No Ocean Deep

by Cate Swannell

  “It’s okay,” Jo said quietly.

  Helena looked up at her and Jo recognized the look, not the least because Cadie had very much inherited her mother’s eyes.

  “We haven’t had a chance to really get to know each other, Jo,” Helena said. “You were only in Madison a few days before you left and, even though we’ve talked a lot on the phone, nothing beats getting to know someone in person.”

  Oh boy, where’s she going with this, Jo wondered, her stomach tightening suddenly.

  Helena saw the slightly panicked look on Jo’s face and rushed to reassure her. “Oh, Jo, don’t worry.” She chuckled. “I was about to tell you that even though we haven’t had a lot of time together, I knew the minute I met you that you and Cadie were perfectly matched.”

  Jo grinned. “Really?”

  “Oh yes. I’ve never seen Cadie so… relaxed… and contented. She doesn’t have to be anything other than herself when she’s with you, Jo. And that’s more than Naomi could ever do for her.”

  Jo felt the last vestiges of insecurity over Cadie’s ex-partner falling away. “I think I’ve always known that we had something she and Naomi never did,” she said softly. “And of course, Cadie has said so. But thank you for confirming it.”

  Helena moved forward again and touched her palm gently to Jo’s cheek.

  “Don’t you ever worry about that, Jo,” she said, equally quietly. “She adores you. And, truth be told, so do Stephen and I.” She smiled at Jo’s renewed blush. “We have no doubts at all that the two of you will make each other very happy.”

  Jo exhaled slowly. She had been strangely calm about meeting Cadie’s parents, she remembered. Mainly, she suspected, because that day had been so bizarre, meeting her future in-laws had seemed like a doddle in comparison.

  They hadn’t warned Cadie’s parents that Jo was coming home with her. In the end, it had just been easier to pile everything in the car and drive up to Madison as quickly as they could. Cadie found she had loved showing Jo all the sights – not that that particular stretch of I90 provided much in the way of picturesque scenery – but Jo had seemed interested and plied her with questions. By the time they were pulling in to the driveway of Cadie’s childhood home, both of them were happy and relaxed despite the events of the day.

  Or maybe because of them, Jo had thought at the time. It’s such a relief to be out from under Naomi’s dark cloud.

  Stephen and Helena came down the driveway to meet them and Jo had hung back a little, knowing that their primary concern would be making sure Cadie was all right. She climbed out of the car and waited while her partner and her parents reassured themselves that all was well.

  “And who is this?” Stephen Jones had asked finally, turning with a smile to the tall, dark-haired and attractive stranger waiting on the car’s passenger side. He had an inkling, from the descriptions his daughter had given him. But he didn’t want to assume.

  Cadie grinned over her shoulder at her lover and stepped back from Helena’s hug. “Mom, Dad, this is Jo,” she had said simply, pride and love shining from her eyes. “She arrived out of the blue, at just the right moment. As usual.”

  “Well, you can thank your mother for that,” Jo had drawled as she stepped forward and grasped Stephen’s offered hand in a firm grip. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Jones,” she said, looking the tall man in the eye.

  “Please, call me Stephen,” Cadie’s father had replied, already impressed by the cool calm of his daughter’s friend. “And thank you. If Cadie says you arrived at the right moment, I can only assume that you saved her from considerable amounts of trouble.”

  Jo glanced Cadie’s way and smiled slightly. “She was doing pretty well on her own, I think,” she had replied.

  Cadie snorted. “You are such a liar.” She turned to her mother and smiled. “The truth is Naomi was being a little difficult and Jo stopped her.” Helena reached up and brushed a finger along the scrape on Cadie’s jaw.

  “I want to hear all the details,” she had said firmly. “But first.” Helena walked over to Jo and wrapped the slightly surprised woman in a warm hug. “I want to welcome you to the family, Jo.”

  Jo had found herself confronted by a very familiar pair of eyes and was charmed.

  “Um, thank you,” she had replied. “I’m very glad to be here.”

  Helena’s voice brought Jo back to the present.

  “We know you haven’t planned a honeymoon,” the older woman was saying. “So, Stephen and I thought we’d … well, hopefully we haven’t been too presumptuous.” Helena held out an envelope. “We checked with your office manager … Doris, right?” Jo nodded and took the envelope. “To make sure you had enough time to take a week off. Go on, open it up.”

  Jo started to, lifting the flap and peering inside. It looked like an accommodation voucher and when she saw the name on the letterhead her eyebrows lifted. “Wow, Helena, that’s very generous. Thank you.”

  Helena patted her hand gently. “Don’t mention it. Now, we spoke to your friend Bill, and he’s going to fly you both up there in his helicopter tonight.” She grinned at her soon to be daughter-in-law. “After some celebrations, of course.”

  Jo laughed. “That’ll kill Bill. Having to stay sober till he gets back here.” She clutched the envelope to her chest and smiled at Helena. “Thank you. This means a lot.”

  Helena nodded. “It means a lot to us to be able to do it for you, Jo. Naomi never really let us do this kind of thing. I feel more involved in Cadie’s life now, even though she’s on the other side of the world, than I ever did when she was with the senator.”

  Jo didn’t say anything, just pulled the older woman into a hug, a move which surprised Helena, but pleased her more than she could say.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Across the companionway, in the other double berth, Cadie was also dressing. Her outfit matched Jo’s except, instead of pants and a tank top, she wore a long sundress under her jacket. She was putting the finishing touches on her makeup when the knock came at the door.

  “Come in,” she said, not looking away from the mirror as she applied her mascara. Cadie heard someone enter. “I won’t be a minute,” she called out.

  “No worries,” came the surprisingly deep response. Cadie smiled at herself as she screwed the lid back on the mascara tube. She had half-expected a visit from one of the four parental units on board, but David Madison was probably the one she had least expected to come through the door.

  Cadie rounded the corner and found the elder Madison standing uncomfortably in front of the bed, his hands buried deep in the pockets of his shorts. Cadie grinned. He’s so cute when he’s flustered. “Hello.”

  David looked up at the blonde’s approach and he found himself even more tongue-tied than usual. “G’day,” he said, finally. “Gosh, Cadie you look terrific … just … you just look terrific.”

  Cadie beamed at him. “Thank you.” She waited while David obviously tried to gather his thoughts together into cogent sentences. Finally he just sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

  “I had a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to say to you,” he said. “But, you know me. I’m not too good when it gets down to talking.”

  Cadie smiled and sat down next to him, taking his calloused right hand between her own and chafing it gently. “You do just fine,” she said. “Besides there’s some stuff I wanted to say to you too.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Mhmm. Like, I wanted to say thank you for making me part of your family. For making me feel like I had a second set of parents. It’s made leaving home a lot easier, knowing that I had another family here to welcome me.”

  In the five months since he and Maggie had sold Coonyabby and moved up here, David had had the chance to get to know his daughter’s partner a lot better. But she never failed to surprise him with her open and warm personality. He cleared his throat.

  “You’re always welcome, Cadie,” he said gruffly, placing his other hand
on top of hers. “That’s one of the things I wanted to say.” He looked down and then felt Cadie bumping him with her shoulder, encouraging him to continue. Sea-green eyes met his when he looked back up again. “You gave me my daughter back.”

  Cadie felt tears stinging her eyes and she saw just a hint of the same in David’s. She shook her head slowly. “I think she would have come back to you anyway,” she said. “She wanted to so badly.”

  “You made her feel like she could do it, though,” David insisted.

  Cadie conceded the point, shrugging slightly and smiling. “I love her,” she said softly. “That makes everything possible. For both of us.”

  David nodded. After a few seconds silence, he dug into his pocket and pulled out a small jewelry case. “We, uh … we wanted to give you both something to mark the day,” he said. “We know you picked out your wedding rings, but these …” He opened the case carefully, exposing two rings. One was a woman’s engagement ring, an emerald slightly darker than Cadie’s eyes, set on a simple rose-gold band. The other was a man’s signet ring, though it was slender enough to look good on a woman. “These we thought you could wear as well as the wedding rings,” David continued. “My father gave them to us when we were married,” he explained.

  “Oh, David.”

  “If they don’t fit, we can always get them resized,” he said hastily, aware he was just filling air in an effort not to be embarrassed.

  “They’re beautiful.” Cadie picked out the signet ring and looked more closely at it. Inscribed on the gold shield was one word – Madison. She glanced up at David, who was watching her closely. “Do you mind if I choose this one?” she asked.

  David was surprised, but he could suddenly see the symmetry of her choice. “Of course not,” he replied. Part of the family. Nice.

  Cadie put the ring back in its case, next to its partner and closed the lid carefully. “Please thank Maggie for me,” she said, and she reached up and kissed her father-in-law on the cheek.

  “No worries,” David said hoarsely.

  Jo felt about 50 pairs of eyes boring into her. Which wasn’t surprising, considering she was currently the center of attention. All the partygoers had crowded around the cockpit of the Seawolf, though some, by necessity, had spilled onto the other boats. Jo stood with Paul, and the marriage celebrant, Marilyn, as they waited for Cadie.

  “Nervous?” Paul asked, a grin splitting his face from side to side.

  Jo was about to answer him when she spotted the look on his face. “Oh, you’re loving this aren’t you?” she said, slapping his shoulder affectionately.

  “You bet,” the tall man agreed. “How often do we get to see Jo Madison, monarch of the seas, flustered?”

  “I am not flustered,” Jo objected, pushing a lock of her hair back behind her ear. “I just want to get started, that’s all.”

  “Well, here’s your chance, skipper,” Paul said, nodding in the direction of the companionway. Cadie emerged into the sunshine and Jo immediately forgot about every other person onboard.

  Perfect. She looks just perfect, Jo thought, as she reached out and took Cadie’s offered hand. Gently she pulled the blonde closer and Cadie smiled up at Jo.

  “Hello,” she said softly.

  “Hello,” Jo replied. “You are beautiful.”

  The low voice curled around Cadie’s senses and magically settled her nerves. She felt herself blushing under Jo’s frank appraisal. “Likewise, darling,” she whispered back. “Are you ready for this?”

  “Oh, yes,” came Jo’s reply, with no hesitation. “Marry me.”

  “Happily,” Cadie answered.

  They turned together to face Marilyn, who had watched the quiet exchange with a knowing smile. The murmuring around the central group settled into an expectant silence. Jo felt Cadie’s hand squeeze hers and she changed her grip, entwining their fingers as they waited for the celebrant to begin.

  “Welcome everyone, to this very special celebration for our friends, Jo and Cadie,” Marilyn began. “They have chosen a variation on the traditional hand-fasting ceremony to express their love and commitment to each other. It is very much a ceremony of their own design, but incorporates symbols which have been passed down through centuries of similar rituals.”

  Between Marilyn and Jo and Cadie was a small round table. On it were two candles, each one lit, and one larger, much taller candle, which was still unlit. In front of the candles was a long, wide, purple ribbon, on which sat the two wedding rings.

  “Jo, Cadie, please take the wedding rings.” The women reached forward and took their own gold bands, holding them in the palms of their upturned hands. “We have come together here in celebration of the joining together of Jo and Cadie,” Marilyn continued, lifting her voice so all on board could hear. “There are many things to say about marriage. Much wisdom concerning the joining together of two souls has come our way through all paths of belief, and from many cultures. With each union, more knowledge is gained and more wisdom gathered. Though we are unable to give all of this knowledge to these two, who stand before us, we can hope to leave with them the knowledge love’s strengths and the anticipation of the wisdom that comes with time. The law of life is love unto all beings. Without love, life is nothing, without love, death has no redemption.”

  The celebrant paused for breath and Jo felt the quiet peace around her. She glanced at Cadie and found an expression of utter contentment on her partner’s face. Like an angel, Jo thought, drinking in the love that shone from Cadie. At that moment the blonde looked her way and smiled.

  Cadie let the happiness well up inside her. She and Jo had spent many hours searching for the right words for their marriage ceremony, and when they had finally found a combination they both loved, all their nerves had dropped away. Instead there was nothing but anticipation. And now, feeling their friends and family becoming absorbed in the words and the meanings behind them – it felt perfect to Cadie.

  “Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection,” Marilyn continued. She looked up and beyond the immediate circle of Jo, Cadie and their parents. “Jo tells me that she had known Cadie about three weeks when she asked her to marry her.” There were grins all around the yacht. “But after watching these two over the past 10 months or so, I think I can safely theorize that they have done most of their reflection over the course of many lifetimes together.”

  There were agreeing murmurs and ‘hear, hears’ from the watching crowd and both Cadie and Jo blushed.

  “As with any aspect of life, marriage has its cycles, its ups and its downs, its trials and its triumphs. With full understanding of this, Jo and Cadie have come here today to be joined as one.

  “Others would ask, at this time, who gives the bride in marriage, but, as a woman is not property to be bought and sold, given and taken, I ask simply if they come of their own will and if they have their families’ blessing.”

  Marilyn turned to Cadie.

  “Cadie, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?”

  “Yes, it is true,” she replied, with a quick smile at Jo.

  “With whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you?” the celebrant asked.

  Stephen and Helena stepped forward slightly and stood behind Cadie’s left shoulder.

  “She comes with us, her parents,” said Stephen. “And she is accompanied by all of her family's blessings,” said Helena.

  Marilyn turned to Jo.

  “And you, Jossandra, is it true that you come of your own free will and accord?”

  Jo tried to speak but emotion clogged her voice, suddenly. She cleared her throat and then replied.

  “Yes, it is true,” she husked.

  “And with whom do you come and whose blessings accompany you?”

  This time it was David and Maggie who stepped forward to stand behind their daughter’s right shoulder. Jo held her breath for a moment, realizing that this was the ultimate acceptance back into the fam
ily she had abandoned so long ago. Cadie squeezed her hand gently.

  “She comes with us, her parents,” said David, in a clear, strong voice. “And she is accompanied by all of her family's blessings.” Maggie’s voice wavered with emotion, but there was no mistaking her happiness. Jo exhaled softly.

  “Jo, Cadie, please face each other and join your left hands.” Marilyn waited as the two women did so, their eyes locked on each other. “Above you are the stars, below you is the water, and below that again, are the stones. As time passes, remember ... Like a stone should your love be firm. Like a star should your love be constant. Like water should your love be fluid and adaptable. Let the powers of the mind and of the intellect guide you in your marriage. Let the strength of your wills bind you together. Let the power of love and desire make you happy, and the strength of your dedication make you inseparable.

  “Be close, but not too close. Possess one another, yet be understanding. Have patience with one another, for storms will come, but they will pass quickly. Be free in giving affection and warmth. Have no fear and let not the ways of the unenlightened give you unease, for your gods are with you always.”

  Jo heard a small sniffle from somewhere behind her and a quick glance told her that Helena was dabbing at her eyes as Stephen wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

  “We’re making your mother cry,” she whispered conspiratorially.

  A twinkling green gaze smiled back at her. “Yours too,” came the answering whisper.

  “Jo,” Marilyn continued. “I have not the right to bind you to Cadie. Only you have this right. If it is your wish, say so at this time and place your ring in her hand.”

  Jo’s voice was steadier this time.

  “It is my wish.” She gave Cadie the ring they had selected for Jo.

  “Cadie, if it is your wish for Jo to be bound to you, place the ring on her finger.”

  Cadie changed her grip on Jo’s left hand and gently slid the gold band into place on her lover’s ring finger. She ducked her head and kissed it.