Amelia

Chapter Two

A piercing light assaulted my eyes when I tried to open them. Using my hand to shield myself from the harsh sun, I slowly blinked open my eyes and gathered my bearings. The queen sized bed I was in was empty, save for myself, and the dresser was bare. The French doors leading out to the balcony were open, the slight breeze ruffling the curtains. An empty desk stood next to my bed, and on the other side, a single lamp rested on a night stand.

"Oh, good, you're awake." Alexander stood in the door way in a clean suit and a light blue tie. In his hand was a steaming cup of coffee.

"What...what happened? Where am I?"

"One of the guest rooms. You got sick in the limo and I thought it would be better if you were in your own bed rather than mine if you ended up chucking again." He perched on the edge of the bed, his posture perfect, the coffee forgotten in his hands. "Amelia, why didn't you tell me you were allergic to almonds?"

"I tried –I guess, I just, forgot to mention beforehand." Concern washed over his features as he reached out a hand to touch the sides of my neck. His touch was cool and barely-there; a clinical touch.

"Your swelling has gone down. That's good. You gave me quite a scare, Amelia." This was the Alexander I admired. Most of the time he was cold and distant, almost too perfect for anyone to touch. However, there were some moments when I could tell he did care about me.

"I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it. I wasn't thinking." I sent him a small, contrite smile. He returned it.

"No matter. I'll have Sarah bring up some more medicine and a glass of water. You must be parched." His hand came up and lingered on the crown of my head. "Unfortunately, I must be off. Business doesn't take vacation days." With one final caress, he was gone from the room.

Suddenly, even though I knew there was at least four staff people working downstairs, I felt very alone.

...

"Would you like more mimosa, dear?" The elderly Mrs. C smiled down at me. I had already consumed three glasses of the stuff, attempting to displace the empty feeling in my chest with a drink and a good balcony view.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm going to move inside anyway. I'm done with all this sun." I smiled back and gathered up my glass. Mrs. C took it with a frown, admonishing me for trying –yet again- to do her job. I apologized, laughed, and headed down to the library.

The library was my favorite room in the mansion. It was the smallest, of course, but filled to the brim with books in the floor to ceiling shelves. I had completed the left wall and was onto the far wall, the leather spines only interrupted by the wide picture window overlooking the fields below. I had moved the couch just so that the window would be in perfect view while I read.

Trailing my hand over the leather covers etched with gold and silver titles, I found the book that was next on my list. I remained in that room, cooped up with that book, totally absorbed until a harsh knock at the door startled me.

"Darling, I'm home. Why didn't you greet me?"

"I'm so sorry, Alexander. I was...distracted. I got lost in this book and lost track of the time." I walked over to him and planted a kiss on his downturned lips. He looked at the book in my hand with distain.

"Reading. Right. Well, maybe next time set an alarm. It's quite rude to leave your husband waiting in the foyer after such a long day at the office."

I grimaced –I hated alarms when I read. They tended to break the spell of a good book and always ended up leaving me slightly disoriented. "Of course. I'm sorry, dear. Was work really so difficult? Can I do anything to help you relax?"

Alexander smiled a bit, pleased with my response. "Well, I am looking to a hearty meal with my wife, and maybe we could turn in early. After a nice shoulder rub, of course."

"Of course. Shall we?"

...

"Alexander, I was hoping...maybe I could go back to work soon?" I had chosen just the right time to talk: when he had his mouth full. Alexander was too proper to speak with food in his mouth, so I had time to state my case before he could simply shoot me down. "It's just that it's so quiet here when you're at work and I'm getting restless. It wouldn't be anything big, just a small nursing position."

I had gone to school for nursing and graduated last year with the highest marks. Afterwards, however, I had been so consumed with the wedding that I hadn't had time for a job –not that mother or father would have approved of it. They believed in the very traditional style of marriage: the man works, and the woman stays at home in the kitchen with the baby on her hip. Or, in my mother's case, on the nanny's hip. Alexander shared those same views.

"Work? Why would you want to work? Don't I provide enough for you?"

"You do, dear, of course. More than enough. It's just..." Here it was. I sucked in a breath of air and prepared to loose what little dignity I had left. "I'm so lonely without you here. Mrs. C is wonderful and all, but I miss my husband. If I were at a place that...occupied my time, I wouldn't have to suffer through missing you so much."

Alexander smiled, clearly pleased with my speech. I had stroked his ego just the right way, making him out to be my ultimate love, and myself the lovesick wife pinning for her husband.

"Well, we don't want you so sad, darling. I suppose something small isn't so bad. Perhaps I could pull a few strings, see if any clients are looking for some caregivers..."

"Actually, dear, Jamie –you remember Jamie from my graduation, don't you?- she has a position open at the correctional facility a few miles away. She said I'd be welcome to join as a simple nurse."

"The correctional facility? I don't know darling, wouldn't you rather be working in a nice, safe hospital?"

"Well, it'd only be for a few hours during the week. And Jamie has promised that it was perfectly safe there; they don't even house the dangerous criminals there. Only the minor lawbreakers."

Alexander frowned, not completely convinced. "I just want you to be safe, darling. Those people, no matter how venial their sins, are still bad people."

I rose from my seat, getting behind him to rub the tension from his shoulders. "They're still people, dear. They still need care just like the rest of us. And I promise to stop if I feel the least bit threatened."