LJ Maas - Rebecca’s Cove

“Ditto. Well, shall we?” “I’m game if you are.”

They had nearly reached the spot where the ceremony would take place. Noah rushed up to them.

“Baylor!” he called out as he jumped into their arms.

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“Hey, Bubba, don’t you look sharp in your suit and tie.” “Are you guys gettin’ married?” Noah asked.

Baylor looked at Hobie, who silently nodded. “Um, yeah.” “Good. Then I can have a dad.”

Baylor looked back at Hobie again and swore she saw Hobie smiling just a tiny bit. “Well, Bubba, um...you do know that I’m a girl, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I’d be more along the lines of a mom then.” “But I already got a mom.”

“I guess I see your point, but what do you have if you go get an ice cream cone and they give you two chocolate cones instead of one?”

Noah shrugged.

“It’d be better, wouldn’t it?”

“Two chocolate cones, all for me?” Noah’s eyes widened and a smile began to take shape.

“All for you, Bubba. Great, huh?” “Great!”

“Now I bet all your friends only have one mom. How do you think it would be having two moms, instead of just one?”

Noah’s smile widened. “Great!”

“You know it,” Baylor agreed. “Okay, you go on and keep Jules company till we get started. She’ll give you the rings. Okay?”

“’Kay, Baylor.” He paused once she set him on solid ground. “You guys look beautiful,” he added before running away.

“Nice save,” Hobie said.

“Oh, yeah, thanks for pitching in there.”

“You did better than I could have. You’re a natural as a mom.”

“I sure hope so. Parenting isn’t exactly the kind of thing you get a do-over on.”

Baylor looked past Hobie. An archway of small red and white flowers was the main stage for their ceremony. A long table was set up in front of the arch, and a number of women from the guild stood around the table, preventing the couple from seeing what

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was on it.

“What in the world are they doing?” Baylor asked. “God only knows. Maybe it’s the sacrifice,” Hobie said.

“Don’t make me crazier than I already am about this whole thing.”

“Sorry,” Hobie said through her light laughter. “You’re about to find out. Mrs. Ashby is waving us over. Ready?”

“If you are.”

“Baylor?” Hobie reached for Baylor’s arm as she took a step away.

“Hmm?”

“I do love you and I would have married you anyway, you know.”

Baylor smiled, reminding Hobie that there was another woman behind that prickly outer shell. “I love you, too. Actually, it was probably a good thing. The Ladies Guild forced me to wait a couple of days.”

Baylor and Hobie arrived as Hobie’s mother gave Noah and Juliana their last-minute instructions. Noah was taking his job seriously, listening intently to his grandmother. Hobie had wanted her friends from the office—Laura and Cheryl—to stand up with her. That left Baylor short a friend, but she thought of Noah immediately. He was thrilled by the news.

“Baylor, Hobie Lynn, are you ready to begin?”

Both women nodded. The guests took their seats in the white garden chairs as the members of the wedding party arranged themselves, giving Hobie and Baylor their first look at the table.

“What the hell is that thing?” Hobie beat Baylor to the punch by asking.

They stood staring at a metal monstrosity that took up most of the tabletop. Baylor had the strangest feeling that she had seen the object somewhere before. “Is that an orrery?”

The object indeed appeared to be a brass model of the solar system. Each ornately formed planet was mounted on a rod that moved independent of the other rods, connected in the center to what appeared to be the sun. However, there appeared to be more than a few extra planets, and simple round brass rings topped

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two of the rods. The center area had a flat top that supported two empty crystal champagne glasses. Hobie and Baylor looked at each other again.

“I suppose you’re wondering what this is,” Rebecca said. She was elegantly dressed, as always, and leaned slightly on her walking stick.

“It may just be me, but I’ve always thought flowers made a good centerpiece,” Baylor said.

Hobie nudged Baylor with her elbow.

“I know it must appear terribly odd to you, but you’ll both have to trust me. The Pentasium is a three-dimensional planetary map. It’s essential to the ceremony and its use will become clear in a short while. Let’s begin, shall we?”

“It’s probably a way to communicate with the mother ship,” Baylor whispered to Hobie.

The ceremony proceeded as smoothly as if they’d all performed it every day of their lives. Rebecca, along with two women from the guild, lit the long line of candles on the table in order, from the outside in. Rebecca read a number of short passages, one in a language that neither Baylor nor Hobie recognized.

Finally, she stood before Hobie and Baylor. “It’s time for you to say a few words, Baylor.”

“Huh?” Baylor didn’t remember anyone telling her that she had to speak. She looked at Hobie, who shrugged. “Say something?” she questioned in a low voice.

“The stars request a petition to show that you’re ready.” “The stars?”

“The stars will only come together upon confirmation of your love. All you have to do is make a statement regarding your love, your commitment to Hobie Lynn. Tell her what she does for your life, how loving her affects you.”

“You guys didn’t say anything about talking in front of everyone,” Baylor said under her breath.

“It doesn’t have to be the Gettysburg Address, Baylor. Simple is good,” Rebecca said. A few more moments passed in silence. “Baylor?”

“I’m thinking!” Baylor felt a tug on her slacks. She looked

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down to see Noah’s earnest face staring back at her. “You can do it, Baylor. Come on.” He smiled.

Baylor couldn’t help smiling back. She loved the youngster who seemed to have so much more courage than she did. She winked at him and took a deep breath. She had no idea what to say, but the moment she turned and looked into Hobie’s eyes, the words were there. “I’m probably going to sound like a real idiot here.”

Hobie reached out to quickly grasp Baylor’s hand.

It took one squeeze to ground Baylor. She focused her attention on her heart and listened to what it had to tell her. “Hobie Lynn, the best thing I can think of to say about you is that you make me want to be a better person. I suppose the funny thing is...when I’m with you, I think I am.”

“I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Hobie said.

Rebecca nodded appreciatively and Baylor breathed a small sigh of relief.

“Hobie Lynn?”

Smiling nervously, Hobie looked at Baylor. She loved so many things about the obstinate, sometimes eccentric, woman. To pick just one would be difficult, so Hobie concentrated on the one thing that had made the strongest impact on her.

“Baylor, you know I love you. You’ve made me feel well loved in the short time we’ve known each other. Since we decided to be together, I’m not afraid anymore. That sounds so silly, I know.”

She looked down at her shoes before returning her gaze to Baylor. “I used to wake up in the morning afraid of what the day would bring, terrified of the smallest things. I don’t feel that at all now, and it’s because of you and the love you’ve shown me.”

“Wow.” Baylor was unable to say more. Such a simple declaration, yet the words had such power.