Abandoned but Not Alone (27 page)

Smiling
Jackson drawled,
“
Now what do
you think?
”
as they
shared a sinister smile.

Aviva
observed each man as they sat in their respective pose of contemplation,
Jackson the elder statesman, with his legs crossed, leaning back reposed, his
back comfortably supported by the couch, hands folded on this knees. Josh the
wise cracking devil-may-care younger brother, his arms splayed across the back
of the couch as though he were an open book, his ankle resting across his knee.
Jake in contrast sat alone, gripping the armrests of his solitary chair as
though he were holding on for dear life, so tight was his hold his knuckles
showed white at the strength of his grip.  He too was a big man, taking up all
the space the winged-back chair had to offer. Although he was leaning back with
knees extended from corner to corner in what should have been relaxation,
however, his death grip and set features denoted the polar opposite. Jake
looked drawn as tight as a bow that was ready to snap with too much tension;
his stare fixed on Jason
–
which
Aviva could tell was getting to him. Jason retained the same forward position,
having sensed Jake
’
s stare he
was currently eyeballing him back, chin jutted forward as though awaiting a
sudden movement from a tense Jake.

Deciding to
leave them to their own devices to check on dinner, she left the room in search
of Drake. Passing the dining room she spotted the Drakes
’
putting the finishing touches to the
evening meal she had asked them to prepare. Assuring her that all was ready,
Aviva withdrew to round up the men for dinner. By the time she got back, she
saw that nothing had changed, they were all still sitting in silence, one
relaxed, one reposed and two still glowering at each other. She didn
’
t want to know what, if anything had been
said in her absence, from the look on their faces it would probably contain
lots of bleeps. Plastering a parody of a smile on her face she breezed into the
room announcing that dinner was ready. Not waiting to see if they followed, she
turned and exited the room once again.

It would
seem that good manners had prevailed and they were all now seated around the
dining table. Aviva looked around the table offering Josh and Jackson a small
smile. Jason and Jake on the other hand she gave looks of warning that silently
conveyed her message,
‘
don
’
t start anything at
this table
–
or else
’
. That accomplished, Aviva bowed her
head, and if ever a meal needed to be blessed it was this one.
“
Please bow your heads.
”
Aviva said looking around the table;
Jackson did so immediately while the others looked at her as though she had
just grown another head. Aviva repeated her request through gritted teeth,
enunciating each word clearly,
“
I said bow
your heads.
”
  Staring
each man down until they complied with her wishes, that task accomplished, she
also bent her head and closed her eyes.
“
Dear Lord, bless the food that has been so beautifully prepared,
may it nourish our bodies.
”
Thinking
she had completed the blessing the men began to move around. She didn
’
t bother to look up, continuing as though
their movement hadn
’
t
distracted her.
“
Lord, I
also pray that you will bless all those gathered at this table, so they may
come to know the blessing you have bestowed upon them by bringing them
together. Amen.
”

Silence
–
“
I said amen!
”

Four hurried
amens
’
were quickly said
from around the table. Her right temple began pounding, which only ever
happened when she was extremely stressed and these men seemed to have the knack
of stressing her to her limit. If they knew what was good for them, they had
better make nice and not push her. She didn
’
t much care how big they were, she would take them down
–
hard.  Giving them hard stares she
smiled,
“
well what are you all
waiting for, eat.
”
Picking up
their napkins the men laid them across their laps and began passing around
serving dishes making their selections in silence.

Jake wasn
’
t hungry, hadn
’
t been since Jason
’
s
discovery. He pushed his food around his plate lost in thought. By nature he
was a protector, realizing this fact about himself long ago and accepting it. 
When Josh was born he remembered an almost overwhelming need to ensure he
always knew where he was, that he was okay.  It started with him sneaking into
Josh
’
s room late at night
to sit curled up in a chair he had pulled close to his cot so he would be on
hand should his brother need him. His father had found him in this position on
numerous occasions. No assurances of Josh
’
s well-being could convince Jake to leave him by himself. In the
end his father had moved them in together to ensure Jake would stay in his bed.

As they got
older, Josh would tag along behind Jake at all times
–
he didn
’
t mind, in
fact he preferred it that way; at least he knew his brother was safe. Now at
thirty-four he had another brother, a twin brother, that had probably needed
him and he had never known about him.  Jake had bad feelings about the life
Jason had led. Impatient, Josh had wanted to hire investigators to find out
about Jason
’
s life. He
and his father had refused to allow him to go forward with the idea. Their
first meeting with Jason had been difficult enough, if he ever got an inkling
they had instructed investigators to delve into his life, they may lose him
before they even had a chance to get to know each other, and he did want to get
to know this angry man that sat before him. He wanted to know every last detail
about his life. Without realizing, Jake had started staring at Jason again. He
was brought out of his reverie by Jason
’
s angry words and a fork pointing in his direction.

“
What the hell are you staring at me like
that for?
”

“
What
…
?
”
he asked
surprised at Jason
’
s verbal
attack.

“
I said stop starting at me
–
I don
’
t like it!
”

“
Make me!
”

Jackson and
Josh were both surprised by Jake
’
s response.
Not known for having a quick temper, he would normally slow burn before an
eruption. But Jason seemed to have an adverse effect on him. Pushing back their
chairs at the same time, both men shot to their feet and faced off across the
table. Shocked neither Jackson nor Josh moved
–
but Aviva did. Banging her fist against the table she managed
to gain their attention.

Pointing a
finger at Jacob and then Jason she muttered through gritted teeth,
“
You and you sit down, - now!
”

Josh
sniggered, swinging around to face him Aviva flashed him a deadly look.
“
And you zip it!
”
He wanted to laugh out loud, but he wasn
’
t stupid, he knew he would be much better
off not drawing her attention away from his brothers, besides he was having too
much fun at their expense. Raising his forefinger and thumb to his lips he
mimed a zipping action. She was not amused.

“
Aviva, I won
’
t stand for you speaking to me like that in my own house, not
now, not ever!
”

“
Well sit down then, I don
’
t care
–
just keep quiet.
”
She
purred, sarcasm dripping from her every word.

It was Jake
’
s turn to snigger at Jason
’
s expense, Aviva was having none of it.
“
Don
’
t you dare laugh at him! Who the hell do you think you are, and
didn
’
t I just tell you to
sit down and be quiet?!
”

“
Aviva
…”
they both growled in perfect synchronization.

She wasn
’
t prepared to listen to another word any
of them had to say. The top of her head felt as though it were going to
explode. Soundlessly pushing back her chair, she removed her napkin from her
lap, folded it to a perfect rectangle and placed it beside her untouched meal.

“
You know what you can all do, you can all
stuff off!
”
At their
incredulous looks Aviva glanced at Jackson to see his head bent, his napkin
covering his face, his shoulders moving up and down.
“
Now look what you
’
ve all
done, you made Jackson cry! Jackson, I
’
m so sorry, please don
’
t cry
–
all of you, apologize this minute.
”

With one
hand still holding his napkin to his face his spare hand banged the table
repeatedly. Unable to hold back any longer, Jackson erupted in laughter.
Shocked beyond belief at his laughter, Aviva was offended, in fact she was
highly offended.
“
You are all
barbarians, you know that, right?
”
she said
in a huff of exasperation before sitting back down.

Rising to
his feet Jackson held up his glass.
“
I would
like to propose a toast, to Aviva
…
The General.
Josh stood joining the others, as they raised their glasses and chanted, for
once in total accord,
“
The
General!
”

“
Yeah, and don
’
t you forget it!
”

The rest of
the meal passed mainly in silence, Jackson and Josh tried to initiate
conversation but failed miserably. Aviva who had long since lost her appetite
and not really feeling very sociable didn
’
t even try to join in the attempted conversation, answering
direct queries where possible with a monosyllable.  Needing some space from so
much testosterone, Aviva excused herself from the table and made her way to her
room. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Standing by
her bedroom window Aviva looked out at the night sky. Running through her mind
were thoughts of the men downstairs and her inability to fathom a mind such as
Diana
’
s. The woman sounded
like a calculating bitch who had sunk so low as to sell her own children. Aviva
understood flaws; she had more than her fair share.  Her temper for one and she
was something of a control freak
–
oh and not
forgetting she was very bossy.  Snorting, she shook her head and smiled,
‘
The General
’
–
she kinda
liked it.

Running a
bath as hot as she could stand it accompanied by her favorite bubble bath;
Aviva climbed in, closing her eyes, relaxing, allowing her head to rest against
the rim of the oval bath. Exhaling in pleasure she attempted to clear her mind
of the evening
’
s events
and give herself over to the pleasure of the hot water caressing her skin.
Hearing movement in her bedroom she didn
’
t open her eyes, she knew who it was, had even been expecting
him.

Jason stood
by the threshold of the bathroom watching Aviva as she relaxed in her bath; the
scent of jasmine filling the air as the flames from tiny tea light candles
twinkled in the darkened room. Steam rising all around her leaving a layer of
moisture glistening on her face and what seemed like small crystals glinting on
her long eyelashes.

Walking
towards her, Jason stooped down and ran his fingertips back and forth along
Aviva
’
s exposed throat
gathering moisture in his wake.
“
I can
’
t tell you how beautiful you are to me,
how having you here, in my home makes me feel.
”
  Turning her head in his direction she opened her eyes as Jason
lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss. It always
surprised her how gently he could kiss her.  From what she had seen of his
interactions with most people, he seemed to march a straight line through life
and was willing to take out whoever or whatever was in his path. But when they
were alone, as they were now, his fingertips feeling as light as a feather
brushing against her skin, she felt as though they were the only two people in
the world.