Chapter 21: Home

            The next week was spent in chaos- packing suitcases and making lists and all the while the wedding planning had officially commenced. So, here we are, about to board the plane, standing at the terminal as the flight attendants check our passports one last time. I looked at Klaus, a smile spread wide across his face. He turned and looked back at me, his hand then came to mine and he twirled the tiny band around my finger in delight. I could see the happiness dancing in his eyes and it made me smile. We walked aboard and took our seats. Before long, my head rested tiredly on his shoulder. Klaus pulled a blanket over me and began to hum softly, rubbing his thumb against the inside of my knee. He knew I could not resist the urge to sleep when he did this- and I was grateful.

            I woke up when we were getting ready to land. My tired gaze drifted up toward Klaus, his shoulders slightly slumped as he slept with his head against the back of the seat. I shook him slightly and he pressed his lips together as he always did when he awoke. He ran his hands over his face a few times before stretching, “Time to land, eh?”

            I nodded and started to fold up the blanket. We were off the plane and at baggage claim no more than half an hour later- which seemed rather quick. We stepped outside and looked around for my brother, who was supposed to be picking us up. It was then that I saw the beat up little Ford pickup I had driven all those years ago- and now it was his. He pulled up to the curb and helped us load our suitcases into the bed of the truck before we all climbed back in and buckled up. The ride was a tad snug, to say the least.

            When we got home an intense wave crashed over us, people rushed forward to greet and hug and love us because it had felt like forever since we had touched our loved ones. It was as if they were not satisfied that we were alive with phone calls and video chats and postcards while we were out adventuring. They wanted something tangible to hold, and I suppose I couldn’t blame them for that.

All of my siblings had gotten so tall- Tameron was in the middle of his senior year, Eliza had started high school and had a boyfriend (something we would discuss later), and Tiana had been doing some intense gymnastics training in order to try out for the junior Olympics, but it seemed to be young Gyan who had missed me the most. He had been my baby. I was twelve when my mother got pregnant again and I swore that I would not love him, but he was probably the child I loved the most. Of course I would never choose favorites, but I had never held the others the way I had held him. Never had I acted as their mother. But Gyan was different. He treated me like a second mother and I treated him as an only child. The bond we shared was special and could not be compromised or broken, not distance or even time would cause this relationship to fade. He was the one man who would never give up on me. The one man whose eyes would always sparkle when we saw each other again.

Klaus quieted the room and announced, “Claire and I have decided to get married.”

My mother squealed and it looked like my father was about to low a gasket. My sisters giggled and Gyan just stood there and smiled, somewhat unaware of what had been going on. The rest of the day was spent unpacking and getting settled. Family came in and out of the house like a revolving door. They wanted to see the ring and catch up and pretty much just embarrass the crap out of me. It was a long day to say the least and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out cold.

I woke up the next morning in a daze- between the jet lag and the stress from planning the wedding I could barely keep my head on straight. We wanted to get the wedding done as soon as we possibly could, hopefully within a month or so. I decided that it was time for a night out on the town, so I called up my usual group of old friends and told them to meet me at Obscurum around seven o’clock- they all happily agreed and we decided to do a mall run and then dinner before the club. I looked at the clock, still laying in bed, and noticed it was nearly noon, so we decided to get together at the mall around two o’clock. After I had hung up I glanced around- Klaus was nowhere to be seen. I rolled over and let my hand rest on his side of the bed, it was cold- he hadn’t been here for a while. I let my mind drift off and think of the future, of what was to come, and especially what would happen tonight.

Finally, I let my feet swing off the edge of the bed and touch the floor. I stumbled my way to the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes and the intent of getting into the shower. The water was a bit on the cold side, but it was nice nonetheless. I dried off and pulled on a pair of cute skinny jeans with a shimmery blue halter top. After I had done my makeup and picked out the right pair of sandals (cream color gladiators) I moseyed into the house from the apartment to hopefully find Klaus and inform him of my plans. I smelled lunch cooking in the oven, but I wasn’t hungry.

“Mom, do you know where Klaus is? I woke up and he was gone,” I questioned. If anyone in this house knew anything, it was her.

She turned to me with her back resting against the bar on the stove, “Oh, yes, he’s in the living room with the kids watching TV. Just go on in and I’m sure he’s in there.”

I poked my head into the living room and motioned for him to get up off the couch and talk to me for a moment, “Hey, I’m going out, alright?”

He looked a little puzzled, “Oh? Out where?”

I shrugged, “Just a night out shopping and stuff with Tammy and Rhoslyn- catching up and hanging around like we used to. I might end up spending the night with one of them just because I’ll be out wicked late.”

Klaus smiled and pulled me into his chest, “Have fun, Love. Just let me know if you are coming home or not- I don’t want to worry about you all through the night.”

I reached up and gave him a quick kiss, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. I’ll let you know.”

He released me and I grabbed my jacket on the way out- I was going to be late, being my typical self and knowing the girls expected nothing more and nothing less than who I was. It would be amazing to reunite with my two best friends. We had kept in constant contact since graduation, but they had no idea that Klaus and I had recently gotten engaged. I was saving that surprise for when I came home to visit. I put the key into the ignition and sped out of the driveway, so glad to be back in my truck. I had never realized how much I despised public transportation until I felt the pedal resist slightly under my foot.

Before long, I was pulling into the mall parking lot and looking for a spot as close to the front entrance as possible- I didn’t want to have to run around the parking lot looking for my truck later. I rushed inside, knowing that they were waiting near the door because of the three missed calls and ten texts I had ignored because I was driving. Yes, they were insane.

I jogged to the door and there stood Tammy and Rhoslyn. They practically tackled me to the ground as soon as I stepped through the automatic doors- totally ignoring all the dirty looks they got from other people trying to enter the mall.

After they had settled down a bit and we moved out of the way of traffic Tammy started asking questions, “So, what’s new? How have you been? How is England? God, I bet it’s beautiful.”

Rhoslyn and I laughed, “Well, I have something important to tell you guys.” I held out my hand and they stood there with their mouths open gaping at the ring.

Rhoslyn was the first to snap back to life, “OH. MY. DAMN. You got a fucking RING? Your dream guy got you a ring? Jesus, Claire, why didn’t you call us right after it happened?!”

I couldn’t suppress the giant smile on my face. They were right. Klaus was my dream guy. I couldn’t help but remember what it had felt like to remove the promise ring Cain had gotten me all those years ago and replace it with Klaus’. It felt like another piece of me had fallen away. No, I didn’t miss him. I pushed the thought far away from my mind and decided to focus on our girl’s day. I knew it was going to be amazing.

We spent the next few hours hitting up every store in the mall, buying butt loads of clothes and moisturizers and god only knows what else. One thing was for sure, we were stimulating the economy like nobody’s business. I looked at the time on my cell phone and realized it was getting late and if we wanted to make it to a restaurant before the dinner rush we would have to leave shortly.

“Guys, let’s go. If we don’t get to Amore’s soon we won’t get in for hours,” Amore’s was a great little Italian place half way between the mall and Obscurum and our absolute favorite place to go for a good meal. We made sure we had all our bags, climbed into our cars, and enjoyed a quick dinner before speeding off to the club. None of us had been there since high school and we knew that we were in for some major nostalgia. We may not have been here in a while, but the guys at the front door apparently remembered us because they ushered us right inside even though the line already stretched around the outside of the building.

Stepping through the door was like stepping back in time. The walls thudded and the music completely consumed me. My past hit me square in the face with every beat. Practically my entire high school experience existed here. Countless nights spent here with Cain, Tammy, Cy, Rhoslyn, and pretty much everyone else we knew. This was the first place Cain and I had ever danced together. Where I had made so many mistakes. And this was also where my life had come back together- that night I saw Klaus again. There were so many mixed emotions with this place, but I sided with the good rather than the bad. The breath caught in my throat as I thrust myself forward into the large crowd jumping and pulsating with the music. Nearly everyone held a drink in their hand and screamed out the lyrics- Tammy, Rhoslyn, and myself included. Tonight was our night, who knows how many more we would have together? My life was about to change. I was going to get married. And probably have kids. My partying days were coming to a close and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that just yet.