Edward on the lips.
He smiled, looking pleased with himself. “I even booked us the same table.”
“By the pool? What, did you pull the sympathy card?”
His smile faded, and he shot her a reproachful look.
It set the tone for the evening. Conversation was strained after that. Camille could only pick at her food, and even the bottle of champagne they sipped throughout the meal did nothing to lift the leaden mood. She knew she was lucky to have a husband who was sentimental enough to want to recapture the happiness they’d known as newlyweds, but it only served to remind her of what she’d lost . . . and what she stood to lose still. Even if they could somehow turn the clock back, time was running out. And there was nothing either of them could do about that.
Her mood improved a bit when they went for the commemorative carriage ride in Central Park afterward. Snuggled next to her husband under the lap robe provided by the driver, she allowed her mind to drift. It was early spring, and blossoms fluttered down around them like pink snowflakes, from the cherry trees lining the roadway down which they rattled. A full moon could be glimpsed through the treetops, floating like a ghostly galleon above the tall buildings along Central Park West. The only sounds were the clip-clop of hooves and distant blare of traffic.
“A perfect end to the perfect evening.” She sighed contentedly.
“Better yet, I still have my CD collection,” he replied with a chuckle. And you. The unspoken words hovered in the air.
“I still find it hard to believe you let a woman come between you and Charlie Parker,” she teased.
“Not just any woman.” He gazed at her tenderly, shadows from the street lamps that illuminated the roadway flickering over his face. “Which reminds me, I have something for you.” He withdrew a jeweler’s box from his coat pocket and handed it to her. “Happy anniversary, darling.”
Inside the box was a diamond teardrop pendant on a delicate gold chain. Beautiful but also a bittersweet reminder. The band around her chest squeezed tighter until she could scarcely breathe. As Edward fastened the chain around her neck, she envisioned him doing the same for their daughter someday. Kyra getting ready for her first prom or her wedding, wearing this same necklace.
“It’s lovely,” she said in a small, cracked voice.
“Sorry my fingers are so cold,” he apologized when she began to shiver. “Perfect,” he pronounced when she turned around so he could see how the necklace looked on her. “I just wish I’d been able to afford something this nice our first anniversary.” Back then, his gift to her had been a silver bracelet purchased from a sidewalk vendor, which she secretly treasured more than all the expensive jewelry he’d given her since. “But then I would have had to sell one my kidneys.”
She laughed. “Only a hopeless romantic would go to such extremes.”
“Are you saying I’m not romantic?”
“No, just that you’re not hopeless.”
They lapsed into companionable silence, each wrapped in his and her own memories. “I’m glad we could do this one last time,” she murmured as they were heading back the way they’d come.
Her husband remained silent, but now it was a brooding silence. She felt the coiled tension in his muscles as he sat beside her, gazing into the darkness. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and tight. “It doesn’t have to be the last time. We could have years more.”
“Oh, Edward.” She exhaled deeply, and it seemed all the air she’d ever breathed went out of her lungs. “I’m not doing this to hurt you. I’m simply choosing not to live in a dream world.”
“You think I don’t know what you’re up against? Why do you think I went to all this trouble? I wanted tonight to be special, because I didn’t know if—” He broke off with a choked sound.
She fingered the necklace, feeling her own throat tighten. “I didn’t get you anything.
He smiled, looking pleased with himself. “I even booked us the same table.”
“By the pool? What, did you pull the sympathy card?”
His smile faded, and he shot her a reproachful look.
It set the tone for the evening. Conversation was strained after that. Camille could only pick at her food, and even the bottle of champagne they sipped throughout the meal did nothing to lift the leaden mood. She knew she was lucky to have a husband who was sentimental enough to want to recapture the happiness they’d known as newlyweds, but it only served to remind her of what she’d lost . . . and what she stood to lose still. Even if they could somehow turn the clock back, time was running out. And there was nothing either of them could do about that.
Her mood improved a bit when they went for the commemorative carriage ride in Central Park afterward. Snuggled next to her husband under the lap robe provided by the driver, she allowed her mind to drift. It was early spring, and blossoms fluttered down around them like pink snowflakes, from the cherry trees lining the roadway down which they rattled. A full moon could be glimpsed through the treetops, floating like a ghostly galleon above the tall buildings along Central Park West. The only sounds were the clip-clop of hooves and distant blare of traffic.
“A perfect end to the perfect evening.” She sighed contentedly.
“Better yet, I still have my CD collection,” he replied with a chuckle. And you. The unspoken words hovered in the air.
“I still find it hard to believe you let a woman come between you and Charlie Parker,” she teased.
“Not just any woman.” He gazed at her tenderly, shadows from the street lamps that illuminated the roadway flickering over his face. “Which reminds me, I have something for you.” He withdrew a jeweler’s box from his coat pocket and handed it to her. “Happy anniversary, darling.”
Inside the box was a diamond teardrop pendant on a delicate gold chain. Beautiful but also a bittersweet reminder. The band around her chest squeezed tighter until she could scarcely breathe. As Edward fastened the chain around her neck, she envisioned him doing the same for their daughter someday. Kyra getting ready for her first prom or her wedding, wearing this same necklace.
“It’s lovely,” she said in a small, cracked voice.
“Sorry my fingers are so cold,” he apologized when she began to shiver. “Perfect,” he pronounced when she turned around so he could see how the necklace looked on her. “I just wish I’d been able to afford something this nice our first anniversary.” Back then, his gift to her had been a silver bracelet purchased from a sidewalk vendor, which she secretly treasured more than all the expensive jewelry he’d given her since. “But then I would have had to sell one my kidneys.”
She laughed. “Only a hopeless romantic would go to such extremes.”
“Are you saying I’m not romantic?”
“No, just that you’re not hopeless.”
They lapsed into companionable silence, each wrapped in his and her own memories. “I’m glad we could do this one last time,” she murmured as they were heading back the way they’d come.
Her husband remained silent, but now it was a brooding silence. She felt the coiled tension in his muscles as he sat beside her, gazing into the darkness. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and tight. “It doesn’t have to be the last time. We could have years more.”
“Oh, Edward.” She exhaled deeply, and it seemed all the air she’d ever breathed went out of her lungs. “I’m not doing this to hurt you. I’m simply choosing not to live in a dream world.”
“You think I don’t know what you’re up against? Why do you think I went to all this trouble? I wanted tonight to be special, because I didn’t know if—” He broke off with a choked sound.
She fingered the necklace, feeling her own throat tighten. “I didn’t get you anything.
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