Chapter 8

The drive towards Constantia. Andrea’s mind is in turmoil.

The sky is lightening towards the east, although the stars still sparkle overhead. The sky in the east is more greyish as Ash drives us, Roxy in the back and me in the left front passenger seat. I look at my watch. It’s just past five in the morning, ending the long night where I was whisked away in a luxury business jet from Margate in KwaZulu-Natal to here, in Cape Town.

We’re on the M3 freeway heading towards Muizenberg, with trees lining both sides of the twin double lane highway. My mind’s in turmoil. Dusty’s injured: Ash said that it was minor, a few scratches and bruises, and a cut above his ear. Damn! He could have bled to death. One of the main arteries in the human body runs just above the ear.

I could have lost Dusty! That thought hits me like a sledgehammer. I could have lost Dusty! Why’s it so important that the thought of losing Dusty could have such an impact on me? Is it because he fought to get Morningside back for me? No, he only set the ball rolling. There’re others that now joined the crusade and are helping green, peaceful and at rest. But inside me the storm’s raging. I need to reach Dusty.

“Stop biting your nails!” Roxy admonishes me from the back.

“I’m not biting my nails!” I shoot back. But I really was biting my nails.

“Then what is going clickety-click like a horse on cobblestones? The car on the road?”

“Yes, the car on the road...”

“Leave Miss Louw alone, Roxy,” Ash speaks softly, just audible above the sound of the car. “She’s nervous, so let her be. It’s not far from here. We will take the Kendal Road turn-off up ahead, then right across the bridge and proceed along Spaanschemat River Road, to Klein Constantia Road, and Wolvenkopft Manor.”

I keep quiet.

“I’m just trying to...”

“It’s okay, Roxy. I’m fine...” I interject, but I’m not fine. Dusty is hurt, and I hate not knowing how badly he’s injured, despite what Ash said.

Into the world we go, planning futures, shaping years ... our own pathways planned and executed. Then love bursts in, and suddenly all that wisdom disappears.

Love makes fools of everyone:

Love breaks all the rules we make;

Love changes everyone it touches, makes them live or perish in its flame;

Love changes everything, hands and faces; earth and sky.

Love changes everything, how you live and how you die;

Love changes everything, days are longer, words mean more;

Love changes everything, pain is deeper than before.

Is this the feeling that I feel? The big L? Is this why I pain for Dusty being hurt? Is this why I felt something was wrong with Dusty? What if he does not feel the same? What if I make a fool of myself?

What if he has a girlfriend? I did not ask him, and he did not say. But a man like Dusty is bound to have a girlfriend, a lover. I am fifteen years younger. How does he see me? As a friend ... a client? He did ask for a fee to represent me ... Even if it was only ten Rand, it was still a fee for his services...

Andrea, keep your head up girl, and play it safe ... And the audacity for not phoning me! ... But then again, he had no reason to call me ... Why should he? I’m not his girlfriend ... at least not now, and maybe not ever.

We’re climbing steadily up a narrow winding road, lined with trees and wild bushes now. Just inside of a sharp right-hand curve in the road, a huge white wall looms. As we near the gate, it swings inward. There’s the glass window of the security guard office on the left, to the right of the gate. In bold golden metal letters “Wolvenkopft Manor,” is displayed.

Ash sees me looking and says: “The mountain behind the house is Vlakkenberg Peak, that’s part of the Constantia Mountain, and around the corner is “Houtkapperspoort.” (Wood chopper’s gateway)”. He drives through the gate with only a slight wave towards the unseen security guard hidden behind the one-way glass of the office. A paved driveway extends up towards a huge Cape Dutch styled thatched roof house, sitting on a rise on the property.

We approach the house, and I notice the view looking out the left side window: indescribable. I could see right over the Cape Peninsula towards the Hottentots Holland Mountain range in the far blue distance. Cape Hangklip stood out majestically near the coastal village of Rooiels, like a sentinel guarding the entrance to False Bay on the other side.

Just over these mountains is Morningside Meadows, about a hundred and eighty kilometres away.

The house on the mountain slope reminded me of Morningside Meadows. It had the same Cape Dutch style; the same wooden shutters beside the windows; familiar. If my mind was not focussed on Dusty, I would have thought “awesome.”

The car stops on the gravel patch in front of the stairs leading up towards the huge oak front door. I get out and see the grey-haired gentleman of last night standing at the top of the stairs.

“Come, Miss Louw, come meet Anton Stiglitch, AKA Cookie. He’s more of a friend than a butler, but a real good fellow,” Ash invites. “If Dusty’s awake, we’ll go to him...”

Well, looks like I’m out of my league here: this Ashwin Windsor has a butler! And what is more, I’m really cut down to size when I enter the manor house. In the entrance hall I’m greeted by a petite green-eyed redhead. This time her hair’s loose over her shoulders, and her smile’s a mile wide. She was dressed in denim jeans, t-shirt and running shoes.

“Hello Andrea. Welcome to Wolvenkopft Manor. I take it you’re not here for a pow-wow on geology?”

I’m astounded! My geology professor! Doctor Angelique Rothman! Okay, she’s not a professor, only a lecturer, but we all call her “Prof.”

“Hi ... Hi ... Prof,” I stammer. “I did not know you live here!”

“I do have a home life too, you know? Come, let me fix you up with some coffee. Dusty is awake and will be up here shortly,” she rambled, and I felt like sinking into the floor! Ash looked at me and smiled.

“See! She’s also fifteen years younger than me, but we love one another more and more every day...”

“Hell, girlfriend! I did not know you study under Angie! Life is full of surprises” Roxy chips in.

“I ... I did not expect to see her here...”.

“Well, Andrea. Let’s get you some coffee and breakfast. You must be dead of hunger by now,” Angie says, and takes me by the arm. “This way ... Cookie has laid out a spread as usual.”

Prof Rothman just led me away, like a lamb to the slaughter. I desperately need to go see Dusty, but deflated, I followed the flow into the manor house. Dusty was injured, but it’s not life threatening, and they say I will shortly see him.

Inside I’m trembling like jelly. How will I react when I see Dusty? I jerk my hand out of my mouth. I’ve been biting my nails again.

Wolvenkopft Manor house, Constantia. Cape Town. In the basement.

Nurse Louise gathered the medical paraphernalia in and around the bed, while I sat in the big easy chair.

“After breakfast, you can go take a stroll in the garden,” she tossed over her shoulder. “It is promising to be a windless glorious day in Cape Town.”

“I would rather go and see what is happening at the office,” I replied. “But I think Ash has other plans.”

“Yeah. Plans that don’t involve strenuous exercise!”

“Ah gee, I need to uphold my membership at Planet Fitness...” I teased.

“All the exercise you need now is just a casual walk in the garden. No driving cars and no jumping up and down.”

“No wonder Ash calls you Igor!”

“But as Igor, I get results!” Chuckle.

“Igor, are you terrorising my guest?” Ash asked with a smirk from the doorway.

“Never!” Louise exclaimed. “You know me...” Chuckle, and she took her stuff and left the room.

“Don’t worry Louise, Dusty will be okay with me,” Ash tossed after her as she went through the door.

“Hello, Ash! You’re up early?”

“Up early you say ... I never slept. But I’m going to get my beauty sleep just now.”

“Now why did you not sleep? Are finances a problem?”

“No, I had guests to fetch and entertain. By the way, you have a visitor.”

“What visitor? I thought I was supposed to be dead...”

“Well, I could not convince a certain blue-eyed blond about your death. She senses you from hundreds of kilometres away. She’s here, having breakfast with Angie and Roxy.”

“WHAT!” I responded and got up out of the easy chair.

“Slowly, Dusty. Take it easy. You’re not a hundred percent yet.”

“I need to see Andrea ... explain what happened...”

“I told her the truth. A little fire-eater you got there. I thought she would skin me alive and then feed my bleeding carcass to the sharks in False Bay!”

“What, little shy Andrea?”

“I’m glad you think she is shy. She told me in so many words that If I don’t take her to see you, she would walk! If she could scratch out my eyes, she would have. Lucky Roxy was there to protect me.” Chuckle.

“That’s not Andrea. She could not hurt a fly.”

“Well, I like her spirit. She’s a good one. And, Dusty, don’t mess with her. I think she’s in love with you...”

“You think? More like hero worship.” I replied.

“I know the signs. Why else would she act the way she did?”

“Well, I...”

“Admit it, Dusty! You’re in love with her too.”

“I...”

“Come, let’s go have breakfast.”

Together we walked up the stairs towards the ground floor dining room.

“We’ll move you up to one of the first-floor bedrooms later today, if you want,” Ash said over his shoulder. “Or, you might consider moving into one of the other five houses here on the property. They are just sitting there and gathering dust.”

“That’s fine. I’m happy downstairs, and plan on not staying long,” I replied.

“And where will you go? Home? You’re dead, remember?”

“Yeah ... I’m dead...” I sighed. By this time we reached the ground floor and went through a long passage towards the dining room. It was there that the first encounter of the third kind took place. We entered the passage, and Andrea came out of the bathroom. She stopped for a moment and looked at me, then she rushed forward...

“Dusty!” she squealed and grabbed me around the waist. She looked up into my eyes. Her lips slightly parted. Then she pressed her face i my chest and held me close.

“I ... thought ... I lost you...” She whispered.

“Sjuu ... sweetie pie ... I’m shaken but not stirred too much,” I soothed her.

“But it could have been so much worse!”

“Well, it was not. I’m here, and alive ... My head hurts a little, but that will pass as well.”

“I’ll leave you two to each other. I’m going for breakfast and then ... sleep!” Ash announced, and he pressed past us in the passage.

Andrea kept holding me tightly, her face buried in my chest. Something wet and warm was soaking my shirt.

“Hey, sweetie. Don’t cry...” I soothed, stroking her hair.

“But ... but...”

“But nothing. Come, let’s go out in the garden for a bit.”

“Okay...” And she let go of my waist but took my hand in hers. I led her through the door at the end of the long passage and stepped out onto the paving at the side of the house.

Huge green oak trees lined the garden of Wolvenkopft Manor, and were scattered throughout the lush green lawns, creating pools of shadows where wooden benches were placed around the age-old tree trunks.

We sat down on the bench. The early morning sun shining through the tree canopies, painted some funny shadow shapes on the green grass. Andrea sat glued to me, clutching my hand.

“What happened, Dusty?”

“I still don’t know. Ash dropped me off, and I wanted to see if my truck would start. I opened the garage door and ... boom! I woke up with Ash looking down on me...”

“Quad Five?”

“We suspect it, but can’t prove it ... yet,” I answered, and she did not say anything. She got that 1000-nautical-mile-stare again; lost in thought. She sat like that for a long time and then softly said:

“If I hadn’t sat at your table at the Vanilla Café, none of this would have happened...”

“Don’t say that, Andrea. You were bound to sit down at my table,” I replied. “Fate dictated it...”

“Fate? You say it is fate that brought us together?”

“Yes...”

“And will fate decide to get us through this mess...”

“If not, I will be giving fate a lending hand in seeing that you are safe, and back at Morningside, where you belong.”

“And if fate decide otherwise?”

“Then we cross that bridge when we get to that bridge.”

“And if there’s no bridge to cross?”

“Then we build our own ... to cross over the ravine...”

“Dusty?”

“Yes, sweetie pie?”

“Never mind...”

“No, tell me.”

“Dusty, you can tell me I’m silly..., but I’m in love with you...” she blurted and took both my hands in hers. “If, you don’t feel the same ... tell me. Tell me I’m a silly little girl.”

“You’re not silly, Andrea. Not silly at all. I am silly in love with you too. Ever since I first saw you, I knew I lost my heart to you.”

“I saw the love in your eyes the day I met you for the first time. And for a while the world stopped turning. Your smile said stay a while and love me, as I stood close to you and time passed by ... Your eyes said everything that I longed to hear...” She said, and the ice-blue eyes turned bluer, softer, taking on a hue I’ve never seen before. “And then when I thought my lonely days were ending ... I nearly lost you. Dusty, I love you...”

“I thought you were so far out of my reach, that I never let on ... that I fell head over heels for you...” I whispered.

“Well, I am here. Touch me ... It’s so easy to leave me ... But if you touch me, you will know what happiness is.”

“Andrea...” I whispered, and she said nothing, just snaked her arms around my neck and kissed me. I returned her kiss, our lips eagerly searched one another, passionately. We clung to one another.

It was a while before we had to come up for air, still holding each other, there under the old oak tree, in the garden of Wolvenkopft Manor.

“Dusty, make the world go away. Get if off my shoulder. Say nice things to me. Yesterday is dead and gone, and tomorrow is out of sight..., and it’s bad to be alone. Let the devil take tomorrow, for today I need a friend...” Her blue eyes searched my face, her lips slightly parted. “Help me make it through this mess and out the other side ... Stay with me ... I’ll be at your side till the earth is knotted up; an old burned-out cinder in the sky.”

“Now, more than ever. When I found you, the light in your eyes was dim. There was fear of the loneliness. Nowhere was there someone you could trust. No one to hold your hand. You were like a child in a dark lonely city. But if you cry, I’ll comfort you. If you speak, I’ll listen and believe you. If you say what you want, I will understand. Where you go astray, I’ll come get you. If you fall, I’ll help you up. If you are afraid and full of loneliness, I will stand by you.” I responded and collected another smothering kiss.