CALIFORNIA PARADISE
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Spring touched the world like a fairy’s wand.
The sun shone with a new brightness, and for the first time in eternity, you
could look up into the sky and see nothing but the perfect blue, without a
single cloud to block your view.
The sunsets seemed more beautiful, the night
air crisper, and Rose sparkled like a shimmering lake playing in the breeze.
*****
Near the very beginning of April, Jack’s
birthday was celebrated. Along with all their friends, they took the long--it
actually wasn’t that long, but they had the drivers take longer routes
just because riding in the car was half the fun--drive to the beach, where they
spent the night at a nearby hotel.
The hotel was like nothing Rose had ever seen
before. It seemed more like a tropical paradise, with the white woodwork and
enormous balconies looking out onto the water.
The smell of salt water clung to her, but all
she could smell as she inhaled was the fresh air and gourmet foods being
prepared in the kitchen downstairs as she sat in the pinewood chair, just close
enough to the open window. Jack entered the room and as he wrapped his arms
around her and gently brushed his hand across her gradually growing belly, she
could have sworn she was in heaven.
*****
The night of April fourteenth was the first
night of the famous April showers. Rose and Jack both awoke from their sleep as
it battered against the windows. Jack sensed the fear in Rose’s eyes and drew
her close to him.
"It’s okay, Rose. You’re in my arms now,
and you can’t even begin to imagine what I would sacrifice just to keep you
safe forever."
Clutching each other tightly, they fell
asleep once again.
*****
Any showers after that were light, breezy
things. They tickled your nose as the droplets fell on you and carefully
renewed the earth to make way for the blooming month of May.
*****
It wasn’t until mid-May that Rose’s birthday
was celebrated. It was a fairytale luau set in their own sumptuous backyard.
Rose looked the very picture of beauty in a powder blue sundress with
dawn-tinted flowers. The pregnancy put color in her cheeks and replenished her
soul.
She was nowhere near large for someone who
was six months pregnant, and it was only if you looked at her from the side
that could you see the faint image of maybe a beautiful young girl that had
stuffed a half-filled feather pillow up her dress.
She had asked her doctor if there was
something wrong, but he had said that though it would be more beneficial for
her to gain more weight, he could see nothing bad about her current state.
*****
Rose awoke one morning to find that summer
had befallen them. A layer of sweat seemed to be common attire in this season,
and no matter where you turned, the sun beat down upon you.
Jack and Rose loved it.
They thrived in the summer air, and when they
went out they walked with the cool, lazy gait of summer dwellers. They walked
about in thin, light-colored garments as if they surely ruled the universe and
scoffed at anyone who much preferred the coolness of winter.
For two beings that adored the summertime
with their loving eyes, no one could have possibly predicted the terrifying
fate that befall them one July night.