ATOP Chapter Sixty-Seven

Rebekah leaned close to the fire, flipping slowly through the pages of her book already so neatly filled with Hebrew characters in careful, straight lines. Words jumped out at her from the page... doubts, fears, moments of hope and of laughter... names of people she didn't trust yet but a tiny part of her made her almost want to trust them. She glanced up from her journal at the firelight flickering on the faces of the people gathered around her. 

Katie was laughing at something Mac had said, the lilting musical sound contrasting oddly with his uproarious chuckle. She held one hand pressed against her growing stomach and when the laughter died down, Mac turned to look down at her, his fingers brushing gently against hers and his smile filled with a loving tenderness. Rachel sat beside Katie, Benjie wriggling joyfully on his mommy's lap as he crammed another marshmallow into his mouth. Ronnie held a sleeping baby Judah but he had one arm wrapped round his wife's shoulders. Benjie twisted to look up at his daddy, black eyes sparkling as they caught the light of the fire.

"Mm wuffs mshmmows," he proclaimed around the marshmallow, his cheeks bulging. 

"Mm mwwmmffsfffm fmwmemfs," Josh leaned forward, his eyes wide as he looked solemnly at Benjie. The little boy chewed his marshmallow in thoughtful silence as he stared at his uncle, who continued to spout muffled gibberish. When Benjie finally managed to swallow, he asked in perfectly clear speech,

"Why are you talking funny, Uncle Doss?"

"Don't listen to him, Benjie," Emma clapped a hand over her husband's mouth as he went on refusing to speak English. "This guy here, he's nuts," she grinned and elbowed Josh, who promptly pulled her hand from his mouth and bent to kiss her cheek, undaunted by her less-than-flattering comments. 

Shonie had been wandering around the edge of the circle, searching for wildflowers by the dim light of the fire. She returned now, her hands filled with a vibrant bouquet and her eyes tired but happy. Clutching her flowers, she dropped to the ground at Ronnie's feet and leaned against his knee, a contented smile on her lips. Wiggly trotted towards Shonie on his fat little legs and curled up in her lap, nuzzling his nose into the palm of her hand. 

As she let her eyes fall on each face, noting the happiness and love surrounding her, Rebekah felt something small stirring somewhere deep down inside of her heart. Something like a sudden sharp pang of loneliness. She gripped her journal tighter against her and then flipped it open restlessly. As she picked up her pen again, there was a rustling sound behind her and Mickey plunked himself down at her side.

"Saved a spot for me, I see," he grinned, his eyes dancing. "Hey, writing again, bookworm? Here, lemme see that..." he snatched the book from her hands before she could protest. She moved to take it back but changed her mind, letting her hands fall into her lap as he squinted at the Hebrew characters. "Wow, tricky-looking stuff... is it hard to read?"

"Not when you've read it your whole life," Rebekah leaned over his shoulder, tracing a line on the page, going from right to left as his brow furrowed. "There are so many wildflowers here," she translated. "It is like a rainbow of color on the ground. Red, pink, blue, yellow. They are so bright and cheerful..."

"I can't believe you do it backwards," he chuckled. "Here, can I write something?" He took the pen before she could answer and began scribbling away. He frowned to himself, scribbled something out, and tapped the pen on his nose as he thought for a moment. With a sudden irrepressible grin, he signed the few sentences with a flourish and handed it back to Rebekah. She looked down at her book in silence and then turned to him, her face reddening.

"What does it say?" she murmured, her voice barely audible. 

"You... can't read English?" He looked surprised, but at the look of sudden despair that crossed her face, he added quickly, "But of course, you speak and read all sorts of fancier languages, English is just a side thing for you anyway. Here, lemme read it..." he cleared his throat dramatically and recited the following lines:

"My love for you flows like molasses down a corn row. You're the prettiest girl I'll ever know. Your best friend, Mickey."

It was his first attempt at poetry and he wasn't exactly sure how effective it was, but he had tried to get his point across. Anyway, it rhymed, and it sounded pretty good to him... but then... why exactly would molasses be flowing down a corn row? He convinced himself that because the poetry in books didn't really make sense anyway, it didn't matter if this was a little nonsensical too... and anyway, molasses and corn rows sounded rather poetical. To him, that is.

A stunned silence on Rebekah's part was the only reply he got for a long while. She was looking all sorts of things at him... shock, humor, anger, and a bit of awe, all mixed together. The combination was almost frightening. He rather didn't know how to react, so he simply plastered a sheepish grin on his face.

"Poetry," he said lamely, with a hesitant laugh. "Like it?"

For one wild moment she contemplated tearing the page out and tossing it into the fire. Stupid, presumptuous boy. She hated him in those agonizing ten seconds that followed. But something about the look in his eyes suddenly touched her heart and she felt all at once ashamed and... almost longing. She closed the book again and turned away from him, not trusting her voice. He fell silent, slumping beside her, elbows on his knees and chin in his hands as he stared idly at the fire. 

Poor unsuspecting Katie chose that moment to request a sing-along, and as the words of Amazing Grace filled the air, Rebekah slipped quietly away into the darkness, alone. Mickey watched her go regretfully, wanting to run after her and yet afraid to. And he wondered for the thousandth time... would he ever reach her behind the walls she had built around her heart?

♡♡♡

The days that followed were wild, boisterous ones, filled with hilarity and pranks, thanks to the crazier members of the group, and moments of calm and peaceful togetherness, owing to the more serious and steady ones. One morning began with Rebekah, of all people, rising before dawn to pull the tent down over Mickey's head. He woke up later that morning to find the ceiling of the tent resting on his nose and supposed the wind did it until the amused twinkle in Rebekah's eyes and an unsubtle joke on Josh's part gave the culprit away. 

The third day marked Josh and Emma's turn to cook breakfast. But after Josh slept in and decided he didn't want to do that much cooking, a pancake-flipping challenge was quickly proposed, and as a result, the cabin kitchen was nearly plastered floor to ceiling in pancake batter. On the fourth day, Mickey convinced Rebekah to wander off with him down a rambling, overgrown forest trail, and the two of them were nearly treed by a bear. The fifth day was the one on which Rob and Myra thought they were lost in the woods... but thanks to the children who whooped like howler monkeys while they splashed in the lake, they realized they were still within shouting distance of the cabin and were easily found.

Shonie laughed more in those days than she ever had before. She seemed to cling closer to Ronnie than anyone else, often running up to tug on his hand until he followed her. No matter where he went or what he did that trip, he was always flanked by Shonie on one side and Benjie on the other. But he loved it. The three of them were often seen sitting on the dock with fishing poles, Shonie squealing as she refused to touch the worm while Benjie climbed on Ronnie's shoulders, nearly knocking his glasses into the water. Shonie's vocal sounds always made Rachel's face light up... but Rebekah only shook her head. She was certain her sister would never speak again.

The first week dwindled to a close, and only a few days were left before everyone would have to go their separate ways again. Baby Sophie decided then that it was best to accomplish things while she still had such a large audience, and she sat up on her own for the first time as they picnicked on the shore. This occasion threw Marci into a wild state of excitement... and Emma fell very, very silent for the rest of the afternoon. Josh noted this and it worried him... but he hardly knew what to do, outside of trying his best to cheer her up. The "cheering up" took shape in several forms, from his classic cartwheels to a bouquet of wildflowers. He managed to get a tiny smile out of her, but not much else.

That evening, all were gathered round the fire as the flames died down into embers and the moon rose over the lake, casting a glowing outline on the dark shapes of the forest. It was that peaceful time of night when the crickets and frogs and owls come out in a country chorus... a still, calm time in which those outside would finally stand up, stretching, and announce it was time to turn in. In fact, Jim was just about to do that very thing by way of triggering the nightly scramble for bed. The little ones were all asleep already, snuggled in their parents' arms... and even Rebekah was nodding, and Mickey was holding his breath, hoping she would fall asleep all the way, with her head on his shoulder again. 

But Josh beat Jim into breaking the silence as he suddenly let out a whoop that woke Benjie and, grabbing Emma's hands, he pulled her to her feet to spin her in a wild circle.

"C'mon, girl o'mine, one last fling before the day ends!" And he dragged her after him, the both of them laughing hysterically, as they plunged recklessly into the lake, knee-deep. The rest of the crowd slowly rose, beginning to drift off towards their tents, but looking back to smile in amusement at the yelling, splashing pair. As the circle around the fire disappeared, leaving them alone in the water, Josh stopped splashing, bending over to brace his hands on his knees as he caught his breath.

"We're a silly couple, aren't we," he sighed, shaking his head and sending a spray of water showering down on his shoulders.

"The silliest," Emma sighed likewise, shaking her head in tandem, her hair dripping.

"Made ourselves look ridiculous, didn't we?" He straightened up, smiling down at her in the moonlight.

"Perfectly ridiculous."

"S'pose everyone thinks we're a pair of immature idiots, eh?" Reaching out, he brushed a wet strand of hair back from her eyes.

"I'm sure that's the general opinion," Emma agreed solemnly.

"Aw, c'mere, you," Josh grinned, opening his soggy arms wide. Emma went to him, resting her head on his shoulder as he folded her in his embrace. "We can be perfectly grown up when we want to, can't we."

"Perfectly so," Emma giggled. "Quite mature."

"Quite." Josh bent his head, lifting her chin with a finger. "We just never lost the kids in us, did we? Guess that's our secret."

"Is it?" Emma grinned up at him. 

"Sounded better in my head."

"I'm sure it did, Shakespeare," Emma fairly exploded with laughter.

"You know what I meant though."

"Oh, Josh," Emma sighed happily, nestling closer against him. "Of course I did. I always do, y'know. After all, what are kindred spirits for? Especially kindred spirits whose souls have been joined together forever. Josh... I know I don't say the words often... but you know I mean them with every breath I take... I love you. Heart and soul, for all eternity."

"Emma, love of my life," Josh whispered, pressing a gentle kiss on her lips. "How can I say it? You... you're my person. You just... make my heart glad."

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