Destroyed Dreams (3 page)

Robert had just finished replacing the top board when he heard the back porch door open. Glancing under his arm, he saw the princess step out onto the deck. He noticed she had put shoes on this time, and briefly wondered if she had been able to remove the splinter she received earlier.  He had seen her wince as the splinter went into her tender foot, and would have been happy to assist her in its removal, if she had stuck around that is.

“Excuse me, could I interrupt you for a minute?” Melissa took another deep breath and attempted to present a calm, collected, and mature image to the man kneeling on the other side of the deck.

Setting down his tools, Robert slowly got to his feet and turned to look at the young women standing across from him. He deliberately looked her up and down before settling his sites on her eyes and face.

Melissa
bristles under his perusal; the arrogance of the man knew no bounds. Taking another deep breath, she struggled to maintain her composure. “It appears that my uncle forgot I was going to be staying here when he hired you to do some repairs on the cabin. My name is Melissa Taylor and I came here to recover and find some peace. I just finished speaking with my uncle and he has instructed me to work things out with you so that we might both get what we need.”

Robert crossed his arms over his chest, and leaned negligently back against the deck railing he had just replaced. He didn’t appreciate her tone of voice or the fact that she appeared to be talking down to him, as if he were some sort of servant.

“I would appreciate it if in the future you didn’t show up for work prior to 10 o’clock in the morning. I am a very light sleeper and the noise from your power tools gave me quite a scare this morning and the ensuing headache is only now starting to go away…”

“Lady, I don’t know who you think you are, but there’s not a handyman alive who starts work at the pussy hour of 10 o’clock.  You’re asking me to forego almost
four hours of work, and I get paid to put in a full days work. Not happening!”

“There’s nothing wrong with 10 o’clock. It’s a perfectly respectable hour and one where I might be able to tolerate the awful noise you’re making out here.” Melissa knew she was beginning to lose control of the situation; she simply had to make him understand her need for peace and quiet. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tightened her muscles and mentally counted to ten before releasing them.

Robert took one last look at the uptight woman across from him and shook his head at her. 10 o’clock in the morning, what planet did she live on?  He was an early riser and was always on the job before 7 o’clock. There was no way he was adjusting his schedule for someone like her; she wouldn’t appreciate it anyway. If he conceded on this issue, she would just have another one and another one. He had met her kind before and the list would be never ending.

Bending to pick up his drill once again, he gave her a glance over his shoulder and told her, “Sorry, but no can do. I have to get this job finished up and there’s no way I can do that if I have to miss four hours of work each morning just so you can get your beauty sleep.”

Dismissing her, Robert placed the next board and began drilling it in place. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the beauty begin to fume as she watched him. Grinning, he began whistling as he worked.  She could get mad all she wanted; he didn’t owe her anything.

Melissa watched Robert calmly go back to work; he even began whistling. The arrogant man didn’t have a decent bone in his body. All she was asking for was a little peace and quiet.  Surely, something else he could do that didn’t require the use of that obnoxious sounding drill.

Spinning around, she re-entered the house and took minimal satisfaction in slamming the door. She headed to the kitchen and started some coffee brewing. The caretaker had left a breakfast casserole in the fridge, so Melissa cut a small piece from the plate and placed it in the microwave to warm up.

The entire time, the noise from the drill invaded her thoughts. She took her coffee and breakfast into the small sunroom on the other side of the house, trying to get away from the noise. It didn’t work. The noise from the drill was pervasive and she was unable to find a place in the cabin where it didn’t penetrate.

Finally, she could stand it no more and she turned the stereo system on with the volume up loud. Listening for a moment, all she hears is the steady bass and the drums of the music. There was no drill noise! Relaxing her shoulders, she mentally patted herself on the back for having won this battle.

Retrieving her laptop from the bedroom, she settled into the plush couch and opened up her email. As the music was so loud, she slipped her headphones on to help dim the noise and quickly sorted through the junk and unimportant messages.

Having answered those that required a response, she decided to start reading one of the many books she had brought with her. Leaving her headphones on, she was soon immersed in the lives of the book’s main characters.

Robert continued to work his way around the deck, replacing the top rail as needed. He tried to ignore Melissa, but the wall of windows made that nearly impossible. He had laughed outright at her response to the drill noise. She had the music turned up so loud; his ears were starting to ring and he was outside the house. He had no idea how she was handling the noise inside.

As he finished that thought, he saw her close her laptop and reach for a book sitting nearby. Then he saw her wearing her headphones. No wonder she wasn’t bothered by the loudness of the music, she had tuned it all out. Shaking his head at her crazy antics, he dismissed her once again and moved to another spot on the porch.

Several hours later, Robert stopped to stretch his sore back muscles. Working on his knees for the last hour had caused his back to tighten up and become painful. Reaching above his head, he grasped his hands and stretched as far as he could reach. As he brought his hands down, he noticed Melissa was once again on her computer.

She no longer had the music up quite so loud, nor was she wearing the headphones. The look of concentration on her face had him wondering at what she was doing. Then, as he watched, her expression drew even more closed and almost sad. He watched as she closed her computer and placed it on the table in front of her. For several minutes, she just stared at it, as if she expected it to move or open itself back up.

Finally, she glanced up and caught Robert staring at her. He gave her a small grin, then picked up his drill, and intentionally gave it a few pulses or power. He had work to do that had nothing to do with the uptight woman sitting on the couch inside.

Melissa couldn’t believe her boss had just threatened to fire her via email.  Her secretary had been kind enough to keep Melissa updated on some of her cases.  Having to take several months off had put her behind the curve with some of her more prominent clients and her secretary had done an excellent job of keeping her “in the know.”

Unfortunately, she had responded to a particularly delicate email and hit “Reply to all.” This meant her boss had been the recipient of her suggestions and had gained the knowledge that she had continued to work while on her sabbatical.  Several minutes after hitting “Send”, she had received a reply from him directly instructing her that if she did not cease working for the remainder of her three weeks, she would be looking at not working at all as he would fire her on the spot.

He had further instructed the other partners and the administrative staff that they were to have no communication of a work nature with her until her sabbatical was over. Failure to comply was ground for immediate dismissal. Melissa knew he wasn’t joking and had simply replied, “I understand.” Closing down her email, she had sat looking at her laptop for several minutes wondering what she was supposed to do for the next three weeks.

The book she had started was interesting, but she wasn’t a big reader and it only held her interest for short periods. Then she had glanced up to find the handyman watching her through the window. She hated feeling like a bug in a glass jar.

All morning she had felt Robert’s presence outside the large windows. If he wasn’t so arrogant, Melissa may have enjoyed the view. The way his worn jeans stretched across his backside when he bent over might have had her drooling if she wasn’t so irritated with him. At some point, he had removed his work shirt, leaving him in a threadbare tank top. His sculptured shoulders and heavily muscled arms were a site to behold. She wondered if his abs were as sculpted as the rest of him. She had always had a thing for a six-pack; but she was forgetting that the muscled body in question belonged to him.  That was enough to end her daydreams right there.  Why couldn’t that mouth-watering body belong to someone with a brain and a personality?

Deciding to take a walk down to the lake, she quickly changed into her bathing suit and put on a pair of shorts and a tank top. Retrieving a towel from the bathroom, she exited the bedroom expecting to see Robert still hard at work with his power tools.

Not immediately seeing him, she grabbed an apple from the fridge and a bottle of water. Snagging her book from the coffee table, she turned the music off and headed for the back door. As she opened the porch door, it was then she noticed that the drilling noise had stopped. Hoping he had decided to quit for the day, Melissa exited the back door and headed towards the lakeshore. 

Her uncle had raved about the lake and she decided it might be a nice place to spend the afternoon. Snagging one of the lounge chairs from the back deck, she folded it up and proceeded to take it with her.

The lake was only a hundred yards or so from the end of the driveway, and Melissa enjoyed the leisurely walk. Living in the city, she had never spent much time in nature. Looking around as she walked, she noticed the sounds and smells and found them quite interesting. Maybe she would talk with her uncle about making future visits to his cabin; she received two weeks vacation time each year, maybe she could spend one of them up here each summer.

Arriving at the lake, she didn’t see anyone else around and found a grassy place to set up her chair. There was a small honeysuckle bush to the right of her chosen spot. The fragrant smell was pleasing and reminded her of her grandmother’s garden.

Walking down to the water’s edge, she tested the water temperature and found it only a little on the cool side.  Deciding to take a swim first, she quickly removed her shorts and tank top. The two-piece suit was one of her favorites and accentuated her breasts and slim waistline. She had always received many compliments from the men at the apartment pool while wearing it. Too bad, there weren’t any hot men around this afternoon. She could use a little diversion after the morning she’d had.

She walked into the water, attempting to gradually adjust to the cooler temperature. When the water was up to her knees, she decided it would be better to just get her entire body wet and adjust to the temperature all at once.  Taking a deep breath, she let herself fall forward, immersing her entire body in the lake water.

The thought of not having to deal with the handyman for the remainder of the day lifted her spirits and she was smiling as she surfaced. The coolness of the water had astounded her upon first impact, but now that she had adjusted, the water was cool and relaxing.

Melissa had always enjoyed swimming and struck out for the buoy located about hundred yards out. Boats and canoes were allowed on the lake, but only if they were operated without engines.

She had only taken a few strokes when the sound of a voice drifted to her ears and had her turning on her back to peruse the shore. She was so shocked to see Robert sitting calmly on the shore next to her deck chair she
screamed and then swallowed some water as she lost her footing on the slick lake bottom. Floundering for several seconds, she finally found her footing again.

“Leave. What are you doing here? Are you following me? You can’t be here!”

Robert grinned at her as he finished another bite of his sandwich. He had heard her arrive at the lake and had been ready to make his presence known, that was until she revealed her barely there swimsuit. His mouth had hung open and he barely refrained from embarrassing himself by chasing after her as she had tried to gradually adjust to the cool lake water. When she had taken the whole body plunge, his body had yearned to join her, if only to find relief from the persistent tension that had invaded it.

It hadn’t been his intention to startle her, but her reaction was totally worth it. If she didn’t calm down, the water around her was liable to start boiling. Answering her demands, he shrugged his shoulders and told her, “Way I see it, I got here first. I’ve been here for almost twenty minutes; you just arrived. If you don’t like it, you can leave the same way you came.”

Melissa couldn’t believe that Robert was at the lake. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Should she just get out of the lake and return to the house? As she headed for the shore, she noticed his attention was totally focused on her. She stopped her approach and observed him watching her. As she perused his stance, her eyes were drawn to the waist area of his jeans and the definite bulge present there. There was no mistaking his interest in her and she refused to provide him with any more of a show than he had already been privy too.

Melissa enjoyed men’s attention and had been known to intentionally tease a man to get a response, but that was always on her terms. She not intended to encourage Robert’s interest, turned, and headed back out towards the buoy. He had said he was on his lunch break, which meant he would be headed back to the cabin shortly. She would just relax and swim in the lake until he left.

Stopping to get her bearings, she realized that she had swum out to where the lake depth prevented her feet from touching the bottom. Paddling to keep herself afloat, she gauged the buoy to be another fifty yards out or so.

Before she could continue her swim, she heard Robert shouting to her from the shore, “You really need to kick harder to make your stroke more successful.”

Deciding just to ignore him and his not-so-helpful criticism, she continued swimming until she reached the buoy. Her feeling of accomplishment was overshadowed by the figure standing on the beach, attempting to demonstrate proper swimming technique to her. He looked so hilarious she had to cover her mouth so he wouldn’t see her grin.

Figuring that he would have to finish his lunch break before she could swim back to shore, Melissa ignored him and started for the shoreline and her waiting deck chair. As she reached the bank and found her footing again, she stopped to see if Robert had removed himself yet.

He was still sitting there, watching her with a smirk on his face. “You really need to practice your breathing technique. Maybe you should swim out to the buoy again and I’ll watch real careful this time so I can tell you what you’re doing wrong,” he suggested, knowing it would get her hackles up. He was really enjoying irritating the little uptight thing.

Melissa stared back at him and refused to respond. Turning her back on him, she pretended to be interested in the lake before her. In reality, the temperature of the water was beginning to give her the chills, but she really didn’t want to exit the water with him watching her. He had seen enough of her already, thank you!

“So what had you so upset with your computer this morning? You looked like you expected it to reach up and bite you.”

“It’s none of your business what I was doing on my computer this morning!”

“Well, it sure looked like it was unpleasant. Why would you bring your computer up here anyway? I thought people went to their cabins to get away from work, not to bring it with them?”

“I wasn’t working exactly. I was just checking to make sure things were running smoothly back at my office.”

Robert watched her for a moment and then asked, “So what is it exactly that you do when you’re not slumming up here in the woods?”

Melissa looked back over her shoulder before answering. “I’m an attorney for a family law practice.”

“And that means you do what?” Robert had an idea, but wanted to hear her explanation.

“It means I help people correct the biggest mistake of their lives.” Melissa truly believed that marriage was the biggest mistake two people could ever make. It didn’t matter what the statistics said, in her book, everyone who got married eventually ended up divorced. It was messy, costly, and if you knew it was coming, why not just avoid it from the outset, and save yourself all of the heartache.

“You mean you’re a divorce lawyer?” Robert asked out of curiosity.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. The institution of marriage is simply the breeding ground for the act of divorce. All marriages end up in the courtroom; it’s simply a matter of how long two people will pretend to be happy before they realize they actually hate each other.”

“You don’t really mean that, do you?” Robert asked. He was stunned at the vehemence in Melissa’s voice as she talked about marriage. And he thought he was the only person who thought marriage should be outlawed.

“I do.” Melissa turned in the water so she could look at Robert as she made her next statement, “Marriage ruins people. It makes them do things they would not normally do and act as if they have no concept of right or wrong. Divorce is the only solution and brings to light what people are truly like. In my experience, people are generally horrible human beings after having been married.”

“So what are you up here in the mountains, instead of helping some poor person escape the confines of their marriage?”

Melissa was silent for a moment. She was embarrassed to admit that she hadn’t been given a choice. “I’m here trying to find my perspective again.”

“Perspective?”

“My balance, my peace – call it whatever, but I was given the opportunity to relax for a while and find some peace before continuing my career choice.”

“You get laid off or something?”

“No, I was given a sabbatical for 2 months.”

“Sabbatical? Like an extended vacation?”

“Yes, like an extended vacation. I lost my perspective and blew up at a client.”

“Bet your bosses weren’t happy with that.”

“Well, if it had happened in the office, I probably would have only gotten a lecture about decorum and such, but as it happens, I was in the courtroom when I lost it. I didn’t even hear the judge when he asked me to take my seat.”

Robert laughed as he pictured her ranting and raving in similar fashion to this morning’s show. He just bet the judge was impressed with her performance, even if she was fully dressed.

“It really wasn’t all that funny. The judge found me in contempt of court and my secretary wasn’t allowed to bail me out until the next morning. I spent the night sitting in a jail cell listening to one woman puke her guts up and another one call her pimp every name she could think of.  She was very inventive in her use of the English language.  Needless to say, I had never been so relieved to see my secretary the next morning.”

“I bet. So the big bosses gave you a vacation to cool down?”

“Kind of.  I have to meet with the senior partner in three weeks and convince him that I can handle family law and can refrain from becoming emotionally involved with my clients.”

“Emotionally involved? Is that what set you off, some lady not get enough of her husband’s wealth to meet your requirements?”

Melissa couldn’t believe the audacity of this man. He didn’t have a clue about the clients she dealt with. Taking a step towards him, the water rose up to just below her shoulders. “You’re just like the rest of them. It’s always the woman’s fault and they’re all money-grabbing hookers. Well let me tell you something about my last client. She was banging anything and everyone around her, except her husband of course. The poor man worked 60-hour weeks so that his wife could afford the house on the hill with the pool and tennis court. She wanted the kids in private school so he took on extra clients so they could afford the $10,000/year tuition.

When it came time for the settlement, he willingly agreed to everything she asked for. She wanted the house; he gave it to her. She wanted enough alimony so she wouldn’t have to work; he agreed and gave it to her.

Everything she asked for he agreed to. The only thing he wanted was the kids. She never took care of them, always using a nanny service on school breaks and during the summer.

She agreed that he could have the kids; after all, being single with two kids would put a serious dent in her playtime. Then her sister told her how much child support she could go after if she asked for custody of the kids.

The witch didn’t even prepare me. The case was ready to be closed when she demanded a custody hearing and that the judge awards her custody of the children until they turned sixteen.

I just stared at her I was so upset. When the judge asked me if I was making a motion to set a custody hearing date, I kind of lost it. I told her exactly what I thought of her as a person and that she was the worst mother in the world. I called her a few choice names as well.”

“Is that when the judge found you in contempt of court?”

“Pretty much. I tried to apologize to both the judge and my client, but it was a little late for that. I heard from my secretary that my co-counsel excused my behavior to the court as a nervous breakdown and took over the client’s custody hearing.”

“Did she win custody?” Robert asked.

“She got partial custody. The judge agreed that since she was prone to use nannies and babysitters when the kids were at home for any length of time, they would be better off living with their father during the school year. My secretary said the court gave her every other weekend, alternating Christmases and six weeks every summer.  Once the kids turn twelve, they can choose to spend those times with her or their father.

The judge denied her request for child support and closed the case.” Melissa sighed as she finished telling the details of her story.

One more
failed marriage, bringing out the worst in people. So what about you, ever think about tying the knot?” Melissa didn’t think he was the marrying type, but one could never tell.

“Not me. I watched my mom and dad fight it out for the first 10 years of my life. Then, when she finally got smart and left him, she just found another, and then another. She’s on husband number five right now and they always end up the same way. She gets hurt, then depressed, then starts drinking, and I get to bail her out of the slammer. Nah, marriage is a sad state of affairs better left to those poor saps that don’t know any better.”

“I agree. Marriages always result in divorce so why put yourself through it when you already know how the story ends.” Melissa was surprised that she and Robert actually had something in common.

She was silent for a moment as she debated whether to exit the water, even if he was still there watching. She was shivering with cold and was looking forward to wrapping up in the big towel she had brought with her from the cabin. Swallowing her nervousness, she began walking towards the lakeshore.