Beyond the Frame Chapter 16

It should have been easy to forget Eric. After all, Victoria told herself, he was like a wind passing through her life. She remembered watching him take photographs at Beth’s wedding. How easy it was to see the pain and shadow of longing in Eric’s eyes those days. Watching him sit opposite Beth on Monday afternoon felt like she was rediscovering his secret again.

What surprised her was the constant pang of jealousy plaguing her. She knew Eric liked Beth, even teased him about it when they first started seeing each other.

Victoria let out an impatient sigh and arranged lavender flowers in a glass vase. Turning on the water at her kitchen sink, she filled the vase, making sure the stems sank an inch into the water.

She turned off the faucet and carried the vase to her small dining table. She spent a few minutes arranging the lavender flowers, her thoughts lingering on the day she helped Eric plant lavender in his flower garden at his house. Each lavender plant sank into a hole in the ground, next to the roses he preferred. She teased him for wanting to plant flowers; he teased her for calling the lavender she loved herbs.

“If you like them, say, ‘I love lavender flowers.’ You don’t need to justify it to me, Victoria.”

“I love lavender flowers,” she murmured now, touching the delicate purple flowers.

Victoria moved away from the vase filled with lavender and headed back to her kitchen. It was Friday.

Victoria was officially on leave. It was the fourth day of her separation from Eric. Since Monday evening, her brain persisted in remembering, in perfect detail, the many moments she spent with Eric. It felt like torture and pleasure rolled into one.

Shaking off the ache in her heart, Victoria concentrated on making samosas. They were her contribution to Grace’s party. Mixing a paste with flour, she reached for the dough she had made earlier and got to work filling pockets with minced meat. Things would get back to normal soon, she decided. She would get over Eric, too.

Saturday came with lovely weather. Eric visited Taylor and Beth at their home in Waithaka. Taylor was in charge of barbecuing meat, so Eric joined him in the backyard. He tapped his beer to Taylor’s and smiled when his friend invited him to sit on a bamboo chair.

“I can’t believe you made it,” Taylor said, turning the meat on the charcoal barbecue grill. “You’ve missed a lot of these get-togethers. It’s good to have you back, man. How was it traveling the diaspora?”

Eric swallowed his guilt.

“It was good,” he answered Taylor. “I met many people who have kept my career going. The photo studio is bringing in stable income. I’m able to choose projects that interest me.”

“I’m happy for you,” Taylor said. He toasted Eric’s good fortune and drank his beer. “I get the hustle, Eric. You gotta do what you need to, especially when you have a family.”

Eric grinned.

“Heard you’re moving to Nakuru and that you’ll be a dad soon,” Eric said. “How do you feel?”

“Scared and excited,” Taylor said with a laugh, his gaze shifting to the kitchen doors where Beth was directing three women to cook the rest of the food. “She’s the strong one in our pair. I got lucky.”

Eric agreed with a nod.

“You’ll be my son’s godfather, right?” Taylor asked. “I can’t think of anyone else I would choose for the job, Eric.”

“Do I look like godfather material?” Eric asked, surprised by Taylor’s trust in him.

“Well,” Taylor studied him. “You’re still rough around the edges, but I’m absolutely sure you would take care of my boy if he needed it.”

“Taylor,” Eric said, standing up at this show of trust.

“Eric,” Taylor said, checking the meat. He poured his beer over the beef and grinned when it sizzled. He turned it on the grill and placed his bottle on the table.

“Come help me,” Taylor said, holding out a pair of tongs as he checked the fire on the grill. “For the record, if you ever get yourself a wife, I expect to be named godfather at the mention of a baby on the way, too, no excuses.”

Eric laughed, relief flooding him at Taylor’s simple acceptance. He didn’t know what he would do without a friend like Taylor.

Hanging out with Taylor felt good, easy. They spent the day serving up delicious nyama choma to the guests who came to visit with Taylor and Beth. The distance Eric worked to create disappeared. He laughed and joked around with Taylor as though they had been hanging out for ages.

Eric changed his beer to a Sprite in the afternoon, knowing he needed to drive home later. Evening came too soon. Guests came in and left in waves.

Seven o’clock in the evening found Eric sitting in Beth and Taylor’s living room, staring at his phone. He checked his messages. His thumb swiped over Victoria’s name more times than he wanted to admit. Her silence left a bitter taste in his mouth. Her sense of trust long warped, he worried she would give up on him.

Give them up over a simple meet-up with Beth.

They had barely started…

Eric sighed and dropped his phone on the coffee table. He picked up his Sprite bottle. He took a healthy sip and leaned back on the couch. Shifting to get comfortable, he paused when he found Beth sitting next to him.

She smiled and reached for his phone.

“I’ve never seen you sit this quietly and stare at your phone,” Beth said. “Who are you hoping will message you?”

“No one.”

Eric fought the urge to grab his phone back from Beth, instead sitting back and staring at his Sprite bottle.

“What happened to Vicky?” Beth asked. “You were supposed to bring her. You were so excited when you asked if she could come along on Monday.”

Eric shrugged and kept his silence.

“Eric,” Beth pushed.

“We’re on a break,” Eric said. “Probably broke up for good. I don’t know. She won’t call me.”

“Have you called her?” Beth asked.

Eric shook his head.

“I didn’t start this separation. She did. I’m giving her the space she asked for.”

“I’m sad to hear it,” Beth said, giving him back his phone. “You two looked great together. You looked happy on Monday. Excited. It was wonderful to see you look like your old self, Eric.”

“I’m still the same man—”

“No,” Beth said. “You haven’t been for years. You’ve been quiet and sad. Taylor and I, we didn’t know how to fix it. On Monday… well, you were so excited to come to this party. To bring Vicky… I thought…”

Beth trailed off, her gaze studying him, making Eric feel as though she saw more than he wanted her to see.

She cleared her throat, and he turned away from her, sipping his Sprite.

“Call her,” Beth said after a minute passed in silence. “Even though you’re not sure she wants to talk to you. If you truly care, then call her and open the channel. It might help.”

“Is that what Taylor does?” Eric asked.

“He tries,” Beth said with a laugh. “Some days he misses the mark, and the cold war lasts for a few days. Eventually, the cold ends, and we talk. So…”

“Victoria is afraid,” Eric said, cutting in. “She thinks I’ll let her down.”

“Then,” Beth smiled. “Prove her wrong, Eric.”

She squeezed his right hand on the couch and then got up because Taylor wanted her to walk a guest out with him.

Eric watched Taylor and Beth hold hands, smiling at their guest as they headed to the front door. They looked happy. He wanted a slice of that happiness with Victoria.

Eric stared at his phone for another minute, then opened his messaging app, finding Victoria’s number. He wrote her a message.

“I hope your Saturday was fun. Call me. I miss you.”

He hoped she would read it.