Untangling Strings

Chapter Sixteen

Right after dinner, I went straight to my room. I got through the bag of purchase we bought earlier and grabbed the receipt where I drew my idea of the whole decorating stuff. By around ten o'clock, my eyes felt heavy. Piece and I agreed to meet at the garden before eleven just to assure that Olive's already in her room. I was planning to set an alarm, but unfortunately my body just shut itself down in a snap.

Holy moly! My whole body jolted into shock and I instantly remembered Piece, and my phone's ringing with an unknown caller ID flashed on the screen. I flipped on the bed, "Who's this?" This fucking shoelace just entangled itself and was giving me a hard time.

"Damn it, Hope! I have been waiting for you since who the fuck knows when." He's hardly keeping his voice low but anger was certainly overflowing through the invisible line that it pained my ear.

"I'm sorry. I'll be down there in a sec." Oh, crap! You are a crappy hopeless case, Hope! I gathered all the things we'll need for the decoration and swiftly moved making sure not to make any noise. I don't have any idea how I've done that. Thanks to the existence of adrenaline rush.

When I reached the garden, the rise and fall of my chest was apparent. "I'm here." I'm still catching my breath, "Sorry."

Piece turned to me with those furious eyes. Oh, good heavens, he might just lay me on my deathbed. He glanced at his watch, "Exactly four fucking minutes till twelve."

"Piece, look... I did not intend to... I was supposed to..."

He cut me off, "Yeah, we better start working." If there's such a thing as the flattest of all flats, that's the tone he just used and it's terrifying as hell. The last time I felt this way was because of Barbara, that horrible shitty devil. But this one's worse. My inside's freaking out.

My eyes slowly wandered around the garden pondering on which part I should put what. Piece seemed to be ignoring my presence and his attention was locked on his phone. The mastermind of the surprise did not bother to give a hand to his helper who unintentionally fell asleep –what a great way to put up a surprise. Which made me wonder, how's it like to be Sleeping Beauty awakened by a soft kiss instead of a raging anger. But, whatever.

I unpacked the balloons. Shit! I forgot to buy an air pump. Now, I gotta blow these colored rubbers with disgusting taste until I run out of air. I don't have an idea of how long my stupidity will last. I grabbed a white balloon, inhaled deeply, and started giving off my breath. Piece caught me.

"What the hell are you doing?!" His face was completely infuriated.

I removed my mouth from the balloon, and the air just bolted away, making a funny sound which clearly does not suit the situation. He turned his back on me, walked away, and vanished through the back door. This is amazing, Hope! You deserve a standing ovation and a firm tap on the shoulder to recognize your idiocy.

After a while, I recognized Piece's shadow returning. He stood beside me for a matter of a few seconds in which I felt he'd bury me alive or call out a Dracula to suck my shitty blood. I am not going to look him in the eye and just pretend I am too busy arranging stuff. I heard him let out a heavy sigh.

"Here," he handed the air pump. "You know you could've asked me."

"Yeah, it's as if one more wrong word or move and you'll kill me."

"Is that how I look? I would never dare end someone's life."

"Your eyes were as sharp as a sword and your jaw was clenched hard. Real. Hard."

"I'm sorry." The way he said those two words was so purely apologetic, and I just can't refuse it. I half-smiled at him.

I started arranging the dried flowers into the small vases that Piece said he got from the attic, while he carefully pumped all the balloons. "What's next?" he asked while tying up the lip of the last balloon.

I reached for the balloon strip, "We'll attach the balloons here, then place the whole thing in a spiral manner on the tree trunk... But wouldn't it pop? There might be sharp edges."

"Should we cover the trunk first with a cloth? Just to secure the balloons."

"Yeah, we could do that. Good idea, Mr. Not Artistic."

He smirked at me and went off to find some cloth. After a couple of minutes, he came back with his hands carrying a bunch of linens.

"You could cover those two trunks? It would be nice if we would be able to tie up the banner between those."

He grabbed a ladder and went up on it. I threw a linen in the air just because I am certain I won't be able to hand it to him –one of the downsides of being terribly small, and he perfectly caught it. "You should be the one up here, you know."

"Oh, why, aren't you a gentleman?"

"If I fall, I doubt you'll be able to catch me or if you have the strength to do so."

"I am securing the ladder. And lower your voice, if Olive awakes, we're totally busted."

We were able to do exactly what I imagined, and I never thought it would look good. I rummaged through the pile of cloth just to find a white tablecloth embroidered with little flowers scattered all over the fabric and had beige tassels on the edges. "Hey, this is beautiful."

He helped me cover the rectangular wooden table and I placed the three vases on top, making certain that the gaps between are equal.

"It looks good already."

"Yeah? It seems like there's a difference of an inch or two."

"You want me to get you a meter stick?" he's totally messing up with me in that mocking tone he just used and even let out a snort.

I look at him with eerie eyes. He held up his two hands in the air and zipped his mouth shut. So, that's how it feels having the upper hand. That's how it feels to be Barbara. I quickly shove her out of my mind.

"Are you gonna use the other table?"

"Yeah, we can put the cake in here, right?"

I nod, "I think breakfast would fit in there. You can throw a buffet style, and we can put that over there," pointing to the space between the decorated trees.

"Will this do?" he's holding up a beige cloth.

"Good eyes you have in there." I checked my phone, "Gosh, it's already near to three. Let's double our speed."

We were able to finish up by past four, and my body is screaming for some sleep. "Hey, we did good. We still have time to rest."

"Thank you, Hope. Really. This would mean a lot to Aunt Olive. Go up and rest."

"You're staying up?" I yawned.

"I still have to prepare for breakfast. All the guests will be having breakfast here. So, yeah..."

"Oh, do you need help?" My eyes are traitor, they are heavy and give me a hard time looking as if I still have some energy, and there goes another yawn.

"You need rest. I could manage, thanks." We both headed inside, and he walked me through my room and stood out there as I shut the door.