A Brief Yuletide Respite--An ORC Family Reunion

Yesterday, I had the honor of attending a Yule dinner at the Phoenix Coop. It was a full fledged Pagan feast hosted by Ravyn, organized by Katherine, and run with drill sergeant-like precision by the Frau and her dreaded sauce-covered Wooden Spoon of Doom.

The Coop was jam-packed with the entire extended family of Casters that had trained under Ravyn’s patient tutelage in addition to all of the folks who become family over the last almost two years of adventure.

Of course, my entire family, including my daughter Alexa and her mother, Naomi were present. Alexa, as she always seemed to be, was the center of attention. Her infectious smile and peals of giggling laughter caused more than her share of bright smiles and tears of joy. At nearly 18 months old, Alexa toddled and scoot around the house and through the legs of unsuspecting adults with the agility of a house cat. Somehow, she managed to find the time and energy to spend time with each person in the house, crawling into laps, playing games, and just plain cuddling in a way that left everyone at the party marveling at her.

Naomi kept herself close to our daughter wherever she went, keeping one watchful eye on her in the way that mothers everywhere do while making polite, but distracted small talk with other guests. She lit up and basked in the praise that was heaped upon her for our beautiful daughter, but she also radiant in her own right. She had made great strides in discovering and mastering her talents under the tutelage of Ravyn and it showed in her newly found self-confidence.

Jim tried to keep a fairly low profile, as he was always uncomfortable in large groups, but all of that ended when Alexa crawled up into his lap with a book in hand. It was a tradition that had been going on now for the last six months whenever she saw him. Somehow Alexa knew that the one surefire way to draw the Professor out of his self-imposed shell was to offer him the opportunity read out loud to her. It didn’t matter what the book was about, this particular book was an illustrated children’s version of Bulfinch’s Mythology. A small crowd that included the beaming Naomi gathered as Jim opened the book and threw himself into a rousing impersonation of Zeus’s voice thundering down from Mount Olympus.

Cerrydwen was the next victim of Alexa’s tour. After having been shooed from the kitchen Hurricane Frau, Cerrydwen found herself standing at the back of the crowd as the Professor finished his tale to a round of applause. He looked up in red-faced amazement to see that he was surrounded by an appreciative audience. With a quick smooch on the cheek for Jim, Alexa was up and bouncing through the forest of adult legs before a path could clear for her. A quick, mischievous giggle was all of the warning that Cerrydwen had before she found herself with an armful of wriggling, giggling happiness.

Cerrdywen’s normally dour demeanor melted away as she was smothered in an avalanche of Alexa’s hugs and kisses. But even as the onlookers were treated to an ever-so-rare smile from Cerrydwen, she was led away, hand in hand, by Alexa to enjoy some quiet time with Alexa in her room, Naomi trailing behind at a discrete distance.

I found Katherine, Kenny and Jasmine catching up on as they nibbled on vegetables from a party tray. Jasmine leaped up from her seat and buried me in a huge bear hug, to be joined shortly by the strong arms of Kenny. Katherine stayed back, watching as the kids and I spent a few moments together bonding.

I looked up to her, and saw for the first time in a very long time that she was the strong, independent woman that I had fallen in love with so long ago. She had a presence, the strength of Will, of a person who was now confident that she could take on any potential foe, any challenge, head-on. She nodded towards the backdoor and extended a welcoming hand towards me. “Let’s take a walk, Jason.”

I nodded, hugged the kids once again and took her small hand in mine as she led me towards the backdoor and the quiet darkness of the unseasonably warm northern Illinois night. Silently, she led me out the door and towards the small stone circle that was so familiar.

She took a seat on the metal bench and motioned for me to join her, which I did.

“So what’s up? You’re looking very good, by the way.”

She smiled, brought a hand up to my cheek. “I just wanted a private moment with you, Jason. There’s something I wanted to share with you, I was just waiting for the right moment.”

“What’s that?”

Her hand dropped to her lap as she looked away briefly before looking me in the eye again. “I’m sorry that things had to end the way they did…” Tears were rolling down her cheek as she sobbed.

I reached out and touched her hand gently. “Hey, I think that’s all water under the bridge now Kate. I know I certainly wasn’t the perfect husband that you deserved.”

She waved me quiet with her other hand, took a deep breath and composed herself once more. “Jason, I know that we were both at fault in how things ended between us, and I also know that Drake made things worse so that things would break down between us. I know all of that. I’m sorry though, for everything that you’ve had to give up to make all of this happen, but I also want you to know how much I appreciate that things did work out this way.” She squeezed my hand as she paused. “I can’t tell you how happy I am now for the way things have worked out. I have finally found some of what I had been searching for all of my life. For all of the hard times we went through, the sacrifices that had to be made, I want to thank you for being the man who I loved, and still, with all of my heart and soul.”

I didn’t know how to respond. It had been so long since we had talked, really talked to each other like this.

She held up her hand again, forestalling the stuttering words I was trying to find. She leaned close to me, looking up into my eyes with an expression I hadn’t seen from her in years, the expression of love. “I also wanted to tell you that I have been working with someone and that I can now travel to that place where you describe the Tree. I’ve been there and seen it.” Her eyes narrowed into a very sultry ‘come hither’ look. “I would like to see just how magickal that place can be, if you know what I mean.”

“You mean…”

She nodded. “I’ll bet spirit sex in that place would be mind-blowing. I want you, Jason Smith.”

“Uh…um…now?”

“No, not right this instant, but soon. And I won’t take no for an answer.”

I gave her hand a squeeze before pulling closer in an embrace. “Count on it babe. You name the time, and I’ll be there.”

We were still hugging when a bundled up, but exuberant Alexa came bouncing outside, followed closely by a hurrying Naomi, a regal Ravyn, and a gaggle of followers who seemed curious as to why they had been told to come out in the balmy December night.

Soon we were joined by nearly everyone who had come to mean so much me over the last year and half. The crowd gathered around the edges of the stone circle that Alexa had moved to the center of, dancing and cooing in the nonsensical baby-talk language that she used.

As each person joined the circle they gripped the hand of the two people next to them. Naomi was to might right, and Katherine to my left. Kenny and Jasmine stood next in line from their mother, followed by Jim, the Frau, Cerrydwen and Ravyn almost directly across from me. Moira and Herne, the FBI agent Jenny Wilson and then Zenny Al Farhan and T’tubah filled in the final spaces of the circle.

When the circle was closed, everyone fell silent, as did Alexa. With supernatural ease for a toddler who normally seemed to have trouble walking in a straight line, she stood tall and straight, raising both of her arms to starlit night. We all followed her gaze and gasped in amazement at the sight of a shooting star streaking across the sky at that exact moment.

The comet blazed with a pure, brilliant blue light with an enormous tail that stretched half way across the sky, bathing the whole scene in a pearlescent blue light for nearly a minute. But none of were paying any attention to the light shed by the comet anymore as a clear, sweet voice came forth from the child at the center of our gathering.

“Dearest loved ones; take a brief moment to give thanks for the blessings that have been bestowed upon us in this time of death and rebirth. Know that it is from Death that new Life may spring forth brighter and more vibrant, stronger and more resilient. Know that this time that we have together is all too brief, but that the Love that we share is Eternal. Know that the times of great trial will soon be upon us and that great sacrifices will be required before the Dawn of New Hope will brighten our sky once again. Know though, that when all else seems lost and the night becomes darkest, that Hope and Love will see you through the time of travails. Know that my Love for each of you is as boundless as the night sky above us.”

As the strange blue light faded, Alexa’s arms came back down to her sides. She giggled once and took off at a staggering, stumbling run right into Ravyn’s arms.

Ravyn gathered up the child and stood back up. Looking at each of us in turn, Ravyn finally broke the awed silence. “Let us each remember this night. We have each glimpsed something of the person this child will become. Let us also hold onto the hope of which she spoke so eloquently. It may be that Hope and our Love for her and for each other that sees us through the coming time.” She paused for effect, before breaking into a huge grin. “But tonight, tonight we give thanks for the blessings that we have right now, right here. The Frau has managed to put together an impressive feast. So let us celebrate Yule this night in peace and love. Let’s go eat!”


(No post next weekend due to family obligations--next post to come in the weekend of New Year's.)