by C. Elizabeth
Mom laughed. “My! All that in a span of a five minute drive?”
Elaborately flipping my hand in the air, I responded, “I think he took the long way around. I can’t remember! What am I going to wear?”
She gently took my arm. “First of all, sit.”
My butt plunked down.
Sitting right beside me, she took my hand. “Now, I thought you told me those boys gave you the willies?”
“His brothers, not Nathanael. Actually, he makes me feel calm.”
“Yes, I can see that,” she giggled, being a smarty pants. Then she got serious. “Wasn’t Nathanael the one in your dream who had you so scared?”
“Yeah, but it changed when I saw him this morning. The dream seemed silly then.”
“Oh.” She looked in my eyes. “Well, Saydi, I’m not sure if you should be hanging around with them. Besides, they only moved in yesterday and already Nathanael has asked you out. Doesn’t that seem a little quick?” She wasn’t happy, and she was being Mom.
“Are you judging him, Mom?” I tried to make it sound like I was fooling around with her. It didn’t work.
“No, I don’t think so. I just think it seems fast, especially when your first impression was so negative. That’s all.”
“Maybe I did get caught up in the moment. It’s just that...it’s just that he’s so cute, and no one has ever paid attention to me except Todd.”
Sighing, she gave me a gentle smile and paused. “I can see this is important to you.” Eyeing me, she added, “Oh, all right. Be careful and listen to yo—”
I cut her off and pushed away from the table. “I know, I know, listen to my intuition and I won’t be led astray.”
She tried to flick the towel at me. “Go shower.”
~ * ~
Mom helped me put a few curls in my hair, then helped with my make-up, telling me that less is more. “Make-up is only to enhance your features; no one is supposed to know you’re wearing it.”
I tried on every piece of clothing I had in my dresser and closet and finally decided on a white knitted short-sleeved top that had a v-neck tastefully low and jeans. It would have to do.
The doorbell rang, throwing my stomach into my throat. The shakes were making their way slowly into my joints—it was my first real date. Yikes! All of a sudden, hiding under my bed seemed comforting.
Willing my heart to slow and with a deep breath, shaking and sweating included, I cracked my bedroom door a teeny bit and tried to get up the courage to move my legs. Nathanael’s voice floated toward me. I swallowed hard and walked toward the entrance. My mission was to get to the front door quickly, but Mom and Nathanael had other plans. Rounding the corner, I was faced with them sitting all comfy cozy on the couch, catching me completely off guard. My response catapulted out of me, “Hi!”
Nathanael quickly stood and smiled a huge smile. “Hi. You look nice.” At least his tone of voice was normal, not like mine.
“Thank you. So do you.” I relaxed immediately upon seeing his attire, a long sleeve t-shirt and a pair of jeans—it gave me a bit more confidence in myself, knowing that I had chosen right.
“Thank you.” He slightly bowed his head to Mom. “It was nice to meet you, Mrs. Gardiner.” Then took her hand and kissed it.
Mom blushed. “It was nice meeting you too, but please call me Adina, and thank you for the roses.”
Speaking to Mom, he held his hand out to me. “Then Adina it is, and you are most welcome. What time do you want Saydi home?”
My eyes begged and pleaded, and if they could fall on bended knee they would. All the while she surveyed each emotion that went across my face, including my relief when she smiled. “One o’clock at the latest.” Of course it came with a stern warning with a wag of her finger.
“Thank you, Adina.” Then he turned to me. “Shall we?” he offered, holding his arm out so gentlemanly.
When I looked back at Mom, at first it looked like she was frowning. Then when she saw me watching, she smiled and gave me a weak thumbs up. A giggle stuck in my throat.
~ * ~
He opened the car door and gently held my arm until I was seated, then closed it and went around to the driver’s side. As he put the key in the ignition, he smiled. “You really do look beautiful.”
The heat plastered itself in my cheeks. “Thanks.”
Looking out his side mirror to make sure the coast was clear, he pulled away from the curb. Once we were on the straight and narrow, he twined his fingers through mine and hoisted them up. “Is this okay?”
Instead of nodding, again my head bobbed.
Bringing my hand up to his lips, he kissed it and said, “Good.” Then with one hand, he maneuvered the car on a left turn with ease and we were on our way.
“What’s on the agenda for you tomorrow?” he asked.
“I teach Sunday School before regular service, then attend regular service, and usually after that we all go to Sloppy’s for lunch. Then it’s home for studying, supper, then bed.”
“Hmm, talk about structured,” he commented, turning an eye on me. “Tell me more about you, the inside you.”
What a strange question. The inside me? Who was that?
“I like to read,” came out.
“Mm-hm. I figured.”
The night before was going to haunt me. “I’m sorry about that...that book-dropping incident,” I said, keeping my embarrassed eyes away from his face.
The warmth of his finger feathered down my cheek. “No harm done. So, besides my father’s cherished possessions, what do you like to read?”
Nothing came to mind at the moment, except the one thing I usually kept to myself. “I find scriptures fascinating.” What is wrong with you? My incredibly stupid self fell silent after that revelation. There was nowhere else to look but down. “I like romance, too,” I added hastily, trying to recover.
When I peeked up, he wrinkled his nose, stuck out his tongue, and jeered, “Eww!”
That cracked me up. Nathanael made me feel comfortable, and it didn’t matter what stupid things I said. He was exactly the boy all girls dreamed of, someone who looked past all the jitters and silliness that flopped out of our mouths.
I shrugged. “It’s a girl thing. But I like horror and some mystery, too.”
“So you find the Bible fascinating?”
So much for overlooking it; mind you it was nice he was pretending to show interest. “Well, it’s not so much the scriptures, as is it the concept of it all—the battle between good and evil, that type of thing. Yes, I believe in God, but I’m human.”
A grumble rose in his throat, which shut me up. But he encouraged, “Go on.”
Something was unsettling to me, but I continued anyhow. “Sometimes I wonder.”
A serious tone broke through when he spoke. “You know you’re not supposed to question.”
“I know, but it’s human nature. There’s so much out there against us weak humans. It’s a constant tug of war.”
“Good point. Do you believe there’s a real Hell?”
“I think it’s here on earth, really.”
His voice went extra deep, low and creepy. “So you don’t believe there’s a pit of fire holding a bunch of demons waiting to pluck your soul?”
That rendition made me giggle. “I don’t know. I believe if you have a good heart and soul and work hard at being a good person, either way, you can’t lose.”
“Interesting analogy.”
“What about you?” I asked.
“I find the scriptures fascinating, too.”
My mouth dropped. “Really?”
Laughing at my outburst, he replied, “Yes, really. But not for the same reasons. I love the history of it all, where and how it came about and what followed. There are so many more things that happened outside of the Bible, you’d be amazed.” His passion for it was evident in the way he spoke.
I was seeing a side of him that made him more a person, not just a hunk, and it made me feel great that
his fascination was in tune with mine. “Like what?” I asked.
He chuckled. “Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time to delve into the depths of good and evil.”
“Oh.”
“We’re almost there, hang tight.”
“Oh.”
A smile danced around his eyes, not entirely revealing itself. “You’re wondering where we’re going?”
“Yes, wouldn’t you? I’m in a strange boy’s car and have no idea where he’s taking me. It should be a little creepy.”
“And...is it?” he asked easily.
“No.”
That smile came forward as we turned onto his street, down his back alley and up the driveway.
Nine
Holding hands, we walked on the path toward the front of the house and turned the corner...it took me by surprise. All the porch lights were on, as well as the lights in the house. The front deck had a few rocking chairs and tables on it, as well as a porch swing on the opposite end. Why hadn’t I noticed this last night? It was a completely different house without two hundred kids running through it. It was peaceful.
He helped me with my coat, then took his off and placed them on hangers in the closet. There was a need to be close to each other, and he took my hand again...
~ * ~
...I gripped the teardrop crystal. The ocean still lay dark between me and a spot of sun that rolled above.
“Take it with you,” the waves hummed.
~ * ~
“Saydi?”
My eyes refocused to eventually find Nathanael in full view again.
“Oh, there you are. I thought I lost you already.” He smiled tightly from behind a bar. We were no longer in the front foyer and were in the bookshelf room.
Slightly shaking my head, I said, “Sorry, I was admiring the house and didn’t notice a lot of this yesterday. You guys sure put everything back fast.” Good recovery.
“Well, first of all, you didn’t stay long enough to notice anything.” He shoved his hand in his pocket while he poured a soda in a glass and watched it flow over the ice. “As for putting everything back, that’s why we have servants,” he informed, passing me the glass then opening another.
“You have servants?” tumbled out. You gotta stop with the spitting of words.
The shake of his head was almost an “I feel sorry for you!” shake. “You really don’t listen to the gossip. You know nothing about us, do you?”
My mouth stayed put for fear of saying something really stupid again. I looked down at the ice dancing in my glass.
“Well, that look could only be for one of two reasons. Either you’re embarrassed about not listening to the gossip and knowing nothing about us, or...you’re embarrassed for the way I acted earlier when you spoke about my mother.”
Not much was coming out of me. The ice was fun to watch.
Stepping forward, he put a finger under my chin and lifted my eyes to his. “Why do you always do that?”
“What?” It sounded like a squeak more than a word.
He moved closer, our bodies almost touching. “You always hide your eyes away.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, habit?”
There was pure tenderness in his eyes as he delved into mine. It wasn’t something I ever saw before...well, when it was directed at me, anyway.
“I would like to break that habit,” he suggested.
The heat rushed to my face and I looked down again.
Laughing, he took my hand and kissed it. “We’ll have to work on it, I guess.”
With a tightness, I nodded.
The softness in his voice was authentic. “Now, allow me to apologize for earlier. That wasn’t my best moment, and it won’t happen again.”
Only the second day, Saydi, and the guy has you crazy. My insides quaked having him right there.
With ease his thumb and index finger cupped my chin softly, his mouth hovered for a second by my cheek. Then gradually his breath worked its way across my neck and found my ear. “I usually don’t move this fast. Actually, I stay away from this type of thing, but something about you has me transfixed.” His lips skimmed my cheek, then he pulled away to clear his throat. “Sorry, I really don’t know what it is about you. I’ll be good, promise.”
No, please don’t be!
A moment of silence gave me time to unscramble my brain and think of something to say. Then it just fell out in a heap. “Why do you call your dad, ‘father’?”
By rights, the way the question was presented should have made him cringe, but it didn’t alarm him or anything. He simply shrugged. “Always have—it’s the respectful way to address a parent.”
“Oh.” My mouth wanted to throw out something about his mom, but thought better of it.
He smiled, took my drink and put both on the bar. Then he took my hand and instructed, “Now follow me.”
Where else would I go? He had my hand, and I couldn’t exactly run the other way. I giggled inside at my own silliness. Unfortunately, to my horror, he led me toward the door to the room where I got busted the night before. My silly thoughts about running the other way weren’t so silly anymore. I tugged gently and even thought about digging in my heels, surely he wouldn’t drag me.
He squeezed my hand and chuckled. “Oh, it won’t be that bad.” Opening the door, he stepped aside and gestured with his arm that I was to go first.
I whipped my head side to side.
The flirtatious look in his eyes told me to be cautious. “I’ll drag you, don’t think for a second I won’t.”
How did he know? Darting my eyes from him to the room and back again, it was too hard to resist... I stepped in. Even seeing it for the second time in as many days took my breath away. It was so elegant, yet powerful, something you only saw in movies. Again, I drank in the whole of it, mesmerized. That is, until the warmth of Nathanael was close against my back, shoving a tingling through my body and stealing my attention.
“This is my father’s secret library,” he murmured in my ear.
Twisting around quickly, my voice betrayed my actions, it was only a slight whisper, “We should...” The words caught in the back of my throat, when he caught me smoothly, holding me close against his chest.
“It’s okay. We’re allowed to be here,” he reassured with the same softness.
The way he held me had me not wanting ever to leave the warmth of him.
Quickly kissing my head, he released me. “Now, I find it fascinating...” he began, moving toward the bookshelf. “That the very book that intrigued you is mine and my father’s favorite.” Slowly Nathanael removed it from the shelf. “You see, my father is obsessed with the scriptures, the wars between gods and demons. One war in particular is what he spends most research time on.” Turning, he waved the book in the air. “And guess which one.”
He again made me feel comfortable, never letting me feel embarrassed. “It is a beautiful book,” I agreed.
A small smile crossed his face. “Father is fluent in all the old ancient languages.” He shook his head. “But don’t ask me about any of them. He’s scoured the globe for any documentation to prove this war happened, even going as far as to ask the Vatican to allow him to research the old scrolls they have.”
That intrigued me. “Did they let him see them?”
“I’m not sure. He went away on one of his trips, so it could have happened. Anyway, this war was supposed to be the ultimate of all wars with both sides using every warrior in their arsenal, and much more.”
“What happened?” I breathed, completely enthralled.
There was a fake surprise in his features as he slackened back a bit. “I can’t give the ending away,” he said, handing me the book.
I gawked at it.
He thrust it at me. “Here, you can borrow it. You’ll find it very fascinating.”
Glancing quickly between him and the book, I insisted, “Nathanael, I can’t take it.”
“Of course you can, my dear!” A big smooth, bo
oming voice came from behind me.
My body moved quickly around to see a very tall figure standing in the doorway, the same one that graced the hardware store’s window. He looked a lot like Nathanael, except his hair was slicked back with touches of gray running through it. It was longer, as well, and his eyes were dark like Job’s and Joshua’s. He had the perfect lips and high rosy cheeks and reminded me of those gods you see in picture books.
Holding a drink in his hand, he pressed further into the room. “I’m afraid, Saydi, my son has yet to master the skill of enticing a young mind to the point they could never refuse such an offer.”
Nathanael put his hand on the small of my back. “Saydi, this my father, Andrew Braxton.”
“Hi, Mr. Braxton.”
“Miss Gardiner, it’s nice to meet you. Now will you allow me to kiss the hand that seems to have my son completely enamored?” And without waiting for an answer, he took my hand in his and kissed it, then looked at me through his eyelashes. “Yes, enamored to the point that after walking you home, he retired to his room and wouldn’t come out.”
I shot a look at Nathanael, who darted his eyes down with a childish grin on his red face.
Mr. Braxton stood and waved his hand in the air. “I’m certain he told you he ran errands and didn’t feel much like visiting with his new friends. Truth be told, he was in his room daydreaming about how he was going to kiss you.”
“Father!” Nathanael wailed.
I giggled under my breath while a smile played around Mr. Braxton’s lips. It was cute to see his dad joke around with him.
Mr. Braxton took the book from Nathanael and handed it to me. “Please, Miss Gardiner, it would give me great pleasure if you would read this. Nathanael told me how you were drawn to it. Besides, it will give all three of us something to talk about, other than the daily turmoil of living the life of a teenager.” He rolled his eyes, laughing at his own joke.
