Chapter Eleven

The day before I became Mrs. Demarco Myrick, I woke up in one of those unlucky moods again, certain something would go wrong. I concentrated hard on the something going wrong not having anything to do with the wedding. I walked around with my fingers crossed so hard they started to cramp. It must have worked, because first the new dishwasher broke, then the TV, and then Demarco lost his first game since he advanced to the majors. He said he was a little distracted. Judging by where his hands were when he said it, I'm guessing the distraction was a pleasant one.

I just wanted the day to be over.

The morning of the big day, I awoke feeling fine. We worked our last minute jitters out in our accustomed ways: me by painting, and Demarco by working out in front of the TV.

We had a small, private wedding. We just wanted our closest friends and associates to share it with us. Michael was there, and Mortimer and his dad, and my newest friend Menuchah. We also asked Coach Keaton.

Michael calmed his old friend's jitters.

"To have and to hold from this day forward

for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health

until death do us part"

"I do"

China has to be one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Okay, I know I haven't seen much. But to an artist's eye, it was almost overwhelming.

"This is where we're staying?" I gasped. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I walked around with my mouth open for a while as if in a dream. The accommodations were plain enough once you got inside, but step back outside the room and you knew you weren't in Kansas anymore. To an artist, architecture is just another form of art, and the architecture here was amazing. The detail, the graceful lines, the intricacy of the most mundane elements. It's as though everything they build over here, no matter what its function, just has to be beautiful.

While Demarco learned the ancient and venerable skill of martial arts, I wandered around the Forbidden City. More beautiful architecture, and everywhere are statues of lions and ancient warriors and gods and goddesses, and fountains festooned with dragons and cryptic symbols.

They sell everything here, in quaint little open-air shops. I bought us anything I saw that I thought might come in handy. I bought some new clothes, too. "There's my baby," crooned Demaro with a fond chuckle, when he saw me, "lookin' all native."

I tried to take some photographs, too. But ... um ... well, I suck. I'd better stick to the painting. My hands and brain know how to use a paintbrush. Apparently, clicking that little button is beyond them.

And what the heck happened here? I think there's something wrong with this camera.

I tried to learn martial arts, too. It's hard, and when you hit that tree thing, it swings around and swats you one right in the head.

 Owwww!

Aw. C'mere, precious girl. I'll kiss it and make it better.

After an exhausting training session, we had a traditional Chinese meal. I bought Demarco some Chinese recipes for his collection. Even the food was exotic and wonderful. But chopsticks are hard!

Darn it. I know I had a piece of food hooked on these things just a minute ago.

We went exploring around the countryside, too, and saw the tourist attractions. You can get in an awful lot of snuggling and strolling hand in hand under the guise of seeing the sights.

Look at me, will you? Standing in front of one of the seven wonders of the world, and what am I gawking at? My wedding ring.

This place is called the Temple of Heaven. In the Ming dynasty, it was a very sacred place where they held sacrificial ceremonies of thankfulness and prayer. I got all that out of the guidebook.

We got a tent and went camping one night. Ostensibly, it was because it would take too long to get back to our hostel at night if we wandered too far afield, and we didn't want to waste a precious minute of our short stay. The truth is, we just wanted some real privacy. We're not used to having other people near when we ... uh ... when we ... well, we are newlyweds.

Honestly, waking up to this view was so exhilarating I could scarely believe it. The air was fragrant with all the exotic plants we don't have at home. You couldn't turn around without seeing something else breathtakingly beautiful. Oh, how I wish I could have brought my easel.

Eventually it was time to return home. Funny thing about traveling. No matter how fantastic a time you had, and no matter how sad you felt at having to leave, there's just something blissful about coming back to your very own home and sleeping in your very own bed.

I did manage to get a few good photos after all.

We brought home some extremely cool souvenirs. The little tiger statue is adorable. We had the dragon statue appraised when we got back, and it turns out it's worth a lot of money.

Demarco was even more excited than I was to get home, because he had a surprise for me. He looked like a little boy on Christmas morning. He took me by the hand and led me straight into the house and back to that corner where there weren't any walls. Unbeknownst to me, he had arranged for a contractor to do some work while we were gone.

It's my very own art studio! No more sticking my easel in any old out of the way corner. No more waiting for daylight to paint, or squinting in the light of lamps and torchieres. All my art supplies were laid out waiting for me like dear old friends, along with some souvenirs of our trip for inspiration. Just look at all that light! And the view behind the house that I love so much! Two stories high, it rises like the glass tower of a fairy tale princess. I might have scared Demarco a little bit when the tears started to flow. I can't believe he did this for me.

 

I flung my arms about his neck and hugged him until he couldn't breathe. Softly, I stroked that sensitive spot behind his ear. Though were was nobody around for a mile, I whispered in his ear, words for him alone. "Darling, you are so good to me. I love you more than there are words to say."

 

I am, without a doubt, the luckiest woman on the earth.