The Cries of the Butterfly - A LOVE STORY (25 page)

Still…

Still? Still?! See? Do you see? It’s our mindsets, conditioned over centuries of ghoulish and twisted ideas, that prevent us from seeing the truth as it stands.

Wolf thought of the letter he had written to Savannah some days ago.

“This happens once in ages—such a connection as ours…”

And…

“So my name has suddenly changed from Lucio to Wolf. So from a technician, I’m suddenly a moviestar. That does not alter my core…”

And…

“Yes, my physical identity was fraudulent, as was the social one. But you have always said, haven’t you, that you were drawn not to these factors, but to the person that I really was? Well, that wasn’t a sham. I am exactly the person that I came off as in these past three months, the person you came to like…beyond my physicality or profession.”

Well, does that not apply to her too? Or are you going to be so shamelessly inequitable…and such a freaking hypocrite? … Finally, if nothing else, think of Robin.

Wolf sighed. A little later, he turned ignition, threw gear and headed for Savannah Burns’s home.

IT
happened the next day—like some long latent volcano suddenly erupting into existence.

Friday, April 11th, saw the news, so far kept a remarkable secret, finally slip out.

New Halcyon had three major newspapers:

‘The New Halcyon Times’.

‘New Halcyon Daily’, and

‘The New Halcyon Tribune’.

And they bellowed from their front pages:

‘Hollywood Megastar to Wed Unknown Commoner.’

‘Out of the Blue: New Halcyon’s Favorite Son Finally Getting Hitched.’

‘The Secret’s Out: Hollywood Heartthrob to Wed! A Zillion Female Hearts To Break!’

There were large colored pictures of Wolf Butcher and the ‘Tribune’ had a small, white, blank square beside the picture, wondering who the lucky lady was. That was the real talk now:
who is she, oh, who is she?
Such mystery!

Butcher Garden was suddenly besieged. News reporters and cameramen, still and movie, countless of them, waiting for that one glimpse, one bit of news, one word, one picture of the megastar, or better still, his mysterious bride. Flashlights went off the moment someone appeared at the main gate, or when someone went in. Ladders were brought for a peek over Butcher Garden’s imposing walls. Helicopters began circling overhead, like eagles on a kill, sophisticated lenses hanging down precariously from open doors, like beaks waiting for one clean shot at the quarry. To compound matters, it was also the day the guests would be arriving—the rest of the Butcher family from San Francisco.

Wolf was on the phone to his fiancée. “It’s a mad house out here!” he bleated, in deep distress.

“Well, at least you’re used to it. Think about me,” Savannah said with feeling.

“My poor baby!”

“What shall we do?”

“Why don’t you come here?” he suggested. “But we’ll have to remain indoors all the time. The choppers are circling overhead incessantly.”

“Mary!”

“Actually, it’s okay with me—they can picture me all they want, I care a goddamn. It’s you I want kept under wraps until we’re married.”

“Why?”

“Just the superstition thing. I don’t want anything going wrong.”

There was sudden silence at the other end.

“Savannah?”

“Yes.”

“Something wrong?”

“No.”

But he understood. “Look, it’s nothing,” he said, trying to be casual. “It’s just that I want to keep my pretty bride to myself, at least until I get her commitment on paper.”

“Is that all?” There was sudden frost in her voice.

“Of course…what do you mean?” he demanded.

“Wolf, I’ll ask you one more time—are you sure you want to marry me?”

It was his turn to go silent.

“Wolf?”

“Yes.”

“You heard me?”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“And I don’t want you asking me such questions ever again. Do you understand?” Then he lowered his voice. “Now come here pronto. I’m sending a chauffeur to pick you up. I’d have come myself, but it’s real bad out here—it’s best I stay indoors.”

“It’s okay, I understand.”

.

O
livia and Simon Katich arrived from San Francisco that afternoon with their four year old twin daughters, Senia and Mercy.

“Jesus, the place is like a carnival!” Olivia grumbled. They were all gathered in the family living room, the whole Butcher clan, including the future Butchers, Robin and Savannah. “Wasn’t it supposed to be a secret?”

“We tried our best. But you know how it is. They always get the scent,” Grant said.

“But why don’t you at least use your Presidential security on such occasions?!” Olivia protested. “You could then keep these crowds and the Press away from our residence at least, and those damn helicopters wouldn’t be flying over our heads all the time.”

Grant shook his head. “That would not be right,” he said. “After all, it was my choice to forgo staying at the Presidential residence. The official security is not meant for my personal dwelling.”

Olivia shook her head exasperatedly. “Oh, God, what have we here…a President of a nation or a saint?!”

Then her eyes suddenly fell on Wolf. “What’s up, Wolf? You’ve been staring at me very weirdly ever since I came. What’s the deal, bro?” she said.

Wolf shook his head in disbelief. “Just wondering how huge you’ve become over the last year. Almost didn’t recognize you. All that American junk fodder, I guess.”

“Careful now, big boy!” Olivia warned.

“Fat cow,” he muttered under his breath, but not so low that she couldn’t hear.

That got her to her feet. “How dare you, you smartass!”…advancing threateningly toward him.

Savannah, sitting next to Wolf, went red with shock and embarrassment.

Wolf leapt to his feet as Olivia reached her. She lunged at him and managed to grab a handful of sleeve, but he yanked himself free, then ran out of the room. Cussing loudly, Olivia went after him. Savannah’s breath had ceased at the sudden turn of events. She was quite startled at the blatant hostility between the two cousins, who were meeting after such a long time.

And then Grant bellowed. “Goodness gracious, the two! It has not been an hour since Olivia has been here and they are at it already.”

Art laughed, as did Simon and Estelle, and then Savannah understood.

“They are thirty year olds, but would you ever believe it? They behave like they used to when they were running around in their knickers,” Grant said, getting to his feet and going to the door.

Outside, Wolf was running around the swimming pool and Olivia was following him, her gait awkward, her large breasts bobbing hysterically, her big bottom swaying from side to side like a rhino’s. He turned around every few yards and taunted her—poking his tongue, jamming his thumbs to his ears and waving fingers. It made her madder still and although she had begun to pant now, she nevertheless pursued him with great spirit.

The rest of the folks now followed Grant to the back porch and watched the spectacle. Soon, they began cheering the adversaries. While Art and Simon goaded Wolf, Estelle and Rochelle spurred Olivia on. Grant, befitting head of family, remained neutral. In fact, he took turns cheering both of them.

“Come on, Oli, just a little more effort, girl…you shall catch him now…” he’d shout, then in the same breath do a complete flip-flop. “Watch it, Wolf, you do not want to be nabbed by a mere girl, do you? Faster, son…”

And that raised Estelle’s hackles.

“You are some double-faced man, President Butcher. Shame on you!” And she’d return to cheering Olivia, with twice the soul.

And soon the kids joined in. Robin was the first to go.

“Come on, Daddy!” she screamed, leaping on the balls of her feet.

And seeing her, Senia and Mercy entered the fray, in support of their mother.

Round and round the swimming pool they went, oblivious to the choppers circling overhead and shooting away frantically at this most bizarre scene. Olivia was huffing now—sweat ran down her face in a violent flow and her clothes were drenched. Wolf, fit to his bone marrow, nevertheless took care to ensure he didn’t outrun the large woman. He kept the distance between them not more than five feet. That way, he kept her interested.

And then Wolf suddenly slipped. He went sprawling on all fours. That was the only break Olivia had ever wanted. Despite her bulk, she was on him in a half wink. Wolf let out a cry of panic as he felt her hands on his left ankle.

“That’s it, Oli!” Estelle shouted with glee. “Don’t you let go of him now. Teach him a lesson he’ll never forget!”

Wolf tried to crawl away, but Olivia had him by his waist belt now. She was trying to pull him to his feet with all her might, but he doggedly resisted, instead insisting on creeping away on hands and knees.

“Hey, Ol, I’m sorry…I really am…” Wolf pleaded, even as he kept up his efforts at escaping.

“I’ll show you what sorry is, you insolent brat!” she barked. “I’ll make you so sorry you’ll forget the very word.”

Savannah was laughing, now thoroughly enjoying this. She had joined the women and was clapping and cheering with them, against her fiancé.

Suddenly she looked up at the sky in front of her. A chopper lingered low and a man was leaning out of it. He had a camera in his hands, with a very long lens, and he was frantically clicking away. And then Savannah realized that the lens was trained on her and her heart stopped.

After a frigid pause, she turned around and ducked back into the house.
Oh, Mary!

She heard a mighty splash, then another, and knew it was the cousins falling into the water. But her lungs were thumping hard and she covered her face with her hands.

.

S
aturday, April 12—wedding eve.

When Savannah surfaced this morning in her bed in her small apartment, it was eight-thirty-eight. Her dreamy eyes stared vacantly at the ceiling and a little smile crackled on her lips, like the dance of angels. She had slept the soundest, deepest sleep of her life and she felt utterly refreshed and rejuvenated. An exquisite feeling of warmth and belonging rolled through her in tender swirling clouds. She was the happiest woman in the world today…a woman desperately in love.

But it wasn’t Wolf alone she was madly in love with. It was the whole Butcher family. She reflected back on yesterday. What an amazing day it had been.

First, Estelle had shown her around the big house—every room, every corner of it.

“This is going to be your home now, Savannah, so you need to thoroughly familiarize yourself with it,” she’d said. Then she had summoned all the servants at the entrance hall (about forty of them—from the cooks to the gardeners to the menial help) and introduced Savannah to them.

“She’s your new boss,” Estelle had told them. “So you better be at your best behavior around her.” …making Savannah flush furiously.

After dinner, Grant had taken Savannah aside.

“You are a member of this family now, Savannah,” he had said, looking deep into her eyes. “Anytime you feel out-of-sorts, anytime you feel confused, anytime you want to speak but cannot discuss it with your husband, you come to me. I promise you, I shall be there for you. You are special to us, to this family, to me. I may be the President of this nation, but to me you are simply my daughter.” And he had run his hand over her head tenderly and Savannah’s heart had squeezed.

It was the same with Olivia. Even though they’d only just met, Savannah took to the large woman almost instantly and soon they became sisters. While she had been a bit intimidated at first, Savannah had rapidly got to love Olivia’s boisterously open ways. The woman was like a picture gallery—it was all laid out before you. You got what you saw.

The one person who had been rather tepid was Rochelle, Art’s attractive wife. Though, there had been no hints of hostility or any such thing, and Savannah had finally surmised that the lady was merely the reserved type.

What Savannah liked best about her new family was its structure. Here was a rare instance of a modern Western family who all lived together in this day and age. And remained united and prospered. Wolf had said that in many ways the Butchers were like the royals of Britain. There were rules and etiquettes (unsaid of course) to be followed—a certain way of behavior that was acceptable and a certain way that wasn’t. Especially for the women of the house. He had said that it was much like what Diana and the other women must have faced.

But Savannah didn’t think so.
Not at all.
There was no comparison here.
None whatsoever. … While one is a bastion of conceit, the other is a citadel of humanity.
The Butcher family was a tender, caring, loving family that did not panic in showing their feelings for each other. Despite their status, despite their great power, and despite being the richest family in the world, there was nothing synthetic, phony or frigid about them.
Moreover, whatever they’ve achieved—their riches, their power, their status, is all thanks to honest hard work…not living off the State and its people
, she told herself.