Her Dear and Loving Husband (32 page)

“What’s wrong, Sarah?” he asked. “Are you all right?”

Sarah ran her fingers from his temple to his chin. “I’m fine. Are you all right? I thought you were leaving me.”

James brushed her tears away with the back of his hand. “I promised I’d never leave you ever. I feel fine. I’m just a little wet. Why am I wet?” 

“We were trying to make you cold again so Jennifer and Olivia put ice on you.”

“Ice. Great idea.” He pushed the bags of water onto the floor and saw the worried faces. “Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“Actually,” Jennifer said, “you looked more like a corpse until you woke up just now.” 

“You always look a little dead, dear,” Olivia said, “but today you looked really very dead. I’m glad you’re feeling better. You had us all worried.” 

Sarah patted James’s hands. “Do you want something to drink?” she asked. “I put your bags in the refrigerator in here in case Hempel looked in the one in your office.”

James nodded. “Yes, and yes, he looked in the fridge in my office. He seemed very happy with the diet soda he found. He may have even taken a candy bar.”

Sarah pulled a medical bag from the refrigerator. She sliced open the top with a knife she found in a drawer, pulled a styrofoam cup from the cupboard, poured the red liquid into the cup, and put it in the microwave. 

“That doesn’t gross you out?” Jennifer asked.

“It’s what he drinks.”

“You really are the right girl for him.”

“I know.”

As she brought James the warmed cup she heard Timothy speaking to him like an irate parent lecturing an unruly child.

“Next time you need to let me help you.” Timothy wagged a frustrated finger to emphasize his point.

“What could you have done?” James asked. 

“I could have done something. Promise me next time you’ll ask for help.”

“Very well, Timothy. The next time I’m stalked by a relentless hunter I’ll ask for help.”

Timothy seemed satisfied with that answer. Seeing that James was well, Sarah was calm, and Jennifer and Olivia were content, he looked ready to leave. It was too much for the boy, Sarah thought. He hadn’t slept all day. From outside, Sarah heard a dog, or was it a wolf, howling a long, lonely low. She looked through the window, saw the full moon hanging in the sky, and she shuddered, afraid of what might be waiting for them. James didn’t seem concerned. He listened to the howl and turned to Timothy. 

“Your dad’s here,” James said. “Sounds like he’s worried about you.”

Timothy nodded. “He’s worried about you too.” The boy listened to the wolf’s bark, short and sharp now. “Coming Dad,” he said. He smiled at James as he walked away. Sarah looked through the window again and saw a large gray wolf with gold glowing eyes sitting outside the library door. She was sure the wolf bowed in her direction, one front paw behind the other, its head bent in a courtly manner, when it saw her. Though she was curious, she would ask James to explain another time. At that moment, all she cared about was James.     

Outside the library, Jennifer threw her hands into the air when she saw the parking ticket on her windshield. She had left her car by the curb along Loring Avenue after she ran to buy ice. She didn’t want to waste time running from the parking lot, and she hadn’t been back since. She took the ticket from the windshield, crumpled it, and threw it into the backseat.     

“I told you it was a no parking zone,” Olivia said. 

“You didn’t tell me it was a no parking zone. You said no such thing.”

“I did. I said it was a no parking zone. You should try listening to your mother sometimes.”

“It’s hard to listen to your mother when she insists on communicating through telepathy. You need to speak in words like the rest of us.”

“But you work here, Jennifer. You should know it’s a no parking zone.”

James nodded his head toward the car. “Where’s the casket drapery?”

“I took it down as soon as you got out,” Olivia said.

“Do you two want a ride somewhere?” Jennifer asked.

“No,” said James. “The moon looks beautiful tonight, and I still need to dry off. We’ll walk.”

Jennifer looked at him and smiled. “Don’t forget, I promised you three wishes. You still have two more to go.”

“Don’t worry. I may take you up on that.”

James and Sarah watched while the witches drove away. When the car disappeared around the curve, he took her hand. 

“Do you think it was Jennifer’s spell that made you well again?” she asked.

He brushed a dark curl from her cheek. “I don’t know. Maybe my body needed time to recover from the heat. I am immortal after all, and I don’t think it’s been forever yet.” 

“I thought it was my kiss that woke you up.”

James laughed. “I felt your lips on mine when I opened my eyes, so perhaps your kiss did heal me. We better not tell Jennifer and Olivia that your magic is more powerful than theirs.”

Sarah nodded, leaning her head against his arm. “All right, Sleeping Beauty. I won’t say a word.”

James and Sarah walked home under the light of the full spring moon. They walked without speaking, casting shy glances at each other, like people in love. He was happy to see the moon lighting the night sky, solid and patient as always.

“I think that white glow will do just fine for me from now on,” he said. “I’ll never dismiss it as an estranged relative again.”

He held Sarah’s hand tightly, afraid to let her go. He had the unnerving thought that if he lost touch with her he would lose her forever, and perhaps they would never reconnect again. She grabbed his arm, tugging on him until he looked at her.

 “Jennifer told me once that you helped her family in ways I can’t imagine, but she never said what you did. How did you help them?”

“Her ancestor helped me first, in 1693, and then I helped her family during the Great Depression and World War II.”

Sarah looked as if she wanted to know more, but James shook his head. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but not tonight. We have time.” He grinned from ear to ear with the thrill of the victory. His hunter had been vanquished, and he was certain Kenneth Hempel would no longer be a problem for them.

“What happened when Hempel left the library?” he asked. 

“He seemed eager to get away. Did he agree to stop harassing you?”

“He did.”

“Is he going to stop hunting?”

“That he wouldn’t agree to.”

“So what do we do now?”

“For now we hope he doesn’t find any more evidence against anyone else.” 

“But what about the others? Won’t they be watching to see if he goes public?”     

“I don’t know.” He needed to change the subject, and he smiled at her. “Was that your idea to fill my refrigerator with soda and candy bars?”

“I thought he might want to see what you kept in there.”

“I think that brilliant move saved the day.”

“I didn’t save anything. You did it, James. You convinced Hempel to leave you alone.”

Had it only been a few hours since that happened? It already seemed like a dream from another century. His life seemed so settled all of a sudden. The scattered pieces had been gathered and fitted together, creating one whole. Still, there was one part slightly out of place, one last thing he needed for everything to be just right. He looked at Sarah and saw her gentle glow of love. He saw the peace, the contentment that comes only when you are fulfilling your destiny. In her eyes, he saw their future as well as their past. In her eyes, he saw the one last thing he needed. 

He put his arm around her shoulders and held her close while they walked the last block. He stopped a few feet in front of the wooden gabled house, and Sarah laughed as he pulled her close. She threw her arms around his neck and pointed her face up, ready to be kissed. He couldn’t resist that look and he acquiesced, gladly. Then he stepped back to look at her.   

“Are you certain about this?” he asked. “About being with me, now, the way I am?”

Sarah shook her head. She stood on her toes so she could take his face between her hands. “James, how many times do we have to go over this? I loved you as you were then, and I love you as you are now. I told you, I’m here and I’ll never leave you ever.”

He kneeled while he held her hand to his lips. He wanted to start their future together, all the happy nights, months, and years they would have together. It was the way it had happened then, in front of that very house, the one his father had built for them when he knew she would be his wife. A few hours earlier it all could have ended for another century, or millennia, or forever. But that night he was there, he was willing, and he was asking her to marry him. He knew how lucky he was then to marry for love, and he knew how lucky he was now.  

“Yes, yes, James, of course I’ll be your wife. You’re my dear and loving husband. I love you.”

“You see,” James said, “second chances happen. If you’re lucky.”

“We are lucky,” Sarah said. “Everyone should be so lucky.”

CHAPTER 25

How long would you wait for the one you loved? James had waited over three hundred years. 

Their second wedding was different. The first had been an afternoon affair after harvest season, a simple ceremony where they pledged their commitment, knowing in their hearts that their love would span eternity. Their second wedding took place in the luminous warmth of an early summer night at Jennifer’s house, a Victorian-era home where the rose-filled backyard glowed with white Christmas lights, candles and incense burning all around. Jennifer presided over the ceremony like an ethereal princess in her flowing robe, her long auburn hair loose around her shoulders. Their guests stood in a sacred circle holding white tapered candles, sending light across the night. Sarah wore a crown of flowers, James a crown of ivy.       

This was a traditional Wiccan hand-binding ceremony, and their friends had important roles to play. Martha stood to the north and held a fan to represent air since it was her connection to unseen things that helped Sarah realize all of who she was and who she could be. Olivia stood to the south and held a red candle to represent fire. Sarah’s mother, who came to Salem from Boston after all, stood to the east and held a blue crystal to represent earth. Jocelyn stood to the west and held a glass of water. One by one they put their items on the altar, which the loving couple kneeled before, their hands bound by a woven cloth rope. The rope was not a life-stealing binding as the iron chains had been. This was a warming, loving connection. It was right that they should be tied together that way. Jennifer waved a bouquet of fresh scented herbs around them to ward off evil spirits. Then, before she began the giving of the rings, she slipped the rope from their hands with the knot still intact, signifying that husband and wife would always be bound in marriage. 

       Jennifer said, “Now you are bound one to the other with a tie not easy to break. Grow in wisdom and love so your marriage will be strong. So your love will last in this lifetime. And beyond.”

       Timothy began sweeping with a straw broom, pushing away bad luck and impurities, leaving the sacred circle fresh and new.

       Jennifer said, “I take you my heart at the rising of the moon and the setting of the stars. To love and honor you through all our lives together. May we always be reborn so that we may meet and love one another again. And remember. May we always remember.”

       To end the ceremony, James read Anne Bradstreet’s poem. Sarah couldn’t stop the happy tears as she heard the words that expressed their love, then and now: 

      
…Then while we live, in love let’s so persever

          That when we live no more, we may live ever.

After the ceremony, Sarah pointed out that it was just like the end of a Jane Austen story since Austen’s novels end with the happy couple getting married.

“Is this the end of the story?” James asked.

“Of course not,” she said, smiling that smile he loved to see. “This is only the beginning.” 

The only pause of the night was when he saw his wife looking over the top of Jennifer’s fence, scanning the empty street. She seemed anxious somehow, almost frightened.

“What are you looking for?” he asked.

Sarah shook her head. “I’m still expecting to see Kenneth Hempel jump out at us from behind the bushes. I keep thinking I see him there. My imagination must be getting the best of me.”

James brushed her curls from her face, leaning close and wallowing in the sensuous joy of strawberries and cream. He kissed her forehead, both of her cheeks, her lips. He lingered on her mouth a long time.

“What was I worried about again?” Sarah said.

James laughed. “I don’t think you need to worry about Kenneth Hempel right now. He won’t be bothering us again any time soon.”

Sarah looked at their guests, saw them happy and laughing. “What do you think he would say if he could see us tonight? Do you think he’d change his mind about his hunt?” 

“I doubt it. His vengeance is not against those like Timothy, Jocelyn, or me. He wants retribution against the wild ones like the one that killed his father. But you can’t tame unruly vampires any more than you can tame unruly humans.” He kissed his wife’s lips again. “In just a few short weeks Kenneth Hempel has become a distant memory, like a story told ages ago.”

“Like a fable or a legend.”

“That’s right. Tonight I remarried the only woman I have ever loved. In over three hundred years there has been no one in my heart but you, and that is all that matters now.”

“And if Hempel comes back?” 

“As long as we’re together, everything will be fine. Remember, I’ll never leave you ever.”

“And I promise you the same.”

As their guests mingled, James introduced his wife to others who came to celebrate the night, friends he had known, some for generations, and she was happy to meet them and know them. He even invited Geoffrey, who seemed pleased to be there, proud of his vampling. James laughed when he heard Geoffrey boasting to a white-skinned friend: “I turned James. That’s right, I turned him. He’s my vampling.”