Perception

Part 7: Truth Serum

After it was clear to me that Devon was definitely here, in the flesh and that he knew where I was, it was time to act. He was not going to stay away from me as Wayne had warned. In fact, if I knew Devon, he would make it his mission not to stay away from me. I didn't want to be alone. The way Wayne had been so protective of me, made me want to be near him. "I don't want to be alone tonight." I blurted out on the ride home. Wayne looked over at me as he pulled up to a red light. "Okay. If you want me to, I can sleep on your couch." Not knowing if Devon was already following us, or how much he already knew, I didn't want to take any chances. I knew that he was always one step ahead of me. "Maybe I could sleep on your couch?" Wayne laughed. "You can sleep in my bed, I'll take the couch." Grateful that he was so willing to be a gentleman I tried to give a soft, womanly laugh. But instead, it came out in a hard ugly cry. Wayne started to put his hand on my leg, but retracted his hand. "You have to talk to me Kelly." he said sternly. He reached in his glove box and handed me some folded tissues. I wiped my face and watched quietly as he expertly maneuvered through the streets.

About twenty minutes later we pulled up in a long winding driveway. Wayne's house was beautiful. It was huge. It was all brick and glass and manicured lawn and perfectly trimmed bushes. I kind of figured Wayne was a man of money, his Mercedes Benz hinted at that...but I had no idea he was rich. As he continued to wind down the drive he pulled into the attached brick garage that had lifted the door to accept his entrance. There was a motorcycle, a red Escalade and a small boat. Once inside, the garage door closed behind us leaving the room in a soft orange glow from the ceiling lights. Wayne got out and walked around to my side of the car, opened the door and held his hand out for me to take. I reached out and took his hand, stepped out and he closed the door. "Welcome to my garage." he said in an attempt to lighten the mood. I noticed that he was one who seemed to like the lighter side of life. This time I laughed.

I followed him into the house. The door from the garage opened to a mudroom. Wayne took his shoes off at this point so I followed his lead. We continued on into the house. We passed a small bathroom, and a laundry area that opened into the huge kitchen. There was marble everywhere. Even the floors. It was stunning. "Can I get you something to drink?" he offered. "Uh, yes, please...wine...or vodka...maybe some tequila." Now he laughed. "You going for the hard stuff now?" he smiled. "I could use a stiff drink." He walked over to a large mirrored wall and pushed it open. The door rolled into the wall to expose the inside where glass shelves filled with all kinds of liquor and wine were stored. Imported and domestic. Wayne was serious about his drinks. "You have a choice?" he asked me. "Whatever you think will calm my nerves." I watched as he reached for a bottle that read Gran Patron Tequila. He got two shot glasses from the glass case. "Come on." he nodded for me to follow him. I walked with him and watched as the glass cabinet closed itself.

Beyond the kitchen there was a living room. Floor to ceiling windows, white carpet and white couches. The biggest t.v. screen I'd ever seen hung over a marble fireplace. The only thing black in the room, a large grand piano sat to the left in a corner. As I looked out through the windows, a pool and a hot tub were sitting with clear, inviting water. Wayne took a seat on one of the couches. "Come have a seat." he said patting the space next to him. I sat down and watched as he poured the tequila in the glasses and handed me one. He took a sip. I took a sip. "This is my truth serum." he smiled. I must have given him a disapproving look. "Don't worry, I'm kidding." He picked up what looked like a remote control and pressed a button. I was expecting the television to come on, but suddenly the fireplace sprang to life and began to crackle.

"You have a beautiful home, Wayne."

"Thank you."

"Did you design this all yourself?"

"I can't say I did, it was all my interior designer." he said. "I picked the color palette though." he told me. "I'm partial to white. To me, it symbolizes cleanliness and purity." I nodded, impressed with his deepness of color meanings. I took another sip of the tequila.

"I'm partial to black." I told him. "It symbolizes darkness and solitude and struggle...and my skin." He looked me directly in my eyes. I thought for a moment he might be upset with my analysis. But then he nodded his head and said "interesting." As we sipped the tequila, we exchanged stories about our lives. He told me about his ex-wife Brunette. About how they had a son, Shawn. He passed away when he was only five months old. The doctors called it SIDS or sudden infant death syndrome. There was no more explanation they could give. He and Brunette were distraught. Their marriage couldn't survive and they were divorced a year later. He told me all she wanted was to be a mother and some inexplicable thing took that away from her and she couldn't bear it. I saw a tear well up in his eye. "I'm sorry." I murmured softly. He took another sip of the tequila. "It's okay. That was a long time ago." I reached out and touched his leg and he smiled. Then it was my turn. I took a sip of the tequila and repositioned myself on the couch. The story I was about to tell was one that might shake even a man like Wayne.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Seems like the truth serum worked on both of them. They are getting to know each other. Wayne seems cool so far. Hopefully, he can be what she needs. Only time will tell.^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^