She gave him a friendly push and tsk’ed. “Sceptic. I will admit that’s the easy one. For the Archer we only have his belt, his eyes and the tips of the bow.” Devora proceeded to outline what she was talking about. “I made up stories to go with each constellation, because of course we don’t have mythology surrounding them the way the people on old Earth did with the original constellations. The First Settlers had fun picking out their own pictures in the sky on dark nights.”
“People like to find patterns,” Les said. “And tell stories to make the world understandable. Although I’m not sure any story could do justice to the mess we’re all in now.”
They sat together in companionable silence for a few minutes as Devora continued to gaze at the sky and reminisce about old times with her family. It was making her sad on top of her anxiety and terror over the current situation with the infected, which was never far away from her mind.
“Devora?” Les said in a tone which indicated to her he was ready to talk serious topics.
“Yes?” She was braced for whatever he wanted to tell her so his next words were a surprise.
“What are you hoping for in the Glastine refugee camp? Why are you so set on going there?”
“Community,” she said without any hesitation. “A place to build a future again, with likeminded people. Rosewater was a pretty nice place before all this happened to us. Sure we had our problems and the Fafields were a nuisance to deal with but we were a tightly unified town. We had a common identity, we had shared memories and experiences. Now it’s all gone, blown away on the wind. There are hardly any of us here on the buses and who knows if anyone else survived the fall of Jonny’s compound. At least at Glastine someone is trying to start over. I want to be a part of making something bigger than myself. Building a future for Jenny and all the other kids who’ve survived. We can’t let the infected win. We can’t let them destroy everything we’ve built on Randal Four since First Landing.”
“All worthy goals,” he said reflectively. “Promise me one thing though.”
“What?”
“Keep your eyes and your mind open. There’s no central authority on this planet anymore and whoever is running the camp is only human. There’s no guarantee their world vision is as optimistic as yours.”
She knew he was right but the comment also made her sad because she’d be on her own in the camp, with Jenny to care for. “I have to give Jenny a chance at the most normal life possible. Grow up with other kids, you know? Even if it has to be in a guarded compound with real monsters roaming outside the fences.”
“I admire the way you’ve taken on the responsibility for her,” he said, giving her a hug. “I mean, you didn’t have to. You could hand her over to the authorities at Glastine and walk away.”
Outraged, Devora sat bolt upright and glared at him. “I would never abandon her. She’s already lost her parents and she trusts me. She even called me mommy the other night when she was sleepy and I was tucking her in. Made me cry a little. I’m not trying to replace her mother but I’m going to take the best care of her I can, always.”
“Don’t get mad—I was trying to give you a compliment,” he protested. “Did you want kids?”
“Sure, someday. But it doesn’t matter, that life is gone. Jenny was mine from the minute Tamsyn pushed her into my arms back at Rosewater. I love her.” She felt all kinds of fierce right now about protecting the toddler. The maternal instinct had kicked in all right.
“Yeah, she sure grows on a person,” he said. His expression turned serious. “People are calling you my woman now, did you know that?”
She blushed. She’d heard the talk.
“When Jenny was so sick and when those thugs snatched you I was terrified both times,” he said. “I can’t lose either of you—you’ve become my world. How long have we actually known each other?”
Devora tried to do the math in her head but the time since leaving Rosewater blurred in her mind. “Three days? Four? That can’t be right, can it?”
“I feel like it’s been a year at least,” he said in agreement. “Time and everything else moves faster in this apocalypse we’ve landed in. I’d like to make what’s between us official,” He stuck his hand in his pants pocket and pulled out a pair of rings. Extending his hand to her, he said, “I’ll stay with you and Jenny in the refugee camp and I figure it’ll go better for us if we’re a family unit.”
The huge diamond on the engagement ring sparkled in the moonlight and the plain gold band next to it was eye catching. Mouth open, Devora stared at the rings and then at Les. “Are you proposing to me?”
“Yeah, I am,” he said with a lopsided grin. “Things are all messed up in this crazy world we’re inhabiting and you and I have kind of done this all backward, but I think we’re a great team, I’m not going to leave you and Jenny alone in the refugee camp?—”
“And?” she asked, hoping for more. She thought her heart might pound its way right out of her chest.
He held her gaze. “I’m in love with you and I could no more walk away from you—and Jenny—now than I could fly to those stars without a ship. Will you give me—us—a chance?”
“Yes!” The exclamation flowed out of her lips without conscious effort. Relief and happiness flowed over her like a cool breeze.
He slid the engagement ring on her finger, where it was a bit loose and hesitated for an instant. “I’m thinking we should present ourselves at Glastine as man and wife. I’ve got a ring for myself too. If we ever are in a situation where there’s a parson or a judge who can legally marry us, I’ll do it in a heartbeat but take this as my vow to you. You’re my one and only, in sickness and in health, till death do us part.”
She let him put the wedding ring on her hand as well, having a hard time catching her breath. She’d planned her wedding down to the tiniest detail since she was about five years old, changing things over the years as her life expanded but never had she anticipated a do-it-yourself ceremony in the moonlight with no guests, no officiant and no celebration. She didn’t care, discarding all her old dreams with a shrug. This was the world she lived in now and Les was a good man she loved and that was all they needed.
Les pulled a thick gold band from his pocket and offered it to her. “Your turn.”
She took the ring and worked it over his knuckle. “I make the same vows to you, Les McDaniel. For all time, in all conditions, for better or worse, till we die.”
“I’m thinking we’ve had the worst already,” he quipped, leaning forward to kiss her. “You look beautiful tonight, Mrs. McDaniel.”
