Author's Note: This was difficult chapter to pull together, and I hope it is not too confusing. I tried to make everything as simply explained as possible. Any questions for clarification, as most revelations in this chapter will not come up again, please email me. Thank you Cheetahlee for your input on this one.
My Darling Love
Chapter 73 – The Choosing of Three
"Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye."
H. Jackson Brown Jr.
Just like in Wendy's previous dream, which she now inexplicably remembered vividly, while flying along they were both pulled up so fast Wendy cried out in horror. James did not cry out, only yawned as he flipped over and enjoyed the ride.
They were there, and the angel Jane met them right outside massive gates of gold and pearl that ran up into the sky as far as the eye could see. This was a moment Wendy Darling Dunange never wanted forget as long as she lived, for this is the only time Captain James Hook ever called anyone in his entire life, "Mother." He called Wendy's own mother Mary, or Madam, which she preferred. He embraced Jane, and Wendy gazed on in awe as "mother" and "son" spent a few stolen seconds together alone. James and Jane smiled at one another with much adoration and affection without speaking, only touching the other by placing their own hand to the other's heart. All too soon they walked back to where Wendy stood smiling.
"She now has doubts and will destroy everything, mother." James began with a furious tone that frightened Wendy into a straight and timid face.
Jane removed her hood, and showed her own face, and it was not a happy one. "She was all too willing to cooperate once," Jane glared with red fire burning her eyes, her son, Captain Hook, the same.
"I do not think she sees it. Show me, Mother, what you showed her," he said, and Jane folded her white gloved hands together as if about to pray and then opened them. A glorious white light projected out and James watched with wonder. Wendy could not see what he saw, for when she moved for a better position to look, all she could see was a brilliant beam of light, brighter than the sun.
James shook his head and nudged Jane, "I do not understand. You showed her everything and that, along with my story -- well, it makes no sense. Did I tell it correctly, mother?"
Jane nodded her head to James and then turned toward Wendy. Captain Hook did the same quizzing, "Gwendolyn, are you daft?"
Jane offered, "Nothing is ever easy, my son," with her angelic smile and crystal blue eyes before replacing her hood and returning inside the gates.
"Nothing is ever easy," Captain Hook repeated as he sighed, regretting that this task would most likely take him all night to complete. He wrapped his arm around the fair maiden and stepped forward, falling with her downward as she held on for her life.
"What happened?" Wendy asked, meaning where she was, for she did not recognize her surroundings.
"You are daft, Gwendolyn."
Wendy was oblivious, and rather insulted by his rudeness. She tugged on his sleeve. "Fine, I am stupid then, but where are we?"
They were in a castle elsewhere in time, and, down the hall, coming straight at them was Lorraine, George's wife from James' fairytale. But she was quite different this time as Wendy cast her eyes on her. Instead of an aged appearance, complete with gray hair, Lorraine seemed much younger, years in fact. Her hair was a lovely shade of red, still elegantly glorious in cascading waves of splendor. "Excuse me, Madam, do you know where I can find the highest tower?" James asked politely with a bow.
Lorraine looked at James and then to Wendy and then up to the ceiling, giving it some thought. "You go down this hall and take the first staircase up. Then you make a left and follow it all the way down to you reach a landing with a crimson rug, you go down a flight of steps and then up the next that will be before you. You can't miss it. Then you take a right and then your first left, another right and then your third left, you'll see a portrait of King Arthur. There you take the fifth staircase counter clockwise from the portrait and half way up you'll see…"
Lorraine was just rambling on moving her eyes back and forth between James and Wendy. "Do you see it now, Gwendolyn? Do you smell it? Now? Do you smell it, Gwendolyn? Sniff-sniff. Oh you missed it. Oh yes, the eyes. We must not forget her eyes! Very important! Now? Do you see them? Look at her eyes, Gwendolyn."
With nothing else to go on Wendy stared at Lorraine; for whatever poor Captain Hook meant, Wendy could not figure out. As she said "no" for the hundredth time and Lorraine told them in great deal how to get where they wanted to go, James stepped forward and grabbed onto the unsuspecting lady-in-the waiting to the Queen by the shoulders, swinging her about to face Wendy. "Very sorry, Madam, but please, indulge me a moment."
Lorraine did not fight back, only went wide-eyed and stared at Gwendolyn Angelina Darling before her. "Now, Gwendolyn, what do you see?" Wendy saw nothing and so she told him. He encouraged her further with, "What color are her eyes? Do you notice anything out of the ordinary wafting about this fine lady?"
Captain Hook was increasingly aggravated, and he harshly grabbed his own fair maiden, Wendy, by her arm and dragged her face to face with Lorraine. He mimed sniffing a scent ever present in the air and pointed the tip of his hook to her eyes. Wendy saw the hue and took a deep whiff with her nose and mumbled still densely uninformed, "Her eyes are hazel, and she stinks of liquor, James."
Lorraine turned bright red and then turned to face the pirate captain before her, remarking, "I do enjoy a bit of drink throughout the day to help me along. It's a hard life for me with Queen Mary gone."
Captain Hook raised his brow to his fair maiden, still unseeing, and inquired, turning his head to the wife of George the peasant gardener, "Where did Queen Mary go, Lady Lorraine?"
"To heaven," Lorraine sadly spoke, lowering her head to hide the tears that began to rain down her rather beautifully defined cheeks.
"Did you not promise her, Madam?" Captain Hook reprimanded, causing Lorraine to nod her head. "Yes, I promised my Queen and I will make good on my promise," Lorraine stated firmly, whipping her face with her dress sleeve.
"Good," he replied, "Then get to it, Madam!"
He turned his attentions from Lorraine to his wife. "Therein lies your story, Gwendolyn. Now will you ask your mother?" He leaned his head over Lorraine's shoulder giving clarification to his request, "Ask her to read your father's letter. I wrote it myself, of course, it was his words. But just the same, you should read it."
Hook released Lorraine with a bow and kiss on the hand and she went scurrying away down the hall in a rush. Wendy still did not understand, and so she asked, to his final loss of patience in the matter, especially when she tottered back and forth on her feet recalling totally irrelevant details of her other dream, "Lorraine was at the winter party held at my father's parent's house -- she went off into the room with Charlie, or was it Peter?"
Captain Hook bent at the waist and put hand and hook on his knees shaking his head. "THAT IS NOT THE SAME LORRAINE! Do you think there is only one Lorraine on the face of the planet?" He rose, shaking his fist up to the heavens, then walked away .
Wendy chased him down, listening as he grumbled to himself, " 'Tell her a story' He said, 'get her prepared,' He said, 'explain it best you can,' He said … 'Do your best to make sure everything ends like it should once and for all,' HE said … 'Remember, you don't have all the time in the world,' HE said … 'Remember, James, time is running out for you,' HE said …"
Captain stopped dead in his tracks, again shaking his fist toward heaven, this time calling out, "NOW WHAT?" he repeated, while Wendy ran after him, and still he muttered, " 'Won't get involved,' He said, leaving it up to me, He said! 'But remember, James, you are not to stay forever,' HE said! And now as everything is coming to a happy ending, it's all just all jumbled up in a fine mess as always!" James looked up through the ceiling to the heavens above, "AND HOW MUCH TIME DO I HAVE LEFT MY LORD GOD IN HEAVEN?"
A rumble of thunder, shook the castle they stood within. James, still looking up, lowered his eyes to Wendy. "Well, we'll just see about that…" he snarled, his face falling into a sinister glare as he turned about on his heel.
Wendy wasn't listening as Lorraine explained the way to the highest tower of the castle, but James apparently did, for after a time of quickly walking up and down stairs and halls, they were there. He went to the window and threw it open, and stood in the ray of sunshine that poured into the empty room, then turned to face Wendy who was crying and out of breath.
"Wendy -- darling." He sneered her surname, meant more as wicked mockery than a call of affection. He turned around and held his arms out, as if expecting her to run into them. She didn't, only waiting in the doorway.
"What do you know about your uncle, aside from what you have seen in your dreams?" he asked, and Wendy shrugged her shoulders, "I know he killed a boy while operating on him, and because of that, and the fact he is a drunk, lost everything."
Captain Hook nodded and leaned forward repeating nastily, "lies, lies, lies..."
There was no lie in her recounting of a commonly told tale and Wendy told him.
"I know I this is going to hurt, a lot, but as I see it, there is no other way." He leaned his head back and looked out into the sky that had clouded over instantly. "Do your worst Lord, for I am deserving of it!" Captain Hook declared and with those words, a torrential downpours of rain began with loud thunder resounded shaking the ground from the huge jets of lightening striking the earth.
"You are very correct in Your thinking of me, Dearest Lord, Light of Light, True God of True God…I am rebellious…" James shifted back and stood before his Wendy, "No, keep your distance Gwendolyn," he commanded as she took a swift step toward his arms. With her safely pushed away, he began.
"For the sake of time and a happy ending for your parents -- as they are deserving of an eternity uninterrupted without all this worldly nonsense, Gwendolyn, you must listen and ask no questions. Do not doubt what I say, for once it is said, it will never be said again." He stood further away from her shifting only his eyes upwards and then back to her once more with raised brow.
"First, Gwendolyn, the truth of our situation…I am not your husband and father to your children. I am not a carpenter who was once a priest. I was only entrusted with his body to assure that you were married and called a "wife" and "mother" in your lifetime. You see, dearest love, when I am done with this final task, I am to return to heaven. When that happens, Captain Hook, as you know me, will be no more. You won't even remember me … you will only remember James Dunange, and what a fine man he is, fair trade for me on earth. All the bygones that are bygones will be just that, bygones."
Tears already in her eyes overflowed once more, "No, you are real! My love for you made you that way!"
"No, your love cost me my heart. Peter Pan stabbed it clear through! Don't you remember? And without my heart, at least on earth, I cannot live."
"You have no heart?" Wendy asked running towards him, but he grabbed her about the shoulders and threw her across the room.
"Of course I still have my heart. However would I be able to love you like I do without it? It's just not the one that would assure me a happily-ever-after on earth. In heaven, yes, but on earth, I'm sorry, my love, no. We are not really married, for you are truly married to another. So, for the time being, I've been borrowing Father Dunange's heart and body. And a fine heart it is. You see, Gwendolyn, although he made a good priest, God knew he would make a better husband and father. And that is why, when you prayed, he was chosen. You both needed to be convinced to go on, him away from his misdirected calling, you away from a pirate captain. If you were not so daft dearest love, and utterly deaf and blind to see the truth of situation as it was, I would not be here at all. But alas, you are, and so, here I am once again, a servant to the almighty Lord sent to save the day!"
As he spoke, the first bolt of lightening crashed in through the window and struck down Captain James Hook. He fell to the floor, but stood again. His pirate regalia was now gone, and he was no more than a man dressed in his pajamas, with long curly dark locks and a hook for a right hand. "I could have done that myself, but thank You anyway!" he shouted out into the darkened sky.
"Now, with all that aside, on to your parents. I was cast in your father's likeness, and your are mistaken to think it any other way." Another a bolt of lightening struck him in the back and removed from him his hook. That surge of power took a lot out of him and it took him quite awhile to stand. As defiant as ever, James shrieked as he got up, "WHAT WAS THAT FOR? SHE KNOWS THAT PART ALREADY, DOES SHE NOT?"
"But you told my mother you came first?" Wendy asked clutching her hands to her chest. Seems the dearest Lord in heaven was angered by Captain Hook's questions, and so another bolt of lightening knocked him down once more as Wendy spoke.
After moaning in agony he chuckled, "Well Gwendolyn, my beauty…I lied to your lovely mother…"
On his feet, he now went on and the rain that poured down also began pelting the castle with hail and sleet. "I was cast in his likeness, Queen Mary's George, and no other. BUT that is not why we are here now. All the proof you will ever need is in the eyes. But since you are blind to it, I'll educate you a little in the rule of three. Now, listen…" James panted, out of breath.
"Lorraine, the peasant wife of George, has hazel eyes, as does your uncle Harry. Lorraine, the peasant wife, is a drinker, a hard day indeed with Queen Mary gone, I'm sure. Hard day with Mary there as well. George's mother introduced Lorraine to drink, after her marriage, to soften the blow of her husband's continued love and devotion for the Queen. You see, Gwendolyn, Mary and Lorraine soon became the best of friends, who shared George in common, but not in the beginning. And with Mary sitting on the throne, even after they all became comfortable in their situations, George's mother constantly reminded Lorraine Mary was always to be first in George's heart, and George first in Mary's. That left poor Lorraine playing second fiddle in both of their hearts. And no matter how good Lorraine was to George, no matter how many children she gave him, Mary would always be his truest love, the one he would look for in heaven. Thus, she became a drinker. But I digress, for after a short time, all that didn't matter because Lorraine soon discovered that they all loved each other, just in different ways. George loved the woman Mary was, he loved the wife and mother Lorraine was. Mary loved them both as her best friends, although she did love George more, because he came first. Therefore, Lorraine loved everyone equally, no matter what they were to her. So you see, it was the three of them, Mary, George and Lorraine. Three. And it was a good arrangement and you know that with good, there must also be evil, and so you have George's mother wreaking havoc, making her daughter-in-law a drunk. Not that they were without other evils, but that, my love, is a different story. Anyway, THANK GOD Lorraine was a strong woman, and a good partner to George, and a good friend to Mary, although when not around them, she was took to the bottle, leaving herself inebriated, because of his mother. That woman never thought Lorraine was good enough for her only son, especially once he had the Queen's affections. And before Mary died, she discovered her lady-in-waiting's bad habit. Queen Mary, wise in her ways, interceded for her greatest loves and asked Lorraine to stop drinking, not just for herself, but for the others that loved her as well. And she did. We arrived here on the day she decided to honor her vow and quit the bottle, forever."
"Now listen carefully, Gwendolyn, because here is where it gets complicated. Think of your father, your mother, and your Uncle Harry for a moment, won't you?" James placed his hands on his hips and tried in vain to catch his breath. Wendy did as she was told, while staring at James.
"Alright … here we go … Harry was a drinker for the same reason, being second fiddle. His own mother gave him his first drink when he was only a young child of seven, to soften the blow of George being her favorite. She never thought her third son good enough for anything in life, no matter how hard he tried to please her. And your Uncle Harry never blamed George for it. All of George's brothers were jealous of the attention Josephine Darling showered upon your father. They took everything away from him that gave him even a little happiness the moment his mother turned the other way. And worse, she knew it and allowed it, in order to keep your father close to her. The only brother who ever gave George peace was Harold. He could have married your mother, Wendy -- it was all there for the taking. All he had to do was return to your mother's home an hour later and meet Elizabeth Baker. But no, he stepped away, leaving her for George, for that is what God wanted that day on her front stoop. In fact, of all the Darling sons, George and Harold, were always close as children and closer as adults. Harry left London because he felt it best to have your parents live the earlier part of their marriage unbothered by his company. He wanted to give them the room they needed to grow together. Just like Queen Mary did for George and Lorraine.
"Thus, Gwendolyn, you have your father George, Harry his brother, and the evil of their mother. Now, we have two, and the rule is three, so who is missing? I just gave you your answer, it was your mother. And whom did Harry stop drinking for? I believe it was your mother. And did your parents and your Uncle Harry all love one another? Did they not accept their situations in life for what they were? Yes, I think they did." With that affirmation of the truth spoken out loud, saving Wendy another lesson and a few steps up the ladder on the way to heaven, Captain Hook was again hit with lightning that blasted him across the room and into the stonewall.
Now more intent to be heard than before, feeling it could not get any worse, Captain Hook stood up with short neatly trimmed hair, each change to his persona making him less and less the dread pirate captain.
"Fair play, Gwendolyn, you must remember fair play. Queen Mary lived alone without her George, for he was married to another. She died and he lived on, still with the other, Lorraine, for company, but more so for the love. Mary, your mother was lucky in the hand she was dealt this life, she got to marry her George, but just as before, fair play being what it is, the years she spent in heaven waiting for him, he now must do waiting for her. Therefore, she is now alone on earth with no other. BUT, that would be unfair, so there is another, the same other from this story only in reverse! NOW DO YOU SEE?"
Another bolt hit him and he was now a writhing mess on the cold stone floor. Wendy went to him only to be shoved away once more. "Lorraine was happy her entire life with George, even though she knew her own husband loved Mary more. She accepted being his second love, unquestioned, and until Mary died, she drank. With Mary gone, and at her request, she spent the rest of her years sober. Your Uncle Harry has been unhappy thus far in his life, and drank his years away without ever being loved even second in a heart. He stopped drinking when your mother asked him to, and has been sober for years! If you added it up, in years, Harry and Lorraine are equal in that hardship, except Lorraine was never alone or unhappy when she had George, she died right after him. Your uncle has always been alone and unhappy, and now it is only FAIR he not be. He has hazel eyes; he loves your mother knowing there is always to be your father before him. If your mother is one, your father is second, and Harry is third - HE IS THE OTHER FOR YOUR MOTHER! God in Heaven has been hiding him in plain site all these years, Gwendolyn. Now do you see?"
"Cheater!" God thundered down from the heavens and with one last wallop of force, a massive bolt of lightening jetted down and shocked Captain Hook's body into convulsions. He had no power of speech to cry out and Wendy, his wife on earth, went to him. God could not allow that, for vengeance is His to have, especially with one so rebellious, and so He gave voice, "Leave into the light, Gwendolyn, without Captain Hook."
Wendy wouldn't leave, and being willful, and now all seeing, called out, "He is not a cheater! He only wanted to help my family and I! We, all of us, deserve to know the truth regarding our situations on earth. All this mystery, all the unknowns…It only causes hardships and suffering!"
"You must learn to see all that is unseen through your own eyes, dearest heart. It is unfair…"
"Unfair? You speak of unfair! It is unfair that Uncle Harry is to be second to anyone or Lorraine for that matter! If they did what they were asked, why were they punished in their lives?" Wendy was bold, and she interrupted the Lord mid-sentence, leaving him fuming mad above in the clouds.
God on His throne, looking down, replied, "Who are you to question Me?"
Wendy was the daughter of Queen Mary and George the Banker, and she loved everyone in her life more than she loved herself. She proved her heart true, so the answer she wanted came quickly and in a polite tone from above. "Each soul has their own lessons to learn, and every heart must learn to come second before they can be first. I assure you, Gwendolyn Angelina Darling Dunange, in a former life, you learned that lesson yourself! Now, go home…"
God sent her rocketing out the window, only to have her safely land in bed beside her husband James. She bolted awake and shook him the same and began shouting, "Are you alright? What did he do to you?" checking him from head to toe.
"Who did what, Wendy?"
She may have been blind to Lorraine, but not to James. "What did you call me?" she asked, and he answered, sleepy-eyed, "Wendy."
"My name is Gwendolyn, James," she corrected, only to hear him reply, "That is your name, yes, but no one calls you that."
"You call me that," she retorted causing him to chuckle, "Wendy you must still be dreaming, for I have always called you Wendy."
"James," Wendy began, turning on the light in their room. She stared at his face searching for what she always saw of her pirate captain in him, no longer there. Wendy hurriedly got up from bed without explanation, and raced to the attic. Her portraits and sculptures of a pirate captain named James Hook were gone. Not stolen away or thrown out, they were always there, for Wendy gazed upon the reminder of him often. In their place, she found a multitude of portraits and statuettes she had crafted of another man, unknown to her at the moment. She raced down the steps, knocking into her husband who was chasing after her and right into her mother entering in the house through the front door. "Mother, tell me about Captain Hook," she pleaded anxiously.
Mary gave her daughter a quizzical expression, "Who? Is that a character from one the children's stories?" She asked as she hung up her coat and hat.
"He is a pirate captain, mother." Wendy declared, nearly shrieking.
"I don't think you should be reading your babies scary stories with pirates and such nonsense. It will give them nightmares, Wendy." Mary continued until she saw her daughter's terrified expression. Mary gazed past Wendy to James, who could only shrug his shoulders. "Did you have a nightmare, Wendy? About pirates?" Mary questioned with a concerned and terribly confused expression.
Wendy jerked about and looked to James for some sort of godly wisdom he was famous for. He had none to give, so Wendy demanded, "James, tell me about your childhood."
James thought it was a rather peculiar question for the middle of the night. "Again?" he asked, but he felt it best to oblige. Mary made tea, and together they sat at the kitchen table. Before James began his tale, he casually remarked to his mother-in-law, "Before I forget Mum, please tell Uncle Harry, I repaired those bar stools for the tavern that needed fixing."
"What did you call my mother?" Wendy asked, shocked out of her being by the way her husband unceremoniously addressed Mary. "Mum, I called her Mum." He replied, absolutely baffled by his wife's behavior.
"No, you call her Madam…Mary even sometimes." Wendy snapped back glaring at her husband. Mary just sat unspeaking in between the both of them watching the strange display before her eyes.
"No, I call your mother Mum, Wendy, I have since we were married. I have never been so discourteous or disrespectful as to call Mum by her first name…and Madam? Madam? Why would I call Mum by such a formal fancy title?" Poor James didn't know what else to say, so he just recounted how he was a baby birthed to older parents, whose father died before he was born, his mother right after. With no other family, he was left in the care of nuns at a church orphanage, who led him as a young adult to the profession of priest.
"So you were never a pirate captain?" Wendy asked, when he finished.
"No Wendy, I have never even been on a boat, that I can remember."
Wendy closed her eyes and dropped her head on the kitchen table, sitting nearest her mother. She opened her eyes and caught sight of her Mary's ring, a gift from Harry and asked, "Are you and Uncle Harry to be married, Mother?"
Mary quickly covered her hand with the other, reminded of her daughter's outburst earlier in the evening. "I'm sorry I was rude to you, Mother, and Uncle Harry, I just never thought you would want to marry again."
Mary uncovered the ring and stretched out her long delicate fingers. "Your uncle asked me only this evening, before dinner. He knelt down on the front stoop and asked politely for the honor of my hand. I told him I wanted to talk it over with my children, but he insisted I wear his ring anyway. I wanted to speak with you, and learn your feelings before I formally accepted his proposal."
"Let's talk about it then, Mother." Wendy offered an olive branch, her hand over her mothers adding a smile of good faith.
"Alright, Wendy, but not tonight. Tomorrow."
Mary kissed Wendy on her forehead, and James as well, before heading up to bed. "Do you think she would have said yes, Wendy?" James asked, where Captain Hook would have commanded as Mary ascended the stairs.
Wendy nodded, "Yes," she told him, rising from her chair as well.
Christmas morning was a mad rush, with three children opening presents and tearing into new toys and games. James sat in the middle on the floor, delighted with his children, holding their mother about the waist and asking, "Can we have another baby, Wendy?"
Wendy thought him silly, "James, you said you only wanted three."
He shook his head, "I said no such thing, Wendy. You did. I would love to try for a fourth. Can we?" Wendy was genuinely confused and for a time, she felt her world was tilted wrong somehow. Throughout the morning Wendy constantly quizzed James on things only Captain Hook knew or would understand and each time she was denied access to the secrets stolen from his heart.
"Are you not happy with me, Wendy? Did I do something wrong? You said you only wanted a new winter coat and hat for Christmas. If there was something else you desired, I would have purchased it for you. I'm sorry if you are disappointed. If you want, later this week we can shop for something else. Anything you like. I love you more than anything in this whole world, Wendy. I only want to make you happy," James finally responded when she did not return his embrace, and refused his kiss after thanking her for the hearty breakfast she made -- eggs and bacon, his favorite.
She stared at his entire being, finally realizing that Captain Hook was gone forever, and now there was a strange man in his place, standing in her kitchen. And this man, James Dunange, was the same from all her portraits hidden in the attic she had spent the rest of the previous night gazing intently at.
The mild resemblance to her father -- the form Captain Hook returned to earth with, once hidden behind his facial hair to mask his identity as a former man of the cloth -- had faded. Dark curly locks hidden by the neat trim were replaced by a much lighter shade of brunette, straight as an arrow, cut the same way. Eyes as blue as forget-me-nots, now were chestnut brown. Facial features, lips, nose, eyebrows and complexion, all altered. He was still as tall, but no longer a dominant force within the room. More calmly disposed, with a relaxed smile. His good hand was calloused from his labor, the false one crafted from wood was chipped and worn with use; her pirate captain's hand was smooth and unmarked, even with hard labor. And always present, even if only in her dreams, but no more, his shiny, sharpened hook, gone forever. The only ring James wore upon his finger was his wedding band and as Wendy touched it, he used the opportunity to raise her hand and brush his lips upon it. "I love you, Wendy, please tell me what's wrong."
Wendy had never met this man before in her life. Oddly, she thought he was very handsome and she was very attracted to him. 'Very much so, in fact, I have never seen a man as handsome as he,' she thought, although, he bore in no way, shape, or form even the slightest similarity to Captain James Hook. But that alone did not take away the heart he had in his chest that beat for her and her alone.
For a moment, she did not respond, only concentrating on the sound of her own heart that had with his words skipped a beat, and changed its tone. Instead of Captain Hook, it now beat for her husband James. She looked up into his eyes, chestnut brown, shimmering in the daylight reflected, and saw in him all she would ever need to live happily ever after. She hugged him back with all her might, and did just as Captain Hook had asked and expected from a woman capable of loving others more than herself. She let her pirate captain go and went on. "I love you, James, with all my heart. There is nothing wrong."
With Wendy on her way, why should her mother not be allowed to go along as well? "Where is Uncle Harry, Mother? He is coming over on this blessed day, is he not?" Wendy asked cheerfully, surprised he had not yet arrived on for the holiday.
"I told him not to come by until supper, Wendy."
"Then he is to be alone on Christmas day?" Wendy asked, taking a moment to appraise her mother's disposition.
Mary did the same and replied, "He told me last night he felt uncomfortable coming over, even for supper. Really, him not stopping by to see the children open their gifts was his idea. He didn't want to intrude on us. He said he might stop over at a few of his friends' homes instead, only to make me feel better I'm sure. He would never intrude in on another family -- including ours -- uninvited. He does not think he is welcome in your house now. I'll go visit with him later. I will be spending the evening with him at his flat, we will exchange our gifts there. I bought him a pocket watch for Christmas…" Mary lowered her head without a smile and went on with her work.
Mary helped Wendy wash the dishes, and Wendy Dunange, the wife of James, who always wanted to see the secrets and confidences her mother wore upon her heart wanted the pain first, so she asked, "Do you love Uncle Harry … more than you love Father?"
The last part was a little hard to push from her lips, but Wendy did, and so Mary answered. "I love him, Wendy, but I do not think it is possible to love anyone more than I love your father. It's not just the years we spent married, or the children we had together. Our love is something completely different and impossible to describe. I told Harry I would marry him, as long as he promised not to look for me in heaven. I want to be with my George there."
Wendy cried and so did Mary. George cried also on his cloud. "But I do love him enough to marry him and be a wife to him, and a good, loyal and loving one at that. Neither of us deserves to be old, alone and unloved. And together, we can enjoy the years of our lives we have left, contented and happy."
Wendy imagined George the peasant and Lorraine his maiden in the fairy tale, holding the same conversation of the heart after they were wed. She had heard it herself, George told Lorraine he was to look for his Mary in heaven. And now here, in her father's house, Mary informed Wendy of the same. "Do you think Father would give you his blessing, Mother?"
Mary never had a single solitary intention of showing a soul the letter James had penned on George's behalf. And she wouldn't have, had not Wendy asked. But she did, so Mary gave it to her, kept in her drawer of dreams. She handed it to her daughter, along with three letters, each from a different member of Mary's family, each one from a different place in time, all relevant to the story of her life. "Your father's is the last Wendy, the others were enclosed with it."
The first letter was from Grandpa Joe to George, dated when Wendy was only an infant, months before John was born.
Dear Mr. George Darling,
I'm sorry to title you so formally, although I must say you are deserving of the formality, but I was sure that if I addressed it any differently you would not have read past the first line. George, my wife Mrs. Baker is sick, on her deathbed. She has been calling out for Mary Elizabeth for days. I went to look for your family myself at your old residence only to find you not there. I spoke with your undertaker friend, a very nice gentleman who informed me of all that you and Mary have accomplished together since your wedding. I must say George, I am very proud of you, for what that is worth. I did not make a very good impression on him, he thinks very ill of me I am sure, he would not even give me your new address for fear I would spoil your lives further.
There comes a time in every man's life when he must admit to not only God above, but to himself that he is wrong. This is that time. George I was wrong. I was wrong about you, about Mary Elizabeth's love for you, your love and intentions towards her, and everything from the moment you two met till the very moment I realized my errors in judgment. If I could take back all the wrongs that I have done not only to my wife, my only daughter Mary Elizabeth, and to you, you must believe me; I would pay to the devil to make it so. I should have been the one to bring order to my house, accepted you properly as my son-in-law and hosted a grand wedding for my daughter and her intended, no matter what the circumstances. I should have welcomed you into my home with your wife, my only daughter, and my grandbaby with open arms. I do not even know my only grandchild's name, let alone what she looks like, but I pray for her, and for Mary and for you also George, every night.
I know it is not my right to ask, but please, make peace with me and I promise to be a good father to Mary, a better father-in-law to you and the best grandfather to your daughter. I have asked for God's forgiveness, and He has granted it, along with better ears to hear with, eyes to see with and a mouth to speak with. I will use them in His good services for the rest of my life. Mrs. Baker is to receive her last rites tomorrow morning. Her doctor has informed me that her time when she will be received in heaven is only a day or so away. Still she cries out for her baby. Please, George, bring Mary Elizabeth by this night, as there is not much time left. I also humbly ask that you bring your daughter with you as I am very eager to meet her. I promise to be on my best behavior and not a cruel or unkind word to you or your family will ever pass from my lips.
I am not the monster you think me, George. I know you have heard many stories about me, most of which are true. Please give me another chance to prove myself not only as a man, but as a husband and father. I will give you and your family all the help I can give, I will be there. That is my solemn promise. My wife says she will not live to see the day that all this comes to pass, and I admit, she is probably right. But, I would not be able to sleep another night if I did not at the very least try to make things right, as they should be. This is to be the only letter I will ever bother you with. Thank you for reading it, George, and I pray that you will find it in your heart to have mercy on me. Please give all my love to Mary Elizabeth and my granddaughter, and you as well George.
Very truly yours,
Joseph Baker
It was a lovely letter from Wendy's grandpa that was an easy read. Without a word, or warning from her mother, Wendy went on to the next. Had she waited only a moment she would have seen her mother's face give an angry scowl, rereading her owns father's words once more. All Wendy got was, "No questions about this?" To which Wendy replied, "Nope," and went on.
The second letter was Grandma Josephine's addressed to Mary, dated sometime before her death, only months before Mr. and Mrs. George Darling ventured off to Paris for their ill-fated holiday. "I read that letter for the first time, the night I found your father's, after he died." Mary pointed to the messy and illegible penmanship of George's shaky blinded hand. "Forgive me, Mary," scribbled across the folded stationary.