by Mary May
Chapter 28
As it turned out everyone living in the estate, except for an upset Moppet, flew down for Carl and Keelie’s wedding. Gideon was once again forced to endure the discomfort and humiliation of air sickness and was again perplexed by getting it. Everyone else seemed to enjoy the flight, most especially Edgar, who could see the obvious distress on Gideon’s face. The old butler suffered no ill effects from the flight and took great pleasure in eating nonstop and then turning to breathe in Gideon’s face. Gideon felt his stomach rebel violently. He jumped up and stalked to the back of the plane to get away from Edgar’s gloating smirk.
After landing, they were welcomed by Keelie and Carl and most if not all of Keelie’s large family. Everyone was hugged warmly several times, much to Edgar’s dismay, and then it was Gideon’s turn to smile and gloat.
They all loaded up in different trucks and SUVs and headed to the reservation where most of Keelie’s family lived. The landscape was vastly different from North Carolina, but it was beautiful in its own right. That night they all got to know Keelie’s family, and Gideon found them to be fascinating. He listened closely as the elders told stories of hunts and battles that had been told to them by the people that had lived it. The Kiowah tribe was a respected clan and compared to many they were well off. Most of the men were now ranchers or businessmen who worked off the reservation. They still held close to the traditions and values that had made their tribe endure for so long. He could feel a real connection to Keelie’s family and was hoping that he would get a chance to see them often.
The following morning they went to pick up Catherine and Evan. Sabrina hugged her mother and step-father. She saw her mother’s smile widen when she spotted Devon was among the others that were waiting for them. Pulling Sabrina closer, Catherine put her mouth against Sabrina’s ear, “That man gets better looking every time I see him!”
Sabrina felt her face fire up again and was glad she could at least blame it on the heat this time. The weather was stifling. The heat seemed to come from every direction. Sabrina could feel her hair frizzing up and finally gave up on it and just piled it on top of her head in a messy knot. She hoped that it would be cooler at the overlook tomorrow evening for the wedding.
That night they had the parties for the bride and groom. Sticking with tradition, they made Carl prove his worth by wrestling with several different men from the tribe. It was all in good fun and the younger men had mercy on Carl and let him win in the end. The ladies were all on the other side of the reservation, keeping the bride and groom apart until the wedding. They had a wedding shower much like Sabrina’s with everyone giving the bride gifts for her home and tips on how to keep her husband from sneaking off to other houses.
Sabrina enjoyed Keelie’s family and they adored little Charlie, marveling over her bouncy curls and sparkling blue eyes. It was late by the time the parties ended and Charlie had fallen asleep hours earlier. Sabrina had gone into the bedroom to pick her up when she felt a strong hand grip her elbow; she turned and looked up into Devon’s face. With the light hitting his back, it threw his face into the shadows so she couldn’t see his expression.
“Let me carry her for you. She is getting heavy.”
Without waiting for her response, he picked up the sleeping child, murmuring softly when she started to wake. He motioned with his head for Sabrina to lead the way. Sabrina showed Devon where to lay Charlie and watched as he eased her onto the bed on her tummy then gently rubbed her back until she drifted back off to sleep. Easing the door closed, she followed him back out onto the front porch.
“Thank you. You’re right; she is getting heavy.”
He turned and propped up against the porch railing. Folding his arms across his chest, he looked up at the night sky. “You can see a hundred million stars out here, I bet. Reminds me of the sky back home.”
Sabrina noticed he sounded homesick. “How long has it been since you have been home?”
“Too long,” was his brief reply.
“Sherrilyn didn’t say a lot about her family. I didn’t have siblings so I was always envious of those that had any. You can tell me to mind my business if you want. I’ll understand, but why did you wait so long to come see Sherrilyn. Why did you wait… until it was too late?” Sabrina watched him closely to see if her question had angered him. It was something she had wondered ever since he showed up. He sighed then turned to look at Sabrina.
“There was nearly a twelve year age gap between us. Sherry had to help mama raise me because having me made my mama real weak. The doctors told her she didn’t need to have any more babies, but mama wanted one more, and what Ashleigh Lane wanted, she usually got. Mama died the year I turned six and then it was all on Sherry to take care of me while Daddy worked. Sherry had her own life to live and her own dreams she wanted to make come true. Even at that young age I could see that. Sherry sounded just like Mama when she sang. Sometimes I would close my eyes and pretend she was Mama.” Devon shifted on the porch railing. “To make a long story short, I didn’t come to see Sherry because I didn’t want to see the disappointment in her eyes. I told you before; I’m not a nice man. I have trouble following me and it will catch up with me sooner or later.” He smiled then reached down to tap her nose “But that’s a story for another night. Goodnight, sweet Sabrina.” Without waiting for her reply he stepped off the porch and disappeared into the darkness.
Keelie’s wedding day was hot, hot, hot! Sabrina thought she would suffocate in the stifling heat. How in the world Keelie was going to survive in her grandmother’s wedding gown that was made of buckskin was beyond her. Keelie didn’t have any concerns and went about the day humming and smiling at everyone. They all loaded up in the trucks again to ride to the lake overlook where the ceremony was going to take place. As they unloaded under the thick canopy of pine trees and oaks, Sabrina sighed in relief. It had to be twenty degrees cooler here.
Catherine was fanning herself and walked up to Sabrina. “So this is why Keelie wasn’t worried about death by heat stroke!” she laughed.
Sabrina smiled. “I know. I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from jumping into the lake during the ceremony. I can’t believe how much cooler it is here.”
The ladies all gathered in a cabin that was near the overlook. The groom’s cabin was on the other side of the lake to prevent any early peeking at one another. Sabrina slipped into the beautiful bridesmaid’s dress and twirled her hair up in the loose knot like she did at home. The cool cotton felt like heaven on her skin. Even though it was a lot cooler here than on the reservation, it was still warm. She knocked on Keelie’s door then opened it at her invitation to enter. Keelie was standing in front of a full length mirror and Keelie’s mother Martha was loosely braiding her hair, slipping tiny white feathers in as she went. The effect was stunning! Keelie turned and smiled at Sabrina.
“Oh, Sabrina, you are a vision! No one will be looking at me for sure!”
Sabrina laughed. “Keelie, I can’t think of a single woman on this planet that could hold candle to you in that gorgeous gown! I could walk down the aisle naked and no one would notice!”
Keelie and Catherine’s eyes met in the mirror and they both smiled. “Oh, I can think of one someone in particular that would most definitely notice!” Catherine said.
Sabrina felt her face flood with color; this was really starting to become a habit. To change the subject, she pointed out Charlie. “Look how beautiful Charlie is!” Wearing a smaller version of Sabrina’s dress and wearing tiny little crisscrossed sandals that one of the ladies in Keelie’s family had made for her, Charlie was too adorable. An hour later the ladies all gathered up their bouquets and started the walk to the overlook.
The wedding ceremony was beautiful and moving. The way Keelie had incorporated both Kiawah traditions and Carl’s traditions made it even lovelier. Keelie chose to walk down the aisle alone, stating that in Kiawah legends the bride made the choice to leave her father’s dwelling and en
ter into her husband’s. Carl was nearly knocked off his feet when he saw the vision that was walking to him and smiling. When the image grew blurry, he quickly dashed away the tears that were forming in his eyes. He couldn’t believe that God had blessed him with two beautiful wives in his lifetime. Luke’s mother would always be very much a part of his life and the fact that Keelie insisted upon it made him love her even more. Keelie finally reached his side. Her uncle stepped up and held out both of his hands, one to Carl and one to Keelie.
“Keelie Alana Satank, do you freely come into the house of the man that you have chosen of your own free will, and do you leave the dwelling place of your father and your mother to become one with this man that you have chosen?”
Keelie smiled a smile so full of love at Carl that it made a lump rise up in Sabrina’s throat. “I do choose to come into the house of this man that I have chosen of my own free will, and I do leave the dwelling place of my father and my mother to become one with him.”
The uncle then turned to Carl. “Do you, Carl Brian Blakely, choose to accept this woman into your dwelling as your wife and helpmate? Do you vow to take care of her and to honor her in all your ways for as long as you walk this earth?”
Carl turned to Keelie and with tears slipping shamelessly down his cheeks, he responded, “I do choose to accept this woman into my dwelling as my wife and helpmate. I vow to take care of her and to honor her in all my ways for as long as I walk this earth.”
Keelie’s uncle took a length of rawhide from a bowl of water. He wrapped it around Carl’s and Keelie’s wrists then turned them to face the crowd. “As the water in this rawhide makes it strong and impossible to break, I pray that the bonds of this union will be so much stronger. I stand as a testament to their vows and I proclaim them this day forward as husband and wife!” The uncle then whispered loudly, “Okay, Carl, she is all yours!”
Everyone cheered and clapped as Carl wrapped his arms around his beautiful bride and proceeded to kiss her breathless.
The reception after the wedding was more fun than any other Sabrina had ever attended. True to her word, Keelie had Carl make a spear and try to spear a fish to prove his ability to feed her. After he splashed around a great deal, Carl reached in his pocket and held up a set of car keys, then loudly said he had something even better than a spear; he had keys to his car to drive her to the nearest restaurant! Everyone applauded and helped him out of the water. Keelie and Carl left shortly after the fishing attempt. With all of Keelie’s cousins chasing and whooping behind the car, they drove off for their honeymoon and to begin their new lives together.
Sabrina was glad to be home; Gideon was just glad to be off the plane. He wasn’t sure if medicine would work on angels, but he was going to try it the next time he had to fly. Edgar, of course, had to rub his nose in it at every opportunity. Moppet was so excited to see his family that Sabrina thought she was going to have to medicate him to calm him down. After a couple of hours the dog decided that he could stop giving kisses to everyone and settle down. Sabrina was unpacking and wondered what had happened to Devon. He didn’t join them on the flight home, saying he would see her later. He had kept his distance after their talk on the porch the night before the wedding. Sabrina wasn’t sure how she felt about that, so she just left it alone.
Chapter 29
The summer months passed by without Devon’s coming home. Sabrina would get the occasional phone call from him to see how things were going at the estate and to check on Charlie. She thought he might come back for the Fourth of July celebration. All day her ears strained to hear the rumble of his Harley. When she went to bed that night, tears of disappointment welled up in her eyes. She told herself that she was being foolish, and that she was better off without him. But her heart had decided to be foolish anyway without Sabrina’s permission.
September rolled around and with it came Charlie’s third birthday. Gideon dreaded this day with every fiber of his being. He knew that the moment Charlie turned three her spirit eye would close and she wouldn’t be able to see or hear him anymore. He wondered how the little girl would react not being able to find her “Giddy.” He had been a constant in her life and he knew she would notice his absence. Would she think that he didn’t love her, that she had done something wrong to make him leave? His heart ached at the thought.
As Sabrina went about happily preparing the cake and decorating the house for the party, Gideon’s mood turned blacker. Finally Edgar told him if his face got any longer he was going to step on it! Whirling around, he descended on Edgar like a black thundercloud.
“Then so be it, old man!” he shouted. Edgar was startled by Gideon’s outburst and Gideon instantly felt contrite for treating his friend like that. Throwing the old butler an apologetic glance, Gideon walked over to the couch in the den feeling so low that even his wings were drooping and trailing behind him. His wings…the ones that Charlie loved to chase. She wouldn’t be able to chase them anymore. How soon until she forgot him? Gideon flashed himself to Charlie’s bedroom where the little girl was playing with the blocks that Edgar had made her. He hunkered down to be at eye level with her. He tried to explain that she wouldn’t be able to see him or hear him anymore but that he would ALWAYS be with her, to protect her and to watch over her. He told her how much he loved her and how he wished with all his heart that he could hold her one time before he vanished. Gideon felt a tear slide down his cheek. Charlie got up and walked over to him. She reached out to touch his face and Gideon closed his eyes, willing his body to become solid to be able to feel the little girl’s touch just one time. When he felt her palm on his cheek, his eyes sprang open.
Charlie patted away his tears. “Don’t be sad, don’t cry, Giddy,” she told him. Gideon slowly reached out and cupped her cheek. He could touch her! God had granted him his heart’s desire! Gideon gently gathered the little girl into his arms and held her close, trying to imprint the feeling of her soft warm body into his memory. He buried his nose into the crook of her neck, deeply breathing in that scent that was uniquely Charlie, baby powder, vanilla wafers and little girl, wishing he could hold it in his lungs forever. This little girl had become his heaven.
“Yes, baby, Giddy is sad. I’m sad that soon you won’t see me anymore, but please know that I love you and I would stay if I could!” He felt Charlie’s fingers stroke the feathers of his wings she had tried for so long to catch and to touch. So he stood up and spread out the great length of his dark-as-midnight wings and let Charlie pet them. Then swirling them up and around out of her reach, he made her squeal and laugh as she chased them one last time…
THE END
