Chapter 8: ...Happily Ever After...?
Darien and Serena sat by the bar table at Serena's apartment. The wedding was planed, she dress was being made, her parents were in London, and everything was figured out... except the honeymoon. Only one question now remained; where should they go?
"Where do you want to go for our honeymoon, Sere?" Darien brought it up for discussion.
"Where do you want to go?"
"What kind of answer is that?" Darien asked surprised, and a bit annoyed. He recognised that sort of talking: Serena's sardonic ways. He hoped that behaviour would soon disappear after they married. But Darien went on; "I don't know where I want to go...which was probably the reason I asked you first!"
"Well," she answered pensively, pausing a moment, "If neither of us have any strong desire to go to a special place for the honeymoon, why go at all? We can stay here, and you can catch up with some work-"
"Are you crazy?" Darien said impulsively, beginning to be more annoyed at Serena. "I'll tell you why I want to escape for a few weeks: I want to get away from all the troubles. I want to get away from my family, I want to get away from your family, from my friends, your friends...I want to be from everything, ESPECIALLY work. Serena, I just want to be with you."
"But you are going to be with me, isn't it why we're getting married?"
"For God's sake, Serena, why are you always so difficult?"
"Well, I'm not trying to be, but I don't get the point of going to a honeymoon, when we both don't know where to go...but yea, it would be nice to get away in a vacation for a while- what do you say about we go to Cambodia?"
Surprise, surprise... "What?" Darien practically shouted...and then continued with a calmer tone: "What makes you want to go there?"
"It's a cool place; I have read about an ancient culture that developed there, there are ruins of some kind of temple, and things like that. It will be a really cool adventure!"
"I've been hypothesising this for months, but now I've proved it: you're nuts!" Darien declared, standing up and then pacing the living room. "I'm not sure if you're aware of this but Cambodia is a dangerous place...it's of the centres of drug traffic, and there are conflicts all over! No, Serena, if you're planning to go there, I'm not coming with you."
"I thought the couple is supposed to go together to a honeymoon..."
"I thought so too."
"Well then, what do you say about Peru? Also a great place! There are all sorts of things from the Inca time- And then we could take a trip to Mexico and see the Aztec temples-of course we will skip Columbia..." Serena saw Darien's look, he didn't like the plan at all. She put on a pleading look...his face changed.
"All right," he said finally, "we'll go to Peru."
Serena jumped from her chair and went flying onto her fiancé, giving him an ardent kiss. "Oh, I think I love you endlessly!"
"I love you too," he whispered forgetting his dislike of the honeymoon plan. Serena had a way with him, so that when he thought back on the scheme he started to actually like the idea of going to Peru.
It was a slightly rainy day went she entered the chapel with her right foot at the sound of the organ, and there was her Darien prepared to swear in front of God that he'll for eternity be truly hers. She continued to walk confidently up the isle, with her father's arm at her left. She saw her friends sitting on the chapel's benches, Mina and Raye were with tears in their eyes, and Lita was shredding tears already. But who would have thought that Miss Tough Guy would marry so young? She was only twenty-four! The tears that her friends shred were by no means disappointed tears, no, the salty drops originated from happiness for Serena, and the surprise that she hadn't backed out at the last minute. Raye, however, would not be surprised at all if when the priest asked whether Serena would have Darien as a husband she would say no. This was because she still remembered crystal clear was he memory of a day, four years before, when her friend uttered that she would not even think about marriage before she was at least thirty years old. But Serena did not disappoint her friends, when asked the question above; she expressed with a crystalline voice "I do." And the whole business was solved, Darien was hers for the rest of eternity, and she was his. Thereafter the couple occupied themselves with a longstanding, passionate kiss. One that could only be felt by two people for completely fully and wholly loved each other no matter what.
Later, after having blessed themselves with a long emotional kiss, they were welcomed outside by an intense rainbow, and a timid sun. They started down the chapel's stair when it started to rain again...rice rain...Behind them their best maid and man, Amy and Simon, were also being rained on. Soon after the couple held a small party for the closest family and friends; both Serena and Darien objected having a grand wedding. They preferred it to be private, to keep the media from judging it from any negative point of view. The following day the couple was off to Peru.
"Oh, what a wonderful day this was! Don't you think so?" Serena exclaimed stepping out of the shower of their hotel room. They were now in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico. Earlier in the day, they have been on an excursion to an Aztec temple. Serena was having the time of her life; so far, they had been trough loads of adventures. They had been lost in the jungle, climbed the Andes Mountains, slept in a salt hotel, danced La Cucaracha with professional Mexican dancers, fixed a car that broke down in the middle of nowhere, and there was still more to come. Darien, however, did not see their trip in Serena's light; to be precise he was not having the time of his life. All that he had done was taking tiring hikes, pretended to admire old stone buildings, and forcedly he had been polite to the guides, who he just wished would disappear so that he could be alone with his wife.
"...You don't think so," Serena concluded observing Darien's silence at her previous question.
"Honestly," Darien confessed, "I don't think so. This whole trip sucked! You sure have a strange idea of a honeymoon! For Heaven's sake, Serena, all that we have done was walk, look at ugly buildings, and following a guide!"
Serena was pained, on one side because he was neglecting her interests, and on the other hand, she was displeased with herself on the fact that Darien was not enjoying himself. But most of all she was angry, and she could not control it.
"Is that your idea of our trip? Have you any sense of culture? And then you say that we
Americans are ignorant!" she blurt out.
"No, no, it not that-"
"Oh, no, it never that!" Serena pointed out, and continued, "You said that you wanted to go on a honeymoon trip, I didn't! But you didn't care where you wanted to go you never told me that you had any preferences. You left it up to me to decide, so I did, and now you don't agree with my choice? What kind of behaviour is that?"
"I'll tell you what kind of behaviour that is," Darien also raised his voice. "You seem to be more in love with the fckng buildings and the sshl of the guide than with me! I haven't been with you all these two weeks that we have been travelling, and that is because you're either paying attention to the buildings and the guide, or because you're just too tired when we get back to the hotel. Fck you, Serena, is that your idea of being romantic?"
"You've got it all wrong! I think you should have your eyes checked if you can't see me with you! I'm always by your side, wherever we go, always hold your hand. Now I you don't allow me to stop thinking about you for two or three minutes every quarter of an hour to actually listen to the poor guide? That is too much! You are a selfish, spoiled brat, do you know that? I'd be glad it you'd stop being an a!"
With that, Serena walked from the balcony where they had been standing, and plopped into their bed pulling the covers over her. She was angry, she was hurt, and she was repentant. First of all, how could talk about those monuments with millennia of history behind them in such a vulgar way? Second, why was he saying that she didn't want to be with him? And finally, had she made him feel like she was neglecting him?
She let her anger pass away, and started to realize what Darien really wanted, she was starting to understand what he meant with him wanting to be with her. She then understood that Darien, unlike herself, deep down was a pretty romantic guy. Once she understood it, she had an idea, but she wanted to surprise him...
Not long after, Darien was also regretting their argument. He carefully walked to the bed, climbed on it, and slowly crawled over to the other end, where Serena was lying under the white sheets. He uncovered his wife, and gave him a massive hug.
"I'm sorry," he whispered in her ear, "I've been a jerk..."
"So have I," she murmured back. "What do you say about us going out for dinner, and then taking a moonlight walk on the beach?"
"Pardon me?" he said, amazed.
"After all it's our honeymoon, it not an archaeological expedition! Let's postpone tomorrow's tour so we can lie down on the beach the whole day!"
"You're not serious, are you?" said Darien brightening up.
"This is the most serious I've been I my whole life, love."
And so the matter was resolved and looking back over their honeymoon, Darien could only say that it was the best trip he had ever taken. Sure, most of the days were full of walking, and seeing old buildings, but his wife was always with him and some days they just stayed on the beaches to relax and enjoy each other's companies.
"Jeez, Sere, what's up with this food today?" Darien asked jokingly. "It sucks!"
"Well if you really think is sucks, why don't you go and cook your own food, in fact you should hire a cook because is you continue to fck around like you do now, I will eventually be fed up with you and I will pack my bags."
"I was only joking, Serena."
"Well, I wasn't," she answered with a disgusted expression, an expression with was on her face since he sat down to eat.
"What's the mater with you today?" he questioned irked. "Oh no, let me take that back and rephrase it: What's the matter with you always, and especially today? Why they hell are you always so cynically sarcastic? I thought it would go away once we got married, but it didn't, and today it's particularly worse."
"Fck you, Darien!" she blurt out violently standing up, she was vexed. "Who are you to lecture me about my behaviour, when yours is worse? If my ways don't suit you, well fine! I've got my own money, you know, it's not a problem for me to move out! Because, let me tell you this...I am almost twenty five years old, my background is made up, I am not going to change any time soon! Look at yourself first, you disgusting btch!"
"Who the hell-" Darien shouted, stopped himself, and went on in a lower volume, "Why the fck are you calling me such names? What is wrong with my behaviour? I rarely scream at you, I never use the kind of sarcasm that you like to use on people, I don't act like a paranoid, Serena, and I trust you. So why do you act this way toward me?"
"Because I don't trust you! And I was right in never trusting you for longer than three weeks, you man whore!"
"Why?"
"Don't think I don't know what you are doing Darien! Look at the time, it's ten thirty, you only arrived at ten, when you should have been home by six, seven at the most. Oh yes, I know I was just another business dinner with that new client (what's her name- Charlotte!)," she paused to take a breath, as Darien coloured deeply. She went on in a cynically sweet tone: "But you can't fool me, Sweetheart, the perfume that you're wearing now is not yours and it's not mine either. And, Honey, since when do you wear pink lipstick? The marks around your lips cannot be from me since I don't wear lipstick. And there is red hair all over your shirt, Sugar; could it be from...Charlotte? Have you been cheating on me, Darling?"
"Hang on there," Darien said with a steady tone, "I can explain it all."
"I'm sure you can, Baby," Serena answered "sweetly" cocking her head a little, "So lead the way, Honey. What's your story?"
"Ok," he uttered and then paused, recollecting and organizing his tale. "All right, these last few days, I haven't been lying to you, I would never do that. It is true that I was at business dinner with Charlotte, and Granddad was also with me so you can ask him too. Anyway, Granddad usually drives her back to her hotel after dinner. Today, Granddad had a really important business dinner to attend; you know with the BMW director, I told about this one. So, it was up to me to go to dinner with Charlotte today, because Granddad didn't let me handle the BMW director, as much as I begged him to. At the dinner Charlotte, was beginning to act…uh, weird, rather seductively, I would say... and after dinner, I had to drive her back to her place. When I pulled out at her place, she invited me for a glass of wine, and thinking I might just be polite, I accepted it. The wine tasted weird, it was of low quality, I have to say. I don't know what happened after that, but the next I knew I was naked, with Charlotte in her bedroom. I swear to God I haven't done anything in purpose, Serena. You know I would never to such thing..."
"That's it," she shouted going into the bathroom, "I'm not sleeping in your room tonight. And tomorrow I'll already go to file for divorce! Good night to you."
"Serena don't do it, please!"
"I'm not up to spending my life with you cheating on me all the time!" she shouted from the bathroom.
Darien walked over to the bedroom, banged the door, hit his first on the wall, and started to cry. Why did he have to be so unlucky? Or was he just destined not to have Serena? Charlotte would pay for this, he would screw up her whole career, he swore he would.
The next morning Darien woke up early as usual to make break fast. He walked across the apartment, took a shower, and was ready to go into the kitchen. As he entered the living room, he saw Serena sleeping in the sofa. Immediately he remembered the argument of the night before. He tip toed to the kitchen and made breakfast. When he was done, Serena carefully walked into the kitchen with the mourning newspaper and something else. She threw a little envelope that Darien, sat down, and started to read the paper. Darien eagerly opened the envelope; there was a note inside:
"Hey Honey,
How did you like last night? I knew you'd forget all about your little wife just as soon as you tasted my wine. You know it's a special wine...it's funny how a little amount of drug that turn things around,
Love,
Charlotte"
Darien was mad, now that was what she had done: drugged the wine, Bitch. Now he was eager to show Serena the letter.
"Serena," he said putting the note on the table in front of his wife.
"I'm not speaking to you," she answered with her face totally covered by the newspaper.
"Stop pretending to read the fucking paper, and observe the fucking note I got!"
She put the paper aside and took the note. She read it- no reaction. She read it again- "Oh" she said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know...I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Sugar," Darien said scooping his wife up, and then giving a long tender kiss.
"Serena, come on talk to me!" he pleaded, "What have I done wrong now? Just tell me, I'll make it up to you."
"I don't know how you can ever make it up to me, when you cheat on me all the time!"
"I've only cheated on you once, and even that time, it wasn't on purpose!"
"Oh yeah? Do you think I can't tell that you have something going with Beryl? Everyone else can tell, do you think I'm blind? Unlike you I still have perfect vision."
"What do you mean I have something with Beryl? I haven't seen her for ages...since Grandpa's ball, last year actually!"
"Stop lying to me!"
"But I'm not!"
"Yes, you are! I've had five different people come up to me today, asking about you two. Is there something that I have to know?"
"What about it?"
"Stop it, Darien! Stop it!" she said reaching the top stair of their room and then walking in, "Get out of my sight, Darien. Until you tell me what going on, get out of my fucking sight!"
"You should tell me what the hell the matter 'cause I don't have a fucking clue!" he shouted at her.
"Liar!" she yelled at him and threw her pair of high heels at him. One shoe hit Darien on the chest the other he dodged with the door.
After having banged the door, Darien walked downstairs to his study. He locked the door and sat down behind a heavy desk. He buried his head on his arms trying to shake off horrible flashbacks that were haunting him. But all he could see now was his mother. He saw her throw her heels at his dad, and he saw his dad walk to his Library and lock himself there for hours. The scene was played repeatedly in his mind. He was hurting inside, the scar that he had hidden, buried for years had been discovered, and Serena had opened it.
Suddenly the scenes changed. He remembered how one night when his father was locked up in the library, his mother started to pack her bags. He remembered that she made a phone call, and in a quarter of an hour a man badly dressed, and not shaved came to pick her up. He took her bags, and she followed him into the luxurious car. She didn't even say goodbye to his father. Instantaneously, after seeing that special scene flash by, fear gripped him. He feared for his marriage, but there was nothing he could do- he was going to lose her, he faced the facts. He was going to lose the woman of his life, he began to cry. A cry that expressed fear, sadness, and loss.
Serena too, was crying upstairs in her room. She lay in her bed, and cried herself to sleep. She woke up a couple of hours later, and was trying to figure out why she was so angry with Darien. She recalled the whole evening: It was Mr. Chiba's eighty fifth birthday and there was a ball again. Nothing was wrong until a strange blonde woman walks up to her and asks what was going on between Beryl and Darien. That was when she noticed that Darien was not beside her, and that he was chatting to Beryl. She didn't mind that, she only started to mind their chatting when four more people asked her about the same thing. She didn't know what they were talking about and thought that there was something going on. But as she though about it, she could find nothing wrong with their chatting. Yes it was true that they have been together before, but now he was married. He was allowed to have girl friends like she had boy friends. Darien never complained about her having so many male friends.
She sat up and went to the study. She pressed the doorknob but it was locked.
"Darien? Are you there? Open the door..." she shouted. No one answered her.
"Darien? I know you're there! I'm sorry..." No answer still.
"I'm sorry, Honey, let me in!" she tried again, but was as unsuccessful as the first time. At this moment she lost patience and broke the door. She walked in and found Darien crying (still). She carefully walked over to him, knelt beside his chair and gently hugged him. "I'm sorry, Darien. I was so jealous..."
"There is no point, Serena," he said still not looking at her.
"What do you mean?"
"Our marriage won't work; we should end it before we hurt other people than only us two."
"Why are you saying that?"
"I saw my parent's marriage end. It was exactly like this one, I know what is going to happen for the next two years before you leave me. You're going to keep throwing your heels at me, like my mom did. And then one night you're going to disappear, and I'm going to be very sorry."
"That's not true! How can you say something like that? I'm never going to throw shoes at you anymore, I promise," she said softly understanding that he was hurting. Right then, she remembered the story he told her in the hospital. "I'm never going to trade you for a rock star, never! I'm just scared you'll leave me for someone else..."
"You don't trust me."
"But now I do! I do trust you! I promise I'm never going to suspect you, but just don't want to lose you..."
"Why, I'm going to lose you, not vice versa."
"Look, Darien, how are you going to lose me if I'm not planning to leave you...ever? Our marriage isn't like your parent's, trust me. We're different from them; you're forgetting a little detail here that might change the whole picture: I love you."
Darien could not help but to smile through his tears. Serena just knew what to say, even if she sometimes had the ugliest mouth ever. Right now, he had to lift her onto the desk and kiss her, a long passionate kiss. Nope, she was right his marriage wasn't like his parent's, because his parents never said sorry to each other.
"I'm sorry too," he whispered breathlessly to her, and she kissed him once again.
Darien and Serena were on a road trip around England, during the following summer. Darien was thinking in terms of what a nice couple they were, but there was something missing he thought. He soon figured that he wanted a child. He wanted someone that would symbolize their love. He decided to make his thoughts known.
"Sere, what would you say if I said that we should have a kid?"
"What?" she shouted in shock, "You're kidding me!"
"No I'm not!"
"Hey, you are actually serious!" she realized. "I don't want to have kids."
"Why not?"
"Because," she had to pause and think about it, then she went on, "I'm too young!"
"No, you're not! You're twenty-nine!"
"So what if I'm twenty-nine? I don't want any kids. Just because you want some, it doesn't mean that I should obey you. Besides, it will be I who will have to take care of the baby, feed it, and change his dippers. You're just going to be at work all day; you won't have to worry about anything, while I'll have to give up my writing for a year of two. Oh no, I'm not giving up my writing, I'm not having kids! Not for the next three years anyway."
"You don't have to do any of it; I'll just take vacation from work to do it!"
"Oh sure, like I would believe you! Nope, you would go running back to work after the second night the baby wakes you up in the middle of your sleep!"
"No I wouldn't! I would love the baby more than you would."
"How can you say such thing when I will be the person putting it into the world?"
"You don't seem to want it so much," Darien concluded. "But now you're arguing again!"
"Me, arguing? YOU'RE arguing, not me!"
"How am I arguing?"
"You started it!"
"No I didn't!"
"Yes you did, you told me you wanted a baby!"
"But I didn't start arguing!"
"Oh yes you did! You always start arguments!"
"Stop! Time out!" Darien said. "Let's not argue, please!"
"Ok! When do you want it?"
"What?"
"The baby!"
"I thought you said you didn't want a baby!"
"No I didn't!"
"Yes you did!"
"I didn't!"
"Then what did you say?"
"I said I'd think about it, and I've thought about it now," she invented. "I want a baby, but you'll have to share jobs with me."
"Oh, I will, I will," he said kissing his rebel wife.
And that was the last argument the Chiba couple had for a fairly long time. For years, they fought only tiny battles. The baby, Renie, named after Serena, was the symbol of their love, as Darien had wanted her to be. Darien stayed away from work for two years to help Serena to take care of Renie. During these two years, Serena wrote her third book in her trilogy. So far Darien, Serena, and Renie live happily ever after.
The End