Epilogue- Gordy
THE AUTUMN LEAVES were a beautiful sight that I took for granted during all the decades I lived here in North Carolina.
But as I carry our massive suitcase of clothes, I take in the scene.
My childhood home is a sight to behold. My turtle tail wags once I get out of the car, and there’s a pep in my step as I walk forward.
I don’t even make it up the porch before Mama opens the door.
The emotion in her eyes makes me almost shed a tear.
“Gordy!” When I reach her, I drop the suitcase, and she kisses me on the cheek.
Hugging her back, I say, “Hey, Mama.”
“Son! You made it!” Papa trails behind her, and I hug him as well. “Okay, so where’s the famous Loxley?”
“Yes, you’re only staying for two nights, and I want to get as much time with him,” Mama adds.
“Please don’t scare him away.” We laugh like it’s a joke, but I’m forty percent serious. I spent the three-hour trip calming Loxley down; he claims meeting my folks is a huge deal and wants to make a good first impression, which means he put major pressure on himself.
When I turn around, I spot my boyfriend.
Judging by his fidgety stance, he’s just as nervous as ever.
He approaches us and pushes up his glasses.
The look on his face screams, “I wish the ground would swallow me whole.” It’s adorable that this amazing guy is anxious to make a good first impression with my parents.
“You must be Loxley!” Mama says cheerfully once he walks up the porch steps.
“H-h-h-hi,” he stammers. I already informed my parents that he has dysarthria, so they should be cool. Please, please, please be cool.
Mama pulls him into a tight embrace, and Loxley is as tense as ever. As Papa approaches him, I pick up the luggage.
“Nice to meet you, son!” Papa says.
“Likewise, Mister, uh…”
“Call me Papa!” Dad hugs him and, fortunately, lets go quickly.
“And I’m Mama. Come, come, I made sandwiches for you.” She drags my boyfriend inside, chatting his ear off. When Loxley turns back to me, I shoot him a reassuring smile. All the people I love are together, a true sight to behold.
“I’m so glad you were finally able to make it out to see us. You two must have been busy all summer,” Mama says.
“Busy getting very close,” Papa says as we all sit down at the table.
“Pop,” I say in a half-warning, half-joking tone.
“Oh, hush, my dear turtle boy,” Mom says, waving me off. “I want to learn everything about my son’s fated mate.”
I cringe, and Loxley shoots me a nervous look. He knows I told my folks that we’re in love, but I guess they deduced just how serious we are. “I never…said that,” I say.
“But we’re intelligent witches,” Papa says. “Speaking of, be right back.”
We take two minutes to start eating the sandwiches that Mama kindly spread out for us. “You must be busy with work. Gordy says you have a hospital job.”
“Yes. Informatics,” he replies.
“How bright! Things must be very lively for you boys up there in Cosmo.”
“Very,” I reply. I exchange a coy look with my boyfriend. This weekend getaway is a refreshing change of pace compared to the wackiness of being at Boysen House. Between the agents of SPELL checking up on us, and Shugo and his chicken-dude, we needed some time away.
Mama asks more innocuous questions, and Loxley mostly nods in response. To his credit, he doesn’t brush away her hand whenever she squeezes his. I love seeing my boyfriend so cool with my mom.
“Here, son.” My dad returns with what appears to be a small, leatherbound tome.
“What is this?”
My folks share a serious look, then turn their attention on me.
“We love you, Gordy. But your biological parents loved you, too.” Mama’s words make my heart skip a beat.
Loxley takes my hand under the table and gives it a squeeze.
She continues, “There was something they left for you that we never told you about.”
“What?” I whisper.
“The instruction in their will was to only give this to you when you found your fated mate,” Papa says. Before I can ask, he interrupts me, saying, “Witches can see bits and pieces of the future. Who were we to not follow instructions?”
“So, here you go. Perhaps it can shed some light on your lineage,” Mama says.
Holding the small book in my hands, I notice it’s sealed shut with a lock and keyhole. I run my finger along the well-worn leather. “Where…um, where is the key?”
“We don’t know. It’s not ours to open.” Papa shrugs.
“It’s yours. We always knew you had a great destiny. Maybe the key is in your hands.” Mama’s eyes shine at me. “We love you, son, but you have Loxley now. You’ve made connections, you have your own coven, and even an ancestor at your home. You’re a grown turtle now.”
I snicker and exchange a smile with Loxley. “My only hope is that you don’t get too big and strong to visit your parents from time to time.”
With a laugh, I get up and hug my folks. As my tail wags, I reply, “Never. I love you both too much.”
Loxley eyes us with joy. In this moment, I feel so blessed.
“Alright, that’s enough of this.” Papa breaks apart. “You two wanted to go to the fall street fair, and it’s happening now.”
“True. You wanna come?” I ask Mama.
“No, we’ve been plenty of times. And you deserve a date night with your boyfriend. The stars know it took you long enough to get one.”
My cheeks prickle with embarrassment. “Mama,” I mutter. Loxley, however, just laughs.
“Take care of my son, will you?” Mama asks.
Loxley pushes up his glasses and replies, “He…takes care of me the most.”
My heart swells up at his words. I can’t believe I spent decades without Loxley, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my life without him.
***
The fall festival is as busy as ever. Fortunately, Loxley is well-versed at putting up my glamours.
He adores my turtle form, but human guise is probably for the best when it’s not Halloween.
I’m still wearing my quintessential trenchcoat, but a tank top underneath.
It’s blazing hot today, and the crowds aren’t making it any cooler.
Regardless, I adore being able to walk around in public and hold my guy’s hand.
We walk past several booths, occasionally perusing the handmade crafts. When we come upon a large line, Loxley gets excited. He points excitedly at the vendors making fall-themed cotton candy.
“You hungry?” I ask. Leaning in, I whisper, “Do you need to feed off of me?”
“No,” he says with a chuckle and a roll of his eyes.
Sure, he’s still cursed, but we’ve gotten into a groove of daily feeding from my wrist, and I’ve gotten used to the temporary pain.
I always generate my own arcana, so I’m good with him waking me up every morning.
We get to sleep together every night, so no complaints here!
He’s learned to control his empath powers, and I check up on his headaches every so often.
He can get irritated by my vigilance, but I don’t care―I’m his cautious turtle boyfriend.
With his glamouring and my constant check-ins, we take care of each other.
“I just wanted…pumpkin spice cotton candy.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Wait here?” He points to the one unoccupied picnic table, and I nod.
The moment he leaves, a crowd of kids pushes me to the side. My trenchcoat nearly falls off, so I hike it back up. Panic seizes me when I feel my large pocket is missing something. My locked tome!
“You dropped this.” An Asian woman with gray hair stands behind me. She hands me my tome, and the relief in my chest is significant.
“Thank you.”
She gives me a coy look, like she knows something about me. Can she see through my glamour? There’s no way…right?
“That’s an interesting book you have there. The design reminds me of centuries-old texts.”
Is she like a museum curator or something? “Oh, uh, yeah. That’s exactly what it is.”
“You know, some locks like that don’t have a key.”
She studies me, and I try to walk away. But something about her makes me stay. “Oh?” I ask, scrutinizing the locked book.
“But I’m sure you can open it if you use your…energy.” That last word is filled with more meaning than I can configure. Before I can say more, she walks away, but not before taking out a pipe and lighting it up. The woman saunters off through the crowds, smoking without a care in the world.
Loxley walks past her, waving smoke out of the way. He turns back to her, then to me. His face dons a pensive look as we sit at the picnic table. “You recognize her?” I ask.
“Maybe…” He shakes his head and smiles again. “Want some?” He offers me a bit of his massive cloud of cotton candy. I take a tenuous nibble and sit down. As Loxley eats, I stare at the book in my hands.
Energy…
An idea dawns on me, an instinct I need to chase. Looking around, I notice the crowds aren’t paying us any attention. So, I bring the book below the table. Concentrating for only a moment, I shove a spark of arcana into the lock.
Click!
I gasp and bring it back onto the table. Loxley leans forward as I turn the pages. There are symbols I don’t recognize, as well as language symbols―Chinese, Korean, and some English words.
“It opened with magic,” I say.
Touching the pages, the significance of it all weighs heavily on my heart. My biological parents wanted me to have this.
When I turn to the last page, I can see why: there’s a montage of old, black-and-white photographs. Each one has a corresponding sketch of an animal. There’s a turtle, a Chinese dragon, a bird of sorts, and a lion.
“Is that Kai?” Loxley asks.
My heart stops when I gaze at the photo next to the turtle. Despite the blurriness, I do recognize the young dude’s face as a little kid version of Kai.
“The Four Guardians,” I whisper. A chill runs down my spine at the gravity of it all. I knew Kai was having difficulties finding his other descendants, but I think I have the answers in the palm of my hands, literally.
“Wow,” Loxley says. I shut the book, and we both stand up. “What…now?”
“Well, later, I’m going to study this book.
” I bring my arm around him and hold him close.
“Then we’ll have dinner with my folks. We’ll play video games, shower up…
” I hold him close and whisper, “Then I’m going to make love to you in my childhood home.
” His eyes shimmer with interest, and I add, “That is, if you’re in the mood. ”
He giggles and strokes my chest. “Love that.”
“And I love you.”
“Love you more.”
Holding him by the hips, I look him square in the eyes. “Thanks, Lox. For waiting for this grumpy turtle to come around. For being patient. For everything. No matter what this book or any legend says, just know that I want to be there with you along the way.”
His eyes shine behind his glasses. “Thank you. For…waiting for my words.”
“I’d wait a hundred lifetimes for you.”
I lean in close, and when he kisses me, the whole world disappears. Loxley is my fated mate, and I’m his familiar. No force in this lifetime or the next can take away the magic between us.
The End