Balancer's Soul (43 page)

Just then someone knocked on the front
door. Sarah jumped out of Connor’s lap and stood erect, followed
almost instantly by the rest of them. Luckily his reaction slacked.
They all looked at each other for a moment until Connor broke the
room’s silence. “We need to clean up quickly. We need to move the
dishes. Jack, help me quietly move the furniture back to its usual
spot.”

They all went to work,
using their inhuman speed, quietly, and Connor finally felt
thrilled to call himself different. Accepting that fact that he was
different lifted a burden from his chest.
“That’s why Sarah didn’t seem bothered anymore, she accepted
the fact as well.”

Within fifteen seconds, the living
room seemed acceptable and nothing looked out of place. Jillian and
Sarah put all of the dishes away while Jack and Connor moved the
sofa’s silently back into place. When Jack nodded and left the
room, Jillian answered the door. “Why hello, Kara. What brings you
here today?”

Kara in her chirpy voice answered “Is Brother
and Sarah here?”

“Yes they are. They arrived about
twenty minutes ago. Come on inside.” And as Connor sat on the sofa,
Sarah joined him before Kara entered the room.

“Hey Brother! Hey Sarah! Did you have
a good night?” Kara looked like something was on her
mind.

Jillian laughed, taking Kara by the
hand and pulling her to the other sofa. As they were getting
comfortable Jillian asked again “What brings you over
here?”

“I had an idea that I wanted to bounce
off my brother and I wanted Sarah’s opinion as well.” She looked
nervous which is highly unusual and suspicious. She wore her usual
pink top and white pants.

“What are you up to, Kara?” Sarah
asked, putting her hand on his leg and scooted closer to touch her
leg to his.

“Well I already asked Mark and he said
it was a good idea…” She looked skittish and a little
embarrassed.

“Spit it out, Kara, we
can’t read your mind.” Connor blurted out. Jillian tried not to
smile and succeeded, but she couldn’t keep a straight face for much
longer. Sarah didn’t reveal any facial expressions, but he felt her
reach in his mind.
“Connor, stop that! You
know how little it takes for my mother to laugh.”

“Sorry, I just hate it when
my sister gets this way. It isn’t natural.”

“Well I was wondering if you would
want to go on a camping double date?” She looked up at Sarah and
continued. “I haven’t camped with Brother in over a year and I miss
watching the stars before I fall asleep. I thought it might be
fun.”

“When are you planning to do this?” Sarah
asked in simple curiosity.

“The day after our graduating ceremony
only because Mark will have that entire week off from the
diner.”

Sarah turned her eyes on Connor to ask
“When is graduation?” He told her “Three weeks from now?” Sarah
turned her eyes back on Kara.

“Yep. It was just an idea though.” Her
brown eyes looked at him hopefully.

“I think we can handle that.” Sarah
said fulfilling Kara’s wish and throwing her an imaginary bone as
it looked in his mind. Sarah saw the mental picture and
telepathically told him to behave again.

“Oh, thank you so much. I will go tell
Mark the good news.” Kara got up and stopped as she walked towards
the front door. “Brother, when will I see you again?”

“We will see how things go. I would
think in a few days.” Sarah was oblivious to his tone, but Kara
caught it. Siblings almost have a sixth sense with each other. Her
brown eyes widened and her parted lips became a wide grin.
“Brother, are you going to…” He cut her off with a glance and a
nod. Her smile became a wider grin and she ran out the
door.

“What was all that about?” Jillian
looked at Connor in a confused smile.

“Nothing you need to worry about yet.”
He said and Sarah turned her face and gave him her smile that asked
‘What about me?’ to which he said “I’ll ask you later.” She nodded
in acceptance.

Jack entered the room as Kara shut the door.
“What are we planning next in our day?”

“I think we had better call it a day
actually. Wait, I do have a question. With telepathy, what’s your
range to hear someone else’s thoughts?” Connor asked
him.

“With us it’s about a mile. Why?” Jack
asked back.

“Just curious.” He said and turned to
Sarah. “Knowing how much I ate today, I think we need to stop by
the store and pick up some food.”

“Your right. Let’s go to the
supermarket and buy some.” They stood up together and he smiled at
his in-laws.

Jack sat down with Jillian as Connor
said “Thanks so much for all of your help with us.”

“What’s family for!” Jack stated. “When are
you planning to see us again?”

Before Sarah said ‘tomorrow’ Connor
stated “Monday.” And he guided Sarah towards her car.

They pulled out the driveway and down
the road as Connor sat behind the wheel this time. Sarah asked in
the passenger seat “Why aren’t we going to see my parents
tomorrow?” He smiled absently, trying not to spoil the surprise.
Then he felt her trying to enter his mind.

“Uh, uh. Don’t spoil another surprise
I have for you.”

They drove quietly while Sarah kept
testing his mental defenses. He trained himself to concentrate no
matter the distraction and the situation couldn’t have been easier.
She didn’t even find a crack to look through. They made it to the
market and filled the back seat and trunk full of groceries in
under three hours.

As they were getting in the car again
Connor saw a shiny piece of stainless steel and slid it in his
pocket for later.

When they put away the rest of the
groceries at their house Sarah went into the bathroom. It was
around six in the evening as Connor finished taking a shower, then
he reentered the kitchen. Sarah cooked a meal that would
effortlessly satisfy enough for six starving people. They each ate
half of the entire meal yet inside Connor still felt hungry.
Without warning, Sarah took the empty plates and put them in the
sink and walked quietly to their bedroom. He walked to the sink and
cleaned the dishes and secretly washed off the piece of metal in
his pocket as well. Connor knew he was in serious trouble because
she hasn’t said a word since the car ride.

As he entered their room he soon found
out just how much trouble he was in.

Sarah sat on the bed with
her ankles crossed while leaning back on her arms, holding her like
support beams. Her hair was all laying around her neck and down her
breasts. The
only
thing she wore was a provocative ‘come hither’ smile and her
anklet. Connor stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.
She sat up straight and too quickly because she bounced; twice.
“Come to bed, my mate.” Her velvety voice was laced with a passion
he had no chance of resisting. He started undressing as he walked
to the bed.

After a serious and passionate workout
from the both of them Connor laid on his back as Sarah cuddled up
beside him. “I promised I would work on it later.” She looked up at
him with a coy smile which he returned. She didn’t sound the least
bit tired and neither did he. It was great to be a Balancer. “Now
will you tell me what you were planning?”

“Yes, I will. Sit up please.” She sat
up and her hair fell down to her side. Connor sat up and searched
for his pants. When they had been spotted he walked out of bed and
put on some boxers. Picking up his pants he pulled the rescued
metal from a pocket. “Close your eyes.” She did and he sat on the
bed, cross legged in front of her. Connor held the piece of metal
encased in his fist. “Ok you can open them.”

“What’s going on inside that head of
yours, Connor?” She smiled again after gazing the scrapped
metal.

Taking a calming breath wasn’t easy,
seeing her look so elegant. “Sarah, I want to make everything
official and legal. You’ve told me Balancers are older than many
human notions, but that is a mood point. I know we are bonded
forever, but I want to show others my commitment. My honest
commitment.”

“How are you going to accomplish that
feat?” She genuinely asked.

“Sarah, will you marry me?” He asked,
flashing a smile at her.

Her face altered to shocked surprise.
Even her thoughts were stunted. When she was able to utilize her
voice again she shouted “Yes!” and threw herself at him and kissed
him hard and passionately. When she pulled away to get some air she
asked “When did you have time to buy me a ring?”

“I didn’t, but I can do what most men can’t
possibly dream of doing.”

Connor opened his palm and shut his
eyes for concentration. He heard her say “But…?” and she stopped
when she felt him calling for his power. In his mind he pictured
the jagged piece of stainless steel changing. It wrapped within
itself and flattened. A hole entered the center and widened the
circular ring began to become a continuous cylinder and then on the
inside of the ring flattened to accommodate a perfect fit for
Sarah’s ring finger.

Letting his instinct guide the power
to the palm of his hand, Connor opened his eyes. The piece of scrap
stainless steel levitated off his hand and hovered for a moment. It
began to heat up at a tremendous rate and he could feel its toll
being extracted from within his being. The metal began to instantly
mold itself to the exact same way it had been imagined. As it
finished taking shape and cooling, it fell into his palm and looked
perfect.

She held out her left hand. Connor
slipped it over her left ring finger. As he took his hands away she
looked at the ring with reverence. “Connor, it is so beautiful.”
She stopped and looked at him. “I only want a small and short
wedding. Nothing extravagant. One with my parents present and along
with your family. No one else is invited. I’ll want to get back
home as soon as possible.”

“I agree. Neither of us likes dramatic
events.”

“You know me so well.”

“Of course, I’m your number
one fan.”
She smiled his favorite
smile.
“I want to get married as soon as
possible.”

“As do I. Do you have
anyplace special you have in mind?”
He
showed her the image he recalled, which made her smile.
“
Well that is only the most perfect place
for me as well.”

“Are we agreeable?”

“Yes, and did you know
Father is licensed to wed?”

Apparently Connor did something right
because she took care of him another six times before they finally
went to sleep from exhaustion.

Training and
Talent

When Monday morning came around, Sarah
and Connor stocked themselves with fuel all weekend just for this
moment. Slowly getting stronger every day was a bonus because they
were going to run through the woods today. Connor wore his best
clothing which turned out to be his denim black pants along with a
long sleeve shirt. Sarah attired a simple turquoise blue dress and
looked so delicately beautiful. “Are you ready,
Princess?”

They ran side by side through the
woods at a speed no one could ever possibly match running through a
forest. Not even a speck of dirt or even a branch or stick dared
come close to hitting either of them. They bounded over shrubs that
were well over five feet tall as easily as a stepping over a
pebble.

Twenty minutes later they exited the
tree line that brought them to their local town hall.

They each registered for a wedding
license and she had her name legally changed from Sarah Branderson
to Sarah May. Each refused to take a blood sample just incase
something came up unordinary. Connor didn’t want to chance
something foreign in his blood and causing problems.

They went to her parent’s house first
by running at their newfound speed through the woods so no one saw
them. As they told them what they were doing, her parents got
excited, especially Jillian, and Jack agreed to do the
ceremony.

As they left and went to his old house
his mother had been called to work later in the day. Connor
explained how they were going to be married when their application
is expected to be accepted. Kara and Jenny went to Sarah and hugged
her while also giving their congratulations. He was left to be
hugged last.

The next day, Jillian received a call
from the town hall. The application went through and everyone was
ready. It turned out to be an expedient process which surprised
everyone, except Jack who seemed to have a hand in it. They used
Sarah’s parent’s house number because they didn’t have a phone yet.
It was on their long list to do.

Wednesday came to be the day of the
wedding. Sarah wore the same beautiful turquoise dress and the only
thing that changed in his appearance was that Tool hung on his
right hip.

Everyone gathered at Jack’s home in
the early morning. They were all wearing traveling clothes per
Connor’s request. His grandparents, Jenny, Kara and Mark along with
Sarah’s parents followed the two of them into the forest. Jillian
tried contacting Amber and Ben for the wedding, but couldn’t reach
them.