There was a heavy tensioned moment, as muscles leapt and ticked all across Elon’s face in a fashion that would have intimidated any other man on the planet, but to which Harold simply smiled back in return and said, “You should not refuse a gift that is freely given, as it denies the giver the blessing that is due him for having given something of value.”
Reluctantly, as if under great pressure Elon’s fingers closed around the doll and Harold let go of his arm and said, “Have a blessed day Elon Gideon.”
“I never told you my whole name.”
“I know.”
Chapter Fourteen
Revenge is Sweet
April was shaking like a late autumn leaf caught by a strong breeze.
“Honey relax.” I said encouragingly.
The seatbelt sign went off and we got up to leave the plane. It was a private jet and we had been the only passengers.
I opened the hatch door, as the stairs were rolled up into place for us to descend to the tarmac below. Beyond the stairs I saw two big men waiting side-by-side.
“I glanced at April, “You ready for this?”
“No!” She said panicked.
“Well too bad, because it’s happening.” I said, as I half pushed her out of the plane and toward the rolled up stairs ahead of us.
As soon as she reached the tarmac her brothers took over. Flint bear hugged her and April fell apart sobbing against her big brother’s neck.
John tapped April’s shoulder and asked, “Hey little sis? Where’s my hug?”
April reached out and ensnared an arm around him to pull him close so she could sob all over both of them. All in all not a bad family homecoming, I thought to myself, as I watched what was left of a once broken family fully reunited together.
The tight group hug eventually broke up.
John looked at me and I could tell he wasn’t serious when he said, “I should kick your butt for not telling us sooner about her!”
Flint chuckled, “Better be careful brother you may be the one to get your butt whipped by little sister for threatening her man like that.”
April just smiled and came up to lounge against my front, “That won’t be necessary, because my man is strong enough to win his own fights without any help from me.”
That actually couldn’t be farther from the truth given our recent history. I quite vividly remembered being chased down by headhunters, almost being eaten by a deranged gorilla, and played with as a soccer ball by a robot dude. She’d just said that to make me look good and I loved her for it.
“To have and to hold from this day forward.”
I repeated each line, as they came, as I stared into her blue eyes that sparkled like gems behind her veil.
“You may now kiss the bride.”
I about tore the stupid veil thing off, because it kept getting in the way.
April was chuckling deeply before I managed to free my way through it to claim her lips. She was mine and I was hers, each of us together forever on this journey that is life.
Asia and Lisa stood beside each other wiping at their eyes as copious amounts of tears fell unchecked. There rounded bellies sticking out in front of them were ample evidence, as to the plethora of excess hormones coursing through them, as their bodies nurtured the growing lives within them.
They would’ve likely been crying anyway, but they were doubly so in their current mother to be conditions.
“Her dress is so gorgeous! Did you see the beaded embroidery?” Asia asked tearfully.
“Yes! I love how it turns up in the back with those adorable little bows. Where do you think she got the idea for the veil from?” Lisa asked equally tearful sounding.
“I don’t know, but it’s pretty isn’t it. I like how they chose cream for the groom’s suit. It looks so complementary with his dark skin.”
“I know. I like the striped pants too!”
Lisa and Asia’s respective husbands, Flint and John, who stood to either side of the melodramatic sobbing duo glanced at each other past their wives in mutual disgust over what they were being made to listen to. Finally John couldn’t take it anymore, “Big waste of time is all this is in my opinion.”
Both Lisa and Asia stopped crying to turn eagle eyed stares on John to which he responded hesitantly with, “What?”
Asia asked silky smooth, “And what pray tell dear do you think a fitting marriage service should look like?”
“Well what’s wrong with what we had? It was simple and to the point.” John responded confidently.
“Simple! I’ll say it was simple! It was nothing more than a trumped up mumble of words in an excuse of a shotgun wedding in front of a bunch of strangers one of which shot me! I wouldn’t have even had a ring, if some old widow hadn’t taken pity on me!” Asia exclaimed red in the face with the indignation that she felt.
Flint in an effort to save his floundering brother jumped into the fray between husband and wife, but he only made the boat sink faster, “Now Asia all that aside what’s important is that regardless of the circumstances you and John were able to find each other across space and…….”
“Circumstances!” Lisa fumed out.
“You’re a fine one to talk about circumstances James Kilroy! I didn’t even get a botched up shotgun wedding! I got tricked is what I got! Deceived!” Lisa said in indignation equal to that of Asia’s.
“Now honey…….” Flint began, but Lisa cut him off with, “I’m not even entirely sure we’re legal!”
“Now that isn’t cause for concern and you know it! Even if it wasn’t entirely legal per se, common law would say we’re married. Heck we have two kids already and another on the way! What more proof do you want than that that we’re yoked together?” Flint had missed his brother’s frantic kill sign motions from overtop of Asia’s head, but he knew he’d blundered when he was finished.
Flint’s hand smacked overtop of his eyes, now why had he gone and said that?
“Lisa, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean……” Flint began, but John snared his brother’s arm and commenced dragging him away from Lisa’s silently smoldering gaze.
“My you ladies look thirsty. We’ll go get you a drink of something won’t we brother.” John said taking on the unusual role of diplomat.
Lisa spoke tightlipped, as she watched the two brothers retreat and regroup to lick their wounds over by the refreshment table, “He’s going to pay for that!”
“Correction, they’re both going to pay!” Asia said.
Lisa turned to Asia, “You have a plan?”
A wicked gleam lit up Asia’s dark eyes, “Oh yeah!”
Lisa leaned down to the shorter Asia to hear her whisper the plan into her ear.
Lisa chortled, but shook her head, “April will never agree to that!”
“Oh yes she will!”
“Why?” Lisa asked.
“Because we’re going to let her plan our weddings.” Asia said smugly.
Lisa blinked, as the full realization of what Asia meant came to her, “Oh yeah sister! That’s what I’m talking about!”
The two women powered up by touching their fists together in jubilation over their impending revenge upon their mates. They hung back biding their time waiting for the chance to speak directly with April alone.
“Picture time!” Asia said brightly.
John looked at Asia uneasily and in an aside to Flint he whispered, “Something’s wrong. I’m worried.”
“You should be.” Flint said and then grimly added, “We both should be.”
The picture taking went on with lots of different combinations occurring, before Asia said, “I think we need to get one of April with her two brothers.”
Lisa backed her up authoritively by pushing first one brother and then the other to either side of April still in her wedding dress. Lisa drew back and looked at either brother situated next to their sister and purred out, “Yes that should be just perfect I think!”
Both brothers glanced at each other in alarm past April’s head.
“All right smile big for the cameras!” Asia said beaming.
Both brothers tried to, but their attempts to smile were wiped away, as with a heavy heave they felt their sister grasp their pant’s belts at the small of their backs and hoist them up high off the ground. In an effort to not flip over and un-pants themselves in abject humiliation both brothers locked a hand to each other’s overtop of April’s head in a desperate grip.
Asia fell down to her knees, because she was laughing so hard. The sight of her macho husband held aloft by a girl was simply priceless to her.
Lisa crowed, “Look Asia there holding hands! How sweetly precious!”
“Put us down!” Flint thundered out.
Lisa placed her hands on her hips, “We’ll let you down if you concede to our demands.”
John was glaring at Asia, who had partially recovered from her mirth. “You were the one behind this! I just know it! I’ll find a way to pay you back for this woman!”
Asia just batted her eyelashes, “You wouldn’t hurt a pregnant woman now would you?”
John growled with impotent rage, “Put me down now April!”
Lisa crossed her arms, “You’ll both be put down, when you come to your senses and not before. You know we could take pictures.” John abruptly stopped growling.
Lisa went on, “Now both of you have to admit that your weddings to us were shall we say a bit light on the procedure and ceremony.”
“What do you two want?” Flint gritted out.
“We want vowel renewals and big dresses in a nice church with all the trimmings!” Lisa said smugly.
Asia added, “And cake! We want cakes too!”
“Agreed.” Flint said surprisingly quickly.
“What! I’m not doing any such thing!” John exclaimed looking at his brother, as if he was a traitor.
“Shut up and agree, if you know what’s best for you.” Flint fired back and after a moment John said, “Fine! I’ll do it!”
April abruptly lowered both men to the ground and when they turned accusing glances on her she said with a shrug, “Sorry boys, but how was I supposed to resist when they offered me the job of wedding planner for a double wedding?”
Both men weren’t happy though, as neither of them were the kind of men that took embarrassment well. Flint looked, as if he’d stalk off, but he stayed and instead he approached Lisa, who stood her ground.
He wasn’t happy and it showed, “I was planning on giving you a big wedding along with a vowel renewal!” He said defensively.
Lisa took his hands, “I know you were thinking about it honey, but we’ve been married for quite a few years already and so far it’s been a no-show.”
Flint sighed and nodded.
Lisa kissed him on the cheek and then added, “Sometimes you need a little prodding baby.”
Flint’s eyebrows rose, “You call this a little?”
Lisa shrugged teasingly, “So maybe I deserve a spanking later. What do you think?”
Flint didn’t say anything, but it was obvious that he was considering it.
While Flint’s reconnection with his wife had been playing out John had stalked up to stand towering over his still Cheshire cat grinning wife.
Asia smoothed away the tension in his chest and shoulders with her hands, “You only need to concern yourself about one little thing honey.” She said soothingly.
“Yeah and what’s that?”
“Our honeymoon.”
“Yeah right we have kids.” John responded with.
“We’ll have the baby with us, but that’s all. Lisa is going to watch the others and then when we come back we’ll watch there’s for them.”
John looked decidedly more interested, but he continued to hold onto the injustice of the humiliation he’d been put through.
“Imagine it honey, you, me, on an island, a tropical one this time. Just like old times baby. Two weeks in the warm sun with just you and me and the baby. Now that’s worth getting all dressed up for a day isn’t it honey?” Asia said cajolingly.
John shook his head, as he gazed down into his wife’s erotically promising eyes, “You’re such a wicked little temptress!” He said, as he caved into the plan.
Asia shook her head, as she pulled his head down toward hers for a kiss, “I’m not a wicked temptress honey. I’m just a woman passionate about pleasing her man.”
I shook my head, as I saw both of April’s brothers led off by their cake hungry wives.
I glanced at April beside me, “Your brothers are defeated men. I suppose you have such plans for me as well?”
April pulled in close to me and rose her fingers up to frame my face, as with a deep look of sincerity she said, “There’s absolutely nothing that I want to change about the man God has used to save and enrichen my life in so many positive ways!”
We kissed and it was with an anxious hunger for each other that we pulled back out of the kiss after a long moment. A teasing gleam came into April’s eyes and I prepared myself for the humor at my expense that I expected to soon be forthcoming.
“Now give me a couple of years and the answer might be a different one.” April said tongue-in-cheek.
I laughed. In all honesty she was probably right. Marriage was often a combination of compromise and surrender and I was sure we’d have our differences, but with God’s help we would settle them peacefully and preserve the love for each other that had brought us together at first.
I glanced around and then back to April, “What do you say we slip out of here or would that be cutting your big day short?”
April grinned big, “I thought you’d never ask!”
I grinned big myself and acknowledged for perhaps the first time in my life that it was so good to be me right now.
Chapter Fifteen
Worth the Frustration
Sweat popped out all over my forehead and it was a good thing that I had taken the tuxedo coat off, as I felt like the muscles of my arms and shoulders were about to split the seams of the white shirt that I wore as it was.
“Honey you look like you’re about to blow some major arteries there. Just put me down before you strain something please!”
Oh for the love of mercy would she just shut up!
April’s lips immediately pursed together, as I saw her pull back some words she had been about to say. I winced, as I recorded the fact that the passion of my thoughts may have overridden the block that Elon had put in my mind, which kept her from reading it freely.
I glanced at her eyes to see if I’d hurt her with the harshness of my thoughts. Her eyes were laughing at me and I was relieved to see it.
I glanced up ahead of us. It had to be another stinking fifty feet before we reached the side door of the old Victorian mansion!
Who’s crazy idea had it been to install these long walkways?
I glanced down to April lying languidly still in my arms, only to see that she was about to burst out laughing. I shook my head as I huffed out, “Look I know this could be perceived as something insensitive as well as something you never ask a lady, but just how much do you weigh?”
“A little over 300 pounds.” April said apologetically.
That’s how much it felt like. Glad to know I hadn’t been imagining things.
“The metal adds a lot of weight.” April said stating the obvious.
No kidding!
I glanced at the door still a distance off and beyond it lay a spiral staircase to climb. This just wasn’t working out this way. I set April’s feet down and helped her stand up.
“Glad to see that you’ve come to your senses dear.” She said, as she unknowingly stoked my temper.
There she went opening her mouth again and doubting my manly attributes!
Well she had a surprise coming!
I half spun her around and dipping down I lifted her up, as
I grasped the back of her legs throwing her over my shoulder, even as I straightened back up.
My hand settled securely on her bottom and I started back up the path. I had to admit that the caveman approach was a lot better in more than one way. April was one endless giggle, as she hung dangling over the back of my shoulder.
Let her giggle, if she wanted to. I was a man and I was going to get the job done!
I came to the door at long last. It would be locked and I wasn’t about to fumble around in my pocket in search of the rental key so in true caveman fashion I raised my foot and slammed it into the old weathered side door.
The entire handle part of the latch mechanism detached from the rest of the door with the splintering sound of wood to then fall satisfyingly loud on the tiled floor inside.
“You broke the door! We don’t own this place!” April exclaimed.
“I don’t care! They can sue me for damages if they want! It felt good and I’d do it again!”
“Ooohhhhh you’re such a beast!” April exclaimed in a melodramatic tone.
“You bet I am baby girl!”
April giggled against my back again and I let her have a smack on the bottom to underscore my masculine stance on the matter. She never stopped laughing.
I had come to the ornate spiral staircase that dominated the foyer of this Victorian mansion. Curse this Victorian style of architecture with its twelve foot ceilings and extra long staircases!
April out and out laughed as she read my thoughts. I started up the stairs resolutely.
Talk about feeling the burn!
I was drenched in sweat by the time I reach the top and I had to blink my eyes hard repeatedly to flick the sweat out of them. I saw the door at the end of the hall through the sweaty blur of my impaired vision and I headed for it.
The door was closed, but not locked. I’d already lost my ridiculous security deposit for the house so what the heck anyway. I kicked it open too. Stepping into the room I approached the rose petal strewn bed and tossed my burden onto it with a resounding bounce of the box springs.
Agent on the Run (The Agents for Good) Page 13
