Meeting Greg

Chapter one hundred and fifty-nine

Greg arrived a little earlier than expected. Vanessa was still getting dressed for the dinner when Greg arrived. Anna was in the kitchen when the doorbell dinged. She called out to Vanessa to go get the door, knowing that it must be Greg, but Vanessa could barely hear her from the room. 

"What did you say, Anna?" 

"The door! Go get it. It must be Greg." Anna hollered from the kitchen. 

"You said, what?" Anna was too tired to scream any further. "I'll just go get it instead!" Anna washed her soiled hands clean under the faucet and headed for the door. 

"Who is it?" She asked, just before she reached the door and her question was welcomed by a deep masculine voice who introduced himself as Greg, and just before she opened the door, her heart skipped a bit. Anna couldn't understand why. Maybe it's probably because she'd been looking forward to meeting Greg, and he was just a door away from her. 

She gripped the door firmly and opened it very slowly, and slightly, just enough for her small head to pass through. Anna looked up at Greg, who was quite taller than her and the moment their eyes locked, a deafening silence loomed in the air. Her heart accelerated even faster, but for a short period of time. He looked nothing like she imagined him to be in her head. Anna had envisioned him as a bald or military hairline kind of guy with an average height, thin lips and flat nose. Contrary to her thoughts, however, he had this unique kind of face, enough to draw people's attention to him, well, people like her, and his long hair which fell on his shoulders was a plus to his facial features. 

Greg's eyes glimmered the moment they fell on Anna, and he squinted them at her. Anna broke the silence by introducing herself to Greg, despite the awkwardness that she felt. She opened the door for him and ushered him in. 

"I'm so pleased to finally meet you, Miss Anna Houston. Vanessa has said a lot about you, well maybe just enough to write a novel." The corner of his life curved into a little smile and he let out his hand for a shake. It took Anna about three seconds or more to take his hand.

Anna was about to answer him when Vanessa called Greg's name from behind. She walked up to him and hugged him very tightly, enough to squeeze his insides. 

"You came in pretty early," Vanessa whispered in his ears.

"I couldn't help it. I had to come fast because I could almost not bear staying another moment apart from you," his words made Vanessa giddy and she hugged him even more tightly. When she finally let go, she took a step back to examine his looks before adding, "You look a little bit different today." 

Vanessa said, taking a punctilious look at Greg, to find out what was different about him. It wasn't until her meticulous assessment of him that she discovered that his hair was not tied into a bun, and she found herself complimenting his look. It was as though they existed in a world apart from Anna's. 

"Greg, meet Anna Houston, my best friend," Vanessa said, gesticulating. 

"Anna, Greg, my boyfriend." Vanessa looked from Anna to Greg as she spoke. "I'm pretty sure that you've seen each other, though," Vanessa added.

"We were just talking before you showed up," Greg said, fixing his grey orbs at Anna. 

"So, shall we?" Vanessa asked rhetorically. She'd had nothing else but this on her mind, even before Greg showed up.

Anna's seat was across from Greg in the dining room. Vanessa took the seat beside Greg, not wanting to be far from him. Their fingers intertwined and Anna watched the endearing moments of the duo. 

Anna cleared her throat to remind them of her presence and Vanessa glared at her for cutting the moment short, mouthing the word "killjoy" to her. 

The tantalising aroma of food filled the air- the smell of tender Maine lobster tail, steamed North American snow crab legs, garlic shrimp scampi, golden fried shrimp, and coleslaw, amongst others. Vanessa's stomach churned in anticipation and she immediately dug into her food. 

They ate silently for a while before Anna threw her first question at Greg, who'd been anticipating her questions. He knew that there was no way she'd not ask him questions, and that was why he came prepared for her.