Bastian
Chapter 170 - Just Like This

✧Just Like This✧

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The table was set in the backyard. Odette had laid out a lace cloth on an old wooden bench, in the shade of a tree. There were even flowers placed in the centre once all the crockery was laid out.

   Bastian went downstairs before he was bidden, he didn’t want to stay in that stuffy room any more.  On his way out, he grabbed a bottle of water and a glass.

   “Food is not ready yet,” Odette said like a mother about to scold a child.

   “I know, but I need some air, your room is rather stuffy,” Bastian said calmly, taking a seat at the table across the kitchen’s window.

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The soft glow of the sunset painted the world in warm colors, as warm as his eyes when he looked at her.

   Bastian watched Odette potter about the kitchen. He could see her clearly when ever she came to stand at the sink, whether to wash vegetables or fill a pot with water. She was moving diligently without a moment’s rest as if she was dancing.

   There were occasions where their eyes met and each time, Odette would pause what she was doing for a second, then carry on with her chores, shaking her head.

   Bastian could not take his eyes off his wife for a moment, every time he could see her and even when he couldn’t, he imagined her moving about the kitchen. He never saw the sadness in her eyes, that hung over her like the shadow of the tree over him. She was beautiful and that was all that mattered to him.

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The plate set on the table just as the summer sun was making its final decent to the horizon. It was laden with exquisite food, vegetables straight from the garden and a fresh plucked chicken and bread that just came out of the oven. Unbelievably, it was all prepared in a hurry

“Please eat.” Odette took off her apron and sat down opposite him with nothing but few left over vegetables.

   “Why don’t you eat, is it because of me?” Bastian asked, his brow furrowed.

   “I enjoy tea parties, so I’m not hungry,” Odette said, pouring herself some water.

   A cool breeze rustled the leaves in the tree and passed between them. Odette could feel Bastian persistent gaze on her. She forced herself to eat the roasted vegetables while Bastian ate heartily, he was never a picky eater and it kind of bothered her the way he would stuff his face.

   Once the initial shock of Bastian’s arrival had subsided, Odette saw that there was a change in him. He was certainly acting differently to all the other times she had betrayed him. He wasn’t trying to confine or condemn her and there was no apparent intent to punish her.

But why? 

   All through the dinner, she felt a pang of anxiety, expecting him to pull the rug out from under her at any minute. She thought she got the measure of him, knew the reason why he had come all the way out to the country.

   “I never knew your culinary skills were so good,” Bastian said after clearing his plate.

   “I have been responsible for the family’s meals. I’m glad you liked it.” Odette said politely.

   She bustled around the table, taking up Bastian’s dirty plate and cutlery, then went to fetch desert, which was a freshly baked plum pie. It was her second attempt, the first one was a disaster, but this one had the perfect golden hue about its crust. She placed a large slice with a dollop of cream in front of Bastian.

   “Don’t you enjoy tea more than coffee?” Bastian said, when he noticed Odette pouring out two cups of coffee.

   “These days I drink coffee.”

   “Why?”

   “Because tea conjures up difficult memories.”

   “Odette.”

   “You too, Bastian, that’s why I left you.” It was unexpected and came very calmly. She finally realised, cowardly running away will not lead to a good ending.  After she saw Bastian, her jumbled thoughts found clarity.

   “I’m sorry, Odette.” Bastian said, looking down at the coffee now in front of him. He looked up in time to see Odette’s dazed expression before she turned away in embarrassment. “I know that I was wrong, I ruined you and caused the death of our…”

   “No, Bastian, don’t say it,” Odette pleaded and shook her head. “I know you’re sorry, but if I wanted an apology, I wouldn’t have run away. That is not what’s important to me. I’ve already accepted your apology, but it was unbearable for me, it still is, so please, stop, don’t hurt me any more, I cant take it. I’m begging you, Bastian, please stop.”

   Bastian couldn’t help himself, Odette’s voice was like a siren song that permeated the evening air, a song that seduced him whether he wanted it or not. He looked at her like of a lost sou, as if the deep ocean of abandonment engulfed him, drowning even the last beacon of apology and forgiveness.

Should he plug his ears? Like what the hero of an old folk story. Who was so enamoured by a siren song that he tied himself to a mast and plugged his ears with wax. As the hero escaped unscathed from the sea, the siren met her inevitable demise, as was her destiny. 

   A rueful smile crossed Bastian’s lips as he looked up at the clear night sky. He did not want them have that kind of ending.

“Then let me know what I should do for you?” Bastian asked her.

He chose to listen to that beautiful song. He was fine with running around, loose, he was fine with casting his ship on the rocks, he was fine with clinging to the wreckage and he was fine with swimming the length of the sea to be with his siren, what ever it took, no matter what.

   “Just, stay here for awhile,” Odette said softly. “And, please don’t come back again.” 

   “Odette, I…”

   “I don’t hate you, Bastian. In fact I wanted to see you. I didn’t know until now, until I saw you. Before, I worried about you, about how you were doing in your weakened state. The feeling torments me so much. Its like the day I went into the bitter sea.”

   Bastian stared at Odette, at her watery eyes and face subtly tinged red in the setting sun. The despair and pain on her face was the same as that day.

   “I want to live well, Bastian. I am doing my best, but if I get hurt again, I don’t think I could bare it.” Odette took a deep breath and sat up straight. “I don’t want to live like that any more and I hope you don’t either. Obligations, society’s judgment, understanding, losses, and gains – none of it matters to me anymore. You must consider your true feelings, feelings that are not brought on by guilt, sympathy or responsibility.”

Odette set the untouched pie plate aside and lit the lantern that hung from a tree branch.  The warm light cut through the night, casting an inviting glow over the backyard of the house.

Under the gentle light they stared at each other from across the dinner table. The light danced across their morose faces and the tranquillity of the evening settled over the cottage. It felt like the calm sea left behind after a storm’s retreat.

   “The roads get dark out here in the country, you best leave, if you wish to make it back to your hotel.” Odette broke the silence first. The sunset’s lingering traces had vanished, and stars were sprouting up in the sky.

   Bastian nodded his head without saying a single word and started to eat the pie. Odette watched, surprise tingling her mind. She had thought he couldn’t possibly eat it, but Bastian silently emptied his plate. He also finished off the cold coffee before he stood and spoke.

   “Thank you for the meal, Miss Byller. Tomorrow I will bring a bottle of champagne.” Bastian gave a silly bow and made for the road.

   “Bastian…”

   “You never know, we might be able to have tea tomorrow.”

   All Odette could do was sigh at the back of the man as he walked away, a man that was more like a brick wall. She had hurt him with her words, she could feel it, no matter how hard he tried to hide it. 

Bastian wore his jacket and left the backyard. She hurried after the leaving guest, keeping a respectful distance.

   “I shall see you tomorrow, sister.”

   Even after the shadow of Bastian vanished down the dark lane, Odette never moved from the gate, staring after him.

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“Ah, Mr Lovis, are you involved in some sort of suspicious activity?” The hotel owner barred Bastian from entering the lobby.

   “What do you mean?” Bastian said politely, looking down at the hotel owner.

   “A little while ago, some strange men came in here asking for a naval officer, a major. I don’t know who they were, but they insisted that I give you this.” The hotel owner held out a note for Bastian. There was a jumble of letters and numbers on it that Bastian instantly recognised as Naval code.

   “Thank you,” Bastian said, taking the note and stuffing it hastily into his pocket.

   Once out of sight of the hotel owner, Bastian looked at the note. It was a message conveying a meeting place, a hillside behind the village and as he approached the hill, he found a black car waiting for him.

   There were two men in civilian clother leaning on the car, smoking cigarettes and as soon as they saw Bastian approach, the stood up straight and saluted him. They were unfamiliar to Bastian, though one he had seen a couple times, a captain that was present in a few briefings.

   “Good evening, Major, we have a very important message for you, which had to be delivered in person.” The captain held out an envelope to Bastian, stamped with top secret.