Blue Moon

Annie woke up with a yawn. She touched the open space beside her and realized that Claude wasn’t there. She scanned the room in search of his presence.

The bathroom door opened. It was a bathroom conveniently located in the master’s bedroom.

“Oh Annie, you’re up?” Claude paused for a moment trying to fuss about. Buttoning his shirt, buckling his pants, and tying his tie. He then continued as he ran to and fro. “I’m sorry. I have to go. I might be late. Bye Annie.”

Annie murmured to herself; “Goodbye Claude” though she wanted him to hear her words, she didn’t have the chance to do so for he left the room in such a hurry that Annie didn’t find the chance to express herself. She just giggled to herself by the time the door was closed. A smile of relief had manifested her face as the sun passed through the white curtains and into the room. How she had longed to see that face.

{In Vlasi}
[Authors note: please refer to chapter 6. Vlasi is the name of the company Claude works at.]

Claude got to work like always with the same attitude he always has especially reserved for business. It was a time that he never laughed, and even though he smiled at people, it was a distant smile. He always worked very hard, tough to people who were not close to him, they see it as though he did everything perfectly without much effort. He was a distant man, therefore only specially picked people came close to him, and although some of his co-workers are to be considered his friends, there were a lot of things that they did not know.

“Sir. Claude, Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Can you help me with this? I’m having a hard time. Do you think this would be okay? I was actually thinking that maybe we could change this here and maybe do this here.”

“Well, that’s great, but it would be much more efficient if you just do this and maybe use the same system as I did on mine. Here I’ll give you the details on what I used. I already have a lot of copies of this since a lot of people asked me the same thing.”

“Thank you Sir.”

“It is okay. It is not such a big deal. Just ask me when you need something.” Claude said as he smiled with the usual distant smile he always had.

“Yes Sir!” The man enthusiastically replied. In his mind a thought lingered (he really is nice).

In majority, people never did notice that Claude’s smile was distant. It looked so warm and normal, though in truth, it is but a facade. To hide his true self. People, who did not observe enough, did not notice the aura that surrounded his body. He hid it away, good enough to fool “those types” of people.

Claude lived his life that way, with a lot of people depending on him. He was very much used to it. To come up with things, to plan, lead, and to be able to decide tasks according to a person’s ability. He did this ever since he was young, when he was still at school. People depended on him for reasons he did not know, but then again, even if he himself did not want to lead even a single person, he had no choice, when so many people look up to him. Since no one wanted to do anything and he was the one they depended on, if he were to do nothing, nothing would be done.

It was a routine. Something very normal. Though, up to this day, he doesn’t understand why they DO depend on him, but it doesn’t matter that much anymore. As long as things get done and they get done well.

“Thanks for the hard work!” it was said over and over again.

It was the end of the day and all of the workers are extremely tired after the long hard work. Normally, people like Claude would stay at the office even after everyone finishes their work. He was a workaholic. Ila would always eat alone with Erick at home. The family never gets to eat together. Before, Claude’s life always revolved around his work. He woke up early and came home late. He always thought to himself that it was for his family, but now he questions why he DID do that.

Now that Annie is in his life, he wakes up just to be right on time once he reaches the company, and he comes back home earlier than usual. Today wasn’t an exemption. He headed for home exactly at the time he was supposed to finish his job. People from the company wouldn’t know this; after all, he came to “Vlasi” only after meeting Annie. No one knew his past behaviour. So it was no strange occurrence.

Claude opened the door and headed out of the company. He walked towards the train station like always. He was about to line up in order to buy his ticket but before he could do so, he felt a masculine hand on his shoulder. He was hoping the man was a mere stranger that wishes for directions, but as he turned around, he saw a familiar face that he hasn’t seen in years. It was “HIM”.

She sighed. “I wonder when Claude is coming back home.” Annie said as she hugged the pillow tighter and tighter. “I miss him. He’s taking too long.” She sat down the living room couch with a blue pillow in her arms. It was Claude’s pillow, and lingering on it was the scent of Claude. She sank her head deeper into the pillow trying to smell the scent of Claude. She thought of him as her image faded into the darkness.

“What are you doing here?”

“Come with me.” The man said.

Claude followed this said man with hesitation. Claude was lead to the man’s car. It was a red sports car and a very expensive one at that. They drove towards a restaurant just in town. It was a Spanish restaurant that sold expensive coffee, cakes, and dishes. (He never changes. He always spends money so extravagantly. I guess this happens when you have too much money.) Claude thought.

“Bienvenido, señor.” [Welcome, Sir.]

The lady greeted the man, for she only noticed him. Claude was covered by the tall man. The two spoke continually in Spanish. Claude could not understand a thing. The lady began to laugh as they talked.

“Lo siento, no entiendo. ¿Podría repetir eso por favor?” [I’m sorry. I don’t understand, could you repeat that please?] the lady said.

The man took a step aside and showed the lady, Claude. She was shocked, and then she smiled at Claude.

“Lo siento, siñor.” [I’m sorry, sir.] The lady said as she bowed her head.

“What did she say?” Claude asked the man. “She said she’s sorry.” “Sorry? Sorry for what?”
“She didn’t notice you and wasn’t able to greet you.”

“¿Habla inglés?” [Do you speak English?] the man said to the lady. “Sí, señor.” [Yes, sir.] the lady replied. “¿Por qué?” [Why?] the lady asked. “My friend doesn’t speak Spanish. So can you please speak to him in English?” the man said.

The lady looked towards Claude’s direction, and then she looked back at the man she was talking to. “¡Claro! siñor.” [Of course! Sir.]

She took a deep breath to prepare herself. She hasn’t spoken English since the shop opened. “Hello, sir. I hear you do not speak Spanish. I am sorry for being quite rude. I should have noticed.” The lady said to Claude. “No, it’s okay.” Claude said with an awkward smile.

The lady smiled at the two. “Table for two, am I correct?” “Yes, please.” the man replied.

“Here are your seats gentlemen. Would you like to order something now?”

“Yes, please.” The man replied to the lady.

“Camarero, ¿Me puede traer un menú por favor?” [Waiter, can you bring me a menu please?] The lady said to the waiter.

They ordered two coffees and the man ordered a blue berry cheese cake for himself. After a few minutes, their order had arrived. “Please call me when you need anything.” “Con gusto.” [With pleasure] The man replied.

The lady giggled and then again smiled. “¡Comer con gusto! It is Spanish for enjoy the meal, and I hope that you will enjoy your meal. If you would excuse me, gentlemen. I will take my leave.” “¡Siga!” [Go ahead] the man replied.

By the time the lady left, Claude began to have an expression of deep hatred. “You seem quite close” he said. “What? Jealous? I’m a regular customer and she’s my ex. Isn’t she a beauty? She’s got a great head on her shoulders too.” “I can see that. She’s of high pedigree.” “That is true.” The man paused and then sighed. He then continued. “If only things had worked out between us.”

Claude looked at the man straight in the eyes. “That’s not of importance as of now. Tell me what you are doing here, Mr. Silver Suhail?” Claude questioned him with a husky voice.

Silver replied to him with a glare. “Don’t be so rash boy. I am not here to start a fight. I am simply here for matters of business. I know that you know what I mean.” he paused for a moment to take a bite from his cake. He stirred the coffee with the spoon. He then took a sip, and then he continued. “I have no proper heir. I do wish for you to become the man my daughter weds. She still loves you, she needs you, and the company needs you Claude.” He said with his eyes closed as he inhaled the aroma of the coffee.

“You know that cannot be. The past is past, and I hope to keep it that way. There are a lot of suitable competitors, I presume. She is, after all, a wonderful person.”

“Don’t say that. No one can be a better husband for my daughter. You have good looks, your quick witted, young, and a very noble man.”

Claude began to laugh as he heard Silver’s remark. “What’s with the change of heart? You used to go against the idea. Of all people, it is strange to hear you say such things.”

Silver’s eyes wondered about. “Heh! You are a smart man after all. It is no use lying if I am correct. I shall tell you the truth. When you left, my daughter grew sad, and she longed for you. She didn’t eat well. She said she was okay. I know that she forces herself to eat, but she really doesn’t have the appetite for it . . . “

Claude butted in before he could finish his sentence. “Are you saying that you’re doing this for your daughter’s sake? Forgive me, but I do not believe you.”

“I am not yet finished. You see, I felt sorry for her, this is why I began to investigate on you. I wanted to see if you are even a little bit suitable for my daughter. If you were not, I would find a way to destroy her image of you. After years of investigation, I found out extremely classified information. It was hard to get but I found it. If I am not mistaken, you never use your real last name. Am I correct, Mr. Blaise?”

[Authors note: For all those who forgot, Blaise is the last name of the family that owns the company Claude works at. See Chapter 6 for reference.]

This statement shook the feelings of Claude. “How did you know?” he murmured in a way that Silver wasn’t able to hear it clearly. He had a questioning look on his face. He was about to ask Claude to repeat his statement, until; “HOW DID YOU FIND OUT?! WHO TOLD YOU?!” Claude came out bursting with anger.

Every head was turned towards their direction. The noise disturbed the other customers. Everyone but Silver was shocked. “I am sorry, but that cannot be told. It is a “secret” and I’d like to keep it that way.” Silver consumed the cake and chugged the coffee down his throat.

“Here. My business card. Call me when you make your decision.” He said as he slid the card on the table towards Claude. He stood up and turned his head towards Claude. “I suggest you think about my offer. A man from such class deserves to marry my daughter.” He left the room with the stares of people. People were murmuring.

Before the man left the restaurant, he talked to the lady [his ex]. “Say sorry to the management for me. Give this to them as compensation for the disturbance.” He handed her a bundle of cash. It was in dollars. “Hey! This is too much.” He ignored her statement and just waved goodbye. “Haha! Seriously, what in the world CAN change him?”

Creak! The door opened, and Claude was standing there in front of Annie. “Welcome Home Claude!” Annie said with a high pitched voice and a delighted smile, but Claude stopped her before she could hug him. “Not now Annie.”

(I wonder what’s wrong. He looks really down.) Claude was in the masters’ bedroom when Annie knocked on the door. “I bout you a glass of cold water.” She opened the door herself since there was no reply. She inched towards Claude, set the glass of water on top of the table lamp, and sat down beside Claude. “What’s wrong?” she whispered with a gentle voice.

Claude hesitated to reply, but still did so. “You’ll listen to me?” Claude said with a depressed voice, like that of a child that lost the toy they care for most. “Of course I will.” She replied with a smile as she patted his head.

“It was a long time ago. I was part of an extremely rich family, the Blaise family. I always did as my parents told me. I tried to exceed at everything that I do, and I did, but if I ever made a single mistake, punishment was inevitable. I was at the top of the school at everything, but my parents demanded more from me. I had to learn different languages. A while ago I was with someone I knew from a while back. We were in a Spanish restaurant. I lied. I understood EVERYTHING that they said. .. . .

. . . . Every word that they uttered. I was forced to learn these things. Painting, dancing, debating, and much, much more. I suffered, but I had to hold on, but one day, I just couldn’t take everything. It was too much for a high school student to take. I ran away from home. I took my savings and fled to a different country. I changed my last name and my appearance. I even took a part time job and I rented an apartment. My “savings” it was a HUGE amount of money, more than you could imagine, I had enough money to pay for my tuition to finish school, but of course, I didn’t need that, I was a scholar. On that day that I met this one special girl, I was out buying my grocery items. She was beautiful. She had long, wavy hair of the colour brown, and deep emerald coloured eyes. She looked like she was running away from people, she hid her face with a cloak.”

For a moment Claude paused to remember the first time that the two had met. He giggles as he looked at his hand. He griped his left hand tighter with his right hand, and then he took a deep breath. He then continued.

“I approached her and asked her if she needed help. I didn’t know why, but at that time, I did not suspect her for doing anything wrong. She seemed like a really nice person and I trusted her, unconditionally. She stayed at my house. She was a good cook, but she sucked at cleaning. We were young, and madly in love. We were so young, and I guess because of that, I did what I did. I made love to her. I could never forget that night. No matter what the reason was, we did it, and I don’t regret a thing. The day after that night, she was gone. I tried to look for her, but my search was in vain, and just out of the blue, she appeared in front of me, saying how sorry she was. Her father came, and forbade us to see each other. She might not have explained it properly, but it was obvious with one glance. She was rich. We lived in different worlds. Then, I told her it was best not to see each other. Her father NEVER approved of me, until now. I don’t know what to do Annie. I’m so confused.”

(He, he. . . .) Annie’s mind grew blank. “You love her?” she mumbled to Claude. “Yes, I loved her.” Claude replied. Annie smiled at Claude as tears flowed down her face. “I− I− I’m sorry.” She continually cried as Claude hugged her. “I’m sorry. I was being selfish. That was the past. Don’t worry about it. That was – the past.”