Twenty-nine-year-old Tamsin Wallace got out of her car. As she stepped on the graveled driveway, she cursed. She should have remembered to have worn different shoes, she thought. It had been a long time, since she had come to her ex-boyfriend's house in Maine. Since they broke up a little after his accident, she had not been back. She really didn't like it much here in Maine. It was too quiet.
New York was where all of the action was, where the parties were. She loved dressing up and going to the parties and having her picture taken, so she could appear in the newspaper, the next day, on the society pages. When Owen got into an accident, she certainly felt sorry for him but she knew that her social life would be severely curtailed with him in this state. In a way, she had been grateful for him breaking up with her. After Owen, she dated one of the players from the New York Knicks. He was nice enough but so tall and it was awkward dancing with him. They didn't have much in common and she soon got bored with him. But it was great dating a basketball star, while it lasted. She began thinking about Owen. Not only was he handsome, he was also quite smart and could carry a great conversation. Maybe it had been too easy for her to let him go, as he did. She decided to take a trip to Maine to find out whether there were still any sparks left between the two of them. If so, maybe, she could persuade him to come back to New York. After all, he already owned an apartment out there in New York, which he hardly ever used. Surely, he must be tired of being cooped up here in this big old house in Maine, where nothing happened.
She rang the doorbell. She heard a voice from the inside say, "I'll get it, Joyce." It was a voice she had never heard before. Who was that? Did Owen get another domestic helper? The door was opened by a young woman, an Asian girl, with wild, curly hair. She appeared to be in her early 20's. "Hello," the girl said. "May I help you?"
"Yes," Tamsin said. "I am here to see Owen Hunt."
"Was he expecting you?" the girl asked. What was wrong with this girl, Tamsin thought. "No," Tamsin replied, a little stiffly. "I am Mr. Hunt's girlfriend and this is a surprise visit." She purposely left out the fact that she was an ex-girlfriend.
"Oh," the girl said. "Come on in."
"Thank you," Tamsin said. "Would you be a dear and hang this up for me? You can tell Joyce that I will be staying for lunch so she can put out an extra place setting? And can you get me a cup of coffee with cream and sugar? I will be in the study with Mr. Hunt. He's always there, isn't he?" Cristina nodded but as she was nodding, the tall, cool brunette threw her coat at her. Cristina was surprised that the woman was treating her like this, especially since the coat landed on her head. She was going to say something but the brunette had already walked away, heading to the study.
Cristina shook her head at the audacity of the woman. She hung up the coat and went to the kitchen, where Joyce was. "Joyce, we have a visitor. Tall brunette. She said she wanted coffee with cream and sugar and wants me to bring it to her in the study," she said.
"Oh, good grief, Tamsin is here!" Joyce exclaimed. "I thought I would never see the likes of her, ever again."
"She said that she is Mr. Hunt's girlfriend," Cristina said.
"Oh, no, child," Joyce said. "She WAS Mr. Hunt's girlfriend. They broke up months ago, actually, right after his accident. I never liked that woman. Always treated me like a second class citizen."
"Well, she certainly was treating me like one. Ordering me around and she tossed her coat on my head, telling me to put it away for her," Cristina said. Joyce shook her head. "The nerve of that woman! I better make Mr. Hunt some tea so he could deal with her." She started making the coffee for Tamsin and the tea for Owen.
"Oh, before I forget, she said she was staying for lunch, so you should put out another place setting," Cristina told her. Joyce threw her hands up in the air. She finished up the tea and coffee, placed them on a tray and was going to carry it to the study.
"Don't worry, Joyce, I will carry it," Cristina said, as she took the tray from the housekeeper.
Meanwhile, Tamsin and Owen were having a conversation, a painful one if anyone asked Owen. She had come in and announced her presence by kissing him smack on the lips. "So how have you been keeping in this dreary old house?" Tamsin said.
"The house is not dreary, Tamsin. There is light coming into every room," Owen said. "And the views are magnificent."
"Well, I don't mean dreary in terms of the views, I mean dreary in terms of the lack of action and stimulation around here," she said. "What do you do around here?"
"I like the peace and quiet because I am currently writing my latest book," Owen said.
"Oh, you're writing again. That's good," Tamsin said. That was really good news because it meant that Owen would have to go on a book tour, when it came out. Then, it would get all exciting, again.
Owen scoffed. He knew that Tamsin never read books; she was only interested in the tabloid magazines near the supermarket checkout. He wondered why he ever dated this girl. She was only arm candy and looked good when they went to social functions, together.
The door of the study opened. Owen knew it was Cristina because he could tell by the sound of her footsteps. When she was closer to him, he knew she was there by the scent of her perfume. It was a fresh, citrusy scent that made him feel like she had just stepped out of the shower. He loved that scent.
"Hey, I just brought you guys some tea and coffee," Cristina said. She handed Tamsin her coffee and she went across to Owen at his desk and placed his tea in front of him. "It's right in front of you at 12 o' clock."
"Thanks, Cristina," he said, with a smile. Cristina picked up the tray and left the room.
Tamsin took a sip of her coffee. "Who is that? Your little Asian plaything? Did you get her from a mail-order bride service?"
Owen nearly spat out his tea. "What the hell are you insinuating, Tamsin? How dare you insult Cristina like that?"
"Oh, so that's her name, Cristina," Tamsin said. "Well, I just saw this little Asian thing answering the door. Never saw her before in my life, so I am just asking questions."
"If you must know and I really don't think that you really need to know. Cristina has been assisting me in writing my book. She is my eyes and a sounding board for my ideas. She is an editorial assistant at Meteor and they sent her to help me finish my book," Owen said. "So, please save the insults."
"Oh, okay," Tamsin said. "So she has been staying here with you?"
"Yes, she has. How do you think that we can get the work done? She has been here four weeks and we have managed to accomplish a great deal," Owen said. "Cristina is like a godsend." Tamsin noted the way that Owen was vigorously defending the young assistant. She had also especially noticed the way he said the girl's name. It was almost like a caress.
"Hmm," she thought to herself. Getting back Owen was just a little bit harder, she thought. It seemed that her former boyfriend was smitten with the editorial assistant. Tamsin drained the last of her coffee. "I would like to freshen up before lunch. Can I use your room?" she said.
"No, you can use one of the other bedrooms. Not the one next to mine," he said. "That is Cristina's room. Any other room is fine."
"Yeah, sure, thanks," Tamsin said. She picked up her handbag and went up the stairs. Curiosity overcame her and she opened the door to Cristina's bedroom. It was a lovely room and the balcony had a wonderful view of the ocean. She scanned the room for Cristina's personal belongings. There was only one picture in the room on the bedside table. It was that of a young boy – maybe two or three years old. He had golden brown hair and light brown eyes. She wondered if that was Cristina's son. She wondered if Owen even knew that Cristina had a son. He was so smitten with her.
She was about to leave, when the door opened and Cristina came inside. "What are you doing in here?" she asked.
"Um, Owen told me that I could use one of the bedrooms to freshen up. I think I may have entered the wrong room," Tamsin said. "Sorry." She hurriedly left the room. Cristina looked around to see if anything was out of place but nothing was. She went to her bedside table and picked up Logan's picture. "Hey, baby," she said, before putting down the picture. She didn't trust that Tamsin woman at all.
It was around noon that Joyce announced that lunch was ready. Owen and Cristina found their way to the kitchen and started their lunch. Fifteen minutes later, Tamsin hustled in. "Couldn't someone tell me that lunch was ready?" She sat down and glared at Joyce. Joyce was not perturbed as she put down a bowl of clam chowder and slices of homemade bread next to her.
Joyce handed her a plate and said, loudly. "Everyone knows that lunch is served at noon, around here. Both Mr. Hunt and Cristina were here on time." Owen snickered a bit. Tamsin was totally aware that Joyce did not like her. That is why she enjoyed treating Joyce like a servant. "Well, I am a guest here and I would have appreciated some sort of notice from the hired help," Tamsin said, in a condescending tone. Owen caught it, immediately.
"Tamsin," he said. "We do not speak to Joyce like that. She is our housekeeper but she, Cristina and I are like a little family, here." Joyce looked gratefully at her boss and gave Tamsin an unfriendly look. "Thank you, sir," Joyce said.
"So, Cristina," Tamsin said. "I hear you're an editorial assistant at Meteor and you're helping Owen finish his book. So, how is it going?"
"Fine," Cristina said. "We have made great progress." Owen smiled.
"So how hard was it to leave New York and come out here to the boondocks?" Tamsin asked. Surely, the girl must find it hard to live here, after living the exciting life in New York.
"Well, my life was never action-packed," Cristina said with a laugh. "I like it here. It is quiet and I enjoy going out on the beach, very much. Owen comes out with me, on the beach, every day, now."
"What about your obligations in New York?" Tamsin pressed further.
"My obligations in New York are well taken care of," Cristina said.
"Really? What about your s-?" Tamsin started to ask but Owen interrupted. "Tamsin, stop giving Cristina the third degree. Why are you interrogating her like this? Please stop it." He was exasperated with her. "I trust that you will be leaving after lunch." He hated how she had treated Joyce and had made those insulting remarks about Cristina.
"Clearly, I know when I am not wanted. Yes, I will be leaving," Tamsin said. This visit had been a total bust, she thought.
"Tamsin, you are always welcome to visit but you must know I will not tolerate when you belittle any of the people living in this house," he said. "You can leave but we are the ones staying here."
"Well, maybe you shouldn't be, Owen. You haven't left this house, since your accident. There is a whole world out there," she said. "Maybe it is time for you to get back out there. You own an apartment in New York, which you don't even use."
"I will leave this house in my own good time," Owen said, in exasperation. After finishing her lunch, Tamsin put her coat back on and left. She gave Owen a kiss on the cheek. "Goodbye, Owen."
"Goodbye, Tamsin," he said. He stood at the doorway, listening to the sound of her car, as he drove off.
He sighed with relief. He could tell Cristina was behind him because he could smell her perfume. "She's not the nicest person," Cristina said. "But she is right about one thing."
"What?" he said. Cristina slipped her hand into his. "You need to get out of this house. You can't just be stuck here forever because you are blind. You need to interact with people other than Joyce and me. You need to start living again," she said, softly.
"How?" he said. He squeezed her hand. "I am going to help you," she said.
A/N Please leave your thoughts and comments. I do appreciate it when you do take the time to do so.
