I Remember (Remembrance Series)

by Cynthia P. O'Neill

  “The sweater is my mom’s. We are eating al fresco tonight, and sometimes the breeze off the lake can be a bit chilly, so she thought you might need it.”

  I found myself leaning back against his chest and turning my lips upward so my lips could find his. He was gentle at first, meeting my lips with tender affection before wrapping his arms around me, drawing me into him, deepening the kiss. It wasn’t until we heard his father calling that we broke off our display of affection.

  “I think your dad is wondering what’s taking us so long to join them. Maybe we should head down?”

  “My grandfather likes to eat on schedule, like clockwork,” he said with a slight laugh. Gregory glanced at his watch, “It is five thirty, now; so, he should be here in about an hour for a drink and some idle chit chat. Dinner will be at seven. We still have plenty of time.”

  When we arrived downstairs, Mrs. Worthington was dressed in a tan and white sundress, with matching jacket. The kitchen held the delicious aroma of beef in the air. “It smells delicious, Lorraine. Is there anything I can do? I love to cook.” I offered.

  She looked up from the potatoes she was washing in the sink. “The braised beef is in the oven and I am just getting the potatoes started on the stove. I think I am good for now, but could use your help with the salad and bread, later.”

  “Let me know when you are ready and what I can do.” I smiled.

  Within the hour, just as Gregory had promised, his grandfather rang the doorbell. My stomach did a nervous little flip, but I soon found comfort as Gregory wrapped one arm around my shoulder giving me a reassuring squeeze.

  I was surprised to see that Mr. Worthington looked very similar to both Gregory and his father; just a little older, more distinguished, and a few well-earned lines.

  I stepped off my barstool in order to greet him.

  Before I could stand, Mr. Worthington had made his way to me, smiling. “This lovely young lady must be Jordan.” He paused for a moment, taking in my appearance. “My grandson failed to mention just how beautiful you are.”

  I could feel the redness of embarrassment spread quickly across my face.

  He grabbed my hand, placing it between both of his. “Forgive me if I made you feel uncomfortable you, Dear. It wasn’t my intention. I am just so happy to finally meet you.” Before I knew what was happening, he pulled me in a gentle embrace.

  “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Worthington,” I responded with a warm smile.

  “Jordan, please call me either Frederick or Grandpa.” He then gave his grandson a hug and whispered something to him, before releasing him and heading over to the refrigerator for a glass of tea.

  I saw everyone’s eyes widen at the suggestion of me calling him, “Grandpa.” Something was amiss, but I couldn’t figure out what. I decided Frederick would be more appropriate.

  Mr. Worthington looked over to Douglas. “Can you put that bottle of champagne in the fridge for me, Son? I would like to keep it chilled so we can have it with dessert, tonight.” He said with a wink.

  Douglas smiled, before depositing the bottle in the fridge. Lorraine meandered over to Fredrick and gave him a kiss on the cheek “Hi, Dad. Dinner should be done in half an hour.”

  “Hey, Lorraine,” he said as he hugged her. “What’s on the menu, tonight?”

  “I have a cold gazpacho soup to start, then braised beef, mashed potatoes, a salad, some fresh bread, and a strawberry tart for dessert.”

  A smile quickly lit his face. “That sounds delicious, Dear.”

  “Jordan.” Lorraine’s soft voice caught my attention and I turned in her direction.

  “Yes ma’am?”

  “I could use your assistance, if you’re still willing.”

  “Absolutely, it would be my pleasure.”

  She had pulled out all the ingredients she wanted in the salad along with a salad spinner, and five salad bowls.

  “Could you make our salads and warm up the French bread on a cookie sheet in the lower oven?” She grabbed a bread warmer basket and placed on the counter next to me, along with a serrated knife to cut it into pieces.

  “No problem.”

  Lorraine was nice enough to secure me an apron, similar to her blue one that said, “Kiss the cook,” across the chest. I looked up to see Gregory’s salacious grin as he watched me smooth the apron into place.

  Despite his attempts at distracting me by “Kissing the Cook” every few minutes, I made quick work of the salads, chopping and dicing everything before placing it equally amongst the salad bowls. When I finished, I removed the warm bread, cut it into pieces, and put them into the bread basket.

  Gregory and I worked diligently to set the patio table, as Lorraine finished preparing the dessert and putting it in the refrigerator to chill.

  Before long, we were all sitting down and enjoying an astounding meal. The beef was the best I had ever had, fork tender and each bite made my taste buds scream for more. I would make a point to ask Lorraine for the recipe so I could make it for my mother and Gregory, sometime.

  When dinner was over, the Worthington’s started clearing the table and told Gregory and I to go enjoy the beauty of the sunset across the water.

  A soft twilight surrounded us as the sun cast its last rays of orange, purples, and pinks across the sky, before dipping below the horizon, letting darkness settle in.

  Gregory grabbed hold of my hand. “Let’s walk a little further. I want to show you the garden at night.”

  I was trying to comprehend why we would want to look at a garden at nighttime when unexpectedly, the landscape lit up with tons of lights highlighting the house, the dock, the well-manicured yard and the garden.

  It was a sight to behold. In the center of the garden was a small fountain, surrounded by rose bushes and neatly trimmed hedges. As Gregory’s arm wrapped around my waist, he turned me towards the small oak tree near the edge of the garden. My breath caught as I took in the sight before me.

  The tree was laced with dangling white lights above a wrought iron bistro table. In the center of the table was a vase filled with a dozen long stemmed red roses and a stuffed bear sitting beside it, also holding a bouquet of stuffed flowers with some sort of spinner attached to it.

  My hand flew to my mouth, to stifle the gasp from my lips. I could feel the tears begin to well up in my eyes; my heart bursting with love and adoration for the man standing beside me.

  Gregory placed his hand underneath my chin and lifted it until our eyes met, “I hope you do not mind if we sit and talk for a bit. This is the spot I come to when I have important decisions to make.”

  Important decisions to make? His words made my stomach knot up, wondering what sort of choices needed pondering.

  He guided me over to one of the seats and then pulled the other chair around, to where we were facing each other. Both of his hands reached over, surrounding mine with a firm grip.

  His facial expression was enthralling. “Jordan, I know we haven’t known each other very long, but there is not a moment in the day that I’m not thinking about you. From the first moment we connected on the Internet, to our first date, and even now, all my thoughts belong to you. You have stolen my heart and…,” he paused for a moment, grabbing the bear, and placing it in my lap. “I spent this whole week working on this, after hours at my Grandfather’s company. Press the button on his foot. I think the bear will tell you what I am trying to say.”

  He continued to hold one of my hands as I used the other to depress the button. The spinner began to rotate and light up, as the bear began to sway to the music. The lyrics, to ‘our’ song, “I Knew I Loved You,” by Savage Garden, came out, as the spinner lit up with hearts, then the words, “I Love You. You Are My Life. My World…”

  I continued to watch, in slow motion, as Gregory got down on one knee, right when the spinner lit up with, “Marry Me! Be My Wife!”

  He reached down into his pocket and pulled out a velvet ring box and opened it. Inside was the most stunning Asscher-c
ut diamond ring, I had ever seen. A seductive smile spread across his face, as he presented his ring to me.

  I was in shock, slowly processing the scene before me. My mind kept screaming, “It’s too soon. You have only known him a few weeks.” My words failed me as I continued to stare at him and the ring.

  Gregory finally spoke up, his voice shaky, “You are leaving me in suspense here, Jordan.”

  I wanted to say we needed more time. However, an ethereal voice in my head told me, “This is your destiny, where you are meant to be.” A soothing calm spread through me.

  Suddenly, I found myself nodding, still full of emotion and unable to speak.

  His face looked puzzled. “Is that a yes?”

  I nodded again, more certain of my decision. “Yes.”

  He quickly slipped the ring onto my finger and leaned in, wrapping his arms around my neck and pulling me into an intense kiss. I quickly followed his lead, letting my hands run through his hair, pulling him closer to me.

  My heart was beating wildly, my mind scattered and an overwhelming feeling of love coursing through me. It wasn’t until he pulled back to stare into my eyes and whispered, “Do you know how happy you have just made me?” that I came back to earth.

  I could only smile and manage to whisper back, “Only as happy as you have made me.”

  A few minutes passed, before we broke off our embrace. Gregory picked up a lighter from the table, which puzzled me, then walked a few paces away and knelt down to the ground to ignite something.

  As he walked back, I watched a fuse spark to life and make a path down toward the water. Suddenly, the air was filled with loud sounds of fireworks being catapulted towards the heavens and exploding.

  I looked at Gregory with quizzical eyes. “What are the fireworks for? Is this why you, and everyone else, have been acting strange all day?”

  He laughed sweetly as he came to stand beside me, pulling me close to his side. “Your insightfulness never ceases to amaze me.” He kissed my neck, just below the earlobe, making me melt. “The fireworks are to celebrate our engagement and to let my family know you said, ‘Yes.’”

  I leaned back and looked up into his eyes, “So this is what you were up to earlier? Was your family in on it too? The champagne?”

  A gentle smile spread across his face as he nodded, confirming my suspicions. Then it suddenly dawned on me that he had been planning to ask me to marry him for the entire week. My heart was bursting at the seams with the love I felt for this handsome man.

  When the fireworks were done, we walked hand in hand, him carrying the flowers, and me the bear, back to the patio. There, waiting for us, were his parents and grandfather, clapping and giving us congratulatory wishes. On the table was the chilled bottle of champagne, glasses and the strawberry tart, to celebrate.

  Lorraine was the first to walk around and draw me into a bear hug. “I am so pleased you will be part of our family, Jordan. I’ve never seen Gregory as happy as he has been the last few weeks.”

  Douglas was next to give me a hug and light kiss on the forehead. “Welcome to our family, Jordan.”

  Frederick walked over next. “Now you can definitely call me Grandpa,” he said proudly, giving me a tender embrace and a peck on the cheek.

  I was elated, realizing these amazing people would now be part of my world and my life.

  Suddenly, I felt nervous. How was I going to break this sudden engagement to her, given all that has happened this year? Then, I had an epiphany. “Was my mom in on this, too?”

  Gregory pulled me close to his chest, as he ran his hands up and down my back in a soothing motion. “Why do you think your mom was so insistent about you having a wonderful weekend with us?”

  I leaned back staring into his face. “How? When?”

  He took a deep breath, before elaborating. “The night you fell asleep and your mother and I talked on the phone…I told her how I felt about you and how I couldn’t imagine my life without you. I requested her permission to ask for your hand in marriage. You should know by now that I’m extremely old fashioned.” He laughed a little at the last part.

  I shook my head in amazement at how thorough he had been with all the details of his proposal. I leaned up to kiss him chastely on the lips. “You truly amaze me and I love you for that!”

  The rest of the night was spent discussing wedding options. Lorraine was quick to throw out some names of bridal dress shops, wedding venues, florists, caterers, planners and everything wedding. I could tell she would be taking the lead on planning everything, but I didn’t mind. I wanted my focus to be on Gregory and ensuring my mother would be all right.

  Gregory spoke up in regards to when the wedding would occur. “I don’t mind scheduling the wedding date out a little bit, in order to prepare; but, I don’t want to wait too long to make you my wife and start spending forever with you.”

  Eventually, we decided we would need six to eight months to plan things accordingly; so we opted for a January Winter wedding, pending the venues of our choosing were available. Gregory’s family offered to help with the costs and planning. I graciously told them I needed to talk with my mother to see what her thoughts were, before I could accept such an offer.

  The rest of the night was full of discussing upcoming events that Gregory’s family wanted me to attend with them. We also planned for some shopping for both me and Mom to get to know Lorraine a little better. I felt grateful, knowing that this close knit family already considered me one of their own.

  We finally decided to call it a night and go up to bed. Suddenly, I was exhausted. As we arrived at his bedroom door, Gregory quickly picked me up in his arms. “What are you doing?” I shrieked in surprise.

  “Just getting in a little practice of carrying you over the threshold,” he responded, smiling, as he leaned in to give me a peck on the lips.

  I changed first and then waited for him under the covers. He crawled in shortly, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me close to him. We soon fell asleep, dreaming about our future, together.

  My early dreams were filled of nothing but Gregory, holding me safely in his arms for all eternity. But, as we looked out at a sunset, across a lake, I felt his presence slip away.

  Dark shadows began spreading like a fog across the ground, forcing me to my knees and enclosing me in complete darkness. I could not move my limbs, no matter how hard I tried.

  A low, threatening voice loomed close to my ear. “You were told to stay away from him. Master will be angry that you didn’t follow her orders. You will learn your place, that you don’t belong in this life.”

  A shadow grabbed my arm, holding it down, while its sharp fingernail dragged across the flesh of my forearm, slicing it open. I cried out in pain.

  It released my arm when someone began to shake my shoulders. Muffled words began to awaken my senses. “Jordan, wake up. You need to wake up, NOW!”

  I bolted upright in bed with a scream. “Leave me alone!”

  Gregory was sitting on the edge of the bed, pressing a towel firmly against my arm. His face laced with anxiety. “What the hell happened? Are you okay?”

  I shook my head with uncertainty, confused with my surroundings. My heart rate was racing and I was barely able to catch my breath. “Why does my arm hurt?” I winced when he applied more pressure to it.

  “Here, let me take a look and see how bad it is.”

  “What happened, Gregory?” At that moment, I recalled the nightmare, realizing my dream was reality.

  He took a deep breath in. “I got up to use the bathroom and when I came out, you were surrounded by shadows. I realized something was wrong when I saw you were struggling to right yourself.” He used his free hand to rub the bridge of his nose, before continuing, “One of the shadow figures tried to mark you and get a sample of your blood.”

  My breath caught and my other hand flew up to my mouth, not wanting to believe what I was hearing, but knowing in my heart it was true. I glanced down at the arm he was
holding. He released the towel and I saw a six inch line down the under-side of my left forearm. The skin was cut open and bleeding, but nothing too deep. What surprised me more were the hand marks left by the shadow figure. They were bright red, and burned.

  Gregory leaned down and kissed the marred area of my skin. To our astonishment, as soon as his lips touched my skin, the pain disappeared and the burn began to fade. He decided to kiss the cut area in several locations and, to our surprise, the skin began to seal itself up and disappear into non-existence.

  I reached my hand towards his face and cradled it to show my affection. “Thank you for saving me.” I leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips.

  “You are my world, Jordan. I would do anything to keep you safe.” He pulled me into a deep hug. “Why don’t we leave some of the lights on for the rest of the night and then discuss this in the morning?”

  I was too tired to argue and realized I needed a clear mind to analyze everything. Maybe the light of day would help me make sense of it all. “Okay.”

  He rinsed the blood out of the towel and let it dry on the side of the tub, before climbing back into bed, spooning with me, his arms holding me close.

  I awoke with Gregory’s arms still wrapped tightly around me, holding me to his chest. His heart was beating in a steady rhythm that soothed and relaxed me. I tried to move ever so slightly, as not to wake him, but upon the smallest movement, his arms clamped down on me, drawing me closer.

  “Where do you think you are going?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you. I just needed to stretch my legs and use the bathroom.”

  He pulled me up on his chest until I hovered over him, drawing me down into an intense good morning kiss. “I love waking up with you in my arms. Are you sure we have to wait until January for the wedding?”

  I pushed up onto my knees, breaking our contact. He frowned. “You heard your mother. The earliest she can get for some of the venues would be about six months from now. I don’t know that I really want wait, either. I don’t need a fancy wedding, all I need is you.”