Delia's Shadow (40 page)

I stared, unable to answer. Annie clucked her tongue and shook her head, a sure sign that I looked utterly witless. I shouldn’t have been surprised, but I was. “Marry you … Are you sure?”

He grinned. “I’m sure. Say yes. Marry me.”

Tears filled my eyes, but I grinned right back. “Yes, Gabe, yes. I can’t think of anything I’d like more.”

Gabe stood and slipped the ring from his pocket onto my finger. I stared at the pearl and emerald ring, unable to speak. Annie left us alone when he kissed me.

I didn’t notice that she’d gone.

*   *   *

Esther died quietly in her sleep a week after Sadie’s wedding, surrounded by family and without pain. I’d thought I was ready, but the loss of someone you love is never easy, no matter how long you have to prepare. She’d come back to herself, just a little, in those last few days, and we’d been able to say good-bye. I was grateful for that.

The day of the funeral was bright and sunny, cheerful in a way that made loss sharper. Wind brushed through the trees shading the hillside cemetery, leaves whispering softly in the voices of ghosts long laid to rest. The family stood at the graveside, Isadora and Daniel, Esther’s friends, and neighbors ranged behind us. Gabe held my hand as Reverend Heisten intoned the words of the service, words meant to comfort the living and soothe grief. His words meant nothing to the dead, wouldn’t bring peace to lost and wandering souls. I knew that better than most.

I couldn’t help but think of Aileen Fitzgerald and Matt Ryan, my parents and Victoria. Life had been ripped away from them without warning or a chance to reconcile themselves with leaving loved ones behind. They’d never gotten to say farewells. I prayed that they’d found peace nonetheless.

The service ended and friends and neighbors drifted away. Men in coveralls arrived, leaning on their shovels and waiting to fill the grave. Marshall helped Annie down the slight slope, letting her lean on him for the walk back to the car. Jack and Sadie laid the lilies they carried onto the casket and followed. Gabe did the same, but stopped a few yards off to wait for me.

“Good-bye, Mama Esther.” I laid a yellow rose amongst the white lilies. “You needn’t worry. Sadie and I will be fine. Rest and be at peace.”

I hurried to join Gabe. He kissed my cheek and frowned. “Are you all right? You took so long I was starting to worry.”

“I’m fine. Just saying good-bye.” All my ghosts were laid to rest. I took his hand, fully in the world of the living. “Let’s go home. We have lots to talk about. And a future to plan.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

JAIME LEE MOYER’S
Delia’s Shadow
won the 2009 Columbus Literary Award for Fiction. Moyer has sold short fiction to
Lone Star Stories, Daily Science Fiction,
and to the
Triangulation: End of the Rainbow
and
Triangulation: Last Contact
anthologies. She was poetry editor for
Ideomancer Speculative Fiction
for five years and edited
The 2010 Rhysling Anthology
for the Science Fiction Poetry Association. She lives in San Antonio with writer Marshall Payne, three cats, three guitars, and a growing collection of books and music.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

DELIA’S SHADOW

Copyright © 2013 by Jaime Lee Moyer

All rights reserved.

Cover art by Larry Rostant

Map of the Pan-Pacific International Exposition courtesy of
SanFranciscoMemories.com

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

The Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available upon request.

ISBN 978-0-7653-3182-3 (hardcover)

ISBN 9781429949484 (e-book)

First Edition: September 2013