The Probability Factor

Chapter Five-A Kiss is Just a Kiss

I must say, Haldur was a magician. My migraine was completely gone before I woke up; and my evening was spent tutoring him in English lessons. I had scads of other questions I wanted to ask him, but felt that if I waited, perhaps some answers would present themselves. Alistair stuck around for dinner and helped me tutor Haldur by acting out skits to get my points across. I had to laugh as Alistair chose to enact the phrase ‘I love you’, by grabbing me bodily and place sloppy kisses all over my face. I knew he was kidding around and advised Haldur to ignore that explanation. Alistair made a great fuss about being offended, and I had to placate him with a lemon poppyseed muffin. I had made them the previous weekend when I couldn’t sleep. Haldur had wanted to try one too, so I pulled out the container and warmed a couple up in the microwave, making some tea to go with them. The evening ended peacefully and I slept marvellously, no doubt due to Haldur’s intervention earlier that day.

The weeks flew by as I divided my time between work and Haldur. It was akin to having two full time jobs. Alistair really came through for me, obtaining a whole bunch of ESL books from his boyfriend. Steve was an ESL instructor at a local language school, and happily lent Alistair textbooks to assist in Haldur’s lessons. I had slowly acclimatized him to the streets of Vancouver, and introduced him to the wonderful world of North American shopping malls. He was quite taken aback by the gaggles of girls who followed us around Pacific Centre, giggling everytime he looked their way. I had to explain to him that he was quite handsome and the females of the species twitter at such displays. Needless to say, he found that amusing.

The calendar said Haldur had been with me for six weeks, but it felt like only a few days. Time had flown by, and it was near the middle of August. I was expecting company in a week’s time, when my friend June came in from North Carolina. She usually stayed at a hotel in the heart of downtown, near my workplace, so we could hang out afterwards. I’d take a few days off to have an extended weekend, and try and show her more of B.C. On her last visit I had taken her out to Harrison Hot Springs, this time I was hoping to get over to the Island and show her Tofino and Long Beach. We’d probably stop in Ucluelet for a late lunch. How could you drive through a town named Ucluelet and not stop, eh? With Haldur here, plans had to change slightly. I decided to make reservations at the Wickaninnish Inn for the three of us, and hope that Haldur enjoyed the excursion. I figured being that close to old growth forest would make him feel somewhat at home, as he told me in our dream discussions that he lived in a forest of great trees. When I emailed June about my planned excursion, and to tell her we’d have company, she was excited. She emailed me back wanting details about the company, but I told her that when I picked her up from the airport, I’d give her the scoop. June tried to weasel info out of me, but I stood firm and didn’t give away any details.

That evening, when I entered my apartment, Haldur was waiting with Roxy on her leash.

“Hello Susan. We should take Roxy out?” he asked, still unsure of his language skills.

“Yeah Haldur. I’ll put my bag down, and then we can go,” I dropped my bag in the corner and guided Haldur and Roxy out the door.

The air was stiflingly hot, as Vancouver was in the grips of a hot spell. I watched ripples of heat rise up from the sidewalk as I led Roxy down a grassy embankment near the beach. Roxy panted hard, moving slowly down the grass towards the water. Haldur kicked off his flip flops and took the leash from my hand. He waded into the surf, letting Roxy run back and forth in the water. I sat down on a log and watched Haldur clap his hands and chase Roxy through the waves. Once they had both become thoroughly soaked, he led Roxy out of the cold Pacific water and up onto the warm sand of the beach. I jumped away from my dog as she shook off the excess water, laughing as her body jiggled wildly with the movement. Haldur stood watching her implacably, letting himself get more wet than he already was.

I had purchased Haldur a couple of pairs of knee length shorts to get by with in the heat wave, along with a few new t-shirts. I knew that if he stayed into the Fall, I would have to purchase more clothing to ward against the cool, wet weather. I wondered if Haldur had ever worn anything like runners, and figured he could get away with a pair of those and perhaps some casual leather slip-ons. When I had taken him shopping for shorts, he had tried on a pair of jeans, and declared them too rough on his skin. They weren’t good jeans, just a pair of store-brand; so I figured if I got him into a pair of Tommy Hilfiger’s or Ralph Lauren’s, he like jeans more. I have found that the pricier designer jeans are much softer and already broken in.

Taking the now soaking leash, I walked with Haldur and Roxy back home. As soon as we walked through the door, I told Haldur to keep Roxy at the door on the mat, and ran to get a couple of towels from the linen closet. I handed one to Haldur and began to rub Roxy dry. Haldur stripped off his clothing, leaving it in a wet pile by the door, and wrapping the towel around his waist, walked to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. We had come to an agreement that Haldur would no longer walk around nude and I would not protest his watching me sleep. He said he felt comfortable watching me, as it made him feel secure and more at home. We had not discussed his return home, as I didn’t know what to say or do in that regard. Haldur only brought up his home when it was in reference to an issue being dealt with here.

I heard the water for the shower go on, and sighed inwardly. While I liked having a guy around, it seemed like Haldur was just here, existing, not bothering to try and fit in. He had been out quite a bit with Alistair and me, but he stood out like a sore thumb. I had tried to talk him into a haircut, but he would hear none of it. Having a guy who was at least 6’5”, with long silvery blond hair and a haughty attitude was not the formula for keeping a low profile. Quite a few of Alistair’s friends had asked who Haldur was and if he was available. One, who had an obscene amount of body hair, had aggressively made a pass at Haldur, which he brushed off with an air of disdain. That just made hairy-guy more interested, which meant Alistair had to make it very clear that Haldur was hetero, and in a relationship with me. Hairy-guy gave me the evil-eye and stalked off, muttering about fag-hags and how society had degenerated into a very bad scene. I wondered if Haldur would ever see his home again, and decided that he and I needed to have a talk about his continued existence here and lack of assimilation. Knowing the language didn’t count. He was being purported as coming from Scandinavia, but most Europeans were happy to adapt to North American culture. Haldur still disappeared into the trees whenever we went for walks in Stanley Park, and was full of hubris when around other people. He needed another chat about being friendly to the locals. The only person he had warmed up to was me; even with Alistair, he kept an air of aloofness.

The water had been shut off and a few minutes later Haldur came out into the living room to get a fresh shirt and clean pair of shorts. I turned my head as he pulled on the shorts and watched as he crossed my field of vision to walk into the kitchen.

As he pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge, he called out, “Susan, you like some water?”

“Yes please,” I answered.

Haldur came back into the living room and handed me a cold bottle, before he sat down on the couch beside me. Roxy settled down on her dog bed beside the couch, and I turned my body to face him.

“Uh Haldur, you’ve been here for six weeks, and I think it’s time to start acting less aloof and more friendly with the locals,” I announced.

Haldur studied me for a moment, “Susan, I do not like them. I like you. They too…” he paused looking for the right word, “stupid.”

While he wasn’t that far off in his assessment, I knew he wasn’t giving people enough of a fair shake. Not everyone was stupid, and I regretted teaching him that word.

“Haldur, not everyone is stupid. You need to make more friends, and join in more. I cannot be your only friend here. What if something happens to me? You will need others to help you here,” I explained.

Haldur shook his head vehemently, “No. I protect you. You are my friend. Alistair nice, but he looks at me like he hungry. I do not like. You are with…honour. You are great lady.” Haldur placed his hand on my knee as he nodded at his words.

“Oh, no I’m not. I just lucked into helping you out. You could’ve been helped by any number of people,” I sighed.

“No. They let me stay in their home? They give me clothes and food? No. I know you. Before I come here, I know you. I see you before. I would not go with you if I not know you,” he patted my knee.

“Haldur, you could be stuck here for months, even years. I need you to be nice to people. Please?” I took his hand in mine and held it to my chest.

Haldur watched my movements, and stared at his hand in mine. I brought his hand to my cheek and pressed it against my skin.

“Please?” I repeated.

Haldur leaned forward, coming close to my face, “For you, I try.”

“Do better than try. Be nice,” I challenged.

He was now so close I could feel his breath on my skin, and it left tiny goosebumps in its wake.

“For you, I will,” he amended.

“Thank you,” I kissed his hand and gave it back to him.

He looked startled as he sat back. “You kiss me,” he said slowly.

“Oh, is that all right? I mean, I didn’t overstep any boundaries, did I?” I became slightly flustered.

Haldur looked into my eyes and exhaled, “It is good. I never touch you like that.”

“Uh, no. That was a friendly kiss. People exchange them when they are close to the other person. It is usually done with friends and family,” I quickly explained. I hoped I hadn’t offended Haldur with such a bold movement.

He watched me for some time before he spoke. “Me kiss you?” he asked.

“Uh, all right,” I felt like some awkward teenager as he leaned in.

I thought he was just going to kiss my cheek, something completely platonic and without any romantic overtures. He had never expressed any interest in me that way, and I felt more comfortable knowing I didn’t have to worry about that. As his faced loomed closer, I felt a surge of panic hit me, as I realized he was really going to kiss me. Not just a friendly peck on the cheek, but a real lip-lock. His lips touched mine, and I felt an electric shock surge through my body. He gently explored my lips with his tongue, and I opened my mouth in surprise. Haldur must’ve taken this as an invitation, as he slipped his tongue inside my mouth, filling it with warmth. I felt a familiar tingle in my pelvis and I moaned as he expertly caressed my tongue. His hands came up around my face, as he stroked my skin delicately. He broke off the kiss and watched me watch him sit back. I still felt tingly and had the strongest urge to kiss him again and see where it lead us, but instead I exhaled and leaned against the back of the couch.

“You like?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Yes. Thank you. That was very nice,” I replied, feeling like I was in the throes of a sexual thrall.

Haldur smiled to himself and he put his hand on my thigh, “I do that again. You have soft skin.”

I laughed at the remark, “Yes. Women have soft skin.”

Haldur looked at me oddly, “Not women at home. They have rough skin, and dirty. You clean and soft. Like ellith. Not like women.”

I knew that ellith meant female elves, as Haldur had explained a few terms that he had used with me during our dream conversations; but I wasn’t sure what he meant by the women having rough skin.

“Women have rough skin? Like farmers or labourers?” I asked.

“They tend land, live hard life. You not work land; you have soft hair and skin. You more like ellith,” he explained.

Ah, the women from his country were labourers. Must be a hard life. I thought about Haldur’s sword and wondered how technologically advanced they were where he lived. Even Third World countries used guns and bombs to fight each other. Haldur had said he was in the middle of a battle when he disappeared from his country, but since that statement, he hadn’t mentioned the battle again.

I started as Haldur leaned in again, “I like you. You very nice.” He gently kissed my cheek and got up to go into the kitchen.

I sat on the couch absolutely dumbfounded. With one kiss, Haldur had irrevocably changed the status of our relationship, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that quite yet.