by SL Naeole
I started to pull my hand away, wanting to bring my arm right to my face, to witness the change as closely as possible, but he tightened his grip on my hand. I watched him as he brought my hand back to his mouth, and he kissed the tips of my fingers. He placed my hand on his cheek and sighed. "I think you feel things better through your right hand than you do with your left. It's more sensitive."
I couldn't respond. I hadn't been able to discern any real difference between the way my right hand felt in comparison to my left. And, in all honesty, it didn't matter which hand was doing it; I could only feel the hammering of my heart and the gymnastic stunts my stomach was performing whenever I was touching Robert, or he was touching me.
He chuckled at my thoughts, and I looked away, embarrassed as always. An awkward silence followed, and remained there, heavy, until the car finally stopped moving, and the passenger side door opened. After he placed my casts on the floor, he stepped out of the car. He turned around and held his hand out to me.
It was then that I realized I only had one shoe on.
"Robert, I-" he held up his hand, stopping my obvious announcement.
The front passenger side door opened and shut very quickly, only being slowed down by the physics of the door itself, and not by the individual opening it. Then Robert was on one knee in front of me, placing the other sandal on my bare foot.
"How--what--where--when?" I stuttered, feeling absolutely foolish but unable to stop myself as my eyes flicked from the sandal to his face, and back.
"You forgot who and why," he teased. When he was satisfied that the sandal was buckled securely, he pulled me out of the car. "Ready, Cinderella?"
Just as it had been when we'd last been here, there was a large tent filled with lights that sat over fully set tables and chairs. This time, however, there were strips of shimmering bronze fabric running down the tables and tied to the chairs, like ribbons adorning a present.
The flower arrangements on each table were large glass trees that held dark orange and bright pink blossoms; crystal drops were dangling from each branch. There appeared to be bright pink boxes at each place setting, their bows looking like bronze firecracker explosions, and I didn't think that after tonight I'd ever want to sit at a table that didn't have the very same centerpiece or place setting.
Shaking his head at my thoughts, Robert pulled me towards a smaller tent set up near the gazebo. It, too, had been decorated in bronze, pink, and orange, with crystals dangling everywhere. There were chairs set up facing the gazebo, and I assumed that's where the wedding would be taking place.
The majority of the seats had been filled, but Robert wasn't taking me to sit down. He was taking me towards someone. The murmurs of acknowledgement and excitement couldn't be missed as we passed row after row, stopping at the first one where one chair had been removed to allow for a deceptively frail looking woman and her wheelchair.
She looked up from her conversation with the woman next to her and smiled, the creases around her startling blue eyes deepening with her obvious joy at seeing Robert. "Robbie! I was wondering if you'd get here in time! And at last I get to meet your Grace!" She looked at me, her eyes full of warmth and welcome. "I've seen your face so many times, but I must say that his thoughts don't do you any justice."
I smiled at her compliment, not wanting to tell her that all the images in his mind were of the normal, everyday me. The Grace standing in front of her was an anomaly, but she didn't need to know that.
Robert bent down on one knee and took the woman's hand, which seemed so small and fragile in his, I was afraid he'd break it. He raised it to his lips and kissed it reverently. He looked into her eyes and grinned, then looked at me. "Grace, this is Eloise MacInherney. She's the friend whose granddaughter is getting married tonight."
"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. MacInherney," I said.
"Oh pish, it's Ellie to you and everyone else who matters," she replied, waving her hand at my formality. "I'm so glad you could come tonight. It's always good to be around family and friends."
I looked around at the guests in attendance and realized, oddly, that no one looked familiar. Heath wasn't exactly a small town, but with so many people here I thought I'd at least see one person that I'd recognize. Instead the faces belonged to strangers. With the exception of two who were standing off to the side, conspicuous as always.
Lark and Ameila both nodded at me and smiled. Lark, beautiful in an ivory gown, looked amused, while Ameila, who resembled a rare jewel in her blood red dress that pooled on the floor beneath her feet, looked concerned although I probably only noticed that because I had seen the same looks on their faces before. While no longer concerned as much about Lark's opinion of me, considering the great leaps we'd made since our first meeting, the way Ameila seemed to stare at me with a mixture of pity, sadness, and concern made me feel wholly inadequate.
Lark, having heard my thoughts, turned to look at her mother. Ameila made no show in trying to hide her emotions, and that seemed to upset Lark, who shook her head and started stomping towards us, her feet leaving distinct and deep impressions in the grass behind her.
"Lark is on the warpath," Ellie remarked.
Robert didn't need to turn around and look for himself to see that she was right, but he did so anyway. He then looked at me, and shook his head. "Mother's not upset about you and I being here, Grace. Someone else is here that she did not expect to arrive."
I didn't understand. Who could be here that would upset Ameila?
Ellie shook her head as well. "Sam. It's got to be Sam."
Sam? "Who's Sam?" I asked, obviously out of the loop and not liking it.
Larks voice behind me answered, "Sam is sort of like our adopted brother, and a pain in the a-"
"Lark!" Robert hissed, cutting her off.
Lark smiled. "He's also Robert's best friend, and a complete piece of sh-"
"LARK!"
Sighing, Lark walked away. I don't need to say it for it to be true.
I couldn't help but giggle at that, and then tried desperately to stop myself when I saw the look in Robert's face.
"Sam's not that bad of a lot, really," Ellie said, her eyes misty from trying to fight the humor herself. "He's just a bit rough around the edges. Like a cookie. A salty, slightly over baked cookie, but still, you know what it's supposed to be, and with enough milk, you might even be able to enjoy it."
Tucking my lips between my teeth to keep from bursting out into full blown laughter, I nodded my head. It was the only response I risked giving, not wanting to take the chance that anything more would release the floodgates, and I'd be unable to control myself. And in front of so many strangers.
Someone in a long, fuchsia dress tapped Ellie on her shoulder and whispered something in her ear. She nodded, and raised her hand in some sort of signal. I tried to look at who it was she was signaling, but in the same time it took me to think about the action, I was no longer near her, but in a seat somewhere in the back, Robert sitting serenely next to me, his hand holding mine.
"What was that?" I asked, the sudden change of scenery causing my heart to race in surprise.
"The ceremony is about to start," he answered, and patted my hand.
A voice so incredibly lovely began singing what would later be described as "the most romantic of all arias", and the procession of bridesmaids and groomsmen began. The woman who had been wearing the fuchsia dress appeared to have been the maid of honor, as she was the last to appear before the bride.
She was dressed in a very simple spaghetti strap dress that was made to resemble a mermaid's shape. She had a soft, gauzy veil over her hair that was held in place by a very whimsical tiara made of pearls and fuchsia and orange crystals. It stood out dramatically against her dark hair, but did not look out of place.
She was smiling, looking at the man who waited for her in the gazebo ahead. He wore a black tuxedo with--I snorted--bright orange high-top sneakers. This was obviously a couple who enjoyed life, and liked to have
fun.
It was only then that I noticed who was walking her down the aisle. I mouthed his name, my shock keeping me from doing anything else. The murmurs of awe and praise in the bride and her escort were travelling up and down the aisles, and no one seemed to find fault in the arrangement.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" a voice next to me asked.
I turned to stare into a pair of golden eyes that sat in one of the most handsome faces I'd ever seen. He had hair the same golden color, and it traveled in waves past his shoulders. He wore it loose, although it didn't seem to be threatening to do anything but look perfect. His smile was comforting, his lips curled up in an amused smile.
I knew he was an angel, too. There was simply no other explanation for his perfection, and no sense in denying it. "Yes, she is."
He nodded. "She looks just like her grandmother did all those many years ago. They possess the same spirit, you know--fiery and determined. It's no wonder that Rob's taken it upon himself to walk her down the aisle. It's like looking back some fifty, sixty years."
I turned to watch Rob place a kiss on the bride's cheek just before placing her hand in the groom's. He hesitated, almost like a reluctant father would, but then the transfer was complete and he was taking a seat. But it wasn't next to me.
"I'm sure he and Ellie never thought all those years ago that they'd be sitting here, attending a wedding together."
I shifted myself around to stare once again into the stranger's tawny eyes, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable. "Who are you, and how do you know so much about Ellie and Robert?"
He leaned back into his chair, his demeanor casual, relaxed, and answered with a knowing smile. "I'm Sam. And, little human girl, I know so much about Ellie and Rob because I was the one who introduced them. They really made a cute couple back then, but they weren't suited, him being an angel and all. But it's nice that they stayed friends, don't you think?"
I looked at him, unable to say anything. Smiling at my vocal paralysis, he continued. "I mean, imagine how hard it must have been, watching her marry someone else, have children, and...grow old. I can't imagine enduring that with someone I professed to love."
I looked down in my lap, staring at my fingers. The same fingers Robert had kissed not too long ago in the car, kissed in the same way he'd kissed Ellie's hand...
I lifted my head and looked again at Sam. "I think it's very romantic, actually; I think that he must trust and care for me a lot to go to all this trouble to bring me here to meet her and her family."
I turned my back to him and tried to watch the rest of the ceremony, wondering the whole time if what I had said was true. I could see Sam staring at me out of the corner of my eye, his expression confused, his mouth no longer curved into a smile. Good. I hope he was hearing Lark's thoughts about him, and I hope he was hearing the uncensored version.
When the officiate announced that the groom could now kiss the bride, a great whoop of joy filled the night and to my surprise, the bride dipped her groom, planting a very silly, yet loving kiss on his lips before shouting, "I've got you now!" Everyone around me laughed. Well...almost everyone.
Sam's face was still. It was like the joy that was flowing through the tent was just passing around him instead of being absorbed like it was with everyone else. I couldn't understand how he could simply ignore the immense amount of affection that was radiating out, like he was numb to emotion as well as physical feeling.
"Are you ready for the reception, Grace?"
I turned to see Robert standing next to me, the row of seats now completely empty save for me and, I turned to look at Sam...he was gone! I looked up at Robert, wondering if he'd seen his brother sitting next to me, heard our conversation. So many questions were in my mind, in my eyes, and the only one that he answered was the only one that I really wanted to know.
"Grace, please understand that I was never in love with Eloise. I loved her, of course I did. She was electus patronus, it's our duty to-"
"Electus what-us? What are you talking about?" I interrupted.
"The electus patronus are the chosen guardians, those of certain families that have been selected to protect our identities, ease our way in your human world. Those whom are here today have a family history that is about as long and old as this country, but they are merely the finger in the hand of those who seek to keep our secrets safe. They are, in essence, our human family."
"And Ellie was--is--an electus patronus," I said, rather than asked, because he had already stated so.
"Yes," he replied, "She's been one since she was eighteen. I met her for the first time on her nineteenth birthday, when mother, Lark, and I returned from a trip to Europe. She was new, and sweet, and vivacious. And, she knew everything that a human can learn about us so there were no secrets to keep, which made talking to her easy. She made it easy to love her.
"But love isn't a guarantee to happiness. Obviously we weren't suited, and definitely not destined. She was looking for a complete future for herself, one that included marriage, and children, and housewarming parties. I couldn't offer those things to her, whether I wanted to or not, because those things are reserved for a special kind of love--the kind for hearts that are destined for each other, that have room inside of them for more than ambition and duty. I tried to say that I wanted all of the same things that she did, but I couldn't. I cannot lie.
"But, Ellie wasn't angry, or hurt. She was devoted to her role as protector, committed, but she wanted a family, too. She never questioned my decision to end our relationship, and, as she told me after the birth of her daughter, she was thankful to me for not being able to lie to her about what I wanted and give her a fool's hope."
I was, too. I was incredibly, insanely, intensely glad.
He sat down next to me, chuckling as he did so, and motioned towards the larger tent where the guests were all seated, the celebratory atmosphere quite evident. "Everyone in there are either electus patronus or one of my kind. We are all tied together by birth, by blood, by right, by duty, and most importantly, by faith.
"You are the only one here who isn't one of my kind or one of theirs and they all know it. One of the reasons why I brought you here was because you mean a great deal to me, and I wanted everyone here to know that."
"Including Ellie?" I asked.
"Especially Ellie. But, more importantly, I wanted you to know that. By bringing you here, I'm bringing you into my world. I've told you some secrets, but this one involves more than just me, Grace. Your knowing about this lets them know that I trust you enough to have put not just my entire life, but theirs as well in your hands. You're safe here."
The enormity of his trust in me made me speechless. His secret wasn't just his secret to me anymore. It was one that was shared by many, only they knew much, much more than I did. What else did they know? Did they like the fact that I now knew about them? And more importantly, was I deserving of that trust?
And then, as if I were struck by lightning, the dawning of a simple truth hit me. "You brought me here to protect me."
THE FUDGESICLE AND DAFFODIL EXPERIMENT
He smiled, glad for my revelation. "Yes. Until you had been introduced to everyone, you'd always be considered a threat."
"But why?"
"Because, quite simply, you mean more to me than just a moment of physical feeling. You've touched my existence in a way that very few have, and you know that we angels are emotional beings--the slightest switch in how we feel can result in either incredible creation or great destruction. You don't know to what extent our strength and our abilities go-"
"Because you haven't told me," I interjected.
"Well, true, I haven't. You only know bits and pieces about us, and I apologize for the neglect in that area. I owe you so much more in the way of being forthcoming, and I will be. But that is for later. Tonight is about other things."
I couldn't help but ask, "What other things?"
"It has a lot to do with Ellie, and you especially. I wanted a human's adv
ice about you, advice I could trust, because I don't understand your mind, your thoughts. You think differently from everyone else, and I'm not talking about opinions and morals. I'm talking about the actual way you think. You're a lot like us in some ways, because you actually compartmentalize your thoughts, put things in their own individual areas while thinking; you think about many things all at once, which is fascinating to find in a human.
"It's also why you're able to hide your thoughts. I figured it out while Sam was talking to you. You were thinking about so many things already, and when he told you about Ellie, it was like your mind had split into four corners. The emotional, rational, logical, and cynical parts of your brain were warring with each other; it's like you have a mental referee who separated them, and the empty space that lay in between was all that I could see and hear." Robert looked at me with amazement shining in his eyes, and I felt almost like some kind of science experiment that just won a ribbon at a fair.
"But, if you can't see or hear anything, how do you know that's how it is?" I asked, skeptical, but then again, I couldn't see in my own head the same things he did. My memories were all in 2D while he could see everything in 4D.
Robert's smug smile left me breathless as he answered my question, "I think it's because you're beginning to trust me. Either that or I've started recognizing the signs, and can find a way to cling onto a thought in your mind until you've designated a place for it to go."
"Robert," I started, "I'm not sure I understand..."
The smug smile became sweet, and spread across his face. "Let's try a little experiment. We'll start with something simple. I'll give you two subjects, and I want to you think about both of them and then I want you to think about something else, anything."
I nodded my head, and closed my eyes, preparing myself for whatever it was that he'd throw my way. "Think about...fudgesicles and daffodils."
I wanted to say something about the ridiculousness of those two items combined, but chose not to. Instead, I thought about the frozen, fudge-flavored treats and the bright yellow flowers that were prevalent in Ohio--I thought about how much damage a melted fudgesicle could do to the dress that Robert had bought, and how out of place a bouquet of daffodils would look placed next to the sticky stain. I pictured trying to get someone to dry clean the stain out and being told it cost more than my lab for Biology. Thinking of Biology made me picture Mr. Branke's face, and I suddenly felt ill.