touch (35 page)

“Technically no.”  We pulled out of the chaotic school
traffic and he smoothly navigated the neighborhood roads to my house.  “I
caught him watching the two of you walk into school this morning and spoke to
him.  He just needed a friendly nudge to ask her out.”

“I thought you couldn’t interact with others.”

“I wasn’t sure who he watched so I intervened.”

Ah.  Protecting me.  This time from human interference
rather than Ahgred.  He was a master at finding loopholes.

*    *    *    *

Friday morning, Mom stood by my bed with toast like she used
to before Morik.  I smiled at her and accepted the plate.  She sat next to me.

“Morik’s in the kitchen.  I just wanted to let you know that
Beatriz’s mom called and asked if she could come here and get ready with you
tomorrow evening.  I checked with Morik and he thought it should be fine, but
we will let you decide.”

Beatriz at my house after dark…  “Has there been any trouble
after you knock me out?”

“A few times we’ve heard voices outside, but nothing too
bad.”

“Recently?”

“This week,” she confirmed.

I thought back to my vision.  Beatriz had accepted me. 
Could she still even without me choosing Brad?

“I’ll think on it,” I agreed.

“I also wanted to let you know I had a talk with Stephen.”

Crunching on a bite of toast, I studied her.  She looked
happy.  “And?”

“He met Aunt Danielle.”

My mouth dropped open.  “No way!”

She grinned shakily.  “He was a bit shocked, but kissed me
before he left last night.  I didn’t tell him everything.  I figured I’d start
small before working up to Morik.”

She gave me a hug and left me to scrounge up some clothes
for the day.

I looked at the clock wishing I had time to ask Aunt
Danielle what she thought of the introduction last night.  Her blunt
practicality typically amused and enlightened me.

Sighing, I dressed and headed to school with Morik.

Beatriz waited for me on the steps as usual.  She called a
cheeky good-bye to Morik and then dragged me to my locker.

“So, what did your mom say,” she demanded.

“She said it was up to me.”

She clapped and bounced on her feet until she saw my serious
expression.  “What?  Seriously, why wouldn’t you want me to come over?” she
said with a hurt look hiding her hands behind her back.

Taking her by the shoulders, I hugged her tightly.  Of
course, Ted walked by.  Quickly letting her go, I turned her toward Ted and
busied myself in my locker.

“See you at the dance?” he asked Beatriz his voice laced
with uncertainty.

“Absolutely.”

Hearing him move away, I stood and smiled at her.  “Why is
it always him who notices us?”

She watched his retreating form, shaking her head wearing a
small smile.  “So, about Saturday?”

“You can come over on one condition.”  She arched a brow at
me.  “You have to promise not to go outside after dark without me or Morik.”  She
gave me a ‘are you serious’ look.  “It’s important,” I said earnestly.

Throwing her arms up in surrender, she agreed to my terms.

*    *    *    *

Despite Beatriz’s begging to spend the day together, I went
to work Saturday morning.  Morik didn’t order a coffee or linger.  He carried
in the boxes then left.

“You two fight?” Mona asked setting out the bakery.

“No,” I said while watching the car pull away from the
curb.  “We’re going to a school dance tonight.  Maybe he needs to get ready or
something.”

“He probably forgot to order the corsage,” Mona said
cryptically.

I hung my jacket to hide my panic.  We hadn’t talked about
the dance in those terms.  He hadn’t tasted meatloaf until Gran made it for
him, why would I think he knew anything about a school dance?  I barely knew
anything.  Would he know how to dress?  I didn’t want him to feel out of place.

Before scooting back out to the storefront, I calmed
myself.  We had plenty of time to find him something to wear after Mona
closed.  No worries.

*    *    *    *

Beatriz tapped on the glass of the locked door as I washed
down tables.  She smiled hugely and waved to me, motioning for me to hurry. 
Brad’s car idled at the curb.

My stomach dipped.  No Morik.

I quickly unlocked the door to let her in.  “I wasn’t
expecting you.  I just have to finish up a few tables.”

“Morik asked if we could give you a ride home.  We can
wait,” she assured me looking around the shop.

“No, you go ahead,” Mona called stepping from the back. 
We’d already divided tips.  “I know how long it takes to get ready for a
dance.  Have a good time.”  She tossed me my jacket and shooed us out the door
with a laugh.

Beatriz stopped me from getting in the car.  “Tell him he
can’t stay,” she whispered quickly and then opened the back door.  She slid all
the way in making room for me to sit in the back with her.

Confused by her request, I got in and said hello to Brad. 
“Didn’t think you were due to come home until spring break,” I commented after
buckling.

Bea reached over and pinched me.  If she kept that up, she’d
witness Morik popping into the car.  It hurt.

“I had to come home for my sister’s first date,” he said
glancing at Beatriz via the rearview mirror.  “I want to meet her mystery man.”

“Oh.  That’s going to be kind of hard since she’s meeting
him at the dance.”

“I was thinking of hanging out with you guys,” he said
turning onto my street.

Ah.  Now it made sense.  Brad wanted to put some fear into
Ted.

“Not necessary.  I know what you’re up to Brad.”  He pulled
into the driveway and arched a brow at me.  I put an arm around a pouting
Beatriz, leaned over and kissed her cheek.  “You see, stuff like that… Ted
keeps witnessing it and thinks we’re a couple.  He’s curious about Beatriz. 
Seriously, no threat.”

“You’re both ridiculous,” Beatriz cried theatrically and
stormed from the car.

Smiling, I winked at Brad.  “I promise to keep an eye on
her.”

He watched her slam the front door with a small smile.  “She
means the world to me.  She escaped the house after just learning to walk. 
Still under a year old.  I didn’t close the door tight.  My parents found her a
few minutes later in the snow crying.  No harm.  No permanent damage.  But Dad
sat me down and we had a talk about protecting Beatriz.”

He turned to look at me.  “I took it very seriously.”

The intensity of the moment caught me off guard.  Would she
be safe tonight?

“You have nothing to fear from Ted.  I promise.”  You just
needed to fear everything else.

He nodded and I escaped into the house where Beatriz stood
at the kitchen window peeking through the curtain to ensure he left.

“Is he coming back?” she demanded letting the curtain fall
back into place.

“Nope.  I promised to keep you safe from Ted.  So behave
tonight.”

She snorted and picked up a back from the kitchen table. 
Just one.  Many others remained creating a small mountain on the wooden
surface.

I eyed the bags.  “Are you moving in?”

“I wasn’t sure what I’d need so I brought my whole room
here.”

My mom called from her bedroom telling us to bring
everything back there.  I helped Beatriz carry a few bags and tossed them on
Mom’s bed.  Everyone sat back there.  Even Aunt Danielle.  She looked corporeal
as long as you didn’t touch her so I guessed it made sense.

After introducing everyone, we hung our dresses in Mom and
Aunt Grace’s bathroom and started talking shoes and hairstyles.

Three hours later, my stomach growled.  Gran heard it and
ran to get us both something to eat.  Mom and Aunt Grace had taken over our
preparations for the dance and used us as pre-wedding guinea pigs.  Tweezed and
powdered, I rolled my eyes at Beatriz in the mirror.  She winked at me.  She at
least didn’t mind the attention.

“I saw that, Tess,” my mom said twisting the curling iron to
roll up a length of my hair.

“Are we almost done?” I whined.

“We have two more hours before Morik said he’d pick you two
up.”

I glanced at the clock and groaned.  Two hours meant after
dark.  Mom playfully tugged my hair.

“Maybe we can take a break?” I begged.

“Sure,” she said giving me hope.  “In two hours.”

Gran returned with a few crackers and cheese.  I scowled and
munched my meager portion.

*   
*    *    *

The doorbell rang while we strapped on our shoes.  Thirty
minutes early.  Inside, I cheered.

Mom raced to the door and gave Stephen a quick kiss when he
walked in.  Inside, I cried.  The torture needed to end.

I stood in scary high heels, compliments of Aunt Grace.  She
wanted us to wear the same ones to the wedding, so she got me a pair for
tonight.  Guinea pig.

Teetering on their thin heels, I smiled at Stephen and
introduced Beatriz.  We did look amazing.  After so many hours of prep, how
could we not?  The sister stylists agreed my dress called for an up-do and
created a mass of curls to crown me.  To soften the look, they allowed several
to strategically escape and cascade toward my back, never quite blocking the
view.

My back proved a challenge.  Aunt Grace had run to the drug
store and bought several varieties of concealer.  We’d used them all.  With dim
lighting and no touching, it should stay intact.  I wondered about the car ride
to the dance though.

Beatriz stood beside me in svelte perfection.  They’d
twisted her hair up smoothly to give further elegance to the dress, which
shimmered softly in the kitchen lights.  She smiled a greeting with her china
doll face.

They’d tweezed our brows, added some light penciling,
outlined our eyes, and dusted us with blush and shadow before finishing with
several coats of mascara.  I felt over dressed and makeuped for the dance, but
kept quiet.

“Give a spin,” Mom encouraged.

She whispered to Stephen as I turned so I took my time with
the spin.  He needed proof we could hide the mark.  With my back to the door,
someone else knocked.  I looked over my shoulder to see Gran open the door for
Brad.

Beatriz groaned.  She didn’t need to though, he didn’t look
at her.  With a camera loosely held in his hand, he stared at me, his eyes
sweeping my back.  I blushed and faced him.

“Here for pictures?” I asked.

He didn’t respond immediately and Bea giggled.  It jarred
him from his daze.

“Yes.  Pictures.  My mother sent me,” he justified to the
room.

Beatriz and I stood close.  I put an arm around her
shoulder.  She carefully wrapped one around my waist trying not smudge the
makeup.

“Bet you half of me is cut off of each of these photos,” she
murmured from the side of her mouth as Brad snapped several shots.

I repressed a smile noticing the canted angle of the
camera.  Mom ran to get her camera and joined in the clickfest.  While we posed
for her, Brad moved to the side.  I heard a click and glanced over at him.  He
pretended to look down at the camera.

“I think he just took a picture of my back,” I whispered to
Beatriz.

She laughed.  “Probably.  I’ll check the digital for makeup
smudges,” she assured me.

Another knock sounded at the door.  “If that’s not Morik,
I’m going to scream,” I breathed close to her ear.

Gran opened the door for Morik.  He stepped in wearing a
dark suit and a red tie that perfectly matched my dress.  The yellow tinted
glasses again perched on his nose and the backwards baseball cap adorned his
head.  He held my gaze as he walked toward me.

“Well?” he asked quietly as Beatriz moved away to speak with
her brother.

“Perfect,” I whispered leaning toward him.  Mom cleared her
throat and I pulled back, trying not to frown.  She was right.  Too many people
for that.

He quirked a smile at me and reached for my hand.  He slid a
beautiful finger corsage on my third finger.  A red jewel lay embedded in the
center of the miniature white carnation and sparkled in the light.

“That is so pretty,” Beatriz squeaked once again beside me.

I nodded in agreement smiling at Morik.  Pretty and unique. 
From a man who created beautiful shell combs thousands of years ago, and helped
me with the jewelry I made for Christmas, I should have anticipated he would
know what to bring.

“Ready?” he asked.

“No!” my mom cried.  “Pictures first, please.”

I turned to her not believing she said that.

She caught my look.  “Just real quick.  You can keep your
hat and glasses on,” she said to Morik, but meant it as an assurance to me.

“I’m sure he won’t mind taking off his hat for you, Clare,”
Stephen assured my mom.

I opened my mouth to protest, but Brad came to our rescue. 
“When is the dance supposed to start?”

“It already did technically,” Beatriz helpfully replied. 
“We’re fashionably late.”

“Okay, stand together and then just one of Morik and Tessa,”
Gran said issuing orders.

Stephen didn’t have a chance to protest further.  I flicked
a glance at him.  He didn’t seem to mind.  He adoringly watched my mom.

Morik moved to stand between us and put an arm around each
of our shoulders.  Beatriz giggled.  Brad scowled.  Mom snapped several photos
and then Beatriz moved away.  Morik looked down at me and she snapped a
picture.  He leaned in and kissed my temple.  She caught that too.  He winked
at me and turned to the camera for the last picture.

Finally, we piled into Aunt Grace’s car and made our way to
the dance.  Butterflies pirouetted in my stomach.

We’d managed the whole evening without an incident, but I
wondered if Ahgred lurked nearby waiting.  Had he heard our plans?  Did he wait
at the school?

Morik reached over and twined his fingers through mine. 
“Tonight will be perfect,” he promised.