11/17/11

Double Deception
By Deryn Pittar


Strong waves pounded the high tide line. Hidden by a grass covered dune, they embraced, relieved to finally escape their wedding guests. His poetic whispers suddenly ceased as he cupped her face in his hands, and said, "There's something I need to tell you, now that you’ve promised to love me forever. Something I’ve been hiding from you.”

Katherine’s eyes widened in surprise, her heart almost stopped. She felt it skip a beat. She sucked in her breath and held it, waiting. She nodded her head, indicating he should go on. He didn’t.

“And?.. she prompted, breathing out, The silence building.

Her mind raced back to when they’d met, just six weeks ago; still vivid; still fresh and bright in her memory. She knew it would be a lasting memory – the moment she fell over in the surf, and fell in love.

Her arms had thrashed in panic. Her throat filled with water. Strong arms enclosed her and a second later she gasped, above the surging froth, squinting through her salt stung eyes.

“You can stop struggling. You’re safe.” His voice had caressed her ears like melted chocolate, running into the crevices of her brain, sending tingling messages of delight down her spine. He’d lowered her slowly, holding her tight against his damp chest. Her toes curled into the sand and she looked up into his eyes; twin wells of desire; and from his eyelashes had hung a sprinkling of sunlit drops.

She remembered thinking ‘A God has arrived at the ‘Polar Swim’.

He’d smiled. His green eyes pierced her soul. Her heart raced with desire. Her knees went weak with passion.

“Lost your voice?” How could three words dissolve any sensible thought in her head? “A simple thank you will do.” His eyebrows arched, waiting for her to speak.

She couldn’t. Her hair hung in rat's tails. Her bikini was full of sand. She felt cold, wet and ugly. He’d saved her … and she looked a mess. Tears of frustration trickled down her cheeks.

“Don’t cry,” he coaxed, “I’ve got you.”

And that’s how it’d all begun; followed by a whirlwind courtship which spun them both out of control with its intensity. The advice of friends ‘to wait’; the reprimands of her parents ‘to wait’; even her boss had added his words of caution. Were they all going to be proved right?

Her heart felt like a rock, a block of ice in her chest. Fear built in her throat, choking her.

“Tell me” she pleaded her words sounding mangled as they slid out.

“I didn’t want to tell you before the wedding, in case you refused to marry me.” Jack’s voice trembled as he spoke. “I love you so much Katherine. I was scared I’d loose you.”

“What’s the problem? What do you have to tell me?” Her voice sounded shrill above the crash of the waves. At high tide the sea was wild.

She’d been in personal turmoil herself the last two weeks. The stress of organising the wedding, plus the build up to today, had caused her to vomit, daily, for the last two weeks.

She’d finally given in and gone to the Doctor, fearing that her family’s genetic trait of Cystic Fibrosis had developed. No, he’d assured her, it couldn’t be showing this late in her life. The Doctor had tested her to ease her fears. Yesterday she’d had the results of the blood tests.

She had news to share with Jack as well.

“I have a genetic disease” Jack said, his voice a mere mumble. She lent her head closer and wrapped her arms around him.

“What disease?”

“It’s a curse and I was frightened if you knew, you wouldn’t marry me.”

“What disease?” She wasn’t sure if she was shaking with frustration or fear, but her legs were beginning to weaken.

“Cystic Fibrosis. My sister died of it. It’s ghastly.”

Katherine inhaled deeply and held him tight, kissing the end of his nose and wiping the tears from his cheeks with her thumbs.

“Well I’ve got news as well.” She said. “Good news - and bad news.”

The noise of the sea eased. The tide had turned and the surf’s roar settled.

“The bad news is I carry the same gene.” Jack’s mouth opened in disappointment. She hurried on. “But the good news is I’m pregnant and our child will be fine… because you’re not the father.”

“What?” Jack stepped back from her embrace, shock on his face. “Who?”

“Only Larry, from Accounts.” Katherine giggled. “I had a hilarious time at the staff party a couple of months ago. Larry and I hooked up in the stationery cupboard.” She smiled at the memory. “Not that there was anything stationary about our activities.” Seeing his shocked face, she added, “but he’s not as good a lover as you are darling.”

She took him by the arm, missing his expression of disgust, and pulled him back towards their guests.

“Come on Jack, cheer up. At least the child will be good with figures. Larry may be socially challenged, but he’s got a good brain.” She stopped and standing on tip toes, whispered in his ear.

“Plus, he’s not a bit deceitful, like you and I.”


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I write poetry, flash fiction and am currently working on a romantic paranormal novella. I like to experiment with a wide range of topics and have recently been challenged by writing romantic pieces.. It's a lot hard to write romance than it is to read it.