[Shine your light down on me
Lift me up so I can see
Shine you light when you're gone
Give me strength to carry on]
--- Lyrics to 'Shine Your Light' performed by Robbie Robertson
Ray of Hope Part 32
Odin Lowe straightened at the appearance and greeting from his son's betrothed. The lovely blonde young woman grinned warmly to him and straightened from her curtsy. Returning the smile, the Senator nodded and spoke into the phone, "I'll give you a call back soon, Johnson."
After closing the small receiver, he approached his host and told her, "You never fail to light up a room, Dorothy." He leaned in to kiss her cheek gently before straightening himself and saying, "I certainly hope that you and your mother are well."
With a small shrug, the teenage girl made sure that her smile faded as she replied, "As well as can be expected, under the circumstances." Tilting her head, Dorothy stated, "I can only imagine how much more difficult these last months must have been for you, considering that Odin was your only child."
It was a fight for her to not allow her eyes to narrow during the statement. While it was spoken with a sympathetic tone, it was snide and course in her mind. Dorothy couldn't help but be all the more amused with her choice of words when the blonde man's cobalt eyes flashed with the slightest hint of panic before he managed to recover.
The tall man bowed his head and frowned deeply, "Yes, yes. It has been quite troubling for myself and Misses Lowe. It's a great pain that I suppose will never go away until we know what happened to our son."
Had she not overheard his conversation before entering the room, Dorothy would have never doubted the sincerity in the man's words. Instead, she harnessed another growl from building in her throat while keeping her smile in place. While she never was very fond of her best friend's father, her stomach churned at just being in the same room with him after seeing who he really was for herself.
Much to her relief, her step-mother stepped into the room. The slight, blonde Darlin grinned, "Odin. This is a pleasant surprise." Their hands joining, the two adults pecked cheeks.
"Jessica," the Senator nodded with a somber, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice. I am afraid to announce that the media is looking for another interview with those of us closest to Odin." He looked from Dorothy to her mother and back as he continued, "I know that you are both as tired of these journalists as I, and so I wished to ask you in person."
Nearly choking at his lie of tiring of the media frenzy that her friend's disappearance caused, Dorothy bit her lip. Jessica turned to her daughter's blue eyes. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she met the tall man's gaze and answered, "Well, that would be up to Dorothy. If she is up to the interview, I don't see why we would turn down a chance to help find Odin."
When the two pair of eyes fell on her, Dorothy feigned thoughtfulness before announcing, "I would need time to think about it." She sighed deeply as she forced tears into her eyes and said softly, "I am growing so tired of all of this. I just want Odin to be found safely."
Her mother frowned in concern and wrapped her tightly in her arms as she ran a hand over her long hair. "It'll be al right, dear," she reassured softly and kissed the top of her head. Dorothy clung onto her and sobbed quietly with her face buried in her step-mother's shoulder.
Looking up to the Senator, Jessica told him kindly yet firmly, "I think that her wish for some time is more than fair. We will let you know what her choice is when she makes up her mind. I'm sure that you understand."
Odin bowed his head and spoke humbly, "Of course. Thank you, again for seeing me. I will be in touch and will understand whatever decision is reached." With a quiet farewell to the two young women, he stepped quietly from the room. As he left, the teenage girl peeked her reddening eyes over her mother's shoulder to glare fiercely at his back.
Inwardly sighing in relief, Dorothy pulled from her mother's embrace and dried the tears that she learned to produce with ease. Jessica helped brush away the last wet trails on her cheeks and gently held her daughter's chin between two fingers so that their eyes met. "I know this whole ordeal has been very wearing on you, child," she sighed sadly. "I wish that there were something that I could do to help."
Forcing a small sob, Dorothy shook her head, "I need to get away from all of this for a while. It's a rare day that I can leave this house without reporters or photographers following me, asking personal questions. I'm so sick of it all."
It was time to make her announcement. Much as she hated to admit it, the Senator's request only helped her case. She swallowed hard to continue with her performance and stated, "That's why I set up a getaway for myself this weekend. I am sorry for not saying anything sooner, but I had to do something to leave this behind for even a little while before I go mad."
There was the briefest glimpses of surprise in her mother's eyes, but that quickly faded into relief. Smiling reassuringly, Jessica nodded, "I understand. And I agree that it would be best for you. You're more than capable of taking care of yourself, so I trust that you'll stay safe. I'll be sure that the media stays off your heels when it is time for you to leave."
With a glowing smile, Dorothy's shimmering eyes brightened as she whispered, "Thank you, mother." She hugged her fiercely once more and kissed her cheek.
Chuckling deeply, Jessica ran a hand over her daughter's hair once more and told her, "Now, go get cleaned up. Dinner is just about ready. Your father will be returning from his meeting with the other Vice-Foreign Ministers soon and he will be quite worried if he sees you eyes as red and puffy."
Dorothy nodded, "Yes, mother." With a wink, the slight woman moved from the room to return to the staff to offer her assistance. Once she was alone, the blonde teenager smiled in satisfaction to herself. Raising her clenched fists so they rested against her chest, she cheered quietly, "Yes. Yet another brilliant performance, if I do say so, myself."
At that, she all but ran out into the hall to clean her face of any remnants from the faux tears that she drudged up.
* * * * * *
Adjusting the wick's length to last the remainder of the night that had just begun, Duo opened the hatch to the glass housing. Satisfied with the amount of wax that he cut off, he struck a match with his free hand.
Carefully bringing the flame to catch onto the wick, he pulled his hand back and closed the hatch once again. Straightening, he stepped back to appraise the glowing lantern as the revolving mirrors swished around the round room.
The sight that normally brought him comfort and warmth did little of either as he stood there. His shoulders slumped heavily, Duo stepped out onto the gallery and into the chilly night air. The millions of stars were in plain view overhead on yet another beautiful night, but went unnoticed by the lighthouse keeper. Folding his long-sleeved arms, he moved slowly around the balcony until he faced the glowing city far below.
Resting his arms on the railing, Duo leaned forward and sighed deeply to himself as he looked over the small town. "I wonder what you're doing tonight," he thought aloud in little more than a whisper.
* * * * * *
Heero sat on the fount porch step of Wufei and Sally's home, just as he did every night. Watching the turning beams of the lighthouse far ahead, he silently wondered how his braided lover was that evening as he managed the tower.
At the return of the cool breeze that blew through his grey sweater, the young sailor shuddered lightly and wrapped his arms tighter around his torso. Behind him, the front door opened and closed as one of his hosts approached. Without looking back, Heero could tell by the heavy footsteps that it was Wufei.
There was a deep sigh and a quick bit of teeth chattering before his friend's voice said quietly, "Fall certainly is moving in fast." Finally, Heero looked back to see the Chinese officer leaning against the post of the porch beside him.
An amused smirk tugged at Wufei's lips as he looked down on the young sailor. "You really ought to stop this every night," he told him as he shook his head. At that, the raven-haired young man sat down beside Heero and stated, "You're really starting to depress me." With a small snort, the sailor gazed at him from the corner of his eye.
Lightly punching his friend's arm, Wufei reassured him, "Noin said just to give him time. And even if she didn't stop over, Sally and I know that Duo loves you too much to never let you back in again."
Shaking his head, Heero's cobalt eyes remained on the lighthouse as he replied, "I have to find a way to convince him that I would never choose Dorothy over him when my memory comes back. That's what has him more scared than anything, and I don't blame him for it."
"Well," Wufei began with a small bite of his lip as he turned to face the sailor, "I hate to break this to you, but until you do get your memory back, there really won't be any way you can prove that, even to yourself."
The sailor nodded and sighed in frustration, "I know." He covered his face with both hands and muttered through them, "Sally is at just as much loss as I am on how to make that happen." Lowering his hands again, he commented, "Every case of global amnesia is different and so what cures the problem differs from patient to patient, as well."
Quietly humming in thought, Wufei looked out to the lighthouse and asked, "When you would have your flashes, was there anything in common with where you were or what you were doing at the time?"
Heero answered with another shake of his head, "No. Sally and I thought about that, too. But when we went over all of the scenarios surrounding the flashes I have had up to now, we couldn't find anything in common between any of them."
With a sad frown, Wufei shrugged, "Well, I'm not a doctor, but what were the strongest lapses that you had? Maybe if you were put back into those situations, it might be something that could help, too."
His cobalt eyes widening at that suggestion, Heero had to admit that it was a better idea than nothing. He considered that perhaps Sally never came to that notion was to spare him from forcing himself into another strong, physical reaction.
Straightening, he looked to the tower and said quietly, "The strongest was on the lighthouse when that headache came on that took me out. But, I had been up on the gallery dozens of times and that was the only time that happened." Just as he spoke aloud his thoughts, his eyes widened once more.
Quickly jumping to his feet, the young sailor ran up the porch steps. Blinking in surprise, Wufei watched his friend and called, "Hey! What are you doing?"
A wide smile lighting his face, Heero looked over his shoulder as he opened the front door and shouted back, "To call Howard! He owes me a boat ride!"
Without further explanation, he ran inside and closed the door behind him with a slam.
TBC...
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