Liberty patted his head. “Carry on. I suspect you’ll have to run into a few more things before that happens.”
She leaned over and looked him directly in the eyes. A conspiratorial smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. “If you don’t tell Mender who taught them to you, I’ll teach you a few more curse words. You can’t just go around saying ‘Damn’ all the time. It’ll get boring.”
“Damn straight.” Things were sliding into place.
“You made that up. I’m impressed. What does it mean when I say ‘Bloody hell’?”
Happiness bubbled through him. “It means that Airus is either going to blow up or fall out of the sky.” Boy told his hand to reach out and touch Liberty’s tears. “My father sent me here to be your brother. Do you know why?”
Liberty shook her head, scattering her tears onto the deck.
“Your father asked him to finish building me because he didn’t want you to ever be lonely. He loved you so very much.” It was like a veil had been lifted and he no longer felt a crippling despair. It would get better. It might not be today but it would be someday.
Chapter Twelve
“What should we do next?” Liberty stood and went over to the helm.
Boy stared over the railing at the passing clouds. “Did Mender tell you about his parents?” He turned and walked over to be near her.
She sat in the captain’s chair and leaned her shoulders back. “Not much.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “In fact, he was rather vague whenever he talked about them.” She shrugged. “I didn’t think anything about it at the time but now wish I’d asked more questions.”
“Do you know where they live?” He had been thinking of a plan during the night that might help him relearn some of the things he was having trouble remembering.
“I know the general area. Why?” Liberty was now fully focused on Boy.
“They’re caretakers of the only known library to have survived the Great War. Do you think we could visit them? Maybe they’ll let us see their books.” He crossed his fingers behind his back, hoping she would agree but fearful she wouldn’t. She had a schedule to keep after all.
Liberty grinned and slapped the armrest. “Why the hell not?”
“Really?” He’d heard her words but had trouble believing he’d heard right.
She leaned in close and studied Boy’s face intently. “I think it’s time we made up a few new rules of our own.” She slid out of the chair and knelt in front of him. Excitement radiated from her every pore.
“For once I’m going to skip traveling to Forbidden.” She jumped up and pulled him along as she headed toward the galley. There, Liberty grabbed an apple and motioned for him to sit with her at the table.
Once seated, she leaned both elbows on the tabletop. “It’s just the two of us now so why shouldn’t we go where we want?”
“I agree, so you want to see the library too?” Boy loved seeing how her face glowed with enthusiasm. Maybe she needed this side-trip just as much as he did.
But her smile had slipped a little at his question. Liberty looked at the apple in her hand instead of Boy when she answered, “I would like to meet Mender’s parents, but...” She finally met his eyes again. “I don’t know how to read.” She waved her hands around. “Books were the one thing we never had on Airus so Father never talked about them.” She shrugged. “Maybe he didn’t know how to read either.”
Boy blinked and tried to comprehend no one knowing how to read. His father had only owned a few books but it had been one of the things he had taken the time to teach him.
“I’ll teach you.” Maybe he was still useful after all. His heart soared at the thought.
Liberty grinned. “Really?” She stood and reached across the table, pulling him into a tight hug before releasing him and motioning him to follow her. “Let’s go and set a new course then.” Liberty marched off without looking behind. “I can’t wait to meet Mender’s parents.”
Liberty abruptly stopped and Boy ran right onto her heels. They both laughed and then Liberty grabbed him by his shoulders. “Librarians! I’ve never met a librarian before. I wonder what they’re like?” She paused as she thought about it and then asked, “Do you think they’ll like me?”
Boy touched her arm. “They’re going to love you.” They would. Boy just knew it. Liberty was the most lovable person on earth. How could they not?
The trip up north took only a few days. Was Liberty as nervous as he was about meeting Mender’s parents? The idea of going to see them had sounded great at first but the nearer they got, the clearer it became that they might not let him into their library, and even if they did it might not help him recover who he’d once been.
“Where should we set down?” Liberty tapped the altimeter’s glass before looking over at him. She had let him sit in the captain’s chair, given that his legs still collapsed out from under him for no apparent reason every so often.
He felt great sitting here at the helm. During the trip he had closed his eyes several times and pretended to be in control of Airus. Could he be the captain of his own airship one day? Was that too much for a robot to wish for? Maybe he should stop wishing for what he wanted and go after it instead.
Boy slid out of the chair and walked over to the railing, to get a better view of the forlorn city they now hovered over. Most of it had been leveled to the ground but at its edge several building had somehow made it unscathed through the war and the intervening centuries.
Boy turned and waved toward them. “I think we should check over there.”
Liberty ran over and kissed the top of his head. “I think you may be right. Besides, what do we have to lose if we don’t pick right first time? We have all the time in the world.”
He stared at her, amazed at how much she’d changed since they’d first met. Whether it was for the best or not only time would tell.
Chapter Thirteen
Boy heard Liberty long before he saw her. Her boots echoed on the marble floor even though he knew she was trying to be quiet. Something about the huge domed library had brought out the same reaction in them both the moment Lyon and Page had first shown them around. Its atmosphere and the thousands of books on its shelves commanded respect. Here there was hope.
Liberty slipped into the chair next to him and whispered, “What are we reading today?”
Boy was proud of how fast she was learning. She still had a long way to go but would soon be reading something besides the simple primers he’d been putting before her on the table these past few days.
He pushed some colorful children’s books across the table toward her. “Look these over and tell me if you have any trouble with any of the words.”
Her face lit up the moment her fingers touched the books. “Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?”
He couldn’t help but say, “Yes, flowers, hummingbirds, trees and bubbling brooks.”
She held up a hand. “Alright already, but do any of these take you into another world, one where you can get lost for hours upon hours at a time?” Liberty picked up the books. “These aren’t books,” and she pressed them to her breast. “These are new places to visit – new people to love.”
That word got Boy’s attention. “Love?”
She smiled. “Yes.”
“So have you decided that your father was wrong about love?” Boy wasn’t sure which answer he wanted to hear.
Liberty hugged the books even tighter against her chest. She looked around the library before settling her gaze back on Boy’s face. Her smile widened. “I don’t think I have any choice but to break Father’s rule about love.”
She placed the books on the tabletop and scooted her chair closer, leaning in toward him. “I don’t think someone can choose whether or not to love.” She placed a hand on Boy’s arm.
“When that wave washed over you, all I could think of was that I was going to lose my baby brother. And when Mender couldn’t repair you, I worried about you every day. One day I
woke up and saw you just sitting there, staring off into space. I wasn’t certain you were ever going to be the same again. The only thing that worked properly was your dehumidifier. So, you see, you no longer needed me to breathe for you, but you still needed me to fight for you. So I fought every day to bring you back.”
A beautiful smile lit her whole face. “If that wasn’t love, then what was it?” She patted the side of his face. “How can something so beautiful and unselfish lead to hate?”
Boy blinked as he tried to absorb everything. “I’ve been a terrible brother.”
Liberty frowned. “How can you say that? No matter how hard I made it for you to be my brother, you never gave up.”
“But I’ve been so angry ever since I woke up.” Boy looked at his fingers. He hated the difference between them and Justice’s. He knew Justice had accepted him but there was still a nugget of doubt that he would ever be able to compete with a real flesh and blood brother.
“I can understand how frustrating your recovery must be.” Liberty patted his hand. “You’re doing it, though. Every day you get better. Pretty soon you’ll be as good as new.”
“What good is being as good as new? I was never real. You’re real. Justice is real. I’m just what Shatter said: a bucket held together with bolts.” Boy swung his feet underneath his chair, too nervous to look at Liberty.
“Do you know what I think?” She placed a hand on his arm. “Look at me.”
He shook his head. “You don’t understand.” Boy extended his hand and wiggled his fingers. “Look at us. You’re made out of flesh and blood and I’m only metal and programming.”
Boy closed his eyes briefly, but when he reopened them he made certain to meet Liberty’s eyes. “When I heard you had found your real brother, I was so angry and felt useless. Why would you need me once you had him? If I’m not your brother, then what am I?”
Liberty sighed and slipped her fingers through his. “We’re all different. I love who you are. You believe when no one else does, and you love even when no one else does.” She nudged him in the side. “You should know better than me that love is unlimited. It only grows and grows with each and every person we let into our lives.”
She kissed his cheek. “You’re not a bucket held together by bolts. You’re my brother and yes, Justice is brother to us both. My hope is that one day you’ll love him too.”
Liberty stood and perched on the edge of the table, facing him. “I’ve had a lot of time to think while waiting for you come back to me.”
She placed a finger under his chin and forced Boy to look her in the eye. “I am flesh and blood and you’re metal. There’s no denying that. The difference is that one day I’m going to die but you can live forever.”
Liberty smiled. “I love knowing you’re going to be here long after I’m gone. Do you know why?”
Boy shook his head. “No. That sounds awful. How am I supposed to go on without you?”
“Because I’ll need you to. Because one day I want to have children and I hope they’ll give me grandchildren, and that my grandchildren will give me great-grandchildren. I don’t mind facing death if I know you’ll still be here, loving those I’ve left behind. I can face death then, knowing you’ll still be here, that I won’t be forgotten because you’ll be remembering me long after I’ve gone.”
Liberty rubbed the top of his head. “That’s what you gave me. Could a bucket held together by bolts give such a wonderful gift? Of course not. You were built to love and so you will.”
Boy tapped his chest. “I was also built to be the Keeper but I’ve failed in that, failed Father. I lost everything he left in my care.”
“Look around.” Liberty slipped off the table and pulled Boy up so he had no choice but to do so. “Your father didn’t know this library still existed. The past isn’t lost.” She waved at the enormous room filled from floor to ceiling with row upon row of books. “The past is recorded here. But I think your father would forgive you even if this didn’t exist. The past isn’t as important as our future.”
Her smile and words filled Boy with hope and a purpose. She was depending on him to love her and hers now and forever more. It was a huge responsibility, but wasn’t it just so much more wonderful to be trusted with it.
Epilogue
Boy waved at Lyon and Page until he could no longer see them. Only then did he join Liberty at the helm. “I’m going to miss Mender’s parents. He’s nothing like them, is he?”
Liberty grinned. “He certainly isn’t.” She helped him finish climbing into the captain’s chair.
“Where are we headed to now?” Boy wriggled back so he wouldn’t fall the first time Airus was rocked by any strong winds.
She adjusted her goggles and tucked her unruly curls beneath her hat. “We’re meeting Mender and Justice at Polly’s. They’ve never helped collect honey before. I think it will be fun watching them.”
Liberty’s face glowed with happiness. Boy suspected it might have something to do with seeing Mender again, that he might have to work on getting used to the idea of sharing her with yet another person, but he was beginning to think that maybe that wasn’t such an awful thing after all.
His first day on Airus, he had worried no one would ever love him again, but it now looked as if every day held yet another person he could love, and who could love him back. His world was changing and expanding a little more every day. Was this what Father had built him for – not just to be Liberty’s brother but to be a friend to all?
“It will be good to see Robbie again too.”
Liberty smiled. “Poor Robbie. I’m always so worried he’s going to topple over.”
Boy blinked. “I think that’s what he likes best about himself.”
“Why would you say that?” The wind caught her hat and almost blew it away but she caught it in time.
“He says he knows Mender will always catch him.” Boy tapped the arm of the chair. “I didn’t understand at first, but now I think I do.”
Liberty leaned closer, as though afraid to miss a single word.
“It’s how Robbie knows Mender loves him.” He lifted his eyes to meet Liberty’s intense stare. “Because isn’t that what love is, not words but actions?”
Boy slipped out of the captain’s chair and led Liberty over to the port railing where he said, “My father started building me because his wife, Mary, had always wanted children but never could. Unfortunately, she died before he finished building me.”
He stood on tiptoes so he could look over the railing at the pure white clouds. He never grew tired of seeing them. Each was different and interesting. “Father might have left me in pieces on his worktable if your father hadn’t asked him to finish me. Father didn’t want to at first, because it only reminded him of what he had failed to give Mary. It wasn’t until your father told mine that he was dying and couldn’t bear thinking of you not having anyone after his death that Father finally agreed.”
A soft intake of breath made Boy turn and look at Liberty. “He worried about your safety and happiness. He must have been a wonderful man.”
She shook her head and bit her lip. Liberty’s eyes filled with tears but she blinked them away. “Father was so sick. I couldn’t understand why he insisted on stopping. At first I thought he wanted to stop so your father could help heal him, but then we left and your father hadn’t done anything of the sort.”
Boy reached over, took her hand in his and squeezed her fingers. “The man who taught you never to love, loved you with all his heart. Why else would he care if you were alone or not?”
A tear ran down Liberty’s face but went unheeded. “Do you know what I think?”
“What?” He held her hand and waited.
“Father told me he built Airus so he would always be safe, but that’s not what he did with the airship. He traveled to the Forbidden Land and gathered things other people needed and then carried it all from place to place, making certain everyone had enough to eat.”
S
he chuckled. “He gave the few survivors on earth friendship and hope. The man who taught me never to love did so himself, without even knowing it.”
Liberty knelt in front of Boy and hugged him. “Our fathers were really good men.”
“We were lucky to have them.” He stepped back and placed a hand on her shoulder. “And we’re lucky to have each other. I think the best way we can honor our fathers is to carry on with what they started. It’s what they would have wanted us to do.”
She smiled and touched his cheek. “We’re a ragtag lot but for some reason I think that makes us perfect for the task.”
Boy nodded. “I think we’re perfect too, even if all we are is flesh and blood, and bolts and metal.”
The End
Author Bio
Regina Puckett is a 2014 Readers’ Favorite Award winning author for her sweet romance, Concealed in My Heart. Her steampunk book, I Will Breathe, and her children’s picture book, Borrowed Wings, both received the Children’s Literary Classic Seal of Approval.
Memories, won first place in the 1st WSBR International Poetry Contest, and her collection of poetry, Fireflies, won the 2013 Turning Pages Poetry Book of the Year.
Regina Puckett has been writing for over forty-eight years, and lives in Tennessee with her husband of over forty years. She has two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
She writes sweet romances, horror, inspirational, steampunk, picture books and poetry. There are always several projects in various stages of completion and characters and stories waiting in the wings for their chance to finally get out of her head and onto paper.
Please come and visit me at facebook.com/regina.puckett1
http://reginapuckettsbooks.weebly.com/index.html
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/154116.Regina_Puckett
https://twitter.com/ReginaPucket
The Liberty Series Page 9