Mortimer Goth gazed wistfully out at the wedding arch set up in his yard, and sighed.
In just a few short days, his only daughter would be marrying that loathsome Don Lothario, and the mere thought sent shivers down Mortimer’s spine. Doctor Lothario may have been a rising star among the residents at Pleasantview Medical Center, but in his bones — and they were very old bones — Mortimer knew him to be far from honorable. Mortimer had been just a child when his family emigrated from the Old Country, but his father had instilled in him the deep belief that without honor, a man was not truly a man. His heart ached at the thought that very soon, such a creature would be wed to his Cassandra.
Lothario was a playboy. It wasn’t much of a secret. Half the women in town had fallen prey to his charms. There were even rumors that the night Mortimer’s wife Bella had vanished, she was seen climbing Lothario’s balcony. For that reason alone, Mortimer had cause to despise Lothario. And Cassandra was inexplicably smitten with the cad. Mortimer had yet to find the right combination of logic to pierce the thrall she was under. She loved him, she claimed, long and loud, and that was all that mattered.
So deep in his reverie was Mortimer that he almost didn’t hear the soft footfalls padding up behind him, quiet as a thief in the night. But there was no mistaking the cologne.
“Yes, Don?” Mortimer asked, without turning. “Did you want something?”
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mortimer,” Lothario answered, his voice a low, velvety whisper. “Have you seen Cassandra? She asked me to come over, and it seemed important.”
“It is important, Don,” Cassandra said from the archway to the parlor. “We need to talk.” Mortimer and Lothario both turned at the sound of her voice, and both were momentarily taken aback.
“Cass! What did you do?” Lothario cried, surprise evident in his tone.
“It’s called a makeover, Don. Women have them every day.”
“You look stunning, my dear,” Mortimer told her.
“Your father’s right, Cass. You look aMAZing,” Lothario fawned. The young doctor didn’t notice the older man’s eyes narrow as he glared at his future son-in-law from behind him. “You should have done this years ago.”
“I’ll leave you two to talk,” Mortimer said, and started for the kitchen.
“No, Father. Please stay. You should hear this, too.” Mortimer stopped and nodded slightly. Cassandra turned back to face Lothario. “Don, I… I can’t marry you.”
“WHAT?!” Mortimer and Lothario cried in unison. Of course, from Lothario, the sound was an exclamation of utter shock, while from Mortimer, it was one more of happy surprise.
“I can’t marry you,” Cassandra restated. “I’ve been giving this a lot of thought, and… I’m not in love with you.”
“You’ve got to be joking,” Lothario growled. “The wedding’s just a few days away. This is just nerves.”
“No, Don. I mean it. For months, I’ve tried to ignore the innuendo and the rumors, the whispers from colleagues about how you carry on with Nina Caliente behind my back. About how you were the last person to see my mother the night she disappeared. But I can’t do it anymore.”
“They’re… it’s not...” Lothario muttered. “It’s not like that.”
“Look me in the eye, Don. Look me in the eye and tell me that they’re all lies.”
“Of course they’re lies, baby. I had nothing to do with your mother’s disappearance.” He smiled at her. The bright one. The one that made women forget they were spoken for, forget they were sane and rational, forget they were human, even. The one that never failed to win a woman over. Until now.
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Don, and you know it,” Cassandra spat. “Tell me you didn’t sleep with Nina just last week. Tell me you didn’t take Kaylynn Langerak lingerie shopping over the weekend. Tell me it didn’t happen!”
“It… I—” Suddenly, he couldn’t look her in the eye. She took off her engagement ring and placed it in his hand, then gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Goodbye, Don.” She turned and went into the parlor. He started after her.
“Don’t.” Mortimer. Lothario had forgotten he was there.
“You’re behind this, aren’t you, old man? You didn’t want her to marry me, and now you’ve got your way. What did you do, threaten to cut her off if she married me?”
“My daughter comes to her own conclusions, Doctor Lothario. As much as I’d like to believe otherwise, my influence on her decision-making is minimal these days. Cassandra is very headstrong… much like her mother in that regard. On this occasion, however, I would be lying if I said that I was unhappy with her choice. She has restored my faith in her sanity and intelligence.” Lothario glared at him, eyelids twitching and fists clenching and unclenching. “I think you should leave now,” Mortimer told him.
“Fine,” Lothario spat, stalking off toward the foyer. As he left the dining room, Cassandra reappeared from the parlor.
“Thank you, Father,” she said. “I think that was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.” A tear rolled down her cheek, as Mortimer swept her into his arms.
“You will survive this, my dear. This will make you stronger. You will see.” Cassandra jumped as the front door slammed. She walked into the foyer on trembling legs, and watched through the window as Lothario stormed off down the street.
A very cold, tight knot formed in the pit of her stomach as she watched him walk away. She knew that she hadn’t just lost a fiancé, she’d gained an enemy. She felt a presence behind her, and turned to find her little brother, Alexander, looking up at her.
“So you’re not getting married, huh, sis?” he asked.
“Guess not, Little Man.”
“You need a hug or something?”
“You know, I really think I do.”
She bent down to hug him and as she felt his arms around her neck, she felt a surge of strength. “Go get Father, will you, Alex?” As he ran off, Cassandra steeled herself for the second hardest thing she’d ever had to do.
“Yes, dear,” Mortimer said, barely managing to rein Alexander in as the boy led him by the hand into the foyer. “What can I do?” Cassandra took a deep breath.
“Father. Alex. I’m moving out.”
27 Apr 2006 | 04:06 AM