Wings In Darkness

by Gregory Kay

  She hugged him.

  “I know, Dad, and I appreciate it.”

  “Good.” A grin and then a joking, “And you should!”

  He strolled out of the room, beer in hand, and Maurine said, “I want the same thing for you too, and it’s not the place I’m worried about. You haven’t known this guy very long. I mean...well, look at Cliff! You knew him a lot longer, and look what he turned out to be.”

  “I know, Mom, but Luke is the last thing you have to be concerned with. Just wait until you meet him.”

  Her father’s voice echoed out of the living room.

  “Hey, Fiona; what does this guy drive, anyway?”

  “A Jeep: a yellow one. Why?”

  “Just curious,” he said before adding with deliberate nonchalance, “since one just pulled up in front of the house, and some great big hillbilly is climbing out of it.”

  Maurine was surprised the last plate didn’t shatter when it left Fiona’s fingers to thump unheeded onto the table, and Frank barely managed to jerk his beer upward to safety as his daughter flew past like a diminutive dark-haired whirlwind, and cleared the front steps before the storm door had a chance to slam shut behind her. Her mother hurried in to stand beside Frank, just in time to see Fiona literally leap into Luke’s arms, wrap both legs around his waist, and frantically and repeatedly kiss him for all she was worth, crying with joy all the while.

  “Miss me?” Luke asked her with that unique grin of his.

  “Well,” Frank told his wife, “if nothing else, it looks like she really likes him.”

  Fiona’s mother threw up both hands.

  “Gee, do you think?”

  “That was a fine dinner, Mrs. Pelligatti; thank you.”

  Maurine smiled at him. Her daughter was right; there was something special about this one. Certainly he had charmed her, she had to admit, but he frightened her just a little too, although, oddly enough, not in a bad way.

  The dinner conversation had been remarkable, not just for his extreme politeness – she knew that was probably just a cultural thing, with him being from the South – but it was almost as if he knew what she and her husband were thinking. Every time she had a negative thought, question, or concern, he seemed to subtly steer the conversation in a direction that would allow him to answer it reassuringly. She wondered if he was psychic, or maybe just unusually adept at reading body language; she knew, if her great-grandmother from the old country was still alive, the old woman would have insisted he had fairy blood in his veins. Still, natural or supernatural, Maurine had to admit she could detect nothing but honesty in him, along with an unusual amount of empathy and consideration.

  “I’m glad you liked it. I’m like my mother, Luke; every woman in my family has always liked to see a man eat. I taught Fiona to cook too,” she added proudly, and Luke nodded his congratulations.

  “Then you’re as good a teacher as you are a cook; she made a meal for me while she was down, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life.”

  Maurine’s smile grew absolutely huge, as did Fiona’s, although the latter noticed how Luke had carefully phrased that; if he had said “the best” instead of “one of the best,” it could have insulted her mother, and if he had added, “except for this one,” Fiona might have felt slighted.

  Ah! The old strategic redeployment of the truth!

  Her father had obviously noticed as well, from the curious expression on his face.

  Maurine said, “Thank you, Luke,” making him grin a little bigger, and then Frank gave his wife that look, and she knew very well what it meant.

  “Fiona, help me clear away the table, please.”

  Fiona rolled her eyes in exasperation; after she got Luke inside, her parents had immediately monopolized his attention. She could understand why, of course, but that didn’t make the situation any easier for her. I’ve missed him, damn it!

  “Not as much as I’ve missed you,” his thought popped into her head even as she rose to gather the dirty dishes, and she grinned hugely.

  “Why didn’t you project to me before?”

  “I can’t do it and talk at the same time; it would be like carrying on two conversations at once.”

  “Still...”

  Suddenly he projected a very graphic thought, a picture of what they’d done their last night together in his bed, and she almost dropped the plates she was holding on the floor.

  “Stop that!” she demanded, her face flushing as embarrassment and pleasure fought a brief war within her. The odd look on her face and her involuntary snicker prompted her mother to ask her what was wrong.

  “Nothing; I was just thinking of something funny, that’s all.”

  “Well think of helping me get these dishes into the kitchen, and let the men talk for awhile.

  “It’s alright,” Luke told her, followed by, “Don’t worry; we’ll have plenty of time together soon.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too. Now you’d better go help your mother before she whacks you with a serving spoon.”

  Maurine wondered why Fiona made a face and stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend before leaving for the kitchen.

  “So,” Frank Pelligatti asked him, once they were alone, “What do you hear about that scumbag Cliff?”

  His guest’s face darkened.

  “That bastard’s lawyer is cutting a deal: a plea bargain. He’s going to plead guilty to burglary, felonious assault, and resisting arrest, plus agreeing not to sue either me or the Department over me beating his face in. In return they’re going to drop the charges of attempted rape, sexual assault, cocaine possession, and the rest; the Prosecutor will be asking for a two to five year sentence in the state prison.”

  “Shit!” Frank leaned back in his chair and took another swig of beer, and Luke mirrored his action. “The courts are always doing this crap! That’s not nearly long enough for what he tried to do to my little girl!”

  “I agree; of course, if Harry hadn’t interfered, we wouldn’t have had to worry about it because he’d be pushing up daisies right now.”

  Frank fixed him with a stare.

  “Let me ask you something, just you and me, cop to cop and man to man. Did you just get carried away, or were you really trying to kill him?”

  Luke’s eyes locked right back with his.

  “I fully intended to kill him; after what that son of a bitch tried to do to Fiona, if my gun had been within reach, I would have shot him right in the damned head instead of trying to beat him to death.”

  Frank thoughtfully tapped the edge of his bottle bottom lightly up and down on the table.

  “Thanks for being honest. You really think a lot of my daughter, don’t you?”

  “No, Mr. Pelligatti – “

  “Just Frank.”

  “Okay, Frank, I don’t just think a lot of your daughter; I love her. I never thought I’d be able to love anybody again after my wife died two years ago; I never even thought about it at all until Fiona showed up. And that brings me to something I wanted to ask you.”

  Frank took another pull off his beer and said, “Oh?”

  “I intend to ask Fiona to marry me, and I wanted to ask your blessing first.”

  Fiona’s father blinked in surprise.

  “So you’re wanting more than just for her to live with you?”

  “Yes,” Luke assured him, nodding with emphasis, “She’s a very special lady, and she deserves more than that. I want to spend the rest of my life with her; I want her to be my wife.”

  “And you’re actually asking my permission?”

  The deputy grinned.

  “No sir; I’m asking for your blessing.”

  “So if I say no?”

  Luke shrugged.

  “I hope you don’t, because I’m going to ask her anyway. I love her too much to do anything else.”

  Frank Pelligatti picked up his bottle and swirled it around, looking at the liquid through the amber glass.

&nb
sp; “You know, my grandfather used to talk about men like you: men of respect, who were not only worth respecting, but who gave others respect, who did things the right way. I guess that must be the old way, because I’ve never seen it outside of him, not until today anyway.” Looking back at Luke, he stuck out his hand. “You’ve got my blessing, kid; welcome to the family.”

  Luke took it, and a minute later they were hugging each other in a beery, masculine embrace.

  “You take good care of her, you hear?”

  “That’s one thing I can promise.”

  Frank rose to his feet and called out, “Fiona; get in here.” Then, winking at Luke, he added, “I’ll help Maurine in the kitchen.”

  Fiona passed her father in the doorway, and, once they were alone, Luke, smiling, said, “Come here.”

  She was more than willing to do so, but he stopped her before she could climb onto his lap.

  “I brought you a little present.”

  “Oh Luke, you didn’t have to do that!”

  His grin was going full-force now.

  “Yes, I did. Here.” Reaching into his shirt pocket, he pulled out an object wrapped in tissue paper. Before she realized what was happening, he was out of his chair and on one knee in front of her. Her eyes were suddenly so huge she felt as if they were going to pop right out of her head.

  Taking her left hand, he slipped the diamond solitaire on her ring finger.

  “You know I love you, Fiona. Will you marry me?”

  Her voice seemed to have completely fled the scene and she felt as if she was going to faint, so she settled for nodding rapidly and throwing herself into his arms.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she heard him say, and she whispered, “You do that.”

  It was three in the morning; they’d left the Pelligatti house and arrived at his hotel hours ago, but neither she nor Luke felt tired at all, despite the bout of lovemaking that had begun the moment they closed the door, and left a trail of clothes all the way to the tangled sheets of the bed. They had finally gotten around to turning out the lamp, and now lay naked side by side across the mattress on their stomachs, staring out at the twinkling city lights.

  “I have to admit, it is pretty here at night.”

  She looked at him and smiled through her tangled curls.

  “It’s not as pretty as the stars; I remember you showing them to me on the hood of your Jeep that night. The city lights block most of them out; I’d never really seen them clearly until then.”

  “I’ll show them to you the same way anytime you want, if that makes you happy.”

  “As long as I’m with you, I’ll be happy.” She paused. “Thanks for what you did.”

  Cocking his head, his grin took on an obviously mischievous tilt.

  “What? Asking you to marry me, or that special thing I did to you a few minutes ago?”

  Shifting her weight, she bumped his shoulder with hers in mock rebuke.

  “Of course that, silly, both of them, but I meant what you did for my parents.”

  “I don’t follow.”

  “Well, first.” She held up her delicate fingers one at a time and began counting off. “You asked Dad for his permission to marry me...”

  “Actually, I asked for his blessing; like I told him when he asked, that’s not the same thing.”

  “Still, it made him happy; happier than I’ve seen him for a long, long time. You treated him with respect, and when you said you were going to ask me regardless, it made him respect you.” She giggled. “You sure won him over. If I’d said no, I think we would have had one of those ‘shotgun weddings,’ only my father’s gun would have been to make me marry you.”

  With studied casualness, he drew an imaginary picture on the sheets with a fingertip.

  “What can I say? I’m just a likable guy.”

  That one earned him another shoulder bump.

  “You’re also a smartass; fortunately, I like that.”

  Luke shrugged.

  “I’m sure you do; probably out of professional courtesy, I imagine.”

  “Oh, you!” Fiona attacked him, tickling and play-wrestling, and he allowed himself to be rolled over onto his back, where she straddled his midsection and sat on him. “Now, are you going to let me finish?”

  Smiling up at her, he pointed out, “I don’t think I have a choice; you seem to have me at a disadvantage.” He then grinned lecherously and bounced her up and down twice in a manner that was more than a little suggestive.

  “None of that until I'm done. Now have I got your attention?” She waited for him to nod in acquiescence before cocking her head and studying his expression. “You really don’t like to be complimented, do you?”

  He blew out his breath.

  “I don’t know; it’s just...kind of embarrassing, you know?”

  “Well you’d better get used to it, because I like to do it, and I’m not the easiest person to shut up.”

  “Gee,” he remarked dryly, “I hadn’t noticed – ouch! Hey, quit that!” He rubbed his left nipple where Fiona had abruptly leaned forward and playfully bitten it. “I think Harry was right; you are a little dominatrix.”

  “Only when I have to be, and don’t you forget it! Now, are you going to listen, or do you want me to bite the other one?”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “Good. You also made Mom ecstatic; she figured we were going to get married down there, but when you offered to bring me back up next month so she could not only attend it, but plan it and put it on…wow…”

  “What’s the big deal? Most mothers want to do that for their girls.”

  “The big deal, Mr. Modest, is that you considered that, and acted on it. And you converting so she could have it in the church; I’ll never forget the look on her face when she found out, since I’d told you they were Catholic, you’d had the local priest down there baptize you so it would all work out the way you knew she’d want it. I still can’t believe you did that for her!”

  “I didn’t do it for her, really; I did it for you. I’m not taking you in front of a justice of the peace somewhere; you deserve better. I’m proud to be marrying you, and we’re going to do this right. I want to see you walk up that aisle in your big white dress, lift your veil right there in front of God and everybody, and let the whole world know you’re mine.”

  That one brought him a kiss and a few tears on her part, and left her snuggling against his chest.

  “I really love you.” She swallowed hard. “I just wish we had some people for the groom’s side of the pews.”

  “Don’t worry; we will.”

  Raising her head and furrowing her brow, she asked, “Who?”

  “Well, for starters, Harry is coming up, and Whitey has already agreed to be my best man. Sam and Rhonda are coming; so are Allie and Johnny, along with Joe and Kathy.”

  Fiona bounced straight up into a sitting position with surprise.

  “What? But...they’re on Lanulos. How are they getting here?”

  “My father and brother are bringing them, along with the rest of my extended family...and my mother.”

  “Your mother?” she gasped. “My God...”

  “Dad convinced her that I wasn’t holding a grudge, and they visited last week. It was...well, pretty emotional all around, but we talked things out, and put the past behind us.”

  “That is so wonderful, Luke!”

  “I’m glad you approve, particularly since Dad has offered to spring for the lodging and transportation for our honeymoon.”

  “Honeymoon! I hadn’t even thought of that yet! Where are we going?”

  “We’ll only have a few days since you’ll be starting your new job, but, pending your approval of course, I was thinking of a cruise to a private island on an exotic tropical beach, on the coast of somewhere beautiful. We'll be the only ones there.”

  She was bouncing up and down with excitement.

  “Are you serious? Where?”

  He pointed toward the window
at an angle, up toward the stars.

  “Out there; the destination world is just east of the Pleiades, I think, with a brief stopover at Lanulos and a couple of other ports of call on the way back, if that’s good for you.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, leaning down to kiss him again, “That’s great for me!”

  “It’s good for me too; then it’s settled.” Then he began laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, I was just thinking how funny life is. If it hadn’t been for Mothman, we would never have met. Maybe we should add him to the guest list.”

  “Let’s not,” she told him, “I’ve had more than enough of monsters to last me a lifetime. I’m just glad this is all over and I’ll never have to see one again!”

  Mason County, West Virginia

  The waters of the new pond rippled in the late night breeze, making the reflection of the stars twinkle on the inky surface. Other than the wind rustling through the autumn leaves and the distant hoot of a hunting owl, there was no sound.

  Ordinarily it would have taken months or even years for the bomb crater to mature into a full-fledged living pond, with the necessary progression of biological diversity; however, this one had gotten a jump-start. The huge explosion had not only gouged out this hole, but had ruptured the outlet of a nearby manmade pond just to the east, as well as the north bank of Potter’s Creek, and had turned the crater into a sort of backwater. The extension of the nutrient-rich water, along with the microorganisms, plants and fish it had carried with it, put it well on its way to maturity. It was already attracting wildlife.

  The deer – a young spike buck whose immature antlers came up to single points like stilettos – stood hidden in the underbrush, a shadow within the shadows. He regarded the pond carefully, even while his sensitive nose and twitching ears felt the darkness around him, and his wild thing’s brain sifted the information they carried back to him.

  He and a few others of his kind had been inside the ten acre enclosure, hiding in the thick brush when the humans built the high chain link fence, and strung the coils of razor wire along its top. It kept out humans, but the deer had already found a place where the wire didn’t come all the way to the ground, and he and the younger does could squeeze beneath it, coming and going as they pleased, although he seldom did. The opening was too small for the larger, mature bucks’ bodies, let alone their massive racks of fighting antlers, so, with the rut coming on, there was no one to challenge him here, leaving him the undisputed lord of the area, and of the does, his harem.