To My Senses The Nicci Beauvoir Series Book 1 (39 page)

“
I don’t belong anywhere,
Cora. So I better just stick with what I know.” I sat back and
picked up the mug from the table.

“
No, ya jus haven’ found
what ya want yet. What ya want to be or who ya want to be. When ya
do, you’ll know where ya headin’.”

“
I wish I had your
confidence. I used to think I had it all figured out, but then
David came along and changed everything. I wonder if I’ll ever get
it straight.”

“
Sure ya will, honey.
Everyone does, sooner or later. We all come to our senses. Wake up
and see what life’s really about.”

My eyes caught a flash of
the time from a doll’s face made into a clock, hanging on the wall.
It was getting late, and I knew Michael would be
worried.

Outside on the porch, I
gave her one last hug. “I hope you find someone soon for your
place, Cora.”

I thanked her for the
coffee and headed back to my car. Before I climbed in, I turned and
looked back at the old blue cottage. As I drove away, I watched the
structure grow smaller and smaller in my rearview mirror, until it
completely disappeared.

Heading back to the city,
the scar on my heart burned. Resigning myself to my fate, I willed
my tears to stay away. It was time to forget about the man who had
forgotten all about me.

Chapter 23

The night of Val’s
engagement party had arrived. I dressed quietly and waited in my
room until it was time to go, hoping to avoid another confrontation
with my father. He had been sulking around the house all day. Our
relationship had deteriorated to casual greetings in the hall and
utter silence the rest of the time. He never asked about Michael,
or my life, anymore. He would just grunt, “Good morning” to me and
keep walking.

When I finally went downstairs, I found
Uncle Lance dressed in a very smart double-breasted tuxedo.

“
Nicci, you look awful.”
Uncle Lance frowned. “That is the ugliest dress I have ever seen.
Did the moron buy that for you?” He pointed to the shapeless olive
green gown I was wearing.

“
His name is Michael. I
wish you and Dad would stop calling him that.”

My father came down the
stairs dressed in his only tuxedo and fixing his gold cuff links.
He looked at me and shook his head. “Nicci, you cannot wear that.
Go upstairs and change. Put on that black dress you wore to Val’s
party last year. You looked so pretty in it. I don’t want you
looking like a frumpy old maid at your own engagement
party.”

“
Fine,” I griped, heading
back up the stairs. “I won’t argue with both of you.”

“
Thank God,” my father
muttered. “For once you’re being agreeable.”

I found the black
off-the-shoulder gown in the back of my closet, hidden behind a
selection of frumpy dresses that Michael had bought for me. After
slipping it on, I went to the mirror and fixed my hair. The sight
of my reflection sent a jolt roaring through me. I was inundated
with memories of champagne, music, dancing in David’s arms, and the
picture he had painted of me in that very dress.

“
No, you are not going to
think about him again,” I chastised.

When I went descended the
stairs for the second time, Uncle Lance and my father were smiling
up at me.

“
You look beautiful,
kiddo,” Uncle Lance beamed.

“
Much better.” My father
nodded approvingly. “I’ll pull the car around,” he added, walking
out the front door.

Uncle Lance focused his
green eyes on me. “Your father and I are worried about
you.”

I studied his tanned and
wrinkle-free face. “Let me guess. ‘Michael is no good for me. I’m
throwing my life away.’ I’ve heard it all before, Uncle Lance.” I
moved past him to the table by the door to get my purse.

“
Your father feels that you
are jumping into this marriage because of the break up of your
other relationship.”

I spun around to him. “What
do you know about that?”

“
I’m not blind. I figured
something was up. Your father told me a little. The rest I got from
Val. None of us want to see you throw your life away with the
moron.”

I was shaking with anger.
“Uncle Lance, stop!” I tried to calm my voice. “I appreciate what
you and Val and Dad are trying to do, but it’s my life. Let me make
my own decisions. If Michael turns out to be a mistake, then let me
learn that for myself. Isn’t anybody happy for me?”

“
I’m happy for you, dear,”
my father proclaimed, coming back in through the front door.
“Lance, she’s right. We have to let her make her own mistakes.” He
turned to his brother and gripped his shoulder. “I want Nicci to be
happy and if she feels the moron will do that then we have to
respect her wishes. No more discussion.”

Uncle Lance nodded in
agreement. The two brothers stood side-by-side, staring at
me.

I rolled my eyes. “Can we
please not call him the moron?”

My father straightened his
tie. “I’ll think about it,” he uttered, as he went to the front
door.

“
Hey, I like moron,” Uncle
Lance remarked.

***

Val’s lakefront home was
awash in silver and blue. There were silver bells hanging from the
trees and bushes, with blue lights draped along the walkway. At the
front door, we were greeted by the thumping beat of dance music,
and the smell of grilling fish. Val had hired a disc jockey to play
tunes in her oversized living room, while the three-course meal was
to be served on the patio that overlooked the lake. Waiters and
waitresses were wandering around the empty living room, carrying
trays filled with a wide assortment of hors d’oeuvres. Val waved at
us as she entered from the patio. Decked out in a beautiful silver
gown, she had sparkling buttons down the sides of each sleeve, and
silver ribbons woven into her hair.

“
Well, there is the woman
of the hour. I’m glad you got here before the guests,” Val said in
her bursting-at-the-seams voice. “I’ll be damned, Lance. You get
better looking with age.” She kissed him, then turned to my father.
“Billy, keep an eye on him.” She glared at Uncle Lance. “I didn’t
invite any fourteen-year-olds, Lance, so you might be
bored.”

My father heartily laughed
at that one.

“
Tactful as ever, Vallie,”
Uncle Lance returned, giving her a mischievous grin.

Through the glass patio
doors, I caught sight of the glistening gardens. White tea lights
adorned all the shrubs and trees surrounding the patio, while
several black wrought iron tables had been set up for dinner
service. Just beyond the patio, I could see the dark water of Lake
Pontchartrain shimmering beneath the moonlight.

“
It all looks wonderful,
Val. It’s more than I expected.”

“
Well, nothing is too good
for you, dear. Wait until you see the present I picked out for you.
I hope you like it.” She winked at Uncle Lance and my father. “I
have to go check on that disc jockey. The guy’s gonna drink all my
damn gin before we even get this party started. The bar is in the
den. Hattie and Ned are already back there. You know the way. Go
get a drink.” She was off again, her glittering silver dress
swaying behind her as she made her way toward the
kitchen

We all headed straight for the bar.

We found Uncle Ned and
Hattie in the den. Uncle Lance ordered champagne for all of
us.

Hattie’s eyes were wide
with excitement. “Val told me she invited a hundred people.” She
was wearing an ill-fitting pink dress that gathered up in a bow at
her shoulder.

“
I don’t think we know a
hundred people,” Uncle Lance challenged, sipping slowly on his
champagne. “I think everyone we know is already here.”

“
Colleen is coming,” Hattie
said, ignoring Uncle Lance.

We stayed in the den for
some time before more people arrived. The bar soon began filling
up, and our group was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. Some
of the guests must have been friends of the Fagles, because I
didn’t know many of them.

Uncle Lance was making eyes
at some attractive woman in a green dress, when I elbowed him to
get his attention. I figured it wouldn’t be long before he was by
the young woman’s side, bragging about himself.

Hattie eventually dragged
me away, claiming she wanted to introduce to her friends at the
party. I met some of the people she knew from her participation in
different clubs and charities. Others were friends of the Fagles.
While my aunt shuffled me from one group of guests to another, I
kept looking around the crowded rooms for Michael. Pretty soon,
even Hattie was starting to get anxious about the late arrival of
the groom-to-be.

It was close to nine when
he finally showed up with his parents in tow. I was in the den,
trying to keep an eye on Uncle Lance and his drinking, when Michael
came up and grabbed me from behind.

“
There you are!” He picked
me up off the floor and whirled me around.

“
Michael! Put me down,” I
ordered, hating such silly displays of affection.

As soon as my feet hit the
floor, Michael eyes were all over me. “Hey where’s the dress I
bought you for tonight?” I could tell by the way he was glaring at
my form-fitting gown that he was not pleased.

“
I, ah….” Words failed
me.

“
I asked Nicci to change
into this dress,” my father injected, coming up to Michael. “I
wanted her to look…unforgettable this evening.”

Michael eyed my father and
uncle. “Ah, the Beauvoir brothers.”

I noticed how my father’s
amused expression changed to one of cool detachment when he shook
Michael’s hand.

“
Well, Mr. Beauvoir,”
Michael declared, tugging me to his side.” I guess this makes it
official.”

“
My dear boy,” my uncle
voiced, trying to sound condescending. “It isn’t official until she
says ‘I do.’” He turned and strode to a pool table a few feet from
the bar. “I was told you are something of a pool shark.” He picked
up a pool cue and twirled it expertly in his hand. “Why don’t we
shoot a few?”

Michael smirked, smelling
the challenge of competition. “Sounds great. Shall we make it
interesting and put some money on this?”

Uncle Lance grinned. “Why
not! Eight ball. Let’s say twenty bucks a game to
start.”

“
All right,” Michael
agreed, taking off his tuxedo jacket and rolling up his
sleeves.

“
Great. It will give my
brother a chance to earn back some of the money he is shelling out
for this wedding.”

“
Careful, Michael,” I
warned. “My uncle cheats.”

I walked out of the room,
as my father made himself comfortable on his stool by the bar to
watch the game. I hoped it would give the three men an opportunity
to get to know each other.

I investigated a few of the
other rooms and smiled at the growing sea of faces, most of whom I
didn’t know. I nodded to Michael’s family, who were sitting around
one of the patio tables eating—stuffing themselves, actually. His
mother waved me over to their table and I grudgingly
complied.

“
Hello, dear.” She kissed
my cheek, and then had to wipe the red lipstick stain away with her
napkin. “This is a wonderful party. I can’t get over this house.
It’s huge. One can get lost in a place like this.”

“
Yes, it is
big.”

“
Your Aunt Val must be very
influential to know so many important people. Do you know I met the
director of the New Orleans Museum of Art a little while
ago?”

“
Val sits on the board of
the museum, Mrs. Fagles.”

“
I didn’t know that. I’ve
been trying to get on the women’s museum committee for years.
Everybody who is anybody sits on that committee. Maybe your Aunt
Val could put in a good word for me?”

I choked back a cough.
“I’ll talk to her about that,” I said, trying to get
away.

“
Come and sit with us. You
must help me talk our Leanne into getting her nose done for the
wedding.”

I raised my eyebrows.
“Excuse me?”

“
It would make her look
more attractive in the wedding pictures and be less embarrassing
for you,” Mrs. Fagles explained. “Don’t you agree?”

All eyes turned to me.

Luckily, Leanne spoke up.
“Mom, I’ll get my nose done when you get a face lift.”

I excused myself, trying to
hold back my laughter. I headed to the steps on the back lawn that
led to the pier by the lake. The stars were bright, and the calm
water reflected the heavens like a mirror against the sky. I took a
seat on one of the benches overlooking the cool, inviting water.
Candles scattered around the dock flickered gently in the warm
breeze. I breathed in the night air, washed the tension from my
body, and then crumpled against the bench.

A sparkle from my left hand
caught the light of the moon, distracting me. Funny, I didn’t feel
like a bride. I did not feel very complete these days. If anything,
I was scattered and restless. The apprehension I had thought would
retreat with time was growing stronger inside of me. When I tried
to reason away my fear as pre-wedding nerves, it only rooted itself
deeper into my soul. I was not afraid of getting married, or
spending the rest of my life with Michael. I was afraid I would
never again feel the ecstasy I had known with David.