The Crystal's Curse (10 page)

While enjoying the exhilaration of driving such a fabulous automobile, he had been thinking about where to take Sara to dinner. It amazed him how easy it was for him to be aware of so many things at once. Although he didn’t have much experience driving, he felt no anxiety. It was as if everything moved in slow motion around him. He was able to control the vehicle perfectly, even had time to anticipate what other drivers might do and still have time to think about Sara. It occurred to him that with Grandfather out, he could invite her to the house.

He expertly parked the car in the garage, hopped out without opening the car door and waltzed into the kitchen whistling.

Mrs. Stewart put away a dust cloth and turned to him. “Well you sound happy.”

“I am. I have a date. It just occurred to me that the best way to impress her would be to let her taste your cooking. Would it be too much trouble if I brought her to dinner tonight?”

Mrs. Stewart smiled. “I suppose I might be able to whip something up.”

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.” This would be perfect Joshua thought. Mrs. Stewart’s cooking was better than any restaurant, and he would get to be alone with Sara. On his way up to his room, he stopped. What if instead of being impressed, Sara thought he was just too cheap to take her out. He decided to call her and ask. He fished out of his pocket the piece of paper on which she written her address and phone number. She answered on the first ring.

“Hi Sara, this is Joshua.”

“Not canceling our date, I hope.”

“Not a chance. My grandfather is going to be out for the evening and I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind having dinner here. Mrs. Stewart is a wonderful cook. Of course, if you would prefer, we can go out.”

“I‘d love to have dinner there, on one condition.”

“Yes?”

“That you consent to play the piano for me after dinner.”

“How did you know I played the piano?”

“Nathan told me. He said he heard music one day when he picked you up and your housekeeper told him you were the one playing. He also said you were very good.”

“He lied.”

“You don’t play?”

“No, I do play. I’m just not very good.”

“Now you’re just being modest.”

“Okay. You’re right. You come to dinner and I promise to provide the entertainment.”

Joshua dressed casually in slacks and a polo shirt. Right at seven, he expertly parallel parked the Porsche outside her house, an older two-story brownstone typical of the Boston area.

He ran up the steps, and rang the bell.

She answered immediately. Dressed in black slacks and a long sleeved mint green sweater with a scooped neck, she looked casual and very sexy.

“You look beautiful,” he said

“Thank you. I’d invite you in to meet my grandmother, but she is still at the hospital. Is that yours?” She asked pointing to the Porsche.

Joshua tried to nod modestly but broke out with a big grin.

“You didn’t tell me you were rich,” she said reproachfully.

“I’m not, but I guess my grandfather is. He just gave this to me today. Isn’t it beautiful? Are you ready?” When she nodded, he took her hand, led her down the steps to the car, and opened the passenger door.

She climbed inside and looked around. “I am seriously impressed.”

“That was the idea.” He said still grinning. He got in the driver’s side and started the engine. He drove slowly so the wind wouldn’t mess up her hair and because he was enjoying the ride. He pulled into the driveway and parked. He was delighted that she waited until he was able to come around and open the door for her.

When they entered the dining room, Joshua could see that Mrs. Stewart had gone all out. The table was set with the good china on a crisp white tablecloth. Fresh flowers were floating in a silver bowl in the center of the table flanked by tall silver candlesticks. When Joshua pulled out a chair for Sara, Mrs. Stewart came out of the kitchen carrying two salad plates. He introduced Sara to her and then took a seat.

Mrs. Stewart acknowledged her with a nod. She placed the plates down in front of them. “I hope you like Caesar salad and fish,” she said, immediately retreating into the kitchen before they could answer.

Joshua picked up a basket of fresh rolls and passed it to Sara. “You’ve got to try one of these. She makes the best bread in the world.”

Sara took a roll, breaking it open to spread on butter. “You would know, being the world traveler.”

Joshua took a roll and set the basket back down. He snorted, “I’ve spent more time eating off tin plates in the jungle than I have in fine restaurants. However, I can tell you that unless you like raw meat, never order beef in Paris.”

“France, Italy, Greece, is there any place you haven’t been?”

“Trust me. It’s not as exciting as it sounds.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Mrs. Stewart brought in steaming plates of fish, saffron rice, and steamed broccoli.

Sara told her, “Joshua was right, these rolls are delicious.”

Taking away their salad plates, she nodded her thanks and left. Just as Joshua had predicted, the meal was excellent.

Sara said, “Tell me about your parents.”

“My greatest complaint is that we’ve moved around so much. My dad is very serious, talks about responsibility and accountability a lot. He’s meticulous on a dig. Everything has to be done by the book. Heaven help you, if you move something before it’s been photographed, measured, and cataloged. Mom is the artist. She’s funny but a little overprotective.”

She leaned forward, the candlelight picking out copper strands in her hair. “What’s it like living in all those exciting places.”

Joshua shrugged. “Except for the architecture, one metropolitan city is pretty much like every other. After a while all the museums and ruins become a blur.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve walked through the tower of London, roamed the Forum in Rome. You can’t tell me that wasn’t exciting.”

He laughed, “You’re right it was exciting, the first time. You have to understand, going any place historical with my father is like a school field trip. You don’t just look at the ruins, you get a detailed lecture on exactly what happened ‘in this very spot’ complete with dates, which he expects me to remember.”

“So, you had your own personal tour guide. I’m jealous.”

“I guess I did. I just never thought of it that way. It’s your turn. Tell me about your family.”

“I’m the oldest. I have three younger brothers. My dad is an architect and my mom’s a stay at home mom. I’ve lived in the same house in the same town in Arizona my whole life. I went to kindergarten with most of my friends. For me, Boston is an adventure.”

“Now, I’m jealous.”

“Why? The best thing that ever happened to me was coming here, being able to make friends who only know me the way I am today. People here don’t look at me and remember the girl with acne and braces on her teeth.”

He took her hand and held it up looking at the fine sprinkling of freckles across porcelain skin. “I don’t believe you ever had acne.” Looking into her eyes, “and you’d be beautiful even with braces.”

Sara blushed, saved from replying by Mrs. Stewart who brought in enormous slices of chocolate cake.

After dinner, they both stopped into the kitchen to thank Mrs. Stewart. Sara offered to help clean up, but Mrs. Stewart refused.

“You’ve outdone yourself. Thank you so much,” Joshua said giving Mrs. Stewart a hug.

“Go on now, get out of my kitchen,” she said, but he could tell that she was pleased.

Joshua led Sara to the music room. He sat down to the now perfectly tuned piano and began to play. He started with a medley of show tunes and then because his fingers seemed to fly over the notes, moved to the classics. Sara moved around the room looking at the pictures while she listened. Joshua reached over and took some yellowed sheets of music from a stack on top of the piano. He started playing a composition.

She came and stood behind him with her hands resting gently on his shoulders, as he played. “What’s that? It’s beautiful. The beginning is joyous, but now it‘s kind of wistful”

“It’s a composition that I found in this room. I don’t know who wrote it. It doesn’t have a title. I like it too.” He finished playing, turned around, and pulled her into his lap, running his hand gently over her hair.

She put her arms around his neck, a slight smile on her face.

He looked at her for a moment and then leaned in to kiss her. He pressed his lips gently against hers, holding her lightly as if she were made of glass.

She kissed him back with more passion than he expected. When they parted, her breath ragged, she stood up and moved away, looking embarrassed.

Confused, Joshua got up and stood behind her with his hands lightly on her shoulders. “I’m sorry; maybe I shouldn’t have done that.”

She leaned her head back against him and sighed. “No, I wanted you to. I just liked it a little more than I expected to.”

“I like the sound of that,” he said. Wrapping one arm around her waist, and brushing aside her hair with the other, he kissed her neck. When she turned around in his arms, he held her face in his hands, looked deeply into her eyes and kissed her again, this time with less restraint. He broke the kiss this time. Taking a deep breath, pressed his forehead to hers, and said, “I don’t want to, but I think maybe it’s time I took you home.”

She just smiled and nodded.

Chapter Nine

As they were coming out of the music room arm in arm, Joseph was coming in the front door. Sara dropped her arm but Joshua kept his arm tightly around her waist while he introduced them.

“Grandfather, this is my date, Sara Whiting. Sara this is my grandfather, Joseph Carson.”

“It’s nice to meet you Miss Whiting. You wouldn’t happen to be related to Dr. Helen Whiting would you?”

“Yes, she’s my grandmother. Do you know her?”

“No, unfortunately we’ve never met, but I have heard of her. She’s won quite a few awards for her contributions to Neurology. The hospital is very proud to have her on staff.”

“She’s exceptionally talented. I’m living with her while I attend college. Perhaps we can arrange for you to come over sometime and meet her.”

“I’d like that very much. Goodnight Miss Whiting. It was a pleasure to meet you. Goodnight, Joshua.” Joseph excused himself and went into the study.

Joshua took Sara home and walked her to the door. He gave her a lingering kiss goodnight on the doorstep and then waited until she went inside before driving off.

It was only about 10 p.m. and so her grandmother was still up, sitting in her favorite chair and reading. She looked up when Sara entered. “Did you have a good time on your date, dear?” She noticed that Sara was flushed and slightly breathless.

Sara sat down on the ottoman at her grandmother’s feet. “Yes, it was absolutely wonderful,” she said
, frowning.

“Then why do you look upset?”

“Oh, Gran, what am I going to do? I moved here specifically to make sure that I wouldn’t be distracted from working hard. Then Joshua comes along and suddenly all I can think about is him. This is not a part of my plan. The other night when you told me about your first love, I wondered what that would feel like. I was sure that it would never happen to me.”

Helen smiled.
“Sara, you’ve always known what you wanted. You made a plan and you stuck to it. That’s admirable, but unfortunately, life doesn’t always cooperate. It sounds to me like you are feeling a little out of control of the situation.”

“Exactly, how do I take back control?”

“You don’t.”

“What?”

Helen leaned forward and laid a hand on Sara’s arm. “Let me give you some advice from an old lady. You can’t control life. You have to live it one day at a time. Many things are going to happen to you that you can neither predict or change. Get used to it. It’s good to make goals and strive hard to achieve them, but those plans have to be flexible. Falling in love is not one of the things you can plan. It just happens.” She leaned back. “You obviously like this Joshua a lot. Is he good enough for you?”

Sara smiled. “Yes I think so. He is kind and gentle, very intelligent and he plays the piano. Did I mention really good looking?”

Helen looked at her over the top of her reading glasses. “He doesn’t have dark hair and blue eyes, does he?”

“As a matter of fact he does,” Sara said, grinning.

Helen shook her head, laughing. “Oh, dear that’s a bad combination.” Then more seriously, “Take it one day at a time. You don’t know how you’ll feel in a couple of months.”

“What if nothing changes? What if I really am in love? Would you have given up everything to follow your heart?”

Helen looked thoughtful. “I don’t know. I never got the chance to make that decision, but I will tell you one thing. Even knowing all the pain I felt when he left, I would go back and do it all again. I would not give up one minute I spent with him. Those memories have kept me warm on many a cold night.”

“Thanks Gran.” Sara reached up and gave her grandmother a hug.