Fur Cara

Chapter eleven

They stopped at a local pub a long way out of town. He waited for her at the bar while she went to change out of the bogous wedding gown to the more comfortable cloth he had packed for her. Few minutes later, she came out in a black T-shirt and jeans, the wedding gown stuffed in a traveling bag. She sat beside him and ordered a martini.
    "What changed your mind?" It was the first question she asked since she jumped on his bike.
      "I couldn't imagine life without you." He said. It was the truth. After he had asked her to leave, he had been miserable. He had a hard time falling asleep, took excess alcohol and could not write any good song. The weeks that followed made him think hard. Caroline was the woman he wanted and nothing could change that. He knew that no sacrifice was too great to make for her so he had gone ahead and quit his job, bought John's house and crashed her wedding knowing without doubt that she would go with him.
He took her hands in his.
    "Cara, I don't want to steal your life from you. You can still go back to your family.
Caroline smiled. "I would never have gotten on that bike if I wasn't sure of what I wanted."
    "For now, I can't give you a big house or cars or expensive clothes....I can only give you myself."
    "That's enough for me."
He kissed her softly.  It felt good to have her back. She was his addiction. He pulled back to look into her eyes.
    "This may not be the right setting..." He pulled out a small jewelry box from his pocket and opened it. "Marry me Cara."
Caroline stared at the small golden band plain but beautiful.
    "Do you have to ask?" She said with a bright smile. "Yes. I will marry you."
They continued their journey with a new awareness that their whole life was ahead of them, silently promising to  love each other for the rest of their lives.

One year later

Mikhail stared at the figures on the business report that was on his desk. The figures were depreciating every month and it was only a matter of time before the company collapses. The press were breathing down his neck. They were hungry for information not just about the company but 'The Scandal'.
The scandal.
It had been the too story in the newspapers for weeks, how his bride had eloped on their wedding day leaving him running after her. He had been so close to getting what he wanted, so close to his lifetime solution but Caroline had been taken away from him by a lowlife. He regretted that he had given Kelvin only a beating instead of making him disappear for life.
He had searched for them for a year but it seemed like they had dropped off the face of the earth. The police and private investigators he had hired had not found a trace of them. He had to continue searching. It was paramount he did if he did not want to lose all that he has.

An entire year had gone by and their lives had changed completely but they were happy. Their apartment with its small living room, bedroom, kitchen and bath was one of the many small apartments in a large gray building. It was no mansion but it was their personal haven. Over the months, they had made it comfortable. Caroline had made little artworks that served as a house decoration and Kelvin had learnt to fix anything from a hole in the wall to a broken pipe.
Their social life was still kept under wraps. They had friendly neighbors, made new friends that they hung out with but rarely told the story of how they had left their home. They were both aware that a search was ongoing for the both of them and while none of them were scared, they were not ready to face the police and the media. They created a quiet, peaceful life for themselves and they loved it.
Caroline got a job as a waitress in a road side diner by the name 'maggy's diner' while Kelvin worked odd jobs and played music in every place that he could. They were not rich but they were comfortable. Caroline didn't miss the mansion or the life she used to live. Being Kelvin's wife was everything it promises itself to be. They were not a perfect couple and fought a lot but he loved her and showed her every single day- sneaking out of work just to check on her, bringing chocolate bars once in a while, stealing kisses whenever they were working together. She loved the music that he played every night on an old piano they had acquired. Sometimes it was jumbled when he was trying to compose a song, other times, it was a beautiful sound that lulled her to sleep. She loved him as much as he loved her and wanted to live that way forever.
One beautiful morning, she woke with a pounding in her head. Headache were not new to her. She had always had them even when she was in boarding school but this time, the pain was blinding. She winced, stood and went to the small kitchen where she poured herself a steaming cup of coffee. Kelvin had pasted a sticky note on the fridge telling her he had gone to work. She went about her daily business of cleaning the house before going out.
"Good morning Margaret." Caroline greeted as she walked into the diner.
Margaret, the owner of the diner was a robust woman in her early sixties. She had a beautiful cap of white hair and a smile that was enchanting despite the wrinkles around her mouth. She reminded Caroline of Agnes.
    "Good morning Cara. How are you doing today?"
    "I guess I'm fine." Caroline said as she dropped her bag and hung up her coat. The pounding headache had subsided but she could still feel it.
    "You look a little pale." Margaret said.
    "Why won't she? When she only eats peanuts!" Poe, Margaret's husband said.
    "Morning Poe. What do you have cooking?" Poe was not just Margaret's husband but the cook. He was a short stout man whose age could not conceal the fact that he was a handsome man."
    "Just burgers. It's not a busy morning." Poe said. "Hungry?"
Caroline shook her head. "I've had something to eat."
    "It is no crime to have breakfast twice. In fact, I highly recommend it." Poe said.
Caroline tied her apron. "I have customers to attend to."
Just then, the bell sounded announcing the presence of a customer.
She got off work at six that evening and decided to pay Kelvin a surprise visit at the club where he played. She had with her a basket full of food that Margaret had insisted she take. She took a bus that stopped a few yards from the club. It was located in the hottest part of the city where all activities were hyped. It was where all sort of people hung out from business men to street thugs. Due to the high rate of crime, Kelvin rarely let her come to the club and even when she did, he was always with her.
As always, the club was dimly lighted and crowded with people. Another band was playing a loud jazz that increased the intensity of the pounding in her head.
She greeted the bartender with a friendly smile and went on to the backroom where she knew Kelvin would be. He was there, in the midst of other performers, most of them high on drugs and drunk but it was not the sight if the other performers that set her on fire. It was the sight of one of the strippers rubbing herself against Kelvin.