Sunday, April 11, 2010

Part 16-A Trail of Roses

<---Texas Part 2 and Diamonds

Joe smiled. "So what do you want to do for Valentine's Day?" He asked. 

"Oh. I don't know. As long as we do it together."

"Hum." He seemed to be pondering something. "How about dinner and a movie?"

I smiled and grabbed his hand, "That sounds great.
-----
Valentine's Day. I had a date, after classes of course. Two to be exact.

It wasn't going to be that bad though. My first class was English with Mrs. Ryane, one of the best teachers ever. After that was Art Appreciation with Mr. Black, and frankly that class was pretty fun. So this was a day I was looking forward to.

Mrs. Ryane was taking roll and I was causally chatting with the girl next to me.

"Tristan?" Mrs. Ryane called.

"Here." I said a turned back to my conversation. 

"Can you see me after class?"

Everyone looked at me. "Ya." I said, now extremely nervous.

Class went well and it was fun, but in the back of my mind I wondered what I did wrong. After class I hung back and waited for everyone else to be out the door before I went up to Mrs. Ryane's desk.

She looked up at me and smiled. "You're not in trouble, dear." She said as she opened a drawer to her left. "I just wanted to tell you that a nice young man stopped by and asked if I could give you…" She reached into the drawer and pulled something out. "This."

It was a single long-stem red rose. A red black ribbon tied a note to the stem. I was choked up a bit. There was no mistaking who that 'nice young man' was.

My hand shook a bit as I took it from her. "Thank you." I stuttered.

"He seems really sweet. Happy Valentine's Day." Mrs. Ryane said, telling me it was ok if I left now.
I couldn't take my eyes off the rose as I walked from the room. The note read "For all the Smiles…" It was initialed J.J. at the bottom.

What a gorgeous and romantic gesture. I couldn't help but think witch of his brothers helped him plan it. As I walked to my next class I slowly spun the stem in my fingers. The whole way I was playing different scenarios in my head about thanking Joe.

I sat down in class and set the rose across the top of my desk. The girl to my right was watching me. "That's pretty. Who gave it to you?"

"My boyfriend." Wow. Joe Jonas. My boyfriend. How strange.

"What's his name?" She asked in a normal tone, but to me it was dripping with disaster.

I tried to think fast but nothing was coming. Finally I blurted out "James." A lie.

"Oh. He must be sweet. My boyfriend doesn't send me flowers."

She believed me. "Ya. He is really sweet to me."

Mr. Black walked it and sat some things on his desk. He went to gather some things from the back of the room and as he passed my desk he stopped for a second. "Can you hang back after class for a minute?"

Again? "Yeah. Yeah I can."

Great. What was it this time? Was it for the same thing? I doubted that. So what had I done wrong? Had Mr. Black graded our papers? Had I failed?

Through class I was going to be thinking about it again. Or so I thought. Class started, and it was amazingly interesting. There was no room in my brain to think about what was after class and when we were released I had almost forgot I had to stay behind.

I stepped up to Mr. Black's desk as the last students trickled out. Sighing I smiled, "You wanted to see me Mr. Black?"

He looked up from his paper and over his glasses. He smiled at me. "You know you have a very romantic young man in your life…"

What? Really? Joe again? I bit my bottom lip and smiled. "Thank you?"

He laughed and started to pull something from under his desk. He looked around and then in hushed tones said "Mr. Jonas asked me to give you this." He started to bring something up on to the desk, but shock must have shown on my face because he froze. "My dear, what's wrong?"

"You… I mean….. Did he tell you who he was?" This wasn't good. The flying felling I had been having in light of the romantic turn of events quickly turned to a falling panic.

"No. I have two teenage daughters." He chuckled to himself.

"Mr. Black…."

He cut me off. "Don't worry. I understand you guys want to keep this more of a secret. That he did tell me. I won't tell anyone. On my honor."

I sighed in relief. I knew that he would keep his word. My smile was back. "Thank you." I said yet again.

He brought up the object he had been holding right out of my sights. Another rose. As I always told Katie, I felt all mushy inside.

I took it from Mr. Black and slowly flipped open the card that was tied to this one. "For all the laughs…" I had a big smile on my face as I left them room, thanking Mr. Black again.

Absent mindedly I walked to the information center to pick up some of my work. Then I headed back to my car. It wasn't a really long walk but my mind was traveling a hundred miles an hour, yet still it was clouded.

I opened the door to my car and froze. On the driver's seat, another rose. Now how did he do that? I didn't really care. Quickly I sat and read the new note, "For every kiss…"

The notes had gotten more sentimental. But I really liked it. What more did he have in store for me?

I had a hair appointment in town and I barely made it. My hair-dresser was a sweet guy named Lyle. I had gone to him since I was in the sixth grade. He felt like extended family.

Walking into the shop I smiled as Lyle looked at me through the mirror. He was cutting the hair of an older lady. "Happy Valentine's Day!" He smirked.

"Same to you!"

"Have a seat. I'll be done in a sec."

Slowly I sat on a big bench that was pushed against one wall. As I did this I picked up a stack of old magazines. I scanned the pages, read the gossip, and laughed at how I now knew that the majority of stories were just truths blown way out of proportion. But it was still interesting.

I had decided to be brave. I was getting a haircut. Not just a trim, a cut. A style. I picked one out of a big style book and stared at it nervously, trying to picture my face in the place of the models.

Lyle said goodbye to his other client and walked over to where I sat. "So what are we doing today?"

About an hour and a half later I walked out to my car. I flipped my hair and ran my hands through it. Then I leaned over and looked at the back window. Smiling back at me was my reflection. My hair was just so different, but in a good way. We had thinned it, added layers, and added some bangs. I really liked it.

As I drove home I kept twisting pieces of hair through my fingers. Right as I turned on to my street the roses in the seat next to me caught my eye. I had to wonder what was waiting at home. Opening the door the house I smiled as Katie walked into the living room at the same time I did.

She had on the powder blue dress and white over coat we had bought her. Spinning around she laughed a bit as her dressed puffed out a bit and then she came to a stop in the middle of the room. As she looked at me her eyes got really round.

"Your hair!" She rushed forward and brought her hands up to my hair.

I smiled and laughed as she pushed some of it around.

"It's… and you… Bangs!" she smiled at me. "It's so cute."

"Thanks. And you look great!"

Her brow furrowed and she placed a hand on her hip. "I can't get the hair right. And I don't know how I should go about doing the makeup."

"I'll help." We both laughed a bit.

"Oh!" she seemed to be remembering something. "I have something to show you." A mischievous smile spread across her face.

"Oh no. What?"

Katie walked around behind me and covered my eyes with her hands.

"Where are we…"

"Shh! Just walk forward."

Slowly she guided me to my room and led me inside. I had my eyes closed tight and a smile on my face. "Katie…" I said impatiently.

"Ok. Open!"

I opened my eyes to see my room just as normal. Furrowing my brow I looked at Katie. "Well, to be honest, I though you to would have made my room look like a cupid doll attacked it."

Katie laughed. "Well, we were going to. But… we talked about it and though it was a bit much… Instead we got you this." She side stepped to reveal a black dress hanging if front of my closet.

It was amazing. "Oh! Wow!" I walked up to it.

Katie stepped out the door, "Try it on." She closed the door behind her.

Quickly I slipped the dress on. Katie had done a great job because it fit great and was really cute. It was tight around my chest, pleated, then belled out. I swayed back and forth a few times before calling Katie back in. As she opened the door and I turned to look at her something on the bed caught my eye.

Another rose.

"It fits!" She chimed happily.

I picked up a rose that lay on top of a letter. The note tied to the stem red "For all the little moments…" 

Katie walked up behind me and hugged me. I turned and hugged her back.

"I owe you so much. I wanted to do something for you for once." She touched my hair. "The letter just tells you when the driver will pick you up…"

I held her back. "The WHO?!"

Katie smiled, apparently still knowing more about the evening ahead than I did. "Well I couldn't drive you. I have plans to. And Joe will be busy getting ready…"

"Isn't it a bit risky having a driver pick me up here?"

"Not here. You'll meet them later. But right now we should be getting ready…"

I smiled. "I have the perfect plan for your hair."

We spent the next hour and a half laughing and getting ready. I got Katie's hair done first then her makeup. Then my makeup.

Katie was now running around get everything she would need. She even got my stuff together for me. I laughed as she finally stopped running and sat down in an arm chair.

The door bell rang and I went to get it. Robert stood on the step with what looked like a dozen roses in his hand. "You look nice Tristan." He smiled at me.

"Thank you." I smiled back. Spur of the moment I reached up with one arm and gave him a quick hug. "Happy Valentine's day. I hope you have a good time. Ring the bell again and I'll send her to the door." I winked and playfully shut the door on him.

I walked back into the living room. "It's for you." I told Katie just as the bell rang again. I gave Katie a big hug as she got up to leave. "Have a good time, Ok?" I squeezed her a bit tighter, "And thank you."

Robert hadn't shown up to much before I had to leave so it wasn't long till I was on my way to my rendezvous point. Once there I was surprised to see a black SUV waiting for me. I got in the back seat. It was a longer ride than I was expecting.

We were pretty far up into the mountains when we stopped. Dusk was just gracing the land around us. I hadn't seen a house for miles but we stopped in front of a huge scenic looking cabin. The driver dropped me off out front and left me.

I had to stand there staring for a few minutes. A hill sloped down to the cabin and the ground leveled out somewhere behind it. From this angle I could see that the front door, even though it was at ground level in the front of the house, was actually on the second story. It seemed like it had been pulled from the pages of a fairy-tale.

Slowly I walked down the cobble-stone path to the front door. It was open and I let myself in. There were some rooms off to both sides but the level was mostly a living room. The back wall was lined with large windows and had a veranda doors in the center that led to a red wood balcony. Out the window I could see that the sun had set and it was getting dark quickly and the lighting was turning the grayish color that it does as the dusk falls.

From the letter I got I knew I needed to go down stairs. The stair case was to my right. The railing was a dark wood like the rest of the house. I walked down and had to gasp. This floor was almost the same as the one above it only there were no other rooms. It was entirely a living room. One wall was a kitchen and a dining room table out from that. But that was a minor detail and did not attract my attention.

All the furniture had been pushed against the walls, leaving the entire floor free. Candles flickered from random places all around. Some sat on the arms of the couch and chairs and some just sat flickering on the floor.

The back wall was completely windows. The veranda doors on this level were left open. They led out to a large porch that over looked the forest and a glittering lake. I walked out onto the porch. The railing all around had candles sitting on it. A large section of the edge was stairs that led down onto a large grassy area. Trees surrounded the area.

A large blanket and a basket lay directly out from the steps. They were a good distance from the deck. On the railing next to the stairs lay a rose. I walked over and picked it up. The note on this one was red "For all the ways you love me…"

I heard someone moving behind me as I twirled the stem in my fingers. Slowly I turned to face Joe standing in the door. Behind his glasses his eyes grew wide and he smiled. We both slowly walked towards each other and met in about the middle of the porch. In a leisurely movement Joe stretched his arms out and wrapped them around me, pulling me in close to him. He pressed his lips to my forehead and sighed.

"You look amazing." He whispered to me.

"Thanks." I said shyly. "You too."

He was wearing white button up shirt, tie, jeans, and a nice dress jacket. The sleeves on his jacket were rolled to just above his elbows.

Slowly we rocked back and forth, as if we were dancing. Then Joe pulled away and held me at arm's length. I looked into his eyes and sighed. It had been a long time since I had seen him, let alone really look at him. 

He brought one hand up to my hair and brushed my bangs.

"I like it." He smiled at me. Then he looked me up and down. "Thank you Katie." He mocked.

 I slapped his arm. "Joe!" I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my back to him.

"Kidding…" He laughed and wrapped his arms around my shoulders. "Kidding." He kissed the side of my head in apology.

I sighed. "I know."

"I missed you." He told me.

I turned back to Joe and brought my hand to the side of his face. "Joe." I smiled at him and brushed my thumb over his cheek bone under the edge of his glasses. "I missed you too."

Light, weather it came from the candles or the moon that now shown bright overhead I didn't know, danced in his eyes. "Come here. I have something for you." He took my hand and led me down to the blanket. He crossed his legs and sat down Indian style on one side of the blanket. "Sit." He invited.

Kicking off my shoes I took my time sitting down, working to keep myself covered with my dress. Once I was sitting I looked across at Joe. A smile danced on my lips. "So, what is all of this?"

"Dinner." He smiled at me as he started to pull things from the basket. "I cooked it for you…"

"Oh no." I let my shoulders fall and acted disappointed. "Are you sure it's fit to eat?"

He handed me a plate. "Ha ha. Very funny."

"Joking." I told him as I looked down and traced the edged of the china with my fingers.

Unknown to me Joe had pulled out his Polaroid camera. I had a small smile on my face as I looked up. To my surprise a bright flash lit up around me.

"AH! Joe!" I hid behind my plate, a bit too late.

He laughed as he shook the picture. "You're so cute."

"You could have told me…"

"But then it wouldn't be so… real." He said happily.

I leaned over and snatched the camera from him. "Give me that." I scooted over closer to him and leaned in next to him. Stretching my arm out I held the camera pointed back at us. "Smile."

Dinner was actually really good. Katie had told him how to make one of my favorite dishes and he had done well. As normal when we were together, we laughed a lot. I loved that Joe was wearing his glasses. It was such a personal part of him and it just felt more private, special.

We talked as we ate and the night air settled around us. I shivered a few times and Joe took off his jacket and draped it around my shoulders. He rolled down the sleeves of his shirt to make up for the loss of the layer.

After we finished eating we put our plates back into the basket and moved it off the blanket. Stretching out, we lay next to each other looking up at the stars. Joe had one arm around over my head. I rested my head on his shoulder smiling up at the sky.

Even though we talked often we still found a lot to talk about. And even when we fell into moments of silence, it was amazing. I was content to lie there in is arms. As we both watched the stars, neither of us notices as they disappeared and clouds filled the sky.

Lighting flashed through the sky and a clap of thunder rolled through the air. I sat up strait. "What?" I turned my face to the sky as a few drops of rain fell onto it. "AH!" I jumped up laughing. Joe followed suit.

The rain started to poor down as we gathered the stuff around us. We danced back up to the porch, laughing and spinning as the rain fell against our skin.

Once back on the porch I looked down over myself. "I'm all… wet."

Joe laughed. He was watching me with a gentle expression. "And very beautiful." He said.

I spun around once then shook my head, making water fly. Joe and I both laughed.

We sat down on the porch and watched the rain on the lake below us. I had my head rested on Joe's shoulder and he rested his head on mine.

After a while we fell silent. We sat like that for a few moments, then Joe took one of my hands. "I love you. You know that, right?"

I raised my head and looked at him. "Of course I do. And I love you too. Why?"

He reached up and brushed some wet hair from my face. "Sometime… when I'm gone for a long time… I just need to know that you know I love you. I can't always tell you or show you that as often as I would like to."

"Joe." I smiled and kissed the hand he had on my face. "You find ways to show me you love me that you may not realize. I hear it every time we talk. I see it in your eyes every time I see you. I can feel it when you touch me." I raised our hands in the air and pushed our palms together. "My only wish is that you know in the same way how I feel about you."

He smiled at me. "I do know." He took my face in both hands then kissed my forehead. "I know."

I smiled up at him. "It is nice to hear it every once in a while though."

He laughed.

We sat there for a while, talking and just being together. I said something about dancing and Joe looked up and smiled.

He propped himself on his elbow. "May I have this dance?"

I turned my head raised my eyebrow at him. "What dance?"

He smiled and took my hand. We got up and he led me back into the house. "Joe what are you doing?"

He didn't answer me but picked up a small remote and hit a button. Somewhere a radio clicked on. The song was slow. Joe pulled me to him and we started to sway.

"Can I show you something?" He whispered in my ear.

"Sure…"

Joe pulled back a bit. He placed one hand on the small of my back. He reached up with his other hand and took one of mine.

"I rented this movie…" He explained as he started to step, leading me in a ballroom dance. "And it taught me basic steps."

He spun me and pulled me back to him. "I thought it was something we might like to do some time." 

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