Thunderstorm Rendevous Chapter 7

Thank you so much Jan for all your help. Big hugs this week's chapter is for you. :-)

Thunderstorm Rendezvous

Chapter 7

Roar stood up. “I’ll handle this.” He said as Trace started to rise.

Trace shook his head, but Kaos stopped him. “Let him do this. He wants to talk to her. What could you possibly say to her that’s not going to make her uncomfortable or the situation worse? She’d bolt and we don’t want that.” Trace relented and settled back into his seat.

Roar left the table and walked toward the Ladies room. Before going in, he looked around to see if anyone was watching. Once satisfied, he pushed open the door and went in.

Roar wasn’t sure what he expected, but he didn’t feel the need to bolt. It wasn’t too girlie. The tiles were pink and grey, with a cream border. Floating sinks made up the wash area. No cabinets underneath, just a counter top and sinks. There were no handles; just steel faucets. He guessed they were the kind of sinks that you put your hand under and water starts to flow. Roar stopped studying the decor and looked under the stalls. When he saw only one pair of feet in a stall, he was assured they were the only two people in the bathroom. Roar grabbed the ‘Out of Order’ sign; placing it outside the door. Just in case no one bought that the bathroom was really out of order, he locked the door.

Roar slid up onto the counter and settled against the mirrors. “Calla, I know you’re in here.”

He heard a gasp and watched as she pulled her feet away from view. “Calla, I’ve already seen your shoes and I know we’re the only people in here. Come out and we’ll talk.”

At first he feared she wouldn’t answer. “I have nothing to say to you.”

Roar shook his head. “Well, I have some things to say to you. I screwed up and I know it. Don’t take it out on Trace, he doesn’t deserve it.”

He watched her shoes descend, but she didn’t open the door.

Calla wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk to him. She felt like an idiot, fighting for a man that wasn’t even hers. Emotions crashed against each other, deep inside her. Calla didn’t know what she felt. She was so confused. She liked him; well, more than liked him. Calla had fallen for him. Something happened the night they spent together, which connected them. Her feelings for Trace re-emerged; overwhelming her.

Calla didn’t know what to believe. It had happened too fast. She didn’t like when things happened too quickly; she felt out of control.

“When Trace was little, he used to smile a lot.” Roar started.

Calla wasn’t sure how to respond to that.

“He would run around, not a care in the world, but he always looked out for me; well, him and Kaos. And then Mom died.”

Calla didn’t like that Roar was playing the Mom card.

“Trace stopped smiling; He became so serious. He was no longer that kid that would play pranks on me and Kaos. He was the kid that felt the brunt of Dad’s pressure to become something respectable. You see, Kaos had already gotten a lot of notice as a musician, by the time Mom died. We were in London, when he met an American named Remy Bane: Lead singer of Flintlock. Remy introduced Kaos to Blues Rock; he gave him a place in the band, after hearing him play once in this run down little club in the West End called ‘The Rainbow Room’.


“Kaos could have left after getting the gig with the band, but he stayed. I don’t know why, he couldn’t stand Dad by then. Trace ran away because the pressure was too much for him to take. It didn’t help that our sister, Ti- Bell, was like father, reminding both of them of their obligations to the family. It was hard for us, because we were exiled from the Romani community. Our Grandmother was the head of the clan; she didn’t like it when Dad fell in love with an outsider. He defied her wishes and married Mom anyway. Grandmother convinced the Kris, our form of court, to exile her son and his new wife. Not even we, her grandchildren can return to our community to meet or see her.”

“The exile made it harder on us, because other Romani communities didn’t want to have anything to do with us. So we wandered from place to place, with no real home or stability. Trace, out of all of us, hated it the most. He really wanted to stay, make friends and be normal, but we couldn’t. Dad never told us why we had to leave or wander around; we just did. By the time I was born, it was time to leave Russia. I would love to see the old country. Trace doesn’t really remember it.”

“We’ve been so many places. We were in London, visiting our mother’s family for the first time. Mom had also fallen out with her parents over her marriage to Dad. They had finally decided it was time to meet their grandchildren. That was when she fell ill. We’re not sure what it was, Dad wouldn’t tell us. We think it was Cancer. All I know is, he was desperate to get in touch with Grandmother.” Roar sighed.

“After Mom was buried and Trace had turned sixteen; he ran away because he’d had enough. Father was furious and hurt and our sister, Ti- Bell was just as angry. Neither one of them mention Trace anymore. Trace, from then on, made his own way in the world. He didn’t date much; just one night stands. He has never called any woman ‘honey’ or ‘sweetheart’ or tried to make them jealous. Trace has never talked about this with anyone outside the family. He doesn’t make a habit of running after women; buck naked. He normally doesn’t put in too much effort, when going out on a date; yet you’ve got him wearing a suit!”

Roar shook his head. “You’re not a one night stand to him. I know this for a fact! If he didn’t care, he wouldn’t have been so concerned about your feelings, after you left. He wouldn’t have become so depressed at the thought that he wouldn’t see you again. Trace is a loner! Yet he let you into his world; something he’s never done before. Kaos was right; we all kinda thought he was asexual. Those one night stands were more to scratch an itch; not to satisfy some need to alleviate the loneliness. You’re special to him.”

“I know what I said, but it was a joke! What I said is the polar opposite of how Trace is with female guests. He doesn’t normally show any interest in them. He’s generally annoyed when they show interest in him. He’s there for the horses; that’s it. But with you; this is the first time he’s done anything like this before. Please, don’t let my boneheadedness, 'cause you to push Trace away. He’s a good guy and he really loves you.”

Roar’s eyes widened at what he said, he’d meant to say ‘like’ but it came out ‘love’. Great! How was she going to take this, he wondered?

The stall door opened and she walked out. There were traces of tears on her face. She walked over to the mirror, fixed her ruined make-up as best she could; walked over to the door and unlocked it.

“Coming?” She asked as she turned to him, with her eyebrow raised.

Roar slid off the counter top and walked over to the door. “Are you . . .”

Calla unlocked the door and walked out. Roar followed her not sure what she was going to do.