The Kiss of Revenge

The Kiss of Revenge

The wind blew calmly on her face as she sat at the end of the wooden planked walkway under the open veranda. The ocean looked so inviting as the waves slowly rolled in. It was cloudy and the moisture in the air felt good as she breathed in the fresh air. It was late summer and she just wanted to enjoy the last of her days here. She picked up her glass of sweet tea and took a sip.

Her entire life had been spent here. A small beach town at the bottom of Alabama. Thirty-two miles of beachline and this was the last spot where there were no condos or large corporations taking claim to this beauty. Her family had made it their goal to hold claim to this tiny slice of heaven. The only time she had spent any length of time away from this wonderful place was the last two years she spent at the University of Alabama. The Roll Tide motto was what sealed the deal for her college experience.

She had been pursuing her Master of Arts, specializing in creative writing. She had planned on being an author and writing about mysterious people, living wonderful lives with a twist of crime and murder worked in. She always thought of the romantic scenes she would portray to make twists in the plots. Which was humorous as she only ever had one man in her life, but her thoughts turned elsewhere as she pictured him in her mind.

“Emma. Darling. Your father and I have been waiting for you in the dining room for lunch. Are you okay?” The comforting voice of her mother spoke as she turned to see her in her long colorful summer dress.

“Yes, mom. Everything is fine. I am just enjoying the breeze on my face and the refreshing ocean air.” Emma turned back to look at the endless waves.

“Would you like to come inside, or should I bring you your food out here?”

“Mom, I think I am too nervous to eat. My stomach has been flipping all morning.” She looked back at her mother and showed a weak smile.

“Darling, there is no reason to be nervous. Xander is a nice man. He did make a mistake, but I think that he really wants to make things right with you.”

Emma smiled and turned back to the ocean view. Her mother knew when she became like this the best thing to do was to leave her with her thoughts. Emma never heard her walking away. Her thoughts returned to her first year at the university. She was so nervous because she had no friends. Her parents were very protective of her because of the threat of kidnapping that hovered over her. Her father was a very rich businessman. As she thought back, her family had been rich since the early eighteen hundreds. They had controlled shipping lanes and had built an empire around bringing supplies to and from foreign countries.

This meant that the family had created enemies for generations. Emma was always a target for some tyrant wanting to avenge some grudge from generations of long ago. She had become accustomed to nannies and playdates at her house but never outside of their compound. So, when she first stepped foot on the university grounds, she felt scared, but the freedom felt well freeing. She met Xander a few months later. He was charming and very intelligent. He was a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship. His scientific mind was hypnotic to her. The way he could think through a problem and find solutions. He was also very handsome and athletic. He ran the four hundred meters race for the track team.

They dated for several months, and then the relationship became serious one fall day after they decided to go to the lake for a day of boating. That was the first night they had made love on a secluded area on the shore of Lake Harris. She was head over heels in love with this man. She could spend hours looking into his dark blue eyes. After that day, she wanted to spend every second with him. Several months later she was engaged to the love of her life. Xander was so wonderful in every way.

Then one day, everything went so awry. She was walking back from the library, and a strange feeling came upon her. Then there was a terrible headache. The next time she remembered anything, she was in a hospital bed. She looked down at her arm—there was an IV running, and her mother and father were standing beside her bed. They both had tears in their eyes. Xander was in the corner of the room looking as if he was flabbergasted.

“What has happened?” Emma remembers asking her mother. Then, she noticed the IV bag. It was Dexamethasone. She knew it was a steroid used for treating inflammation of the brain.

“Is there something wrong with my brain?” She remembers the tear that ran down her face.

“We are so sorry, darling. The doctors said it was a tumor. Glioblastoma. But we will seek out every type of treatment in the world to cure this disease.”

Since that time, numbness drifted over her. She traveled the world seeking treatment that could have the potential to cure her. At first, Xander would go with her for support. But then he got accepted for the Rhodes Scholarship and traveled to England to study. It was at her persistent insistence that he did so. She did not want him to give up on this opportunity that he had worked so hard for, to advance his education and lifelong goals.

They talked everyday for weeks as she went through agonizing treatments for her brain cancer. She was sick and tired most of those days, but his voice seemed to soothe her when she finally could talk to him. But then the calls became more spaced out. Everyday turned into every few days, then every week and so on. Then there was the call she had been dreading. He had met someone else, and he could not continue leading her on. Her cancer had taken a mental toll on him. He had to be able to focus on his work and his life.

Emma was devastated. Then the twist of her doctors telling her that there was little else for them to do to treat her cancer. The best they could do was ease her pain. At the beginning of the summer, she knew to be her last, she wanted to be at the beautiful beach she had called home. She enjoyed the mornings with the beautiful sunsets. Then watching the seagulls fly overhead looking for food. The smell of the ocean. This is the place she wanted to take her last breath. It was a terrifying situation to be at this point so early in life for her. The medicine had helped, but the headaches had grown worse and so had her mobility.

It was surprising that she had been able to make it down to the veranda this morning. But her mother had told her two days before Xander had called and wanted to come by. He wanted to make an apology and hopefully amends before she died. This had energized her, she thought to be able to be so strong today. This was the one thing she had left to do before summer ended, and then she could die peacefully.

“Darling, Xander is here.” She heard her mother calling out to her. She felt nervous and reached for her lipstick and rolled it in her hands.

“Send him down.” She said back in her weakened voice. She felt alive for the first time in a long time when she watched his long and lean form walking down the walkway. She could see his black hair waving around in the wind. He was a very attractive man.

“Hello, Emma.” Her countenance rose when she heard his voice.

“Xander, how are you doing?” she asked and motioned for him to sit across from her.

“Mother, if you will, I think we have to have this conversation alone.” She watched her mother nod and smile, then turned and walked up the walkway back to the house.

“You look beautiful as ever.” Xander said with a nervous smile.

“You do not have to flatter me. I know how terrible I look. I just am thankful that you have come to see me.” She stared into his beautiful blue eyes deeply.

They sat and talked for an hour. They laughed, and they cried together. Emma’s spirits were up. Xander seemed to relax, and they recounted the time they had spent together. Xander apologized for being such a crummy man, and she laughed and forgave him. It was as if they were reliving old times. She told him he was her first and only love and how she had imagined the life they would have had together. Then her tears came back as she spoke of the children they would have had together. She thought Thomas would have been the name for their son, after Tom Sawyer in Huckleberry Finn—her favorite book as a child. Then Agatha for their daughter after her favorite author, Agatha Christie.

After that hour she had grown tired, and one of her headaches began to set upon her. Xander could tell she needed to rest, and he started the process of saying goodbye. He knew this would be the last time he saw her alive. She knew this too. She mustered up all the strength she could, straightened her back, and applied the lipstick.

“I would like to ask one last favor. Could I have one last kiss? I know this is awkward, but I have been thinking about this ever since you called.” She smiled and then wiped a tear from her eye.

“Sure, Emma. This is the least that I can do.” She watched him stand and as she tried to rise, she felt his strong hands grip her to help her to her feet. Then, they smiled at each other, and they embraced in a long, loving kiss.

“You know, Xander, there is one thing I would like you to know.”

“What is that, Emma?” He responded. He noticed a strange feeling coming over his body.

“I come from a lineage where holding grudges is normal. Do you think I would let you off scot- free after what you have done to me? Breaking my heart in the most desperate time of my life?” She watched as he fell to his knees. The Batrachotoxin she had acquired from one of her father’s goons worked faster than she thought.

Just as soon as she witnessed this, she fell to the ground also. She smiled at him as the look of surprise came to his face. Then, he fell by her side. She watched as the agony and then terror came upon his face.

“Emma! Are you okay?” She heard her mother say.

“I am now.” As she watched life go out of Xander’s eyes. Then looking up at the clouds flowing overhead, everything went dark.