Chapter 35 Sinclair
We’d all walked down to the south entrance together and were now piling into the biggest crawler that I’d seen so far. “What is this? A party bus crawler?”
Jayne smiled as she took a seat. “It’s the same one we took to my dress fitting.”
My dad nodded as he looked around. “Now this would be right at home in Vegas.”
“Except for the part where there’s no snow,” I reminded him. I sat next to Jayne. She looked beautiful tonight, something I’d already told her twice. Having a hot wife was the best.
Joshua leaned back so we could see him. “Welcome aboard, folks. We’re off to the planetarium for Luminara, huh?”
“That’s right,” Jayne said. “How are you this evening, Joshua?”
“I’m very well, your highness, thank you for asking. Won’t be a long ride, but if anyone needs anything, please don’t hesitate to let me know.” He got back behind the wheel, and we soon pulled away.
“This is exciting,” my mom said. “I’ve never seen the aurora borealis before, but I’ve always wanted to.”
“I saw them once when I went on that Alaskan cruise with Chuck,” Zinnia said. She frowned. “Maybe it was with Ted.” She looked at my dad. “Who did I go on that cruise with?”
He laughed. “If you can’t remember, you can’t expect me to.”
“I suppose not,” Aunt Zinnia said. “Well, anyway, I have no doubt this will be better since no one’s expecting me to sleep with them at the end of the night.”
“Zinnia!” My mom turned pink, not easy for a zombie.
My dad and Jayne just laughed.
“Don’t,” I whispered to Jayne. “You’re just encouraging her.”
My dad adjusted his tie, something my mom had made him wear, but as I wasn’t wearing one, he was itching to take it off. “It’ll be a real bucket-list experience to sit in a royal box. Never thought I’d do that in my lifetime.”
“To be honest,” Jayne said, “it’s been a long time since I’ve done it, but seeing the lights with all of you will be the best part for me.
That and the orchestra. You might think they’re going to play all classical pieces, but I promise that’s not the case.
They do all sorts of music, even modern stuff. ”
Joshua had told the truth about the length of the trip, and we soon came to a stop. “Just a minute, folks. Let me get the door and make sure the planetarium is ready to receive you.” He hopped out.
I put my arm around Jayne, content to wait. Didn’t take but a few minutes before the door opened. Joshua stood nearby, but I could see a few people in planetarium uniforms, too.
I helped Jayne down the stairs, then my mom and Aunt Zinnia. My dad came after.
“Welcome to Luminara.” An older woman in uniform, bearing a name badge that said Meg, bowed her head as she curtseyed.
Other employees were gathered both inside the glass doors and out on the sidewalk.
“We’re so pleased to have you with us this evening, especially after their royal highnesses, the king and queen, were here last night. ”
A man in uniform opened one of the doors to the planetarium.
Meg gestured toward the interior. “If you’d like to follow me, I’ll escort you to the royal box.”
“That would be great,” Jayne said.
We followed Meg. I got the sense that we were either traveling a sort of hidden, VIP route or they’d blocked everyone else off, because I didn’t see another soul.
We went up a single flight of steps, through a set of double doors, then through another set of double doors and we were in the royal box.
It was nice. Large, plush seats in two rows of four.
Meg stayed at the door as we filed in. “Luke will be your concierge this evening. He’ll be right outside these doors. If you need anything, he’ll take care of it. Have a wonderful experience and enjoy the show.”
“Thank you,” I said, along with my mom and Jayne, who’d responded almost in unison.
Meg left. I could only assume Luke was already out there.
“Great seats,” my dad said. “Why don’t you and Jayne sit wherever you want, and the three of us will take the other row.”
Someone knocked softly on the box doors.
“I’ll get it.” I went to see who it was.
I was greeted with a quick bow from a surprisingly large man with a tray in one hand. “Your highness, I’m Luke Fells. I’m your concierge for the evening. I was recommended for the job by Ezreal.”
I understood immediately. Ezreal had sent someone—a member of the security team, I presumed—to keep an eye on us tonight. My gratitude and appreciation for the man increased, and it was already at a pretty high level. “I am very glad to hear that.”
He presented the tray. “This is an assortment of snacks arranged for you, and I will be right back with whatever beverages you and your family would like.”
I opened the door wider. “Come on in. My wife never turns down snacks.”
There was a small console table against the back wall that I hadn’t noticed when we’d come in. He set the tray there, then went about getting drink orders. I could have told him what Jayne wanted. He returned to me after speaking to everyone else.
“What can I get for you, sir?”
“I’m fine, thank you.”
“I’ll be back shortly. I’d advise you to lock the door after me.”
“Will do.” I didn’t think there was that much of a threat, but I wasn’t going to tell this guy that. I locked the door. Everyone else was looking at the snacks Luke had brought. I went back to my seat. As I did, my phone vibrated. I checked the screen and saw a text message from Ezreal.
Just confirming that I sent Luke. He’s a good man.
NP Special Forces?
Something like that.
I sent a winking face and a thumbs-up as my reply, much more at ease than I had been on the way over. I hadn’t really been worried; I’d just thought that tonight might be unnecessarily putting ourselves out there.
I’d agreed because I wanted my parents to have fun and not to worry, but now, I was sure everything would be fine.
“Look.” Jayne took her seat beside me, holding out her palm. On it were three truffles. “You want one? The one in the middle is salted pistachio with white chocolate and orange. Doesn’t that sound good?”
“It does, actually, but didn’t you get that for you?”
“No, I got the dark chocolate raspberry and the milk chocolate honeycomb for myself. There are little bags of sweet and salty pretzels and some with roasted nuts, too.”
“Thanks.” I plucked the middle truffle off her palm, glancing back at my parents and aunt, who seemed absolutely tickled by the whole experience.
Luke returned with our drinks. Just as we were getting through them, the lights flickered, and we were asked to take our seats so that the show could begin.
We settled in. A countdown began, the numbers illuminated on the domed ceiling above us in sparkling, projected graphics.
“Three … two … one!”
The seats shifted, reclining us so that we faced the ceiling. Then the dome began to open.
The calming female voice that had counted down began speaking again, this time with a little more stage presence. “Welcome …” Music began to swell. “To Luminara!”
The ceiling panels had slid away, revealing the glass dome above us. The sky twinkled with stars. One shot across the black velvet expanse, raising a chorus of gasps from the audience. I smiled. I’d heard my mom’s voice in there.
Almost as if on command, the aurora borealis appeared, sending blue-green ribbons of light out in undulating waves. A deep red ribbon followed, the colors shifting and fluctuating with nature’s choreography.
I didn’t know if there was winter elf magic at work, but the lights and the music seemed to mesh beautifully. It was as if the lights had been designed to work with the orchestra. Simply amazing.
My mouth was open in astonishment most of the evening. I was so glad we’d come. I doubted this experience could be had anywhere else. I couldn’t wait to hear what my family thought.
As the final cymbal clashed, the timpani drums died away, and the lights came up, I exhaled. The dome closed, and our chairs returned to their original positions. Next to me, Jayne was staring into space as if she wasn’t ready to come back to Earth just yet.
I looked back to see my family pretty much the same way. “Incredible, wasn’t it?”
My mom shook her head. “I don’t have words.”
“I feel so inspired,” my dad said. “Lila, honey, we need something like that as part of our show.”
“I’d love that,” she said. “But could we do it justice?”
“We can try.”
So far, all my Aunt Zinnia had said was, “Wow.”
I smiled at Jayne. “What did you think?”
“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Why have we not done this before?”
“I don’t honestly know.” I glanced at her hands. She was still holding the little white paper cups the truffles had been in. “Here.” I held out my palm. “Give the trash to me, and I’ll get rid of it.”
“Thanks.” She dropped the crumpled cups into my hand. I counted five of them. I laughed as I got up. I hadn’t seen her get more, but if there was some form of sugar nearby, my wife would find a way to make it hers.
I took them back to the console table, figuring there was a trash can around. I found it and dropped the wrappers in. There was a single truffle left on the snack tray. I picked it up, debating if I should offer it to Jayne or eat it myself. I was entitled to at least two.
Despite that, I took it to her and held it out. “Last one. You want it?”
She gave it an admiring glance. “You want it?”
“I’m happy to let you have it.”
She picked it up from the paper, bit it in half, and offered me the rest.
I opened my mouth, but then I caught sight of the paper cup still in my hand. My pulse increased. I took a closer look to make sure I was truly seeing what was there.
On the bottom of the paper cup, a hand-drawn image stared back at me: a skull, slashed through with a bold black X.
“Jayne,” I whispered as loudly as I dared. “Spit that out now.”