Genre: Romance
Rating: NC 17
Disclaimer : Standard disclaimers apply. The characters belong to Shalz R.
Chapter 13: Part One : Let's Go Camping!
Ian woke up early as usual; he was too excited to be sleeping anyway. His plan was set! Now only if Sonya would agree and Mr. McKenzie would give her the required day-offs, everything would be perfect. “Hmm … maybe I could convince Mr. McKenzie for approving her leaves, if he does have a problem with it.”
It was still early in the morning but he knew that Sonya would be up. First thing in the morning he wanted to call her up. He smiled to himself as he got up. He wanted to go for a walk as usual, but he knew he would turn towards her house. He wanted to talk to her personally about the trip but he knew that on a working day, she would probably be busy getting things ready.
“Maybe I can call her at the office. But no, she said she would be at the site. That means I’d have to call up before she leaves home. But I want to speak to her in person! Maybe I could drop her at the work site!” he thought. Yes! That plan suggested itself!
He took his walk in the estate itself, got ready and had his breakfast before time. He didn’t know what time she would leave home, though he did know that she was punctual. She used to reach Maxwell Manor at nine sharp. “That means I’d have to be there by eight-thirty or so. It is eight-fifteen. I better start. I think I’d drive myself. I don’t want Jean telling all the family about it, like he did last time.”
He got his car out and started towards that little house between the woods.
* * *
Sonya had finished her housework and was done with her breakfast. Dressed in jeans and shirt she was now almost ready to leave. It was eight-fifteen.
“Just the dishes need to be done and that’s it. I’ll reach there before time I guess!” she smiled.
Her routine was simple. She did her housework, got ready for work, had her breakfast, and got her bicycle to the bus-stand where she parked it and boarded her bus to the workplace. In the evening got down at her stop, got her bicycle and pedaled home.
She had locked the doors, and was piling her files on the bicycle, her bag across her shoulder crossing her chest. A car pulled up and she saw Ian get out of it.
“Oh no! Not this time in the morning! This is no time for surprises!” she said to herself and smiled at him, as he waved and ran towards her.
“Hey Sonya! Good morning!” he shouted from the gate.
“Good morning! Come in!” she said as she started walking her bicycle towards the gate.
“Going to work! Looks like I caught you just in time! I was hoping I’d catch you before you left! You’re going on that?” he said looking at the bicycle.
Sonya laughed, “No. This takes me to the bus-stand, where I take my bus.”
“I see! Say, what if I drop you today?”
Sonya's smile disappeared. She had seen the newspapers. The party would be the topic of gossip all over the place. Her office, the workers on the site, even the regular passengers of her bus! Her photographs with him were all over the place. Now if they saw her driving around with him, it would be too much. The people at the site would get so much to talk about!
Ian noticed her hesitation, “Look, the party was all over the newspaper! People might trouble you if you went by bus! So I could take you ... actually I also had to talk to you about something!”
Well that made sense too, “OK.” She parked her bicycle, picked up her files and walked to the gate with him. She was still hesitant.
“If you don’t want to come, it’s ok. I can talk to you later!” he said helpfully, hoping she would come.
“No. It’s ok. I’ll come along.” She said as they got out of the door; Ian after her, said a silent “Yes!” as he got out of the door.
He went on to open the door of the passenger side, while she locked the gate. She turned and saw him holding the door open for her.
“Where are we going?” he asked as he ran up to his side, got in and they drove off, as she gave him directions to the site.
“You said you wanted to talk about something!” she asked him.
“Yeah!” he said and stopped, wondering how to start. “I have to take Evan, my nephew, on a camping trip, and … Tyler and Adrian are also coming along, and … they are going to ask Lauren and Ashley to join us too...” He had started his question cautiously when there was a disruption in the transmission of his flow of thoughts into a carefully worded introduction to the situation.
“That’s very nice! It would give them some time with each other. They hardly ever get to see each other because of their almost full-time jobs.”
Ian was a bit annoyed at the sudden change in the topic of discussion. He had had trouble with starting to say it and right after making a good introduction he was interrupted with the issue of lack of time for the meeting of the two couples. The relationships of Tyler and Lauren and Adrian and Ashley were not what he was concerned with at the moment. It was not whether they got to meet them or not but whether he got to meet her or not!
“Yes!” he said quickly getting back to his original point, “You told me your project was ending in a couple of days…!” he was interrupted again.
“Yes,” she cried, “and that reminds me I have to try and go see Mr. McKenzie today, about the new project. I haven’t a clue as to what is that about. Thanks for reminding me, I had totally forgotten.”
Ian got back to his query again, “… so I told them they should ask the girls to apply for leaves starting Wednesday! Ok?” he smiled finally having finished and looked at her.
She was still smiling, waiting for him to finish. Then realized he had. “I didn’t understand!”
“Well, you can only come starting Wednesday! Isn’t it? So we move off at about five in the morning on Wednesday. You can talk to Mr. McKenzie about this or if you want I could talk to him. So be ready at five on Wednesday!”
Sonya could only stare at him. He had clearly made all the plans for her to accompany them on the camping trip, without as much as asking her. He had just taken for granted that she would be coming along.
“I didn’t understand!” she repeated her problem.
“Huh! What?”
“What do you mean? Why am I taking leaves starting Wednesday?”
“Because we are going camping! Aren’t you listening?” said Ian, knowing fully well that he had simply ordered her to come along, without actually asking her. He did not know how to ask her to come along so he just applied the method he knew best, ordering. It was something he did best anyway!
“When did I say I was going camping?”
“You aren’t coming?”
“Umm… I don’t know ... I don’t think...” she said looking at him, uncertain.
He parked the car to the side of the road, “Why?” he said adamantly.
“How can I?” she said, still confused with the sudden turn of conversation. One moment he was taking his nephew on a camping trip, next moment others joined and then suddenly she was on the trip too!
“Why can’t you? All my friends are coming! Why won’t you come?” still being adamant.
“All friends? But I don’t even know anybody!” she retorted.
“Oh yeah you do! Tyler and Adrian, don’t you know them? And Lauren and Ashley! You probably know them more n longer than you know me!” he countered.
“Uh … yes! But I don’t know anything about camping! I’ve never been to any such trip!” trying to get out of this unwanted mess.
“Then this is the perfect time to start. I’m there to teach you. You don’t have to worry.” He sorted her problem.
“But you already have Evan to take care of. Besides having to teach me will ruin the trip for you and everybody else. I’ll be taking longer doing stuff others are used to!”
“Oh no! No trouble. To tell you the truth, I guess, its only Adrian and me who know all about camping and hiking. Adrian helped Tyler a lot the last time we went, which was about three years back. And as far as the girls are concerned, I don’t think they know much either. The guys will be busy handling their girlfriends to notice that you are taking longer. If they do know it’ll be a happy surprise.”
“But then wouldn’t you have enough beginners on the trip to add one more? You will hardly be able to enjoy it!”
“Hey it’s okay! No problem at all. Adrian is there; Tyler is there! No trouble at all!”
Sonya was quiet, troubled and uncertain. All her excuses had been countered.
“So its final! I’ll pick you up at five on Wednesday.” He said. He was also uncertain, looking at her troubled expression, “Unless you really don’t want to come!” he said slowly, hoping she would think otherwise.
Sonya didn’t want to and didn’t know how to say a straight ‘no’, “Uh… Mr. McKenzie would have some projects waiting for me. I don’t think he would give me any leaves. Unless he allows, I really cannot promise.” She didn’t want him to keep his trip waiting for her.
“Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him, if you want!” he said.
“No, no! I’ll talk to him.” she said promptly. If he would talk, Mr. McKenzie would definitely grant her leaves. Then she would have no chance of getting away. Besides it would be unethical to have him talk to her boss regarding her leaves; it will look like she wanted leaves and was uncertain if she would get them, so she got Ian to talk. Also, it would add spice to the gossip probably already going on in the office. It would have been all right if she was just invited and had gone, but those four dances and then dinner were presented by the papers in an unflattering manner.
“Listen, if he doesn’t agree, just let me know, here keep this,” he handed her his card, “I’ll handle it my way!”
“Which is just what I’m afraid of. He’ll simply order Mr. McKenzie to grant me leaves!” she thought to herself, “How can I complain to him about my boss?”
“I have your numbers!” she said taking his card.
“No, no. I’m giving you my personal numbers. Jot them down on the other side.”
“OK!”
She did as was told, and jotted down the numbers as he gave them out to her. “In case, I’m not in office, you can catch me anywhere!”
“OK!”
“Fine!” he started the car again as she kept the card in her bag, wondering what to do. “Do talk to Mr. McKenzie today itself.”
“Ok!”
“Let me know what he says.”
“OK!”
“I’ll be waiting for your call.”
“OK!”
They reached the site, him ordering her as to what she should say to Mr. McKenzie when asking for leaves and she echoing her okay to everything he was saying.
“What is this? Shopping Mall? You’re doing a shopping mall?”
“Yes!” she said getting out.
“What time do you get off in the evening?”
“About six-thirty.”
“Fine. See you in the evening!” he called out, driving away.
“OK!” she called back, in the same vein. She was about to step up the stairs when she stopped dead in her tracks. “Evening! What does that mean?” she turned around and saw the car driving away. “Why did he say that? Is he going to pick me up in the evening too! Oh no! This place will be full. How is he going to avoid all those … people?” she thought. “Maybe he wants to know about my leaves. I’ll have to call him up. Hmm ... I will have to call Mr. McKenzie up. Because if Ian does call him up after I tell him that he isn’t allowing me leaves, then poor Mr. McKenzie is at least supposed to know what Ian is cross about. I’ll call Mr. McKenzie up all right! I don’t have to be very pressing about giving me the leaves. I’ll make sure he says no. If Ian knows that I’m not coming on the trip, then maybe he won’t be picking me up in the evening.” She thought while climbing the stairs to the door. “It was good that I came early. There won’t be anybody around and I won’t get troubled.”
In thinking that nobody would be around, Sonya was wrong. She climbed the final step to spot a boy standing next to the door with a small package. She recognized him as the newspaper boy. He had probably seen Ian dropping her at the shopping mall, but she wasn’t sure. She tried to rush past him. The boy grinned and called out, “Good morning Ma’am!”
“Good morning.” she said smiling briefly at him, and hurried inside.
It was, luckily, too early for the staff to come, and she got to her work.
* * *