31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Drakos
Carnival music played. I held a brass pole attached to the black horse I usually rode when my grandfather took me to ride that old, majestic carousel. He scowled in my dream as he leaned against a snarling wooden tiger.
“Drakos, my boy, I feel the need to kick your backside.”
I smiled as I studied his beloved, wrinkled face. “What for this time, old man?”
He huffed. “For that wretched proposal. Sylvie deserves better than that, and I didn’t raise an idiot. You need to fix this.”
“She agreed to marry me. What more do you want?”
Sighing in disgust, he shook his head. “You need to begin how you mean to go on. Tell her why you want to marry her—that you love her, and she’s delightful, kind, loyal, and protective. For a smart boy, you really messed it up.”
I leaned back against the stallion. “She’s scared and skittish. I don’t think she ever planned to marry.”
He folded his arms, and I noticed he wore his favorite old tweed coat with the patches on his elbows. “Are you talking about her—or yourself?”
“I’ll fix it,” I murmured, wincing as his words hit home.
“Good. Now let’s talk about grandbabies.”
Sighing, I climbed onto the black stallion as he sat on the tiger. “We aren’t even married yet. And what if she doesn’t want kids?”
He grinned, and I noticed his silver front tooth. “I think she does, but maybe not right away. That girl is kindhearted and not afraid to show it to the people she loves.”
The view beyond the carousel looked like a blurry, rain-washed Monet painting, and I noticed the lake not far from my grandfather’s old house in the distance.
“I want to be one of those people,” I admitted as the stallion bobbed up and down.
Before my grandfather could answer, Sylvie stirred next to me, rousing me out of my dream. The music faded, and I gently pulled her to me and ran my fingers softly down her arm. She settled in and drifted back to sleep as I stared off into the darkness.