The Pearls of Love

Three years ago...

They dwelled together in Southern California. They resided in a beach house just a couple of miles walk from the ocean. Shane gawked at the seashore. The gusty wind whistled in his ears. The ocean swirled, the waves clasped together, and touched his feet before it retreated. Across his head, a host of sparrows flew in unison, which caused him to stare upwards as he noticed for the first time the beautiful sunset. Somewhere nearby, he heard the crackling sound of burning woods. It was six p:m and twelve hours until his final moment.

Shane's hair was dyed blue. He was tall, handsome, well built, and always looked fabulous. He had lived his entire life with his family on the beach house. The beach house was secluded from the noisy city. Smaller beach houses, six of them scattered around the beach, lodged guests who came to visit the ocean for vacation. The beach was private property but opened for visitors every day till 6 pm except for those who were in temporary accommodation.

He stared at one of the beach houses and drifted into a temporary reverie. He had come out on that perfect morning last summer to jog. He was going to sweep past her when his legs did an emergency brake and a complete U-turn a few distances from her. She wore a fedora hat and a pinkish short town top gown. Her chocolate skin glowed! Her shape was a perfect eight, and her face was extremely beautiful. For a moment, his brain interpreted her image as strawberry and chocolate ice cream on that hot summer.

"Hi, my name is Shane," he said.

"Hello Shane, Stephanie here," she chuckled.

He facepalmed himself and pointed to her, "Nice, so do you reside in one of the beach houses?"

"Yeah. Any Problem?" Stephanie said, adjusting her hat.

"None! It's just been a couple of years since I've seen any beautiful person around here," he said.

She smiled a huge smile, "Really appreciate the compliment. You're a handsome man yourself. Did you say years? That must mean you're in some way related to the Griffins."

"Yeah, I'm the second and last child. So how long are you here for, and are you with your parents or partner?"

He smiled inwardly, an intelligent way to ask if she was single.

"Whom I'm with is none of your business Mr. Shane Griffin," Stephanie said, enjoying throwing him off balance. "You should run along now. I was enjoying the view, and I think you've stolen enough of my time."

She was definitely still looking like an ice cream, but it seemed like he was a child being told, no ice cream today.

"I wish we could spend some other time together, perhaps one when the view isn't as important as the person."

"I'll consider it. Now go!"

Shane emerged from his daydream, and the view of the ocean took its place in his eyes again. Now he understood what she was enjoying. Now he appreciated life unperturbed by thoughts of tomorrow or people.

He walked away from the ocean back to the beach house. He crossed the front porch but stopped to stare momentarily at two rocking chairs, which seemed like ghosts occupied them. As he entered through the door, he saw everyone at the dining table.

"Shane, welcome home. Aren't you going to eat with us tonight?" Mrs. Jane Griffin asked. He simply waved his hand in the air and headed straight up the stairs.

In his bedroom, he was asleep for more than a few hours. All through the while, he slept; he coughed and wheezed. The pleasant ringing of the windchimes awakened him. Five thirty a:m he squinted at the lights emitting from his phone. He went to the dining table, careful not to make a sound. He made a cup of cold, highly flavored coffee and drank.

He was about to cross the front porch of the house again when the ghost from the rocking chair spoke, but in reality, it was really Kane, his older brother. Kane had the more manly look compared to his brother. He had beards and a mustache, while Shane was just sprouting a few. He had dyed his hair red.

"Where are you going so early? What do you plan on doing?" Kane said, deeply intoned.

"Mind your own business," Shane said, leaving the ghost behind. "If you insist on knowing, follow me; it won't change anything. Stupid."

The minute Shane had gone, Kane decided to follow, but he only had to go inside and grab his jacket, which was a grave mistake. He spent ten minutes looking for a silly coat. By the time he arrived at the shore of the ocean, only a pair of sneakers had awaited him. Shane, his little brother, had decided to drown in the deep. The word stupid echoed in his ears. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! The last word his brother said to him, and it rang true.

Kane dropped to his knee and screamed at the ocean, "Fuck you! Argh! Argh!"

He was agonizing over his brother's death. He mustered up the strength to pick up the sneakers. The waves came close to him but did not touch him. He sprinted home to break the news to his parents.

Three years ago.

Mr. Atty Griffin looked at the small crowd all dressed in black through a dark sunshade which concealed the tears that formed in his eyes. Most of them he recognized as family members he had not seen in a while. The others were close friends of Shane and Kane. They were also some of the neighbors from the smaller beach houses, who were under no obligation to be here. He was about to give his eulogy for his son.

"Shane, I love you with all my heart! I'm profoundly proud of you. You've been a gentle soul. You have been described by many as humble. You have been a man of infinite accomplishments, but I did look forward to watching you reach the pinnacle of success. I wanted to be there for you on your wedding day. I wanted to be a grandfather to your children. Today, I look forward to seeing you again in the afterlife...."

Kane felt an upwelling emotion of sadness that could lead to uncontrollable tears, and so he bolted away from the scene. Mrs. Jane Griffin, his mother, wanted to go after him, but her eulogy was next. She felt a soft hand gently pull her from her left shoulder, sideways.

"I'll go check on him," Stephanie said, half smiling. "Don't bother yourself, Mrs. Griffin."

Stephanie had never visited the Griffins. However, she occasionally saw them as they drove past the beach into their house. Before the burial, she had never spoken to any of them, save for Shane. She had seen Kane as he acted aloof and pretended not to notice her when Shane was alive. She did not care, though. She was a very independent young woman.

She had come to California from New York alone. She had found this spot in California suitable for her vacation. She found it ideal on the grounds of the privacy and view it offered. She lived her life with barely any emotional attachment. She had one friend, no pet, and a job as a school psychologist. As a psychologist, she tried not to be insensitive and tried to care for others, but it did not always come from the heart. However, when she did care with her heart which was rare, she did so genuinely.

Stephanie found Kane by the ocean shores, still teary. She sat down beside him. She felt the urge for a second to give him a comforting touch. Instead, she waited for him to pull himself together.

"Sorry," she whispered. "It's going to be all okay."

They both sat in silence and just stared at the ocean for a while.

"Thank you," Kane said, running his fingers through his hair. "I guess you're Steph."

"Yeah, I am."

"Yuuno, the pain was too much for him to bear," he said. "It's sad! Everyone suddenly remembers the dead! Where were they when the doc had said his cancer was inoperable? He had only months to live, and nobody except us was there for him. My dad was right about something."

"Hmm. What?"

"Shane had many accomplishments! The only thing I looked forward to was seeing him find love. Girls took him for granted, and that was a pain in the ass. I always told him he was too nice and softhearted. I wish someone had said yes to him, even once before he died."

"What's it with you Griffin brothers and cutting corners? Why can't you direct the question properly?" Stephanie said, barely able to control her tone. "I love your brother! And we had an affair. He is the only person that has ever remotely come close to me like that."

She got up and left angrily.

Kane looked flustered. He felt jealous! He knew Shane was leaving the house more often than usual. He had seen him with a charming girl. He thought he had artfully been spying on him. He only ever saw them talk and hold hands!

Stephanie was always so stern-looking! He did not consider her remotely in Shane's league. He nurtured his desire for her, but he kept his distance. His brother was dying, was he not? He felt Shane should have her! Then he thought, but of what use? Sympathy was only what stopped him from making his move, not guilt. When he asked Shane about her, he would always respond cordially, saying it was none of his business! He suddenly remembered Shane's last words, "Mind your own business. If you insist on knowing, then follow me, it won't change anything. Stupid!"

So it occurred to him now what those words had meant. Shane knew about the spying. He possibly knew of his hidden feelings too, which, when he thought about it, he considered would be too embarrassing. Shane also knew it would not amount to anything since he already got the girl, and so that was why he called him stupid.

A bit of rain had started to fall, so he got up and went back to the burial ground. His mom had finished giving her eulogy. He felt bummed out for missing it. They were rounding up. The crowd had lessened, and mostly family members remained now. He looked around for Stephanie, but she was not there.

"Kane, my dear boy!" Mrs. Jorja, his aunt from his mom part of the family, said. "I saw you leave earlier and figured we'd still see you later. It's such a sad day. He meant so much to us, too, but I know you feel sadder than the rest of us put together. Can I hug you? If it will make you feel better. I've missed you."

She opened her arm for an embrace.

"Thanks, aunt J," Kane said, leaning into her outstretched arms.

After his grandparents had died, he seldom saw any extended family. He was appalled by the fake love that could simply erupt in these dying moments. He prepared himself mentally and emotionally, too, for every other family eye service sympathy. He shook his head, disgusted, and shrugged.

Before the rain started to fall heavier, everyone had taken their leave. His parents had gone with Aunt Jorja to the airport. He sat on the rocking chair just thinking about what Stephanie had told him earlier on. The wind chimes were ringing. Shane's cat meowing startled him. That's strange, he thought. The cat never talked! Now it was meowing, licking its paws, and rubbing its eyes. He snatched his umbrella, shooed at the cat, and fled into the rain.

He knocked at Stephanie's beach house door. No response. He hit harder, and he heard her unlocking the door.

"Are you gonna let me in, or do you prefer I stand under the rain?" Kane asked wryly.

"You can come in!" said Stephanie, rolling her eyes and leaving the door ajar.

This was the first time he was visiting any of the beach houses since they were erected. It had a small living room in which he now stood. The living room walls were painted turquoise blue, but the wall on which a flat-screen TV rested on was a floral wallpaper design of turquoise blue, ash, and black. It had three single-seater chairs and one double-seater. The chairs had the same floral design as the wallpaper. The center rug was blue with gold lines along the edges, and it had the design of different schools of fish in the ocean.

"Nice place," Kane said and sat down on one of the single chairs.

"Why have you come here, Kane?" Stephanie was lying on her back in the two-seater chair, staring at the white pop ceiling. She knew the cutting edge of her nightwear was revealing the top part of her breasts but did nothing.

Kane was staring like a child and was surprised at her nonchalance. The chandelier that hung on the ceiling illuminated her beautiful body, and her skin glowed.

"I came to apologize," he said and

Stephanie scoffed!

"Go on."

"I'm sorry," he said quickly, then added,

"Didn't know there was anything going on between the both of you. Have you heard about the recent development?"

"Which?"

"For a while now, my family have been thinking of relocating from the beach house into the major city. Well, not California anyways. We are relocating to New York. I won't be staying with my parents any longer, though. I'm going to be working as an architect. So since we're moving out, we've sold the beach to the government. It's no longer a private property for the Griffins. Refunds have been made to those whose vacation was cut short on such short notice. I guess since you were not informed, then it must mean your vacation didn't extend to the one-month time frame all this is expected to take place in."

Holy crap! Stephanie thought. The Griffin redhead is coming to the city she lived in. She already knew about the hair and artificial dye, and they just loved colored hairs. Each sibling chose to dye their hair with their favorite color.

"Noted!" she said. "Well, yes, my break will be over in a week."

She offered no long talk. She already knew what Shane's profession would have been. He would have chosen to be an author. He had a substantial amount of passion for telling stories. He might have worked in the movie industry, too, both as an actor and a movie writer.

"So, where to from here, Stephanie?"

"It doesn't matter! Forget about me!" she replied tersely. "I don't carry memories of other people with me. Everything ends here! It's getting late. I would need some privacy now to eat, watch TV, and sleep."

She sat up, took the remote on the stool, and turned on the TV.

"Would you at least tell me what your profession is?" Kane said.

He felt suddenly uncomfortable as he got up. He had barely spent five minutes. She had just asked him to take his leave without even caring if he was going to get hurt.

She sighed.

"Well, I'm a School psychologist."

He wanted to talk to her more, and he even tried to hold her but felt some guilt and shame. By the time he was leaving, he had expected her to get up and lock the door behind him, but she did not. She did not offer any goodbye either. He reassured himself he would see her on the beach within the week before she traveled. He told himself he would check in on her once more. He tried to say that she was only acting that way towards him because she was going through grief. If she was grieving, she did nothing to show it. At the burial, she shed no tears. She was watching TV.

So he sensed the lie. He began to tell himself that he did not need her. He would not check on her. He had a lot of girls who wanted him to date them.

The rain had stopped falling, and he was halfway home when he realized he had forgotten his umbrella at the corner where he sat. He would not see her over that. He wondered if she would bring it to him, though.

Stephanie exhaled, placed one palm on her cheek, and held her phone in front of her face with the other hand. She listened. She had been pacing outside her compound on a video call with Tiffany.

"Well, it would seem that you and Kane are becoming attractively intimate these days!" Tiffany said, appearing on Stephanie's android phone screen.

Tiffany rode in the back seat of an Uber. She had long black and silky hair. She was creamy silk in complexion. She had a bony face with a sharp jaw. She had thin, strawberry lips and a perfect set of teeth.

"You believe so?" Stephanie said.

"Well, of course." Tiffany used her fingers to brush and tuck some of her front hair behind her ear. "It's not like you can't exactly say he is just your architect now, can you?"

"Well, that's all."

"That's not all! It's been over three years since his brother died. How long are you going to be in love with a ghost? Girl, it would be best if you started giving someone else a chance. Even strong independent women end up needing love."

Tiffany's ride had just pulled into the parking lot of a giant mall. She alighted from the car.

"Fine, let's see how it goes; I'll go on one date with him!" Stephanie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Well, that's all it takes! Bye, grandma!" Tiffany said playfully.

Stephanie gasped, "Well, that's great. Get out of my screen, granny."

They laughed and hung up.

Stephanie surveyed her apartment; it was old. The sunset illuminated the cracks on the wall. She laughed at how independent her life had turned out to be. Her dad was a judge transferred to New York, and he handled many criminal cases. One night, a three-person group of assassins assaulted them in their house. They threatened that if her dad sent criminal number four to prison, he would never see his daughter again. The next day, Stephanie had followed her dad to court and, to her surprise, dropped all charges on criminal number four. He said the evidence incriminating the accused was baseless and insufficient to indict the man. He spent weeks searching and then bought this house for Stephanie, who was just eighteen at the time.

She later learned that the accused man and the three assassins had been apprehended. That was months after her dad hired a private investigator to look into criminal number four. The PI spent months tracking their movements, gathering evidence of their crimes, and her dad enjoyed the satisfaction of presiding once again over the case. He sentenced all four criminals to life imprisonment. She had barely seen her dad since that incident.

She was twenty-four the year Shane died. Three years later, at the age of twenty-seven, she lost her dad. He had willed all his life earnings as a judge to her. The house he had lived in, too, was willed to her.

Stephanie had decided to turn the old house she had been living in for the past six years into an art studio. That was when her need for an architect arose. The architect that was assigned to her by the architectural company she called went by the name Erik.

Kane sat in his architectural office, legs propped up on the table. The office room was spacious. Its four walls were painted brilliant white. The floor was made of high glossy ceramic tiles, and there was the beautiful creamy white exposed beam ceiling. The table was the most significant piece of furniture in the office. Towards the right edge from the center where his leg rested were different housing plans, he had drawn. To the left were additional items like a wooden statue of the Virgin Mary, a cup of pencils and pen, a calendar, a car key, and a floral vase that contained a red chrysanthemum flower.

Life has changed since Kane Griffin moved with his family to New York. He now lived alone in a single pulch apartment he had acquired. He worked with the Kingdom Architectural Company. His parents are now retired from their jobs. They lived in an estate downtown. His aunt Jorja stayed in the same estate with her husband but in a different building. The effect of Shane's death had receded. Life, as they say, goes on, and yes, it was going on for the Griffins.

However, one morning, two weeks ago, his boss had placed him in charge of a new architectural deal. He was to meet with a woman by the name of Stephanie Holland for details of the job. He had remembered Stephanie from the beach house when he heard the name. However, since he had not known her last name or where she had returned to after her vacation, he could not have guessed.

On the day of the meeting, he had arrived at the apartment building on Pearl Street. He had parked outside and had phoned the client to inform her he was at the gate. A lady had come to open for him.

"Hello, Miss Steph," he said, waving and smiling.

"Well, hello there! But I am not Stephanie. I'm her friend Tiffany. Let's go inside and meet the real Miss Stephanie, shall we."

They went into the apartment.

"Welcome, please sit," Stephanie said cordially, standing to offer the architect a handshake.

Kane had immediately recognized the woman but had waited to see if she would have recognized him. No? He laughed inwardly. He sat down, taking in his surroundings. The apartment was old, probably built ten or so long years ago.

"So Erik," said Stephanie, gesturing with her hand. "I want all of this bulldozered down, and we are going to erect a new structure in its place. I've long dreamed of building an art studio-"

Kane had stopped listening and was smiling from cheek to cheek.

"Something funny, Erik? Don't you think an art studio will fit in here? Well, the compound is big enough-"

"So you actually don't recognize me?" Kane laughed.

"Sorry, recognize?" Stephanie looked bewildered.

"Maybe it's the hair or the added muscles or the fact that I used my middle name for the business. It's me, Kane!"

Stephanie immediately turned to Tiffany, sitting next to her in silence, and she said, "This is the red-haired dude I told you about. Shane's brother, who said he was coming to New York all those years ago. Guess what? I'd hoped he never made it."

"Oh yeah!" Tiffany beamed. "From your summertime vacation at the beach in California. What a pleasant surprise."

Tiffany had sensed a slight change in the atmosphere. She had felt off just from knowing these two had been somewhat acquainted!

"Thanks, Tiff. Really? Oh well, but I did make it and made it into your life!" Kane teased.

"You know what," Stephanie bellowed, "the deal is off if you joke like that with me!"

They laughed!

Kane shut the office door behind him, and it was time to go home. On his way out, he saw Nathan, the newest architect on board for the Kingdom Architectural Company.

"Hey, new guy. I forgot the name again." Kane said apologetically.

"It's Nathan, boss."

"Me boss, Nah. Mr. Austen is the boss 'round here. Call me Erik. Say, Nate, have you seen Mr. Austen 'round?"

"Think he left a while ago," Nathan said, just as Kane reached for the board in his hand.

"Let me see that." Kane took the board and studied the paper that was attached to it.

"Hmm, nice. I see they hired the best. You aren't working overnight, are you?"

Nathan took the board, " Thanks, Erik. Well, I'm not, just spending a few hours more to finish the drawing."

"Right, good luck. Glad I'm not you at the moment; see ya on Monday." Kane smiled sympathetically.

He whistled joyously to the parking lot. He put his hands in his pocket. Oh shit! He had forgotten his car key in the office, precisely on the left side of the table. Nathan, well, was gone. He would have to go retrieve it himself. He hated to spend one more minute after working hours. He had already spent ten today.

At eight PM, Kane was already in his apartment getting dressed for a birthday party one of his buddies at work invited him to. He did not know the celebrant, and frankly, who cared? Friday meant turning up with the boys. Sometimes the boys brought girls. Well, tonight, he was not calling any girl. Ever since he found Stephanie, he was fixated on only her.

Their hosts were residents of New York; they lived generously proportioned and were favorably moneyed. Kane, Michael, and Louise had arrived at the Solomon mansion.

"Wow, that's one huge structure, guys. I wondered who did the architectural plan-" Louise was saying.

"Shut up!" Kane bellowed.

"Yeah, shut up, Louise, no work stuff around here tonight," Michael added, killing the engine. The boys got out of the car.

"Erik, have you invited any girl tonight?" Michael said.

"No, how about you?" Kane retorted.

"No, and that's because I plan to get a new catch tonight at this party. Louise, how come you know about a party this big?" Michael said as they arrived at the door of the mansion.

Some beautiful ladies warmly welcomed them.

"Champagne?" asked one of the ladies. She positioned the tray with glasses of champagne in front of them. Michael took two drinks and gave them to his buddies before taking his own.

"Thanks. Nice tities!" said Michael, smirking.

"Oh my God! Mike! That's just too straightforward!" Louise said. "Sorry, he's such a pervert; please ignore him! Thanks for the champagne. Well, the hosts and I attended the same college."

They kept moving further inside the mansion.

"Wow," Michael said, laughing so hard.

"I'm pretty sure you were a brilliant guy in college, but the hosts sure did beat you in wealth."

"Prick!" said Louise.

Kane had slipped away from his two pals to get a better view of the lady speaking. Wow, this party is effervescence! he thought. The music decreased, and the lady became more audible.

"For those of you who don't know me, my name is Simone, and I'm just one of two people celebrating this party tonight. The other one is my twin brother, Simon. Thank you, thank you so much for being in attendance tonight, all of you. It can't be a party without every one of you. Thank you for all the warm wishes, the-"

Simone paused as she saw the man in a black suit and tie rush up to her onstage. What the hell? She thought. The man whispered something in her ear, inaudible to the crowd and Simone gasped. She fled the stage without uttering another word.

Kane was still trying to figure out what he had just witnessed when the music began blaring again.

Simone, in all her beauty tonight, was racing frantically through a major crowd at the entrance to her mansion. Two bodyguards were clearing up the path for her.

"Sorry, excuse me, excuse me," she kept saying till she passed through.

Her chauffeur opened up the door for her, and soon she was riding in the backseat of her limo. She immediately regretted her choice. She felt the car was too big and would not move fast at this emergency moment. The man who interrupted her birthday speech earlier had informed her that her twin brother Simon was involved in a ghastly car accident.

Kane wandered around the party in search of Louise and Michael. Luckily he had found them just in a slightly different corner from where he had left them.

"Guys, did y'all not see Simone the celebrant leave the stage in such a big hurry?" Kane asked with a feeling of mild concern.

"It's probably just work-related," Louise said.

Michael shrugged.

Kane sipped his champagne, feeling doubtful but said nothing at all.