by Serena Vale
This was one of those times.
The color of the dress clashed against the chocolate color of her skin, making it stand out. She thought she looked the same way that a distress flare was meant to attract the eyes of a search and rescue team. It was too bright… she preferred darker colors and simpler clothes. Something about them was just warmer… more vibrant… and more comfortable.
She sighed and her reflected twin mirrored the expression and the emotion behind it. It was like she was wearing someone else’s skin that was stretched uncomfortably over her like the surface of a disgusting drum and she was expected to dance to the tune.
Her only consolation was that she would not have to wear the dress long. The arrangements had been made and her mother and her new father would depart for their honeymoon as soon as they had sealed their vows with the oh-so-familiar kiss. So… she would only have to wear this thing for thirty or forty-five minutes tops. After that, she could get back into whatever made her comfortable.
Still, she would have to be seen in this dress, and that held no small amount of discomfort for her. Perhaps people would notice her dress more than they would notice her? Most of the people in attendance here after all were from her mother’s line of work and their eye was for material… how it was cut… how it was sewn… and like that, not for the flesh that wore it. But no, she decided that that was equally uncomfortable, since anyone here at the wedding was likely to know her and her tastes for fashion. Then again, it was a wedding, and not her own. People would understand why she was dressed so unfamiliarly.
I hope.
“Are you ready Ms. Eve?” asked the squeaky voice of a woman behind her.
Callie turned and looked at the voice that had spoken. Standing in the doorway to her private dressing room was a skinny little woman she recognized the as one of her mother’s many aides, still dressed in the same attire as any of the others. She was as much a part of the ceremony as any of the chairs that the guests sat on.
“Yes,” she said, trying to sound sweet and enthusiastic though she did not feel it. “I’m ready.” She picked up her wide-brimmed hat, fit to be worn by Scarlet O’Hara if she had lived in today’s world and pulled it on. She was careful not to disrupt a single strand of her scalp which her mother’s best makeup artists had spent an hour getting ready. Once the hat was in place, she followed the tiny attendant out of her private dressing room.
The California summer was already upon them as she stepped from her dressing space into the open air. Though it was still early in the morning the air was warm. Callie could feel small beads of sweat forming at the back of her neck as she walked. She recalled hearing that the temperature was supposed to climb up to the triple digits by noon and she was glad that her mother and soon-to-be stepfather had elected to have their wedding early so that at least people wouldn’t have a chance to melt under the hot sun. Or possibly because her mother knew that most people in her world never got out of bed before 10 AM and wouldn’t have made it here.
Most of the guests probably never spend more time outside than it takes to get from their limo to the office anyway, she thought.
The smell of the sea was pungent in her nostrils and the gentle rolling sound of the waves was soothing and though she wasn’t particularly fond of how she had to appear while being here, she did enjoy the setting. There was something positively serene about it, however marred by the fact that she would soon be under the gaze of at least a dozen people that her mother worked with.
As she looked around she saw that a number of the guests had already arrived and been shown to their seats. By the look of them, they weren’t all that interested in their surroundings and more interested in each other or in their phones. Some of them spoke anxiously with other guests or into their phones and she knew at once that even at a time and place like this that they were discussing business. She had seen as much often enough, even in her childhood.
Never an opportunity wasted to make money, she thought with a small amount of scorn. But she kept her face happy and passive. What others did with their lives and time was their concern and none of hers.
Still, that did not stop her from thinking these people were fools not to enjoy their surroundings here. While most weddings took place in a chapel, her mother had always been more inspired by nature and thought that a wedding was just the perfect excuse to be married in the wide open spaces. Callie counted herself lucky that her mother had favored the beach over having to drive into the mountains someplace where the air was so thin it would have been hard to breathe.
Their venue was a simple thing and despite the money that had gone into getting this marriage rolling it was nothing more than a pair of white tents that had been erected on the beach. One for the bride and the other for the groom, with a little room left over for the she – the Maid of Honor – and for the groom’s Best Man. And sitting on the sand before them were at least two dozen chairs bisected by a red carpet. And at the end of that long stretch of fabric was a wire wedding arch decorated with artificial flowers and leaves to give the place a more “natural” feeling since there wasn’t even a single piece of driftwood washed up on shore here. Her mother had chosen this place for her wedding and though Callie wasn’t overjoyed at having to be presented this way in front of all these people, she admired her mother’s taste for such things.
She looked at the guests that had arrived. Of the two dozen chairs, only half as many on either side were filled. Callie knew that her mother and future step-father had wanted to keep this whole thing small. So small that only those that were rich and full of influence had been invited to witness the ceremony, like a queen of one country about to be wed to the king of another. And in their respective worlds that would keep out the unwanted and the unpopular.
Fine by me, she thought as she gazed out at the small crowd. The less people there were, the less self-conscious she would feel.
“Not exactly a thriving crowd is it, Callie?” said a rough and gruff voice.
Callie felt a twinge in her temple that was a mixture of anger and regret. She tried to keep her face bright and cheery but as she turned to look at the voice that had spoken she felt as though she were looking upon some stray and mangy dog that had just wandered up and licked her leg… infecting her with some horrible disease. Standing beside her, emerging from the groom’s tent, was an image of loathing.
Standing in a suit that would have been expensive in any country was a large and burly man. When she had first met him he had been clean-shaven with a head of long dark brown hair. But now he wore only a dark brown beard that had grown to be four inches long since she had first known him and braided together to make him look like some kind of a medieval warrior. He was broad-shouldered, his skin looked as rough as treated leather, and though it was mostly concealed she could see the sharpened tail of the scorpion tattoo on his neck protruding out from under the color of his suit like a submarine periscope. His suit was black, though the shirt and tie he wore was a dark blue. And despite the elegance of his attire, he remained as brutish as a hired mercenary with no sense for decency however he was dressed.
“No it’s not, is it Jay?” she replied, though there was a touch of venom in her voice. Venom, that she was sure, he felt.
He smiled at her, or maybe he was smiling at her covert signs of dislike. Several of his teeth were missing as he smiled, showing that they had been replaced by top-of-the-line fillers that had been made from gold, giving him a literal million dollar smile. This added scope to how brutish she thought he was. She had often wondered how Jay had lost so many teeth but she had not cared enough to ask. But judging from his demeanor, his posture, and from his general devil-may-care attitude she was hoping that he had deserved it when those teeth had been lost and that whoever had relieved him of them had had the decency to use a hammer when doing so.
That she was about to spend her life – or at least up to the point where her mother chose to get a divorce – with this man as her stepbrother sickened
her. It was like inviting Attila the Hun over for tea knowing that he would never leave. She only hoped that her mother, like she had with husbands in the past, chose to get a divorce soon and quickly. The marriage before this one had lasted only eight months. The one before for that lasted for three, and the one before that for a year. She was hoping for a new record… like maybe as soon as the honeymoon was over.
“Well, you know how they get,” he said, dusting a little stray sand from his jacket. He was of course referring to their parents. “If they’re not dripping with money then they’re not invited.”
She wanted to smirk at the remark but held it in. Unbearable as her new brother was, he at least had one redeeming quality: he always told the truth. He never made any effort to try and disguise it either. The truth was just like him, ugly and overbearing.
Somewhere from inside the tents the first song of the wedding procession began to play. Callie knew that within minutes her mother and new father would take their respective places and this over-simplified wedding ceremony would begin. And then there would be no escaping Jay and the loutish behaviors that he possessed.
Not how I wanted to start the summer before college, she thought.
Though the idea of being in her house without her mother or father around had always been a sweet and delectable one, she was repulsed by the idea of having to share the house. For years, it had just been she and her mother in the mansion that her mother had built with the money of her trade. Though she would never admit it aloud she lived for the days when her mother would be gone for days at a time. It allowed her to feel like she was in control of her life for once in her life.
Her mother, like most others in the fashion world, was obsessed with schedules… looks… punctuality… meetings… making money in general… and of course, appearances. As far back as she could remember Callie recalled being tended to by a waiting army of servants to tend to her hair… her nails… picking out what clothes she would wear… reminding her of any appointments that she had to keep… it was never ending. The people followed her around like a shadow that had learned to talk back and she had always found such attentions to be a bit wearing.
But for the sake of deportment she had borne it. Her mother expected it of her, after all. Callie received no better or worse treatment than any of the models that worked for her mother. But since she wasn’t actually a model – and her daughter – that worked for her mother, there was some leeway. So when her mother wasn’t around it was Heaven and Callie was the goddess that ran it.
But now that Jay was going to be cooped up in the house with her while their parents were away on their honeymoon, the perfect image of two months of bliss came crashing around her like a football stadium being imploded with her standing on the fifty yard line. And it would be the first time that they spent so much time together since their parents had become engaged. She wasn’t looking forward to it.
“Well,” Jay said, offering her his elbow. “Shall we?”
Though she didn’t want to she slipped her arm through his larger and more muscular one. I might as well get this over with, she thought as the music hit the right note. She and Jay started forward.
Chapter 2
The guests were cheering so loudly after her mother and stepfather said their vows that Callie allowed a small screech of disgust to issue from between her clenched teeth that she was positive everyone else mistook for a shrill of excitement. It wasn’t disgust for her new stepfather or that her mother was being married for the fourth time. It was because she knew that from here on there was no escaping Jay. It was going to be hell, being cooped up in her mother’s house with only him for company.
She pushed those thoughts aside as the bride and groom turned away from the minister – an old friend of her new stepfather’s – and looked out to the gathering of guests. The pair of them looked so happy that she almost felt bad about having such negative thoughts on a day like today.
Almost.
People threw flower petals in lieu of birdseed or rice, again it was her mother’s idea, and several of the small fluttering floral pieces traveled down the front of her dress, becoming trapped in her cleavage. She didn’t try to dig them out with so many people looking but kept her face happy and excited with emotions that she did not feel.
She and Jay rushed behind their parents as they walked happily hand-in-hand towards their waiting limo that was parked on the asphalt parking area just beyond the beach. They were covered in the flower petals just as much as their parents and Jay seized her hand and half-dragged her along with him, her high heels doing little to find purchase in the softer sand once they reached it.
There was a small rush of adrenaline at the feeling of his larger and more muscular hand clenched around hers. But the strength with which he grasped her quickly turned the adrenaline into a small rush of pain. She tried to free her hand, but Jay would not relinquish his grip.
She stumbled once and Jay caught her and she marveled, however briefly, at his strength as he hauled her back to her feet. And together they followed their parents to their waiting limo. Jay finally freed her hand and hugged his father while her mother turned from her new husband and embraced her. She could see tears of joy on her mother’s face – a typical fashion feature for her weddings – as she hugged her. In her ear, over her the cheers of the following crowd, she heard her mother’s voice.
“We’ll be back in time to see you off to school, sweetie. Have fun this summer.”
She smiled back at her mother, appreciating the sentiment. “Thanks, mom.”
With a final smile her mother and her new stepfather were ushered into their limo and speedily drove off to an airport where a private jet was waiting to take them to whatever tropical paradise or European fashion event that they had decided to spend their first two months together at.
As they drove away, she watched the limo turn smaller and smaller down the street. And as went the bride and groom, so did the cheers of the witnesses who dropped whatever was left of their flower petals onto the sand and began to filter their way from the venue back to their parked sports cars or limos, their tasks done, their attendance no longer required.
She stood there on the beach beside Jay, watching their parents disappear. She felt a sting of dislike for her life for the next two months until their parents came back. The thought of living with Jay under the same roof held about as much appeal as going skinny dipping with hungry sharks. Still, it was a big house and she knew it better than he did… maybe she could avoid him for the whole time. That seemed like a good idea.
“Well,” Jay said, “it’s just you and me now.” His voice was tinged with the kind of glee of a child about to enter into an amusement park.
“Yeah…” she said, already missing the presence of her mother and her overbearing demeanor. “It’s just you and me.”
The days after the wedding were simple and uneventful. With her mother gone Callie became the official head of the household. Her mother – as a kind of a thank-you to her staff – had given most of them time off while she was away. There were plenty that had done so and Callie was happy to have fewer people in the house as it felt then that the place was more her own than anything else. Those that remained were souls that favored service over liberty… and because they all knew that there would be a bonus waiting for them when her mother returned for their loyalty.
She had people to cook, clean, and tend the grounds so that she would not have to worry about it for herself. But there were few enough so that she was free to pick what clothes she would wear for herself, do her own hair, and even drive herself if she wanted. It was all a genuine taste of freedom.
She managed to avoid Jay at every turn. For the first few days she didn’t even see him at all. None of the staff inquired to his whereabouts either and she was content to let them go on with their lives, just as she did. She didn’t see him at meal times, nor did she accidentally bump into him in the halls, she didn’t even see him lounging by the pool a
s had been his custom when she had first met him.
It was as if he was simply invisible.
She was content to let him stay that way. However he chose to divert himself from her was fine, as long as she didn’t have to spend any time with him. Given her way she was happy to let him stay imperceptible until their parents returned. But knowing Jay, even for as little as she truly did, she imagined that he was out and about somewhere getting into more trouble.
As long as it doesn’t bother me, she thought icily.
Even though college was still months away she busied herself with all of the little odds and ends necessary for school before it actually began. She checked, re-checked, and triple checked her enrollment papers to be certain of which dorm she was going to be living in when she arrived there… the name of her future roommate… she memorized a map of the campus… had a look at the long list of classes she could take… whatever she wanted. She was undeclared for her major as yet, but her mother didn’t know that and the school – knowing the kind of money that her mother possessed – didn’t pressure her to pick one.
She was happy for that, the uncertainty of it all. To be able to choose what she wanted to study was just the first of many decisions that she would make during her academic career. And that there was no pressure to pick right now was an added relief. Decisions made without pressure were all too few in her life and each and every one was a memorable and welcome time. That her entire future could be filled with them was an incredible feeling.
It was the second Monday after the wedding when her cell phone chirped at her, alerting her to a new text message. When she checked it she saw that it was from her best friend, the only one that she could confide in with her every little secret. Cece was a friend from the days of kindergarten, back before her mom had made her millions in the fashion industry. Cece was more than a good friend in Callie’s eyes; she was a treasure, a reminder of what it was like to be normal. And their friendship didn’t stretch over a love of money or a desire to be famous or well-liked. Their friendship was more than that… it was authentic.