“Can you text him?”
“We don’t have time. You have to get into the carriage.”
Panicking now, I turn toward her and say, “I... I can’t do this. Not without him.” And I know I can’t. Keller taught me everything required for today, but I don’t think I’ll remember everything. What if I completely fuck this up? “I need him. What if I mess stuff up?”
“Miss Campbell, are you ready?” Henrik asks, clipboard in his arms, ready to move me along.
I turn back to Lara, pleading with her. “I can’t, Lara.”
Looking me in the eyes, Lara grips my shoulder and says, “You can and you will. Do you hear me? You’ve trained for this, and the people out there want to shower you with love. This is nothing to be scared of, and I’ll be right there with you, walking alongside your carriage, close enough that if you need anything—and I mean anything—I’ll get it for you. But you won’t need anything, because you’re ready for this. You’re capable, and you’re going to forget about Keller for this moment and relish in this new journey. Do you hear me?”
I nod, my lip quivering, my eyes watering.
“Someone hand me a tissue,” Lara calls out, and out of nowhere, one appears. She reaches up and dots the corners of my eyes. “I’m so proud of you, Lilly, and everything you’ve done to get to this point. Don’t let your worry over Keller ruin it. Okay?”
I nod. “O-okay.”
“Now, deep breaths.”
I take a few and then she smiles at me.
“Are you ready?”
“I think so.”
“Good.”
When I turn to Henrik, he offers me a soft smile. “Good to go?”
“Yes,” I answer.
“Then, right this way.” He gestures toward the gold carriage with two white horses leading the way. It feels like a fairy tale you see at the end of a movie, riding off into the sunset, only with this fairy tale, the prince is nowhere to be found.
* * *
“You good?”Lara asks over the bustling, screaming crowd that is taking any chance they can get to wave, say hi, or capture pictures of me as we parade around town.
“Good,” I answer even though my arm is tired, my face hurts from smiling, and my heart feels weak, like a piece of it broke off this morning.
This should be a joyful moment for me, with all the people of Torskethorpe so happy to see me, so proud, but it’s not. Keller’s absence overshadows it.
And he promised...
He promised he wouldn’t leave me. Guess I was completely wrong about that.
* * *
“You must be exhausted,”Theo says as he sets his fork down on his plate.
After a long parade of riding down the streets of the capital, I was given a tour of the statehouse and introduced to all the significant dignitaries in Torskethorpe, of which there were five since the country is so tiny. And then we went on a tour of some local businesses where I met quite a few people who offered me several gifts. Homemade flower crowns, jams, scarves, carved cods, and some doilies for my bedroom. I graciously accepted every single gift, talked about the process of making the gifts, even threw in some technical terms I learned during my training, and shook many hands while pictures were snapped of me left and right.
Not a single negative comment.
Not a single boo.
Just warm love, welcoming me to the island.
But the warm welcoming didn’t negate the fact that I was a nervous wreck, that I tripped over my words a lot of the time, and when I looked for assistance on a term, Keller wasn’t there to help me.
