Love In The Time of Intrusion

Part 5

"What time does your mom expect you home?" Hugh asked Annalissa.

   "What time is it?" Annalissa searched for a clock. "Midnight would be good."

   "You should get home soon. Can I walk you?" Hugh asked.

    Annalissa thought about it. She didn't want her night to end. "Sure." He put his long, tanned arm out, and she took it. He pulled her close to him, testing to see if she would allow it. She did. The cold autumn air chilled their sweat-soaked bodies as they made their way into the night down the same path Sofia and she had come down.

   "Show me your side of town. Treat me as a tourist, be my travel guide, madame."

   "My New Zealand tourist. I can do that."

   "This way is a park. It's one of our spectacular parks.. This is the park I grew up playing in."

   Annalissa skipped towards imposing gates lit up on both sides by gas street lamps.

   "Come on." She waved him through the opened gate doors. He slipped between the green copper gate posts onto the dirt path. A trail of brown leaves led to a darkly lit green fountain made of copper just like the gate. A naked cherub with wispy locks danced with fat fingers and toes rejoiced in the frigid water.

   Annalissa led Hugh around the park through the large garden area. They marched through piles of dead leaves up to their ankles and knees. Thorny rose bushes and dead perennials edged the cobblestone walkway. "Be careful," Hugh warned. He didn't want Annalissa to snag her dress.

   "See that pond? I grew up swimming in it, not bad for surfing right?" She teased.

    The black pond outlined with silver ripples was covered in lily pads and bundles of leaves that floated on its skin.

" Yes, especially spectacular for night surfing," he said.

   Annalissa sat on an iron rod bench looking out at the pond. She positioned her body gracefully and bent her neck to look up at the sky.

   "You can see Venus tonight."

    Hugh looked up at the sky. The stars made him miss New Zealand.

   "Isn't that something?" he said, sitting down next to Annalissa on the bench.

    Were you excited?" she asked, turning to him on the bench. "When your grandmother sent for you?" Her big, bright green eyes made his heart jump. He swallowed hard.

   "Long story. Longer than we have tonight."

    "Do you still have family to go visit in New Zealand?"

  "I do. My dad was half Maori." Annalissa looked at him puzzled.

    "Native people of New Zealand. My mom was from a wealthy high society English family. She went to New Zealand on a trip. My dad was captain of a boating exposition. She went on his boat and they fell in love."

    Annalissa listened quietly. It was odd but enjoyable to be listened to. No one had cared about what he had to say since he left New Zealand.

  "She decided not to come home. Then they had me," Hugh said, smiling. "She never seemed to miss her life back in England. They were happy together...we were happy.

  "There was an outbreak of measles when I was around seven. My dad got it and it knocked out a lot of my family. My two aunts, three of my uncles, more cousins than I can count. The remaining family took in my mom and me. She died when I was sixteen. I bounced around a few years before my grandmother asked me to come live with her."