Eternal Melody (28 page)

“I fetc
hed you some water from the drinking fountain down the hall.  Swallow these aspirin
s
with it.  They will lower your fever.” He commanded authoritatively, as she drained the entire mug, replenishing her dehydrated body.

“I feel better already.” She said truthfully, offering a section of orange to Luke.

“No thank you.  This is all for you.  You need to get your strength back
, though I suspect that bit of nourishment has already helped significantly as you say.  You’re not accustomed to such a rigorous work schedule, so your immune system is more susceptible
.
  But you likely just need some repose.
” He said, moving across the room to
grab a chair so he could sit next to Rebecca while she
reclined
on the sofa.

As he did so, he noticed the haphazardly thrown flowers littering the floor.  “Where did these flowers come from?” He inquired, picking up a parched baby’s breath and holding it between his thumb and forefinger.

Sighing, Rebecca told him about Clive’s visit to her dressing room last evening and how he claimed she had a secret admirer.  “That’s why I was so frightened when you nearly broke the door before.  I thought it could be the strange man that gave me those pitiful flowers.”

Luke frowned stiffly, regarding the flowers and thinking that they looked anything but pitiful. 
Indeed, if the bouquet had received proper attention, it would have made a charming centerpiece in the dressing room, exhibiting a rainbow of cheery hues.  A bouquet with such a meticulous selection of blooms could only come from one of the fanciest florists in Vienna, he thought bitterly, wondering
just how wealthy Rebecca’s secret admirer could be.

Giggling at the sight of the flowers spread across the floor, Rebecca added, “I shouldn’t laugh.  I mean, it’s absolute lunacy for a man to watch the same opera for three consecutive nights, don’t you think?  I should be cowering right about now, and I was last night.  But I feel safe now that you’re here Luke.  Come sit next to me.” She made a space for him on the sofa and gestured for him to join her.

Still gripping the dry flower in his hands, he walked over to the sofa and sat down on the edge.

“Relax, Luke.  And put that silly flower down.” When he continued to hold it, she playfully knocked it out of his hand, watching it tumble to the floor where it belonged.  “What’s the matter with you, Luke?  Say something.”
She snapped, unnerved by his sullen muteness.

Staring at the spot on the floor where the baby’s breath lay, Luke muttered, “Perhaps this secret admirer is in love with you.”

If Luke had not been in such a gloomy state, Rebecca would have laughed uproariously at his asinine comment.  She sucked in a breath and bit the inside of her cheeks to keep from laughing.

With deliberate seriousness, she replied, “Luke, this so-called secret admirer is most certainly not in love with me!  How could he be?  He has never even seen me.”

Luke regarded her as though she were insane.  “You said that he’s been to three consecutive performances!  How could he not have seen you?” He thundered, causing Rebecca to flinch.

Cautiously, unfamiliar with this explosive side of Luke, Rebecca explained, “He saw a character I was portraying.  He saw the princess Pamina, not the woman Rebecca.  You are the one who convinced me to remove all those layers of cosmetics and reveal my true self
, don’t you remember?
  He has never been privy to that, whoever he is!”

A flicker of understanding temporarily illuminated Luke’s face, to be quickly replaced by a darkness that rivaled his previous explosiveness in its jarring intensity.

Tightly, Luke gritted, “Whoever he is, the man clearly has a scale-tipping wallet.”

Luke would have
continued, but Rebecca interrupted furiously, “So what?  Who cares how much money this lunatic has?”

“I don’t understand why you think he is crazy.  Aren’t you women supposed to find such gestures romantic?”

Rebecca scowled fiercely, in her indignation feeling much of her strength resurge.  Countering his foolish inquiry with a question of her own, she demanded, “Why would receiving flowers from a man whom I have never seen be romantic when I have you in my life?!”

“Never mind, Rebecca.  I shouldn’t be quarreling with you right now.  You need to get some more rest or you will relapse before sunset.”

Shaking her head wildly, irritated that he was about to dismiss her as though she were some sniffling child, Rebecca exclaimed, “I will decide if and when I need more rest.  You are not going to
stimulate my temper and then walk away!”

Completely ignoring her brewing outrage, Luke hurled himself off the sofa and began striding towards the door.  Rebecca burned to follow him and stop him from leaving, but she had too much dignity.

With as much gentleness as he could muster in his current flaring temperament, Luke excused himself from the room.  “Pardon me, Rebecca, but I stand by my earlier notion that you need your rest.  I will come for you later when perhaps you’ll be ready to walk home.”

Scrunching a pillow in her fist, Rebecca seethed, “You shall do no such thing!  I am perfectly capable of walking home on my own when I’m good and ready!”

No one wa
s going to dictate orders to this
daring twentieth century woman who traveled thousands of miles across the sea, rented her own apartment, and nabbed a leading role in an international musical production.
She sat erect on the sofa, crossing her arms angrily over her chest.

Luke eyed her warily, now quite familiar with her
tirades.  “Do as you please, Rebecca.  As for me, I’ve been traipsing across Vienna since the crack of dawn,
and
I find myself in need of refreshment.  I’ll be having lunch now.  Good day.”

With that curt good-bye, Luke shut the door firmly behind him, immediately longing to run back inside and take the maddening woman in his arms.  Even suffering from dehydration and fever, Rebecca was stunningly beautiful
.  Her brief but powerful outburst
had brought warm color back to her sickly cheeks, rendering her as radiant as
she
had been
at the poolside in her royal blue maillot with water droplets glistening on her skin.

As he walked out into the peaceful Sunday afternoon, Luke felt like an utter buffoon.  He had caused that entire scene when he should have been
taking care of Rebecca
.  What had come over him? 
Admittedly,
the sight of the flowers had injected him with a jealousy previously unknown to him.  Even when Greta’s hulking fiancé had confronted him on the street, he
did not
feel as jealous.  Dangerous as it might be, Luke had a sense of proprietorship over Rebecca, perhaps since she had gifted him with her virginity.

But it was more than that.  Even if Rebecca had entertained a string of lovers before him, he would still be equally jealous.  And he would still be equally poor.  Luke reflected with a grimace that the real reason for his anger towards Rebecca had not stemmed merely from jealousy, but from a suffocating notion of inadequacy. 
Earlier in the day, when he had learned
of Annabelle, for all intents and
purposes Rebecca’s future adopted daughter, the wheels of failure had already begun turning in his head
,
and he knew he had nothing to offer.  But to be faced so soon with the prospect of a
wealthy competitor for Rebecca’s heart
was more than he could handle.

Spying a tavern down the road, Luke headed in that direction.  He was not much of a drinker, but certainly a few shots of whiskey with his lunch couldn’t hurt.  He needed to calm his nerves
and, for the time being, whiskey was the most accessible method to accomplish that feat.

Chapter
Nineteen

That evening, Rebecca sat in her grandmother’s hotel room, rocking Annabelle in her lap.  After Luke’s departure, she had passed several more hours in the dressing room, vainly hoping that he would come back and apologize for his inexplicably rude behavior.  Finally, disgusted with herself for waiting, Rebecca had left the building and successfully walked back to her apartment without a remnant of nausea.  The aspirin had worked wonders in reducing her body temperature to a normal level, and the fruit and water had revitalized her. 
Now, as she sat holding the drooling baby in her arms, she watched her grandmother prepare for an evening on the town.

Gloria Meadow was carefully selecting a bracelet and matching earrings from the few pieces of jewelry that she had brought from Michigan.  Turning from the vanity to Rebecca, she queried, “Would rose quartz or
mother-of-pearl look better with this ensemble?”

Rebecca studied her grandmother, elegantly draped in a heather green dress that whispered of autumn.  Around her shoulders, she wore a taupe shawl that complemented the muted shade of her gown.

Thoughtfully, Rebecca replied, “The mother-of-pearl would look radiant.”

“Thank you.  You’re right, darling!  The rose quartz wouldn’t even match.  I don’t know what I was thinking!” Gloria crooned, reminding Rebecca of a teenage girl attending a debutante ball
and anticipating
a dance
with her first partner
.

In fact, Gloria had recently celebrated her sixty-fourth
birthday
but
,
ever since arriving in Vienna
,
was
miraculously
flowing
backwards in time.  The name of that miracle was Christopher Graysen, with whom she was having dinner that evening.

Despite her low spirits, Rebecca grinned, delighted to see her grandmother so excited and actually doing something for herself.  Most memories Rebecca had of Gloria were of her stirring a pot of stew, swabbing a skinned knee, or sewing a button. 
The woman deserved to be treated to dinner with a gentleman, and Rebecca could think of no finer one than Mr. Graysen. 
At that moment, a knock sounded at the door, as the women turned to each other, both knowing who the caller was.

“Have a wonderful time, Grandmother.” Rebecca said cheerily.

Gloria gave her a playful wink and opened the door to Mr. Graysen, dapper as ever in a silver suit and black necktie.  Rebecca wondered where his bowtie was; perhaps on very special occasions he wore a necktie instead, she thought.

Gloria offered him a radiant smile and bid, “Good evening, Mr. Graysen.”

“Good evening to you, milady.” He bowed before her, sending Gloria into a fit of giggles.
  “A very good evening to you as well, Miss Meadow.  Your niece is fortunate to have such a doting aunt.” Mr. Graysen called warmly to Rebecca who replied with a wave, unable to rise and greet him with the baby in her arms.

“Thank you, Mr. Graysen.  Good evening.”  Rebecca called gaily, reinvigorated by the elder folks’ enthusiasm.

Arm in arm, Gloria and Christopher departed the hotel room, leaving Rebecca feeling suddenly vacant.
  Alone in the room, Rebecca
thought
with
hostility of her last encounter with Luke and how coldly he had behaved. 
It disturbed her that the dynamic
s
of their relationship could change so quickly.  As she was
wallowing
in these dreary musings, a knock sounded at the door.  Gloria’s white dinner gloves perched on the dresser.

Assuming that her grandmother had returned to collect them, Rebecca hollered, “Come in, Grandmother.  The door is open.”

Instead of Gloria, it was Luke who waltzed into the room, startling Rebecca as she immediately ceased rocking the chair and stared at him open-mouthed.  “Luke,” She breathed, wondering how he had known she was there.

“Hello Rebecca.” He said awkwardly.  “I was taking an evening stroll and ran into Mr. Graysen and your grandmother on the street.  They told me that you were here watching Annabelle
, so I thought I might keep you company.”

Rebecca remained stubbornly silent, still reeling from his abrupt departure earlier in the day.  With giant blue eyes, Annabelle stared at Luke, making gurgling noises and exclaiming, “Hi!”
  Rebecca felt a surge of pride hearing the saccharine voice of her niece, who had begun to piece together small sentences, expressed mainly when she wanted something.

“How old is she?” Luke inquired, stroking the baby’s tiny, sticky hand.

“She will be one year later this month.” Rebecca answered coolly, not meeting his gaze.  If he thought that he could simply sweep back into her good graces without an appropriate apology, then he was gravely mistaken.

Luke said casually, “I saw Ryan back at the apartment earlier.  The poor fellow combed more square miles of Vienna than most coaches do in a month.  But I assured him that you were fine, and he was relieved to hear it.”

“Good.  I wouldn’t want him to fret over me.” Rebecca
replied,
clutching the baby closer to her bosom.  Luke could stand there until infinity pretending that nothing had transpired, but she was not going to let him chip away at her brick wall without an
apology
.