Chapter 5: Decorating for Death and Dealing with Seperation
Allison's POV
"Just put the orchids over there by the fireplace," I told the florist holding the flowers. She nodded and I watched her walk away, gently wiping my hand across my slightly damp forehead. All day people have been in and out, getting ready for the memorial service here. The funeral is tomorrow, but all the businesses are closed on Sundays so we're decorating the house today- or at least we're trying to.
Connor walked up behind me and snaked his arms around my waist, leaning his head on my shoulder and kissing me on the neck playfully. I giggled softly and turned around. He reached down to cup my face in his hands and my lips to his. I pulled away after a moment, suddenly self-conscious of the people around us and blushed. "You okay?" he asked, his face red as well.
I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired, is all."
He smiled at me and I walked back to the dining room to check the seating arrangements. Connor followed me and held out a clipboard. "Oh! You found it!"
He smiled. "Of coure, it was under the pile of crap- I mean, papers- in the music room. Do you still need it?"
"Yes! Thank you so much!" I scanned the list quickly and noticed a few names that were missing from the table. As I walked over to make a few extra name cards, I glanced at Connor. "So? Let's go over the plan again, okay?"
He nodded and straightened up like a soldier. "Out of town guests' flights land tonight and they'll get here between eight and eleven. We'll have food ready for them, but we won't eat with them. Tomorrow morning, the chef will have breakfast ready and then we'll all get ready for the funeral. We'll go to the church, do all that fun stuff, and then go to the cemetary for the burial. Then we'll come back here for the memorial. It's all day, and then the guests leave on Monday morning. Right?"
I smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Yes. Nice job, you've been studying. Yesterday you couldn't even remember what time their flights got in."
He smirked and shook his head. "Don't remind me. But who is coming tonight? Do we have a list for that?" I reached under a few papers and pull a stack from the clipboard. He took it tentatively and scanned the list ."There must be twenty people here!"
"Twenty-six, and we're using my parent's house, too."
"Well, who's letting them in?" I glared at him and he recoiled slightly. "Geez, you look like my mother!"
I rolled my eyes and walked over to where he was standing. "I am! You're staying here and I"m staying there tonight. Then we'll all meet at the church tomorrow! I thought you already knew that!"
He shook his head and I groaned. "Sorry! But really? You're not staying here?"
I smiled sadly and kissed his nose. "I'm sorry, but i have to go. We can't just leave them all alone in that unfamiliar house!"
"Sure we can!"
I snorted and pulled him into my arms. He relaxed a little but I heard him take a deep breath. "But, that'll be the first time that you won't be here since we got married."
I nodded. "It'll be okay, it's just one night." Connor doesn't reply and I lean against him, breathing in his smell and trying to remember what it feels like to be in his arms before i have to leave him. Even if it is just for one day.
**
"Welcome! Thank you so much for coming, I know it would mean a lot to my parents."
I ushered whoever it was through the door and let them envelop me in a hug. It was a couple, each with blonde hair and about a foot taller than me but about the same age. The woman was dressed in a simple black dressed that hugged her hourglass figure while the man wore a fancy suit with gold cufflinks. "I'm so sorry for your loss," the woman said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Where are we sleeping?"
I ushered her down the hall and the man stops me. "You'll have to excuse her, she was never one for small talk." He held out a hand. "I'm Simon, Simon Hierson. We went to high school together?"
I smiled and shook his hand enthusiastically. "Simon! Oh my gosh, you've grotten so tall! I haven't seen you in, what, four years?"
He nodded and looked me up and down. "Allison McHartey. You look great!"
I smiled but held up my left hand. "Actually, it's Allison Danielson now." He examined my ring for a moment before his eyes lit up.
"Hey, you didn't end up marrying that Connor guy, did you?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I did. I'm glad I did, actually. We have two kids now, a girl and a boy."
He tilted his head to the side. "But, remember, we a had a date planned! Around October? But you never returned my calls, so I assumed you found someone else to marry. I was in the dining room that day your friends trapped you in Mark's mansion?"
My eyes widened as I remembered that day. "Oh yeah! I'm so sorry about that, I totally forgot about you! I just kind of fell for Connor, you know? Like you fell for-, um..." I struggled to remember if he had given me the girl's name.
"Lacey. She's too beautiful for introductions, it seems." He smiled a dazzling white-tooth smile at me which I struggle not to stare at.
"Wait, Lacey... that sounds familiar. Didn't she used to go out with Connor?"
"Yeah, I think so. We met at a coffee shop the other day. I was doing homework for graduate school and she recognized me. We've been together ever since."
"Oh, graduate school! What for?"
"I'm training to be a doctor. A plastic surgeon, actually. I want to be able to help out all those kids in Africa that don't have anyone there that can help their physical deformaties, you know? I got the idea form that speaker we had junior year."
I blinked. A plastic surgeon? Wow. That makes me look pretty bad, doesn't it? "That's so nice! You-"
Lacey's heels clack against the hardwood floor as she walked back into the room. "Simon? Are you coming?" He nodded and she shot me a look before returning back to their room down the hallway.
"I'd better go." He paused and looked at me for a moment. "It's great to see you again, Allison."
"You too." We looked at each other for a minute before I broke away to answer the door again. It was Nikki, pulling a panting Taki behind her.
"Hello!" She grins and rushes to the front door, jumping when she sees me. "I haven't seen you in forever! You remember Taki, right?"
I nodded as Taki brought the bags to the front door. He was a nice guy, as I recall; he worked at the UN from Japan when Nikki was there doing an article for the New York Times about international relations when they met. About a year after that they were married, and Nikki was showing a bit of a baby bump now. "You're right! We haven't even talked since you got the big news! Twins, right?"
Taki smiled and rested a hand on Nikki's stomach. "Yes. Thank you so much for remembering. Our rooms?"
He spoke english well enough, but I could tell he was tired. "Second floor, first door on the right. There's an elevator just off the foyer if you need it." He nodded gratefully and I squeezed his shoulder as he passed.
Nikki smiled and hugged me quickly before wincing. "Okay, I would so stay up and talk, but I'm totally exhaused! You mind if I go sleep?" I shook my head and she rushed upstairs. She still talked like a teenage girl, it was adorable. I took a seat on the comfortable chair facing the front door and resumed the book I had been reading. My night had so far been spent getting up, showing people their rooms, chatting for a few minutes, and reading. It was fairly boring, and I'd tried to call Connor a few times. He handn't answered, which concerned me. I would have thought he'd miss me by now. But hey, it'd only been a few hours. Well, five hours, forty minutes, and twelve seconds.
My phone buzzed on the side table and I rushed to answer it. "Hello?" I called breathlessly.
Mark's voice filled my ear and my heart sank. "Hi, what are you up to?"
I relaxed against the chair and put my book down. "Answering the door for the people on my parent's stupid guest list for the funeral. You?"
"Chilling at your house with you man."
I perked up. "You're with Connor?"
"No, your other man. Of course Connor! He misses you."
"Then why hasn't he called?"
Mark giggled and I heard someone shushing him. "He, um, he dropped his phone in his glass of Coke."
"What?!" I sat up straighter and pressed the phone tightly to my ear. Connor just got his iPhone, he would never be that careless!
"Yep, he did! Or rather, Cameron did. She took it and dropped it in his glass to see if it would float."
I laughed and my eyes filled with tears. "How are they?"
"They're fine, that's why Connor called me on the home phone. He needed some help with Cameron and Seth, but they're doing just fine."
"I feel so bad about leaving them! Have they eaten dinner yet? Are they in bed? Did you read them a bedtime story?"
"No, we left them outside to sleep in the grass and fed them dirt."
I winced at his sarcasm. "Oh, how lovely."
Mark paused and I heard someone talking on the other side of the phone. "Someone wants to talk to you."
I smiled. "Cameron?"
"Nope, sorry, you'll have to settle for Connor." Just hearing his voice made my heart melt and I gripped the phone tighter.
"Connor! Oh, I miss you so much."
"You sound like a teenage girl," he teased, but his voice softened. "I miss you too, though. It's so weird being home and you're not. But it helps to be busy."
I nodded to myself. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've been up and down all night! Only half an hour left, though. Is everyone there yet?"
"Yeah, I think so. We've got some interesting people, though."
"Tell me about it. Your old girlfriend Lacey just got here. Remember her?"
He paused and I checked to make sure the call hadn't dropped. "Yeah, I think so. Blonde? Tall? Selfish and Conceited?"
I laughed loudly. "Yeah, that's her. I'm sure she's excited to see you."
"I'm sure. But not as excited as I am to see you."
"The feeling is mutual, believe me. I can't believe I"m back in this stupid house, and you're not even here with me."
"You're the one that wanted to sleep there." I could hear the hurt in his voice and it made me feel guilty, which of course led me to feel defensive.
"I didn't want to, I had to! You know that!"
"Whatever."
I bit back a retort and bit my lip in frustration. Why were we fighting so much? The doorbell rang again and I got up to get it, angrier still that I'd have to hang up. "Hey, someone's here. I'll talk to you later?"
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you too." I tossed my phone on the chair and forced a smile as I opened the door. It was some old couple that left quickly to their room on the third floor. I checked them off my list and realized I was done. Quickly gathering up my things I rushed to my old bedroom and collapsed onto the familiar sheets, not even bothering to take off my clothes. I felt exhaused, but sleep wouldn't come.
Staring around the dark room, I remembered when my parents had kidnapped Prince Willie so I would call Connor back. It seemed like yesterday, the feeling of anger and helplessness I had felt. I had no control over my life, none whatsover, but they didn't care. It felt like that now, because here I was back in the house i swore never to return to, lying in the bed I had fought to give away, and once again not in control of my life. But this time, I wanted Connor here with me. And yet again, I couldn't have my way.
Years ago, if you had asked me what it would have been like to actually miss Connor, I would have laughed at your joke and never given it a second thought. Now I couldn't stop thinking about him. His smell, his deep brown eyes, his lean, muscled shoulders. I remembered how it felt to run my fingers though his curly hair, to kiss his soft lips and never want to break away...
Stop it! You're going to drive yourself crazy. I silently cursed myself and felt my wet cheeks. I needed to calm down, or I'd end up driving home after one night, which would seem completely stupid and juvenille. What normally calms me down? Well, music of course, but I don't even have a guiar here. But I did have my phone, and I suppose I could sing along.
I played the one song that I had, The Man Who Can't Be Moved by The Script. I sang softly with the words and felt more tears pour down my cheeks and fall onto my pillow at the chorus.
"Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be.
Thinking maybe you'd come back here to the place that we'd meet,
And see me waiting for you on the corner of the street.
So I'm not moving, I'm not moving."
At the end of the song I wiped my eyes and let exhaustion slide over me. It didn't help me feel better, but it did calm me down enough to fall asleep. And even better, it let me fall asleep thinking of Connor.
**
Connor's POV
I rolled onto my side and reached over to her side of the bed, feeling the neatly folded blankets and sighing lightly. It was really weird, not seeing her here next to me. I felt my throat tighten and coughed. No, I wasn't going to cry. That was for girls. It's just one night! I'd be fine.
"Daddy?"
Cameron stood in the doorway of the bedroom and I reached over to turn on a light. "Are you okay, baby?"
"I miss Mommy. When is she coming home?"
I smiled and lifted her up onto the bed. "Tomorrow. We'll see her at church."
"Why are we going to church tomorrow? We just went yesterday."
I put my arm around her and let her lie down. "Because it's Grandma and Grandpa's funeral. We're going to say good bye to them tomorrow. Remember?"
She narrowed her eyes and I smiled wider at her cuteness. She looked just like Allison. "Why are we saying good bye?"
"Because they died, sweetie. We told you this last week, remember? They're in heaven now, with God. You'll see them eventually."
"But why? I want them to be here!"
"That's just how life is." Cameron's eyebrows knitted together but she didn't reply. I lay next to her and she rested her small head against my chest.
"I can't sleep, it's too scary in my room. Can I sleep here since Mommy isn't here?" I nodded and she smiled gratefully, snuggling under the covers. "Will you sing me to sleep like Mommy used to?"
I began to shake my head, but stopped myself. Maybe it would help me relax. "Sure. What song?"
"I don't care."
A song popped into my head and I began to sing before I realized what I was doing. When I reached the chorus, I realized it was The Man Who Can't Be Moved" by The Script. One of Allie's favorite songs.
"Cause if one day you wake up and find that you're missing me,
And your heart starts to wonder where on this earth I could be.
Thinking maybe you'd come back here to the place that we'd meet,
And see me waiting for you on the corner of the street.
So I'm not moving, I'm not moving."
I stopped and glanced over at Cameron. She was asleep, her mouth hanging open slightly and one arm flung across her chest. I reached over to turn the lamp off and wrapped my arms around her small shoulders, letting her fall asleep in my arms. If I couldn't have in my arms, at least I could have Cameron.
*****
Hi, my lovely fans! How are you?! I'm already tired of school, but aren't you proud of how diligently I"ve been updating!? haha, okay, so I have a mission for you: Most people like to make covers and things like that, so if you want to make a banner or something, then I'd be happy to put my favorite on the next update! It'd be awesome!!! I also would love a new cover for "An Arranged Pregnancy with a Jerk" if you have spare time!!!! OKay, so, for everyone else ,the comment question is: Would you like to see a chapter at least partially in Mark's POV?! Leave me a comment!!! I'll dedicate it to my favorite banner-maker, though:) THANKS!
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<3 SnazzyReader