Mom, he thought in wonder as his breath hitched in his chest. Look. Just look.
Their children did not stand on ceremony, which was why the moment Arthur and Zoe reached the front of the crowd, they launched themselves at him. He stumbled back with an armful of gnome and sprite, their guests laughing loudly. Chauncey wrapped his tentacles around Arthur’s right leg as Lucy climbed his back, arms in a loose grip around Arthur’s throat. Arthur turned his head into Sal’s hair when the boy hugged his side, and chuckled wetly when Theodore’s forked tongue flicked against his cheek.
Eventually, they pulled away, returning to where they’d been standing.
The guests took their seats as Zoe stood on her tiptoes, kissing him first on the right cheek, then the left. Her eyes glittered when she said, “This is only the beginning.”
“It is,” he agreed.
She left him, then, going to Linus. Arthur did not hear what she said to him, but whatever it was, Linus sniffled and then hugged her so quickly, Zoe squawked a bright burst of laughter, her feet lifting from the ground as Linus spun her around. Then, seemingly remembering they had an audience, he set her down, smoothed his suit, and looked at Arthur expectantly.
As Zoe joined Helen and David and Calliope, Arthur took the last steps. Everything else faded away as he stood in front of his beloved, the man who had carved a place for himself in a home on a mysterious island. The man who had come with his cat, his rule book, a misplaced sense of purpose, and little else. The man who had once lived where the rain never ended, and all color had been leached, leaving behind only muted shades of gray in the city. This man, this fussy, endearing man who had learned the world was far more mysterious than he’d ever thought possible, and instead of silencing it, had worked to ensure that no one would be silenced again.
“Hello, Linus,” Arthur said softly, as if speaking any louder would wake him from this marvelous dream.
“Hello, Arthur,” Linus said, and in Arthur’s chest, the phoenix chirped and chittered its pleasure.
“Do I start now?” David whispered to Helen as Calliope batted a thick strand of hair hanging down from his head.
“I hope so,” Talia said. “Because if you don’t, they’re just going to stand there making mushy faces at each other.”
“You may begin,” Helen told David. “Just like we practiced.”
“Right,” David said, squinting down at the paper before him on the podium. “Except for all the parts I’ve decided to ad-lib.”
“Wait,” Helen said. “Ad-lib? What parts are you going to—”
“Welcome to the party!” David roared ferociously, fangs bared, claws digging into the podium as he gripped the sides. “I am your host, David! Before we began, I wanted to mention I’m available for all your scary needs, such as birthday parties, funerals, haunted houses, and book clubs. Tired of just reading books and then talking about them? Well, now you can read and run for your lives! All for the low, low cost of—”
“I didn’t know weddings had commercials,” Lucy said.
“Next time, we’ll get sponsors,” Talia said.
“Next time?” Linus said, aghast. “I beg your pardon.”
Talia patted his leg. “Why don’t you let me worry about that? You have bigger things to focus on.”
Linus sighed as David announced he was pretty sure he was at the podium and therefore, no one else could talk. After some debate, everyone agreed that David was absolutely correct, though he should probably wait until after he’d finished to promote his side gigs.
“Can I still make some stuff up?” David asked, tilting his head back to look at Helen and Zoe. “Not all of it. Just some. I have something to say.”
“I insist upon it,” Zoe said. “Have your say, David. We’re listening.”
David rubbed his hands together in glee, little puffs of cold, crystalline air rising between his fingers. He cleared his throat and began to speak into the salt-tinged quiet. “I didn’t want to come here at first. I didn’t know who these people were, promising me things I’d heard before.” He paused, taking in a breath. “I knew Helen, and she was nice to me. She said there was a place where I … where I could be me. Where I wouldn’t have to hide.” He lifted his head, searching the crowd. Arthur followed his gaze, and saw Jason and Byron raise their hands in a wave. He smiled. “I’m a yeti. I have claws and really neat hair that can get messy if I don’t take care of it, and sometimes, I like scaring people. Not to hurt them, but to remind them that fear doesn’t have to be bad. It doesn’t have to be mean or cruel. It doesn’t have to cause harm.
“And that’s what I’m learning from my new home. It doesn’t matter what we look like, it doesn’t matter where we came from, or what we can do. All that matters is that we’re here, together, being anything and anyone we want to be.” David stared at the crowd in anticipation.
Arthur felt a rush of magic, and behind David, a red neon sign popped into existence, blinking the words YOU BETTER CLAP NOW BEFORE YOU LOSE YOUR HANDS.
Everyone did, and loudly, Jason and Byron on their feet, hooting and hollering.
David beamed as Lucy tilted his head to the side, the sign disappearing. “Thank you! You’re such a great audience. My point? This place is different. It really is. And maybe everyone doesn’t see it that way quite yet, but they will. It doesn’t have to be today, or even tomorrow, but it’ll happen. I know it.”
Arthur believed him.
“Okay!” David said, clapping his hands once more. “Zoe helped me become an ordained minister according to Marsyasian law. It was difficult work, and I almost lost my life, but in the end, I persevered.”
Zoe snorted, shaking her head fondly.
“As such,” David continued, “no one here gets married without my say-so.” He looked pointedly—first at Arthur, then Linus. “Which means that if I think you two aren’t ready, we’ll reschedule for some time in the next five years after going through my pre-marriage counseling program I’ll be creating and you can partake in, all for the low, low price of—”
“David,” Helen said, “we discussed the power that comes with being ordained. It does not include fleecing those you serve for all they’re worth.”
“Actually,” Lucy said, “religion does exactly that. I mean, come on. Has there ever been a bigger racket?”
“This is going exactly like I thought it would,” Talia said, tugging on the end of her beard. “I approve.”
Chauncey pulled on Linus’s trousers. “Can you do the vows now?” His eyes widened as his stalks shrank almost completely.
Everyone fell silent as Linus lifted his head to look at him, smile wobbling. With shaking hands, Arthur took Linus’s into his own, squeezing tightly. In the distance, the crash of waves, the songs of birds.
“How you move me,” Arthur said softly. “Some may look upon you and merely see a man. Their loss, because you are so much more. You are sunlight chasing away the clouds on a rainy day. You are the brightest flower in a garden where color fights to exist. I look upon you and see the man, but I also see life teeming just underneath the surface. You have taught me much since your arrival in our home, but if there’s one thing I’ve learned above all else from you, it’s this: there is magic in the ordinary, magic that has the power to change the world. You have shown that in your kindness, in your empathy, in your desire to see our children—and everyone else who finds their way to our shores—thrive and succeed. You told me once that when called upon, you will be my strength. You will be my hope. And, my love, I believe you to be just that. Not just for me, but for all of us. Thank you for choosing us. Thank you for loving us. Thank you for seeing us.” He raised Linus’s hands to his lips. “I am honored to know you, and to be given the gift of your heart. I promise you with everything I have, with everything I am, that I will never let a day go by without telling you just how precious you are to your family. And to me.”
Merle pulled out a handkerchief, blowing his nose quite spectacularly into it. He wasn’t alone; most of the guests were doing the same or, at the very least, wiping their eyes. Turnip pulled out a clump of moss from his chest and offered it to Janet, who took it and wiped her muddy eyes, Barry laying his head on her shoulder.
Linus opened his mouth once, twice, but no sound came out. He blinked rapidly, looking out into the audience. His gaze moved to the children, lingering on each of them. When he lifted his head once more, Arthur could see the fire burning within, bright as the sun.
Linus said, “I didn’t know what living meant, not really. I thought I did. I thought it meant existing in the never-ending rain with only sunflowers and records to keep me company.”
