There it was. As she rose when Thomas introduce her it took only a few seconds for May to recognize the all-too-familiar play before her, though she had never expected to be a part of it herself. Mr. Stokes's eyes flicked over her appreciatively and the instant narrowing of Mrs. Stokes's eyes, the disappointment and envy in her glance, were all too familiar. She had seen it in her own parents.
Helen had been beautiful until the day she died, but that hadn't kept Leland from appraising other men's wives, sneaking off with them when possible, and what she saw in Mrs. Stokes was the same thing May had seen at the endless parties, dinners, and mixers she had been dragged to as a child. Mrs. Stokes had been hoping Thomas's wife would be plain and dumpy, like her, and knew exactly where her husband's mind had gone when she saw that she wasn't. Not that she hadn't been determined to be kind and polite before, but pity moved May to ensure she didn't give Mrs. Stokes a reason to cry when she got home tonight. She was only here to fake a marriage, not to destroy one.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stokes!" she said enthusiastically, standing and greeting them with a warm smile in an imitation of what she had watched her mother do countless times before, focusing more on the wife. "It's such a pleasure to finally meet you. We've been looking forward to this evening all week." They shook hands and she and the wife pressed their cheeks together, making soft kissing noises in a way that Americans thought was French but, as Grandmere had noted irritably on a number of occasions, was just another attempt by Yankees at "a cheap imitation of true class." She shook Mrs. Stokes's hand a little more gently than Granddad had taught her she ought, noticing that the older woman had a rather shy grip, and clasped her free hand around hers briefly. The candlelight glinted off of the
wedding ring they had bought that afternoon to complete the illusion.
If she were honest with herself, and she wasn't, May would admit that the manicure and the ring shopping had actually been
nice. She didn't believe that a person had to be married to prove that they loved their partner; Granddad and Grandmere had been proof of that. Though she had never managed to pull the entire story out of them, she gathered that it had been a complicated situation, but Grandmere had always made it clear that May didn't
have to marry the person she loved if she didn't want to, and it wouldn't mean she loved him any less. Although she vastly preferred the
ring Granddad had given Grandmere upon the death of his first wife--which Grandmere had never worn on the traditional left ring finger but upon her right, and insisted would pass to her--May had to admit that the ring shopping and fake proposal Thomas had jokingly staged on the sidewalk outside the shop had been...
fun. She knew she ought to reject the Material, but it was fun and easy...and that was the crux of it, wasn't it? The Material, the world of the Disconnected, was
easy, and nothing worth having was ever easy.
As they sat in the dimly lit, curved booth across from the Stokeses, May slid her left had back into Thomas's lap under the table. Her face betrayed nothing of her actions as she leaned in as though to get a better look. "That pendant is absolutely stunning," she complimented the wife across from her, attempting the same sort of small talk she had heard all her life. "Nothing in comparison to you, of course, but still just gorgeous. Wherever did you get it? If you don't mind my asking, that is."
~*~
Jack came tromping back into the Chapel, bitching about the walk. Raven knelt next to his chair to help massage the stump of his leg, but Rayne kept her distance, staring. Most of the others were staring, too. You didn't just
talk to the Disconnected then waltz back in like nothing had ever happened! What was his deal? There had been some mutterings earlier that perhaps May had made a mistake bringing Jack into the fold, but Nate put down that thought quickly.
"The All-Goddess doesn't make mistakes in who she brings in," he had insisted, "and knows a lot more than you guys about the intent of the God-Soul." Coming from an Ascender, that was that; no arguments. Still, Nate thought, he may have to take the Savior aside and have a bit of a chat; people doubting May meant doubting Max, which meant doubting the will of the God-Soul. That could put them all in danger. Jack may not understand their ways yet, but tearing down the entire system through open rebellion was dangerous and he needed to learn to reign himself in.
"What?" Jack asked, finally looking up from massaging his leg. "I don't bite."
"Maybe not, but your actions do." The crowd parted for Max like the Red Sea before Moses. He folded his arms across his chest, looking down at Jack, as though pondering. "We let you into our home," he said, "into our church, we let you take part in our communion. Piss poor way of showing thanks." Max's voice was that paternal not-mad-just-disappointed tone which made it sound as though he were gently reprimanding a child in need of a life lesson. "You're new around here, Jack, and I can understand the urge to reach out to the Disconnected, especially when you're as...
enthusiastic as you were during communion. But you haven't been with us long enough to minister to them without succumbing to the temptations of the Material, and when one person is tempted that puts the entire congregation in danger." There were nods and murmurs of agreement, particularly from Jesse and Nate.
"Jack, I think maybe it's best if you don't enter the world of the Disconnected for a while," Max announced after a minute or two of contemplation, ignoring any sort of arguments Jack may put up. "The Material can be really tempting for a new initiate like you, but it's important to learn the value of community and really
connect to the Universal God-Soul's plan for each of us. What'dya say to...a two week fast?" It was clear this was more order than question. "You can help out around the Chapel, meditate more on the path you've been called on to walk down with us, really learn the ropes without being distracted by the world of the Disconnected. As a penitent, Nate will have to go with you if you absolutely
cannot avoid the Material world, and he can guide you through this time of penance. We all slip up, man, and it's cool. I just don't wanna see you lose your footing and fall alone back into the Material." This last was a fairly clear threat: keep in line or find another place to live. Max knew, of course, that Jack had intended to sign up for college courses next week...but college was far more contact with the Disconnected than he was comfortable with, especially at this stage. He patted Jack's shoulder before turning away. "Good talk, man."
Nate, as a newly appointed Guardian of the Penitent, rushed to Jack's side. "I know what you're thinkin', man," he said, clapping him on the shoulder, "but think of this as a
growth opportunity. A chance to get more in sync with the All!" He smiled, genuine in his enthusiasm. "May believes in you, dude, and so do I. We're just trying to help you become the Savior we know you can be." He patted his back in a friendly matter. "Anyway, hungry? It was a long day at the soup kitchen and some of the girls were just getting dinner started."
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