Even Dar laughed. ”Thanks,” she drawled in response, then fell awkwardly silent.
”Well, you can’t take the blame for this,” Kerry spoke up, as she moved to Dar’s side, and they faced the oncoming dawn. ”Pastor Robert here was visiting in Miami. He’s been my pastor since I was...well, let’s say a long time.” She paused, sucking in a slightly nervous breath.
Another round of gentle laughter.
”And he offered to preside at a commitment ceremony, and I kinda talked Dar into it. So, it’s my fault we’re all out here,” she continued bravely. ”I guess it’s time to get started.” She actually heard Dar swallow audibly at this, and gave her lover a mildly concerned look.
Pastor Robert stepped in front of them, his plain, black sweatshirt highlighting the polished silver cross on his chest. He drew out a small bible and held it, regarding them with kindly eyes.
Kerry smiled back at him, her hand instinctively finding Dar’s, and feeling the faint tremor run through it. She glanced at Dar, and saw the brief tightening of her lips, and the sudden movement as her jaw muscles clenched under the skin. A gentle squeeze of her hand brought a smile to the tense lips, however.
The pastor folded his hands. ”My children,” he stated, softly, then glanced at Dar. ”It’s okay to call you that, isn’t it?”
Dar nodded. ”Sure.” She let out a breath, unsure of what to expect from him. Kerry had merely said he had words prepared, but...
”Good.” He exhaled, then started speaking, his voice taking on a rounder, more mellow tone. ”My children, we stand here in the eyes of God, beneath his sky, and amongst the waters of life he put upon the earth,” he paused, ”and as those things are by his mercy, and out of our control, so too is the coming together in love of the two people who stand before me, so this ceremony is not a thing of permission, or of sanction, or of regulation, but rather a simple affirmation of a truth that is one of the greatest gifts our Lord has bestowed on us.”
The sky brightened, and the sea eased from gray to a thousand shades of green.
Dar drew in a breath, and released it. Waiting.
”So I will state here, in the name of God, whose servant I am, that no 358
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person shall sunder what the Lord has chosen to join together, and may his gentle hand guide you, and watch over you for all the days of your lives. ”
The pastor turned to Kerry, his eyes twinkling a little. ”Kerrison, I have known you since you were a small child running rampant in my classrooms.”
Kerry bit back a nervous chuckle, but nodded. ”Yes, you have.”
”I have never known you to give your word and not mean it, or enter into a thing if you didn’t intend to carry it through, so if you say to me you wish to spend your life with this person, she’d better watch out,” Pastor Robert intoned. ”Because for you, I know in my heart, that forever means just that.”
Kerry felt tears sting her eyes, but she just nodded in affirmation.
Now the pastor’s eyes shifted to Dar. ”I have just met you.” His voice was quiet, and thoughtful. ”But the person I see before me is someone I believe would be steadfast, and loyal, and a friend you could depend on above all others.”
Startled, the pale blue eyes flicked to his face.
”And I feel that your word, once given, is never taken back,” the pastor went on.
Dar hesitated, then nodded quietly.
Robert nodded as well. ”Then sit at the side of the Lord, for His hands cup your souls gently together. ” He held out the book, and took their joined hands, resting them under his own on top of it. ”Go with God, and know that where love exists, He is present, now, and forever.”
A pristine rose light spread over them, as the sun hit the horizon, sending a palette of reds, and golds, and tropical tints across the sky.
The pastor squeezed their hands, then let his drop, watching as they turned towards each other, the sound of the surf suddenly loud as he stopped speaking.
Kerry felt very nervous, conscious of the people watching, and the expectant air. Then she lifted her eyes to meet Dar’s, and found herself swallowed into them, sparkling there in the rose light, warm and familiar, and her nerves settled. ”Me first, I guess.” Screwing up her courage, she took a breath, hoping she’d remember all the words, in all the right places. ”I’m not really sure where this came from. I was sitting outside looking out over the water, and thinking of you, and when I looked down, there it was, in my handwriting.” She paused, reflectively. ”It was like my heart wrote it for me, but anyway...” Kerry cleared her throat. ”When I look at you,” she stated softly,
“I see sunlight and shadows
Deep, still waters, and wild rapids
A fiery heart and a cool, clear mind.
When I look at you,
I see all that I am, and all that I could hope to be.
My past, and my future,
My one safe harbor in a terrible world.
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When I look at you,
I see my best friend and playmate,
My protector and defender,
The love of my life and the holder of my soul Losing you, I would also lose myself
And be left in a darkness so deep,
No light could ever find me.
So, where you go...” she finished in an almost whisper. ”I go.”
The sun’s rays now poured over them, throwing part of Dar’s face into shadow, and her chest moved suddenly, as she resumed breathing.
”That was beautiful,” she whispered, unnerved at the familiarity of the words, and the deep, resonant chime they made inside her.
Kerry dropped her eyes, then lifted them again. ”Thanks.”
A tiny, awkward silence fell. Then Dar closed her eyes, and sucked in a deep breath, visibly straightening. ”Well, I’m really not one for speeches.”
A soft chuckle rose.
”And I’ve never really known how to use words to express what I was feeling...so I guess I’ll just have to improvise.” Her shoulders dropped a tiny bit, then she opened her mouth and started singing.
Kerry stared at her, completely mesmerized, to the point where she almost missed the words.
But not quite
“I feel like I was born today
Like all my life before’s only been a dream, Only touching the surface, never going further Never being a part of the world
I feel like I was born today
Knowing I have to walk a wider path from now on.
Wide enough for two of us, walking side by side Facing the future together.
The sea is wide,
Our love is wider,
Covering the earth from end to end.
Walk beside me,
Through wind and weather,
For all the years on earth we’ll spend.
I feel like I was born today
We leave behind a past of sorrow.
Going forward through the sunlight,
Hand in hand, and soul’s united.”
Dar let her voice trail off, and she fell silent, uncomfortably aware of the stares focused on her.
What had she been thinking of?
She sighed.
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At least it was over.
She lifted her eyes to Kerry’s face almost furtively, then stilled, seeing the tears running down her lover’s cheeks.
In pure reflex, she lifted a hand and brushed them away. ”Wasn’t that bad, was it?” she joked faintly. ”I didn’t get a chance to practice it.”
She paused. ”Much.”
”Wh...” Kerry's voice broke, and she cleared her throat, then tried again. ”It was gorgeous...awesome...where did you find it?” she asked.
”The song? And my god, Dar...you should sing more often. You have a beautiful voice.”
A murmur agreed with her, causing Dar to glance around self-consciously. ”Thanks.” She was painfully aware of the deep blush coloring her skin, and was glad of her base tan to cover most of it.
Kerry moved closer and enfolded her in a hug, burying her face into Dar’s chest and squeezing her tightly. She returned the hug, looking over Kerry’s shoulder to see quietly respectful glances back at her.
Well. That went better than expected.
”So...I um...” Dar realized she was rooted in place by her blonde lover. ”Hope everyone’s hungry.
They packed enough food to feed half the office.”
That broke the reverent tension, and everyone relaxed. Dar smiled as she felt Kerry’s hands clench in her shirt.
Yeah. Definitely different.
Kerry sniffed, and backed off a little, lifting her head to peer up at Dar. ”Hang on. I’ve got one more thing.”
Everyone turned to watch her, as she pulled the wooden box from her bag, then handed the bag back to Colleen. She opened the case and the sun poured in, sparking brilliance from the crystals.
Dar blinked. ”Wow.”
Kerry held her hands out. ”Hold the box for me?”
Dar did, cradling it in her palms as Kerry pulled the joined crystals out. ”I’m, um...I’m not sure where these came from, originally,” Kerry stated softly. ”They probably have a history we’ll never know, but I really liked the way they’re both very unique.” She parted the two pieces, holding them up to the light. ”But they fit together so perfectly.”
She mated them with a tiny, satisfying click. ”I hope we can do the same.”
Dar smiled at her. ”I love it. They’re beautiful. I can’t believe they turned out so nice.”
Kerry beamed, then looped one chain over her hand and opened the other, leaning forward, and lifting her arms up.
”Wrong one,” Dar stated softly, then she blinked, a little startled.
Kerry looked at her for a long moment, then she nodded, and changed hands, fastening the other necklace around Dar’s smoothly tanned neck. She kissed her gently, then stood back, as Dar took the other chain, and fastened it around her, and the crystal nestled itself into the hollow of her throat with a sense of quiet belonging.
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Blue eyes met green, in a glance as old as time.
They kissed again, as the sun bathed them, sparkling the waters that surrounded the island as though dancing off crystal walls.
”OH NO.” COLLEEN lifted a cup and sucked down a mouthful of the fragrant peach ice tea. ”They say going downtown at night’s dangerous, let me tell you, it’s got nothing on a drop in at the local library.”
They were seated in the shade, sprawled in the soft sand as they lingered over breakfast, the warm sun and the steady breeze making it too comfortable to want to move. Dar was stretched out, her feet half buried in the sand, leaning on a piece of driftwood with Kerry curled up on her side pressed against her.
”C’mon, Colleen, how dangerous can a library be? What did you do, go there at midnight?” Kerry objected, with a grin. ”I’ve been to the beach branch. It’s safe enough.” She paused. ”Well, except for the creepy guys sequestered back by the periodicals, that is.”
Colleen held up a hand. ”Oh no, no...it was in barroooaaaadd daylight. I just went into the main branch, to look up some material for that anthropology class I’m taking.”
”What made you pick that?” Mari asked, curiously.
”That Circle stuff.” Colleen responded succinctly. ”Anyway, so I go in and ask for these reference books, and the desk people look at me like I’m speaking one of the three languages that aren’t spoken in Miami, right?”
”Right.” Kerry tangled her fingers with Dar’s and smiled.
”So, they tell me that’s kept in the special research section, and I’ve got to go back and see the oracle,” the redhead stated.
”Oracle?” Duks leaned forward. ”M’dear, that’s ancient history.”
”No joke,” Colleen responded. ”So, I follow this guy back, and he leads me down about twenty minutes full of winding passageways.”
”And you should have exited into the Biscayne Aquifer by then,”
Dar remarked dryly.
”Shh,” Colleen scolded. ”It’s me story, alright? Anyway, so we finally get there, and it’s the weirdest thing. I thought I was trapped in a santeria rite. There was this desk, right? And around it was stacks and stacks of these rough loosleaf notebooks, and shelves, with the weirdest things on them.”
Now they were all watching her.
”Candles, lit, mind you, and skulls! Skulls! Heads everywhere, and little bits of armor and leather things I'd rather not think about, and a couple of riding crops that I swear had feather dusters tied to them.”
”You’re making this up,” Kerry stated flatly.
”I am not, and behind the desk, there was this woman wearing this weird mask covered in feathers, typing away at a computer.”
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”Sounds like a lunatic,” Dar offered. ”Did you get your research material?”
”What?” Colleen laughed. ”Are you kidding? I took one look at the pair of fur lined cuffs on the desk and got my lily white Irish butt right on out of there. Must have set the world land speed record on the way out.” She shook her head. ”I know some people really get into their job, but Sweet Mary!”
They all laughed. ”Well, I suppose it’s like us nerds having little stuffed Dogbert dolls on our monitors.” Kerry grinned. ”Dar has Catbert, though.”
They looked at Dar, who shrugged. ”Gift from console operations.”
She glanced up as Chino started barking, somewhere off in the brush to their left. ”Chino!”
The puppy just barked harder, then the brush rustled sharply.
”I’ll get her.” Dar sighed, then hoisted herself to her feet and brushed a layer of sand off her legs. She plowed off through the soft surface, heading towards the sound of the excited puppy. ”Chino!”
She pushed through some brush, then froze, as she heard a low voice. A moment later, a grin spread over her face and she hurried forward.
”Would you shut up ya little bag of mouse squeaks?” the voice was saying, in a loud whisper.
Dar parted the last bushes and peered through. ”Hey.”
Cantankerous blue eyes glared back at her. ”Damn dog.”
Andrew Roberts was hunkered down, a light three quarter wetsuit covering part of his body, and a neatly stacked pile of diving equipment just off to one side. In the sharply patterned sunlight, the horrible scars on his face were very evident, but even that couldn’t hide the smile as he gazed up at his daughter. ”Hey there, rugrat.”