"Sometimes less."She smiles then walks across the room.
Everyone is laughing and having a good time, but the two wicked women at the other table, Mia and Gio, are still glaring at me.
Great!An hour of bitch daggers, and I don't have my phone to play Angry Birds.I look around the room again, turning my back on them.At least Oriana isn't glaring at me.She is sitting with some older women.
The thought of following Zita around the room seems like a good idea, so I stand, but then a waiter intercepts her, and I watch her follow him out onto the patio too.
The air fills with 'you are not welcome' tension from Enemy #1 and Enemy #2, so I decide to go to the ladies' room.I take a few steps, and the patio doors open.Zita, Bob, and Aurei enter the dining room, followed by Quintus, Antonio, and the rest of the men, loud and laughing.Aurei smiles his winning smile at me and tells me when he comes up."There won't be a battle tomorrow.First time in Liotine history."
"Really?What happened?"
He laughs."I was right about Quintus."My eyes squint with my confusion.He laughs and drapes his arm over my shoulders."Sit.Zita will explain."
When the men have returned to their seats, and the room gets quiet, Zita makes the announcement from the center of the dance floor.She explains that when the straws were drawn, Quintus got the short stick.Rather than face off with Aurei in a battle to determine who would reign as the ranking Liotine Lieutenant this year, he decided to make Liotine history.He accepted the sword, then laid it at Aurei's feet in a gesture of unity."That's why I was called out to join them.No one wanted to go against my wishes if I wanted the battle to be fought.They would draw straws again, but loyalty at that level shouldn't be challenged, and no one was going to anyway."She pauses while everyone laughs."It was very touching to see.Therefore, we have decided that although the young men will continue to learn the skills of our ancestry, the Celebration will now only be a display of those skills and not hand-to-hand combat between them.It's a new day in Liotine History, and I think Big Al would say.'It's a good decision, y'all.'"
The room erupts with clapping and gets loud immediately.Aurei leans over to hear what I want to say.I lay my lips on his ear."You are always right."
He whispers back in mine."Most of the time."
Since we returned to the cabin, Aurei has been on the phone with someone.From the patio, I could hear him talking but couldn't make out what he was saying.
When he walks back inside, he tosses his phone on the table, then comes to bed.He crawls over to me, plops down next to me, and reaches around, pulling me against him to snuggle."I love it when a plan comes together!"
"Good news then?"
"Yes.That was the final piece of the puzzle, and it slid in place perfectly.Everything is set for the announcement tomorrow."He smiles at the ceiling, then he turns his gorgeous green gaze on me, and I smile at him.He looks so happy right now.
"It's a done deal?"
"It's a wrap, as they say in your entertainment world."He rolls me away to spoon against him, and we lay there for a few minutes.Each lost in thought about what will happen the next day.
"I'm happy for you."
"I'm happy for us."He kisses the top of my head.
As we snuggle, I lay there thinking about the dinner and his family."Aurei, will you tell me a bedtime story?"
He chuckles."Sure, Baby Thang.I'll tell you a love story."He strokes my hair and starts to speak."There once was a Growling Bear who loved everyone and no one."
"Is this a fairytale?"
"Yes."
"Does it have a happily ever after ending?"
"Yes."He squeezes me.
"I like it already.Go ahead."
"Shh.Listen.Please."
"Meow."I giggle."I am a quiet kitten."
"Mmhmm.Proof's in the puddin'."
"Ha!"I pinch him and snuggle closer, then I yawn.
"Where was I?Oh, yeah.There once was a Growling Bear, who loved everyone and no one."He starts to stroke my hair again."He was a miserable soul.One night he wandered into a place where there was no time.The sun never rose, and the sun never set.It was a perpetual heaven, or was it a perpetual hell?It doesn't matter."He chuckles and kisses the top of my head."People were happy and laughing, music was playing, and pretty girls were dancing.The Growling Bear liked the party house and was looking for a girl to love."
