Surviving The Tempest: Tempest Tales

by Elsa, Sandra

  "So what part of his plans were you to be?"

  "I'm a weather mage. I can make it rain when and where I want to."

  "Ahh… That's right and you control lightning, clouds, and wind as well. To hear those who witnessed your battle, the clouds were so thick and dark and the winds swirled from all sides, the enemy stumbled about running into things."

  It hadn't felt like that from where I stood, but it would certainly explain why we were still alive. But how would an audience have been able to see our enemies? “Sounds like an urban myth to me."

  "Surely you saw the--"

  "Oh I know what Harrison is capable of. Better than I know what I'm capable of, apparently. But the tale's already growing with the telling, unless one of the thugs was doing the telling. I doubt anybody could even see them, and they weren't all stumbling about because one of them shot Harrison."

  Paul turned into a short dark boardwalk which ran between two of the tall hotels. On the north corner of the Sunset Hotel he held the door open to a restaurant with a lounge type atmosphere. "Is this all right with everybody? After so much sun I need dank, and the food is really good here."

  "Fine with me," I said.

  Harrison actually looked pleased with the choice. He ordered ale for himself and wine for me.

  "Hope you don't plan to get me drunk," I said. "And if you do, remember I warned you, it's not pretty."

  "We'll see." He raised his eyebrows. "For right now, just something to take off the edge of having my father around. This reminds me of some of the places Jerry and I used to hang out."

  "Terry." Unless he wanted to switch back now that he knew there was no bounty on his head.

  "Whichever. I wonder where he got off to. Or if he even knows he's in the clear.”

  “I still have most of his money so he couldn't have gone too far," I said. "Probably turn back up when your father leaves. We're going to have to get out to do some watering before long, so I hope he leaves after tomorrow. Be nice if that's where Terry ended up." If he did, hopefully he'll prove smart enough to water the plants.

  "More likely hiding out at some woman's house," Harrison said. "Though I suppose he could have rented a car."

  The waitress brought our drinks and we ordered turkeyburgers and soup. The scents wafting from the kitchen made me realize how hungry I was. Paul and Harrison struck up a conversation about jai alai teams. I hadn't really pictured either of them as sports enthusiasts. I sat back and let them talk, realizing there was still a lot I didn't know about my husband.

  I sipped my wine and when the food came Harrison ordered me another. One of our neighbors synched his handheld to the large screen over the bar and turned on the District jai alai championship games. Whether the conversation made him think of it or it was just that big on people's minds, I couldn't tell. I hadn't even been aware they were going on, but I lost myself in the game as the players ran back and forth. We ate, then Harrison bought me more wine.

  Paul stood. "I'm going to take that as a cue to go see Great-grandpa. I assume you plan to be occupied for a while."

  Third glass of wine in an hour I should be stumbling toward morose, but Paul's suggestive comment pulled me away from jai alai to stare at my husband.

  Harrison grinned at Paul. "That's my plan, but we'll make sure your visitors show up tonight." He slid his chair closer.

  "You know there's no need to get me drunk. Have you ever had to do anything more than breathe a suggestion…since we got married anyway?"

  "I'm getting me drunk. I want to make love to my wife, but I'm afraid of the pain that may cause, so I've been putting it off. Getting you drunk is an experiment. We'll see you later, Paul." He winked, then turned his attention to me as Paul departed.

  By the fourth drink I was moving beyond buzzed and Harrison dropped his hand in my lap cupping my crotch through my jeans. I licked my lips and returned the favor. The table hid us from view and we were seated with our backs to a wall. I found myself wondering how far we could get without being noticed. Harrison leaned up in his chair and stared down at me, then covered my mouth with his. I returned the kiss then flipped around to sit in his lap facing him.

  He moved a hand to his side, tension radiating, then relaxed and I pressed my breasts against him.

  "See," he said, "You're not an angry drunk. You just never drank in the right company."

  "Stop talking." I enforced my words by kissing him. "Maybe we should get a room."

  "There's an idea I can get behind." He squeezed my rear as he spoke.

  Chapter 14

  It was starting to get dark when mine and Harrison's phones rang at nearly the same instant. Harrison looked at his and groaned. "Why doesn't he just go home?" He pushed a button and stopped it from ringing, but didn't answer it.

  My screen read Jallahan, so I flipped it open. "What's up?"

  "We were worried about you."

  "We're not ten-year-olds," I may have snapped a little too much, but I wasn't good with anybody looking over my shoulder.

  "No. But you nearly died less than a week ago and I'm not ready to pretend that didn't happen yet. The watch is still catching people that were involved in that melee."

  "So you've been keeping track of us?"

  "That's Jordan's department, but yes."

  "Well, we're enjoying each other's company and not ready to come out from under the blankets just yet. We'll probably head down to the Lobster House for supper in a couple hours if you'd care to join us."

  "As long as we know you're safe, we're good with that. Nine o'clock?"

  "Sounds good." I closed the phone and turned my attention back to Harrison, who was nibbling his way down my body, trying to get my interest back.

  By nine o'clock we had showered and dressed and were seated at a table large enough for five of us when our parents walked in. Supper was a quiet affair. At one point I left for the bathroom inviting Nan to come along. I'd seen it often enough, but never before felt the need to have another woman accompany me to the bathroom.

  She acted like it was the most natural thing in the world and as we were walking off she said, "I tried to stop them from calling you. Figured the house has been a little crowded--"

  "It wasn't the crowd. It was the pain. Harrison got us drunk at lunch and I took advantage of him."

  She laughed.

  We were still close enough to the table, Harrison looked up with a sparkle in his eye. "Who took advantage of who?"

  I winked at him and said, "You were way easy." Then turned around and tugged Nan toward the brown painted restroom sign. In the bathroom I leaned over and whispered, "You and my father should stroll down the pier after we finish eating. I have a friend who wants to meet my father."

  "A friend?"

  "Paul. I think you met him at the hospital. He’s bringing his Great-grandfather to discuss some things with the head of research and development from MNU. If we go with you, Jordan will be tailing us. If the two of you head out for a moonlit stroll on the beach he's not likely to care a whole lot."

  Nan raised her voice to normal levels. "That sounds nice. Will you be home tonight?"

  "Probably." I laughed. "I think we've worn each other out for the afternoon." I used the bathroom and washed my hands, then we returned to the table where Harrison had ordered me an immense piece of chocolate cake. "Mmmm…so maybe we won't be going home. Trying to raise my energy levels?"

  He grinned, "Didn't figure it could hurt to try."

  "We do have the room for the night."

  Nan and Jallahan grinned.

  Jordan shook his head, and Harrison reached down by his side and produced a bottle of Renown, a popular, high alcohol content, dessert wine. "Maybe we should have the cake boxed up."

  I grinned at him. "Now I remember why I married you. Sorry folks, but I think our plans have altered for the evening. Will you be at the house?"

  Nan clasped Jallahan's hand, "I think I fancy a stroll on the beach, but we'll see you in the morning. You do have
a dress for the wedding?"

  I gaped at her. A dress? I hadn't even considered it. I did have a couple Harrison had bought, but I wasn't sure any of them would be appropriate for a wedding.

  "We'll be appropriately attired Mother. Not every day your father-in-law becomes your stepfather."

  "Or your motherin-law becomes your stepmother," I added. "I assume this isn't going to be a huge affair?" I tried to keep the pleading tone out of my voice, and was delighted when Nan said, "The five of us, the pastor from the church out at the intersection of Lovell and Stanton roads and maybe a couple of the troopers we brought down here with us, unless you wanted to invite somebody?"

  "Not big on crowds," I said, pushing my chair back with a shake of my head to address the question. "And right now there's a bottle of wine, a piece of chocolate cake, and a much smaller crowd with my name on it. You have a good night. We'll see you in the morning."

  Harrison was right behind me, hand on my hip. We picked up a tail as soon as we left the restaurant. I assumed there would be more than one trooper hanging around awaiting the president's departure, no doubt with orders to watch where we went. Instead of the room, we headed to the beach. Harrison stopped by a bench and picked up a blanket.

  "Is that yours?"

  "Ours. It occurred to me this afternoon that I never courted you. We've never done long walks in the moonlight and quiet dinners that were intended as dates. In our early relationship, life and my woman, were a little too tempestuous for romance. And then when we got here, it just seemed we were already married, what need of romance. And then we almost died. While recovering in the hospital I decided I didn't want to do that again. I may not be able to control the dying part, but if I die, I want to make sure you know how much I love you."

  We turned to the beach and I laid my head on his shoulder as we strolled away from the pier, down near the waterline. We were greeted by chirping and clucking. I waved to Poppy and noted she had her pod with her. They all leaped out of the water and reentered it in a graceful dance with the moonlight. Harrison wasn't watching the dolphins.

  The moon illuminated his golden hair making him look angelic as he focused his attention on me. He reached toward my face and pushed hair behind my ear, cupping his hand behind my neck and pulling me closer. "You are so beautiful. Sometimes when I look at you, I just can't believe I found someone so perfect."

  He kissed me and then let me go, sitting back to open the boxes of cake and the bottle of wine. With dolphins leaping in the background and waves lapping gently at the shore, he fed me the cake he'd brought. I didn't even protest the lack of need because for that one evening it seemed quite necessary. In fact I fed him his cake as well. I'd never fancied myself cut out for romance, but I found maybe I could get used to it. We hadn't brought cups but with a grin Harrison opened the wine and handed me the bottle. "I wanted this evening to be perfect, but I guess I'm out of practice, if you want wine, we're drinking from the bottle."

  I took the bottle and took a sip, savoring the sweetness, then handed it back to him. "So you have a lot of practice at this sort of thing?"

  "Sitting on the shore with a beautiful woman? Not really. I played the scene over and over in my mind when I was younger. The perfect woman. The perfect night. The water in my vision was always the source at District Seven but this is so much better." He took a sip of wine and handed it back to me. "I'm not even sure I ever dreamed of perfection like this."

  I stretched up and kissed him. "I never dreamed anything close to this. If I wasn't already married, I'd marry you."

  "Then it's a good thing it's me you're married to, because I think I might just kill anybody who tried to come between us now."

  I grinned. "And being my husband you've been getting a lot of practice at that."

  "How-- " He stopped with his question unasked.

  I glanced around to see what had attracted his attention. Our parents were well down at the other end of the beach but no one was close enough to hear us, or to be a concern. Our tail sat on a bench up by the boardwalk. "Something wrong?"

  "Nope. Not a thing in the world. I decided I wouldn't ask a question that was a mood killer." He leaned forward and kissed me and I decided that if he didn't ask it, it couldn't be that important a question. He took the bottle back and tipped it up, swallowing a large mouthful of the sweet red wine."

  Before the evening was over we made love on the beach, not really caring who was watching from the shore or the water. In fact I was kinda glad of our beachside monitor at least no one was going to walk out and interrupt us. We ran naked in the surf. Poppy swam close and it didn't take long for Paul to join us. He kept space between us, I suspect to be certain Harrison didn't decide to mop the beach with him. Besides we were in the water, he didn't have the excuse of wanting the tactile sensation. Tired of playing in the waves, I decided to swim.

  The moment I was in deep enough water, Poppy swam over and put her fin under my hand. She circled in front of me and quivered. Not sure what she was after, I hesitated and she dove underwater. After butting my calves a couple times, she came up between my legs with her dorsal fin in front of my stomach. I clutched the fin as she took off, uncertain at first, but once I figured out this was nothing more than a ride I threw my head back and laughed. She swam a small circle and I turned to see Paul with his hands on Harrison's shoulders. Poppy wriggled and moved backwards then spun and carried me much further from the shore than I’d ever swum.

  She circled around to return me to Harrison's waiting arms, he stared at Poppy as though uncertain if he approved, but then he laughed and hugged me as waves broke around us. Paul walked up beside him. "You've married a goddess, Harrison. If you ever get tired of her, you let me know." Then in a blink he leapt off the floor of the ocean to dive head first into the next wave, except it was a tail that disappeared into the frothy white foam, not legs. I hadn't been certain he would change. I watched him go with a grin on my face.

  We lay on the blanket letting the night air dry us off, then dressed and went back to the hotel, our tail dutifully following after.

  #

  Harrison took me shopping the next morning. It became obvious we weren’t after a slinky sexy dress which had been the costume of choice when I wasn‘t wearing jeans or trousers, but a floor length creation of silk and satin. The top was white with white embroidered flowers on it and three-quarter length, skin tight, sleeves. The skirt billowed and had a crinoline to keep it fluffed. It was pale yellow, nearly white.

  “Are you serious?” I asked in dismay, staring at myself in the dressing room mirror. ’What’s wrong with the dress I wore when we got married?”

  “Come out and let me see it.” His voice cajoled, pleading with me to be reasonable. “Mother has waited a lifetime for her own wedding. She’ll want it to be perfect and that includes the guests.”

  “This thing makes me look like a bride. You trying to say I didn’t look perfect for our wedding.”

  “I thought you did then…I was so madly, desperately head-over-heels…but after last night, I realize by rushing you into marriage, you missed out on being a bride. I just wanted to make sure you were unquestionably mine.”

  “Had this discussion with Jerry, remember? I didn’t need all the silly trappings--”

  “They’re not silly, and they mean a lot to my mother. She’s still upset that she didn’t get to be there when we got married.”

  “I don’t wear white well.”

  “Just come out Frankie, please…”

  I stepped out of the fitting room and Harrison eyed me critically. “The white is gorgeous. The yellow has to go.”

  The salesgirl strode away, returning in moments with the same dress all in white. Suspicions rose in my mind. “What the hell, Harrison. That is not a dress a guest wears. That’s not even a dress a bridesmaid wears, and she just happened to have it waiting, conveniently in my size.”

  Harrison closed his eyes and tilted his head back. “I told her I’d never pull this o
ff.”

  “Told who? And pull what off?”

  Chapter 15

  He gestured at the dress. “What you’ve obviously figured out. My mother accepted the need to get married like we did. It never meant she was happy about not being there.”

  “So…what? You figured if you could get me there, I’d go through all this crap again?”

  “It isn’t crap to my mother and the first time around wasn’t much of anything.”

  “For something that wasn’t much of anything, it rocked my world.”

  He frowned. “Don’t twist my words, Frankie. It was the most important day of my life, but my mother has planned the day I married since my first date. I talked her down from the dress she wanted you in.”

  “So are they getting married or was it all a sham?”

  “They’re getting married too--”

  “And when did you intend to break the news to me?”

  “In the church. Halfway through our parents wedding when I hoped you wouldn’t make a scene.”

  “Have you ever known me to allow place and audience to stop me from making a scene?”

  “Well…no.”

  “Does it occur to you, honesty might have gone a long way to furthering your cause?”

  He walked up and wrapped his arms around my hips. “It may have flitted through my mind, but it was chased out by memories of you telling Jerry off.”

  “Jerry’s a pain in the ass. I’d say anything just to annoy him.”

  “So you’re telling me you’d have gone along with this?”

  “Reluctantly. But yeah. You trying to put one over on me though…don’t know if I can forgive that.”

  “Let me make it up to you.”

  “What’d you have in mind?”

  “Anything you want.”

  “Anything?”

  “You name it. But if that‘s a yes, we need to get the dress on so Emily can make any adjustments.”