Bows and Playoff
Glynn and I walked hand in hand through the rolling green meadow, the soft scent of nearby farms not Iowa corn but tidy hedgerowed Welsh crofts. We were on our honeymoon, coinciding with a two-week break in the sell-out crowds for Oz, Wonderful Oz.
“Mishela looked great on Craig Ferguson last night,” I said.
“She did,” Glynn said. “She does a fantastic interview.”
“It’ll be great for her career. You know, I always suspected Ferguson was a vampire.”
“He’s not. But a number of his viewers are.”
I smiled at him. We were together at last, but only because of Nixie, Julian, Rocky, Mishela, the Cheese Dudes, Mom and Pop and a dozen more people. I used to think it wasn’t the choice itself, but what I did after. I was wrong. It wasn’t just my choice. It was my interacting with dozens of other people interacting with thousands more.
Long run? Theater people were right, in a way. Life was chaotic; life was magic. I could only control my own actions, not my own fate.
Still, without my actions, without trying to corral small children that first night which got me rescued by Glynn’s big warm hands, without falling in love with Glynn…without love, I might have stayed in Meiers Corners or gone to New York, but I’d still be searching for my rainbow. “You know, Dorothy was right.”
He smiled down at me. “About what?”
“About home. I’m glad to have grown up in Meiers Corners. It taught me what home is, what it can be. Duty, but more. Being the best you can, both for yourself and for the people you love.”
“Dreaming in a safe place.” He traced my cheek. “Launching from that safe place to realize your dreams.”
“Yes. I took all that with me. And now I’ll use it to build a strong home with you.”
“I’ll do everything I can to make you happy, Junior.” Glynn shifted his grip, held my hand more tightly. “I meant what I said, babi. You’re my home now.”
“I’ll be your home—for as long as I’m alive. Which, from what I understand from Dolly, could be longer than the eighty or ninety years I was first figuring on?”
“Ah, yes. The secret.” He bent, whispered in my ear.
I felt my eyes bug out. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I’m not.”
I swore. “You guys would be hunted like whales if anyone knew—”
“Shh.” His finger covered my lips. “That’s why it is a secret.”
“But you’d do that for me? Just to extend my life a little?”
“In a heartbeat.”
I squeezed his hand. If I hadn’t already known he loved me, I did now.
We walked in silence. When we passed a crumbling folly, I said, “You mentioned a Lord Rhys when you told me about your name. I looked him up. He and his daughter, a Lady Gwenllian, were alive around your time. Did you know them?”
Glynn laughed. “Everyone did. Lady Gwen was quite the social force. From entertaining kings to nursing sick children, she did it all. She was married to Ednyfed Fychan.”
“I read that too. And that Ednyfed and Gwenllian had six sons.”
“At least six. The vampire who kidnapped me was always hanging around there. It seemed there were dozens of children in the yard. The vampire talked about capturing another boy…” He stopped. Cold.
“Another boy.” I grabbed both his hands. “The vampire named himself Fychan, like Ednyfed Fychan. And you had a blanket with three heads—just like the Ednyfed coat of arms. Glynn, what if you’re one of Ednyfed’s sons? His grandson was Tudur Hen. You’d be a Tudor.”
“I’d be…good heavens. After all this time, a possible family.” His eyes misted, the bright sapphire silvered by the moon. “Will you research it with me?”
“I’d love to.”
Then he bent his head and kissed me. “But it doesn’t matter as much any more, because I have another family now.” He stroked my belly.
“Despite your telling me I couldn’t get pregnant.” I smiled into his eyes.
“When I told you that, I didn’t know you were mine.” He smiled back. “My mate, my heart.”
We walked our land hand-in-hand. The moon shone down upon us, bright as a followspot. Behind us, long shadows trailed the green grass.
Love had put us here. Our love, but more. Love of friends, of family. Love of a whole damned annoying city.
There truly is no place like home.
