Joshua's Grace

Chapter 6(2)

Joshua could see that she was simmering. Put like that he could understand her anger. But it wasn't like that. The problem was that he doubted whether she'd listen to any explanation he provided, whether it was the truth or not. She looked calm, but he knew she was feigning it. Her eyes were beginning to spark. Definitely trouble.

"Hold on. It wasn't like..."

"What I don't understand is why you don't take her to the boat thing tomorrow." Grace cut him off before he could even begin to clarify the situation.

"Now, Grace" Zac jumped into the fray and went in to bat for his brother, totally oblivious to the fact that she was at detonation stage, "If he took her," he began in a placating tone of voice, not realising that he was only adding to the anger that was consuming her. "Lysette would think that he was still playing the field."

Joshua nearly throttled his younger brother. He wasn't helping at all. He could see the reaction in her eyes. Jet black fused into molten red.

"And he isn't?" She shot at Zac in a straight toneless voice, "Is that it?" Her eyes flashed angrily, as she tried to keep the heat out of her voice. "He's just misunderstood? He hasn't really got two women lined up for tonight, right?" Her words were beginning to show the anger that was barely being held in check.

Both brothers looked at each other for help. Joshua had no strategy to deploy. Zac hadn't been expecting to have to defend his brother, especially when Grace had seemed to be taking it all so well. He hadn't realized she wasn't. Not one little bit. Not until now.

"Well no, not exactly, I mean, yeah, he kinda....," Zac couldn't remember the last time he was this flustered. "but not what you'd call,... really,... if you know what I mean..." Zac tailed off lamely seeing signs of a temper escalating, a temper his brother had detected several minutes ago. A temper on the rise. He was also struck by how beautiful she looked with her eyes flashing angrily, and that threw him.

"No I don't Zac." The flat austere words had him backing away.

She was offended. And he didn't know what to do to diffuse the situation. So he took the only option available to him. "Well, er, I'll leave Josh to explain, I've got to find that address and get going. Don't want to be late." He shrugged "See you."

If Grace hadn't been so angry she would have laughed at the way he beat a hasty retreat. He rushed out of the kitchen almost as if he'd been scalded. Literally fled. A few astringent words and he scampered, quickly."It's not what you think." Once again, Joshua tried to clear up the situation, using his reasonable tone of voice, a tactic he'd perfected when dealing with Mariah in her more recalcitrant moods when she was a teenager. He could always reason with Mariah, providing he kept calm and used a rational tone and argument. The ploy failed with Grace.

"And what do you think I think?" She mimicked his tone.

His eyes narrowed at her deliberate mockery, but he ignored that question. He was in enough hot water as it was. He decided to be factual, recount the situation thus far. Surely she would listen to reason.

"I met her on a flight back to Auckland several weeks ago and I invited her to my party. She couldn't make it, so we made a date for this evening. She phoned to postpone it, so we changed..."

His explanation was rudely curtailed by Grace interrupting him to say through clenched teeth. "So you phoned me. Good old stand in. " She blazed in a furious hiss, "Bastard." She stood, her resolution to hold onto her temper finally deserting her. Her lemonade only half finished. Why, oh why did she do this to herself? Why was it always with him? Why hadn't she learnt that he could hurt her? Why was she still here?

"Look, Grace,.." Joshua realized he was loosing this battle and knew he'd have to come up with something pretty dire to change the situation. Somehow he doubted whether she'd give him another opportunity to make amends. Things were looking as if their first real date would be non-existent. And for a logical man, he knew he needed a first date if he wanted to get to a wedding date.