Then I realised he wasn’t talking about Rachel. I am such an idiot. I was going to a wedding; he was talking about buying a wedding present.
“Any idea what Tammara wants?”
“I’ll get hold of the wedding gift list and get back to you,” Ankou said, then vanished.
The days slowly crawled by and it felt like the wedding day would never arrive, but eventually it did. Ankou and I were both dressed in smart yet casual suits and were about to leave when Rhea arrived.
I tensed, worried that she was about to announce that she had changed her mind, but she didn’t. She was only there to remind us about the curfew and to say she hoped we both had a good time. I think that was more or less guaranteed.
“I’m driving,” I said as soon as we arrived on Earth. “We want to get there is one piece don’t we.”
“Ha ha,” he said, but handed me the keys anyway.
He gave me directions to Tammara’s dad’s place, where the girls had stayed the night, but there was nowhere to park in front of the house, so I dropped him off and drove around the corner to look for a space. I eased the car into the first one I spotted and jumped out.
Ankou was in the doorway talking to Rachel when the house came into view and I had to stop walking. The sight of her took my breath away. Then our eyes met and I had to force myself to not run to her. Her whole face lit up when she realised that I was to be her date.
I put my hands in my pockets and casually strolled up the path toward her, whistling as I walked.
“Hi honey.” Before I could tell her how much I had missed her over the last eight months she threw her arms around me and kissed me long and hard.
“Put him down,” Ankou said, his voice filled with amusement. “You will smudge your lipstick.”
“Who cares,” she gasped and kissed me again.
“I take it you missed me,” I said when she released me.
“No,” she said cheekily. “I kiss everyone like that.”
She took my hand and led us both inside. Tammara was ready to go and looked stunning.
“You look fantastic,” Ankou said. “Are you really sure you want to get married?” She looked like she was actually giving the question some thought. If Ankou did anything to disrupt the wedding I would have killed him.
Thankfully there was a knock on the door, so she avoided answering him. Rachel opened it and called out that the wedding cars had arrived. Taking this as a cue to depart I grabbed Ankou by the arm and dragged him out of the door.
The wedding was to take place on the beach and most of the guests had already arrived by the time I pulled into the car park. The majority had taken their shoes off and left them at the edge of the sand, so Ankou and I decided to do the same.
Derek was anxiously pacing up and down, so I steered Ankou away from him. I didn’t think my cousin would say anything to wind him up, but I didn’t want to take the risk.
While I wandered up to the lapping waves to admire the view, Ankou spotted a blonde who was showing more leg than was decent and made a bee-line for her. I was staring out to sea when I heard a car pull up and sensed Rachel nearby. I turned to smile at her, but she had her back to me as she looked down the road. She seemed tense.
Then a car came into sight and the tension left her. The bride had arrived.
“What kept you?” I heard her hiss as Tammara climbed out.
“It is good to keep men waiting,” she replied. She had a grin on her face.
The bridesmaids and flower girl took their positions in front of the bride and the string quartet started the traditional ‘here comes the bride’. I know I should have been watching Tammara, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Rachel as they walked slowly down the gap between the chairs which was acting as the aisle.
I took no notice of the ceremony. I assume it went off without a hitch, but my attention was completely focussed on Rachel. She kept glancing behind her at me and smiling. I don’t think I have ever seen her look so happy. I couldn’t wait to be able to talk to her.
I raced to the hotel where the reception was being held, barely staying within the speed limit, and the moment Rachel arrived I took her hand and kissed it.
“You look stunning. I think you outshone the bride today.”
“And I think you are biased,” she said before throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me.
Tammara had made sure there was a place for me at the main table so I didn’t have to let go of Rachel all night.
Ankou was enjoying himself chatting up a different woman every time I saw him. Before long there was likely to be a cat fight over who would be the first to get him into bed.
After the meal the usual speeches and toasts were made, but I barely listened to them. All of the other guests were there for the bride and groom, but I was there just for Rachel; nobody else mattered.
When she broke all tradition and made a speech I listened intently. She thanked Tammara for her friendship, without which she would not have gotten through her betrayal by Rob. She talked about me and that Tammara was always there for her whenever she missed me so much she could barely function. Her words almost brought a tear to my eye. She ended by telling the bride and groom that their marriage would be a long and happy one.
Soon it was all over except for the dancing. Tables were cleared out of the way and I took Rachel in my arms, vowing never to let her go. She showed no interest in dancing with anyone else and when Ankou tried to cut in she didn’t object when I told him what he could do with himself.
It was nearing midnight when the bride and groom left, but the party continued on without them.
“When do you have to leave?” Rachel asked. I wanted to say never, but I couldn’t.
“Ankou is supposed to make sure I am out of here at 2, 3 at the latest, but I haven’t seen him around for a while.”
“I think he went off with one of the bridesmaids,” she said as she took my hand and led me from the room. “I have booked a room for the night. It is only a single, but I am sure that won’t be too much of a problem. Let’s see what fun we can have for the next hour or so.”
It was officially the best day of my life.
3 am arrived, but I was too comfortable lying next to Rachel in the bed to even think about moving. “Screw the curfew. Nothing on Hell or Earth could get me to leave you till the morning.”
We didn’t get much sleep and I almost swore when we were disturbed by banging on the door. Reluctantly I got dressed and let Ankou in.
“We are going to be in big trouble,” he said. “We should have left hours ago.”
“I really don’t care.”
“So which bridesmaid did you spend the night with?” Rachel asked.
Ankou grinned broadly. “Both.”
She laughed. “You never change do you?”
“Why would I?” he replied. His face turned serious when he looked at me. “We really need to go. I dread to think what the fallout will be.”
“Whatever it is, it was worth it.” I kissed Rachel goodbye and Ankou had the decency to turn his back. “I’ll see you soon,” I said, then we both left.
I parked the car in the garage where Ankou usually leaves it and we both returned to my room at my parents’ house. Rhea was there waiting for us and she did not look happy. She sat in a chair, drumming her fingers on one of the arms.
“And what time do you call this?”
Ankou looked at his watch. “A little after 6am I think.”
“There is no need for sarcasm. You are both in big trouble.”
“Fine,” he said in a resigned tone. “How long are we grounded for?”
“A year.”
“What?” he almost yelled. “You can’t make us stay away from Earth for a year.” Just a year? That didn’t sound so bad to me. I had been away from Rachel for longer than that, so I could live with it.
“Yes I can. You’ve been banned from going to Earth before. This time I decided to make it long enough for you to actually be ta
ught a lesson.”
Personally I thought she was dreaming if she thought being stuck in the underworld for a year would have any effect on Ankou, but I kept my thoughts to myself.
Then she turned to me. “You, however, are a different matter. You have never disobeyed me before.” This was sounding promising. Maybe I was going to get time off for previous good behaviour. “I intend to make sure you never do so again.” That didn’t sound so good. “You will keep away from Rachel and remain down here for the next twenty years.”
I couldn’t have heard her right. Twenty years for just staying out for a few extra hours? I was too shocked to speak. Ankou wasn’t.
“You have got to be joking,” he exclaimed. “That is outrageously unfair.”
“Why should I be fair?”
Anger began to surge through me. “You have no right to keep me away from Rachel for that long,” I shouted at her.
“I have every right,” she yelled back. Then she forced herself to calm down. “It won’t be as bad as you think. You’ll forget all about her in a few years.”
“Let’s see how long it takes you to forget all about me when I am no longer in your life.” Before she could respond, I vanished.
I went to my island until I could sense that both Ankou and Rhea had left my room. When I returned I packed all of my most treasured possessions into a bag, took one last look at my room, then destroyed it. The noise must have woken my family, but I was long gone before any of them arrived to see the devastation.
Obliterating most of my things had the desired effect and all anger had left me by the time I re-materialised on my beach. I sat there for a long time, just staring out to sea, wondering how I was going to survive the next two decades. I had not made an idle threat to Rhea; I meant every word I said. I had no intention of seeing her or any of my family until I could see Rachel again.
Except for Ankou of course. He knew where to find me and nothing I could do would stop him doing all he could to help me through my self-imposed exile.
Deciding that getting drunk was a good idea I created a whiskey bottle and put it to my lips.
I was still on the beach when Ankou arrived many hours later.
“How much have you had?” he asked as he sat down beside me, taking the bottle from my hand.
“None. I almost took a mouthful, but I knew that if I started I would never be able to stop.”
He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “I’ve told everyone what happened. They are all on your side and are trying to get Rhea to change her mind. I don’t think they will have much luck though.” He took a swig from the bottle. “I love the way you remodelled your room by the way.”
“I bet my parents don’t.”
Ankou laughed. “That’s an understatement. They’re worried about you. You should go and see them.”
I shook my head. “I’m not going to be seeing any of the family until I can see Rachel again and I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone you know how to find me.”
“No problem,” he said. He wouldn’t let me down. “So what are your plans, other than feeling sorry for yourself?”
“I need to find a way of watching Rachel from down here. Know how to create a magic mirror?”
Ankou smiled. “I have a better idea. I’m sure between us we can find a way to hack into security cameras. If she installs some in her house you will be able to watch her more or less wherever she goes.”
“Ankou,” I said with admiration, “it looks like you are not just a pretty face after all.”
Phone
It took a few years to do what Ankou had suggested and Rachel was more than happy to purchase the required equipment for her new house. She moved not long after my exile began. She told Ankou that it was because her home was too full of memories of me, despite the fact I had only actually been there once, and she could not bear to remain there if memories were all she could have of me.
I was now able to see her, even if she could not see me, and the next few years passed quicker than I had thought possible.
Her accommodation was not the only thing to change. Except for Ankou, all of my relatives stopped visiting her to act as her ‘date’. They continued to do so for a while, but she always politely told them to go away. Even Death no longer saw her since she asked him to keep away. She told him that seeing him was just too painful for her and he could no longer act as messenger as he had no idea how to find me. Ankou still visited her occasionally as he ignored her request for him to leave her alone.
Rachel retrained as a surgeon and worked a lot less and earned a lot more. But she never seems happy. The only time I saw her smile was when she was looking up at a camera, hoping I was watching, or spending time with Tammara’s child, her god-daughter.
She also stopped writing in her diary. Ankou said it was because she thought she no longer had anything worth writing about. It used to mean a lot to her and it made me sad that it no longer did. Rhea has a lot to answer for.
Once I got the hack into the camera’s working I started on a new project. I could see Rachel, now I needed to find a way to talk to her. Creating a phone that I could call her from was the easy part; preventing my relatives from detecting it was more difficult. I finally cracked it. They would be able to sense the signal if I used it too often, but if I kept it down to just a couple of times a year I should get away with it.
I was just screwing the back on when Ankou walked into my workshop.
“Is it ready?” he asked. I nodded and threw it at him. I had asked him to go there he could deliver it to Rachel.
He glanced at the monitor screens as he inspected it. “Still spying on her I see.”
I barely heard what he said. Someone had just come into view in Rachel’s lounge and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. What was Rhea doing there?
“Ankou, transport yourself to Rachel’s bedroom. Now.”
The look on his face told me he was about to make some smartarse remark, but then he saw what I was looking at and vanished. If Rhea was with Rachel then she might be in trouble and he would do all he could to protect her.
I paced up and down as I watched the two women talking. I wished I had found a way to have sound as well as sight as I desperately wanted to know what was going on. Rachel seemed tense. She sat in an arm chair, arms and legs crossed, and she had a scowl on her face. Whatever Rhea was saying to her she obviously wasn’t impressed with.
At one point Rachel glanced up at one of the cameras. Did she know I was watching or did she just hope I was? Eventually Rhea left. I had no idea what she went there for, but it didn’t look like she got it. Rachel is one tough lady to have stood up to Rhea.
Almost as soon as she had gone I saw Ankou step out of the bedroom and I began to relax. I have no idea what he said to Rachel, but she looked up at the camera and smiled at me.
They continued to talk, then Ankou sat on the sofa, pulling her down beside him. I have never wished I was my cousin so much as I did right then. He put his arm around her and I felt envy not jealousy. He knew I was watching him so was only trying to comfort her.
I was glued to the screen as I watched him hand over the ‘phone’ I had created. She looked about to cry as she hugged him tight and kissed his cheek. They spoke for a few more minutes, then he vanished.
Almost instantly he arrived next to me looking like he was going to be sick.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ll tell you about it later. Right now I need a drink. Come and find me when you have finished speaking to Rachel.”
He walked out of the room and I immediately dialled Rachel’s number. I cannot begin to describe how good it felt to talk to her. I could not do so for long, so we made the most of the short time we had and I promised to call her again as soon as I could.
I then went searching for Ankou and found him on the beach with a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle in the other.
“So why was Rhea there?” Rachel and I had had other things t
o talk about, so I hadn’t asked her. I sat down next to him, created my own glass and filled it from his bottle.
“Would you believe that she was there to ask Rachel to persuade you to come out of exile.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me. How does she even know Rachel and I are now in contact?”
“She doesn’t. She just knows you well enough to guess that you would find a way.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. At least my secret was still safe. “How did Rachel react?”
“She was amazing,” Ankou said. “She stood up to Rhea as though she was just an ordinary old lady instead of the mother of the gods. She told her that she would not help her and if she wanted her to talk to you about letting people know where you are she would have to let her speak to you in person.”
I smiled. “That’s my girl.”
“When Rhea threatened her, Rachel told her to do whatever she wanted, but that you had found a way to hack into the security cameras and were watching. How did she know?”
“She couldn’t have, but Rhea didn’t know that. Looks like Rachel can bluff after all.” My mind drifted back to her attempts at playing poker. She must have taken some lessons if she managed to fool Rhea. “How did she react?”
“Rhea?” Ankou asked needlessly. He had stopped referring to her as great-grandmother at the same time I had. I guess he agreed that she no longer deserved the title. “She smiled and told Rachel that she is perfect for you and that she wishes she had come along in another few hundred years.”
That surprised me. I guess I will never understand what is going on in her mind.
“In case you are interested,” Ankou continued, “she told Rachel that the reason she is keeping you two apart is because she thinks you are too young to settle down. She believes it is for your own good. The only reason she allowed you to go to Rachel’s birthday and the wedding is because she thought one of you would realise that the other wasn’t as good as you remembered and would break it off. She wasn’t happy when that didn’t happen and you disobeyed the rules instead.”
I shook my head, unable to believe that Rhea could be that stupid. Did she really not understand that Rachel and I love each other and that separation will not change that?
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