“Enough.” Annani lifted her hand to stop Amanda’s tirade. “David and Sari are true-love mates. Everyone here realizes that the Fates worked long and diligently to bring them together. Do you doubt the Fates’ wisdom, Amanda?”
“It has nothing to do with the Fates. I just can’t understand the rush.”
Alena smiled. “To each her own, Amanda. I think that’s very romantic. Mother can marry them tomorrow if they wish.” She turned to Sari. “I say go for it. We are all here, and it’s a great opportunity.”
Sari wanted to marry David, but tomorrow?
“Can you stay a little longer?” she asked.
Annani nodded. “Would two more days suffice to organize a wedding party?”
“Hold on.” David lifted his hand. “I want to marry Sari as soon as possible, but I want my mother and sister to be at our wedding, which means that I need to invite my mother’s husband as well. Is that possible?”
Sari squeezed his hand. “Of course, my love. We can send the jet for them. They can attend the wedding, and when we return them to their home, we will thrall them to forget all that was out of the ordinary and the castle’s location.”
“Thank you. My mother would have never forgiven me if I got married without inviting her.”
63
David
After the family had left, Sari handed David her phone. “Are you ready to make the call, or do you need a little more time?”
He chuckled. “Given that your mother wants to leave in a couple of days, I don’t have the luxury of taking my time. I need a good story, though. My mother will probably think the reason for the shotgun wedding is that I got you pregnant. She’ll be disappointed to learn it isn’t so.”
Sari smiled. “Well, we can adjourn to the bedroom and give it our best try. Perhaps by the time your mother gets here, it will be true.”
“I wish.” He patted his lap.
Sari sat down and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Are we nuts for doing this, David? I’m not a rush person, and neither are you, and here we are talking about a wedding and having children after knowing each other for such a short time. This is fast even for immortals.”
“I know, and yet I’m convinced that we are doing the right thing.” He ran his hand over her back. “I never thought that I could fall in love so deeply. But then I never gave myself permission to do that because I was afraid of losing the people I love. I realize now that the fear was always there, even before Jonah’s death, and that was why I didn’t let myself get close even to my parents and siblings. Now I get why Stacy left me. She said that she didn’t feel the love, and she was right. I didn’t really love her. I convinced myself that she’d left me because she couldn’t deal with my grief and depression, but that was just the last straw.”
“If you didn’t love her, why did you want to marry her?”
“I thought I did. Subconsciously, I must have known that my feelings for her were superficial, and therefore her loss wouldn’t crush me.” He looked into Sari’s luminous eyes. “People hesitate to commit because they are afraid of getting trapped in a bad relationship or missing out on something better. Those were my fears. I was afraid of losing the people I love, and you freed me from the shackles of my own making. I don’t fear losing you because you are a practically indestructible immortal, because you are strong and resourceful, and because you have an entire clan who loves you and protects you. For the first time in my life, I can allow myself to leave my heart wide open and know that it is safe with you.” He cupped her cheek. “You fill it to the brim with light and love.”
For a long moment, Sari looked into his eyes, a thousand and one emotions running across her expressive face.
“I’m well acquainted with the fear of losing the people I love. We live under the constant threat of annihilation by Navuh and his Doomers. But my fear doesn’t run as deep as yours. As Olek, you lost your wife, your brother, and then your newborn child, and that pain stayed with you throughout your incarnations. The Fates must have decided that you’d suffered enough and that you deserve to be happy.”
David hoped so, but experience had taught him not to put too much faith in that hope.
Misery and heartache were the rule rather than the exception, and the vast majority of people carried around scars on their souls. Some were just better equipped to deal with the pain than others. They were more resilient, or less empathetic, or just decided to be happy despite their misfortunes.
David wished he could belong to the last group. He was resilient, but he was also sensitive and empathetic, and he hadn’t been strong enough to just decide to be happy and stick to that decision.
Perhaps if he had chosen a different profession, it would have been possible, but he didn’t regret becoming a psychologist and helping others deal with their pain. That was his calling in life, and he was good at what he did.
“You are a precious gift, my Sari, and you make me happier than I’ve ever been. But I can’t let go of my fears entirely. My remaining family, my colleagues, my students, and many others who I care about are not immortal. I worry about them. I just can’t help it.”
“You have a big heart.” She cupped his cheek. “I don’t want to add to your fears, but your family has just grown much larger, and now you also have an entire clan of immortals to worry about. Can you handle that?”
He patted his chest. “I welcome it. As you said, I have a big heart, and there is enough space in there for all of them. By the way, is the entire clan going to attend our wedding?”
“Given the rush, that’s not likely.”
Sari was the leader of nearly half of the clan. Her wedding should be a grand celebration. “Do you want to wait so everyone can attend?”
Sari shook her head. “I’m perfectly fine with having just my arm of the clan and my close family here. The last time I hosted a clan-wide celebration, it was a major hassle.”
“Are you sure?”
She leaned and planted a soft kiss on his mouth. “I’d rather spend more time with you than on preparations for a huge party.”
“Then it’s settled.” He lifted the phone. “I’m calling my mother.”
Sari pushed out of his arms. “I’ll give you privacy.”
“Stay.” He tugged on her hand. “I have no secrets from you.”
“What if your mother wants to speak to me? What am I going to tell her? She’s going to wonder about the reason for the shotgun wedding.”
“She probably will, and you can tell her that you’ve fallen madly in love with me and that you can’t wait for us to have a child together and that’s why we are rushing to get married.”
“I like it because it’s the truth.” She smiled. “Or at least a big part of it.”
Closing his eyes, David tried to recall his mother’s home number or her cellphone’s, but for some reason, the only number he remembered was his sister’s.
“I need to retrieve my phone from my suitcase. I don’t remember my mother’s number, only my sister’s.”