An unexpected Reunion

Robert thought that the worst thing that could happen today would be revealing the truth to his girlfriend , Wanda. How could he tell her about the love he felt for Maryanne, and had always felt for her, without breaking Wanda's heart? And what about Maryanne's boyfriend, and Robert's best friend, Keith? How would he react when he found out that Robert and Maryanne had professed their, long simmering, love for each other last night?

But known of this mattered now as he held Maryanne tight, while the paramedics pulled Maryanne's mother's body from the lake.

Maryanne had to be taken to the hospital that day in an ambulance, as she wouldn't speak and just kept staring ahead. The paramedics said she was suffering from shock and needed help.

They waited for what felt like hours before a doctor came to speak with them. She told them that Maryanne’s father was stable and sleeping but would have to stay for a few days.

Roberts’s mom asked, “What about the kids?”

The doctor told them that the kids were given sedatives, as they were both in shock, and would be kept overnight for observation. She told them that they should go home and get some rest. Robert’s mother agreed with her and told him that they would go home and get some sleep and come back in the morning.

When they were pulling into their driveway twenty minutes later, Robert, overwrought with the events of the last twenty-four hours, didn't see Keith and Wanda standing beside the house until his mother said, "Your friends are here."

He looked up to see them looking towards the car and thought, I can't deal with this now.

He didn't know what to say as there were no words he could use that would change the effect of his betrayal on them. Robert told them what the doctor had said and that they were going back in the morning. He asked if they wanted to go with him, but Keith said he didn't think that would be a good idea. He stared into Robert's eyes for a few seconds before saying, "You had better not hurt her," and turned and walked away.

He watched Keith walk away, knowing he had just lost a friend, before turning to Wanda and seeing her tears said, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

She thought for a second before saying, "I know that, but you did hurt me, Robert, you hurt me more than you know."

Robert got very little sleep that night, as he thought about all the things that had happened, and couldn’t get the memory of finding Maryanne’s mother out of his mind.

The next morning after breakfast, he went back to the hospital with his mom and Betty to visit Maryanne and her brother and father. When they arrived, Maryanne's father was awake, and she and Tommy were in the room with him.

Tommy seeing them come in first walked to Robert and hugged him tight, as Robert asked if he was ok. As he was hugging Tommy, he could see Maryanne blankly looking at him. Robert couldn’t understand, but it seemed she had fear in her eyes as she stared at him without moving. Tommy told Robert that he was ok but concerned for his sister. He said, “She will break down and cry uncontrollably for a while and then just sit and stare at nothing for a long time.”

Seeing Robert walk in the room bought the memory close to the surface again, and she couldn't handle it. She stood as Robert hugged Tommy, thinking she needed to get away or escape somehow. When he tried to hug her, she pulled away crying and said, "I can't, I'm sorry I just can't do this," and hurried to the washroom door.

Her father told them that she was having a tough time, as she and her mother had an extraordinary bond. They were much more than mother and daughter; they were best friends.

Robert didn't see or talk with Maryanne again until the funeral several days later. When he arrived with his mother that day, Robert could see Maryanne struggling with all the people talking to her about how much they loved her mother.

When Robert came to her and asked if he could help her somehow, she took his hand and walked away from the people that were now surrounding her father and brother. They walked to a small stand of trees a short distance from where her mother would be laid to rest and sat on a bench in the shade. He watched her as she looked towards the grave-site with tears in her eyes, not knowing what to say. They sat like this for a long time, not speaking, with Robert holding her hand in his before she looked at the ground and said,

"I can't do this, Robert."

He thought she meant the funeral, and squeezed her hand a little as he said, "It’ll be over soon; I’ll stay beside you if you wish."

Robert felt something break inside him, when she looked up from the ground and said,

"I don't mean the funeral Robert, I'm talking about us, I can't do this now, I have nothing inside to give. I need some time."

After speaking, she stood and looked at him for a few seconds before saying, “I’m sorry, Robert," and walked back to the grave-site.

Robert sat on the bench after she left, thinking that everything in his world had changed at once. He had lost his friends, and the girl he knew was the love of his life, so suddenly that he felt like his life was over.

Robert tried calling Maryanne a few times in the weeks that followed, but she never came to the phone.

He only saw her one more time before high school finished. Robert got a part-time job at a local pizza store and while arriving for his shift one evening, he recognized their car as he walked through the parking lot. Robert stopped and looked towards it and could see Maryanne sitting in the car with her father, looking at him. They looked at each other for a few seconds, and then she turned and said something to her father before he looked at Robert and pulled out of the parking area and drove away.

As his marks weren't good enough for university, he started classes at trade school that summer studying machinery building. He stayed there for the next year and a half, taking every class he could, finishing with the best marks in the class. Betty's friend gave him a part-time job after school each day, in a machine shop, on the dry dock at the harbour and he loved it.

He turned eighteen in April of that year, and his workmates took him out for dinner at a local pub, he looked older than he was, so he wasn't asked for proof of age. There wasn't much work on the dock that year, so they were only getting a few shifts a week and some of his friends, concerned about their future, were looking for other jobs. At the pub that night, a couple of the guys who were a little older told him they were offered full-time jobs that paid good money by a friend they knew in Toronto and Robert joked and asked them to take him along. They told him that if they got a chance, they would try to get him a job there, as he was the best guy on their crew at the dock.

Robert didn't think about the job in Toronto for the next several months, until he received a call from one of the guys two months before his nineteenth birthday, offering him a job in Toronto at twice his salary. He talked to his mom about the job offer that night at dinner, and she said he should take it as it was a great opportunity.

Two weeks later, Robert flew to Toronto and started his new life on the "Mainland."

*************

Maryanne became the youngest managing editor in the city three months after signing the contract. It took another three months to set up the office and hire the right people before opening the doors to "Andrea Kelly Publishing House," which started full operation the week before Maryanne's twenty-fourth birthday.

Andrea, pleased with how Maryanne had pulled it all together over the last few months, planned a celebration for the Friday after they opened. It would be Canada day, and as Maryanne's birthday was the next day, July 02, she couldn't think of a better way to celebrate.

Andrea's close friend owned a medium-sized restaurant pub on the shores of Lake Ontario and agreed to close the rooftop patio, to the public, for the party. The pub's three levels included the rooftop patio, the second-floor restaurant and "The Pool Cue Sports Bar" on the lower level.

The place had a simple name, "The Pub on the Lake," and had become Maryanne's favourite place to relax with friends, after Patrick introduced it to her several months before.

She’d spent many fun evenings there with her start-up team over the last months but hoped that Patrick would not be there for the celebration as he wasn't part of the group, and she didn't feel comfortable around him lately.

Maryanne had a few casual dates with Patrick; they went for coffee a couple of times, and to the pub that one time. She stopped seeing him after the night at the pub, as he drank too much and started questioning her about not choosing him to help her with the start-up. This surprised her as he seemed to be a quiet and respectful man at work. The way he changed after several drinks at the pub that night reminded her of how her brother acted when he drank, which upset her.

As her best friend, Mai-Ling, didn't have plans for Canada Day, Maryanne asked her to come to the party.

Sitting in the living room enjoying an after-dinner drink, Maryanne said, "Please come with me. We don't have to worry about anything. Andrea is supplying car service for the night, so we can enjoy the fireworks and have a few drinks with no worries."

Looking at Mai-Ling with her lips pouty and her hand on her heart, she continued, "Plus, if we stay till midnight, my best friend can sing happy birthday to me."

Mai-Ling smiled at her little girl charms and laughed before saying,

“How could I possibly say no when you ask me like that. Of course I will go. We’ve both been so busy with work lately, I can’t remember the last time we went out and had some fun. And by fun I mean dancing with someone of the opposite sex."

Maryanne thought about the last time she had been on date and said,

“Yes, as long as that someone is not Patrick.”

****************

Robert loved his job, as it paid well, and entailed travelling all over North America. Working for the same company since arriving in Toronto six years earlier, he felt appreciated and secure in his position. He worked as a mechanical tech now, but started as a machine builder in the factory in Markham. He took pride in getting things done correctly and on schedule, and after three years, the owners rewarded him with their confidence in his abilities and the promotion.

After a couple of years in his new position, and with his savings and new pay scale, he applied for a mortgage from his bank. His approval came shortly before his birthday in April, and he moved into the new condo building he loved, in downtown Toronto, the day before Canada day.

His good friend and workmate, Jason, agreed to help him move after Robert said, "You can spend the night at my condo, and we can walk to the Canada day celebrations on the beach the next day."

Jason put his finger to his lips and scratched his head, trying to look like he was weighing his decision, "What's in it for me?"

Robert laughed, "Ok. Ok. I'll pay for everything, even dinner at "The Pub on the Lake," knowing his good friend was joking.

Robert moved the few things he wanted from his apartment into his pickup truck the night before the move. They were only working until noon the next day, and were downtown and waiting for the furniture delivery by early afternoon.

They were unloading the last piece from Robert's truck, with Jason flexing his muscles jokingly and saying, "See, this is what a real man looks like," when the furniture truck pulled up.

The driver parked and apologized to them because his helper didn't show up for work, and needed their help to lift the furniture. Robert told him, "Don't worry, it's not a big deal; at least you showed up."

As they started to unload the truck, they realized that the driver had not pulled in far enough, and the rear of the truck was blocking a car from getting to the building under construction behind Robert's.

A pretty Asian girl got out of the car and asked Jason politely, "could you please move the truck just a little?"

Jason struck by her beauty, looked into her eyes, not replying until she smiled and said, “Sorry, did you hear me?”

Jason came out of his trance, “Sorry, you took me by surprise; I’ll get the driver to move right away.”

Robert smiled as he could see Jason, smitten by her beauty, started giving the driver shit, and telling him to move the truck.

Jason walked her back to the car, telling her, "Sorry about that, I'm not usually tongue-tied, but your beauty shocked me for a second."

She blushed, looking into his eyes, and Jason was tongue-tied again.

Maryanne got out from the other side of the car, to fix her dress, as Jason and Mai-ling arrived and asked, "Is everything ok?"

Robert started to walk towards them as the other girl was getting out of the car, but the truck driver asked for the key to the elevator, and he turned back to get the key.

********

Maryanne received a call from the condo office on Thursday morning informing her that they needed some final decisions on plumbing hardware and tiles, to move ahead. Maryanne and Mai-ling decided they would go to the condo around mid-day and then go to the art gallery for a few hours.

When they arrived at the condo, the driver told them he couldn't get back to Maryanne’s building because the delivery truck was blocking his way.

Mai-Ling said she would ask the guys to move the truck, as it was on her side of the car, and got out and walked over to them. Maryanne could hear her laughing and flirting with someone and smiled when she looked out the window to see her talking with a handsome young Asian guy.

Maryanne got out on her side of the car to stretch and fix her dress when Mai-Ling returned with the Asian guy and said, "All good, this nice man will get the truck moved right away."

Maryanne turned and thanked the man, thinking he looked like a movie star. He smiled with the whitest teeth she had ever seen and said,

"No problem, anything for two beautiful women," as he turned and made a show of giving the driver shit.

They laughed when they got back in the car with Mai-Ling waving a flyer in front of her face like a fan, and saying, "Oh my God."

The car had just gone around the corner when Robert returned from the front desk, and Jason said, "You missed it, man, I just met two of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen."

Robert said, "I know, I started to come over when the other girl got out of the car but realized I didn't have the elevator key. They were Asian girls, Right?"

Jason told him that they were Asian and white and both knockouts.

They finished setting up the condo and drinking the case of beer Robert had supplied, around midnight, and were calling it a night when Jason said, "Man, she’s a beautiful woman."

Robert heading to the shower, said, “That’s ten times, Jason."

“What do you mean, ten times?”

"That's ten times you've said she's beautiful today; I think someone's in love."

They walked to the beach around noon the next day and joined in the Canada Day celebrations.

After wandering the strip for a few hours, watching live music, and sampling food from the many vendors along the lakefront, they were getting tired from miles of walking and headed to the pub for dinner and drinks.

When they arrived at "The Pub on the Lake” and tried to get a seat on the rooftop patio, they discovered it locked and reserved for a private party. The waiter apologized and said that he had a table in the second-floor restaurant and escorted them to it. They had a great view of the lake from their table, and the food was excellent, as they talked about work and Jason's infatuation.

Robert asked Jason, who wouldn't stop talking about the girl, "Did you ask her name?"

"No. God, I could barely speak English. It was like I was in shock or something."

Jason looked embarrassed as he spoke, and Robert said, “You look like you’ve lost a puppy or something man, don’t worry; she's not the only girl out there.”

Halfway through the meal, as the waiter filled their glasses, and the owner stopped by to ask if everything was ok, a woman came up the stairs and stood at the rooftop entrance. She looked at their table, and the owner walked to her, saying, "Andrea, welcome," and waved the waiter to open the rooftop patio. The two women hugged each other and laughed as Andrea waved at the people at the bottom of the stairs, telling them to come up. Ten or twelve people came up the stairs and were escorted to the patio as Robert watched the sailboats on the lake until Jason got excited and said, "Holy shit, that's them, that's them, man." Robert looked at Jason and said, "Who, what are you talking about?" Jason lowered his voice and said, "The two girls from yesterday, man." Robert looked towards the patio and could see the backs of the two girls as they disappeared out the door to the roof and asked, "Are you sure?" Jason rolled his eyes as if to say, "What do you think?” Robert looked back to the door and said, "Yea, I guess you would be sure."

They finished dinner about twenty minutes after Jason saw the girls going up to the roof, and Robert suggested they go down to the bar for a few beers and play some pool. Jason needed to pee, so Robert went down to get a pool table while Jason went to the restaurant's washroom. All the pool tables were busy, so Robert put his name on the wait-list and was told it would be about an hour.

He went to the bar and ordered two beers and staked out two seats, as he waited for Jason.

Robert sat at the bar for about ten minutes before Jason came down and told him that he just spoke with the Asian girl outside the restroom.

"I asked her if they would like to join us at the bar after they finish dinner."

He looked excited as he told Robert, she said that she would like that and would ask her friend. Robert laughed and slapped him on the back as he said, "Relax, man, you look like you never seen a girl before."

Jason laughing now said, "I know; there's just something about her, God; I almost fell over when she looked in my eyes."

He paused for a second, "Sounds stupid, doesn't it?"

Robert thought about another girl, whose eyes had the same effect on him, and said, "No, it's not stupid, it sounds real."

******

Maryanne could tell Mai-ling was excited when she got back from the restroom, as her face looked flushed when she sat at the table, grinning from ear to ear. She asked her if she felt ok and smiled when Mai-ling told her that she saw the guy from yesterday, when she was waiting at the restroom, and he asked if they would like to have a drink with him and his friend at the bar later. She had never seen Mai-Ling excited like this about a guy, and happily agreed to accompany her to the bar later to meet them.

They were finishing dinner, and while Andrea gave a short speech, Patrick came and sat at their table with a bottle of wine. He had obviously already had several drinks as he slurred his words,

“Hi, gorgeous, I got us a bottle of the best wine they have here. What do you say, we find a private table and drink it together.”

He moved his chair closer to Maryanne, ignoring Mai-Ling, and reached for her hand when she told him to stop. “I don’t want the wine Patrick, and you're making us uncomfortable. I think you should leave.”

Patrick looked at Mai-Ling with disgust and reached for Maryanne’s glass, knocking it to the floor, as he asked, “Why don’t you like me? Am I not good enough for you?”

Maryanne felt embarrassed and trapped and didn't know what to do as she tried to move away from him. Andrea seeing this happen, marched to the table, and ordered Patrick to leave or never come to work again. He looked up at Andrea for a few seconds until she raised her voice and said, "Now!"

Thirty minutes later, Maryanne, still upset with the confrontation but refusing to let Patrick ruin their day, joined Mai-Ling and went down to the bar, to meet the guys.

*******

Robert and Jason got there turn with the pool table about an hour after coming to the bar. They were setting up the table when Roberts’s phone rang, and he looked at the screen to see it was his mom. He told Jason he had to take the call and stepped outside so he could hear better, as it was loud in the bar. Jason set up the table and was practicing some bank shots as he waited for Robert, when a guy that looked drunk walked up and asked,

"What the fuck are you doing?"

He looked at the guy, surprised, "What the hell are you talking about?"

The guy stumbled towards him, "It's not your private table; other people are waiting here."

Jason stayed calm but said, "Relax, man, my friend just stepped away for a second."

The guy stumbled closer, "Who the fuck are you telling to relax?"

He was reaching for Jason when the two girls came in, and the white girl said, "Patrick, stop; what are you doing?"

Patrick turned when he heard Maryanne's voice and said, "Ah, here she is the queen that won't lower her standards for a peasant like me."

Jason stopped him as he tried to walk towards her, but Patrick pushed him hard in the chest, making him fall back against Maryanne, knocking her face-first onto the pool table.

Jason had his legs tangled in the table and chairs he fell against, and Patrick was grabbing Maryanne from behind as she was trying to stand, when Robert walked in the door.

He saw what was happening and rushed to pull the guy off the girl on the pool table. The guy struggling as Robert pulled him away, knocked the girl to the floor as he tried to turn and fight. He spun around attempting to hit Robert, but was stumbling drunk, and fell when Robert dodged his punch. He smashed his rib cage against a chair on the way down and was obviously in pain. The girl was being helped up from beside the pool table, when Patrick, on his knees, tried moving towards her. He was trying to get up, holding his chest, when Robert stepped closer and yelled,

"Don't move, I’ll break your arms if you touch her again."

Maryanne, getting up from the floor, heard what the guy said to Patrick and looked towards him in disbelief.

Robert was looking at the guy on the floor when he heard the girl say, "Robert?"

He turned towards her and felt his heart stop for a second, as he looked into Maryanne's eyes. She walked to him, trembling and crying, and throwing her arms around him, hugged him tight as she kept saying his name over and over. Robert held her close, not wanting to let go, as he repeated her name softly in her ear several times.

The bouncers arrived, and were dragging Patrick out of the bar, as Jason and Mai-Ling looked at Robert and Maryanne, surprised and confused by what they were seeing.

Maryanne, standing beside the pool table in the crowded bar hugging Robert, pulled away first, and looking into his eyes, confused, said,

"How, why?"

Even though he hadn't seen her in almost nine years, Robert felt instantly transported back to the night he held her as she slept.

The love he felt for her, and the pain he felt from losing her was never far from his heart.

It became easier as time moved on, but there were so many times that some little thing would bring him back to her. He’d dated several women over the years, but known of those relationships had lasted more than a few months. The relationship would be going good, and then something the girl did or said would remind him of Maryanne, and everything would change.

When she moved back and looked into his eyes, Robert couldn't help himself. He pulled her closer and kissed her on the lips with the passion of a love he’d lost and found swelling in his heart.

Although they were standing in the middle of a bar surrounded by several people, Maryanne felt she was alone with Robert. Her heart travelled back to sitting on the couch in Newfoundland many years before, when he told her he loved her. She felt everything around her fade away when Robert kissed her, and she pulled him close as her lips wanted to stay on his longer.

******

Maryanne could never forget the look in Robert's eyes, that day at her mother's funeral; he looked lost and devastated, sitting on the bench alone as she walked away.

He’d called her a few times, but she could never find the courage to speak with him.

Many times over the years she would remember the last time she saw him; and wonder how her life would have been different, if her father had let her get out of the car the day they saw Robert in the parking lot at the pizza store.

Maryanne, feeling overwhelmed with emotion and memories, as Robert held her by the shoulders and looked in her eyes, could think of only one thing to say, "I'm so sorry, Robert."

People started taking pictures of Maryanne and Robert with their cell phones. So Mai-Ling and Jason came to their rescue and guided them outside. The four of them walked to a picnic table on the edge of the lake and sat there for an hour talking about what had just happened, and Maryanne and Robert's history.

They all walked back to the pub and went up to the rooftop, with Robert and Maryanne holding hands and Mai-Ling and Jason talking nonstop to each other. When they arrived at the patio, a waiter handed them all a glass of champagne and said the fireworks were about to start. There were about ten people on the patio, all standing at the rail facing the lake, so they thanked the waiter before taking their champagne and joining them.

The show lasted about twenty minutes, and the finale was building to a crescendo of sound and light when Maryanne turned towards Robert.

She said, "My God, I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life," as she turned to see Robert wasn't watching the show but was leaning against the rail watching her.

She felt herself moving towards him as he gazed into her eyes and said, "Yes, I agree," before lifting her into his arms and kissing her.

Standing on that rooftop watching the fireworks with Robert holding her in his arms, Maryanne felt that everything was right in her world. It was crazy, but it felt like the last nine years had passed in one day, and she was exactly where she was supposed to be. Robert knew what she was thinking, and pulling her closer said, "It feels like yesterday, doesn't it." She could feel him inside her soul as she relaxed into his arms, "Yes, it does."

They talked until midnight then went down to the front of the pub, so that Maryanne and Mai-Ling could meet the car that was picking them up. They were sitting on a bus stop bench waiting for the car when Maryanne said that it was officially her birthday, so they all sang happy birthday to her as she laughed while holding Robert’s hand and thinking she couldn’t imagine a better gift.

***********

Patrick, crouching in the shadows across the street from the happy group, seethed with anger as he stared at the man holding Maryanne’s hand. With tears filling his eyes he swore under his breath,

“I swear by all that’s holy or unholy I will make you pay for this.”