by Dee Dawning
"Don't worry I'll help you get through all of that. Well, if that's it, I'll be leaving now." She rose. "I really enjoyed meeting and talking with you Julian. You two seem like a perfect match. I hate to repeat myself, but I can see why Laurel is taken with you." She winked. "Even if you are misguided."
Laurel and he stood as well. "I enjoyed meeting you too."
"Yes, I'll miss you Sister Sue. Let me get my wrap and I'll drive you home."
Laurel kissed him goodbye and said, "See, you were fine. I'll be back in two hours and when I do, I want to celebrate…" With a naughty smile on her lips, she winked. "In bed. I adore you…you…beautiful man."
He suddenly felt a deep pang of guilt at the trickery he'd used to get this lovely effervescent young woman to give up her vows. True, it was her sister, Tess's idea, but he was the one who implemented it—he pulled it off.
He went into the living room and began to read a magazine, but the discomfort wouldn't go away. He grabbed and switched on the TV remote. He tuned onto to a Dodger game, but all he could think of, was how the woman he loved and he were starting their lives together with a lie.
He called Tess. "Hello?"
"Oh, Tess, I'm glad I got you! I don't know what's come over me, but I suddenly feel like…Bernie Madoff."
"What are you talking about?"
"Fraud! You and I perpetrated fraud on a lovely and unsuspecting woman."
"Yea, I guess we did and it worked. So what?"
"So what. We're in love and getting married. We're going to spend the rest of our lives together and we'll be starting it on a lie. My lie—your lie."
When she didn't respond he continued, "Tess, Laurel and I met with her Mother Superior, Sister Sue. We talked and everything went fine. She's nice."
"Yes, I've met her."
"Oh. After she left the guilt overwhelmed me. Almost like…it was being instilled in me."
"What are you saying? That God is making you feel bad?"
Absently, his head shook. "No…well maybe. Some outside power."
"Buck up Julian. You're an atheist."
"I know…I know. It doesn't make sense."
"Look, you just had a woman of God there. A nice woman of God. It left an impression on you and now your subconscious is causing you guilt."
"Maybe. It doesn't matter. Whether it's from inside or some outside source, I have to get it off my chest. Don't worry, I won't implicate you."
"I wouldn't do it if I were you."
"No, my mind is made up. I have to do this. I can't start our marriage with a deception. You know what I mean?"
"Ah-huh, I do, but I wouldn't do it if I was you. You'll send her scurrying right back to God."
"Maybe, maybe not. We'll see."
When his baby got home he wanted to tell her, but she had ideas of her own. After Laurel finally experienced sex, she turned out to be a very sensual woman and before he could say a word, she was passionately kissing and undressing him. Soon, he was into the swing of things and when she went down on him, he lost it. He lifted her into his arms and headed toward the bedroom.
* * * *
When Laurel woke up, she stretched her arms before glancing at the digital clock. Rubbing her eyes she read the time—9:52 a.m. Once again, after a night of hot, passionate, but loving sex, she resided on cloud nine. She loved a man and almost as good, she absolutely loved sex with him. Laurel could no longer picture a chaste life. She was so glad she hadn't said her permanent vows. She would get married to the most wonderful man in the world, beside her father and bear three little ones for both of the men in her life. Though she wouldn't become a sister, she would still do good things for the underprivileged. Sister or not, helping those less fortunate was the important thing.
Stifling a yawn, she rolled over and noticed Julian was missing. Before she could begin to worry, she heard him in the kitchen banging utensils and that's not all. In a beautiful, warm, melodic baritone, the love of her life was singing, a cappella, Some Enchanted Evening. With a smile on her face, recalling their wonderful night, she spoke sotto voce, "My future husband is a man of many talents."
She reached out and pulled his pillow to her bosom. She inhaled deeply, taking in his manly aroma. A vision of him on top of her, her arms wrapped around him as he made magnificent love to her materialized in her mind. God I love that man.
He interrupted her reverie with his physical appearance and his powerful voice.
Who can explain it?
Who can tell you why?
Fools give you reasons,
Wise men never try.
Some enchanted evening
When you find your true love,
When you feel her call you
Across a crowded room,
Holding a tray, standing beside her totally naked and aroused, she grabbed him and he stopped singing on a gasp.
"That's beautiful. I never knew you could sing."
He set the tray down and pulling his hand away bowed. "I know. I don't sing much, but you make me so happy, I have to tell the world."
After taking a sip of orange juice, she asked. "What is it?"
"Crab cakes with poached eggs and lemon hollandaise sauce."
She tasted a forkful of crab cake and sauce. "Mmm, delicious. Singing, cooking and sex, what other extraordinary talents do you have?"
One eyebrow rose. "That's about it. Eat up before it gets cold."
She forced an oversized smile. "If I eat everything on my plate, can we make love again?"
He climbed in bed and sidled up to her. "Of course, but first I have something to tell you."
Chapter Thirteen – The Truth
"Some people think it's holding on that makes you strong, sometimes it's letting go." ~Unknown~
"M mm, that was delicious. What's for dessert?"
He gaped at her. "Dessert for breakfast. Are you serious?"
She flashed a coy smile. She grabbed him though he was no longer aroused. "Yes, I want something long like a Popsicle, but warm and silky. Do you happen to have anything like that handy?"
He laughed. "I guess so and for dessert I'd like something warm, soft and wet. Mmm, I can almost taste it, but first I have something to tell you, remember?"
She straightened up and leaned against the headboard. "I'm all yours…in everyway you can think of."
He smiled, then stared at the ceiling. "This is going to be hard."
"Why."
"Because it's something you're not going to like."
"What could it be? Just tell me and let's have dessert."
He laughed. "Yeah, right. Tell me baby, if I did something which affected you, would you want to know about it, even if it would make you mad?"
"Of course. It can't be that bad. What's it about, spit it out?"
He gazed at her for a second and a tear glistened in the corner of his eye. The side of his hand wiped it just before he glanced away. "Okay, here it goes. I hope you don't hate me too much."
"Don't be silly."
"You remember that first night and I took you out and you couldn't remember anything?"
"Ah-huh. I was so mad. Here we made love and I couldn't remember. It was maddening."
Julian still refused to look her way. "There's a reason you couldn't remember. We didn't do anything. We didn't go out and we didn't make love."
She narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"We were ready to leave when you passed out. In a panic, I called your sister and she rushed over. She examined you and to our combined relief found nothing wrong with you. She said the excitement must have gotten to you and caused you to pass out. We dressed you in a pair of my pajamas and slipped you into bed. That's when Teresa explained to me about your vows. I was shook up. I'd just found the girl of my dreams and she was tied up in a religion I didn't even believe in. So after she left I removed the pajamas and let you believe we'd made love."
Her chest tightened and she had trouble breathing. "Did Teresa have anything to do with this?"<
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He shook his head a little too adamantly and wouldn't lock gazes with her. "Not really. I got the idea from something she said."
"What?"
He sighed. "She said it was too bad, you had never felt the loving touch of a man. That you wouldn't give up a normal life so easily if you had."
Please let this be some kind of joke. "The blood. What about the blood?"
"It was mine. I pricked my finger and rubbed it on you and the sheets."
Her second emotion was massive disappointment. A tear, the first of many welled in her eye. "Why, I was really crazy about you. We might have made love the right way."
He made another quick glance her way. "And I was head over heels crazy over you. I couldn't take the chance."
As her newfound bliss disintegrated, emptiness filled the gap. Then the first surge of anger coursed through her. "So you tricked me. How could you?"
"I know it was wrong, that's why I had to tell you. If there's such a thing as love at first sight, you were it. Don't you understand? I needed something to compete with God."
A river of tears rolled down her cheeks to her chin, dropped to her cleavage and ran down to the sheet. So disappointed at what she'd just lost, she whimpered, "And if there's such a thing as love at first sight, you were it for me," Rage filled her heart. "but you deceived me."
Laurel picked up the empty tray—dishes and all—and threw it at him. Since he wasn't looking, it hit him in the temple and stunned him.
She jumped out of bed and dressed faster than she ever had.
He held the side his head. There was blood and a solitary tear meandered down his cheek. "What are you doing?"
She wavered, then shook her indecision off. Removing her engagement ring, she threw it at him. Her answer was a snarl, "That should be obvious, you son of a bitch. I'm leaving."
"Why? You don't need to do this. I love you."
Laurel walked to and opened the door. She turned to him. "Yes I do. Please don't try to see me. I need to think and pray."
As she walked through the door, he said, "Wait please don't leave. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. To forgive is divine."
"You don't believe in God! Remember?"
Laurel's hands shook and a torrent of tears dampened her blouse, on the drive to her dorm. She used an entire box of tissues to clear her vision and blow her nose.
She replayed their conversation. 'Please forgive me. To forgive is divine.' Could she forgive him? Probably. Should she forgive him? No, how could she? He purposely misled her.
'I was head over heels crazy over you. I couldn't take the chance.' And she was head over heels crazy over him.
'I know it was wrong, that's why I had to tell you.' Oh God, why did he tell her? Why couldn't he have kept this one tiny little secret?
'If there's such a thing as love at first sight, you were it.' Yes, she remembers. She couldn't take her eyes off him. I'm so confused. I need to talk to someone.
Teresa? No, she was behind this. She'd bet on it.
Mother Superior? Yes.
Pulling into parking lot, she wondered if anything else could go wrong as she scraped the side of her car against a light standard. Weeping like a summer shower, she didn't even bother to look at the damage. Instead, she raced up the stairs to her room and flopped upon her bed, sobbing uncontrollably.
In her angst, she hadn't noticed her roommate, Sister Celeste. "Are you all right sister?"
To her shame, she shrieked, "Don't call me that!" and went back to bawling in her pillow.
'She said it was too bad, you had never felt the loving touch of a man.' As if she could read her mind miles away, she thought. I hope you're satisfied sis. I did it and now I'm miserable.
"Laurel?…Laurel, wake up." A hand gently shook her. Opening her eyes, she saw Sister Sue. She explained, "Sister Celeste said you were terribly upset so she came and got me. I hope you don't mind."
She shook her head. She wanted to talk to her anyway, but now that she was here, she clammed up.
"Is it Julian?"
"Yes."
"What did he do?"
"He told me the truth."
"That he doesn't love you and doesn't want to get married?"
She shook her head earnestly. "No, he loves me all right and he wants to get married."
"I don't understand?"
"It's complicated. It doesn't matter anyway. The engagement is off. I'm ready to take my vows."
"Do you want to postpone your vows to give you time to think?"
Again, she shook her head. "No way. I want to get it over with so I can get on with my life and forget about him, if I can."
"Well, it doesn't work that way. Go back to sleep and we'll talk again when you're not so upset.
* * * *
"Teresa?"
"Yes."
"Thank God. I've been trying to reach you. You were right. When I told Laurel what happened she went off like Mt. St. Helens and blew out of here before I could get dressed and stop her. She even cold cocked me with a breakfast tray."
"A breakfast tray. And you let her?"
"I wasn't looking."
"Serves you right. Maybe next time you'll listen to you're future sister-in-law."
"Tess, unless you come up with something there isn't going to be a wedding. She threw the ring at me too."
"Ooh, this is serious. And I was looking forward to being her maid of honor."
"Can you come over here?"
"If I can get Gwendolyn next door to come over. Carolyn and Emma are in preschool, but I have Beth and Stephen. Stephen is down for his nap, which, thank God, lasts three hours. Let me call her and I'll call you back in a couple minutes."
"Okay, I'll be waiting."
A few minutes after he hung up the doorbell rung. He went to the door and peeked through the peephole. He was shocked when he saw Sister Sue standing there. He quickly opened the door. "Sister Sue, what a pleasant surprise."
She stepped in and hitched her chin. "Julian. I wish I could say it was nice to see you too, but under the circumstances, this is not a social call. It's a fact-finding mission."
"Mission, circumstances, fact-finding. Whatever are you talking about?"
She stared at him. To be more exact, she stared at the upper right side of his head. "What happened to you?"
"Laurel threw a breakfast tray at me. Dishes, silverware, glasses and all."
"Ooh, you must have made her good and mad. Good for her. You better mend your ways or you're going to lose her."
"I'm afraid—"
The phone rang. "Excuse me. I think it's Laurel's sister."
"Is that the truth that has her so upset? You're stepping out on her with her sister."
Julian didn't know what to say as he stood there gaping at her.
"I knew it."
"Sister…Sue, let me get the phone and then I'll address your preposterous accusation."
He rushed to the phone. "Hello?"
"Hi sweetie. Guess who?"
He turned away from Sue and spoke under his breath. "I don't think it's a good idea for you to come here now. Mother Superior is here to question me. She already thinks we're an item and that's why Laurel is so upset."
"You and me? You're kidding?"
"No, I'm not kidding. She knows Laurel is terribly upset and she's looking for reasons."
"Isn't that precious. I'll explain it to her when I get there."
"No. Aren't you listening? If you come here it will confirm her suspicions."
"But dear, I'm almost there. I'm calling from my car and I just turned on your street. See you and Mother Superior in a minute."
"No-o-o! Tess?" Shit, she hung up.
He turned back to Sue and flashed his most engaging smile. That was Teresa, she's al—"
The doorbell rang. He rushed to the door with Sue, right behind him.
That devil of a quasi-sister-in-law stepped in, wrapped her arms around him laid a big one on his cheek.
"What are you doing
?" He pointed toward Sue. "Tess, this is Mother Superior, Sister Sue. Sue this woman with her arm wrapped around me is Laurel's too-friendly sister, Teresa."
Sue nodded and Tess embraced her. "So good to meet you. You'll have to excuse me. I'm so crazy about Julian that I lose it when I see him." Tess stared at him. "Boy, she got you good with that breakfast tray."
Sue raised an eyebrow. "I do so love close knit families. You do know that he and your sister are/were engaged until this morning."
"I do and that is why I'm here." She waggled her eyebrows.
Mother Superior laughed. "I know people think sisters are isolated from the world, but I'm not so dense that I don't know when someone is pulling my leg. Tess, Julian, what are we going to do about Sister Laurel. She is in love and miserable. She says she wants to take her final vows, but I know better. What is this truth that has her so upset and what can we do about it?"
He could have kissed Mother Superior and Tess did—on the cheek.
Chapter Fourteen – The Plan
"If you want the rainbow, you have to put up with a little rain!" ~Dolly Parton~
R ed faced, Tess attempted to explain, "You'll have to excuse me. I was so sure that everyone in the sisterhood wanted my sister, come hell or high-water, I was shocked to find you're on our side."