Crimson Echo (35 page)

“She’s good Mrs. Young, busy with
finals and preparing for graduation in the spring.”

“Please call me Darlene.” She said.

“Yes ma’am.” I heard Kane say.

“Tristan, your dates here.
Don’t keep him waiting.”

“Be right down.”
My acting wasn’t any better than my mother’s. It was safe to say we would never win an Oscar.

            I took one step at a time, carefully making sure I didn’t trip and fall down the stairs in front of Kane. I was never that clumsy, but if it ever were to happen I was sure it would be in front of Kane. Mom gasped like she hadn’t already seen me and Kane smiled.

“Oh, she’s just beautiful.” Mom sniffled.

“Yes ma’am, she is.
” He watched me fidget out of the corner of his eye and his lips drew up into a slight smile.

           
He was standing in the living room donning a black, silk dress shirt with a red tie and black slacks. His hair perfectly sculpted away from his face— he was the picture of a pure Adonis. I couldn’t believe Kane was actually standing in my house and talking to my parents. He looked completely out of place in such a normal environment.

“Don’t be rude Kurt, we have a guest.
Say hi to Kane.” Mom tapped his shoulder.

“Nice to meet ya’ kid.” He looked away from the television and shook
Kane’s hand.

“You too sir,
” Kane looked back at me. “It’s a pleasure.”

“What time will you have her home?” His voice was abrasive.

“No later than ten. I’m sure my sister will have her occupied most of the night, hopefully I can sneak in a dance.” He winked in my direction.

“No later,” dad repeated. “I mean it.”

“Yes sir. She’ll be well taken care of, I give you my word.”

“Don’t worry about
him, he’s all bark and no bite.” Mom gave me an apologetic look.

“I hate to be rude, but we’re running a bit short on time. It was nice finally meeting you
both.”

“I’ll be fine,” I hugged my mom.

“Knee to the groin, remember.” Dad whispered as he wrapped his arms around me.

“Dad, stop it.”

“Shall we?” Kane held out his arm and mom beamed from ear to ear.

            As he led
me out to his car he winked at me. His eyes were a bright blue in the sunlight and he had a constant smile on his face. It was the perfect day for a winter wedding— the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. It almost felt like spring.

“Your chariot awaits, madam.” He had the door
opened and was waiting for me.

“
What, no Bentley today?” I said sarcastically.

“I thought I’d keep it low key since I was meeting your parents today.”

“Good idea.”

            I sank into the leather seats of the Range Rover as he lightly shut the door.  Even his car smelled like him. I looked up and I could see someone peeking out from behind the curtains and I assumed it was my mom spying on us. Kane was in the driver’s seat and the engine was running before I had time to put my seatbelt on.

“Kane slow down. What’s the rush?” I didn’t mind when he used his super speed, but I didn’t think my parent’s would be as understanding as I was. “Are you trying to bring back
the witch trials?”

.“I'm just excited, that’s all.
I’ll try to control myself, I promise.” He murmured.

“
We have plenty of time until the wedding starts.” I reminded him.

“Knee to the groin, huh?” He smiled, changing the subject. “Your father isn’t my biggest fan.”

“I thought you might have heard that.” I frowned. “Don’t pay him any attention. He’s just being overprotective. ”

His mouth turned up into a smile.
 

            Trees
flew by as green blurs as we raced down the city streets. The wind roared and flexed over the car in protest at the speed in which we traveled—even the wind knew we were going too fast. A car wasn’t actually necessary, Kane could have teleported me back to his house, but we had to put on a show for my parents and I still wasn’t sure if I could stay conscious after another teleport.

            My parents
would have realized something wasn’t right if Kane didn’t show up in a vehicle. I would have much preferred teleporting to driving, at least it felt safer, and though I knew with Kane’s steady precision and skill we would never be in a car accident, I couldn’t help but be aware of the constant churning in the pit of my stomach. I was getting used the instant gratification of his abilities and I chided myself at the thought.

“You are br
eath-taking.” The definition of beauty couldn’t even describe how you look today.” He whispered in his soothing voice, which nearly melted me right into the floor board.

“You clean up pretty nice yourself.” I blushed knowing my words could never be put quite as eloquent as his always were.

“You’re nervous.” It was more of an accusation then a question. “Still?”

“Am I that transparent?”

“I know every freckle, every curve of your face, every flicker of color in your eyes—you look away when you laugh, you blush at compliments, you twist your hair and fidget with your fingers when you’re nervous. When you’re mad, you get quite. When you’re happy, it shows all over your face. I know you better than anyone ever will.” Even I had to admit he had me pegged, I didn’t know whether to be impressed of completely freaked out by his observations, but I chose the first.

“
You’ve been paying attention, I see.”

“Of course I have.
Any suitor would do the same.”

“Suitor,” I let the word hang in the air for a minute. “That sounds so formal.”

“That’s what I would have been called in my day. It was a lot different back then. Would you prefer the term “boyfriend?”

“No, that doesn’t feel right
either. Let me think about it for a while.” The term soul mate sounded hokey and I didn’t know how he would feel about it.

“We’ll discuss it more after the wedding.” He said, shutting off the engine. He was out of the car and had my door open in record time. I ignored it.

            I inhaled the sharp scent of pine as Kane took my hand and led me up the stone path to the porch. The front of the house was immaculately decorated— much like the backyard, I was sure. White satin was draped from the multiple balconies and strands of lights were delicately wrapped around every tree and shrub in the front yard—though they couldn’t actually be seen in all their glory, since it was still daylight. 

“Are you ready?” He asked, running his fingers through my hair.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“You have nothing to wor
ry about, everyone already loves you.” He kissed my forehead and pulled me through the door. “You’ve already proved yourself.”

Sabrina and Aurora greeted me in the entryway with a warm hug.

“I’m so glad you’re here, I’ve been so nervous.” Sabrina admitted hugging me again. She was gorgeous, even in her silk robe. Her strawberry blond hair was wrapped around large blue rollers on top of her head and her face was still bare.

“You’ll be fine.” I promised
. “It smells wonderful in here.”

           
The smell of jasmine, baby’s breath, calla lily and gardenias wafted through the air. The rails on the staircase were twined with flower garlands—the greenery served as the base, orchids of every color exploded through the bells of Ireland. There was the baby’s breath sporadically placed, but evenly calculated. Money was no object to the Evans and it was understood Sabrina would have the best—mostly because she was the only girl in the family. I imagined her being reminded that she was a princess over and over again when she was a little girl.

“It’s so good to see you again.” Aurora smiled.

“It’s good to see you again too.”

“Do you want something to drink?” Kane asked as we all walked toward the kitchen, leaving Aurora and Sabri
na by the front door where they were over analyzing the center piece on the foyer table.

“Yes please.”

“We have water, juice and ginger ale.” Kane said as he stood in front of the refrigerator.

“Do you have anything stronger?” I asked casually, knowing he probably wouldn’t allow it.

“Stronger?” He turned around and looked at me. “You want an adult beverage?”

“Yes, if that’s alright with you.”

“I’ll see what I can come up with.” He said as he opened up a cabinet on the other side of the kitchen. He pulled out a bottle of vodka, poured it into a cup and mixed it with orange juice. “Here, everyone will think you’re just having a glass of orange juice.”

“Thanks.” I took the glass from him and chugged it.

“Whoa, slow down there light weight.” He took a sip from his glass and then handed it to me when he noticed that I was eyeing it.

“Okay, that should get me through this.” I wiped my mouth and handed him both glasses.

“You’ve officially lost it.” He laughed. “Let’s see what everyone else is up to.”

            Kane held my hand as we walked through the house. You could feel the electricity in the air, it was almost tangible. I worried that a winter wedding would be a disaster, but it seemed that
Sabrina had a keen eye and maybe a bit of foresight. Kane hummed the Bridal March as we slipped out of a side door and made our way to the garden.

“I thought you could use some fresh air before things get chaotic.”

“You’re probably right.” I took a seat beside him on one of the stone benches.

“You’re scared to death aren’t you?” He asked as he held my hand close to his heart.

“I’m terrified. I hate large crowds of people, especially when I have to stand up in front of them.”

“I’ll be up there with you the entire time. If you get nervous just look at me and don’t forget to breath.”

            I took a deep breath to calm myself down as I stared at all of the flowers in the garden. I hadn’t noticed all of the butterflies the night that Sabrina had asked me to be her Maid of Honor. There must have been hundreds of them fluttering around us. There seemed to be butterflies in every color.

“This is incredible.” I whispered, reaching out my hand.

“This is everyone’s favorite part of the house.”

“I can see why.” I smiled as a purple butterfly landed in the palm of my hand.

“Look, they like you.” He smiled. “You know, people say that when a butterfly lands on you it means that they can sense that you’re in love.”

“Really, they can sense that stuff?”

“I think they can.” He smiled as another butterfly landed on his knee.

“They can tell that you’re in love too.” I whispered.

“They’re right.” He said and then kissed me in the butterfly garden.

“There you two are!” Sabrina sighed. “I should have known you two would be out here making out like a couple of teenagers.”

“I
am
a teenager.” I informed her.

“You know what I mean.”

“Do you need us for something?” Kane asked annoyed.

“We need to start getting ready.” She grabbed my arm and led me into the house.
“You have to see my dress, come on!” 

           
The dress hadn’t arrived from Paris until this morning, so I hadn’t actually gotten to see it in its entirety. I started to feel a little guilty about neglecting my bride’s maid duties, because I had been spending so much time with Kane, but she didn’t seem to mind too much. The most important job I had today was showing up for the wedding and I hadn’t messed that up yet.

I looked to Kane and gave him a pleading smile.

“Go have fun,” he kissed my hand. “I’ve got some things to finish up around here before the wedding.”

My bottom lip jutted out into a pou
t, but I followed Sabrina up the staircase.

“Let’s see this dress.” I said with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

            Sabrina moved swiftly to the door like it was Christmas morning and the anticipation to open a larger than life present would kill her if she didn’t get to it soon. She swung the door open with just as much gusto. She pulled me into her bedroom and it took a minute to let my eyes re-adjust.

            Her bedroom
was as overdone as I had expected it to be. The walls were a blinding shade of white with a high arched ceiling and the bed was unsettlingly large for one person. I took a seat on the fluffy down bedspread, making it wrinkle as I admired the four poster canopy. White, sheer, decorative fabric draped over each corner, ruffling in just the right places. It looked more like mosquito nets to me, but I wouldn’t dare mention that to Sabrina.

“Give me a sec,
I’ll be right back.” She said as she disappeared into the racks of clothing. The only sound was the rustling of plastic as she removed it from her dress. I picked wilted orchids from the vase sitting on a long end table and poured fresh water into the crystal.