The Art of Life (103 page)

               
“Are
we inviting the boys and Cassandra?”

               
He
nods.
 
“Yeah, it will be fun.”

               
“Sounds good.”

               
So,
Saturday rolls around and we are getting ready.
 
Jeremy wants to go to the steak house for dinner.
 
So, Cassandra and I went to buy new outfits,
because….well….we are girls.
 
I bought a
really pretty, flowing, red halter dress and a pair of heels.
 
Cassandra made me wear them around the house
for a few days, so I wouldn’t trip and break my neck later.
 
Jeremy said that was very alluring.
 
I just laughed at him.

               
Dinner
is really nice.
  
We laugh a lot.
 
Jeremy keeps running his hand up my leg, and
I brush it away.
 
I told Cassandra that
we are together, but I don’t think the boys have a clue.
 
I don’t know who was more excited about us
being together, me or Cassandra.

               
Much
later, we are standing around a table upstairs at the club.
 
I am chugging a bottle of water.
 
Jeremy and I have been on the dance floor all
night.
 
We were trying to not be obvious,
but there was a lot of heated dancing, though we haven’t kissed since we left
the house, and I think I may explode.
 
Finally, I set the empty bottle down.
 
“I need to use the restroom.”

               
“I
will take her,” Jeremy instantly chimes.
 
Josh shrugs like it’s nothing.
 
We
quickly dash down the steps.
 
When we get
into the back, we are instantly on each other.
 
We do stumble our way to the bathroom.
  
After a minute, I breathe out, “I do need to use the restroom.”

               
“Hurry up then,” Jeremy replies.
 
I back up and close the door behind me.
 
When I come back out, I don’t see
Jeremy.
 
I furrow my eyebrows.
 
Suddenly, I am tickled from the side.
 
“Boo!”

               
Yelping,
I smack him.
 
“That is not funny.”

               
“Hey,
you may be my girlfriend now, but you still have to put up with me.”

               
I
narrow my eyes and smirk.
 
Quickly, I
push him to the wall and kiss him.
 
Jeremy spins me around and we just embrace each other.
 
A little while later, there is a cough from
the side of us.
 
We let go and look.
 
Josh, Kent and Cassandra are standing
there.
 
Josh looks a little
dumbfounded.
 
Kent just starts to laugh,
“We were coming to see what was taking you so long, but I can see what was
holding you up.”

               
When
I look at Jeremy, I have to wipe lip stick off his face.
 
“Oops,” is all that I can whisper.

               
“So……do
you guys make out often?” Kent asks.

               
“Only
since we started dating,” Jeremy replies with a grin.
 
“Sorry, we tend to get distracted.”

               
Josh
throws up his hands.
 
“Finally!
 
Dear lord, we were wondering when you would
come to your senses.”

               
We
all laugh.
 
“I tried to stop them,
sorry,” Cassandra declares.

               
Kent’s
jaw drops.
 
“You knew!”

               
“Of
course I knew,” Cassandra replies.
 
She
scoffs.
 
“We girls tend to tell each
other everything.
 
You will learn that.”

               
“Oh
jeepers,” Kent groans.
 
Now that everyone
knows, Jeremy and I can finally show affection, and we do, a lot.

               
Time
flies by and then Christmas approaches.
 
The closer it gets, the more my stomach turns.
 
When we are packing to go to Texas, I ask,
“Are you sure you want me to go?”

               
“Of
course,” Jeremy replies, like it is the stupidest question ever.
 
“They will love you.”

               
“Yeah,”
I mumble, “but I didn’t know Kaitlin.
 
Maybe, they won’t like me.
 
I
mean, I have no idea how to behave.”

               
Jeremy
walks up and puts his hands on the sides of my face.
 
“Just act like yourself.
 
You will be perfect.”
 
He bends over and kisses me.

               
Christmas
isn’t so bad.
 
They are the kindest
people I have ever met.
 
Of course, they
make Jeremy and I stay in separate bedrooms, since we aren’t married.
 
I think it’s hilarious.
 
Jeremy just rolls his eyes.
 
They take me horseback riding on their
thoroughbreds.
 
I think that is the
greatest thing ever.

               
I
am excited that they have a Christmas tree.
 
We decorate it while I am there.
 
We fill them in about my family life, or lack thereof.
 
They are more than welcoming in their
home.
 
The Billings’ do have a Christmas
party in their ballroom, so Jeremy spends days teaching me how to waltz so I
will be prepared.

               
During
the party, Kaitlin’s father Richard comes up to me.
 
“May I have this dance?”
 
My eyes shoot to Jeremy, and he waves his
hand to the dance floor.
 
I shoot him a
quick glare and then take Richard’s hand.
 
We get out into the
crowd,
and Richard
smiles.
 
“I will take it slow.”
 
With that, we start to dance.

               
Blushing
really hard I don’t look at him.
 
He
laughs and I ask, “What?”

               
“You
remind me of Kaitlin in ways.
 
The only
person she was comfortable dancing with was Jeremy, too,” he replies.

               
“Really?
 
You were her
father,” I say.

               
Richard
chuckles and shakes his head, “Yeah, but I wasn’t Jeremy.
 
He was everything to her.”
 
That makes me quickly
advert
my gaze.
 
“I don’t say that to make you
uncomfortable.
 
My wife and I wanted to
say thank you.
 
Jeremy is like a son to
us.
 
After Kaitlin died, a part of him
died.
 
He wasn’t the same.
 
Jeremy was broken.”

               
“I
know,” I whisper.

               
With
a smile, Richard states, “You have brought him back to life.
 
He is his old self again and so incredibly
happy.
 
We just wanted to say thank you,
thank you for bringing him back to us.”

               
“He
is everything to me, too.
 
So, I guess
Kaitlin and I have that in common.”
 
That
makes Richard laugh.

               
The
night of Christmas Eve is wonderful.
 
We
make hot chocolate and sit around the fire.
 
They tell me horrendously funny stories about Jeremy.
 
There are a couple of times that he
groans.
 
“She is going to dump me pretty
soon.”

               
“Sorry,
you can’t get rid of me that easily,” I reply, snuggling up next to him.
 
He just kisses me on the top of my head.

               
In
the morning, I am woken up by Jeremy crawling into bed with me.
 
“Jeremy!” I hiss in a whisper.
 
“They are going to get mad if you are in
here.”

               
“We
are adults,” he retorts.
 
“Anyway, I just
came to get you up, and to give you your major Christmas present.”

               
That
makes me sit up quickly.
 
“What is
it?
 
Wait, it’s nothing perverted and
that’s why you are in here.”

               
“No,”
he laughs.
 
“It’s this.”
 
Jeremy hands me an envelope.

               
“What
in the world would fit in here?” I ask.

               
Rolling
his eyes, Jeremy says, “Open it Isabelle.”

               
I
quickly tear open the envelope.
 
Inside
is a banking statement.
 
“What is this?”

               
“Your
bank account,” he states, sitting up with me.
 
I open my mouth to protest and Jeremy quickly puts his finger on my
lips.
 
“Listen, this isn’t spending
money.
 
This is a college fund.
 
I want you to go, and I don’t want what
happens to us affect that.”

               
“What
would happen to us?” I ask, scared.

               
His
eyes widen, “Nothing by my doing.
 
This
is just in case.”

               
“I
can’t accept this,” I say.

               
Jeremy
takes the envelope away and looks me right in the eyes.
 
“You will accept it.
 
Please, for me, right this second.
 
This is what I want for you more than
anything in this world.
 
Just take it,
but I swear if you use it for anything other than school, I will thoroughly
yell at you.”

               
Leaping
forward, I tackle him and kiss him as hard as I can.
 
He returns the affection.
 
When I finally pull away, I whisper, “Thank
you.”

               
Gently
pushing my hair away, Jeremy replies, “You’re welcome.
 
Now, come on, they are making pancakes.”

               
Christmas
Day is a blast.
 
They gave all their help
the day off, so it’s me and Lillian in the kitchen.
 
She is so sweet, and everything I have always
thought a mom should be.
 
The whole day
is incredible.
 
The Billings bought me a
lap top.
 
I give a quick glance at Jeremy
and he gives me the look to not say anything.
 
I give my thanks and hug them both.
 
It is a really nice computer.

               
When
it’s time to give them their gift, I make Jeremy give it to them.
 
“This is pretty much solely from Isabelle,”
Jeremy states.
 
“My idea though.”
 
He hands over the large, square package.
 

               
Lillian
gives us a quizzical look.
 
“What is it?”

               
“Just
open it honey,” Richard says.
 
I
nervously watch Lillian open the present.
 
Her hand instantly goes to her face when she sees the portrait.
 
“It’s Kaitlin,” Richard states with a smile.

               
“It’s
beautiful,” Lillian whispers.
 
“Thank
you.”

               
That
makes me proud.
 
“You’re welcome.”

               
I
am kind of sad when we have to leave.
 
The Billings say that we need to come back sometime soon.
 
We agree and give them both hugs.
 
When we get home later that day, I sit down
on the couch…and start to cry.
 
Jeremy
quickly comes up to me.
 
“What’s wrong?”

               
“That
was wonderful, so wonderful, and they are great.
 
I just…..I can’t help but think of my
mother.
 
What if things had been a little
different?
 
What if she was more like
Lillian?
 
I didn’t know holidays like
that existed.”