He described the acoustics of the auditorium in excruciating detail while she gazed out the window at the crashing surf, lost in thought. She couldn’t stop replaying the look in Ramon’s dark eyes when they collided with hers, and the discontent he’d felt when they pulled away.
“So, when are you going to take me there?” Conrad asked.
She looked up, “Where?”
He smiled with amusement, “Your building site, silly goose.”
“Whenever you’d like,” she replied.
“How about Saturday?” He asked. “We can make a day of it.”
“Oh! I forgot to tell you. I can’t do anything on Saturday. I just got invited to a wedding reception.”
He seemed taken aback. “That’s kind of short notice. Whose?”
“Calvin’s brother.” She gathered her courage, asking, “Would you like to come with me?”
He thought for a moment. “I’d love to.”
“It’s kind of a long drive,” she explained. “It’s in Santa Rosa.”
“I know a really charming bed and breakfast just outside of town,” he looked at her expectantly. “We could get a room…”
“Together?” she asked, a little shocked.
“It’s a two room suite. You’ll have your own bed.”
Her cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment. Of course he hadn’t assumed anything, and she felt like a fool for jumping to conclusions. She looked up to see him smiling with amusement.
“Uhm… uh… Okay.”
“Maybe you can take me to the building site on Sunday?”
She smiled wide. “Sure… That sounds perfect.”
After lunch they took a stroll in the gardens that surrounded the guest cottages, following a brick path to a rose covered gazebo that looked like it belonged in a fairy tale. Conrad kept up his chatter, telling her about a famous actress that had been married there last summer.
“There were helicopters with paparazzi and everything,” he said. “She really put this place on the map. Ever since then the cabins have been booked solid.”
“I can see why,” Layla nodded, looking out toward the windswept bluffs. “It’s lovely.”
“As are you,” Conrad said, taking her hand.
They leaned against a rail, watching a distant ship pass by on the horizon. There was a chill in the air as the breeze picked up, and Conrad took off his blazer to drape it around her shoulders. She looked over at his handsome profile, thinking what a perfect gentleman he was.
He turned to meet her eyes with a warm smile. “We should head back,” he said.
She was silent on the ride home, watching the trees blend together in a symphony of green and brown. When Conrad looked her way she could see the evaluation in his eyes, and taste his calm, sweet approval. Unlike Ramon, he was extremely satisfied every time he looked at her.
They pulled into the driveway of her house and Layla could see that Calvin and Cali’s truck was missing, and there were no lights on inside. She looked at the empty building with trepidation, turning towards Conrad, “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea… or something?”
“No thanks,” he replied. “I have an early start tomorrow.”
“Alright,” Layla said, looking back to the house again. She steeled herself and reached for the door handle, and by the time she gathered her purse and got it open he was already on her side of the car, ready to escort her to the door. This time, when they reached the porch he took both of her hands in his and turned her towards him.
He lowered his face to hers and they both turned their heads the same direction, bumping noses. Layla giggled nervously, stopping when she saw the serious look on his face. He leaned in again and this time she froze, holding perfectly still. When his lips finally found hers she held her breath, waiting.
She’d seen Calvin practically devour Cali’s mouth, and she tensed up, expecting a passionate onslaught, but his lips only brushed against hers softly. It wasn’t unpleasant, and she watched with clinical detachment as his colors changed. He pulled back and looked at her through a warm peach glow.
He smiled, leaning in for a second time. This time she relaxed a little, parting her lips expectantly. He delivered another chaste kiss, just as sweet as the one before, withdrawing to squeeze her hand and say, “I’ll see you Saturday then?”
She nodded, opening the door with a sense of relief. “Saturday it is.”
He waited on the porch until she closed and locked the door behind her. She heaved a sigh, startled when Tripod came hopping around the corner, wagging his scraggly stub of a tail hopefully. He whined a little bit, and Layla could see that he was anxious, as uncomfortable about being alone in the house as she was.
“I know,” she spoke out loud to him. “Me too.”
She looked around the quiet room nervously, finally going over to flip on a lamp and sit on the couch. The dog stood at her feet, cocking his head at her.
“Don’t worry. They’ll probably be back soon,” she said, as much for her own benefit as for his.
She picked up a book and tried to read, lowering it to see that Tripod was still staring intensely at her. She inclined her head towards the seat alongside her and he jumped up, settling down with his head on his paws. Layla flipped open her book again, noticing how the dog kept shifting closer and closer to her, hungry for any kind of contact. Soon his head was nestled in her lap and she set the book aside to stroke him gently behind the ears.
“You’re not so stinky, are you?” she crooned. His tail thumped out a reply on the cushion and as he relaxed his innocent tranquility washed over her. She felt calmer too, and had a sudden flash of insight as to why Caledonia preferred the company of animals to that of people.
Not counting Calvin, that was.
She wondered if she could ever feel as strongly about Conrad as Cali did about Calvin. She’d just experienced her very first kiss, and it wasn’t what she expected at all. She really liked Conrad, but his kisses didn’t make her feel one way or the other. They certainly didn’t alter her colors the way Calvin’s changed Cali’s.
Then a frightening thought crossed her mind. Maybe she would never feel that way about anyone. Maybe being brought up by the cold and distant professor had rendered her incapable of experiencing real emotion. Cali may have been kept isolated, but her parents had raised their daughter with love and compassion. They had treasured her for something other than what she was able to do with her synesthesia.
The dog looked up at Layla and whimpered.
She petted him absentmindedly, calming down and telling herself that she needed to be patient, and take things slowly. After all, she’d only been out with Conrad two times, three if you counted their first lunch. Cal and Cali had spent months on the run together, and they’d grown as close as two people could possibly be. These things probably took time.
Conrad was everything Layla had ever imagined she might want in a boyfriend. He was handsome, educated, polite and successful, and she couldn’t think of one good quality that he lacked. She could see his attraction to her growing, and she never felt anything but wholehearted approval when she looked into his beautiful blue eyes. She couldn’t have dreamed up a better specimen of a man, and yet she frowned, wondering why she felt so dissatisfied.
Just as the dog managed to worm his way completely onto her lap the door burst open, and the two Cals and Michael tumbled into the room, laughing at some joke, bringing their happy energy back into the house like a blast of fresh air.
“Check it out,” Michael chuckled, leaning over the back of the couch. “She likes him after all!”
“I never said I didn’t,” Layla huffed, ignoring the way Cal and Cali exchanged a look with amused smiles rising on their faces.
The dog got up and raced from person to person, sniffing them as if to reassure himself that they were all, indeed, present and accounted for. Cali could see that Layla was as relived as Poddy was.
“Hey,” she greeted her cousin as she passed by her on
the way to the kitchen. “We brought home some leftover pizza… Are you hungry?”
“Maybe later,” Layla smiled up at her. “I had a big lunch.”
Cali came over to sit next to her. “So… how was it?”
“Good,” said Layla. “I had soup and crab salad.”
Caledonia elbowed her in the arm. “I meant the date.”
“Good,” Layla said. “He’s going to the reception with me on Saturday…” She lowered her voice, “He’s going to get a room for us to stay in Santa Rosa.”
Caledonia raised her eyebrows. “Really?”
Layla looked over the back of the couch at Michael and Calvin standing in the kitchen, the dog happily jumping between them as he begged for pizza. She mouthed, “We’ll talk later.”
~
Layla tossed and turned in her fine soft sheets that night, unable to sleep. She eventually flipped on her bedside light and reached for her latest book, feeling restless and dissatisfied. She could hear Calvin and Cali’s muffled laughter as they passed by in the hallway, and she wondered what it would be like to share a bed with Conrad. She thought about his gentle kisses with a smile, wondering what kind of pajamas he wore. She giggled at the thought, snuggling down in the blankets and turning back to her story.
Layla read until she could no longer keep her eyes open, setting aside her book and nestling into her goose-down pillow. The last thing that crossed her mind before she drifted off to sleep was yet another image of Ramon, and the intensity that burned in his black eyes when they collided with hers.
~
Chapter Seven
RECEPTION
~
Layla lounged sideways across her cousin’s bed, flipping through a magazine while Caledonia picked out a dress to wear to the party. “It says here that if a boy asks you about your family it means he’s serious about you.” She sat up with a stricken face, “Conrad hasn’t asked me anything yet!”
Cali scoffed, “I thought you didn’t want him to.”
“Yeah, but… How can I tell if he really likes me?”
Caledonia’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, “Oh come on! Are you serious?”
“I know, I know… But what I mean is, when did you know that Cal was the one for you?”
Caledonia smiled a little, remembering. “I guess it was when he first kissed me.”
“Really? What did he do? How did he kiss you?”
Caledonia laughed at Layla’s questions, shaking her head. “It was more like how he felt when he kissed me… And how it made me feel.”
“I can tell Conrad likes me… But I’m not really sure.”
Cali shrugged. “If it’s right, you’ll feel it too.”
Layla nodded, her brows knit together. She tried her level best to understand, and after a long silence she spoke, “I trust him and everything, but we are going to be sharing a room tonight. What if… Cali, what if he tries to… you know.”
Caledonia sat down. “Do you want him to?”
She went tangerine with bittersweet confusion, flushing pink with nervous excitement at the thought. “I don’t know. I think so. Maybe. I like him… I like him a lot.”
Caledonia’s voice took on a stern tone, “If you’re not completely sure then you shouldn’t get physical.”
Layla thought about how cavalierly Max’s girls treated sex. “Why not? It’s no big deal.”
“Yes it is! I think it is– It’s too important to take lightly. If you’re not careful, you could get yourself in trouble.”
Layla smirked, “I know all about birth control… and everything else too. You have no idea some of the things I overheard when we lived with Max. Ugh! I had to listen to all of those girls go on and on about their visits to the V.D. clinic.”
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Cali said, her eyes serious. “You could get hurt emotionally. You shouldn’t do anything you’re not sure about just because he wants you to.”
“What if I decide I want to?”
“Then you need to get some protection.”
Layla smiled sheepishly. “Can you give me some condoms to take along with me? Just in case I decide?”
Cali shook her head no. “Sorry, don’t have any. I started taking the pill a while ago. But you can pick some up at any drugstore.”
“Oh my God! You mean buy them myself? How embarrassing!”
Cali looked sideways at Layla. “If you think that’s embarrassing, then you’re definitely not ready for what comes next. If you’re really ready to be with him, buying a box of condoms will be no big deal.”
Calvin walked into the bedroom, pausing when the conversation came to a screeching halt. He stood uncertainly. “Uhm, I need to jump in the shower before we go.”
Layla sprang up, her face bright red. “No problem! Excuse me!”
He waited until she was gone, closing the door behind her. “Did I interrupt something?”
Caledonia smiled enigmatically, pointing him to the bathroom. “Hurry up, we’re going to be late.”
~
Cali and Layla handed four large wrapped presents up to Calvin, who stowed them securely in the truck bed. He looked down at the girls with raised brows. “Did someone overdo it a little?”
Caledonia smirked, “You know Layla. She had so many ideas for the best wedding gift that she couldn’t decide.”
“I asked the saleslady for a recommendation!” Layla huffed in her defense, ticking a list off on her fingers, “It was between a food processor, copper cookware, a down comforter or an espresso maker. So I got them all. One from each of us.”
Just then, Conrad pulled up in his sparkling sedan. Layla rushed to gather her overnight bag, pausing to give Cali a brief hug. “Wish me luck,” she spoke in her ear. She climbed into the passenger side of his car, waving out the window. “See you there!”
Michael watched them peel out, going too fast for the narrow road. “I don’t know if I like that guy.”
~
Conrad took the long way, careening along a scenic, winding road with spectacular views of the coastline. By the time that they pulled up in front of Jarod’s house Calvin and Cali’s truck was already parked in the driveway. The street out front looked like a parking lot, packed with shining new sports cars interspersed with dented up clunkers that wouldn’t be out of place in a junkyard.
“What does Cal’s brother do for a living anyway?” Conrad asked, looking suspiciously at some of the run-down houses in the neighborhood until he finally chose a spot across the street.
“He runs a motorcycle repair shop with his father,” Layla replied.
“I see,” he muttered, straightening his sport coat as they passed by two rows of diagonally parked motorcycles in the driveway.
Crystal had done a fine job of decorating the place, and the formerly junk-strewn yard now hosted a large party tent, open on the side that faced the house. Garlands of silk flowers decorated the poles, and there were several picnic tables set up on a fresh layer of gravel, packed with people of all ages eating, laughing, drinking and talking.
“Layla!” Cali’s voice called out from the doorway. She waved them over from the porch, beckoning them into the house. “Come and meet Calvin’s grandparents.”
They followed her inside to find even more people milling about a buffet table laden with bowls of picnic salads and trays of meat and cheese. Caledonia led them into the kitchen, where an old women was fussing over a platter filled with cupcakes. “Grandma Costa, I’d like to introduce you to my cousin Layla.”
Calvin’s grandmother smiled warmly as she wiped her hands on the apron tied around her waist. She reached out to take Layla’s hand in both of hers. “It’s lovely to finally meet you sweetheart.” She looked between Caledonia and her cousin, “Well I can certainly see the family resemblance… Why, you’re every bit as pretty as our Cali.”
Caledonia beamed, basking in the older woman’s warmth and affection, and Layla felt a rush of bittersweet sadness. She couldn’t fathom wha
t it would be like to have a grandmother any more than she could imagine having a mother. She shook it off, remembering her manners to introduce Conrad, who was standing uncomfortably by her side.
“Did you say Conrad?” Crystal appeared in the kitchen, dressed in a short white dress glittering with iridescent sequins. She looked rounder, softer, and happier than Layla remembered. Crystal grabbed a hold of Conrad’s hand after Calvin’s grandmother, flashing a smile at Layla, “Hey Layla! You’re looking hot! It’s good to see you again!”
“Congratulations!” she replied with enthusiasm, fielding a big hug from the new bride. Layla really liked Crystal, and would never forget her kindness when they first met. After her ordeal at Max’s, Layla had arrived in Santa Rosa with only the clothes on her back, and Crystal had taken her under her wing, helping her shop and pack for the Cayman Islands trip, no questions asked.
Crystal leaned in close. “He’s cuuute,” she whispered into Layla’s ear.
“Where’s Jarod?” Layla asked, wanting to congratulate him too.
Caledonia pointed through the window to a table outside where Cal and Jarod were eating, sitting with their father and Grandfather. There was a peaceful energy between the four men that hadn’t been there before, and Caledonia beamed with happiness at the sight. Calvin looked up suddenly as if he could feel her gaze, and only Layla could see the brilliant thread of sweet emotion that ran between the two of them. She turned to look at Conrad, who was surveying the crowd with barely concealed uneasiness.
“Guys! Grab a plate and eat,” Crystal called out. “The DJ is setting up pretty soon and we’re going to have a toast!”
Caledonia helped herself to some food and left to join the men, urging Layla and Conrad to follow suit. Layla scanned the crowd outside to see Michael talking to a group of girls, a red plastic cup in his hand. He said something that made them all laugh and toss their hair flirtatiously.
The Caledonian Inheritance (The Athena Effect) Page 6