chided.
“All right. I’m just so thrilled. And when does your
position with the school start?”
“In the fall. The Art 4 Kids grant is for the next school
year. I should be big as a house by then.”
“You got someone to cover for you while you’re on maternity
leave?”
Clarissa glanced at Sione and Michelle. “Yep, we’re good to
go.”
The lights flickered on and off as the mayor stepped up to
the podium to speak. For Clarissa, the speech dragged on in un-air-conditioned
agony, but finally the man cut the ribbon and ushers pulled the doors wide. More
aides led Clarissa and Mika inside with the other artists.
Each sculpture was brilliant in its own right—an Asian-style
folding screen made of piano keys that emitted electronic notes when pressed, a
pathway of carved musical key notations that led the viewers around to the
various exhibits. The word “key” was used in each of the artworks, a strange
lucky break on Clarissa’s part, tempting her to believe in divine inspiration.
In the middle of the path sprouted her piece, altered from
six feet to ten feet, allowing visitors to pass beneath it and stir the strands
of keys. They made a shimmering, effervescent sound with each jangle. The
resort had covered the cost of the extra bronze.
While she’d labored to give birth to this glowing
masterpiece, Clarissa had let her prescription for the Pill lapse. She and Mika
had been careful to use protection for a few months, allowing the hormones to
clear her system and her menstrual cycle to return to normal.
Two months later she’d gotten the letter from the concert hall
board. They’d awarded her the slot reserved for UH’s graduate submission. This
was also the day Clarissa’s period was officially one week late. The drugstore
pregnancy test strip read “pregnant”.
Panicked at first that she’d be unable to construct the now
massive sculpture on-site, Clarissa was so relieved Sione and Michelle had
jumped at the chance to help. Though they’d told her no thanks was necessary,
the artwork signage listed their names as contributing artists.
Faced with the culmination of not only a year’s worth of
work, but a lifetime of building relationships she’d had no blueprint to
construct, a surge of emotion felled her. A familiar anxiety clutched at her
throat. She wanted this, all of this so badly it hurt. So many things could go
wrong and life always changed. This much she knew to be true. She excused
herself for a moment and made her way outside for a little fresh air. As always
Mika hurried, only two steps behind her.
The night wind caressed her face, taking some of her fears
with it.
“You okay, baby?” he asked.
Clarissa drew in a deep breath, staving off more teardrops.
She was tired of crying. “Overwhelmed.”
He drew her into a gentle embrace. “It’s okay, baby.
Everything’s fine.”
In his arms, trade winds rustling her hair, she nodded. The
man whose arms encompassed her—the man who’d learned to trust that she held the
key to his future—Clarissa knew he too held the key to hers. Whatever trouble
the future might hold they would face it…together.
About Cindy Jacks
Prior to becoming a multi-published writer of romantic and
erotic fiction, Cindy went to college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and
graduated with a BFA in Art. After a brief attempt at an art career, she
decided the “starving artist” life wasn’t for her. She worked for ten years in
the corporate arena, but now spends her days as a full-time author.
When not chained to her laptop, she enjoys hanging with her
family, belly dancing and exploring the culinary arts.
Cindy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her author
bio page at www.ellorascave.com .
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You
can email the
author directly or you can email us at [email protected] (when
contacting Customer
“All right. I’m just so thrilled. And when does your
position with the school start?”
“In the fall. The Art 4 Kids grant is for the next school
year. I should be big as a house by then.”
“You got someone to cover for you while you’re on maternity
leave?”
Clarissa glanced at Sione and Michelle. “Yep, we’re good to
go.”
The lights flickered on and off as the mayor stepped up to
the podium to speak. For Clarissa, the speech dragged on in un-air-conditioned
agony, but finally the man cut the ribbon and ushers pulled the doors wide. More
aides led Clarissa and Mika inside with the other artists.
Each sculpture was brilliant in its own right—an Asian-style
folding screen made of piano keys that emitted electronic notes when pressed, a
pathway of carved musical key notations that led the viewers around to the
various exhibits. The word “key” was used in each of the artworks, a strange
lucky break on Clarissa’s part, tempting her to believe in divine inspiration.
In the middle of the path sprouted her piece, altered from
six feet to ten feet, allowing visitors to pass beneath it and stir the strands
of keys. They made a shimmering, effervescent sound with each jangle. The
resort had covered the cost of the extra bronze.
While she’d labored to give birth to this glowing
masterpiece, Clarissa had let her prescription for the Pill lapse. She and Mika
had been careful to use protection for a few months, allowing the hormones to
clear her system and her menstrual cycle to return to normal.
Two months later she’d gotten the letter from the concert hall
board. They’d awarded her the slot reserved for UH’s graduate submission. This
was also the day Clarissa’s period was officially one week late. The drugstore
pregnancy test strip read “pregnant”.
Panicked at first that she’d be unable to construct the now
massive sculpture on-site, Clarissa was so relieved Sione and Michelle had
jumped at the chance to help. Though they’d told her no thanks was necessary,
the artwork signage listed their names as contributing artists.
Faced with the culmination of not only a year’s worth of
work, but a lifetime of building relationships she’d had no blueprint to
construct, a surge of emotion felled her. A familiar anxiety clutched at her
throat. She wanted this, all of this so badly it hurt. So many things could go
wrong and life always changed. This much she knew to be true. She excused
herself for a moment and made her way outside for a little fresh air. As always
Mika hurried, only two steps behind her.
The night wind caressed her face, taking some of her fears
with it.
“You okay, baby?” he asked.
Clarissa drew in a deep breath, staving off more teardrops.
She was tired of crying. “Overwhelmed.”
He drew her into a gentle embrace. “It’s okay, baby.
Everything’s fine.”
In his arms, trade winds rustling her hair, she nodded. The
man whose arms encompassed her—the man who’d learned to trust that she held the
key to his future—Clarissa knew he too held the key to hers. Whatever trouble
the future might hold they would face it…together.
About Cindy Jacks
Prior to becoming a multi-published writer of romantic and
erotic fiction, Cindy went to college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and
graduated with a BFA in Art. After a brief attempt at an art career, she
decided the “starving artist” life wasn’t for her. She worked for ten years in
the corporate arena, but now spends her days as a full-time author.
When not chained to her laptop, she enjoys hanging with her
family, belly dancing and exploring the culinary arts.
Cindy welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her author
bio page at www.ellorascave.com .
Tell Us What You Think
We appreciate hearing reader opinions about our books. You
can email the
author directly or you can email us at [email protected] (when
contacting Customer
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