Trey thought his mother was being silly for worrying so much. There was nothing to worry about now because he and Julian had finally killed the monster. There were no more funny feelings in his throat and people didn’t look at him like he was crazy anymore. He was kind of shy about using his new voice because it had been such a long time and now his words needed to catch up with his mind, but he was eager to learn and happy to know that he had both Mom and Julian to help him out.
Julian finalized his work on the new CD and the record company executives were pleased with the results. They predicted that it would be a hit when it was released in June. For once, Julian felt that even if it failed commercially it wouldn’t make much difference to him, because he was about to have a family that was more significant than his career.
Nicole officially resigned from her nursing position at Miami General, and signed up for summer courses at the University of Miami that would further her interests in creative writing and journalism. Julian was a firm believer in the right to pursue one’s dreams and she was overjoyed that for once in her life she was being afforded the opportunity to pursue hers without feeling guilt because someone thought her talents were better served elsewhere.
* * *
On April 24th Nicole and Julian were married at the home of her parents, James and Eleanor Whitfield in Chicago. The wedding took place in the evening and was officiated by the pastor of Eleanor’s church. It was a beautiful, star-filled night, the perfect end of an unusually warm day.
In attendance were Nicole’s immediate family, her friend Maria, Julian’s Aunt Alma and all of his band members. Luis came with Amanda and his two sons. Wade was the best man, Allyson was maid of honor and Trey was the ring-bearer. A big surprise came right before they were pronounced man and wife when Elena entered stiffly and took a seat beside her husband.
The best part was that it was a small and extremely private affair. The rest of the world had no knowledge, because everyone in attendance had been sworn to secrecy.
When Nicole looked lovingly into Julian’s misty eyes, right before they exchanged vows, she knew she would be gazing into those velvety depths for always.
“Do you, Nicole, take Julian to love and to honor until death do you part?”
“I do.”
“I do,” Trey echoed, unprompted behind her.
There was not a dry eye in the house.
EPILOGUE
Place: Villa in Spain
A warm floral-scented breeze wafted in through the open window. Nicole sat on the edge of the bed and watched the candlelights flicker in the softly shadowed bedroom. The door leading outside to the patio opened and Julian stepped in, looking sleek and panther-like, wearing a long black satin robe, and holding two tulip-shaped champagne glasses in each hand. He knelt down at her feet and handed her one glass. She took it and smiled down at him.
“Nervous?” he asked.
“A little.”
“Don’t worry. I am too.”
“Are you serious? Or are you just saying that to make me feel better?”
“You’re special,” he said. “This is the first time I’ve been with someone that I’ve really loved. That’s why I’m nervous.” His dashing ebony eyes sparkled enticingly like the champagne in the glass.
Taking a sip of the bubbling wine, she ran her finger tips lightly through his raven ripples of hair, down the back of his neck and across the smooth solid symmetry of his bare shoulder. She closed her eyes and inhaled.
“That comes as even more of a surprise to me, but I don’t think either of us should be nervous…I don’t think we’re going to have any problem.”
He kissed her and the kisses began trailing downward, parting the tissue thin material of her satiny silver gown. Nicole held her breath and put the glass down on the night table. She felt the fervent blossoming of desire overtake her. Julian’s strong hands were on her shoulders and she felt herself drifting down onto the mauve satin sheets. She felt her own hands sliding the robe further down his shoulder to expose the solid sculpture of his chest and the symbolic dolphin dangling from its gold chain.
Just as she was starting to feel a little overwhelmed, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist and shifted positions so quickly, so fluidly, that she almost didn’t realize that he was now beneath her.
“Listen,” he whispered.
From the open patio doors she could hear the gentle strains of a flamenco guitar being strummed. Her eyes gleamed and she looked down at him. He smiled.
“Go take a look,” he said.
Nicole rose, gathering the gown around her, and stepped out onto the patio. There were gardenias everywhere. She glanced over the railing and saw standing in the courtyard four flamenco guitarists, dressed in traditional garb, serenading them. A woman dancer with swirling skirts danced to the sensual tune of the guitars and castanets. Rose petals rained all around them.
“Like it?” he asked.
She sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder. “It’s beautiful, so romantic, but not half as beautiful or romantic as you are.”
Drifting on a sensual high, she turned in his arms, took his hand and they swayed together with the music of the night and the gentle Spanish breeze. She led Julian back into the bedroom. “It’s time,” she whispered. “Time to finish what we started.”
They slowly, passionately, released all the desire and emotion they had restrained for so long until the first glimmers of dawn began peeking through the window.
“Listen,” Julian said again. “Do you hear it?”
“The music?” she murmured.
“No, not the music, the sun.”
She kissed his mouth. “You can’t hear the sun.”
“Yes you can. It’s kind of a whispery hissing sound. You must hear it.”
Nicole lifted her head from his chest and squinted toward the window. “Yes, I believe I do hear it. We’re the only two people in the world who can.”
Julian studied the misty green forests of her eyes. “If you lie very still and concentrate real hard, you can hear it rising in Havana too.”
She smiled blissfully. “Yes, my love. Our sun is rising all over the world.” She lowered her head once again and listened to the sound of their hearts beating as one.
Havana Sunrise Page 31