Dar

Hattie and Artemis soon got married. They were wed in a little white church in Tulsa that shone golden in the evening light. The bride wore an antique wedding dress that was detailed with lace and chiffon and beautiful pearly buttons. Meredith, Charlotte, and Adele were her bridesmaids and they stood at the front of the church in lovely pale pink dresses that made them gleam. Artemis watched her walk down the aisle amidst the crying toddlers around him who all served as flower girls. His best men were Jose, Harry, and Leo –all lined up with ecstatic grins on their faces. Hattie held her bouquet of yellow roses in her hands and tried not to cry when she said her vows in a wobbly voice. Artemis wasn't so shy and had watery eyes when he told her how much he loved her and how much she was worth it.

And they stayed in Tulsa.

Artemis worked at the Hutchinson Appliance Store and when his parents-in-law decided to retire, he took over it completely. He would sell the people in his neighborhood blenders and washing machines, refrigerators and dishwashers. And he liked it because while he dealt with the people on the floor, Hattie would ring them up and decorate the aisles and displays. And when they went home to their little house a block away from Meredith and Charlotte's houses, they would be happy and they would be together.

But sometimes Artemis's face would cloud over. Sometimes it was when they were in bed. He would turn on his side and there would be that expression of hollowness that would overwhelm his perfect features. So Hattie would turn him over and put a hand on his face and stare into his eyes until she saw her husband again. And she knew where he had gone. He had delved into the unbearable ache of missing Giverhood. He would think of all the beautiful things that he had done. Paris, Bangkok, London. All of these places had been at the tips of his fingers, which were there no longer. He lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a wife and new brothers and sisters and much too many nieces that he spoiled a great deal. But then he would look at Hattie Smith's green eyes and see her face and he would remember that he was happy in his little house with his pretty wife and newly acquired family.

And sometimes Hattie's face was rounder because she was rounder. Her stomach would expand to make room for the children she had created with Artemis. She would whimper because she thought she was too enormous to be beautiful, but Artemis would laugh and kneel down to kiss her ballooned stomach and say, "Beautiful, you are beautiful." Once they were working at the appliance store and Hattie felt her first kick, right there in her tummy. Artemis could hear her bellowing for him from the back of the store where he was showing the Robinsons a freezer, he stopped midway through their conversation and ran to the front where his wife stood with tears in her eyes and beckoned for him to place a hand on the moving babies inside of her. And they both smiled at that very moment and realized that this was worth it. They had twins. A boy and a girl named Arthur and Alice. Two dark haired babies, one green eyed and the other brown eyed.

The boy was quiet. A contemplative and methodical baby who would only cry when he needed to, but would watch and watch the rest of the time, taking in the scenery with an observant air. The girl was loud and rambunctious. Artemis would have to wrestle her into her high-chair and she would cry until her mother would pick her up and rock her because she wanted attention.

And when the twins got a little older, they tried for some more children and had tiny Arnaud. He surprised them with his little head of blond hair and dark green eyes, just like his mother. He had a gap between his two front teeth that made the entire room glow when he smiled. He was a good child, just like his siblings. Happy and content.

And through all of this, Artemis and Hattie would both learn to become Givers. Artemis would compromise with Hattie and let her put in just one more princess item in their bedroom. And Hattie would let Artemis buy all of the strange French food that he found in the world market and pretend she loved it when he made it all for dinner; all because it reminded him of home and she wanted to appease him. Artemis would rub Hattie's swollen feet when she was pregnant and tired and he would tell her she was gorgeous when she got out of the shower and cried because of her stretched belly. And Hattie would let Artemis choose the show they watched every night when they came back from the appliance store. And they went on this way until the kids grew up and moved out.

Their hair finally grayed, but they continued Giving. Their backs bent, but they continued Giving. And one day Artemis died in his sleep. Peaceful and drowsy.

And Hattie went to his grave every week and left him the yellow roses that were his favorite.

And on another day, Hattie died as well. Fleeting and fulfilled.

And they met again. And they weren't gray and bent anymore. They were perfect and young, just the way they remembered each other. Artemis was tall and handsome with his dark hair swept back again. Hattie was the small and slender girl she had once been with her ebony hair tied back in a ribbon and her green eyes fresh against her golden skin. When they embraced in the shimmery light of Death, they recalled their life of Giving and Taking and they knew that it would continue on forever.

It was only the beginning.

_____

FIN.