Chapter 36

"I remember that! The adults were really starting to worry about you! But what does that have to do with you making candles?"

"Don't you see? I had realized how important those candles were to people who were practically shut-ins. I thought how wonderful it would be to actually be a part of making them. I asked to start apprenticing in the chandler the next day and I not only found I truly liked it but discovered that I was really good at it too!"

"I never knew that about you."

"How could you Devin? You left just a few months after that Winterfest and no one heard from you for twenty years. Life does go on you know."

"Yeah I know, I just wish that I had found something I loved to do like you did. I always got bored if I was at any one thing for any length of time. So the only thing I really got good at was changing jobs and fooling people."

"I'm sorry you never found anything you really loved to do Devin, but you know there are lots of different jobs here Below that you could do and you wouldn't have to fool anyone."

"Don't try and kid me Rachel. Everyone here are so set in their ways it's not funny!"

"That's true for some, like William and Pascal, but not true of all! Take Vincent for instance! He teaches Literature and Math to the children, he also helps with plays and concerts that are put on. Then there are the more physical things he does like helping to carve new chambers and repairing furniture. He also helps Father in the hospital chamber and Mary in the nursery. Not only that, but he gives swimming and chess lessons! To top it all off, he is a new husband and about to be a father! You can't tell me a life like that could be boring!"

He gave her a sheepish grin and said, "Well, I could!"

"But that would be a lie Devin Wells, and I will not let you get away with lying to me!" she retorted.

"You know, as weird as it may seem, I have never felt any need or desire to lie to anyone here Below…well except for the old man when I was in my rebellious stage…"

Rachel gave a sputtered giggle and replied, "That rebellious stage started from the day you could walk, from the stories Mary tells!"

"Hey! I was a poor orphan boy, how could I help but be precocious?"

"Devin more than half of the children in the tunnels are orphans! They never behaved the way you did…unless of course you were the ring leader encouraging them to do things they shouldn't."

"I am sure your memory of my exploits are greatly exaggerated. You are four years younger than I am and could hardly be expected to remember much of what I did."

"You're wrong Devin. I do remember the things you did. You probably didn't know that I had a massive crush on you since I probably never registered on your hyper cool radar."

"I never knew that anyone had ever had a crush on me. I mean there have been a lot of women in my life since I left the tunnels, but never a crush, you know."

"So I guess that makes me unique," she suggested.

"I guess it does," he told her with a wink and a smile.

The next three days were surprisingly uneventful Below.

Devin managed to keep his promise to behave himself after the restraints had been removed.

Father spent hours poring over the book for his precious new X-ray machine.

Peter returned Above, unable to keep from grinning because his old friend was acting like a kid in a candy store.

Mary was able to return to her normal duties because Rebecca was spending so much time with Devin.

Rebecca was spending nearly every waking moment at Devin's bedside. She would check in with her candle-making apprentices' when she got up in the morning as well as check the chamber to make sure everything was in it's place before she went to bed each night. However, the rest of her time was spent with Devin. William even had her meals delivered to the hospital chamber along with Devin's.

To be continued…..