by Dani Hoots
“It’s no use, Charles, you’ve been caught.” Bridget placed her hand on Jaques. “This was all a set up to get you arrested.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. She wanted me arrested? I didn’t understand. “What are you talking about?”
“Did you really think there was no video cameras in this portion of the mansion? Please, you are such a fool to have believed me.”
“But… I don’t understand.”
“You heard the woman,” Jaques smiled. “She wanted you arrested for stealing my painting so you were out of the picture, excuse my pun.”
It felt like I was stabbed with a knife. This was her plan? She wanted me caught just to get rid of me? How could that be possible? It just couldn’t. “Bridget?”
She held out her hand. “The cane, please. The police will be here any moment.” She pulled out a gun. “And it seems Jaques and I just happened to come across you on our way to the bedroom.”
Jaques stroke her cheek and kissed her. “Too bad he was in our way, hmm darling?”
“Don’t worry, he won’t be in our way much longer.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. This was all a set-up, the two of them were setting me up. But why? I didn’t understand. But there was no way in hell that I was going to be thrown in prison for this.
I threw the painting up and bolted down the hallway. I didn’t believe she would shoot me, there was no way.
Apparently I was wrong.
I heard the shot fire and pain engulfed my leg. I was down in an instant, my pant leg slowly soaking with blood. I heard something clank, come tumbling out of my pocket and hit the ground beside me.
It was the ring box.
Bridget knelt down and picked it up. “What’s this?” she asked as she opened it. “Were you going to propose to me, Charles? You dear fool, did you really believe I loved you? That I would want to be with you forever? You knew I only did it for the money. I could never love someone as pitiful as you.”
I lay there on the ground, not moving. There was nothing I could do as I heard her sweet laugh. The police would be here any moment, arresting me for a crime that wasn’t only me, but her as well. Jaques would see to it that nothing was her fault, maybe say I forced her or that he had hired her to set me up. Maybe he did. Either way I had lost everything: my love, my life, everything. Who knew how long I would be in jail for, who knew what other evidence they would find for the other jobs I had done. And worse of all, I had really believed that someone loved me. But I was wrong. I was always wrong.
“Will you marry me?”
I went down on one knee, opening the box that contained the ring. I had been saving up for months to buy this ring, a garnet and white gold ring as the love of my life despised diamonds. Her friend told me that when we first started dating. I was surprised that Clare never told me that herself, and made me a little worried that she wasn’t ready for this big of a commitment. But I felt as if this was the next step in our relationship, as if we were ready for this.
Waiting for her response, I took a deep breath. By her face, I knew it had to be a yes. She had her hands over her mouth, tears starting to form in her eyes. I was glad no one was around in case she did reject me, as we were alone on the beach. Yes, it was possible to find a beach with no one around, you just had to look for the right spots. And maybe jump a fence.
She started nodding viciously. “Yes, of course. I will marry you.”
I took the ring out of the box and put it on her finger. It fit perfectly. Standing up, I picked her up and twirled her around.
“You have made me the happiest man alive!” I laughed as she held me tight. Setting her back down I kissed her gently.
“And you make me happy, Tom. I can’t wait to marry you.”
I smiled. “When would you want the wedding to be?”
“How about…” She pondered on the thought. “Next summer. Eight months from now should be plenty of time. And it would be after we graduate.”
“It’s settled then. And you can meet my parents at Thanksgiving. Does that sound like a plan?”
She smiled. “It sounds perfect.”
I picked her up again and twirled her around. Her white dress flowed around and it felt as if it was the most perfect moment in the world. I was going to marry my one true love and we were going to spend the rest of our life together.
A month had passed and Thanksgiving was just around the corner. My family was looking forward to meeting my fiancé. So far Clare hadn’t met any of my family, as we hadn’t found much time to visit and only my brother ever came to the college and he wasn’t someone I would want her to meet right away.
My business ethics class ended and I went to find Clare. I was majoring in business and she was majoring in drama. She wanted to be an actress, mainly for theater. She had the talent, as I had seen her perform at some of the plays for the university. It was amazing how well she could get into character. In fact she had one more performance tonight, then would be free until after we got back from Thanksgiving break. Tonight she was performing Much Ado About Nothing, and was playing the lead woman Beatrice.
I didn’t know much about Shakespeare, but supposedly, at least according to Clare, it was one of his best comedies. I wasn’t much for comedy from the past, but we would see. I would try my hardest to understand what was going on. I preferred something a little more contemporary but I wasn’t the one who picked the plays.
Heading over to the drama building, I watched as Clare stepped out of class, talking with one of her friends. I didn’t know this friend, as she made friends all the time. I hadn’t met someone who didn’t like her. She was sweet and kind and that was why I fell in love with her the moment I met her.
I waved and she saw me. She smiled her precious smile. It made me warm inside every time I saw it. She excused herself from her group and hurried over, greeting me with a kiss. Her lipstick tasted like citrus.
“How was class?” I asked as we headed towards lunch.
“Same old, same old. Getting nervous about tonight though. And this weekend. Are you sure your family will like me?”
I laughed. “Of course they will, everyone likes you Clare. I wouldn’t worry about it, okay?”
“That’s not true, but if you think they will like me I will take your word for it. I will try my best to impress them, especially since they are your family.”
“Well, you don’t have to go that far. They aren’t the greatest people but they don’t have any reason to dislike you.”
She hesitated, as if about to say something. “Yeah, I suppose not. You always know what to say to cheer me up.”
I wrapped my arm around her. “Well you deserve to be happy. Especially after everything.”
I shouldn’t have brought up her past. She didn’t get along with her family growing up and when she turned eighteen, she ran away from home. She didn’t look back and completely cut all ties with her family. She had to work hard to go to college, that was for damn sure. She was one of the hardest workers I knew.
The reason she was hesitant, I knew, was because of what work she had been doing on the side until I came along. She had been an exotic dancer at a club near school. While I didn’t mind it at all, it was her body and it wasn’t like she was sleeping with any of the guys, not to mention it paid well and she really needed the money, but others weren’t as nice about it. She didn’t tell anyone about it, other than me when we got serious enough. It was her secret and she hid it well.
I asked her if she didn’t want anyone around town to recognize her why she would work so close to campus. She said it was because she got to wear a mesh mask and no one could really see her face. I didn’t know that as she never let me come. I understood why that was and I let it be. I started helping her with tuition and she moved in with me a little while back, not to mention more theaters started hiring her. It had been a while since she had ever had to go back and work there, and I was thankful. Although I didn’t mind, the thoug
ht of other men seeing her like that still bothered me, not to mention Clare didn’t completely enjoy it, it was just a quick way to make some money.
We grabbed some pizza to eat and ate outside, as it was a nice autumn day, surprisingly. There was a random warm day this week, and everyone was taking advantage of it. All the tables were taken near the Memorial Union, and the grass was covered in blankets. I didn’t even think that many people were still here during Thanksgiving week, as many went ahead and skipped classes to take the whole week off.
Finding a place outside the science building, as I swore most of the students there stayed indoors in the labs at all times, we ate our pizza. I watched as Clare nibbled away at her cheese and olive pizza. I chuckled a little.
She gave me a look. “What?”
“You eat like a bird.”
“Yeah, well, it’s how I eat, okay?” She gave me a little pout. “And I’m not changing it.”
I kissed her forehead. “I know, I think it’s cute.”
She blushed and went back to eating her slice of pizza.
“Do you need to practice any of your lines right now?” I asked.
She shook her head. “No, I got them memorized. We’ve done this play a few dozen times now in the past couple of weeks. I’ve got them down.”
“Well, I can’t wait. I bet you are going to make an amazing Beatrice.”
Clare smiled. “Thank you. You have been a great support, Tom. I don’t know where I would be without you.”
“And I don’t know where I would be without you. So we are even.”
She laughed and we ate the rest of our lunch under the sunny sky.
The evening came and I waited anxiously in my seat for the curtains to rise. I sat next to her best friend, Ann, the one who told me Clare hated diamonds and love garnets. She was as nervous as I was for Clare and I was glad that Clare could have such a caring friend. She needed all the friends she could get after growing up in the household that she did.
“So, what did you think of the ring?” I asked, mostly to kill time. I couldn’t wait any longer.
“It’s pretty neat. Good thing her best friend told her boyfriend what kind of gem she liked,” she laughed at her own joke.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m thankful for that, by the way. I owe you one.”
She shook her head. “No, just make sure you keep her smiling and never break her heart. If you do, I will break you in half.”
“Don’t worry, I would never break her heart.”
The lights went dark and the curtain raised. I scooted to the edge of my seat, excited to see Clare act once more. She put so much passion in it, I noticed that many people in the audience were always hooked to what she had to say, feeling compassion for her character no matter who it was.
And that was another reason I loved her. And why I believed in her dreams. She was giving it her all.
Thanksgiving Break was here and Clare and I got in the car to drive up to my family’s home about seven hours away. It was a long drive, yes, but I knew it wouldn’t be too bad with Clare. We had a whole playlist of musicals which would entertain us for at least part of the trip. We both loved singing in the car, as it kept us awake and alert. It was already four in the afternoon, as classes had just got out, so we wouldn’t be arriving until eleven.
And then my family would meet the love of my life.
I couldn’t wait, as I knew all of them would like her. She was perfect, or at least she was to me. I know she had her faults and I knew she didn’t like how I regarded her so highly. It was just that I had been at such a bad place before her, getting drunk every night and my grades were starting to slip. Then I met her and she turned my life around, and before my parents noticed.
Buckling into my white Toyota Corolla, I started the car with Clare at my side. She plugged in her iPhone and began the music that we could sing to. Of course it started with her favorite: Phantom of the Opera.
I had seen the movie probably ten times in the last couple of years, plus in the theater as well. It’s her favorite story and I had to admit, it wasn’t too bad. And I agreed, the Phantom was a better choice than that other guy.
We sang songs from Phantom of the Opera, then moved to a few Disney songs, then I finally got Clare to take a break and change it to some rock. I told her when we switched drivers that she could turn it back to musicals.
“So, what are your parents like, then?” Clare asked.
I shrugged. “They are parents, I guess. Never really gave it much thought. Kind of a pain at times, but not too terrible. Wouldn’t ever move back home though.”
“Oh, why’s that?”
“I guess I just couldn’t take any more of their negativity. Sometimes they are a bit full of themselves. Don’t worry, they haven’t ever been too bad, but I’ve seen them get in some pointless arguments before. It’s embarrassing.”
“Don’t worry about it, what matters is you and me. Nothing else can ever come between that.”
I smiled and grabbed her hand. She was right, we were destined to be together, destined to live the rest of our lives together. There wasn’t anything my parents could do or say that would change that. And besides, it wasn’t like there was anything they could hate about Clare.
“You’re right. Sometimes I forget how awesome you are.”
She let out a small laugh as if I had said something comical. She always did that when I gave her a compliment, as if she didn’t actually believe it about herself. I hated it when she did that, but I understood. After everything she had to go through growing up, I couldn’t blame her.
“So,” I asked. “What music should we play now?”
The car ride was finally over and we had arrived to my parents at eleven o’clock at night exactly. I loved it when I was able to do that, get to a place right on time. My parents were still up, but getting ready for bed. My brother was watching T.V., a rerun of Just Shoot Me. He was one who liked watching comedies most of the time, compared to me who loved watching drama, science fiction, and fantasy series, ones that had an overarching plot. The only show we did agree on was Arrested Development.
“Tom.” My mother wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “I’m so glad you made it. Now introduce me to your fiancé.”
Always to the point. “Everyone, this is Clare.”
Clare nodded her head. “Nice to meet you and thank you for letting me stay over Thanksgiving.”
My mother wrapped her arms around her. “It’s our pleasure. I’m so glad that my son has finally gotten around to bringing you here. We have been wanting to meet you for a while now.”
“I told you mom,” I said. “We have been busy with school and work.”
She gave me a look and grabbed Clare’s hands. “Please come sit. Tell me about yourself. Tom says you are majoring in theater. Do you want to become a movie star?”
Great, now the never ending questions would begin and we would get no sleep. I sighed as I took up our luggage to my old bedroom. Since we were getting married my parents didn’t really care if we shared a bedroom, especially since they knew we were living together.
My room almost looked as if it had been untouched. A lot of my old posters were still up, ones featuring the X-Men, Spiderman, Green Arrow, and the list went on. I loved my posters but never found room for them when I went off to college. I was lucky that my parents kept everything as how I left it, though I knew after college I would have to figure out what to do with them.
I set the bags down and headed back down the stairs to make sure Clare was doing alright. I found her to be smiling as my mother talked and talked. My father just sat across from them, smiling at how ridiculously fast my mother could talk. As for my brother, he sat next to our father, appearing to be bored, but keeping an eye on Clare.
It was a suspicious look, though, as if he was trying to figure something out. I wasn’t quite sure as to what that was, but figured it was just him trying to process the fact that I had the perfect girl and he was still just screwing
around with any girl that gave him the okay. I was going places and he wasn’t, even though he was a few years older than I.
I sat down next to Clare, wrapping my arm around her. She placed her hand on my knee, as if letting me know she was getting uncomfortable with all the questions.
“Mother,” I said. “It’s starting to get late. How about we talk in the morning. You and father should be getting to bed anyway.”
She gave me a look. “I’m not that old, Tom, but you may be right, since you two are tired from your long drive after a full day of school. We will finish talking in the morning. Good night both of you and let us know if you need anything.”
“Thank you, but do realize I used to live here so I can find anything we need.”
Father let out a slight laugh as he and mother headed back upstairs to their bedroom. Sam was still downstairs, sitting across from us.
