Part XX
It was safe for Emily to go out that night and meet up with Leigh to watch what promised to be a very spectacular light show. Mary Jean and Harry had talked excitedly about their plans for finishing the gift to the town all afternoon. Despite Emily’s reluctance to ask how long it would take to complete the work, it seemed as if it would be a short project.
“I can’t believe we’re coming this close to everything being done,” Leigh commented as they stood in the cool air of evening near the town square. “What does it feel like to remember the changes that the rest of us had forgotten?”
Emily thought it over for a moment. “Bittersweet. It’s not that I miss those things, not really. Living here in what feels like a dreamland with Julian and you and the friends I’ve made since arriving in Arizona more than makes up for it. And I can come and go from the other parts of the country whenever I wish. So can you.”
“Will it seem strange?” Leigh queried.
“No, I don’t think so. This will always be home. Every time I’m away from it, I will eagerly anticipate coming back.”
“What if you ever run into Wesley or Natasha when you’re on assignment?”
“They won’t remember me,” Emily said with confidence that true safety can provide. “Their memories of anything here are gone. I’ll be fine.”
They stopped talking when the first few colors appeared in the sky. Purple wisps that looked like smoke from a chimney suddenly rose into the air and elicited wonder from the crowd that had joined them on the square. Next came shoots of red and blue, yellow and pink. The unearthly music and pleasant scent followed. Emily breathed it in with gratefulness, knowing each plume of light or wafting scent brought her one more step closer to Julian.
It felt as if the show went on for hours, but it probably took around thirty minutes. No one in the crowd except for Emily and Leigh knew that Harry and Mary Jean were responsible for the display. When Mary Jean approached them once it was all done, she looked at them with a twinkle in her eye.
“Leigh, I think you’ll find that your house is back to the way it was before any of this sadness,” she said. “Emily, it’s time for you to see what I’ve done in your garden. I think you’ll find it to be very romantic, if you get my drift. Harry will drive you if you want to go now.”
Emily suddenly felt very shy and stared down at her shoes. “Really? Do you think it’ll be ok? Will he be happy to see me?”
“Of course he will. You’re all he’s thought about, remember?”
Etcetera 