Whirlwind 01 - Finish Line - Pt. 05

"Where is Nathan? Nathan Moore? Did ya make him wait at the baggage claim?"

"Nathan is not here, Ms. Collins," the unknown woman said.

"Where is he and who are you?"

"I'm Eileen Burns, a reporter, and Nathan took off back for the States after he was sure your flight had landed safely. He asked me to give you this."

Ariana stared at her, confused because reality was clashing so hard with her vision. She took the folder, spared the financial reports a fraction of a glance, and demanded, "That's it? He left no message? Nothing?" She thrust the envelope into Marie's hands but otherwise ignored the rest of the troupe marching out of the gate, though they milled around, aware something wasn't right.

"He said he was keeping a promise. That's all."

"An what is tha supposed ... ta ... mean ... ," Ariana's voice trailed off as a dreadful, growing certainty was seeping through her suddenly cold chest. She had been thinking like herself, not like Nathan. He would never pressure her or make her feel obligated. The fairy tale knight always claimed the princess after slaying the dragon; but Nathan wasn't a knight, and this wasn't a fairy tale, and her day dream shattered with heart-crushing force.

"There's fifty thousand people waiting in the stadium, an at least that many watching screens outside. You need to get there soon," Eileen prompted, feeling a sudden surge of sympathy she hadn't expected.

"I suppose ...," Ariana wavered, the emotional shock causing her to withdraw. She wasn't prepared for Marie grabbing her and spinning her around.

"What are ya doin?! What are ya sayin?! Ahhhh! Ye are drivin us MAD with yer mopin about for months. Yer future husband is jetting away thinkin ya don want him. What are ya goin ta do aboot it?"

"But his plane has taken off, what ..,"

Cassie spoke up, "Planes take off; planes kin land."

"There's the control tower," Linnae said, pointing.

"Alright, everyone," Daniel suddenly shouted. "Git don ta baggage, grab yer stuff and get ta tha busses, we are expected at the stadium. Move it, people." He turned to the women. "The five o' ya go get Nathan back an meet us at the stadium, an don be long." He turned to herd the troupe along like a sheep dog at the end of a day.

For Ariana there was a blur of travel which seemed to involve a baggage cart driven wildly across the airport by Linnae, and the formidable security door at the tower, which Cassie bluffed them through on sheer force of personality, and they found themselves face-to-face with a cross and confused air traffic control supervisor, who wasn't being very receptive.

"Yes, I have the authority ta order a plane back, but I hae no reasons ta do it."

Cassie and Linnae pushed Ariana forward and Marie stood on tiptoe, the better to glare at the man. "In case ya are no a complete dullard, ya might recognize Ariana Collins? The Amazin Race? Team Number One? Ahh, I see ya do. Well the other half o' Team Number One is headed west at high speed due ta a little misunderstandin an needs to get back here, like now."

Finally caught up, the supervisor turned and snapped, "Arnie, is charter flight 3437 still in our air space?"

"Aye," called one of the men at a radar screen.

"Call charter 3437 an tell them ta get back here. Clear em a space." He turned back and gave Marie a smile. Deep in his Irish soul, he didn't want to rile a beautiful woman; even if she wasn't available, she likely had pretty friends. "Along wi ya noo, we hae aboot a hundred planes oot there and we don wan any o' them ta bump. We'll bring him back ta the gate he left from as fas as we can." With that they had left for the private and charter gates, this time with Eileen at the wheel and Ariana leaning on the dash as if to make the cart go faster.

Two hundred miles away, the pilot of charter 3437 was grumbling about returning, but turning to a reverse course. The cabin attendant came in, her eyebrows raised questioningly.

"We have been ordered back to Dublin. Seems our passenger forgot something, or someone. Better tell him."

The attendant shook her head. "I'll try, but I don't think the end of the world would wake him. I haven't seen anyone that exhausted since I worked military charters returning soldiers from Afghanistan."

The door to the small jet opened and became a boarding ramp. The women dashed across the concrete as the stewardess walked down the stairs.

"What is going on?" she asked.

Ariana ignored her. "Is Nathan still asleep?"

"Yes. Poor man was exhausted."

"Go into the inside left pocket of his jacket and take oot the little box there. Bring it ta me."

The stewardess goggled at her, struggling for words. She almost refused, but Ariana's look of utter certainty, stopped her. Finally she managed to say, "Why don't you get it?"

"I don care how tired he is, the minute I step on the plane, he'll wake up. I need you ta fetch it."

The stewardess still hesitated, so Marie pushed past her, shaking her head, and walked up the stairs, She was back a minute later with a small jewelry box. The other women all stared at it, mesmerized. Ariana took it and opened it. The perfect blue diamond sparkled like a fire in the airport lights. It wasn't a cold blue, like ancient ice deep in a primordial glacier, but the warm joyous blue of a star being born. Ariana took out the ring, slipped it on her finger, and murmured a barely audible, 'Yes,' and then moved past the stewardess on the stairs.

As soon as she stepped into the cabin, Nathan became restless, and by the time she leaned against the back of the chair in front of his, his eyes had flickered open.

He seemed to have trouble focusing, but he sat up and looked at her, mumbling, "Ariana?"

"Aye, that would be me. And you are back at Dublin airport. Do no tell me, let me guess. You felt tha you had finished what I asked you to do, so you felt you had ta keep doing what I asked you before tha, to stay away, did you no?"

Nathan nodded, his mind still foggy as he struggled out of the last cloying remnants of slumber. He knew it was not a dream, he could feel her presence, and no dream could be this real. If they could have been, he would have had them before this.

"Well, tha goes to show tha I know you better than ya know me, for I very much wanted ta see ya when I landed, and I had no thought tha a gentleman would keep a lady waiting." She sighed. "You realize tha in wanting ta marry me you are completely crazy, do you no?"

"Completely crazy."

Their lips arced toward each other -- but skidded to a halt short of their goals by...

"There is no time fer tha noo!" Marie's voice interrupted them. "If we do no get the two o ya and the rest o us ta tha stadium, theres gonna be a riot tha'll make tha earthquake look like a birthday toff."

The ground cart motored them over to the executive parking area where a limousine waited, but as the six of them started to pile in, the driver shook his head and said that they wouldn't be going anywhere. Traffic was locked up tight for miles, and the fastest way to get to the stadium was probably to walk.

They all piled back out and looked around. Marie spotted a charter helicopter a hundred yards away and pointed.

Nathan nodded. "That is one of the ones I had flying in supplies."

"Well, now ye kin hae it fly us to tha stadium."

A quick dash across the tarmac to the pilot's lounge, where the English pilot was trying to make time with the pretty Irish steward, convinced him that he really needed to make another quick flight. Especially after the steward looked so impressed with the company he was keeping. Within minutes they were strapped in, with headsets on, and the rotors were starting to turn with a high pitched whine.

Cassie, Lavender, Marie and Linnae were on the front bench looking aft and Nathan and Ariana were on the aft bench facing forward, Well they would have been facing forward, but they were too busy looking at each other and holding hands.

"If you don want to spend too many more nights in tha tent o' yours at tha airport, then tha only other choice is probably me apartment, which you'll no be sleeping in withoot a wedding ring on this finger, Mr. Moore."

"I take it you don't believe in long engagements?"

"Not afta missin ye this badly fer months, I don."

"The Registrar's office opens at nine. All we need is two witnesses and two rings."

"Tha we can handle."

"Do you think your agent will mind representing us both?"

"She will think she hae died an gone ta heaven, getting ten percent o' Team Number One's royalties."

"Now, when we get ta the stadium, we will gae oot on stage together and wave ta the crowd. Then I'll kiss ya, an ye kin gae back stage an get some sleep while we take care o the show. Ye look all done in."

Contentment plus exhaustion normally equal slumber, and Nathan smiled and started to close his eyes at the mention of the word 'sleep' ... but Linnae's voice went right to his panic circuits. "So what's this we hear aboot Ariana gettin her own bus, then?"

In all his married experience, Nathan had never heard a more potentially lethal question dropped into a conversation.

He glanced up at the four intense frowns inspecting him, and glanced at Ariana, who was glancing at him. In a fraction of a second he read off her expression - 'Sorry, girls talk, you know, and they are my best friends, fellow performers, and just about the only real family I've got. I have confidence you can talk your way out of this.'

Nathan's expressive facial flicker whispered to her - 'I feel like I have to do a jig, blindfolded, in a minefield, in an earthquake. Squeeze my hand if I'm getting in too deep."

He took a deep breath and smiled gallantly. "Ladies, I'm selling my house in Hawaii and I'll need a place to work. I can work anywhere I can get on the Internet, but if I'm going to follow the tour, I should probably buy my own bus. It's just so much more convenient. Since marriage is about sharing, it will be Ariana's bus as much as it will be mine. I expect that some nights she'll travel with you, and some nights she'll travel with me. Oh, and I will have to travel occasionally for work, so feel free to party on either bus." He managed to bully his face into what he hoped was an agreeable expression rather than a bone-weary grimace. The women's frowns eased into cautious approval, and Nathan's instinct for self-preservation relaxed a fraction.

"Ya noo, do ya no, tha yer fiance there snores somethin terrible," Marie noted with a sniff.

Nathan felt Ariana stiffen and didn't even want to imagine her expression, but he squeezed her hand calmly and, in a level voice, said, "For this God granted us earplugs; anyway, I find it hard to believe Ariana could make any noise that isn't musical."

The helicopter managed to land them at the one small space that the Garda had been able to clear just outside the stadium, and they dashed through a narrow gauntlet of madly cheering fans to the Home Team's locker rooms, which had been taken over by the Madri-Gals troupe and was a chaos of activity which would have made sharks in a feeding frenzy stop and stare. The fastest set-up on record occurred; with hair, makeup and costumes almost an afterthought. The president welcomed everyone personally and then strode out on stage for what had best be a short speech of welcome and introduction. Daniel lined everyone up for their entrance timing. He gave Nathan a smile and a slap on the back.

Ariana talked to Daniel, indicating her ring and talking hurriedly about lighting. Daniel spoke to the lighting techs high in the tower on the opposite side of the stadium, high over the crowd.

The president stopped speaking, the stadium started applauding, and Daniel sent the musicians scurrying out to their instruments, praying all the while that the stadium's technicians had all their wires properly sorted. Then the back-up singers were sent out to dance to their flanking positions, waving as they chanted a chorus. Then Ariana and Nathan were waved out through the makeshift curtain.

Holding hands, they waved to the multitude of fans. The roar that came back at them was like a fire on dry grasslands. When the sound seemed as if it could get no louder, Ariana tugged on Nathan's hand, and they raised them up. The pencil spot came on and the ring exploded into blue flame on their clasped fingers, a nova-like star which could be seen across the stadium. The sound caught in thousands of throats for just moment, and then the crowd went truly mad with enthusiasm and the sound beat down on them from every direction, like a world-engulfing tsunami, the physical force of the cheers throbbing in their chests.

Nathan glanced at Ariana and, with his unique wry smile, mouthed the words, 'I guess this is the official announcement." She couldn't help laughing as she nodded, and then pulled him closer. She was going to kiss him, and wave to the audience, and crook her right leg exactly the way she had when she had been Hanna in 'To Raise the Sun," and then she would gaze longingly at him as he left the stage, their fingers sliding past each other dramatically, and then she would start the first song of the show, and ... then ... his lips met hers. All thought of theater and performances and drama and playing to the crowd were swept away in the love of his kiss. His tears teased her lips and his arms wrapped her, safe and loved, to him, and she melted as the crowd screamed and roared enough to strain every vocal cord to breaking. After far too short a time, he reluctantly pulled away and began to leave, but she held his hand, determined not to let him go. She barely heard the music start, but the song came straight out of her heart and the crowd quieted to hear her sing "True Colors" again to Nathan, her eyes never leaving his. As far as the couple were concerned, there was no one else in the noisy, crowded world.

And as the last note left her lips, she kissed him and murmured, "I love you;" a proclamation which echoed quietly in the hushed stadium, and remained hushed just long enough to hear his, "I love you too." Then the celebration began.

CHAPTER 19 -- The Afters

A crime scene investigator would have surveyed the disheveled apartment dispassionately, taking in the furniture knocked askew; the numerous glasses, mugs, and bottles ... all empty; and the abandoned shirt, discarded tie, and even a lone sock, strewn across the floor. The investigator would then confidently announce, "A party happened here." A quick look in the adjacent kitchen, and they would amend the report to say, "One hell of a party happened here."

Down a short hallway, past the bathroom, a spare bedroom, and a large closet, was the master bedroom. The bed was actually small for the two shapes cuddled up under a blue quilt decorated with white Celtic knot patterns. The larger shape moved, rolled over, wiggled to the side of the bed, flipped back the quilt, and then sat up slowly. Nathan's hair was mussed, his smile was tired, and he was totally unclothed. A quick glance located his underwear on the floor next to the bed. He picked the two pieces up, shook them out, and slid them on. He also picked up a small bottle from the floor, the label of which had two large letters on it, and set it carefully on the bedside table.

He stretched, rolled his head, and went to stand up.

An arm, slender, bare, and feminine, shot out from under the quilt and grabbed the back of his tee shirt. He sat back down and raised his arms.

"Where might ya be sneakin off ta, then?"

"The kitchen. To make you breakfast in bed."

There was a thoughtful pause, but Ariana's musical voice responded, "Later, you'll be keepin me warm right noo."

Nathan glanced over his shoulder at the tousled dark hair spread across pillow which framed her face. His 'incorrigible rogue' grin brought an instant answering smile.

"I asked three times last night if you trusted me."

"Yes, ya did indeed; an I did; an you'll be showing me tha last little thin agin right noo."

"The lady's desire is the gentleman's delight," he chuckled, turning around, laying down, and burrowing back under the quilt. There was a giggle, and a gasp, and Nathan's discarded underwear was returned to the floor. After a few minutes of deeper, faster breathing, Nathan reached out to reclaim the small bottle from the bedside table. The duet built to an urgent, intense crescendo.

The serene, euphoric silence which followed was rudely broken by the alarm, thoughtfully, and mischievously, set by Marie the night before. The alarm was abruptly silenced by the small bottle, hurled, quite accurately, by Ariana.

Sometime later, Nathan was carrying a breakfast tray to the bedroom, when he heard crying. Alarmed, he quickened his pace. Tears on a honeymoon morning didn't bode well. The bed was empty, but Ariana was huddled in the corner of the room by the closet, wrapped in a quilt, sobbing. Looking up at him were eyes full of tears and self-loathing; misery had company. Nathan set the tray on the dresser, picked her up, sat down in the corner in her place, and nestled her between his knees and just held her.

Finally the deep shuddering sobs stilled enough where the lady's words came through. "I didna noo it could be like tha; I didna noo. Things would hae been soo different. Sean would still be alive and I might be havin babies and me family and Sean's would be whole. An ... ." The torrent of words ended in a wail of helpless despair.

Nathan kissed her forehead and looked her in the eye and said, gently as a confessor, "Tell me."

The words burst out of her like an excruciating boil, long overdue for lancing, and all of the long miserable tale burst out, well punctuated with multitudes of sobs, wails, and shuddering breaths. Through it all Nathan's expression did not change, and he said not a word. Finally Ariana's soul was purged, but her spirit was still burdened and she heaved a deep breath.

"Why didn't you tell me this before?"

Her eyes couldn't meet his. "I didna know wha ya would think o me; an I was worried ya would stop lovin me."

He gently kissed her cheeks until the tear stains were gone, and then lifted her chin until their eyes met. "The only thing that hurt was that you would even think that."

"I'm sorry. Me life was all aboot me; and is a tangled muddle."

"Forgiveness may never happen" Nathan murmured, "but atonement is always necessary." He kissed her again; not a passionate kiss, but one of infinite reassurance. "I promise you," said softly, "that I won't let us fall."

EPILOGUE

The official looking letter read:

Mr. and Mrs. Robert O'Doule,

At the request of a third party twelve months ago, the Diocese of Dublin opened an inquiry into the death of your son, Sean. After a thorough and prayerful review of documents, medical records, and testimony, the determination has been made that your son was, due to extreme grief and remorse, not of sound mind at the time of his death, and therefore his action was mitigated by these circumstances. In keeping with Sections 2282 and 2283 of the catechism, Father O'Hara of Saint Steven's parish, not having the benefit of the aforesaid information, was not correct in his definitive statement as to the divine disposition of Sean's immortal soul. If you so request, the bishop will preside at a funeral observance for your son, and make available a plot in the cemetery for the interment of his remains. All reasonable and customary costs will be provided by the third party. The third party has already provided for the offering of a full set of 30 masses for the repose of Sean's soul.

It is quite unusual, but I am authorized to inform you that the diocesan Marriage Tribunal has performed a thorough and prayerful review, and issued a decree of annulment of your son's marriage to Ariana Collins.