Teach Me To Love

Chapter 13

Suzanne sat quietly in the passenger seat of Lenard's car, with her hands folded in her lap and her mind racing. She sighed heavily and looked straight ahead as the vehicle pulled up to the track which led to Lancaster Beach: the closest beach to the university's campus.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Lenard casting a few glances her way, but she blatantly ignored him. He seemed to sense her internal tug-a-war and decided to give her sometime to organise her thoughts. "I need to make a phone call," he said, busying himself with his phone after parking the vehicle.

"Okay. I'll be outside," Suzanne said, welcoming the opportunity to have a few moments to herself. She unbuckled her seatbelt and exited the vehicle, then slipped the pumps off her feet and held them in her hands. She walked slowly towards the water's edge, observing the surrounding.

The warm golden brown sand tickled the bottom of her feet as it sunk into it the grains, the wind strong and heavy was oddly soothing, while the water waves cascaded unto the shore with expert precision, one brave one at a time coming to investigate the tip of her toes. Everything was overwhelming, Suzanne felt free. Almost as if the wind chose to lift off some of the mental stress she had, instead of taking her away.

She began to relax slowly. It was so natural to fall into the lull of the beach. She sat down on the sand, pulled up her feet, wrapped her arms around them, closed her eyes and drifted away to a perfect world for just a few minutes.

"Amazing isn't it?"  Lenard asked, as he strolled to where Suzanne was seated.

"Yes, it is," Suzanne agreed.

"I come here a lot when I want to clear my head."

"That is exactly what I am doing right now," she informed him.

They fell into a comfortable silence. Both of them in their own thoughts, even though they sat only a few feet apart. It was amazing to see how two persons who led different lifestyles could connect in one innocent moment.

"Do you believe in love?" Suzanne asked suddenly, breaking the stillness. The instant the question was voiced, she desperately wished she could have taken back her words. She turned her head to the side and her hair fell into a curtain, concealing her face from Lenard's view.

Lenard glanced at Suzanne and he regarded her choice of question with a high level of suspicion, then answered. "I do."

Lenard's response shocked Suzanne, she wasn't sure she heard him correctly. "You do?" She murmured nonplussed, still not turning her face to him.

"Why ask such a question?"

Suzanne shrugged in what she hoped was a careless manner then responded, "It just came to mind and I was wondering what your opinion would be."

Lenard's suspicion rose higher and his clever analytical mind began to do what it did best. He diligently began to place the scattered pieces he was given together time after time, to find out what the bigger picture was. And he slowly began to uncover the mystery behind Suzanne's cryptic clues and signals.

"You said something about not being in a relationship unless it was serious, are yo-- are you looking for love now?" he asked curiously.

Suzanne stayed silent, her mind which was supposed to be doing its best to convince Lenard otherwise seemed to malfunction.