He laughed and said, “I think that’s news to her because she told me she was single.”
He had no business discussing her boyfriend status. “Does it really matter if she has a boyfriend or not? She’s human and you’re...not.”
“Chansey is human and you’re not,” he argued.
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “What the hell is wrong with you? You know that Chansey isn’t completely human. She’s my Agápe. I didn’t randomly choose to fall in love with her. She was born specifically for me. You can’t force it if that’s what you’re thinking. It’s not your decision to make.”
Solomon ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to me, Curry. I became so restless last week when you and Chansey came to the compound. With all of the talk about Agápes and marriage, I thought...”
He wanted to tell me, but I could see the doubt on his face. He was afraid. “It’s okay. You know that you can tell me anything and I won’t judge you.”
“God, this so stupid,” he grumbled. “I thought your sudden arrival with Chansey was some kind of preparation for me. Like maybe I should be expecting someone like Chansey to walk into my life.” He looked away and said, “I even tried to put my hand in sunlight one morning and burnt the hell out of myself.”
He shook his head and said, “I’m stupid, I know. Please, don’t tell the others. Gia and Lairah wouldn’t be able to stop laughing their asses off at me.”
He looked so sad and miserable and I wanted to do or say something to make him feel better. “If there isn’t an Agápe out there for you, you can always find companionship in another vampire.”
He stared at the ground. “I don’t mean this the way it is going to sound because I know all vampires are not evil, but that’s not where I want to find companionship. I prefer to live without a mate if I have to find it in a vampire. I know that sounds like a hateful thing to say about my own species.”
Some might be offended by his opinion, but I wasn’t. I completely understood. “I don’t think there’s anyone that would understand that better than me.”
He looked up at me and said, “I don’t want the family to know how I feel.”
He looked so guilty for admitting his true feelings. “I won’t tell any of them.”
He laughed at himself and said, “I can amuse you further. I came here hoping that I was going to find an Agápe at your wedding. I thought Chansey could be the connection to bring us together. I thought Shelby was the one, but nothing happened when I saw her so I touched her in hopes of feeling something. Still, nothing happened. It’s not going to, is it?”
I slowly shook my head. “No, not with Shelby. You would have immediately felt something different about her if she were your Agápe. I’m sorry.”
He kicked at a rock on the ground and sent it flying across the lawn. “Yeah, me too, because she’s really hot. Curry, I haven’t told you, but I am very happy for you and Chansey. I’m glad you found each other because you deserve happiness.”
I looked toward the door in anticipation of the girls coming out at any minute. “You deserve happiness, too. Who knows? Maybe there’s an Agápe out there waiting for you to find her.”
“Nah, I don’t think so. The best thing for me at this point is to get to Savannah and get to work. It will take my mind off these foolish ideas I’ve had.”
I watched Chansey and Shelby come out of the front door. “Well, you’re not going to Savannah right now because you’ve got a date.”
“Umm,” he said as he began to think of an excuse to get him out of the mess he created with Shelby.
The girls were walking down one of the staircases off of the front porch and I told Sol, “Don’t umm me because you got yourself into this all on your own. You’re going out with her and you’re going to show her a good time. You owe her that much for trying to sentence her to eternity with you. That’s that.”
I quickly turned my attention to Chansey. “You look stunning, Love.”
I turned to Sol to cue him and he took the hint after a few seconds. “Shelby, you look beautiful.”
She smiled and said, “Thank you, Solomon”
We discussed our options, but decided to keep with what seemed to be a tradition around here and go to the casinos since there wasn’t anything else to do. The environment would be neutral ground for Sol. He could talk to Shelby and have a good time with her, but it wasn’t private enough for him to explore any of his earlier ideas about her.
Although he seemed to accept that Shelby wasn’t intended for him, I still wasn’t positive about where his head was and that was a painful place for him to be. I didn’t want to see my best friend in such agony and I hoped he was right about Savannah. Maybe it would give him the peace he deserved.
˜ ˜ ˜
It was late, or rather early, when we got back from the casino. Sol found a dark place in my basement apartment to sleep the day away, but I never went to sleep because I was too excited about the wedding. I spent the entire day thinking about how Chansey was going to be my wife and how I was finally going to be her husband tonight.
After I showered and shaved, I unzipped the bag containing what Chansey had chosen for me to wear. I was glad when I saw it was a casual, light khaki suit with a white shirt and no tie. My girl knew me well.
When I took the suit from its bag, I found a folded notecard with the initials CLR on it. I opened the card and it read:
Meet me at the top of the open arms staircases.
8 p.m. Sharp. Don’t be late.
With all my Love, C
I smiled as I looked at the front of Chansey’s monogrammed notecard because those initials would be all wrong in a matter of a couple of hours. I should have gotten her new personalized notecards. I’d put my sisters on that task for me so they would be ready for her when we got back from our honeymoon.
“What are you grinning about?” I heard from across the room.
“Nothing,” I lied as I sat the card on the bed.
Sol sat on the bed next to my suit. “It’s okay for you to happy, Curry. You’re not being unkind by being happy, but you are being unkind by lying to me to protect my feelings. I’m not fragile and it’s pissing me off that you think I am.”
“I know you’re not fragile. I just didn’t want to rub my happiness in your face. I thought that might piss you off more,” I explained.
He took a deep breath as he leaned forward, propped his elbows on his knees and pushed his hands through his hair. “Will you tell me about it? I mean what it’s like.”
He didn’t have to explain what he meant. We both knew what he was asking. “When we get to Savannah, I will tell you about it if you still want to know.”
He looked up at me. “I don’t know why I would want to know about it, but I do. Is that weird?”
He told me to not lie to him. “Yes. It’s a little disturbing that you would want to know about my sex life, but I’m trying to convince myself that it’s only out of curiosity.”
He got off of the bed and walked toward the bathroom. “Well, I guess I’ve never really been normal anyway. This disturbing weirdo is going to take a shower.”
I sat on the sectional in my apartment and nervously watched for the hands of the clock to tell me it wa
s time to meet Chansey at the top of the staircases.
Sol broke my intense concentration on the clock when he came out of the bathroom dressed in a khaki suit and white shirt like mine. He held his arms out and announced, “Dude, I’m shocked. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I love Chansey. She didn’t put us in monkey suits like I expected.”
“I know. I was glad when I saw what she picked. I don’t think I’ve worn a tie in the last 22 years.”
There was a gentle knock on the door and I had to calm my heart by telling it that it wasn’t Chansey. I opened the door and found a smiling Anna on the other side. “I wanted to check on you since I haven’t heard a peep out of you all day long.”
“I had to tie him down to keep him from running off, Mrs. E. He has a severe case of cold feet,” Sol announced to Anna from across the room.
“Thank you for not allowing him to escape, Solomon. Chansey would have been quite upset about that,” Anna laughed.
I felt the need to rationalize my lack of an appearance. “I didn’t want to risk running into Chansey. Everyone knows it’s considered bad luck to see the bride before the wedding and I’m afraid she would have freaked.”
Anna reached for my face and smiled at me as she cupped her palm on my cheek. “Such a considerate young man. Chansey is very lucky to have you to love her and protect her. She was born especially for you and I know you will never allow harm to come to her.”
I didn’t know how to respond to Anna and I wondered if she saw the bewilderment on my face. Her choice of words could be purely coincidental, but it didn’t feel that way. It felt more like she knew exactly what Chansey was to me and she was trying to let me know she did. Impossible.
“Now, I know that you don’t have a mother or sister to do this for you, so I guess that I’m going to have to do,” she said as she held up a small white calla lily boutonniere in her hand for me.
Still shocked from Anna’s statement, I was unable to speak but managed to step forward to offer my lapel to her. I watched her aging hands as she pinned the flower to my jacket and she said, “There. Looks perfect.”