Mommy beamed. She clapped her hands with joy and amazement and went through the shack declaring her astonishment and pleasure. Jack had repaired the old rocker, too. Mommy said she could stand back and easily imagine her grandmere sitting in it again. While she relaxed on the galerie and reminisced, Jack and I walked to the water. He held my hand.
'See that current there?' He pointed. 'Watch. In a minute you're going to see a big snapper. There she is. See her?'
'I do, Jack. Yes.'
I took a deep breath and looked down the canal to where it turned into the deeper swamps. Jack saw the direction my eyes had taken.
'You can get to Cypress Woods from here in a pirogue,' he said. 'I'll take you for a ride next time.'
'My uncle Paul used to take my mother that way,' I said. 'She told me so. You think there's some power that makes us want to retrace the steps our parents took?'
'Power? I don't know. Maybe. I don't worry about it. I do what feels right, feels good,' he said. 'Is that too simple for you?'
'No.' I laughed. 'You still think I'm too brainy, don't you?'
'Well . . . you're getting better,' he teased. 'And growing more beautiful with every passing day.'
I looked at him for a moment and then we kissed. On the front gallery, Mommy was sitting in Great-Grandmere Catherine's restored rocker, drifting back through time and reliving her youth. I was sure she heard and saw again the people she had loved.
And I realized how important it was not to lose the precious moment when it came.
'For a while, Jack Clovis, you had me wondering where I belonged.'
'Oh. Where do you belong?' he asked, his dark eyes searching mine.
'In your arms.'
'Even here?'
'Especially here,' I said. He put his arm around me. A flock of rice birds rose from the marsh and flew past us, so close we could feel the breeze from their flapping wings. It was just the way it had always been in my old nightmare.
Only now the demons were gone.
And I was truly safe.
