“Yeah,” Claire said, coming over and putting her arm around me, too. “She’s probably just trying to find herself again.”
I felt bad lying, but it was better than the truth.
“Yes,” I said. “You’re probably both right. She has been through a lot, lately. If you guys don’t mind, I’d prefer not to talk about it anymore.”
Timing it perfectly, Phillip walked through the gate right then, carrying a cassette player.
“Okay, here are some good love songs.” He pushed the button and ‘For your Precious Love’ began to play. He took Libby in his arms and began to dance. She giggled nervously as he held her close and led her around the yard. Claire I swayed along with the music until he twirled Libby one more time and then took Claire’s hand, finishing the rest of the song with her.
Am I being charming enough?
I laughed, and neither of the girls noticed.
”So,” he asked them. “What do you think about that song?”
“Yes,” Claire said, catching her breath and never taking her eyes off him. “We definitely should have that one. Right Libby?”
“Oh, yes. We should.”
I smiled to myself. Then I popped into their thoughts, and was a little shocked to see what these almost-married ladies were capable of imagining.
“I have one more song I’d like to play,” he said, and handed the cassette player to Claire. ”But I’d like to dance this with Alixia.” He came over and took my hand.
“Wait,” I said, slipping off my shoes.
He shook his head, smiling, and then nodded to Claire. She pushed the button.
‘When a Man Loves a Woman.’
He ignored the look that I gave him and took me in his arms.
“Just close your eyes and feel the music,” he said.
I did what I was told, breathing in his cologne and sensing his overwhelming love for me, as our bodies swayed together with the beat and lyrics of the song. It brought back memories of us when we had been together, and I melted into him. He dipped me back and I looked up into his eyes.
Phillip, I know what you’re thinking.
He smiled, bringing me up to him slowly, and ending the song with a long kiss.
I let him.
Mother
The next morning I lay in the bathtub, feeling the water get hotter all around me. I sat up and turned on the cold tap. I splashed water in my face, holding my hands there for a second, and thinking.
What am I doing?
“I love Marcus,” I said aloud.
I stood up in the tub and dripped for a minute as the water swirled down the drain. Then I reached for my robe, wrapped my hair in a towel and walked to the bedroom closet. I found the dress that I wanted, and slipped it off its hanger.
As I reached into a dresser drawer for underwear, the phone rang. Grabbing the undergarments, I went to the phone and answered it.
“Hello,” I said, trying to slip on my underpants as I balanced the phone with my chin.
“Hi, Alixia. It’s Robert.”
“Robert.”
“ Yeah, Claire told me you were back,” he said. As I almost stumbled getting my last leg in.
“How was your trip up north? Did you find a college?”
“No, not yet. But I’m looking at a couple of them.” I reached for my bra.
“Well, I hope you find one you like. Hey, the reason I’m calling,” and there was a pause. I could hear a little nervousness in his voice. “Um, do you want to meet?”
“Is something wrong, Robert?”
“No, I just want to talk.”
“Of course I’ll meet you. Where?”
“Tonight for supper, at Marie’s?”
“That’s fine. I’ll be with the girls today, shopping, and we can just meet you there. What time?”
“No, not the girls. Just you. We need to talk about Marcus. How about seven?”
“Alright, I will be there.”
“Good I’ll see you then. Bye.”
“Bye.”
I hung up the phone, wondering if he had heard from Marcus, or perhaps he just wanted to find out if I had. My head raced with questions as I hurriedly finished dressing and headed downstairs. I needed to find Anna to let her know that I was going out, and probably wouldn’t be back until late tonight.
“Anna,” I called as I walked toward the kitchen. She popped her head out.
“What is it?” She had flour on her hands, and a touch on the tip of her nose. It was cute. I reached over, wiping it off.
“I’m going out for a while...”
“To meet Robert?”
“Anna!” I stepped back. “Stop listening in on my phone calls,” I said, looking at her crossly.
“I told her to. You can go back to making your bread now, Anna.”
Madame Cecilia had rose stems in her hand.
“Why are you here?”
“To watch over you until Phillip returns tonight.”
“Where did he go?” I asked.
“Back to New Orleans.”
“Oh. Is there news?”
“ No, he just had some Council issue to attend to. So, I will be by your side until he returns.”
“Why, are you waiting to see if Marcus contacts me? He hasn’t, so far.”
“No, it has nothing to do with Marcus,” she said, sighing almost disappointingly. “The Ancients made it clear to the other Realms that, if the ritual works, he will live. There will be no reprisals against him.” She sniffed a rose. “Unless, of course, he takes a soul that is forbidden.”
“He won’t.”
“Well, that remains to be seen.”
I stared at her.
“Have you heard anything from the High Council about him yet?” I asked.
“No,” she said, glancing at Anna. “The Ancients are protecting him, so there’s no way of knowing anything. We just have to be patient.”
I rubbed my forehead, closing my eyes for a second in frustration.
“Patient. I’m getting really tired of hearing that word. All I’ve done is wait.”
“Well, there’s nothing you can do until they’re ready to give us answers,” she said, walking out of the kitchen. I followed her to the living room, sitting in a chair across from her as she made herself comfortable on the couch.
“Anyway,” she said. “Your concern now should be Marcel.”
“And Mother,” I added sarcastically. She grimaced.
“Yes, Lucida too.”
She fussed with a pillow.
“They have been seen here in Baton Rouge, and also in New Orleans. So tonight, when you meet Robert, I will be there.”
“No, you won’t.” I said. “I know what you’re up to. You want to see if he knows anything more about Marcus. Well, I don’t think I’ll be needing your help tonight.”
She paused for a moment, looking at me. She was searching for the child, and finding a woman.
“They could be waiting for you,” she said. “Are you sure you can protect Robert from your mother, if she appears tonight? Or, let me put this a different way. Are you going to be able to destroy your mother without us there?”
“Yes,” I said. But she heard the hesitation.
She leaned forward.
“You didn’t do it in the jungle.”
That shook me. I walked over to the window to give myself time to collect my thoughts. One thing couldn’t be avoided.
What if she’s right?
I turned back, looking at her. “You may be right. Perhaps I will need you there.”
“Alixia, thank you,” she said with genuine relief in her voice. “And I didn’t mean to be unforgiving with you, about you not destroying Lucida. I know your heart led you that night, instead of your instincts. Just as mine had, once. I should have burned her ashes. But I couldn’t: she was my only daughter. I knew by not going forward with the ritual, I could at least see her soul appear to me again.”
She wiped her tears.
“I t
ruly regret what I did, Alixia. Now all I want to do is give her soul back to her.”
I sensed her loneliness and distress, the wanting to make things right. I walked over, took her in my arms and hugged her.
“We will do it together.”
She looked at me gratefully.
The phone rang.
“Hey, Alixia. It’s Claire”
”Hi, what’s up?”
“We’re meeting an hour early, at the dress shop. Can you make it?”
“Sure,” I said looking over at Madame Cecilia. “But, my Aunt Cecilia is here visiting. Mind if she tags along with us today?”
“Why not? We can always use another opinion besides Libby’s.”
“Claire,” I laughed. “She’s not that bad.”
“Yes, she is. Anyway, I’ll see you in an hour.”
“Okay, we’ll be there. Bye”
“Bye.”
I turned to Madame Cecilia.
“Ready to go dress shopping?” She laughed.
“Lead the way! I love shopping.”
It was my turn to laugh.
“I think this may cure you of that,” I said.
She looked at me, puzzled.
“I’ll tell you in the car. Come on. Oh, wait, my keys are upstairs.”
“That’s okay. Gabriel‘s here. He can drive us.”
On the way to Baton Rouge, I told Madame Cecilia about my going up north to scout colleges, and my mother’s supposed Paris love affair.
“I’m glad your cover stories worked this time. But after the wedding, you’ll have to start distancing yourself from these Outsiders, especially if Marcel is still alive.”
“I know. After they leave for Europe, I won’t be seeing them again.”
“Good, it’s for the best,” she said as the car pulled to a stop. Libby greeted us in the dress shop. She walked up to Madame Cecilia and shook hands.
“Madame Ambrosine, it’s so nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you too, Libby.”
“Where’s Claire?” I asked.
“She’s trying on her dress with the seamstress.” I looked toward the dressing rooms.
“She is? I can’t wait to see it.” I turned back to Madame Cecilia.
”It’s her grandmother’s dress.”
“How nice.”
“Well, good luck trying to see it,” Libby said with annoyance. “She says she won’t show it to anyone until the wedding.”
I walked over and knocked on the door.
“Claire.”
“What?”
“We can’t see your dress?”
“No! Now go away, I’m being pinned up.”
“I told you,” Libby said with a chuckle. “Anyway, come over here and I’ll show you your dress.”
She opened the door of the dressing room next to Claire’s. I stood there horrified. It was the bridesmaid’s dress from hell.
“Banana yellow? Oh, Libby. And what’s up with this giant purple flower?”
“It’s not that yellow. Try it on.”
I closed the door, took off my clothes and slipped the dress on. Fighting the layers of petticoats, I looked in the mirror. I was drowning in this thing. All I could see was a giant banana with a purple flower stuck in the middle of it.
“Come on out,” Libby said. “Let’s see you.”
“No!”
“Alixia,” she pleaded. I took another look in the mirror, shrugged my shoulders resignedly, and opened the door.
Claire and the seamstress walked out at the same time, finished with her alterations.
“What on earth are you wearing?” Claire asked, folding up in laughter.
“Claire, stop it!” Libby said, trying not to laugh herself. She walked up to me.
“Okay it just needs a little…”
She collapsed into paroxysms of laughter, too.
“I’m sorry, Alixia,” she said, tears flowing as they both tried to catch a breath. “You do look hideous.”
“You think?” I said, looking down at the big purple flower. “Okay I’m taking it off.”
“Wait” Madame Cecilia, said. She came up to me, picking up the skirt. “I think this dress is salvageable. It just needs a little altering. Louisa, come here.”
You know her?
Yes, she’s in the Family.
“So Louisa, what do you think?” She turned me around. I looked at the wall, thinking, how many more of them are there?
“Well,” she said. “I think I can fix this before the wedding.”
“Good.” I said gratefully. “But I have one request.”
“What’s that?”
I looked over at Libby, who was still smiling and drying her tears.
“Can we lose the flower?”
“Yes,” Claire piped up. “Definitely lose the flower.”
“You heard her, Louisa.”
We finished up and went to lunch at a nice café. As we sipped the last of our tea, Libby spoke.
“Alixia, since you are our maid of honor…” She looked over at Claire, and then continued sheepishly. “Davis wants you to ask Phillip to be the best man.”
Clair jumped in, not wanting me to say no.
“Alixia, please do it. We were going to have Marcus, but he hasn’t even bothered to call his parents or his brother, to let us know if he’s coming. He is so selfish.” She took a breath. “Anyway, you need a man by your side. So, we thought Phillip would be a good choice, since you’re already dating him and all.”
“You’re dating Phillip?” Madame Cecilia blurted out. “I didn’t know you two were that close.”
I jumped into her thoughts as she finished her sentence, letting her know the details.
“I’ll say they’re close!” Claire laughed. I glared at her, sensing she was about to add some more details. I shook my head at her and she smiled back at me wickedly. But she kept her mouth shut.
“I’m sorry, Aunt Cecilia. We didn’t want to mention anything yet, as it’s still pretty new. We’re just waiting to see where it goes.”
“Well, as long as you’re happy.”
“Hey,” Libby spoke up. “We’d better get going. We’re already a few minutes late for the next appointment.”
We spent the rest of the afternoon running around to different shops and caterers to finalize all the wedding plans. At the last shop, Libby invited everyone back to her house for dinner.
” My mother’s making her famous catfish and hush puppies tonight,” she said.
“That sounds good to me,” Claire said. “My parents went to New Orleans today, so they won’t be back until later on tonight. And Robert has an urgent appointment somewhere. So I’m on my own, I guess.”
“I’m sorry, Libby” I said, glancing at Madam Cecilia. “I have already made plans for dinner. Can I have a rain-check on that catfish?”
“Sure. So, I’ll call you tomorrow?”
“Yes. We can work on the flower arrangements.” We hugged each other. And then Claire said something unexpected.
“Your aunt Cecilia and you both have such warm skin. It must be hereditary, eh?”
“I guess so.”
“Strange. Anyway, I’ll see you later.”
She got into her car and Libby followed. We watched until they turned the corner.
“Your friend is very intuitive,” Madame Cecilia said anxiously. “We will have to be careful that she doesn’t notice anything else.”
I nodded.
At the restaurant, I looked around for Robert.
“May I help you?” The maître d' asked, coming up behind me.
“Yes, I’m looking for Monsieur Blondeau’s table.”
“This way, please.” I followed him through the candlelit dining room to a back table. He pulled out a chair and seated me.
“Monsieur Blondeau called and said that he will be here shortly. Can I bring you anything to drink?”
“Sweet tea, please.”
“Very good.” I sat there for
a few minutes looking toward the entrance. Where is he? I began to feel restless, hoping he was safe. And then I saw him coming toward me.
“Sorry, I was on the phone with Claire.”
“Oh, that’s okay.”
“So,” he said, not wasting any time. “Have you heard from my bother yet?”
“No,” I said, wishing I didn’t have to lie to him.
“Damn, I thought for sure he’d contact you, of all people. Why hasn’t he called anyone? I wonder if he’s in some kind of trouble. Do you think he might be? I’m afraid our parents will go to the police again, if they don’t hear from him soon.”
“No, they can’t! You have to tell them something to keep them from doing that.”
”I know. I’ll handle it. But it’s never been this long before. Do you think he’s gone for good? He always told me there would be a time when he would have to leave us.” I stared at him, seeing the pain and the uncertainly in his eyes. I just wanted to scream out the whole truth to him.
“Robert, I’m sure he wouldn’t leave without letting one of us know.”
He nodded, and then looked around the restaurant nervously.
“What’s the matter, Robert?” He reached up, running his fingers nervously through his hair. “I don’t know, but lately I’ve had this feeling that someone’s watching me.”
“When did that start?”
“A few days ago. Why?”
I have to keep lying, to make sure he stays safe.
“Because the same thing has been happening to me.”
“It has?” He stopped talking as the waiter placed my drink in front me. “Would you like anything, sir?”
“Yes, I’ll have a beer.”
“Very good.” He left, and Robert stared at me.
“So, you felt them, too?”
“Yes.” He leaned back in his chair.
“Do you think Marcus is trying to get hold of us? Because he’s in some kind of danger?”
I can’t take this anymore. We need to ease his mind.
“ Robert I don’t know. But listen, I know this woman, Marguerite. She’s a Healer. She has a shop in New Orleans, and maybe if we talk to her, she can help us.”
The Legacy (Ambrosine Book 2) Page 26
