by S. J. West
“Touch one,” Tara says excitedly.
I touch one of the notecards and instantly hear Utha Mae begin to speak about the ingredients I will need to prepare an apple pie. I touch the card again, and it instantly stops the oration.
“It's well enough to have a written recipe,” Utha Mae says, “but sometimes you just can't tell everything by reading one. Good cooking is an art form, Anna. After all the time you spent with me in the kitchen, I kinda thought you might be able to cook, even if some people thought I was just wasting my time making this for you.”
“I didn't say it was a waste…exactly,” Tara says. “I just figured it would end up collectin' dust is all. Didn't I help you make it in spite of that fact?”
“Reluctantly, yes,” Utha Mae replies.
“Well, I had no doubt in my mind you would be able to use my gift,” Caylin says, handing me a small rectangular white glittery box tied with red silky ribbon.
I sit the box on top of the book and pull the ribbon. The white box and ribbon disappear leaving only a silver handled paintbrush with off-white bristles.
“If you're ever in need of something,” Caylin tells me, “just close your eyes, visualize what you want in your mind, and paint it in the air. When you’re done painting it, it will materialize.”
“Anything I want? Can it make people appear?” I ask, thinking this might be a way to get my papa back.
“No,” Caylin says regretfully. “It can't transport people, only inanimate objects. Also, the object can only stay solid for about 2 hours. It's not permanent.”
I feel a little let down by this fact but try not to show it.
“Here, kid,” Jess says tossing me a small purple glittery box tied with black ribbon.
The box lands on top of the recipe book. I pull the ribbon and find myself in possession of a black leather bracelet that has a silver angel wing charm on it.
“Tell Malcolm I had Caylin swipe that out of his vault for me,” Jess says. “I think it might come in handy one day.”
“What does it do?” I ask, assuming it has some sort of magical properties.
“When you wear it,” Jess begins to explain, “you can ask it to let you know how someone is feeling. But, be prepared to feel what they are because their emotions will come at you totally unfiltered. So be careful. Don't ask if you don't want to know.”
I slip the bracelet onto my right wrist as Lilly walks over and hands me a box with a baby blue bottom and pink top tied with a ribbon which has a swirl pattern of the two colors mixed together.
“I know you will need this,” Lilly says confidently.
I untie the ribbon and find myself in possession of a silver dumbbell shaped baby rattle. I pick it up and hear the crystal clear chime it makes.
“Guaranteed to make any baby stop crying almost instantly,” Lilly tells me with a smile.
“Girl, that thing right there is priceless!” Tara exclaims. “Don't you dare lose it if you want to keep your sanity with twins around the house.”
“I wish I'd had one when I had my twins,” Lilly says in all seriousness. “It would have saved Brand and me some sleepless nights.”
“Thank you all so much for my gifts,” I say. “I love them all.”
“Well,” Lilly says standing from her chair, “although I would love to keep you here longer, I don't think Malcolm would appreciate me making you late to your own wedding.”
“Is it time already?” I ask, thinking I'd only been in Heaven for a couple of hours at most.
“Time in Heaven moves differently than on Earth,” Lilly tells me. “You should still have plenty of time to prepare yourself for the ceremony.”
We all stand up and the ladies take turns giving me a hug goodbye.
“You take care of yourself down there, baby girl,” Utha Mae says, looking nervous about what the future holds for me.
“Don't worry,” I tell her, even though it's something I can't seem to make myself do either. “I won't let you down.”
“Oh, child,” Utha Mae says, leaning in to kiss me on the cheek. “That possibility never even crossed my mind. Just take care of yourself. That's all I ask.”
After the goodbyes are said, Lilly phases me back to my bedroom in Malcolm's house.
“Oh!” Millie says, jumping slightly as she walks out of my bathroom just as Lilly and I phase in. “Gracious, you two almost made my old heart stop on the spot.”
“Sorry, Millie,” I tell her, guiltily finding her reaction a little amusing. I place my gifts down on the nightstand by my bed.
“No worries, my sweet. I’m just glad to see you back. The ceremony is only a couple of hours away. We should probably get started on getting you ready for it.”
My eyes are drawn to something laying on my bed. It’s an exact duplicate of the wedding dress Levi destroyed when I went to Cirrus to retrieve it.
“Oh, Millie,” I say, reaching out a hand to touch the silky fabric. “I can’t believe you made me another one so quickly!”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Millie says proudly.
“It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Lilly says looking at the dress. “Malcolm won’t know what hit him when he sees you in it.”
“Can you stay for the wedding?” I ask her.
“No,” she says with a shake of her head and a wistful smile. “Caylin and I thought that we should stay in Heaven for this event. This is your special time with Malcolm. We wouldn’t want our presence to take anything away from that experience. Just know that we love you both and wish you a happy and long life together.”
“If you won’t stay,” I tell her, “will you at least promise to come back one day?”
Lilly smiles, looking pleased by my request.
“Of course I will. I’m sure I’ll want to see the newest additions to our family. Something tells me they’ll be very special.”
Lilly leans in and gives me a hug.
“Enjoy tonight,” she says to me as she pulls back. “It will be one of the best of your life.”
Lilly phases, and I look back at the wedding dress, feeling flushed with excitement as I realize tonight is the night I finally make Malcolm mine forever.
“Let me go make a bath to help you relax a bit before we get started,” Millie says, making an about face and heading back into the bathroom.
I’m just pulling the sweater I’m wearing over my head when I hear someone yell, “Wait!”
I pull the sweater back down and look towards the door to the room.
Lucifer is standing there with one hand covering his eyes, shielding them from the sight of me almost half clothed.
“What are you doing here?” I ask apprehensively, knowing Lucifer phased to Cirrus earlier to help him find a reason to keep me from marrying Malcolm.
“Are you decent?” Lucifer asks, stoutly refusing to take his hand away from his eyes until I answer.
“Yes,” I tell him, smoothing out the edge of my sweater against my hips.
Lucifer lowers his hand away from his eyes slowly, as if he’s afraid he might see something again that he doesn’t want to.
“Are you going to tell me why you’re here, or are you going to make me guess?”
Lucifer takes something out of his pants pocket.
“I’m hoping I brought you something that will change your mind about this wedding.”
“You’re totally wasting your time,” I tell him with absolute conviction. “There’s nothing you can say that will stop me from marrying Malcolm tonight.”
“So you said before,” Lucifer says, sounding unconvinced. “Which is why I went to find something that will hopefully knock some sense into you.”
“Who are you talking to, my sweet?” Millie says, walking out of the bathroom.
Her eyes immediately find Lucifer in the room.
“Hello, Lucifer,” Millie says, looking confused by Lucifer’s presence but not exactly surprised. “Did you come to give your daughter away at her wedding?”
&
nbsp; “Absolutely not, Millie,” Lucifer says rather indignantly. “I’ve come to see if I can stop this travesty from happening at all!”
Millie looks even more confused. “Why on earth would you want to stop the wedding? Don’t you want to see Anna happy?”
“Of course I do,” Lucifer says, as if Millie’s question is completely absurd. “But Malcolm isn’t the man to do that. I know him. He’ll eventually get tired of Anna and toss her to the side like he does all his women. I’m not even sure the word monogamy is in that man’s vocabulary.”
Millie doesn’t look confused anymore. She looks mad.
“That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard you say! Master Malcolm is one of the most honorable men I know. When he makes his vows to Anna, I have no doubt he will keep to them!” Millie says in defense of Malcolm like an overprotective mama bear.
“When have you known Malcolm to care about a woman for more than a few months, Millie?”
Millie defiantly raises her chin a notch. “That’s always been your problem, Lucifer. You never understood Master Malcolm’s true nature. How do you think he has been able to withstand your offers to remove the curse for all these years? Even you can’t say he doesn’t have a strong sense of morals. And if you honestly think he would ever betray Anna in such a way, you’re more of a fool than I thought you were!”
As I listen to Millie defend Malcolm’s honor, I wonder why Lucifer is allowing her to speak to him as an equal. I knew he and Millie had some sort of relationship while my mother was alive, but this interaction between them makes me believe she and he had a slightly deeper connection than I was previously lead to believe.
“We’ll see about that,” Lucifer quips back. “I just hope I’ve brought some sanity into the situation.”
Lucifer walks up to me and holds his hand out palm up.
I look down and see that he’s holding one of the crystal devices used to display real time holographic images.
“What do I need that for?” I ask, looking up from his outstretched hand to meet his gaze.
“Turn it on,” Lucifer tells me, “and see for yourself.”
Tentatively, I take the crystal and swipe my other hand over its controls to activate it.
I feel my eyes begin to burn with tears as I look at the figure standing in front of me. I faintly hear Millie gasp in surprise over the roar of the blood rushing to my head making me feel a bit faint.
“Papa,” I sob.
Chapter 8
I reach out a shaky hand to my papa, knowing it’s a futile attempt to touch him, but neither of us seem to care because he does the same thing. Our hands meet and fade into one another. We may not be able to physically connect to each other, but the mutual attempt at least makes me feel closer to him.
“Where are you?” I immediately ask, wiping at the tears on my face with the back of the hand that still holds the crystal. “Are you in Cirrus somewhere? Just tell me and I’ll come and get you, Papa. I can phase now.”
My papa smiles at me sadly and shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, my little cherub. I promised Lucifer I wouldn’t tell you where I am. But, don’t worry about me. I’m in a good place, and no, I’m not in Cirrus. Levi hasn’t harmed me in any way. You have no reason to fear for my safety.”
“Did Lucifer bring you here to talk me out of marrying Malcolm?” I ask.
I see immediate confusion and alarm appear on my papa’s face.
“Marrying Malcolm?” He asks, as though the two words shouldn’t even be joined in the same sentence. “Why on earth would you be doing that?”
“Exactly!” Lucifer says triumphantly.
I look over my papa’s right shoulder and see Lucifer standing behind him with a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
“I guess I’ll let the two of you talk privately for a little while,” Lucifer tells us, sounding pleased with himself because he obviously thinks he's won this particular battle. “I think you have a lot of catching up to do.”
Lucifer phases.
“Oh, Lord Andre,” Millie says happily, “it’s so good to see you again and to know you’re safe. We’ve all been worried sick about you.”
“Thanks, Millie,” my papa says, chancing a glance at her but quickly returning his attention back to me. “I'm perfectly fine. There's no need to worry.”
“That's so wonderful to hear,” Millie says, looking between the two of us. “I'll just go finish preparing some things so the two of you can discuss matters.”
Millie turns around and heads back into the bathroom, making what looks to me like a hasty retreat.
I stare at my papa for a moment, almost feeling like I’m a kid again who has done something wrong. Yet, I’ve done nothing wrong except find the man I’m supposed to marry and build a family with. Surely, he’ll understand that.
“Tell me, Anna,” my papa says, still looking worried “Why are you marrying Malcolm?”
“He’s my soulmate, Papa,” I tell him, hoping that it’s reason enough for him.
“Malcolm?” Papa says in utter disbelief. “You’re absolutely sure about that?”
I nod. “Yes. Why do you sound so surprised? Honestly, I thought you of all people would be happy for us. You’re his best friend, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” Papa says, “which is probably why this news makes it feel so strange to me. I know him better than almost anyone, except for maybe Jered. The three of us have been through a lot together over the years.” My papa takes in a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “Give me a moment to think about this. You've kind of thrown me for a loop, Anna.”
I remain silent while my papa seems to have a silent conversation with himself, as if he's weighing the pros and cons of Malcolm and I being soulmates. He shakes his head, and then nods it. Then he shakes it again and still looks mystified by the news.
“I love him,” I finally say, hoping this will erase any doubt he has that I’m making a mistake marrying Malcolm.
“It’s just…” He says, shaking his head. “You’re my daughter, Anna. I realize you’ve figured out that I’m not your biological father, but I’m still the man who raised you. I love you as my own flesh and blood and nothing will ever change my feelings for you.”
“I love you too, Papa.”
“But,” he says, raising one hand to his forehead to rub his temples and propping his free hand onto his hip as he continues to come to grips with the news. “I have to say, the possibility of you marrying Malcolm never even crossed my mind. I’m having a little trouble imagining it.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re both family to me!” He says, raising both of his hands in the air to emphasize his point. “Basically, I feel like my daughter is marrying my brother! I need some time to wrap my mind around the situation.”
“I think Lucifer was hoping you would try to talk me out of it,” I tell him. “You’re not going to try to do that, are you? Because I’ll tell you the same thing I told Lucifer. It won’t work. Even if you disapprove, Papa, I’m marrying Malcolm tonight one way or the other.”
I’m not sure if it was my words or the way I made my proclamation, but my papa let out a deep sigh of resignation and looked at me in surprise.
“I think this is the first time you’ve never wanted to know my thoughts on a subject,” he says, looking proud and sad at the same time. I’m no longer the little girl who relied on him to make the important decision for me. I suppose realizing your child has grown beyond the need for your guidance is a hard thing for any parent to come to terms with the first time.
“It’s not that I won't listen to what you're thinking,” I tell him. “I would never disrespect you in such a way, Papa. But, I know me. My life would never feel complete without Malcolm as my husband. I need him as much as I need the heart beating inside my chest. Without either, I would be dead inside. As long as I have Malcolm, I feel like I can make it through the rest of the mission God has given me. I know I can succeed if we’re togethe
r, and the vows we make to one another tonight will make our bond even stronger.”
It takes a few seconds, but my papa finally smiles at me.
“I guess you really are a woman now,” he says with pride. “I’m glad I raised you to listen to your heart and allow it to tell you what’s right and what’s wrong. I can’t say the whole situation isn’t still odd for me, but I trust your judgment. If getting married is what you both want, then I have no reservations about it whatsoever. I’m not going to lie and say it’s something I ever expected to happen, but all I’ve ever wanted was for you to be happy, Anna. As long as Malcolm makes you happy, you have my blessing.”
“I don’t suppose you could explain that sort of logic to Lucifer?” I ask in jest. “He seems hell-bent on stopping me from marrying Malcolm.”
My papa sighs heavily. “The two of them have had a very difficult relationship with one another over the years, Anna. I’m not sure if there’s anything that can fix the animosity that's built up between them. But, they both love you. Therefore, they do have some common ground. I’m just not sure it will be enough to keep them from trying to rip each other’s throats out. Maybe in time they can come to a mutual understanding where you’re concerned.”
“I hope so,” I tell him. “Papa, why don’t you tell me where you are? I can come and get you and this whole mess can be over. You don’t owe Lucifer anything. You don’t have to keep your promise to him.”
“Anna,” my father says in that disappointed voice that I always hated to hear as a child, “you of all people should know me well enough to understand that I can’t just break my word once I’ve given it. If a man doesn’t keep his word, he isn’t a man worth knowing, in my opinion. I won’t break it just to save my own skin. I’m sorry my being trapped like this has been so difficult for you, but I’m perfectly fine where I am. I am disappointed that I won’t be able to walk you down the aisle though. It was always something I wanted to do if you were ever allowed to have a real wedding.”
“I’m sorry you won’t be here for that too,” I say, unable to stop the tears formed from my own disappointment.
