Free Against The Odds by Senna Fisher Page A

you did growl like a lion that night. I swear. Your hair stood up.
Your whole body was different. Your eyes were almost white.
I know. I was there. You see, she was perfectly okay. That’s why I
think it must be you. ”
    “ Yes, I have these funny urges. She seems all right, except
she is scared.”
    “Of being hurt, Clayton, of being hurt. Let’s face it. You
are not the gentlest man when it comes to women, are you?
‘ Hit-and-run’?”
    “ Yes, but she knows I won’t do that to her.”
    Jonathan just raised his eyebrows. Jackie is going to kill me for
arguing and rationalizing .
    “ Clayton, why is the butterfly so important to
you?”
    “I
don’t know. I don’t know. I just feel it. I feel there is
something I need to do. She knows what it is. I can see her
withdrawing when I try to ask her. ”
    “ Why not ask her parents?”
    “Because she would kill me and then both of them. Because I
want her to trust me, to be honest with me. I want it from
her, not her parents, or anyone else. I need it from her. Jono, I love this woman. No, it is not just
sex. I feel her right inside of me and she feels me
too.”
    “One more thing, Clayton, this shocking business. I don’t
think I understand. I am thinking that it only happens when your hands are on her body. You hugged her
and nothing happened. Is it you? Too much male hormone or
something?”
    “ Yes, that is possible. I never thought about it that
far.”
    “Also, how did you know the waiter was going to
spill the wine? ”
    “ I did not know.”
    “If I do
a rough estimate, you were about here? She was about here? And the
waiter, where?”
    “ Here, just over her shoulder.”
    “Okay, now, if the glass was about to spill, you moved from
here? To here? Before it spilled? That is impossible, my
friend, unless you knew the glass would fall. In which case, you
would have arisen from your seat like this, leaned over and caught
it. The other option is that you were sitting right next to her, in
which case it might have been possible. ”
    “ No, I was across the table. What do you mean I must have
known? That is not logical.”
    “ No, neither is my best friend becoming a lion or talking to
butterflies.”
    “Clayton, you said you felt a connection with her father.
That is why I ask if you knew about the glass. You see, just
before you arrived, the old man walked to the door and waited for you to ring the bell. He already knew
you were on your way. It was a small thing, but I noticed
it.”
    “ What does this mean?”
    “I
don’t know. What else does he do that is...,u r... different?”
    “ He talks to his wife in his head. They had a huge fight,
right before my eyes. Not a word passed between them.”
    “ How did you know they were fighting?”
    “I
don’t know, maybe their facial expressions or something . I
did not think about it. ”
    “No, I
also noticed that. But I could never tell whether they were
fighting. I could tell they were talking, quickly, because their
eyes were slightly wider when they ‘spoke’. There were no facial
expressions, I am sure.”
    “Clayton, don’t laugh. But do you know
what Rebecca is thinking? ”
    He
laughed. “We would not be having this conversation if I did. I
would give anything to get into her head. But, you know, I can
sometimes tell what she is feeling , like when there is pain or fear. She has never
told me that, but I have known. Also, the first time we met,
something was happening to her. She stared right into my eyes,
looking for something. ”
    “Yes, and to you too. I remember I told Jackie how odd it
was.”
    There was a long silence .
    “ I think I am also going crazy. I think you are to Rebecca
what her father is to her mother.”
    “ What are you talking about, what?”
    “I
don’t know, but there is a pattern. Also, I still don’t understand
why you became a lion in his presence. I can’t fit that piece of the puzzle. ”
    “ I was not a lion. I was just frustrated. He was the