Page 63 of Tattle Tail
She laughed, squeezing his arm. The day before, they climbed all the steps to the top of a pyramid at Chichen Itza to watch the stars. That morning, they watched the Winter Solstice sunrise at Newgrange. Soon, they would see the Winter Solstice sunset at Stonehenge.
Tomorrow, they would explore a city perched at the top of a mountain.
Humans were amazing in that they found the most inhospitable, difficult-to-reach places, and built marvels there. It was no wonder they spread across the stars. The impossible was where they made their home.
For all that the laws of physics worked seamlessly in a celestial machine, the universe was chaotic, terrifying, and wondrous. Alone against the cosmos, she had been overwhelmed. Now, she always had her mate at her side. They bickered for amusement, and arguing had been elevated to an art, but they worked together and the home they made together was real and good.
Oh, and real orange juice was amazing. Before they left Earth, she wanted an ornamental orange tree that could be housed in a container.
His hand squeezed hers. “I think it’s time we got married.”
“Are you asking?”
She half-expected a teasing retort that she declared them engaged a year ago, so she needed to make an honest male out of him. Instead, he said, “I’m asking, and there’s nothing I want more. If you don’t want it to be official, that’s fine. I’m sure Mom would love to have a handfasting or whatever. My parents were informal like that.”
“What do you want?” she asked.
“I want everyone to know that we belong together.”
“I’d want that too.”
A wedding. The practical part of her saw the wedding as a way to mend her relationship with her mother. Things had been frosty in the last year, but Tolerance had not said a word against Joseph. She was trying, and Peaceable knew that she would love to plan a big, showy wedding.
The other part of Peaceable squealed with delight. A wedding! Her wedding.
“You probably should check out Nettle’s collar,” he said, grinning like a fool.
At the sound of her name, Nettle sat at Peaceable’s feet. She crouched down and noticed a ring on a red ribbon around Nettle’s neck.
When had he done that?
She untied the ribbon. Purple gems were set in a golden band.
She glanced at Joseph, his face awash with the colors of the setting sun.
“It’s lovely,” she said.
“I’m glad you think so. I had it made from the geode you used to save my life. I know it’s not fancy—”
“It’s perfect,” she said hurriedly. It was. She held it up, letting the quartz chips catch the remaining sun. “I can’t think of anything better.”
His smile, so full of love and joy, made her breath hitch in her throat. He pointed to the horizon. “Look.”
The dark stones loomed against the setting sun. The sun was a fiery force, contained within the frame of the stone archway.
Peaceable gasped in delight. Even Nettle mewled in appreciation.
The sky turned orange, then red, and finally faded into darkness.
“Good?” he asked.
“The best,” she answered.
