Chapter 22 #2
Jonah turned her, slowly tugging the zipper until it revealed her tattoo.
He kissed her shoulder wordlessly, reverently, as he continued to lower it, its metal teeth parting with a sigh.
She breathed deep as he kissed down her spine, all the while still unzipping.
Down on one knee again, then the other. Exposing the small of her back to the cool air before warming it with his lips.
Catching the top of her thong in his teeth and letting it snap. “And whose is this?”
“All mine.”
“All yours,” he echoed, rising to full height again behind her. Without the zipper to hold it in place, the velvet had slipped down her arms. True to his word, he peeled one side off, then the other. The last of the fabric dropped to a velvety pool at her feet.
She turned to face him, stepping out of the velvet and into his waiting arms.
Somewhere in the tiny apartment, someone’s phone trilled the crisp, urgent alert of a video call coming through.
“Is that yours?”
Their voices in unison made them laugh.
“If it’s mine,” Tzipi said, “It’s probably my mom calling Kara on FaceTime while she power walks. It’s their mother-daughter bonding time, apparently.”
“So even your mom didn’t know about – ”
“No way. She would’ve been on the first plane here.”
The video ring stopped, and the audio ring began. And now it was the unmistakable peal Kara had set for family only.
“If it’s your mom calling twice…” Jonah pondered.
“I’m naked!” She hissed, as if the phone had eyes and ears.
“Just saying. If it was my mom –” he reasoned.
“The bunker queen of Jewish moms?”
“Exactly. Double-call territory? The Messiah could be on his or her way.”
The ringing stopped. Over on the nightstand, the phone began lighting up with texts like the eighth night of Hanukkah. Her stomach dropped.
Jonah had the ability to make her forget all about the shit she’d stepped into, and now it was rising up. Rob, Hannon, the press…any number of things could’ve all hit the fan by high noon.
He climbed into the rumpled covers, holding up a corner of his blanket up for her to slide in. “Whatever’s going on…we’ll face it like the fortune.”
“In bed?”
“Yep. And no regrets.”
She cozied up to his solid wall of a chest, the sheet covering hers. Took a deep breath, and opened her texting app.
“It’s…me. I mean, my phone! Kara.”
I couldn’t get married without my best friend
I love you, Tiz.
Where are you?
Click the damn link.
With shaking hands, she did. A small rectangle of beach appeared. Lapping waves. A simple chuppah of bamboo and palm fronds, with flowers twined through. Two figures. The sunrise glow behind them on the horizon, steadily getting brighter as they clasped hands.
A gasp and a giggle escaped from Tzipi.
“It’s seven a.m. in Hawaii,” she whispered. “I can’t believe they are really doing it.”
Kara’s dress was so ethereal, it made the one Tzipi wore last night look like clunky chainmail. A long, gauzy hem swirled at her ankles and her bare feet, its off-white lace a stunning contrast to dark sand.
“She’s wearing our nan’s gown!” Modernized, of course. But still classy and classic. Her newly cropped hair was accented by a wreath of native flowers. And Shel wore a lei of the same blooms, which popped against his light linen suit.
“Ani L’Dodi…” Kara’s husky timbre began.
“…V’Dodi Li,” Shel finished, unable to take his eyes of his bride.
“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine,” Tzipi whispered along with them, tears in her eyes.
Jonah’s arm tightened around her, pulling her closer. He rested his chin on her bare shoulder to get a better look as the camera slowly zoomed in to capture Kara and Shel smiling at one another.
“Hold on, if you posed as her, does that mean…is that what you normally look like?” He pulled back to regard her. “Because holy hell, Tzipi. You’re gorgeous.”
She kicked his shin under the covers with her bare toes.
“I mean, obviously you both are smokin’ hot…”
“You’re just noticing this now?” she teased. “Because I was totally checking you out on deck the moment I saw you, head to toe. No shame.”
“It’s just, I’m a no frills guy. I like…” he waved his hand vaguely. “I like looking at you, sure, because I like talking to you. And seeing what lights you up when you say it. When you look at me. When I make you laugh. And when I make you –”
“Shhhhhhhh!”
“That’s exactly what I was going to say.”
“No, shhhh because they are about to be pronounced husband and wife!” Tzipi scolded happily.
The camera zoomed out again, to capture the whole scene, and Shel breaking the glass – in a cloth bag, of course, to protect the sand.
Although the sand already glittered like smashed obsidian shards in the sun.
“I’ve seen this beach before, this exact spot.” Jonah reached for his own phone, swiping through his texts. “Look!”
The photo, dated and timestamped yesterday, was from exactly the same angle. A crescent of black sand beach, empty of people. There was no mistaking it.
“I have a feeling I know exactly who your sister hired as her photographer.” He smiled. “Small world.”