Truth

eyes, recalling the scene from a lifetime ago, and nodded. “I do.”
    “ I’d been watching you for years. I was so nervous that night. I thought I was planning your acquisition.” He looked into his red liquid.
    Her stance straightened, “If you’re using business metaphors, may I suggest hostile takeover. It’s more appropriate.”
    He took a sip of wine and exhaled, “Yes, Claire,” standing close he looked solemnly down into her emerald eyes, “and I have apologized for that.” He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. “What I didn’t know, despite all my research, as we sat talking was you. I mean, I knew everything about you.” He shook his head reflectively, walked back to the sofa and sat down. His long legs stretched out in front of him. Claire noticed for the first time, how tired he looked. It was after all, almost two in the morning in Iowa. “Yet, I didn’t know you. Truthfully, at first, I had no desire to.”
    “ Oh, really?” She asked with intended sarcasm. “Because, I recall some pretty up close and personal contact.”
    Tony smirked, “Yes, I wanted that . I didn’t want to know you, like the real you. I fought it for months. But you were this light that kept sucking me in. It wasn’t supposed to be that way. We weren’t supposed to happen.”
    “ What was supposed to happen?”
    “ Well, the takeover ,” he emphasized the use of her term, “was supposed to stop you. I never expected anyone to flourish under such circumstances.” He looked at Claire with a gaze of admiration as he continued, “You didn’t just flourish. You conquered.” He took another drink of his wine. “I’ve continually underestimated you or perhaps I should say, you’ve continually exceeded my expectations. You still do. You are the only person who has ever derailed me. And more than anyone, you know me, not Anthony Rawlings, me.”
    Claire knew she’d had the rare opportunity , as Catherine so eloquently told her once. She pushed forward, “The real you. Would that be Anton?” His expression morphed. Sadness fell like shadows over his face. The despair reached into her chest, physical ache came at seeing his expression.
    He exhaled, “I suppose, yes, but not anymore. I had it legally changed. So, you see, I didn’t lie. My legal name is Anthony Rawlings, and it has been for a long time.”
    Claire stood. She wouldn’t allow herself to feel pity. Instead she did what people do when trying to avoid their true emotions; she lashed out, “You share this with me now, but not when we’re married. That tells me that you never trusted me, the only person to really know you .” The last clause emphasized. “Plus, you threw me away and left me to rot in prison.” She exhaled in exasperation, “You say you love or loved me, past or present. You don’t know what love is. You have an obsession and it really needs to stop. Stop watching me. Stop having me watched. Your fun is done. It’s over.”
    He returned his gaze to the red liquid, slowly swirling it within the confines of the crystal globe. His words weren’t rushed, instead a slow release, divulging hidden truths that only recently he’d come to know, “I don’t know how to explain it. It was a loop hole. Don’t you understand?”
    Claire stood motionless; she didn’t understand.
    “ I tried to help you.” His eyes stared with need. “Anyone else would have jumped at the insanity plea. I had a hospital all set; your commitment time would’ve been negotiable. But no.” He stood once again, “No! You refused! By doing that, you took your sentence away from me and gave it to the state of Iowa. I no longer had influence over your release.” He turned to face her and his volume increased, “Why did you have to be so damn obstinate?”
    “ Me? You’re accusing me of being obstinate? I didn’t want you in control of my life any longer. I was willing to let the state of Iowa decide, rather than you.”
    Tony looked perplexed, “It was the only way to save you.”
    Claire tried to comprehend his words, “I have no idea what you’re saying. Save me, from what?”
    Tony looked down, his tired eyes suddenly dark and gloomy and his voice flat with restrained emotion, “Me.”
    The temperature of the room dropped. Claire felt the goose bumps materialize on her arms and legs as she instinctively wrapped her arms around herself. Slowly she sunk into the chair to Tony’s left. The silence stretched between them, little