Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

drop.”
    “How will I know when it has?”
    “Oh, you’ll know. Don’t worry. You’ll know.”
    Lucille determined that the ideal venue for our wedding would be the Hotel Glory, which was only twenty miles from Heaven-stone. She took me to see the ballroom and meet with the special-occasions manager to review the menu. Once I had let her decide on the site of our wedding, she went forward and made all of the other arrangements as well, including ordering the flowers, choosing the invitations, and settling on the band. She brought every choice to me, and I stamped it with my approval without comment. Ordinarily, she would have been very happy to see me being so continually cooperative and appreciative, but my attitude, which I’m sure to her bordered on indifference, began to irk her.
    Finally, she came right out and said, “You don’t seem as excited by all this as I would expect. You do want to get married, don’t you, Semantha?”
    “Oh, yes, of course,” I said. “Ethan and I love each other very much. I guess I’m looking forward to our marriage more than I am to our wedding. Afterall, a wedding is just a big party that lasts for a few hours and then gets pressed into albums.”
    She held her mouth slightly open and looked speechless. Finally realizing it, she said, “From how your father describes your sister Cassie, I would think that would be something she would have said, something she would have believed. I thought you were different.”
    “Really? How?” I was really curious about how Daddy had described the two of us.
    “More feminine, more into being a woman. For most women, their wedding day is one of the most important days of their lives.”
    “Oh, I don’t mean to say it isn’t important. I’m just trying to be sensible and grounded, Lucille. In a way, I’m trying to be more like you.”
    “Me?” She thought a moment. I could see she wasn’t sure if I was giving her a compliment or not. She smiled. “I’m glad you’re being sensible, but you can let go sometimes and just have fun, too.”
    “I will,” I promised.
    She nodded, but I could see she wasn’t quite sure now what to make of me.
    “Perfect,” Cassie whispered. “You have her off-balance. You’re chipping away at that Great Wall of Confidence she wraps around herself.”
    I knew this was true, because Lucille was discussing me more and more with Ethan, especially after this last conversation about our wedding. I realized it because he continually asked me about the wedding preparations, looking for a sign of unhappiness.
    “If there’s something Lucille did or is doing that you don’t like, please tell me,” he said.
    “Everything’s fine, Ethan. As long as Uncle Perry is your best man, that is.”
    “Yes, he’s agreed.”
    “Then don’t worry,” I told him, but he wore the same suspicious and uncertain expression Lucille now wore.
    Only Daddy seemed unaffected by my complacency. He ascribed it to my realization that Lucille was a unique, bright woman and thought it was very wise of me to seek her counsel, especially when it came to planning a wedding.
    “My father told me the wisest man is one who knows when he needs advice and where to go for it. People are like tools. You choose the right one for the right job. I’m really proud of you, Semantha.”
    “Thank you, Daddy.”
    “I keep thinking that we’ve turned a page. We’re all off to a wonderful new beginning. I do feel ten years younger, and the proof is that there is no new proposal, no matter how ambitious it might seem, that frightens me. I’m a real Heaven-stone again. And so are you.”
    “If I didn’t know you don’t buy into all that, I’d be worried,” Cassie whispered. “Just keep smiling. Our time will come.”
    And smile was what I did. There were no arguments, no disagreements. Even Uncle Perry was convinced that we were all heading toward better times. Daddy was roaring about with his new energy. Lucille was making some very wise decisions and not alienating the employees the way he had feared she might. And Ethan was gaining everyone’s respect.To cap it off, Uncle Perry told me I was beginning to look like the future mistress of Heaven-stone should.
    Behind him, behind everyone who complimented the four of us now, stood Cassie, wearing that sly smile, and behind that smile, her clever, conniving mind was molding a plan. We would take back our heritage and our history and, most of all, control of our destiny. No