by J. P. Comeau
Everyone laughed as I glanced at Crystal, whose face was beet red with embarrassment. She and I had been dating steadily over the past few weeks, so I was surprised to see her embarrassed by what Richard was saying. Seeing the way she was reacting made me wonder if we were moving too fast. Crystal was actually a very sensitive person, and I certainly didn’t want to scare her off. I extended my hand under the table and held hers, doing my best to reassure her that everything was alright.
Richard continued his speech. “Crystal, you have always been an honorary member of the Truman family, and now you’re with Gavin. It’s like watching two of our favorite people find each other in this crazy world, and even though I know the relationship is new, something tells me that it’s meant to be. Every time I see Gavin, he has the biggest smile on his face, and I know that it’s because of you. So, cheers to both of you!”
Everyone clinked their glasses and went back to eating, but all I could think about was how Crystal had reacted to Richard’s speech. Maybe I had been moving too fast for her? I ran my hands through my hair and snuck away into the bathroom, where I tried to calm myself.
I started to wonder if I was acting this way because of my weird childhood. I had never been in a serious relationship before. All I had ever known were flings with women who only wanted money. I was always under the impression that once you had sex more than a few times, it was time to move on. The only reason I had taken it slowly was because of Crystal’s apparent apprehension.
Once I calmed myself down, I splashed cold water on my face and walked back into the dining room. Jake and Richard were getting coffee for everyone, and I sat down just in time for dessert.
Crystal leaned into my ear. “I can’t remember the last time I had cheesecake.”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around her, then took a piece off with a fork and fed her a bite. She didn’t seem that embarrassed anymore, but then again, she had been drinking quite a bit of wine.
After coffee and dessert, the rest of the family went into the living room to start a couple of tables of bridge. The Truman’s were known as cut-throat bridge players. Maybe Mr. and Mrs. Truman always argued otherwise, but when it came to bridge, the duo was almost impossible to beat.
Mr. Truman was eager to include us, too. “You guys are coming to play, aren’t you?”
I looked at Crystal, who made it clear that she didn’t know how to play bridge. “I think we’re gonna pass.”
Crystal and I grabbed some more wine, and then made our way outside for some fresh air. We sat down on the front steps and stared up at the stars for a few minutes.
“When I was a little girl,” she said, “I used to try and jump up to grab the stars.”
“You must have looked adorable trying to do that,” I replied while running my hands through her hair.
“My mother always told me that if I jumped high enough, I would finally reach one. It never happened, of course, but that’s what I remembered the most about her. She was always telling me to reach for what I wanted in life.”
I sat up and turned to face her. “So, what do you want in life, Crystal?”
She just gave me a blank look. “Well, I want my holistic medical practice, a house with a backyard, and a —”
I held my hand up. “That’s not what I mean, Crystal. I need to know why you were so embarrassed earlier. Were you bothered by what Richard said about us at dinner?”
She sat up, and I could tell that she felt terrible about how she had reacted. “Oh, God no, Gavin. Not at all! I guess, well, I’ve always been a private person, and we haven’t had that conversation yet. I mean, we’ve seen a lot of each other lately, and obviously, I’m happy with you, but it just threw me off guard a bit. That’s all.”
I watched her knees start to shake as she tapped her feet. “It’s not cold outside, Crystal. Why are you shaking so much.”
She turned away. “I know, it’s just something that I sometimes do. We all have nervous ticks.”
“So that’s what it is,” I said. “You’re nervous about being in a serious relationship with me.”
Crystal threw her head back and shook it from side to side. “Not at all, Gavin. As I said, I love dating you. I’m just a private person and was thrown for a loop. You know how us free-spirited people can sometimes be.”
“So what do you want, Crystal? Between us, I mean. What are you looking for?”
Her feet and knees began to shake more, and when she didn’t answer me for a full two minutes, I realized that I’d have to do the talking. “I’ll tell you what I want, alright? I want you, Crystal. Just you. I want to be exclusive and make you my forever girlfriend. You’re the only one that I want to spend time with, nobody else. I want to be able to tell people about you and know that you’re in it for the long haul, too. So tell me, is that what you want?”
She took a long sip of her wine, looked up at me, and nodded. “Yes, Gavin. That’s what I want. I think that’s always what I’ve wanted. I just needed to hear it from you first.”
Listening to her say those words made me feel better about everything. “I want to make sure that you’re fine with where we are right now, because I tend to move too fast, and that’s the last thing that I want to happen with you.”
She leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. “I want to be your forever girlfriend too. I know we talked about this on our first date… but… well, I guess now it’s just beginning to really sink in.”
I took my glass and clinked it against her’s, and then our lips found each other. It was just like that night in the garden under the stars, where we made love, and nobody was around. But tonight, we were at Jake and Julianna’s, and the next thing we heard was the sound of their glasses clinking and cheering coming from behind us.
Crystal pulled away and looked back at them, completely mortified. “How long have you guys been watching us?”
Annie and Julianna opened the screen door and walked out on the porch with smirks on their faces.
Julianna was just dying to take credit. “None of this would have happened if it weren’t for Annie and me!”
I put my hands up to shield their view, leaned in, and went back to kissing Crystal. At that exact moment, with our friends and family cheering us on, I had everything that I had ever wanted. And I hoped and prayed it would last.
13
_____
CRYSTAL
I had just arrived home from another wonderful lunch with Gavin. Today, he had taken me to another five-star restaurant, this time Chinese, and we spent most of his two-hour lunch break together before I had to return to the yoga studio to teach a class. After several months of dating, we were enjoying getting to know each other a little more each day.
I kissed him before I got out of the Lamborghini and rushed inside. With a few minutes to spare, I put my purse in the desk drawer and reviewed my schedule for the next week. Within moments, the door opened, and my students began filing in, eager to start there lesson. I waved at Joyce, one of my favorite students. “Go ahead and start your stretches, I’ll be in shortly,” I called out to her.
As I rushed to log off my desktop computer, I heard my phone jingle, and my attorney’s name appeared on the screen.
“Hello?”
“Good afternoon, Crystal. I know you are probably at work, but I finally have news about your mother’s estate that I know you’ve been waiting to hear for quite a while now.”
“Please be brief. I have a class to teach in five minutes.”
“Of course, I understand. Are you sitting down?”
All I could do was nod as I felt my heart beating faster. I had been waiting for months to hear from my attorney, eager to finalized Mom’s estate and collect my inheritance.
I was so excited that I couldn’t even think straight.
My attorney became concerned when several seconds went by without me saying a word. “Crystal? Are you still there?”
“Yes, I’m sorry, and yes, I’m sitting down. Tell me everythin
g.”
He cleared his throat before he explained, “The good news is that you’ll be inheriting approximately ten million dollars.”
“Oh, my… I wasn’t expecting this--”
“Please let me continue.”
“I’m sorry. I was just so excited.” I said, giggling. “Are you serious? I hadn’t dreamed it would be that much money! Oh, my God! Ten million dollars means that I can pay off all of my student debt, buy a house, and start my own practice! Ten million dollars? Are you sure?”
“There’s also bad news…”
“Bad news? What bad news? Are you sure about the amount?”
“Yes, I’m sure about the dollar amount. Before you get too excited, please listen. Remember those stipulations we talked about previously?”
I swallowed the lump suddenly forming in my throat. “Well, I remember being told there were stipulations, yes.”
“To collect the ten million dollars, you have to be married and living a stable life.”
“What?” I gasped.
“It sounds strange, I realize. But in circumstances such as yours, naturally, judges are concerned about people forging marriage certificates. That means that you’ll have to appear before a judge in Moldova, along with your husband, and show your marriage documents. Once all of that is done, then he or she will release the funds.”
My hands began to shake as I sat back in my chair and drew my knees to my chest. I couldn’t understand why my relationship status would be of concern to my uncle, who died over five years ago. “Why the hell would he make that a stipulation? Are you sure this is correct?”
“He was of a different generation, so maybe that’s why. I assure you, however, that it is indeed correct. Oh, there’s one more issue that has to be considered. You must be married before the first anniversary of your mother’s death.”
I wanted to throw my phone across the room. “Oh, no! That’s in two months!”
“I wish there were something else that I could do or say to make this situation better, but I’m afraid all of this is true. Maybe if it didn’t take us so long to get a hold of legal expertise in Moldova, it wouldn’t be so much pressure on you. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the law, our hands are tied at this point.”
“I have worked my ass off to get to where I am in life, and to be legally bound to a man to receive what’s mine is ludicrous!”
He exhaled a little too loudly into the phone. “I cannot imagine what you’re going through right now, Crystal, and again I am so sorry. But understand, these are your uncle’s wishes. Please let us know if there’s anything else that we can do.”
What else could he have done for me, though? Find me a husband in Moldova?
I hung up the phone and was so angry that I wanted to punch a wall. I did not see any of this coming. Not that I felt entitled to ten million dollars when people were starving in the world, but I couldn’t go on living the same way much longer. This was like some kind of dirty joke. Of course, I had no idea my uncle’s estate was tied to my mother’s. When I was told, it have given me hope.
Not knowing what to do, I realized that I’d needed a second opinion, and Annie wasn’t due back for another thirty minutes.
My hands fluttered over my hair as I took a deep breath, waved at another student who was coming in, and heading for my classroom.
If my life depended on it, I couldn’t tell you what I said or did during the next hour while I taught my class. I do remember glancing up at the clock that had one hand pointing at the three, and the big hand was on the twelve. My students hung around far too long and asked what seemed to be silly questions until finally I was back inside the office Annie and I shared. As soon as she saw my face, she asked, “Are you sick, Crystal. You look kind of pale.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
Annie jumped out of her chair and walked over to me, bumping her belly against mine, she leaned over and hugged me. “What’s wrong? You and Gavin had a fight?”
“No, no, nothing like that. I got a call from my attorney while you were out. You know, the one taking care of Mom’s estate.”
“And?”
“Annie, my uncle has left me ten million dollars.”
“Whoa… Oh, my God. Crystal. That’s a miracle. I’m so happy for you!”
I nodded, and sniffed trying to keep from balling my eyes out.
“Why aren’t you laughing and dancing around the room? What’s wrong?”
“There are stipulations. Or should I say one, massive impossible stipulation.” I shook my head, trying to find the words to explain that loathsome little detail, but my tongue had turned into a board.
“Let’s sit down. Can I get you something to drink?” Annie grabbed a juice for both of us out of the office fridge.
I cleared my throat. “Annie, I have to show up with a husband and a marriage certificate in front of a judge in Moldova. My uncle must have been old school because he wants me to prove I’m in a stable relationship before the funds can be turned over to me.”
“Oh, shit… I mean, that is really kind of… well, weird.”
“And I have to appear before said judge to claim my inheritance before the first anniversary of my mom’s passing.”
“You mean, you only got two months.”
“Yes, two months.” I took a sip of my juice and swallowed hard.
Annie sat a moment to take it all in, rubbing her hands over her belly as she thought. “There has to be a way to forge a marriage license. Maybe Richard or Jake know someone in Las Vegas.”
“Las Vegas? What?”
“Well, that’s where people can almost get married with a drive-through ceremony. So, I can only assume they have marriage certificates on hand. Maybe, with a little bribe. On the other hand… no… no…”
“Yeah, that’s illegal. And knowing my luck, I would be caught overseas with a fake marriage certificate in my purse. I’d be thrown in jail with no way to get home. And besides, like I said, I need a husband to be there with me physically to appear before the judge.”
Annie nodded. “This is a mess. I’m sorry, Crystal.”
I sighed and glanced at my watch. “Hey, we’re finished for the day. Beth Roth canceled her private lesson this afternoon. I have an idea. Would you mind riding over to Mom’s house.”
“Haven’t they sold it yet?”
“No, but the realtor has an offer, I believe. Anyway, I want to go inside one more time, and I don’t want to go alone. For some reason I think it will help me gather my thoughts… maybe even get some clarity as to how to process this. That is if there really is a way to proceed. Or maybe I just have to accept I won’t be getting my inheritance from my uncle.”
“Sure, let me grab my purse. I’d like to see it now that it has a fresh coat of paint and everything has been moved out.”
“Well, not everything. The realtor asked me to leave a few things. You know, to stage it to show interested buyers.”
My unusual idea meant stepping foot inside a house I swore I’d never see again after I had closed it out, and the bank had put it on the market.
Yet as I pulled my Honda into my mother’s driveway, I felt the imaginary bandaid being ripped off of my skin.
Even though Annie had come along, it was time to put my big girl panties on and face what fate had dished out to me. The realtor had given me the code to the key lockbox that was on the door. Holding my breath, I twisted the dials until the latch fell slack. After removing the key I opened the door.
We noticed how nothing had changed since the last time we both had been there when the maid came to help me with Mom’s stuff. The same floral tapestries were hanging at the window, and the sparse furniture I had left behind was still in place. I looked down the hallway and into the kitchen, picturing my mother standing over the stove while making one of her favorite vegetable soups, and drew in a breath.
No, I wasn’t crazy or hallucinating, but I knew if I came back with Annie by my side, I would find comfort kno
wing Mom’s spirit was near.
My mother had been a huge believer in the after-life. Whenever a family member passed away, she’d tell me that we’d all reunite on the other side in heaven. Even as I got older and thought she had only said those things to make me feel better, I soon realized that she wasn’t just sugarcoating death.
I still had some apprehensions about life after death, though.
That’s one of the things I loved the most about her. Even when life was crumbling all around her, Mom found a way to stay positive. I picked up that same energy in her house. That’s why I had decided on the spur of the moment to come back.
We sat on the two red leather-covered bar stools, and I leaned my elbows on the kitchen island. The light over the sink that was always left on by the realtor was flickering a bit. And a moth was beating its wings against the outside of the window.
I drew in a deep breath and spoke out loud. I wasn’t sure if I was speaking to Annie, my mother or myself, or possibly all three of us as I sorted through the situation with Uncle Michael’s surprise stipulation. I covered my face with my hands and began to sob. “All hope of getting my life financially back on track just slipped away, like sand escaping from my fingers at the beach. Mom was always so carefree. So, I had assumed her brother had been too. I guess the old saying, ‘don’t count your chickens before they hatch,’ is particularly poignant right now.”
Annie laughed softly before she offered a few words of encouragement. “Let’s think out of the box, Crystal.” She patted my hand and rubbed the back of my neck.
“Where the hell is Moldova anyway,” I mumbled.
“Somewhere on the other side of the world…Europe, yeah, eastern Europe, I think.”
I buried my head in my hands and wanted to cry again, but I was fresh out of tears. Just when my life was finally getting back on track, it had taken a drastic turn for the worse in the last hour.
Suddenly, I almost jumped off the stool when my phone beeped. I had a text.
Gavin: I had a wonderful lunch. Hope to see you after work. Let’s pick some herbs from my garden and fix Italian for dinner.