Bella Notte (38 page)

Afterwards, I was
suddenly faced with the fact that Sabrina has two guys and one girl
in it, and her struggle to find out which one is right for her- much
like me. Mike was the guy I thought that I was in love with for my
entire life, Dominic was the guy that somehow stumbled back into my
life to take a more prominent role, and then there was me- stuck in
the middle and fighting with my heart. At least in the movie she ends
up with Linus, I liked him better from the start. Maybe that should
be how I view all this- at least I got Dom, he was my first love. But
my mind always circled back to Mike.

When we left the
theater, the sun was beginning to set. The sky was covered in
brightly painted clouds- orange, pink, red, and all the colors in
between.

I looked up and
imagined I could really fly amongst colors that only the atmosphere
could capture. Dominic looked at me as though I had said or done
something fascinating. I grabbed his hand.
I
really do love my Linus
.

I knew he could hear
it, but I didn't care. I did love Dom. I loved him in a way that
stories were based on- in a way that little girls dream about- the
only problem was that I loved someone else as well. I had a hard time
fully letting Mike go, I had dreamt of him since I was a little girl
and then I found him! Can you believe it; I got the guy of my dreams?
It so doesn't seem possible, but it happened- and then I lost him.
Why does that happen? Whose story is this? What happened to happily
ever after? I sighed out in frustration.

If Dominic heard any
of my mental muttering, he never mentioned it; he merely leaned over
and kissed my forehead.

“
Mia bella
let us go home for dinner. I am sure some of the guests will have
arrived by now.” He smiled at me a crooked smile and I nearly
fainted.

I nodded and we
walked hand in hand together to the car. To be quite honest, I was a
little nervous that I'd see Mike again and somehow embarrass myself
again, or hurt Dominic. It made me a little jumpy to say the least,
but I got through the whole episode relatively well.

I calmed down
dramatically once we got out of town.

“
Emma.”
His voice showed the effort he made to keep it sounding controlled.

“
Yup.” I
was worried I had done something.

“
Thank you.”
In those two simple words I felt like he was saying a million things.
I tried to probe his mind, but it was locked sealed tight.

Just when I thought
I wouldn't get anything, he flashed me an image of Mike.

“
You're
welcome.” I wasn't exactly sure what I was being thanked for,
but I knew he needed to hear my acknowledgment of his gratitude.

When we got home,
the scene was very familiar from not so long ago. The house was once
again ablaze in the dimming sunlight. It looked very welcoming. This
time, the front porch held decorations for the ball tomorrow. There
were black streamers twisted around some of the columns with my red
flower seemingly growing up them. Everything was done with elegance;
that was slightly annoying because I surely would not call myself
elegant.

The front door was
open and I could see further decorating had gone on while we were in
town. Dom circled the driveway once and then parked in the garage.

“
You ready for
your moment of absolute glory?” I wasn't sure if he was serious
or joking.

“
Bring it on.”
It was a good response when I was slightly confused.

We walked into the
kitchen which was full of people working hard to get the evening's
meal together. I was always a little startled to find strangers in
different parts of the house for these kinds of events. Generally we
didn't have any sort of staff. I never wondered how everything got
done, but now I understood. I could tell that there were a couple of
major chefs and the rest were merely pawns in the kitchen game.

Our entrance caused
not even the slightest hitch in their flow. I assumed they were
afraid to screw up because at least one of the chefs looked like he
could easily blow a fuse.

We went into the
dining room first, but it was empty … never a good sign since
it meant that we had more guests than could fit in our oversized
dining room. I tried to be positive, but I felt my movements begin to
slow. Dominic noticed instantly.

“
Is there a
particular reason your feet have been weighed down or just for the
fun of it?” His voice was all mocking.

“
Bite me.”
I hissed at him.

“
Don't tempt
me, Emma.” The tone was both dangerous and seductive.

I looked at his eyes
and blushed.

The living room was
turned into the dining room for tonight but I could tell that they
had begun to set up for tomorrow as well. I hated to note that there
were even more place settings this time than at my birthday.
How
will they fit all these people in here?
It didn't seem possible, even for Houdini.

They will manage.
You'd be surprised
.
Dom sounded a little bitter, but I let it pass.

Ah, Emma. I was
hoping you'd arrive soon. Your dress, shoes, and jewelry arrived
while you were gone.
My mother's voice penetrated my mental haven.

Thank you,
mother.
I hated nothing more than her sudden desire to be a better mother. It
made me want to puke.

If you want you
can go up and look, I had that young girl servant that helped last
time take it up to your room. Dinner will be a little late tonight,
due to our guests. You and Dominic should both change.
Her motherly concern was fake, but the desire to want to appear
perfect wasn't.

Her name is Mary!
I felt disgusted about the fact that something like a name of another
living being wasn't important to her.

“
Yes, yes,
dear.” Clearly I was dismissed.

I stomped off toward
my room.

“
Em, don't get
upset with her. It is the lifestyle that changes the people. But your
mother has always been treated as royalty. Your entire family has,
even by the human world. Both of our families have. But it doesn't
mean that when you are in a place of power that you have to be like
them.” He smiled and walked off into the room that he was using
while he was here.

I walked up the
stairs and felt highly confused. Clearly Dom had learned to handle
this life better than I was doing. He also knew how to handle the
snobs that our parents were. I couldn't help but wonder what made him
different from it all since he grew up with it.

I learned from
everyone
.
His thoughts gently flapped against mine like the wings of a
butterfly.

It never stopped
surprising me when someone else's voice entered my mind. I didn't
respond, I was merely thankful for him explaining to me.

My room was dark and
I wanted to see all the details of my attire for tomorrow, so I
flicked on the light. I had switched the bulb when the changed
occurred so the light wouldn't blind me. It was strange to see with
my new vision and I generally noticed it when I was in my room. I had
all the memories from before my change and I could remember how
everything looked to me then. Somehow the world had gotten sharper,
crisp, and a little less hidden. My room was no exception. I missed
the look of it before. It made me want to move things and make it
more accommodating to my new sight. But I couldn't bring myself to
change something that I had been so in love with- so it stayed the
same.

I found my dress
hung on the huge mirror that had been brought in for the last big
event here. I really hated to have to walk into a room and be faced
with three versions of myself. Now my features were a tiny bit
sharper, my skin was smooth and perfect, and my color had faded the
slightest bit more. I was a pale ivory soap bar.

I grabbed the dress
from the hanger and held it to my body. The darkness was a beautiful
contrast to my light skin. Tomorrow would be lovely and everything
would go as planned.
Too
bad I couldn't share it with Mike.
The thought leaked out before my brain even had a chance to catch it.
Let
him go, Emma!
I shouted at myself. I knew the household would hear me, but I didn't
care. This was my problem and I was going to deal with it.

I went to my closest
and pulled out a hunter green, long-sleeved dress. It was made of a
clingy material, and it only went to right above my knee. It was
young but appropriate for tonight. I really hated all the pressure
that was now on me to uphold the family name. If they had wanted me
to able to do all this stuff perfectly then they should have raised
me as a royal or something. Frustration oozed from every pore.

I slipped the dress
on and pulled my dark locks into a tight bun at the nape of my neck.
I did gentle eyeliner- my family would be pleased- and a clear lip
gloss. I really didn't want to put shoes on, but I slipped on a pair
of black, ballet-like slippers.

I walked downstairs
to a room full of mental greetings awaiting me. The noise was
deafening.

Congratulations,
Emma!
A heavy Russian accent said.

Welcome Change,
Emma!
A nasal, mid-western voice greeted.

Hooray! Great
Change!
An English woman shouted.

Merry Met and
Change, Young One!
An ancient voice said that held a whole lot of languages in one.

Emma.
I could pick his voice out of them.
Don't
get overwhelmed, keep walking and say your general thank you, you
will get to meet each person tomorrow.
I knew that no one else could hear him.

I smiled as widely
and perfectly as I could manage with the barrage of voices shouting
in my head.
Thank
you all for coming and for your congratulations. They are greatly
appreciated. I cannot wait to get to meet each and every one of you
face to face. It's always good to be able to put a voice to a face.
I tapped my head and gestured to everyone. They laughed. I sighed.

Dinner happened in a
blur of discussions that I wasn't really involved in, eating
delicious foods that were very much imported, and gossip.

I listened to one
woman- she could have been the nasal, mid-western voice- talk about
how one of the local daughters got caught doing the 'you know what'
with one of the human local boys, and she had actually bitten him and
there was a huge scandal. The woman, who was short, roundish, and
didn't seem overly beautiful to me- maybe she was before she ate the
horse and pinched her nose shut- glowed with glee when all the
listening females took sharp intakes of breath and then clicked their
tongues. I mean, whose business is who's here?

I really wanted to
say something, to think something unfortunately, I was stuck being
polite. Did I really have to deal with these kinds of people? The
answer was, sadly, yes.

I sat patiently as
the clock ticked past three in the morning. Inside, I had become
blank and desensitized by all that was occurring around me.

We had coffee and
sat in smaller groups and they gossiped more. I sat with Dominic, my
grandparents, and another couple that was as old as my grandparents.
They were polite and spoke mainly of things that my family had once
been involved with. They told us about an island that we owned- so
didn't know we owned a freaking island! - and how the inhabitants
were trading with the people of their island. Their gossip was less
about scandals and more about the people that would interest those of
us sitting here, and how they were doing. My brain was going to ooze
out of my ears.

Mia
bella
,
do you want to leave and go to bed?
I always wondered how some people could pick up on some things and
others couldn't.

I nodded my head
slightly.

“
I think that
it is time for us younger folk to retire,” Dominic said to the
elder group.