Love and ego episode 15 – finale

Love and ego episode 15 (fianle)
When Claire arrived, her aunt was waiting for her in the train station and immediately she got off the train, she suddenly threw her arms around her aunt’s neck and burst into tears. Rendell on the other hand sat on a park bench all day, thinking. He hærdly noticed the people passing by or talking around him. He had dialed her number more than a hundred times but his calls ended up going to voicemail and he had left her a lot of messages, begging her to at least talk to him.
Rendell had no idea what to do next and by the time he got home at night after driving around a second time in search of her all to no avail, he got home and collapsed in the sitting room and knowing that he was alone in the dim-lit sitting room, he broke down, cried and let all his misery out with his head hung to his chest and his elbows on his knees. He was still sobbing quietly when he felt a gentle hand on his back and he lifted his head to find his grandmother staring down at him with deep concern in her eyes.
“I never knew you had tear ducts.” She teased. “I always presumed you knew not what tears was but now I can see what love can do to even the hærdest of men.”
“Grandma, she’s gone.” He lamented, trying to stop his tears. It was embarrassing to cry before anyone. The last time he had cried was sixteen years ago when he had lost his dog, a Labrador to a cat accident. Even when his father had died, he didn’t shed a single tear because he believed that men weren’t supposed to cry. Crying was a sign of weakness.
“Don’t worry dear, she’ll come back. She’s just hurt and is possibly going through much worse than you are right now.”
“I love her. I didn’t even get the chance to tell her that.” He said solemnly.
“What will be, will be, Vincent. If you two are meant to be together, she’ll come back.”
“What if she doesn’t?” He was skeptical. “What if she’s never coming back.”
“Then you just have to sit back and let destiny run its full course.”
Rendell heaved a sigh, stood up and k-ssed his grandmother’s cheek and excused himself. Instead of going to bed, he simply grabbed a bottle of whiskey, sat down in his room and filled his belly with liquor to numb the emotional pain he was going through. Gregory found him a complete mess in the morning but Rendell didn’t care, all he wanted was to drink more and forget his troubles. After much persuasion from his grandma, he freshened up and went to work but he could hærdly do anything. He became easily irritated and could hærdly concentrate. Locking himself up in his office, he paced the length of it as he still tried to reach Claire on phone but her line was never reachable.
In frustration, he scre-med and hurled his phone against the wall and angrily swept off the contents of his desk to the floor with his arm. Soon, he grabbed his suit and walked out of the building then drove down to Claire’s apartment, hoping that he would find her there but her door was still locked. He called Gregory and asked him to make a key replica which he used to unlock the door and gained access to the apartment.
He looked around and noticed that she had left her closet door ajar and due to some spaces and empty hangers, he knew that she had packed up and was probably never coming back. Sliding down against the wall, he placed his hands on his head with his knees on his shoulder and he squeezed his eyes shut, hoping that this was all a dream and that when he opened them, Claire would be standing right in front of him, but that was not meant to be. Dejected, he got up and left the apartment.
Every day, he would come to the apartment and sit on the bed facing the window, hoping that Claire would one day walk in. He hoped that she would need something important and she would come back to the apartment to get it but there was no sign of her. Everyday, he would sit in her apartment and would watch the passing train or at night when he returned, he could hear the faint sound of the couple after s€× next door.
Days became weeks and weeks became months. He lost interest in almost everything and his hope of ever finding the one woman that mattered so much to him, diminished. He stopped really taking care of himself. He refused to shave and he grew a beard. He didn’t really care about anything anymore. All efforts from his loved ones to cheer him up was futile and the weeks passed on that way.
One evening, while he was busy at the gym, Gregory came to him that he had a chat from blue_doll. He ignored it and continued his exercise but when Gregory advised him to just continue his chat with his online friend and maybe that could help ease his mind off Claire and help him heal faster, he reluctantly agreed. Soon, he was going to the office again, he shaved his beard and began to pay attention more to a lot of things he had initially ignored and this was all because of blue_doll. They chatted like they had never ceased communication with each other for months and everything was going so well.
One day, after thorough thinking, he asked her if she was in town. She replied in the negative and he said that he would like them to meet up and perhaps have coffee together. Not that blue_doll was that eager to meet up but her aunt urged her to give the stranger a try and that could help her pick the pieces of her life together. She sighed and agreed to meet him in December. When December came, seven months after she had left, she waited in the park where she had told Salmon to meet her. It was snowing and she was cold despite wearing the appropriate outfit. Hiding her gloved hands in the pockets of her hooded sweater, she kept glancing to the left and the right, hoping that she would see any sign of him.
He had told her that he would be wearing a white sweater and a black hat while she had told him that she would be wearing a red hooded sweater and a cream hat. Waiting for him felt like hours and soon, she concluded that he wasn’t coming and she was not going to let herself freeze to death in the cold all because she was waiting for a friend she had never seen before, who might either be a rapist or a serial killer.
Finally giving up, after waiting for twenty more minutes, she threw on her hood decided to leave. She walked out of the park and when she reached the road and was about to cross it, she was too lost in thought with her head down and her hoodie covering her view of the road at her sides that she wasn’t aware of the incoming car until its tires screeched on the w-t ground and came to an abrupt halt.
Having fallen down out of fear, her heart beat crazily in her chest for she couldn’t believe that she had almost got knocked down by a car a second time and on the same s₱0t as the first time.She heard the door open and close as the driver came down and hurried to her aid. He was wearing a blue sweater but she was still in shock to notice.
“Are you okay?” He got on a knee before her as he asked in concern, trying to peer into her lowered face. “Are you hurt?”
“No…” she managed to say, shaking her head. “I…I…am fine, thanks.”
He took her hand and helped her stand while she started to dust the snow off her body. Her hood fell back to reveal her face and he frowned as he observed her now, unable to believe his eyes. “Claire?”
She froze then slowly lifted her eyes to meet his and was shocked to see him. “Rendell?” before she could say anything else, he suddenly grabbed her in a tight hug, that she was pulled up to stand on her toes.
“You are choking me.” She managed to say and he quickly let her go. Not sharing in his joy, she simply pulled some of her hair away from her face. “Hi.” She said sullenly.
Surprised at her reaction, he grew worried now. “Is something wrong?”
“I expected you to be married by now.” She said, not noticing a ring on his finger.
“What! To Rhonda?! jeez! I can’t believe that you didn’t even wait to ask me before you took off and just vanished without a trace! Rhonda and I have nothing going on, she’s just an ex who jilted me and we had broken up years back.” He explained. “I had no idea why she suddenly showed up out of the blue and even more disappointed that you could easily be a pushover.” He stated.
She frowned in puzzlement, now developing interest in his explanation. “She was just an ex?”
“Yes!” He stated. “Honestly…” He exhaled. “We have really got to stop meeting like this, me always almost running you over.”
She sighed and simply began to sheepishly looked down at her shoes as she kicked several flakes of snow. “I’m sorry.” She mumbled, her voice choked with tears.
He simply grabbed her again and began to pelt her face with k-sses. From the corner of her eyes, she saw several people in their cars smiling at them, some were giggling and some guys gave sharp whistles.
“Rendell?” She managed to call, trying to get him to stop. “Rendell! Cut it out already, you are embarrassing me!” She said shyly, her cheeks blushing as more cars passed and stared at them.
“Okay.” He stepped back, trying to pull himself together. He was just too elated to see her after several months and then something struck him as he stared at her sweater now. “Wait, why are you on red?”
Understanding too, she said, “And…you are on white!”
“You are blue_doll?” He asked in disbelief.
“And you, Salmon?!” She gasped.
Then they chorused together. “We have been chatting with each other right from the beginning and we had no clue?!”
“Oh my God!” He said in amazement then suddenly threw his arms in the air and said aloud so everyone who cared to listen could hear. “THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!!!”
She laughed now but gasped again when he suddenly scooped her up into his arms. Trying to struggle and get back down, they both fell on the pile of snow on the sidewalk, stared at each other and suddenly burst into laughter that tears came from her eyes.
“Marry me.” He said, looking up into her eyes.
She slowly stopped laughing, unable to believe what she had just said. “What?” She whispered.
“Will you marry me, Claire Smith?” He proposed right away.
She swallowed hærd then said with a mischievous smile, “On one condition.”
★
That evening, her condition was to get her revenge for being humiliated and as she watched from the patio above while he stood below clad in just his brief and shivering from the cold, she turned to Gregory who was standing beside her with a smirk on his face.
“Release the dogs.” She ordered.
“With pleasure, ma’am.” He said and pressed a red button on a device and the gate of the dogs’ cage flew open. “I hope you told him not to order the dogs to stand down till you are satisfied?” He asked.
“He knows the rule.” She winked at him. “Payback is a bitch!”
They heard barking and soon the dogs came charging out. As soon as Rendell saw them, he fled and the dogs went after him, chasing him around the house but the chase was hilarious because the snow made the chase difficult for both man and dogs.
Grandma soon joined them. “What’s going on?” She asked then gasped when she saw the dogs chasing after Rendell. “Well, this is something fun to watch and I hope it’s going to take long.”
“Yes it will…” Claire said. “It sure will, Grandma.”
Thanks for reading.
The End
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