Dandelion Lover

"Damn it all and the devil who made me succ.u.mb to the temptations... I should have known better!" I shouted at the cars passing me by while I was speeding down the road to my little haven. I needed to calm down and fast.

"I can't let myself be trampled by those hyenas." Soon I was in the usual spot where I leave my car and taking a cigarette out of the crumbled pack I lit it up with a trembling hand. I needed to think and strategize so I won't have any losses.

"First I must make sure of who is on my side and who is not. I'll probably need Vivian's help with that, since I know I can count on her. Then I need to keep my clients from going over to Rob, I'll start giving calls later in the day. I must make sure Rob never has the nerve to steal a client from me again!" I said and I could feel my lips twitching from the nervous state I was in.

I wanted to laugh like a madman and at the same time I felt small and humiliated like I never was before.

"I trusted him... he was my friend for years, and we were mostly partners in the company, but that wasn't enough for him. I have to hand it to him, he really pulled the wool over my eyes, I couldn't even see through the mask he was wearing. Really, he did such a good job at pretending to be a friend..." And disappointment washed over me as the ash from my cigarette was blown out by the increasing wind.

While trying to shrug off the uneasiness surrounding me I grabbed my phone and went through the list of clients. I took my time to call each and every one of them and even do small talk although my whole body was screaming to just hit something and rebel, leaving everyone and everything to fend for themselves.

But I couldn't do that, I had a wife, employees, responsibility towards my clients, things that bound me tight to the problems of the world, unable to escape them. So I did the best next thing, damage control.

Hours passed and I needed to charge my phone's battery before it died on me. I took my time to finish my conversations and plugged the phone into its charger. Lighting up the last of my cigarette I felt I could finally breathe more at ease.

I took the time to look around me, indeed this was my way to the safe heaven I was so attached to, as soon as I locked my phone in the car, I let myself go and simply admired the nature all around me. The quiet atmosphere was relaxing and the way the sun was fading behind the mountains on the horizon made me feel like I was once again a pure being, with no worries of tomorrow, no baggage from the past, just me.

As I was enjoying the peacefulness of nature with its small sounds and fresh fragrances I suddenly heard my phone buzz. All my problems seemed to come crashing down on me once more but I knew I had to answer because this was my responsibility. I unlocked the door and answered my phone only to hear Vivian's' panicked voice.

"Luc, come help, I can't control her." She said and I could hear her grunting from the effort.

"What's happening?"

"It's a long story, I need you to come to help me now, meet me at the Sunrise Bar over at St. Street." She ordered with a high-strung voice and the conversation was cut short by her hanging up on me.

"Whatever can it be more urgent than my business... and for Vivian to care so much... it must be something important." And with that thought, I got into my car and drove all the way into town.

Entering the bar I saw something I never thought I would, Vivian was slouching over the bar with a flashy c.o.c.ktail in front of her and at her feet, a fallen Katelyn was drinking away from a wine glass, barely keeping it stable.

They both looked like they had been in a fight and their makeup was smudged from sweat and crying. It was really a sight I wasn't used to seeing. Closing in on them I suddenly felt the smell of brandy hovering all around the two women and noticing they're not really stable I took precautions when approaching them.

Soon enough Vivian recognized me and jumped at the chance to bring me closer to her, while at the same time she almost tripped over Kate. If this day had been any better I probably would have died of laughter, however, by now I was more shocked at the unlikely combination of Vivian with Kate than anything else.

"What happened to you guys?" I asked trying to make Vivian look at me as she seemed to be more awake than Katelyn that was mostly sleeping on the floor hugging her glass.

"Well... we came out to celebrate Rob being an a.s.s..." Vivian slurred as her words struggled to make sense. My puzzled look must have been noticed by her as she struggled to explain to me the situation as best as she could.

"You'll need a drink!" She said and asked the bartender for whiskey on the rocks. I felt the urge to have a drink, against my better judgment; I relaxed a bit when the yellow liquid was poured over the crackling ice in front of me.

"So..." Vivian continued her explanation "We..." she pointed lazily to Kate and herself, "now know.. what an a.s.s Robby dear is..." she finished taking another sip of her c.o.c.ktail.

"You knew that already didn't you?" I asked her as I motioned for another drink.

"I had my doubts.... but then poor Kitty... she was so wrong..." And soon my eyes were on the small body huddled between the base of the bar stool and the bar. I almost felt sorry for her before the memories of that morning came back to me, and most importantly the memories from the time we were so close together, it all seemed more of a dream I wished for than reality.

Before I could find out more about what happened, Vivian was already out cold, with her head placed in her hands over the bar. I took another swig of my drink and called a cab for us.

"Damn it!" Kate suddenly shouted when I was trying to get her into the cab, then her eyes slowly opened and she looked at me with a frown and a small pout on her lips.