CHAPTER 13
MOURNING MORNING
After they had eaten breakfast and Isabella had worn out all possible topics about her wedding to Marcus, Jo and Ian had to excuse themselves to get ready for Stephanie’s funeral.
“You’re more than welcome to stay and make yourselves at home,” Jo told Marcus and Isabella.
“Thanks for the offer Jo,” Isabella said, “but we have to go and tell my parents the news, they don’t know yet. We wanted to tell you two first.”
Once Marcus and Isabella had left, Jo and Ian showered and dressed for the funeral. Ian looked striking in his black suit, which made his eyes look even more mesmerizing than usual. Jo had finally settled on wearing a plain, knee length black dress and sheer shawl with matching black suede pumps. It didn’t matter to Jo what she was wearing, she hated funerals, and having to see Stephanie lying in a coffin knowing what had caused her death, made Jo furious. To know that the reason Stephanie’s parents were now childless, was because of Mia, made her burn with anger and she felt the warmth rising up flushing her cheeks.
“What are you so angry about?” Ian asked, ceasing the fight with his tie and placing each of his hands on Jo’s shoulders.
“Who says I’m angry?” Jo asked, her eyes flaring in flames.
“Jo it’s me you’re talking to, besides your eyes are a dead give away.”
Jo closed her eyes and inhaled deeply until she felt the anger inside of her subside slightly and then opened them and looked seriously at Ian.
“It’s Mia. The Graysons lost their child for absolutely nothing. They think that this was some sort of freak accident and I hate having to face them knowing how she really died.” Jo placed her hands over Ian’s tie as she spoke and then removed them to reveal a perfect knot.
“We’ll deal with Mia when the time comes,” Ian said, pulling Jo into his arms, “but you can’t change what’s already happened.”
Jo’s anger with Mia was replaced by complete sorrow as she and Ian entered the funeral home where Stephanie’s service was being held. Stephanie’s parents were standing in front of the coffin, which to Jo’s relief, was closed. Stephanie’s father was consoling her mother, who sobbed uncontrollably into his shoulder.
A few people had taken their seats and sat speaking quietly among themselves; some with silent tears rolling down their faces and all in a completely somber state.
As Jo made to take a seat Ian held her back and whispered to her quietly, “You’ll feel better if you paid your respects before the service begins.”
“I don’t want to interrupt.”
“I think the Graysons would be disappointed if you didn’t go speak to them. Remember where their daughter lost her life.”
Jo grudgingly approached the Graysons while stealing a glance back towards Ian, who nodded his encouragement. As the couple turned to face the on coming footsteps, Jo could not help but notice that Stephanie had been the perfect mix of both of her parents. She had her mother’s blonde hair and brown eyes and her father’s high cheekbones and full mouth, it was as if each of them took their best features and infused them into their daughter.
“Mr. and Mrs. Grayson, I’m Jo Montgomery, your daughter worked for me at the café,” Jo said, extending a hand.
“Please call us Ted and Lynn,” Mr. Grayson said, as he took Jo’s hand a clasped it in both of his own.
Mrs. Grayson looked at Jo kindly with a tear-streaked face and embraced her. “Thank you so much for coming. Stephanie spoke very highly of you, she loved working at your café.”
“She was an extraordinary young lady, I can’t tell you how sorry I am,” Jo said.
“Please don’t apologize, we’re very grateful that you came.”
Jo noticed that the arrangement she had left on the Graysons’ doorstep was amongst all of the other flowers placed around the coffin. A large lump formed in her throat and her eyes began to sting as she looked passed all of the arrangements to where Stephanie lay peacefully enclosed inside the coffin.
“She was all we had,” Mr. Grayson said, as he took in Jo’s distressed expression. “I understand you have only one child as well.”
“Yes,” Jo said, “Clair, she’s a few years younger than Stephanie. I can’t imagine…” her voice trailed off at the very thought of Clair lying in a coffin, and knowing she would never get see her again or hear her voice or smell her sweet scent when she walked into her untidy bedroom.
“We had trouble conceiving her,” Mrs. Grayson said, “and I had complications during the delivery, which resulted in us not being able to have any more children.” Tears were once again trailing slowly down Mrs. Grayson’s face. “It wouldn’t have made a difference; losing a child no matter how many you have is unbearable. It’s just difficult to know that you’ll never see your child grow up or get married, and to know that you’ll never experience the joy of having grandchildren. It’s sad knowing that it ends with us,” she paused, “there’s nobody left.” Her eyes lingered on Stephanie’s coffin and then back to Jo, who stood looking at the two of them with her eyes full of tears and her heart heavy with grief.
“If there’s anything I can do for you, please ask,” Jo said.
“There’s nothing to be done my dear,” Mr. Grayson said, patting her on the arm.
As more people approached the Graysons to pay their respects, Jo turned to make her way back to Ian. As she lifted her burning eyes to find him, a figure silhouetted in the doorway, caught her attention. A woman dressed in a long, sleek, black, slip-like dress and a shoulder length black veil concealing her face, stood taking in the substantial crowd, which had gathered in the short time that Jo had spoken with the Graysons. She was standing as if she were ready to walk down a runway rather than enter a funeral home. Her hips were casually thrown to one side and her left hand was positioned on her tiny waist as her right hand dangled loosely at her side.
“Damn her!” Jo mumbled to herself, as she headed straight for the figure at the door in complete resolution.
When she was a little more than half way to the door, someone stepped out in front of her barring her way.
“Hi Jo,” said a red-eyed Anna.
“Anna!” Jo said, caught off guard. “It’s good to see you, how have you been?”
“I’ve been better.”
Jo fully took in Anna’s appearance. There were dark circles under her eyes and her complexion was pale. Her hair was pulled back carelessly and her makeup lacked the usual attention that Anna put into its application. It was as if she had only decided to come to the funeral at the last minute. Jo sensed that something was not right but she couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Anna, are you feeling alright?” Jo asked, as she extended her hand to rub Anna’s arm.
Anna pulled back from Jo’s touch, “I’m fine, well not fine obviously, but I’m okay.”
“You don’t look well,” Jo said, giving her a searching look.
Anna’s eye’s darted sideways and she seemed unusually nervous. Jo got the impression that she was looking for somebody.
“Are your parents with you?” Jo asked glancing quickly around the room.
“No, I uh, came with a friend,” Anna said, staring at her shoes.
“And where is your friend?” Jo said feeling her face flushing.
“Bathroom, I think. I should go and find her, I’ll talk to you later Jo,” Anna said, and hurried away.
Jo did not go after Anna but watched her as she walked quickly to the front door, where Mia was still positioned. Although Anna did not stop to speak to Mia, Jo’s eyes flashed as she became sickeningly aware of a very quick exchange between the two of them.
“Not here,” It was Ian who blocked her way this time.
“How dare she show her face here,” Jo said glaring at the figure in the doorway.
“She wants you to make a scene. Let it go for now this is not the place, let the Graysons mourn their daughter in peace.”
Ian led Jo to their sea
ts and Jo tried to clam herself down. Ian was right, the Graysons had every right to a peaceful service and she was going to make sure that they got it, but no matter how hard she tried she could not shake the rage she felt. How dare Mia show up here after what she had done! Jo felt her eyes burn and knew that she needed to control her anger and focus her energy. She closed her eyes and felt Ian pull his arm around her shoulders, and give her a slight squeeze.
When she got control of herself she chanced a glance at the door to see if Mia was still there, but she was gone. Jo scanned the room, and her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of Mia sitting in the isle across from them waving at her menacingly with her fingertips.
“Oh she’s so infuriating!” Jo said with her jaw clenched and a ball of fury deep in her gut. She threw Mia an enraged look and was pleased to see Mia jolt in her seat as if she had been electrified. She composed herself then looked up at Jo with an irate expression on her face. Jo resisted the overwhelming urge to stick her tongue out at her.
Once the service had finished, everyone made their way to the cemetery for the burial. The crowd around the plot was quite large, but Jo still caught sight of Mia skirting next to a group of trees in the distance. She flitted from one to the other as if she were performing an interpretive dance.
“What is she doing?” Jo whispered to Ian.
“She’s trying to irritate you.”
“Well it’s working,” Jo said bitterly.
“You have to stop letting her get to you so easily,” Ian said, putting an arm around Jo’s waist. “I’m sure she’s testing you to see how far she can push you.”
Jo eyed Mia as she pranced in and out of sight. It was as if she were gloating about what she had done. Jo was glad to see that no one else had noticed Mia’s disrespect as they all dabbed at their eyes and consoled each other. She felt her annoyance flare up again as Mia stood on tiptoe and began to do an elegant pirouette. As Jo stood there stewing in her anger with her jaw clenched tight, Mia stumbled and fell hard against a tree. A slight laugh escaped Jo, which she quickly disguised as a cough, while Ian bit his lip to hold back a laugh as well; he had apparently been paying attention to the silent exchange between the two of them. Mia dusted herself off as she stood up and looked over at Jo seething in resentment and then disappeared.
“How was it?” Marcus asked, as Jo and Ian walked through the front door.
“Entertaining,” Ian laughed.
Isabella looked up from the couch, “The funeral was entertaining?”
“No, Jo and Mia were entertaining,” Ian said, flopping down on the couch across from her.
Jo sat down next to Ian, “It’s not funny,” she gave him a little nudge. “She’s so damn annoying!”
Marcus took a seat next to Isabella, “Mia was at the funeral?” He looked disgusted.
“Yes she was!” Jo exclaimed, not being able to keep the bitterness out of her voice.
“But you scared her off didn’t you?” Ian said rubbing Jo’s back with a smirk on his face.
“What did you do?” Marcus and Isabella asked simultaneously looking at Jo, and then at each other as if they were irritated that they had spoken at the same time.
“Let’s just say that Jo knows how to keep Mia in her place,” Ian said, not being able to take the smile off of his face.
“I don’t want to talk about Mia,” Jo said straight faced and turning her attention to Isabella, “How did it go with your parents?”
“Great!” Isabella said looking at Marcus with obvious adoration. “I didn’t know that Marcus had asked my father for permission before proposing. My father is very old fashion and was thrilled that Marcus had stuck to tradition, he has given us his blessing and offered to pay for the whole wedding.”
“Wow, good call on buttering up dad,” Ian said, taking off his tie and opening a few buttons on his shirt.
“I just wanted to do it properly,” Marcus said, taking Isabella’s hand and kissing it, “I mean you only get married once, you should do it right the first time.”
Isabella batted her eyes at Marcus and laid her head on his shoulder, “Isn’t he the most romantic guy you’ve ever seen?”
“You deserve it,” Marcus said, kissing Isabella’s head, “Oh we haven’t told you, we’ve set a date.”
“A date?” Ian questioned.
“A date for our wedding,” Isabella said in exasperation.
“It’s going to be on August twenty first,” Marcus said.
“That’s the day after my birthday,” Ian noted.
“I know,” Marcus said. “Isabella’s parents are leaving for Italy for two months the following weekend and we don’t want to wait until next summer.”
“And we certainly don’t want to be married in the cold, but next month is too soon so we settled on August,” Isabella finished Marcus’s explanation.
“You’re not upset are you?” Marcus asked Ian.
“No, as long as I don’t have to celebrate your anniversary on my birthday it’s fine with me.”
“You never celebrate your birthday,” Marcus mumbled under his breath.
Ian suddenly felt a stirring inside himself and he pretended not to hear Marcus’s comment as he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He looked over at Jo who had suddenly become very quiet; she was staring at him with a familiar gleam in her eye. Ian knew that look very well. The corner of Jo’s mouth twitched as her eyes raked over the exposed skin of Ian’s chest and then up to his inquiring face.
“Well I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted,” Ian said, stretching his arms out and giving an exaggerated yawn.
“Me too,” said Jo, imitating Ian, and yawning widely.
“It’s only six fifteen,” Isabella said, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner.
“It’s been a long day,” Ian said, getting to his feet quickly, taking Jo’s hand and pulling her anxiously to the stairs.
“Goodnight,” Jo called, giggling as Ian scooped her up and hastily made his way up the steps.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Marcus said shaking his head, “is that all they do? Where do they get the energy?”
“Is what all they do?” Isabella began, “Oh that,” she said comprehending suddenly why there was an unexpected out break of stretching and yawning.
Ian was half undressed before stepping into the bedroom; Jo seemed to be full of a renewed vivacity that she couldn’t undress him quickly enough. She lingered on his lips for a long time and tasted blood as Ian pulled back slightly.
“Easy, there’s no rush. What’s gotten into you?” Ian asked with laugh, as he wiped the blood from his lip with the back of his hand.
“You just drive me crazy,” Jo said, returning eagerly to his mouth.
Ian was not about to argue. He had been so upset with Marcus and Isabella that morning for interrupting because he didn’t know how long it would take to get Jo back to her old self again. But by the vigor in which she was kissing him, he knew that his wait had come to an end.
“Lucky for you I heal so quickly,” Ian said, lifting Jo off of her feet and walking her over to the bed.
Jo didn’t know what had gotten into her. It seemed the more time she spent with Ian the more she wanted him. She thought that the feeling would subside eventually but it just seemed to get more intense. The only time the feeling seemed to abate in any degree was when she was having nightmares of Mia killing him.
Jo turned and pushed Ian down on the bed then climbed on top of him, “Do you feel that?” She said closing her eyes and sitting still for minute.
“Of course I do,” Ian said, pulling her down to him.
“But do you feel it because I feel it, or can you feel it on your own?” Jo said, pulling back slightly and looking Ian in the eye.
“Jo I’ve felt this way about you since I met you. I thought you knew that.”
“I do, but it just seems so much more intense now doesn’t it?”
“
Yes it does!” Ian said a little impatiently, to let Jo know that this discussion could wait for a later time.
Jo let out a laugh, “Oh, I’m sorry.”
“Well you can’t just attack me like a barracuda and then start talking emotions,” Ian said, unzipping the back of her dress and rolling her over onto her back.
He knew the exact feeling that Jo was talking about. There were many times when all Ian had to do was look at Jo and it would drive him absolutely insane. At first he thought as Jo did, that he was just picking up on her feelings, but when Jo had been preoccupied with the dreams she was having, he knew the feeling was not coming from her, because he felt the terror that was going through her in combination to the desire he himself was feeling. He remembered Lena mentioning that the connection between the two of them would be stronger now that they were magically bound, but he didn’t think that she meant the desire for each other would increase as well. Not that he was complaining, he enjoyed nothing better than being with Jo, and the two of them shared so much more than just a physical connection. Never in all of his years of roaming the earth did Ian think he would find someone he would love so much, and that would love him back so selflessly in return. The feeling of knowing such unconditional love only heightened the connection between them.
Later, as Ian lay content with Jo in his arms, he heard an odd gurgling sound. “Is that your stomach making all that noise?”
“I’m starving,” said Jo, “aren’t you? We haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
“Yeah I am,” Ian said, getting up and pulling on a pair of pants, “come on let’s go make something.”
“Now? What time is it?” Jo said, craning her neck to see the clock.
“It’s ten o’clock,” Ian answered, as Jo got up and pulled on pair of pajama pants and a snug t-shirt.
Ian and Jo had decided that they should each keep a wardrobe at both houses until they decided on permanent living arrangements. Jo did not want to make any decisions until the issue with Mia had been resolved and Clair was brought up to date with all that had been happening. She also had to take into consideration if Clair wanted to move. Clair might not want to move into Ian’s house and she may not like the idea of living with Marcus and Isabella. It had been just the two of them for so long and Jo did not want to force Clair into anything.
“Do you think Marcus and Isabella are still downstairs?” Jo asked, as they started down the hall.
“I hope not, I really don’t want to hear any more about their wedding plans,” Ian said.
“They’re just excited,” Jo said, “let them enjoy it.”
Ian stopped on the landing and faced Jo, “Are you disappointed that we didn’t get to do any of that, you know, picking invitations and centerpieces and all of that stuff?”
Jo placed a gentle hand on Ian’s cheek, “No, I’ve already done it once remember? And look where that got me. Truthfully, I don’t think I would have wanted to go through all of that again.” Jo looked thoughtful for a minute, “What about you? You’ve never had a wedding. Are you disappointed?”
“I think it’s the marriage that counts not the wedding, and I can honestly say that I’m glad that I didn’t have to pick out flowers and frills and all of that. It’s really not my thing.” Ian moved in close and kissed Jo, “I think we had the perfect wedding.”
“Are you two so tired of the bedroom, you have to use the stairway now as well?” Marcus chided, as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“We’re hungry,” Ian said, taking Jo’s hand and continuing down the stairs.
“That’s a surprise. Do you two even eat anymore or do you survive on love?” Marcus said in an airy voice putting the palms of his hands together, placing one side against his face and batting his eyes.
“Humor was never really your strong suit,” Ian said, passing Marcus and looking around, “speaking of love, where’s Isabella?”
Marcus started up the steps, “I took her home,” he stopped and leaned against the railing crossing his arms in front of him, “we decided to sleep apart until the wedding.”
“See now that’s funny,” Ian said.
“Why is that funny?” Marcus asked furrowing his eyebrows.
“You expect us to believe that you two are not going to have sex for the next two months?”
“Some of us can control ourselves Ian,” Marcus said in a playful tone.
“Yes some people can, but not you two. Just because Jo and I don’t hide it like you and Isabella, doesn’t mean anything Marcus,” Ian said, turning towards the kitchen and speaking over his shoulder, “I think you’re forgetting that I have the same heightened sense of hearing that you do lover boy.”