| Subject: Chapter 193 - Part 2 (end of chapter 193) |
Author:
KatherineG.
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Date Posted: Thursday, July 07, 07:09:37am
In reply to:
KatherineGilbert
's message, "Dreams in the Dark - Chapter 193 and onwards" on Thursday, July 07, 07:06:24am
Her look had drifted now, as her thoughts moved on, as pleased as she was by his acceptance of her truths; even if the smile remained, there was a little fear in her eyes. Michael saw it, his hand rubbing over her shoulder, wondering what it stemmed from. "Still, . . ." Her sigh preceded her words. "I do wish I had given you some pleasure that night as well."
"Elena," he murmured, but she only shook her head, asking him not to go on. Although she rarely faced it, the fear that his regret was based on her inability to please him had lingered for some time; it was hard to overcome, even now. Perhaps she could please her husband, but she had often wondered whether she weren't better off not being with anyone else. There was obviously some failing in her that she was unlikely to ever overcome.
Adam's father could see this fear, hated to see her sorrow--especially as unfounded as it was; he turned her toward him, finally winning her eyes, making his heart sigh. She looked so like a little girl just now, paining him--his smile toward her tender. "There's nothing to regret." She started to look away from him, making him catch her chin, leading her back to his, slightly ironic, gaze. "I've always been afraid that I used you, that I took the joy you gave me and left you with nothing but pain." He had let her go, his look drifting, head shaking. "I was afraid I didn't share my pleasure with you."
Oh! She could see his honesty--had always known him as a man who didn't lie--and she saw nothing to be gained in him starting now. It took her a second, but she let out a small laugh, eyes wandering the floor. It seemed that both of them had been quite silly.
She let their past go in the next few seconds, knew that they had each resolved many fears today; her thoughts shifted, then, look pressing into him. "You really love her, don't you?"
This change of topic caught him off-guard, his focus immediate, wide. "Nikita?" he asked, although there was no need for it. Whatever his tenderness toward Elena, his wife was the only woman in his heart.
She just smiled, having already seen the answer in his eyes, a little amazed; her gaze was on her husband's painting, her nod slightly distant. "She's a special woman." Anyone who wasn't couldn't possibly have changed this man as much as this.
"Yes" was his only response, the only one he could give--his adoration of his wife only growing as he thought of her once more, knowing Elena's theories. He *had* changed over the years, was a much different man than the woman beside him had known, but all the positive alterations were his beloved's work alone. It was because of her that he could feel as deeply as he did now, was because of her that he had any true desire for life. Simone, certainly, had kept him afloat, had saved him from the bottomless sea of his regrets, but only Nikita had truly given him a reason for continuing. Because of her, the ocean of his troubles he had once been drowning in had become only a distant sort of roar in his ears; his smile went deep, his resolve restored. And, once they were past the trial of fire to come, he was certain he would no longer hear it at all.
Elena saw this, or what she could of it--certainly understood that there was an immensely different man beside her; her look went deeper, evaluating. There was a . . . passion to him now that she had never quite known before, one she had seen hints of in the pair's films but never in her past with the actor. True, there had always been a sensuality about him, an almost animal sense of need which made most women, and quite a few men, have to catch their breaths. But it was different now, went deeper--was far more focused. Had a hundred gorgeous, desirable women danced naked before him, pleading for his attention, he would have only looked them over in a search for Nikita--his gaze intently devouring the woman had she been wearing potato sacks up to her eyes; she had to hold back her smile. It was as though the animal in him had found its mate--and woe be to any person who believed she could come between the pair for a second.
It was difficult not to laugh at these truths, her pleasure quite deep. She had always wanted the best for him, had hoped that he could find true love. Still, even with Rene's letters about the ill-fated Simone, she hadn't quite believed that moment would come; her smile grew. But now, at last, it had. Nikita was the woman he had been looking for, all along.
She was pleased by this fact, something in her settling, always hoping for Michael's well-being. Besides, from her brief time with the woman, she had come to like her. Nikita was clearly sensitive, intelligent, and very beautiful--and Michael, even in his despair, had trouble not looking at her as though he wanted to devour her on the spot; it was hard not to love. While Chuck was devoted to his wife--could be jealous, possessive, and downright silly in his masculine quest to protect her--Michael appeared to be a man possessed; it was so hard not to laugh. It was clearly the match he had been looking for, from the start.
All of these thoughts comforted her, the day having resolved many old issues--but one new, and rather unfortunate one, had arisen; her pleased look dissolved. She wasn't quite certain why she had missed her son's growing infatuation with the actress, but it could certainly prove difficult now that he had met her. It just wasn't healthy to have father and son besotted with the very same woman.
It was this idea which disturbed her--far more than it probably should, she knew. After all, the pair would be gone soon, probably wouldn't see them again. Adam could go back to dreaming from a distance, never the wiser of his true origins, never in danger of being rejected. Yes, everything soon would go back to normal. Or that was how it certainly *should* have been.
The day didn't cooperate with the worried mother, though. While Michael tried to discuss the money Adam would need for his schooling, two of her children broke into the room, the younger one happily shouting about going to the radio show he and Nikita were soon to appear on. Her heart froze--but it didn't make what she was about to hear any better at all.
It took a second to gain the whole story, from a far-more-dour-than-usual Adam; she wasn't certain what had happened to him. Apparently, her youngest daughter had gotten the opportunity she had heard about on the radio, the station giving away tickets to the big July 4th show. Rachel had been the one to answer the phone several days ago, had, with Adam's unwitting help, correctly answered 5 questions about the American Revolution, winning her family 5 tickets to the show; Elena's heart sank, her head shaking, as she remembered the child going on about the "surprise" she had set for all of them tonight. The mother had expected it to be another of her little plays for the family, using a bedsheet as a stage curtain; she nearly closed her eyes. Never in a thousand years would she have expected this.
This news did little to soothe the woman--or her guests, whose minds had gone on to far more terrifying, potential results of this evening. Were Madeline to learn about their recent connections with this family, were she to understand that the pair could be hurt through them, only disaster could follow. But their was no way out. Whatever the results, they would all have to face them now.
Nikita had joined the others in the back room by this point, was caught in a fearful gaze with her partner--but neither of them could see any escape. The child was beside herself with delight, had apparently already conspired with a neighbor to look after her two-year-old brother for the night, allowing the remaining family their night out. Perhaps they would be lucky and not be seen with them before or after the show--but fortune didn't seem to be on their side lately; the pair's breath held, fearing the worst. Still, all they could really do was get through the event and pray that Madeline and her lackeys knew nothing of it. That was the only hope they had left at the moment.
[End of Part 193]
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