Gatsby Wolves, Vol. 4

Celine spent the next two weeks after the full moon trying to make life easy for Kade and keeping Emelie distracted from everything going on. Emelie liked to help her in the kitchen, and they must have baked enough cookies and banana bread and other treats to start their own bakery. She supposed it was a good thing she had a wolf pack to unload some of it on, since she was running out of room in the kitchen. She even sent some bundt cakes to Wes and Euna. She cleaned the house more obsessively than she usually did, and helped Emelie with her homework. She made her an appointment with a vampire dentist to make sure her fangs were healthy; she even took her to the appointment, and vampire dentistry was a circle of hell Dante had missed. Emelie tried biting the dentist multiple times as he tried to inspect her fangs. Celine couldn’t really blame her; she’d never liked having her gums prodded at either and had almost taken a dentist’s finger off once when she was little.

Emelie was sulky after they left the dentist’s office, poking gingerly at her teeth with her tongue. Celine held her hand as they walked home.

“I don’t like the dentist,” Emelie declared. Celine smiled.

“I know, honey. But a little vampire needs her fangs to be strong and healthy. They’re a little fragile when you’re still this young.”

“I’m not little,” Emelie said. “I’m a big girl.”

“Oh, you are, are you? You look pretty little to me. Knee high to a grasshopper.”

“I am not!” Emelie looked indignant. Then she giggled as Celine picked her up, tickling her under her chin.

“Big girls take care of their fangs,” Celine said. “Because when they do, they get to pick out a special treat in the fairy district.”

Emelie brightened. “Are we going to get the dresses today?” she asked eagerly.

“We certainly are.”

The dentist appointment had needed to be made around three in the morning, since the office operated on vampire hours. Rousing Emelie so early hadn’t helped her crankiness, but Celine figured taking a trip to the fairy district to get Emelie’s super special custom dress would improve her mood. The pixies were happy to see them when they arrived, eagerly showing them the gowns they’d designed.

Emelie’s was a frothy mix of sky blue satin and lace, and the little gemstone butterflies that adorned the dress actually moved; their little jeweled wings fluttered gently as they “flew” lazily around the fabric of the dress. Emelie’s face positively glowed as she admired it. Celine’s dress for the wedding was the darker blue Foxglove had picked out, with pretty white flower blossoms sewn around the hem; they drifted gently much like Emelie’s butterflies. They looked like they were floating on the surface of water.

“Maybe let the other one be a surprise,” Foxglove said, eyes twinkling. “I promise I’ll give you a refund for it if your husband’s jaw doesn’t hit the floor.”

Celine laughed and thanked them again. They’d even included shoes to match the dresses and some jeweled butterfly clips for Emelie’s hair. The red velvet heels Foxglove handed Celine intimidated her a little bit; she was almost afraid to see the dress they were designed to match. She took Emelie to shop for a necklace to go with her dress, then bought them a box of macarons that they snacked on as they walked back toward home.

“Why don’t we stop in and see Daddy for lunch?” Celine suggested. She had to hold all the boxes as Emelie ran inside the pawn shop. She almost toppled over as she set everything on the counter. Emelie dragged Kade out of the back.

“We got the dress,” she said excitedly. “It’s blue and has butterflies and everything! Mommy got me a necklace too, because I had to go to the dentist.”

“I think Mommy deserves a necklace for taking you to the dentist,” Kade remarked. Celine handed him his lunch.

“I also managed to save you a macaron,” she said, setting the box next to his sandwich. “The almond kind you like. And I took care of the reservations and babysitting arrangements for our anniversary.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You’re really on top of things lately. Are you trying to protect me from chores and dentists now?”

Celine kissed his cheek. “I’m just an amazing wife,” she informed him.

“Well, no argument there.”

“Just make sure you show up and look pretty on Saturday night,” she said, tapping him lightly on the nose. “I have a big surprise for you.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She had made their dinner reservations at an upscale restaurant, but first she was taking him to the Rose and Raven under the pretense of just having drinks before dinner, but it was where she was going to surprise him with the song she’d written for him. She was nervous about it, but she had worked at the song for months and was finally happy with it. She hoped he would be too.

Friday afternoon, she finally met the famous Clara. Tommy had shyly asked if he could come by the house with her; apparently Clara was eager to meet a “famous lounge singer.” Celine decided that was adorable and told him he could drop by any time. The girl looked mildly starstruck when Celine opened the front door.

“You must be Clara,” Celine said warmly. “It’s so wonderful to meet you.”

“Oh, it’s so nice to meet you too,” Clara gushed. “Your house is beautiful. Your hair is amazing.”

Celine laughed. “Come on in, I have cookies and cocoa on the table.”

She sat at the dining table and chatted with the two of them for a while; Clara was impossibly sweet and it didn’t take much for her to blush beneath the smattering of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Celine thought she was perfect for Tommy; especially judging from the starry eyed way he kept looking at her.

“So Clara, have you lived here long?” she asked.

“Oh, no, not too long. I grew up in Wyoming with my parents but I wanted to come out east so they sent me to live with my uncle. Till I can maybe get a place of my own. I got a job at the diner and well you probably know already that that’s how Tommy and I met.”

“Yes, he mentioned that. Something involving a milkshake?”

Clara laughed, looking embarrassed. “I’m such a klutz,” she said. “Sometimes I think it’s hard for people to believe I’m really a werewolf. I’m always dropping things or running into things. I felt so bad for spilling that milkshake all over him. I ruined his shirt.”

“Oh, Tommy’s not the type to hold a grudge,” Celine assured her, eyes twinkling. She doubted Tommy had even really noticed the milkshake on his shirt.

“He was very sweet about it,” Clara said, briefly shooting him an equally starry look. Celine resisted the urge to hug them both and tell them how cute they were. They might both die of embarrassment.

“I really want to go with him to the wedding,” Clara went on, “but my uncle doesn’t seem to want to let me go.”

“That’s a shame,” Celine said. She set down her cocoa mug. “Your uncle…he’s protective?”

“I guess you could say that,” Clara said reluctantly. Celine sensed that maybe “protective” wasn’t the right word. But she wouldn’t push the issue by peppering the girl with intrusive questions.

“Well, feel free to visit any time,” she said instead. “Tommy cares about you, and that means so do the rest of us. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”

Clara smiled shyly at her. “Thank you.”

The next evening, Celine handed Emelie over to Tillie so she and Kade could get ready for their anniversary evening. It was a good thing she loved sleepovers with Aunt Tillie.

“Millie, my darling,” Tillie said dramatically, sweeping the girl into a big hug. “What an evening I have planned for us. We are going to paint the town red.”

“As long as you don’t try to paint my nails red again,” Bobby muttered. Celine laughed, kissing his cheek.

“Bob, you are a saint,” she told him. Kade and Celine gave Emelie lots of goodbye kisses before Tillie carried her and her overnight bag off on her hip. Celine smiled and shook her head as she closed the door.

“Tillie really took to this whole auntie role,” she said. “You go get ready in the guest room and then I’ll meet you down here so we can go.”

“In the guest room? What for?”

“Because I bought a new dress, remember? I want it to be a surprise.”

“How many surprises do you have in store tonight?”

“Enough.” Celine smiled. “Starting with this very nice watch I got you as your first present.” She produced the watch with a flourish before giving him a quick kiss. “Now go get ready. In the guest room.”

“Okay, okay, I’m going.”

Celine kept the bedroom door closed as she got ready for the evening. She finally opened the box containing her dress and put it on. She appraised her reflection and her eyes widened slightly. It had long sleeves but a slightly swooping neckline. The bodice cinched tight at the waist and was slightly gathered at her right hip, above a high slit that managed to look elegant instead of too much. There were no embellishments but the clingy red fabric appeared to color shift in places as she moved, almost giving an illusion of a dancing flame.

“Well, Foxglove,” she said. “I have to admit, you do good work.”

Once she had perfected her look and made sure she could actually walk in the elegant heels Foxglove had given her, she poked her head out of the room.

“Are you downstairs?” she called.

“Yes.”

Celine felt almost like a teenager about to go on her first date; her stomach was full of butterflies as she made her way down the stairs. Kade was adjusting his tie when she came down, but paused when he saw her. Celine had a feeling Foxglove would be pleased with the look on his face. Celine finished fixing his tie, since he seemed to have forgotten what he was doing.

“I hope you’re ready for some top quality romance tonight, Mr. Rosier.”