Taryn was sitting on the porch, blue gla.s.s mug in hand, squinting against the sunlight. It was afternoon. She"d slept through Rosalind"s rising. Taryn had found Rhea and Joe in the kitchen, eating lunch. She"d asked after Rosalind. Rhea had smiled strangely and said that she"d be back. So she sat on the porch with her coffee and her sketchbook and waited.
She heard the leaves crunching; Rosalind was walking up Mariner, from Allen Street. She stopped every few steps and kicked a pile of leaves into the air, and grinned as they resettled themselves in her wake.
"You"re in a good mood this morning," Taryn growled.
"And why not? The day is gorgeous, life begins anew, creation is loose on the world," Rosalind said, dropping down on the step next to her. She reached into her pocket. "I have something for you."
"Aspirin?"
"Not that. Close your eyes."
Taryn did so, reluctantly. Rosalind waited until she was sure her eyes were really shut. Then she took Taryn"s right hand and gently pried it open. She dropped a small black box into the center.
"You can open your eyes."
"What is this?" Taryn said, her voice strange.
"Open it."
Taryn glanced at Rosalind with something that might have been apprehension. She creaked the box open and held up the contents. "A key? To what?"
"The house I rented this morning. I was thinking about Rhea"s offer about moving in here, but it didn"t seem right. This is her territory, and yours. You"re a part of the family here, and I didn"t want to take you away from that. But I wanted to have a place that"s mine. And I wanted you to have a key to it."
"You scared the h.e.l.l out of me. I thought you were..." Taryn said, lips quirking into a smile.
"Proposing?"
"Yeah."
"I may yet. Watch your back," Rosalind said, deadpan.
"Be careful of what you ask for. So, where is your new house?"
Rosalind stretched out her arm and pointed up the street. "41 Mariner. The brick one. Great porch, lovely backyard garden. The kitchen is a little smaller than here, but we can walk over and have coffee in the morning. You can belong to the family and still have a place to go. What do you think?"
Taryn put the coffee mug down and kissed the surprised Rosalind. "I think you"re the best thing that ever happened to me. I think, if you did propose, I"d say yes."
"We"ll test that theory one day." Rosalind slipped her arm around the drag king"s waist and leaned back against her.
"I have something for you, too," Taryn said into her ear.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. An idea came to me while you were out. I just sketched it roughly, but you can see it." She picked up the notebook from the porch and opened it. It was the drawing of a dogwood tree in full flower. When she looked a little closer, she saw a serpent with golden scales wrapped around a branch, eyes as red as rubies.
"It"s beautiful."
"For your first tattoo. Left shoulder blade, I think," Taryn said, moving her hair aside and kissing the spot.
"We"ll see, baby. We"ll see."
It was turning out to be a gorgeous day.
end.