Chapter 6

In the main, brunch proceeded without further incident. Several more of Greg's friends and acquaintances came by to say hello. Greg introduced them to Megan, but she knew that she'd never remember their names. The men all professed to be envious of Greg. One woman, a plump blonde with red cheeks, rhapsodized over Megan's complexion and figure. "Honey," she said, "I wouldn't just kill to look like you. I'd even consider becoming a mass murderer."

After the spate of visitors, Greg smiled at Megan. He said, "Now I remember why I don't come here very often. On Sundays, it's become a social club for assholes."

Megan laughed and squeezed his hand. "I don't mind," she said. "I don't mind at all. As long as I'm with you."

Somehow, in spite of all the interruptions, Megan managed to make a pig of herself on the crab claws. She finished with an equally piggy trip to the chocolate fountain. She returned with a plate full of chocolate-dipped strawberries and pineapple chunks. Brunch ended with cappuccino.

Greg sipped his coffee and said, "Now, it's about this moving. What does it entail? Should I rent a truck?"

Megan laughed. "You're going to be amazed at how few possessions I have," she said. "Oh there's stuff at Mum's place. But at the dump I'm renting now, I just have a few clothes, shoes and stuff like that."

"What about furniture?"

"None. I rented the place furnished. You see, I'd been living with Mum. But her place is way the hell out in the burbs. I needed something downtown. Closer to work. I lucked into this little apartment on the Danforth. Actually, it's a sublet from someone who's out of town for a couple of months. I figured I'd look around in the meantime and see what I could find."

Greg grinned. He said, "Well, I guess you've found something else."

Megan expression was very serious. "Greg," she said, "about this new arrangement of ours. Let's set some rules. I want to put my fair share into our budget. We need to work that out. I don't want to be a freeloader."

"Baby girl, you're not a freeloader. You're my dearest, most wonderful lover. We're partners. And this is going to be a real partnership. Whatever we have will be shared."

"That's not fair. You have so much more than I do."

"I don't know about that. But I do know that I have much, much more than I had yesterday. I have a life now. I didn't before. You're my life."

Megan gave him a little half smile. She said, "You're trying to make me cry again, aren't you?"

Greg cocked his head. "No," he said, "why would I want to do that?"

Megan said, "I don't know. But you sure are good at it. My God you can push my buttons. I've worked so hard to keep people from getting to me. Amy told me that I'm known as the Ice Princess. But you just went past all my defences without even trying."

Greg put his head under her chin and lifted her face to look into his. He said, "Who says I didn't try? But who are you to talk? You got through my defenses pretty easily. But you know why we got so close so quickly, don't you?"

Megan said, "Yes, I do. And now you're really going to make me cry, aren't you?"

"I hope not," Greg said.

"OK," Megan said. She took a deep breath and continued. "The reason is because we're meant to be together. We both knew that instinctively. We had no choice. We were born to be soulmates. It's as though we're two parts of the same person. I never knew that such a thing was possible."

Greg kissed her hand. "Nor did I," he said.

Megan smiled. She said, "We both came with a lot of baggage, each of us in a little shell. But suddenly, that was all put aside. I think that's what terrified me. When you looked into my eyes, it was as though I was naked. And not just physically."

Greg held her hand. "I think I loved you right away. Maybe even at first sight. But it took me a little while to admit it to myself. When did you know that we were in love?"

Megan's eyes misted. She just knew that she was going to cry again, goddam it. She said, "I think I knew it for sure when you told me that you knew why I came to your house yesterday. And you didn't mind. You said that you wanted to see me again, too. Before that, I knew that I loved you. And I knew that there was a chance that you loved me, too. But at that moment, I knew it could really happen. That we could be together. Tell me, if I hadn't come to see you, would you have called me?"

"Yes. You see, I knew that I loved you. But it would have taken a while for me to get enough courage."

Megan looked down, a little half-smile playing on her lips. A tear ran down her cheek. Greg wiped it off with his finger. She said, "I almost chickened out just before I rang your bell."

"I'm glad you didn't."

"So am I," she said, "but it was a near thing. I was scared to death."

Greg grinned at her. "So was I when I saw you standing there," he said.

"You sure didn't seem like it."

"I'm older than you. I've had more experience in hiding my feelings." He leaned across the table and kissed her gently. "But now I know that I'll never be able to hide them from you. And I don't even want to try." Greg sipped his coffee and patted her hand. "Don't worry, my love. Don't worry about anything. We'll work things out. We have to. It's our fate. Our destiny."

Megan sat for a moment looking into her coffee cup. She raised her gaze, looked in his eyes and said, "Greg, I have to tell you something important. About Amy and me. You may feel differently about me after you hear this."

Greg smiled at her. "What could be so terrible?"

Megan looked down at her hands. "Do you remember that time you called when you were out of town last week?"

"Yes. Of course. You answered the phone. I was so happy to hear you."

Megan said, "And I really enjoyed talking to you. More than I can say. But after we hung up, Amy and I went into the living room. She was doing her homework, and we were both drinking your wine."

Greg arched an eyebrow. He said, "So what?"

"Well," Megan said, "I'd had a couple too many glasses of wine. And I'd just talked to you. I was already in love with you. I know that now. Anyway, I said to Amy that I thought maybe you were attracted to me, too. Or I hoped you were."

Greg said, "Go on."

"Well, Amy thought I was nuts, and she told me so. But then I sort of joked about becoming her aunt." Megan sighed. "Amy freaked. She told me that if I 'fucked around with you, ' as she put it, she'd kick my ass. She actually threatened me. Physically. The way she did it scared the hell out of me. I'm afraid of what will happen if she finds out about us."

Greg sighed. "It's not a matter of 'if, '" he said, "it's when. I plan to be with you a long time. Like forever. Amy will just have to come to terms with that. Case closed."

Megan said, "I don't think it's going to be quite that easy."

Greg said, "Easy or hard, she's going to have to accept our relationship. I'm certainly not going to let her change it."

Megan sighed again. She said, "Well, let's go do what we gotta do."

"Yup," Greg said, "let's pay the bill and get you moved in."

As Greg helped Megan with her coat, he thought that he was the luckiest man in the world. The woman he'd thought so far out of reach just yesterday was his today. He vowed never to make her unhappy.

Megan took his arm as they walked back through the hotel concourse. "God," she thought, "he's the handsomest man in the world. I just know every other woman in this place envies me. But you can't have him. He's mine, and I intend to keep him." She held his arm more tightly and smiled up at him.

The parking valet brought their car. Greg tipped him well, and tucked Megan into the passenger seat. He settled behind the wheel and said, "Where to?"

On Megan's directions, Greg parked in front of a funeral home just east of the intersection of Pape Avenue and Danforth Avenue, known as "the Danforth" to Torontonians. Megan led him to a door between the funeral home and the business next door, a real estate brokerage. She opened it with her key. The door led to a stairway. They ascended to the second floor. Megan opened the first door in the hallway and led the way into the apartment. "It's kind of small and musty, but it's home. Or at least it was until today," she said.

Greg said, "Does the location bother you?"

Megan looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"That it's next to a funeral home."

Megan laughed. "No," she said, "not at all. In fact, I found it kind of amusing. You see, when I was in high school I was a real goth. I guess you could say that with my colouring I was a natural. Didn't even have to die my hair or wear white makeup. They used to call me 'the queen of darkness.'" She laughed again. "So ten years ago this place would have been ideal for me."

Greg followed her into the bedroom. It was neat, although plain. She opened the closet. "I'll start getting things together," she said. "When I'm ready for some help I've give you a call. In the meantime, just relax.

Greg went back into the living room. There was an old Heintzman upright piano in the corner. The keyboard was open, and there was music on the music stand. He picked it up. It was a book of arias for soprano voice. Inside the front corner, it was inscribed "Megan Mariko O'Hara."

Greg went back to the bedroom door. "I didn't know that was your middle name," he said, "Mariko. It's beautiful."

Megan looked up from her packing and saw him holding the music. "Thanks," she said, "it's my mother's name. And it's an old family name. In fact, it was my great-grandmother's name. And Megan was my dad's mother's name. So I'm named for both sides of the family. What's your middle name?"

Greg laughed. "Ahah," he said. "One piece of information you didn't get from Amy. Maybe because I told her I'd break her arm if she ever told anyone."

Megan said, "It can't be that bad. What is it?"

Greg said, "It's my dad's name."

"You mean..."

"Yup. Ambrose."

Megan smiled. "I think it's kind of cute. Maybe I'll use it as a pet name."

Greg said, "Not unless you want a spanking."

"Brute," Megan said. "Now get out of my hair so I can organize all this stuff."