Heavenstone 02 - Secret Whispers

feel like you’re under a waterfall or being swept along in a great tidal wave.”
    “Yes, I do,” I said, trying not to sound unhappy about it, but the more she talked about how she and Daddy were going to become one, the more left out I felt.
    “Just try to ignore me when I get this carried away.” She squeezed my hand. And then sheexclaimed, “Oh, it’s so wonderful to have you with me for all of this!”
    She leaned over and hugged me, and I thought, Shut up, Cassie. None of your sarcasm and meanness. I’d love to be as happy as Lucille. Would I ever be? Maybe sharing Daddy and Lucille’s joy was as close as I would ever come, and if Lucille was willing to let me share, then maybe she wasn’t as bad as I had first thought.
    Despite my fears about my losing interest and being dragged about, there was little or no time to be bored when I was with Lucille. We spent hours at the dress designer’s showroom. She had me try on the maid of honor gown immediately and told the tailor to make mine fit absolutely perfectly. I thought none of his suggested alterations would ever satisfy her. This was too tight; that was too loose. Why was she spending so much time on me? She answered that for me by telling me that any imperfection or mistake would reflect on her. “But,” she added, “I want this to be just as perfect for you as well. You’ll be in so many wedding photographs, memories forever.”
    Finally, after one more adjustment, she gave him her approval. After that, we went to lunch at a French restaurant to explore some other possible choices for the wedding menu. She did most of the talking, describing all of the places she had been in the world, especially the famous restaurants in London and Paris and Rome, and some of the sumptuous meals she had experienced. I couldn’t imagine anyone having a more glamorous life, and most of that even before she was my age. Why had she been so blessed?She saw the envy in my face, and I immediately felt guilty for having a face that Cassie said was so easy to read that it should be in a library.
    “Don’t be discouraged,” Lucille said, reaching for my hand. “You’ll do all these things someday, too, Semantha. I know you will. I’ll make sure you will,” she added, pressing her lips together and nodding.
    “What does she mean by that?” Cassie whispered. “Make sure? Whose life is this, anyway?”
    I didn’t ask. As soon as we were finished with lunch, Lucille marched us down the street to her beauty salon to get her hairdresser to study me and come up with a more attractive style. She ran through some pictures and then pointed to one and asked what I thought. It surprised me at first, because I would have thought it was more daring, sexier, than what she would like. When I agreed, she scheduled my appointment.
    “Don’t mess this up,” she warned him. “What’s done to her is done to me.”
    He looked sufficiently terrified.
    Moments later, we were rushing to the wedding planner’s office to review suggestions for the menu and wedding mementos. She settled on Waterford flutes, which would be almost as expensive as the wedding cake. My mind was reeling with the costs, despite what she had said about this being a one-and-only second wedding for both of them. She wanted to think more about the menu, so she didn’t agree to as much as a single hors d’oeuvre.
    After that, she surprised me by taking me to her favorite jeweler, where she had a graduation present waiting for me. I was speechless when thesaleswoman brought it out to show me. She unwrapped the wax paper and placed it on the counter. All I could do was stare for a moment. My throat closed up, and my eyes burned with tears.
    Lucille had obviously gotten Daddy to find her one of my better baby pictures with Mother holding me. She’d had it put in a solid gold oval frame that was connected to a solid gold base with the words A mother’s love can never end inscribed on it.
    “Is it all right?” she asked me when I didn’t respond.
    “Oh, yes, thank you, Lucille.”
    “Good.”
    When I turned to her, the tears began streaming down my cheeks.
    “Oh, dear,” she said to the saleswoman. Then she hugged me and held me and whispered, “She’s passed her love on to me to give to you, and that is exactly what I intend to do. It’s a big responsibility, but I accept it openly and willingly forever and ever.”
    I said nothing. Cassie was groaning and moaning in the back of my head, but I