Chapter 37: Good-bye forever

Popuri sank onto her bed and cried, anguished over Jack leaving and doing it so willingly. That last image of him waving to her, saying silently "I love you." Couldn't escape her mind's eye. She relived that terrible moment at least a thousand times before she managed to bring herself under some kind of control. She lay bleary-eyed on her bed, an occasional hiccupping sob escaping her lips. She felt as if she had been in her room for hours, but when she caught glimpse of her clock, she saw that it had only been an hour.

There was no smells of cooking coming from downstairs. Wasn't her mother cooking something for supper? She left her room and wandered into the kitchen to see Rick and her mother, now more healthy than she had been in years, dressing quite formally for the night. Rick was putting on a suit-and-tie, brushing his hair neatly. Her mother was wearing the blue dress that she always wore when her father came home from traveling.

"Momma?" Popuri asked.

Lillia saw Popuri and fussed, "Popuri, you're supposed to be getting ready for the Moonlight Festival."

Popuri looked at the calendar. "The Moonlight Festival isn't tonight."

"They decided to have it early to commemorate the completion of the building in town. There's going to be a feast in Rose Square." Lillia said, "I told you days ago. Now go upstairs and get ready."

Popuri shook her head, "Momma, I don't feel like it. I'm going to stay home."

Lillia approached Popuri with a look the told Popuri there was no room for argument. "Popuri, we are going to this as a family and I will not hear of anything else. Now go up to your room, young lady, and put on your best dress. I don't care if Jack did leave, you're coming with us, understand?"

"Yes, Momma." Popuri said harshly, marching up to her room and hurrying into the dress. She put her hair down, brushing it just so she would look decent enough. When she heard her mother call for her downstairs, she came down and walked behind them. Going into Rose Square felt more like going towards her own execution. She couldn't possibly feel happy now, with Jack gone.

When they reached Rose Square, Popuri was awed as she viewed that the place had been turned into a large dance floor. Old-time music flowed out of an equally old-time record player. There were poles erected with flowers wrapped around them. Flowing from one pole to the other. A buffet table had been set up on the side, the smells wafting through the entire festival area. Between the four poles was the dancing couples of the village. On the side, near the table, was a few chairs...some occupied.

Popuri lowered her head. She couldn't bear the thought of being here without Jack. It hurt so much to even think about him. It hurt to even say the name Jack. But her mother had left no room for argument. She had to be here. She wandered around the dance floor, watching the couples dance their way into each other's hearts—even if they already had their hearts there. She couldn't bear to look at them.

She sat down, was sitting for many minutes, unable to bear looking up. A few minutes later, she looked aside as someone sat next to her. It was Karen. After that, Mary came with a cup of punch in her hands. Gray sat down lot long after that. They all looked to each other but said not a word. Words were meaningless. Their eyes said more than enough. Their very sitting together held their statures up in an age-old tradition passed on from one dance on one side of the world to another dance on another side of the world. Those who sat down, sat by themselves, sat because they had no one and those on their sides simply were not who they wanted.

After a while, Popuri began to sing softly to herself, a song Jack had played for her once, one she had liked despite its mournful tone.

She swallowed, unable to continue the song as her heavy heart simply became too much for her. She blinked away tears and let her chin fall to her chest. She sighed and said to herself, "Good-bye, Jack. I'll always love you."

Suddenly, a pair of arms came from over her head and ensnared her from behind, drawing her in a tight grasp. A familiar, sweet voice filled her ears. "Well, that's good, Poe. Because I'll always be here."

"JACK?" Popuri shot to her feet, breaking even his strong hold, and spun around.

And there he was. Jack Harris in all his glory. Standing there as if he'd never left, smiling at her while he wore a simple suit and tie, but his presence radiated before her. In the span of two second, Popuri had gone from devastated to angelic. Her eyes lit again, that lighthouse of love that sat just behind her eyes lighting again brighter than ever, her face turning into a mask of radiant beauty that positively beamed.

When the moment passed and Popuri realized that Jack really was standing in front of her, she planted one foot on the chair and completely leaped into Jack's arms. He caught her and spun her around, both of them laughing deliriously as they embraced each other. When he set her down, running his fingers down her bangs so he could see her beautiful face in all its glory, he smiled. This was what he'd been wanting for so long. And for a long, long moment—at the back of his mind—Jack and Ace stood side-by-side, both feeling the same love at the same time. At last, they had found their middle-ground, the world in which they both existed and thrived in and at the center of that minute universe was a stunning young girl with pink hair.

Her eyes glistening with tears—joyful ones—Popuri looked up at him and said, "I thought you'd left me forever."

Jack shook his head, "I couldn't do something like that. I just...went to go get something from the mainland. I was there to pick it up. I just got back, in fact. So what do you think of my party?"

"You set all this up?" Popuri asked.

Jack nodded, "Just for you. Just for us."

"Then why did you make me think you were leaving?" She asked.

Jack tried to keep a smile form his lips. "You didn't realize how much you loved me until I was gone, did you?"

She nodded.

"Well, now you know why I left. I knew you loved me, Poe. I just had to make you realize it above the pain you were feeling." Popuri leaned up, her lips eager to be kissed, but he held her back, whispering to her, "Time for all that later. I'm going to talk to a few folks, so you stay right here and when I get back...I promise I'm going to treat you to all the dancing you can stand. Okay?"

She smiled, starry-eyed, and nodded. Jack walked off and, true to her word, Popuri stayed right where she stood.

Jack immediately went to the dance floor, where he picked Duke and Mann out of a crowd. "Could you two come with me?" He led them to the side where Lillia stood. She watched Jack approached with Duke and Manna and nodded to them in greeting. Jack faced them. "I made some calls, you three. I know you say I did more than enough for Flowerbud already, but...something was still missing." Jack pointed.

The three of them looked in the direction he was pointing: the trail that led to the beach. Standing there were two people and when Lillia, Duke, and Manna saw who was standing there, all three of them let out a gasp.

Standing there was Lillia's husband, smiling ferociously at her. She cried his name and rushed forward. Wrapping herself in his arms like she hadn't done since they were young and before her illness had set in—an illness now so far at bay she could walk again, move again like never before.

Coming right behind her was Duke and Manna. The instant she had seen her husband, they saw the other person standing next to him. A lithe, feminine beauty—and make no mistake, beauty was the least of the words that could be used to describe her. She had a head of long, jet black hair that went well past her shoulders and shone like silk. She looked at the world through dark green eyes. She looked to be just between that ever remarkable threshold of teenagedom and adulthood.

Duke held his breath, but said her name aloud, "Aja."

And they were off with Lillia, running towards the two figures, crying their names. Aja looked at him with the same expression: relief. Not anger at her disappearance, nor fury, nor spite, nor hate...all of it vanished as both parent and child knew only one thing: the daughter had finally come home.

Jack smiled. Yes, a few phone calls to his father had brought Kevin Harris to Aja's doorstep, speaking with her from father-figure to lost little girl that going home would not—as she feared it would be—her own execution. Thus, here she was, being ensnared by her father and mother after more than five years of absence, lost amidst a fever of tears, hugs, and praises to God for her safe return.

Popuri's father, however, had been the focus of several hours of talking. He had explained to him the illness Lillia had contracted, the cures, and that the best thing for her was he return home, which he was only too glad to do. They also talked about Popuri...to great length.

Jack grabbed himself a punch and was immediately attacked by Kai, he stabbed at him with his fingers at Jack playfully. He smiled, "Great idea, Jack, having this celebration. Brilliant move, too, pretending you were leaving. She's fallin' all over you, Amigo."

"Yeah, I figured a little wile would go a long way. But listen..." He put his hand over Kai's shoulders and said, "I wanna see if I can make a little proposition to you. I think you and someone else in this crowd can make each other happy."

So Kai listened.

XxXxXxX

Just as he promised, Jack came back and brought Popuri into the dance floor. He took her hand and they twirled, dancing to the old music as if it were sung from the mouths of angels. As they twirled and held each other, Karen watched with a mixture of happiness—yet laced with jealousy. Not against Popuri, but against the love that Popuri now had. Why couldn't that happen to her? It didn't have to happen with Jack, just someone. Someone who could love her like that.

He suddenly had a hand extended towards her, a dark tanned hand connected to a handsome vagabond who was one of the world's premiere cruiserweight professional wrestlers. Kai smiled his almost trademark smile at Karen and said, "Care to dance with me, Kare?"

For a moment, Karen studied him, as if seeing Kai for the first time in her life. But she smiled and took his hand. Together, they moved out into the dance floor at the beginning of a slow song and danced at arms length. Kai watched her, "So, Kare...you been good these days?"

"I've been better."

"I hear tell you're tired of town. Ready to leave, is that it?" He asked, looking into the sky. "It's a bad place, the big, wide world. That it is. You wouldn't get far without some cash."

"I'll make my way." Karen said.

"You'd get stuck waiting tables in butthump, Nebraska and wish you'd never left in the first place." Kai said, "You need someone to go with." He twirled her around, "Let me ask you a question: have you ever wanted to see Paris."

Karen's eyes lit up, "Yes! Of course!"

"Or the lights of Tokyo on a warm summer night?"

Karen's eyes widened, "I'd give anything for that!"

She twirled back into his arms and he whispered to her, "The northern lights in the autumn of Alaska?"

Karen smiled a little, "I couldn't dream of anything better than that!"

He smiled with her, his face dipping close to hers, "The countryside of Europe?"

Karen's smile widened, "A dream come true."

"Sounds to me, Kare, like you've got a bit of wanderlust in your blood, eh?" When Karen nodded, he winked at her, "Me, too. I travel all over, you know? Every place I said, I been there. When I leave at the end of Summer, you wanna come with me, Kare?"

Karen's face went slack. "You mean it? You'd take me everywhere you go? You'd really do that, Kai?" He nodded, "Why would you do that?"

Kai looked at her, all seriousness in his voice, "Cause I know what it's like bein' stuck in a go-nowhere town when you wanna see the world. When I did it, it took me years before I could find a way to get around and still make money. You come with me, Kare, an' I'll show ya the world free o' charge. All on my ticket. Tokyo, Canada, South America, Bombay—"

"Oh Kai...I'd love to see Bombay." Karen cooed, "But is that really why you'd take me?"

Kai pursed his lips and leaned close to her, close enough for Karen to see him in a new light, one that frightened and excited her. "I gotta admit, Kare...waking up each day to a face as lovely as yours...any man couldn't turn that down."

Karen blushed and then, without even knowing why, she took Kai in a huge kiss full on his lips. When she parted, she looked just as surprised as Kai did. "What was that for?" He asked.

Karen looked away. "Sorry. I got caught up in the idea of leaving and I just...lost my head."

Kai smiled, "Let me know if you want to lose it again."

"Get a room, you two." Jack said as he danced past them. Popuri giggled and Karen and Kai both blushed, remembering they were around other people. They continued to dance, but this time they danced just a little closer than before.

On the sides of the dancing couples, Mary watched with a sinking heart. Her eyes trained on the couples and on one individual in particular. She stood there, clutching her empty punch cup, trying not to tremble in longing. Her mother approached her and laid a hand on her shoulder, "Mary?"

Mary spun to her, "Mother, I know you've been angry with me before, but you have to let me go on with my life. I can't just sit here while the man I love is over there, away from me."

Anna looked where Mary was looking and suddenly came to realize what her daughter meant. She took Mary's face in her hands and said, "I wouldn't let the man I love get away from me either. Go, then. Go, Mary, and get him back."

Mary nodded and smiled, squeezing her mother's hand before rushing through the throng of people, gently making her way across the dance floor. Jack saw her coming towards him and felt a jolt of terror spread through his being. She was going to make a scene. Slap at Popuri and make a play for him, he just knew it. She reached them, dashed the final few feet and...

ran right past him and jumped into Rick's arms, taking him in a tight embrace. The poor boy looked confused for a moment, even when Mary took him in a deep, deep kiss. Jack and Popuri stood dancing, looking at them. "Wait a minute...Mary...you and...Rick? Wait, I'm confused." Jack said, waving his hands. "When did this happen?"

Mary blushed. "Last year, at Summer's End. When I had drunk too much, Rick walked me home and...well, he kissed me at my doorstep. I was surprised, but not displeased. After that, Rick started seeing me at night—sneaking into my bedroom. We'd talk for hours...among other things." Her face went bright red when she said this. She very well remembered those "other things" she had spoken of—including the loss of her virginity. Now, though, at the end of all the sneaking and hiding, where she could finally love him in the open with the blessing of her parents, it had all been worth the clandestine meetings.

Jack turned to Rick, "You sly devil. Rick, I didn't know you had it in you."

Rick just looked down with an expression that said 'Aw shucks'. "I've never felt like this about anyone. I know me and Mary seem like a mismatch, but I can't help it. She's the greatest girl in the world. I'd do anything for her."

Jack then turned to Mary. "So when you said you were in love with two men...you didn't mean me and Ace, did you?"

Mary shook her head. "No, I could never love Ace. Maybe at some point, Jack, there could have been something between us but things have worked for the better and I think someone..." She looked skyward, pointing her finger in the air. "Someone wanted it this way. I'm not going to be cynical about it, I'm just happy. I stuck with you, Jack, because I wanted to help you. I knew you needed it and I was the only one who knew about it. I just wanted you to be well."

Jack smiled, "Then I owe my life to you, Mary. You healed my mind...and in return I was able to heal my heart. For that, I can never repay you." He took Mary's hand and kissed it.

Mary just blushed, swiping at her bangs. "Well...that publishing contract was a very nice way of saying 'thank you'."

Rick looked to her, "Publishing contract?"

Jack laughed, "That's right, lover-boy. You're going to be dating a certifiable novelist. I hope you like the sounds of typewriter keys."

Rick and Mary just laughed. Together, with all the other couples, the danced. The music played, the hearts filled, and for one glorious night, there wasn't a problem in the world for anyone in Flowerbud. The lost were forgotten, the tears all healed, the old lovers felt once again the inevitable draw that had brought them together, the young lovers reveled in what they had found, the fathers beamed with pride, the daughters danced under beauteous starlight, nary a soul felt a shadow of darkness in their hearts.

And in Heaven, the angels sang and rejoiced.

For all was well.

XxXxXxX

With express permission, Jack took Popuri back home with the promise that he was going to romance her with a dance of her own. As soon as the door was shut, she turned to him and launched herself into his arms. He held her, taking in every sweet second that she gave him. Any thought of the sins that Ace would have reveled in flew from his mind. Popuri was too pure, too innocent to ever have something like that touch her. Jack was glad she had struck him so well so many months before. Popuri told him this night was so perfect, she hoped it lasted forever. Jack was sure it would, because he still had one more hand to play.

Popuri turned around in a dance move and Jack held her from behind, his hand reaching into his pockets slyly. Popuri closed her eyes and sighed, "Jack, this night is absolutely perfect. I don't know what could make it even more perfect."

"I do." Jack said.

Suddenly, something brushed against her nose. Something fuzzy, something fluffy, something...feathery. Popuri opened her eyes and her vision was filled with a light, fluffy blue. She paused, taking it from Jack's hands and suddenly realized she was holding Flowerbud's vaunted Blue Feather in her hands. She turned to Jack, her mouth wide in wonder. "Jack?"

"I love you, Popuri." Jack said, "And it would be my honor if you would be my wife. I can't imagine anything I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you. You're everything to me. I think I always knew it...even when we were kids and we spent so much time together that one summer. I told you I'd be back and I did come back."

Popuri's eyes shined, her face smiling at him as he clasped her hands, the Blue Feather sticking out the top. "Oh Jack! I didn't think you remembered that." Without warning, Jack began to hum a song, a familiar song that Popuri knew all too well. One she had sung since a child. "Jack, our song! You remembered it!"

"It's called 'Valentine'." He said, "I remembered it. In fact, I owed a big part of my life to it. Even when I didn't know it anymore, I still had it in the back of my head. I used to dream of those summer days, that sweet girl who played with me. It was always us, Poe. It was always us."

"Jack...of course, I'll marry you!" She cried as she embraced him, "Nothing would make me happier."

"Poe, I know the Blue Feather is the Flowerbud standard, but I couldn't resist buying this for you." He reached into his jacket and produced a small black box. When he opened it, Popuri gasped in shock as she beheld a white gold ring with a rose fashioned from rubies in the center, the band and rose surrounded in small, precious diamonds. It undoubtedly had cost a fortune, but it was a fortune that Jack had spent willingly.

Jack closed the box. "You get this on the wedding day. I already asked your dad and he gave me the okay. According to everyone I know, we only get a one week engagement, is that right?"

Popuri nodded, "I'll start making arrangements tomorrow. Oh Jack! You've made me the happiest woman alive!"

"I hope so." Jack said, "Any more than this and I might have just given up." He was joking, but Popuri simply pulled him close and the two of them kissed deeply, long and lovingly. It was the single most satisfying moment of Jack's life. Ace had had his, standing at the top of the world with a gold championship and Jack had Popuri. Yet Jack's heart swelled as he kissed his bride-to-be, knowing full well that there was nothing in the world that could compare to being in love with Popuri.

He ran something through his mind, "Popuri Harris...that sounds terrible."