Spice of Life – Chapter 5B
Raspberry sherbet……….HUH? What kind of dork am I to be thinking about food
at a time like this? God….maybe Mom is right, all guys my age think about is
food….well, okay many not ALL we think about it. Get it together, Brady, and
stop thinking about food and …you know…sex. I’m sooo glad Belle’s
parents can’t read minds at this moment. Wait…Mrs. Black is a shrink! That’s
kinda like reading minds - - -I’m doomed!!
Covertly peering over Marlena’s shoulder into the mirror on the wall adjacent
to the front door, Shawn tried to see if his face reflected any of the random,
disturbing monologue his mind was having with him as he waited at the bottom of
the stairs for Belle to make her grand entrance into the penthouse living room.
He breathed a shallow sigh of relief assured that none of his thoughts were
apparent to anyone but him. He turned his attention once more to Belle, who,
tonight as she descended the staircase, was going through a metamorphosis -
transitioning from being his best friend of the female persuasion to his
Valentine’s Day date for the Sweetheart’s Ball. He realized as she stepped
down ever closer to him, that this wasn’t the Belle who used to beat him at
marbles - taking away his favorite blue aggie or who played Old Maid with him
hour after hour when he was confined to the house after breaking his foot during
a third grade recess getting a homerun in kickball. No, he wasn’t sure who
this Belle was but Shawn thought she would be just as special as all the other
sides of her were.
Shawn looks so handsome in a tuxedo! What’s he got behind his back? I should
have looked over the railing a little longer until I could see what it was. Of
course, the minute Mom spotted me she had Dad start with the camera. How many
pictures does Dad have to take, anyway? I would have thought he’d have taken a
ton when Mimi and Brady came down the stairs…..unless…..Dad changed roles of
film. It’s only a dance, not the prom…but, it is Shawn’s and my first
official date so I guess they’re entitled to act like…..parents. Only three
more stairs to go and I won’t have to worry about tumbling down them in these
new shoes, thank goodness….at this level, I can fall into Shawn’s arms if I
think I’m about to fall. Oh, that’s original, Belle and not a bit obvious…noooooo.
Shawn looked into Belle’s eyes and smiled and was rewarded in kind.
"Shawn, sweetie, why don’t you go up the stairs and stand next to Belle
so her dad can get a few shots of the two of you together? Wait,….. John have
you got enough film?"
"Doc, spy planes flying over an Iraqi military installation don’t have as
much film as I’ve got in this camera. Yes, I’ve got enough film. I don’t
have to use all thirty-six exposures just because they’re in the camera, do I?
I want to save some so we can photograph the Lockharts and Wesleys when we pick
them up plus take more when we get to the Penthouse Grille."
"I know that, John. I just want to be sure we don’t miss the importance
of this wonderful evening by not having enough pictures of the children.. You
took a whole role of Mimi and Brady earlier….."
"…on whose orders?"
"…and I just want to be sure we get enough shots of Shawn and Belle in
case some of them are blurred."
"Blurred? I don’t take blurred photos."
"Daddy, remember that vacation photo we had on the refrigerator for months
as a contest when people came over to see who could name the most fuzzy faces
correctly?"
John slowly looked up from the setting he was working with on the camera and
gave Belle the look only parents can do that strikes terror in their children no
matter what age.
"I……guess…you do."
"Who won?" Shawn asked before receiving a severe blow in the solar
plexus from Belle’s elbow - who, not so subtly, was telling him to drop the
subject.
"Hmpf….Ouch! What was that for? All I asked was…."
A second blow to Shawn’s midsection followed by a glare from Belle got the
message through and he dropped the subject.
"All right, Shawn, now, why don’t you stand on the stair just above Belle
and put your arms around her from behind."
Shawn did as Marlena, the self-appointed artistic director of the family photo
shoot, had directed for him to do. He climbed the stairs still having the two
items he had brought with him behind his back. Once he was on the suggested
stair he realized he had to put the objects down before he could put his arms
around Belle. Laying them on the stair above he quickly put his arms around
Belle and noticed her perfume in that instant. It was jasmine – his favorite
fragrance he had last remembered her wearing the evening of his parent’s
Christmas Eve wedding.
"Doc, I don’t like that pose."
"Why, John? It worked in reverse with Brady one step lower than Mimi when
you took that pose earlier."
"Well….yeah….but….." John said hesitatingly in a low voice
though with no one talking everyone was looking at him anyway.
"But what?"
"Brady wasn’t getting the same ‘view’ Shawn is…..you know?"
John said in as low a tone as it was possible for him to utter and still be
understood.
Marlena looked at her husband’s face with a perplexed expression and as with
all long-married couples, followed his eyes for further clarification when he
would say nothing more. The revelation was made when she realized Shawn had the
best view in the world of her daughter’s lower-than-usual neckline on the
dress she wore. Shawn, trying to pick up a clue….any clue, to the Black family’s
unique dialect of body language followed the eyes of both Marlena and John until
he leaned over Belle’s left shoulder and realized what before he hadn’t
noticed about Belle’s dress when she was descending the stairs. Suddenly, all
thought of raspberry sherbet left his mind and was replaced with a longing for
vanilla ice cream…….two scoops.
Whoa!! Shawn Douglas Brady get a grip……well, that wasn’t the best choice
of words….thank God, you didn’t say it out loud.
He looked up to find John staring at him with a sense of knowing what went
through all males’ minds under such circumstances and that it magnified in the
protective psyche of a father to a teenage girl. He remembered that conversation
the gang had had the day they went ice skating when Philip swore Dr. Wesley knew
what thoughts were going through his mind when he was with Chloe……NOW, he
understood exactly what that feeling was like as Belle’s father
"willed" him with his glare to step down onto the same stair with
Belle for the photos having never uttered a word.
"I like that pose better, don’t you, Doc?"
"Uhhhh…yes, …….yes, John, you’re right," Marlena said with a
bit of fluster apparent in her voice.
They took several poses including one with Shawn on the lower stair and Belle
behind him with her arms around his neck.
"Oh Sweeties, those are going to be terrific photos if Daddy didn’t move
the camera."
"Doc, ……one time I did that……just one time I did that…."
"…John, we need to get going if we’re planning to pick up Nancy and
Craig before going to Maureen and David’s. Let’s take another role of film
along for the Ball, too. With everyone dressed so elegantly tonight, it’s a
great time to get some new photos for the family albums."
"Are we dropping you off anywhere?" John asked as he pointed at Shawn.
"No, I drove tonight. Mom let me have her car and they took the
other."
"Oh, okay, well then, let’s roll, Doc."
John helped his wife with her coat before getting his own dress topcoat to keep
out the brisk chill of the February evening. Marlena turned before exiting to
the elevator and wistfully smiled once more at her daughter and the boy whom she
had loved since he was a baby. She waved at them while John winked closing the
door behind them.
The room became eerily quiet in their departure before Belle turned and looked
at Shawn.
"You look really handsome in your tuxedo, Shawn."
"Thank you and you dress is beautiful, Belle. I really like the
color."
"Thanks, it’s called raspberry pink."
"Oh!!"
"Oh??? Oh what, Shawn? Why do you find that such a startling fact?"
"Uhhhhh….nothing…it’s just that….it…..well, it did kind of remind
me of raspberry sherbet when I saw it."
"Is that a good reminder?"
"Yeah…..yeah, it is……raspberry’s one of my favorite flavors,"
Shawn said as he looked at Belle in her dress and shyly smiled.
The dress was chiffon and designed in the Grecian style with one shoulder bare…the
other held at the top with a shiny gold clasp. Belle wore earrings, a wide
bracelet and belt all done in matching shiny gold. The material of the dress
gathered at the waist and then gracefully cascaded to the floor in gentle,
swirling yards of material that made her appear to float as she walked. Her hair
was up in a bun surrounded by gold heart pins with pink rhinestones radiating
from the edges of the bun with small curls hugging the nape of her neck and
resting beside each temple. She truly looked like a goddess to Shawn’s eyes.
"Shawn"?"
"Huh?"
"I was just wondering what that was behind your back. I don’t want to pry
but if you want you can put it down on the entryway table."
"Oh….no….no……well, actually……this is for you."
From behind his back Shawn produced a single long stemmed red rose which he held
half the way down the stem. It didn’t escape Belle’s notice that the petals
and leaves of the delicately beautiful flower trembled as Shawn extended it to
her. She breathed in the soft fragrance before looking up and seeing a shine in
Shawn’s eyes as he smiled back at her.
"It’s beautiful, Shawn."
"I got it today at Salem Place. My dad gave me some money to get a dozen of
them for Mom and I know, it’s not much to have just one rose but…."
"…No...no…this rose is so perfect it would put eleven others to shame
if they had to be in the same bouquet."
Shawn smiled even wider.
"I…well, I got you a Valentine gift, too."
"Oh, Shawn! Thank you for reminding me. I have something for you, too. I
left it upstairs. I’ll go get it and pick up my purse at the same time. We
probably should be going soon, too, if we want to get there early and meet up
with the rest of the gang."
"I don’t think Chloe and Philip will be there for a little bit. From what
Phil told me he had a gift to give Chloe and wanted to give it to her before
they went to the Penthouse Grille. The ones holding down the table, I guess,
will be Brady and Mimi until the rest of us get there. Do you want me to hold
the rose while you’re upstairs?"
"No, thank you. I want to enjoy it all evening."
Belle carefully climbed the stairs in her new heels and evening dress. She
hunted through the pile of magazines and papers she had until she found the
Valentine card she had gotten for Shawn and picked up the box with his gift
before she made her way back down the stairs to find him admiring her once
again.
"Happy Valentine’s Day, Shawn", Belle said as she handed him the box
with red paper and a pink bow. "Sorry, I guess the wrapping isn’t exactly
macho but since it’s only the two of us, no one else has to see you with it in
your hands."
"I didn’t know they made bows that pink before," Shawn teased as he
took the box from her hand.
"Pinker even….this was the toned down version."
"Ack! And I thought this one threatened my testosterone balance."
From behind his back Shawn brought forth the little plastic bag Belle had seen
him hold behind his back when she first saw him earlier in the evening. He
removed the small box from the bag with the silver and red paper and the bright
red bow.
"Happy Valentine’s Day, Belle."
He placed the box in her outstretched hand and waited.
"Why don’t you go first opening your present," he said.
"All right." Belle gently placed the red rose on the table and
examined the exterior of the box before starting to slide the ribbon from it.
Her fingers shook slightly as she began to undo the careful taping until she
held a velvet box in her hand. Her smile suddenly faded as she realized whatever
was in the box was different from the sorts of things Shawn had given her on
past Valentine’s Days. She lifted the hinge on the front of the box and gasped
before biting her lower lip.
"You don’t like it?"
"I never expected anything like this, Shawn. It’s lovely."
She removed it from the box and examined it closer. It was a wristwatch with a
heart-shaped dial and a tiny pink rosebud in the center of it. The heart theme
was carried out in the links of the gold wristband.
"Would you help me put it on?"
"Sure….I admit I’ve had a little practice with the clasp at Menningers.
I had trouble taking it out of the box when I first was trying to decide which
one to get you. That clasp is tricky but I don’t think you’ll have to worry
about the watch."
As Shawn talked he undid the clasp and soon had the watch on Belle’s wrist.
She admired the delicate design of the watch and wristband as she moved her
wrist back and forth noticing how the room lights reflected off the shine of the
gold.
"Shawn….I don’t think a ‘thank you’ would really tell you how much
I love the watch. It’s just beautiful and far more than I expected."
She leaned into Shawn and kissed him on the cheek and withdrew her face slightly
before kissing him lightly on the lips. It was impossible to tell who was more
surprised at Belle’s actions. Rather than dwell upon it, each blushed and
turned their attention to the Shawn’s present.
"Oh, God, Shawn…..I wish you wouldn’t open the present." Belle
seemed genuine in her wish.
"Why?"
"Because…..I just….well,…see, I thought that…..you know how we’ve
always given each other something for Valentine’s Day since we were little and
that it’s always sort of…..well, it’s never been anything like what you
gave me tonight."
"What are you really badly trying to tell me, Belle?"
"Don’t expect……a watch or anything remotely like that…." Belle’s
voice trailed off as she looked at Shawn with a sad expression.
"Is it a bomb?"
"No."
"A complete collection of Nsync and Back Street Boys greatest hits?"
"Nooooo…."
"Well, then, how bad can it be?"
Shawn removed the huge neon pink ribbon from the box smiling at Belle the entire
time he did so. She had taped all four sides of the box. It was her way of
making it take longer for him to get to the contents of any present she gave
him.
"I swear, Belle, you have to own a controlling interest in 3M by now with
all the tape you use on your presents….."
"…..you know, maybe we ought to get to the Penthouse Grille after all and
you can open this later?"
"Why? I already told you the only ones who’ll be there this early are
Brady and Mimi. I think Jason wasn’t planning to get there until maybe around
7:45 so it’s not like Brady will have to referee Mimi and him, either…thank
God. It is supposed to be a day devoted to love after all…..which those two
certainly don’t have any of for one another. Brady and Mimi might like some
time by themselves to talk. It’s a bit different from Brady’s point of view
seeing Mimi as his little sister’s friend one minute and a date for a
Valentine’s Ball the next. I’m betting Meem’s a little nervous."
"Why, Shawn…they know each other."
"Because…I don’t know…it’s just different that’s all when you go
on a date rather than just going with a group of friends."
At the conclusion of his conversation, Shawn had managed to remove the tape from
the box. As he lifted the lid a sound came from the interior reminiscent of a
pair of those joke shop mechanical teeth that chatter when wound. He found
himself staring at a pulsing red flocked heart below which in huge white letters
was written – "My heart beats for you!". After twenty seconds the
heart slowed down until it came to a grinding halt. On the right side of the box
was something Shawn carefully removed. He held it up and it revealed to be a
pair of white briefs covered in a design of bright red hearts – the shade of
which was comparable to that of Belle’s face at that instant.
"Well……they’re the right size."
"Oh, Shawn….I’m so sorry…see, I thought we were going to do the usual
goofy gifts we’ve given to one another every year before. I never would have
done this had I known……"
:…it’s okay, Belle. I can always use another pair………..really. I’mmmmm…just
not too sure what sort of reaction I may get in the locker room."
"Give them back, Shawn, and I’ll exchange them for something nicer……really."
"No…no….maybe with a little time they’ll become my favorite pair……………..maybe……..check
that………a lot of time."
"Shawn……I did try to find you a special Valentine."
Shawn neatly folded the romantic-designed underwear to the box and opened the
card Belle handed him.
"You’re the music in my heart,
The rainbow in my sky
And on this Valentine’s Day
You’re my very special guy."
Love, Belle
Shawn stared at the words on the card for more than a minute before he looked up
and stared into Belle’s uncertain face.
"Does it make up for the stupidity of getting you a gag gift?"
Shawn looked back at the card before raising his head a second time. He nodded
slowly as the grin widened on his face.
"Oh, yeah……"
He stepped toward Belle and reciprocated the kiss on the cheek she had bestowed
earlier before his hand cradled the nape of her neck and he gently kissed her
mouth. Neither of them said anything at the kiss’s conclusion.
"We’d better get going. It’s a little after seven. The streets are icy
so it’ll take a little longer getting to the restaurant."
"I’ll get my coat."
Both spoke barely above a whisper as they looked at one another. Belle returned
with her white fur jacket that Shawn helped her slip into. She could feel his
warm breath on her neck as he lifted the shoulders of the jacket over the dress
from behind. She shivered though it had nothing to do with the cold. Shawn
offered his arm to her as they exited the penthouse. When they got to the car,
Shawn held the car door open for her as Belle glided into the front seat. After
closing the car door Shawn walked around the front of the car to open his door.
When he leaned in he was mildly surprised to see Belle had settled into the
center of the front seat. Shawn got in, put on his seatbelt and drove off to the
Sweetheart’s Ball while Belle leaned her head on his shoulder, held the red
rose in one hand and Shawn’s in the other.
to be continued...
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