Encountering Pierce
She didn’t care for air travel much, as it turned out. For starters, she got jammed in my pocket to make it through security and onto the plane. She did not find it amusing when I told her that she was the first live contraband I’d ever smuggled while traveling. And then, when I was finally able to take her out when I was reasonably sure that no one would see her, she took one look through the window and darted back into my pocket so fast she collided with my side and left a bruise. She was trembling so much, I was surprised no one noticed me shaking. Who knew a fairy could be afraid of heights?
By the time the plane landed and we grabbed our luggage, met up with my parents, and rode home, I was pretty sure I had permanently scarred my sweet little fairy. As soon as we were safely shut up in my bedroom, she lurched out of my pocket, flitted drunkenly over to my bed, and crawled under the covers.
“I am never doing that again,” she moaned.
“Not until next week, anyway,” I observed helpfully. “That’s when we go back.”
“Do not ever say that again in my hearing,” she threatened, although she didn’t bother to list what the consequences would be if I did.
She didn’t move around much the next day, but finally seemed to be feeling more like herself on the day after that. I took her outside that afternoon and swung in my parents’ hammock while she explored around their backyard. Mom and Dad were at work, so I wasn’t concerned that they would see something they shouldn’t.
I’d forgotten about Pierce, though. He walked home from school— the high school wasn’t on break yet— and came straight out into the backyard to say hi. He could immediately tell I was nervous about something.
“What’s up, bro?” he asked as he walked over to me.
“Nothing.” I sat up in the hammock and tried not to glance in Lily’s direction. Much easier said than done.
“Right.” The sarcasm was thick. “I guess you won’t mind if I hang out with you for a while, then.” He sat down next to me. After a minute or two of uncomfortable silence, he continued, “Sure you don’t want to tell me what you’re worried about?”
“He’s worried you’ll see me.”
Pierce popped straight up to his feet. Lily hovered in the air in front of him, and for a long few moments, they did nothing but stare at each other. Finally, Pierce found his voice again. “A fairy!” He sounded almost angry about it, but I’m pretty sure he was just so completely flabbergasted that he couldn’t properly express it. I knew the feeling well.
“You must be Pierce,” she stated. “My name is Moonlily.”
Pierce glanced rapidly back and forth between me and Lily, his mouth agape. His movements were so exaggerated, it was easy to envision him as a cartoon character bamboozled by his nemesis’s antics. My amusement at his expense was the only thing that kept me from freaking out about Lily revealing herself.
“Do you know this fairy?” Pierce demanded.
“I do.”
“For how long?”
“Several months.”
“And you didn’t tell me?” He seemed genuinely wounded by the slight. “You had to have known how excited I’d be!”
“I’m sorry, Pierce.” But his attention had already abandoned me and come back full-force on Lily.
He was holding back his enthusiasm, but only barely. He bounced a little on his toes while he watched her. Lily bore the attention patiently. I had told her about Pierce and his passions, so she had to have had at least an inkling of an idea about how he’d react. Finally, he could hold it all in no longer, and he shot a hand out at her. “May I?” he asked anxiously.
Lily obliged him and landed on his outstretched palm. Gingerly, he brought her closer. The sheer joy in his smile elicited a grin from Lily, as well. “I knew it,” he breathed. “I knew that fantasy beings had to be real. Too many of you show up in too many cultures’ mythologies. The stories couldn’t all be entirely made up.”
“You and your brother are quite unlike each other,” Lily laughed. “He barely believed I was real even when I was right in front of him.” She grabbed hold of one of Pierce’s fingers and gave it a gentle kiss. It was a decidedly different reaction than what she’d done to my finger the first time we met. “You’re a sweet boy,” she gushed.
I jabbed Pierce in the ribs with my elbow. Playfully— or so I told myself. “Okay, time to break it up.” Lily threw a coy smile at me and flew over to my shoulder, where she gave my earlobe a reassuring nibble.
Pierce saw it. “Okay,” he said uncomfortably. “That’s just weird.”
Lily and I burst out laughing. “Pierce,” I said. “You are wonderful.”
“Whatever you say, you nut.”
That did me in. I lost control completely. I laughed so hard tears streamed down my face and the muscles in my belly cried out in protest.
“I think you mean a walnut,” Lily observed dryly.
Meeting Pierce had gone so well that Lily insisted she be introduced to the rest of my family, as well. As much as I tried to tell her that they were not all as open-minded about the reality of the fey as he was, she refused to hear it. She was absolutely adamant about seeing them— my mom, my dad, even my grandmother— face to face.
“I’m telling you, Lily,” I explained for the hundredth time, “it will not go over well. They’re likely to hit you with a fly-swatter.”
“What if I change to my human size?”
“You can do that?” Pierce had walked in uninvited on this particular iteration of the argument and proceeded to make himself at home. When I nodded, he added, “If she can do that, then what’s the problem?”
“You haven’t seen her at that size,” I said. “She’d never pass as human.”
“Can I at least offer a second opinion on that?” He looked over at Lily. “Do you mind showing me?”
“Sure.”
“Face the wall, Pierce,” I ordered. No way was I going to let him watch her change. He wasn’t going to get a look until I got some clothes on her.
Once Lily put on one of my t-shirts and a pair of sweatpants, I let Pierce turn back around. He got one good look at her and frowned. “Well,” he sighed. “You were right.” We both just stared at her for a minute before Pierce suggested, “What if we just buy some of that fancy makeup that’s made to cover up tattoos? That’ll fix her skin. Then we could just do her hair up to cover her ears. And there are plenty of girls around with their hair dyed in rainbow colors. Her purple would stand out, but it wouldn’t be too unusual.”
“And what would she wear?”
Pierce shrugged. “We could go and buy her some clothes.”
Lily patted her palms together in approval. “I like that idea.”
“How are we going to pay for it all?” I questioned, taking on the unhappy role of the realist amidst all the daydreaming.
“You have money in your savings, don’t you?” Pierce asked. “I’ve got some left over from my summer job, too. I bet we’d have enough, don’t you think?”
“Probably.” I sighed in resignation. It was clear I wasn’t going to win this fight, not with both Lily and Pierce against me. “Fine. But I am not going to buy makeup and women’s clothing by myself. So, buck up, dear brother. This was your idea. Now you get to help execute it.”