Author's Babblings: This week's double feature is brought to you by… BOREDOM! As I have had painfully limited access to the Internet for about a week and a half, all the entertainment of a small town (and no car), as well as classes that are just now getting into full swing. So I've had some free time, I just hope that I still have some in the coming weeks.
Chapter 8
"You're impossible." Was the first thing Rebecca said to Helena when they were seated at the small family owned restaurant. "You are impossible and I should have known the second you said to pick you up at work that you were up to something."
Helena smiled as she sat, Eddie taking his position lying down just to her right-hand side. "Yet you didn't, and you came, and you were there early, as usual."
Their server quickly placed two waters on the table, and a menu in front of Becs, passing over Helena as she moved to the next table where Sarah and Tommy were seated. Helena had wanted to give them space but had needed to be nearby. Harry, the owner, had welcomed each of the women by name and had no trouble accommodating this by seating them at two tables for two on the far wall of the restaurant.
Becs gave the menu a half-hearted glance before taking a serious tone with Helena. "You know one of these days someone is going to actually hit you if you keep this up."
"Then so be it," Helena replied very matter of fact.
Becs gave her an exasperated, "Ella," meant as the start of a reprimand.
"The one who does will get actually jail time rather then just cooling his heals. Because, as you pointed out to Mr. Stevens, even if there is proof that I provoked them, it still sounds bad when you add the blind, female, social worker bit to the assault charge. So unless I was screaming profanities at them or saying awful things about their mother, heck, probably even if I was, no one would want the kind of press that would come with letting my attacker off the hook. Besides," her tone taking on a touch of amusement, "it's not like they would really get to beat me too badly, because Eddie would probably attack them before they got the chance."
"Don't even joke," Becs told her over a sip of water. "Eddie may be a Seeing Eye dog, but if he does too much damage, I'm not sure if that will be enough to get him off the hook."
Helena reached for her own glass, sliding a finger down the inside of the rim to gauge how full it was before lifting it to take a sip. The waitress stopped at their table to get their orders. Becs wanted the soup of the day with her usual roast beef sandwich while Helena got the soup and a chicken salad.
A few moments passed after the waitress departed before the corner of Becs' mouth curved upward into a lopsided smirk. "So just how much convincing did it take to get your supervisor to say yes to taking Tommy out to lunch?"
"Not all that much," Helena gave her small knowing smile.
One of Becs' eyebrows shot up. "So just how did that conversation go?"
"The first thing out of her mouth was 'what am I going to do with you?'"
"I wonder that all the time," Becs muttered.
"I did offer a suggestion."
"What?"
Helena's smile grew wider. "A raise."
Becs let out a snort and didn't bother replying.
Continuing, Helena's smile faded just a bit. "She, of course, said no, since we're lucky that we still have power with all of the budget cuts. She threatened to fire me to save on court related costs and aspirin."
Becs chuckled at that.
"I chose then to remind her that it would take at least two people to replace me and that they probably wouldn't handle things as well as I could. I was able to sort through Miss. Wallis' files in all of a week, and take care of her most difficult case before lunch. Also, any court related losses would be well worth it since it would help keep men like Mr. Stevens away from children. All she did was sigh." Helena rolled her shoulders and let out a sigh herself. "When I suggested Tommy join me for lunch to get to meet Sarah, who is looking to take on another kid, she didn't even bother to argue. She just told me that she trusted my judgment."
Laughing, Becs just shook her head before reaching for her drink again.
"So, does it look like they're getting along alright?" Helena asked casually.
Knowing whom she meant, Becs leaned to the side to see around her to the table just beyond their own. "She's chatting away. He looks nervous or scared, probably a bit of both."
Helena replied with casual certainty, "He's afraid that it's too good to be true, and that he will wake up to find this was all a dream. Or do anything to mess it up."
"That fits." Becs trained her appraising eyes on the woman across from her. "One of these days you'll have to tell me your secret."
Helena smiled sweetly at the long-standing joke between them. "There is no secret, I can just tell these things about people."
Becs gave her usual sarcastic, "Sure."
The waitresses' timing was excellent. Giving them their bowls of soup, as well as sandwich and salad, she refilled their waters before moving on to her next table. She didn't bother asking if they wanted anything else, she already knew from experience that they wouldn't.
Helena reached for her soup, testing the temperature before turning to her salad while it cooled. Becs hadn't bothered and took a massive bit out of her sandwich.
After taking a few more bits Becs asked around a mouth full of sandwich, "so what can you 'just tell' about this Damek character?"
Helena took another bit of her salad, which she swallowed before she responded. "A fair amount I suppose, but I don't know, its like I can tell that there is so much more."
"Now there's a first," Becs washed down her last bit of sandwich with some water. "So just was can you tell, because the description the beat cops gave me wasn't much and what they did give didn't sit well with me."
"He hardly speaks with an accent but his mannerisms and such gave him away. He's originally from South Eastern Europe, although he didn't indicate where." Helena picked at her salad, her expression distant. "He has money, I have no doubt of that. He doesn't like the city but is here because of something specific, something that's very important to him. Yet, he has no qualms about taking the time to sit and talk with me in the park, or walk me home. He comes across as laidback, but he is definitely an Alpha male. And while you will take this the wrong way Becs, the only way I can describe how he moves and reacts is as a predator."
"Yah," Becs' tone left no doubt about her opinion. "So there's a right way to take that one?"
Letting out a sigh Helena poked at a piece of chicken. "It's the only thing I can think of that fits. When he moves he hardly makes a sound. He's aware of everything that's going on around him. And he just has this… presence, and way about him, that reminds me of a cat walking amongst pigeons: not concerned, but aware of what's going on, even when it isn't looking to hunt."
In a flat tone Becs informed her friend, "That just makes me feel so much better about you spending time with him. Alone. In the Park. At night."
Helena heaved a sigh of exasperation. "If I could think of a better way of describing him I would, it's just that predator fits. If I thought that he was a threat to me personally I would not have gone back to that part of the park for a while. And besides, if he had wanted to hurt me he already would have: he's had plenty of opportunity to do so."
Becs didn't try to argue with that, but let her silence speak her continued displeasure at the situation before adding, "Is there anything else?"
Helena shook her head, but not to mean that the answer was no. Taking another half-hearted stab at a piece of chicken she slowly answered the question. "Yes and no. It's like what I said before about getting the feeling that there's more to him then meets the eye, so to speak. It's just a sense, that there is something else, something more beneath the surface." Her expression was distant, as she lowered her fork, no longer aware of, or concerned with, her food. "Like there is a darkness in him. It's buried deep, but always there. He isn't bad, but it is, this insidious thing, that won't just go away, that he can't get rid of. Slowly creeping in, eating away at him from the inside. The sort of thing, that if left as it is, can, and will, bring even the greatest and strongest of men to their knees. Changing them, turning them from everything that they are into everything that they despise."
By this point Rebecca had stopped eating as well.
Something snapped Helena back to the present. She shook her head as if to try and get rid of some unwanted thoughts. Making a hasty attempt at her piece of chicken she missed, knocking it off the plate. Before rushing again she took a deep breath. Feeling around on the tablecloth she located the lost chicken piece before slowly and deliberately stabbing it with her fork.
Becs watched her friend's unusual display, as Helena typically had more grace and precision than most sighted people she knew. There was a long silence as she thought over what words to say. In the end she chose her usual, direct route. "I guess that settles that. You're not going to see him any more."
"Really?" Helena took a similar tone. "And why is that?"
Rebecca leaned to the side, "Yo, Sarah. I've got a quick question."
Sarah and Tommy stopped talking and she turned around so that she could see the other table. "What?"
"Ella here just described to me the guy who she's been talking with in the park as a predator who has an evil darkness in him. Now, do you think she should meet with him again?"
One of Sarah's perfectly shaped eyebrows went up, "There's a question about that?"
Helena let out a sigh of frustration, and put her back to the wall so that even though she was not facing anyone they could all hear her clearly. "I didn't say that he was evil, only that he's struggling with something that could be described as evil. And predator… when he moves he hardly makes a sound. He's aware of everything that's going on around him. And… he just as this presence, a feeling of power, like a man who's in control and isn't in the least bit concerned that anyone could take that away from him."
Sarah let out a laugh; "Well, the control bit sounds about right for most men, at least the part where he thinks it can't get taken away." She shot the other two a little smirk.
Becs rolled her eyes, "Fine, but it's the evil darkness bit that has me concerned."
Helena's brow furrowed as she tried to find the right words. "Evil is a bit strong, but that's more of how he looks at it." She paused for a moment, "Look, it's hard to explain and the only example that I can think of is addiction. Like if someone knows that they have an addictive personality, it's always there in the back of their mind, and every time they walk by temptation it rears it's ugly head. Now try and think of having to work around a bar, or a casino, or something like that. The temptation would be there all the time, eating away at their resolve, constantly testing them. Now, while what they're addicted to isn't evil, what the addiction does to their lives, for all intents and purposes, is. And that's all separate from the person, who could be anything from a saint to your everyday Joe."
A silence fell on the group, each in their own thoughts. Tommy was overwhelmed by the whole day, and the conversation was just the icing on the cake. Helena was trying to understand just what it was about this man that just wouldn't let her mind go. Becs was far from convinced that there was any good reason for this Damek character to be around her friend at all.
Sarah took a mental step back, reaching for logic to help guide her. "When did you first meet?"
"Two nights ago."
"And how much time have you spent with him?"
"Hmmm, I would say somewhere between thirty and forty five minutes."
"How's Eddie towards him?"
"At first he didn't like him at all. Now he's just wary."
Sarah aimed her next question at Becs, "Is he hot?"
Rebecca shook her head and rolled her eyes at the oh-so-typical Sarah question. "I doubt he's your type even if he is loaded. And since I haven't met the man yet I don't know. I got a description and he sounds decent, at the least: on the tall side, trim, broad shoulders, narrow hips, sharp features, dark hair. Of course I've never been a fan of long hair on men."
"Alright, so he's loaded and attractive. Got it. And Becs, it's not like you've ever had any taste when it comes to men any way." To Helena, "Now, what's his name?"
"Damek, I don't know his last name."
"What does he do?"
"I don't know that either."
Becs cut in with sarcasm so thick that it couldn't even drip from her voice. "Now that doesn't sound suspicious. No last name. No known occupation."
Helena's tone was sharp as she stopped her friend. "It's not like I asked."
Sarah chewed over a thought as she munched on a bit of her sandwich. "So, what tells you that he has money?"
"His clothing," Helena's voice returned to its usual even calm. "From the way it sounds I would say his shirts were made of very nice silk, his slacks from high end suiting material, and both were tailored to fit perfectly. His shoes also had a soft soul on them that I've only ever heard in shoes that were custom made. Thus, he has money." Letting out a deep breath she spoke to both women at once. "Look, we need to get back to our food, because last time I checked we all have places we need to be rather soon. I will ask him more personal questions tonight, and barring some sort of emergency, Becs will get to meet him. Sarah, I'll call you tomorrow because there are some matters that we need to discuss, and fill you in while I'm at it. Now everyone, eat!"
Sarah and Helena turned back around in their sets.
Rebecca took a healthy bit of her sandwich but felt the need to add one last thing. "You know this isn't the end of this discussion, right?"
"I know," Helena had a spoonful of her soup. "But it is the end for now because we all have things waiting for us when we get back."
