Bem Shelby prided himself on never rushing into things. Being the crown prince meant that spontaneity was not a word in his vocabulary. And for twenty-nine-year-old Bem, that was okay. Until he met Julissa.
“Can I have a soda please?” Bem leaned over the bar counter and asked the pretty bartender. He glanced over at Antonio and smiled when he saw him slow dancing with Rae.
“What do you want in it, vodka, whiskey or gin?” The bartender smiled at him while popping the top of a can of Coke.
I’m sure at my birth age, reports like these should be normal; however, I am anything but normal. I died ten years ago, the day after my 6th birthday. I never got the chance to go to school and so I’ve never had to write a report like this. So I asked my sister, Adeya, for some help. She said to just write what happened in a way that would make people want to read it. She’s very smart, my sister. I wonder if I will be that smart when I am her age.
You see, even though I was born before her, she’s lived longer than I have. Dr. Gates says that if I go by my death date, then we’re practically twins, with me older by a day. I like that and so when she gets uppity, I always remind her of that! And if I add both my birth age and my death age together, I’m older than Ade by six years and a day. But I only do that when I get angry at her. I like being her twin.
I’m really lucky, because this year, my parents decided to travel around the world for the summer. This means I have a lot to write about; like the pyramids in Egypt, the museum in France, the aquarium in Riverview and the gardens in China. I also got to meet a lot of my dad’s family for the first time (that’s a whole other story!).
So, let’s start, okay? Continue reading
Today was the day. Aaliyah lay in bed waiting for the alarm clock to go off. She barely slept the night before. Too excited to sleep, she had roamed around the house, muttering to herself and watching her children sleep. Now she lay awake listen to Antonio’s steady breathing and wondering how she was going to tell him.
He had no idea she was going to Appaloosa with Rae’s ashes this afternoon. The one time she tried to bring it up, he’d been furious.
Trying to fix the computer, Aaliyah had casually brought up the phone conversation with Dr. Gates.
Aaliyah stood by the phone and stared at Antonio. The front desk attendant was still speaking on the other end of the line, but Aaliyah wasn’t paying attention anymore.
“I’m sorry, what did you say?”
“My mother was pregnant before the car accident. I kept having the dream, except you always took her place. My brain kept trying to make me see the connection and I haven’t until right this minute.”
“Antonio, your mother died in that accident.” Aaliyah frowned and shook her head.
“No. No she didn’t. My father died in the accident. My mother was the one who dragged me out of the car. She was alive when we got to the hospital, Lia. Like you were.” Antonio frowned too. “What if the same thing happened? I might have a sibling out there somewhere.”
“I highly doubt it’s this woman downstairs.” And with that Aaliyah remembered the phone in her hands. “Hello? Yes, sorry about that. No, we don’t know anyone by that name. Tell her to leave a message. No, we definitely do not want to see her. Thank you.”
Aaliyah hung up the phone and walked over to Antonio. “I’m going to be so happy when I can put a gate and a driveway between me and the crazies!”
Antonio stood up and snagged one of her hands. “I remembered something new, Lia. After thirty years, it just came to me. Like that!” Antonio snapped his fingers. In his eyes was a mixture of wonder and fear.
“Not that suddenly, my love. It has taken thirty years of the same bad dream and the loss of a child to get that one memory. You earned this.” Aaliyah stroked Antonio’s cheek. “Let’s hope this is just the beginning.”
Aaliyah kissed Antonio and walked over to the crib to check on a still-sleeping Adeya. “Your daddy remembered something little one. I think today is going to be a good day.”
The Torres Legacy 