by Barbara Taub
She led the others over to the Tickets machine. Gaby pushed the Start button and the Conductor opened her eyes. Leaving Carey standing in front of the new Station, they boarded the waiting Metro.
GABY AND LEILA, Chapter Twenty-two
2007, Provence
In his long life, Sebastian could not remember being this tired. There had been so many good-byes. As he stood stiffly beside his family for Daniel and Cécile’s funeral, he wondered what he could offer the white-faced boy beside him. He tried—Gaby would expect him to try—but Thomas shrugged off his hand and disappeared.
This had been his life for the past thirteen years, he thought as he stared at the graves awaiting the joint headstone. He could still see himself standing alone on the Metro platform, clutching his fist so hard Gaby’s ring left bruises. She left. I knew she had to go. But I never really believed she would go with Luic and leave me behind. She left me.
She’d offered him no hopeful words, no empty promises. When the Metro was gone, he had moved blindly to the bench in the empty station. Gaby once told him one of the things she loved about him was that he was a survivor. He knew that meant she expected him to survive this, to continue for the sake of his family. He just didn’t know how he was supposed to do it. She left me.
It turned out she was right, of course. The disciplines of a long life had him standing up and straightening his shoulders. Guess I’m Humphrey Bogart after all. His face had been impassive as he’d climbed the stairs to the Metro station exit.
2007, London
The London house was so empty. The velvet box and letters Daniel had given him sat untouched on the nearby table as Sebastian sank into the chair in the small parlor and closed his eyes.
He looked across the table at Gaby. Her long hair was loose around her shoulders, and with the red dress and sparkling necklace, she glowed, a living flame. She was laughing at Leila and Thomas. Then she looked directly at him, wrapping him in her smile. Nothing will ever be better.
Sebastian opened his eyes and reached for the letter. Inside was a sheet of folded paper and a smaller envelope simply inscribed “Max”. He closed his eyes again for a moment. When he opened them, his hands were steady as he put the other items aside and opened the note, folded in precise thirds and tucked into the little envelope.
My Max,
It’s so strange to write a letter I hope you never get. Whatever happens with the pivot point, I only have two goals for myself: find my brother and sister, and come back to you. My dream is to succeed at both and to retrieve this letter before you ever see it. But if you’re reading it now, we both know that means I’ve failed.
Max, I hope I told you enough that I love you. I know you and your family have recently suffered terrible losses and how devastated you must be. But I also know the man I love, the man who fought at Waterloo and who became the finest person I’ve ever known. That man will keep doing what he’s always done: protect his family, serve his country and his people, and—someday—find another lucky person to love.
I hope you don’t mind that I already hate her. She is welcome to call you Sebastian Maximilian Georges Saint-Chappelle, but please don’t ever let her call you Max.
As the letter attached to this note says, we are asking you to contact Leila’s parents at the date and address included. Then please give Leila the jewels but no other information. This is the last thing I’ll ask of you other than to be happy, my love.—Gaby
2012, London
Gaby stared at the doorbell outside Chapel House. It’s been eighteen years for him. I told him to move on…
The door opened and a very young Leila came out, frowning. “Go ahead,” she told Gaby. “They’re giving away castles today.” Leila stepped past her, and Gaby turned to watch her stop at the bottom of the steps, turn, and look once more at Chapel House. Shaking her head, Leila glared at the package in her hand and stepped into the waiting taxi.
From the park across the street, Gaby saw Thomas and Leila watching the younger Leila drive off. Leila pointed to her ring finger and gave Gaby a thumbs-up before the couple walked into the park.
My last task for Gaby, Sebastian thought as he heard the door close behind Leila. He went into the small sun-splashed parlor and opened the little room behind the fireplace. Standing in front of the old safe in the corner, he took the ring and well-read note from his pocket and placed them inside next to the box holding her necklace and earrings. But instead of closing it, he stood with his hand clenched on the door. When I lock this safe, I’ll just be Sebastian.
“Max? Could I have my ring back, please?”
He spun so quickly he bumped into Gaby and put out his hands to steady them both. A moment later, she was in his arms and crying, and he was kissing her, and then she was laughing and gasping, “Max, Max, Max.”
He groaned in frustration. “Gaby! I can’t kiss you and get rid of all these clothes at the same time. Help me!”
They left a trail of discarded clothes as they staggered backward to the couch in the little parlor.
“Say it,” he demanded. “My name.”
“Max. I love you, Max.”
For a moment, his face was buried against her, and when he raised his eyes again, they were wet. Then his mouth was sucking fiercely at her breasts, first one and then the other. “Again,” he gasped.
“Max,” she gave him. His hands stroked down as she welcomed his touch.
“Max, now,” she urged.
He moved back to her mouth, and then he was finally inside Gaby, and she sobbed, “Max, yes, Max!”
Gaby awoke to sunlight on her bare skin and smiled to herself. I will always know he’s there. The arms around her tightened, and his words vibrated through his chest. “Say it again?”
The ring on her finger caught the light as she reached for him. She smiled. “I love you, Max.”
Leila grinned as Thomas cautiously opened the door of Chapel House the next morning. He immediately yelled up the stairs, “We’re back and I don’t want to hear anything I’ll have to explain in therapy later…”
Gaby and Max eventually emerged—after keeping Thomas waiting with his fingers in his ears—and Leila checked that Gaby’s ring was back where it belonged. She hugged Gaby while Thomas held out his hand to his grandfather. Max ignored the hand and grabbed Thomas close in a tight embrace before reaching out to pull in Leila as well.
In the cavernous kitchen, they sat down to the lunch Thomas prepared while they took turns filling Max in on what had happened since they left him in 1994. “Two weeks?” Max shook his head. “You haven’t even been gone two weeks?”
Gaby took both his hands. “It was forever because I didn’t know how to get back to you and whether you would still be here for me.”
“Well, I was only going to give you one more week.” Max tried to look annoyed. “I had plans.”
“You think you’re so cute with your one-more-week.” She pulled him to his feet so she could wrap her arms around him. “What were your plans?”
“I was going to get a sleeping bag and a cooler full of sandwiches and camp out on a bench at the Metro station,” he admitted.
“Oh, Max.” She pulled his head down to her.
“We’re still right here,” Thomas reminded them. “Can’t that at least wait until we’ve had dessert?”
“No,” said Max simply as he pulled Gaby from the room.
Thomas looked after them. “So Leila—want to see if the Lion King is playing anywhere? Or…”
She beat him up the stairs to their old room.
The next day, they were all eating breakfast when Sam walked in.
“Stoneface.” Leila waved. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Hell.” Sam motioned to the doorway. “There are some people who would like to see you.”
Raymond came in holding the hand of a beautiful woman with Leila’s green eyes.
“So that’s why Mum didn’t die.” Thomas sounded satisfied. “I always wondered.”
<
br /> Raymond and Suzanne were staring at Leila. She couldn’t move. Thomas pulled her to her feet and whispered encouragement. “I don’t know what to call you,” she told them helplessly.
Suzanne glanced at Raymond, and then as if she couldn’t help herself, her arms opened. “Raymond explained that I had to come to Raqia and leave you behind or you would be killed. Do you know there are 31,556,926 seconds in a year? I missed you every one of those seconds for the past eighteen years.” A moment later, Leila was in her arms, and Raymond wrapped his arms around both women. Leila smiled up at Raymond. “How’s it going, Pops?” He flinched. Suzanne laughed. “That’s nothing,” she told Leila. “You should see what your little brother does to him.”
Leila had to sit down.
They were all seated in Max’s sunny little parlor when Sam finally spoke. “I thought you should know what happened last night in Fontaine Hantée.”
“Last night?” said Leila.
“The guns instead of pitchforks night?” guessed Thomas.
Sam nodded. “Turns out Leila was right.
Leila coughed into her hand, “As usual.”
Sam ignored her. “It wasn’t the villagers who were after you. In fact, they fought your attackers and kept them from following you down the fountain to the Metro. Two of the attackers were killed, and most of the others committed suicide, as we’ve seen in other attacks. But one of them was wounded and still unconscious when we got there.” His grim face softened into a satisfied smile that was somehow one of the most frightening expressions Gaby had ever seen. “We’re hopeful we can keep him alive long enough to finally figure out who’s pulling their strings.”
2012, Provence
Tears blurred Leila’s eyes as she watched the little rental car drive up the newly graveled road from the village and pull up in front of the Chateau. She didn’t even let her parents get out of the car before she threw herself at them. After the hugs, exclamations about how much older she looked, and more hugs, she took each of them by the hand. Turning to the group gathered behind her, she took a deep breath. “Mom, Dad: I want you to meet my family.”
BETWEEN
The only sound in the light-filled room is the tapping of her fingers on the keyboard. Fed by the smallest part of her awareness, the celestial light reflects off her screen. She absently dims it and checks the clock icon. To the Eldest, she knows, time has little relevance and e-mail even less.
Multi-player online games help.
She is in a chat window with her favorite ‘Words With Friends’ opponent, a demon from Fallen Court, when the elders arrive. Light blazes to full glory, softly outlining each of them. Blanking her screen, she folds her hands into the sleeves of her robe and waits. As the Eldest looks at the paper in his hand, she breathes out the tiniest of sighs. She just cannot persuade him that he doesn’t need to print out copies of her e-mails.
“First event target is a complete loss,” he reads aloud. “Odds of successfully retrieving Raziel’s Book if we capture both remaining targets now down to 78.3 percent.”
The silence that follows is absolute. The faces of her three elders could be carved from marble.
“What about the other one?” At her words, all eyes turn to her. “For Raziel to put divine knowledge into his book, it has to have existed in him as well. If we capture his book, couldn’t he just make another one? Aren’t we going to have to do … something … about the Archangel Raziel too?”
The light flickers.
The Eldest glances at his companions and looks back at her. “We have an assignment for you.”
GABY AND LEILA, Epilogue
2012, Provence
“Thomas, focus!” Leila laughed at him.
Thomas smiled at her in the mirror, but his big hands continued struggling with the clasp of the necklace he was fastening at her throat. “Why did they have to make these things so small?” She just handed him the bracelet and held out her wrist.
While she put on the earrings, he shrugged into his jacket with the casual elegance that reminded her of his grandfather. Thomas bent to kiss her deeply. Finally, he pulled away with a groan. “I love you, Princess, but I do miss the corset.” Reminding her that the dinner he’d planned so carefully would be ruined if they ran late, he left to check on the kitchen, passing Gaby as she entered the room.
Leila lifted the little tiara to her hair and eyed it doubtfully. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?”
“How many times have we been over this?” Gaby leaned over to check her own hair in the mirror. “I tell you every time it’s way over the top, and Thomas says he isn’t getting the corset, so he should at least get the tiara.”
“Right.” Leila firmly fastened the tiara in place. She looked at Gaby in the mirror next to her and sighed. “If you have to look so gorgeous, would you mind not standing next to me?”
“I have to stand next to you; I’m your matron of honor. But you look lovely.”
Leila snorted. “On my best day, the most I can hope for is damn cute.”
Gaby laughed and patted her stomach. “Another week and Max Jr. would have made it impossible to zip this dress. I just hope the new Seattle house is finished before he shows up. And anyway, Thomas thinks you’re beautiful.”
“Yeah, and he can’t lie anymore.” Leila frowned doubtfully at her tiara-clad reflection. “But Thomas also thinks Star Wars is better than Star Trek.” She brightened. “Still, I finally met Thomas’ parents, and his dad totally gets the superiority of Star Trek. I’m so glad our families are here today.”
Leila saw a shadow cross Gaby’s face, and she reached up to take her friend’s hand. “Any news about your brother and sister?”
Gaby’s eyes didn’t meet Leila’s in the mirror, but she smiled determinedly. “Luic sent an e-mail this morning. He had a message signed ‘Rian’ saying Harry and the twins got onto another Metro right after we left. Poppy is trying to help Luic trace that train, so I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
“What does Max think?” Leila asked.
“Max thinks it would be nice if Luic stopped e-mailing me.” Gaby’s smile reached her eyes. “Now, as my former roommate once told me: get your butt moving because Thomas is going to start eating the furniture if we don’t head downstairs soon.”
“Two minutes,” promised Leila.
As the door closed behind Gaby, Leila looked in the mirror. On the surface, she realized, she didn’t look much different from the sullen girl carrying a velvet jewelry box out of Sebastian Chapel’s house so long ago. But the woman whose green eyes stared back at her from the mirror was different in all the ways that counted. With a final thumbs-up to the mirror, Leila headed downstairs.
The Chateau gleamed, shutters fastened back and windows thrown open to welcome the late summer sun. Her parents waited for her at the bottom of the stairs, where Mom finished fastening Leila’s veil to the tiara. “You’re the most beautiful daughter I could ever have wished for, and I’m so proud of you.” Mom kissed her before heading out to the terrace. Dad took her arm as the music changed to a processional. Gaby paced slowly ahead of her between the rows of chairs assembled on the terrace.
Leila noticed several of the villagers beaming at her. As they prepared the Chateau to become a luxury boutique hotel due to open next year, she and Thomas had also shown their gratitude to the villagers for defending them the night they went down into the fountain. Thanks to their investment, new shops and restaurants clustered around a charming square centered by the refurbished fountain. With all the new businesses and job opportunities, streets were cleaned, houses and shutters repainted, and flowers planted everywhere. There were still a lot of dogs, though.
Leila claimed that the old story was correct after all. When she and Thomas had used the fountain to summon the Metro, they set in motion the events that led to the end of the villagers’ old world and the renovation of Fontaine Hantée. But her careful Thomas was still worried there was more to the prophecy.
A
s she continued down the aisle, a grinning Pete gave her a thumbs-up. The newest branch of Latte’s Inferno was set to open on the village square next week. Thomas’ parents sat pressed closely together, but both smiled at Leila.
Suzanne was laughing as Raymond tried vainly to corral Leila’s little brother. Sam simply scooped up the toddler and whispered in his ear. His big green eyes lit up, and Raymond looked distinctly worried as he reached for his son. Sam smiled at her and mimed putting on a tiara. She laughed, although she still meant to ask him just how he had managed to return a set of the jewelry to her.
At the front of the aisle, Sebastian stood next to Thomas, but he had eyes only for Gaby. All Leila could see was her friend’s back, but she knew the message Gaby was sending. Max: pay attention!
Leila knew just how she felt because Thomas’ gray eyes were fastened on her face. As she came up beside him, she handed her bouquet to Gaby, kissed Dad, and whispered, “Thomas: focus!”
From the rooftop overhead, two glittering little eyes surveyed the scene. As Thomas leaned over to kiss his bride, the Rooster from Hell threw back his head in a triumphant crow.
About the Author
In halcyon days BC (before children), Barb Taub wrote a humor column for several Midwest newspapers. After Child #4, she veered toward the dark side and an HR career. Following a daring daytime escape to England, she's lived in a medieval castle and a hobbit house with her prince-of-a-guy and the World’s Most Spoiled AussieDog. Now all her days are Saturdays. She spends them consulting with her occasional co-author/daughter on Marvel heroes, Null City, and translating from British to American.