Where Does My Heart Beat Now- Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the day of the wedding Kate stepped out of house to meet her father at the bottom of the porch steps. She wore a short lavender-colored dress that she had worn to her sister’s wedding. For once it would be worn to an occasion she was excited about.

As her father walked her down the petal strewn aisle, her heart started to pound erratically when she saw Gabriel standing by the stream, waiting on her to join him, Only a few more moments until we’ll be husband and wife.

This is the right choice, and I’m sure of it. God, I love her so much. Please let me keep her for the rest of our lives. I’m sure Mom and Dad will love her, too, Gabriel thought and smiled widely as Kate stepped up beside him, her face glowing with pure excitement. He knew exactly how she felt since he felt the same way, “Are you ready for a life makeover?”

“Yes. I can’t believe this is really happening and that we’re going to be married,” her voice almost cracked under the happy circumstances.

The whole process passed quickly before it was time to exchange rings. Like Gabriel had mentioned before, the plain silver band that went on before the diamond engagement ring was only temporary until they got to Jefferson and he presented her with the real wedding band that had been in his family for many years. Even though he wanted Kate to wear it, the thought of an earlier time during his life crept into his mind, a time when another woman he had loved dearly had worn the very same ring, Susan, I had hoped, you’d wear it a lot longer than you had, but I know you wouldn’t mind if Kate wore it.

Before he realized what had happened, he and Kate had been declared husband and wife. When he looked at Kate she was waiting on him to proceed, and he leaned over and gently pressed his lips to hers. He could feel her tremble slightly and pulled her closer to his body to make the kiss last longer. Afterwards, he whispered in her ear, “I love you, Kate, and I always will.”

“I love you, too,” with a quick glance down at her hand she knew he was her husband and would be with her for the rest of her life.

A couple hours later, all of them, including Sean, were at the airport waiting on their plane to depart. Kate had changed back to jeans and a t-shirt before leaving for the airport with her suitcase full of clothes and mementos. She was hugging her parents, preparing herself to leave her family, while at the same time Gabriel and Sean decided to give them the moment alone to say goodbye. He could only imagine what it must be like to leave her family behind when she had lived with them for so long. I’ll have to do whatever I can to make her feel comfortable when we get home. She’s so precious to me and I want her to feel safe in Jefferson. While waiting on Kate, Gabriel whispered in Sean’s ear, “Thanks for being here with us, Sean. You’ve stuck by us the whole time, and I’m sure Kate appreciates it as well."

“No problem. I’m glad to be here with you,” Sean replied.

Eventually, the time to board the plane came faster than they were expecting. With a final hug, Kate took hold of Gabriel’s hand as they made their way down the jet bridge with Sean right behind them. They found their seats in the coach section of the plane and Kate sat down next to the window with Gabriel and Sean in the seats next to her. After getting settled, she closed her eyes in order to escape the heartache of leaving her family, but she was convinced that she was on the right path; a new beginning was on the horizon once she figured out that she had something to live for. There’s no turning back. I’m never going back to that life. Gabriel’s my life now.

 

Kate noticed an orange and pink glow peaking through Gabriel’s truck windows when she opened her eyes early the next morning. At the sight of her surroundings she had no idea where she was until Gabriel’s touch on her leg made her come to and listen to what he was saying, “We’re here, Kate. This is my home… our home,” the sound of his voice made her gather up the courage to meet his parents for the first time. Her legs were stiff from sitting for so long and she almost toppled over as she got out of the truck, but Gabriel was there to support her.

“Don’t be nervous. My parents don’t bite,” he joked as he picked up his suitcase, as well as hers. There was no doubt in his mind that his parents would love Kate as much as he did. He could feel Kate clinging onto him the entire time as they walked up the porch steps. The porch ran from one side of the house to the other, allowing a nice breeze to pass by. Off to the right side of them hung a porch swing which had been there ever since Gabriel could remember. “Well, here we go.”

Charlie, the Golden Retriever, was the first to greet the two of them as soon as they were in the living room. His tail thumped on the floor as he waited for Gabriel to pet him after being away for so long. Once he had, he scampered off to another part of the house. The next person they heard was Gabriel’s mother, who must have been preparing breakfast in the kitchen.

“Is that my sweet Gabriel?” She appeared a few seconds later with an embroidered apron wrapped around her waist. The minute she saw her son standing by the couch her face lit up, and she grabbed him up in a tight, almost suffocating, hug. With a glance over to his right she caught sight of Kate standing slightly behind him as if she was trying to hide. “Well, well, well… Who’s this, Gabriel? She’s certainly beautiful.”

A huge grin on his face, Gabriel pulled Kate up beside him, “Mom, I’d like you to meet Kate, my wife.

Mae Dawson stared at her son for a long time, trying to comprehend what he had said, and then she looked over at Kate and back again, “Wife? You were only gone for two weeks, and I was just joking when I told you to bring back a lady. I didn’t think you actually would.”

“Then, are you not happy about us getting married?”

“No! That’s not it at all. I’m very happy for you two, you just shocked me,” she flashed a warm smile over to Kate, who was trying to look at one of the photos hanging on the wall. “My apologies, Kate. I’m Mae, Gabriel’s mother… And I’m so happy to meet you. I’ll bet any amount of money you’re the reason my Gabriel didn’t come home when we expected him to.”

All Kate could do was nod as her cheeks turned red from embarrassment. She knew what Mae had said was true and was proud to admit it, “Yes, but I still don’t understand why he stayed. Most people just think I’m a spoiled brat like my sister, but I’m really not.”

“That’s why I married you, Kate,” Gabriel put in. All of a sudden his stomach growled, alerting him that he was ready for breakfast.

Mae laughed while heading for the kitchen, “Well, put your bags down and come get some breakfast. Hopefully your father will join us soon.”

“Speaking of Dad, where is he?”

“He went into town to get something; I’m not sure as to what.”

They had already begun eating by the time Gabriel’s father arrived home from town. Kate started to fidget in her seat from nervousness at the thought of meeting his father. She had no idea how he would react when he saw her sitting at his kitchen table with Mae and Gabriel. The two beside her tried their best to comfort her.

“Don’t worry, dear. Rob will love you,” Mae’s voice sounded convincing by the way she talked to her and gently patted her hand.

Rob walked into the kitchen, a smile on his face and a large sack of dog food held in his right arm. After dropping the sack by the back door he stopped and stared at the young woman who sat beside Gabriel. That’s when the curiosity was aroused inside him, “Now, who’s this?”

Silence filled the room with all four bodies unmoving. Gabriel eventually stood up, pulling Kate up with him. There was no need for secrets since all of them were together, and his father appeared rather amused by the way he looked the young woman over as if he were inspecting her for good quality, “Dad, this is Kate. We just got married yesterday”

“Married? Wow, I thought you just went up to Washington to hike, but apparently you decided to get hitched while you were there, and all in two weeks’ time. So, I guess the next question is when is the baby due?” Rob had an air of joking in his voice when he spoke, and after a short time he sat down to eat breakfast with the three of them.

“Dad! We haven’t even-,” Gabriel stared incredulously after hearing what his father had implied. Why did he automatically have to assume they would be having a child right off the bat? After Kate feels at home here and has time to get herself acquainted with some of the people in town, then we’ll talk about children. I really think she’ll like it here in Jefferson. Here after breakfast I’ll see if she wants to go with me into town. He became aware of the others watching him, and he straightened up, “Uh, Kate… would you like to go with me into town? It would be a great time for you to meet people.”

Kate’s pale blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight which cascaded through the window, making her appear luminescent in a sense. She thought that seeing Jefferson on a beautiful day was an absolutely splendid idea, “That sounds wonderful, Gabriel. I’d love to.”

 “Great! Then we’ll go here after breakfast,” he turned his attention over to the purple woman, who was putting the dirty dishes in the sink. “Mom, what’s the weather supposed to be like this afternoon?”

Mae turned around from the sink, wiping her hands on the dishcloth, “In the high eighties. I’d recommend shorts and t-shirts unless you want to start sweating like pigs.”

“Alright. You heard her, Kate,” he pushed back from the table before heading to his bedroom. “I’d change into capris and a tank or something.”

As soon as he was out of earshot Mae leaned over toward Kate and said, “Nah, he just wants to see you in something that will show off your legs,” she chuckled along with her daughter-in-law. “Anyway, may I join you two? It’d be nice to finally get out of the house.”

“Sure! I don’t mind, and I’d like to learn more about you,” Kate’s reply was upbeat and chipper; she had instantly become attached to her husband’s mother over the past few minutes. She’s amazing! I‘m actually starting to like her more than my own mom.

“Okay, I already know where I’m taking you once we get in the town, and believe me, you’ll thank me later.”

Gabriel, Kate and Mae strolled down the long sidewalks bordered by the old buildings resembling those of a New Orleans set back in the 1800’s, with their wrought iron balconies overlooking the bricked streets. The warm weather had brought many people out of their homes; even sightseers could be found snapping pictures of the different colored buildings and Victorian-style homes. Kate understood why Gabriel and his parents loved living in Jefferson; it was so beautiful. When she looked over to the right side of the street, a gray and black building with a large star on the front façade caught her eye. A nudge against her arm made her look over at Gabriel, who looked like he wanted to tell her something.

“That’s the Jefferson Hotel. Supposedly, every room in there is haunted, but I don’t know how true that is. There’s been reports of several experiences, like in one of the rooms you can hear the sink faucet handles turning on by themselves,” he elaborated every part to make it sound more dramatic. “And across the street is the Excelsior Hotel, which is also haunted…, by the Perfume Lady. I’ll tell you what, if you think a ghost wearing too much perfume is scary, then you need to go to The Grove around midnight. I guarantee you’ll pee your pants within three minutes.”

“Where is The Grove? Is it a cemetery?” Kate became curious by what he was telling her and wanted to hear more.

“No, it’s a house that was built back in 1861. It’s just back that way a few blocks,” he jabbed his thumb back behind him to indicate the direction he was meaning.

“Then, what makes it so scary? It sounds like an ordinary old house to me.”

Gabriel found her comment to be somewhat humorous, and laughed, “Believe me, that is no ordinary house. Very creepy things have happened there,” he realized Kate didn’t quite understand what he was saying, and continued. “There’s been personal accounts of entities roaming around the property, and don’t even get me started on the inside of the house.”

“What kind of entities?” By then Kate was being sucked into the conversation, waiting for Gabriel to continue.

“Well, some have claimed to have seen a young woman dressed in white strolling through the flower gardens, and others have said there’s a man who can be seen on the side of the house by the kitchen,” he reached over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “You know what? I’m going to have to take you on a ghost walk one of these nights. We’ll go all over the town and I’ll tell you all about each of the places we go to. What do you say?”

“Sounds romantic… in a weird, spooky kind of way,” she paused, debating on whether she wanted to ask the next question that came to mind. “Have you ever seen a ghost?”

 As soon as the question was asked Gabriel froze to the spot, unmoving for several seconds; another one of those questions that was perhaps the wrong thing to ask him. So he wouldn’t seem rude, Gabriel forced himself to answer, “Yes… I have.”

“Was it scary? Did it make your skin crawl?”

“No, because I knew the person… Listen, I’d rather not talk about it right now.”

The sun was high in the sky when Mae decided to take Kate with her to one of the small stores in the middle of the small town. On the other hand, Gabriel was not about to go with them into a woman’s store, so he figured that he could spend some time in the General Store while the two ladies enjoyed shopping on their own. It was also a perfect time for his mother and Kate to bond.

“I’m going to leave you two women to do some shopping,” he leaned over and kissed his wife sweetly on the lips. “I’ll see you in a little while, honey,” the word felt strange leaving his mouth, but it was something he would get used to since he was married to her.

“Okay, where are you-,” before she could finish, Mae dragged her off down the street to the seamstress’s shop. She had no idea why they were going there, but Gabriel must have had something to do with it. “What are we doing here, Mae?”

“Since you’re married to Gabriel now, you’ll be going to plenty of reenactments and balls, so you’ll need some dresses and underpinnings,” Mae pulled open the seamstress’s door, pulling Kate in after her. She stopped at the front desk to talk with an older woman who appeared to have been sewing for many years. “Beth, this is my new daughter-in-law, Kate. We need to get her some day dresses, ball gowns and underpinnings made so she can join us at the reenactments.”

Beth looked at Kate’s body frame in order to start figuring out what size she would need to make the garments. After a while, she whipped out her tape measure and wrapped it around the young woman’s waist. The entire time Kate stayed still so Beth could get correct measurements.

“What color would you like one of your ball gowns to be, dear?” The seamstress asked as she wrote down Kate’s measurements on a piece of paper.

The question made Kate think about her answer, and then she came up with one, “I like lavender, but the other dresses you can make whatever color you think will look best on me.”

“That, I can do.”

Mae was the one to speak next, “When do you think they’ll be ready?”

“All of them should be ready in two weeks.”

About an hour later, Kate and Mae found Gabriel sitting outside of a small restaurant, sipping on a lemonade while reading a book. He never even heard the two walk up, but glanced at Kate, who sat down across from him and pulled the lemonade over to her in a way to tease him. After sucking down a large mouthful of the sour liquid, she saw him watching her contentedly.

“I suppose you think jacking my lemonade is amusing to you, huh?”

“No, I knew you wouldn’t mind,” she leaned over to gaze into his aqua eyes, her lips quivering. Something silver caught her attention, and she noticed his necklace hanging from around his neck. “This is such a beautiful place, Gabriel. I love it already.”

“I’m glad, Kate. I had hoped you would,” he leaned back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest. “So, do you feel like going on a ghost walk, tonight?”

She stared at him, trying to keep herself from appearing nervous at the thought of him actually taking her to see ghosts, “Uh, okay… but how are we going to do that when this is such a small town?”

“This is one of the most haunted towns in Texas. Just on this block alone there are about three haunted buildings.”

“That’s… nice.”

Gabriel watched her expression closely. This is going to be fun, tonight, “You’re not scared, are you?”

All of a sudden, Mae whacked him in the back of the head with her purse. When he realized that his mother had done it, he turned around in the chair to see her scowling, “Quit it, Gabriel! Don’t scare her! I’d hate for her to get so scared that she won’t want to come back into town again.”

“Mom, you know I won’t let anything happen to her,” Gabriel pulled Kate against his side and kissed her cheek. “This will be for fun.”

Mae rolled her eyes in an exasperated way before seeing a woman walking on the opposite side of the street, heading for the General Store, and she took off after noticing the woman was one of her friends. Kate and Gabriel laughed at the scene, then Gabriel pulled her up from the wrought iron seat, handing her a small bag of assorted candy. He pulled out a bag of old fashioned candy and popped a few of the hard pieces into his mouth.

“Let’s see… I think we’ll start at the old hotel over by the river.”

Kate glanced his direction, looking rather confused by his comment, “What?”

“I’m talking about the ghost walk, tonight. We’ll start at the hotel over by the river and work our way through town,” a sly smile crept across his face as he pulled out a silver key from his pocket. “And we can actually go in one of the buildings since I have the key,” when he saw that she still wasn’t comprehending, he continued. “Sean’s mom owns the coffee shop and the two of us are very close, so she gave me a key in case I ever needed to get in for something.”

“Yeah, nothing like a midnight coffee run,” Kate joked and poked him in the side, making him shy away from her touch.

Gabriel sighed heavily as they made their way down the street in the direction of the pink-colored building known as the Jefferson Institute. As they got closer, they noticed a white flyer decorated in the Confederate and Union flags hanging on one of the doors. It explained that the Civil War ball that was coming up in two weeks would be held inside the building at seven o’ clock in the evening.

Oh, my dresses will be finished by then. I wonder if Gabriel’s going? Kate thought when she read the flyer, “Are you going to the ball, Gabriel?”

“Of course. I always go to the balls. They’re after the reenactments, on Saturdays. That means I’ll have to get ready pretty quickly since I’m in the battles and will probably end up smelling like gunpowder and sweaty horse.”

“Makes sense,” her gaze shifted downward to the concrete while she thought about what the reenactment and ball would be like. I can’t wait for Gabriel to see me in my dresses. His jaw will probably drop all of the way to the floor, she giggled at the thought.

Reviews

[Crimson Apples]

O.o
I feel bad for Kate's little sister.
But anyway, yes Gabe. Go have a threesome with a ghost.
Way to catch the ladies ;)
Or send them screaming.
Great job writing this =D

[Sympathy Heart]

I thank ya!

[Crimson Apples]

No problemo

[Sympathy Heart]

I love me some paranormal stuff, so naturally it had to go in here.

[Crimson Apples]

lol. I was reading the story behind Ben drowned yesterday, at around one in the morning xD

[Sympathy Heart]

interesting