Are you married?” I didn't know what to ask him, what to say to him. He was my uncle but it was rare family reunited. I didn't know how to handle the situation. I tried though.
Hunter nodded slowly. “Yes, she's a pistol.” He saw my expression. “I mean that in a good way,” he reiterated. “She's here somewhere,” Hunter acknowledged. “She went off dancing when the music started.”
“Let me guess, you don't dance?” I grinned, seeing from his expression he wasn't amused.
“I prefer to keep my feet planted. Trust me, it's best for everyone.” I stared at him, examining his features. I could see the resemblance between him and Gavin. They both had dark, thick hair and dark eyes. Hunter's skin had tanned, probably from being out in the sun recently. “You look like him,” I whispered, “my father.”
“Gavin?” He asked. “I hope to meet him one day. When things are settled and it's safe to travel.”
“I'm sure he'd like that.” I smiled at Hunter. I glanced towards Joshua.
Joshua came walking over. “Hey, Olive.” He pulled me into his arms for a kiss. “Care to introduce me?” he asked, wrapping an arm around my waist as he stood beside me.
“Joshua, this is my uncle, Hunter.” I glanced at Joshua for the briefest of moments. I didn't have to say another word for him to know how I felt.
“Oh.” Josh's eyes lit up as he held out his hand. “We saw you last summer in Shadow.” He laughed, glancing at me. Not caring if he wasn't supposed to speak of it. “You verified the legitimacy of Gavin's journal.”
Hunter nodded. “That's right. Our handwriting is frighteningly alike.” It had been a while ago, I was surprised he remembered. “I don't remember meeting you then…” he glanced at Joshua.
“You didn't.” Joshua laughed and gave me a smile. “Do you mind if I steal my new bride away?”
“By all means.” Hunter smiled. “It was nice to meet you both. I hope to see you again, Olivia.”
I smiled, giving a brief wave as we headed away from him. I gripped Josh's arm. “Thanks for that,” I whispered against his ear. The music pulsed louder as we maneuvered through the crowd, and I saw the band playing in front of the city center. I stopped walking, finding Joshua's hand, giving it a squeeze.
“He seemed nice enough.” He glanced at me. “You didn't think so?”
“It wasn't that.” I blushed, glancing at him.
Joshua laughed. “I don't believe you're shy. No way.” He shook his head. “I don't buy it.” I felt his arms wrap around my tiny frame as he buried his mouth in my neck. I couldn't contain my laughter as I felt his hands tickle my hips and his warm breath on my skin.
“You're trouble!” I squealed, trying to break free of his grasp. He stopped his movements, his face coming to meet my stare.
“I learn from the best.” He leaned in, kissing the tip of my nose. I smiled, knowing he was teasing. I had plenty of comebacks, but I left them well enough alone.
“Thank you.” I smiled, staring at him. “This has been perfect,” I confessed, still amazed by the fact we were married! It had been more than anything I'd ever dreamed of.
“I'll meet you back at home in a few minutes.” I kissed Joshua softly. The parade had ended and I saw a confused look pass across his face. “I promise I'll be home soon.” I squeezed his hand before he headed back for the house.
“Well, congratulations are in order,” Elsa laughed. She threw her arms around me, giving me a hug.
“Thank you.” I laughed, nodding. “I can't believe we're married. I mean, I guess we were before but…” I shook my head. It was so hard to wrap my mind around being married, then suddenly we weren’t. We'd come to accept the rules of the cities outside of Genesis, and finally we had decided of our own free will that we wanted to marry each other when the time was right. There was no one else in the world we wanted to be bound to for all of eternity.
“It's been long enough,” Elsa smiled. “I wanted to ask you before your honeymoon.” She winked encouragingly. “You've been eating the Silphium?” She walked along side me towards the house.
I nodded with a nervous laugh. “Are you sure it'll work?” I was beyond nervous. I was terrified!
Elsa smiled. “When you asked me to find a plant that would prevent pregnancy, it took some digging. I mean, it's not common knowledge these days,” she reminded me. “I'm certain that Silphium was used in ancient Rome.” Elsa smiled. “Fora had a large supply of it. It's also used to treat a sore throat, cough, and fever.” She patted my shoulder as we stopped at the house. “Don't be nervous.”
“I'm not nervous.” It was a lie. I hugged her again. “Thanks, Elsa, for looking after me.” I wasn't sure too many others would be so generous. It seemed as though everyone these days had their own agenda.
“Just take your time and enjoy it,” she laughed.
My cheeks reddened as I gave a brief wave. I was more than slightly embarrassed as I headed inside our home. “Joshua?” I called, glancing around, wondering what he was up to.
“Everything okay?” He smiled, coming down the stairs, standing just above me.
I nodded. “Yeah. Everything's good.” My cheeks were still tinged red and I reached out my arms for him.
He pulled me into his embrace. “I was wondering where you disappeared to. I wanted to tell you something.” He laughed, bringing me to sit down on the sofa with him.
“Tell me what?” I asked. I tilted my head slightly to the side as I plopped myself down on the couch beside him.
He leaned closer, resting his forehead against mine. I felt his fingers push the hair behind my ear as he wrapped his arms around me. “Do you remember months ago when I told you I had a dream that felt so real I was certain we had shared it together?”
I frowned, trying to remember back to what he was talking about. “No.” I laughed. “I'm sorry.” I shook my head, not remembering.
“It was a while ago, while we were recruits.” He smiled. “I told you the day after we had the Mindonsiphan administered to us that I was certain we shared a dream, because it felt so real. You brushed it off, telling me I was crazy.”
I laughed now, remembering the conversation. “I never said you were crazy. What I said was I believed it had been the sedative that had caused you to have such elaborate dreams.” My fingers moved down his arms, feeling him shudder from the touch. “You never did tell me about the dream.” I smiled wider. “I always assumed it was a sex dream and you were too embarrassed to share it with me.” He leaned in, his lips capturing mine. “It wasn't that.” He smiled, pulling back. “Not that I haven't dreamt about that with you,” Joshua teased. “But no, that wasn’t my dream.”
“Okay,” I laughed. “So what was it?” I couldn't believe he'd waited this long to share it with me.
“The parade, the proposal. All of it.” He smiled, feeling my body tense. Then he frowned. “It was in detail but not the type of detail with Adelaide there.” He shook his head. “Though you were wearing the exact dress from the dream.”
“How is that even possible?” I asked. Joshua shrugged. “Maybe it wasn't a dream but a premonition.”
I couldn't help but eye him skeptically. We could do a lot with our talents, but I didn't believe in seeing the future. I couldn't believe in it, because it constantly changed. Our choices determined our fate. It wasn't written in stone. “No way. Consider it weird,” I offered. “But it wasn't a premonition.”
“Come on.” He found my hands, squeezing them. “You have to believe me, Olive.”
I knew he'd never lie to me. I breathed in deeply, moving to rest my forehead in the crook of his neck. “I believe you think you saw this, us being married. I believe there may have even been a parade,” I offered. “But come on. Every detail down to the dress? A dress that didn't even exist months ago? You couldn't have known it was going to be made just for me.”
“I didn't know,” Joshua laughed. “I can't explain it. It's just, that's what I saw.” He held up a finger. “Maybe you'll believe me when you see this.” He got up from the sofa.
“Where are you going?” I asked, watching as he disappeared down the hallway.
“Joshua?” I called to him, wondering what he was up to. A minute later he reappeared bringing me a sketch he'd drawn. It was remarkable. It was obviously me, in the gown. My hair was different. It was up like it had been when we were married by the government. I smiled, glancing up at him. I knew he had a talent for drawing. He didn't do it often, but I'd seen him on occasion with a pencil. “Wow.” I stared at the picture. I knew he couldn't have drawn it in the last few minutes while I'd been outside with Elsa. It wasn't possible.
