Chapter Nine: Blue Jones
I didn't know I had fallen asleep until I heard Franklin's voice calling me from above the ground.
"Blue…Blue Jay…Blue Dog…Blue Hon…Blue Tail…Ba-Ba-Bluie."
"Shut the hell up!" I shout but a mouthful of dirt comes in so all it really sounds like is, "Shas taj sedl da!"
I hope my eyes and have the strange urge to yawn but it goes away quickly once I see Babydoll in my arms. For a second I completely forget what we are doing so far under the dirt and I shut my eyes and rejoice of the feeling of her right where she belongs. I squeeze her gently and hold her against my chest to revel in this new and extraordinarily magical feeling that is all mine until she awakes and it becomes ours. For the first time in all of my life I don't feel like a hollow chocolate bunny…for the first time I feel real and full of happiness of joy that I know is not only mine but is also my Babydoll's as well. I don't have to look to see the thread that is binding us together in our time in the darkness of the earth and forever until all the worlds collide.
"Blue, son, you have to emerge from the grave yourself without disturbing the girl. She has to come out on her own, you understand?"
"Shas taj sedl da," I mumble again.
I don't want to leave her here on her own. I don't know what kind of mental state she's in and plus she feels heavy and lifeless despite the essence I can feel pulsing in and out of us. But I know he's right, always right, and so I release her slowly and begin my slow climb through the dirt.
"There you are!" Franklin is there to great me with a towel and a bag I know is filled with fresh clothes but really I need a hand to pull me out. "I was beginning to think I'd have to pull you out myself."
I motion to my waist still stuck in the dirt like it's a pool of foam and grumble, "Just shut up and give me a hand."
He grins and reaches forward to grasp my palm and with ease detach me from the soil bed. When I'm free I step out far to the side by the thicket of trees and out of the clearing so I can clean myself off. I can feel Franklin's eyes on me, studying me like I'm something new and before I can tell him to stop he grumbles, "You're no fun anymore."
"What?" I snap.
"Look at you, all grown up like an adult. Where's the excitement in that? I liked it better when you were a dumb kid I needed to train and now here you are with your own dumb kid," he explains, gazing over at the grave Babydoll is still in with his voice cracking like he just might cry, "I'm too young to be a granddad!"
I grab his shoulders so fast I surprise myself and look deep into his eyes as I declare, "Listen. Okay? I need you to listen. This was always apart of the deal. We agreed I would be your Progeny if you could get me Babydoll forever and now look. The deal is coming to a close but that doesn't mean this is over. Frankly, Frank, I need you and if you lose your shit on me right now I don't know what I'll do. I'm just as hopeless and nervous and scared as I was when I first stepped out of my own dirt hole so if you think I'm not a kid anymore I've got some news for you. You're insane! Look at me, I'm freaking out. I'm about to lose my mind! What am I going to do?!"
There is a moment of silence between us in which I'm certain Franklin will either kiss me or bite me but instead he does something much worse. He begins laughing? I drop my hold on him as he stumbles backward and shakes his head, "Oh, how adorable. You really are just a loony kid waiting around for Father's orders, aren't you?"
"You're an asshole, that's all you are," I huff, stepping away from him so I can stand by my Babydoll's grave, "I don't know what I'm going to do with you."
"Oh, come on, don't take it so personal," he grins, dropping his arm around my shoulders, "Laughter is the best medicine, champ."
"Well, the only thing I'm sick of is you!" I shout, glancing over at him.
"You know, I'd suggest you keep your voice low. You don't want the first thing she hears to be an argument between you and I. That's going to set up the rest of her eternal life," Franklin warns, dropping his arm so he can cross both of them over his chest.
"Yeah, what ever. You know, I'd actually like it if you went and waited in the car. I don't want you to be the first thing she sees when she is re-born."
"What makes you think she's going to look at me?"
I motion toward his wild hair and completely cartoonish features. He nods silently and begins his slow steps backward, "Thanks, I just want this to be perfect. I want it all to go we-"
I can't believe my eyes. I had been expecting this grand explosion. I had been imaging something wild and crazy like nymphs coming from the forest around us to dance around her while she emerged. I even thought the moon would lose all its luminosity except on one wild place just around my Babydoll so she would be the spotlight in this new life of hers. And none of that happened.
Instead I see her just standing there over her grave. She is absolutely stunning as if she were made for vampirism or even the other way around. Her hair has a golden bounce I never recalled, her eyes have a shimmering blue I don't remember, and her face…I can't remember what it looked like without those fangs. For a moment her eyes meet mine and I can see the realness and honesty of them like she is back to my old Baby that had before been stolen away. But suddenly she blinks and all that clarity is gone.
I let out a deep breath and walk to her. Immediately she steps into me and places her head on my chest like she recognizes it is where she belongs. I smile softly and wrap my arms around her tight and try to shut my eyes to the hurt that is her continual absence. She will come back again, I know it. It just takes some time. Until then she will be mine like this. She is my Child for now and when she returns we can take the next step forward like we need to.
"What a lovely sight," Franklin whispers from his place by the trees.
I turn my head to see him and I can see is really smiling, really happy by our embrace. I nod my head and release my hold on her so I can guide her a step closer toward him, "Babydoll, this is Franklin. Franklin, this is Babydoll. Welcome to our new life together."
"It warms my heart to see you two together. Really, honestly, it does. I have never seen two people so truly in love and I am thankful to be a witness to it all."
A fly or some sort of buzzing creature flies by as I smile, "Thank you, Franklin. It's all because of you. You're my Maker and my Hero and if it weren't for you…I'd probably be dead somewhere."
"Or worse," he pauses, "in prison."
We laugh but when I go to put my arm around Babydoll I grab nothing but air. I look down to where she should be at my side and find my heart in her place on the ground. I look at Franklin who is looking at me with the same wide-eyed expression that I have but I shut my eyes and whisper, "It's not real, it's not real."
I hear the sound of a tree falling in the distance.
"Shit, it's real."
