Sinful Pleasures - Chapter 2

Sinful Pleasures - Chapter 2

"My poor son! Will he ever walk again?" Alicia sobbed quietly.

"Alicia, don't lose hope. Rye will recuperate in the province. The renovations should be finished by now." Jim remained calm and his practical self. He had to because his wife was too emotional.

"What? But the house is so far from the hospital! He can't walk. He can't even feed himself!" Alicia wailed loudly.

"Please keep your voice down, Alicia. Your son might hear you." His father's sharp tone silenced his mother.

Rye feigned sleep when the people around him discussed his disability. He kept his impatience in a tight leash. Ever since he woke up, he got frustrated because he couldn't move an inch.

He needed to push the button beside his right hand to call the attention of the nurse. He needed two attendants to lift him when the bed had to be changed. The Rye, who was so independent and self-sufficient, was gone.

"We shall provide the best medical attention Rye needs while recuperating. We are just one call away. We can fly him here by helicopter," Jim continued cajolingly.

This explanation had pacified his mother. And Rye, too. His father's confidence lifted his low spirits.

But who was to know if he was ever going to be able to walk again? Not his doctors. Not his parents. Certainly not him...

Then the mysterious woman started appearing in his dreams...

Gillian...

She provided enough intrigue to feed his waking hours, which was becoming longer. Rye felt better and better each day. Every morning, he was filled with zest to continue living.

On the third month, the casts on his arms and legs were removed. The doctors were astonished because they expected a longer period for his fractured bones to heal.

His parents were feeling positive after a long time of worrying.

"So what do you say, Rye? Would you like to recuperate in the province?" Jim asked his son with fingers crossed behind his back.

Rye knew that the mountain air would do a lot of good for his health. He planned to stay there for three more months. He was determined to walk again.

When he was much better, he would find the woman in his dreams. Gillian...

"You will be accompanied with three nurses and three caregivers, Rye." Alicia added with a slightly worried expression.

"Mom, just one nurse will do." His voice was still gravelly from out of use. His gaunt face had no expression and his eyes looked piercing from their sunken depths. His words, however, agreed to the arrangement.

"Your release papers will be signed today. We'll go there right away." Jim breathed out his relief.

"Of course," his mother agreed reluctantly. "I'll arrange the nurse who will accompany us. Excuse me."

"Your mother's nerves are thin right now. I'd like to take her on a vacation," Jim said apologetically when they were alone.

"I'm stronger now. Thanks to you, Dad, especially to Mom," Rye answered humbly. "You need to relax now. Take Mom in a long cruise."

Alicia had taken vigil by his side when he was in the ICU. She left only when necessary.

"Will you be alright by yourself? Sam will be with you, too," his father continued.

It seemed a cue for his assistant to knock on the door. "Good morning, sir, boss," Sam greeted with a formal smile.

"Good morning, Sam." Rye inclined his head. He tried a smile.

"Here are the release papers, sir. The nurse at the station gave them to me." Sam gave the sheaf of paper to Rye's father.

"Good. We'll have an early start. I'll find your mother now."

After one hour, Rye's personal things and personal nurse were ready. He rode with his parents in the white van. Sam and the female nurse were on board Rye's red sports car.

They traveled for more than five hours. Rye slept all the way to the province. He woke up groggily when they arrived. He barely looked around when he was wheeled into the house.

Rye slept on the wide king-sized bed. Subconsciously, he hoped 'Gillian' would appear in his dreams.

And he was not disappointed. The woman made passionate love to him as usual. This time, his eager hands caressed her soft curves while his mouth and tongue traced her lips and cheekbones. He was not left frustrated this time. He could still hear her scream of satisfaction reverberating inside his mind.

He made a promise to himself. He would walk again. He would find 'Gillian'...

After that first night, Gillian had not visited his dreams. The mysterious woman in his dreams didn't appear again. Maybe because Rye had been really conscious these days.

A routine was developed slowly. Rye was moving about easily although he was still in a wheelchair. In the morning, he would take his breakfast at the balcony, adjacent to his room. He is doing exercises by himself in the morning but for only for fifteen minutes. He didn't want to overdo things. He forced himself to take it easy.

His favorite resting place is the wide balcony. It is five meters away from the glass doors and has the width of the house, which is eight meters wide. But the size is not important. It faces the driveway rising to the house.

The master's bedroom is located on the second floor. The renovation his father mentioned is the elevator attached to one side of the bedroom. It has glass walls and doors. One sliding door opens to the outside, facing the breathtaking view, and the other one is to the inside of the house, which is the living room at the first floor.

Every morning, Rye saw the woman coming from the house of the caretakers. She was wearing a loose shirt and baggy pants. Both had seen better days. Even the straw hat she wore looks shabby.

But the woman has class. She moves like a queen, straight back and shoulders. Her waist and hips swayed naturally. Even the simple task of riding a motorcycle is like a work of art in motion. She caught his curious interest.

Rye called Sam to know her name and her address. But the woman is elusive.

"What's her full name? Where does she live?" Rye asked after seeing Sam scratching his head while watching the woman go away.

"She just said: 'Li-an' and nothing more." Women often find Sam attractive. He is a kind of cute guy because he is short. He is somehow perplexed that a woman had snubbed him.

"What about Gunda and Dandoy? Maybe they can tell you all about Li-an?" Rye mentioned the elderly couple.

"Well, they told me her name is Li-an Reyes and that she lived at the house down the hill. The one with the tin roof."

"Where is the house?" Rye used his binoculars to look downward. They were at the balcony.

"That one."

Rye could see the woman parking her motorcycle in front of the tin-roof house. The large straw hat hid her face and the loose shirt shrouded her body.

Rye let out a sigh when Li-an entered the house.

"How old is Li-an?"

"Hmm... About late twenties or early thirties," Sam said after a few seconds. "Does she look familiar?"

"I--no... She moves like..." Rye replied slowly. The way Li-an flicked her head seemed familiar. Languid...

Rye blinked his eyes. He shook his head.

"Oh, I thought you knew each other before." Sam pushed up his spectacles. "Like childhood friends?"

"No, but I want to know her. Invite her for lunch," he suggested decisively.

"Well, I'll try, boss," Sam answered reluctantly.

"Tomorrow?"

Sam nodded and asked to be excused.

And, now, another week had gone. Sam was rejected every morning. His invitations had received a stoic refusal every time.

"No, I'm busy." Li-an's face was expressionless.

Rye didn't push the issue. He just realized that no woman in her good mind would want to do anything with him. He is a vegetable on a wheelchair. What he needs is a good physiotherapist.

"The doctor would want to examine you first before the therapy," Nurse Sanchez said primly. She is fiftyish and tend to mother both of them. Sam enjoyed the motherly attention because he is an orphan.

"Sam, get us an appointment. I'll call my parents." Rye called them every night after he took his medicines. They are scheduled to leave for New York next week.

"Oh, that's good news, Rye! You're getting well! Must be the fresh air!" Alicia exclaimed happily. "Here's your father."

"Hi, Dad! I'd like to borrow the company helicopter. I have a doctor's appointment."

"Your next appointment is the third week. Why the rush?"

"I want to hire a physiotherapist."

"Ah, that's good. The helicopter shall fetch you. We will meet you at the hospital."

Rye was in good spirits when he came back from the hospital.

"Sam, I'd like a physiotherapist who lived around here."

"I was placing a sign this morning when Dandoy mentioned that he knows someone." Sam was left behind.

"That's good. Let's take our dinner outside."

"Yes, boss." Sam wheeled Rye out the open sliding doors.