Title: Saying Goodbye to Dorothy Smith - Chapter 4
Author: Alicia Blade
E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com
Guess what, minna. School started again!!!! WAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!! So,
here's your warning before hand, I will not be getting out a part a
week like I was lucky enough to do this summer. But I do have this fic
and another, A Million Kisses, almost finished, so hopefully that'll
keep you busy for awhile! Wish me luck and nice teachers. (I have two
evil ones :::shudder::: ) So, anyway, here's this one, here ya go!!
"When I was really hurting,
I prayed to the Lord.
He answered my prayer,
And took my worries away."
Psalm 118:5
"Dorothy, where did you get this?" asked Darien, picking the ring
off the counter. Dorothy stopped running the water, leaving the last of
the dishes out to dry, before drying her hands on a checkered
dishtowel.
"Oh, that? Why, I'm surprised you don't already know!" she
exclaimed cheerfully, claiming a seat at the small round table. Darien
continued standing, rolling the ring between his fingers.
"I don't. Where did it come from? Did someone give it to you?"
"Yes, in fact, the most wonderful man in the world gave that to
me. It was my engagement ring."
"Engagement ring? But you're not married…"
"Not anymore I'm not, but I was for many years. My husband passed
away about four years ago. Only a little while before you came here."
"Oh…" Darien whispered. Never removing his gaze from the small
piece of jewelry, he traveled over to his own seat, analyzing the
gorgeous treasure. The ring was a glistening gold, though somewhat
tarnished from years of wear. It held two large stones, a rare, light
stone with tints of purple and red and a light green peridot, tied
together by a string of small white diamonds. "Why these stones?" he
finally asked after a long moment of silence. "The green one is my
birthstone, a peridot, right?"
"Yes, the peridot is the birthstone for August. The other stone
there is my traditional birthstone, called an alexandrite, for June.
It's extremely rare, and very expensive. To this day I don't know how
Jacob managed to afford it. Then the peridot is Jacob's birthstone. He
was born in August, just like you were. When he gave it to me, he told
me that it symbolized the binding of our love, our hearts and souls…"
Dorothy gained a glow in her sparkling green eyes as she spoke,
remembering a love gone by.
"Jacob was your husband, then. How come you never talk about
him?"
"Well, I guess the topic just never comes up."
"Do you ever think about him?"
"All the time, dear. I believe that the Lord has put a soul mate
on this Earth for every person, regardless if they will find each other
or not. I was lucky enough to find mine."
Grinning, Darien passed her the ring across the table. "Is it
painful to talk about him?"
"No, not really. He led a full life, it was his time to go."
"What was he like?"
Dorothy chuckled. "We're just full of questions today, aren't
we?" Darien said nothing, but continued to smile, waiting for a story
he knew she was boiling inside to tell. Dorothy said nothing for
awhile, twisting the ring between her hands, before sliding it onto her
left ring finger. "Jacob… well, he was a kind man, loved little
children. He grew up in the country and used to love to ride horses. We
met in a hardware store, I was picking up some nails for my father, and
he was working there at the time, earning money to buy, or build,
himself a house. Well, I started begging my parents to send me on
errands for them, just to run into him. Finally, he asked me out, and
we courted for a while. I seem to remember that he was always so kind
and gentle, and sweet… Soon enough he surprised me by being a romantic
as well. He was a dream come true for me…"
Darien sighed, watching his friend's dreamy expressions. "Then
what?"
"Then, after it seemed like decades of waiting, he proposed and
we were married."
"How did he propose?" Darien continued, curiously.
"Hm… well…" mumbled Dorothy, standing to fix another pot of tea.
"It was one of our dates and he took me on a walk in a park. We ended
up in a rose garden, and he sat me down on a bench… Then he kneeled
before me and told me… oh, he was so sweet… he said that he loved me
and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me… and then… he asked if
I would be his wife. I squealed, 'YES!' really loudly, I'm sure I
scared all of the others in the park that day. Then he slid this ring
onto my finger and kissed me. About 4 or 5 months later… we were
married."
Sighing, she began pouring the fresh tea into their cups.
"That's a wonderful story. I wish I could have met Jacob."
"Oh, you would have loved him very much! Two peas in a pod you
two would have been, he loved gardening as well, and his favorites were
roses, red nonetheless! Yes, you surely would have gotten along well…"
Dorothy smiled at Darien lovingly. Taking off her ring, he passed
it to him across the table. He eyed her curiously, before once again
taking it into his hands, analyzing the beautiful stones.
"Do you like that, Darien?"
Never removing his gaze from the glittering gems that held it, he
nodded. "It's gorgeous… I hope I'll be able to give the woman I love
something as pretty."
She laughed slightly, nibbling at a small cookie. "I'll make you
a deal. When you find your princess, and you know it's her, I'll give
you this ring. And if you like, you can give it to her, as an
engagement or wedding ring."
Darien gasped, lifting his eyes to clash with her smiling,
emerald gaze. "A…are you sure?"
"Yes, of course! I have no use of it anymore; I certainly don't
want to be buried with the thing! If you like it that much, and want it
for your bride, then it's yours! Just… as long as I get to meet this
girl of your dreams first!"
Grinning widely, Darien passed the ring back to her. "Of course
you will meet her! And you'll have to come to the wedding too, you
know!"
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be able to take the day off, I wouldn't miss
it for the world!"
Staring up at the tall, dark building, Darien wondered why it
looked so much more ominous than it had yesterday. He finally came to
the conclusion that Serena must have shined her light upon it.
Everything was happier, brighter when she was around.
The dirt path beneath his feet made the day seem warm and humid,
burrowing up in small puffs of smoke whenever someone would walk by. He
watched the open French doors, welcoming in visitors as Dorothy's
acquaintances took their seats. Up in the dusty windows, hundreds of
little faces watched on in awe from their bedrooms, wondering when the
grown ups would leave, so that they could go out and play.
"Can't just stand here all day, Darien," he muttered to himself,
urging his feet to move forward. He knew it would go by fast. That he
could get whatever it was Dorothy wanted him to have, and leave, quick
and painlessly. Then he could go home and take a nice long nap. He
hoped his dreams would no longer echo of his former memories. They were
starting to hurt.
Slowly, he forced himself forward, up the short flight of stairs
and into the dark, antique lobby. Many others had already claimed their
seats, some still stood in small groups, chatting amongst themselves.
Gulping, he walked to the front of the room, claiming a seat in a
corner. He didn't want to walk far when they called his name. Smoothing
out his jacket, he attempted to keep his mind occupied with thoughts of
cookie dough and algebra problems. As imagined, a smile crept over his
lips.
'She may not be here with me right now, but that doesn't mean I
can't imagine she is,' he comforted himself unconsciously.
Soon enough, a man in a gray business suit walked up to a podium
at the front of the room, urging others to take their seats in order to
begin. The conversations in the room dulled to steady hums as people
claimed their chairs.
"Hello ladies and gentleman and welcome to The Nguyen Orphanage.
We are here to pay respects to Mrs. Dorothy Smith, and distribute her
belongings as she has wished. You are all gathered here to receive
gifts from our sadly deceased friend. I will begin with reading a
statement from her will, which she was coached in writing by myself,"
he began. Darien figured that this was her lawyer, it seemed obvious
enough, as the man picked up a short stack of papers, nicely bound
together, and began to read.
"'My friends and family, as you are hearing this read to you, I
know that I have passed away. Please find comfort in the knowledge that
I have led a wonderful life, and it was my time to leave this world and
travel on to the next. I thank you all for leading me down such a happy
road in my lifetime, and please know that I love each of you very much.
Please take these gifts, my belongings, and find joy in each of them. I
pray you will think of me in Heaven every time they are used, touched,
or looked at. With much love to all, yours in Christ, Dorothy J.
Smith.'"
Clearing his throat, the man flipped to the next page, raising
his eyes to the audience. "I will now begin reading her individual
comments for each of the will recipients, and my assistants will pass
out your new belongings.
"'To Mrs. F. Otomodachi, my friend for life, and co-business
partner. I leave you with my life work, The Nguyen Orphanage, as well
as all priceless painting and artifacts within. To you I bestow a third
of my life savings, $10,000.'" From in the crowd, Mrs. Otomodachi
sobbed loudly, burying her face in a handkerchief, and Darien sighed
sadly. This could take a while, and he no longer wanted to be here, if
he had ever wanted to be in the first place.
~ Half an hour later ~
"'To C. B. Sakura, a most dearest friend. I leave you with the
oak dining set, table and chairs, in my private dining room, as well as
the diamond earrings you always announced that you loved so very much,
and as promised.
"'To D. Chiba…'" Darien sat up unconsciously, raising his droopy
and tired eyelids in new awareness. "'I wish to you a wonderful life,
you have made me so proud and I love you as if you were my own son. I
leave you with my red rose china tea set that we were so accustomed to
using at daily tea time. I also give to you my engagement ring that you
admired, to be passed to wife and children.
"'To R. Ame…'"
Too lost in slight shock, Darien didn't hear, didn't pay
attention to, anything else said that day. His mind could only picture
the golden ring, the alexandrite, the diamonds, and the peridot…
Serena stared into space as her friends chattered on beneath the
shade of the large oak tree in the courtyard. Leaning her back against
the trunk, she sighed, tilting her head to the side. Unconsciously, two
fingertips came up to stroke across her lips, reminiscing on the feel
of his kisses. It had all seemed like a dream…
"Serena? Earth to Serena!" yelled Lita agitatedly.
"Huh?" she asked quietly, raising her eyebrows confused at the
girl.
"Where did YOU go?"
Gulping, she leaned back again, closing her eyes. "Nowhere. I'm
just tired, Lita."
"Right… just tired." She paused for a moment, before scooting
closer to the girl. "So where did you go yesterday?"
"I told you, I was at a funeral."
"Mmhmm… who died?"
Her eyes flying open, Serena turned to look at the brunette in
shock. "How can you just ask me something like that and sound so… so…
Lita, try to be considerate!"
Rolling her eyes, Lita leaned against the tree as well. "Aw, come
on Serena, it's obvious you're not sad or anything right now. You're
off in la-la land somewhere, and you've got this weird day-dreamy face
on. Don't try to pretend your heartbroken now!"
Humphing her shoulders, Serena, pulled her knees to her chest,
resting her arms on them.
"She's right, Serena," said Mina cheerfully. "If I didn't know
better, I'd think you were on a date yesterday."
"I was NOT on a date! Look, I went to a funeral with someone who
was REALLY sad. I wanted to comfort him," she pouted.
Mina and Lita exchanged glances, before grinning evilly at their
friend. "Him?" they asked in unison.
Groaning, Serena tried to hide her head. "It… it wasn't like
that…"
"Oh, no? Then what's up with the spacing out?"
"And running your fingers across your lips… Almost as if you were
thinking of kissing someone…"
"Guys, leave me alone! It's none of your business!"
"We're your best friends, of course it's our business!"
"Yeah, what do you think, Ames? Shouldn't she tell us who she
went to this 'funeral' with?"
Slowly, Ami's blue eyes raised to stare at her friends. Clearing
her throat, she set her textbook aside. After contemplating a minute,
she shrugged indifferently. "I suppose I would like to know what all
the fuss is about… though, it IS her life. Still, we're her closest
friends, and it would be most polite of her to report to us of her
activities outside of school hours, especially when pertaining to a
love interest."
Serena glared at her and drawled sarcastically, "Thank you SO
much for your help, AMES."
Smiling innocently, Ami folded her hands in her lap and waited
along with Mina and Lita. Serena looked between the three of them,
before smacking her head hard against the tree.
"Fine! I… I was at a funeral with… Darien."
A silence draped over them as Serena waited patiently for their
reactions. Eventually, Lita cleared her throat, running a hand through
her thick bangs.
"Uh… you all heard Darien… too, right?"
She was greeted with mute nods.
Rolling her eyes, Serena began explaining, "A couple days ago I
ran into him and he was really distraught because a close friend of his
had died, so I offered to go the funeral with him and… comfort him
while he was there."
"Are we still talking about Darien?" Mina asked slowly.
"YES! We are talking about Darien, alright?!"
"I thought you hated Darien…" muttered Ami.
Sighing, Serena's shoulders dropped in regret. "I do not hate
him. I never… 'hated' him. We just… argued a lot…"
A silence passed over them again. Finally, Lita tilted her head
to the side. "So what's the deal with you two now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well… are you friends… CLOSE friends… or… MORE than friends?"
A lump settled into Serena's throat. Looking down on the soft
grass below her, she shrugged. "I… don't know."
"What do you mean 'you don't know'? Did he ask you out?"
Shaking her head, Serena closed her eyes. "No, he didn't. But…
he… he did…"
"He did… what?" asked Mina impatiently, unconsciously leaning
forward.
"He k…kissed me."
"WHAT?!"
Burying her head in her arms, Serena waited for them to calm
down.
"When? Where?"
"How many times?"
"Did you like it?"
Holding up her hands, she successfully silenced them all,
somewhat surprised that even Ami had become excited about the gossip.
"I am NOT going to go into detail, that would be wrong! He kissed me
after the funeral, once in his apartment, once in the hallway, and YES
I liked it! Now, if you'll excuse me… I have to go prepare for an
algebra test next period." Standing, Serena brushed off her skirt and
began walking away.
Not long after though, she felt someone grabbing her hand.
Turning, she saw that the three had followed her, and Mina now stood at
her side, grinning happily.
"Serena, even though Darien is the last guy I ever thought you'd
fall for, I have to say that I think you two would be very cute
together!"
"Me too," added Lita, nodding. "And don't worry too much about
whether you two are an item. I'm sure he's noticed what a great girl
you are!"
"And besides, if he kissed you… then I'd say you're already close
enough to dating," finished Ami.
Serena smiled at each of them happily. "Thanks a ton, you guys!
That means a lot!"
Turning, they all began walking back to the school building.
"Just… make sure to invite us to the wedding!" Mina couldn't
resist teasing.
(
geocities.com/tokyo/spa/Spa) (
geocities.com/tokyo/spa) (
geocities.com/tokyo)