Surrender to Fate (Fate's Path Part One: A New Adult Romance Series) (4 page)

His father just held up his hand to silence him. He didn’t even look at Matty. He just pointed to the house, and Matty knew the conversation was over before it had even started. He turned, and once again, Sarah had to stand by and suffer the crushed spirit of her little brother and couldn’t do anything to fix it.

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The recollection had saturated Sarah’s mind that she hadn’t even noticed they had reached the end of Main Street. As if William sensed Sarah’s mind had been somewhere else, he interrupted her painful memory and said to her father, “I would like to buy Sarah a soda at the soda fountain for her birthday. Would that be all right, sir? I’ve been savin’ up from helping Mr. Wilkes with his hay.”

If Edward picked up on William’s nervousness, he didn’t show it. Edward looked at Sarah, who was beaming at Will’s surprise. “Okay,” he consented. “You two go ahead. We’ll meet you back at the truck in a bit. Don’t be too long now, you hear?”

Sarah knew her father was no fool, and in that one moment, she knew their little secret had just been discovered.

“We won’t!” Sarah said, a little too enthusiastically. As they turned to make their escape, Will held out his bent arm for Sarah. She could feel the blush flood her face, but she didn’t care. She draped her arm through his, and once again soared from his touch. So as not to waste another minute, Sarah and Will walked briskly to Myron’s Soda Fountain on the corner of Main and Lincoln Avenue, although Sarah would’ve been just as happy to stay in the crook of his arm.

It was hard to be anything but giddy in Myron’s Soda Fountain. The bright lights, the shiny silver chrome, the vivid red that covered the barstools, and the hum of people everywhere was unlike anything Sarah had experienced. Because it was Thursday night, Myron’s was packed, and Sarah could barely make out the words of Wayne King’s ‘Goodnight, Sweetheart’ playing on the automatic phonograph. Free movie night was undoubtedly proving profitable for Myron. Although Sarah had been to Myron’s before, this time was very different. Entering at Will’s side, she felt older, and not because it was her birthday. She actually felt like she was growing up, and had ever since they had declared their feelings for each other. She was here with Will by herself—no parents to watch over her. And they were alone; she didn’t have to try to hide her feelings for Will.

As if preplanned, two barstools opened up in the middle of the counter. Easily able to see over the crowd, Will spotted the available seats, grabbed Sarah’s hand, and led her through the press of bodies. They twisted through the people like a sidewinder snake. He kept looking back at her and smiling as if maneuvering through the crowd was entertainment that they didn’t have to pay for. They made it to the barstools just before another couple emerged from the crowd to claim them.

Once seated, Will and Sarah looked at each other and laughed. “I can’t believe we got a seat!” William yelled to be heard over the crowd.

“I know,” Sarah giggled back. “But really, you don’t have to buy me anything.”

“Are you kidding? I’ve been saving up for weeks just so I could do this, so stop with the arguments. It’s your birthday, Sarah. I want it to be a happy one.”

“Don’t you know that it already is? There isn’t a gift that I want more than this.”

“Are you sure about that?” The glint in his eye made Sarah look at him curiously.

“What…do you mean?” she asked slowly.

“I’ve been wanting to give you something all night.”

“Will, really! There’s nothing I--” but before she could continue her protest he leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on her lips.

She locked her eyes on his and smiled. “I take it back. I guess there is something I want from you.”

He leaned forward to whisper in her ear, “I just hope I don’t have to wait until your next birthday to give it to you again.”

She leaned her cheek against his and whispered back, “No, I definitely couldn’t wait that long.”

He twined his fingers through hers and said, “Good, me neither.”

“What’ll it be?” the soda jerk interrupted. The gray-haired man with deep creases in his forehead looked less than thrilled to be dealing with the ever-growing raucous crowd at the counter.

William looked at Sarah. “Anything you want. You pick.”

“Uh,” Sarah was caught off guard, especially because the last thing on her mind was a drink. Here eyes scanned the chalkboard menu hanging behind the counter. “Um, I don’t know. A cherry cola?”

She looked at Will, who nodded and said, “The best cherry cola you can make for the birthday girl, please.”

The grump nodded and moved to the other end of the counter. It was an indulgence to even watch him. His hands moved quickly from the syrup bottles to the soda water tap, and finally a plop of two cherries. “Here you go, two cherries, for the birthday girl.”

Maybe he wasn’t so grumpy after all, Sarah thought. Perhaps he recognized the looks on their faces as they watched him and realized that this was not an everyday event for them.

“Thank you, sir. Two straws, please?” Will asked before he turned to the next customer.

Sarah smiled, hoping that the man knew she appreciated his gesture.

“How much do I owe you, sir?” asked William reaching for his back pocket.

“Nah, keep your money. It’s on the house tonight.”

Both Sarah and Will smiled and plunged the two straws in and together took a long drink. She had never tasted anything so delectable in her whole life.

“Well, look who’s here on free movie night.” a voice cracked through the perfection.

Sarah and Will turned to see Margaret standing behind them. She wore a deep green dress with white lace trimming the plunging neckline, and a sickly sweet smile.

At just the sight of her, Sarah prickled with revulsion. Never was Sarah happy to see Margaret, and never more so than this exact moment. Sarah was so beside herself about the uninvited guest that she couldn’t even find the words to speak.

Will sensed her disgust and spoke up instead. “Margaret, hello. Uh, yes, it’s Sarah’s birthday today.”

Margaret looked at William with doughy eyes, put her hand on his and said, “Oh, well, how nice of you to bring her for such an uncommon treat.” She slowly turned to gaze at Sarah, saying in a deliberately insincere tone, “Happy birthday, Sarah.” Her words had said it, but the look in Margaret’s eyes told Sarah that happiness was the last thing she would ever wish for her.

Sarah mustered everything she could and coolly answered, “Thanks.”

Margaret gave her a smile that was no more natural than flying to the moon and squinted her eyes as she cocked her head sideways. As she turned, to once more focus her full attention on William, she paused a half second when she noticed the two straws in the drink. She continued her gaze to him and said, “William, it was so nice to see you the other day at Daddy’s lumberyard. I hope you got everything you needed? Of course, you and I had such a lovely conversation that you probably didn’t even make it home before dark and couldn’t get started on your project until the next day.”

William maintained his composure as best he could and flatly answered, “Yes, I got everything just fine.”

Sensing his building uneasiness, Margaret realized that this very well may be the highlight of her evening. She wasn’t one to not take full advantage when an opportunity presented itself. And this opportunity was too golden to not play out to its full potential. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing you again soon, William. And a birthday hug for you, Sarah.” And with those words and feigned sentiment, Margaret flung her arms wide, inserting one of them in between William and Sarah. As she hastily closed her embrace around Sarah, the inside of her forearm caught the glass and knocked the cherry cola straight off of the counter and into Sarah’s lap.

Both girls gasped, but only one was genuinely surprised. “Oh my gracious! Oh my!” Margaret said in a slow, velvety voice. She put her hands over her chest. “Oh my, what a clumsy girl I am. And all over your dress, too. Oh Sarah, I do hope your mother has another flour sack to make you a new one, as I am quite certain this one is stained now.”

Sarah sat in shock, struggling to hold back the fury that was instantaneous. She clenched her jaw and looked at her lap, avoiding Margaret’s eyes, but it was too late to stop the sting of tears. Sarah was furious at Margaret, but even more so at herself for showing Margaret her emotion that she was unable to disguise.

William leapt to his feet and retrieved the glass from Sarah’s lap and set it on the counter. He quickly pulled at the napkins in the silver canister and handed them to Sarah’s clenched fists.

Sarah just squeezed the napkins and glared at Margaret through her blurry vision, willing her to burst into flames right then and there.

“Are you okay, Sarah?” William eyes searched Sarah’s face, clearly trying to grasp what had just happened.

Sarah glared at Margaret with every bit of disgust that the heinous witch deserved. Sarah loathed Margaret’s smug expression, exemplifying that her mission had been accomplished. Margaret stared back as the corners of her lips curled into a smirk. “I really should be going now.” She turned to William. “Always good to see you, William.” She looked at him with lingering gaze and smile before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

“Sarah? Sarah!” William finally broke her trance and she blinked and looked at him. Now there would be no stopping the flood of tears as she stared into his worried eyes. She didn’t even know where to start with what she was feeling. How could this moment have gone from pure jubilation to pure hell in less time than it takes a shooting star to fall? Margaret Thornton, that’s how. In fact, Sarah now knew that Margaret’s red hair had been a gift from the Devil himself.

The crowd around them had hushed and stood gawking, and the soda jerk came over with a genuine look of sympathy, but simply collected the glass and went on to the next customer. “C’mon, Sarah, let’s go,” Will whispered gently as he helped her down from the stool, the ice cubes falling from her lap to the floor. Once again he led her through the crowd, but what had earlier been amusing and playful, was now just a blur of faces that at any moment would meld into a thick, dark blanket and suffocate her.

Sarah welcomed the jingle of the bell on the door and the splash of cool evening air. They meant that she was out, out of the sea of gaping strangers, and out of the devil’s lair. Sarah’s cheeks glistened with tears and her eyes were as red as the two cherries from their soda.

“Sarah? Sarah, say something, please?” He brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. Will had never seen her like this, and it was clearly unnerving to him.

“She did that on purpose.” Sarah could feel the anger in her jaw, and it was actually beginning to ache. “She did, Will. She wanted to ruin everything. She wanted to, and she did.”

He put his hands on her shoulders and looked her square in the eyes. “Look, I’m sure she didn’t do that on purpose. It was just a horrible, clumsy mistake. Why would she? I’m certain it was just an accident. But, Sarah, she didn’t ruin anything. Not in my mind, anyhow. I still got to spend your birthday with you, and you got to spend it with the most handsome guy in all of Myron’s, right?” William was trying everything at this point, and Sarah knew it.

Despite the fact that she was nowhere near calming down, she wanted Will to know that, just like always, he knew what to say to make everything all right. But she was infuriated to realize that she was the only one to see through Margaret’s façade. She wanted to spout out the litany of Margaret’s devil-incarnate ways, and make Will see her the way she did. But even more than that, she realized how much she didn’t want Margaret to succeed in ruining her night. She decided that Will was right: She was able to spend her birthday with him, and she planned to spend every birthday from here on out with him, as well. Not even Margaret Thornton could take that away from her.

Sarah smiled finally, and saw relief cross Will’s face. She hugged him. “Thank you, Will. I loved my birthday, I truly did.” Will took a step closer to Sarah and brushed her cheek again with his thumb. Sarah watched his eyes, her heart instantly accelerating. Will’s eyes followed the path of his hand as it slid down her face, and his thumb grazed her bottom lip. He looked back to her eyes with such obsession that Sarah could not stop herself. She no longer felt the need to be reserved with Will. Rising up on to her toes, she found herself lost in the feel of Will’s lips gently melding with hers. With their lips reluctantly pulling apart, Will wrapped his arms around her slender waist and pulled her into him tightly. Breathing into her hair and neck, he sighed contentedly. “Someday, Sarah. Someday.”

They walked back to the truck mostly in silence, commenting here and there on the window displays they passed. Sarah loved the feeling of his hand around hers. It was warm and safe, and the thought of letting it go made her walk even more slowly. She was still reeling from what had happened, although she hoped she had convinced Will that she had let the Margaret incident go. She decided to focus on the only thing that really mattered. Will was going to make her his own someday. Before they turned the last corner that separated them from the truck, Will pulled her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently. “I don’t want to let go, but we better,” he explained.

Sarah nodded and whispered, “I know.” They dropped their hands to their sides and Sarah actually felt the pang in her stomach with the absence of his touch.

Tommy and Matty were sitting in the bed of the truck, and all four parents were deep in a conversation standing by the front fenders. The four adults looked up and smiled at their oldest children. They too seemed pleased with the enjoyment that had been had by all from this night out on the town.

“How was the soda fountain?” Anne lovingly asked Sarah. Though Sarah tried her best, she knew her mother could read her expression, and would instantly recognize the look on her face as “not good.” “What? What happened?” Anne’s smile instantly disappeared as she waited for Sarah to answer.

Sarah and Will exchanged a glance, but Sarah, as calmly as she could, said, “Oh, I, I, um, spilled the soda on my dress. I’m sorry, Mama. I hope it’s not ruined.” Sarah could feel the tears threatening to make another appearance, but this time she fought them off.

“Oh my goodness. Is that all? Sarah sweetie, you shouldn’t let something like that bother you so much. I’m sure it’ll be just fine. And if that’s the worst thing that ever happens, won’t we be lucky?” Anne tucked Sarah’s hair behind her ears and kissed her forehead. “No more worrying. You hear me?”

“Yes, Mama.” Sarah smiled at her mother wondering what on Earth would she do without her.

“Good. Now, did you have a fun birthday? It’s gotten so late that I’ll have to tell you your birthing story next year.” The reassuring smile and hug from her mother made Sarah want to burst into tears. She wanted to tell her the real reason she was so upset, she wanted to tell her everything that Margaret had done. But what she and Will had shared was so much more than Margaret could ever take away. She swallowed the revolting memory of the fiend and smiled.

“Yes, Mama. This was my best birthday yet.”