Her Redemption for His Sins (Under Heavy Editing)

2

Chapter 2

Leena welcomed the weekend with warm enthusiasm. She didn't even mind the endless drive, or the torrent of rain that was now a light drizzle as she weaved her way through evening traffic. She watched methodically as the windshield wipers of the car swooshed back and forth, as she made it further away from her melancholic apartment, and closer to sanctuary. At least with Ike, she didn't have to pretend, and as she made her way down the block to their house, she could feel the overwhelming sensation of coming home.

Leena pulled into Ike and Margaret's driveway cautiously. A slight thrill rushed through her at the idea of seeing her family again, until she saw it. There in her parking space, she eyed the blue Mercedes Benz that was parked in her usual spot with caution and envy.

Leena knew she couldn't block anyone in, so she parked on the side street and gathered her belongings efficiently before walking down the gravel pathway towards the quaint house. She let her curiosity get the better of her as she ogled the beautiful but expensive vehicle in the driveway with a mix of thrill and envy. There was something about the wealthiness of the car's owner that felt like it didn't belong in suburban North Carolina.

Leena peered inside the finely crafted piece of machinery, eager to understand its presence in her parking spot and the first thing she noticed about the car was that the interior of the vehicle was impeccably clean. She also noted, thanks to her brother's love of auto-mechanics, that this particular Mercedes Benz was the classic C11 model.

It had the finest leather padding on the interior and in the cup holder, and she noted the expensive looking ray-bans tossed casually along the passenger seat. It was obvious that the man who owned this vehicle was wealthy and had a distinct obsession with cleanliness.

Afraid that the owner of the vehicle might be watching her every move, Leena turned her eyes away from the car and continued her long walk up the drive.

She contemplated several reasons this car was here. One of those reasons she came up with; Ike and Margaret were trying to set her up, again. It was hard enough dealing with her publishing agent forcing her to mingle with the male gender, she wasn't sure she could withstand any other romantic blind dates from family. Leena couldn't imagine the thought of having to fraternize with a member of the opposite sex for the remainder of her evening, especially when all she wanted to do was sink into bed with a bottle of red.

Leena checked her watch; It was 6:15 pm. The beautiful sunset over the horizon filled her vision with a spectacular array of blues, oranges, and yellows. No amount of expensively crafted cars could distract her from marveling at this beautiful scenery.

Leena wished she could stay outside and enjoy the earth's beauty for a while, but she was tired and in need of a good night's rest. Heck, maybe no one would notice that she was late and besides, she had a good excuse for her tardiness; she had her first meeting with the publishing company that was publishing her book.

The publishing agent whom she had hired a few months ago, when this whole publishing journey began, spent her time blabbing on for an unusually long amount of time about her upcoming novel with glee. Leena thought about that bottle of red wine along with the warmth of a mattress in the spare room with intense longing.

However, that expensively flashy car, signaled that something even more exhausting might be waiting inside.

Leena looked down at her crumpled business shirt and crooked pencil skirt, worried about her disgruntled appearance. She couldn't meet a man while she was dressed like this. looked down at herself feeling slightly self-conscious.

No, she wasn't going to let anything else ruin this perfectly fine evening, and so she marched right up to the door, grabbed the door handle and banged it down twice. She heard the sound of feet shuffling across the wood floor towards the front door.