Em held him, one hand on his back and one on his chest as if she could sandwich him in, make him safe, protect him from hurt. “You worried about that too?” she asked softly.
She stepped closer and reached for his hand. He didn’t resist but let his hand lay a dead weight in hers. She placed his hand over her heart, held it there with both of hers. She looked into his eyes, her gaze never wavered.
“I worried about that too, Ron. I worried that they made you love me.”
What the hell did that mean? She hadn’t wanted his love? She had been with him only to…? He glared at her in an agony of doubt and anger. She had taken him for a gullible fool. He had sat at her feet like a puppy dog, taking whatever crumbs she offered. “And you didn’t want that?”
“No!” He jerked his hand away and turned from her. So, he had been nothing more than a distraction. A goddamned boy-toy. He stared out the window seeing nothing.
After a long tense silence, he glanced around at her. She came closer but didn’t try to touch him again. “I wanted you to love me all on your own. I was terrified of the answer, I didn’t want to hear that they controlled you, made you love me, but I asked anyway.”
“They said?” He held his breath, dreading the wrong answer.
“Powers said no. Our love is our destiny.”
“You believe them?” He was still incensed, unconvinced.
“They never lied to me. They had no reason to.”
Ron turned back to her then, scowling fiercely and asked the question that, for him, would be proof. “Em, would you leave everything and stay with me?”
“That’s not a fair question.” Her tone held a sharp edge of pain.
“Your answer would be?” He pushed anyway, tested her, knew he was hurting her.
“I can’t.”
Ron stared down at her. She had tears in her eyes as she watched and waited. He was amazed at her patience. “If I had met you in your regular life?”
“We would never have met.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“The Powers.”
“So we must be content with what we have?”
“Yes.”
“And make the most of it?”
“Ron that’s not a question. We’ve used our time together wisely and well.”
“No regrets?”
“None. You?” Ron shook his head ever so slightly. “Ron, look at me.” She spoke softly. “You must understand.” He nodded briefly, enough to encourage her to continue. “Our love is ours, Ron. Ours!”
“I’m supposed to believe the goddamned Powers had nothing to do with this.”
“Powers did not create our love. They did not control it. Nor did I.” She spoke slowly and steadily. “Our love is much too real for that.”
She would never know how comforted he was by her conviction.
He opened his arms. She moaned and flew into his embrace. He sighed. If she controlled this too so be it. He couldn’t live without her.
“Ron, my job is over, for now.”
He was instantly alert. One of Johnston’s questions had nagged at him. “Why now?” He had known her for over a year. They had been lovers for most of that time. Reporters hounding him had been a part of his life since they met. She had never suggested the interview before. Why now? A cold fear gripped his heart. “What does that mean?”
“I have done all I can. The world will be left to its own devices for a while. Miracle Madame will no longer exist.”
“You’ll be the regular you?”
“No, I….” Her voice was so low he barely heard the words. He pulled away abruptly to look at her.
“You mean you’ll… die?” He would never know why he was so certain that die was the right word.
She didn’t deny it and he panicked.
“No. Wait. You can’t. You can’t. I need you. It’s not enough. We need more time.”
“Ron, I must. I’ve known for a long time. Powers said.”
“Nooooo. You can’t go. You are my life.”
“Ron.” She admonished him gently and her voice was filled with longing. “Please, Ron, don’t cry. We have been the most fortunate of people. We have had a true love. Our souls will always be one.”
“You are the other half of me, Em. I can’t live without you.”
“You can and you will. You will watch your children raise your grandchildren. You’ll go to weddings and funerals and live your life fully.”
“And then?” he asked dully, already feeling the gaping hole of loss and the torment of grief.
“We will meet again. When the world needs us.”
“Em, I can’t. I can’t do it without you. I need you. The world needs you.” He held her face between his hands and in her eyes he saw an ocean of pain and he wept.
“Yes, you can,” she sobbed. “You can.” She kissed him softly. “I have something for you.” She found her pants on the floor and searched in the pocket and came back to him. She took his left hand and placed a ring on his index finger. It was a hunk of raw dull metal. It had the same unusual stone as her ring, the stone that had winked at him, surrounded by tiny diamonds. It fit perfectly. “We are in these rings and in each other. Wear it always.”
“With this ring, I thee wed?” he asked, his voice breaking. She nodded, her eyes full of tears. “Can’t we have just a little more time together? Please, Em. Please.”
“Oh yes,” she assured him. “We will have an eternity together in our next life, and the life after that, and the one after that. Now that we have found each other we are destined to continue our work, to be together forever.”
“How can you be so sure?” He wanted to believe her.
“Powers gave me a wish and that is what I wished for.” To her the answer was simple. Powers was never wrong. And she was gone, his shirt lying limp and empty on the floor in the exact spot she had been only seconds before.
“No! Wait!” But he was speaking to the air. “I never even got to cook dinner for you,” he sobbed through the tears that flowed freely as he collapsed to the floor, a blubbering heap where her clothes had been. A long time later the crying slowed and he dragged himself to the bed, pulled the covers to his chin and stared at the ceiling for hours. Finally he rose and showered, standing under the water, too numb now to feel anything. Drying himself off he felt the ring. What had she said? We are in these rings. He looked down at the stone and to his amazement she was there, smiling wistfully through the tears streaming down her face. She blew him a kiss.
He blew one back. It was then that he accepted her words, with a certainty that settled deep in his soul. They would indeed meet again. More tears fell as he turned to the phone and dialed. “Tia? It's Dad. I'm coming home.”
The End
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