Unsaid words

Weeks passed fast and Tommy and Jude's friendship became stronger in every sense. They spent most of their time down the walnut tree, talking about life, music and how they wanted to change the world. Long chats down the fresh shadow of the tree, sometimes fights about the lyrics or the melody for a new song, laughs, and jokes were things they shared every afternoon, with the big tree as their only witness. The new protection from Mr. Harrison just made everything easier. Now Jude could go out every time she wanted and her mother and sister could only watch helplessly as she walked away. Another person who helped them was Mrs. Quincy, who was continually saying to her husband how beautiful, smart, talented and sweet Jude was, even when they were in the Harrison's presence. Sadie and Victoria could only fake a smile and then give deathly stares at Jude, who limited herself to play the piano and smile at Tommy. Life had definitely become pleasant for Jude and it made her think that it would be the same for the special day that was coming. Everybody knew, especially because it was the favorite topic of Tommy in the last few days, that it was the birthday of Judith Harrison. The beautiful lady who played the piano when someone visited the family would be 16 and in a few weeks she would be getting married to James Andrews, one of the most handsome men in the Village. The girl woke up that morning, almost forgetting that it was her birthday.
"Finally, Miss Jude" her friend Kat said in a sweet way "I was afraid that you would not wake up today. The whole family or I must say Mr. Harrison is waiting for you downstairs to give you a birthday hug"
Jude did not move. She just stayed there, thinking for a moment as she looked at the ceiling.
"Oh Lord, you are correct Kat. Today is my birthday!" she jumped off of the bed and embraced her friend.
"Happy birthday, Miss Jude" she said honestly. Jude pulled away and smiled widely.
"Thank you Kat. I really appreciate it. Even if tonight at the party I have to fake that I am having a good time, you know that I would be happier if I could be with you and the rest of my friends"
"We will have time to celebrate later, Miss Jude. Now you must get ready because your father wants to see you!" she exclaimed as she handed her a green dress. Jude looked at it and opened her eyes wide.
Kat cleared her throat as her face went slightly red.
"It is our present, from all the women who work at the house. We made it with our own hands"
Jude sat down and looked at the dress, touching it with special care. It was very simple but it was a present from the people she loved the most and it made it irreplaceable.
"It is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen" Jude said with tears in her eyes "Thank you"
Kat simply nodded as she looked down.
"Miss Jude, Hurry up!" she said in intent to break the uncomfortable moment.
Jude nodded and put the dress on. As soon as she was ready she ran downstairs to greet her father. He was waiting for her at the end of the stairs, a big smile across his face. Jude stopped a moment to see if Sadie or her mother were somewhere near, but there was not sign of any of them.
"Happy Birthday, my beautiful lady" he said with a warm smile. "I cannot believe you are the same baby that refused to eat or the girl who did not wanted to knit"
He took her hand and gave her a tight hug.
"I cannot believe it either. I am a woman now, you can say that"
He shook his head with the same warm smile on his face.
"You will always be my baby, Jude, no matter if you are sixteen or thirty or one hundred years old. And I promise that I will recover the time I lost with you"
"You do not have to recover anything, father. Being with you in this special day is enough for me"
He smiled.
"Then you will love your birthday present"
Her father winked at her and walked towards the dinning room. Jude, who was completely puzzled, followed him.
"This is my birthday present for you" He said smiling at his daughter as he pointed a rectangular box that lay on a corner of the room. Jude examined it for a moment and then walked slowly towards the box.
"But father, you already gave me a present. The piano"
Stuart walked towards her and shook his head.
"That was just a present; this is your real birthday present"
"Wow father, well…thank you" Jude said honestly "But I do not know what it is"
He cleared his throat.
"It is a Victrola. I bought it in my last journal to London" He got close to the estrange artifact "all you have to do is to put that needle over the black thing over there and you will have music"
A smile appeared across Jude's face when she heard the word "Music".
"This is amazing, father" she said in state of shock as she looked at the artifact "Music is one of the things I love the most and this...I am speechless"
"Anything for you, my little princess"
Jude gave her father a kiss and they shared breakfast without her mother trying to control her or her sister insulting her. But Jude could not help but ask where her mother and her sister were.
"Father, have you seen my sister or my mother?" she asked suddenly
"Oh, they went to the dressmaker to pick up your dress for tonight" He said distractedly as he took a sip of his coffee "they are excited about your party tonight"
Jude rolled her eyes.
"Just because it is a party and they love parties, and obviously because Tommy is coming too..." she dropped her cookie and covered her mouth with her hands.
Her father laughed
"Tommy? I thought his name was Thomas" he said innocently, but with a smocking smile on his face. Jude's cheeks went slightly pink as she tried to take the cookie again.
"Yes, Thomas, my mistake" Jude apologized
"No, my mistake. I completely forgot that you and "Tommy" were friends. Really good friends"
Jude choked with the cookie.
"If you do not mind father, I think I will go to my room to get ready for tonight"
"But you have not even eaten yet..."
Jude was totally nervous. She did not want anyone to know about her and Tommy's friendship and that included her father.
"It is not important. Kat will give me something to eat later"
She got up from the table as fast as she could and ran towards her bedroom. She locked the door behind her and sighed in relief.
"That was close" she said in a whisper to herself
"What was close?" a male voice asked. Jude jumped but had to cover her mouth in order not to scream. The handsome man who was sitting on the bed smiled at her and his blue eyes met hers. It was Thomas Quincy, the man of her dreams.
"Oh God, Tommy! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she half screamed taking her hand to her chest.
Tommy got up and walked towards her.
"That is not the exact effect I want to cause in your heart, but I am getting close"
Jude could not help but smile at Tommy's comment. He always had the precise word for her, to make her feel special.
"What are you doing in my bedroom, Tommy?! How did you enter here?"
He winked at her and took her hand.
"It does not matter. Today is your birthday girl! You are sixteen, finally!"
Tommy gave her a tight hug and kissed her cheek. Jude's heart started beating faster and it was hard for her to breath. She pulled away, afraid of the feeling Tommy was causing in her.
"If someone sees you here you will get into trouble!"
He looked into her eyes and shook his head
"I do not care. Jude, today is your birthday and you will spend the day with me. I came for you"
Jude laughed
"And what makes you think that I will agree to spend the day with you?" she said as she placed her hands on her hips.
Tommy shrugged his shoulders and looked away from her.
"I thought that you wanted to see your present, but I see that you do not..." he started to walk towards the window, but Jude walked towards him and grabbed his hand.
"Present? For me? Please, you know I love presents!"
Tommy smiled evilly.
"Then come with me"
Jude was about to respond when suddenly she felt someone knocking the door.
"Miss Jude, are you alright?" Kat asked with concern.
Jude did not what to do. She could trust Kat, but what if her father was near there and heard that Tommy was in her room?. No, she would not take the risk.
"Yes, I am perfectly fine" Jude responded as she smiled at Tommy nervously.
"You have to go to the living room. Mr. James is waiting for you" the maid screamed "Why are you locked up, Miss Jude?"
Jude went silent immediately. She looked at Tommy and then looked at the door as she took a deep breath.
"Kat, tell him I will be there in a minute" she screamed through the door. Tommy looked down but immediately raised his eyes from the floor when Jude took his hand "Are you ready to show me my present?" she asked smiling as she opened the window.
"You will love it, Big eyes"

Minutes later Tommy was leading Jude through the moor, towards their special place. He had put his hands over her eyes so she could not see the present before it was the right time for her to see it.
"Please Tommy, let me see! I promise not to look at the present"
"And you think I will believe you, miss curious? Absolutely no! Besides I will start to think that you do not trust me"
"Of course I trust you, but it is not a nice thing not to see anything all at, Mr. Blue Eyes"
"Just wait a little longer. We are close"
"When you say close, you say I can touch it, or..."
"Sit down" Tommy ordered. Jude stood there, frozen.
"Sorry, I do not understand" Jude said, completely puzzled, her eyes still covered.
"Sit down. Right now"
Without hesitation, Jude sat down in a cold piece of wood. Tommy took his hands away so she could see.
"This is my present, Miss Big Eyes" Tommy said politely as Jude looked around. The ground down the tree was full of parchments with lyrics and notes on them. She looked around in amazement when suddenly realized where she was sitting. It was a beautiful swing. The cords fell down from the upper branch of the walnut tree and they were surrounded by creepers and roses in blossom.
"Happy Birthday Jude" he said in a whisper "here you have got your little paradise. You said you wanted a swing to spend the day down your favorite tree" he explained as he picked one of the parchments up. "And the parchments are songs that I wrote for you"
Jude wanted to say something, but she could not speak. Instead of words, she expressed her feelings with happy tears.
Tommy handed her the parchment and she read in silence, trying to memorize every word
"This is...I do not deserve something like this, someone like you"
"You do, Jude. You deserve this and the whole world just for you. I cannot believe that you will not be here in a few weeks"
He looked down and stayed silent for a few minutes.
"I will talk to Jamie. Maybe we do not have to go to Paris right after the wedding"
"So, do you still want to marry him?"
Jude took a deep breath.
"It is not something I want or not, Tommy. It is...complicated" she started to explain.
"You always use that word when it comes to James" He said with an unusual angry tone.
"Because it is the truth. He is my friend, the man who has been there when I needed it"
"But you do not love him"
Jude looked away from Tommy. they used to have this conversation often, but this time it had gone too far.
"I know that if I try it hard, I will end up loving him" she spotted simply. Tommy opened his eyes wide and looked into her eyes.
"Jude, love is something you cannot control with your head. It comes to you when you less expect it and crashes you like a brave horse. All you can do is give up"
Jude listened to every word as she let her feet draw circles as she swung back and forth.
"And what do I expect to happen if I already gave up? How do I ease my soul if I cannot stop this feeling?" she pressed her hand against her heart and shut her eyes. Tommy knelt in front of her and took her free hand.
"When you realize there is not cure for love, all you have to do is love that person as much as you can. If you are lucky enough and the person loves you back, it can be the most beautiful experience in your life"
Jude looked down, trying hard to hold the tears. Her eyes met Tommy's and it was enough for her to get lost.
"And tell me, Tommy. How do I know if I am in love with someone?" Jude asked in a whisper, aware of the closure of Tommy's face to hers. Tommy took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving hers.
"When you love someone...you feel a punch in your heart every time you see them, when you hear their voice you jump and feel like you need air. And when your face is close to that person's you cannot stop looking into the lover's eyes and all you want to do is kiss those lips you have been claiming" he swallowed hard and closed her face to Jude's "and by every inch you close, you feel that your heart will stop in any minute. And you are afraid that the other person will reject you, so you do not stop looking into their eyes, waiting for any sign of hesitation" He cupped her face and moved it towards his. Now they were inches apart, their noses barely touching. Jude could feel Tommy's hot breath against her lips and it caused her to shiver.
"Then I think I must be in love" Jude whispered. Tommy smiled and got even closer. He placed both hands on each rope of the swing and leaned for the wanted kiss. After weeks of dreaming about that moment, finally Tommy's lips touched Jude's in the sweetest way possible. Jude responded the kiss even if it was the first time she was kissed by someone. Tommy's hand traveled from the ropes to Jude's back as he pulled her towards him. Jude let out a moan when she felt Tommy's hand on her back and kissed him back with passion. Tommy smiled against her lips and without even think about it he said
"I love you in a way I have never loved anyone before"
Jude opened her eyes wide when she heard Tommy. She inmediately pulled away.
"Is there something wrong?" Tommy asked, his hands still over her back. Jude looked at him and then avoided his eyes.
"Tommy this is wrong. this is forbidden"
Tommy stood up and smiled at her.
"This is not wrong Jude. we love each other!"
"But you will be the husband of my sister" Jude exclaimed as she stood up and followed Tommy.
"I will not marry her, Jude. If our parents do not want us to be together, we will run away or..." He took her hands but she pulled away inmediately. even if she wanted to be with Tommy more than anything in the world, she could not forget that Sadie was in the middle of this. Besides she was scared, terrified of her feelings and of the consequences that this could bring.
"I am just a kid...a confused kid. Please, forget what I said" she pleaded as she walked away from him and started to run. Tommy did not have time to react. Before he could do something Jude was totally out of sight.

I will review this later...just wanted you to read it!