ON THE WINGS OF AN ANGEL
So you thought I forgot about this story, did you? If you did, this thing proves otherwise! It feels wonderful to return to this after what feels like ages.
It helped that I watched Pinocchio earlier tonight, which got the creative juices pumping once more.
Characters (with exceptions) © Disney
Story © unicorn-skydancer08
Lyrics © Richard Maltby Jr. (taken from the movie Miss Potter)
All rights reserved.
Chapter 20: An Outing
As the days rolled along, Terence was a great deal happier than Pinocchio or Jiminy had ever seen him.
The young man's face held a much broader, brighter smile, his step had more spring in it, and he often hummed, whistled, and sang little cheery tunes while he cleaned and cooked. Beyond that, the quality of his cooking increased dramatically with the quantity. Not that he hadn't been a fair cook before, of course; he'd never made anything Pinocchio and the others couldn't eat. Still, there was a most remarkable difference in the food he doled out now.
Whenever Terence and Rhiella were together, they were inseparable. Every day, Pinocchio would watch them kiss until he thought they would kiss each other's faces off, and hug so tightly that the boy was surprised their bodies didn't permanently stick together.
Sometimes the young couple would dance in the parlor, to the tinkle of a little music box or to Terence's quiet singing—or both—with Rhiella often adding her own melodious voice. They made a lovely duet; even Pinocchio had to admit to that. Pinocchio would hear songs he knew quite well, Terence having sung them to him before bed, such as "Beautiful Dreamer" and "Too-Ra-Loo-Ra-Loo-Ral" and "Once Upon a December" (even though winter was yet a little way off), as well as songs that he knew next to nothing about, such as "Greensleeves" and "O Rowan Tree" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go."
One night, when Pinocchio should have been in bed, he instead watched Terence and Rhiella while they moved about in a gentle, hypnotic waltz in the fire's warm glow. Terence had always been light on his feet, but the way he and Rhiella danced—they seemed to tread the very air, their bodies moving as one instead of two. Rhiella's head rested in the hollow of Terence's throat while he crooned in her ear:
"Let me teach you how to dance,
Let me lead you to the floor.
Simply place your hand in mine
And then think of nothing more.
"Let the music cast its spell,
Give the atmosphere a chance,
Simply follow where I lead.
Let me teach you how to dance."
Pinocchio watched them for a long time, but they never once looked at him. Likely enough, neither of them knew he was even there in the first place.
When the boy slipped back to his room, still no one acknowledged him.
In the soft blue moonlight, under the warmth of his covers with Terry nestled against his cheek, Pinocchio lay awake for what must have been hours, unable to banish the image of Terence and Rhiella, and how happy they both looked. Oh, sure, Pinocchio had seen Terence with a happy expression loads of times.
But in that parlor…the young man fairly glowed.
He was never that way when it was just him and Pinocchio.
This realization made Pinocchio very unhappy, and somehow inadequate, as if he weren't good enough for Terence anymore.
This is not to say that Terence totally disregarded Pinocchio. Many times, the young man did invite the boy to join them in their activities, and Pinocchio accepted most of the time. But the boy always took care to stay as far away from Rhiella as he could help it. Even with all three of them together, Pinocchio still felt out of place, and Terence kept his attention fixed on Rhiella half the time.
It seemed Terence could never get enough of Rhiella, nor she enough of him.
Some days went reasonably well for Pinocchio. He flourished in his studies with Arietta and Armando, and he slept four nights in a row without the least hint of Fabrizio or the circus in his dreams. Still, the boy often felt confused, discouraged, and terribly lonely, even when Terence and Jiminy were right there. Every day, his bitterness toward Rhiella worsened. Aside from this bitterness, Pinocchio was at an utter loss of why he should feel this way in the first place.
On the other hand, the animals grew fonder of Rhiella by the day. It reached the point where Duke and Figaro would both run to her at full speed as soon as they saw her. Sometimes, when Rhiella was sitting, Figaro would curl up in her lap, and Duke either would lie quietly at her feet or (if there was enough space) jump up alongside her.
She always gave both cat and dog a soft touch and a kindly word.
Cleo also took to the lady very much. She would almost shoot straight out of the bowl whenever Rhiella came close, and allow herself to be stroked for five minutes straight.
As for Jiminy, he was turning into quite the flirt, making some Don Juan comment that would make Terence laugh or roll his eyes. Once, the young man hid his face completely in his palm when Jiminy, in a pitiful attempt to sound poetic, asked Rhiella whether the rainbow might be missing its green shaft due to the greenness of her eyes.
But Rhiella found the little cricket cute and charming all the same. Once, Pinocchio overheard Terence say that it was a good thing Jiminy was just a cricket, otherwise there would be some "mighty fine competition" going on. To this, Rhiella laughingly assured him, "You have no competition, beloved. Never have, never will."
Her relationship with Armando and Arietta improved steadily, too. Of course, Armando made it clear that he was happily married, but he was always very friendly and polite to Rhiella, always greeting her with a little bow, and sometimes planting a respectful kiss on the back of her hand. Arietta usually curtsied whenever she and Rhiella were in the same room, and for a while, she addressed her as "my lady" until Rhiella insisted on being called by her true name.
One day, when the weather had turned especially warm, Terence and Rhiella decided to take advantage of it and go for an outing. They invited not only Pinocchio to come with them, but Armando and Arietta as well.
"You mean it?" said Arietta, as if she could hardly believe her ears.
"Why not?" Terence smiled at them. "I daresay you two have earned a little holiday."
Needless to say, neither hesitated to agree to it.
Duke and Jiminy decided to tag along, too, whereas Figaro decided he would much rather stay at home. Duke shook his head at his little furry companion and gave him an "I'll never understand you" look before trotting out the door.
This outing took place by a beautiful, crystal-clear lake just outside the village. The grass grew tall and thick, wildflowers of varying sizes and colors peppered the ground, and there were some splendid trees that provided splendid shade. The group brought a large picnic lunch, which consisted of thick sandwiches with all the trimmings, pickled sausages, blocks of soft white cheese, fruit from Terence and Pinocchio's orchard, cool milk and sweet lemonade, and for dessert, an assortment of fresh cakes and pies, including orange meringue pie and spiced apple cake.
"Oooh, looks good enough to eat," Armando said when they were all sitting in the shade.
"Just remember to save some for the rest of us poor, hungry souls," said Arietta, giving him her habitual jab in the shoulder.
"Ah, don't you worry, my dear. I'll make sure to save you a crust or two. Perhaps I'll go the extra mile with a sliver of cheese."
Terence and Rhiella both laughed and Terence said, "I can see how it is that you used to be in the clowning business, Armando."
Armando grinned. "Don't you know? Clown is my middle name."
"I thought your middle name was Ferdinand," Arietta said.
"Oh, details, details, details!"
This led to another fit of laughter.
When Rhiella could speak, she said, "All right, you jokers, let's eat. We didn't put this good lunch together to have it go to waste."
"I'm in favor of that," Terence said, helping himself to one of the sandwiches.
They had a marvelous time eating, drinking, and chatting with one another. Once in a while, Terence let Duke have a sausage or a bite of cheese. Armando had some decent-sized portions, but there was enough to fill everyone to the brim.
When the last savory crumb was gone, everyone relaxed for a while to let their food settle. Terence sat with his back braced against one of the trees, and Rhiella lay beside him with her head in his lap. He sat perfectly still and let her do this, one hand fondling her long, silken hair. Armando and Arietta followed their example, only Armando was the one to put his head in Arietta's lap. Duke curled into a quiet, snug ball between the two couples and buried his nose in his paws.
Pinocchio, feeling neglected and edgy, decided to go for a little walk.
Only Jiminy noticed the boy's absence, and promptly went springing after him. He found Pinocchio by the lake's edge, moodily skipping stones across the water. Sensing that something was bothering the boy, the cricket leaped onto a sunny boulder next to him and said, "Hey, Pinoke, what's the matter?"
"Nothing," Pinocchio mumbled with his eyes on the lake.
Jiminy didn't buy it for a minute. "You know, son," he said sagely, "from what I've experienced, a little bit of 'nothing' usually means a great deal of 'something.' Come on, what's wrong? You can tell me. We could always talk to each other."
Pinocchio sighed, but gave in. "It's Rhiella."
"What about Rhiella?"
"I don't like her, Jiminy."
"What?" This took Jiminy quite aback. "What do you mean, you don't like her? What has she done to you?"
"Oh, I like her okay—or I would if Terence didn't like her so much."
Jiminy narrowed his eyes in a look of total perplexity. "What are you saying?"
Pinocchio let go of the rock he had been prepared to chuck into the water, and it landed with a dull thud next to his foot. "I'm sorry," the boy said, ducking his head. "That was a dumb thing to say. I just…I just don't know what I'm supposed to feel. She's really nice, beautiful, funny, and smart. But I…I…"
He faltered, unwilling to give voice to the word, but unable to think of any other alternative.
Finally, he let it spill: "I'm jealous, Jiminy."
"Ohh," said the cricket softly, understanding now dawning on his face.
Pinocchio's face all but burned, and not just from the sun, yet he kept going. "It's rotten, but true. You've seen how she and Terence are when they're together. Terence hardly thinks about anything else. They're always so happy, and it makes me so…unhappy. It makes me angry, and sad, and scared—"
Jiminy cut him off. "Scared of what?"
"That Terence won't need me so much anymore. That he loves her more than he loves me."
"You don't actually believe that, do you, Pinoke?"
"I don't want to. But the thought's there, and I can't help it."
Jiminy shook his head. "Pinocchio, surely you know by now how much Terence cares for you. After all he's done for you, I should say it takes more—so much more—than a pretty girl to make him cast you aside."
"I know he cares for me," Pinocchio said honestly. "I always knew. But he and I have only been together for a short time, and from what he says, he and Rhiella were together for a long time. He's used to her, but I'm not. It's a big change for me."
"Taking on a permanent home with Terence was a big change, too," Jiminy reminded him.
"And no sooner do I start getting used to it than another big change comes along." Pinocchio shook his head and sighed again. "Sometimes I just wish things could stay the way they are."
Jiminy said no more, but he regarded his boy with a look of heartfelt pity.
They stayed in that spot until Armando came along. "Oh, there you are, Pinoke!" he said, sounding relieved. "We were wondering where you wandered off to."
"Hi, Armando," said Pinocchio, striving to mask his true emotions.
"What are you doing all the way over here?"
"Nothing. Just watching the lake and skipping stones."
"Oh, you can skip stones, eh?" Armando cocked one eyebrow above the other.
Pinocchio nodded. "Terence taught me." So saying, he picked up another pebble and managed to get three skips across the water.
"Not bad," said Armando, fingering his goatee. "Not bad at all."
Stooping to take a pebble of his own, the clown went on, "But can you or Terence top this?" With a deft flick of his wrist, he sent his pebble bouncing at least six times before it sank.
"Wow!" Pinocchio's eyes widened, his mouth forming a perfect O. "How'd you do that?"
"Comes with practice, my boy. And it's all in the wrists."
Another stone went flying just then. This one scored ten solid skips.
"Great job, Armando!" Pinocchio said.
"I didn't do that," Armando said, looking puzzled.
"Like he says, it's all in the wrists," Arietta's smug voice said from behind.
Armando and Pinocchio both turned to find not only Arietta standing there, but Terence and Rhiella, too.
"Ah," said Terence, his hands folded behind his back, "a little competition going on, I see, eh?"
"I guess you could call it that," said Armando.
"Good pitch," Rhiella told Arietta with a smile.
"Thank you, my la…Rhiella."
"Mind if I take a shot at it?" Terence asked, and without even waiting for anyone's response, he had stridden up, scooped up a rock, and thrown it in an eye's twinkling.
Armando vocally counted the number of times it hurdled over the water as they all watched. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—" He had almost reached twenty by the time the rock's momentum slowed and it disappeared. "Wowsers!" he now said with his characteristic whistle.
"That's amazing!" Arietta cried.
Now it was Terence's turn to look smug as he made a little bow. "Want to try your luck, madam?" he asked Rhiella.
"Oh, I suppose it's worth a shot," Rhiella said as she sauntered up next to him. After taking a minute to study the rocks scattered at her feet, she selected one, handling it with as much care as if it were made of glass. She eyed the thing closely, rotated it, tossed it from hand to hand a few times, and then made a nod of satisfaction. "Yes, I believe this one will do very nicely."
She blew on it once for luck before taking her position at the water's edge. After another minute or two of deliberation, she wound up and let the thing go.
It easily sailed the farthest of all the rocks; Armando couldn't count fast enough. No one knew how many skips it made, for it virtually vanished into the horizon.
"Holy mackerel!" Armando gasped, his eyes the size of saucers.
Arietta said nothing, but had her eyes been any wider, they would have popped out of her head.
Pinocchio and Jiminy stood stock-still, their eyes bulging and their mouths agape.
Rhiella eyed Terence haughtily while she dusted off her hands, one against the other. "I think we know who the winner is, don't we, my dear?"
"Is that so?" Terence's blue eyes flashed.
The next thing anyone knew, he had swept Rhiella into his arms, so that her feet left the ground. "Well, then," he continued, carrying her to a wide, flat stone that stretched over the deeper part of the lake, "let's see if your little ego can help you float, missy."
Realizing his intention, Rhiella exclaimed, "You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, wouldn't I?"
"Put me down, Terence!"
"As you wish," he replied as he stood at the stone's lip, and dumped her into the water.
Rhiella's high-pitched shriek was cut short as she landed with a terrific splash. The water must have been deeper than anyone thought; ten full seconds passed before Rhiella broke the surface, sopping wet.
When she regained her breath, she told a hysterical Terence, "You did that on purpose!"
But of course, she really wasn't angry.
"Looks like you're all washed up," Terence taunted her.
Right then, he felt a hard shove from behind, causing him to fly forward. He, too, uttered a startled cry before he hit the water facefirst. By the time he surfaced as well, gasping and sputtering, it was Armando's turn to laugh.
"Who's washed up, now?" Armando gloated.
While Armando's back was turned, Arietta attempted to sneak up on him and push him in, too. He, however, had a good idea of what was coming. Quick as a flash, he turned, seized his wife, and threw her in instead.
Rhiella dived underwater just in time, but Arietta landed directly on top of Terence, bringing him down for a second dunking.
"Nice try, Arietta," Armando said when she came up. "But I've lived long enough a life of pranks to know whenever someone else tries to pull one on me!"
Arietta scowled at first, then couldn't help herself and laughed with the others.
Once they'd settled down, they decided to take advantage of the opportunity and go for a swim. Terence loved swimming, as did Rhiella, as it soon became apparent. Arietta, while not quite as skilled, paddled around some here and there. Ultimately, Armando decided to join them. He just took off his boots and his hat, and then jumped in. Duke took part in the fun as well, while Pinocchio and Jiminy opted to stand by and watch.
Together, Terence and Rhiella swam a good number of laps, using all kinds of strokes. They spent more time under the water than above it, and because the water was so clear, their bodies took on odd, distorted shapes. Sometimes they would splash each other impishly, and sometimes they would just rest and let themselves drift where they would. They were very good at holding their breath; once, Terence floated facedown for so long that Pinocchio was on the verge of total panic by the time the young man finally lifted his head to breathe again.
After an hour or so, maybe an hour and a half, everybody came slogging onto dry ground, about as wet as it was possible to get.
"Well," said Terence, pushing his dripping hair out of his eyes, "that was most refreshing."
"I'll say it was," said Armando, regarding his sodden form. "At least I've been spared a bath today."
"And I get the day off from laundry duty, too," Arietta said.
A thoroughly drenched Duke walked a good distance from the group before shaking himself all over, sending a shower of crystal drops in every direction. "Looks like we've saved Duke the trouble of a bath as well," Terence noted. "I imagine it will take forever for that dog to be dry again, to say nothing of us."
"And we can give a big thanks to you," Rhiella told him as she wrung out her hair. "After all, you're the one who started this."
"Guilty as charged." Terence shook his head happily. "But don't think I'm sorry, because I'm not. Not one bit."
Seeing yet another sappy moment coming on, Pinocchio asked, "Can we go home, now? I'm getting tired."
"We'd better get going, too," said Arietta as she surveyed the afternoon sky. "I wasn't planning to be out for this long."
"Time sure flies when you're having fun," Armando said.
"It sure does," Terence whispered with his eyes on Rhiella, and hers on him.
Pinocchio, feeling a hot, sick feeling bubbling in his stomach, turned away without a word and hurried to fetch their basket.
When they made it back to the cottage, everyone loitered for a while outside the front door. By this time, the young adults were mostly dry from their dip, though their clothes retained some dampness and their hair hung in their faces in limp strands.
"Well, this has been a lovely day, indeed," Arietta said. "Thank you, Terence. Thank you, Rhiella."
Armando nodded vigorously. "I don't recall having that much fun in ages. Thanks, mates!"
"You're both most welcome," Terence said warmly. "I'm glad you all had a great time. I know I did."
"As did I," said Rhiella.
Pinocchio looked away.
To Rhiella, Terence said, "So, my dear, think you'll be able to meet with us again tomorrow, same time, same place?"
"Oh, as if she's got anything better to do," said Pinocchio, the words spilling from his mouth before he could stop them.
Jiminy wasn't the only one to jump at the boy's outburst. Even Duke quirked his ears. Terence, the most startled of all, was speechless for at least five seconds before he found his tongue. "What did you say, Pinocchio?"
Unable to keep it inside any longer, Pinocchio blurted, "Aw, come on, we all know Rhiella is here every single day—just about every single minute, for that matter. Where else would she be? What else would she have to do with herself? Why ask such a stupid question, Terence?"
"Pinocchio!" Jiminy gasped; he had never heard the boy speak like that to Terence, or to anyone.
If Terence was shocked before, he was truly flabbergasted. Arietta put her hand to her mouth while Armando stood and stared.
Rhiella was every bit as stunned as the rest of them, if not the most.
"If you like it here so much," Pinocchio told her in a nettle-sharp tone, "why don't you just live here all the time? Then you'd never have to go anywhere and you and Terence would have all the time in the world to do all the silly, mushy things you do. That's what you want, isn't it? That's all you ever think about, isn't it? You don't have enough room in your tiny head for anything else, do you? I sure don't think so!"
To see and hear this kind of lip aimed at Rhiella, Terence's shock dissolved faster than water on a hot skillet. "Pinocchio!" he now said with a tone and glare he had never used with the boy before. "Don't you dare talk to her like that! Apologize, right now!"
Instead of apologizing, Pinocchio just turned and hurtled through the open door, as fast as he could. Terence put out a hand to stop him, but the boy was too quick.
"Pinocchio!" Terence hollered. "Pinocchio—you come back here! Pinocchio!"
But Pinocchio kept going, all the way into the house, never once looking back.
Seconds later, the group could just make out the slam of the boy's bedroom door.