My Kind of Perfect (14 page)

“Dad...” I started, quite unsure where to start.

“What’s really going on around here, Kayla?” he asked. His
face was masked with so many worries and inquisitions.

For once in my life, I wished for me to be a convincing
liar. Just one white lie would do. But since this was my dad I was talking to,
lying was never an option. I let out a long sigh and told him, “I’m in a kind
of... unpleasant situation.”

“And what is this situation?” he asked.

“One that involves a lot of secrets but it’s not that bad,”
I said, trying to find the right words without saying anything to him. Breaking
the contract was not a good option right now.

“And?” he said back.

“And I really need you to trust me. That I’m doing something
that is a necessity for my existence,” I said.

“Existence? What are you talking about?”

“A curse!” I blurted out of the blue. I was overjoyed for
finally thinking of something convincing. “I was cursed by someone and the only
way I could fix things was to marry John. I mean, it’s not that bad. His family
is well off and he’s a fine man.”

“Wait a minute,” he said, shaking his head a little in
confusion. “What curse are you talking about?”

“A curse,” I said, like saying ‘a dog’ or ‘a cat’. But
really, it was something that everyone should believe in. It was a known fact
that a curse was something real. ‘Cause if not, I had no idea what had just
happened to me.

“A curse?” he repeated with one eyebrow slightly elevated
than the other.

“Yes, a curse. Oh come on Dad, you know what that is,” I
convinced him some more, tugging his arm.

“Kayla, don’t fool around. There’s no such thing as curse.”

“There is!” I protested, slamming my hands on my lap.

“That’s why I told you to refrain from reading those
horoscopes. They’re all make believes, Kayla. None of them are real. You should
know that!” he said. “And also, there’s no such thing as curses.”

I couldn’t believe my Dad said all those things? Curses were
real. It had already happened to me. And what my horoscope said this morning,
according to this one site, was also true.

Life doesn’t get any easier than this. But keep in mind that
everything will fall right into place, at the right time, and exactly when you
need it. You’re right about your decisions. Don’t change them now. The stars
are lining up and are guiding you to the right path.

“But there is! And I tell you that it happened to me,” I
firmly said.

“And you marry John Brooks because it’s the only way to lift
off the curse?” he asked, adjusting his glasses.

“Yes.”

“You’re serious about all this?”

“I am!”

“Don’t you find it a little funny? What if someone tells you
that the only way to take away the curse is to jump from a high building, will
you still do it?” he asked.

“Yes,” I needlessly said. After a while of thinking, I took
it back by saying, “I mean no. I won’t do such a thing.”

“You see? Why have you done all these without even
thinking?” my dad scolded.

“I’m sorry, Dad. I should have told you sooner but it sort
of happened... fast. The next thing I knew was that I was in the altar and wed
to Johnny dear,” I replied, showing off my ring.

“But you haven’t even invited us. We’re your family,” said
Dad, hurt eminent in his voice.

“Yeah,” I sadly replied, looking down. “Sorry for not being
able to think straight. Things just got a little out of hand and everything...”

Of course, if this was my real wedding, I would have invited
them. I would never forget them, ever. But how can I tell them that it’s not
real? That everything was fake? How?

“You know, Dad...” I heard my own voice broke and a tear
escaped my eye. My father instantly pulled me in for a hug. I composed myself
and pulled all my feelings together. “I’m... fine, Dad.”

“I just want you to be happy, Kayla. If this makes you
happy, I will have nothing against it,” he said in a calm voice.

“Yeah, isn’t it your dream to have me wed to someone?” I
said, kidding.

“Is it?” he playfully asked, lightening up the mood.

“Yes, it has been that way for years,” I answered. A smile
brightened up in his face and I replied back with one as well. Then he
straightened his face again and he was back to how he had always been.

“Do you love the lucky man?” asked Dad, meeting my gaze.

My eyes instantly went sideways as I lied, “Yes, I do.”

I knew that he wasn’t convinced. But like always, I was
certain that he would let me off the hook. Just this time. And he said, “I
trust you, Kayla. I know that you are making the right choice. But if anything
goes wrong, just give us a call, okay?”

“I will,” I said, though I really hoped that nothing would
go wrong.

“So... you’re really married?”

“I guess,” I skeptically said, shrugging off my shoulders.
“But enough about this. Let’s head out and join everyone.”

Thankfully, he agreed.

I led Dad outside, dragging him along to prevent him from
asking anymore questions. But as soon as we got out of the door, John appeared
in front of us and asked, “How do you do, sir? Can I talk to Kayla for a
while?”

“Talk?” I echoed.

“You may, young man. But after that, can you have a word
with me?”

“Of course,” John nervously replied.

He was up for some unnecessary talks.

I pulled John along before Dad would change his mind and
give him the lecture for like right now. When we were in a safe distance, he
said, “This doesn’t sound good.”

“What?”

“My grandma and your mom, they’re talking about...” I saw
that he was having a hard time saying the words.

“About?” I asked.

“Ho... Ho...” he stumbled. Frustrations crept up on his face
as he was struggling to let it out.

Was he in a festive mood right now? December was way off to
the other side of the calendar for him to be saying ho ho ho. I narrowed my
eyes as he was trying to get the words out of his mouth. In another moment,
which I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to happen, he finally said it.

And trust me, it wasn’t such a pleasant thing to hear.

“Honeymoon!” I exclaimed and John instantly covered my
mouth. I tried struggling but he held his hand firmly. Unpleasant things
flooded my mind and I was horrified by what I was thinking.

John and I in a honeymoon?

“Is there anything wrong out there?” I heard my mom’s voice
from afar, worried and prying at the same time.

“No problem around here, Mrs. Wilson,” John instantly
replied, saving me all the trouble of creating another snag.

I struggled and freed myself from his grip. This time
around, I lowered down my voice and hissed, “What are you saying? There's no
honeymoon in the contract!”

“I know. I know. But your mother keeps on asking where we
are going for the honeymoon. And my grandma...” he faltered, shaking his head
in disbelief. “She...”

“Just what did your grandmother do yet again?”

“She told your mom that we're going to Lorkandas Mountains.”

I blinked twice, thinking if I heard him right. Mountains.
Why was I included in something that involved a mountain? It didn’t seem to fit
at all.

I faltered, “Uhmm... Lorka... what?”

“Lorkandas Mountains,” he clarified.

Oh I was doomed!

It was mountains indeed. My perfect ears heard them right. I
was bound to be sent to the mountains by those people who wanted to do me
nothing but absolute harm. Were they planning on abandoning me there or
something?

“Why are we going to mountains?” I sneered. “And first of
all, why are we going to a honeymoon?”

“Your mom and Grandma. Can't you see the connection between
the two?” he emphasized.

Mom and his grandma planning our 'romantic' getaway meant danger
and harm followed by a total disaster. Why was my luck still bad? I already did
everything I could to gain his forgiveness.

And so I exclaimed, “We have to do something!”

He nodded and we both walked, more like ran, towards the
table where my mother and Dorothy were happily sipping their cup of tea while
looking at a wedding magazine. And to my horror, the two were blissfully
looking at the pages while chit chatting about our upcoming ‘honeymoon’.
Giggles and laughter filled the fuzzy air.

“Oh, and look here. Kayla's fond of these horoscopes. Let's
see hers for today,” said my mother as she scanned the page and read out loud,
“It's a great time for festivities and celebration. Don't forget to see the end
of everything you do. No happy times should be taken for granted.”

“Is she?” added Dorothy. “Then I guess her horoscope fits
her perfectly. This is such a festive time indeed.”

Shortly after, they noticed us standing a little farther
away from the table. And instantly, they all looked very worried. Well, let me
rephrase that by saying that my mom and Dad were sincerely worried and Dorothy,
well, she was, I was certain, only acting worried. If they saw us both turned
into something white as corpse, that would explain everything.

“Are you two okay?” asked my mom.

I instantly thought of an answer because I knew that
prolonging it would not do us any good. The honeymoon part hadn't fully sunk in
yet but I reminded myself that this was all an act. I caught a deep breath and
answered, “We're okay, just a little bit... excited... yeah, the honeymoon and
stuff!”

“Your voice is shaking, you must be thrilled,” the 'evil'
Dorothy teased. I was positive that she added that part to let the situation
liven up a little more and make me a lot miserable than how I was now. I threw
her a meaningful glance and she smiled back at me, as if telling me to play my
part well.

“I'm quite thrilled with us going to...” I was trying to
sound as excited as I could possibly be, only to be taken back by my sudden
lapse of memory of the name of the place. I was certain that it was because I
had no interest with it from the start. Uninteresting things had their own way
of escaping my mind with no effort at all.

“Lorkandas Mountains,” John finished for me.

“Oh yes, Lorkandas Mountains it is,” I said with a forced
smile. I tried my hardest to sound genuinely happy, but it was like I only
added a little bit of squeakiness to my normal voice.

“It's also the first time that I've heard about it. But
Dorothy seems to know a lot about that place. She also has some beautiful
pictures here,” said Mom as she was looking at some photos that were scattered
on the table, besides the magazines.

“Pictures?” I asked, blinking twice. Did she plan this from
the start? I shook my head in skepticism. I couldn’t believe that she had
prepared everything—including the honeymoon!

“Yes, see it for yourself. She said that it was a surprise
for both of you,” said my mother.

I sarcastically replied, “It is. It really is. We’re
surprised! Look at us!”

I heard a soft laugh escaped Dorothy's mouth. She must be
amused with us playing on her charade. For the most part, she had done a fine
job in making us go along with her plans. And for that sole reason, I hated her
even more.

My mom handed me the photos, and I looked into it. It was
pretty. If only everything was real, this set up was perfect. “The place looks
nice.”

“It sure is. I haven't been there for a while. We own that
resort up on that mountain,” she told us. “And you got the place for yourself
for a week or even months if you wanted to.”

“A day will do,” I carelessly replied, only to be met by
judgmental eyes the next moment. “I mean, weeks... or months sound even better.
Why don’t we stay there for a year? What about our whole lives?”

I wanted to barf.

“Sounds like a great plan!” answered Dorothy.

Then instantly, the guy who was still frozen in place beside
me came into mind. I locked my arms with his and told my parents, “But Johnny
here still got a lot of work to do. He owns a hotel after all. So we can't
really stay that long.”

“But I'm sure we can work it out. I can take his place for a
while or someone else could,” Dorothy offered. I narrowed my eyes in dismay. Of
course, she would do everything to make me miserable.

Then as if coming to my rescue, John said, “Grandma, we can
enjoy ourselves for a couple of days and head back home. I still have a lot of
work to finish. And you should just rest at home and leave all that to me.”

“The boy makes sense,” added Dad, taking in consideration
the importance of not abandoning your job. My dad had a thing for that kind of
stuff.

“Alright, a couple of days it is,” said Dorothy, but that
plastered smile on her face bothered me to the core. It was as if she had
agreed to what John said but at the same time implying that she had another
plan in mind.

“Oh, that's good to hear. Just enjoy yourselves out there
and you'll have a pleasant memory to remember by when you get older,” said my
mother.

Get older? Who would get older with who?

The feeling that you wanted to correct the wrong assumptions
that other had on you surged up on my chest. But I forced myself to calm down
and faked a smile on my face instead. Calm down. Now.

“I think we should take our leave,” my dad finally said.

I exhaled. Oh for goodness sake, they had decided to head
home. “That's a good idea,” I encouraged.

“Don't you want to stay for dinner?” offered Dorothy, again,
she and her 'evil' plans.

“It was nice of you to offer all that but I'm afraid we have
to go home now. We kind of left things in a hurry,” said Mom.

“We're hoping that you two will pay us a visit when you get
back from your trip,” said Dad, still looking at us doubtfully.

“Of course, sir,” replied John.

“And we'd love to hear your stories from your honeymoon,”
added Mom. But there would be no stories. If there would be one, it might,
perchance, involve me killing John out of sheer displeasure.