03 The Fate Of The Muse - Marina's Tales (2 page)

“Evie made
me
learn,” I teased
him.

Aunt Evie had always stressed the fact that a
social education was at least as important as an academic one. She
was convinced that the hours I spent in dance and etiquette lessons
would pay off someday; visions of me consorting with high society
danced in her head. “Think of all the formal occasions in your
future!” she’d say breathlessly, “You never know where you’ll end
up being invited.”

For most of my life I’d never imagined doing
anything other than traveling with my father in remote agricultural
areas. Our lifestyle was unlikely to ever require high heels or
dancing, and I was comfortable with things as they were.
Nevertheless, I always humored Evie, partly because my father was
convinced that I needed a feminine influence in my life; but mainly
because she was impossible to resist.

Dad was finishing the last few weeks of a
crop research project in Afghanistan that I feared wasn’t going as
well as he had expected. I couldn’t help but wonder how my life
would be if he’d allowed me to accompany him like I’d wanted to in
the first place. His decision to send me to stay with Abby and Cruz
in Aptos had set a whole chain of events into motion that led to
the discovery of my true heritage, answering questions about my
mother that had been hidden from me my whole life.

It also led to me being kidnapped by a greedy
sociopath, where I was held hostage along with two captured
mermaids. Evil and ruthless, Peter had hatched a plot to breed
mermaid hybrids and raise them as his own personal muses; using
them to manipulate his super-rich clients. He actually thought he
could force me into going along with his perverse plans, believing
I could be persuaded with threats and bribes. I grimaced in
revulsion at the memory.

After I’d escaped him, Peter ended up dead at
the hands of his equally vile backers, and I was nervously aware
that they were still out there– wealthy and powerful people who
knew exactly what I was and where I could be found. For now, it
looked as though they were going to leave me alone, and I fervently
prayed it would stay that way.

Just the thought of them made me cling onto
Ethan tighter. He maneuvered us off the dance floor and into a dark
corner, pulling me into his broad chest, “How long before we can
get out of here?”

“I’m afraid Cruz has after-plans,” I
said.

“We never get to be alone anymore,” he
complained, pressing his cheek against mine.

I sighed, “He said he has a surprise for
us.”

“Hmm…” he crooned in my ear, “Can’t we just
say, thanks– but no thanks?”

I shook my head no, “He went to so much
trouble to make me this dress,” I gestured around the room, “And
this whole thing is really important to him.”

Ethan smiled in amusement, shaking his head.
He still couldn’t get over the fact that going to the prom meant
absolutely nothing to me.

I continued on, “I think I owe him my
gratitude, and at least one night of my life.”

“I’m grateful for this dress too,” he ran his
hands across my bare shoulders and down my back, bending to plant a
row of kisses along my collarbone. His warm lips started blazing a
trail up my neck that made me shiver.

I turned to meet his face with mine, feeling
the blood rush to my cheeks.

He was right, we hadn’t been really alone in
ages. Between Ethan working virtually non-stop, and my pregnant
Aunt Abby concentrating the full force of her nesting instinct on
me, we had barely been able to hold hands under the kitchen table
lately. Maybe it was just as well.

I was truly head-over-heels in love with him,
and I’d marry him tomorrow if I could, but a maddening little
shadow of a doubt remained in the back of my mind. I couldn’t help
but wonder if my muse powers had somehow manipulated him into
making the ultimate commitment without really considering it.

My rational mind realized that we were
probably too young to be making such a big decision, but I also
knew for certain that I loved him more than life itself. Ethan was
stability personified, driven by anxieties I didn’t fully
understand to plan and control the future. My own life was
threatening to spin out of control at any moment, and I needed him
desperately. He’d given me the strength to remain human; if it
weren’t for him I’d be deep underwater, swimming in ignorant bliss
for all eternity.

I had to wonder; was he truly ready to put up
with my bizarre circumstances for the rest of his life? Did it
matter if it was what I wanted? I pushed all the niggling doubts
out of my mind and brushed his lips with mine softly, slipping my
hands around his back to pull him closer as we kissed.

“EXCUSE ME!”

Our heads both turned towards the angry face
of the chaperone, a prim English teacher who was clearly taking the
job very seriously. I suppose we weren’t making her life any
easier; sometimes we had a hard time keeping our hands to
ourselves.

“One more time and you’re out of here,” she
snapped, turning on her heel.

“Don’t tempt me,” Ethan muttered under his
breath as we stepped apart.

“Let’s go see what Cruz is up to.” I took his
hand and led him away, ignoring the snickering of the surrounding
prom-goers.

“There you are!” Cruz called out as we
approached him, “It’s almost time!”

“Time for what?” I smiled, happy to see him
so animated.

“My surprise,” he said with a sly look as he
took Shayla and Megan by the arms, “We’re all going out to
celebrate.” He wagged his index finger at me, “It’s high time you
got out of the house, young lady. It’s like you’re turning into
Norma Desmond or something.”

“Who?” asked Shayla.

I smirked at him, but I had to admit I’d
become reclusive lately, lying low, hoping that the terrible
feelings of helplessness would blow over. The horror of being
kidnapped had affected me more than I cared to admit, and I’d let
myself slip into a small quiet paranoia that made me loathe to even
leave the house. I concentrated on my schoolwork and buried myself
in reading and painting to avoid even thinking about what had
happened. I looked over my shoulder everywhere I went, and even
stopped going surfing.

Having Ethan with me helped, and despite the
mountain of landscaping jobs that he’d been taking on, he came by
Aunt Abby’s more often, doing his homework by my side, sneaking in
kisses whenever she turned her back. Bit by bit I relaxed, the
tension within me started to ease, and I realized that the people
behind my capture were actually going to leave me alone.

It would be pointless for them to harass me,
for I could never really
want
their success and therefore I
was useless to them. They must have given up on the idea of trying
to force me to work in their favor. I was starting to breathe
freely again, as though a tight corset was being loosened from my
ribcage one lacing at a time.

The band started in on another slow dance as
Ethan and I followed Cruz and his two dates out the door. The
longest stretch limousine I’d ever laid eyes on was pulled up right
in front, attracting a crowd of kids on the nearby sidewalk. They
were sneaking curious glances at the tinted windows, whispering
their speculations as to who it could be for. The driver’s door
opened and out stepped a man whose giant body matched the scale of
the car.

I should have known.

“Allo Marina,” nodded Boris as he came around
to open the door. He towered over everyone, gesturing for us to
climb in.

“Surprise!” cried Cruz, “Evie’s taking us all
out to dinner!”

“Really?” muttered Ethan, “Tonight?”

I squeezed his hand and shrugged. “For Cruz,”
I said.

We peeked into the plush interior to find
Evie sitting in the far seat, looking as beautiful as she ever did
in a chic wrap dress that Cruz had recently designed and tailored
just for her. She was dripping with diamonds and grinning like the
Cheshire cat.

“My Darlings!” she greeted us imperially,
“We’re running late for our reservations, so come come, hurry in,
and I’ll take a look at these magnificent gowns after we
arrive…”

We did as told, and piled into the limo.
Ethan took a seat on the opposite end from Evie, and I settled in
next to him. I could tell he was a little annoyed, and it dawned on
me that he had some plans of his own for after the prom. I took his
hand, twining my fingers through his reassuringly. We were driven
across town, listening to Cruz give Evie a blow by blow account of
the dance, with Megan interjecting a few times to keep him honest.
Shayla looked at Evie worshipfully.

“Here we are!” Evie exclaimed when the car
came to a stop. Boris opened the door, and as I stood to straighten
my skirt I looked up to see a familiar neon sign. She’d taken us to
the restaurant where I’d stumbled across Ethan sitting down to
lunch with his ex-girlfriend. The last time I’d set foot here Ethan
and I had broken apart because of it. We were standing in front of
Le Mer.

Evie swept out of the limo and greeted me
with a hug and kisses on both cheeks, “Your dress is fabulous!” she
smiled at my stunned face, “You look simply divine!”

“What are we doing
here
?” I asked,
irritated. I felt like I was being provoked.

“Why, I’ve made reservations for dinner…
Megan tells me this is the best place in town,” she turned to greet
Megan with a society hug and air kisses. “You look fabulous! I
do
expect a song from you tonight, my dear.”

“Uhm… I took the night off, but I guess I
could see…”

Megan looked stricken, and met my eyes
apologetically. Ethan just stood rigidly with his arms crossed and
an angry scowl on his handsome face. The limo pulled away, leaving
us all standing there awkwardly.

Evie greeted Cruz and Shayla warmly, ushering
them inside, while Megan trailed behind, turning to look at us
anxiously.

Evie paused at the entrance, “Aren’t you
coming?” she asked innocently.

“We’ll just be a minute,” I said, looking
over at Ethan. I went to him and took his hands as the giant wooden
doors swung shut with a sigh.

“It’s okay,” I said gently.

“She did this on purpose,” he complained
bitterly, his voice tight with irritation. “She’s still trying to
come between us.”

“She wouldn’t do that,” I said reproachfully,
“You heard what she said… and besides, I’m long overdue to come out
here and see Megan sing…”

His jaw clenched and I could see that he
didn’t believe it. I stepped into him and wrapped my arms around
his back. “Please don’t be mad,” I whispered into his ear. He
sighed and pulled me close, nudging my face up for a kiss. At least
there were no chaperones out here on the street, I thought.

Cruz poked his head out the door, “Oh for
God’s sake!” he scolded us, “Can you two come in and hear Megan
sing already?”

We followed him into the restaurant, joining
Shayla and Evie at a table in the lounge. Megan stood at the piano
comfortably, holding the microphone casually, and addressing the
room like she’d been singing there for years instead of weeks.

“I’d like to dedicate this to my good friend
Marina,” she smiled wryly at me and launched into a song,
“Somewhere, beyond the sea…” Knowing Megan’s sense of humor, I had
to crack a smile. Ethan sat stony faced.

Megan sang beautifully, and with a whisper in
the ear of the young man playing piano she launched into a jazzy
version of “The Look Of Love.” I couldn’t help but notice the way
the piano player was looking at her.

When Megan finished singing, the handsome
gentleman that owned the restaurant came to personally lead us to
our table. His eyes widened when he saw Evie.

“Mr. Samadi, this is Marina’s Aunt Evie,”
said Megan.

“Charmed,” he said, as she reached out her
hand to shake. Her eyes sparkled as he bent to press his lips to
the back of her hand, “Please…” he stared at her intensely, “call
me Omar.”

Cruz and I rolled our eyes at each other as
he offered his arm to Evie with a flourish.

We followed them to our table and once again
Ethan took the furthest seat from Evie possible. I doubt she
noticed anything, for she had locked eyes with Omar and they seemed
oblivious to everyone else around them.

“Come on, let’s go to the bathroom,” said
Megan, taking my arm and pulling me up out of my seat.

“I’ll be right back,” I squeezed Ethan’s
shoulder. He still didn’t look very happy.

When we got to the restroom Megan turned
serious, “I’m sooo sorry! When she asked me about places to eat in
town I just wasn’t thinking! I had no idea she’d take us here
tonight! I mean, I knew she was coming to see us, but Cruz wanted
it to be a surprise,” she paused, biting her lip, “Forgive me?”

“It’s okay,” I said, “I’m over it.”

She hugged me in relief, and pulled back
adding, “Ethan doesn’t seem to be.”

I sighed, “He’s mad at Evie… He thinks she
chose this place on purpose.”

Megan looked thoughtful, “Well, she probably
should have known better.”

I shook my head, “I don’t even want to think
about it,” I changed the subject, “So, what’s going on with you and
the piano player?”

She looked shocked, “How did you know?”

I laughed, “I’m not blind,” I said with a
knowing grin, “What happened to Brian?”

“That didn’t work out,” she replied with a
twinge of regret, recovering rapidly, “But I did get inspired to
write some really great songs out of the breakup!”

We laughed together, fixing our hair and
makeup and joking around about some of the couples at the prom. I
started feeling more like my old self.

Returning to the table, I sat down, scooting
close to Ethan and taking his hand again. We endured an
uncomfortable dinner, listening to Cruz chatter on and on about the
dresses at the prom, design school, and his relocation to the city.
He was set to move into my empty apartment in San Francisco after
the upcoming finals week, and Evie was almost as excited as he was
about having him as a neighbor.