Page 30 of Love and Clockwork

That night, I listened with pleasure as Oleander talked about his parents’ antics, knowing that within a few nights’ time, he would understand why his parents had needed him sodesperately. Besides, I thought the pub fare I bought him was sufficient payment for his inconvenience.

Two nights later, I knew it was time to ask my question.

At the end of the day, I bid goodbye to my sibling. I led Oleander to the riverbank. We sat on the dewy grass, and I asked him again to tell me the story of a particular constellation. It was a pair of legendary lovers who had a love so epic the Gods refused to let it die when they did. They were said now to bless any union that formed beneath them. I drank in every word he told me.

“Do you think our love will find its way into the stars one day?” I asked him softly.

He thought for a moment. “No,” he answered, “but it will not die with us. Our love will pass down through future generations. Our future children will tell their children. Others will speak of the happy couple they met at Everend Market who sold timepieces and pleasure devices and lubricants. Our love will touch many, but most importantly, it will last our entire life.”

“It will,” I agreed. I pulled the small ring from the pouch I’d carried it in since I’d purchased it, tied around my waist.

His eyes moved from my eyes to my lips to the box in my hand. “Is that—” His voice was almost a gasp, and I loved him all the more for it.

“I made a promise to you a year ago,” I reminded him. “It is a promise I’m happy to fulfill. In the past year, you have brought light to my life. You have shown me that there is someone whose company I enjoy more than my own.” I reached out and took his hand in mine. I had prepared an entire speech, but now, I could remember only bits and pieces of it. I knew I did not need a speech for him, for this, or for us. “When we met, you wanted marriage, and I was less sure. Within a week in your company, I knew that I would marry you. That certainty has only grown overthe course of the past year, and now, I cannot imagine my life without you.”

I withdrew the ring from the box and presented it to him. “Will you do me the great honor of becoming my husband?”

Oleander’s eyes watered, and he nodded. It was a rare moment that anything could render my beloved speechless, and I took great honor in being one of the few people to accomplish this feat. I slipped the ring on his finger, and we kissed until the dew soaked through our tunics.

The End