Meant To Be

Brandon walked out of his house to collect the Sunday newspaper. It was a fresh cloudy morning with the scent of flowers in the pleasant soft breeze. He looked up at the house across the street waiting for any sign of her. He was almost about to head back inside when she jogged up in front of her house with her dog. “How can she look so beautiful even after a jog?” Brandon wondered “If it were me I would probably look like a sweaty red tomato” Brandon laughed imagining himself that way while still keeping his eyes on her. She noticed him doing so and reciprocated to his laugh with a sweet smile and walked her dog inside. “Wow, what a jerk, the only way you can greet her is by laughing at your imaginary tomato self, you are never getting any further than this dude!" Brandon cursed himself while wincing. He walked back in while giving one last glance at her house hoping that she would notice and realize how much he admired her because that’s all he could do with the amount courage that he had.

Melissa had been his neighbor for 6 months now and he had never been able to make peace with his mind to convince himself to take a step forward and go talk to her. A small peek at her was enough to completely black him out. “I should probably get myself a female dog and take her for walks, then when her male dog gets attracted to my female dog she would have no other option but to move in with me” Brandon had wanted to bang his head on his black granite kitchen table for having that stupid idea of getting close to her. When he realized that he wasn’t going to be able to do it even after 4 months, he had given up all hopes and had accepted his defeat. Now he would just sooth himself with those warm morning smiles which he made sure he dint miss.

On Monday night he had had to work late in his office to complete the lagging reports for the presentation which was to be given on the next day. The weather forecast had predicted a stormy night and for once they had been right. He wrapped up his work and left the office as soon as he noticed that it had begun to drizzle. By the time he seated himself in the car and began to drive, it had commenced to pour heavily. He could barely see the road ahead of him even though the windshield kept moving at its best speed. He began to drive slowly to prevent any kind of accident as the winds were hampering his visibility of the road all the more. His office was at an hours distance from his house but now it seemed to him like it would take him forever to reach there. The road seemed devoid of any cars or human population, he was probably the only idiot who had taken the risk to drive through the storm and make fun of the weather forecast. He was thinking of all this in his head when he saw another car at the side of the road as he took a turn and then he noticed a human figure standing right beside the car with hands stretched out in front, signaling for a hitch. He halted without a second thought as he felt that it was his moral responsibility to help someone in need and all the more so because of the storm that had taken over the town.

The human figure had a beige windcheater on from what Brandon could make out through the window and it hurried towards the passenger door watching the car stop in front of it. The person opened the passenger door and got seated next to Brandon on the passenger seat. The person took off the hoodie to reveal Brandon’s beautiful neighbor. Brandon almost jumped with excitement from within but tried hard to cover up the smile which had started to show on his face. “Hi, it’s you, thank you so much for the lift. My car broke down and no one was polite enough to help. Three cars passed by before yours and none of them stopped. I had started to freak out thinking that I would die in this storm tonight and then you showed up!” she explained without pausing to catch her breath. “Hey, it’s okay, calm down. You aren’t going to die anymore, you are safe now! Take a breath and sit back. I am Brandon by the way” Brandon introduced himself making her realize that she hadn’t introduced herself yet and began to drive again. ”Oh I am so sorry I am Melissa” she introduced herself ashamed of her behavior. “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize I would have done the same if I had been in your place” Brandon tried to act cool while he felt this rush of adrenaline through his body which suddenly seemed to have pumped his confidence. He had finally spoken to her, he knew her name and the situation that he was in now couldn’t have been more perfect.

“So your workplace is nearby?” Brandon asked trying to initiate a conversation. “Yes, I dint know that your workplace was so near to my workplace” Melissa responded. “Ya, it’s quite a coincidence, but a good one since I got to rescue you from your situation for that reason” Brandon and Melissa laughed agreeing to that point. “So, what is your work all about?” Brandon asked while trying to keep his eyes off her. “Well, I am a fashion designer” Melissa mentioned. “Wow, that explains your elegant fashion sense” Brandon complimented trying to keep it simple. “Thanks, but I don’t think you have seen me in any other dress but my jogging tights or have you?” Melissa asked with a teasing tone in her voice. “Okay, I saw you once in this gorgeous red gown, guess you were heading for a party.” Brandon revisited the memory, he had seen her in a rose red gown and had almost hit a tree upfront on the sidewalk while on a stroll. He let out a sigh of disappointment at that thought. “Oh, ya and you were taking a stroll in your pj’s” Melissa laughed. “Ya that you dint need to remember, but realizing that you do I was obviously looking quite handsome in those pj’s as well since they were worth remembering!” Brandon tried to turn the joke in his favor. “Hell, yes you were. My friends thought that you were the cutest homeless guy they had ever seen” Melissa giggled and even Brandon couldn’t control his laugh at that one. “What is your job all about?” Melissa curiously asked. “I basically am in the creative department of my company. I come up with different ideas to sell a product through advertisements and brochures or pamphlets. It sounds quite interesting but trust me it isn’t. I have to work my brains out to come up with new ideas every day and my boss is really hard to impress.” Brandon complained. “That’s why it is best to be the boss yourself isn’t it?” Melissa winked at him. “Yes, that surely feels great I guess. “Brandon agreed relentlessly.

“A woman like you would obviously be having many men crazy for her or a man who she is already committed to probably.” Brandon asked not being able to wait anymore to get to the point. “A woman like me does have quite a few guys crazy about her but none that she has the hots for and she is definitely not in a committed relationship if that’s what you wanted to know, but I on the other hand have had a failed marriage” Melissa replied with a stern look. Brandon remained quiet for a while not knowing how to react to that sudden blow which his heart had felt but he finally took a long breath and said “Sorry to hear that.” “It’s okay, I am in a happier space now after coming out of it.” Melissa sighed. “What went wrong if I may ask?” Brandon asked almost in a voice that he himself could hardly hear worried that he would be stepping on the prohibited talk out there. “Well, he was great at first but after marriage he just turned out to be this totally different man. He hated the fact that I had a career of my own and that I cared about it and was doing well in it. He dint want me to look good in front of other guys, he wanted me to just sit at home cook nice dinners for him and look good only for him. He started to abuse me in public after a point of time and I kept tolerating it for the first few months thinking that it will get better and divorce wasn’t an option for me since that’s what my mother had taught me. But then one day he raised his hand to hit me and I couldn’t take it anymore. I asked myself as to why am I suffering for no reason. I am a strong independent woman, I don’t need to live like this I can live on my own. I dint need this selfish bruit in my life to punish me for being who I am.” Melissa went on with a confident and steady voice “That night I just took off with my stuff and filed for a divorce the very next day. He threatened me for a while after hearing about the divorce but it all stopped once the police left him from a night’s custody with a last warning. I moved back to my life which is amazing without him in it and I completely came over the fear that I had of him in the back of my mind. Last I heard of him was a year and a half ago, he had married again and moved away, which came all the more as a relief to me” Melissa shrugged as if letting go off the tension in her shoulders. Brandon watched her all the while and then said “He was the biggest loser. Any man would be lucky to be having an independent and talented woman like you in his life.” Brandon admired Melissa all the more now because of her bold and fighting nature towards the problems in her life. The very fact that she dint need the support of another man in her life to take care of her aroused an immense intrinsic feeling for her within him. Melissa smiled at that and replied “But I am not everyone’s cup of tea. Not all guys can handle a girl like me no matter what they might say to impress me.” “You aren’t someone to be handled, you are a woman who should be taken care of and cherished every moment” Brandon explained with a genuine look on his face.

Melissa gazed at him with amaze, no one had ever said something that sweet to her, actually no one had been able to interpret her needs till date. Melissa was about to deny to it as she dint want to prove him right by accepting the fact but just then the car came to a halt with a jerk as Brandon hit the brakes. Melissa got startled and looked ahead at the road before yelling at Brandon for that traumatic halt and saw a fleet of cars in front of theirs. The traffic seemed to be never ending. They had been so engrossed in one another that they hadn’t noticed that the rain had mitigated to a drizzle now and they had almost covered half the path towards their homes. “Looks like we will be waiting here for quiet sometime” Melissa stated while staring out through her window watching the small rain drops trickle down over the glass. Brandon nodded in agreement and then brought down his window to stop and ask a passerby who was walking back to his car “Hey, what’s the problem up there?” “A tree has collapsed on the road, people are trying to move it out of the way. It might take another hour or so” the passerby informed. Brandon pulled his window up again and looked at Melissa. Melissa couldn’t analyze if it was a happy or sad expression on his face but she tittered at the thought of waiting with him for another exciting hour but she dint want to spend it in the car so she thought of continuing this conversation at some place better “Do you want to grab something to eat? I know a café which serves delicious pasta and bruschetta’s just a few blocks away from here.” “Ya, I would love to. I am so hungry right now. I hope you dint bring that up because you heard my stomach grumble!” Brandon confirmed with a guilty smile. “No, fortunately not yet but we need to feed it before that sound becomes any louder!” Melissa exclaimed.

They entered the Café and their eyes started to explore the place for any signs of empty seats. It was quite crowded given the fact that many people were waiting for the traffic to start moving as well. They were able to get a seat for themselves in the corner since a couple left after a few minutes. Melissa ordered a hot café mocha and cheese bruschetta while Brandon went for a cup of hot coffee and pasta rissole. They finished their meals almost instantly. “We shouldn’t have eaten this fast, now we will have to get up to make place for others” Melissa whispered to Brandon. “I have a solution for that” Brandon whispered back patting her hand and ordered a chocolate brownie with vanilla ice cream. “I hope you don’t mind sharing because I am quite full already” Brandon asked. “Absolutely not, rather I was about to ask you to cancel it thinking that you were ordering one for each” Melissa cleared out. Brandon took out his wallet from his back pocket and was about to check the amount of cash he had in it when it slipped away from his hands fell on the floor near Melissa’s black high heels. “I will get it” she said, gesturing Brandon to be seated with her hands. She bent to pick it up and noticed a picture of a pretty woman in one of its inner transparent pockets. She gave a quick glance at it and handed the wallet back to him after folding it to close. “The woman in the picture is very pretty, is she your girlfriend?” she finally asked without being able to hold it inside of her anymore. Brandon looked at the photo and replied “No, that’s my sister and yes she was very pretty.” “I am sorry, but what do you mean by she was very pretty?” Melissa asked with a tinge of concern in her voice. “She suicided last year, hanged herself to the ceiling fan in her bedroom” Brandon revealed with a melancholy expression. “I am so sorry, but why did she suicide?” Melissa asked in the least hurtful way as she could trying not to upset him. “She had an abusive husband as well, she kept suffering for a year and dint let us know anything about the torture that she was going through. He used to hit her, abuse her, rape her and she said nothing just kept it all to herself.” Brandon’s palms tightened into fists and Melissa noticed it. “I got to know all this during the trial of her case. I and mom had tried to contact her so many times before but she would not allow us to visit saying that she dint want us there and neither would she come to visit us here. I was so angry at her for what she had done. I couldn’t forgive her even after she passed away but slowly I realized that she was weak, she dint have the strength to fight back. She submitted herself to him because she dint have the guts to stop him. She thought of no one while ending her life. I hope that she had realized that suicide is not an answer to this, it does not end the pain it just passes on the pain to others. Mom told me that if we would have managed to stop her then she would have done it later on since she wouldn’t be able to get over the pain and she would choose the easier path to end her misery, she always had a habit of running away from her problems since childhood. I have forgiven her now but I can’t stand the people who are so weak that they give up on life that easily. I would rather tolerate the pain of fighting back to live for the ones I love and the ones who love me enough to be afraid of losing me forever.” Brandon looked up at Melissa and she could feel the pain in his eyes. She slide her hands up to his tightened fists and held them softly in her palms. “I am really happy that I got to know you Brandon” she said. “And I am really proud to get to know a woman like you who fought back” Brandon opened up his fists and held Melissa’s warm hands in his.

They walked out of the café after finishing their brownie and noticed that the traffic had started to move. They hurried up to their car and seated themselves right before the taxi in front of them jerked into motion. “Did he get punished for his deeds?” Melissa asked wanting to know if justice had been done to his sister. “Yes, he was given ten years of imprisonment and also a strong punch on the nose by me before the police took him in the van. He will always remember that whenever he notices his crooked nose in the mirror.” Brandon’s hand tightened on the steering wheel. Another question popped up in Melissa’s mind suddenly and she placed it in front of Brandon hesitantly after giving it a thought” What was his name again?” “James Montgomery” Brandon replied and saw Melissa’s jaw line tighten as soon as he mentioned it. “Why?” he asked although he had kind of guessed the reason. Melissa bit her lip and after a pause said it “That’s the name of my ex-husband.”

An awkward silence fell over them as they approached towards their destinations. Thousands of thoughts crossed their minds but none of them spoke. Both dint know what to say to each other. Melissa tried to rewind back to the time and thought that if she would have just warned his second wife about him then Brandon’s sister would be alive now and she wouldn’t have had to face all that but Melissa hadn’t cared and just ignored the news of his second marriage feeling happy to get rid of him. Melissa had had the chance to save her and she dint, Brandon probably hated her right now. Brandon on the other hand thought that he wouldn’t have ever met Melissa if she would have decided to accept the same fate as his sister but then again if she would have had faced that fate then his sister would probably be alive now. He knew that it was a selfish thought but he dint know her back then anyway. But it dint happen and now she was sitting right next to him, she was the kind of woman that he had always wanted to spend his life with and she was safe and sound beside him because she dint give in. This probably meant something, he stared at her while she kept her eyes on the road, anxiously pressing her hands together and biting her lips. Something inside him made him feel glad for having her beside him and the feeling of resentment slowly faded away as the feeling of affection and passion took over him.

He parked his car beside her house and waited. She looked at him and turned away quickly struggling to open the car’s door. He gently stopped her by taking hold of her hand. She froze and turned towards him, trying to get herself ready to face his rage. Brandon moved closer to her and kissed her lips softly, letting the intensity of it take over them. He pulled away and smiled while Melissa turned red and felt like her heart would explode into a thousand fragments.” For whatever reason it might be, I am glad that I met you and would love to have something special between us. Would you like to have dinner with me sometime, sometime soon please?” Brandon requested while smiling from reading her expression. Melissa finally breathed out and began to laugh as she stared at their entangled hands. She then raised her head and answered “Yes, I would love to, anytime you would want it to happen will be fine with me.” She gave a peck on his lips and walked out of the car while Brandon felt thankful for not losing her instead.