ALISHA WATCHED AS David Ryan smiled benevolently at the two couples standing before him in the splendor of the Lansings’ garden. Flowers grew from in the ground, and the entire area around him was a mass of summer blossoms. Nature still boggled her mind.
“Will you, Lucas Cromwell, cherish Dorian, love her and care for her, during your time together?”
Contrary Luke grinned at the same time his eyes filled. “I will. Oh, I will.”
“Dorian Masters…” David asked the same question and she answered, “With all my heart.”
Smiling still, David turned to Alex Lansing. Alex’s face was already wet with tears, and he could barely respond to David’s query. Finally, he muttered a yes. Celeste, looking up at him, scrubbed her hands over her cheeks, then took her vows solemnly. When she finished committing herself to him, she glanced over his shoulder. Her new family looked on, their faces alight with joy. The older one, Maddy, wore a dress similar to Alisha’s—pink, Celi’s favorite color, though Celeste’s was darker and more fitted than the girl’s. Both boys were clothed in suits, like Alex and Luke.
Celeste finished, “And I promise to cherish, love and care for you three with all that’s in me.”
The smallest youngling, Cody, pumped his fist in the air. “Yes!” he said, and everybody laughed.
David confirmed them married for life, and the couples kissed. Enthusiastically. Glancing at Alisha, David winked. She’d come to like the pastor and, in some ways, depend on him for his clear thinking and generous spirit. Especially since she was alone in the world…
What will you do now, Lisha? David had taken to the nickname, too.
I have no idea.
Come back to New York. We all want you there.
Jess and Helen, in attendance along with Alex’s parents, reiterated the notion several times. Stay with us, at least for a while, Helen coaxed.
She’d agreed. What will I do with my time, David? Now that our tasks are completed.
We’ll find something for you.
When he said the words, she’d been disturbed by the use of we. Though she liked him, she didn’t want to get too connected to David. To a minister. Alisha was the ultimate atheist. Though she’d made a myriad of adaptations to this era, believing in a god wasn’t going to happen.
She was distracted from her thoughts of the past when the ceremony ended. Everybody hugged—something Alisha accepted from the women but still couldn’t get used to from the men.
A sudden wave of sadness swept through her. Would she ever, truly, become accustomed to this world? She knew now she had no choice. Originally, she’d hoped that the rest of history might have stayed the same or similar enough so that someone, perhaps Rhea, would find the record of their mission. It was possible that only those two threads—the ones involving Jess and Alex—had been pulled from the fabric of time. Though they’d been told by the Guardians that they’d most likely never be able to return to their time period, Alisha was wishing for another outcome.
But after they’d destroyed Alex’s research, no one from the future had appeared to announce society had developed differently, but they remembered the women’s assignment and the three of them could go back to their time. She’d clung to the notion, but now, nearly three weeks after their tasks were done, all hope was dashed.
As people gathered to congratulate the newly wedded couples, David approached her. “You’re sad,” he said, studying her face.
It unnerved Alisha that he could read her so well. “Why would I be sad? I love Celi and Dorian. They’ve found happiness.”
His hazel eyes filled with understanding as they sparkled in the sunlight. “You’re not alone, you know.”
“Of course not. I still have Dorian in my life, especially now that I’ve moved back to New York. And Jess and Helen.”
“And me.” Just then, his phone vibrated. “I’m sorry, I have to take this.”
Alisha wondered who would be calling David during the ceremony. A woman? She knew he’d dated, that archaic custom that still—what was the idiom?—winded her mind. Briefly, she wondered what kind of woman he preferred.
He returned quickly. Now his features were strained.
“Is everything all right?”
“I’ll tell you later. I don’t want to spoil the day.”
Grasping on to his arm, she drew him farther away from the picture taking. “I won’t say anything. People of your time feel better sharing things.”
As if he couldn’t help himself, he blurted out, “There’s been another church fire. One of my minister friends was hurt. Honestly, this confirms someone in Brooklyn is torching churches.”
Alisha could believe it. From her research on religion of today, she’d found that a lot of unbalanced people used this god they loved as an excuse to hurt others.
Which was another reason to reject the notion. Still, she liked David. “I’m sorry. I hope he’s all right.”
“She.”
“What?”
“The minister is a she. Kerry Mackenzie. I know her well.”
Huh! Alisha wondered why the notion of his female friend bothered her.