by Julie Cassar
Jeremy spoke up, “Thank the Lord. I am so tired I could sleep standing up in a barn between the bulls. Let’s get the hells-bells-balls outta here, please. Now.” Ha. I sleepily smiled at Jeremy’s crack. You can take the boy out of the small town, but you can’t take the small town out of the boy. After we said our goodbyes to everyone at the beach, and Simon took off for the nearby woods, we piled into Brennan’s car and had a 15-minute drive to the motel. Anya had reserved two rooms; one for the girls, and one for the boys, with an adjoining door between them. Thank goodness Anya had the wherewithal to pack our overnight bags in the trunk. I slipped out of my swim suit, pulled on a t-shirt, and fell into bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
I was awakened after only a few short hours of sleep by the bright sunlight streaming through the window, the sound of the shower running in the bathroom, and a thunderous pounding at the door that connected our room to the boys’ room. I wearily rolled out of bed and dragged my tired self over to the door to open it. “Yeah?” I muttered as I walked away, rubbing my eyes. Brennan and Jeremy bounded through the door, with Jeremy screaming, “Happy, happy, happy birthday!!!!” I shook my head, sitting down on my bed, yawning. Jeremy sat down on the bed next to me, bouncing up and down, his excitement barely containable. “Heyyy…watch it,” I growled at him. “It’s too early in the morning for me to deal with another earthquake.”
Jeremy just laughed and smacked my shoulder, “Haha! Funny girl! You’re all legal now! Woohoo!”
I grumbled some more, “Watch it, Jer. Did you forget how beat up I got yesterday in that swim? Gimme a break.”
Brennan interrupted, smiling, “What’s up Kansas, can’t find your broomstick this morning? I think you parked it right next to my car. Shall I get it for you?” I shot Brennan an evil look and let out a big, irritated sigh, “Shut it, Brennan.”
Jeremy got up, ignoring us both, “Man, Ruby, you are soooo crabby in the morning! Now get yourself dressed so we can all go eat.”
The boys left the room and Anya finally emerged from the bathroom. I hurried in to take care of business. I showered quickly, got dressed and came out to find everyone waiting for me in our room. They were all sprawled out on the beds, watching T.V. when I emerged, looking almost alive, but not yet feeling it. “You guys ready?” I said.
“It’s about time…we thought we’d have to break the door down and rescue you again,” Brennan smirked. I was annoyed with his comment, but then felt a wave of embarrassment and gratitude towards him. I muttered, “Oh. Um. About that…I never thanked you for saving me last night.” Ashamed at myself for not saying it sooner, I looked at my hands and chewed on my lip before glancing back up to Brennan’s watching face.
“Don’t worry about it,” he nonchalantly answered as he got up from the bed and started walking towards the door.
Anya jumped up from the bed and said, “Come on guys, let’s go eat!”
As we headed out to the car, Brennan walked next to me. He looked at me with curiosity and said, “So, I meant to ask…what exactly did Freya say to you when she leaned in and touched your hair?”
I thought for a second…Hmmm…what was it? I was still emerging from my foggy not-so-long sleep and was still feeling pretty tired from last night. I stared ahead, trying to remember what exactly she had said. I answered, “I think she said something like, for my nobleness, or nobility or something. And then she thanked me for their happiness …Oh. And then she said that they would give me tribute or something.” I shrugged, shaking my head. “I don’t really know. I can’t remember exactly.”
Brennan thoughtfully nodded, remaining silent and deep in thought.
“What?” I said, looking at him.
He shook his head mildly, redirecting his gaze to me. “Oh…nothing. Did she say the words, “For your nobility, or did she phrase it differently?”
I nodded, more sure of my answer now, “Yes. She definitely said, ‘for your nobility’… Why?”
Brennan shrugged and tried to look impassive. “No reason. Just curious…And she said the word ‘tribute,’ too?”
Again, I nodded. “Yep. Why? What does that mean?”
Brennan looked away from me and, instead, looked out towards the parking lot. “Oh... Nothing you need to worry about.”
Uh-oh. I’ve heard that before. Just what was he going on about now? Exactly what don’t I have to worry about? I knew there was no point in asking him anything else, because I knew I wouldn’t get a straight answer. Stupid cryptic Fairy answers. I was in no mood to argue with Brennan, or try to figure him out this morning. I was tired and grumpy and my stomach was growling with hunger…especially since it was running on empty after I had ralphed up everything in it last night.
We arrived at the little diner and ordered breakfast. I was starving and barely took time to chit-chat. I was too busy shoveling food into my mouth.
“See? What’d I say before? Kansas never usually has a problem stuffing her face with whatever you put in front of her,” Brennan joked to everyone while we finished up our food. “Shhmmpput.” I replied, my mouth full of eggs and hash browns. Brennan raised his eyebrows and smiled. Anya excused herself and got up to use the bathroom just as Jeremy reached across the table to put the ketchup back in its proper place. As he moved his arm, he knocked over his still-full, ice-cold glass of water, which, of course, spilled directly into my lap. I yelped. “Jeeze Jer!!! I just froze to death in Lake Superior last night. I didn’t really need to be drenched in ice water again this morning!” Okay, I knew I was overreacting, but I was still exhausted. And that cold water did nothing to improve my grumpy mood. I grabbed some napkins off the table and tried to mop up the water that was in my lap.
Flustered, Jeremy quickly said, “Sorry, sorry, sorry!” At the same Brennan retorted, “Yeah Kansas, take it easy. You afraid the water’s going to make you melt?” That was it. If I wasn’t annoyed before, I really was annoyed now. Seeing me about to explode and wanting to avoid my volcanic eruption, Jeremy wisely jumped up from the table, “Hey, I’m going to go wrangle up some paper towels to wipe up this mess. I’ll get our bill too.” He took off from the table like a bat out of hell.
I barely gave him a glance and set my steely eyes on Brennan. “Cut. It. Out. Brennan. I am sick and tired of your stupid, lame, annoying Wizard of Oz references!” I sat there, glaring at Brennan, waiting for his smug retort.
Brennan was silent. I readied myself for his attack and watched as he looked down and started playing with the edge of his napkin before calmly looking back up to me. “Do you know why I call you Kansas?”
Hmmm. Well. I wasn’t expecting that. He threw me for a loop with that question. I tried to maintain my annoyance, but he was throwing off my balance with his unusual calm. I was expecting more pain-in-the-ass and snarky. I answered cautiously, “Yeah. ‘Cause it’s one more way for you to tease me.” Brennan slowly smiled, and shook his head, as his fingers continued to play with the shredded edges of his napkin.
“No,” he replied, gazing at me, “Ruby…Next to Anya, you and Leo and Jeremy are really the only family I have. Anya and I aren’t very close to our parents…being with you guys feels more like home to me than being in Fey with my parents. I call you Kansas, because it’s home.” He shrugged his shoulders and continued, “There’s no place like home.” He dropped his eyes to look at his shredded napkin, and I sat there, staring at him….speechless. I never expected him to say anything like that to me in a million years. I swallowed the lump in my throat and sat there, stuck in silence.
He let out a quick sigh, reached into his back pocket, and looked up smiling at me. “Here. I almost forgot. I got you something for your birthday.”
He placed a small grey velvet box on the table between us. I slowly picked it up and cracked it open. I inhaled a quick breath in surprise, and my mouth dropped open. Inside the box, nestled in the gray cushion was a wide-banded silver ring, with beautiful vine-like twisted metal on the top of the band. Set into the
center of it was a polished, shiny, dark emerald-green spotted stone; not a gem stone, but an actual polished rock. It was not quite an oval, because it had a bit of an irregular shape to it. But that made it all the more beautiful, because it was so unique and non-traditional. I looked up at Brennan with wondering eyes. “It…it’s…beautiful. Thank you,.” I said quietly, “What kind of stone is this?”
Brennan smiled, “Remember that little pebble you thought was sea glass? It’s the Isle Royale greenstone you found on the beach at Traverse City…remember? You gave it to me?” I nodded, still stunned at his thoughtfulness. I didn’t know what to say. Just then, Anya made her way back to the table and a huge smile appeared on her face when she saw what was in my hands. “Ohhh! Good! You opened it! Isn’t it pretty?!? Wasn’t it such a great idea that Brennan had? He took the stone you gave him to a jeweler and had him polish it up and set it for you! Do you like it?”
I nodded, a teary-eyed smile slowly spreading across my face, and leaned over to hug Anya, “Yes, I love it. Thank you.”
She hugged me back and laughed, “Oh! Don’t thank me. It was all Brennan’s idea. That’s from him. I’ve got something for you back at the cottage. I’ll give it to you later.” I glanced over at Brennan, who diverted his eyes. Just then, Jeremy walked up to the table with wads of paper towel and the bill. “What’d I miss? What’s goin’ on?!” he asked as he started wiping up the spilled water. Brennan grabbed the bill out of Jeremy’s hand and jumped up from the table, “I’ll just go take care of this,” he said and hurried up towards the register.
I watched him at the counter for a moment before turning the ring box to show Jeremy. “Brennan got this for me.” I said.
“Ooooohhh! Purrrrdeee!” he purred.
“Come on guys,” Anya said, “Brennan’s just about done paying, and we’ve got to get moving if we’re going to get Ruby home on time for her birthday celebration with her family. Are you seeing Nick today too?” Anya asked as we all got up from the table and followed Brennan out the door.
I nodded my head, while I slipped the ring onto the third finger of my right hand and carefully tucked the ring box into the pocket of my shorts, “Yeah. In fact, when we’re closer to home, can I use your cell to give him a call? I told him he could just meet me at my house when you drop me off.” It felt weird to be thinking about Nick. It seemed like ages ago when I saw him last. So much had happened in the last few hours…and I couldn’t tell him any of it.
Anya nodded, “Sure thing.”
We piled back into Brennan’s Mustang and headed home. With the top down, the music blaring, and the wind blowing, conversation wasn’t easy. Anya and I talked a little bit, but we couldn’t really hear the boys in the front. As we neared my house, something occurred to me. I turned to Anya and asked, “Hey Anya, what about who ever wanted to kill me? I mean, I know Grobel can’t, because of the promise or bond-thingy he made with Brennan… But…have you guys figured out who helped that nasty dragon, Sirrush, get through the portal? And, who wants me dead because I accidentally killed him?” Anya sympathetically shook her head, “Not yet, Ruby. But we will. My father’s been looking into it…and so have Brennan and his guard, Simon. I’m sure we’ll figure it out soon enough. But, in the meantime, you shouldn’t worry. We still have all the protective spells cast upon you, and Grobel will make good on his word…he’ll stall them – whoever it is – for a little while longer.”
I nodded while I looked down at the ring on my hand. I thought about floating to my near-death at the bottom of Lake Superior, and how I heard someone whisper to me in the darkness. I think I finally realized who that someone was. “Anya?”
“Hmmm?”
“What does Grá mo chroí go deo mean?”
She thought for a second and, as Brennan slowly pulled up into my gravel driveway, she answered, “It means, the love of my heart forever. Why?”
I gulped, shaking my head. Whoa. I didn’t know how to process that. “No reason,” I squeaked out, while I fiddled with the ring on my finger. Again, I was speechless.
Just then, Brennan stopped the car, lowered the radio, and turned around in his seat. “Home safe and sound!” he smiled as Jeremy opened the door and let me out. Standing on my front porch, waiting for me, was Nick. I looked over to him, smiled and waved. God, I forgot how good looking he was. Had it really only been a few days since I saw him last? Every time I see him, he makes me smile. So why did my heart ache a little bit now? What was that tiny, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach?
I said goodbye to my friends and walked towards the porch as I played with the ring on my finger. It glistened in the bright daylight, and I pulled it off my finger to look at it more closely. As I turned the ring in the sunlight, I saw that there was an inscription on the inside of the ring. I held it up closer to my eyes, so I could see what it said. It read, “Kansas, there’s no place like home.”
I blinked back tears as I smiled at Nick, who opened his arms wide to greet me with a welcoming hug. “Happy Birthday Rubes,” he said as he enveloped me with his big, bear hug. I wrapped my arms around his neck and then turned my head towards the road behind me. The tears finally escaped my eyes, streaming down my cheeks, as I watched Brennan, Anya and Jeremy drive away.
The End
Glossary of Terms:
U.P.:
Upper Peninsula of Michigan
Apple Knocker:
A person from the Lower Peninsula. Usually a hunter who likes to hunt in the Upper Peninsula.
Crawler Gear:
4WD Low gear in a four-by four; used for crawling along in treacherous terrain.
Da Mitten:
Another nickname Yoopers have for the lower peninsula of Michigan
Dere:
There
Da:
The
Eh:
A word that ends practically every sentence spoken in the U.P.
Head ‘er for Sagola:
Let’s paint the town red!
Holy Wah!:
Really, Wow?!
Yah sure-hey:
You’ve got to be kidding. I don’t believe it.
Youbetcha:
Yes, without a doubt
Pre’ Neer:
Pretty near
Overseas:
Anything south of the Mackinac Bridge
Raha:
Money or other medium of exchange
Side by each:
Standing next to each other
Troll:
Refers to a native of the Lower Peninsula (south of the Mackinac Bridge). *Also refers to a species of the Earthen Court in the world of Fey.
Yah, Hey!:
You’ve got to be kidding me! I don’t believe it!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Julie Cassar, Artist and Author, resides in Michigan with her husband, three children and their dog, Bella Moon. When she’s not running, writing, painting or making some other kind of mess, she enjoys working in her garden, drinking deliciously yummy coffee and is otherwise an all-around (slightly cool) goofball. Find her on FB!