Joshua arrived the next day at precisely one in the afternoon. He was carrying a small hamper and a bunch of flowers. He set the hamper on the floor as he stood looking at the large art print hanging on the wall facing the receptionist. He waited patiently for the receptionist to inform Grace that he had arrived. After several seconds she told him to go through to the office.
He had put a lot of effort into this lunch, hoping Grace would appreciate the romantic gesture. He wasn't sure whether she would, but he was living in hope. He was unable to get her image out of his mind, and for a computer programmer, that was a real problem. He needed to think logically. Instead he had found himself trying to come up with a plan to impress her. That was a novelty. Joshua had never had to work to impress any woman. But he desperately wanted to impress Grace. He knocked and she opened the door with a half smile. It touched her lips but not her eyes.
"Hi."
"Hi." He responded and handed her the flowers. Automatically Grace held them to her face and inhaled the fragrance of twelve yellow roses. "Thank you." She turned away from him, "I'll get some water. Won't be long. Grab a chair." She took a vase and left him in her office as she went in search of water.
She returned a few minutes later with the roses in the vase. She put them on her desk and smiled at him, "They really are lovely. Thank you."
He grinned. Well that part had been successful, now for part two. "Thought we'd have lunch in that Japanese garden I walked through the last time I was here." He informed her when he saw her look questioningly at the things he was carrying. He could tell something was wrong.
"Ok." Reflexively, Grace agreed with the suggestion. That wasn't quite the reaction he had hoped for. He was hoping she'd be impressed or at least tease him about the suggestion. For a computer programmer this was a very romantic idea, a picnic in a secluded Japanese garden. But, for a feminist lecturer it clearly wasn't.
He looked at her more closely trying to gauge her mood, decide whether to do a quick change and take her to a restaurant. She looked preoccupied. No, more than that, she looked pensive. She was putting things away, but clumsily. Her fingers shook as she patched her phone through to her secretary and then preceded Joshua out of the office.
"You don't mind do you?" Joshua looked doubtful. Last night he'd thought it was a great idea. But she certainly wasn't overwhelmed. So much for being sensitive and thoughtful. What did it take to impress a new age woman?
"No, no, that's fine." She sounded distracted. Joshua's ego deflated a further notch.
A sense of unease descended. She did mind, he thought as he automatically followed her out of the building and into the glorious sunshine. Shit. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She was probably expecting a flash restaurant, not a hick picnic. Suddenly the whole idea seemed paltry and flawed. They walked in silence down a wood chipped pathway, winding along the edge of a man made lake, they followed it through the back of some neatly trimmed bushes until they came to the Japanese garden. They'd said absolutely nothing as they walked along. Joshua was considering a change in plan. Grace was wondering when to tell him about the letters. Things improved when he set the rug on the grass and spread out the veritable feast he'd brought with him.
"This is heavenly." She told him as she squatted down into a cross legged position and looked at the food and wine. Her eyes smiled at him.
This was like being on a roller coaster, Joshua finally owned silently. One minute down, the next minute up and the oscillations were dictated by Grace. He was torn between relief and exasperation. Relief because it was a good idea and exasperation because she had made him think it was a serious faux pas.
"I thought you might like it, though for a while there you didn't seem too keen."
She glanced up at him, "When?"
"When I suggested it."
She was frowning at him as if that was the first she'd heard of it, "I thought it was a wonderful idea, very romantic, actually. Especially for a computer programmer."
He smiled but let her challenge go, as he spread the blanket on the ground and lay the hamper beside it. "We aren't going to start arguing again are we?" He raised a questioning brow.
Grace smiled slowly, "No."
He grinned. "Good."
They ate and talked mainly about trivia, but it didn't take Joshua long to figure out that something was on her mind. She was fidgeting with the napkin, unconsciously nibbling on her lower lip, and occasionally he caught a glimmer of alarm in her eyes. Something was really worrying her, that much Joshua knew. But what? Grace put off telling Joshua about the letters she'd received. She had to find a way of broaching the subject. But she just couldn't. Things were going so well. They hadn't argued. She didn't want to spoil this date. So they had eaten the large crusty bread rolls with very ripe brie, munched on hot and spicy chicken wings, downed it all with a wonderfully oaky Chardonnay and nibbled on raspberries and blueberries. The tastes and textures not quite complimentary but neither seemed to notice. They had eaten everything, every last crumb, almost as if that would buy them time with each other. Joshua was busy watching her, and Grace was busy trying to look as if she wasn't anxious. Her actions were giving her away.
It was almost time for Grace to make tracks for her office when she finally broached the subject in a roundabout way, "Is Lysette vindictive?"
That was a bolt from the blue. And it threw Joshua. For a second he could only stare at her as his brain tried to make a few logical leaps. Lysette, why would Grace suddenly mention her?
"Lysette?" He mulled the question for a moment, "Vindictive?" He queried as he kept his eyes pinned on Grace, "What do you mean?"
"Oh, I don't know," She prevaricated, shrugging her shoulders, seeing from his reaction that Lysette wasn't likely to be sending her mail, she dropped eye contact, dusted at some breadcrumbs, "but you know how some women are, er, when they've been offended...." She trailed off wanly and continued to sheepishly dust non-existent crumbs off the rug. This was harder than she had thought. How did you accuse your current boyfriend's ex girlfriend of sending you obscene mail? And then how did you apologise when you realise she definitely isn't the one?
"No I don't." He poured some more of the wine into a long stemmed glass and handed it to her, a smile on his face as he assumed she must still be a trace wary of the other woman. But then he noticed that as she took the glass her hands were trembling. He looked up and into her troubled eyes and his voice reflected the concern she saw in his eyes. "Grace?" He took both glasses and placed them on the lawn. One glass tumbled over and the wine spilled out unheeded, Joshua was past caring, he was too intent on the signals she was projecting. "When are you going to tell me what's going on?"
"I've received some letters. Really disgusting notes." She blurted abruptly and without any preamble, looking straight into his eyes.
"What?" The second glass of wine spilt over his hand as he jerked upright. "What do you mean?" She couldn't mean what he thought she meant?
Grace shivered as she recalled some of the messages. "I've been getting obscene letters, brief notes, threats really," unconsciously she began shredding the paper napkin "the police are trying to trace them."
"What?" Joshua took her chin and tipped her face up. "What kind of letters?" He quizzed, keeping his eyes firmly trained on Grace, reading every anguished moment in her eloquent eyes.
Grace shuddered. "Horrible." She mumbled as she tried to tug her chin free of his grasp. He wouldn't let her go. "Threats. Involving violence and sex." She finally conceded.
He didn't know what to say. So he pulled her to him and held her tight, as if that would wash away the problem and protect her from any future crisis. "Since when?" He murmured into her hair.
"A while." She muttered into his chest.
"What." He moved back an inch and looked at her, his eyes blazing with suppressed annoyance. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" How the hell was he going to survive being married to such an independent woman?
"I just did." She stated calmly as if she had just told him her favourite brand of chocolate.
"Damn it. Earlier." He hauled her back into his bear like grip. "Much, much earlier. Like when you got the first one." He was crushing her to him as if he could pull her into him and protect her from all the evil in the world.
"I knew you'd over react." She murmured into his chest.
"Over react?" He growled into her ear. "I'm being very restrained. Very." He squashed her to him. Wrapped his arms around her, pressing her to him. How could he ever hope to keep such an independent spirit safe?
She grinned into his shirt and muttered, "You're crushing the living daylights out of me. That isn't very restrained." He released his grip a fraction but still kept her within the circle of his arms.
"Why would anyone send you ..." He was thinking aloud, "That jerk who beat up his daughter." He announced having reasoned through his argument before he could finish voicing his original question.
Grace shook her head, "No my mail is coming from Auckland, and he's in gaol in Hamilton, waiting for his case to be heard." She tipped her head up to look into his troubled eyes, "The police told me that. He was our first guess."
"They've no idea who it could be?" That worried Joshua.
"No. I didn't mention Lysette either, it seemed so, well, so sort of petty, if you know what I mean."
"I don't think Lysette would do this. I'll check it out." He swore under his breath, "Do you have any other suspicions? Any idea at all?"
For a second she said nothing, then she smiled teasingly at him, before saying, "Amy suggested you."
"What?" He reared back to look in her eyes. She was smiling at him. "Who's Amy?" He demanded with narrowed eyes.
"My best friend."
"I need to set her straight."
Grace smiled. "I already did." Joshua hugged her tightly while his brain went into over drive.
There was some idiot terrorising her. He was going to make damned sure that nothing happened to her. The question was how? How did he keep this maverick woman of his safe?
"Right." He announced in a peremptory manner, "You're coming home with me." He had no intention of giving her a choice in the matter. It was about time he showed her that sometimes he'd make the decisions, some she wouldn't necessarily like. He was not leaving her here, that was for sure. For one grim moment he wondered what he would do if she stubbornly refused. Then he dismissed the thought, he would not allow her obstinacy to jeopardise her life and his sanity.
"No I'm not. Joshua I've got classes to teach. I work here." Grace explained patiently, shaking her head as she added accusingly. "I knew you'd over react."
She was going to be stubborn. "Fuck it. I'm not over reacting." He growled, "Over reacting would be to go down to the police station and tell them to get their butts into gear." He took a deep calming breath, "There is a lunatic out there." Joshua noticed the defiant set of her chin, "I don't care for that look Grace." She quirked a brow at him, he ignored the challenge, instead he simply continued with what he had to say, "I am not leaving you here alone whilst some idiot threatens you." His response was full force and vehement. "And that's all there is to it. Your cottage is too damn isolated. And your nearest neighbours are deaf according to you. You're coming home with me."
"Get over it." She advised him flatly.
"Grace, you are coming with me."