Dark Creations: Dark Ending (Part 6) (31 page)

“Come on in, guys.  We have appetizers and drinks set up in the dining room. And Alex, I
have plenty of ginger ale for you,” he added.

“Thanks,”
Alexandra replied as she made her way into the dining room, walking with her back arched and her belly thrust forward as if she were nine months pregnant and experiencing excruciating labor pains. 

Melissa chuckled quietly at her friend’s gait.  It was a new addition
, one of many idiosyncrasies Alexandra had adopted during her three months of pregnancy, added just days ago.  She couldn’t help but wonder what would come next as she followed the sound of laughter straight to the dining room.  She had almost reached it when the doorbell sounded again.  She turned to make her way back to the foyer, but Gabriel grabbed her wrist and spun her.

“I’ll get it,” he smiled warmly.  “You go and enjoy the guests that are already here.”  He placed a soft kiss on her lips then disappeared. 

She stepped inside and grabbed a plate, placing a few stuffed mushrooms, fresh mozzarella slices and tomato on it as she tried to convince her father to put Gabe down.  While he stood arguing that a grandfather possessed an unchallengeable right to carry his grandchild for as long as he liked, the sound of boisterous greetings at the front door drowned out the sound of his voice.  A certain husky laugh rose above them and meant that Anna and Jack had arrived.  She excused herself and left the room and began walking down the hallway when Jack and Anna met her halfway. 

“Hey Anna,” she embraced Jack’s wife of two years
, careful to stay to the side of the carrier she held in the crook of her elbow.  Inside it, her and Jack’s newborn daughter, Sophia, just four months old, slept soundly, nestled in a cozy looking covering that only allowed her head to peek out.  “She is such a doll,” Melissa commented and felt her heart swell at the sight of Sophia.  She’d only seen her the day before and had seen her almost twice a week since she’d been born, yet she still managed to steal Melissa’s breath each time. 

“She sure is,” Jack chimed in before Anna opened her mouth.
  “Careful,” he said to Anna.  “Let me take that from you.  It’s so heavy because our little princess is growing,” he crooned. 

While others may have melted at the sight of Jack, a boulder of a man, fussing over his daughter,
Melissa was used to it.  She knew what a doting and protective father and husband he was.  She was proud and happy to call him family.  True, he was not born to her and he was not blood related in any way.  But they had survived events that bound them eternally, all of them. 

“Can you believe him?” Anna closed her eyes and said.  I have a feeling he’ll have
us both wrapped in bubble wrap before you know it.”

“You can’t blame a guy for being protective,” he said in his defense.  “You are my girls and
I just want you to both be happy and safe.”

“He’s got a point.” Gabriel chimed in.  “I got your back, Jack,” he added and they bumped fists. 
But their little powwow ended when the doorbell rang again.

“Want me to get it?” Gabriel asked. 

“Let’s go together,” Melissa said and shrugged.

Gabriel offered his elbow and said, “I’d be honored, my lady,” then excused them after telling
Jack and Anna that the others were in the dining room. 

When Gabriel opened the door, Kyle and Amber waited, excited smiles plastered across their faces.

“Hey guys.  Happy,” Gabriel started but Kyle cut him off.

“I asked he
r and she said yes!” he erupted. 

Amber shrieked and she held up her hand.  On her
left ring finger, a band of gold with a diamond at its center sat; a simple, classic engagement ring.  “Oh my God, we’re engaged!” she cried. 

Daniella and Ryan were coming up the walkway.  “Did I just hear what I think I heard?” Daniella squealed. 

“Yes!” Amber replied eagerly.

“Ahhh!  I can’t wait to help you plan your wedding!” Daniella clapped her hands in front of face happily.  “Congratulations you guys!”

“Yeah, congrats,” Ryan added.

“We are so happy for you,” Melissa spoke for her and Gabriel.  “Congratulations and happy Thanksgiving.”

“This is
such
a happy Thanksgiving you guys,” Amber gushed.

“Lots to be thankful for,” Kyle added and wrapped his arm around Amber’s shoulder.

“Get in here, guys!  Come on.  We need to toast this news,” Gabriel said enthusiastically and everyone filed inside.  “Let’s go tell everyone else the good news,” he took their coats and shepherded them to the dining room.

“I’ll be along in a second.  I need to check the bird,” Melissa said referring to the large turkey still roasting in the oven. 
“And I need to put the finishing touches on the salad.”

“
You’re amazing, you know that?” Gabriel asked and did not wait for an answer.  “You did an amazing job.  Can I help with anything?”

“Yeah, can I do anything?” Daniella asked
and draped an arm over Gabriel’s shoulder.

“No,
but thank you for offering,” she replied.  “I think I’m okay in there.”

“W
ell if you need anything, just holler,” Daniella added before disappearing into the dining room. 

“Oh I almost forgot
,” Amber, flustered and grinning ear to ear, dashed from the dining room and said.  “I brought wine.” Amber handed a bottle of white wine to her.

“Thanks Amber,” Melissa said.  “I’ll uncork it now and bring it in.”

Clutching the bottle, Melissa made her way back into the kitchen.  She uncorked the wine and let it breathe while she grated parmesan cheese over the salad and searched for her serving tongs.  Once they’d been found, she checked the turkey and noticed that the pop-up timer was raised.  She would ask Gabriel to take it out of the oven for her when she brought the wine inside.  But before she brought the wine, she needed stemware to serve it in.  She stretched and opened a cabinet high overhead and retrieved a dozen glasses.  They were mismatched, but she doubted anyone would notice, let alone care.  The people present were so much more than friends.  They were family, and the best kind.  They were family members that chose each other.  Together they’d overcome seemingly insurmountable circumstances, had beaten and survived odds that had seemed too great to overcome.  And they’d managed to learn a lot about themselves along the way.  Love, acceptance, patience and renewal were just a few of the many virtues they’d been schooled in. 

As Melissa placed the different glasses on a
rectangular wooden serving tray, her heart felt as if it had ballooned and filled her chest completely.  Every person she loved was under one roof, not that it was an odd occurrence.  Each of them lived no more than twenty miles from the other.  She saw them regularly.  After the events in Taft and Eldon, they had decided as a group to stay close to one another.  Geographical closeness had been included in that decision.  After all, who else would understand what they’d lived through more than the people who had experienced it with them?  No one would.  Fortunately, they truly liked one another and the decision had been a no-brainer.

She smiled to herself then paused to stare out the window once again.  Twilight had fallen and the world beyond the pane was an ethereal shade of palest blue.  Fresh snow blanketed the landscape.  All was quiet beyond her doors, all was peaceful.  Melissa Martin realized in that moment that she was the richest woman alive.  Her wealth was
not a number that could be quantified or counted in dollars or cents.  No, it much more vast than money or possessions.  She was rich in family and friends.  She was rich in love.

***

Gabriel James Jr. watched his mother as she stood in the kitchen in front of the sink and looked out the window.  Her name was Melissa, but he called her mommy.  She loved him very much.  He knew she did.  Everyone at his house loved him very much, especially mommy and daddy, and grandpa.  Grandpa liked to sneak him candy and treats that mommy and daddy thought were too sugary, and toys they thought were too loud.  Grandpa always tried to make him happy.  He had a shiny baldy head and eyes that were kind of grayish and bluish at the same time with small crinkles at the corners that he said were happy lines he got from smiling at his grandson so much.  Gabriel knew they were wrinkles, but smiled and nodded all the same when grandpa made that name up. 

“Hey sweetie,” his mommy said as soon as she
turned from the sink and noticed that he watched her.  Her eyes were moist and shiny and looked like sparkly jewels.  “I didn’t hear you come in,” she added and smiled.  She usually didn’t see when he snuck into a room.  She always found him, but not until he’d gotten to watch her for a least a couple of minutes.  Watching her made him feel calm.  She was pretty and kind and always smelled sweet.

“Hi mommy,” he said.

She walked over to him, knelt and wrapped both arms around him and hugged him tightly.  He hugged her back, though not as hard.  His arms were shorter and not as strong, after all.  He wished he could hug her tighter.  He’d have to wait until he grew bigger and stronger.  He wanted to hug like her.  So much love was in her hug.  He wondered where all her love came from. 

“It’s probably loud and boring in the dining room, huh?” she asked then released him from the hug.  She held him at arm’s length and looked at him lovingly.  “If you’d rather stay in here and help me you can,” she said. 

He shrugged his shoulders.  In truth, either room was fine.  One was more crowded and noisier.  But grandpa was there and he kept shoveling yummy snacks into his mouth.  And daddy was there too.  Daddy winked at him and hugged him a lot.  He was good at hugging, too.

Gabe was about to say that he would stay with her when grandpa walked into the kitchen handling a plate loaded with cheese and crackers.  Grandpa smiled and nodded naughtily, pointing between the plate and him as if to say that he would share his cheese. 

“Hey dad,” his mommy said.  “Try not to fill his tummy with too many appetizers.  I want him to eat his special turkey dinner.” 

Grandpa nodded in agreement, but he winked slyly
at Gabe. 

Gabe lifted his arms to grandpa and his mommy tickled his tummy and said, “You’re grandpa’s little pal, aren’t you?”

“Yes he is,” grandpa’s deep voice rumbled.  “Come on pal, up you go,” he said and lifted Gabe into his arms. 

“I love you, you know that kiddo?” grandpa said. 

Gabe nodded.

“You love grandpa?”

Gabe nodded again. 

“That’s my guy!” grandpa said happily and puffed his chest out proudly.  Together, they rejoined the company in the dining room.

He knew that nodding was what he was supposed to do.  That was what everyone expected him to do.  It was what he always did.  He mirrored their expressions, echoed their sentiments.  It made everyone in his life happy.  He always pretended so that he could make the people around him happy.  They did not know, and for reasons that were unclear to him, he did not want them to find out that when it came to emotions, Gabriel James Jr. felt nothing at all. 

A Note from the Authors:

This is the final installment of the Dark Creations series.  It has been our privilege and pleasure to create this body of work.  As we celebrate the conclusion of the storyline, we do so with heavy hearts.  We have grown rather fond of the main characters and see the end of their tale as bitter-sweet.

We would like to take this opportunity to personally thank each reader who has joined us on our Dark Creations journey.  We appreciate every person who has enjoyed our books and stayed the course.  We only hope that you’ve enjoyed reading about the characters we’ve created as much as we enjoyed creating them and writing about them.  Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts. 

Sincerely,

Jenny and Chris Martucci

About the Authors

Jennifer and Christopher Martucci hoped that their life plan had changed radically in early 2010.  To date, the jury is still out.  But late one night, in January of 2010, the stay-at-home mom of three girls under the age of six had just picked up the last doll from the playroom floor and placed it in a bin when her husband startled her by declaring, “We should write a book,
together
!”  Wearied from a day of shuttling the children to and from school, preschool and Daisy Scouts, laundry, cooking and cleaning, Jennifer simply stared blankly at her husband of fifteen years.  After all, the idea of writing a book had been an individual dream each of them had possessed for much of their young adult lives.  Both had written separately in their teens and early twenties, but without much success.  They would write a dozen chapters here and there only to find that either the plot would fall apart, or characters would lose their zest, or the story would just fall flat.  Christopher had always preferred penning science-fiction stories filled with monsters and diabolical villains, while Jennifer had favored venting personal experiences or writing about romance.  Inevitably though, frustration and day-to-day life had placed writing on the back burner and for several years, each had pursued alternate (paying) careers.  But the dream had never died.  And Christopher suggested that their dream ought to be removed from the back burner for further examination.  When he proposed that they author a book together on that cold January night, Jennifer was hesitant to reject the idea outright.  His proposal sparked a discussion, and the discussion lasted deep into the night.  By morning, the idea for the Dark Creations series was born.