Rantings of an Arranged Mind

Calla shook her head. “No, I could see in colour when I was a kid.”

“So you dress in shades of black and white to prevent wearing clothes that don’t match?” I asked

She blushed and nodded, looking at her feet. I’d never seen her so nervous.

“There’s no reason to be self-conscious,” I said. “Everyone has their own unique quirks.”

I caressed her cheek, making her look up at me. The texture of her supple cheek under the pad of my thumb was exquisite.

“Trust me, this sweater looks good on you. Let me buy you a present for once.
And I’ll try to clear some space in my schedule so we can sneak away for dinner soon.”

Calla smiled. “I’d like that.”

“Would you two love birds hurry up?” Bianca called from the door. “I’m already done here.”

Calla laughed at her friend and went to the counter. I paid for the sweater and walked with her to the door. Bianca grinned.

“You two are so cute. When will you be taking my girl out on the town, rich boy?”

“As soon as possible,” I said. Bianca rolled her eyes dramatically.

“Sure, sure. That’s what they all say,” she laughed.

“I’ll talk to you both soon,” I said. “I have to call my limo.”

They both laughed at that. Bianca said good-bye and headed out the door. Calla kissed my cheek first and then followed. I realized on the way out that she never really explained the colour-blind thing, but Bianca had interrupted. I would have to ask her about it later.

I called Isaac and met him outside, heading back to work for some more meetings.

By the second week of October I felt like I had hit my stride a bit with the company. I still had a lot of work to do, but I didn’t feel as buried under meetings and paperwork. I decided to take the weekend and go down to the country house, and figure out what to do with it. I had to decide between keeping it, or putting it up for sale in a very slow market. It was also an excellent opportunity to see Calla.

I drove out there on Friday afternoon after arranging for Calla’s arrival. To really mess with anyone who might be watching, I had her head out to the airport, where she caught a helicopter I’d booked under a fake name. The media wouldn’t have been able to follow her, even if they knew about us. The CIA and FBI would even have had trouble knowing where she was going, as I’d used three cars and a circuitous route to get to the house myself. I was pretty pleased with my growing subterfuge skills.

It was fun watching the helicopter buzz over the house and start settling in to land in the backyard. The wind it kicked up was considerable; I could see it bending shrubbery and grass as it ruffled my hair. I laughed as Calla came out, heading towards me with a grin from ear to ear.

“Your house is huge!” she said as I pulled her close, putting an arm around her.

I looked around, trying to see it from her perspective. The back lawn rolled back towards the woods and came up to the back gardens, with carefully maintained shrubbery and fountains. The flowers were prizewinners, but nothing was in bloom this time of year. The back patio had an overlooking pillared balcony, and the back of the house had some big windows. It was pretty big, I guess, but middle-of-the-road for a lot of our neighbours and friends. My mother had bought it a decade back, after I’d gone off to university. It didn’t reflect the family’s current wealth, but it was still impressive.

“Did you like your ride?” I asked.

“That was amazing!” She laughed. “I’ve never done that before, it was incredible!”

The pilot brought Calla her overnight bag, which she had forgotten inside the copter in her excitement. She thanked him and then we walked over towards the house.

“The staff is making dinner, would you like a tour while we wait?”

“Sure, why not?” Calla grinned.

I opened the back doors and led her into the house.