“Lady Vera?”
“Everyone has been calling her that. You haven’t heard it?”
“No. What have they been calling me?”
She paused before answering, as if she felt foolish saying it in front of me. “Lord Vale.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. It was the first time I had done so in a long time, and it felt amazing. “Really?”
“Yes. You’ve become an icon. A celebrity.”
“I’m just a kid, trying to be a leader. I'm only twenty-four.”
“You’re far more than your age, and so is your lady. You two have done a lot of good things for us. We wouldn’t be here if not for you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
She stood and pulled up the blinds. “Scott, we literally wouldn’t be in Soothouse if not for you. You’re the one who brought us here. Give yourself more credit.”
“Ok, I guess I have done a few good things. How have you been doing? How are the kids?”
“They’re doing great. Ben has made friends with some other children in the building.”
“What about Cindy?”
She looked through the open doorway at her daughter, who was sitting on her bed.
“I’m a little worried about her. She’s about to turn five and she’s never spoken once.”
“Really?”
“Yes.” I could see tears start to build up in her eyes. “She never even cried as a baby, except the night her father died.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be. We don’t need anyone’s pity. Besides,” she looked back at Cindy, who was now intently listening to the radio alongside her brother. “She reads books that should be too advanced for her and I’ve see how she looks at the world. It may not seem like it, but her mind is whole, so I know she’ll be alright.”
“You know, we’re setting up a school. Just young kids to start with, but hopefully we’ll get a full school system in place within a few years. We’re going to have textbooks, and teachers and all that good stuff, I’ll make sure your kids have the best of everything.”
“Thank you, Scott.”
“It’s no problem at all.”
After looking back at the kids one more time, I told her, “I should go.”
“Come back and visit anytime.”
“I will. And if you ever need anything…”
“We know. Kids, come say goodbye to Scott.”
“Seeya uncle Scott,” said Ben Jr., but Cindy just stared at me.
“Oh come on,” I said, picking her up. “Can’t you smile for me?” Her slight hint of a smile turned into laughter as I tickled her. “There we go. You look much better smiling.”
“So do you.”
Julia covered her face and cried tears of joy at her daughter's first words. As for me, I took them to heart, and did my best to never forget them.
I tried to remember where I had to go next. I always had trouble remembering addresses, but I remembered who it was I wanted to see; the only original Black Jacket who wasn’t still working.
I knocked on the door to 107 Second St., apartment 2206.
“Hey, Jack.” He looked far better than he had in the hospital bed.
“How are you, Scott?”
“Good, I guess,” I said awkwardly. I wasn’t really sure what to say. “So, you officially handed in your colors.”
“Yeah. Sorry about that, I just thought-”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to explain yourself.”
“I really should. It just wasn’t for me anymore, but I wanted to wait until everyone was settled and didn't need as many guards. I mean, I love all you guys, but I think my biggest reason for being there was that I was trying to prove something to myself, and now I’m finding out that I really don’t need to.”
“So that’s why you’re not carrying the ax anymore?” I asked with a smile.
“Yeah, probably,” he said, laughing. "I am still going to help out though, but just as a regular worker. I’m actually going to be helping decorate the palace.”
“No kidding?”
“Yeah.”
“Hey, Jack,” I heard someone say from inside the apartment, and a moment later, a man walked up behind him.
“Lord Vale,” he said, wrapping his arms around Jack’s waist and resting his head on his shoulder.
“For God’s sake, please don’t call me that.”
“Scott,” said Jack, “I’d like you to officially meet RJ.”
“Hi,” I said as I shook his hand. “I think I saw you at the outpost.”
“Yes, when Jack was in the infirmary. I never left his side.”
“It’s good to know someone is looking out for him. Please take care of my friend.”
Jack and I reached out and hugged each other. They invited me inside, but I politely said no; I still had a few more stops to make. We said our goodbyes, RJ remarked about how he and Jack were going to make sure the palace look absolutely amazing and I left, feeling glad that my friend had found happiness, even if it wasn’t with the Black Jackets.
I walked out of the apartment building, planning on going to Rae’s house next, but I found her sitting on bench right nearby.
“What are you doing out here?”
“Enjoying the warm weather. What about you? Shouldn’t you have a guard detail with you?”
“Yeah, but I ditch them sometimes.” I sat down beside her, and noticed something in her arms. “Where did you get the rabbit?”
“He belonged to a friend of mine.”
“Oh. Did something happen to him?”
“I'm not sure. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Ok. That’s fine,” I told her. “I’ve been going around to all my friends today. I just want you guys to know how much I care about you.”
She smiled and hugged me. “Thank you. I care about you too, Scott.”
“And if you ever need anything, you can always come to me for help.”
“Same to you.”
I got up from the bench and started heading home, while Rae continued scratching behind the ears of her pet rabbit. Out of all of us, she was, by far, the most well-adjusted, and I was thankful that she had stayed that way. It made her the light of the group; a treasure we wanted to protect.
I headed up the elevator, and got out in the throne room. The painters had gone home for the day, but they had done an amazing job. It wasn’t an easy task to paint over the ugly murals that had been there before.
Just before I opened the door to the bedroom, I heard something. I walked through as quietly as I could, and found Vera on the other side, sitting on the bed and crying. In her hands, she held the painting Rae’s mother had given her, only now it was sealed inside an airtight case, that shielded it both from dust and her falling tears.
“Scott,” she said, setting down the painting and regaining her composure in only a few seconds. “How was your day?” Her voice didn’t contain the slightest hint of the pain I knew she was feeling.
I put a hand on her cheek and another around her waist before I told her, “We can stop moving forward.”
The words seemed to echo within her, and soon she was tearing up again.
“I never got to tell my mother goodbye.”
I wrapped both my arms around her as she nuzzled against my chest. The two of us stood there for a long time, holding each other, and, as we did, I realized that everyone had a struggle inside them. For me, it was trying to convince myself that I wasn’t evil. For Vera, it was letting down her walls, so that others could see how vulnerable she was. Jack needed to come to terms with an issue the rest of us couldn’t help him with, Revy had only just realized the value of emotion, Rae had had to learn that being privileged didn’t make her lazy or bad, and Tex… Tex tried so hard to be strong, that he refused to acknowledge his own weakness. We were all broken, but we were together and we were ready for whatever laid beyond the horizon.
We were still good.
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Rich Richardson, Black Light: The Deplorable Savior
Black Light: The Deplorable Savior Page 28