Rose 2.23: It's time to go home

     After not wanting to say goodnight to Tiffany, I walk into the kitchen to see that Clark has made spaghetti without burning it or turning the pasta into a giant log, looking like a single noodle.
     We all decide to ignore the fact that we're sitting at a table and decide to hold the plates in our hands as we eat. After all, Ashley left her textbook on the table, and everyone knows how spaghetti sauce can stain.
     Skye talks about his dream, and Clark acts like he believes him when he says it's real.
     "So, you're married?" Clark asks.
     "Yes," he answers.
     I get in, "What about Carmen?"
     He looks uncomfortable. "I'm going to have to tell her. She'll think I'm nuts, but it's still the truth."
     "Were there really dragons? As in, huge, reptile-like creatures that breathe fire?" Clark asks in an amazed way.
     "Yes," Skye answers like he's distracted. "I'm so worried! I left Lorelei with two of them: one injured but the other was the one they all called 'Mother.' And the way that elder elf lady acted, she's probably the most powerful one out there." He tosses the plate upon the table, suddenly not caring about the textbook. "What if I no longer have a wife to go back to?" His head rests in his hands with his fingers pulling at his hair.
     Skye being married is taking some getting used to. It was okay when Fiona and Link got married, they're older than me, but Skye? That's strange.
     My phone rings, and I see it's Willow. I get up, answer it, put my plate in the sink, and speak to her. She cancels our date for tomorrow and doesn't give me a solid reason why. I have no choice but to accept the cancellation.
     I play the part of "boyfriend" for Shauna this weekend, but I can't keep my mind off Tiffany. Every time I touch Shauna, I feel like it's wrong, and this upsets me. She's such a sweet woman that needs to be told she's beautiful, but I feel empty telling her that even though she smiles that tender smile.
     On Monday, I sadly pull out my phone to ask her to meet me somewhere. I know I need to end this now.

     "Hi, Donny," she breathes into the phone, and my insides stand up like an exclamation point at the sound of her voice. She's always been so good on the phone.
      This is going to be hard.
      "Shauna, I was wondering if you'd like to... meet me at the bowling alley?" I ask. The nice, noisy bowling alley, a good choice.
      "Oh. Um, no, I can't actually. I really need to study for finals."
      "Perhaps we could study together," I offer. I can put this off for later, right? I shouldn't break it off with her while she needs to focus on studying.
       She giggles a sexy giggle, and I walk over to lean my head on my arm on the wall.
       "But you'd just distract me the entire time like you're so very good at doing. No, I think I need to study alone," she says quietly, and my imagination places her lying on her back in her bed with her hair framing her face while she twirls a small strand of it in her soft fingers.
      "Then when can I see you again?" I ask, and I worry I momentarily lost control of my voice and let the lust in it show through.
      "I'll call you later when I think I'm better prepared for finals. Then maybe we can 'run over' everything together," she says suggestively, and my mouth waters when I think about how much of her I'd like to 'run over' with my tongue.
      "Don't take too long," I say with a small smile, and we say our goodbyes.
      Then it hits me.
       What?! How could I let that happen?! That's not how that was supposed to go!
       I breathe out quickly through my nose and run my hand down my face, deciding that Shauna is too good on the phone.
      There must be something in the water because both Tiffany and Willow blow me off as well. I have plenty of time to study.

     Skye tells me he's certain he failed his final. He says it doesn't surprise him since he'd forgotten the material and was hopelessly distracted the entire time. I get the feeling he's just going through the motions, waiting to go home to see what Giselle has concocted.

     Happily, I tap the backs of my fingers against the paper as I think, There. This is a good way to look at my ladies blowing me off so they can study! Perfect score once again!
     A little angry now with all three of them, I don't call them. Soon, it's time to go home.

     When we get home, Skye is heartbroken that our mother and sister haven't figured out how to open a portal into his wife's realm. They say they found another one with a seaside village, but they couldn't find Lorelei.
      He breaks up with Carmen, but then he acts listless. He's impossible to live with over the next few days.
      Then, just as we'd all started giving up, Giselle surprises us with a happy squeal from her alchemy lab.

    "So, I'm going to walk through the wall?" Skye asks after Giselle explains what she plans to do.
    "You act like you don't believe me, big brother," she snaps, her short temper showing through.

     "I want to," Skye says wistfully.
     "I just need one last ingredient," Giselle says. "I figured out where I messed up last time. I need some of your hair, not mine. It'll connect us right to her."
     Skye turns his head and looks at our sister with renewed respect as he says, "That sounds like what she might've done! Giselle, promise me something first."
     "What?" she asks curiously.
     "Do this again one day once you've grown up - with your hair, and go there. I think you'll like what you find." He smiles brightly. Then he pulls out some of his hair to hand to her.
     Giselle does her thing, and sure enough, the wall looks like it opens up. Before us walks a very startled, beautiful woman holding a baby in her arms.
     "Skye!" she exclaims before she starts speaking in a language I've never heard.

    He lets out a happy breath and says, "I'm coming." Then, he quickly hugs us all goodbye, and it finally hits me: I will probably never see my brother again. Mom and Dad cry, but they look happy. Giselle quickly rips a bit more of his hair out before placing it in a small, plastic bag.
    "Just in case," she explains after Skye lets out an 'ow!'
    He laughs and steps through the portal, taking the baby from Lorelei's arms after he hugs her. The portal remains open while he walks inside the small house, and we see one final glimpse of him holding his son.

     "It's good to be home, Pedro," he says to the baby before the wall becomes just a wall again.

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You may have noticed this in the background behind Donny as he spoke with Shauna on the phone. I had them all take pics of themselves and each other and place them around the house they rented. I don't plan on sending them back to the same house (how boring!), so I thought I'd leave the pics there as a "we were here" kind of thing:

To wrap up Skye's story:

As soon as Eingaia came on the scene with Falknir, the pendant around Skye's neck booted Skye back to his realm, back to class. The Father Falknir spoke of took over his body. The Father had long ago foreseen the many wars, and, although no one knows why he waited this long, he knew that he would need Skye in order to finally bring peace and balance to the valley (in order for the proper sequence of events to play out). Not even Eingaia knew about the body snatch until balance was restored, which got accomplished through Skye's "winning ways." Then, the ancient dragon revealed himself for whom he really was, and Lorelei fainted from shock. Assured that Skye would one day return to her, she found out she was pregnant, went through the pregnancy, and delivered while waiting for him to come back. Then, as we saw, he did.

I confess to pure laziness in not doing that as a chapter. I could've... and done it in Lorelei's p.o.v. But I would have had to force myself to do it, and coming up with that fantasy mini-plot was like pulling out my fingernails. I guess that's obviously not my genre, at least in this point of my life. I didn't want needing to get those pics done to cause this story to lag because when I started it, I promised myself I wouldn't make myself work hard at it.

Still, I thought I'd at least say what happened so as not to leave anything unresolved. :)

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