“I didn’t. She proposed to me… At that Disneyland in California for Christmas.”
“Yes, ya did, sugah. Mama, he swept meh offah mah feet. He proposed to meh in the White House Rose Garden in the middle of winter… On New Year’s Eve. There weren’t any roses in bloom, but there was a trail of rose petals leading to him. He gave meh a crystal rose. And, ah’m proud ta say he got down on one knee for meh.”
Logan could tell that her mother loved every minute of their story. He decided that he would have to tell Marie how grateful he was that she left out his killing Jean and the loss of their friends. She was right to say that it was painful as she nipped the trail of conversation in the bud.
“We should go visit my gramma down the street and go see mah quilt. She lives in that big plantation house at the end of the street.”
“Ah have to go… We need more napkins. Please excuse meh for a moment.” There were plenty on the table, Logan noticed… Something was wrong.
“Somethin’s not right Marie, I can sense fear.”
“Ya want meh ta go tahlk to her?”
“No, I think I’ll go. You go see what’s up with your dad.”
“Gee thanks.”
“Would you rather we switch and I end up guttin’ your father?”
“No, no, you’re raht. We can do this, we’re X-Men.”
“Right. Stick with that.”
The D’ Ancanto’s Kitchen
Meridian, MS.
3:00 P.M.
Marie got up and went to the kitchen and Logan followed her. Her mother wasn’t there so she made her father a sandwich like she used to as a girl before she manifested with her mutation. Logan gave her a kiss before he left her at the island countertop. She went to the refrigerator and began to build her father a sandwich with turkey, lettuce, and tomato. Her inner Logan made her consider spitting on it or putting some hot sauce in it to make his mouth burn for all those nasty intolerant things he said when they met up in the parlor. Marie took control of her mind and decided to save that plan for another day if he continued to be an a-hole. She carried the plate with the sandwich and a cold soda from the refrigerator from the kitchen to ‘Owen’s Sanctuary,’ otherwise known as the den. She knocked and waited for a command to enter. She didn’t get one so she opened the door just a crack as quietly as possible. On the computer screen was Logan’s picture on some website. Suddenly, he closed the window so she couldn’t see.
“What do you want?” He spoke rather sarcastically.
“Ah came ta bring you somethin’ ta eat since you chose not to join us for lunch. Ah thought ya maht be hungry.”
“Set it on the desk and get out,” he said rudely.
“Ah know you think that ah shouldn’t still love you, or tell you that. But if ah didn’t say it, well ah’d still have felt it. Where’s the sense in that? Ah know you don’t love meh ‘cause ah’m a mutant and that’s against your principles. Ah promise ah’m not trying to make your life harder or return to where we were.”
“Well, you’re doin’ a bang up job of that Marie. My life has been nothing but harder since you were conceived. We had trouble gettin’ pregnant and when we did ah wanted a boy… And then you were born.”
Marie knew that he was trying to break her spirit by slinging barbs at her heart. She had to remember that Logan loved her and her family at the school loved her as well. The Logan in her mind told her she shouldn’t care for him anymore and that it was a waste of her time, but she told him, good or bad, he was still her father and was the only one she’d ever have. Rogue told her that she didn’t need him either.
“I will go down with this ship and I won’t put my hands up and surrender, Daddy. Ah know ya don’t approve of Logan and ah gettin’ hitched. There will be no white flag above mah door… Ah’m in love and always will be.”
“You’re raht, ah don’t approve. Ah don’t want ya to marry him. Ah think you should find a decent human male to marry.”
“Ah know ah left too much mess and destruction to come back here again. Ah didn’t mean ta hurt that boy that day. And ah know ah caused nothin’ but trouble. That’s part of why ah left… Because ah thought it would be better for your ‘image’ in the community. Ah understand if ya can’t talk ta meh again and if ya live by the rules of ‘It’s over,’ then ah’m sure that that makes sense. Because when ah leave here, Logan and ah will be married, whether you and mama are there or not.”
Marie had her fists balled so tight that her fingernails nearly cut her palm, but fortunately for her, she’d bit them off a while ago to the quick and they hadn’t grown back yet. She could do this, she could be strong.
“Ah will go down with this ship and ah won’t put my hands up and surrender, Daddy. There will be no white flag above my door. Ah’m in love and always will be. You hear that? Ah love someone who loves meh for who ah am and who ah someday maht be.”
“You’re nothin’ but a Goddamned freak, Marie! Ah’m not even sure you came from mah loins,” he voiced low like a growl without the bite.
“And when we meet again which ah’m sure we will someday, all that was there will be there still. You’ll still hate meh for bein’ a mutant. And you’ll hate mah children ah will have with Logan. But ah’ll let it pass and hold mah tongue in front of mah kids. And you… You will think that ah’ve moved on…”
“Ah won’t accept your ‘mutie’ brats either. Don’t worry, you won’t be gettin’ nothin’ from meh. Ah’ve already disowned you anyway.”
“Fahn Daddy, ah don’t want anythin’ from you anyhow. Ah feel sorry for you. When mama dies, you’re gonna be a lonely, grumpy, racist old man who yells at people and animals to stay off his lawn.”
“But oh, there’s where you’ll be wrong, ah will be happy. Ah won’t have ta put up with your mama’s incessant nagging. Ah can smoke mah cigars wherever the hell ah want, and when ah want.”
“Ah’m gonna put this in terms you’ll understand. Ah will go down with this ship. Your stupid models mean more to you than ah do anyway, and ah won’t put mah hands up and surrender because ah love Logan and ah trust him with mah life. There will be no white flag above mah door, ‘cause ah’m too strong to stand up for what ah believe in. Ah’m in love and always will be.”
“So, do you lahk livin’ in sin with this man?” He was being sarcastic and she knew he was losing the battle.
“Ah believe we will be married someday and that God will forgive meh, ‘cause he said he would. Ah still believe he has a purpose for mah life. And raht now, ah think that purpose is to be in Logan’s life and ah’m gonna shine my little light and be there for him when he needs meh. Damn it, Daddy… He saved mah life three times when he didn’t have to. And ah love him for that. And ah realize now that you will go down with your ship. And you won’t put your hands up and surrender because you believe that you are raht in wanting non-mutant family members. A pure race, ain’t it, Daddy?”
“There will be no white flag above mah door.”
“You’re in love with yourself and always will be.”
“At least ah won’t be disappointed in mahself then.”
“Just remember this, Daddy. Ah will go down with this ship and ah don’t care if you or mama doesn’t approve. Ah will marry Logan and we will have a family someday. Ah won’t put mah hands up and surrender because ah am strong enough because God, and Logan are on mah side. There will be no white flag above mah door because ah’ll nevah give in to your intolerant ways and ah will be a better person for it. Ah’m in love with Logan and always will be.”
“Get out Marie, just get out.”
So Marie did, she’d spoken her piece to her father and it was clear that he’d never accept Logan or her as family. She’d had a feeling at lunch that they might be winning over her mother. Later on she decided that she’d find out how long Logan wanted to stay at her parents’ place. She decided to go up and see her old room. Maybe see if her mother had kept her room the way it was or redecorated as if she’d gone off to college in another state. Marie passed by the parlor and headed up to her old room.
The D’ Ancanto’s Parlor
Meridian, MS.
3:10 P.M.
Logan smelled the salt water out in the hall before he even entered the parlor. When he did, he silently moved in like a wolf does on its confused prey. He carefully sat down next to her on the two seat love seat. He didn’t push for information; he just sat there with an open ear. He knew it was only a matter of time before she opened up. That’s the way it was with most of the females he knew. Just give them time…
“Ah don’t know what to do, Mister… Um. Logan. Ah hafta share some terrible news with Marie and ah know she’s gonna be real upset,” she began.
“What is it,” Logan asked, knowing he wasn’t going to like what she had to say because it was going to wound his girl.
“Marie’s paternal grandmother passed away one week after we told her that Marie had gone to look at colleges out of state. But it was a lie; Marie had run away from home.”
Logan wondered if that was the tragedy that his sister Lily spoke of.
“How will that affect Marie?”
“They were close. Real close. She was one-hundred and five. Longest livin’ person in six counties. We had a huge service for her accordin’ ta her will. Mah husband went on a bender that weekend, so ah took over all the arrangements. He wouldn’t even go to her service because she had blacks in her employment. It was a very nice service. And ah just know it’s gonna break her heart.”
“Ah’ll tell her.”
“No, ah should. Ah guess ah need ta build up more courage first.”
“No, ma’am. I’ll tell her. I’m gonna hafta pick up the pieces when she falls. I’ll do it.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.”
“So, how long are ya’ll stayin’?”
“Well, I’ll have to check with Marie, but maybe two days. Why?”
Logan could tell his mother-in-law-to-be was up to something and he wasn’t sure he was going to like it.
“Because Owen’s not gonna give up. He’s gonna keep tryin’ to split ya’ll up or at least make ya’ll so mad you’ll leave. Somewhere deep down, ah do think you’ll protect Marie and try ta provide the best for her. Ah don’t know, ah just wish there was more to know ‘bout you. Ah just have a feelin’ those that do are dead…”
“You could say that. I’m still puttin’ together the pieces of my past together. What is it you’d like to know?”
“Who’s your family and where did they come from?”
“My family name is Howlett. My half-brother has been captured by the government. They’ve re-opened the program that gave my skeleton a permanent upgrade. We’ll be rescuing him soon and trying to permanently shut down the program before they try to come after Marie and I.”
“Ah don’t get it… Why would they want you and Marie?”
“Because of my advanced skills and training. I can do much more than heal, slice and dice. Marie’s gift is absorption. If she touches a human she gets their memories, thoughts, and feelings. She can take on the gifts of other mutants for a while as her own. If she hangs on too long to both she can kill. From time to time I give her a hit of my ability. I don’t like it when Marie gets injured. They would use her skin to kill other mutants with the gifts they wanted to install into her… And with my healing, she’d be unstoppable.”
Priscilla gasped. What she was hearing didn’t seem possible but she believed it after what she saw come from Logan’s hands. She worried that Owen might call the authorities the longer they stayed and there might be trouble. Given time, the neighborhood watch will be suspicious of the foreign vehicle in their driveway and the two people that have come for a visit.
“She would become a very powerful mutant. And trust me, the government would be there wiping her mind of who she is to rebuild her as a cold and unflinching ultimate weapon.”
“They tried to do that to you, didn’t they? Would they try to do it to Marie?”
“Yes, ma’am. But I will never let that happen to her. I’m a hard man to kill.”
“But you escaped them before, raht?”
“I don’t remember how. They came after me a while back and some children from the school where Marie and I work. We managed to rescue them before the dam failed.”
“Ah read about the dam’s failure. Wasn’t that at Alkali Lake?”
“Yes.”
She sensed some pain there in his answer so she moved the conversation back to the original thread.
“What ‘bout your parents? Are they still livin’?”
“No. Not too long ago I found out that I was adopted. The family that I thought was mine wasn’t. I know that my birth mother was from England and she was a Lady.”
“Interesting, and is she alive?”
“No. Found out she died after giving birth to my twin sisters. Just recently reconnected with them.”
“Marie always wanted a sister to play with but ah couldn’t after she was born. She came out so fast that ah hemorrhaged. They almost lost meh and Owen said no more.”
“She’s got good friends back home I think she considers her sisters. They do a hell of a lot of shopping and talking, and they’ve been busy plannin’ our wedding.”
Priscilla took one of Logan’s hands in both of hers.
“Logan, Owen will be upset with meh, but ah only have one doughtah, and this is between us. Ah give you mah permission to marry her. Just please, make her happy. And give meh lots and lots of grandkids ah can be proud of, even if Owen won’t accept them.”
“I will, ma’am. I promise.”
“Now, let’s go find Marie and get ya’ll settled in. My advice, don’t stay longer than tomorrow. If ah know mah hubby, he’s gonna be up to no good the longer ya’ll stay. Ah know ah wish the situation was different, but it is the way it is.”
“I catch your drift. I was thinkin’ of leaving after breakfast tomorrow. I just wanted to do all this for Marie.”
“Thank you for at least puttin’ out the effort.”
Logan smelled Marie’s scent up the staircase as they came out of the parlor. He started to go up the steps and Priscilla followed.
Marie had been in her old room for a few minutes on her own. Nothing in the room was hers. It had been cleaned out and turned into a storage room for her father’s collection of boats. Even her former bed had been gotten rid of. The bed in the room was in the shape of a Captain’s bed. It had a blue comforter with nautical rope knots in the pattern.
“Ah’m sorry, Marie. Your daddy was so mad after everythin’ that happened with Cody that he was gonna destroy everythin’ in here. So ah saved it all in the attic for ya, ya’ll can take it home with ya when ya’ll head out.”
“Thanks mama.”
“Now, just for tonaht, Logan’s gonna be downstairs in the guest room. Otherwise, daddy’ll have a fit. You know how he gets, Marie.”
“It’s alraht mama, we couldn’t fool around anyway, ah’m on the red dot.”
“Oh, well. Ah’ll leave ya’ll ta tahlk.”
“Why did we have to tell them we were sleepin’ together, remind me.”
“Nobody goes to Hooters for the wings, Logan. They know we’re lovers. All they had to do was take one look at us to figure it out. Ah told ‘em that we wouldn’t be sleepin’ tagethah until after the weddin’. But I suppose there’s no reason why ah couldn’t slip in like a thief in the night and stay a while, is there?”
Logan growled low.
“Oh Logan… Ah’ll think of somethin’, ah promise.”
“Marie, before we head down to the guest room, there’s somethin’ I need to tell you…”
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Howdy!!!
One more chapter and then we go on to the next set...
The song in this one is White Flag - Dido.
Enjoy!!!
One more chapter and then we go on to the next set...
The song in this one is White Flag - Dido.
Enjoy!!!
Chapter End Notes:
Did you like it? Hate it? Make you want more? Let us know. My Muses are hungry for responses...