Chapter 15 - And…ACTION!
Serena breathed in and out slowly
sitting back in her seat. *12:10.
God
Dredsdale. You’re punctual.* she
thought, sarcastically.
At that moment, Lucy buzzed. “Dr. Dredsdale is here to see you.”
Serena almost fell out of her
chair. *He’s here, already?* she
though
panicked. “I’ll be right out.”
Serena grabbed her the bag that
contained her dress and slung it
over her
shoulder, as she held it by the hanger hook.
She then grabbed her
brief case
and walked out.
*Here we go again.*
“Larynce.”
“Dredsdale.”
They stopped in front of each
other. Standing in front of her
secretary,
the both cringed at each other as they both leaned in stiffly. He
kissed her
mechanically on the cheek, and she pecked him.
The quickly
stood back
up straight, and Darien said odd, clearing his throat, “Ready to
go?”
“Yeah. Lucy, take the rest of the day off, we are closing early this
wonderful
Friday. I have a social thing to get
to, and I’ve already
informed Ken
of it. He’s going to call me using your
cell phone,
Dredsdale,
seeing that I don’t have one.”
“Get a pager.”
“I’m working on it.”
“Sure,” he rolled his eyes.
“Look, let’s just get this over
with, Dredsdale.” With that, she led
the way to
the elevators.
However, as she realized there would
be a shell of press outside the
building, as
there had been when she came in earlier, she waited for
Darien. As they got on the elevator, she quickly
snatched his hand, and
held
it. His hand was VERY warm.
Darien nearly jumped back. “What do you do? Soak your body in
ice?”
“No, it just comes naturally,” she
smiled.
She was beautiful when she
smiled. Very beautiful, Darien
noted.
He gripped
her hand, as he felt the fingers grow warmer by the second.
Serena held her breath. It was odd, the way they touched.
At ground floor, the elevator doors
opened.
The press saw a beautiful couple
walk to the door. Right before
exiting the
building, Darien helped Serena into her coat, and wound her
scarf about
her neck, and straightened her beret.
Serena reached to
straighten a
lock of hair, and he kissed her forehead automatically, though
it appeared
very loving to the press. He opened the
door for her, and
guided her
out, keeping his palm at a protective position at the base of her
back, at her
waist.
“Yes…” she said to a reporter
nearby, as they continued to the taxi
which waited
for them.
Serena walked out of her hotel room,
which was across the hall
from
Darien’s. He wasn’t out, so she knocked
on the door, but found that
it was open.
She pushed open the door wider. “Dredsdale?”
“Here, come in.”
Serena stepped in, with her dress
coat on, finding Dredsdale
adjusting
his bow tie to no avail.
“Ha! Come on, I can tie it right,” Serena said, coming up to him,
adjusting it
herself, like the so many times she had done so for Sam when
they were
kids. “There. you owe me now. Let’s
go.”
As Darien looked at his reflection
in the mirror, of the two people
who stood
next to each other, he concluded that she could tie a bow tie
right. She was already wearing a thick formal
winter coat, so he couldn’t
see what she
wore for tonight. He only hoped she had
as much taste as she
had skill in
tying bow ties. But if Larynce had on
something that was half
as stylish
as she had on all those previous evenings, his eyes would be
glued on her
the whole evening, and that did not seem so displeasing in
HIS mind.
“So when did we officially get
engaged?” Serena asked.
“We told our beloved matriarchs yesterday,
and are formally
announcing
ourselves tonight. We truly got engaged
a few days ago, and
here is your
engagement ring…” he said, reaching into his tux jacket.
“You didn’t have to. We could have just said we didn’t have time
to get it,”
Serena protested.
“But then we would have to get the
ring later. Either way, same
outcome. Take it, Larynce, put it on, and let’s go.”
“You don’t know my ring size, and I
don’t want a ring!”
“I’ve held your hand before, I think
I know by now what your
finger size
is. Besides, you HAVE to take the
ring. You’re my fiancee,
remember?”
“It won’t fit, and I still don’t
want it.”
“You haven’t even seen it yet, now
open the box and put it on.”
She looked around, distracted. She finally focused on him, and
said the
lamest reason she could think of, “I’m waiting for you to get on
your knees.”
*She’s stalling. She doesn’t want to make it official.* “Fine,” he
kneeled down
and sighed resignedly. “Marry me
Larynce.”
“You have the romance of a rock, you
know that?” Serena said,
rolling her
eyes, as she opened the box. “The
romance of…oh my god!”
It was circle of gold, with a
diamond that had the purity of water.
“It’s the classic diamond ring, only
much richer. It was my…it
was my
mom’s. Her engagement ring. She’d want my fiancee to have it,
even IF we
weren’t really getting married.”
“It’s almost alive. So bright and beautiful. I…I can’t wear this. It
has special
meaning.”
“Great aunt Gertrude wants it this
way. She gave me the ring for
my “beloved”
when I was twenty-one, and I was to keep it until…IF I got
engaged, and
if I didn’t give my fiancee this ring, then I was ‘turning my
back on my
own mother’. Now come on, try on the
ring.”
“All right,” she agreed,
dazedly. “Do you want to do the
honors?”
He took the small black velvet box,
and took out the ring. He then
took her
cold left hand and slipped the ring on her finger.
The moment she slipped in on her
finger, it fit perfectly, and at that
instant, she
realized she had just promised herself in marriage to Darien.
It shouldn’t have hit her so
hard. After all, she knew that she was
engaged to
him beforehand, but now, everything seemed to become
magnified,
about more than a thousand times. Maybe
because now, it
might
actually be real. A part of her was
rather sad at the depressing state
her life had
just slipped into…engaged to a gorgeous intelligent man that
her
grandmother sent her up with…and she was still not pleased…
The difference was definitely
noticeable in her expression. Darien
noticed it,
and realized that with that ring, he just sealed an engagement.
No matter
how false it was underneath, it was true to the very last detail on
the
outside. Serena Larynce was now his
fiancee. Annoyingly perfect,
bitingly
cold Serena Larynce…beautiful, vivacious Serena Larynce.
At least she was interesting…more
than interesting…the thought
crossed his
mind that had it been anyone else, Darien would have opted for
breaking off
the engagement as soon as possible.
But…there was
definitely a
distinction with Serena Larynce…most definitely a difference.
“Are we ready, Larynce?”
“All right,” she said, clearing her
throat. “Let’s knock them dead.”
They walked out of the taxi in front
of a large banquet hall.
“Looks like we’re fashionably late,
Larynce.”
“Well, here we go. Come on…honey.” With that, Serena threaded
her arm in
his, and they held hands. She noted
that his were very cold.
Hers were surprisingly warm, and
Darien couldn’t remember for a
second why
she was the Ice Queen when she was so warm.
It was contrast
to what they
felt just ten minutes ago, when he’d given her the ring. He
shook his
head and they entered the building together, and went into the
coat check.
As Darien helped Serena take her
coat off, he was stunned by her
gown.
It was a forest green velvet dress,
sleeveless of course, to show off
those
beautiful pale arms. The cut was pretty
low, and curved around her
closely,
until it reached her waist, when it was followed by a forest green
satin pouffy
skirt, with black sparkling lace screening over it beaded with
pretty
sparkling beads. At her ears, emerald
earrings, glimmering against
her hair,
which she had pinned up with emerald combs.
Darien should have been used to it
by now. Larynce couldn’t pull
that many
tricks and still get the kicks. But he
couldn’t get over how
lovely she
looked each time he met her at one of these things. Always a
different
beauty, but nevertheless always stunning.
He whispered teasingly into her ear,
“Nice, Larynce. I think I’m
proud. You’re gorgeous.”
“You know Larynce jewels…they’re
enchanted…” she muttered,
smiling. “Just doing my part in the fiasco,” she
continued simply, but
blushed
inside at his compliment. It was nice
that he appreciated the effort
she put into
selecting a gown for tonight. But
having him whisper
compliments
into her ear just gave her a case of excessive shivers.
With that, he put his arm around her
waist protectively, as a fiancee
would, he
concluded, and guided her to the ballroom.
Serena figured that
the same
thing, and just leaned against him.
The minute they entered, they were
barraged with questions.
“You didn’t, did you?” Ilene pushed herself to the front.
Serena lifted her left hand to show
off the engagement ring.
“It’s gorgeous!” Ilene beamed. “I only wish my daughter TOLD
me about it,
instead of leaving me to find out in the paper.”
“Sorry, mother, it’s just that
things were moving so fast…” Serena
breezed,
looking up to Darien, with that glance of admiration a fiancee
would have,
though it was not entirely fake.
*If it had to be someone, I suppose
Darien is the best one. He’s
interesting
enough, and at least I won’t be bored these next several
months. Plus, I have to admit, he is the most
GORGEOUS guy I have
seen in my
life.*
“When is the wedding?” asked another guest.
“Next June.”
“Next March.”
Serena and Darien looked at each
other and Darien smiled.
“We’ve been
so caught up in the whole concept of being engaged we
haven’t really
discussed the wedding yet,” he squeezed Serena’s hand.
Serena
stiffened slightly, and she knew Darien felt it, because he seemed
to tease her
more by holding it more firmly.
Suddenly realizing she had to spend
a whole evening with the
Dredsdale,
she decided to make the most of it.
*Just because we’re
engaged does
NOT mean we like each other.* Going
back to the game
they had
played at the New Year’s Eve Ball, she decided that the game
was the only
way to make it convincing. Otherwise,
she’d kill him by the
end of the
evening.
A part of her heart felt a warm
completeness, as it had felt the
week they
had after New Years, after being snowed in.
In fact, she was,
for the
first time, happy again, in all honesty.
There was something about
him…
She leaned her head on his shoulder.
Darien turned to look at her
head. She looked up at him, with the
challenge
issued in her eyes, laughing.
*You’re on.*
*I’m going to win. And when I do, we’ll celebrate this hoax
tonight. If I win, you buy champagne. If you win, it’s on me.*
*All right.*
With that, his hold around her
suddenly got a lot more tight around
her, and
more personal. Serena caught her
breath. *Okay, Dr. Dread.
Let’s play.*
Chapter 16 - Heart to
Heart
Serena sipped the champagne they had
bought together, fifty-fifty,
sitting in
Darien’s hotel room, on a chair in the corner, watching TV.
Darien
walked out of the bathroom with only his shirt and pants from the
whole tuxedo
outfit. The rest was thrown on the bed.
Serena sighed. This was certainly quite a way to spend the
weekend,
with a man she didn’t even like. They
wouldn’t even get along,
if it
weren’t for those silly bets. At least,
that’s what she told herself.
Tonight had been dangerous. When Dr. Dread was charming, she
knew
it. The way he’d hold her, the way he’d
keep her close to him. It
was as if
they really WERE engaged. Well, they
were, but not in the
strictest
sense, she hoped. They couldn’t
ACTUALLY get married.
Dredsdale
was only around for the games, the make-believe. It would
have never
worked if it was real. *Though,* Serena
thought. *If it
COULD work
out in the real world, it’d make life a lot less lonely and
more
interesting.*
She had floated the entire
evening…in his arms, in her mind, in her
heart. With him, she felt as if she was high on a
cloud, being swept up and
carried over
some strange threshold…a new emotion, perhaps, but who
knew what it
was.
“So Larynce, we have to discuss a
few things.”
“What would that be?”
“Wedding date.”
“You said March, I said June. Let’s compromise. May.”
“April.”
“WE’RE NOT EVEN GETTTING
MARRIED!!!!!!!!”
“So? We still have to agree.”
“Then I suggest this. The later we put it, the fewer wedding
preparations
we’ll have to make before this whole thing is off. Let’s face
it,
Dredsdale. We’re breaking up at
Christmas. We don’t want to start
preparing
for a wedding that’s never going to happen.”
“True. But I still say April, and we agree on April.” Darien said.
But he
didn’t want to agree with Larynce. The
ease he’d felt when he was
with her was
entirely too frightening. The whole
sense of being in a
couple with
her really made no sense at all. He had
tried to charm her out,
to see her
squirm, but she took it coldly, and just fought back, muddling
his mind up
with confusing dreams of kissing that beautifully curved
mouth.
“April showers…”
“But May flowers?”
“If I AM going to get married, it
might as well be beautiful outside
when I tie
the knot.”
“We’re not getting married, as you
are constantly reminding me.”
“But since you’re so in love with
me, you’ll let me have my way,
right dear?”
She flashed those beautiful perfect teeth of hers, and he
wanted to
melt. When she smiled at him, even
superficially, there was a
certain
warmth. When she smiled genuinely,
which was VERY rare,
Darien
sometimes thought he was in love. Those
eyes were warm, a warm
blue sky in
the summer when the sun was out. Pure,
joyful, unblemished
blue. And her lips had that special quirk in an honest
smile, the kissable
quirk. But it was only that. She was gorgeous. Who WOULDN’T want
to kiss
her? It wasn’t as if he actually liked
her mind or anything like that.
“Tell me about yourself,” she said,
suddenly.
“What?” Darien asked, puzzled.
“Tell me about yourself. If we’re engaged, we should be able to
talk as if
we knew each other. We don’t right
now. I don’t want to
accidentally
something that isn’t true about your life, only to have myself
contradicted,
and we’re supposedly in love, so I’m supposed to know a
LOT more
about you than I do right now. You
don’t have to get too
personal or
anything, but tell me enough so that I can talk to others about
you without
having to worry about being wrong.”
“All right, pour me a glass of that,
will you?”
“After I go to my room and get some
PJs on. These heels are
killing me,
and I’m starting to get cold in this dress.”
“Okay,” Serena said, settling down
on the opposite side of the bed
in her pink
silk jammies. “Shoot.”
“Well, as you know, I’m surgeon
general of this beautiful nation,
and I teach
at Johns H, heading the med department.”
“Cousin Amy teaches there, right?”
“Yes, that would be Amy Anderson and
her fiancee Greg Urawa,
who are on
Cloud Nine whenever they’re together. It
gets annoying to the
staff at
times, for they never seem to be able to do anything else but talk
about the
wedding.”
“It’s an improvement from when she
was a child. She was always
so SERIOUS!”
“And you weren’t?”
“What do you mean?” Serena shifted
in her place, suddenly self-
conscious. She played with a loose thread on the bed
cover.
“You skipped two grades. You KNOW what I mean,” Darien said,
gently.
“No, I don’t. I was being ambitious.”
“You were also so studious you
didn’t go out in the social circles
like your
cousins,” he looked at her, matter-of-factly.
“Hey, that’s a PRIVILEDGE! If I ended up like them I’d kill
myself!” she
joked, fighting to keep the atmosphere light.
“Okay, so it’s a bad suggestion.”
“If I remember correctly, you’ve met
all my cousins, and according
to Lita,
they’re all in love with you. Would you
prefer I was one of them,
another
starry-eyed grown-up teenager? And
they’re all very materialistic
and stuck
up. They want husbands who look like
tennis pros and who
have bank
accounts in Switzerland. But my
favorite has to be Candy
Larynce. Such style!
No one could wear an elegant dress and still manage
to look
desperate.”
Darien laughed. How true.
However, he became serious again
rather
quickly. “You say that they’re
materialistic, but what about you?
What do you
live for? You aren’t materialistic, but
you don’t really shine
with ideals
in your eyes.”
“Fairy tales don’t come true. I thought they did, but when I came
and found
that I LIVED a fairy tale, I found that it wasn’t one at all,
because
fairy tales don’t exist. Don’t get me
wrong. I like my life, and I
like my
family, despite all the materialistic snobs (which only total to be
about an
annoying ten; the rest of them are quite nice), and I like what I
do. I just don’t want to wish for more, because
I’ll only be let down in the
end.”
“No such thing as love?” he asked,
gently, reaching across, taking
a small grip
on her chin, and tilting her eyes to meet his.
Serena nervously drew in a breath,
and then began. “There is such
thing as
love. Otherwise, Amy would never blush
when Greg walked into
a room, and
Lita wouldn’t get that expression in her eyes when she talks
about Ken,
even after all these years. And my
every time my father
doesn’t
think anyone’s looking, he’ll take my mother’s hand, and hold it,
or bring it
to his lips and kiss it. There is love
out there, but I’m just
saying that
it’s not out there for me. I believed
in it before, but that
illusion was
shattered a long time ago.”
“How?”
“Oh, I met a guy, never knew who he
was. He gave me my first
kiss, and I
got all starry eyed and I hoped I’d see him again. I waited for
him until I
was 23. Of course, in the end, I was
totally depressed, and
decided that
I wasn’t ever going to put myself into believing those things.
Besides, I
don’t have time for relationships, and I don’t have the emotional
strength. I can’t believe this. You hardly know me, and I already told you
this. I’m still working up the courage to tell my
friends not to bother with
their lame
attempts at setting me up.”
“They really can’t do that now, can
they?.”
“No, but this whole thing was
started by matchmaking, only at the
highest
level, the matriarchs. But at least the
friends stop now. They all
wanted to
see me ‘happy’. You know, marry off the
unlucky one. I’m the
last one of
all my female friends to still be single.
I’m an endangered
species,”
she laughed.
“No, you’re extinct now,” he
reminded her.
“We’re not REALLY getting married,
though. And why am I
saying all
this? I thought you were supposed to
tell me about you.”
“You started it.”
“Well now I’m ending it; your life
now. Why don’t you take one
of my
cousins out of my hair and marry them?”
“Aside from that fact that they’re
ALL scheming cats out to rip
each other’s
faces off?”
Serena laughed. “No, tell me, you’re the Dredsdale
prince. Why
haven’t you
actually settled down with a princess?”
“I’m REALLY idealistic, I
suppose. I believe strongly in love, and
I believe
that it WILL come for me some day. But
not too soon. It’ll
come when
I’m ready for it. I’m a
go-with-the-flow guy. I had to be
when my
parents died.”
“Lita told me about it. How old were you?” Serena’s eyes became
soft,
caressing his face with a gentle almost tearful blue.
“Only ten years old. It tore my heart out. I was totally lost. But I
met
someone.”
“You work fast!” Serena teased
lightly, “Ten years old and already
attracting
someone!”
“No, not necessarily
attracting. She just made me think,
that’s all.
She was a
little girl, running into the hospital room with this beautiful red
rose. Said her brother was born that day, and that
she wanted to give it to
her mother,
but she decided I needed it more. So
she gave it to me. She
was a sweet
thing. She got me believing again. Seeing her made me
realize that
I could go on, as long as I toughed it out.”
The alcohol started to make Serena a
lot more understanding and
calm, but
also somewhat light-headed. “This is so
weird, but I need to ask
this
question. I bet you know I was in Japan
in my childhood, so I guess
it’s not
that odd. Do you remember if the girl
had a funny hair do, and
blue
eyes? And do you remember if that nurse
that chased her out had on
some fluorescent
pink-“
“Bunny slippers?” Darien completed.
“Then…then…Darien, I met you when I
was six years old!”
Darien suddenly broke out in a
smile. “This is just amazing. Are
you sure?”
“I remember. I went to hospital because Sammy was born
and I
remembered
being very bored so daddy brought me to a flower shop. He
let me get
one red rose for mommy, but on our way in, I saw that across
the room,
there was dark-haired boy crying about his parents. So I went
over to him
and gave him my rose, and told him to be brave. Then I was
chased away
but a nurse with fluorescent pink bunny slippers.”
“Did you ever find out why the bunny
slippers?” Darien laughed.
“I didn’t, did you?”
“No.”
A few moments of silence followed in
which they both burst out
laughing.
“Well, that will remain a mystery to
us. So go on about your life.
What other
things happened. When did the prince
get HIS first kiss? I
told you
mine.”
“When he was twenty years old.”
“THAT old?”
“What?”
“It’s just that…”
“Let’s just say that I wanted to
find THE one. I told you I was
super-idealistic.”
“So did you find her? And if you took so long to find her, why
isn’t she
going out with you,” her heart started to sink. It wasn’t jealousy,
but if he
had been with someone else…
“It was at a masquerade. She was so beautiful. She reminded me
of the
little girl in Tokyo Hospital, but she was older, more beautiful, and
so
idealistic. She was probably seventeen,
about to graduate, thinking the
world would
be in the palm of her hand with no problem.
So I asked her
to dance,
and we danced the whole evening. And at
the end, I kissed her.”
She was slightly upset. “So did you ever meet HER again? That
was
dumb. Dredsdale, you are dumber than I
thought. You should have
chased her
down, found her. You waited until you
were TWENTY for
her, for
God’s sake. That’s most of your
life! If you are waiting for her,
you should
be pretending to be engaged with HER, not me.
Or at least
you should
be MARRIED! If you were married to the
dumb girl, we
wouldn’t
have to go through all this!” Serena
said bitingly, with what
seemed like
a bit of icy envy on the fringes.
“I COULDN’T see her again.” Darien
mused.
“What do you mean?”
“I didn’t return the masquerade for
many years. My aunt kept me
busy all the
time at Christmas,” Darien smiled.
“Woah, this is just a little too
weird for me. I have the distinct
feeling I
will eat those words I said before.
Christmas? Masquerade?
Was this at
Larynce Manor?”
“Yeah,” Darien looked hopefully at
her, watching her thought
processes go
through her eyes very quickly, creating a whirlwind of
thought
radiating in those blue orbs.
“So then, so then, did you call
her-“
“Bright angel? It IS you, isn’t it? I kissed YOU that night. I don’t
know, when I
saw you the first time just this Christmas, you looked
familiar.”
“So I waited until I was 23 for
YOU!?!?!?”
“You make it sound as if it is a bad
thing.”
“Dredsdale, let’s be serious. We have done nothing but play this
stupid game
since we met. I can’t believe I waited
for YOU!!!”
“I crushed your beliefs,” Darien
smiled, slightly. He had affected
Serena
Larynce. Of course, crushing beliefs
was a very bad thing to do,
but HE HAD
AFFECTED HER LIFE!!!!!
“It’s just as well that you did, I
couldn’t stay up in the clouds
forever, you
know. And it wasn’t just you.”
“So what’s made the difference?”
“What in the WORLD do you
mean?” Serena looked up from the
pattern of
the comforter to his deep eyes.
“I mean what made the difference. When you were a teenager, the
newspapers
all said you were a clutz who would never apply herself. You
were
idealistic. But you lost those ideals
when I never came back. What’s
made you
change? Was it me?”
“Don’t remind me.”
“No, I’m not trying to insult
you. I’m just curious. I mean, a
princess
born into an empire, which you said wasn’t very great for you
after
all. Why didn’t you just drop into the
crowd and live a normal life?
Some people,
after losing their ideals, even drop to the way bottom. I
want to know
what kept you up.”
“Because I needed to prove something
to myself, I suppose. It’s
true, I
guess. I was an awkward preteen
obsessed with what people
thought of
me, because I had no idea who I wanted to be.
I guess in the
end, after
deciding the press knew NOTHING about me, I’d show them,
and maybe
I’d show myself just WHAT I could do.”
“You’ve certainly shown that. But Serena, are you really happy
the way you
are?”
“Why shouldn’t I be happy? I’m part of a legacy that rivals the
Kennedys,
and I’m able to fight my way from being the dim watt to the
star. That gives me a LOT of satisfaction. I prof at Harvard, where all my
students
respect me, and most even like me. I’ve
got a great career in
Washington,
heck I’m attorney general! I earned my
way there! I did the
work, I was
approved by the Senate, though they did frown upon it in the
beginning
because I WAS a relative. But my rep
stuck, and they accepted
me in the
end anyway. And if I can’t hold it out
here, I’ll go off into New
York again
and start up with Aunt Hetty again.
Heck, I could go
anywhere and
I’d be able to set something up. My
life’s stable. It’s fixed.
There are no
more chances, no leaps of faith, because I don’t need
anything.”
“What about anyone? Do you need anyone?”
“I have my family…” she started
automatically.
“When you decide to visit…” he
reproached.
“Wait a second here, what are you
doing? Why are you attacking
me like
this?” Serena narrowed her eyes,
annoyance starting to come in
like a tide.
“I just want to find out a little
more about you, that’s all.”
“Well, I think that for the first
time we’re seriously talking about
our lives,
this is getting a little over my head here.”
“Sorry.”
They sat in silence for another five
minutes when Serena
interrupted
the silence. “And who are you to judge
anyway, Dredsdale?
You know
nothing about the way I had to life.”
“Larynce, you know that that isn’t
tr-” he sighed. She was crying
too much to
reprove her.
He wanted to touch her cheek, but
decided against it. She wasn’t
his fiancee
in real life, and she didn’t like him.
*And I don’t like her that
way either,
so we’d just kid ourselves.* “I’m not
judging, I just wanted to
know
more. I’m sorry Larynce. I’m trying to find out too much about you
at
once. It’s just that you’re
different. And I wondered. You know, when
I was a
teenager, I’d read about you in the papers, and see how hard they
were on you,
and I pitied you. Some others might
have caved. I didn’t
know what
kept you going. Maybe it was because
you were insensitive to
their
criticism, or maybe it was because you were so sensitive you were
determined
to prove them wrong. The press took
your rise to success the
first
way. The way I see it now, I think it’s
the second. You’re a very
sensitive,
passionate person, and I can see that now, and I could hit myself
in the head
right now if it’ll make you feel better.
Just don’t cry, Serena,
please
don’t.”
She was silent a few moments,
looking out the window. This was
a strange
experience. She actually told Dr. Dread
all about herself, and
she didn’t
feel weak, as she should have felt. She
felt better, having
shared these
feelings, only maybe sharing them with Dredsdale wasn’t the
best idea. But then again, he WAS her fiancee.
“Serena?”
“How about I hit you instead?” she
smiled, trying hard to banish
tears from
her eyes.
Darien laughed.
It was 3:45 am, and Serena and
Darien were still sitting up on the
bed,
talking. It seemed that they couldn’t
think of one thing NOT to talk
about.
“So Dredsdale, since you grilled me
earlier, I think it’s only right
that I grill
you now.”
“Proceed, counselor.”
“Very funny. Now tell ME, doctor. How does a ten-year-old boy
from Japan
not knowing a WORD of English, manage to actually
BECOME
surgeon general, let alone a head of the department in the finest
med school
in the nation?”
“I studied.”
“But what kept YOU going?”
“I guess it was you.”
“Me?”
“No, not you now, you as a little
girl. That moment when I got
your rose,
everything was a lot more clear. You
made everything
simplified. I just had to take everything one step at a
time, and keep
everything
up. And I guess, it had to do a little
with the fact that I was
forever
trying to conquer your image…Aunt Gertrude always talked about
you…’Serena
Larynce this…Serena Larynce that…’ I really hated your
name at many
points in my life.”
Serena laughed. “Join the club. If I had to hear your name more
time, I was
going to scream!”
Darien smiled at her, a lock of his
hair falling in front of his face.
Serena’s expression changed, and she
leaned forward, pushing
back the
lock of hair, and kissing his forehead.
She then settled in his lap,
and let him
play with her golden locks. “But
weren’t you lonely?” Serena
was startled
inside. She had affected Darien
Dredsdale’s life, not only
affected,
but inspired it! That gave her a
feeling of satisfaction. And the
fact that he
was just as miserable competing with her as she was with
him…
“Weren’t YOU?” he smiled down into
her upturned face.
“I had Amy and Mina, and my own
circle. Contrary to popular
belief,
Serena Larynce DID have friends. The
Ice does melt, you know,”
she
smiled. “So you weren’t lonely?”
“No, Ken was there for me, and so
was Aunt Gertrude. Ken was
one of my
best friends. He met me when I just
came. Taught me English
and
introduced me into the trade. You know,
I got into the circle. Being a
Dredsdale
and in the circle, I guess it’s a lot of influence, even though I
DID have to
spend quite a couple years just as a doctor, and another
couple as
just a prof. I wrote a lot of med
papers while I was both. That’s
what
essentially brought me to where I am now.
I did make a few changes
to med
procedure in the US, and I guess Johns liked the changes a lot, and
so did the
health department. The last few months,
when Clinton was
leaving
office, the surgeon general was preparing for resignation as well
and Ken
asked him to look into some candidates for surgeon general. I
came up in
the conversation, and Ken was interested.
We’d lost touch for
a few years,
and he called me up one day and asked me if I was going to
the Larynce
thing at Christmas. I said yeah I was
and we set up an
appointment
there. When I got there, he offered me
the post. Of course I
took
it. So I guess my road’s been kinda
based on luck and my own
work.”
“And in all those years, you never
tired of just going around by
yourself? Earlier in my career, there were times when
I got pretty lonely.”
“I didn’t say that pushing myself to
the limits wasn’t painful
socially. You already know that. And yeah, I guess I DID miss just fitting
in and
hanging around instead of studying. But
I really didn’t care about
that. I had my share of girls courting me,” he
smiled again down at her
face as the
lock of hair fell again in his eyes.
“Darien!” this time, she didn’t
reach to fix it.
“It’s not as if I was looking for a
relationship with them, and
eventually
that number died down. I pretty much
was as interesting as a
bowl of
oatmeal. Cold oatmeal.”
“And why are you telling ME this?”
she said, as she traced a
pattern on
her pajama top buttons.
Darien was strangely affected
watching her, lying in his lap.
“Because I
guess you understand what kind of person I am, and where I
came
from. You’ve been through it. And also probably because we ARE
engaged.”
“Don’t remind me.” she said, then
looking up at her fiancee, with
his
heart-pumping smile. She then turned
away, and looked to the mirror
to the right
of the bed, and looked at them. They
were a beautiful couple,
and in this
position, they looked almost loving.
Her heart yearned for
something
like this, and now that she had it, it was so…so…indescribable.
He took her hand and held it. “Larynce, I never thought I’d be
sitting up
on a bed at late hours talking with the Larynce princess in her
pink
pajamas. And I never imagined what a
different image you presented
from who you
were.”
“Yeah, well, I guess that shoots
down my image of the self-
indulging
prince who flirted with every woman in the book.”
He laughed. “You haven’t even BEGUN to know me,
counselor,”
she sat up,
pushing him, as they both fell back on the bed. Serena leaned
her head on
his chest, and he put his hands around her, meeting at her
front, where
her hands met his. They reveled in the
moment.
They may have both been drunk, but
Serena had to admit that she
had never
felt so warm and safe in her life. She
closed her eyes and drifted
off in
safety.
Serena’s mind slowly drifted out of
sleep, and into the waking
world. As she slowly peeled her eyes open, she
pushed herself slowly out
of bed, and
looked around her. She thought a while
before she realized it,
but in the
end concluded that last night she had probably exposed herself
more than
she had ever done before with no one else but Dredsdale.
As she attempted to sit up, she felt
a bully of a headache come
down on
her. *Hangover. I am NOT drinking that much ever again!*
She groaned inwardly as she realized
that she was still in his room.
Where was
he?
*Oh, well. I’ll take advantage of the situation and run into my
room, and
I’ll just pretend that last night ever happened. It was a huge
mistake. It was the late hours, and it was the
champagne. He probably
doesn’t even
remember, and if he does, when I’m through with him, he’ll
think he
DREAMT all it up.*
She went to the edge of the bed and
started to stretch, and then set
her foot
down.
“Ow!” Serena nearly jumped back.
There, on the floor, with a set
of blankets
as his mattress and a pillow for his head, Darien Dredsdale
slumbered.
*I took his bed. Oops.*
Serena decided to sneak out on the
other side of the bed, and get
out as soon
as possible. She didn’t want Darien to
even THINK last night
had
occurred.
The games were fine. They could play the games. They just
couldn’t do
anything else. If they let emotions and
understanding get in
the way, the
whole engagement situation, as well as her LIFE, would be
seriously
messed up.
Chapter 17 - Birthdays
She sat up in bed slowly, looking at
the clock. 9:00; she stayed up
to 3:00 a.m.
yesterday for him, and Dredsdale hadn’t called.
And now, she woke up late, when the
class she was supposed to
teach was at
9:15.
*KILL DARIEN DREDSDALE!* suddenly
entered her list of
things to
do.
They had gotten engaged only two
weeks ago, and she had to
admit, it
took some getting used to. They were
now the most glamorous
couple in
the nation, and had their pictures on the front of every magazine
in the
country. Just last week, TIME magazine
cover featured a picture of
both of
them, their profiles facing out to the right superimposed on an
American
flag. The title read “Camelot
Returns?”.
They had appeared together at over
twenty social gatherings in a
duration of
less than two weeks.
At least Dredsdale provided pretty
good company. Spending too
much time
with someone less energetic, less witty, and less annoying
would be too
dull. No, Dredsdale, with his perfect
smile, perfect walk,
perfect air,
was an exciting person to be with. And
she was actually
getting used
to the idea of being engaged to him; it was actually seemed to
be an
appealing idea, when one read all the magazine articles about their
charming fairy
tale so-called “love story” and all that propaganda.
Unfortunately, she didn’t like him
enough not to plot his demise.
*If HE
thinks that he has the right to keep me up all night, waiting by the
phone…besides! It’s HIS turn! He’s supposed to call. I
called the night
before!*
Okay, so she DID like talking to
him; but he listened, and he talked
back, and
they had good times on the phone. The
phone was a great way
of
communication. She loved the rich
smooth sound of his voice, it didn’t
make her
lose her mind the way his smile did.
Though she could literally
hear the
smiles over the phone.
Okay, she DID like his company too,
and there was just something
about
talking with him that made everything more fun and interesting, just
sitting through
the whole day, and wanting to tell him about it, even if she
did nothing,
which was rarely the case. And even if
there was nothing to
talk about,
they’d do something about that.
But no, he didn’t call last
night. She was slightly upset, but more
cranky than
upset. She dragged herself out of bed,
and went to her closet,
yanking out
a sweatshirt, and some jeans. She
hurried into the bathroom.
Five minutes later, she exited the
bathroom, and went down the
hall, and
out the door, without a glance to the calendar. Marked under the
27, however,
in tiny print, the words “My Birthday”.
“Miss Larynce?”
Serena turned from the front of her
still empty lecture room (she
was still
five minutes early).
Her first student to enter the room,
a young happy 19 year old,
smiled at
her. “Hello, Crystal. How are you this morning?”
“Fine. But you look tired.”
“I won’t be once I get started in
the lecture.”
Crystal smiled. Serena “Loquacious” Larynce was probably the
hardest
professor to take notes from. She had
no organized notes, but
managed to
structure her ideas in her lectures, which were all done without
the aid of
notes or text, unless she actually Xeroxed something for the
whole class
for them to read. Her ideas flowed the
speed of light, and it
was hard to
always follow her; 75 percent of her class brought mini tape
recorders,
and Serena was noted as the prof who racked up the most costs
on campus;
even though she did not use any thick expensive textbook, it
was the
batteries for the recorders, as well as tapes themselves, and
notebooks,
that costed a bundle.
But Crystal was getting along in the
class. She liked Professor
Larynce. And as Serena had heard, she had Professor
Dredsdale as well,
before he
retired from Harvard.
“I meant to ask you something,”
Serena smiled at her student.
Crystal looked to Serena, while
putting her books down in a desk
in middle
back.
“Yeah?”
“Your records…I was checking them
out…say that you used to
study a
little med here as well as law; in fact, you had my fiancee for
professor
once for bio…” she blushed.
Crystal smiled. *She has it BAD for him!* “Yeah!
The girls in
my class all
SWOONED whenever he entered a room! But
I decided after
this year
that I wanted to go into law for sure; before, I was studying both
pre-med and
pre-law, but now I’m sure.”
“Tell me, what is my fiancee like,
as a teacher?”
“He was a really good teacher, a lot
like you; entered the class, and
did the
class impromptu. Would draw diagrams
randomly and expect us
to see them
clearly. No offense, but he’s as bad an
artist as you are…” she
alluded to
the many different diagrams Serena had always charted out on
the board in
crooked boxes that never fit all that she needed to write.
Serena laughed, filing the information
in her mind. She liked
hearing
praise about him, though she wasn’t in love with him. It gave her
a warm
feeling of knowing her fiancee, even if he wasn’t a true fiancee,
was a
wonderful person. She also liked to
hear about him, which made her
feel
slightly embarrassed, but not embarrassed enough not to pay attention
whenever
someone mentioned his name.
“Professor Dredsdale was also a very
eloquent speaker, as you are.
I liked his
class. So did most of the female
population at Harvard; they
were all
kinda disappointed when he chose to resign when he became
Surgeon
General.”
“I’ll bet,” Serena laughed.
Now, the class was starting to fill
up, so Crystal went back to her
seat, and
smiled back at Serena.
“All right, class.”
Serena sighed, as she got into her
office at 11:45. Finding piles of
mail in the
mailbox (she had gotten in from Washington last night) she
decided to
read through all of them first. She’d
have a short lunch break at
12:45 and
then whisk off to teach at 1:15, and after that, her 4:00 was
canceled for
the day, for classes officially ended at four.
Today was the
last day
before spring break. All her students
were all anxious to get of the
class, and
restless.
She sat back and played the messages
on her machine.
“Hello, Rena darling.”
*What’s the special occasion? Mom’s calling, and using her nice
voice!*
“I called to find out if you were
all right. AFTER ALL, you DID
miss the St.
Patrick’s Celebration at the O’Briens, and you know we
ALWAYS go…”
Serena sighed. Gentle reproach. Not THAT bad, but the guilt trip
stung, of
course.
“But of course, I understand how you
must want to spend as much
time as you
can with Darien-oh-he’s-such-a-sweet-boy!”
(Okay, so
Darien’s
name really wasn’t all that, but it ALWAYS sounded like that on
the phone,
and Ilene Larynce never said his name without the phrase!)
“Call me when you have the time…”
*And strength…* Serena mentally
added. She didn’t have that
now. It had taken her a whole waste of ten
minutes to get her class to calm
down this
morning, and additional ten to get her talking speed up to par. It
was odd.
*I must be getting old.*
There were no other messages, and
Serena wistfully thought of
Darien. No, she didn’t EXPECT him to call ALL the time,
but…
She opened up the first envelope,
and began to read.
At four o’clock, Serena walked,
exhausted after many hours of
teaching, in
her mind swearing that she had to make up for the jog she had
missed this
morning. As she walked by the super’s office,
he smiled at her
and said,
“Your fiancee left a little something for you…I unlocked the
door so the
boys could unload it…”
Serena, suddenly very curious, as
well as excited, took her stairs
three at a
time. Her heart was pounding as she
wondered what in the
world Darien
had gotten her. On the floor mat of her
apartment door,
there sat a
single white rose.
Serena smiled. *He’s sorry…* She picked it up, smelling the rose
smilingly,
dreamily. It was as if the hero had
returned, though she
wouldn’t
admit that.
She unlocked the door to her
apartment, determined to find out
what
Dredsdale had done; sure, they weren’t a truly engaged couple, but
the press
didn’t know that, and Serena was always a sucker for gifts…
However, the white rose slipped
gently out her grasp, drifting
softly to
her hardwood floor, which was gently layered with scattered red
rose petals.
She would have sat down, but there
was no where to sit. The
couch was
drowning in roses, as was the table.
Even her usual eating
wood stool
had a vase of roses resting there.
“Wha-?”
She laughed and slipped off her
shoes, not wanting to crush the
rose petals
on her floor. She then entered the room
and spun around the
room,
deliriously.
Oh, it as wonderful to be engaged, even
IF your fiancee didn’t love
you! But what brought on the surge of
romanticism?
*What’s today? The ONE MONTH ANNIVERSARY? No, he’s
not that
romantic…no, wait…what is today?*
She went to the calendar, and then
was startled to realize it: *It’s
the 27th, as
in, my birthday!*
She smiled as she looked
around. *So he didn’t have the courtesy
to call to
wish me a happy birthday, and yet, he goes to these lengths?*
she laughed.
She walked around the apartment,
reveling in the romantic sea of
candlelight
and roses, and stopped by her kitchen counter, where bouquets
blanketed
the entire white marble top. It was so
beautiful. Somewhere in
her heart,
she wondered why a man so arrogant and dense as Darien
Dredsdale
would possibly be so romantic with a woman he didn’t even
love.
In her heart, though, there was
feeling of warmth and
embarrassment,
to know that something about her made him go to all these
costs.
She walked though the rose-garlanded
and petal-carpeted halls and
rooms, she
came to her desk, where lay a single white rose, and a card.
*Ah…* Serena felt a nice glow of
satisfaction as she picked up the
card and
read it.
“Go to Helzberg Diamonds on
17th.” *Aren’t WE personal today,
Dredsdale?*
she smirked. *Helzberg Diamonds?*
She immediately got her coat,
wondering where Darien was
leading her.
Before she left, however, she made
sure all her roses were in water.
As she walked out the door, she took
her two white roses.
“Ah Miss Larynce!” the forty-ish
blonde smiled at her.
Serena smiled back. “I take it that you’ve been expecting me…”
“Your fiancee said that you’d be
around here about this time.”
Serena laughed. He had this planned, and she was still
wondering…what
in the world was his surprise? Why was
he doing all
this?
“This is for you…” the woman took
out two white roses, as well as
a single
card and a long flat box wrapped in gold foil with cream roses
printed on
it. She carefully took the wrapping
off, and folded it nicely,
putting it
aside. The box was long, black, and
velvet. Serena had a
sinking,
melting feeling as she opened the box, but her eyes glittered
wonderfully
when they focused on a diamond bracelet, entwined with
golden
filigree which was shaped into rosy flourish.
Serena wanted to hug the lady who
gave it to her. “It’s so
beautiful…”
“Mr. Dredsdale spent a long time
here, but when he saw that
bracelet, he
snatched it up immediately,” the woman beamed.
Serena smiled. “I love it.
Where is he?” she asked, as clasping the
bracelet
about her wrist, marveling at the living glow of it.
“I was told to give you these things
after.”
Serena took the envelope from the
woman, and smiled as she
opened it to
find yet another one of Darien’s single cards, with the gold
rose
imprinted in the corner. On it was
written, in Darien’s sharp concise
handwriting,
“Saks Fifth in Boston.” *Yet another beautifully eloquent
note!* she
laughed.
Enclosed was a train ticket for
6:00. On impulse, Serena decided
to follow
long and hope that not packing would still be all right. Besides,
Darien
planned it. As she took her four roses
out into the Cambridge air,
she smiled
as she, for the first time in a long time, dreamt of romance.
A tall five ten blond strolled into
Saks Fifth, having no idea where
to go, but
as she walked through the crowd, she walked towards
information,
where she’d probably figure out where the heck she was to
go.
As she approached the counter, the
young man smiled at her.
“Serena
Larynce?”
Serena smiled, and blushed. “Yes?”
“Your fiancee left this for you…”
He gave her a white rose, as well as
another envelope. Inside it,
she found
another card, which said, “Women’s evening gowns…wear it
for
tonight…” *Gotta teach him how to
write.*
She smiled, and took her roses with her
to evening gown
department.
It was a white satin spaghetti
strap. It fit her nicely, and accented
her stunning
figure, flowing all the way to the floor.
The saleslady also handed her a
shoebox, in which were white satin
high heels,
and white opera gloves, as well as a comb of gold and
diamonds.
Serena put all on carefully.
Darien was planning an evening out
for her?
There, in her white satin purse,
there was another envelope, as well
as diamond
starburst earrings.
“7:30 at Hilton Restaurant on Main.”
She smiled, dazed, as the woman also
handed her a night cloak,
and a
garment bag, in which her sweatshirt and jeans were put in.
She was beautiful, sitting in the
elegant surroundings, looking
around her
for his face.
The white suited her perfectly, as
he’d hoped, and his bracelet
cuffed her
wrist snugly, elegantly. He hair
tumbled form the comb, and
the curls
lightly danced on her creamy shoulders.
Her figure was stunning.
He had arranged all this as a stunt
to show the world just how
romantic
they were, and perhaps there was a little in him that wanted to
see her
pleased, melting into her surroundings in wonder and romance.
However, he
knew that if he didn’t make his entrance soon, she would
most
certainly have a lot to say. It was
best to get her while she was still
in
astonished romantic stupor.
A waiter walked to her table,
carrying a tray that held five white
roses to
bring her total up to eleven. On the
tray was also two empty
glasses as
well as another envelope, this one with a gold rose imprinted on
the envelope
as well.
She opened it slowly, to find two
tickets to the Rose gala on June
17th and
smiled as she read the cream colored piece of paper, with the
gold rose in
the lower right-hand corner.
“Larynce”,
Happy 27th on the 27th of
March. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to call
you last
night…(wince).
Anyhow, I wish you a wonderful
birthday, and I wanted to show
you how much
I appreciate you, and admire your spirit and enthusiasm,
and perhaps
show you a little of something inside you didn’t know you
possessed
(no, it’s not life; it’s romanticism).
I have to admit, Larynce, if
there’s a
woman I had to be engaged to, you are the best one on my list.
So, let’s make your 27th memorable.
Your
“beloved” fiancee,
Dredsdale
She smiled into the air. There he stood, in a black tuxedo, smiling
warmly at
her, carrying a single white rose…his blue eyes were glittering
with
mischief, and she couldn’t help but blush under his very startling
gaze. It was the kind that would melt most teenage
girls, and maybe even
herself at
that early age. However, now she was
different, because she
was of
course older.
But that look in his eye, the flash
in the smile, as well as the fact
hat
Dredsdale went to such a drastic measure to charm her on her birthday
made Serena
want to just collapse with tears of joy, and fall in his arms
and say that
she loved him for it, which was totally irrational, because she
didn’t love
him, right?
*A dozen white roses, and a sea of
red…he really is romantic
today, isn’t
he?*
He stepped towards her, and she
watched, dazed and admiring.
*Thank you
so much, for all you’ve done for me.*
She stood up, and as he stood before
her, smiling at her sparkling
radiant
face, he thought he ever saw anyone so beautiful in his life. He
wanted to
kiss her, and hold her and tell her that she was the most
beautiful,
the most intelligent, the most interesting person he’d ever met.
She stood up as he approached, her
eyes flashing with happiness
and unborn tears. As he got the table, she threw herself into
his arms as
everyone in
the restaurant applauded.
“You went WAY overboard this time,
Dredsdale,” she smiled, as
the danced
to the slow soft music in the background, a deejay had replaced
the quartet
from dinner.
“It’s worth it, isn’t it?” he
teased. He danced with her as they
danced to
the slow rhythm of Celine Dion’s “Falling into You”
“And in your
eyes I see ribbons of color
I see us
inside of each other
I feel my
unconscious merge with yours
And I hear a
voice say, “What’s his is hers”
I’m falling
into you
This dream
could come true
And it feel
so good falling into you
I was afraid
to let you in here
Now I have
learned love can be made in fear
The walls
begin to tumble down
And I can’t
even see the ground
I’m falling
into you
This dream
could come true
And it feels
so good falling into you
Falling like
a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a
belief, falling where you are
Catch me,
don’t let me drop!
Love me,
don’t ever stop!”
Serena laughed, to interrupt the
threateningly true lyrics.
“Honestly, I
don’t believe I’ve ever been more stunned and out of mind in
my
life. But you still did not call last
night.”
He pressed his forehead to Serena’s
and smiled into her eyes,
saying
softly, “You’ll forgive me anyways, right?”
Serena laughed. “I don’t know, Dredsdale. It’ll take more than a
few roses
and a diamond bracelet to make me happy again,” she teased,
rolling her
eyes mockingly.
“How about a kiss?”
“Umm…” she shifted
uncomfortably. She had to admit…it
sounded
tempting…but cats would talk before she told HIM that. “I was
just
kidding; of course I forgive you.
Besides a kiss isn’t a really good
idea-“
“Shut up for once Larynce…” he
leaned his head down and gently
captured her
lips in an embrace that startled both him and her.
“So close
your eyes and let me kiss you
And while
you sleep I will miss you…”
It was very gentle, like an angel’s,
and it wasn’t the first time they
had kissed,
but it was the first time that there was that strange underlying
feeling. A warm feeling took her soul, and Serena
felt something that
wasn’t there
before, not only gentleness, but also a certain feeling that was
hanging
heavy in her heart. There was security
and protection in that
promise of a
kiss. Was it love? As she looked for an answer in his cloudy
eyes, she
found nothing but a gentleness that held her in a web of
admiration
and warmth. Serena shivered as her arms
went around
Darien’s
neck, and she put herself into his embrace.
He held her
delicately,
and she felt protected, and felt her soul lighten up and her heart
started to
creep into her eyes.
She quickly closed her eyes, closing
away the emotion, and started
to back away
from the embrace, frightened of what had happened.
Was it supposed to be this way? She never thought so before? Did
happily ever
after exist? In him? Darien Dredsdale. A sea of roses, a
glittering
bracelet, and all the riches of the world, perhaps, in his eyes, and
would he
offer them to her?
Her mind closed to questions once
more as she just savored the
moment, and
held him even more tightly, drinking in the atmosphere.
Darien smiled, and kissed her
forehead, and held her to him as they
danced more.
“I’m falling
into you
This dream
could come true
And it feels
so good falling into you
Falling like
a leaf, falling like a star
Finding a
belief, falling where you are
Falling into
you”
Chapter 18 - Phone Calls
Darien sighed as paper after paper
of medical terms he was tired of
staring at
started to blur his vision.
Sitting in his bed at half past
midnight, he was tired. Today was a
long
day. He had to collect med papers from
a few people, and from
others,
exams. He’d gotten the exams out of the
way, but he was still
working on
the papers.
Suddenly, the phone at his bedside
rang.
Taking his glasses off, he reached
for the phone, and sighed into it.
“Morning,
Lovely,” his husky voice fell over the line.
“Am I the only one that calls you
this late?” she smiled across the
line. Serena’s heart smattered. That husky almost sleepy voice of his
made her
heart pound, and her mind fill up with a love potion. She
couldn’t
have fallen in love with the voice. But
not the person. HA!
“Yes, I don’t think anyone else is
as annoying.”
“Of course, but remember, I’m the
fiancee, so I suddenly have the
right, don’t
I?” she smirked over the line.
As strange as it was, Darien liked
getting Serena’s phone calls, and
calling
her. They’d call each other every night
at around this time, and
converse on
things that were on the agenda, or questions that were raised.
He loved to
hear her voice. The velvet sound of her
almost sore throat
(from
talking all day) was something that triggered dreams. Two months
into the
engagement now, and Darien was satisfied, somewhat.
It was that connection they’d feel,
at times. She pretended now
that on her
engagement, she simply went to bed, and nothing important
happened. Darien was smarter than that. He knew that she was scared,
and that
first night was extremely weird for both of them. They really
connected
that night. Larynce was an ice cube
now, and stayed away as
much as
possible. Except for on her birthday,
which was a little touch of
heaven. However, it was different now. She didn’t even put the bet for
champagne on
anymore, but only was the quiet fiancee who appeared to
say loving
things in his ear to make him smile. At
least, that was what the
press called
it. In reality, Serena was making a
droll comment on the attire
of one of her
cousins, or something of that nature.
He’d laugh. When they
were alone,
however, it was a different story. She
found the way to push
him off, or
push him away. She never stayed around
long enough for him
to talk to.
But then again, Darien didn’t REALLY
mind. After all, Serena
Larynce was
NOT the ideal fiancee. He wasn’t even
going to get married,
so he didn’t
really have to push the matter.
But there were times when he wished
that perhaps there was
someone out
there for him, that would care.
Like that would really happen to
him.
Serena and him alternated nights
calling each other, when Serena
started the
tradition the second night of their engagement, asking him what
we were
going to do with their careers. “I had
that question presented to
me by a
friend of mine. I said that I intended
to keep my job, and you
yours. But my friend didn’t believe me because we
were such a romantic
couple she
didn’t think we’d get along without each other.”
Darien laughed.
Laughing and scoffing comprised most
of their hour-long
conversations
each night. Even if they had nothing to
do, they’d read
papers to
each other and laugh. It was odd. Darien got the feeling that
Serena felt
safe when she could be with him alone on the phone and not
have to see
him.
Serena had that EXACTLY in
mind. In fact, it was perfect. If he
tried
anything even slightly romantic, she’d just hang up and claim
disconnection. Serena never understood why she wanted to
talk to him
every night
at such a late hour, for such a long time, but she reasoned that
she enjoyed
their dueling over the lines, and she enjoyed his insights and
thoughts,
especially since they were so different from the dreary common
ones she was
used to hearing.
Since the engagement began, since that
NIGHT, she had been very
careful with
the Dredsdale prince. It was hard to
act as his fiancee and not
feel the
urge to be his in real life, for in public, he was the ideal fiancee,
the one
she’d always wanted, and he’d make her laugh and he’d do such
romantic
things. He always sent her a flower at
the office, which ever one
she was in
for the day, a white rose, and she’d smile like a shy
embarrassed
school girl.
Now, her birthday was a fluke…it was
a touching escapade, and
she was
surprised Darien never asked for the bracelet back, as she had
expected,
and so, she decided that he meant to spend more than four
thousand
dollars on a birthday present he wasn’t actually engaged to.
Of course that was just for the
outer appearances. No one was to
know about
their agreement. And she didn’t want to
stick around longer
than she had
to so that he could snub her and make her feel like a brat all
over
again. She knew he was acting, and
Serena readily admitted that he
was a GREAT
actor.
But she was pretty good to. There was more than once when she
saw that
overwhelmed look in Darien’s eyes. She
relished in those
moments.
“So there anything special coming up
this weekend?” he asked,
casually.
“Going to Mina’s for lunch.”
“Good. And evening?”
“Plan on staying the night. Mina and I have a lot to catch up on.
You?”
“Hospital seminar.”
“All day?”
“Yes, all day. But at least now, I won’t have those young
female
interns
giving me those starry eyes now. I’m a
taken man.”
“That is, until we break it off,”
Serena reminded him, and herself.
“True,” he said, somewhat
disappointed.
Serena couldn’t wait for the
engagement to be off. Only eight
more
months. She was surprised they had
survived two already. She had
been
actually engaged for TWO MONTHS! She
looked at the ring on her
finger, and
played around with it. Being around
Darien, pretending to be
in love with
him, when he was pretending to be in love with you, was
dangerous
for any woman. If Serena weren’t so set
against him, she might
have fallen
for him. Emphasize the MIGHT. But two months had passed.
I’ll be it,
two VERY long moths passed, but Serena was sure that eight
could be
passed the very same way, no complications.
“So what’s going on up there in
wonderful Massachusetts? Long
time since I
last came up.”
“So visit some time. Harvard’s grand this time of year. Students
are cramming
and teachers are furiously writing new exams.”
“Well, we haven’t got much better at
Johns right now.”
“Oh yeah, clear the tenth of
May. You have to come back and be
my fiancee
at the Harvard professor gala thing.”
“All right, but the third, a week
before, is the Johns H one.”
“And the week before that, the 26 of
April. That’s Ken’s birthday
ball at the
White House.”
“And the weekend before that is the
coming weekend, so we’ve got
our next
weeks booked.”
“My cousins would sneer that we
don’t spend any time together
alone, as a
couple.”
“But that’s not what we ever wanted
in the first place, now, was
it?” he
asked, hoping to hear something to prove otherwise.
A silence. “No, it wasn’t,” she said quietly, and hung up.
Chapter 19 - Man I Wish
the Stork Existed!
Serena smiled across the lunch table
at Mina. “The salad looks
delicious,
and I love your ranch! It’s so isolated
from everything else, and
so perfectly
situated. It’s got GREAT decor.”
“That’s Susie Setsuna’s job. Great fashion design, but she is
GREAT at
interior decor. And I like the
secludedness too. I’ve been
around
people all my years, but now, I just want it to be me and my family
right
now. It’s nice here. Very quiet.
The nearest town is an hour away.
You know,
you might want a life like this. You’ve
been bugged by people
all your
life. It’s so relaxing here.”
“I’ll remember that when Dare and I
settle down!” Serena laughed.
“And how is your handsome fiancee?”
“He’s great.”
“Did you invite him here like I
asked you to?”
“He had a med seminar, so I didn’t
think he could squeeze it in. I
left it at
that.”
“It’s just as well, because I didn’t
know Andrew was going to have
to go out of
town for an appearance in LA.”
“Yeah. It’s just as well because now it’s just us and we can
gossip.”
“So?”
“So what?”
“About you and Dare…”
“What about us?” Serena asked,
cautiously.
“How are you two? You don’t get much time together. I know
how THAT
feels. I always wanted to be with
Andrew all the time, and it
drove me
crazy that we weren’t together! You
know, when we were
engaged, I
called him every night at insane hours and talked to him, just
because I
missed him!”
At that, Serena looked up, slightly
surprised and smiled. Inside,
she was
panicked. *We talk to each other every
night at insane hours, and
the
engagement is always on my mind, but then again, I think about the
ending of
the engagement, not about the fiancee.*
With that, Serena felt
comforted. So long as she looked forward to the end of
the engagement,
they would
be okay. No emotions or feelings to
clutter up her business
world.
Mina leaned back in her chair, and rubbed
her now very large
tummy. Her smile suddenly disappeared, and she
frowned very quickly.
“Oh my gosh,
Serena!”
Serena was on her feet in a
minute. She ran to Mina’s side. “What
is it?”
“I think my water just broke.”
Serena’s eyes widened and she looked
around, panicked. She
quickly
guided Mina to her room, and helped her lie down. Her eyes
focused on
the phone on the desk. “I’m calling for
help.”
She ran to the phone, and instead of
dialing 911, she decided to
page
Darien. She then gave Mina’s number
into the pager, and then called
911. Unfortunately, the nearest hospital was two
hours away. From the
way Mina
started to cry and kick and scream, it didn’t look like it was
going to be
that easy on Serena.
*Please, Darien, where are you?*
The phone started rang an hour
later, after Serena had pulled her
hair out,
and cried with Mina and reassured her.
“Hello?”
“Serena? You paged me. What’s up?”
“Oh, Darien, there’s a huge problem
here. Mina’s water just
broke, and
the ambulance is two hours away, and she’s really screaming!”
“All right, Serena. Listen to me. Ask her how early is the baby.”
“Dare wants to know how early the
baby is.”
“A FEW WEEKS!!!!” she screamed.
Serena brought the cordless with her
to her friend and comforted
her.
“You heard her,” Serena said into
the phone.
“All right, and how far apart are
her contractions?”
“WHAT?”
“How often is she screaming really
loudly?”
“She’s constantly screaming right
now.”
“Louder than usual.”
She looked at the clock
helplessly. She then looked at
Mina.
“How far
apart are the contractions?”
“An hour and half,” Mina breathed
out.
Serena repeated to Darien.
“Looks like the ambulance will get
there in time, but you’ll have to
do a lot of
the work. Listen to me, Serena you have
to do a few things…”
Serena collapsed into the seat by
Mina’s bed. “Whew! What a
trip, Mina!”
The ambulance had arrived at the
ranch in time, and Mina had her
son at her
ranch, but had been brought afterwards to the hospital, to make
sure she’d
be okay. Darien was right, and though
Serena had to do most
of the work,
the ambulance driver and his colleague had helped when they
had arrived.
And now, they were in the hospital,
Mina gently holding her son
and Serena
ready to fall asleep with exhaustion.
At that moment, a knock came at the
door, and Andrew peeked
around the
corner. “Dare said that I had to rush
back to the hospital. Are
you all
right, Mina?”
Serena smiled. In all the excitement, she had forgotten to
call
Andrew. It was a good thing Darien did…*Darien
always remembers to
small sweet
details, doesn’t he?*
“Yes, I’m fine. Isn’t he beautiful?”
At that moment, Serena realized that
she didn’t belong in here, and
decided to
leave the family to themselves.
As she started down the hall, she
looked absently around her,
feeling
lonely and tired. She needed someone
here for HER right now.
It was an odd feeling. She felt lonely, and tired and very
old.
Everything
seemed so much more colorless and empty.
Her life seemed to
be missing
something. For the first time, that
little emptiness in her heart
was swollen
and ached. She wished, for the first
time in her life, that
someone was
here with her. Him. She wanted him to be here, taking her
in his arms,
holding her.
As she decided to that she was
overreacting and just needed
something to
eat, she headed towards the elevators, wanting to go the
cafeteria. Someone down the hall was evidently a Mariah
Carey fan,
“Whenever
You Call” was coming out of one room or another. Serena
wanted to
cry. The melody was more than familiar
to her.
Love
wandered inside
Stronger
than you
Stronger
than I
And now that
it has begun
We cannot
turn back
We can only
turn into one
She felt the
tears accumulating…this was what all came down to, wasn’t
it? In the end, that strange feeling, called
love, which did not exist for
cold ice
queens…
I won’t ever
be too far away to feel you
And I won’t
hesitate at all
Whenever you
call
And I’ll
always remember
The part of
you so tender
I’ll be the
one to catch your fall
Whenever you
call
It was just
amazing how well Darien knew her…the way he always knew
the exact
moments to joke with her, and when to be serious…and the
gentleness
of his touch…a tear slipped down her cheek.
And I’m truly
inspired
Finding my
soul
There in
your eyes
And you
Have opened
my heart
And lifted
me inside
By showing
me yourself
Undisguised
*No
comment,* she thought, as she walked down the hall. This was
depressing.
And I won’t
ever be too far away to feel you
And I won’t
hesitate at all
Whenever you
call
And I’ll
always remember
The part of
you so tender
I’ll be the
one to catch your fall
Whenever you
call
She waited a little and the elevator
bell dinged. She waited for the
doors to
open and when they did, she couldn’t move.
How did he know?
Her face
paled and she was frozen in place, when she suddenly smiled.
There he was, mussed hair,
exhausted, just like her, from travel,
rather than
frustration, loneliness and fatigue.
Here for her. He put his
hand to her
cheek, and caressed it lightly. Serena
felt that emptiness
quickly
being filled, as the wound that was born in her heart suddenly
disappeared
like magic. The feeling would not be
ignored. She felt the
warmth,
creeping into her cheeks, and confusion pervading her soul. But
right now,
she couldn’t fight them, when she was too tired, and too weak.
She simply
hurled herself into his arms, and started to cry, holding on for
dear life.
He held her, holding her shoulders,
looking at and feeling the
security and
warmth flood into her. The feeling of
having her in his arms.
She looked up gratefully to him, as
if to say thank you, but instead,
her arms
twined about his neck and her hands pulled his head to hers, as
she kissed
him gently.
And I will
breathe for you each day
Comfort you
through all the pain
Gently kiss
your fears away
You can turn
to me and cry
Always
understand that I
Give you all
I am inside
I won’t ever
be too far away to feel you
And I won’t
hesitate at all
Whenever you
call
And I’ll
always remember
The part of
you so tender
I’ll be the
one to catch your fall
Whenever you
call
Chapter 20 - I Shouldn’t
NEED Him
Serena stepped out of the limo, and
smiled to Darien, putting her
gloved hand
on his arm, as he guided her into the opera house. He held
her hand
lightly in his.
Her heart was pounding. He always made her feel so nervous now.
However,
there was something in his presence that indicated that if he
WEREN’T
here, she’d feel even more miserable.
Therefore, she found a
strange
comfort in being on her nerves.
They walked up together and walked
into a box where they greeted
Amy and
Greg.
“It’s so wonderful that you could
join us!” Amy smiled.
Serena kissed her friend’s cheek and
shook Greg’s hand. “It’s
been a while
since I’ve seen you, and all.”
“Great.”
“Besides, Darien and I haven’t been
able to be together for a
while,” she
said, tightening her grip slightly on Darien’s hand.
It was all strange and out of whack
now.
Serena really didn’t know what to
think. It had been a month since
that day
Mina had her child, but Serena remembered like it was yesterday.
The holding, the comforting. Serena and Darien never really
talked about
it, but she knew that she needed him there when he came.
And she knew
that he knew it too, or else, he might not have been there.
He just knew she needed him. He had flown to Los Angeles,
fought the
crowds and found Andrew, and together, they had set out for
Cheyenne. Darien had driven them to the hospital in a
rented car, and was
parking as
Andrew rushed to his wife to congratulate his wife and see his
son.
Darien rushed to his fiancee, to
hold her and tell her that she had
done a
wonderful job.
And Serena still didn’t know why she
cried that day. Darien never
talked about
it either. But she realized one thing
that day; she needed
Darien that
day, more than she had ever needed anyone in her life. The
emptiness
was filled that day, and though the emotions and feelings she
had been
trying to avoid in herself had surfaced, she ignored them, and
found that
the filling of that void was well worth the confusion. But only
for that
day. It was strange now. Serena Larynce depended on Darien, for
a day. But it didn’t matter that it was a day. It was the fact she had
depended on
him…counted on him…TRUSTED him. It was
strange to
have that
dependence on someone. Serena never
thought that it would be
possible to
depend so much on one person. But then
again, after that
event, she
never really NEEDED Darien to hold her again.
She was all
right
afterwards. But she was changed too.
She liked talking to him every
night, even if it WAS to argue over
something. But it was hardly like that. In fact, if they didn’t abhor each
other, they
might have been friends. But then
again, Serena knew that
what they
had was not dislike either.
It was all in the middle in that
cloudy gray area, she supposed.
Darien was a
nice guy to keep conversation with, and a good person to
calm her
down when she was feeling distressed.
Other than that, well,
those
feelings of melting were hardly what she called permanent
dependence
or anything, nor were they anything to worry about, because
as for as
her life was concerned, those problems did not even exist.
But she liked being around him. He made her feel beautiful with
his flirting
and teasing. It was the game, and the
game, and she played the
game as
well. To the press, they were Camelot
all over again. Beautiful
princess and
HOT TO DIE FOR prince. She sometimes thought
that it
was because
she even WAS beautiful, or at least with him, and at times,
she believed
that she even looked beautiful to him.
And even THAT
thrilled
her. The way that he’d look at her
while they danced, even if it
WAS an
act. The way he’d hold her
possessively, even if it WAS all a
joke. It made her feel warm and gooey inside.
No!
She was acting like a teenager?
Was she falling in love with love
again?
Or was she falling in love with
Darien?
Either was bad, but the second was
worse.
She sat at a dining table, alone,
looking into the crowd
absentmindedly. She didn’t like going to these events
alone. She wished
he had come
with her.
As she put her silver fork down on
her plate and sat back in her
chair, she
DID wish that Darien was here. They’d
be playing the game
again, or
whispering something about Candy Larynce’s low-cut see-
though
getup.
Serena sighed and played with a
stray tendril that came across her
face. She then reached her hand back and fixed in
the curls in the
amethyst and
silver barrette more securely.
At that moment, Darien Dredsdale was
standing at the doorway,
watching his
fiancee in blank and obvious admiration.
Dressed in
lavender
velvet, with a silver-embroidered bodice, low-cut and sleeveless,
and very
form-fitting, her blond curls, which now reached past her
shoulders,
and curled lightly with bright silver and sparkling amethyst
among the
strands of gold. The straps of the gown
here an inch thick and
came down in
an oval, and Serena had worn a gorgeous amethyst and
silver
necklace.
She was beautiful, and Darien knew
everything about that beauty,
for he
studied it time after time after time.
She never was too dull to
study, and
everything about her appearance was fascinating, and perfect.
But that wasn’t the only thing about
Serena Larynce. She had a
heart of
gold. She had frozen it before for
protection, but he liked to see
that ice
melt away, leaving nothing but a vulnerable girl, whom he was
falling in
love with.
He was accepting it now. Serena Larynce was different in his eyes
from any
other woman because he had special feeling for her. It was
different to
be with her than any other person in his life.
He was defensive
because he
was vulnerable. He had told her more
about himself than he
had ever
told anyone in his whole life. That
touched him, and frightened
him. It was so soon, wasn’t it?
He sighed and decided that he wanted
to get SOME dances with
his fiancee
this evening, and if he just stood there the rest of the evening,
he was
getting nowhere.
Serena sighed, thinking about
him. *He’s at some dinner with
some
cousins, and I understand that, but if he were my true fiancee, and if
he loved me,
he’d be with ME, or I’d be with him. It
wouldn’t matter.
But then
again, it’s only business arrangement.
It’s not like we’re going to
actually get
married,* she thought, regretfully
At that moment, she felt a light tap
on her shoulder and she
immediately
sensed the touch. It was the touch of
Darien. Only his would
make her
feel so frightened and pleased at the same time.
She turned cautiously, hiding her
small affection in the midst of
blue
confusion.
Darien took her into his arms, a
gesture of an fiancee that came
with the
contract, and whispered, “Thought you’d be bored.”
“Without our bickering? I have to admit, Dredsdale, it IS rather
dull without
your annoying presence.”
“How about we leave? It’s only nine, and we can walk around a
little.”
Serena felt her heart beat
faster. “How about we stay here?”
*Where it’s
safer for me to stay around you, where you can be that sweet
fiancee I
want you to be.*
Darien, inwardly disappointed
decided to accept it, and instead
offered his
hand, “Care to dance then?”
“I’d love to.”
As the walked out to the dance
floor, Serena worried that she was
spending too
much time getting to know this young man who was easily
taking away
her life from her grasp.
He held her hand, as they walked
into the chapel, and sat in chairs,
smiling at
Greg, who stood at the front, with his best man at his side.
Serena gripped his hand even tighter
as some of the Larynce
princesses
approached them.
He smiled, and put his hand
protectively about her waist.
She smiled at him, and kissed him on
the cheek, making her blush,
as she
realized that they had an audience. He
chuckled, and guided her to
a seat.
As they sat, watching the wedding
take place, Serena felt her hand
being held
affectionately. As Amy walked down the
aisle, her eyes
sparkling
with mirth and excitement, Serena smiled at her cousin, and felt
the tears
coming.
He smiled at her, and touched her
cheek, with his finger, collecting
her tears,
making her smile.
As the two at the altar said their
vows, the two in their seats
watched with
ardor and a seriousness that forced them to think about
this…
Chapter 21 - We Need To
Talk
“Hello Gram,” Serena said,
grudgingly as she pecked Gail
Larynce’s
old cheek with a small hint of coldness.
“Rena, darling, what is wrong?”
“I came here early because I need to
talk to you.”
The Fourth of July barbecue was two
hours away, but Serena
wanted to
have some time with her grandmother on her own.
“What is wrong?” Gail asked.
“What’s wrong? You decide to take my life, and throw it
into
disarray and
ask what’s wrong?”
“Oh that.”
“Oh that?”
“I know you don’t usually wear such
royal blue, but I thought
you’d look
nice in it…”
“No!” Serena stamped her foot.
“The dress is fine. I wanted to
talk to you
about my fiancee.”
“Oh, Darien Dredsdale is such a
sweet boy. I’m glad you’re going
to marry
him.”
Serena sighed, exasperated. “YOU decided that, now, didn’t you?
Neither
Dredsdale nor I know what is going on, and I’m very frustrated
now. You really screwed with my life!”
“But now you’re happy with him, aren’t
you? Doesn’t Gram know
right?”
Serena sighed, exasperated. Confronting Gail Larynce was like
confronting
a brick wall.
“Sure Gram, I like him enough…” *Enough to KILL him for all
the
confusion he’s causing, and enough to kill HER for starting it.* “I’ll
see you
later, Gram.”
“Yes, and don’t forget to wear the
royal blue. You’ll look
BEAUTIFUL.”
“Sure, Gram.”
Serena walked about the patio,
smiling in the summer breeze at no
one in
general. Darien was on his way here,
and she was being surrounded
by her
littlest cousins, smiling and playing along with them.
“You be the princess, Aunt Reeny!”
She wasn’t really their aunt, but it
was easier than saying “second
cousin
whatever”, and they were in too much awe of her to call her just
cousin
Serena. However, they didn’t like
saying Serena either, but Reeny
just worked
perfectly.
“What? I don’t want to be the princess!” she smiled.
“But you’re pretty!”
“So are you!”
“But you look like a princess. Aunt Candy says you’re the Ice
Queen, and
that you could freeze us, but I told her that you weren’t cold at
all, and you
couldn’t’ freeze us ‘cuz you never did before, and that you
weren’t a
Queen because you weren’t THAT old!”
Serena smiled.
“Aunt Candy also says that you’re
very ugly, but I told her that you
were pretty,
and you looked prettier than her. She
has too much make up.”
Serena was laughing. “Well, I still can’t be princess anyway,
because I
still don’t have my prince!”
“Uncle Darien’s coming, right?”
*UNCLE DARIEN?!?!?!?!?!* “Since when did you start calling
him Uncle
Darien? We’re not even married yet!”
“But you’re going to, and when we
saw him a month ago when he
visited
Daddy, daddy told us he was Uncle Darien, and that he was going
to marry
you!”
Serena blushed. *Kids just say the DARNDEST things!*
As she stood, talking with her
little cousin, she felt a hand rest on
her
velvet-covered shoulder. She turned
carefully. Only one person could
make her
heart beat ten times faster like that.
But when she turned around, she
found that her heart had lied.
But it wasn’t a huge
disappointment. With a little relief,
and with
more joy
than usual, she greeted Raye Larynce.
“How ARE you? I haven’t seen you in a LONG time!”
Raye smiled, her white teeth,
brilliant and her violet eyes
sparkling. Serena always loved those eyes. They were so unique and
beautiful.
Though the two women had only met
each other last year at Raye’s
wedding,
they had gone on shopping expeditions, and gone to various
functions
together. Raye was a wonderful woman to
stick around with,
because she
was so open and honest. Chad loved her
very much, and
Serena liked
Chad a lot, and liked his tastes in everything.
And his taste in women was NOT bad.
Raye was always very understanding. Not only was that special
about her,
but she had the advantage of knowing Darien when he was a
child, for
she had gone to school with him. Raye
could always see the
whole story,
and evidently, she saw the whole story in the engagement too,
for a few weeks
after the engagement was announced, Raye had called her,
and Serena
had confessed everything to her, and Raye simply understood.
From that
time, they had grown VERY close.
But now, no one knew what was going
on in Serena’s head.
Raye drew her friend to a corner and
they started to talk. “So is he
coming?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Something’s up, isn’t it? You’re so nervous around him now.”
“He gives no reason for me not to be
nervous.”
“Are you feeling something for him?”
“I…I don’t know!”
Raye nodded understandingly. “I know I can’t tell you what to
feel, but
I’ll tell you that in all my years of knowing Darien Dredsdale, I
don’t
believe I’ve ever seen him as happy as he is with you.”
Serena nodded, touched by that
comment. A warm feeling of
smugness
came over her, and she felt a satisfaction that was not known to
man or
woman.
“But if he hurts you, I will gladly
kill him for you.”
Serena laughed.
Chapter 22 -
Another…er…Complication
“…and that’s why the judge must…”
she trailed off, as she looked
at the
window of the classroom. He was there,
standing, wet, and he
looked like
he needed her.
An odd feeling…being needed.
“Um…I think I’ll let class out today
twenty minutes early, if you
don’t mind,”
she said, as she checked her watch.
“You all look tired
anyway. We’ve covered a lot of work today. By next week, I want you to
read through
the next two chapters, and we’ll discuss more.
Class
dismissed.”
The students all sighed with relief,
as they stood up, and packed up
their
things. She answered all last
questions, and walked to Darien, who
now had come
in.
He stood there, hair rumple from
travel, and a slight five o’ clock
shadow, but
nevertheless there. He immediately took
her into his arms,
and he
kissed her, thoroughly, at first hungrily, then gently. She wound
her arms
around him, taking him into her embrace, showing that she
sincerely
missed him.
He liked the feeling. A lot.
So did she. A blush crept into her cheeks as she
realized what she
had just
done…but it was excusable, right? What
else did a fiancee do
when she saw
her fiancee for the first time in two weeks?
Never mind the
fact that
they weren’t really getting married.
“Darien, what are you doing here?”
she whispered against his
warm chest,
as he held her, bound tightly in his arms.
She felt his heat
through the
many layers of clothing she wore.
It had taken a lot to get him
there. He had gone out of an operation
when the
patient died anyway, and it hurt more than anything. It
happened, and
the chances for success were slim to none.
Standing in the
empty
corridor, having nurses and surgical assistants tell him that it wasn’t
his fault,
got to him. He didn’t need them
there. He only needed Serena,
because
Serena would know how to comfort him.
Serena knew
everything. He needed her. He loved her.
“I needed to see you, I guess,” he
said calmly. She started to back
out of his
embrace, looking at him carefully. He
didn’t want to scare her
away. The look in her eyes was one of fright and
bewilderment. It stated
to come to
him. He didn’t want her like this. Her wanted her to be
relaxed with
him.
“Come on, let’s go back to my
place…” she said, as she got her
coat and
umbrella.
The walked through the rain in
silence, but he found immense
comfort in
holding her hand…immense warmth. they
arrived, and Serena
turned to
him, and softly smiled, waveringly.
Serena bit her lip. “Why don’t you come in and sit down?” she
looked up at
him.
She was a vision. The raindrops were playing like clear pearls
in
her
tendrils, and her eyes glittered with a small happiness and fondness.
Her cheeks,
which were lightly coated with a sheen of rain, glimmered
lightly.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said, as
he followed her in.
She went inside, and grabbed a
flannel blanket, and draped it
across his
shoulders. “You’re all wet. You must be so cold!” she said,
softly.
“Well, not anymore,” as he caught
her arm, and twisted her into his
arms again,
holding her warmly.
She backed away, after sharing a few
minutes of warmth, and
cleared her
throat. “What’s wrong, Darien?”
“It was an operation…and the patient
didn’t live. He wasn’t
supposed to,
but…”
“Darien, you know those things
aren’t your fault…” she said, as
she caressed
his face lightly, looking softly into his eyes. “You can’t play
God, and as
much as you’d like to believe you can save everyone, there
are some…”
she trailed off. “We’ve had this
conversation enough times
for you to
know what I’ll say, so we’ll just sit here for a while, while you
gather your
thoughts, all right?” she said, as she sat down next to him,
leaning her
head on his shoulder.
He looked at the golden head at his
shoulder, and felt a warmth, a
care. No one had ever been able to toss aside work
just to sit next to him,
and tell him
things off life, and no one ever knew when to ever talk with
him, and
when to leave him alone. He drew a
breath. It was only right.
She had to
know.
“Look, I know things have been
difficult, and we’ve been through
so much that
it’s frightening. We’ve essentially
gone through the part of a
romantic
couple. Things are so different
now. I wasn’t counting on this,
but I’ll
tell you one thing. Serena, you know me
more than anyone else
does, and
now I see why you’ve always seemed…different to me.”
“What do you mean? We play games, if that’s what you mean by
different…”
“Look, Serena, it isn’t a game
anymore. Don’t you see that? This
is
serious. When we entered the
engagement, maybe it was a game. But
things have
changed. You have changed, and I have
changed. It’s
different
because now we’ve gone though things together.
I know you,
and you know
me, more than anyone else has ever known me in my entire
life. I think about you every hour of the day, and
if I don’t, I make up for
it when I
feel my heart cry for you. You are
solely the most important
person in my
life. Wheatever you do, I feel it. Whenever you smile, I feel
it. When I stand in Washington, feeling a
hollowness in my heart, I am
glad to know
it will fill up again when I see you.
When I am cold or
depressed, I
know that when I see you, the warmth of your smile will
evaporate
all sadness or disappointment. When I’m
with you, I can
believe that
stupid superstitions like the gold mistletoe work, even IF I
don’t know
why. When I’m with you, I can almost
believe that everything
in the world
is made of gold and pearl, simply because you love it. When
I’m with
you, I can almost believe that life is perfect. Let’s face it, Serena,
I…care about
you. I think I’m…”
“Don’t say something you’ll regret,
Dredsdale.” Serena
interrupted. She stood up from her chair, feeling her
knees shake. No, this
couldn’t
happen to her now. It was too soon, and
too fast, and this
shouldn’t
have happened. She was Larynce, and he
was Dredsdale, and
there was
nothing that would ever make them both of the same world, the
same
name. She DIDN’T care for his
theatricals. “You’re only saying
this because
you’ve had lack of sleep, now, you can go into my guest
room and
rest. I know you’ve had a lot of things
going around in your life
in the last
few days, and that’s why you think that what we have is special,
why you
think we…but Dredsdale, you’re lying to yourself. You just
need rest.”
“Don’t you see that I love you? I NEED YOU!!!!!”
Serena looked up, startled. A moment of silence passed between
them, and
Serena could not remove her eyes form his face. Finally, she
stammered
out some words, carefully. “Rest…you
need rest. I think I
need to go out
for a walk,” she said, as she got up, and grabbed her
umbrella.
Chapter 23 - A Revelation
She cried every night before she
fell asleep. *What’s going on
with me?*
It was pain. He never called her anymore, and when she
called, he
never
answered the phone. She wanted to talk
to him, but he wouldn’t.
The past two
months were torturous. She’d go to
various society things
without him,
and come up with excuses for the people who were
concerned.
She’d come up with excuses for
herself.
Finally, she just got sick of
everyone and everything, and decided
to back away
and hide out. She stopped calling her
friends and talking
with them a
week ago, because she got sick of all the pity and comforting.
SHE WOULD
NOT BE COMFORTED FOR BEING IN A
RELATIONSHIP
THAT NEVER EXISTED!!!!
So now she was alone, because that
was the only way for her to go
on now. She didn’t want to deal with her problems,
and she didn’t want to
think about
HIM. Her friends would only want to
talk about her feelings,
which she
had yet to understand herself.
She missed him…his
companionship. He was…everything. He
could
comfort her, make her feel drunk with happiness, he could make her
feel
strangely mad and pleased with him at the same time, and he could
kiss her
with something that she had never felt before, no matter how
many times
they had kissed. He could make her love
him. What they had
was special,
and he ruined it all by telling her that he needed her.
It was what she needed to hear.
But it wasn’t what she wanted to
hear.
It was true that she loved him, and
it was true that she needed to
hear that he
loved her, but she didn’t want to fall in love, ever, in her life.
She liked
her life the way it was. But lord, she
needed him, no matter how
much she was
telling herself that she didn’t. Every
minute of this was
torture,
killing away her heart, leaving nothing but pain and sorrow and
tears.
*Life’s so complicated now. It was perfect before he entered the
picture.* She was ready to kill her grandmother the
next time they met,
which was
only two months away, at the Christmas dinner.
*God, the Christmas dinner.* That was when she and Darien had
chosen to
break it off. Who knew what was going
to happen now. They
hadn’t
broken it off officially yet. But they
were going to, undoubtedly
soon.
She loved him, that was true. But she didn’t want to believe it.
Admitting
that she loved him was admitting that she had a weakness, that
no matter
how hard she was, and how remote she was, and how strong and
smart she
was, that she was still as weak as anyone else, that she could be
crushed in a
second by one gesture of his hand. She
didn’t want that. But
even though
she didn’t want to admit it, that pain was in her now.
She had spent her life building that
reputation of hers, and she
spent even
longer than that telling herself that she didn’t need anyone or
anything.
But it all changed when she was
engaged.
Getting engaged had to be biggest
mistake of her life. She thought
that it
would only be a long game, but now, it had been a path of
discovery,
and she found that every engagement, no matter how false,
influenced
life.
Just the concept of being bound to
someone else, to feel what he
felt, and to
go though his troubles, was enough to make her learn life. But
when love
played a role, then the whole engagement changed.
As she sat in her room, she looked
to the window, up to the moon,
as the radio
announcer introed the latest from “savagegarden”.
“She’s
taking time, making up the reasons
To justify
all the hurt inside
Guess she
knows from the smiles and the look in their eyes
Everyone’s
got a theory about the bitter one
They’re
saying ‘Mamma never loved her much’
And, ‘Daddy
never keeps in touch
That’s why
she shies away from human affection’
But
somewhere in a private place
She packs
her bags for outer space
And now
she’s walking for the right kind of pilot to come.
And she’ll
say to him
I would fly
you to the moon and back if you’ll be…
If you’ll be
my baby
Got a ticket
for a world where we belong
So would be
you my baby?
She can’t
remember a time when she felt needed
If love was
red then she was colorblind
All her
friends they’ve been tried for treason
And crimes
that were never defined
She’s
saying, ‘Love is like a barren place,
And reaching
out for human faith
Is like a
journey I just don’t have a map for’
So baby’s
gonna take a dive and
Push the
shift to overdrive
Send a
signal that she’s hanging all her hopes on the stars
What a
pleasant dream
I would fly
you to the moon and back if you’ll be…
If you’ll be
my baby
Got a ticket
for a world where we belong,
So would be
my baby?”
At that moment, she realized
something.
Chapter 24 - Letting Her
Go…
He sat in at his office, taking in
the morning around him. He was
depressed. He blew it.
She wasn’t ready. *But I AM!!!!*
She was perfect, everything he
wanted in life, captured in one
smile, one
person. Pure and beautiful. He loved her so much.
He had never felt such a bond and
such an understanding as he had
when he was
with her. She was so special…a delicate
moon beam, right
in his
hands, which so quickly vanished.
It wasn’t going to be the same
anymore. Whenever he stood with
her, or
danced with her, he’d know, that deep inside, she didn’t love him,
and the pain
of having her in his arms, but not having her in his heart, was
too much to
bear.
He was going to let her go. She had to realize it too. And this was
the only
way.
Besides, it was best for them right
now anyway, because he
couldn’t
stand to look into her eyes again without those feelings he wanted
in there.
“Darien Dresdale announced earlier
today outside the White House
that he and
Serena Larynce will not marry, and that the engagement just
isn’t
working out. Larynce is in hiding in
her Cambridge home, she
refuses to
give a press release.”
Serena stared at the radio as she
heard it.
He had broken it off.
It was not possible. It couldn’t be.
He had broken it off.
It was three in the morning, and she
had just settled down at her
bed after
furiously cleaning her Cambridge home.
She had thought all day
after that
revelation, and decided that she needed to stay busy, because the
revelation
scared her.
She WANTED to marry him. She loved him. She wanted to be
loved by
him. It was a risk, but not worth it,
definitely. She was willing
to take the
risk, and yet, the risk wasn’t there because she knew he already
loved her.
Loving him was one of the best things she had ever done,
because
loving him made her feel whole.
Love wasn’t the weakness. It was the strength.
She shivered as she thought of her
revelation again, the words
echoing in
her mind. She wanted him to love her.
The song was important. The song knew. And now, she knew.
She loved him. He loved her. They could get married. And
she
could live
happily ever after. It was all so
perfect it was scary.
As she sat back in bed, she had
turned on the all news radio station,
and had just
heard that her fiancee had called it off.
It was then she realized that he
might not love her anymore.
Of course she was angry.
She immediately picked up the phone
and got Dredsdale’s
apartment in
Washington. Of course, an answering
machine picked up.
“Dredsdale here, but busy. Leave a message.”
“DREDSDALE!!! WHAT DO YOU MEAN IN BREAKING OFF
OUR
ENGAGEMENT? WE HAD AN
ARRANGEMENT!” Not really
realizing
why she had called, she hung up, shocked at herself.
As she breathed heavily, looking at
the phone, she started to cry
even harder.
The engagement was off, and the
chapter was closed.
He didn’t love her anymore.
Chapter 25 - We’re Here
For You
As she sat in her office, mindlessly
working on a case study by the
Supreme
Court, she looked up as Lucy entered.
“There are some ladies here to see
you. They said that you invited
them for lunch. It wasn’t on your schedule, but the first
lady was in the
group, so
I…”
“Don’t worry, Lucy. Show them in.”
The minute Mina, Lita, Raye and Amy
entered the room, Serena
smiled and
went to the and they embraced.
“Welcome back into the human world,
Rena,” Mina smiled softly.
“We were
worried for a while.”
“It was nothing,” Serena smiled,
pathetically.
“So what’s been going on?”
“Well, why don’t we go to a
restaurant first and I’ll tell you
everything
you wanted to know.”
“…and now, here I am, in love, and
he’s broken off the
engagement,
and I can’t really blame him.”
They were speechless. Serena picked more at the salad.
“So you two never really fought?”
“No.”
“But he still loves you, right?”
Mina asked, gently.
“No, he doesn’t. That’s why he broke it off, don’t you
see? In the
White House,
we’re fine. I just do my work, and he
does his, and we don’t
usually
cross paths now, because I’m reviewing some Supreme Court
decisions,
and he’s doing something or another. So
now, we’re back to
where we
began, only worse than that.”
“I don’t think he broke it off
because he didn’t love you, Rena,”
Raye said
softly. “I think he broke it off
because he loves you still. He
wants the
best for you. I know him.”
“I don’t think he knows what’s best
for me. If he did, we’d still be
engaged,
calling each other at insane hours, and deliriously happy
together.”
“But given the circumstances…”
“I love him. That isn’t a circumstance. That is pure pain and
torture. I can’t say I regret loving him, because it
makes me feel special
when I think
he did love me. And I can’t deny that
loving him has made
me a better
person. I love him, and he doesn’t love
me. I’d accept the
situation if
I were less determined, but I’m not. I
want to fight for him, but
I can’t if
he won’t let me. It’s horrid! And I don’t even regret this pain!
You know,
this is the reason why I always thought love was a weakness,
but even
now, I won’t admit that.”
Chapter 26 - Someone
Else?
She caught his eye from across the
room at the gala. He was there,
but he
brought an escort. Candy Larynce.
Serena had a deadly flame in her eye
at the moment. He had the
nerve to
bring Candy Larynce to a White House function.
She was ready to kill him.
But she calmly told herself in her
mind that this chapter was over,
and that
Darien would always be in her heart, no matter HOW dumb he
was acting.
Though this came close to pushing
him out of her heart.
She couldn’t believe it. She still would love him after he did
THIS?
She felt tears in her heart, but
wouldn’t let them come to her eyes.
It would be
humiliating. Not that it wasn’t
humiliating enough.
Candy Larynce.
*Love is strength, yeah right.*
She wanted to just give up and
become herself again, the late
Larynce that
wandered around , distinct from everyone else.
She wanted
to be alone
and the Ice Queen again. But Darien
just wouldn’t let that
happen, not
would he?
She felt her heart, and life,
falling out of her grasp and to the floor.
She didn’t want
to see this.
Everything was in tailspin now, all
because of one man, and he had
to be the
one man she’d spent her life building her heart and mind against.
She knew that he would eventually
find someone else, but why did
it have to
be soon, and why did it have to be Candy?
She wanted to leave.
She couldn’t
breathe, and she wanted to think by herself.
“Would you like to dance?”
“Yes, sir, I’d love to,” she said to
the perfect stranger.
It was killing him inside. He only brought Candy to make her feel
jealous, and
only Serena knew if he and succeeded.
Now she was dancing
with her
fifteenth partner that evening, and he desperately wanted to go
and rip that
man from his princess.
He hated this waiting. He had to do something.
Serena sprawled out on her bed,
staring at the ceiling, trying to
sleep, but
her eyes were reluctant. Her pillow was
wet, for countless tears,
as she
tried, once more, not to think of him…
She sat up, and, depressed, she
turned on the light, and tried to read
a romance to
novel to cheer her up. However, the
story was too
depressing
for her…it told of two childhood enemies, who met later, at a
masquerade,
and fell in love, and so on, and they lived happily ever
after…happily
ever afters never existed.
She turned on the radio as she
started to cry again, and she looked,
from her
place on the bed, out the window, to stare, once again, at the
moon.
I am
thinking of you
In my
sleepless solitude tonight
If it’s
wrong to love you
Then my
heart just won’t let me be right
‘Cause I’ve
drowned in you
And I won’t
pull through without you by my side
I’d give my
all to have
Just one
more night with you
I’d risk my
life to feel
Your body
next to mine
‘Cause I
can’t go on
Living in
the memory of our song
I’d give my
all for your love tonight
Baby can you
feel me
Imagining
I’m looking in your eyes
I can see
you clearly
Vividly
emblazoned in my mind
And yet
you’re so far
Like a
distant star
I’m wishing
on tonight
I’d give my
all to have
Just one
more night with you
I’d risk my
life to feel
Your body
next to mine
‘Cause I
can’t go on
Living in
the memory of our song
I’d give my
all for your love tonight
Chapter 27 - Deja vu
She ran up the steps at 5:47.
*Never cut it THIS close.*
“Miss Serena! Your mother’s been worried sick!”
Serena smiled. *Nothing’s changed HERE, at least.*
It was difficult, but Serena had
finally closed the chapter of being
engaged. She was all right now. She smiled as she thought of the past
year.
She HAD changed. A year ago, she was not even aware that she
was going to
be engaged, that she was going to fall in love. She now
wondered if
she was better off then, not loving, and not hurting inside
every time
she heard the name Darien Dredsdale.
She loved him. It was
the
experience. She had to go through
it. She was happier now, because
she had left
that behind her, and let that experience improve her.
Or at least that’s what she told
herself.
But did she believe it?
“Rena!” Mina came running forward for a hug.
Lita smiled as she approached her
friend as well, and Amy walked
slowly, with
Raye, both with slightly swollen tummies.
“Your mother’s going to ground you!”
“Nothing new, now is it?”
They laughed.
Raye hugged Serena
meaningfully. Only she knew how much
Serena was
thinking of not coming. She whispered
into her ear, “He’s
here alone,
Rena. Didn’t bring a date. I think he’s hiding in his room
right now.”
Serena looked, startled, at her
cousin.
“So what are you naming the kid?”
“Don’t know if it’ll be a boy or
girl yet.”
“Serena Rebecca Larynce, you are now
grounded for a year!”
Serena smiled at Ilene Larynce.
“I was worried about you,” Ilene
sighed. “But I’m glad you
came.”
Ilene had figured that Dredsdale’s
presence in the house must have
contributed
to her daughter’s already tardy nature.
She wished she could
understand
what her daughter was feeling, but Serena didn’t talk much
about her
relationship with the Dredsdale prince, and Ilene decided that it
was her
daughter’s choice whether she heard it or not.
“Mother, I’m glad to see you,”
Serena said. “I think that I’d like to
talk to you
and dad; we haven’t talked in a while.”
Ilene smiled, and realized what her
daughter meant.
“Our door’s always open,” she said,
meaningfully.
“And there is my favorite
granddaughter!” Gail Larynce smiled
carefully,
approaching Serena. She had not talked
to Serena since the
break off of
the engagement, and was feeling slightly guilty.
“Gram. I missed you.” Serena smiled, hugging the old woman,
showing her
that she forgave easily.
“Where’s daddy?”
“Right here, Bunny.”
Dinner was long and difficult. Serena didn’t really want to eat
anything. Not when he was in the room, sitting with
his great aunt.
It was like putting salt on an open
wound. It stung. She wanted to
cry, but she
didn’t. She told herself that she was a
better person, and that
though she
loved him, she didn’t need him.
She finally gave up and went up to
her room, saying she had a
headache,
which was true. All this forcing
herself to go on was getting to
her, and her
heart was starting to weigh a thousand tons.
As she got some mail from her
mailbox, she noticed a small
package at
the foot of her door. It was in gold
paper, and tied with a
cream
ribbon.
She picked it up, and went into her
room.
Curious, she opened it up first.
There was no note, there was no
card, and nothing to identify who
the giver
was, but Serena knew.
The gift was a gold chain, with gold
snowflake with a diamond
embedded in
the center.
Serena smiled, as tears came to her
eyes, and as she suddenly
thought that
she had a lot of things to do for the masquerade tomorrow.
She entered the room, golden hair,
golden glitter sparkling in the
golden folds
of her hair, and among it, a gold hair clip.
She had rosy
cheeks and a
smile, both with gold glitter on. She
wore a dress of gold
satin with a
large skirt, sparkling, and belling with gold lace and gold
embroidery. Her bodice was gold with gold sequins and
gold thread
embroidery,
and she wore a gold satin sleeveless and low-cut top, with a
gold
necklace on. It was a gold
snowflake. She wore a gold crown, and a
gold
mask…HIS mask, as he noted form the far corner of the room. The
gold eyes
underneath glittered sadly with tears about to form. Wouldn’t
he have
loved to see her now? She flaunted the
diamond engagement ring
on her ring
finger, as she walked about the room on her gold high heels,
secretly
searching for him.
And she saw him. At the far corner of the room, there stood a
man
with white
satin, and silver embroidery robes. His
hair was black, but
streaked
lightly with silver frost. He wore a
silver mask…her mask.
She walked up to him, feeling a
burst of courage as she
remembered
the necklace around her throat. She
offered him her hand,
and he took
it, wordlessly, noting in his mind, however, that she was
wearing
their engagement ring.
As they danced, she realized how
much she had missed him, and
how much she
still loved him, even though she had known that before. It
was a
reality check. She had not seen him in
a so long, and she wanted to
hold on to
him forever. The chapter might have
been closed, but she
couldn’t
help but go back to it again and again.
Her courage was quickly dissolving,
as she felt her heart dissolve
into tears
once more. But she wouldn’t let it take
her over.
As the evening drew to a close, the
fairy tale started to drift away,
as Serena
realized that he wasn’t going to ask her again, that this night was
the last
night for them, and she whispered to him. “Darien…I, I…”
“Okay, it’s midnight!” Gail Larynce said into the microphone.
“It’s time
to unmask!”
Darien softly took of her mask, and
looked away. He wasn’t going
to look into
those eyes expecting to find that the emotion he wanted wasn’t
there. He didn’t want to know what her response
was. He already felt bad
enough.
He felt the mask being lifted off
his eyes, and he looked down at
her, as her
eyes were averted and she looked at the mask in her beautiful,
metallic
gold-colored nails. He didn’t want her
to look up at him.
“And let’s see who’s under the
mistletoe this year!” Gail was
saying. “Serena and Darien again! I think it’s trying to tell you
something.”
Serena, surprised, looked up to find
the gold mistletoe indeed
above their
heads, and a sudden tide of courage overtook her. She smiled
quietly, as
tears brimmed over her cheeks. It WAS
meant to be. She
turned to
him, and said bravely, teasingly.
“So, my Ice Prince, what say
you? Should we just give it up and
accept fate?”
He smiled back, said silently, “What
do you mean, my Sun
Princess?”
“I think you are crazy about me,”
she teased.
“I think you are insane about me,”
he smiled back.
“What if I said you were true?”
“And what if I say that YOU were
true?”
“Then I’d tell you I love you.”
“You would?” he was startled.
“Yes, I would.”
“And what if I said that I loved
you?”
Serena was silent. The chapter wasn’t over. It just begun.
Darien kneeled down before her, and
took her hand. “What if I
told you
that every time I’m without you, I want to scream injustice, and
curse
love? What if I told you that every
time you smiled, I wanted to keel
over with
happiness, even if you weren’t smiling at me?
And what if I
told you
that every time you talk to another young man I want to pull him
away and
keep you to myself? What if I asked you
to marry me?”
Serena gaped. He was asking her again. She started to cry all over
again, and
looked into his eyes, and saw a world in there, and all of it was
reflecting
her. “What if I answered yes?”
Chapter 28 - I Love You
She sighed, dancing in his arms, in
the empty ball room. Her arms
were wrapped
tightly against his neck, and his tightly against her back.
They danced
to the haunting echoes of a distant melody, in the next room.
The grander ballroom was a setting
for new love stories, and a new
year, but
for the two in here, their story was becoming even sweeter.
She leaned her cheek to his
shoulder, as he kissed her softly on the
ear, and
traveled the kiss down from the curl of the ear to her neck, throat,
and then her
mouth.
It was warm, passionate, true, and
everything that was good in the
world. She clung to the warmth, knowing it’d always
be there.
“I love you!” she said, for the
hundredth time this vacation, kissing
him with a
passion that had continued throughout the week.
He kissed her, and held her tightly,
and smiled, “You are so…”
“So what?” her head came back to
look at him.
It still happened.
When they looked into each other’s
eyes, there was overbrimming
joy, and
undulled love, and dark passion.
Always. The meeting of the
eyes was a
meeting of loves and feelings, and Serena’s heart always felt
touched
after such a gaze.
“So beautiful, intelligent,
perfect…perfect…” he said, kissing her
nose, then
forehead.
She loved his kisses. They made her feel dizzy. Tears came to her
eyes, as she
kissed him softly on the lips. “The
minute I saw you, that first
night, I
felt something in me, and when I found out you were Darien
Dredsdale…”
she laughed lightly, as he met her forehead with his, softly.
“When I found out you were Serena
Larynce, I laughed…”
Serena frowned. “At what?”
“Me, not being smart enough to see a
princess when she walks up
to your
face.”
Serena smiled shyly.
“I love how you smile like that…”
“You love everything about me…”
Serena teased. “In the last
twenty-four
hours, you have told me you love my laugh, my tears, my…”
“I love you…everything about you,
Serena. When I look at you, I
wonder how
you and I ever got to be…”
“Join the club!” she teased.
“Incompatible from the start…”
“Probably argue ourselves to death…”
“At least life will be interesting…”
“Yeah…interesting.”
Chapter 29 - Married
Life…Now and Always
Dancing in his arms in white satin
and lace, she smiled at the
handsome man
and said, “I love you…”
Jealous, her husband cut in.
Serena blushed.
“Sorry, DAD,” Darien tried out the
new name on his father in law.
“Even former
presidents can’t take my beautiful wife from me for long…”
Serena smiled, and went into her
husband’s arms, as he held her
closely.
“Hmm…Serena Rebecca Larynce
Dredsdale…long name, but it
feels so
wonderful to hear!” she craned her head back to look up at the
ceiling of
the tent, as if looking to heaven.
Darien kissed her neck, and then
cheek as she looked to him again.
“It’s a
beautiful name…I love it…”
Serena giggled against his
cheek. “Not as much as I love knowing
that I am
your wife!”
“That sounds even better…”
“How about I love you?”
“That’s music…Honey, if you keep
this up, I probably will never
let you go…”
“Can I get that in writing?” she
laughed in his arms.
She looked peaceful, her face turned
to the window of the train, the
sunlight
filtering down on her face, catching in her golden hair, pooling at
that arch of
her neck, and glittering on her soft eyelashes. She looked
peaceful,
and he caressed her hand, and brought it to his lips.
She fell into his chest cozily and
leaned on him as he placed his
chin over
her golden mass of hair, kissing her temple, her ear, and tracing
a line all
the way down her neck, and nuzzling at the crook of her neck,
feeling
rather lazy himself.
“Tickets?”
The attendant looked him
questioningly.
Darien took both from his pocket and
the attendant punched holes
in them.
Serena smiled in his hold, as the
attendant smiled to them, “I hope
you and your
wife enjoy Washington…”
“We already are…” Darien whispered
into Serena’s ear, as he saw
her a sliver
of smile pass through her lips.
It was 5:30 pm. She was home early today. Now that she took
only taught
two days of classes at Harvard, things were better for her.
Most of her
meetings were done via computer and phone now, and Serena,
though not
spending as much time AT Cambridge, still spent as much time
working with
the people there.
Today wasn’t a work day,
though. She had to go up to rearrange a
few courses
though, and that was a meeting early this morning.
The minute she closed the door, she
fell back on it, closing her
eyes and
smiling. It was over. Two days away, even though it was only
two days,
was still torture.
But now, she was home, and she’d be
with her husband, and
perhaps
they’d go out to eat tonight at a beautiful restaurant. Then perhaps
they’d go to
a movie, or walk around a while and then warm up at a cafe.
She wrenched off the beige pumps,
and tugged at her beige suit
jacket
buttons, and went up the stairs in the penthouse apartment.
She found her husband already asleep
on the bed. She pulled off
the blazer,
and pulled off the annoying pantyhose, and decided that there
was nothing
more romantic than just spending the night in your husband’s
arms.
She promptly slipped into bed in her
blouse and skirt, and hugged
her
husband. She felt the sensation of
being moved closer to him, as he
put his arms
around her, kissed her forehead, and whispered, “Welcome
home…”
They walked up the steps to the
Castle at 5:30, arguing.
“We wouldn’t have been this late if
you had done your Christmas
shopping
earlier.”
“Give me a break!”
“I would, but I give you too many
already.”
“It’s not my fault I’m pregnant.”
“Back to the point, why did you
suddenly decide you absolutely
HAD to go
out and buy a present this morning at eleven o’ clock?”
“Mrs. Dredsdale, your mother…” the
maid who opened the door
began.
“…Is very worried about you,” they
both completed, rolling their
eyes.
As they entered the house, Darien
took her hand, and held it
possessively. “We’ll probably be grounded.”
“We needed a vacation anyway,” she
smiled, leaning into him, and
kissing him
sweetly on the lips.
“I love you, Serena.”
“I love you, too.”
The End
Copyright
1998 by Crystal Heart