The sea is wide,

Our love is wider,

Covering the earth from end to end.

Walk beside me,

Through wind and weather,

For all the years on earth we’ll spend.

I feel like I was born today

We leave behind a past of sorrow.

Going forward through the sunlight,

Hand in hand, and soul’s united.”

Dar let her voice trail off, and she fell silent, uncomfortably aware of the stares focused on her. What had she been thinking of? She sighed.


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Melissa Good

At least it was over. She lifted her eyes to Kerry’s face almost furtively, then stilled, seeing the tears running down her lover’s cheeks.

In pure reflex, she lifted a hand and brushed them away. ”Wasn’t that bad, was it?” she joked faintly. ”I didn’t get a chance to practice it.”

She paused. ”Much.”

”Wh...” Kerry's voice broke, and she cleared her throat, then tried again. ”It was gorgeous...awesome...where did you find it?” she asked.

”The song? And my god, Dar...you should sing more often. You have a beautiful voice.”

A murmur agreed with her, causing Dar to glance around self-consciously. ”Thanks.” She was painfully aware of the deep blush coloring her skin, and was glad of her base tan to cover most of it.

Kerry moved closer and enfolded her in a hug, burying her face into Dar’s chest and squeezing her tightly. She returned the hug, looking over Kerry’s shoulder to see quietly respectful glances back at her. Well. That went better than expected. ”So...I um...” Dar realized she was rooted in place by her blonde lover. ”Hope everyone’s hungry.

They packed enough food to feed half the office.”

That broke the reverent tension, and everyone relaxed. Dar smiled as she felt Kerry’s hands clench in her shirt.

Yeah. Definitely different.

Kerry sniffed, and backed off a little, lifting her head to peer up at Dar. ”Hang on. I’ve got one more thing.”

Everyone turned to watch her, as she pulled the wooden box from her bag, then handed the bag back to Colleen. She opened the case and the sun poured in, sparking brilliance from the crystals.

Dar blinked. ”Wow.”

Kerry held her hands out. ”Hold the box for me?”

Dar did, cradling it in her palms as Kerry pulled the joined crystals out. ”I’m, um...I’m not sure where these came from, originally,” Kerry stated softly. ”They probably have a history we’ll never know, but I really liked the way they’re both very unique.” She parted the two pieces, holding them up to the light. ”But they fit together so perfectly.”

She mated them with a tiny, satisfying click. ”I hope we can do the same.”

Dar smiled at her. ”I love it. They’re beautiful. I can’t believe they turned out so nice.”

Kerry beamed, then looped one chain over her hand and opened the other, leaning forward, and lifting her arms up.

”Wrong one,” Dar stated softly, then she blinked, a little startled.

Kerry looked at her for a long moment, then she nodded, and changed hands, fastening the other necklace around Dar’s smoothly tanned neck. She kissed her gently, then stood back, as Dar took the other chain, and fastened it around her, and the crystal nestled itself into the hollow of her throat with a sense of quiet belonging.


Hurricane Watch

361

Blue eyes met green, in a glance as old as time.

They kissed again, as the sun bathed them, sparkling the waters that surrounded the island as though dancing off crystal walls.

”OH NO.” COLLEEN lifted a cup and sucked down a mouthful of the fragrant peach ice tea. ”They say going downtown at night’s dangerous, let me tell you, it’s got nothing on a drop in at the local library.”

They were seated in the shade, sprawled in the soft sand as they lingered over breakfast, the warm sun and the steady breeze making it too comfortable to want to move. Dar was stretched out, her feet half buried in the sand, leaning on a piece of driftwood with Kerry curled up on her side pressed against her.

”C’mon, Colleen, how dangerous can a library be? What did you do, go there at midnight?” Kerry objected, with a grin. ”I’ve been to the beach branch. It’s safe enough.” She paused. ”Well, except for the creepy guys sequestered back by the periodicals, that is.”

Colleen held up a hand. ”Oh no, no...it was in barroooaaaadd daylight. I just went into the main branch, to look up some material for that anthropology class I’m taking.”

”What made you pick that?” Mari asked, curiously.

”That Circle stuff.” Colleen responded succinctly. ”Anyway, so I go in and ask for these reference books, and the desk people look at me like I’m speaking one of the three languages that aren’t spoken in Miami, right?”

”Right.” Kerry tangled her fingers with Dar’s and smiled.

”So, they tell me that’s kept in the special research section, and I’ve got to go back and see the oracle,” the redhead stated.

”Oracle?” Duks leaned forward. ”M’dear, that’s ancient history.”

”No joke,” Colleen responded. ”So, I follow this guy back, and he leads me down about twenty minutes full of winding passageways.”

”And you should have exited into the Biscayne Aquifer by then,”

Dar remarked dryly.

”Shh,” Colleen scolded. ”It’s me story, alright? Anyway, so we finally get there, and it’s the weirdest thing. I thought I was trapped in a santeria rite. There was this desk, right? And around it was stacks and stacks of these rough loosleaf notebooks, and shelves, with the weirdest things on them.”

Now they were all watching her.

”Candles, lit, mind you, and skulls! Skulls! Heads everywhere, and little bits of armor and leather things I'd rather not think about, and a couple of riding crops that I swear had feather dusters tied to them.”

”You’re making this up,” Kerry stated flatly.

”I am not, and behind the desk, there was this woman wearing this weird mask covered in feathers, typing away at a computer.”


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Melissa Good

”Sounds like a lunatic,” Dar offered. ”Did you get your research material?”

”What?” Colleen laughed. ”Are you kidding? I took one look at the pair of fur lined cuffs on the desk and got my lily white Irish butt right on out of there. Must have set the world land speed record on the way out.” She shook her head. ”I know some people really get into their job, but Sweet Mary!”

They all laughed. ”Well, I suppose it’s like us nerds having little stuffed Dogbert dolls on our monitors.” Kerry grinned. ”Dar has Catbert, though.”

They looked at Dar, who shrugged. ”Gift from console operations.”

She glanced up as Chino started barking, somewhere off in the brush to their left. ”Chino!”

The puppy just barked harder, then the brush rustled sharply.

”I’ll get her.” Dar sighed, then hoisted herself to her feet and brushed a layer of sand off her legs. She plowed off through the soft surface, heading towards the sound of the excited puppy. ”Chino!”

She pushed through some brush, then froze, as she heard a low voice. A moment later, a grin spread over her face and she hurried forward.

”Would you shut up ya little bag of mouse squeaks?” the voice was saying, in a loud whisper.

Dar parted the last bushes and peered through. ”Hey.”

Cantankerous blue eyes glared back at her. ”Damn dog.”

Andrew Roberts was hunkered down, a light three quarter wetsuit covering part of his body, and a neatly stacked pile of diving equipment just off to one side. In the sharply patterned sunlight, the horrible scars on his face were very evident, but even that couldn’t hide the smile as he gazed up at his daughter. ”Hey there, rugrat.”

Dar ambled over and dropped to her knees next to him. ”Thanks for the treats. I’m glad you could make it out here, but how?”

”Ah could just go all military on you and say them is classified information,” the older man rasped. ”But the truth is your little kumquat got hold of me and batted those pretty green eyes.”

Dar smiled, and glanced down. ”She’s really something else, huh?”

”Ya got that right.” Andrew studied his hands, which were petting a contented Chino. ”That was a real nice ceremony,” he told her. ”Who’s Grizzly Adams?”

A soft chuckle. ”Kerry’s pastor from Michigan. He’s on vacation.”

A little silence fell. ”Ya know I always wondered what I’d do if I had to walk you down some long damn aisle,” Andrew mused. ”I didn’t think anyone living could convince me whoever was standing up on the other end was good enough for my kid.”

Dar sat down in the sand next to him, and circled her knees with both arms. ”I can remember thinking that I wouldn’t marry anyone unless I could find someone just like you,” she told him quietly, feeling Hurricane Watch

363

a hand settle on to her shoulder. ”Then I realized you’re one of kind.”

”Paladar, if you make me start crying, I’m gonna whup you,” her father growled. ”Bad enough I had to listen to all that pretty poetry and you singing and all that...like to have drowned back here. I almost had to get my damn desal kit out.”

Dar had to let out a soft laugh. ”Sorry.” She studied the ground, a soft gray sand mixed with broken seashells. ”Thank you for coming. It means a lot to me.”

Andrew reached over and awkwardly stroked her hair. ”Makes me feel good to see you feel good, rugrat,” he murmured. ”I think you found a real good one there.”

Dar turned her head and gazed up at him. ”Thanks. I do too.” She paused. ”You want some breakfast?”

”You telling me you had that yacht catered?” He laughed.

A sheepish chuckle. ”Something like that. C’mon, come sit by us, and join the party.”

A quietly sad look colored his eyes. ”Naw, you know I’m not one for company, rugrat.”

Dar nodded. ”Me either, but I found out that sometimes what matters is what’s important to other people, and I’d really love to introduce my friends to my father.” She kept her gaze even. ”Please, Daddy?”

Andrew looked at her for a long, tense moment. A terrible, aching fear was the chief emotion Dar could see in his eyes, which fluttered closed, then opened again as he let out a breath. ”You don’t know what you’re asking me, Paladar.”

Dar smiled wistfully. ”Yes, I do.”

Then she waited, listening to the soft sound of the waves rustling all around them, and the contented breathing of the puppy curled at their feet.

”All right,” her father finally said. ”If you could get up and sing in front of all them people, I guess I kin do this,” he grumbled. ”C’mon already, I’m hungry.”

Dar pushed herself to her feet and took his hand, ignoring the glare as she lead the way back towards the beach, Chino tucked under one arm.

”WHERE DID SHE go off to?” Kerry worried, getting to her knees.

”This is a really small island and that’s a really big puppy. She can’t have gotten that lost that fast.” She peered into the brush, shading her hands, then stopped, as her breath caught. ”Oh.”

”She got someone with her?” Duks lifted himself up on one elbow.

”Where did they come from?”

Kerry watched the approaching duo with a sense of wonder. ”No, I can’t believe it.” She got up and trotted over, giving Andrew a big smile 364

Melissa Good

and throwing her arms around him. ”Dad, this is great.”

Dar’s father stopped dead, and managed to give the impression he’d been attacked by a large, friendly, talking alligator. ”She do that to everyone?” he asked Dar, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing.

”No,” Dar told him. ”Only people she likes.”

Andrew sighed, then hugged Kerry back. ”Hi there.” He joined them as they walked back to the rest of the group, facing curious eyes which glanced at the tall man, then flicked to Dar in question.

”Folks, say hi to my father,” Dar announced quietly. ”His name’s Andrew. Dad, this is Duks and Mariana, and Maria, who work with us, and Pastor Robert, from Michigan.”

Everyone was a touch awkward, but Andrew rose to the occasion and settled down, his wetsuit creaking slightly. ”Nice ta meet you,” he stated bluntly, then glanced at his daughter. ”Were you saying something about eggs?”

”Dios Mio…” Maria said suddenly. ”You are the one who is sending those beautiful flowers! I am recognizing your voice.”

”Oh, the peach colored roses?” Mariana smiled. ”I was wondering...”