Chapter 5 - The Last Choice

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Chapter 5

THE REHEARSAL dinner was to be held at the local diner. It was Daniel's choice. Despite posting the location online ages ago, Vivienne was the first person to show up. She imagined Daniel was probably playing a video game and lost track of time. Allison was habitually late, especially now that she traveled with a flock of sorority girls.

Her parents were coming into town the next morning because they got a flat tire. As Vivienne got ready for the rehearsal dinner, Janun texted her that their father was throwing a fit and heading off to the nearest casino. It did not surprise Vivienne to hear that. She doubted they were going to make it to dinner. It's not like she really wanted to see her father hold his nose while meeting Daniel's comic-book store-owning parents again.

The last thing Vivienne wanted was to sit at an empty table, so she lingered outside the diner and played on her phone. She thought of the message on the note. You will always be loved. Yeah, right, Vivienne thought to herself. Always, must be a very short amount of time, Blake.

The only person Vivienne was looking forward to seeing was Marie, an elderly woman in their small town with the demon sickness who Vivienne had seen three years ago, shortly after leaving Manna City. In the beginning, Vivienne could absorb demon energy through her hands, but a couple of months after leaving, those powers faded. Now, as time passed, Vivienne had no powers at all to offer people like Marie. All she offered now was her free time.

The woman had no family and settled out here because the property was cheap. Vivienne visited Marie frequently and adopted her as a grandmother figure. In the past, Marie had taken Nectar pills for her arthritis pain and now, without those enchanted medicines, she relied on Vivienne to help her with some of her daily chores. Vivienne didn't mind, she enjoyed feeling as though she was finally doing some good in the world.

Marie would always say she had less pain when she was addicted to the Nectar, but now she felt like herself again. Vivienne noticed a group of people approaching the diner. She put her phone away. It was Marie, but she was with two people Vivienne didn't know. There was a young girl, around Vivienne's age holding Marie's arm. Vivienne wondered if it was another friend or a paid aid of the elderly woman. Then Vivienne realized with amazement that Marie could run up to her and throw her arms around Vivienne's waist.

"You look so beautiful today, my dear," Marie said.

"Wow, you're spry today," Vivienne said in shock.

"Evelyn here, she has the most miraculous hands," Marie reached over to the young girl's hands and brought her close. "Let her touch you and she'll heal you."

"I don't need healing," Vivienne said as she eyed the young girl coldly. There was something about the way the young girl was staring at her that made her uncomfortable.

"Don't you?" Marie asked in a coy way that only an eighty-year-old granny could. "Your heart needs healing."

"I'm afraid I can't help with that," Evelyn said with a knowing smile. "I can only heal flesh and bone. Not feelings."

"Vivienne here also has the most amazing gift," Marie said as she leaned into her young friend. "The two of you are like opposite sides of the same coin."

"Why don't we go inside and have a seat, Marie," Vivienne said as she directed the elderly woman indoors.

"Evelyn here was looking for you," Marie said, as she walked up the stairs to the diner. "Why don't you hear what she has to say?"

Vivienne turned back to Evelyn and offered her best imitation of a smile. "I am very busy today, as you can see. So why don't you tell me what you want?"

"I know you are busy, and I offer my apologies for bothering you today of all days," Evelyn said politely. "I know you are getting married tomorrow. Congratulations. That is actually how we found you, we saw your wedding website."

Vivienne rolled her eyes. She should have known that was a bad idea. She didn't have guests, but apparently, she had stalkers. Vivienne warily eyed Evelyn and her male friend. They didn't look like bad people, but for some reason, Vivienne simply didn't trust them. It was a visceral, primitive response.

"Thank you for your well-wishes, though an email would have been fine. I need to go now, my guests will arrive soon."

"I'm like you," Evelyn said as she approached Vivienne. "There are very few of us left in the world, so I came all the way here to look for you. I'm a healer, too. We have the same ancient bloodline. What you did for Marie, how you cured her demon poison, I can do that too."

"So, what do you need with me?" Vivienne asked with a sigh. "Sounds like you have it all figured out. Are you trying to start a club?"

"I don't think you know how special you are. I've traced our bloodline to an ancient priesthood called the Levanti that dates back to the start of civilization. You can heal with your hands. Our blood can purify Dark Waters. Did you know that?"

"No," Vivienne said. "I can't heal anything. For a little while, I could do what you are describing. I met Marie during that time. It was really only about a week. After that, the power left me and I can't do anything anymore. Sorry."

"Wait!" Evelyn grabbed Vivienne's arm and then quickly let go. She turned slightly red at her intrusive action. "I wanted to ask you about Tercel Corp. Have you heard of them?"

Vivienne shook her head. "I know nothing. You're asking the wrong person."

"For a week two-and-a-half years ago, you were listed as the majority shareholder of Tercel. Was that also the time you developed your healing powers?" Evelyn asked. "All we know about this terrible organization is that they're using the powers of the Levanti for a twisted goal."

"I was the owner?" Vivienne asked in confusion. "There must be a mistake."

"The people from the Levanti bloodline have a special genetic code that gives their blood the ability to resist demonic influence. It's this power that Tercel is harnessing to make a fortune off selling drugs. Do you really not know who it is that is running Tercel? You need to help us. You don't seem like a bad person, just a good person caught up with some bad people."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, please, let me go," Vivienne said, although her voice was rapidly losing resolve. Her mind was spinning. She remembered in Remin, Blake holding his father's watch, telling her he's nothing like his father. Could he be worse?

"Vivienne," Evelyn said and produced a black lump of coal from her bag. "This is all that's left of the factory outside of Shanghai. My husband... I think he drained all the workers of their blood and burned the entire building down. He's not the only one out there. Tercel is trying to cover it up, but this will happen again and again if we do nothing." She forced the burnt rock into Vivienne's hand and then produced a scrap of paper with her phone number written on it. "If you can think of anything, anything at all, that would help. Please, call me."

As Vivienne took the items from Evelyn, she noticed Evelyn's scarred hand, like she had suffered a severe burn wound. Evelyn quickly covered her hand with her sleeve.

Vivienne shoved the items in her purse before she ran into the diner. As Vivienne sat down at the table, she could hardly concentrate on the conversations going on. She smiled reflexively at well-wishers and chatted with guests about the weather, about how rain was supposed to be expected tomorrow. In her mind, a voice from the past called to her. Vivienne finally looked across the table at Allison, who turned to meet her eyes despite being the center of attention of her trio of sorority sisters.

Allison stood up and walked over. She wrapped her arms around Vivienne and hugged her deeply. She smelled of vanilla and cherry lip gloss. "Congratulations, Viv. I knew you could do it."

"Do what?" Vivienne asked. "The wedding didn't even happen yet."

Allison smiled, her soulful eyes seemed to speak volumes. Vivienne wondered if somewhere among the secrets she kept in the depth of her eyes, there was the truth of what happened to Blake that night and the role of Tercel in what happened to Evelyn's husband. "Chicken butt," she said and patted Vivienne on the head. Allison leaned into Vivienne's ear. "Is everything ready? I'll come over early tomorrow to help you do your hair and make-up. Is the dress ready to go?"

"Speaking of wedding dresses," Vivienne said as she drew the note that came with the gifted wedding dress out of her purse. She showed the typewritten note to Allison. "Among our living friends, who do you think wrote this?"

Allison studied the note and turned slightly pale. She laughed and ripped it up. "I don't know. It's gone now. Put it out of your mind."

The sudden appearance of Daniel interrupted their conversation. Daniel was wearing a ragged flannel shirt and stained jeans. He plopped down in a seat beside Vivienne and draped an arm around Vivienne's shoulders. "Sorry, I'm late. I just had some dungeons in Diablo I couldn't get away from. Did you guys miss me?"

"You better shape up," Allison retorted as she pointed at the time on her cell phone. "You're almost an hour late. You might discover, one day that while you're fighting your imaginary demons, you'll lose your wife to a real one."

Daniel laughed heartily. He never seemed to know what to make of Allison's cryptic comments. "Vivienne understands. She's marrying me, and she knows I'm not the champagne and flowers type. If you want fancy things, honey, you've come to the wrong place. You love me for who I am, right?"

Vivienne nodded wearily back at him. Daniel picked up his soda and stood up for a toast. "I just wanted to say a few words to everyone about the love of my dreams, Vivienne. I knew she was the one for me when I went raiding with my guild for 18 hours and she didn't bother me once. I thought to myself, that girl is a keeper. It's such a great feeling, to find a girl who accepts you exactly as you are."

Vivienne forced a smile at Daniel's cheering college friends. She took a sip of water and smirked at Allison. Her red-headed friend wasn't laughing. "I guess I have experience in dating men with secret lives," Vivienne remarked.

Allison raised her hands for the boys to quiet down. She addressed the room with the full authority and gravitas she learned after serving as a vessel for royalty all those years. It was both awe-inspiring and intimidating. Vivienne was sure they were going to make her president of her sorority that year.

"I've known Vivienne for many years," Allison said. "I've seen her through many boyfriends. There were the dull oafish ones that she settled for and the dark, dangerous ones that she gave into against her better judgment." There were some scattered laughs around the room. Vivienne smiled broadly, trying to be a good sport. "Like any good friend, I tried to guide her, advise her. Maybe, I saw the bigger picture, the one that she couldn't." Allison picked up a random cup of soda and toasted it to her and Daniel. "Sometimes, the most important decision you can make in life is — not to embrace — but to turn away from a great calling, a terrible destiny. To my friend Vivienne, I wish you an end to your heartbreak, a long marriage, and lastly a happily ever after."

Vivienne nodded politely at all the clapping guests. She stood up and headed to the restroom for some space. As Vivienne stepped into the restroom, she bumped into Marie, who was washing her hands in the sink. Vivienne couldn't help but marvel that the arthritic nodules on Marie's hands were gone. Whoever Evelyn was, she had a genuine gift, nothing like the curse Vivienne had.

"She cured you," Vivienne whispered in amazement. "Really cured you. Who is she? Is she an angel?"

Marie laughed and dried her hands off with a paper towel. Vivienne had never seen her move so quickly and deftly. She had the energy of a much younger woman now. Vivienne felt extraneous now, Marie clearly didn't need her help around the house anymore.

"She's human, just like you. I think she comes from an ancient line of healers. This gift cost her, but she said this was her wedding gift to you. It's rude in her culture to show up at someone's big day without bringing a gift. Did you find out what she wanted from you?"

"Something, or rather someone, I can't give her," Vivienne said as she reapplied her nude lipstick in the bathroom mirror. "She can heal every sick person in all of Ignias and I'll never give her that person."

"It's a boy, isn't it," Marie asked, cackling. "It's always a boy." Marie came over to Vivienne and placed her hand over Vivienne's heart. Her hands looked so different without liver spots, Vivienne could hardly believe she was the same elderly woman who needed help with her groceries and opening her mail. "Love is never wrong, Vivienne. No matter what this boy has done, love sees what the eyes can't."

Vivienne chuckled. For the first time that night, and in a long time, she felt tears form in her eyes. Vivienne cursed herself for not wearing waterproof mascara. Now she was going to spend the night looking like a raccoon. Somehow, she didn't care what any of her guests seated outside thought. "He's done a lot. Not even in multiple lifetimes of good deeds, could I undo everything he's done, that I've done too, now."

Marie wrapped her arms around Vivienne and patted her on the back like a loving grandmother. Her shawl smelled of dust and Chanel number 5. Vivienne only felt the desire to cry harder. She prayed no one else would step into the bathroom. "Don't marry him, that funny-looking boy outside. You don't love him, I can tell. Live in a way that's true to yourself."

Vivienne finally got ahold of her emotions and she smiled at Marie. "What did I do to deserve a friend like you?"

"You helped me, beautiful girl." Marie brushed back a strand of Vivienne's hair and smiled proudly at her. "When you send good into the world, goodness will find you in return. When you find that boy, the one that's actually in your heart, I'm sure you can make him see that too."

"I guess it's not such a loss that my mom and dad can't be here today," Vivienne said as she contemplated sneaking out the bathroom window.

"Oh, sweet girl," Marie said with a smile. "Your father couldn't be more proud of you and the choice you have made."

"How do you know that?" Vivienne asked.

"Because I know who you really are," Marie whispered. "And your destiny lies back in Manna City."


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