Part Nineteen

Thorn In My Side #2: Karen

Motivation: The Eurythmics ~ Thorn In My Side

…thorn in my side, you know that’s all you’ll ever be. So don’t think you know better, cause that’s what you mean to me. I was feeling complicated, I was feeling low. Now every time I think of you I shiver to the bone…

Karen sat in a local trattoria, mindlessly picking pieces of foccacia bread apart and dipping it in the olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then putting it back on her plate instead of in her mouth. Well, most of it made the plate. Some of it was on the table, and there were two pieces on the ground, as well. In fact, she had eaten none of what she had ordered, and the waiter was beginning to think there was a problem with the food.

After Nigel left to go and find Sydney, Karen threw herself on her bed and cried for a little while, cursing herself for not having better judgment when it came to men. How could she have even imagined Nigel would choose her over Sydney? Oh, she knew this was going to take some time to get over, and she had no other choice. He didn't love her, at least not the same way he loved Sydney Fox. And what man wouldn't want that? Sydney was a renowned history Professor and relic hunter, a world traveler, bloody beautiful, and could beat up men three times her size on a bad day!

One thing was certain, going back to work in the same office day after day would be a challenge for her. She didn't know if she would be able to stand being a mere few feet away and not be able to touch him. Nigel tried to explain his position, thinking he knew better, and maybe he did, but it didn't make her hurt any less, no matter how gentle he tried so desperately to be with her. She couldn't even run away from him! Shuffling through the fake documents Sydney dropped off the other day, Karen laughed to herself. For such an intelligent woman, Sydney sure missed the boat on this one.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

Karen blinked up from her reverie to the young waiter standing beside her. He couldn’t have been more than seventeen if he was lucky, with a sweep of long blonde hair and the bluest eyes she had ever seen. "Oh, hi…"

"I was just wondering, uh, you haven't really touched your meal, is there something wrong with it?" he asked her, trying not to look at the mess she had made.

"Geeze, you're right, I'm really sorry. No, no there's nothing wrong with it," she explained, really embarrassed now. He looked like he was trying so hard not to bust a gut. "I was just looking at this stupid treasure hunt junk."

"Oh really?" His eyes got even brighter, if that was possible, and he leaned over to see. "May I look at what you’ve got there?"

"Oh sure…" Karen handed him Sydney's bogus papers without hesitation. He could keep them if he wanted, seeing as they were worth about as much as the bogus gold they spoke of. "Knock yourself out, bud, it's all a bunch of lies anyway."

She took a sip of her cola and watched his animated eyes skimming through the maps and text so fast she wondered if he was even really reading it. It was cute, though…

"You know what, Lady, this isn’t as farfetched as you say it is. Where did you get this information, anyway?" he asked, and handed her back Nigel's papers.

Karen shrugged. "Well, a friend of mine said she got it from some dude, but it turns out this whole story is just pure fiction." She placed her elbows on the table and cradled her head in her palms, looking up to the young man with a smile. "Nothing but the product of someone's vivid imagination."

"Lady, that's where you’re dead wrong…"

Part Twenty

I Just Can't

Nigel wasn't sure how smart a statement that was, inviting Syd to just bring it on like that. He swallowed nervously and waited, noting the pernicious look in her eyes. No, he thought, she wouldn't dare, would she?He got the sinking feeling that he had just set himself up… in a very, very bad way. There was no room to turn back now. "Well, Sydney? What are you gonna do about it?"

She wanted to slap him upside his persnickety little head, desperately so. The problem was that he knew she would never lay a hand on him, but if she didn't do something soon this would be a stalemate, and she couldn't very well have that. Snotty bugger… Eyeballing the wallet on the table beside him, Sydney stiffened. She was going to teach him a valuable lesson the hard way. "I have something that belongs to you. I found it, actually."

"What?"

Her eyes motioned to his left side, and he glanced down at the table, recognising it in an instant. "Hey!" He grabbed it up and started dusting dried on granules of sand from the worn chestnut leather, hoping she hadn’t noticed. "So, uh, how did you get this?"

"I saw you drop it."

"How is that possi… ble…" Nigel’s face fell and his jaw went utterly slack, feeling the intense heat of disgrace rising high over his cheeks. There was no way he could hide that from her. "Uh, where?" He casually looked over at Sydney, trying to appear unfazed by the revelation, and proceeded to file through the contents of his billfold. "I, I can't remember where I dropped this. It looks like nothing's missing, thanks…"

"I wouldn’t go thanking me yet." Sydney grabbed a chair and abruptly dragged it around then took a seat in it, propping her arms along the backrest. She was well accustomed to that deer-caught-in-the-headlights look he had, and mentally had to give herself a pat on the back. "Do you really want me to tell you where I got it, and when? Do you Nigel?" Her tone had some serious implications to it that Nigel didn't really want to address.

He just closed his eyes, trying to think, and think smart. Sliding his wallet into his rear pants pocket, he looked over to Sydney, knowing there was only one way out of this. Time for a heavy-duty dose of the truth, and he dropped his backpack on the floor. "Look, Sydney, I didn’t come here to play games, all right? You know where I dropped this, and you know why."

"How could you?" Her tone was accusing and hateful. "You, you little, little Lothario!"

Nigel's eyes widened at her and if he weren’t so bloody shocked he would have laughed right in her face. He really, really would have, but he was a little concerned that now she might actually carry through on that ass-kicking threat. He absolutely hated it when she made negative remarks about his stature. He was just as tall as she was, so there was nothing wrong with his height! It wasn't his fault she behaved like an Amazon! But he dared never to say that. "You’ve GOT to be joking! How could I? Sydney, I'm only human! How many times can you push me away before I actually get up and go? For God sake, how often did I come to you begging for you to open up to me?" He threw his arms in the air in a quandary and angrily tramped over to the open window.

"Nigel, it doesn’t take a freaking rocket scientist to see that you and Karen are now connected at the hip!" she screamed after him, and jumped up from her chair, unable to sit still any longer. "And at the lips! I certainly don’t want her leftovers!"

"Leftovers… Leftovers?" His high-pitched British whine was enough to make her cringe. He looked so terribly insulted. "We are NOT connected at the hip, good God, Sydney… It’s what I came here to tell you!" He desperately tried to explain, furiously pacing back and forth in front of her. "It was all a lie!"

"What I was forced to witness was no lie, Nigel Bailey." She wasn't going to let him sneak out of this, not in a million years. "I saw everything, Nigel. I saw you two coming up the path, I saw her grab you. I… I saw you kiss her like you meant it!" Sydney replayed the scene in her mind becoming even MORE incensed. "You made out with our secretary on the beach Nigel, and I got a front-row seat!"

"igel couldn’t argue with that. "You know," he quietly began, his voice getting a lot more harried, "What you saw had nothing to do with love, Sydney." Lifting his remorseful hazel eyes to hers, he continued. "No matter what it looked like, I am paying dearly for it now."

"Good! I hope you pay till you're emotionally broke!" She had no sympathy for him, and let him know it in no uncertain terms. "I want you to leave, please, before I change my mind about allowing you to walk out of there on your own two legs."

"Sydney, no. I can't let you do this to me again. I, I just can't."

Part Twenty-One

His Secret Weapon

Sydney couldn’t believe his impudence! "You're telling me I've done YOU wrong?" She started to laugh in his face.

"Yes, yes you have, Syd. For all my mistakes and outright blunders where our relationship is concerned, you are indeed the one who should be shouldering most of the blame for this."

"hat got her attention. And he said it with such conviction she damned near believed it. "Right, I held a gun to your head and said, 'hey Nige, time to take Karen out for a test drive.' Whatever helps you sleep at night, buddy!" She stomped bitterly away from him and let herself fall despondently to the sofa.

Sydney's comments were chilling. Nigel really did feel horrible at the way he had taken advantage of Karen's feelings, mollifying himself into believing she was doing the same thing. "That's the trouble, Sydney," his lyrical English lilt teetered dangerously close to full disclosure, and he paused just long enough to pick up his backpack. "I'm not the only one having trouble with their sleep patterns."

"She wasn't this easily stirred emotionally, and she hated him for it. She knew he was coming closer, and when he sat down beside her she just turned around the other way. If he touched her she feared it would be all over. "I told you to get the hell lost!"

""But Sydney… I already am."

"hat was dirty pool, damn him! His voice stayed quiet and calm. You would never know there was a torrent of pain just beneath the surface. She scooted herself further down the sofa, but Nigel inched ever closer.

"GO AWAY."

"I will not." He was adamant. "I'm not going anywhere until you face this, Sydney Fox!"

"There's nothing to face, so you found yourself a new girlfriend. That's fine!"

"No, it’s not fine! I've known you for almost three years, Sydney, and not once have I ever seen you run from anything! The tough, difficult things especially… The Sydney Fox I know isn't a coward."

"he whipped around in her seat and glowered at him. "Is that what you think? That I’m a coward?"

He leveled his smoke-coloured eyes on her and said with conviction, "Yes."

"How dare you!" Sydney whipped around and grabbed him forcibly by his shirt, picking him right up off the sofa. "I'm no more a coward than you are a relic hunter!"

"is eyes were wide and his breath went utterly still. Sydney released him and fell back, groaning out loud. "I'm sorry…" she muttered.

"So am I…" he said, and sighed. Reaching down, he pulled his pack onto his lap. "Sydney, did you ever meet someone that you knew you loved before you even knew their name?"

"he shot him a puzzled look, suddenly too tired to fight with him anymore. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means simply, that I met someone that I love more than my own life, and I knew it seconds after our eyes combined… I was just in love." He caught her almond eyes in his and held her there deliberately.

"This is stupid, Nigel!" Sydney sat up and broke the connection. This was getting too comfortable and she needed to stay alert. She needed to keep Nigel at arm's length at all costs.

"It's not stupid. I met the most wonderful girl, I have to tell you…" His eyes glazed over and she could see him swallow hard. "I met this girl and she, she told me that I need to take stock in my life, Syd, and face my fears, and that you do too…"

Now he was scaring her. "Me? Who is this woman and how does she know me?"

Nigel nervously bit his lower lip. This was either going to blow up in his face, or it was going to be his saving grace. Hesitantly, he tucked his hand inside his backpack. "I met her last night… and she told me things I never thought I would hear."

Sydney watched as he pulled out little Sophie and deposited her on the arm of the sofa beside her. She couldn’t breathe… She started to shake, and picked Sophie up. Even though the face was gone, Sydney was able to put one there herself and she tried to smile. "Oh… this, this is, it's emotional blackmail, Nigel…"

"We need to talk, please." His secret weapon didn’t fail, just like she promised she wouldn’t.