Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (61 page)

P
ast the garage
,
under the star-speckled evening
sky,
I
followed the path until t
he
bluff spread out before me
. It
suddenly
looked
as if
a fairy tale had co
me
alive
straight
from the pages of a storybook
. The cliff
glowed. I slowed my steps and inched closer.
Hundreds
of white pillar candles
with flame
s
reaching
to touch the stars.
R
ed roses blossomed
in
crystal
vases
among the candle
s. An archway led to a table with two
chairs draped in w
hite silk
,
set
on the edge of the bluff overlooking the
rolling
sea.

Tears sp
illed
from
my eyes as
I saw him standing there—d
ressed in a polo
shirt and finely creased slacks
, holding a single red rose.

He handed me the rose
,
took my hand and
led me down the path layered with tiny pebble
s. He stopped, pulled
a
bloom
from one of the bouquets
and placed it on Goldie’s vest.

Off to the side
,
a s
tring quartet
strummed their instruments
,
and
I
imagined
melod
ies of romance
.
Al
though I couldn’t
hear the sounds, I
’d
once told him
I loved wat
ching musicians as they played.
He remembered.
“
Logan
. This is amazing.”

He leaned
in
and touched
his lips to
mine. “You are
beautiful. When I first saw you coming toward me,
you took my breath away
.
Come
w
alk with me
.”

He led
me to where the view of the water
gave the impression of
go
ing
on forever. The moon cast
its
light over
the waves as if a strobe
had been turned on.
He pulled me closer and looked into my eyes
.
“I never want to lose you. If that mean
s
we live in Stone Valley, then
Stone
Valley
it is.” I lowered my head as he slipped down on his knee. “
Sam
antha
. I love you. Will y
ou marry me—will you be my wife?
”

The air would
n’t release from my
chest. I closed my e
yes
,
wanting to get this right. I couldn’t say the words.

He s
till held my hand as he rose
from
where he’d knelt on the ground. “Will you be my wi
fe?” He slipped
a ring
on my finger
.

I felt the final shreds of doubt fall away
.
“I love you
,
Logan
.” I gazed at the gold ring
,
set with diamond
s and sapphires. “Yes.
I’ll marry you. On one condition.”

“
As long
as we’
re togethe
r
.” As he drew me closer
,
I knew
I
was
right
where I belonged.

“I want us to live right here
at
Villa
d
el
Sueños
.
”

His lips melted into mine. Happiness bu
bbled from my soul.
The pieces fit because they all had one thing in common—they belo
nged to the past. The present was
filled with a
future and a hope
and most of all
,
new beginnings.

Epilogue

Six Months Later
…

We wait
ed until crimson and gold
burst into flames
on
the horizon. I linked
my arm
inside my grandfather’s. I felt
like a princess
in my grandmother’s
flowing wedding gown
.
T
he delicate beaded lace
had required some mending
, but wearing it was symbolic of making peace with the past
.
My
veil softly stirred in the whispered breeze as w
e moved toward the bluff.

Maggie and Audra,
dres
sed in stunning black gowns
and
carryi
ng bouquets of white roses
,
preceded us
. Jeannie,
Thelma’s five-year-old granddaughter, strolled ahead of u
s
,
scattering rose
petals
. I paused and presented
my grandmother
with
a
long-stem
red rose, nodded to Dr. Ellie sitting
with Precious
in the same ro
w
,
and smiled at her thumbs
-
up.

At the end of the white satin pathway, Logan waited with Alec and Mark. Dressed in black tuxedos, they made a handsome trio. Only one filled up my senses. My eyes locked with Logan’s as I took my place by his side.

Goldie sat
next to me
with a bouquet of miniature roses tucked into her vest. She kept sneaking a peek at
Wolf
sitting off to the side with Julia. Pastor Jim stood with a golden glow behind him. I tried to con
centrate on reading his words, b
ut
I could
n’t get over the fact
we were
really standing there
,
Logan
and I, hand in hand.
Logan
nudged me, and I handed
my bridal bouquet of red roses to Maggie so we could exchange rings.

Pastor Jim nodded to Logan and I waite
d for him to take my right hand the way we
had practiced. Instead
,
he lifted his hands and
recited his wedding vows to me in sign language.
The tears streamed,
my heart overflowing
wi
th love as
I recited my vows to him
.
We became husband and wife. And then he kissed me.

Pastor Jim stood to th
e side
as we faced our guests.
I watched his lips form the
most endearing
of phrases
for the first time
. “I present to you Mr. and Mrs.
Logan
Edward
Delatorre.” We escaped down the white sa
tin pathway in a shower of rose
petals.

Magically
,
the bluff became covered with tables and chair
s. Servers carrying silver dome-
covered tr
ays served t
he guests
.
A long table held a towering cake
, compliments of Julia.

Logan
led me to the dance f
loor,
which was
set up with speakers
underneath to crea
te a vibration from the music. I stepped int
o my husband’s waiting arms
. With
the train of my gown swirling about
my feet
,
we waltzed under the stars
. F
airy tales didn’t
e
nd any happier
.

Other couples began joining us. Doc, debonair as always, gave Evelyn
a turn around the floor.
Brandon
and Rachel swirled past us,
totally absorbed in each other
.
We stopped and
enjoyed watching
Thelma and Fred add
in a few
fancy moves.
Their son Mark and
his wife
,
Carrie
,
gave them a little competition.
The biggest surpri
se came when Maggie didn’t
notice us as she swished by, her eyes
smiling into Pastor Jim’s.
Zack
a
nd Jezz
ica
drifted by
, and
I giggled
at
the
annoyed look she gave
him.

The evening ended
all to
o soon. I pitched
my bridal bouquet
over my shoulder
and
turned to find Jezz
ica
holding it
,
as if I’d tossed her a Fourth of July sparkler. I secretly wished Maggie had caught it. But God didn’t need my help.

We said
goodbye to our guest
s
and
stopped
beside my gran
dparents
’
table
. They sat with
Betsy, who now live
d with them
.
Gently
, I
hugged my grandm
other
.
“I love you.” I
hoped
my
voice delivered the words as sweet, warm
,
and caring as I felt.

“Seeing you in your grandmother’s gown, brings back memories of the only bride more stunningly beautiful than you are today.” My grandfather winked at his wife, and
put his arms around me. “Love ya
,
Sami
girl.”

“I love y
ou
, too
.” A
mom
ent
I
would always
treasure
.

Audra and Maggie waited near the pathway
, and I
turned to say
an extra goodbye as we
were leaving. A few steps more and I noticed Daniel. He
clasped my offered hand
between both
of his, the same way
he had the first time we met.
“You look beautiful
. Th
ank you for allowing me to share your special day
.”

Every thing in it’s own time.
“A day of new beginnings.”
Where Daniel
was concerned, I was taking small
steps. I leaned in and whispered in his ear.
“Take care of Audra and my little niece or nephew.” I could feel the smile bea
ming from my face at the thrill
of becoming an aunt.
I hugged Daniel and kissed his cheek.

Finished with our goodbyes, Logan helped me tuck the layers
of my gown inside the car and
climbed in beside me. The
limo dr
ove
down the
extended
driveway,
out the gates
and
stopped.
I was puzzled when
Logan
opened the door. G
etting out
,
he invited
me to join him.
I waited for Goldie, and
placed my hand in his. We stood in front of the gates
,
watching the
m swing closed.
Scrolled o
n the iron
gates in fancy script
were the words
Villa
del Sueños
Hermosos
.
House of Beautiful Dreams.

Dr. Rita Garcia is a Clinical Christian Counselor. Her knowledge and passion for helping others provides realistic substance to the counseling woven into her stories. The theme that permeates her writing is: Love, lit by the flame of hope. Romance is a big part of her novels. Hope is an even larger element of the stories. Rita and her husband reside in Southern California.