by Marie Wathen
“Yes, Della is her sister,” his eyes stray out toward the dance floor again before he turns back to face me. “Has anyone else seen her tonight?”
I shrug slightly, really curious about how he stressed the word, “Who would be interest in her being at my grandparent’s anniversary party?”
“Oh, I guarantee you that Kole will be interested to know that bit of info,” he professes with a touch of temper lacing his tone and marking his features.
“Is there history between them then?”
“Yeah,” he mumbles, his eyes drifting over toward the opening ladies room door. “You ready?”
“You betcha,” his date quips, roping her arms through his. “Hi Morgan.”
“Hey?” My greeting comes out as a question because I don’t recognize her.
She giggles, “Silly, it’s me, Miller.” My eyes grow wide with surprise, and she laughs harder.
“Didn’t know you two were together,” I state cutting my eyes at Raithe. I’m totally disappointed that he would hook up with the town floozy. Nearly every swinging dick has dipped into that tainted cesspool. After hearing in Rhys’ debriefing about how she called out Breesan, Raithe bringing her is disconcerting and tasteless.
“We’re old friends,” she supplies smugly, placing a delicate hand against his lapel implying exactly that.
The door leading out to the courtyard opens around the corner behind me and after a few steps, Marcus joins our conversation. “What’s going on here?” his words stumble out thick like he has cotton-mouth.
“Marcus?” Miller inquires, “You okay?”
He jerks back sharply, either from recognizing her and not being happy about it, or because of her concern for his staggering condition, “I’m straight.” He proves, stiffening his back and giving her a look suggesting shutting the hell up.
“If you need someone to drive you home, I’m sure Raithe would be fine with me driving your car back,” she beams encouragingly. Her date doesn’t look nearly as excited by the idea.
“Unnecessary,” Marcus dismisses her offer, relaxing his rigid stance, cocking an eye at me and gesturing toward the main room. “Shouldn’t we rejoin the others?”
He walks away and we follow, Raithe clutching Miller closer to him. Yeah, he’s totally not into her taking my drunken brother home. Nearly every encounter I’ve had tonight is adding to this overwhelming oppressive feeling that this night will prove to be utter shit. Once inside the packed room, we notice the lights toward the front brightening and my father Barret walking up with a microphone in hand.
“Good evening, everyone,” he asserts his voice authoritatively, bringing the noise level down to a murmur. “We’ll only take a few moments of your time. I would like to invite mom and dad, as well as the rest of the Walker clan to join me.”
Looking over at Marcus, I twitch an eye up curiously and he shrugs appearing just as surprised with our father’s request. I lean in and whisper, “You leaving your date behind?”
“Yeah, the less she’s in the spotlight, the better,” he replies, cutting through the crowd toward the front. Glancing at the group, I spot a few distant relatives who flew in for my grandparent’s celebration. Even my cousin, Zaid, from England is here.
“Thank you all for coming to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of my parents, Aileen and Mackenzie Walker,” Dad addresses the mass of people, moving forward vying for a better view. My gaze drifts toward the bar where I left Breesan and Jama, noticing they’ve remained sitting where I left them and Breesan is watching attentively. Barret’s speech is fake gratitude coming off rehearsed because he doesn’t really give a damn about them, so I tune him out. Thankfully, he passes the mic off to Granddad soon and before long the old man has everyone snickering.
“I’m so blessed to have this sweet beauty as my bride for the past five decades. Let me tell you something about loving this woman. It hasn’t been easy,” He shakes his head playfully while frowning. “She’s strong-willed, opinionated, and always right. But,” he tilts his head down, staring at the tiny woman standing to his left, “There hasn’t been a day since she agreed to marry me that I haven’t thank God for bringing her into my life. From the first moment I set eyes on her, I couldn’t get her off my mind.” All the women sigh audibly. “I’m going to tell them about that scandalous night, Ally,” he warns. Gran covers her hand over her smile, nodding once with her approval. “I was innocently going to hang out at the old drive-in restaurant. You all know the one that they tore down, oh shoot, I guess it’s been fifteen years ago. No, it was definitely before the twins were born,” He shakes his head, chuckling, “No matter,” he swats a hand dismissively. “I went there with a few buddies, Newton and Sully, they’ll validate this story.” Everyone laughs again as all eyes drift over in the direction he points Two distinguished, older gentlemen are standing at the front of the crowd shaking their heads disagreeably. “Ah fellas, you’re supposed to support me here.”
“Mac, you left off Ally’s most notable characteristics,” Sully protests with a sharp tone and serious look in his eyes, “She’s mean.”
Newton interjects to add, “And revengeful.” More laughter ensues. “Worst of all, she’s terribly calculating, and I don’t want to regret knowing you, buddy,” he shrugs once and resigns, “But it’s your funeral.” He waves a hand, gesturing for Granddad to continue.
“Thanks Newt,” the old man chuckles and reaches down, lacing his big hand with Gran’s tiny one. “That summer afternoon in 1956, we rode our bicycles out to the drive-in, the most happening place on Willow in that day for teens. A car loaded with beautiful girls was parked front and center for all to see and hear. With the music blaring in the brand spanking new Bel Air convertible, they were attracting the attention of everyone. She was majestic, but paled in comparison to the lovely dame behind the wheel,” Gran stares into his eyes as he recounts these moments, looking like she is visualizing the scene as if it were happening this very second, “We cruised past the car and leaned our bikes against the side of the building. With all the confidence of a cocky little shit,” Gran gasps and swats his arm, but it doesn’t deter his crass storytelling, “I strolled straight up to the driver’s side, propped an elbow on the window and introduced myself, like I was the most important man she’d ever met. She stared at me with the most intriguing green eyes I’d ever looked into and asked me how old I was before she would give me her name,” Granddad shakes his head, “Worst mistake I’ve ever made was being truthful with her on that one thing.” He glances over toward me and Marcus before turning back toward his captivated audience. I’m sure there is a hidden meaning behind that look. Everything he does is intentional.
“See, that pretty girl was celebrating her sixteenth birthday and I was a few days shy of my thirteenth. A spry young stud, I thought I was, until she said that if I really wanted to know all about her that I would have to wait five years, before she would share anything about herself with me. You can imagine how I should be crushed by such a disappointing answer. Well, you’d be mistaken. Chasing this loveliness was a motivator like you wouldn’t believe. Over those five years, every encounter we had, I shared details about my boring day, my lackluster life and my wild dreams, all while she kept quiet and shared nothing about herself or her life with me. As my eighteenth birthday and the five year mark approached, I rallied my spirits and showed up on her doorstep with a bouquet of pink roses and a heck of a persuasive speech–if I do say so myself,” When he pauses briefly, I notice that the room is soundless and every eye is locked on the perfect couple.
“That day my heart was crushed like nothing I’d ever experienced before,” With a heavy sigh, he turns toward the crowd and recounts his heartache. “She left the week before to move into her apartment in Tuscaloosa for her senior year at the University of Alabama. And I was on my way to Auburn,” the unified gasp can be felt like a punch in the jaw as he admits that they were attending school that rivaled one another like the way Satan rivals God. “Yes,
she cheered for the Crimson Tide, and I bled blue and orange, a detail that was sure to destroy five years of utter devotion. I went off that following week, haunted by a loss that was more devastating than if she had told me she as moving to the other side of the world. However, when I arrived back to the island for Christmas break, I bumped into her, hanging out with a handful of girlfriends at the annual tree lighting festival in the city center. Staring at her, I was awestruck from the unmatchable beauty before me, and for the first time in my life, I was speechless.” The crowd chuckles. “For the first time in five years, she approached me and even though I had done my own investigating and discovered every fact I needed to know about her, she leaned in and whispered the one thing I wanted her to tell me more than anything,” he stares lovingly at my Gran.
With a glimmer of a tear dangling from her bottom eyelash, she takes over his story and recites to him, “My name is Aileen Barret, and I’m utterly and irrevocably in love with you, Mackenzie Walker.” The whole room erupts into an encouraging applause as he leans in to kiss her full on the mouth.
“Love is saved for those who deserve it, earn it and reciprocate it. You can’t help who you love. When I felt I’d hit a wall that was indestructible, my beauty climbed over that sucker and demanded my love in return. She got it and two years later, she graced my life by becoming my wife.” My grandparents beam at each other with a love unlike anything I have ever witnessed before turning toward the crowd.
Together they claim, “Love is ours for the taking, but the giving of all of your heart is far more thrilling.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Breesan
“That was probably the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard,” Jama tells me, light brown eyes glistening after the touching sentiment Granddad Walker just shared. “I see where Morgan gets his charm. Mrs. Walker is a smart woman for going after what she wanted. I wish I had her nerve.”
She wistfully watches the sweet couple before directing her gaze across the room to where Kole stands with his date. I wonder if he knows Jama is here. Surely not. If he did, I think his date’s feelings could be hurt. That is if she has feelings for him. Truthfully, the woman could be the most amazing woman in the world, but she’ll never compare to the love of his life. For as long as I’ve known Kole, I’ve known about Jama DeBlasi, although he’s completely naive of me knowing how much in love he is with her. Looking at the petite woman, I can see exactly why he’s treated me so special for the past couple of years. It explains why I thought he has a crush on me. I look almost exactly like her.
“Thank you all for being here to celebrate our amazing life of love,” Granddad boasts.
My eyes drift over to Marcus, stepping away from the line of Walkers, who are waiting to embrace the guests of honor. Once he reaches the front foyer, I see him going up the stairs, two at a time in a mad rush. I wonder what is going on that has him running away from the party.
Before being totally eclipsed by well-wishers, Granddad exclaims, “Ya’ll enjoy the rest of the night.”
Taking the microphone from his father, Beck gives his mother a hug and then turns toward his wife and son, beckoning them over. “Hold on just another moment everybody. Gretchen, Tristan and Elise, please join me,” he requests.
Everyone in the back of the crowd that was beginning to walk away stops and stays in place to hear what the other Walker son has to say. With a puzzled, but happy look on her face, Gretchen takes Beck’s outstretched hand and then reaches over for Tristan’s. He accepts hers, kissing the back sweetly. The other, he wraps tightly around Elise’s thin waist. His eyes leave his mother’s face to zone in on Elise’s ridiculously over inflated boobs. I guess I can see what drew Marcus to her. She is exotic with that dark auburn hair and unusually dark tan for a redhead. I wonder if the unnatural color is as fake as her double D’s.
“Mom and dad, if you could stay here too, I would like to give you a very special anniversary gift. Actually, it’s Tristan who wants to present it to you. Son,” he turns toward his only child and offers him the mic. Tristan smiles proudly, offering Elise a wink before walking over to his father and then directing his attention toward his grandparents. My stomach is doing flips, anxiously anticipating what could be coming.
“Thanks dad and mom,” he flashes a charming smile at his sweet mother briefly before turning toward the elder Walkers. “Gran, Granddad, I love you both and like everybody here, I would like to say thank for everything you’ve done for me and this community. You have always been the best role models. Taking a note from your lead Granddad, I would like you permission to do something remarkable also.” Mac and Ally smile cautiously at each other before giving Tristan an agreeable nod in return. “Elise, come here honey,” he purrs and the floozy clacks her way over to stand beside him.
My eyes jump from her, to Tristan, to his parents before finally landing on Morgan, who is watching me with worry lines forming across his forehead. Clearly, he’s in the dark just like me and that really boosts my nerves. With his black mask covering half of his face, Tristan turns toward the crowd, looking around the room and scanning the faces, like he’s searching. Could he be subconsciously hoping that Anna will show? He shakes his head just the tiniest bit before glancing back around to his date. She’s grinning from ear to ear and it’s making me hate her even more. Watching him running a hand through his hair twice, I recognize Tristan’s telltale sign and know that what he’s doing has him worried, but his smile contradicts his posturing.
To Elise he says, “We haven’t known each other that long, and I’m definitely not inclined to believe in love at first sight,” I gulp hard and feel my heartbeat racing, “But since I’ve met you, I feel this connection,” His eyes traces along the curves of her body, avoiding eye contact, “Friends fall in love everyday and I’m pretty sure that we passed that level a while back.” Elise’s smile turns wicked and I think that I’m going to hurl. “Honey, I know if we give it time ours can become a loving relationship equal to what my grandparents have, if you’ll take a chance on me. Elise,” he edges his hands up her arm, cupping her jaw and looking into her eyes, “Will you marry me?”
I don’t believe this bullshit. I can’t stand here and watch this for another second. Leaping off of the barstool, I stomp toward the crowd, like a wild headhunter ready to put a new dense cranium on top of a staff. My protest of this disgusting display is stifled when Kole places a hand on my shoulder and steps in front of me, blocking the preposterous proposal.
“Do not say a word,” he warns lowering his face and staring straight into my stinging eyes. “I want you to walk away now.”
“Kole,” my voice cracks and a sob stabs my chest sharply. My bottom lip and chin quiver while tiny trembles rush through my body, seeping deep into my bones. I stammer, “I need to speak with…” I swallow hard again, trying not to cry, “This can’t happen…that what he’s doing is wrong and… and that…he must remember Anna now,” I hiss, flicking my fingertips across my cheek to remove the lone tear making a slow crawl down my face. Drawing a shaky breath in, I mumble, “A good man, like him, can’t love a bitch like Elise, not ever.”
“I know, B, it’s the Ryske,” he takes my hand into his other and draws me closer. “We will get this shit straight, but not tonight.” Being more cautious than he was the night at the club when Miller eavesdropped on our conversation, he glances around the area and lowers his voice before ordering, “Stay in character. Too much depends on you keeping it together.” He holds me in a serious stare for another moment allowing me to reign in my freak out. His head bobs up and down until I finally mimic him, agreeably. “Good girl,” he encourages stepping back and releasing me.
“Yes!” Elise’s exclaim reverberates through the ballroom, straight to my heart, piercing it with a pain so intense that it could kill thousands. “We need to go tell Mommy and Daddy immediately!”
“I need the ladies room,” I whisper, holding back the nausea when I see the hallway leading toward the
gardens is empty. I desperately need to retreat before I disappoint Kole by exposing myself for the fraud that I am.
Turning away, I spot Jama completely interested in my private conversation, her eyes fiercely latched onto the man behind me. Unable, or unwilling to be anything but selfish at the moment, I stroll past her directly down the hallway and out the door to the peaceful solitude of the courtyard. I continue walking down the cobblestone path, entering one of the many gardens surrounding the castle. Taking the wide walkway beyond the perfectly manicured flowerbeds, I round the corner that leads me to the backside of the mansion, which hangs over the edge of the mountain. Stepping up to the cliff, I wrap both hands over the top handrail and release a loud breath.
“It’s impossible,” I tell myself repeatedly.
I know that it’s the drug doing this, but this is Tristan, the man who treated Anna as if she were a real life princess. And for him to divert away from a love so ingrained since childhood, how can I hope that Marcus and I will make it? My god, that is the most selfish thing anyone could think at a time like this, I scold myself, but excuse it by reminding myself that I’m only human. My eyes drift over the edge of the railing, down to the glimmering rock where five burn marks remind me that Marcus and I have been promised, by some magical or divine power, that we have an eternal love. Part of me wishes that Anna could be here at this moment to share a spiritual kiss with Tristan that will prove the same destiny for them.
After only a couple of minutes of solitude, several couples venture outside stealing my privacy. Some swoon over the stunning aquatic sight and others are out here to grab a quick smoke. One such sneaker is Rhys, who offers me a small two-finger salute before slipping back inside the castle. Feeling some of the tension easing, I gather up my strength and decide to go back to the party and face the depressing music, so to speak. Just ten steps away from the railing I glance up toward the imposing structure and notice a couple on the balcony above. The woman is dressed in a deep wine fitted cocktail dress with her hair curled and piled on top of her head. A black mask covers her eyes, but she can’t hide from me and neither can her companion.