“Sky, look!” Argan shouted from his window in the turret. He pointed to a simple rowboat out in the distant sea. He left the window and raced down to the water’s edge. Skylar and Argan watched in utter shock as the people in the boat materialized into Milicent and Noah. He rowed, she rode. Once they got within earshot, they could hear the bickering.
“You know, Mil, you haven’t done any of the rowing this entire trip,” he said.
“I never said I was going to,” she said.
They reached the shore and Milicent hopped out. She navigated the sand in her purple Louboutins as Noah collected a mountain of luggage from the boat. She was wearing a large, floppy, grape-colored hat and matching sheath dress.
“I could use a hand here,” Noah said to Argan.
“You’re on your own, buddy,” Argan said with a wide grin.
“Nice robe,” Noah said sarcastically.
Milicent walked by Skylar and started to remove her purple satin gloves. “You are dismissed,” she said, and headed toward the castle without another word.
Noah lagged behind with the bags, stopping every so often to shake the sand out of his Ferragamos.
Skylar and Argan didn’t say a word until they both disappeared from view.
“Holy cow,” she said. “I’m free.”
“Sophia is going to have her hands full with those two,” Argan said.
They looked at each other with giddy smiles.
“Take me home, Argan,” she said.
He picked her up in his arms and waded into the water. He kissed her softly on the lips … and then dumped her on her head.
She shot up out of the water, sputtering, hair dripping wet. “What the hell was that for?”
“You chose glory over me!” he said. “Don’t think that little detail just magically disappears now that you’ve escaped eternal servitude here.” He waded back to shore.
“Did it look like I had a choice to you?” she asked, following him.
“Uh, yeah.” He kept walking.
“Okay, so how long are you planning to stay mad at me, so I can plan the day?”
“I don’t know. Probably just five minutes, because I have to figure out how to get us out of here.”
“Since when are you my savior? I’ve done just fine on my …” She stopped herself. “Okay, I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” he said. “We could take their boat back to Vivienne’s tree.” He circled back to the shoreline to investigate the boat.
“Argan, what is that floating out there?” she asked, looking out at the sea. The moonlight was reflecting something in the water.
He squinted. “Looks like reflective tape.” He shrugged and resumed getting the boat away from shore. He hopped in. “Are you coming? I’m not waiting another moment.” He ditched his robe for the T-shirt and shorts underneath.
“Of course.” She waded over and jumped in the boat in her long dress.
When they were about fifty yards out, they identified the floating object. It was Kyle, unconscious in a reflective life vest.
“Leave him,” Argan said.
“Seriously?” Skylar asked.
“Fine, but he’s not coming back with us,” he said. “Take him to shore.”
Skylar grabbed Kyle’s vest and Argan rowed the boat close enough to drop Kyle on land. “Here’s your stop,” he said. He gave one strong yank on Kyle’s vest and heaved him onto the sand. Kyle never woke up.
“Is he dead?” Skylar asked.
“No, he’s just Kyle,” Argan said. “He’ll eventually come to and I’m sure Milicent will find plenty for him to do.”
They left him sleeping on the shore in the bright moonlight.
“I’ll never be so happy to see the sun as I will when we get home,” Skylar said. She took one last look behind her at the castle that had almost been hers for eternity. Sophia stood on the shore; she had come to say good-bye. A shiny black jaguar sat regally next to her. A beautiful green stone shone from its forehead.
“Is that Lucifer?” Argan asked as he waved to Sophia.
“Nah,” Skylar said doubtfully. “That would be weird.”
July 25, 2021
The morning of Skylar’s birthday, she stood on the porch of Ocean’s house with the blue ceramic urn holding Cassie’s ashes in her arms. She had agreed to bury them under the black tree now that Joshua’s ashes were there alone. She had waited a half hour; she finally gave up on Ocean and made her way across the back lawn alone.
The grass had gotten high again, and she bent to swat away something that grazed her leg. She thought it was a bug, but when she looked down, she saw fur. Startled, she let the urn slip out of her hands and it crashed to the ground. The wiry grass wasn’t soft enough to break its fall, and the urn cracked in half.
She knelt to salvage it but a wind kicked up. “Nana! Stop!” she shouted into the air, but it only increased. Skylar knew this was deliberate.
The ashes swirled up off the ground and sailed into the air. All she could do was watch the wind carry the remnants of Cassie’s body into the sky. And watching, she understood. Her mother had never wanted to be stuck in that urn. Now she was eternally free, flying into the ethers. Skylar smiled.
She looked at the ground. The pile of gray ash was gone. Left behind was one perfect round white crystal, lying in the rubble of the ceramic urn. “This I’m keeping,” she said. “My mother’s heart.” She walked back to the porch, leaving the ceramic for Ocean to deal with. “I’ll see you at three,” she shouted through cupped hands. Ocean never came out.
All Skylar wanted for her birthday was a gathering of her friends and family in her tiny house, so that’s what she’d planned. Since she’d been back home, she hadn’t done much of anything except catch up with those she’d missed. Cheveyo had been waiting for her and she’d enjoyed getting back to riding. She’d been dodging the dean about a job. She fully enjoyed not knowing her next move and wanted to live in the unknown for as long as possible.
She took a break from the festivities inside to get some fresh air and enjoy the sunshine. Seconds later, Ocean came barreling down the driveway on her motorcycle. She hopped off and pulled out a bakery box from her storage seat, and as she walked toward Skylar, she flipped it open. In it was one cupcake, its candle already lit.
“Make a wish!” she said.
Skylar stood on the steps of the porch with the hum of activity behind her. She closed her eyes and blew out the candle.
“Whad’ya wish for?” Ocean asked.
“World peace,” Skylar said.
“Good one,” Ocean said. “I saw you this morning. Sorry about the cat.”
“That was a cat?” Skylar shook her head. “It’s fine. It’s how things were meant to happen.”
“I’m not coming in,” Ocean said. “This is a gathering for family.”
Skylar looked at her. “You are family.”
Ocean smiled. “Okay,” she said, sitting on the steps. “Is Joel still mad at me?”
“About the thymus thing?” Skylar asked. “Not sure. He’s not allowed within a hundred yards of the White House, but he never goes anywhere, so I wouldn’t worry about it.”