by Alexie Aaron
“What did he tell her?”
“That she wasn’t in love with you because she wasn’t under the Cooper curse.”
Ted shook his head. “How dare he.”
“Don’t you want to know what she told him?”
Ted nodded.
Orion moved his hands, and there before Ted stood Mia and Angelo in the moonlit park. Mia didn’t look too happy with Angelo. She was talking, but Orion hadn’t amplified it yet. All of a sudden the sound came in.
Mia cried, “All of this has convinced me that maybe there isn’t a curse. That maybe it skipped me. That maybe I can love my spouse like everyone else loves theirs. I do love him. I hate what Roumain did to him, to us, but it doesn’t stop me from loving Ted.”
Ted cast his eyes down. When he looked up again, the vision was gone.
“I hope that clears a few things up,” Orion said, getting up. “By the way, how much of her stuff did you burn?”
“All of it.”
“You couldn’t stop yourself?”
“No. But at one point Murphy tried to reason with me. I just wasn’t interested in listening. It was like I was there but not really.”
“Mia had quite a little meltdown, thanks to Roumain, herself. The man you glared at all during the meeting handled it gallantly. Do you want to see it?”
“No. Your words are enough.”
“Come on, look,” Orion encouraged.
“No, give Mia her privacy,” Ted said. “I’ve never understood how she could put away all her aversions to the guy and try to understand him. He’s always been pushing my buttons about my lack of experience, my looks, stuff like that.”
“Mia forgives. She’ll forgive you too.”
“Have I lost her?”
“I really don’t know. She is afraid that the beings that want her so badly are going to hurt you and Brian again. She’s putting up a wall between you so you’ll never be hurt because of her again.”
Ted shook his head. “On one hand, I want to forgive her for her part in all of this, but on the other hand, I can’t forget her hand in all of this.”
“I don’t understand.”
“She’s got to be queen bee, center of attention. She courts Angelo’s attention.”
“That’s not what you think now, is it?”
“What?”
“Those aren’t your thoughts. Think, Ted, those are Beth’s words. Until you can clear your mind of these words, you can’t forgive Mia.” Orion got up and walked down the stairs. “I think I’m going to have myself a beer before I fly back.”
Ted stood there a moment. He walked over to the workbench. In the center drawer, wrapped in tissue, were the remains of the necklace that Ted burned. He held it to his forehead. “Mia, forgive me.”
Chapter Twenty-six
Mia pulled into the lot and found that everyone was still there. She didn’t feel like dealing with the pitying stares at the moment, so she put Brian in the backpack carrier and headed into the woods.
“This a magical place, Brian,” she said, passing by the vortex. “Daddy doesn’t believe in magic, but even he has no explanation why this vortex is here. A vortex is kind of like a door. In this case, the door opens to a special path. This one can take you to Sabine’s or it can take you to Cahokia, but this is very important, you have to be either a ghost or in a bilocated state.”
“Ooooh,” Brian said, looking at Murphy who appeared beside them.
“Yes, like Murphy.”
“Soon, he will be using real words,” Murphy observed.
“Quite possibly, the Martin side were early talkers. I guess that’s how they can fit so many words in a continual sentence.”
They walked up the hill, listening to Brian practicing his sounds.
“I’d like to see where you think I should build the house.”
Murphy guided her along the ridge to where a nice group of deciduous trees stood. “Shade for the summer, bare so the sun can warm you in the winter. There are firs to break the northwest wind. Build an A-frame. Make the second floor so you can see over the ridge and the farm.”
“So even if I can’t be with Brian, I can watch over him,” Mia reasoned. “But I don’t have to see the farm when he’s here. I think it’s brilliant. I’ll have to see how far I’m going to have to dig to connect with that sewer line, or it’s a septic tank. I hate to spoil the ground that way.” Mia wiggled out of the backpack and picked up Brian in her arms. “Brian, what do you think?”
“Hmmm,” Brian said, pointing behind them.
Mia turned around and saw the farmhouse. A few of the PEEPs members were outside on the porch. Mia couldn’t tell who because she had tears in her eyes. “I know, baby, that’s my home too. It’s been my home since Murphy scared the piss out of a boy named Whitney.”
“Then come home,” Ted said from the edge of the forest. “Live here with us. Mia, what happened to us wasn’t all our fault. I admit I liked the attention I was getting from Beth. I had forgotten what she did to you, and there are some things in life you never should forget.”
Mia nodded and confessed, “I forgot that you would never intentionally take my memories from me. You fought to get mine back after Angelo wiped them away, knowing that the love I had for Burt and Whitney would return. I forgot that.”
“Take it slow, speak to each other, listen to each other,” Murphy counseled.
Ted looked over at him. “I forgot what a good friend you were to me, but you never forgot. I know you love Mia. I know she loves you. But she also loves me, and I forgot that under the hex.”
Murphy took Brian from Mia’s arms. “Brian, would you like to see some naughty deer? They like to take bites out of my little trees when I’m not watching.”
Mia watched the ghost walk down into the glen with her son. She turned to Ted and took his hand. “You forgot that you are so very important to me. Sure, you don’t have feathers, but I’m not exactly keen on them,” Mia said, lifting an eyebrow. “What you do have is this amazing brain, this big heart and overinflated ego. I thought that I needed to run away from you to keep you safe, but all along, you were keeping me safe with your mind and with your acceptance of my need to have Murphy at my back. You create all these gadgets that may be scientific, but to me, they are magical. Ted, I never wanted to hurt you, but in my protecting you, I really hurt you. Can you forgive me?”
“Yes, Mia, I can. I have all this noise in my head right now. Conflicting thoughts. Orion pointed out that they weren’t my thoughts. I have said cruel things to you. I have done monstrous things contrary to who I am. I need time to sort them out, but I can’t do it without you around to remind me of the things I’ve forgotten. I’m not asking you to share my bed. I’m just asking you to come home. Live with Brian and me. We can take it slow, speak and listen to each other, like Murphy suggested. We may never find our way back, but we need to give it a try.”
“What if we can’t?” Mia asked.
“We’ll be friends for Brian’s sake. I’ll build you your house up here. I would give you the farm, but I need to be here too. I know it’s selfish, but I bought this farm for a very special reason, and I forgot why until now. I bought it so I could be with you.”
“I know. It was that brain of yours thinking outside of the box.”
“Mia, is there someone else that I should know about?” Ted asked.
“Someone else?”
“Sariel. Is he your new love?”
Mia started laughing. She saw Ted’s face fall, and she put her hand up and touched his face. “He said, ‘Come home, sister of the light, come home.’ He is teaching me to fight. I think the world is brewing for a paranormal war of some kind. He wants me to be prepared. That’s what I was doing on the island with Ed. Preparing. I wanted to be strong so I could protect you and Brian. Sariel gave me the sword more as a joke than anything else. He has a wry sense of humor. He is an archangel, warrior class. He’s older than the earth.”
“Are you attracted to him?”<
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“Only as much as a person can be attracted to power. He said something that I must always remember. He said that I needed to keep my shield up, because anything that would attack me would come from above.”
“Birdmen,” Ted said.
“Superhumans, angels, you, you’re taller than me. I think he’s looking for a partner to fight beside. But I already have one.”
“Murphy.”
“Yup. I have to learn to be more graceful and not to tease the old fart so much.”
Ted laughed. “Mia, Murphy’s not really that old.”
“His views are. He treats me like a child. Until he treats me like an equal, he and I will argue.”
Ted look down at Mia. “Will you come home?”
“I’m scared, Ted.”
“I’m scared too,” he admitted, looking down at her.
“You’re smoldering,” Mia said breathless.
“I know.”
“You’re not playing fair.”
“Kiss her, damn it!” Cid said, forgetting himself.
Mike looked over at him. “Kiss who? If it’s Audrey, then I’ll end up with a black eye, and I’m being filmed on Saturday.”
Cid turned around embarrassed and explained, “Ted is up over the ridge, asking Mia to come home. I can hear them.”
“You sly dog, what else can you hear?”
Cid blushed. “I sleep with earplugs in.”
Mike laughed and patted him on the back. “I wouldn’t. I bet she’s a tiger in the sack.”
“You could have had her, yet you didn’t. Why?” Cid asked.
“When your friend blows himself up with his inventing, and he will, then I’m going to be her second husband. Mia is worth waiting for,” Mike pointed out.
“You’re not serious. You have a girlfriend,” Cid accused.
“Cid, I could have six wives, thirty-five grandchildren and be one foot in the grave, but I’m marrying that woman when Ted blows himself up.”
Cid laughed at the ludicrousness of it all.
“Although, I may have some competition. The only thing I have going for me is that Mia likes bad boys.”
“I hear she’s being courted by an angel,” Cid countered.
“He doesn’t stand a chance,” Mike said, combing his hair. “She likes bad boys.”
“Ted’s…”
“He’s no angel. Give them time, Cid. But if you could encourage him to work with explosives, I’d be appreciative,” Mike told him.
Mia turned away from Ted. “I’ll come home. Let’s take it…”
Ted swept her up in his arms. He turned her face to his and kissed her hard, long and deep. She beat her hands against his chest, but he didn’t release her. He kissed all her fear away. He set her back down and used his thumbs to wipe away her tears.
“I have something for you. Open up your hand.”
Mia did as she was told.
Ted placed a necklace in her hand, explaining, “After the fire went out, I found this. They wouldn’t melt, but they did bond.”
Mia held up the necklace to the afternoon sun. Dangling from the end was an axe and a leaf bound together forever by fire.
“When I found them, I knew the fates were giving me a sign. That somehow, Murphy and I are bound together for you.”
Tears fell first, then Mia sobbed and crumpled to the ground. Ted knelt down and picked her up and rocked her in his lap. “Go ahead and cry, baby. Your Teddy Bear is here.”
Cid sniffed.
Mike looked over at him. “Well?”
“She’s coming home.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m going inside for a beer. You want one?”
Cid got up. “I think I need something stronger.”
“Ah, let’s see what Ted’s got in the liquor cabinet. Mia likes whisky. I bet you don’t know that. Cid, if you’re going to run with the bad kids, you’ve got to pay more attention.”
Audrey was busy with her notes. She smiled seeing Mike and Cid hanging out together. Burt walked into the house, and she waved him over.
“Yes?” he asked, sliding into the chair beside her.
“Orion thought we should be prepared just in case one of these felons shows up, but there are too many of them. Any of them could be vile enough to hang those poor kids.”
“But why? I think if you figure out why they were hung, it would help. Were they executed or sacrificed?”
Audrey sat back. “You know, that totally escaped me. I’m a lousy researcher.”
“No, you’re the best we’ve ever had,” Burt said. “We’re a team, Audrey. Sure, all of us have individual strengths, but we all help each other. Mia needs Murphy at times. Mike and I butt heads, but in doing so, we get to see the bigger picture. Ted and Cid, don’t get me started there. If you spent a day with those two, you would go bonkers, yet through their insults, there is admiration for the strengths of the other. You help Mia, and sometimes she helps you. There are so many good fits here. I can pair any of you up, and you’re up to the task. You’re our sunshine. You see the positive side of things even when you’re in a bad mood. I’ll never forget when you attacked yourself with the puppet.”
“Aw, come on,” Audrey said, blushing. “It definitely attacked me.”
Burt roared with laughter.
“Why are you so happy?” Audrey asked.
“Oh, something I saw a minute ago renewed my hope.”
“What was it?”
“Ted and Mia were walking down the hillside. He was holding her hand.”
“Oh my god, does Cid know?”
“He will soon enough. Let’s just keep this bit of joy to ourselves,” Burt said. “Now put down that pen. It’s time to celebrate. How about a dance?”
“Burt Hicks, you’re off your nut,” Audrey said. “There’s no music.”
“Yes there is, come on,” he said, pulling her out of her chair.
Audrey followed him outside.
Burt spoke into his phone. “Jake, I’d like a music mix. Dance music, and don’t forget a few slow songs, thank you.”
The speakers from the outdoor PA system crackled before music started to flow.
Mia took Brian from Murphy. Music was coming from the speakers over the barn.
“What’s going on?” Mia asked Ted.
“I don’t know. Let’s go and find out.”
They arrived to see Burt lead Audrey around the packed earth of the front yard in a waltz.
“Now that’s something you don’t see every day,” Mia commented.
Murphy moved around the duo, shaking his head.
“Brian,” Mia said. “Would you have this dance with me?”
“Ah am Ah am,” he babbled.
Mia took this for a yes. She put her finger up, and Brian held it. She counted off. “One two three, one two three…”
Mike and Cid walked out of the door with their drinks in their hands. The music changed into something more current, and Cid laughed as Burt twirled Audrey around before he headed over to Mia.
“Brian and I have some serious dancing to do,” he said, taking him from Mia.
“Hey, wallflower, want to dance?” Mike called as he jumped off the porch.
Mia laughed.
Audrey pulled Cid out of the chair and dragged him into the yard. “Clark and Lois must dance together,” she insisted.
Ted looked at the insanity and picked up his phone and asked Jake to play a particular tune.
The fast song ended, and the dancers headed for the porch and some refreshments.
Mia heard the starting strains of a very familiar piece of music.
Ted walked over to her and said, “Would you tango with me, Cooper?”
She nodded.
Even Brian was quiet as the group watched Ted and Mia dance a tango. The differences in their heights would have made it humorous if they weren’t so beautiful together. When they had finished, the PEEPs clapped, and Mike said something rude, and all was back to normal.
Orion
left the tree branch where he had been watching the PEEPs. He had seen two broken hearts start to mend, friendships renewed, and the individuals pull together into a group. They were strong together. They would need this strength in the coming days. Orion knew that the team wasn’t walking into a simple investigation. They would need this strength.
~
Mia stood looking out the window of the sitting room. She had just put Brian down and was reluctant to go back to the guest bedroom. She fingered the necklace at her throat and smiled. She saw Murphy take Maggie out for a late night hunt. Cid’s light was on in his apartment.
He had been a little green after the others left, and Mia fixed him something easy for his stomach.
“You’re like Wendy. You’re taking care of all of us lost boys,” he said.
She ruffled his hair, too touched to speak.
“Stay with us, Wendy. Stay with Peter.”
“I’ll try.”
“What are you looking at?” Ted asked from the entrance to the master suite.
“Murphy taking Maggie out, and Cid’s light is still on. I hope he’s feeling okay. Why Mike made him drink all that hard liquor is beyond my understanding. But he was so at ease. He said something to me tonight that was rather poignant.”
Ted walked over and sat down in the big rocker. “Care to share it, or is it a secret?”
“It’s not a secret. He said, ‘Stay with us, Wendy. Stay with Peter.’ I never thought of you that way, but you are, in a way, Peter Pan, aren’t you?”
“All but the tights. If I ever wear tights, it’s going to be because I’m dressed as Batman.”
Mia giggled.
“I think you’re more a Tinker Bell than a Wendy, Mia. You’re too scrappy. You’re a fighter.”
“That’s very perceptive.”
“Peter saved Tinker Bell,” Ted said. “Let me save you, Mia. Let my belief in you save you from those that want to use you.”
“Do you still believe in me, Ted?”
“I believe that you can be anyone you want to be. You have the biggest heart. Big enough to have a rather dusty handprint on it. I believe that you’re in love with me, and soon you’ll believe that I’m in love with you.”