by W. J. May
He closed the lid and placed the box on top of his dresser and wandered over to his closet, removing a large duffel bag.
After dressing in plain jeans and a purple and yellow LSU T-shirt, he began to pack enough clothes for the long weekend to New Orleans. He already had the steamboat cruise planned. He was going to get down on one knee on the deck, under a string of white lights and fireworks, and profess his undying love to Sarah.
He thought about how fast the past two years had flown by. They met shortly after high school where Nolan had attended one semester of junior college before he decided it wasn’t for him. It did give him enough time to meet Sarah, however, who completed her two years of undergraduate work and went on to transfer to Louisiana State University, now with one year left until she had a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing. He wore the shirt in her honor. He was very proud of her.
With a grin, he threw his toiletries bag into the duffel and zipped it closed. On his way out of the room, he snatched the ring box from atop his dresser and shoved it into the pocket of his jeans. He quickly spotted his keys and cell phone on the kitchen counter and left the apartment, locking the door behind him.
Since Sarah wasn’t a fan of the motorcycle, he took his 1971 Dodge Charger. She wasn’t fond of that car, either, but it was better than the donorcycle, her not-so-cute nickname for his Ducati Monster. He threw his duffel into the trunk and started the car, its souped-up engine causing a rumbling purr throughout the apartment complex. He cranked the A/C he had installed himself on the classic car, and waited for it to kick in before he whooshed through the parking lot and onto the street.
Soon, the muscle car thundered to a stop outside of Sarah’s house. She still lived with her parents to save money, which she hated, but she was damned and determined to graduate debt-free from college. Her responsible nature was one of the things Nolan loved about her, and why he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.
He parked and walked to the front door of the old Victorian home, feeling suddenly nervous. He hoped his nerves didn’t show, as the proposal was going to be a surprise. Sarah thought they were just heading to New Orleans for the long July Fourth holiday since it was a three-day weekend. They were going to watch the fireworks from the Riverwalk. He had it all planned out, and was very excited.
Inside, Sarah heard the doorbell. “Hey, I gotta go,” she whispered into the cell phone. “No, it’s nothing. I’ll see you Tuesday.” Pause. “Yeah, me too,” she said with a lippy smirk. She hit the end button on her fancy cell phone and strolled happily through the house, opening the door.
“Hi,” she said to Nolan, who was standing on her covered wraparound porch with a big grin on his face.
“Hey, gorgeous,” he said, stepping up into the house and giving her a big hug. He inhaled the scent of her hair, which always smelled like cherry blossoms. Big blue eyes looked up at him. He fingered a blonde curl from near her face. “I like the curls.”
She beamed. “Thanks. Thought I’d try something different today.”
“It’s hot. I love it,” he replied, his fingers lingering on her blonde locks, which were normally styled stick-straight.
“Mom, we’re leaving. See you Tuesday!” she called out, snatching the small, black suitcase from the floor. Her purse was sitting on top and she slung it over her tanned shoulder.
Nolan relieved her of the suitcase and carried it to the Charger and put it in the trunk alongside his duffel bag.
The five hour trip to New Orleans was pleasant, as they listened to music and talked, making a couple stops for gas along the way. Once they reached the city, they quickly checked into their hotel in the French Quarter and settled in.
They walked through the door and took in the nineteenth century décor. There was a bed framed in white wrought iron, a cream lace and satin duvet on it. Lace curtains hung over the window, framed by heavy burgundy velvet drapes. The floor was a simple solid maroon carpeting, and old world paintings hung on the wall. The room smelled old, but pleasantly perfumed.
Sarah set her purse on an ornate Victorian chair and Nolan set the suitcases down.
He grabbed her waist from behind and kissed her neck. “I’m so glad you came with me.”
She turned around and grinned up at him, looking into his light green eyes. “We’re going to have a blast here. I can’t wait to hit Bourbon Street and have a Hurricane at Pat O’Brien’s!”
He frowned at her response. Here he was thinking, romantic weekend, and she wanted to party it up. Oh well, he thought, once he proposed and she said yes, he’d give her the world if she asked for it.
Lifting his face into a smile once more, he kissed her softly and said, “Whatever you want.”
She kissed him back and he pushed her down on the bed. She giggled into his mouth but continued kissing him.
When he began to tug at her purple tank top, she grabbed his hand. “Let’s go see the city. It’ll be dark soon. I’ve never been here!”
He ignored her and whispered in between nips of his teeth on her neck, “You sure you don’t want to christen the room first?”
“Later,” she whispered back, rolling out from under him. She slunk off the bed and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
He sat on the edge of the bed with a huff and rubbed the back of his neck. A smile lit up his face. “If she wants a Hurricane, I’ll buy her a dozen.”
* * *
Chapter 2
Proposals and Perfidy
Nolan heard the shower start and contemplated getting in with her, but decided against it. He knew where her head was, and decided there was always time for that later. He was sure they’d be having lots of fun after she had a few drinks in her beautiful body.
Once they had cleaned up, they took the elevator down to the first floor, exiting out of the parking garage and walking a few blocks to Bourbon Street. It was still light out, but the sun was fading fast. The air was thick with humidity and life. Music poured out of taverns and bars, and girls wearing next to nothing stood in front of shops, beckoning anyone and everyone to come in. Street performers lined the avenue, cups and upside down hats their makeshift collection plates.
“This is great!” Sarah drawled, looking everywhere but at Nolan. “There’s so much to see, I don’t want to miss a thing!” In a loose blue and white striped sleeveless top and khaki shorts, flat, comfortable sandals helped keep her feet from getting sore from all the walking. Her blonde curls were clipped up loosely on the back of her head, showing off her slender neck.
Nolan stared at her. Even as casual as she was, she looked beautiful, he thought. A fine sheen of sweat caused her tanned face to glow under the setting sun. Her long eyelashes curled up toward her blonde eyebrows, and Nolan laughed a little to himself at her awe. She was like a child at Disneyworld for the first time.
She looked back at him, a half-smile twitching on her lips. “What?”
He shook his head and pulled their still-linked hands up to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. “Nothing. You having a good time?”
She beamed. “Oh yeah. This is awesome. Let’s go get a drink!”
They turned the next corner and waited in line to get into Pat O’Brien’s. After a short ten minute wait, they were seated in the courtyard under a large tree strung with little white lights.
A cute brunette waitress in tiny black shorts and a friendly face came and took their orders. Sarah, of course, ordered a Hurricane.
When the server returned with the drinks, Sarah wasted no time taking a large sip from the long, black straw, closing her eyes in ecstasy. “Oh, my God, this is amazing,” she murmured.
Nolan laughed at her again, taking a swig of his beer. “I’ll take your word for it.”
“Oh, c’mon, try it!” She lifted the drink to his face.
He pulled back in disgust. “Nah, looks too sweet.”
She laughed and shrugged. “More for me!”
They left the restaurant after they’d finished sharing a seafood
pasta meal and went to walk off their dinner. The night was in full swing all around them, a clear, black star-shot sky overhead to accompany them. They walked hand-in-hand for hours, wandering in and out of shops, collecting brochures for ghost and plantation tours. Exhausted, they finally headed back to the hotel.
Nolan wrapped his arms around Sarah in the elevator on the ride back up to their room. “I love you.”
She beamed and kissed him on the mouth, running her hands under his white T-shirt to his smooth, damp chest. He kissed her back, his tongue snaking with hers as the elevator dinged. They broke apart, gasping and laughing as the doors creaked open and an older couple entered. A distinguished woman was carrying a small Chihuahua puppy wearing a pink diamond-studded collar. Nolan smiled at them as they exited the elevator.
He slipped the key card into the lock, the light turning green on the first try. He tossed the key on the room’s dresser and peeled his shirt off.
Sarah bit her lip and smirked at Nolan, a laugh threatening to bubble up from her throat. “Now we can christen the room.”
He pushed her on the bed, but not before he pried her tank top off, tossing it to the floor.
She laughed again.
Yellow light poured in from a crack in the heavy draperies, and it was bearing down right on Nolan’s face. He threw an arm over his eyes to block it out and rolled over with his back to the window. Sarah was asleep, her blonde curls splayed out on the white pillow. He gently moved a strand off her face and stared at her. The room was still cloaked in darkness, thanks to the heavy, closed drapes, but he could see her well enough, because of the offending sliver of light that had woken him. He loved watching her sleep. His belly was already full of butterflies thinking about what tonight meant. It was the Fourth of July – proposal day. He mentally ticked off the list of things he had to do to make sure the night was perfect. He had sightseeing and lunch planned for today, but tonight was the big event, and he couldn’t be more excited.
Her eyes began to flutter open and she smiled. “How long have you been up?”
“Not long,” he whispered.
She yawned. “I’m hungry.”
“Me too. We’ll get some breakfast,” he said, still playing with her hair.
She sat up and stretched, holding the sheets to cover her bare chest. “Ooh, how about we go to that place that serves the famous beignets?”
He laughed. “Anything you want, beautiful.”
The day was spent sightseeing and taking tours like the tourists they were. At the end of the day as the sun began to set, they left the hotel room, where they had gone back to change clothes for nighttime activities. They set off on foot down to the Riverwalk, where the Riverboat would be leaving at eight p.m. Nolan had booked this months in advance, knowing it would be a popular spot to watch the fireworks from.
The large riverboat was white with a gigantic rotating paddle that spun off the back, propelling the boat forward over the choppy black water. White lights were strung from its bow, and people milled about on the deck, holding various drinks. A low chatter cloaked the deck of the boat.
Sarah was standing on the bow holding a glass of white wine, the warm, wet wind blowing in her face. Nolan came up behind her and put his arms around her middle, the little black box burning a hole in his pocket.
“It’s so pretty out here, why haven’t we done this sooner?” she asked, still looking out at the choppy water.
He rested his head on top of hers with ease. While he was easily six-foot-two, she was barely five-foot-five. “Because I never had an occasion until now.”
She turned around quickly and looked at him. The fireworks blasting through the night sky lit up his face in reds and blues. He had a mischievous grin on his face but wasn’t saying anything.
“Well, what does that mean?” she asked impatiently, her blue eyes flicking back and forth between his.
He reached into his pocket without breaking eye contact. He held the box in his sweaty palm and licked his dry lips. The fireworks were causing a rainbow explosion against her light hair and he took a deep breath. Just then, he felt a fierce vibration against his right thigh and looked down to see a lump in her front pocket. He laughed. “Do you need to get that?”
She shook her head without taking her eyes from his. “Nope.”
He also shook his head and smiled, sucking in a breath. “Sarah Grace Leedman, I have loved you from the day I saw you in that History class. You have made me happier than anyone I have ever met. I would be foolish to let you go, so I have to ask: Will you marry me?” He opened his hand flat and the little black box was perched on his palm.
He kicked himself at the lame proposal, forgetting to get on one knee, but everything he’d planned to say had flown out of his brain faster than the speed of light.
She gave him a shocked face and her eyes slid down to the box. She flicked her wide eyes back up to his and took a deep breath. She looked back down at the box and carefully opened it. A plain silver band with a large marquis-shaped diamond sat regally at the top. She ran her thumb over the shining stone then looked back up at him and smiled. “Of course I’ll marry you, Nolan Bishop!”
He swallowed the lump in his throat and pulled the ring out and slipped it on her finger.
She looked down at it, then up at him, throwing her arms around his neck while standing on tiptoe. Reaching down, he brushed his lips against hers as the fireworks exploded behind them.
Two weeks after his proposal, the couple was back home, her having moved out of her parents’ house and into his apartment. It took some adjustment on his part, due to his love of living alone and having his space just the way he wanted it, but he knew this was a sacrifice he’d be making when he got married. They hadn’t set a date yet, but the wedding wasn’t going to be until she finished her senior year at LSU, which was next spring. That gave them plenty of time to plan the wedding, and she seemed excited, looking through bridal magazines, which he had to pick up and stack neatly on the coffee table when she left them strewn around. She went online looking at wedding dresses and various locales to have the wedding at. Things were falling into place, and Nolan couldn’t be happier.
“All right, Archie, I’m outta here. Thanks for letting me off early. I’m wiped, man,” Nolan said as he threw his coveralls in the bin and grabbed his backpack.
Archie took a long drag from his cigarette, and then blew out a huge plume of smoke and half-grinned. “No problem, kid. You have a good weekend with that girl of yours.”
“You too, and if there are any motorcycle-related emergencies, don’t call me!” he joked.
Archie threw back his head and laughed, his ponytail swishing behind him. “Don’t worry, even I won’t be answering the phone this weekend. Me ‘n the boys are gonna take a group ride down to Nawlins.”
Nolan smirked. “Have fun and take it easy, boss. Don’t drink too many Hurricanes.” He slid on the helmet over his greasy head, checked his controls, and flew off down the street on his Ducati, spitting exhaust out of the back.
He parked the bike in his usual spot and trotted up the slatted stone steps to his apartment. He tried the doorknob before inserting his key as he always did – one of his quirky habits – and was surprised to find the door unlocked. He eased the door open slowly with a furrow of his brow.
“Oh, shit!” said a male voice.
Nolan’s eyes got big as time seemed to stand still, and then slowly propel forward as if in slow motion. He saw a tall, tanned man wearing absolutely nothing, holding one of his couch cushions in front of his family jewels, his brown eyes wide; Sarah, also wearing absolutely nothing, jumping up from the couch, her hair a rat’s nest of a mess, her makeup smeared, her lips puffy, her blue eyes huge. Her cheeks were bright red, not only from embarrassment but whisker rash as well. The two were frozen in shock as Nolan stared at them.
Then time seemed to speed up as the shock hit him like a lightning bolt, and he flew into action. He threw his backpack, keys, and cell
phone to the floor and launched himself at the man, pushing him back down to the couch. Sarah moved away just in time, running into the bedroom as the two men fought. The guy was throwing punches in defense, but Nolan had his hands wrapped around the man’s throat, and he was squeezing. He managed to kick Nolan in the stomach and he went flying to the ground. The other man jumped on him, but Nolan pushed him off and pinned him to the ground. Nolan had his right hand around his throat, and he was throwing left hooks at his face in quick succession. Blood flew out from the man’s nose and splashed the light-colored carpet. Nolan didn’t stop his assault.
Sarah came out after throwing on some clothes and screamed at Nolan to let him up. Nolan barely registered her screams, thinking she was going to be next if she didn’t shut up. Nolan felt fingernails digging into his neck and shoulders as Sarah began to pull. She slapped at Nolan’s head.
“I’m gonna call the police if you don’t stop, Nolan! You’re gonna kill him!”
That was enough for Nolan to let up, and the other man got a leg free and kicked Nolan again in the stomach. Nolan bent over, coughing and spitting. The guy then grabbed a pile of clothing from the floor and scurried out the door, covering himself with his clothes as he raced down the stone steps.
Nolan got up from the floor, panting from the kick to the gut with a hand wrapped around his middle. With eyes burning with tears, he turned to Sarah and whispered through gritted teeth, “Pack your shit and get the fuck outta here. You better be gone when I get back.”
With that, his arm still wrapped around his gut, he grabbed his keys and phone from the floor and slammed the door shut. Sarah was screaming behind him for him to wait. He didn’t hear her. He couldn’t hear her. He wouldn’t hear her. He got on his bike and drove off with no destination at all.