Page 31 of Someone Like You

Casimir

“ H as my guest arrived yet?”

“No, sir, Mr. Perez.”

I nodded. “Okay. Please alert me when she arrives.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Perez.”

I walked past the reception desk and headed out of the large double doors.

After I passed the bird sanctuary, I headed down the wooded trail for another couple of minutes before I came to a clearing.

I smiled at the fairy lights strung through the trees, which created a canopy all its own.

A white linen tablecloth-covered table stood in the middle of the clearing to the right of a large fountain with hydrangeas blooming from the top.

A vase of cherry blossoms and two single candle tapers were the only table décor: simple but elegant.

Blue orchid blossoms bloomed all around us. There were large planters of various plants further away from our table, and benches where visitors could sit and enjoy the view.

My phone buzzed, and I checked the message before I set it down again. I leaned back in my seat, stretched my legs out, and crossed them at the ankles and closed my eyes.

I listened to the trill of the birds, the sprinkling of the water at the fountain beside me, and finally, the reassuring clicking of heels coming down the paved sidewalk.

I continued resting with my eyes closed as I thought about all that I had gone through to bring me to this day.

My life was almost destroyed because I had submitted to someone else’s vision for my life.

Thankfully, I met a woman who opened my eyes and made me want to take control of my life again.

I learned a valuable lesson. This life wasn’t all about money or pleasing someone else, but it was about being the best person we were for the space and time we were in.

“Hi.”

“Hello, beautiful,” I greeted and opened my eyes.

Giselle wore a long orange and white floral print dress, and her hair was a beautiful cloud that made a halo around her face. She held her wild poof of hair back by a rhinestone headband.

I stood and held her chair out for her and pushed her in again after she sat down.

“I was excited when you told me to meet you at the botanical garden. Never in a million years would I have expected this,” Giselle declared and waved her arms around her.

“A private, intimate dinner so we can talk about us,” I replied.

She rested her chin on her clasped fingers and stared at me over them.

I reached across the table and took her hands in mine.

“Thank you for meeting me,” she stated.

“You’re welcome.”

“I wanted to talk about us, Cas.”

“Is this a good talk or a bad one?”

“A necessary one. As I said last night on the phone, I reacted too quickly. I didn’t give myself a chance to process the conversation between Bethany and me, determine what was the best solution, or even give you a chance to handle it.

I was still upset about you allowing her to give you oral sex, and I freaked out. ”

“You had every right to be upset, baby. You’ve been an independent woman for a long time.

You’ve built something solid and strong, and I admire that.

I admire you for wanting to have your own thing and not want someone else to take care of you.

But mostly, I admire you for not laying down and letting something be taken from you. ”

“But I did,” she replied softly.

“What?” I asked. I couldn’t imagine what else she had allowed to be taken from her.

“You. I didn’t fight for you the way you deserved to be fought for. I let Bethany take you from me like you weren’t worth anything. And yet, in these last three weeks, I’ve come to realize that you’re worth everything to me, Cas.”

“You did what you felt needed to be done, Giselle. No one can fault you for that. If anything, you did the only thing you knew to do. Most people would have done the same thing.”

“Yeah, but it cost me three weeks of loving you.”

“Let’s consider it three weeks of growth and confirming what we really want.”

She smiled bright and beautifully at me, and the rays of her smile warmed the cold depths of my heart.

“I like how you think, Mr. Perez.”

“Thank you.”

“But it wasn’t just that. I was scared too.

I have been afraid of moving on from my past and letting it go.

I was afraid to take a chance on love again because I didn’t want to get hurt.

I didn’t want to lose another person and fall into depression because I couldn’t live without them.

And you’re someone I could find myself getting lost in, Cas. ”

“Wouldn’t it be beautiful if we were to get lost in each other?

Just as easily as you’re falling, so am I.

Which also means that I’m taking the same risk of getting hurt.

It hurt me that you didn’t trust me enough to handle this situation for you, but at the same time, I understood.

You placed a lot on the line to be with me.

Of the two of us, you had the most to lose.

I only had my heart to risk, but you also could have lost your license, your business, and your livelihood.

And here I am building my future stronger, day by day. I get it.”

“At first, I worried that I might be a rebound and that I could get hurt. I felt that you were moving too fast in your pursuit of me.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Considering that your marriage to Bethany was arranged, and it wasn’t something that either of you seemed fully committed to.

Your commitment was simply to satisfy a need your father thought needed to be filled, and you hoped that you would get what you wanted and needed out of it. You were settling in a sense.

“I never sensed a deep, passionate love between you two. Couples come into my office broken all the time, but I still can feel the tenderness they have toward each other and that desire to be whole with one another. I can still feel the love. I never felt that with you two. And that was before I developed feelings for you.”

“Your feelings were on point. I just want to know, are you invested in giving me your all now?”

She lowered her gaze briefly before she looked back up at me. There was a resolve in her eyes that I never saw before. “I am.”

“Thank you. Because I need that, for us to remain strong. On another front, I’ve got news.”

“About?”

“Your situation regarding your license. I wanted you to know that everything is settled. It has been taken care of. You never have to worry about anyone coming for you again.”

“What did you do?”

I smiled reassuringly at her and replied, “Your man handled business, baby. Now, can we eat?”

She smirked and shook her head.

“Actually, I’m starving. I skipped lunch today,” Giselle shared.

I signaled the man who stood on the other side of the fountain just out of sight. Within a matter of minutes, we were served braised lamb shanks, a creamy risotto, and seared endive and asparagus with a Tahini dressing.

We ate in silence for a while before I spoke up.

“One of the things that never came out in our therapy sessions was that Bethany cheated on me.”

Giselle choked and reached for her glass of water. Our chairs were seated close together, so I reached over and gently patted her back until she was calm again.

“Are you serious? On top of everything else? You never told me that.”

“I know. But you shouldn’t be surprised.

Bethany is capable of a lot. She was cheating with a married senator, who happened to be a constituent of her father’s.

It started before we were married and continued throughout the marriage.

She cheated the night before our wedding and on our wedding night. ”

“Oh. Wow. When did you find out?”

“The night of our wedding. One of her friends showed me pictures of her slipping into a hotel room that the senator reserved for their little indiscretions. Apparently, this had been going on for some time, and that was their rendezvous point. That was also why she selected the hotel as the site of our reception.”

“Why would her friend show you those pictures?”

“She had her self-interests. Me.”

“Did you cheat with her?”

“No. Believe it or not, I remained faithful to Beth our entire marriage. Until you.”

“You didn’t cheat with me. We didn’t become intimately involved until after your divorce—unless . . .”

“No. I was divorced. But . . . we did have what you women like to call an emotional affair.”

She sighed. “Affairs of the heart.”

“How could I not help but love you?” I asked.

“Same.”

We ate a little more before she asked her next question.

“Did you confront Bethany?”

“Nope. I chose to keep that tidbit to myself until I might need it.”

“Until you might need it?”

“Elle, I understood from the beginning that I was marrying into a political family. I knew nothing was as it seemed.”

“You expected to use that information one day.”

“I expected to protect myself in the event that I might need it.”

“That’s awful.”

“Life is what it is. We make our choices, and we have to live with them.”

“But you were hurt through it all.”

“And so were you, but you survived. We both have been hurt because of other people’s decisions, Giselle, specifically our spouses, whom we pledged to love and honor forever. But life had other plans. I only hope that we can move forward from here and find love and healing with each other.”

She smiled sweetly at me, and she replied, “You want to know something?”

“What’s that?”

“I seldom think of Elijah anymore. Since I’ve been with you, there are some days that he might pop up in my mind, but it is no longer with the regret and the heartache that once existed.

I no longer feel as if I cannot breathe or go on without him.

I think about the sorrow that he carried and the depression, and my heart aches about that for him, but I don’t relate it to my life anymore.

It’s a part of my past, but my future feels so bright, Cas. And I have you to thank for that.”