A Taste of Kaos Chapter 15

This chapter is dedicated to Shar, Pam and Caye. Hugs guys.

Chapter 15

A week later . . .

Kaos sat on his motorcycle, outside Chrys’s apartment building. He needed an escape from Roar.

Roar had come out of his room and made it clear he didn’t know how he was going to deal with this revelation. He knew that he wouldn’t ignore Vasya, like their Dad had done. He spent a lot of time with this new found brother and ignored Kaos. He didn’t leave at the end of the week, as planned. Instead Roar extended his stay, but Kaos was persona non grata. Now that Vasya had taken over the role as confidant, he explained that Roar was eager to meet their Grandmother. Roar stated he would be going to England with Vasya at the end of the week.


Kaos sighed. He hated the way things were now. Vasya had become Roar’s comrade-in-arms and Kaos was now the enemy. Having been forced into this awkward situation, Vasya acted as middleman between his brothers. Kaos suffered Roar’s disapproval in silence. Feeling the weight of the world on his shoulders, Kaos pleaded with Vasya for Chrys’s phone number. Vasya empathized with Kaos and gave it to him.

Kaos didn’t want to talk to her on the phone; he wanted to see her. He needed to talk to someone, anyone. He convinced Vasya to give him her address. Remy had sequestered himself in his apartment and was in communicado. Dane was with his family and Spike was traveling. He would have gone to see Marissa, but was hesitant to just show up without an invitation. Trace was with Calla on a vacation for two. So that left Chrys.

He hungered to see her. Between worrying about Roar and trying to figure out if he would be going with them back to England, Kaos knew that Chrys would be able to sooth him with her presence. He got off his bike and made his way into the building. Vasya had told him that Chrys lived on the sixth floor. He stepped into the open elevator and pressed the button. A woman called out to him to hold the door. He reached out and held the door back, while he watched the blond-haired woman rush in, huffing and puffing.

“Thank you hon. I’m not as young as I use to be.”

Kaos grinned. “Nonsense! You look like you’re twenty five.”

The woman giggled. “If I weren’t married I’d be all over you. So, are you moving in or are you visiting someone?”

“I’m visiting a friend.”

“Oh, who?”

“Her name is Chrysalis Kelly.”

The woman looked him over. “Oh, so you’re a suitor huh? I hate to tell you this, but she’s got a young man already. Very handsome, not as handsome as you are, mind, but good-looking. I believe he’s an athlete.”

She leaned over to him and whispered conspiratorially, “He’s over there right now. I’d be careful if I were you hon. I wouldn’t want a stud muffin like you getting hurt.”

Kaos considered this piece of information. The idea that she was seeing someone, bugged the hell out of him. Then again, why would she respond to him if she was attached? The notion that she could cheat was like being drenched with ice cold water. His eagerness to see her cooled, but the urge still remained. Despite everything he had been told, he was compelled to be with her.

“Don’t worry; I’m not interested in her in that way. I’m just a friend who’s stopping by before I leave the States.”

“Oh. Well you’ve been a good boy. Have fun on your trip.”

Smiling, the lady beckoned to him. Kaos leaned down towards his newfound admirer. She kissed him on the cheek. Kaos smiled at her and she returned the smile with interest. Turning around, she exited the elevator.

Now all he had to do was see Chrys and leave.

* * * * * *

Kaos got out of the elevator on the sixth floor and walked down the hall, looking for the apartment 26C. When he found it, he raised his hand to knock, but his hand never made contact. The door opened. Chrys stood in front of him, her face covered in a green face mask and her hair was wrapped in a black kerchief. She wasn’t looking at him; she was looking at someone in the apartment.

“Thanks for stopping by Doug. You’re a life saver. Say hi to Roni for me.”

She turned toward the door and saw Kaos standing there. Her eyes widened, as her jaw dropped.

Kaos suspected that she was blushing, despite the green goo.

“What’s up Chrys? Who’s out there?” A deep voice from within the apartment asked.

A tall man with broad shoulders and dark brown hair came to the door. His jacket was on. The stranger looked at Kaos and then turned to Chrys.

“Looks like you have company. I’ll go now. Can’t keep Roni waiting, you know how she is.” The guy leaned down and gave Chrys a careful hug. He nodded, as he passed Kaos and walked down the hall.

Kaos shifted from one foot to the other waiting for Chrys to say something.

“How did you find me?”

“You’re not going to ask me in?” he enquired.

Chrys paused for a moment, looking annoyed, but then stepped back reluctantly.

Kaos walked past her and stopped. Her apartment was nothing like he expected.

It was open plan with the kitchen, dining area and living room all sharing the space. While his apartment was simple in decoration and furnishings, hers was cluttered with many souvenirs from her travels. The Irish influence was evident amongst the things displayed. She had a large fireplace of dark red brick and above the mantel was a sword with a red and green kilt, as its background. He looked to his left, a small open kitchen with dark, rich, red tiles and cream moulding, gleamed from the recessed lights. The counters were a dark wood. The kitchen seemed cozy and used. He could smell the remnants of cinnamon buns. He looked back at the living room. It looked comfortable and homey with overstuffed couches in dark chocolate leather and chairs of cream cloth. Pillows were arranged neatly on the couches; chairs were grouped around a low dark wood coffee table. It had an Eastern feel with Celtic overtones.

The walls were a rhubarb color with the base board painted cream. The crown mouldings were also cream and the chair rail painted gold. The same wood used for the counter tops, were also used for the bookshelves, displaying rows and rows of books. A plasma screen TV was mounted on a wall in the far corner of the room. A large, overstuffed wing back chair was covered by a cream blanket, decorated with a Celtic knot pattern sewed on the edges. Pictures of Ireland and Scotland sat on the walls, along with pictures of couples in erotic poses. The name ‘Nora’ was signed in red at the bottom of each picture.

A doorway to his right was draped in a diaphanous fabric of reds, gold’s and cream, all pulled back to reveal the bedroom. Her bedroom continued the East meets Celtic design theme. The bed was large and piled high with pillows. Tapestries from the East and West hung on the walls. It looked just as cozy in there, as it was out in the living room. He liked what he saw. It didn’t reflect the cynical and aloof woman, who many in the industry were wary of. He looked to his left at Chrys, who had picked up a cloth and proceeded to take off the face mask. She looked annoyed.

“Don’t yell at Vasya, I begged him to give me your address.”

She didn’t say anything; instead she wandered over to a mirror, hanging to his right on the wall next to a coat tree. She was trying to remove the patches of green that were still left.

“So I have Vasya to thank for your visit. You must have really worked on him to get my address.”

“Well, let’s just say I begged and pleaded and he took pity on me.”

“Does it have to do with that guy that grabbed your arm at the restaurant? The one that didn’t know Vasya was his brother?”

Kaos ran a hand through his hair.

“Can I sit down?”

He watched her roll her eyes in the mirror and then nodded. He walked over to the couch, moved the pillows and settled himself.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Uh sure.”

“Any particular brand?”

“Nope, whatever you’re having is fine.”

He turned around and watched her movements. She looked at ease. She prepared a tray with all the essentials required to make afternoon tea. She looked so domestic. It was almost funny. He would never have figured her for the domestic goddess type.

“What?” she asked, not looking over at him. Chrys opened the microwave and took out a plate of cinnamon buns, covered in thick icing.

“I just never pegged you as domesticated? Do you clean this place yourself?”

“Not when I’m away. But yes, when I’m home I do my own housekeeping.”

He looked around, impressed. A large banana plant stood tall, gently leaning toward the light, streaming in from the window. Stalks of bamboo were grouped around the potted plant and he now could hear the quiet tinkle of water.

It was a peaceful and cozy place. He could picture her reading a book, while lying on the couch or maybe, watching Football on the goggle box. He couldn’t help but grin. The tea kettle whistled and she was soon making her way over to him.

“What are you grinning at?”

She placed the tray before him on the coffee table.

“I’m just trying to picture you cleaning this place.”

“Uh huh.” She shrugged and handed him a plate with a cinnamon bun.

He watched her pour him a cup of tea. He inhaled the aroma of Earl Grey. It brought back long buried memories of tea time with his Mum and Trace. Roar had been too young to participate. If Roar behaved, he would be treated to biscuits.

Kaos grinned and bit into the bun. The taste exploded in his mouth. He had never experienced anything so delicious in his life. He looked over at Chrys, who was sipping her tea slowly, savoring the taste. He wondered if she had made the buns or if she had gotten them at a bakery.

“What? You look weird.” Chrys watched Kaos curiously.

“Did you make this?” asked Kaos.

“Yeah! What about it?”

“This is amazing.” said Kaos appreciatively.

“Well it better be amazing. I made it from scratch.” Chrys said.
Kaos balked. Wow, if this was anything to go by, Darina Allen had nothing on her.

“What? Do you think I sit around thinking of ways to increase my status as ‘ball breaker’? No, I have a life. Besides, if I didn’t make those buns from scratch, my Grammy would tear a strip off me!”

A slow smile spread across her face and she settled back into the large chair, looking so small among the pillows, cradling her tea cup.

“Grammy wouldn’t let anyone into the kitchen if they couldn’t cook or bake. And if you baked, you had to know how to do it from scratch. You wouldn’t get all the misshapen fairy cakes, biscuits or buns if you didn’t know how to reproduce them. It was an extra treat for helping her and our reward. We’d get first dibs and guests got the perfect ones.”

She took a sip of her tea and smiled. Apparently, she had a good relationship with her family. He felt another pang of envy. Kaos decided right then and there to go to England and see his Grandmother.

“Where is your Grandmother?”

“Ireland.”

There was an inordinate amount of pride when she said ‘Ireland’. Based on all the pictures and treasures around the room, she was proud of her heritage.

“So you’re Irish and African American?”

She nodded. “What did you think? I used contacts to get this look?”

He couldn’t tell if she was teasing, so he shook his head.

She laughed and mirrored Kaos’s head-shaking.

“What?” he enquired.

“Nothing!” She poured herself another cup of tea. “So Kaos, I’ve always wondered about your accent. I’ve been to some Eastern European countries. It sounds as though there’s a hint of Russian.”

“Yup, your right! But I don’t really remember Russia. I moved away when I was very little.”

“Too bad, it is a beautiful country.”

“It sounds like you liked it.” Kaos observed.

“I did enjoy my time there.” There was a sly smile that he didn’t like. It was the expression of a person who had enjoyed herself a little too much.

“You’re scowling,” remarked Chrys. She laughed. “Would you ever go back and explore some of it?”

“Perhaps one day. Would you go back to Ireland?” Kaos asked.

She grinned. “I’m going back there soon, at the end of the month.” She took another sip of tea. Her face softened even more. Soon she would be home.

“I’m going to England shortly.”

“England is wonderful. I have friends there.”

“Vasya?”

She laughed. “No, not just Vasya! My friends, Shara and Jan live there, plus a few of them from the Rising Sun U.K. branch. You’ve heard of Mick Peters right? Also there’s my writer friend, Jezebel Saunders. Before I head over to Ireland, I’m going to stop in and see them. When is Vasya going back?”

“At the end of this week.”

She looked thoughtful. “I guess I’ll see him then. So, why did you stop by?”

“I wanted to be around someone who didn’t hate me!”

Chrys raised an eyebrow.

“Long story short, the guy you saw tugging me away from you is my brother Roar. He had no idea that Vasya was our half brother until he heard you mention it in the restaurant. He was pissed, when he found out the whole truth. Now he’s ignoring me. At least, he’s spending time with Vasya. I don’t know how I’m going to tell my brother Trace.” He took a sip of tea and sighed.

“So, tell Trace. It’s better to tell him now rather than have him find out later. And besides, your brother Roar could tell him before you get a chance to explain things. Do you really want that?”

Kaos thought about it. He finished the cinnamon bun and drank more tea. The sun was slowly sinking behind the clouds and dusk was fast approaching. She was right. He looked to find her reading a book quietly. A blanket covered the bottom half of her body. She had turned on the lights sometime while he was lost in thought. He would love to come home from a tour and see her like this. He smiled softly.

“I’m going to go. I have a few things to take care of. Maybe we’ll run into each other when we’re both in the U.K.”

She shrugged. “Maybe!”

Chrys stood up, letting the blanket fall to the floor and walked Kaos to the door. For the first time he saw what she was wearing. It was an oversized, old white Football jersey with a large Shamrock on the front. She had on a pair of large green sweat pants. Her hair was no longer covered and hung down in a low pony tail. She looked adorable. Without thinking, he leaned down and softly kissed her lips. She gasped, as he pulled away.

“Later Babochka.”

He unlocked and opened the door himself. He walked away, grinning, when he heard her call down the hall, “What does babochka mean? Hey!”

He stepped onto the elevator, turned around, hit the button for the ground floor and waved at her, as the doors closed.