With our dessert in hand, we returned to Cole and Elliott.
After we ate the decadent spiced apple cake, Gram insisted we rest before
our mission.
Cole and I snuggled together in my bed. We didn't speak, but neither of us slept, either. I kept reminding myself that I was not alone. The four of us would
bring Meg home.
Someone gently shook my shoulders.
I looked at the clock groggily. It was a little after midnight. Yawning, I glimpsed at the person who woke me. I gasped at the inky figure lurking in the
shadows. Instinctively, I jumped out of bed to find myself trapped in the corner
as the stranger approached.
"Wait, it's me, Marina." A flashlight illuminated Elliott. He was dressed completely in black, including the tight-knit cap he wore on his head.
“You scared me.” I swatted at him.
“I'm sorry, Caterpillar.” Elliott held his hand out to me.
When I accepted it, he pulled me into a long hug. A wave of emotions
flooded me. For the first time since his return, I was confident this man was truly
my father.
“Mae sent up some clothes for both of you. I put them over there.” My father
gestured towards the dark attire laid out at the foot of Meg's bed. “I'll let you wake up sleeping beauty over there." Elliott beamed at me and left the loft.
My heart felt full of love. Thoughts of bringing Meg home made me smile.
Both kids would be brought into a house of peace, love, and family. I couldn't
imagine a better place to grow up. Even with the sadness of Father's death, my grandfather's passing, and my mother disappearing, we always felt safe and
loved.
“Wake up, sleepyhead.” I kissed Cole on the cheek.
“I wasn't sleeping.” He rubbed the sand from his eyes. “I was just checking
my eyes for cracks.”
“I see.” I grabbed his hands and pulled him up. “Were you just practicing your best impersonation of a sleeping giant? You could have shaken the birds out
of the trees outside.”
“Yes, I'm glad you appreciate my talents.” Cole wrapped his arms around my
waist.
I resisted the urge to push him back onto the bed, so I could snuggle into his
arms. “It is time to rescue Meg. Our clothes have been laid out for us.”
Not bothering with modesty, we both undressed and dressed, again, in our all-black outfits, which included black boots and caps.
Meeting my grandmother and my father in the kitchen, I felt silly. We all look
like a bunch of raccoons, I thought to myself.
“Mara, come, let me braid your hair.” Gram handed me a cup of tea. “They
will see you coming for miles with that tangled mess.”
Catching my reflection in the mirror, I saw what she meant. My hair was a
fright. “Thanks for telling me that I looked so crazy, Cole.”
“Crazy is why I love you.” Cole chomped a hunk of banana bread and then
held it out as if offering me a bite.
