A WINTER OF CHANGE[Complete]

2

"My husband sprained his ankle, I don't know how he pulled that off but we're out of. . .'' Benjamin knew very well where this was going so he tuned her out. People liked to use him then laugh at how ugly he was behind his back. Once he heard a certain woman saying she wouldn't touch him with a ten-foot pole but a day later she came running to him when her horse escaped.

"What do you say?" The woman asked behind her bench of vegetables.

"I will do it," he said. The small taut woman beamed and gave him some free potatoes. He nodded and strolled away avoiding everyone's eyes.

He spent the majority of yesterday thinking about Melanie, when it all got too much for him to handle he put on his coat and went in search of a whore. Even whores liked to avoid him. They took one look at him, and pronounced him a brute, undesirable. A man who could kill them with one little flex of his hand on their throat. But yesterday was his lucky night, he found her and used her to drive Melanie out of his mind but his effort failed to work. One glimpse of her and he was back to square one.

He took the snowy trail back to his little cabin, he had one job today and that was to make the hall squeaky clean for the party. Usually, he visited the mansion in the morning but right now he didn't want to face her, not yet. He was being a coward but he needed to clear his head instead of making a fool out of himself.

Dumping the things he bought to prepare dinner, he walked to his room. It had a small bed only fit for one person and a closet where he kept his clothes, not that he had many. He stripped out of his clothes and took a shower. The hot water soothed him for a while. He shivered his way back to his room and quickly put on his clothes and sat down on the bed thinking.

One thing Benjamin Weathers hated was thinking because everytime he did he only thought of his pathetic life. A life in which he had many desires but because of who he was and what he looked like he couldn't get them.

Sometimes he welcomed the notion that if he had money maybe it was possible to have the things he wanted. To have people who loved him, to wear the clothes he wanted. Or better yet, he wanted to turn back time and escape that horrible night. He was sixteen when his mother set the house on fire, back then his face had been perfect. If he still had that face and that killer smile he knew for a fact he did use it to get what he wanted, it worked in those days. Sadly, it was all lost in the flames. The flames that consumed everything he ever held dear with the exception of his mother.

Even then he hated her with every fibre of his being. Detested the way she acted, loathed the things she made him see at such a young age. She wasn't abusive but she just never cared about him and that was worse. Now after all these decades he never found it in him to forgive her, she destroyed everything and he was still suffering because of her.

Benjamin sighed, shook his head as if that was going to help dispersing the sad thoughts.

After some time his thoughts wandered to safer waters. He had a job to do and it was better to get started as soon as possible. Christmas was near and if anything was amiss Mr. MacArthur was liable to throw a fit. And he also had to help that woman with the unknown problem.

Benjamin went straight for the cleaning supplies in the mansion's store room. He knew the mansion like the back of his damn hand. It was three decades ago that he came here and started working for the mayor but back then the mayor was Edward MacArthur, Melanie's grandfather.
The hall was a mess but he had several days to get the job done which was perfect. He also had to see to it that the grounds were perfect but it was out of his hands with all the snow that was falling.

Benjamin was in the middle of cleaning, his hands in gloves and a broom in his hands when he heard the sound of shoes scraping the white marble floors. Before he even turned he knew who it was, his body went taut as his heart beat against his chest as if asking to escape.

"Ben," Melanie said in that melodic voice of hers. It always sent him in a frenzy and in his dreams it sounded the same. He took a deep breath, turned and watched her sashay her way towards him.

"Melanie," he said.

"I thought you weren't here, I didn't see you yesterday." Her dark chocolate skin looked smooth to the eyes. He wondered how it would feel to touch it. His hands itched with the need to trace it.

"Just busy," he lied.

"As always," Melanie smiled, showing her perfect white teeth.

"Welcome back, I heard. . .ah. . .the news. I'm sorry."

"It's okay, he is behind me now, I hate him by the way." Her lips lifted half-heartedly and he saw the sadness behind the facade she was putting on.

"I'm glad," he said. Call it stupidity or the reason that it had been almost three years since he saw her his eye took her in. From head to toe, memorizing each curve and the red skin tight dress she was wearing. The heater was on so it wasn't that cold inside the mansion. Melanie didn't look like a woman fresh out of a divorce, she looked good. Her plump lips coated with red lipstick. Tempting. Her body was slender with curves in all the right places, another temptation.

"We will talk later, my father is taking me somewhere," she said and strolled away. What Benjamin knew was that he could only admire from afar but he could never get too close to touch her and the knowledge pissed him off more than anything in the world.