Losing Control (22 page)

“I will!” Taury said in a resounding
voice.

“With that I declare you man and
wife,” the Reverend shouted, “and may your union be blessed with strength and
hope and an abiding love! Hallelujah!”

Taury and Fawn reached towards each
other for the closing kiss without any urging. The audience clapped wildly.

Everyone stood and swarmed around
them; congratulations and good wishes abounding. Then the party began, the
older couples started dancing to the 50s rock tunes blasting over the stereo
system. Stephanie headed straight for the food tables, dove hungrily into the
buffet.

Taury quietly led Fawn and Inger up
to the bungalow.

“I thought we could talk better up
here away from the noise. This is where Fawn and I will be living. Do you like
it, Mother?”

“Oh, yes, it’s charming. It reminds
me of the house in
Bodega
Bay
.”

“I could build you a new one there.
It could be just like the old one.”

“Oh, no, it would never be the same
without my Jim. Besides, I am used to living in a small space. All I need is a
bed and a place for my paints.”

“Do you want to live near us, Ms.
Sjostrom?” Fawn asked. “I thought if you did, we could all get to know each
other. But we’ll understand if you prefer your cabin in
Sweden
.”

“I would like to spend the rest of my
days near Taury, if he will allow it. I love my cabin, but this is where my
heart is, now.”

Taury smiled; his childlike glances
at his mother’s face tugged at Fawn’s emotions, but the time for tears had
passed.

“Well, how about my guest house? It’s
right across the yard, has it’s own bedroom and bath, and a porch. There’s
plenty of storage for your art supplies. Taury and I put cabinets in it not too
long ago.”

Inger peered out the kitchen window
at the tiny house.

“It’s perfect! But wouldn’t I be in
the way?”

“You could never be in the way,
Mother. I wish I had a different word to call you…”

“What about ‘Mamma’? That’s what I
called my mother.”

“Great! I love it! Did you bring any
luggage? We can get you moved in right away!”

“Stephanie had me pack everything I
own. It’s outside, in the car. I always sell my paintings, so I had none left
to bring. That’s how I supported myself all these years. I still want to
support myself in that way, if you think anyone here might buy my art.”

“Judging from the paintings we saw at
the house in
Bodega
Bay
, I’d say you have quite a future
ahead of you in
Malibu
, Ms. Sjostrom!”

“Please, Fawn, you will call me Mamma,
too?”

“Of course. Come on, we’ll show you
the guest house!”

“Shouldn’t you be leaving on your
honeymoon?”

Taury and Fawn passed furtive
glances.

“I said something wrong?”

“No, Mamma … we’re just going to wait
until Fawn is completely well before we take off somewhere.”

“Oh, yes, I forgot. You two have been
through hell. Your life together now will surely be heaven.”

“Yes, it surely will!” Taury said,
smiling.

The night passed; the wedding guests
partied till dawn. Taury moved Inger into her new space, with
Kent
’s help. They took out Fawn’s craft
table and the boxes of materials, and put them on the side porch of the
bungalow. Taury was planning to enclose the space the next day, to let Fawn use
it as her workroom. Then they removed the bed and dressers and things from the
second bedroom in the bungalow and set them up in the guest house. June
supplied a small antique couch and chairs for the living area which helped turn
the house into a cozy little home.

The days crept by slowly but sweetly.
Taury finished out the side porch, made it a bright, sunlit haven for Fawn’s
jewelry creation. They put the daybed in the second bedroom; Fawn was puzzled
at why she couldn’t have used it for her crafts. Taury said he wanted to keep
that room fairly empty, for the time being. She wondered what he was up to, but
let it slide – his surprises were always fun, and gave her something new to
look forward to.

Fawn and Taury easily settled into
the familiar rhythm of married life. It was calm and drama free – exactly as
they wanted.

They came to know and love Inger. She
was as sweet a personality as her son, always ready with a kind word or an open
smile. The Brennans enjoyed her company as well, gave lots of dinner parties in
her honor with the Finches and De Paolos attending. She wasn’t used to the
attention but eventually began to relax and take it in stride though she
preferred to sit alone on her porch and paint beautiful portraits of the sea.

TWENTY TWO

Finally Fawn was back to her old self.
The bleeding stopped, her wound healed – the scar became less visible every
day. But they were holding off – letting the tension build between them. Taury
had convinced her to wait until their honeymoon, though sometimes she cursed
the agreement. Sleeping beside him without being able to massage him or take
him in her mouth was unbearable. She was addicted to him, needed his touch as
surely as she needed breath to live.

They packed a couple of small bags
one fine morning, bid their relatives and friends goodbye, and headed out to
the airport. The itinerary included a brief visit to
London
and
Paris
then a long, sun-soaked month –
weather permitting – in the South of
France
.

London was rainy, and dreary gray but
they enjoyed the experience of drinking in a real pub and munching on fish and
chips, visited a few choice tourist must-sees, and even took in a play in the
West End, a horrible, unintentionally funny remix of
MacBeth
that
offered rapping witches and dancing ghosts.

Paris was a bit wet as well, but the
Eiffel
Tower
looked magnificent nonetheless. They
rode to the top of it and surveyed the beautiful City of
Light
below.

“I can’t believe we’re really here,”
Fawn sighed as the cool wind tried to take her breath away. “It’s like a
dream!”

“No dream could be this good!” Taury
decided. “Are you ready to see Eze?”

“Oh, yes, but Taury, can’t we make
love tonight?
Paris
is the most romantic city in the
world!”

“No, no, I want to wait. It’ll be
worth it, I swear!”

She knew that was true, but the aching
deep inside her was driving her mad.

They took a fast train to the South
of
France
the next morning, arrived in
Nice
six hours later on a brilliantly sunny afternoon. The
seascape reminded her of
Malibu
, though the Mediterranean water
seemed a different, richer shade of blue that sometimes shifted towards green
and teal. The fragrance of it was the same though, instilling her with that
same sense of tranquility that the
Pacific Ocean
always did. She was a child of the
sea, a mermaid without a tail fin – that would never change.

They rented a sleek roadster and
began the drive to Eze. As they came closer to the mountaintop village Fawn’s
heart started to pound, threatening to burst out of her chest. Not only because
of the beauty of the village and its pastoral surroundings but also it meant
that the passion she’d been suppressing for too long could at last be released.
She was twitching in her seat, trying not to have an orgasm but just thinking
of being alone and naked with Taury again was almost too much to bear.

She busied herself by taking in the
visual delights the village offered – it was surrounded by banana, date, orange
and lemon trees, and flowers of every color and scent, making a heady,
sometimes overpowering impression on her senses.

They were on the beachside route to
Eze; the sea putting on a show of light so dazzling it seemed someone had
filled it with millions of diamonds.

They abandoned their ride at the
bottom of the mountain and walked up to the village gate. Hundreds of years of
history greeted them in the narrow cobblestone streets, shadowy arches and
ancient structures. A guide suggested they partake of the area’s many
activities like tennis and swimming and horseback riding but Fawn wasn’t
interested – all she wanted was to lock Taury up in a room and take full
advantage of the situation.

After a couple of hours spent walking
and exploring Taury escorted her to their hotel and signed them in. He talked
her into enjoying a well-earned nap while he made some phone calls and took a
shower.

Once rested, Fawn stretched out on
the big canopy bed and set her gaze on the cozy room around her. It had a
charming, Old World elegance, with its hand-carved furnishings and fringed
davenports. It was too warm to make a fire in the hearth – not that she needed
any accoutrements to get her in a romantic mood.

“Your turn!” Taury announced as he
exited the bathroom, wearing nothing but a white towel.

“Why didn’t you wait? We could have
showered together.”

“There’s time for that tomorrow. I’ve
got it all planned: once you’ve showered and dressed I’ll call room service and
order us an early dinner. We can eat out on the balcony, and watch the sunset…”

“Is that the infamous balcony? The
one you mentioned to me so long ago?”

“One and the same.”

“All right, I’ll go along with your
plans. What am I wearing?”

He pointed her gaze towards an
armoire where a glimmering pink dress hung on a fabric-covered hanger. A pair
of matching high heels stood waiting beneath it.

She jumped up, began to examine the
dress.

“Oh, it’s gorgeous! But it seems like
a waste of money. I won’t be wearing it very long!”

He laughed. “It’s worth every penny!
I’m going to have a ball taking it back off of you!”

She smiled, kissed him then reached
round and smacked his toweled behind.

“I’m going to make you pay plenty for
putting me through all this agony!”

“I know, and I’ll love it! Hop in the
shower, will you?”

“Right!” she shouted and hurried into
the bath.

Dinner was sumptuous and expensive –
oysters and caviar, pheasant and gilded chocolates. Fawn ate daintily; her
appetite not sated by food though she had to admit it was delicious.

After the waiter came for the dishes
Taury locked the bedroom door and began to move the table and chairs from the
balcony as quietly as he could. The sun had splashed down in the western sea in
a swell of orange and gold, left in its place a sallow moon that lit up the
balcony like candlelight. Fawn waited anxiously as Taury slid a mattress off
the bed and eased it onto the floor of the balcony.

“Lie down,” he whispered as he
slipped off his white dinner jacket and black tie.

Fawn kicked off her heels and did as
ordered, her skin pricking up in spots from the cool night breezes as well as
the anticipation of what was to come next.

Taury threw off his shoes and socks,
knelt down beside her. His lips took hers, sucked at them, drinking her in.
Then his tongue played with her own, whipping her into fits of ecstasy. His
hands moved over her dress, caressed her breasts; he smiled as he realized her
nipples were hard beneath the cloth.

“Take it off, please? I can’t wait
much longer.”

He found the side zipper, yanked it
down, scooted the dress off of her to reveal she wasn’t wearing panties.

“You devil,” he said, “I had no
idea!”

“You’re not the only one who can think
up little surprises,” she giggled.

She helped him tear off his white
shirt and black pants and briefs. Once they were bare to the sky Fawn felt a
bit shy, worried that someone might see them but the mattress was shaded with
no windows open towards the balcony. She peered out the metal railings and got
dizzy, realizing just how high up they were.