Chapter 125 - Something of a Surprise "
Will fifty years go by fast?" I asked, still holding his hands.
"
It'll be over before you know it," Pete answered easily. "
Just like that."
I'm still doing my best to come to terms with it. I can dimly recall the very beginning--before even Serena existed. We were still planning. We hadn't even considered the cells.
She came up with the idea, once the idea surfaced in the Immortal Dynasty world.
She built them,
she decided, and I would have to trust
her.
Pete walked me back to the house, right up to the door. I was Harry Potter, walking through the Forbidden Forest with the Resurrection Stone in my pocket: I suddenly realized all of the things I took for granted. The sky is a beautiful, brilliant blue, seeming both flat and infinite. Grass is so green, so soft, nature's emerald. And the sun! It's--
Once Pete left, I looked outside, at the wedding arch. The flowers planted for Grandma's wedding are still there, but the wood is painted bone-white, and the chairs were all packed away a long time ago. Now, the wedding area is the gnome playground.
I celebrated my birthday the moment the clock struck 12--Cinderella moment, right? Standing over my cake, I looked at Mother and, for the first time, noticed the dark circles under her eyes that she had tried to cover with makeup. She had reached the top of her career, but at what expense?
Well, I suppose that doesn't matter now, since she just quit her job to be exiled to the basement with me. Despite myself, I was so excited to become a young adult: it's kind of the moment every girl dreams about. I could just imagine being a young woman with pretty clothes and perfect hair--gah!
Oh. Far better.
According to the record I've found, I'm the compilation of all of the "trademark" features of the Elysi family, each of them to a slightly lesser degree than in other family members. TO a lesser degree, I have Miles' mouth, Lolita's nose, and eyes that are from Kaylynn. At least, I think so, since Stephen's eyes are nothing like mine.
I was zapped down right away, and am . . .
adjusting. Most of the time, I just write. I write about all of the adventures of my family, based on the records that I have compiled over the past several years. You'd be surprised about how much there is.
Mother mostly rocks or watches romantic TV, all of those old black-and-white movies. I know that she's battling herself over what will happen. For the rest of us, the End is a release. For her, it's a decision.
Of all the grandparents, Bree is the most lucid. Then again, she's the one with the most to be lucid about.
* * * "
Okay . . . we need to talk about this."
"
Your rear end is all over my Ambrosia!" Iris Bianca protested.
"
Now that is something I never wanted or needed to see," Kara muttered.
Iris Bianca paged Serena (it was a system she had set up for convenience's sake):
Code Pants. She teleported up, coaxed Nicholas into his clothes, and got Iris Bianca fresh Ambrosia. Nicholas stood around, vacantly tilting his head to the side.
"
Forty-two more days," Kara sighed.
"
Forty-two more days," the rest agreed.
I had worried about maxing the writing career. In the end, with over 80 books under my belt, it took three days. Five, if you count the time spent writing as a teenager. A complete list of my books (Yes, I admit I wasn't very creative. In my defense, I expected to have to write more books!):
Serena:
Serena and Thornton
A Golden-Haired Witch
Cooking Up Romance
Magic, Mischief, and Men: 3,000 RecipesNicholas:
Nicholas and Lolita
In Love With a Ghost
Proposal on the Bridge
Wedding in FranceBree:
Bree and Brandon
Child Warrior
Proper Use of the Heat of the Moment Kiss
Teenage GrandmasterKara:
Kara and Bianca
Radioactive
She's a Rebel!
The Wild One(s)Iris Bianca:
Iris Bianca and Bubba
Lonely Lilac
A Study in Purple
We Found Love in a Hopeless LampMikayla:
Mikayla and Jerry
Butterflies
Colors, Colors, Colores, Everywhere!
Fighting the Alien GeneralNataliya:
Nataliya's Juggling Act
Precocious PInk
Flirtatious and Loving It
Choosing StephenIlene Azokka
Ilene Azokka and Pete
Dreams
Princess of Light
The Other Half
The Elysi Immortal Dynasty
Blue, Yellow, Red, Green, Purple, Orange, Pink, Light
While I was busy, my grandmas were planning something of a surprise. Mother tracked down Pete, who had gotten a job at the salon, and set him up at his own station.
Grandma paged me that it was my turn to pay the bills, so I teleported up to the surface.
The teleporter's coordinates had been tinkered a little, so instead of landing next to the mailbox I found myself swept into the arms of a very handsome young man.
"
Pete! What are you--"
"
Your grandparents worked it all out," he interrupted with an effortless grin. "
They and whatever thing they commune with decided that we can see each other once every life stage--maybe a little more, if we can convince them."
"
I've missed you so much," I murmured, touching his face. "
You don't know what it's like down there--it's like you go into a trance. You don't know whether it's day or night, awake or asleep, alive or dead. Everything just feels so numb."
"
You're almost done," he said softly. "
You've finished everything, now all there is to do is wait. You can be numb, and confused, and in a trance, but just remember that I'm waiting for you."
I sighed deeply. "
If you can endure fifty years of being alone and being aware of being alone, I guess I can endure not noticing time passing for fifty years. But . . . there's only one thing I want to do right now."
"
And what is that?" he asked playfully.
Drawing him close, I whispered, "
You know, there are eight empty beds in this house and seven empty showers."
A little giddy, we chose Serena's room. It felt a little strange, almost sacrilegious, to use a bed that had been empty for hundreds of years, but with all of the pictures removed it was easy to pretend that the blue room was just an empty bedroom.
"
Are you sure about this?"
"
We're sitting on a bed and I'm slowly edging towards you. What do you think?"
"
Do you want to have kids?" I reached for Pete's hand under the blankets, gazing into his eyes.
"
Lots of them," he said with a mischievous grin. "
We'll have six wonderful children, then when they're all grown up we'll have six more. Of course, we won't be able to have any kids until . . . you know."
"
No," I agreed, "
but we can practice. I want to have a baby on the first try, so it's very important to practice."
"
What do you say we go practice in the shower next?"
"
That sounds lovely."
