Bird watched, her eyes stinging with tears.
Mikhail’s hand slid around hers. “Bird?”
“It’s okay. Tears of happiness,” she said mistily. “Tears of gratitude, too. For second chances.” She nodded at Skater and Dalisay, who gripped the cake cutter together.
Dalisay had been married to a Marine in Skater’s unit, who had died in a tragic accident while on duty overseas. Skater’s unit had promised
one another that if anything happened to one of them, their buddies would look out for their loved ones. Skater had come back to help Dalisay after his tour was done, aiding the stunned and grieving bride who was at that time six months pregnant with her daughter. Three years later, that friendship had blossomed into love. And now—today— they were officially a family.
Mikhail gripped her hand. “To second chances,” he said, and he kissed her.
Bird kissed him back. She, too, had gotten a second chance. The two of them had married quietly a month ago, so as not to divert attention from Skater’s wedding. Bird still occasionally had nightmares about her first huge, empty wedding, but her second, though much smaller, had been a pure joy.
Mr. Kleiner had sold his house and land to Mikhail. He had been relieved and delighted to do so, as he could still stay in his home, and it got his nephew off his back. He had been made comfortable in his favorite rooms, with a full-time caretaker whom Dalisay had recommended, and who the elderly man liked very much. They watched old movies together, and he still painted his seascapes.
The house gleamed in the light of sunset, freshly roofed and repainted. Bird and Mikhail’s wing overlooked the ocean, with a new floor to ceiling door opening onto a balcony, from which Mikhail could launch into the air.
Mr. Noko was secure, as well as the animal rescue. No one could disturb any of them. They were all gathered to celebrate the wedding. One of Ash and Morgana’s tiny rescue dogs had served as ring bearer.
Dalisay’s parents watched their daughter and her husband, as misty-eyed as Bird. Just as Bird had expected, Bec had convinced Bartholomew to release her and Skater’s trust funds. He had done so with little grace, but he had done so. And so the bride’s parents were able to fly out from the Philippines to be with her at her wedding.
“Hurray!” A cheer went up as the cake was cut.
Skater stepped to the edge of the gazebo, hand in hand with Dalisay. He grinned at Bird across the vast array of flowers. “Now it’s time to reveal our second reason to celebrate. Mom, come on up!”
Bird shook her head, her face burning.
“Get your tuchus up there, Bird!” Godiva yelled as the guests roared and clapped.
Mikhail lay a warm hand on her back. It was his steady support and love that gave her the nerve to join her son and new daughter-in-law at the gazebo.
Skater held up a beautifully printed new book. “Three cheers for Mom’s new book! Hip-hip—”
“HURRAH!” the guests bellowed. They broke into laughing, chattering groups as the caterers began passing out cake.
Skater admired the cover Bird had painted herself. “Tala’s still a little young for it, but we’re going to read it to her anyway. She can already pick out some of the animals in your other books. She knows bunny, and kitty, and doggie, and piggy, and cow. But she’ll have to learn a new one for this book. Mom, what made you think of dragons?”
Bec stepped up on his other side. “Mom’s dragons are adorable. Especially as they aren’t those scary ones with bat wings and sharp teeth. These are quite elegant, really, even the whiskers. Just the ticket for kids with a ton of imagination.”
Bird didn’t dare look Mikhail’s way. “That’s the audience I was hoping for. Kids similar to what I was when small, who want the world to be bigger and stranger and more wonderful, not less.”
Dalisay’s dark eyes were soft with warmth and tenderness as she said, “I was one of those children, too. Thank you for dedicating the book to Tala.”
“How could I not dedicate it to my first grandchild?” Bird exclaimed, looking at Tala, who toddled after a couple of children belonging to Skater’s best buds from Camp Pendleton.
At that moment Tala tried to chase a bigger child, and fell, and began wailing. The newlywed parents hurried to pick her up and soothe her, leaving Bec alone with Bird and Mikhail in the gazebo.
“I’m going to get some more shots,” Bec said. “I knew Grandmother wouldn’t let Grandfather come. I guess she’s pretending that if she didn’t see the wedding, it didn’t happen. But I think Father would have come if she hadn’t made such a federal case about it. I’m saving these videos for him, if he asks.” She tapped her cellphone, then moved off to take another vid.
Mikhail said, “Your children have become very good people. Are you going to tell them about me?”
Bird watched Bec chatting with the guests as she moved about filming, and then turned her attention to the new little family.
“They have such busy lives of their own, right now,” she said slowly. “I’d thought of it over these past few months, but it never seemed the right time. And then it occurred to me that I kind of like having a secret life, in effect. We have our lives with them, and the writers’ group, and here at the house. And we also have this other life, with Joey, and eventually I guess I will be traveling with you on one of those missions, to meet the rest of your clan, and see your world.”
She glanced over at where Fei Zhan stood chatting with one of Skater’s Marine buddies. Bird was glad that their children appeared to get along fine. Fei Zhan was friendly and easygoing; no one would ever know he was anything but an international businessman dealing in imported teas.
She didn’t have any overwhelming desire to tell her children about shifters, or about the possibility that Cang could turn up again. Not to mention the fact that the Oracle Stone and all its secrets still lay beneath the ground. There would be repercussions. It was inevitable.