Just like Grey

by Jessie Cooke

“Your mother was hoping that you brought her here to announce your engagement.”

  Alex chuckled and said, “It's like she gets in my head sometimes and sees things in there before I'm even aware that they're there.”

  “It's a mother thing,” his dad said. “So, you are here to announce the engagement?”

  “No,” Alex said, “But,” he reached into the pocket of his sports coat and pulled out a little velvet box. “I do plan on proposing. I've been planning on it all week. I just keep going over it in my head and trying to think of the best way and the best place to do it. I didn't want to do it while we were celebrating my birthday and I didn't want to do it right before we came here so that she didn't feel double the pressure. So…once I figure out when and where, I have a ring.”

  Antonio smiled at his son and held out what was in his hand. It was a ring box too and he said, “Now you have two.” Alex frowned and took the ring box out of his father's hand. He opened it and actually let out a gasp.

  “Dad…no, I can't…”

  “Alex, you know how hard things were when we came here, but there is a lot you don't know. There was a lot that you just never needed to know. But there were times that we had to sell everything we had just to buy food…or milk, or diapers. During all that time, there was one thing I never let your mother sell. She tried, mind you. One time I caught her just in time in a pawn shop in the Bronx. I almost had to fight the guy to get it back and he hadn't even given her the money yet. He was going to give her a paltry hundred dollars that would have been gone in a week and we would have never gotten that back. She gave up everything to be with me and that was the only thing she had left of any of it.”

  “Which is exactly why you shouldn't give it to me, Dad.” Antonio and Leticia lived in a small town in Barcelona when they were children. They were good friends growing up and their fathers worked together. But hormones kicked in when they were teenagers, and Alex was sure that he'd heard the “G” rated version…but the summary was that his mother ended up pregnant and her father tried to kill Antonio which of course ended up with the two families feuding. Letty was forbidden from marrying Antonio by her father and her intensely Catholic mother was so ashamed of her that she wanted to send her away to a place the church operated where young, unwed mothers could have their babies and put them up for adoption. The only person in either family that was supportive of the young lovers was Letty's grandfather, Alexander. Alexander was a widow, but before his wife died he had been with her for almost sixty years. He told them that true love was all they'd ever have, and they shouldn't let their parents or anyone else tell them who to love. He gave them enough money to apply for work visa's and travel to New York. Letty told Alex it was his life savings, when she told the story. He also gave them the ring that her grandmother wore for sixty years, and that his own grandmother had worn for over sixty years before that. Grandpa Alexander passed away a few short months after the kids left Spain and the ring became even that much more valuable to them both.

  Alex looked down at it now. It was a beautiful ring. It was a cathedral style ring, shaped like a flower that was bursting open. The one-carat diamond in the center was surrounded by six textured gold petals and six petals made up of three brilliant diamond stones each. Alex was no jewelry expert, but he'd say the ring was probably worth four or five grand by today's standards. But to his mother, it was priceless and as honored as he was that she wanted him to have it, it hurt him to take the last piece she had of her own family, her last connection to her home.

  “You don't think she'll like it?”

  Alex looked up at his father as he was picturing Isabelle's face when she saw it. “She would love it. I'm not kidding, Dad. Things like this, different from what everyone else is wearing, that's right up her alley. When you throw in the history and the family connections, hell, she'll love it more than she loves me. I'm just worried about Mom.”

  “Can I tell you something, honestly?”

  “Of course.”

  “Did you know your mother lit a candle and prayed every week while you were with Kelly that you wouldn't marry her?”

  Alex couldn't keep a straight face. He laughed as he pictured his mother on her knees praying for the demise of his and Kelly's relationship. “No. I could tell that Mom didn't feel close to her and I knew that was Kelly's fault…but I never knew she was that against the idea of us getting married.”

  “She wouldn't have ever told you, either. Because of what we went through to be together, she wouldn't ever stand in the way of you being with someone you loved. But she was so happy when you and Kelly broke up, and then just a little worried when you were with Isabelle so soon.” His father smiled and said, “After she spoke to you on the phone the other night she said that she could hear in your voice how happy Isabelle made you and she lit a candle that night and prayed for the two of you. Meeting her today clinched it. She told me when we were clearing the table to get the ring and make sure you took it. It means everything to her son, for you to have it and give it to Isabelle. I'm sure whatever you have in that box there is worth ten times as much, but you can give her both, right?”

  Alex smiled. “Right…thank you, Dad.”

  “Thank your mother.”

  “I will.”

  “Here we go, chocolate lava cake and ice cream,” Letty announced as she and Isabelle carried the desserts and a pot of coffee back into the living room. While they ate, Isabelle and Letty talked about Isabelle's business and Isabelle showed her pictures on her phone of her designs. Alex realized as he watched them, with the antique ring in his pocket that would tie them all together if Isabelle said yes, that this was the happiest moment of his life, with the three most important people in it.

  “I love you…but if we were going to get up before the crack of dawn to drive home, why didn't we drive back last night, again?” Isabelle sat in the passenger seat sipping the travel cup of coffee his mother brewed for her. She was wearing a gray sweatshirt with a hood and she had the hood on. She also had on matching sweatpants and gray Ugg boots. Her face was free of makeup and her hair was sticking out of the hoodie wildly in places. Alex could hardly stop looking at her long enough to drive.

  “I love you too, and you'll understand in a few minutes. There's this place I want you to see, but you have to get there really early in the morning to beat all the tourist traffic. You'll love it, I promise.” She grunted at him and scooted further down in her seat. It was dark out and she couldn't see the breathtaking views that surrounded them as he drove up toward Watkins Glen, but she would see it soon enough and he really did think she'd love it. The idea of taking her there to propose to her had been his mother's idea when she took him into the kitchen after dessert and whispered it in his ear. He had no idea when she and his father had a chance to talk, or if they'd been together so long they did it telepathically, but she already knew he was planning on proposing.

  The sun was just barely beginning to rise when they reached the little town where Watkins Glen State Park is located. The park is actually right in the center of town and the entrance is right across from a sub shop. Isabelle seemed to sit up and take notice as they drove into the tiny hamlet. “Wow, this is such a cute little town,” she said.

  “Waking up now, baby?”

  She chuckled. “I've been awake. I'm just not a morning person. You can ask Theo, he won't even speak to me until after nine am.”

  “You spent most of last week with me at my apartment, remember? I learned the first day not to speak to you before nine.”

  “Shut up,” she said with a smile. “Why are we here?”

  Alex turned into the entrance to the park and then into the main parking lot. Once they parked the car he looked at Isabelle and said, “Ready for a hike?”

  She glanced at the clock on the radio and then back at his face like he was insane. It was five-fifty am, so he didn't blame her, but he was hoping this would be a memory she'd cherish later on. “Sure,” she said at last. He loved her e
ven more for being a good sport and not refusing to do it. Kelly would have refused, but that would of course, been a blessing from God itself. Alex opened Izzy's door and helped her out of the car. There was a trail called “Gorge Trail” that he meant to take her on. It's not a rugged experience at all, but if he remembered correctly from the last time he visited it as a kid, it was one of the most beautiful places in upstate New York. “A tunnel,” she said with both eyebrows raised when they got to the entrance of the trail. “Interesting.”

  He laughed and took her hand, leading her through the tunnel and toward the bridge that arched across Glen Creek. The trail they were following was only two miles long and 300 feet deep, but it was a combination of natural beauty and man-made stone walkways and bridges built in the 1930's. Alex remembered thinking of it as some kind of fantasy land when he was a kid and now that they were in the center of the first bridge, he could remember why. Isabelle was suddenly taken with it all too. “Oh Alex…wow, it's so pretty!” They could see the first waterfall from where they were standing, but he had a specific spot he wanted to reach before he dropped down to one knee.

  They walked mostly in silence, and Alex could see by the look of awe on Isabelle's face that she found this place as amazing as he did. They stopped here and there to look at things but mostly they walked until they got to a bridge called the “Rainbow Bridge.” Here they had a view of three waterfalls that crashed down on each other and formed one of the earths most incredible sights and sounds. While Isabelle was leaning into the railing, practically with tears in her eyes over what she was seeing around her, Alex got down on his knee beside her. He waited until she turned excitedly to say something to him and found him down by her waist. With a somewhat nervous smile she said,

  “Alex…what are you doing?”

  He took out the ring box, the one with the antique ring in it and he said, “Isabelle Brazil, I never thought I would be so happy, or so content with my life. I love you more than I ever thought possible and the only thing left that could make me happier than the time I already spend with you, would be if you would agree to be my wife. I want to love you forever.” Isabelle's eyes were overflowing with tears and Alex was shocked at first and then he laughed when she dropped down to her own knees,

  “I wish I had a pretty speech,” she said. “But you know me, I'm just a plain girl.” Alex wondered if she really thought there was anything “plain” about her. If that was the case, she was so wrong. “So yes, just plain hell yes, I will marry you.”

  He laughed and hugged her and then they kissed and finally she said, “Where the hell did you get that ring? I mean…man…if there was any question about whether or not I loved you, that would have put me over the top.” Alex was laughing so hard as he slipped it on her finger that he had tears in his own eyes. She saved him. She saved him from a life of plastic people and complacency, and she made him deliriously happy to turn every page of his life now, just so he could find out what was going to happen next.

  30

  “Will you stop looking like you're going to a funeral man? You're getting married today.” Alex was standing at the edge of the opening to the glen. It had taken a hell of a lot of effort…and money to line a lot of powerful people's pockets, but he managed to get permission to hold his and Izzy's wedding on top of the Rainbow Bridge where he'd proposed to her only six months earlier. Everything was ready. His parents were there, Levi was there, and Izzy was on her way. He should be ecstatic, but he had a bad feeling… “What is wrong? Are you getting cold feet?”

  “What? No way. I want this more than I've ever wanted anything. I just…I don't know, I have this dark feeling that something is wrong and I can't shake it.”

  “Nothing's wrong. Everyone you love is either here or on her way. You just talked to Mike, right? They were in the car and headed up. She'll be here soon, and before the day is over you'll have everything any man could ever want or need.”

  “Maybe that's it,” Alex said. “Maybe that's what I'm afraid of.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, once you have everything you want and need, what's left? What if we get married and we move into that new house we're building and then…there's never anything else left to get excited about?”

  “What the hell are you talking about? You're crazy, you know that? What is left? How about a whole lifetime together, kids and new business opportunities and new adventures?”

  “I know, you're right. Fuck. I guess I've just never been so close to it before, you know?”

  “Yes and no,” Levi said. “When and if I ever get that close to it I'll let you know if I understand.”

  “Rachel's getting married next week, shit, I forgot. I'm sorry. I'm a terrible friend.”

  “Shut up. No you're not. I can't change anything where Rachel is concerned, and neither can you. She's marrying her kid's father, that's the way it's supposed to be.” Levi found out a few months after he and Rachel split up that she'd gone back to her ex. He told Alex that he knew how important it was for her child to have what she had never had, a real family. Levi was worried about her though. She'd left the guy because he had a drinking problem and he cheated on her. She told him that he had changed, but Levi wasn't so sure.

  “Maybe you can,” Alex said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Did you tell her that you're in love with her? Does she know that you're ready to commit to her and be a father? You could give her such a better life than that guy she's with.”

  Levi chuckled and said, “You of all people should know that I wouldn't want a woman that would be with me just because I could give her a better life.”

  “I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about loyalty. You're the most loyal person I know. She hasn't ever had that, from what you tell me. Maybe if you told her…”

  “It's too late,” Levi said. “Besides, she knows my reputation.”

  “As a single, available, wealthy man in New York City. Have you had a lot of sex and slept with a lot of women? Yes. But you were single, and you weren't hurting anyone. Did you sleep with anyone else when you were with Rachel?”

  “No.”

  “Did you want to?”

  “No.”

  “See what I mean. Tell her that. What do you have to lose?”

  Levi nodded. “Maybe. But today is about you and Izzy, so I'm not going to think about it today.”

  “Okay,” Alex looked at his watch. “They should be here by now.”

  “You want to call them again?”

  “Izzy won't talk to me. She says it's as bad to talk on the phone as it is to see the bride on her wedding day. She stayed at the new house last night.”

  “Is it that close to being ready?”

  Alex laughed. “Not really. It doesn't have a roof on it yet. But, she said it was warm enough and she was going to camp out there and get ready there because it was so much closer than the penthouse. She's been spending a lot of time there lately.”

  “She's excited about the house, I can hear it in her voice when I talk to her. She told me she was overseeing a ‘special room’ they were working on this week. What's that about?”

  Alex laughed and said, “You know Izzy, always full of surprises. I have no idea. I thought it was like a sewing room or you know, a home office at first. But she's been really hush-hush about it, and when I go out there it's completely off limits to me.”

  “Intriguing,” Levi said with a smile.

  “That's my Izzy,” Alex said, looking at his watch again.

  “Call Mike so you'll stop worrying…shit…”

  “What?”

  “The sheriff just pulled up and the ranger is right behind him.”

  The two men looked at each other and then Alex took off. Levi almost had to run to keep up with him. As Alex approached where the sheriff was talking to his father, all he heard was “fatality.” His heart sped up to a dangerous level and his head felt like it was suddenly filled with fog as the adrenaline be
gan to pump at full speed. “What's wrong? What's going on?”

  Antonio looked up at his son. His mother was standing next to him with tears in her eyes and she looked like she was going to be sick. The sheriff turned and looked at him. “Mr. Romaletti?”

  “Yes. What's going on?”

  “There was an accident, sir…”

  “Oh shit! Fuck! No!”

  “Alex,” his mother whispered.

  “Izzy? Was it Izzy? Where is she?”

  “Izzy?” the sheriff asked, confused.

  “Isabelle, my fiancé Isabelle Brazil! Where is she?”

  “That's not the name they gave me.” He glanced over at the ranger and the ranger said,

  “No, it was Valentine.”

  Alex's head was too full of chaos. He was having a hard time focusing. “Valentine? Kelly? It wasn't Izzy?” His mother put a hand on his arm and said,

  “Alex please calm down and let him tell us what happened, okay?” Alex nodded, but he wasn't going to calm down, not until he saw Izzy's face.

  “There was a car accident just about three miles outside of town. A logging truck versus a sports car. There were two people in the car. One of them was a Brody St John…”

  “Brody?” Alex asked, in shock. Brody was one of the bodyguards he'd fired back when Kelly was receiving information from his staff about his every movement.

  “Yes sir. Mr. St. John was killed instantly at the scene. The passenger in the car was Kelly Valentine. She was airlifted to Memorial in the city with critical injuries.”

  Alex's stomach suddenly took the bulk of the chaos that had been buzzing around inside of his head. He despised Kelly, but he'd never wished anything like this on her. “Is she going to be okay?”

  “I don't know sir. The ambulance workers stabilized her and took her away just as I was arriving.”

  Alex frowned. “Was she conscious?”

  “No sir.”

  “Then I don't understand…why are you here? I mean, how did you know I ever had any connection to her at all?”