Chapter 16- Celebration
Re-Nee sat on the beach, letting the water curl around her toes. She didn't know why she was letting him get to her this way. Never did she let Bray make her feel like a sulking teenager, which is exactly what she felt like right now.
So, Jay didn't want more than a one night stand. Who cared? She did. After what had happened that night, she laid in Jay's arms and dreamt. Again, she saw the little blonde girl who sat her in lap. This time, she was able to recognize the voice. It had been Jay. Never did she dream of having a family with Bray, but after only a few months with Jay, that's all she wanted.
Picking up a seashell, Re-Nee threw it into the oncoming waves. Well, she could act just as cold as him. If he wanted to act as if it didn't happen, then so could she.
Re-Nee heard laughter behind her and turned to see Ebony smirking at her. "What do you want?"
"He's caught you into his trap," Ebony said, crossing her arms.
Re-Nee shook her head and turned back to the ocean. "I don't know what you are talking about." Ebony ignored the dismissal and sat down next to the sulking blonde.
"What did he do? Whisper sweet promises into your ear? Kiss you like there was no tomorrow? I know the look Jay puts on a woman's face. Plus, I saw the way he kept looking at you during breakfast."
Ebony watched as a flicker of hope spread across the girl's face, but was pleased at how quickly Re-Nee hid it. Again, the blonde said that she didn't know what Ebony was talking about.
Ebony shrugged her shoulders. "Don't admit it, but you won't be able to convince anyone in there. They've all fallen for his charm and know when others have too."
Ebony continued to sit while Re-Nee got up. Looking down at her, the blonde said, "I don't want to talk about it. Period." Feeling that Ebony finally got the point, Re-Nee walked away, making sure not to go near the house. She wasn't ready to go back there. Not just yet.
The guys returned by mid-afternoon. All were sweat-soaked, but huge grins were plastered to their faces. Even Jay had left his moping at the beach. Quickly showering, they gathered all the women into the living room. Re-Nee was just entering the door when Ved started to explain why all the guys had huge grins.
"Perfect timing," he called to the blonde. She walked into the living room and asked, "Perfect timing for what?" Picking up Johnny from the couch, she placed him in her lap.
"All the guys came in with huge grins on their faces," Danni explained. "Ved was about to explain why."
"Well Ved?" Re-Nee asked. "What is it?"
"Drum roll please?" he asked dramatically. Everyone groaned "out with it already" and Ved held up his hands. "Okay, okay," he said. "The boat has been rebuilt." Everyone fell silent and looked at the guys suspiciously, Ebony worse of all.
"You're lying," she said in disbelief. She wanted off the island so bad, she could taste it. The truth didn't want to sink in.
"No, we're not," Bray said. "We just nailed the last piece on, just a few minutes ago. Now all that needs to be done is to work on the mechanics part."
"And that's where I step in," Guy said. "I'll start tomorrow."
Everyone reacted different. Mouse and Brady began to dance around the room. "We're going to leave soon. We're going to leave soon," they cried as they twirled in circles. Trudy and Ellie instantly started to talk about what would happen if they actually could get the boat running. Salene felt an instant fear. Tina had yet to talk to her about what they were going to do about Michael. What is going to happen? she asked herself.
Tina looked up at Salene and felt the same fear. Tina knew what she needed to do. Now she just needed to get the courage to talk to Salene. Tina looked over at Michael, who had joined Brady and Mouse's dance. I hope that you know I'll always love you.
Finally, Re-Nee stood up. When Ved spoke those words, shock instantly took over her. She was so unsure what was going to happen next. Raising her fingers to her lips, she let out a whistle that would have stopped any dog. It had the exact same effect on the people around her.
"Well, this is good news," she said. "And it also calls for a party. I suggest we throw a feast three days from now. That way we could gather the stuff we'd need." Everyone voiced their agreement. Leaving everyone to their planning, Re-Nee left the living room and walked up to the bedroom. She had a lot of planning of her own.
Before anyone noticed, two days had passed. Guy was having a tough time trying to figure out what was keeping the boat from running. Not only that, the weather was never on his side. The mornings started out cool enough, but by noon, the heat drove everyone inside. Three times within the past two days, sudden showers poured down, keeping Guy inside longer than he wished.
"I hope this weather will settle," he said to Danni as they sat in their room. Guy laid on the bed while Danni stood at the window. Leaning against the balcony door way, she watched as the latest storm poured down rain.
"But we do need it. With that heat drying up the land, these little storms help some. But then again, too much rain will cause another flood." Danni felt restless. The weather had kept her in the house. Everywhere she went, she bumped into Ebony. Just the sight of her made Danni cringe.
Danni couldn't explain why Ebony affected her so, but whatever it was, it left a nasty after taste in her mouth. Shaking her head, she walked away from the window. After pacing a few minutes, she returned to the window. Guy noticed and walked up behind Danni.
"What is it?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her. Danni leaned back and rested her head against his shoulder. At first, she shook her head, not wanting to tell him what was wrong. After a little pressure, she finally opened up.
"I'm just restless. There are just too many people in this house. Every time I turn around, I bump into someone and it's driving me crazy! I've gotten use to the solitude." She turned around in Guy's arms and looked up at the man she had fallen in love with.
"That's not all though," Guy responded. "No, don't argue, I know you well enough to know that's not all." Danni continued to shake her head. "Well, if you don't want to speak to me about it, then talk to Re-Nee."
"HA!" Danni cried as she pulled away from Guy. "Like she has any time for me. She's either moping or hanging out with Ebony. I don't understand it!" she yelled. In the last two days, Re-Nee had only been seen talking to Ebony. Yes, the conversations had been short and usually Re-Nee marched away glowering, but Danni was still upset that Re-Nee didn't find the need to talk to her. "How can she like her? Ebony's evil and my cousin is becoming best friends with her."
Guy shook his head in disbelief. Danni was so reasonable on most things, but this unwavering hatred for Ebony was childish. "Maybe Ebony has changed. I haven't seen any plotting or planning being done by her. It's time to let that rest in the past."
Danni angrily turned on him. "You've fallen under her spell!" she screamed. "I thought that at least I could count on you to see who she truly is, but I was wrong. She'll make you regret you trusted her." Stalking out of the room, Danni left Guy utterly confused.
Not wanting to try and figure her mind out, Guy left the room to find something to do while waiting for the rain to stop.
Tina finally found Salene down in the kitchen. She knocked lightly on the door frame. Startled, Salene turned around. "Oh!" she sighed as she placed her hand against her chest. When Tina didn't say anything, she asked, "Was there something you wanted to say?"
Tina nodded her head. "I think we need to talk. Why don't we get some privacy? No one should be up on my floor. We could go to my room." Salene nodded her head and the two walked upstairs. While Salene was getting comfortable in one of the chairs in Tina's room, Tina walked over to her closet. She pulled out the box that Luke had placed all of Michael's baby belongings in.
Once she placed it on the bed, Tina sighed. Opening up the box, she pulled out the blanket, never noticing the ring box that fell to the bottom of the larger cardboard box. "Here," she handed it to Salene. "This is what Michael was brought to me in." Tina didn't try to fight the tears that rolled down her face. Salene burst into tears as soon as her fingers touched the piece of cloth.
"I swear," Tina promised, "had I known that you were his mother, I would have found a way to give him back to you. It hurts so much that I've got to say good-bye to him. I… I love him so much. Never did I think I could love someone so much.
"But you were right. You are his mother and he deserves to know. I just don't think he'd understand!" Salene got up and sat next to Tina. Grabbing her hand, Salene said, "Maybe we could work something out. We could ease into this situation. I know how much he loves you. I couldn't take him completely out of your life.
"At one time, Trudy tried to make sure I had no contact with Brady, but I like to think she realized that I could help her raise Brady. Times have changed since the virus first hit, and I know I could use some help."
Tina looked at Salene. "Do you really mean it?" Salene only nodded her head and Tina pulled her into a hug. "So?" Salene asked, "Do you have anything else of Michael's past? I'd really like to see it." Tina laughed and began to rummage through the box. The two spent the next three hours talking about Michael and everything that had happened in his short three years of life.
Re-Nee sat in the playroom with the children. It was the only thing that kept her mind off of Jay. She was still mad as hell at him, but at night, she yearned for him. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, Re-Nee turned back to the book Michael was trying to read to her.
Mouse was sitting in the corner trying to teach Bray Jr. how to play patty-cake. Baby Bray couldn't quite understand the fact that he was suppose to slap Mouse's hand. He giggled as Mouse playfully grew frustrated. "You've got to hit my hand," she teased as she reached out and tickled Bray Jr. His giggles grew louder.
Johnny and Brady sat in the corner that had a small table. Most of the time, it was used for coloring and finger painting. Today though, Johnny and Brady had opted to practice some math problems. "Two can go into eight… four times," Brady said. Johnny nodded his head and turned back to his problem.
Cloe happened to walk by the room and saw Re-Nee hiding. "There you are!" she cried as she came into the room. "You seem to continually disappear on us. Tina wanted to talk to you about something, on top of talking to you about what food to offer for the party."
Cloe sat down next to her friend. Michael moved from Re-Nee's lap to Cloe's lap. He held up the book to show her. She nodded her head and turned back to Re-Nee. "Trudy and Ellie came up to me too. They wanted to know if you had some spare clothing they could use for the party. They wanted to dress up, you know. I said you did, but they'd have to see if you had a problem with them using them."
Cloe continued, not noticing that Re-Nee wasn't paying attention. "Do we want to have it in the living room? I figure we could move the furniture. Plus, the better radio is already down there, so it'll be easier." Finally realizing none of her questions were being answered, Cloe looked at her friend. Re-Nee was staring over at Johnny and Brady.
"Are you even listening to me?" Cloe asked. "Hello?" she teased as she waved her hand in front of Re-Nee's face. Finally, her eyes focused and Re-Nee turned. "Huh? What?"
Cloe laughed and shook her head. "You didn't hear a word I said. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about something?" Re-Nee just shook her head.
"I'm fine," she said, scratching her head. "Now you said something about Tina wanting to talk to me? I guess I'd better go find her. As for the party… I'll leave you in charge of that. Do whatever."
"What about the clothes?" Cloe yelled as Re-Nee left the room. Stopping, Re-Nee poked her head back into the play room. "I don't care. Let them use them." Cloe nodded her head and turned back to Michael. It looked like he had gain another victim in his need to read the book he found.
Re-Nee found Tina in the kitchen with Salene. Both were laughing as they cut up the vegetables that would be used in tonight's dinner. Re-Nee was unsure if she should disturb them. Finally, she cleared her throat. The two girls turned, each with a carrot in their hand. "I hope that I'm not disturbing anything," she said as she walked into the room.
"Not at all," Tina said. "I was just telling Salene about the time Johnny and Michael ran away." Turning back to Salene, Tina said, "They were so mad at us, all because they couldn't have a cookie. Johnny claimed he hated it here and claimed that he was running away. Michael agreed and off they went to pack."
"Didn't you try to stop them?" Salene asked. She tossed the cut up carrot in the boiling pot and grabbed another one.
"I wanted to grab Michael up and never let him leave the house. Re-Nee wouldn't let me." Tina and Salene turned to look at Re-Nee.
"Hey!" she cried as she threw her hands up. "I wanted them to learn a lesson. I told them if they wanted to leave, that was fine, BUT they couldn't expect us to let them take any food or belongings that weren't already on their backs. Since I was the owner of the house, all things inside belong to me, so they had no rights to them."
Salene stood spellbound. "I remember running away once. I stayed gone for a couple of days before I realized that I really didn't know what I was doing. How long were they gone?"
"No where near that. Two hours later, there was a knock on the door. Michael and Johnny had returned. They were sorry for running away and were hungry. They begged us for food and to let them back in the tribe.
"I took Johnny aside later," Re-Nee said, coming to the end of the story, "and told him that it wasn't ok to run away just because he didn't get his way."
"And I told Michael about the whole 'If someone told you to jump off a bridge…' story. I don't think it did much, but then again, he was only two." Salene laughed. Re-Nee waved Tina over and they walked out of Salene's ear-shot.
"So? Everything okay?" Re-Nee asked. Tina only smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."
"We've come to an agreement," Tina said nodding. Re-Nee wrapped her friend into a hug. "I'm glad. If there's anything you still want to talk about…" Re-Nee trailed off.
"I know… I know. I can always talk to you. Now. Leave me alone. I've got to finish dinner," Tina teased as she waved Re-Nee out of the kitchen. Re-Nee laughed. "Ok… ok. You don't have to tell me twice! It smells good by the way."
"It better!" Salene said. "We've been working on it for a while now."
The next night was upon them before they knew it. As the music began to flow and the food spilled out of the kitchen, everyone began to let loose. They forgot their differences as they celebrated the fact that the boat was almost finished and they were one step closer to leaving the island.
Each person took this as an opportunity to get fancied up, especially the girls. Twirling skirts filled the air as they danced their way around the living room. Even Amber had shed her pants and found a beautiful blue skirt that wouldn't show anything that she wasn't ready to explain. The guys looked as handsome as ever. All wore fancier shirts, but their typical pants made them look casual. Everyone was trying new things with their tribal paintings. Some people had gone back to an old look, like Lex with the black lines dripping from his eyes. Others tried something new, like Ellie, who had lavender and pink swirls sprouting from the outside tip of her right eye.
The living room looked like a junior high dance. The guys all stood in a corner, complimenting each other on a job well done. Every once in a while, one would look up and watch the girl of his dreams. The girls were having the time of their lives. They were dancing and joking, relaxing from not having to worry about the kids or life itself.
Re-Nee had volunteered to put the kids to bed. It had been a struggle, since they wanted to join the party. Re-Nee promised to throw them one tomorrow, but tonight was only for the adults. Finally, the kids agreed and fell asleep.
Now, Re-Nee sat in front of her mirror, putting the finishing touches on her outfit. Her blonde hair was a pile of curls atop her head. A few short strands had fallen to frame her face. A red ribbon peaked through, teasing someone to try and pull it out. Her red shirt ended a few inches below her bust and had long flowing sleeves. Her short skirt fit her body perfectly. Each had a matching slash of patchwork, giving the outfit an innocent yet temptress feel. It was something Zandra would be proud of.
Standing up, Re-Nee ran a hand down her skirt. I can do this, she thought. Re-Nee wasn't one to act or dress frivolously. That was something Cloe did. Instead, Re-Nee was practical and sensible. She dressed ready to work, be it watching the kids or dragging in firewood. Today was different. Today, she felt the need to do something unusual.
Entering the living room, she felt like she had made a big mistake. Everyone stopped to see her enter. Of course, she thought, the music has to stop as soon as I enter. Taking a deep breath, she said, "This is a party! Why isn't anyone dancing?" Walking over to the boys, she grabbed Luke's hand.
This changed the mood. Suddenly, the guys walked over to the girls and grabbed someone's hand. Cloe suddenly had an evil thought. "Ved?" she asked, getting his attention. She loved being in his arms, but she felt the need to act on the plan that had just formed.
"What's up?" he asked, looking at her. He couldn't get over the fact that every time he looked at his wife, he got butterflies. Big, tough, Techno Ved was nothing but a baby anytime this Mallrat virt came anywhere close to him.
"I want you to dance with Trudy." Ved stopped twirling Cloe around the dance floor. A confused look was plastered onto his face. "Look," she said, pointing, "Trudy is completely ignoring Lex, trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Lex, on the other hand, is trying to find a way to get her to dance. Now, here's my plan…" Cloe said, pulling Ved close to whisper in his ear. By the end, Ved had a huge smile on his face. That's my little plotter, he thought.
Untangling himself, he made his way towards Trudy. She was sitting with Salene, keeping a close eye on Lex. So lost in her own world, she never saw or heard Ved approach. Salene, on the other hand, did. "Hey Ved! What's up?" When Salene spoke, Trudy turned her eyes towards Ved.
"Well," he said, "Trudy's the only one who hasn't danced tonight. I'm here to whisk her away." Ved offered his hand to Trudy. "Well?" he asked.
"That's not necessary," she said, throwing her hands up to ward him off. She realized her mistake when Ved grabbed them. "Sure it is," he said, pulling her to her feet. "Plus, I know you've been dying to grill me over how I treat Cloe. Now's the perfect time."
Trudy knew she wouldn't win the fight with him, so she conceded. Following him out to the dance floor, she had the overwhelming need to kill Salene, who yelled "Have fun out there!"
Cloe was busy putting her own part of her plan into action. Lex was busy twirling Tina around the dance floor, so she walked right up to them. Tapping Tina on the shoulder, she said, "It's my turn." Tina bowed out and Lex took Cloe into his arms.
"You've certainly grown into a… umh umh," he ended, clearing his throat. "Into a young lady. Where's lover boy?" Cloe turned them so Lex would see Trudy dancing with Ved. "Oh! I just didn't understand why Trudy wasn't dancing, so Ved asked her." Inwardly, Cloe laughed at the look Lex was sending them.
"What's the matter Lex? You look ready to kill Ved and I really rather you didn't." Time for the kill, she thought. "There isn't anything going on between Trudy and you, is there? I thought you couldn't stand her." Cloe innocently fluttered her eyelids.
Lex rushed to say something, like usual. "There's nothing going on between us. Me fancy her? You've lost your mind." Lex quieted down as he continued to twirl Cloe around. He didn't realize that the entire time he had been moving closer and closer to Ved and Trudy.
When they were finally within inches of the other couple, Ved said, "Now it's my turn to dance with my wife. Here," he said, pushing Trudy towards Lex. "Keep her dancing." Trudy threw her arms up to brace herself. She had the sinking feeling that the only reason Ved had danced with her was so he could pass her off to Lex. Her thoughts were confirmed when Ved and Cloe shared a knowing smirk.
Turning back to her capturer, she said, "You can let me go now. I won't fall or anything." Trudy was shocked, although she should have expected it, when Lex slowly shook his head. He wouldn't do anything in front of all these people, would he?
"You heard Ved," Lex said, "I've got to keep you dancing." By now, the music had turned to a slow dance. Lex slowly took the opportunity to pull Trudy closer. He felt her body shiver under the palms of his hands. Nervousness or something else? he asked himself.
Trudy couldn't believe that Lex had such an effect on her. Her mind screamed for her to hit him until he released her, but her body automatically moved further into his arms. She didn't object as his hand began to caress the bare skin at the small of her back.
On the other side of the room, Re-Nee was trying to do her own avoiding. She had danced with Luke and Guy and now was trying to hide. She had done pretty well until she had gotten hungry. Like everyone else, she hadn't eaten lunch or dinner because she knew the food at the party would be delicious. Thinking she was safe, she walked over to the table to grab something to eat. As she picked up a couple of grapes, the person she had been avoiding found her.
"We need to talk," he said, bending to whisper into her ear. Re-Nee couldn't believe that the mere sound of his voice could set her insides on fire. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face him.
"There's nothing to talk about. What's done is done. You wanted to forget about your talk with Amber and I let things get out of control. Now, if you'll excuse me," she said, trying to push her way around him.
"You don't know what you are talking about. Just listen to me!" Jay exclaimed. There was almost a hint of desperation to his voice. When Re-Nee still tried to walk past him, he grabbed a hold of her shoulders. "Would you stop and listen to me?"
"Why should I?" Re-Nee screamed. Neither paid attention that everyone around them had stopped to watch what was going on. "You've had plenty of time to talk to me in the last three days and not a single word had crossed those lips. I know exactly why you came to me that night. Leave well enough alone!"
Frustration coursed through Jay. Is she really this hard-headed? he thought. He badly wanted to shake her, hoping some sense would sink in. "I didn't sleep with you because I wanted to forget Amber is pregnant with my child. I did it because I haven't thought about anything but you and those damned legs since I landed on this island."