The House in the Cerulean Sea(106)

“Hark!” Commander Lucy cried. “You won’t get the best of us! We demand that you relinquish your treasures. We won’t take no for an answer!”

“You won’t?”

“No!” the children shouted.

“No,” Linus echoed quietly.

“Oh. Well, then. I suppose I might as well give up now. You’re far too strong for the likes of me.”

“I knew it,” Lucy breathed fervently. He raised his hands above his head. “Men!” He glanced back at Talia and Phee. “And also women. Follow me to your just reward!”

They did. Of course they did. They would follow him anywhere.

Linus would too.

They charged across the beach and into the trees.

Linus sighed. He wasn’t going to charge anywhere. His charging days were pretty much over with. He wiped his brow and trudged toward the trees.

He frowned once he reached the tree line. It had grown strangely silent. Six children should have been making much more noise. Especially these six children. He hesitated but then stepped into the trees.

Paper lanterns had been hung from the branches. They were the same ones that had been hung in the gazebo. He reached up and pressed a hand against one of them. The light inside was bright, and he didn’t think it came from a bulb or a candle.

They were waiting for him as he reached the house in the middle of the trees. Talia and Phee. Sal, Theodore, Chauncey, and Lucy. Zoe, the flowers in her hair green and gold.

And Arthur, of course. Always Arthur.

They held a sign out in front of them, a long roll of paper with painted words that read: WE’LL MISS YOU, MR. BAKER!!! There were handprints on it. Little ones for Talia and Phee and Lucy. A bigger one for Sal. A line that he thought came from Chauncey’s tentacles. And a drip of paint that looked like claws from Theodore.

Linus took in a shuddering breath. “I … I didn’t expect this. What a wonderful thing you’ve all done. Look at it. Look at you.”

“It was my idea,” Lucy said.

Talia stomped on his foot.

He winced. “Well, mostly all my idea. The others helped, though. A little.” He brightened. “But guess what?”

“What?”

“There was no treasure after all! It was a lie to get you here for your party!”

“Oh. I see. So the real treasure was the friendships we made along the way?”

“You guys are the worst,” Lucy muttered. “The literal worst.”



* * *



And what a party it was. There was food—so much so that Linus thought the table would collapse under the weight of it. There was roast and hot rolls and salad with cucumbers that crunched between their teeth. There was cake and pie and bowls of tart raspberries they could dip in cream.

And music! All kinds of music. There was a record player sitting on the counter, and the day the music died was bright and loud with Ritchie and Buddy and the Big Bopper singing from beyond. Lucy was in charge, and he never failed to disappoint.

They laughed on this day. Oh, how they laughed. Even though Linus thought his heart was breaking, he laughed until there were tears in his eyes, until he was sure his sides would split. As the sun began to set and the lanterns grew brighter, they laughed and laughed and laughed.

Linus was wiping tears away (from amusement, he told himself) when the music changed yet again.

He recognized it even before Nat King Cole began to sing.

He looked up to see Arthur Parnassus standing before him, hand outstretched.

Thank you.

You keep saying that, and I don’t know if it’s deserved.

I know you don’t believe you do. But I don’t say things I don’t mean. Life is too short for it. Do you like to dance?

I don’t … know. I think I might have two left feet, honestly.

I highly doubt that.

And Linus Baker allowed himself to be selfish. Just this once.

He took Arthur’s hand and stood slowly as Nat told him to smile even though his heart was breaking.

Arthur pulled him close, and they began to sway back and forth.

“Smile and maybe tomorrow,” Arthur whispered in his ear. “You’ll see the sun come shining through for you.”

Linus lay his head against Arthur’s chest. He could feel the heat from him burning from the inside out.

They danced.

It stretched on for what felt like ages, though Linus knew the song didn’t last long. He heard Arthur whispering the words to him. He surprised even himself. Apparently, he didn’t have two left feet after all.

But, like all things magical, the song eventually came to an end.

The house around them was quiet. Linus blinked as if waking from a dream. He lifted his head. Arthur looked down at him, eyes glittering like fire. Linus stepped back.

Zoe sat with Phee and Talia in her lap. Theodore was perched on Sal’s shoulder. Lucy and Chauncey lay pressed against his legs. All of them looked tired. Happy, but tired. Lucy smiled at him, but it broke when he yawned. “Did you like your treasure, Mr. Baker?”

Linus looked up at Arthur again. “I did,” he whispered. “I liked it more than anything.”



* * *



Zoe carried Phee and Talia as they walked back toward the main house. Talia was snoring loudly.

Sal had put Theodore in his shirt, and the wyvern’s head lay against his throat.