"We have to eat," he murmured, close to her ear.
They lay facing each other, in an embrace. She had not opened her eyes, but he knew she'd been awake for a few minutes.
"…you're the sensible one…" she said just above a whisper, and tightened her hold.
"C'mon," he wheedled, "I've got our day planned: we get dressed, go down to the village for breakfast, lunch, actually, then…we look at some wedding bands, because…you know…"
"Maybe I want to hear the words."
He nestled her closer, and caressed her back and arm. He pressed his chest forward, and she could feel his beating heart. "That's why," he whispered. "There are no words." She kissed the spot, then covered it with her hand.
He drew a breath. "Then, we come back here, we listen to music, we sing, we dance…we love…"
"What then?" she asked when his voice trailed off.
He laughed softly. "By then it will probably be time to eat again. I just thought, we could have dinner with my parents."
She joined his laughter. "Sounds great. Sex, sleep, eat; repeat."
When they arrived at Vincent's parents' house, Riordan swang the door open wide and swept them in.
"This is wonderful! Vincent's brothers and sisters are coming for dinner as well, so we can all eat together!"
They arrived soon after, three brothers, Rori, Ultan, and Tierney, two sisters, Juliet and Portia, and all the spouses.
"Cathy, so good to meet you!" they all cried when introduced.
Sarah found comfort in orderliness, and seated them formally. She assigned each Mayopelley a woman to escort to the table, and spouses did not sit together. Catherine sat at Riordan's right at the head of the table, Vincent at Sarah's right at the other end.
"It's good to meet you, and a relief to meet you!" Ultan's remark was met with laughter.
"We were almost starting to worry about our brother!" cried Tierney.
"Meaning?" challenged Vincent.
"Meaning we are all very relieved to see that he waited for the most beautiful woman from the outside world to arrive," Riordan cut in quickly. "A toast, to our lovely new daughter and sister, Catherine." They drank, then Sarah called out for everyone to start passing serving dishes.
Portia leaned close to Catherine. "Ultan and Tierney made a dangerous joke. To imply that a Mayopelley male is homosexual is a very serious insult."
"So, Catherine, has Vincent explained to you that you build your own house?" asked Juliet.
"No, he has not!" cried Catherine, surprised. "We're going to build our own house?" she asked him.
"Yes."
"Vincent, I don't know anything about building houses! Why?"
"Keeps the real estate developers out," Garrett answered. He was Juliet's husband.
"Oh, I can see that. But, Vincent—"
"It will be fine, don't worry," Vincent answered.
"You'll learn fast," said Portia, and everyone smiled.
"How can you know that?" asked Catherine.
"Because," started Portia, and everyone chimed in to finish, "you can't get married until the house is finished!" Then they all laughed.
They're laughing like something's funny! thought Catherine. "Why?"
"It's our custom," answered Cindy. She was Tierney's wife.
"Let me ask! Let me ask!" cried Joan. She was Ultan's wife. "Catherine, how many bedrooms do you want?"
She choked. In her circle, the minimum would have been eighteen. She tried to play it off. "I haven't decided. Vincent, how many do you want?"
He had a feeling. "Twenty-three."
"Well, thank goodness we're at least in the same ballpark," said Catherine, who was immediately confused by all the laughter. Even Vincent smiled and shook his head.
"My love," he said quietly, "we will have a house just like everyone else's, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. It will be our home, and it will be filled with love, and happiness, I promise."
"Don't worry, Cathy, if we're not giving you a hard time, we don't like you!" boomed Donal, Portia's husband.
As if I gave a fiddler's fuck what you buffoons think—she started to think, while smiling her tried and true 'sweetie smile' as she thought of it, because if she were sweet, her smile would look just like that. But then a very small voice from the very back of her head whispered, 'Is that the best you can do? These people really do like you.' She raised her eyes and looked at them. She smiled, nodded, laughed and said, "Yeah, it's funny."
They spent a few more days at the cabin, then returned to the farm. The first morning they were back, they were on their way to breakfast when Father called Vincent to his office to look at some work schedules. Vincent bent down to kiss her and said, "Save me a seat." Catherine went ahead.
Fifteen minutes later, he entered the dining room and saw her sitting at the approximate middle of a long table, smiling wordlessly at the commune residents. They were smiling wordlessly at her.
He collared Randolph. "What's going on?"
"We got a pool to see who talks first. You want to buy a square?"
Vincent shoved him away, and strode up to the serving window.
"What'll it be?" asked William.
"Anything but stew," he answered.
"How about some jerky? We have a lot of that. Venison, turkey, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, teriyaki, spicy, Cajun, savory, honey mustard, Old Bay, peppercorn…you blew off a lot of steam."
One of the servers filled a plate and handed it to Vincent; he and William still staring at each other. He took a glass of water from the tray, and made his way to a spot across from Catherine.
Scott was sitting there. Vincent put his tray and water down on the table, lifted him up and said, "You're done." Scott grabbed his tray and moved off to find another seat. Vincent sat down.
"How long is this going to continue?" He asked Catherine. "You have to talk."
"I'm actually doing great not talking," she answered.
"They can't get to know you if you don't talk to them."
"Yes."
He sighed. "You should let them get to know the woman I waited so long to meet. The woman I cherish."
"I don't about that. I don't know how to let them get to know me. I've spent most of my life hiding. Revealing myself feels like being naked. And there's a great big part of me that's not too pretty, is it? I don't like it when people don't like me."
"Maybe you can learn to trust these people. Trust them to like you even if you're not perfect. Trust them to accept you, even if they disagree with you. I'm going to recite a poem for you:
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go.
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star.
This is my quest.
To follow that star.
No matter how hopeless,
No matter how far.
To fight for the right
Without question or pause.
To be willing to march into hell
For a heavenly cause.
And I know
If I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart
Will lie peaceful and still
When I'm laid to my rest.
And the world will be better for this.
That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
What do you think?"
"It's beautiful."
"I believe in those words, Catherine. I believe in them with all my heart."
"That's why I fell in love with you. I never loved before I met you."
"What would you say if I told you that poem describes this commune?"
"I don't understand."
"You're making a decision to turn your back on all the family and friends you've ever known, to give up your life as it's been until now, and join this community. That poem is our credo, we live by it. We—I ask you to live by it, too."
"That's a tall order…that poem is a song they wrote for the movie version of Don Quixote. I think…yes, I'm sure, Don Quixote was talking to Dulsinea when he sang it. He was explaining to her that he was on a mission, a quest, and what his quest was." She paused, and looked at their faces, expectant, hopeful. "Are you on a quest?"
"Yes, Catherine, we are," he answered.
"Catherine, if I may?" said Father. "I would like to share some of what I believe. I believe that each one of us possesses an eternal spirit that is greater than our mortal body. I believe that we spend our time on earth learning and growing. I believe that we are brothers and sisters to each other, all part of one great spirit.
"I'd like to add something," said Mouse. "When Father says learning, he's talking about moral learning. Many times in our lives, we must make serious decisions. When we make these decisions, we have to choose to do what is morally right, or wrong. We believe that we must make those choices for ourselves, no one can tell us what to do."
"We believe we're accountable for our choices, good or bad, and there are always consequences," said Mary.
Olivia leaned forward and said, "We stand up for what we believe in, even if it means we'll be ridiculed, or even physically attacked."
"It's the spirit that we share that gives us the strength to do what is right," said Pascal.
"We feel the spirit most strongly through our family, our spouse and our children. Marriage is central to our way of living," said Winslow.
"Most people think of a marriage made in heaven as a rare thing, but we believe all our marriages are made in heaven. For us, marriage is for eternity," added Jamie.
"When a man and woman from our community get married, they promise they will stay together forever," Kanin said softly, his eyes focused warmly on Olivia. "They promise they will stay together on earth and in heaven after they die."
"Our marriage ceremonies don't include phrases like, 'Till death do you part,' or 'So long as you both shall live,'" said Vincent, his voice golden, deep and rich. "We will live in love for all time."
Catherine took his hand across the top of the table. "You people live in happiness, everyday. You're content, you're at peace…well, until I got here." A soft chuckle ran through them. "Do I want that? Who wouldn't? But isn't the question really, am I ready to give up everything I own, and come here empty handed? Because my family will disown me for doing it. No money, no job. Am I ready to do that?" She paused. "Of course, here's what you don't know: In New York, I lived every day in fear. Fear of coming up short of everyone's expectations. Fear of failing. Fear of losing the faith of my family, particularly my father. There's no fear, here. Here, there's no abandoning people because they don't measure up." She drew a breath. "And the ruthlessness. Everyone else's is terrible, but mine…I don't believe some of the things I've done in pursuit of dollars. The friends I've lied to and cheated, how many trusts I've betrayed…how many times my trust was betrayed…" She shook her head. "I believe that I have found, here with you, a pearl of great price," she looked at Vincent, "and one perfect gem, and I will give everything I own to purchase them." She drew a breath. "'To dream the impossible dream'? Yes, I will do my very best to dream with you, if you will guide me."
Vincent used his arm to sweep aside their plates, leaned across the table, pulled her up by the shoulders, and kissed her.