Godchaux had first arrived in Eau Boueuse. This chill went to
her bones.
Winston Burlington was the same size as his wife. The hair
he had left around the back of his head from ear to ear was
white, and he had mischievous blue eyes that reminded Sheena
of Parker. He was cordial and pleasant. He showed Sheena
around the estate on his golf cart and chatted amiably. "So, you're from the Deep South, Miss Johnson?" he asked. "Call me Sheena, please."
He nodded and smiled. "Sheena."
"About as deep as you can go without getting into the Gulf
of Mexico—Eau Boueuse, Louisiana."
"Yes, Alex told me that you knew Robert's former college
roommate's family."
"Yes. I dated Parker Reynolds, Ray's son."
The cart topped a small hill to show the wooded area was
already barren. "What is your major at Harvard?"
"Pre-med. I'm considering physical therapy to start." "Honorable. Tell me about your family."
"My dad is vice president in charge of construction with
Bertram and Gautier, an architectural firm."
"Oh," he interrupted. "Raiford Gautier?"
She nodded. "Yes."
"He has quite a reputation even in Yankee country." He
smiled. "So, your father works for that firm. I'm sorry I
interrupted. Go on."
"Okay. Daddy's a veteran of the Gulf War. His name is
Terry. My mom, Carol, is an executive assistant to the mayor
of Eau Boueuse. I have three younger siblings, Tasha, fourteen;
Townes, thirteen; and Wesley, ten. Everybody asks if Tasha
and Townes are twins. They're so close I guess because Mom
and Dad were so far apart for so long."
"That's sweet."
"I'm not spoiled. I've had to share a lot." She pulled the
mink more tightly about her as the wind whistled through the
naked branches and stung any exposed skin.
"I guess Alex is a little spoiled," admitted Mr. Burlington. "Only children usually are."
He stopped the golf cart near the lake where a sailboat was
moored. A flock of geese headed south honked overhead. "He's
Anedra's only child. I have two others in London."
"Oh, Alex never told me."
"They're a good bit older than he is. They're not close." "Was your first wife British?"
"Yes. We have two girls. I fly to London a couple of times
a year to get together. Alex has been a few times. Anedra does
not go with me."
Sheena looked out over the water. "Mrs. Burlington doesn't
like me."
"Why would you say that, dear?"
"Sorry. It's the way she looks at me."
"She's hyper-critical. Ignore her. Alex does." The man
chuckled.
"Well, she can relax. Alex and I are only friends." "Are you sure?"
"I've told him that."
"Hmm. He's older than you. He's wife hunting."
"I'm not ready for marriage."
"I appreciate that." Mr. Burlington looked at the darkening
gray sky. "Dinner will be ready soon, and you're freezing." He
took his guest back to the house.
No one else came for the Thanksgiving meal, and there was
no real joy shared at the table. Though a fire blazed in the
dining room fireplace, the air held a perceptible chill. After dinner, Anedra made a point of getting Sheena alone
as the girl browsed books in the library, a warmer, cozier room.
The second Anedra entered, the temperature plummeted.
"What do you want from Alex?" she demanded.
"Nothing. We're friends. That's it," answered Sheena in
defensive mode.
"Are you even on the social register?"
"Social register?"
"Yes."
"Am I a debutant?" She shelved the book she had in her
hand and noticed her fingernails turning purple.
"I suppose that may be what they still call it in the South." Sheena cringed at the condescension in her hostess's voice,
and then answered, "No. I am Sheena Johnson, honor graduate,
college student, Christian, fool. Mrs. Burlington, I have no
intention of marrying your son. If I had ever considered it, you
made me change my mind. Having you for a mother-in-law
would be Hell on Earth." She left the older woman to stare
after her and wonder at her mind-set.
Sheena found Alex and demanded to be taken back to
Harvard. On the drive, Alex took her hand and kissed her
fingers. "What did Mother say to you?"
"She made it quite clear that I'm not good enough for you." "It's not her decision."
"You're right. It's mine." She pulled her hand free. "But I
doubt you would go against your mother."
"Will you marry me? I still have the ring."
Sheena sighed. "I don't love you like that, Alex." "Are you still pining for Parker?"
"I love him."
"Get over him. Grow up and move on. I won't wait
forever."
Sheena scowled at Alex. Her mind became clear. I don't
want him to wait at all. When they got to her dorm, she got out
and grabbed her bags from the trunk without waiting for Alex. "Sheena?"
"Listen to me. We don't work. I do not want to see you
again. Good-bye, Alex."
♥♥♥ Chimes reverberated as someone came to the door of the Reynolds's home during Larkin's annual Christmas tree trimming party on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Courtney answered the door. "Yes?"
"May I speak with Parker Reynolds, please?" asked a strange man.
"Sure." Courtney yelled, "Parker! Somebody wants to see you."
Parker came to the door holding the mistletoe he was about to hang for Larkin. "Court, you're being rude. May I help you?" he asked the man.
"I'm Alex Burlington."
"Oh. Well, please, come in." He indicated entrance with his hand.
"No. I can be rude, too. I want Sheena. Let her go."
"Does she want you?"
"I can make her want me."
"Can you?" A small smirk played around Parker's lips. "Mr. Burlington, Sheena and I haven't spoken in a year. So, why are you standing on my porch?"
"To get you out of her life once and for all. I can give her the world. What can you give her?"
"Love." He fingered the mistletoe. "You've already overstayed your welcome. Good-bye."
Parker closed the door in Alex's face and turned around to bump into his father. "What are you gonna do about it?" asked Ray.
"We're having a party."
"You can leave."
"And go where? Boston? Harvard?"
"Exactly. Raif can have you on a charter flight in an hour. Let's hope our Mr. Burlington is flying commercial even if it is first-class. Do you wanna go?"
"Yes." He plopped the mistletoe in his father's hand.
♥♥♥ The front-desk attendant in Sheena's dorm buzzed her room. "Miss Johnson, you have a male visitor, but he's not a regular student. You'll have to come to the lobby to meet him."
Chelsea shook her head. "He doesn't give up, does he?" "I told him I didn't want to see him."
"Guess you're gonna have to say it again. Want me to come
with you?"
"Yes. Maybe an audience will drive the point home." The two girls entered the lobby where Sheena's visitor
fidgeted and stared out the double glass doors to the front of the dormitory.
"Oh, my God!" gasped Sheena.
"Is that Parker?" asked Chelsea under her breath.
"Yes."
"How could you look at anybody else?"
&n
bsp; Parker turned around, and Sheena ran into his arms. Simultaneously, both said, "I'm sorry."
"Shh," said Parker. "I'm sorry. I came to make things right. I was very jealous. I love you, Sheena. I'm not a billionaire. I'm just me, but I love you." Parker reached into his pocket. "It's not big and flashy, but it's from my heart." He opened the box to reveal a third of a karat tiffany solitaire in white gold. "Will you marry me?"
Sheena started crying. "I gave the coat to Goodwill."
"What?"
"I'm so sorry. I love you, Parker. I've been miserable without you. Yes, I'll marry you. Put it on me."
Parker slipped the ring on Sheena's finger and kissed her deeply and passionately. The door opened and Alex Burlington came in.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed.
"Love, Alex," said Chelsea as she sidled to stand next to Alex. "Get over it. Move on. Check the social register."
Sheena barely glanced at Alex. All she could see was Parker. "When?" she asked.
"After we graduate, but no more dating."
"Agreed."
"This has been the test of a lifetime. I love you, Sheena. You're all I want."
"I love you. Two and a half years is a long wait."
"We can do it, but I won't wait until I finish the police academy. Let's get married the first weekend in June after we graduate. I'll start the academy at the end of June."
"That's a date. Yes, we can do it. We're worth the wait."
♥♥♥ After the first of the year, the society pages carried a scandal in Vermont. Apparently, Alex Burlington, heir to the Burlington fashion conglomerate had eloped with Elena Tousseau, the butler's daughter whom he had known since childhood. Sheena laughed as she read the story which implied they had been in an on-again-off-again relationship for years. She wondered how Anedra's social register was shaping up. Perhaps the test of a lifetime would be that woman's acceptance that her son did not love the social register, but wanted to be loved by a real woman. Sheena sent up a silent prayer on their behalf.
24 A Gathering
It was a perfect June afternoon. The sky was a brilliant azure without a cloud to be seen, a flawless canopy for the occasion. The gentle lemony fragrance of magnolias in full bloom wafted on the soft breeze only to be broken by the equally intoxicating aroma of gardenias and roses. There was no reason to decorate further. Nature's beauty was enough. The gazebo and Larkin Sloan Reynolds's garden were perfectly adorned by the hand of God.
Parker Greg Reynolds, still thin at one-sixty and six feet, bounced with excitement as he panned the sea of faces of his family and friends. His father, Police Chief Raiford Michael Reynolds, who stood beside him, put a steady hand on the younger man's shoulder. Flanking him were his brother, Christopher; his cousin, Patrick Gautier; Townes and Wesley Johnson; and Pike Hilton—an afterthought, but Parker had to have his first college roommate as a part of the celebration, so Pike was asked to stand with the men. Behind him, Dupree Parks sang the male part of "Leather and Lace" as the voice of his wife, Lindsay, joined the duet with her contralto voice meeting Dupree's tenor from the back of the gathered throng. Parker smiled at the memory of a leather motorcycle jacket and the first time he touched Sheena's lacy bra. He shook himself, noting the beloved gray-haired minister, Reverend Paxton, stood a few feet from him.
All the men wore the least formal black tux possible with yellow rosebud boutonnières, except Parker. His tux was white to symbolize purity and that he had waited for his true love. He wore a yellow rosebud boutonnière because this woman was also his best friend.
In the congregation sat all of his grandparents, Dorothy and Albert Reynolds, Audrey and Walter Bertram, and Vivian and Lester Godchaux.
Raiford Gautier and Christine Milovich Gautier, his uncle and aunt, held hands like lovesick teenagers. Raif brought his wife's hand to his lips. Parker smiled at the gesture of such deep love. His uncle Sheldon Godchaux and his wife, Greta, along with their three daughters, Wendy, Mindy, and Cindy, were in attendance. He still didn't know them very well, but they came from Texas for this occasion.
His stepmother, Larkin, sat serenely beside his mother, Mia Godchaux, holding her hand. They were dressed exactly the same in mint-green linen. The interloping prison guard sat beside his mother, but at least she was there, and the guard wore a suit rather than a uniform. Ray had pulled strings for the third time to have Mia present at a major event in Parker's life. Two events in one month had been difficult to arrange, but Ray had done it. Mia had been at Parker's graduation from LSU just three weeks earlier. Carol Johnson dressed in the same design as the two mothers of the groom, except in a pastel-peach, sat across the aisle and drummed her fingers nervously.
The love song ended. Lindsay Parks took a step toward the gazebo between the two sets of white folding chairs as "The Wedding March" struck its first chord. She wore a simple silk, street-length pastel-yellow sundress and carried a single longstemmed white rose. Dixie Marchant-Hilton, looking every bit the part of an attractive woman in a matching frock, walked gracefully behind Lindsay. Courtney Reynolds, then Trista Gautier, followed in identical apparel. Roxanne Parks, serving as a junior bride's maid trailed her aunt. The very petite Tasha Johnson came next in the same design in pastel blue. The maid of honor had to stand out a bit. Next, almost-four-year-old Cherie Reynolds and four-year-old Lucy Parks, in a sundresses of white eyelet, dropped mixed flower petals. They were accompanied by two-and-a-half-year-old Marley Parks walking between them. In a toddler's black tux, he resembled a little doll.
Finally, the music changed to "The Bridal Chorus." Sheena Melora Johnson, on the arm of her father, Terry, took one step forward as her college roommate, Chelsea Rizzio, serving as her wedding planner, directed each person to begin the walk down the aisle.
The crowd stood.
Terry Johnson was dashing at six-foot-two, a hundred ninety pounds with blond wavy hair and dancing, mischievous hazel eyes, but Parker only saw the woman he escorted.
Terry's daughter on his arm looked like a mystical, magical wood nymph. Her golden curls fell over her shoulders and hung to her lower back. Her emerald eyes sparkled with life and joy. Her simple wedding garment of a strapless fitted satin bodice adjoined to a silk skirt that clung alluringly to her hips and draped whimsically to her calves added to her mystique. Slim and not tall at sixty-four inches, she seemed to float on air as she came forward. Her outfit, too, was white, befitting the fact she had waited for her one true love.
The vows they spoke were tried and true, even antiquated by some standards, but Parker and Sheena meant every word they uttered. The reception afterward on the grounds of the Reynolds's home was light and lively and full of joy.
Parker danced with his bride. Sheena danced with her father while Parker approached the prison guard. He asked meekly, "Let her dance with me, please—just one dance with my mother." The guard hesitated.
Mia said softly, "I'm not gonna run away or hurt anybody, Thompson. You know that." The guard relented, and Parker spun his mother around the cleared area in the back yard. As the music stopped, Mia touched Parker's cheek and breathed, "You're the one good thing I ever did. I love you." Mia put her hand in the guard's, and he clicked the cuff. She held her other hand out to Larkin. "It's your turn. Thank you for everything, Larkin. Perhaps you really are an angel." Then, Thompson danced Mia back to the fringe of the crowd. Parker smiled at the gesture.
Ray toasted his son and new daughter-in-law with an Apache blessing that he read every morning on his coffee mug:
May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the moon softly restore you by night. May the rain wash away your worries.
May the breeze blow new strength into your being. May you walk gently through the world and know its beauty all the days of your life.
Then, Ray kissed Sheena on the cheek and embraced his son. Ray felt Parker's hand in his. Looking at his hand, he asked, "What the?"
Parker smiled innocently. "We never used them. We don't need them now. Give them to
Christopher." The proud father discreetly placed the condoms in his pocket.
Celebration continued with much laughter and dancing. Parker sighed with joy as he watched the prison guard actually dance with his mother—after the simple waltz away from the dance floor. Is there something there? He had to wonder. It is, after all, the same guard that has accompanied her each time she's been allowed to leave the facility.
Townes Johnson leapt into the air to snag the garter as Parker shot it over his shoulder. Then, Trista Gautier practically tackled Courtney Reynolds to grab the bride's bouquet of white and yellow roses.
Parker and Sheena Reynolds left for a true wedding night and a Caribbean cruise. The gathering dispersed, feeling for that moment in time all was right with the world. No one was heartless; nay, all hearts were full.
♥♥♥ Less than one year later very few people stood around Larkin's fully-bloomed flower garden on a cloudless May afternoon. Bees buzzed busily from bud to bud as butterflies flitted from flower to flower and birds chirped peacefully in nests. Reverend Paxton placed a comforting hand on Parker's shoulder as the younger man held an onyx box. Parker looked around at the small gathering. "Begin," he said to the old man of God.
Reverend Paxton nodded. "Six years ago I never thought I'd be standing here with this group." He met the eye of each person present. "Mia Godchaux had so few who truly loved her. The Reynolds family, the Gautier family, the Godchaux family, the Bertrams, and you, Officer Thompson, are the only evidence that she existed. Mia had a hard life, much of which she brought upon herself. But in these last few years, I had a number of opportunities to speak with her. She found a quiet faith. Her proudest accomplishment she told me was her son, Parker. I'm glad I was given the chance to know her. She made me thankful for the blessings I've had. I want all those present to take comfort in knowing that where Mia is now, there is no more suffering. She is whole and happy. Would anyone like to share a memory of her?"
Quiet sniffling lingered in the silence before one person said, "I loved her."
All eyes turned toward a prison guard who unabashedly wiped tears from his eyes.
"Me too," Parker said in a husky voice. "Thank you for saying that. I'm glad my mother found some form of love before she died."
Thompson nodded. "She just went to sleep. I'll miss her so much."
Heartless (The Raiford Chronicles) Page 21