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Now, speaking of stories, on to Providence! Dear readers, I proudly present to you the FINAL chapter in this adventure we've shared through the quaint town of the Reverend and the School teacher.
Chapter
19: The Morning After
The morning after Christmas
was hardly ever one to be remembered. Usually it was filled with the sorrows or
the joys of relatives leaving. In Providence, like most other communities
around the world, it would be the husbands who were secretly gilded with
happiness to see their in-laws off while their wives wept for the same reason.
The children were mostly always indifferent with the comings or goings of
relatives, for they were usually in a state of placid post-Christmas joy that
was an unknown state to most grown-ups.
However, on the morning
after this Christmas, Thane and Laudine were on that same euphoric plain.
Tucked and interlaced
together on the couch, she kissed his hand then chuckled as she drowsily asked,
“How many Hail Marys for this one?”
He shrugged and answered,
“I’d wager a fair few.”
“Well, maybe not so many if
you think about it,” she reasoned. “You did sort-of marry us after all and we
did not do anything wrong. We agreed to that last night.”
Thane laughed and said, “I
don’t think that having a horse and maybe a few vampire spies as witnesses
actually counts as a legal ceremony, which is why, again, I think that we
should marry today.”
Laudine chuckled as she gently
untangled herself from her love. They made it through the night sleeping
soundly side by side. It had been the best night of sleep that either had
enjoyed in a long time. The school teacher stretched her arms and legs while
rolling over onto her back as best she could on the cramped couch. She turned
her face to the dear man beside her. He, like her, was glowing. Laudine ran her
knuckles down his cheek and in the morning’s light, her eyes noticed that
something was amiss. Upon further examination of the back of her hand, Ms.
Grace saw that a scar, which had been on her skin since she was a child, was
gone. It was such a queer thing to think that the vampire’s blood could heal
wounds from so long ago.
“Is everything alright?”
Thane asked, adjusting himself to be able to see her better. The couch had them
very close, so he had to lean back.
The woman nodded, but
replied, “Yes, it’s just…it’s odd to see my hand without scars.” She flexed her
fingers once or twice before elaborating pensively, “I was not in the house all
those years ago when my home erupted in flames. I had snuck out to do something
or other, but I can’t remember what. I was probably in the woods with the
girls. My mischief saved my life that night.” Laudine sighed and put her hand
down to speak properly. “My house was ablaze when I returned. I’m sure that my
parents were already long gone at that moment, but um, I was certainly not
thinking rationally then, so I rushed into my house through a window. I’ll
never forget how stifling and how loud it was in there, in the bakery. It was
what I can only imagine hell would be like.
“I could barely see
anything, and actually, I-I think that was the night when my eyes started to go
fickle on me, it was so bright and there was ash everywhere. But I was
determined, I don’t know for what, but something told me to go inside and to
stay there, which I did until I saw my father’s pocket watch on the table. I
grabbed it, stupidly, and it burned this hand,” Laudine held up her left hand,
“So I threw it up in the air and it landed on the back of this hand,” she held
up her right hand, which had been scarred. “It wasn’t until then that my ration
kicked in and I used my handkerchief to pick it up.
“I ran out of the house, I
ran for my life,” Laudine stopped from the provocation of her own foolishness. “It’s
odd to not see the marks from my past, you know? Those scars were the reminders
of what happened that night, but now it’s like it never happened. Does that
make any sense?”
“It does,” the reverend
answered truthfully. He took hold of her hand and kissed her knuckles, “Perhaps
their erasure is a means for closure.”
“Perhaps,” she airily
replied. Maybe he was right, but Laudine’s concentration faltered from her
scars as Thane’s lips kissed her wrist and his hands stroked the length of her
forearm. The touches felt so sweet and the provocation was too wonderful, but
they had vowed to stay morally bound. They kissed and then simply held each
other for some time.
But there were ghosts dancing
in Laudine’s thoughts. She decided to say what had been in the haunt of her
thoughts all night, “Thane.” She pulled away from him to speak. “I know that
this is silly of me, but I cannot help to be afraid.”
“Afraid?” the reverend
dutifully asked. He sat up a little closer to Laudine so that maybe just the
touch of his body against hers would be an assurance of his intent to be her
guardian. “Afraid of what?”
Laudine then confessed, “I
am afraid of…of Mr. Higley.”
Thane scoffed, he hardly
thought that prick to be of any threat. “Laudine,” he sweetly started. “Mr.
Higley only puffs a lot of hot air.”
“You don’t understand,” Ms.
Grace quickly defended. She sat up completely as she explained, “I have reason
to fear him. I, I didn’t tell you this before because I didn’t want you to
know, but…those bruises on my back, they weren’t from anything falling on me.”
(Due to Lin’s suggestion, the reverend already had that figured, but he had
been afraid himself to admit what the potential other idea suggested.) It was
not easy for her to confess, but she knew that it had to be done. Laudine
swallowed hard then said, “Mr. Higley tried to force me into my house.” Her
eyes filled with tears as the fear of that moment that had consumed her caught
up to her thoughts. “I think the blackguard meant to cause me a great deal more
harm than what he already did.”
Thane did not waste an
instant. He pulled her tightly into his arms. He cradled her against his body,
offering himself as a bulwark from her fears. Even though he did not initially
consider Mr. Higley to be of any relevant threat, he was now furious with the
man for harming Ms. Grace. He would be sure to do everything in his power to
make that twit regret laying a finger on her. The peacebuilding skills that he
had as a reverend would be thrown to the wayside in order to defend and avenge
the love of his life. “He can’t hurt you any more, Laudine,” Thane assured. “I
will never let him lay another hand
on you.” Thane kissed her. “I promise.”
Ms. Grace sniffled then
looked to her guardian, but before he could say anything a rather unpleasant
sounding knock reverberated throughout the house.
Someone was at the front
door.
Mr. Tamrin and Ms. Grace
looked to each other in their moment of panic. As much as they were in love,
they could not be caught lying together. Such an act was unspeakable in
Providence. Without a word to each other, both hopped off the couch, but of
course Ms. Grace’s rain-soaked clothes from last night were sprawled out in a
bizarre trail that led to the fireplace. The poor woman wrapped the blanket and
the damp clothes into her arms as fast as she could before scooting herself to
the door of her room. She peaked down the hall to see if she could discern who
was out there, but she went flying back into her room when a second angry knock
beat the aperture.
“My God, who could it
possibly be?” she whispered to Mr. Tamrin as he struggled to tuck his shirt
into his pants to make himself look presentable. Nothing was ever easy when one
was in a rush.
“I don’t know,” he answered.
He actually did have a pretty good guess as to who it could be considering that
the knocker was at the front door, which was hardly neighborly. Mr. Tamrin
quickly tied the top of his shirt. “I’m coming,” Mr. Tamrin announced to the
knocker as he walked out of the living room toward the front, rushing to the door.
He gave one last look behind to ensure that Ms. Grace was safe in the other
room before he opened the door.
His gut feeling had been
correct. The man standing in front of him was hardly one to be considered a part
of Providence’s community.
“Mr. Higley,” the reverend
hardly welcomingly greeted. He said the man’s name very loud so to give Ms.
Grace a warning as to who was here. (Her hands started shaking as she fussed to
change from her sleeping clothes as quickly as possible). Mr. Tamrin was
disgusted that this poor excuse for a man would dare to come to his stoop. “I
did not see you at church yesterday; have you come to ask forgiveness?”
Mr. Higley was not in a
joking mood. “No,” he said. He was here to collect. “Look, I know that a lot of
people trust you because you’re a Holy soul and all, and even though my own mother
seems to think that a weekend with you would edify my fiancé’s soul, I don’t
care. Mr. Tamrin, I am here for Ms. Grace.”
“I beg your pardon?” Mr.
Tamrin crossed his arms over his chest and he leaned against the doorframe. If
Mr. Higley thought that he would be able to reclaim the lady after what he
nearly did to her, he had another thing coming.
Mr. Higley shifted himself
as well, puffing his chest forward and crossing his arms. “Look, I let Ms.
Grace stay here for two nights because I knew that she would be in shock from
what happened, but it’s only a couple of days until our wedding, so I would
like to have my fiancé back.”
“That is not possible,” the
reverend said warningly. His voice was reminiscent of a growl.
“Oh yeah? Why not?” Mr.
Higley asked. He was not like the others of Providence; his perception had
changed. He did see Mr. Tamrin as an
eligible bachelor more likely to woo Ms. Grace’s affections than anyone else. “That
girl owes me.”
“She owes you nothing,” Mr.
Tamrin angrily and incredulously protested. He stood straight and domineering
over the brute. “If you think for one minute that I will let you take her away
after what you tried to do to her the other day, you are very wrong, sir.”
“Are you threatening me, reverend?” Mr. Higley asked with a chuckle. His
good looks prevented his head from fully processing the seriousness of the man
he was confronting. But after a stone-cold look from the reverend, Mr. Higley
was able to appreciate the severity of the situation. The testosterone in his
system was not keen to being challenged. He took a step forward meeting the proposed
confrontation. His rage was clearly visible. “I don’t know what that girl said
to you, but whatever it was is a lie. I only walked her home. She opened the
door and the whole bloody house came down. It’s a wonder either of us are
alive.”
“No. You know what is a
wonder,” the reverend growled, he had enough of this boy’s attitude and lies.
Without even bothering to look at who might see his deed, the reverend grabbed
Mr. Higley by the collar and shook him. “It’s a wonder that filth like you
could consider yourself good enough or even worthy of a woman as perfect as Ms.
Grace.” The reverend pushed Mr. Higley back as he released him.
Ms. Grace emerged from her
room completely dressed in time to see Mr. Higley charge the reverend. The two
men came stumbling into the reverend’s house as they viciously swung and struck
at each other. Ms. Grace could not believe what she was witnessing and neither
could the reverend’s watching neighbors, the Joyce’s, who had a good view into
the reverend’s house from their front window.
Mr. Tamrin managed to again
push Mr. Higley away from him, he was the bigger of the two after all. The men
stood red faced staring at each other with their furry fizzing wickedly for a
moment.
“Gentlemen, please,” Ms. Grace cried, hoping to
restore order within the house of the beekeeper.
The men looked simply
murderous.
However, the intensity of
Mr. Higley’s expression became only more concentrated when his eyes fell upon
the golden band on Ms. Grace’s left hand. In an instant he realized what the
reverend and the school teacher had done. In his twisted little mind, Mr.
Higley’s rage was ignited from the way in which he perceived the situation. He firmly
believed that the reverend stole his plan of claiming the girl so that no other
man would be interested. The man named Brian Higley turned his face full of
scorn to Ms. Grace. He shook his head once then with his hands folded as fists,
his voice filled with a
demonic cruelty as said, “You
stupid bitch.”
Though fear enveloped Ms.
Grace, an emotion completely different filled the reverend. And then like a golden-main
lion protecting his pride, the reverend charged. “How dare you speak to her so
coarsely!” the reverend roared. “How dare you call yourself a man!” Thane
grabbed Mr. Higley’s collar once more, but this time his point was more
poignant.
The reverend wound his arm
far back.
Mr. Higley nearly collapsed
from seeing the fist of rage come rocketing toward his face.
With a smack from the
contact and a crack from the break in his nose, the man named Brian Higley
learned the true meaning of pain. But Mr. Tamrin was not quite done. Brian was
hunched over and clinging to his face from the throbbing ache and once more
Thane seized his opportunity, his pride was still in danger. Grabbing Brian by
the scruff of clothes behind his neck, Thane wound back once more and sent Mr.
Higley literally flying back with a single upper hook to the brat’s chin.
Mr. Higley tumbled down the
steps leading to the beekeepers home. There was not so much as ice on the
ground to catch him. The rains had washed away all the white leaving instead a
delightfully deep mud pile for Mr. Higley to land in with a splash. His perfect
face was swollen, bleeding, and doused with mud.
Ms. Grace rushed to Mr.
Tamrin’s side. She clung to his arm to see if her guardian was alright. The
reverend stood tall in the open aperture. His hand was throbbing, but that did
not matter. He proudly looked down upon the threat he eradicated from his home.
He partially wished that it was spring or summer so too that his bees could
join the battle, but for now an appropriate enough lesson had been taught.
Mr. Higley screamed and
grunted from his pain, but no one came to his aid. The Joyces were standing in
their yard watching this scene along with Mrs. Heithly on her own. They were
all amazed at the extent the reverend went to protect his guest Ms. Grace.
Mr. Tamrin did not notice
his audience as he gave one last warning to Mr. Higley, “And that is not even half of what you deserve, Brian Higley,
after what you have done and what you attempted. But if you ever dare to take a
single step towards my fiancé, I will
ensure that you receive full justice for your deeds.” Through the blood and the
mud it was plain to see that there was nothing but fear stricken across the damaged
face of Mr. Higley. The reverend kept from smiling at the pathetic expression
of his foe as he pointed his arm in the direction of Mr. Higley’s home to
command, “Now, get!”
The boy named Brian Higley
scuffled to his feet and ran home with his tail between his legs. The Joyces clapped and cheered at
the sight of the wimp running away and even Mrs. Heithly said with a voice as
strong as anyone’s, “Good riddance, you buffoon!” she shook a fist at Mr.
Higley’s backside as it disappeared down the road.
Laudine smiled at the
glorious sight of all her troubles running away from her for once. She sighed
happily as the reverend turned her to face him. They laughed from their
disbelief of everything that just passed. Before the eyes of the Joyces and
Mrs. Heithly, the reverend openly pulled Ms. Grace’s face to his. During their
victorious and passionate kiss out on the porch, precisely as predicted by Mr.
Winford, the witnesses hooped and hollered in cheer as they realized that there
possibly was no greater pair than the reverend and the school teacher.
“You know, I like this side
of you,” Laudine said lightly as he held her tightly against his body. In the
background, the youngest of the Joyce’s daughters went running off to spread
the incredible news of the spectacular and unforeseen union of Ms. Grace and
Mr. Tamrin. Ms. Grace saw the girl run down the road, sending the wandering
chickens fluttering in every which direction, with an only too obvious task in
her mind. “Oh, Lord. She’s off to the teashop, Thane,” Laudine quietly said. She
was justifiably nervous and bashful for the town to find out about their amore.
“Everyone is going to know about us before the end of the hour. People are
looking!”
The reverend chuckled. He
did not care. Again Thane pulled Laudine’s lips to his and he kissed her deeply.
Their lips parted only long enough for Thane to say, “Let them see.”
Before Laudine ever became
obsessed with time and before she lost her ability to eat a peach, she knew
with every certainty of her heart that the reverend would forever belong to her
and that she would forever belong to him.
End
Well my dear readers that is the end of this story...for now. Because, if you read with me, you'll eventually find that I have a hard time letting characters go. They become such an important part of my life that they feel like close friends, family. This is not the end of the road for Thane and Laudine, merely the end of this chapter of their story.
This blog is certainly not over as well. Be sure to tune in next week for a whole new adventure in the Weekly Read!
Your humble author,
S. Faxon
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