How do you explain something that comes natural? It’s not like Millie, who is technical and has buttons and settings. Modeling doesn’t have a menu. “It’s hard to explain. It’s something that just happens.”
Ann crosses her arms. “Or it doesn’t. And it’s not happening with me.”
I jump up out of the chair. “I was able to snap some great pictures when you didn’t even know I was looking. Come on over here. Sit in the chair.”
“I don’t know what the point is.” She speaks as she talks, but she does make her way over and sits in the red chair.
Stephen hands me Millie, then nods toward Ann. I tell her to relax and ask her about the wedding.
She smiles and visibly relaxes.
“We are so excited. My mom will be here tomorrow. Oh, and my Aunt Venus’s boyfriend Trevor is coming with her. Even with all these weddings we can’t convince them to tie the knot. They’ve been dating over twenty years.”
She tells me about her mother’s recent marriage, but I’m only half-listening. The other half of me catches Stephen’s attention who quickly follows my lead by keeping the conversation going.
Naturally pretty, Ann’s smile is amazing.
She turns in the chair, places her elbow on her thigh and cups her chin in her palm. Auburn waves flow around her face like a lazy stream of water.
“Brilliant shot.” Stephen points to her.
Millie is clicking away and I know Ann knows I’m taking her picture.
But she seems to be in some sort of groove with it. She stands and acts like she’s smelling the fake sunflower.
“Good, good,” Stephen says, encouraging her.
Encouraging me.
“You’re pretty into this for someone who doesn’t shoot people,” I say.
“Just trying to help you out. We all have our part to play. You’re the teacher, she’s the pupil and I’m helping out where I can.”
A teacher? I guess I can see it. Even though Ann is somewhat relaxed now, I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of instructing.
The sound of the sliding glass door opening breaks our little photo-spell. A woman runs out the door. She’s smiling, totally unaware she’s interrupting my future.
“Stephen!” she says, arms ready to embrace him.
“Mom?”
BURNT
MOM?
I look to the sliding glass door to see a man walking out along with Stace. The man must be Stephen’s father. He looks like he belongs to the woman. Same age, grayish hair, Stephen’s handsome look.
Stephen’s mom’s face is out of view as she is hugging Stephen. I can see his expression, which bears a look of confusion.
His mom steps back and places her palms on either side of his face. “If I didn’t love you so much, I’d be very mad at you right now. Engaged! To your sister’s best friend and you don’t even tell your mother?”
Heat permeates inside me. What started out as a desperate attempt to secure my future, and help Stephen out, has turned into a disaster like I could have never imagined.
“Mom, Dad,” he says while giving his father a hug. “It’s a long story. I’d like you to meet Jenny.”
Stephen walks to me. He pushes my hair behind my ear. “Time to meet the in-laws,” he whispers, smiling, confusing me.
Why is he calm and playing along so well? This has now been upped to a dangerous level of deceit. And he’s the one who was so adamant about not lying.
We all say hello, and introduce Ann and Stace. Stephen briefly explains what is going on with the photos.
“Honey,” Liza Day, says. “You don’t know how long we’ve waited to hear you have found your wife.”
She grasps my hands in hers. “We are so blessed to have you in our lives. In Stephen’s life. I know you’ve been Katherine’s best friend for a while now. I’m glad we finally have this opportunity to meet.”
Liza hugs me with a grip that’s like an exclamation point for her words.
It’s like my heart is being squeezed as well. Shutting my eyes, images flash through my mind. Ann wearing the clothes I’ve designed, Stephen acting like he doesn’t want to help but stepping in, Gary and Alice giving us that nice ornament.
It’s really all too much, and the whole situation, everything, has spiraled so out of control, my heart and brain can’t take it anymore. I wiggle out of Liza’s embrace. “I, we, have something to tell you. It’s all been a big misunderstanding. Stephen and I—”
“We wanted to tell you from the beginning,” Stephen interrupts, and I’m glad he’s going to take over. They’re his parents. He’ll be able to word my catastrophe in a way they’ll understand and hopefully not be too mad.
Or disappointed.
“But a situation arose where we had to tell Gary and Alice. Then Gary, Gary must have called you. You called Uncle Roger, didn’t you?”
“My only son is engaged. I called everybody.”
I swallow hard. Stephen has got to make this right with his parents.
“I’m sure you did.” He shoves his hands in his pockets. “It’s been really busy here. My housekeeper, Teresa, had an emergency in Mexico, so we are taking care of her daughter, Phoebe, then with Jenny’s deadline on getting these photos taken, we’ve been nonstop for days.”
And?
I’m waiting for the part where he tells them the engagement isn’t real. Maybe he’s trying to figure out how to word it best.
“Of course we understand,” Liza says. “This is going to be a Christmas we won’t forget. We’ve checked into The Cove. With this change of plans we have to celebrate together.”
“Stephen,” I nudge, “Isn’t there something else you want to tell your parents?”
He smiles, not looking stressed at all. “I guess there is. The big confession. Mom, Dad, don’t hold it against me that Jenny doesn’t have a ring, yet. I haven’t found the right one for her, and I didn’t want to settle for anything less than perfect.”
He embraces me and gives me a kiss on the top of my head. My arms instinctively wrap around him. At this point they are probably the only thing holding me up.
What is he doing?
STEPHEN’S PARENTS leave with a promise of getting together for dinner. He squelches my questions with a look and we resume taking photos of Ann. Photos which were the reason I had been existing up to this point.
Ann has donned the wedding dress and she’s rocking it. Now I’m watching the photo shoot unfold with a new outlook. An outlook of I’m not sure what’s real and fake right now.
“We need to go to the boardwalk,” Stephen says. “Pack it up, ladies, and let’s go.”
All three of us look at him like he’s lost his mind.
“What?” I ask.
“Cheetah, grab the clothes, Stace, grab that makeup case, and everybody pile into the Landcruiser. We’re headed for the boardwalk.”
We all do as he says, and at this point I’m wondering how my whole life has gotten so far out of my control. As we drive the short distance to the boardwalk I realize everything I envisioned when I left New York is nonexistent now.
“The light is perfect,” Stephen says as we pile out of his ride. “Not too sunny, not too cloudy.”
We walk toward the boardwalk and Stephen places Millie around my neck.
“This will make for great shots,” he says. “Ann, love the wedding dress. Act natural. Walk around like the happy bride-to-be that you are. Don’t worry about Jenny and the camera, okay?”
“I’m going to photograph her here?” I ask. “In the wedding dress?”
“You are. Ann, when we’re done with the dress, there’s a ladies room, over there,” he points, “where you can change clothes. I’ll take the dress back to the car. Stace, work your magic with the hair and touch up her makeup if it needs it. Don’t worry about Jenny and me. Got it?”
“Yes,” they answer.
“I’m going to touch up your hair,” Stace says to Ann. “Stay still..”
As the
y focus on Ann’s hair I turn to Stephen. “What—”
“We’ll talk about it later. When there’s more time.”
I switch from fiancée mode to photographer mode. “Yeah. I guess. Although I’m a little confused right now. About a lot of things.”
“You need to focus. This is your big chance, remember?”
“I would add the clichéd, ‘how could I forget’ saying, but seriously, other things have happened so that forgetting this isn’t out of the realm of possibility right now. And that’s scary.”
“Focus on your future, Cheetah. Focus.”
We receive a lot of stares as we walk the boardwalk, stalking Ann who, for the first few minutes, is wearing the wedding dress. Then she switches into the shorts and same lacy top that she wore with the skirt at the beginning of the shoot.
After about ten minutes, Stephen stops us. “How are you feeling?” His question is directed at me.
“I don’t know. I’m not feeling anything.”
He takes the camera and looks at the pictures. “These, uh, these are okay.” He turns to me. “They’re missing something.”
His words aren’t meant to be cold, just realistic. Honest. I try to warm my heart with those thoughts.
“I think too much has happened today.”
“Ann, Stace,” he says, “let’s call it a day.”
“I’m not doing well, am I?” Ann asks.
“You’re great,” I say. “It’s me. I’m not capturing the essence. I can’t figure it out.”
Ann looks to Stephen. “You can’t help your fiancée out?” She smiles, like she’s making light of the situation, but I detect a hint of realness in her voice.
“I can’t guess at the ‘essence’ she’s trying to capture. We’ll regroup later.”
“My schedule is pretty full between now and the wedding,” she says.
I try not to let panic take over. Hopelessness attempts to seep into my heart, but stubborn will pushes it away. We may be through for now, but we still have a day and a half before the wedding. And a couple of days after, before Christmas.
The fact that Stephen’s parents are here tries to dampen my spirits as well. Right now I want to crawl in the bed, under the covers and cry. But I won’t. “It’ll work out somehow.” I wish I could believe my own words.
Dejection fills the ride back to Stephen’s house.
“I didn’t fulfill my end of the bargain.” Ann hops out of the Landcruiser.
“What?” I walk around Stephen’s monster SUV.
“My part. In exchange for modeling the clothes you were going to let me wear the dress in my wedding.”
“Oh, Ann. I’d still love for you to wear the dress.”
Stace, already out of the car, grabs her makeup bag. “Ann, after seeing your dress, you need to take Jenny up on her offer. I can’t believe with all the money you have at your disposal, you could buy such an ugly dress.”
Ann puts her hands on her hips. “It’s not ugly, it’s unique. But I’ll admit, it wasn’t one of my wisest choices. I was trying to stand out, be a little different on my wedding day.”
“Jenny’s dress will let you do that, in a good way.” Stace shakes her head.
After Ann changes her clothes, she and Stace leave, Ann carrying the dress with her.
I watch part of SunKissed! disappear and wondered if it’s a vision of what lies ahead for me.
Disappearing Jenny.
Of course it’s hard to totally disappear with this scar. It’s not like people won’t notice me. I tried to pretend all the looks on the boardwalk were directed at Stephen and his handsomeness, but I know they were looking at my face and wondering what happened.
If only I could take it all back. The longing for a little more beauty. The desire to be just a little prettier than I was, than other girls.
Than Katherine, if I am honest.
She had started landing some jobs I thought I’d land. Her name was being talked up more than mine.
I’d felt a little stale, like my childhood was coming back to haunt me. In my opinion I had to be the best or I wasn’t anything at all. I mean, that’s how things had been in the past.
And now I’m here, in her brother’s house, playing her brother’s fiancée in a world that has gone totally crazy and unreal.
I rub my arms to ward off the chill that threatens to set in, and in doing so I feel pain.
Pain?
I feel my gaze widen as reality sinks in.
I’m burnt.
MY SHOWER STINGS as I get ready for dinner with Stephen’s parents. We are taking Phoebe with us and going to a restaurant near the hotel where they are staying.
I lather lotion on my body, rubbing the lavender scented liquid into my arms like it will undo the sunburn.
Giving me a headache is more like what is happening.
A headache brought on not only by the scent, but also by the frustration at the fact that I haven’t been able to talk to Stephen about why he seemed so eager to have his parents think we are engaged.
Cringing as I carefully put on a white spaghetti-strapped camisole, I then don a loose-fitting, long-sleeved see-through white gauzy shirt with bell sleeves. After I button what seems like a hundred buttons, I pull on a pair of black leggings. My cheetah pumps dress up my outfit and I’m ready to take on the evening.
“Hi, Miss Jenny,” Phoebe says as I walk into the kitchen. She’s sitting at the island, sipping a glass of milk. Cookie crumbs are scattered in front of her, and a half-eaten snowman cookie is clutched in her hand, his head missing.
“Hi, Pheebes. You are going to be hungry for dinner, I hope?”
“I am.”
“Good. Did Mr. Stephen tell you we were going out?”
She bites the cookie. “He did. With his mommy and daddy.”
I barely make out what she says. “Hey, what would your mom say about talking with your mouth full?”
She closes her mouth and chews.
“That’s what I thought.”
Phoebe swallows hard, then gulps her milk. She wipes her mouth with her arm. “But you asked me a question right when I was taking a bite.”
“I did. I also saw you take the bite, and I would have been patient while you chewed.”
“Okay,” she says.
“Here’s my two girls.” Stephen walks in. He dresses up very nice. I wouldn’t have believed he could look more handsome, but I swear he does.
“Did you decide to let Phoebe have her dessert before dinner?” I ask.
“She’s a kid. They have appetites. Besides you eat lunch at ten-thirty or something ridiculous like that, don’t you, Phoebe?” He takes a bite of a cookie, too.
“Yeah. We eat early. I was starving.”
I’m still trying to figure out how I can get Stephen alone before we join up with his parents for dinner. I need to know what he is going to tell them, to know why he was so enthusiastic for them to think he was engaged. If I thought prayer would work I would pray for that minute.
But I’m not convinced.
“Do you have a minute?” he asks, nodding his head toward the patio.
Seriously? I turn my head so fast toward him that I almost become dizzy. Could God really have heard what was going on in my mind? “Sure.”
“Is it adult talk time?” Phoebe asks.
“Yes,” Stephen answers. “Finish your cookie. We’ll be right back.”
Stephen opens the door to the patio. His phone makes a chirping noise.
“Text,” he says.
Glancing at his phone he guides his fingers across the keyboard, obviously replying to the text.
He shoves his phone back in its case. “That was Mom and Dad. I told them we were leaving in less than five.”
He smiles. I love his smile. The best thing about it is that it’s genuine. Stephen isn’t the smile-because-I-have-to kind of guy.
Also, there’s his gentle spirit. I’ve never been around someone with his demeanor.
He take
s a deep breath and for a moment I’m inclined to believe he is nervous. But only for a moment. Men like Stephen aren’t nervous.
He grasps my hands in his. “For all practical purposes, and according to what everyone thinks, we are engaged. Right?”
Usually I’m a smart gal, but right now I’m clueless. “Right.”
“I’m thinking we keep with the plan around my parents. It’s either that or break up right now.”
I’m unable to put into words how my heart feels. My head feels great, as in knowing the plan and knowing the breakup was inevitable. But my heart has somehow attached itself to his heart and it’s only at this moment that I can admit this.
But I certainly can’t let him know.
I can’t reveal to him how my heart will miss him when we part ways. When he heads off to some foreign country to take photos of creatures that have four legs for the most part.
Creatures that don’t talk back.
Creatures that don’t become sad when he leaves.
The picture of him and the lion pops into my mind. There’s no doubt the lion was pleased to see him. But how did the lion react when he left?
Did the lion’s heart drop?
I refuse to think of what mine will do. “Okay. They’re your parents.”
“Cheetah.” He lets go of my hands and steps closer to me. His finger slides up my neck, tilting my head so my gaze can’t help but stare into his.
I don’t want to speak in fear of distracting him from kissing me. Because I do want him to kiss me.
Not only has my heart grown fond of Stephen, but my lips also anticipate his touch. My eyes plead with him to kiss me, but he doesn’t move any closer.
I’m not sure what this exchange is as we are readying to meet with his parents. Maybe he’s just preparing for a night of acting like we are a couple.
Instinctively, because I wouldn’t knowingly do this, my tongue runs over my lower lip. When I realize what is happening, I pull my wayward tongue back into my mouth, imagining what he must be thinking.
He slowly gets down on one knee.
“Cheetah,” he repeats. “Will you marry me?”
BLUE
I KNOW I HAVEN’T heard him correctly.
Rich in Hope (Richness in Faith Trilogy Book 2) Page 17
