiercely and then, as if getting back to his senses he closed his eyes for a moment. When he looked at her again, his gaze was again calm and impermeable. "And now, forgive me but I think I have already had enough of this conversation."

He headed towards the door and reached for the handle, Annie knew that she had to act quickly. She was still trembling but there was no time for hesitation now. "Candy thinks she loves you." she said with a firm voice. "And not as a brother."

His hand stopped in mid air. Turning to face her he asked coldly, "Is that some sort of joke, Annie?"

"I wouldn't dare. Albert, please sit down…" she pleaded and sighed with relief when he finally walked back towards her and sat down. Without asking, she stood up, grabbed the decanter from the bar and with shaking hands proceeded to poured him another brandy, this time it was twice as much as before. If the alcohol could just relax him a little bit, make him drop his guard, it might just make him talk even more. She was prepared to deplete Archie's entire stock if need be! And indeed, immediately upon receiving his glass, Albert quickly drank its contents down in one go. Again, she filled the empty glass and left the decanter on the table.

"Listen…" she continued calmer, "You were gone for such a long time, Albert, and you don't know everything. A lot of things have changed. She has changed. Since she had received your letter from Africa she hasn't mentioned your name once for many months but I saw her face when we talked about you and that's how I know that you didn't leave her thoughts for a second. You know her even better then I do… you should know that she always keeps silent about everything that hurts her the most… She was seemingly the same, with a good heart, but no one could get into her thoughts. She closed up like a clam, exactly like you."

Albert knocked back his third.

She went on again, "Only recently I forced her to talk to me. I can't tell you everything she told me because it's private but trust me; it's hasn't been easy for her. You left before she had a chance to tell you something important and she hasn't stop blaming herself for being too hesitant ever since… Albert, she is lost and confused but not the way you remember. Doesn't matter whether she wanted to love again or not; these feelings are sometimes born against our will. She's been torn between the memory of her lost love, pangs of conscience, guilt and maybe a new love she is not sure of yet. And she is too scared to try it, because she does not want to hurt you if she is mistaken… What a mess!" she sighed. "You are upset thinking that she greeted you only like a brother, while she was just ridiculously scared of you being so cold to her. It's a blind circle! Why is it so complicated? Can't you two just spare me from a headache, get on and simply love each other?"

"I wish, Annie…" he admitted calmly whilst pouring himself another.

"She still has a lot to work on…." Annie added quietly. She knew well that the question she was going to ask might destroy all her work. "That chance is very slim, yet…" she paused for a moment and taking another calm breath, she continued slowly, "Would you be able to live with her knowing she might never forget him completely?"

Albert hesitated for a moment. Annie's words rang in his mind. He remembered times of hopefulness, wishfulness but most of all, he remembered the hopelessness.

Backwards and forwards.

Tick tocking like a great weight at the end of a pendulum inside a grandfather's clock.

Backwards and forwards.

This metaphorical swing had been killing him slowly now for the past five years. Her words also reminded him of the dark cloud above his head called Terry. It was the reason why he had left in the first place. It still remained and kept casting a shadow on him, he was certain. At least he was until now.

"I don't know, Annie." he replied finally. He wasn't inebriated, he wasn't even tipsy, he could swear but four brandies in one go weren't the best of choices if he wanted to think clearly. And it certainly wasn't a good idea if he desired to speak less, because some of his dams began breaking down. He could almost feel the emotions leaking through. "Sometimes I think I could accept everything just to be with her." he heard his own voice and it sounded a little weird… Okay, maybe he was a little tipsy. He blinked. "And the next moment I contradict myself, demanding to be the one and only…"

Annie got up and turned slightly to hide her smile which had now formed on her face. Clearly, the brandy was a good idea. It worked; he told her all she needed to know. First step done, she thought. He admitted it and what's more important, he hasn't given up yet. Time for step two…

"You know what?" she asked, now feeling more secure, "I always knew you were both made for each other! She just couldn't see that, that's all… Give yourself another chance, Albert, have a good, honest chat, doesn't matter how hard it is going to be." She said firmly. She felt a tinge of déjà vu saying the very same words she had used to convince Candy. "But you have to make her talk, Albert, she will never manage on her own, she is too scared… Please, promise me you will talk!"

"It seems like there is going to be a long way to go, Annie…" Albert said as he got up from the armchair. His reply didn't really sound like a promise she had demanded but she felt the new determination within him.

"I know. But she is worth it, isn't she?"

She watched as he left by the patio and made his way down towards the forest. He was lost in deep thought and that view reminded her of old Albert. And she wasn't far from the truth; even though there was something new about him, deep, deep down he remained the same Albert.

That thought alone made her smile. That, – and his slightly staggered walk as he disappeared beyond the trees.

O O O

©GosieKin 2009