Chapter 2.1 Calliope

As Calliope aged into a young adult she developed the Savvy Sculptor trait. She couldn’t wait to try her hand at what she was sure would be an exciting new creative pursuit.

After 4 years, Calliope and Rhys were going strong and he suggested they go to the lookout to watch the sunrise. Calliope hugged Rhys as they looked out at the beautiful scene before them.

The two young lovers just stared, watching the sun rise in the sky. Sometimes, though, they were distracted by simply gazing into one another’s eyes.

As the sun rose higher and higher, Rhys got down on one knee.

“Calliope, baby.” He began. “You light up my life,” the two of them chuckled slightly at the corny line. “But, seriously. I love you so much and , I know we’re young but I know this feels right. Will you marry me?”

Calliope was stunned, least of all by the glimmering ring Rhys presented her with.  “Yes, of course!” She let Rhys slide the ring onto her finger before leaping into his arms, filled with joy.

The young lovers remained on the hillside a while, discussing their plans for their future and, of course, the wedding. They planned to get married in a years time.

Meanwhile, Berkeley was still just getting started in his journalism career. He was always on the internet, checking up on current events, just waiting for the day he finally got his big break.

Since leaving school he had dated a few women but nobody had really captured his heart yet. He knew that, someday, he had to find someone with whom to carry on his family’s legacy but he seemed a million miles away from finding somebody he would want to spend his life with. One day something dawned on him. You couldn’t just have physical attraction, like he did with Rain. You had to have somebody who you were attracted to and who you could also talk to, like a friend. He saw that Cassandra was this person, he couldn’t believe he hadn’t realised it until now. He vowed that he would have to try and get her back.

Calliope’s wedding day came rolling around surprisingly soon. Both her and Rhys wanted their wedding to be a rather casual affair so Calliope picked a gorgeous, simple, long-sleeved cotton dress.

Rhys’s parents were there to see their son married.

The three elder Middleton children were there, too. Mikala put on her best happy face for her half-sisters wedding but it was hard for her to keep smiling as she had very recently broken up with her boyfriend of the past seven years, Thad O’Leary.

Of course, Harvey was there to see his youngest daughter wed.

Calliope and Rhys were very happy with their ceremony. All of their friends and family were there. Best of all, they were now husband and wife!

They had already brought a house together (with much financial help from both their parents) which they planned to move into after a short honeymoon. Anna and Eliseo hadn’t minded chipping in for the house deposit as they had managed to save a lot of money and knew that their daughter would soon be able to pay them back. The great thing about the house was that it was right next door to Anna and Eliseo’s. The house was of a much more traditional style which suited the young couple perfectly. They knew that during their careers in the music industry they would get the chance to stay in plenty of modern hotels so they hoped that their traditional home would be a nice contrast to come back to.

After the ceremony Berkeley found a quiet corner and decided to calle Cassandra. He had invited her to the wedding but she hadn’t shown.

“Cassie?” He called into the phone after hearing her quiet voice as she picked up the phone. “Why didn’t you come to the wedding?”

“Sorry, Berkeley I wanted to come. It’s just that my family – we’re moving and I needed to help pack.”

“Moving? Where?” Berkeley’s pitch rose.

“Bridgeport.” Berkeley sighed at this, Bridgeport was so far away.

“Cassie, no, you have to stay. I’ve finally realised – I love you.”

“Huh?”

“I love you, Cassie. You can stay with me. Please just don’t go.”

“Berkeley, I’m sorry but I’m going. I’m sorry, I don’t see you like that. I had no idea that’s how you saw things. I think it’s best if I go now. Sorry. Bye.”  Berkeley heard the beep of the phone as she hung up and felt such an unfamiliar feeling of emptiness creeping over him.