Chapter 21 #2
Violet words pulsed from her shirt in rhythm with her beating heart.
But bright purple words also erupted from Jack’s T-shirt, arcing toward Stella’s words until the two sets formed a bridge between their bodies.
Then in a smooth motion, the words lifted into the air between them, pulling away from their bodies.
Jack and Stella stepped away from each other.
Heat continued to course through Stella’s veins, but unlike the times before, she wasn’t in pain. This experience was more
like being dropped into a hot tub, surrounded by warmth and flowing water. Instead of rootlike tendrils hanging from the words,
they sprouted wings. In awe, Stella spoke them aloud. “‘He talked about eternity and love as if the two were impossibly entwined.’”
The words acknowledged her voice, flapped hard enough to send blasts of wind over them, and flew high into the arched foyer
ceiling. Then they dive-bombed the circulation desk and shot right through the countertop, disappearing into the wood. Stella
didn’t realize she was trembling until Jack rubbed his hand up her arm.
“What just happened?” he asked.
A wild storm of thoughts bombarded her, rendering her incapable of answering immediately. Stella opened a bottom drawer of
the desk and reached for her journal. She found the page where she’d been cataloging the violet words and wrote down the new
ones. The collection now read: I fell in love once. Did I ever tell you that? He was excruciatingly handsome and no ordinary man, but one built from paper
and rich black ink. He talked about eternity and love as if the two were impossibly entwined. Stella looked up, her wide eyes finding Jack’s.
“What?” he asked.
The last time the painful words appeared, Stella had asked them to come gently. They’d obeyed her. This instance had filled
her with a sense of profound love.
Jack touched her arm again. “What is it, Stella?”
She closed the journal and returned it to the drawer. “The words aren’t happening to me, making me a helpless victim of their whims. We’re more like partners, working together.”
“They looked different this time,” Jack said.
Stella placed her hand over her heart where it beat in a synchronized rhythm. “I asked them to change after the last time,
to not be so painful.”
“And they obeyed,” Jack said, sounding amazed.
“I also think the words are about you,” she said, finally connecting the various pieces together.
“Me?”
Stella nodded again. “You can see them, and this last set, they came out of you.”
He pointed to her. “And you.”
“Both of us,” Stella agreed. “Reading them all together now, it sounds like I’m talking about you. About us. The beginning
of a story.”
Jack smiled. “That’s a story I’d like to read.”
“Stella,” Vicki called, coming up a nearby aisle. “One of the indoor vendors has requested power even though they didn’t originally
sign up for it. Can we get power to them?”
“We might be able to,” Stella said. “It depends on if we have an open space to hook them up to it.” She looked at Jack. “We’ll
continue this later?” Jack nodded, and they both joined Vicki to check the library’s power grid.
Food trucks arrived soon after and parked in designated spots. They prepped their menu items, and soon the summer breeze carried
the scents of vanilla waffle cones, melting chocolate, funnel cakes, spiced nuts, hamburgers, french fries, and tacos. And
those were just a few of the offerings.
The line to get into the festival stretched down the sidewalk.
At promptly ten o’clock the gates opened and a flood of people flowed in, eyes bright and faces eager.
The first band kicked off its opening number, and Stella held her clipboard of maps and information against her chest as she stood on the lawn.
“Here we go,” she said to Jack. “I know you want to help me keep everything under control, but I think you should enjoy yourself
too. Wander around and be free for a day. You could dress up in your uniform and give people a proper history lesson.”
“Do you need help at your booth with the care packages and receiving donations?” he asked.
She poked her finger into his chest. “Go enjoy the festival. I have volunteers working the donation booth. I’ll pop in and
check on them, but I have complete confidence in them.”
“I’ll be around if you need anything,” Jack said. “I’ll find you in a couple hours, and we can grab a snack at the food trucks.
Remember, you owe me a dance or two later.”
Stella wanted to spend the day with Jack, but most of her attention belonged to the festival. “I’ll keep this ship on course.”
Around lunchtime, Ariel found Stella making her rounds outside on the library grounds. Ariel had a sun painted on one cheek
and a rainbow on the other. She wore her hair in a high ponytail, and crescent moon earrings dangled from her lobes.
“I hope you’re proud of yourself,” Ariel said. “The festival is fantastic.”
Stella grinned. “The committee and Arnie did 99 percent of the work. I’m just overseeing the library vendors and problem-solving
as needed. I see you’ve been enjoying yourself.”
Ariel puffed out her cheeks and glanced down at them as though she could see the colorful designs. “It was either this or a dragon face. I figured this would be slightly more acceptable for someone my age.”
“Pfft,” Stella said. “Who cares? We’re never too old to enjoy ourselves.”
“I like this happy version of you,” Ariel said as a kid ran by with a balloon shaped like a dog.
“Me too.”
“Anything more happening with those new words?” Ariel asked. “The ones that are kinda scary?”
Stella placed a hand on her chest. “Yes. I’ve received a lot more. Just this morning the purple words came out of me and Jack.” Using her fingers, she drew an arcing bridge in the air. “They joined up, grew wings, and flew away.”
“Well, that’s not the weirdest thing you’ve ever told me,” Ariel said, “but it ranks pretty high. What do you think it means?”
“It feels like a story about Jack and me,” Stella said.
“Not to be a downer, but Arnie said it’s not possible to prolong Jack’s stay. What exactly did he say?”
Stella stared off into the crowd of happy faces. “He said there are rules, and we have to follow them.”
Ariel’s sunshine and rainbow wilted when her lips did. “That’s it? No details? No explanation as to why?”
Stella nodded but stopped. “Hmm, well, now that you mention it, when I asked him about extending a character’s stay, he said
he wasn’t doing that ‘again.’”
Ariel’s lips parted in a look of surprise. “Do you think he tried to keep someone here before?”
Was Arnie adamant about not allowing Stella to try because he’d tried and failed? Who would Arnie have wanted to stay? “I’ll
have to ask him. He wouldn’t say more this morning.”
Ariel touched Stella’s arm. “I’m sorry, though. I was hopeful you could get more time with Jack.”
Stella sighed. “I’m trying to enjoy the time we have left.”
Ariel grinned. “Are you now?” she said playfully. “In what ways are you enjoying it?”
“Lots of ways.” Stella laughed as Ariel clapped with delight. “I didn’t tell you that Percy surprised us at Arnie’s cottage.”
“No, he didn’t!” Ariel exclaimed. “He didn’t surprise you in the middle of—”
“Good heavens, no!” Stella said, and they both giggled. “That would have been awful. He showed up yesterday morning, and we
were still in our pajamas.”
Ariel put her hand over her heart. “Poor Percy. He can’t handle you growing up and making your own decisions. Have you seen
him today?”
She hadn’t been intentionally looking for her brother, but she’d spotted a face in the crowd a few times and thought it was
him. “If he’s here, he’s probably avoiding me or concocting a plan to redirect my life.”
They both scanned the throng of people around them. Ariel grabbed Stella’s arm and stiffened beside her.
“What?” Stella asked. “Do you see him?”
“Yes,” Ariel said.
“Where?”
Ariel motioned with her head. “Over by the lemonade stand.”
Stella followed Ariel’s line of vision but didn’t see Percy. At the stand she saw a woman dressed in a flowery sundress and
a man with a German shepherd on a short leash. “I don’t see Percy.”
“Not Percy,” Ariel whispered. “Liam.”
“Who’s Liam?” Stella asked. Rose petal–pink words rose from the rainbow painted on Ariel’s cheek. Ask me. Romantic. Sunset walk. “Wait, is this your client with the dog named Scout?”
Ariel nodded.
Stella nudged her with her elbow. “Go talk to him.”
“I can’t,” Ariel said. “What would I say?”
“Hello?”
Ariel laughed and then stopped and stared at Liam as he ordered a drink from the vendor. “What am I scared of?” Ariel asked,
sounding like she was talking to herself.
“You’re taking a chance on love with someone you know can’t stay forever, and I’m too afraid to take a chance on a guy I don’t even know.
And there could be a chance for something special.
You’re right. I’m going to walk over there and say hello. ” Then she winced. “Do I look
ridiculous with my face painted?”
“You look adorable, and if Liam doesn’t think so, he can beat it. You don’t need to be with anyone who doesn’t embrace all
of you.”
Joy stretched Ariel’s smile. “Wow, Stella, you have changed. Thank you for the encouragement. Wish me luck!”
“Good luck! But you don’t need it.”
Ariel bounced over toward Liam. As soon as Scout saw Ariel, her tail wagged, and Ariel bent down to pet her, causing Liam
to engage with her immediately. Within less than a minute, they were both smiling and chatting like two people who’d planned
to meet at the lemonade stand. As they walked off together, Stella squeezed the clipboard against her chest and felt buoyant
with hope for everyone, including herself.