Cole (The Leaves) (28 page)

“Oh, fine, fine. Just, you know, ready to get the show on the road.” My mother looked at her wrist, then to the door.

“Are you going to be late, Mom?” I asked.

“Oh, no. Sorry, you two take your time. Now then, is everything set for the cabin? Do you need your father to run anything else up there?”

“I took care of it.” My mother. Idiot.

“Took care of what, Cole?” Anika eyed me suspiciously but her eyes sparkled.

I set down my cup and pushed away from the counter I was leaning against. I moved her hair from her ear and whispered, “Everything, baby. I took care of everything. Enjoy your day, relax, have fun with Mom and Aimes and I’ll see you tonight.”

Her purse was open next to her since she was going through it when my mom came in. I noticed a long silver box with a white ribbon and what I was pretty sure was an oak leaf tucked under the bow. “Did you get Aimes something else?” I gestured toward the box.

“Uh…” A suddenly very panicked and very tense Anika stood up, snatched the bag away and grabbed my unsuspecting mother, pulling her toward the door. “Love you, baby. See you tonight.”

And she was gone. What the fuck was going on? Whatever was happening, my mom was in on it too. I thought she must’ve gotten me jewelry or something. I never wore jewelry, maybe she found something special to her, or maybe it was one of those things a bride does for her groom… I didn’t fuckin’ know, but it was annoying the fuck out of me.

Anika

By the time we arrived at the house, Trish had managed to calm me down. I hated lying to Cole and I was terrible at it. “Only one more day.” She assured me, “Then you can tell him. But you don’t have to wait you know. You can tell him whenever you want, dear. Especially if it’s stressing you out.”

“No, I want to wait. I hate surprises personally but I think he’ll love it. Don’t you?”

“I really, really do. Let’s get your mind off that then.” She led the way into the large sunroom where Aimes was waiting.

“Finally!” She declared. “I am starving.” I took one look at her and laughed.

“She knows, Trish.”

“She knows what dear?” Trish, so good at the social games.

“She guessed but I can’t confirm it because she knows I want to tell Cole first. So, I haven’t really told her and she did guess so I think I can pull it off.”

My explanation didn’t sound very convincing and Aimes and Trish both began laughing. “You!” I pointed at Aimes. “You suck.”

“I could say the same thing about you,
not
virgin bride.” She laughed. “Should have worn red to match your face.”

I was so embarrassed. “Aimes, have you met the mother of my fiancé?”

“It’s alright, dear. How about we call it even.” She went toward arriving voices in the other room.

“What’s she talking about?” Aimes asked quietly.

“She and Richard got a little, uh, frisky and broke a bunch of Christmas ornaments. We ran upstairs and hid. But, God I can’t believe I didn’t tell you this: she totally walked in on us. I mean, like, Cole was between my legs. I was horrified.”

“Doesn’t she knock?”

“She does now.”

We both laughed heartily and it felt great. “You’re really happy, aren’t you?” Aimes was trying to feel me out.

“Aimes…” I shook my head, not sure what to say or how to say it.

She took my hand in hers and laced her finger through mine. It was something she used to do when we were younger, those times when my mom was particularly cruel or Joe had gotten to me. I’d forgotten about it until she did it. Maybe because it had been years since I left my mom’s condo to when Joe attacked me behind the bar and then abducted me. “Inky, we’ve been through a lot together. You and Cole have been through even more… you are going to be great. You and Cole, you are going to be wonderful parents so whatever doubt may get into that head of yours, ignore the fuck out of it.”

She took her hand away as Trish came back in.

“Ladies, lunch is served. Follow me.”

We both stood up, Aimes a little bit ahead but I gave her shirt a little tug. “Did you know I love you, Aimes? I mean, I don’t know if I tell you enough but you should know, I do. I know everything is changing and you’ll probably end up in Texas and have a house full of kids, but we’ll still see each other, lots. I can’t do this tomorrow because I don’t want it to be a day of tears, but I love you Amelia, so much. You are the truest and bestest friend I could ever and will ever have.”

“Goddamnnit, Ink.” She threw her arms around me, sobbing into my neck and though I was teary, I was happy. I had literally shed my painful past last night and was moving into a new chapter of my life.

Clicking heals alerted us to Trish’s presence. “Ladies, you’re going to get puffy.” She scolded. But when we were just about to pull away from each other, she became part of our huddle. “Better now than tomorrow.” After a few minutes of giggles and tears she took us each by an elbow and pulled us away. “Come on, I have surprises.”

We followed Trish toward the back of the house and up a small flight of stairs. “This is the way to the guest rooms.”

“Do you have a lot of… guests, Trish?” Aimes asked.

“No. This house is a ridiculous monstrosity. However, today, it’s perfect.”

She opened two double doors to a huge room. A table was set and the smell of Mexican food was divine.

“Now, I know you liked Amigo’s when we went so they catered. Aimes this is Lolly and Anika this is Mara. They will be giving you facials, massages, and mani-pedis. And Aimes, your massage table has a cut out for your belly so you can actually lie down. I hear that’s a real treat. I need to go out and do wedding things but you two enjoy and relax.” She started to walk away, “Almost forgot.” She pointed to the wall and brought me a remote. “Here. Everything is labeled; movies, music, television… if you get in a bind, the girls can help. Mara is my massage gal. See ya later, oh, and your clothes for tonight are in your rooms and if you can… try to get some sleep.”

The force of nature that was Trish had left Aimes and me alone with our mouths hanging open.

“Uh, dude, I gotta tell ya… I love my mom, but your mother-in-law is kind of…” Aimes hesitated to finish her sentence.

“Awesome!” I grinned.

“Yeah! So, let’s see… one p.m… Dr. Phil or Days of Our Lives?” She asked.

“Days. Definitely Days.” Aimes and I had spent many an afternoon watching the long-running soap opera. “You be in charge of the NASA television and I’ll make you a plate. Iced Tea?”

“Apparently straight vodka is off the menu for a while so… yeah.” She giggled.

“I feel your pain, my friend. I really do.” That wasn’t really true. I was just joining her in our new found sisterhood of being knocked up. It was a very new revelation for me, but she was all cute and popped out tummy. I let her choose her dress, which was an empire-waist, off the shoulder lilac with a silvery lilac ruching across the bust. It was so beautiful and suited her perfectly.

When we sat down, our plates full and Bo and Hope talking about characters we didn’t know (but if we watched for a few days, we’d be completely caught up on the last eight years) and women began to mill around us. They were quiet and non-intrusive, but the number of bodies in the room had tripled. My shoes were untied and socks were slipped off. That’s when I realized the table we were sitting at was really narrow. So narrow, a small stool was in front with a foot-spa and my feet were being what felt like, worshipped by someone that thought my feet were the most sacred, lovely feet in the universe.

God it felt good.

“Dude, you are totally drooling.” Aimes started to laugh at me.

“I have never been so tired in my entire life.” I admitted.

“Grab a cat nap whenever you can. It’ll pass in another three or four weeks. I promise. Do you feel sick at all?”

“No.” I ebbed out. “But if I had a dollar for every time I’ve had to pee today, I’d have at least twenty bucks and it’s barely two now!”

Her quiet laughter as she chewed was making her stomach bounce up and down. “That’ll pass too.” She said finishing her bite. “But just you wait, the sex… oh my God, the sex.” Her head thunked on the back of the chair.

“Oh, I’m already there my friend. And the problem, well, not a problem exactly but one more day of this and Cole would be asking questions. He knows something is up. I can tell.” Our mutual amusement was winding down again. The woman at my feet was doing her thing and as my eyes closed I turned my head in Aimes’ direction.

“Aimes?”

“Yep.”

“I’m going to be okay.”

“I know, babe.”

“You never have to worry again.”

She didn’t answer straight away this time. When she did it was almost a whisper. “I know, babe.”

***

I didn’t know how long I was asleep but when I woke up, I was laying down on a bed. “Dear? We just need to finish your hair and you can get dressed.” I felt the bed move next to me and when I opened my eyes, Trish, Aimes and Richard were all looking at me.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked on a groggy stretch.

“Three hours, dude. Three of ‘em.” Aimes and her mocking laugh left the room.

“I feel like someone just transported me from cloud to cloud to cloud and now I’m here. How did I get here?” Trish nodded toward her husband, my future father-in-law and that was all I needed to know. “Can we have a moment alone, Trish?”

“Sure dear. We’ll get your hair done whenever you’re ready. Rochelle is a whiz with hair.” She smiled, the room cleared and the door shut behind her leaving me alone with Richard Carlyle.

“Anika.” Just my name. He could have said “gargle” or “stamp” but it was the way he said it, with such warmth, that I knew he wasn’t the ogre I thought he was when we met.

“I hated you when I first met you.”

“You had every reason to hate me.” He said matter of factly.

“I don’t hate you now. I thought you should know.”

“I’m glad, Anika. I think you’re lovely.”

I actually felt my cheeks begin to heat. “Thanks.”

“Was there anything else?” He asked.

“I know something happened. That night, Christmas Eve. Something happened or has happened or is happening. Thank you for keeping it from us. Maybe Cole knows, but I suspect he doesn’t know everything. If anything else happens… please don’t tell him, Richard. If there is any way to keep tomorrow pure for us, please…”

He gently put his hand on my belly. “Before you react, she didn’t say anything, but I ran into your doctor and he assumed I knew. At this point I’m guessing Cole is the only one who doesn’t know. Your secret is safe with me, don’t worry. I made a promise to my son that I would fix this and I will fix this. You and my son and my grandchild will always be safe, Anika.”

“Don’t make me cry, Richard. I mean it.”

He gave me a small, gentle smile. “I wouldn’t dare. Now we better get you ready.”

He left the room and I stretched out like a snow angel on the great big bed. I lifted my hands to look at my beautiful finger nails which I now had. They’d been touched up and looked perfect. The ring sparkled as I moved my fingers in little waves and I was so happy. I took that moment and let it all come back to me: Evan. How I loved him but it was almost like looking through the window of a bakery and seeing a fancy piece of cake. You order with high expectations and when you finally get that taste, something is missing. Then there was Lisa: a friendship that was brief and not really a friendship at all. We had good times and she and Aimes and me had so much fun together but again, something was missing. This led me to Joe. Joe wasn’t gone. I was pretty sure of that anyway. But I knew I would be safe from him. Everyone in my life now made sure I was safe. Finally, my mother: this should have been the day she bought a special dress, maybe even wore a hat. She would hold a tissue to her eyes and tell me how much she loved me… no. That would never happen because she was gone and even if she was alive and well, I felt nothing for her. No remorse for the mother I should have had, no anger for what she did and allowed to be done to me. She was beyond this world and I never, ever would give her another thought.

I looked at my ring again and recalled the first time I saw Cole. How beautiful I thought his eyes were, how his hair was too long in the front, how he smelled… how I denied all of this to myself. But it all happened for a reason and I would truly do it all over again to be where I was now.

“Anika? Are you ready for Rochelle?” I heard from the doorway.

I smiled down at my hand. “Absolutely.”

Cole

The morning had been exactly what I needed it to be. I wanted to make sure Anika knew she wasn’t just loved, she was adored by me and it wouldn’t end in a month or a year or ten years: I was going to love this woman, worship her, until my very last breath.

She had gotten up earlier, went into the bathroom and came back to bed, falling asleep almost instantly. I knew we had to be ready by eleven at the latest. I turned, checked my phone and knew we had just over an hour.

I could do a lot in an hour.

But this day was about more than just making love to my future wife, which I would be doing eventually, no doubt about it. It was about us. Together. Everything we’d been through had almost been worth it to be right where we were now. I would gladly do it all over again and I knew she would say the exact same thing but that’s not what I wanted for her. I wanted her to have the dream come true.

I wasn’t sure how she would feel about having a bath as soon as she woke up. Her bags were ready, all her clothes, everything she needed for the wedding was either packed or already where it needed to be. All that was left was throwing on casual clothes and being taken to have her hair and make-up done. That was it.

I carefully left the bed, knowing Anthony would’ve done everything perfectly. I ran downstairs and quickly came back, making quick work of my task before she woke.

“Anika?” I breathed into her ear. “Anika?”

“I was having a dream about this man-angel… he was really slutty.” I laughed while she stretched then stopped for a second. “Oh…” she let out on a happy sigh. “I’m getting married today!”