Broken Serenade (41 page)

    One early morning, about
half a week back, he had kissed her gently, tens of little kisses, until he had woken her up. 

    “Open your eyes, my love,” he had
urged, waving under her nose two plane tickets. “I have something to show you.”

    “Where are we going?” s
he had asked sleepily.

    “I’m
taking you to Paris, Vee! The departure is tomorrow. We’ve got to start packing things up. It’s going to be some work. We’ll be in France for a whole month.”

    It came as a well-deserved vacation after all the chaos and uproar Vivien’s mother had created. The news that Vivien and Timothy
had married in an impromptu ceremony, without family and friends - and especially without her! – had driven Alison Hopkins out of her senses. Accompanied by a small army of devoted girlfriends, she had descended upon them like a hurricane. In approximately a month, she had efficiently organized a monstrous wedding that had materialized in a genuine and dangerous assault to the mental health of the quiet and private bride and groom.

    “I know that you loved him ever since you were a c
hild, but to get into such a state of panic and drag him to the altar in jeans and pullover! And you in yoga pants and hoody! I could’ve never imagined that!” Alison Hopkins had exclaimed stupefied.

    “It was the other way around, mother,” Vivien had attempted to explain.

    “What? Was he in yoga pants and you in jeans? What importance does it have now, dear? The issue is by all means cut-and-dried at this point.” 

    “No, mother
, this time, it wasn’t me who panicked… You know, you’re actually right! It has no importance at all. All that matters now is that… you’re here,” she said with an exasperated look. And…”
And our peace is painfully gone until you reach your
noble
goal,
Vivien had wanted to add, but she had managed to restraint her temper, warmly encouraged by Timothy’s amused smile.

    And indeed, Alison Hopkins had organized a fairy tale like wedding.

    “I have only one daughter,” she had declared proudly. “And I’m not going to allow her to evade into life with a pseudo wedding!”

    In the end, though tired and stressed, Vivien and Timothy had enjoyed every m
inute of their formal wedding.

    Now they were ready to spend the second night in Paris, and their biological clock still kept them awake. In California, it was just a little past 3 PM.

    Timothy brought a bottle of Champagne, a couple of glasses, and a delicious arrangement of cheeses, vegetables, and fruit on a tray they had prepared and put it in the refrigerator earlier. He left them all on a small table by the Christmas tree, and then he laid a huge blanket in front of the fireplace.

   
“Tonight, we’ll celebrate our arrival in Paris,” he announced, placing a couple of pillows on the blanket. “Last night, we were too tired and jetlagged, especially you!”

     “I’m sorry love,
the flight seemed endless,” Vivien lamented. “I was so grateful to lie horizontally in a bed, that I fell asleep immediately after I touched the pillow. And then this morning, my stomach wouldn’t cooperate.”

    “
That’s because you had nothing to eat during the flight, and then you gabbled almost an entire jar of pickles with peanut butter. Are you OK now? You look… so beautiful…” he said, mesmerized.

   
“I feel great,” she assured him. She radiated happiness.

    He approached her
from behind and wrapped his arms around her. Then he pushed her hair aside and kissed her fine, long nape. His hands gingerly cupped her round breasts. They fitted perfectly inside his palms. Vivien’s breasts seemed even fuller lately.
Maybe she put on a pound or two
, he thought.
It reached just the right places!
She was superb, more beautiful than ever, and he could hardly wait to undress her.

    “Vee, honey, it’s enough for tonight,
” he told her gently. “There are a lot of other… things we have to do.”

    She turned to him and put a quick kiss on his lips.

    “OK. I’m done here
,” she beamed. “Do you like it?”

    “
It’s beautiful! But not as beautiful as you are. Now, I have the first gift for you,” he said, handing her a small box wrapped in silver paper and pink ribbon. “I know it’s premature, there is one more week until Christmas, but I want you to open this one now.”

    “I also
have an early Christmas gift for you,” Vivien announced. Wearing a mysterious smile, she produced from under the sofa a present similar in size with his. Only the wrapping paper was pink, and the ribbon was blue.

    Giggling happily, they exchanged the gifts. Vivien
eagerly tore the paper and discovered a pregnancy test inside. She burst out laughing. Timothy took her in his arms and lovingly kissed her face.

    “Lili
is as crazy as one could get. That’s a sure thing! But she’s right about us. We can make beautiful children. And I told myself that if we are alone here, just the two of us, no in-laws, no friends, no office work or piano lessons, not even your piano which I’m so jealous on sometimes, we should use this precious time very efficiently. Starting right now,” he said, and his voice sounded choked with emotion as he looked intensely into her deep blue eyes. “What do you say, my love?” he asked impatiently.

    “I say…
You hold that thought for a few seconds and open your gift from me,” Vivien urged him, glowing with love and joy.

    Timothy hurried to tear the wrapping. Another pregnancy test
, already opened, appeared in his hands. It was his turn to break into laughter.

    “This is telepathy. We
have similar thoughts.”

    “Yes, only… you’
re a bit late,” she specified.

    “What do you mean?”

    “Open the box.”

    He did. In a tiny transparent plastic bag
, embellished with two thin pink and blue ribbons, the used test stood proudly exposed to his view.

    “You’re already pregnant?” h
e asked happily.  

    Vivien nodded
, smiling.

    “What do the pink and blue ribbons symbolize? Are we going to have twins? A girl and a boy?”

    “No, silly! That means that I don’t know what is going to be, because it’s too early to tell.”

    Timothy gathered her at his chest. He took the remote control and dimmed the lights in the house. As he started to undo the pearly buttons of her featherlike cashmere sweater, he whispered
dreamily in her ear.

    “You make all my dreams come true, Vee. You are the most wonderful Christ
mas gift I ever got. Words can’t even begin to describe the way I feel right now and every time I hold you like this. I love you, baby,” he told her, as his hungry lips descended upon her skin.

    “
I love you too, Tee,” she moaned softly, under his caresses. “So very much, my darling.”  

*                                   *                                      *

    Six
thousand miles away, the newly elected governor of California was paying a secret visit to a woman’s prison in San Francisco. She left a pile of documents at the entrance office and demanded to be taken immediately to the cell of inmate Lauren. The officer in charge escorted her through the maze of hallways and automatic gates to her sought destination.

    The woman i
n the cell seemed rather petite and feeble, a natural blonde with her hair styled simply in a ponytail. She was lying on her back on that narrow iron bed and was reading a manual on raising and educating children.

    “Miss Lauren, you have a visitor,” the
lady officer addressed her respectfully.

    The inmate moved the book slowly out of her view. When she discovered who the visitor was, she quickly jumped on her feet.

    “Greeting
s from all of us, My Queen! Your lawyer will also be here shortly. I have an early Christmas gift for you,” the governor told her proudly. “I just signed your release. I also took the liberty of buying a ticket for you with destination Charles de Gaul, Paris. If problems were to arise here in the states… There is always a chance with these pardons, unfortunately. You must continue your divine work for the womankind. No matter where. You’re safe in France. They don’t extradite. We’ll find a way to keep in touch with you and maintain the Amazons on the rise. That’s how we’ll reach our goal.”

    The woman took the papers.
Silently, she took her time and looked through all of them.

    “Thank
you, governor,” she finally said. “Merry Christmas to you too.”

    She
studied the plane ticket unenthusiastically and then placed it among the documents in her hand.

    “I’ll think about the trip.”

    “But, Queen, it’s for your own safety…”

    The woman’s answer sounded firm and cold.

    “I said, I’ll think about the trip…”  

♫♫  
 
The End  
 
♪♪

Dorina Stanciu
grew up with a passion for literature, reading, and writing. As a student, she was involved in many literature and poetry competitions. She has a degree in Economics and International Trade Relations.

Dorina
was born in Romania, on the border of Danube, in a beautiful family with four daughters. From her parents and sisters, she learned that love and respect for the person besides you are the only things that can get you closer to Heaven.

She currently lives in Virginia with her beloved husband,
Ion
. He shows
Dorina
every day, that Heaven is here on earth, near wonderful people like him...