Chapter 93 - The Big Confession (1/2)
Claire couldn't believe what she's seeing: Gabriel emerging out of the rain, like someone in a dream. And she panics: what if he gets sick, pneumonia or something? This rain may seem romantic, but it's very cold, and that could kill you.
”Gabriel, what have you done?” Claire mutters. ”Why? Did I forget something? Did you just walk in the rain all the way from the building?”
”I'm sorry, Claire, I just…” Water drips down Gabriel's face, and he keeps running his fingers through his shoulder-length hair to keep it from covering his eyes. He wants to see her, to see her eyes, as he says things he had left unsaid for the longest time. ”There's something I must tell you. Something very important.”
”You could have said it to me earlier,” she says. ”You didn't have to run in the rain. Come, this umbrella is large enough for the two of us. You'd catch a cold if you stay out there too long.”
Gabriel upraises a hand. ”No, I'm fine, Claire. This rain is nothing. I just need to get something off my ċhėst. Is it alright if I say it?”
By now Claire is so confused by this antic that all she manages to do is nod her head.
”Well, I don't know where to start, but here it goes. I've hired you for one job, but even I didn't expect I'd come to the point of changing the way I look at the whole thing. I've changed. You have changed me. I'm no longer very concerned about getting revenge on Michelle. I want a new start. And if I'm fortunate, I'd want a new start with the finest woman I've ever met.” He sighs. ”Maybe what I'm trying to say is, I just want to know the truth.”
”Truth?” Claire's brow creases. ”Truth about what?”
”The truth about what you said earlier.” Gabriel pauses, waiting for her to recognize it. But she doesn't seem to be arriving at that particular recognition.
”I don't…” Claire mutters, getting lost in the jumble of words Gabriel is spewing. ”What are you trying to say, Gabriel?”
A beat. In the distance, thunder booms. ”I just want to know, is it true that you won't ever fall in love with me?”
”You mean the phone call? Earlier, when you snapped at me angrily, is that what this is about?”
”No, this is about more than that,” he says. ”This is about me liking you.”
”What?”
”I like you, Claire,” he says, trying to smile through the rain. ”I like you so much.”
Some old guy, wearing a trench coat, stops in the middle of them, looks at each of their faces, then looks around. ”Where's the camera?” he says. ”Are you shooting a movie scene? Is this a TV drama? Come on, where is it?”
”This is not a movie,” Gabriel snaps at him. ”This is real life. Move on, nothing to see here.”
But the old guy, he gazes at Gabriel's face, as though recognizing him. ”Hey, you look familiar. Are you one of those movie actors?” He turns to Claire. ”And you, aren't you one of those supermodels? Jesus, you're shooting a scene! So where is it? Where's the camera?”
”There's no camera, man. I'm trying to say something here.”
”Well, you're standing there in the rain, you're telling her you like her. So this couldn't possibly be real. You must be filming a movie. This is a great scene!”
”No, this isn't,” Gabriel snaps. ”Please move on.”
But the old guy doesn't budge. He makes a few tentative steps back, as though to give them space for their ”scene.” ”Can I just watch here?”
Jesus, Gabriel thinks. But he controls his temper. This moment must not be spoiled. This is a make-or-break point, and if he yells at this old guy, he might scare her away. So he tries to ignore him. He turns back to Claire, who looks like she's trying to not laugh at the whole thing. ”Claire I mean it. I like you. I really like you.”
”Come on,” the old guy watching them says. ”You can't even say you love her? Who wrote this goddamn screenplay?”
”Shut up,” Gabriel says. ”I'm telling you for the last time, move on. Nothing to see here.”
”You're doing it wrong, kid,” the old guy says. ”You ran all the way, in the rain, just to tell her you like her? You have to be better than that. Do you know that old Billy Joel song, 'Tell her about it?' Huh? Do you want me to sing it for you?”