The People of Dewbrook

Chapter Fifteen

The following morning, Harold was already sitting in his chair in the backyard as the rising sun faintly shone over his greying golden hair, stuck in a state of deep pensiveness. It seemed that last night's peaceful sleep had not helped his mind at all. Drinking his sugarless coffee, he opened the latest newspaper the way he always did, eager to halt his thoughts at once and dedicate himself to discovering something he had not known before. However, no matter how hard he stared at the words through his reading glasses, his brain would not comprehend them. He did so for several minutes, constantly wandering through the dark valleys of his thoughts before he grasped that he could not read the newspaper even if his life depended on it. Letting out a heavy sigh, he left his things at the table and stood up, nervously walking around the courtyard.

It lasted until he heard someone approaching him, immediately snapping his head in their direction due to how surprised he was to have heard someone at this time of day. He snapped his head again when he noticed that it was Caroline, his heart beating helplessly in his chest. She was walking slowly and smiling serenely, as though she were unaware of how unnerved he was at the moment. When she placed her hand into his, he stood still and began to walk along with her, feeling that it was the only proper thing to do.

Her eyes gleamed with enthusiasm as she spoke. "Ah, what a lovely day! Do you not agree? I suppose that you must, even if it is not reflected upon your face. I am feeling quite well this morning, so I do not understand why you do not appear to be feeling that way as well. I would like to know what is tormenting you, if you would like to tell me, of course."

"Is it not obvious?" he said, his voice bereft of emotion. "Why should I tell you then?"

She smiled benignly at him. "I know the gist of things, but you have to admit that it really is not much. You are perturbed when it comes to Stephen and are also perturbed when it comes to your own heart, clearly having fallen in love with someone after so many years of not having done so. That is quite a lot on its own, but there must be so, so much more."

He gasped. "What do you think there is? What do you know? What do you want me to tell you?"

"You already know the answers to all those questions, my dear friend," she said, wrapping an arm around his neck. "It is quite understandable if you are afraid to tell me, but I was merely wondering what could be going on. You never were a man of much mystery, so for you to have an aura of secrecy around yourself is intriguing."

"So intriguing..." she whispered into his ear in her beautiful voice as she stared into his glistening hazel eyes, the tingle he felt against his skin frightening him.

"Thank you for showing an interest in me, Caroline," he said with an awkward inflection in his voice the moment she backed off a little. "However, I am left to wonder what the cause could be. I never would have expected this from you."

"I feel that we have become a lot closer ever since all of this began," she said, placing her head against his. "Thus, it is no surprise that I want to strengthen this bond even further, valuing you as a very important confidante of mine. It is a shame that I have not done so earlier, but now is better than never, I suppose."

"That is lovely," he remarked, his eyes wide open. "So, what do you suggest we do on this charming morning, Caroline?"

"I suggest that we go on a long walk. The day is ours to seize, thus there is nothing stopping us from doing whatever we want. We can do many things in this town, quite many things, mon ami," she said, wrapping her figure around his like a beautiful but invasive ivy, and with each passing second, she wrapped herself around him more and more, momentarily rubbing her breasts against his suit, overwhelming him with repulsion as he forcefully pushed her away from himself.