Craving For Mr Klein Pt 03

~

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Welcome to the third and the final part of the Craving for Mr.Klein series. If you're new to this, please understand that this story started out as a student-teacher relationship which evolves with time. I have received messages telling me how this is inappropriate, etc. But so is a lot of content for a lot of people on this website. If this is not your type of story, now would be a good time to exit this page. Or you could give a shot at getting over this inhibition, your call. This is purely a work of fiction, any resemblance to any real world people dead or living is not intentional...you know the drill.

However, if this happens to be the kind of thing you like, I truly hope you enjoy it. Thanks for all the support shown to this series. You guys truly rock my socks.

~

You know what is priceless? Knowing that life is good.

I have grown up watching people around me being in a constant state of disappointment. Disappointment in their own lives, because of how high their expectations were. It's stupid, really, and I am no exception to that. I have had a lot of expectations, some ridiculously high and I have been disappointed a lot, too. But I have learnt from my mistakes and gotten over them.

Mistakes like hoping for contact from Caius. The stoic,

Adonis

-faced, apparently cold Caius Klein who taught me that maybe expectations should never scale certain limits.

Apparently

cold because he showed me a whole different warm side to him when we got closer. But I guess some things should be taken at face value too.

With a lot of hard work and good luck, life had taken me away from Rosewood and dropped me at Stanford for college. I would come home in the summer break only at the insistence of my parents. The first year away from home had given me time to be miserable in peace, without any interference from my family trying to figure out what was wrong with me. At the end of the year, I was still reluctant to go back to the town which still had so many memories of me and Caius together.

But the first trip back home removed all doubts from my mind. I realised that there were no remnants of our past. Caius had not come back at all, not even once. Sapphire, the young teacher who tried to hit on him in my senior year, had left soon after he had. Haley was studying in Milan and touring around Europe for that summer. Jay Fuller was safely behind bars.

There was absolutely

nothing

left to serve as a reminder of Caius. So what was holding me back from getting over him?

Hope.

The hope that maybe, someday, we would meet again and he would remember what we had.

He had said in his note to me that he would never forget me, that he would never be able to love anyone else the way he loves me. But I

know

that's not true. Life is transient, and so is love. Love may never really die, but it changes channels eventually. Caius might want to believe that he would never love again, but I knew how wrong it was. He would get over me one day, and that'd be the end of it.

My hope, however, was not to make him love me again if we ever met. It was the petty and selfish part of my heart that wanted him to remember me and what we had, even if it no longer existed.

But with every passing year, I could feel that hope wearing thinner and thinner until it no longer meant anything.

I was finally free.

This realisation had dawned on me with the force of a round-house kick to the face when Mum and Dad got divorced when I was in my third year of college. Mum had cheated on him, and had been the one to push for separation while Dad had still wanted to sort things out. To have to watch the ideal relationship fall apart this way was the

final

straw on my stack of high expectations.

I wish I had learnt all of it a lot sooner - that love does change channels, indeed. And that life is short and transient, and I can't waste it waiting for something impossible to happen.

While the lessons may have come later than when I had wanted them to, they did leave a strong impact. I persevered to work harder than I had before, focusing on college to channelise my grief in a productive way. And I

breezed

through it with total ease. The following years were spent in a big, quick blur of action. As a successful financial adviser, I get to travel to many places, extremely posh work places and life is

anything

but a disappointment.

It has been twelve years since I last sat on the stairs to the porch of the Rosewood house, breathing in the scent of the rain hitting the earth. It was the summer that witnessed the break up of the two pillars of my life. The following summers were mostly spent away from home, at Haley's. And I had nothing to come back to in Rosewood except my Dad after college, as I had sworn not to ever feel so low again.

Life may be transient, but it has a sick way of reminding you that some changes will feel unmistakably similar to the past. Because here I am, sitting on the same stairs to the porch of my Rosewood home, with the rain drenching half of my body, feeling sorry for myself. Hoping that it will wash away the pain of losing Dad.

***

It has been a week since the funeral. Terry had to leave early for a business meeting but his wife Sara, and their 4 year old son Gale have stayed behind to keep me company while I pack up things around the house before we sell it.

I sneeze loudly and I can hear its echo in the large basement. Gale giggles in response.

"Achooo!" He tries to mimic me.

"Don't do that, you'll wake up the ghosts." I glance at him, giving him a meaningful look.

"Aunt Van, there's

ghosts

in here?" His big, round eyes grow bigger as he looks around us. The cobwebs and the dust only add to the spookiness.

"Yeah, your dad didn't tell you that?"

"No, he did not. Tell me!" He is whispering now.

"Well, you see

here

," I point at the scar on my bottom lip, where Jay Fuller had bitten down hard when he had attacked me in his car years ago. "This was given to me by a ghost here. Your dad locked me in the basement as a joke for an hour, but when he came back to check on me, he found me in a pool of blood," I exaggerate a little and stifle my laughter at seeing Gale tightly clutching the bottom of my T-shirt.

"Did they take you to the

hoppitull

?"

"Yes, the ambulance took me to the hospital. Now, look. I've already sneezed a lot of times and I don't think the ghosts here are very happy with us right now. So you run along upstairs, tell your mum to get you dressed. I'll take you to the playground." I dust my hands and let out another loud sneeze and Gale starts to run for the door.

The weather is cool outside. There is a light, cool breeze and I wish I had brought a jacket. I look up from my book to check on Gale one more time. He is playing on the see-saw with a cute little blonde girl the same age as him.

Half an hour later, I put the book down to take off my glasses and rub my eyes. I'm still getting used to having glasses permanently but I would never wear lenses. I like my new look a lot. Pushing my shoulder length hair back into a ponytail, I realise how no one from high school would recognise me now. I was a chubby teenager with long brown curly hair with some highlights, no glasses, slightly wonky teeth. Now I have lost oodles of weight, my hair is jet black and short and the glasses throw me off the recognition charts

completely

.

I look up to find Gale. He is no longer playing around the see-saw twenty feet from the bench I am sitting on.

Panicked, I look around the ground. I instantly detect the little blond girl Gale had been playing with, but there is no sign of Gale himself. I look at the tall man standing next to her with his back towards me. He is holding a child in his arms.

As if he knew that I was looking at him, he puts the child down, and turns around to look at me. The child he just put down is

Gale

, who has already spotted me, and is now running towards me.

I look back up at the man standing in the same spot, who is now staring at me without a doubt. And I can't remember how to breathe.

Caius.

How on earth...

He is looking at me like he doesn't know me.

Of course

he doesn't recognise me.

And I don't want to meet him.

Gale reaches me and hugs my legs as hard as he can.

"Aunt Van, look!" He points to Caius.

"I made friends today. That's Cay and there's Amelia."

Caius waves at us and I seem to have lost control over my limbs because he is now walking towards us, holding Amelia.

No no no no no.

I can't leave now without looking like a total rude bitch. I squat down to dust Gale's clothes and adjust his shirt.

"Hello." I don't have to look up to know where that came from. I keep my head down, pretending to tie my laces, my fringe covering most of my face visible to him from the top.

"Amelia met Gale here and he was a very good boy. She couldn't stop talking about him and I had to see for mysel-" He stops talking as I straighten up and push my fringe away from my eyes.

Damn it.

I can't bring myself to smile. Not like this, now that I am seeing my self-created mental image of us meeting

actually

playing out in real life. He is still as breathtaking as before, clean shaven and a hint of the same old cologne hits me like a train at full speed. At 41, he has aged, alright, but in the kind of way that vintage wine does. He looks so much more mature, much more buff than my memory of him being lean. Caius 2.0 is a

beast

in his own right.

How the

fuck

do I get myself in these situations?

Realising that we're not saying anything, I open my mouth to thank him but I'm interrupted by Gale saying," This is my Aunt Van-Van."

Amelia stretches out her hand from Caius's hold towards me. I smile at her and shake her hand while saying hello.

It is the sound of my voice, along with the mention of the word 'Van' which finally makes him break the silence on his end. His eyes widen in absolute shock.

"

Vanessa

?" His voice is a tiny whisper, as if he is afraid to let it be true.

"Caius. Hello." I finally will myself to smile wryly.

He shakes his head in disbelief.

"I can't believe it's you. I hope I'm not imagining this."

"I'm just as surprised." I drag my eyes away from his face to look at Amelia. Could that be his

daughter?

"Dad, do you know her?" She asks.

My heart sinks a little at that question.

"Yes, baby, I do. She's...an old

friend.

"

"She's pretty." Amelia says seriously, her gorgeous blue eyes going over my face and hair.

Caius is married. I feel like I have been punched in the gut. Love

does

find other channels, indeed.

"This is Amelia, my daughter. And I take Gale is your nephew?"

What

was

I expecting? That he'd remain single

all

his life? Where was all my wisdom, all that I had taught myself to not feel like a loser ever again?

Talk,

Vanessa.

Say something.

"Yes, Gale's Terry's kid." I hope he remembered my brother's name.

"Oh, Terry. How is he?" Really? Are we going to catch up like nothing ever happened?

How is he acting so normal when I'm about to spontaneously combust at any moment?

"He's great." I think hard of something more to say but no words are coming to my mind at all.

"Well, we've got to go now. It was really nice to meet you and Gale. How about we take this up at my place? Dinner at 8, tomorrow evening?"

Is this happening for real...

"Here-" He has put down Amelia, magically fished out a pen from somewhere, and is already writing down his address on a small piece of paper.

He thrusts the paper into my hand, bends down to bump fists with Gale and before I know it, he has already picked up Amelia and is walking away.

***

"Blue or purple?" I hold up two dresses in front of the mirror.

"Pupple!" "Blue." Gale and Sara say at the same time.

"Thanks a lot, guys." I turn around to roll my eyes at them.

The blue one is a casual, knee length dress with a flow-y skirt. The purple one looks more formal.

"Pupple, it is." I say, having made my decision.

Half an hour later, I find myself holding Gale's little hand while ringing the door bell to a house which can only be explained as a mini mansion.

I had been so shocked to see Caius after all these years that I hadn't paid much attention to the address he had given me on that piece of paper. It was on the outskirts of Rosewood, close to the woods. Driving there had made me realise that it wasn't outside the woods, it was well within it.

I am not the best at explaining architecture, but this house looks like something along the lines of modern architecture. Clean, minimalist, and all glass. It looks like there are three storeys to it, the floors visible on the outside because of the massive glass window section along the length of the whole building, which allows natural light on the staircase winding up the storeys.

Caius was, or maybe still is, a high school teacher.

How

the fuck did he get to live in

this

? .

The wooden door opens and I see Caius.

"Vanessa."

I reach out with my hand, expecting a hand shake. Distant, formal. But he steps forward and wraps me in a bear hug.

I feel him inhale deeply as he buries his head in my hair. But it is as if he realises what he is doing that he suddenly releases me and steps back. He bends down to hug Gale and ruffle his hair. I see Amelia quietly peeking from behind the door.

"Hello there." I smile at her, giving her the flowers I brought them. She holds them tightly with both her hands.

"Come on in. Dinner's almost ready."

I lead Gale inside. If I was surprised to see the house from the outside, I don't have words to explain how I feel now that I am inside. As minimalist, modern and nearly cold it looks on the outside, the inside is quite the shocker. It is all wooden, warm, and homely. This house

couldn't

be more like Caius.

He leads me to the kitchen-cum-dining room, divided by a wall section. The fire burning in the fireplace adds a warm glow to the whole room.

I walk over to see him garnishing a salmon dish.

"This is quite the place, Caius. Is this new...were you here when you taught...?" I don't even know how to put words straight without making a total

fool

of myself.

"Ah, well yes." He glances up at me and smiles. His eyes go over my dress, lingering at the hemline near my calves, then back up to my waist, the chest and finally resting on my face. "I mean, it is new in the sense that I had it renovated a couple of years ago. The house is pretty old. It belonged to my foster parents. They passed when I was 19."

I simply stare at him working around the kitchen while he talks.

Caius in the system. Caius as an orphan.

"I can't believe you never told me this before..." I close my eyes, my breathing feeling a little ragged. We used to talk about our lives like everything was normal. He had shared such small details about his life, his family, without disclosing the fact that he had been referring to his foster family this whole time. Stories about the 10 year old Caius who idolise Mr.Darcy, who was reading away his time in an orphanage in an attempt to feel better.

"Vanessa." I open my eyes to see him looking intently at me.

"I'm not a gangster, or a murderer. No secret double life, if that's what you're thinking. My parents were rich, they were nearly 80 and they did not die because of a disease or an accident. I inherited this. They adopted me quite late. They were distant relatives of my birth mother."

I try to imagine Caius as a child. A good looking, precocious child who must've gone through God knows what before he was adopted.

He talks a little more about his childhood, how his birth parents had died in a car crash when he was five, and at eleven, Gerald and Josephine Klein had tracked him down in Chicago to take him with them. The Rosewood home was not one they lived in much, which explains how no one knows Caius and his history, given how small the town is and how everyone knows everyone here.

I occasionally see Caius checking me out from the corner of his eyes when he thinks I'm not looking.

"Where is Amelia's mother?" I ask, no longer able to hold back the question.

"

Eloise

...she died in childbirth. There were complications, and Amelia was pre-mature..." A sad smile takes over his mouth, reminded of some old memory of him and Eloise. He must've been heartbroken.

"I'm so sorry, Caius." I can't look at him anymore.

"After Eloise, with Amelia, I could no longer work and look after a newborn at the same time. I decided to move back here and get started on my writing. It was the best decision, really." Despite the death of his wife, he looks content. He truly is happy with what he has.

He had fallen in love with someone, in spite of all that he had said about it to me. Of course, I knew how wrong it was to stay held up on a past flame, but...

I hear the sound of shuffling of ceramic plates and spoons as he takes them out to take to the dining room.

He leaves the kitchen without a word more.

Dinner was a quiet affair for the adults. We were entertained by Amelia sharing stories about her imaginary friends with us and Gale talking about ghosts in our Rosewood basement. I didn't miss the way Caius kept looking at Amelia, pushing her curly blonde hair out of her face constantly, feeding her by hand sometimes. Amelia, as beautiful as she was, could not look more different from him with her blue eyes and blond hair. Maybe she took after her mother.

Caius was a single dad right from day one, and he looked like an exceptionally good one. My heart felt like it wanted to explode because of the overload of emotions - surprise, sadness, affection, pain, nostalgia. Life could've been so different had we been together. But we were not.

I wait for Caius to come back downstairs from putting Amelia to bed. Gale was complaining about being tired after dinner, and now it is nearly 11:30. Time to go.

Seeing Caius walking down the stairs, I get up to stand from the couch.

"Time to go bud-" I turn to look at Gale, who has fallen fast asleep next to me.

"Ah, don't wake him up." Caius gestures at me to stay put.

"But we have to go... it's getting late. I'll carry him to the car." I try to stand back up.

Caius shakes his head in a no.

"It's too late to drive back alone. Why don't you just crash here for the night?"

Oh no.

"Oh, Caius, thanks but no, we couldn't impose on you like that."

"It's alright, I am the one suggesting it. I'm cool with it. Gale would probably start crying in the middle of you carrying him back to the car, and it wouldn't be easy. You must be tired too. C'mon, I'll put him in Amelia's room."

Before I can protest more, he picks up Gale and is going back up the stairs.

I take that moment to call up Sara to tell her our plan. She protests a little but lets it go after telling me

at least

thrice to call her if Gale needs anything.

Putting the phone down, my eyes land on some framed pictures on the mantle piece. Pictures of Amelia as a baby, Caius holding her at the hospital. I see a picture of Caius as a teenager with his foster parents. They look incredibly happy.

There is one more photograph without a frame, which looks like it has been pushed to the back on purpose. Looking behind at the staircase to check for Caius, I decide to take it out.

A beautiful woman's face smiles at me. She has hair nearly as jet black as Caius's. Flipping it over, I notice that it is signed E at the back. I stare at it for a moment before realising that this is Eloise.