Linnaeus the Living Statue: Finale (complete)

“Give me that!” Robin snatches the recipe card from my hand. “I’m going to put this somewhere safe.”

“That’s fair,” I sigh. “I didn’t even know what I was doing.” I smile over at Annemieke, who is giggling.

“You can’t just be going and turning women into pottery! I don’t care if it worked out for you. This spell is not safe! I wonder where your father got such a thing,” Robin grumbles as he tucks it into his pocket. “Well, never mind that now.” He looks between Annemieke and me. “You asked about the circus?”

Annemieke holds up the flyer. “You said you knew Mr. Faire. We were wondering if you could get us into his carnival. You told us the whole place is filled with people like Linnaeus… people like us.” She takes hold of my hand. “We thought it might be fun to join.”

Robin gives us a scowl. “You want to join the carnival? Why not stay here and work on your art?”

Annemieke stiffens. “I can work on my art anywhere. But this is a second chance for both of us. Linnaeus took such good care of me while I was losing my sight and when I got sick. Now we can go anywhere we want. I know Linnaeus has always wanted to travel and see the world, and this is our chance.”

Robin purses his lips and lets out an exasperated sigh. “Authaire is a handful, especially now that he’s married and has a kid. But I suppose if you want to be anywhere in the world, his carnival is the best and safest.” He stands up and takes out a phone. Before he makes a call, he looks back at us.

“What would the two of you do in a carnival?” He steps closer. “I mean, Annemieke is an artist and you make cat sweaters. You’re  not exactly performers.”

“Oh, uh…” I stammer as Annemieke and I exchange worried expressions. “We hadn’t really thought about it that far.” I take off my top hat. “Maybe I can learn magic tricks.”

Robin sighs. “Maybe you two would be suited for Scarebrooke,” he says softly. “Living statues. You could stand still, then move and scare people.”

“That’s typecasting!” I retort, then laugh when Annemieke gives me a scolding look. “I mean, if we must, it will work.”

“What’s Scarebrooke?” Annemieke asks.

“It’s an attraction in the carnival. It used to be a seasonal Halloween thing, a haunted house and all that, but it’s grown. Now it's like a small carnival within the carnival, and it keeps the spooky theme all year round, although they still do special events for Halloween.”

“Hmm… Never expected to be a Halloween person.”

Robin chuckles. “You’d fit in well. The couple that runs it are dolls.”

“Oh, they’re sweet?” Annemieke asks brightly.

Robin shakes his head. “No, dolls. They’re actually living bisque dolls.”

Annemieke gasps and places her hand over her mouth. “Living dolls?” She looks to me with her jaw open. “There is such a thing?”

“Look at yourself, look at your husband!” Robin holds up his phone. “I’ll tell you more, but I have to go call Authaire and let him know.” He starts to dial as he walks out of the room.

Then I have a thought. “Am I still your husband?”

Annemieke glares at me. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m serious.” I completely face my body towards her. “Look at you, you’re a whole new woman, in a whole new body. You said yourself that this is a second chance for us.”

“I still consider us married, Linnaeus.” She raises her hand with her wedding band still proudly displayed. “Just because you did some weird spell on a card doesn’t mean we’re not.”

I grin. “But think about it, Annemieke! A whole new start. We could get married all over again, even sign the papers and everything. We could have the great big wedding we always dreamed of.”

Annemieke points at me. “You. You always dreamed of. I was happy when Kasper was our only witness.” 

“I was too, don’t get me wrong.” I shake my head. “But second chances are meant to be grander than the first, right?”

She sighs and sticks out her bottom lip. “Perhaps once we get settled at the carnival, we can have a wedding. It wouldn’t be so awful marrying you again.”

I bounce in my seat excitedly, then lean over and kiss her. “I promise, I will be the best husband this time around.”

Annemieke giggles. “And just what were you the first time?”

“Just some guy,” I say with a shrug.

Robin comes back into the room. “Authaire is coming to meet with you. He’ll probably bring Bram and Coraline to talk with you about Scarebrooke.”

“The dolls?” Annemieke squeals.

“Says the adorable knick-knack,” Robin winks. 

Duncan hops into my lap and starts purring. “Oh!” I gasp. “Will we be able to bring Duncan with us?”

Robin chuckles. “I don’t see why not. Scarebrooke is full of black cats like him, he’d fit right in with the rest. But if he wants to, he can come live with Eira and me.” He scratches the top of Duncan’s head. 

As we wait for Mr. Faire and the others to arrive, Annemieke goes into the kitchen. She puts on a kettle to make tea, then prepares a cup of her favorite.

“Old habit?” I ask.

“Hmm?”Annemieke looks up at me, then gasps when she looks down at the cup in her hands. “Oh, I guess so.” She sets the cup aside and looks at her hands. “Well, I can at least offer Robin something. I guess I won’t be needing it anymore.”

“You can still enjoy it. I mean, I used to drink those sodas when we met. It’s just not a necessity for you anymore.”

Annemieke sighs heavily. “I’ll have to get used to it. But at least you won’t scold me anymore for the microwaved burritos.”

I kiss her forehead as I slip an arm around her waist. “Ah yes, we’ve found our silver lining,” I tease. “Are you okay? I mean, I know it must be a shock to you. All of it.”

Annemieke looks over her hands, then presses her fingertips to her cheeks. “It’s all very strange,” she murmurs. “Old sensations are different while some remain the same. It’s like… hearing feels different now. I can’t explain it, but the way sound comes in is new. Even my voice…” Her hand slips around her throat. “It comes out different too. It’s my voice, but it feels different.” She sighs in frustration. “I am not doing justice to how it all really is.”

“I understand.” I kiss her cheek. “It’s all new things you’re going to get used to, and it’s nothing you have to force either. Just take your time. No one is going to make you feel as if you have to.”

Annemieke sighs and places her head on my shoulder. “As long as you’re the same, everything will be fine.”

“Not to worry. I will never change, you can be sure of that!” I laugh. 

There comes a knock at the door, so I go to answer it. When I open the door, I am greeted with a tall, pale man with long black hair and bright, crystalline eyes. He grins widely as he sees me and reaches out for my hand. 

“You must be Linnaeus!” His voice is a booming baritone. “Robin has told me so much about you. I am so excited to get to know you and your wife, Annemieke.”

“You must be Mr. Faire,” I say in surprise. This is not the Authaire Faire I had been expecting. This man was like an excitable puppy. 

“That I am!” he laughs. He sweeps his arm back towards a couple standing behind him. The man is very tall and gaunt, and the woman is petite, tiny and extremely adorable. 

“This is Bram and Coraline, the founders of Scarebrooke,” Mr. Faire replies. “They wanted to meet you and your wife, since you’ll be joining them.”

Bram steps forward and extends his gloved hand. “I wasn’t sure until I saw you, but I think we have the perfect spot for you back home.”

I shake his hand. It feels bony. “Oh, that’s good.”

Coraline steps forward. “Don’t worry about a thing, we take care of each other at the carnival. It will be nice to have some new faces around Scarebrooke as well. It’s been far too long.” She breaks into a smile as Annemieke comes up behind me. 

“Hello,” Annemieke says shyly. 

“You’re the artist!” Bram exclaimes excitedly. He instantly comes forward and takes her hands. “We bought one of your paintings from Robin ages ago! We absolutely love it.”

“Really?” Annemieke’s nervous smile becomes genuine. “Which one did you get?”

“We call her Esmeralda,” Coraline replies. “The painting you did of the woman with snakes all around her. You put those lovely gold flakes onto the individual scales.”

“The Blessing of Athena! Yes,” Annemieke laughs. “I was always curious where that one went. Please, come in.”

“I have one as well,” Mr. Faire says. “Robin just recently gave it to me and Ruby when we got married.”

We end up talking for a long time about art and the carnival. Mr. Faire explains to us how the carnival works. When it is operating, Annemieke and I will be given Glamours so we appear human. For our act in Scarebrooke to work, we would appear as normal, otherwise we would look human. The carnival travels to many destinations, and we are warned that sometimes these would surprise us. If we ever want to go home for a spell, all we have to do is ask and we’ll be taken there. 

We leave things with Robin, and he promises to take care of the house while we are away. Once Annemieke and I are packed, Mr. Faire comes to take us to the carnival. Bram and Coraline have a place all ready for us in Scarebrooke; just beyond the graveyard, there is a small string of houses. Our house is made of brick, and all the windows are stained glass. It’s one floor with an attic, but it is more than enough for Annemieke, Duncan, and myself.  

“We’ll give you time to get acclimated,” Coraline tells us. “Unpack and relax, and when you feel like it, Bram and I will give you a tour.”

“Thank you, this is so nice,” Annemieke sighs. “Thank you so much. You’ve been so kind to us.”

“Any neighbors we should be worried about?” I ask.

“All of them,” Bram says with a shrug.

Coraline shoves him and rolls her eyes. “To your right is Carmine. She’s a vampire who mainly works in the museum. To your left is Hopple, and he’s a phantom, so both are pretty quiet for the most part.”

“Vampires are real?” I gasp.

“As real as you,” Bram chuckles. 

“Well, we’ll leave you alone to get acclimated.” Coraline takes Bram’s hand. “We’ll come by later to check up on you.”

As they leave, Annemieke sits down on the old sofa. “Oh, wow.”

“I wonder what a phantom looks like,” I murmur under my breath. I sit down beside Annemieke on the sofa and take hold of her hand. “We’ll get used to it. New home, new world. It’ll all be fine eventually.”

“I’m not worried about that,” Annemieke murmurs. “I’m just shocked by what we had no clue about. I mean, we sort of saw things when we did art shows for Robin and his clients, but this is something else! Vampires, ghosts, talking ravens, living dolls, monsters from everywhere!” She settles into the sofa. “The world feels so much bigger here, you know?”

I smile and kiss her forehead. “I’m just happy I get to share this world with you. Big or small, as long as you’re in it, I am happy.”

Annemieke grins and sits up, kissing my cheek. “Let’s go explore the house a little bit. We can take our time unpacking.”

As I stand up, I look around. “Where did Duncan go?”

As we explore the house, we find Duncan in the window box of the bedroom. He’s gazing out the window at the cat next door, a big fluffy white one wearing a pink bow. The cat belongs to our neighbor. Eventually we meet him, and by appearances, he’s pretty much like me, only see-through. His cat, Almondine, and Duncan become fast friends, and they often go on playdates together.

Coraline and Bram give us a job in the museum, which is full of old artwork, figures, and relics from the past. We pose near the entrance and are instructed to follow people around the museum, standing still whenever they look at us us. It’s all very fun, and there’s never a dull moment. 

One evening as we are coming home from the museum, Hopple stops us before we walk onto our porch.

“We need to have a discussion,” he says sternly. 

“Uh-oh,” I walk up to him. “Is something wrong?”

Hopple crosses his arms. “Almondine is pregnant.”

“I swear to god it wasn’t me.”

Hopple scoffs and shakes his head. “I know Duncan is the father. That’s the only cat she ever hangs around.”

“We’re so sorry, Hopple,” Annemieke gasps. “We’ll help take care of her and the kittens when the time comes.”

Hopple chuckles. “I’m really not upset. It was a shock, but I just wanted to play the part of an angry parent.”

I sigh and shake my head, taking off my top hat. “I have told Duncan over and over again to wear a condom.”

Annemieke gives me a shove. “Your first joke was awful, please stop.”

Hopple laughs again. “I’ve been wanting more cats around the house, so this will be perfect. Duncan is an odd fellow, but I think the two together will make cute babies.”

“How did you figure out she was in a motherly way?” Annemieke asks.

“Carmine told me. Almondine always greets her, and it took Carmine two seconds to figure it out.”

Annemieke and I exchange glances. Ever since we moved in, it’s been obvious to us that Hopple and Carmine have a thing for one another, but  they’re too shy to come out about it. Almondine works her fluffy tail off trying to play matchmaker. 

Once we get home, we find Duncan and tell him he’s going to be a father. He just starts purring, and falls asleep in Annemieke’s lap.

“We should make them get married,” I complain.

Annemieke giggles. “You know, we should get married before our son does.”

I perk up at those words and gasp. “You’re right!” I get down on one knee before Annemieke. “We should get married again, just like we talked about.”

“It’s about time.” Annemieke sets the sleeping Duncan aside. “Now that we’re settled, I think we should start planning.”

I jump to my feet. “We’ll do it better than before! It’ll be huge, and everyone here at the carnival will attend. They’ll see you walk down the aisle, and watch our first dance. We’ll have so many flowers.”

Annemieke chuckles and pulls me down beside her. “You don’t have to be so grand about it. I know you always wanted a big wedding, but I have ideas of my own.”

“Of course,” I tease. “I do feel the bride should have some part in planning the wedding.”

“Well then, let me propose something to you.”

I sweep my hat off my head. “My answer is yes, I will marry you.”

Annemieke cups her hand over my mouth and smirks. “Be quiet, will you? Let me plan this as my gift to you.”

I tilt my head to the side.

“After everything you did for me, I want this wedding to be my love letter to you. You worked so hard when I was going blind, and when I got sick. I know how much that hurt you.” She slides her hand across my cheek. “I want to do something for you that hopefully shows you how much you mean to me and how much I love you for everything.”

“I didn’t take care of you for a reward, Annemieke. I did it because you’re a part of me.” I take her hand and move it to my chest. “You’re my soul. You know that, right?”

“And you’re mine,” she says with a nod. “So let me do this. Let me plan the dream wedding.”

I beam at her and lean in. “As long as you’re the bride, it’ll be perfect.” She meets me halfway, kissing me as Duncan moves between us and starts yowling his demands. 

Annemieke starts planning with Coraline and a few others in the carnival. I catch her sneaking off often to talk to them, or going quiet when I come into the room. It makes me excited, because she is always so good with surprise gifts.

One evening, we’re called over to Hopple’s home as Almondine is giving birth. Carmine joins us, and we all huddle together. By midnight, there are six mewling kittens on the floor beside her. There are two black and white ones, one pure white, and two pure black ones. But then, right when things seem calm, Almondine starts yowling and gives birth to a seventh and final kitten, who is tiny and gray.

“It’s not breathing!” Carmine exclaims in alarm.

I take the kitten into my hand, holding it and rubbing its belly and chest. The little thing is so very tiny, it’s almost like Thumbelina. I keep rubbing it, hoping for some sort of miracle. Then, all of a sudden, it starts crying out. Almondine takes to it, licking it and nuzzling it all over as it screams.

Carmine relaxes and smiles up at Hopple lovingly. “That was scary,” she sighs.

Duncan goes into the box with Almondine and his kittens and lays down with them, looking as smug as ever.

I spend a lot of time with the kittens, My favorite is the tiny gray one I saved. I’ve already named her Isadora.

One evening as I’m looking over the kittens, Hopple invites me to come with him to the big top to hear some music by the performers. I agree and follow him. As we come closer to the big top, I see flowers everywhere. Bunches of white and blue flowers are gathered on both sides of the walkway. I hear music, but it’s not what I expected. As Hopple opens the tent, it is filled with people. There is an altar at the center stage, decorated with flowers that cascade down like a waterfall. 

“She didn’t,” I gasp.

“Congratulations,” Hopple says. “You’re getting married.” He takes me down the aisle. I stand at the altar with Mr. Faire, who is grinning from ear to ear. 

“Are you surprised?” he asks excitedly. “She’s had this planned for so long! I hope we didn’t give it away.”

“No!” I laugh, “I had no idea.”

The music changes and everyone stands up. I look back towards the entrance, and see Duncan come trotting down the aisle with a pillow on his back.Some of the children follow behind, tossing petals all over the aisle. As Duncan trots up beside me, he sways between my legs, purring loud and proud. 

I look up again to see Annemieke standing at the end of the aisle, in a flowing, ethereal gown. As she walks down towards me, the guests start throwing petals all around her. By the time she reaches me, she looks like a dryad covered in flowers.

I take hold of her hands as she hands her bouquet off to one of the kids. “I can’t believe you did this,” I whisper urgently.

“You can’t?” she giggles.

“Friends, family, and loved ones,” Mr. Faire then speaks up. “We are gathered here today not only to welcome the newest members of our family, but to celebrate a love that has triumphed over unfathomable odds.” He has tears in his eyes as he speaks. “Annemieke and Linnaeus are not new to love. They have shared it through a novel’s worth of stories already, and today is merely a new chapter in a long and happy life.”

I look to Annemieke. She tilts her chin up to me and mouths ‘I love you.’ I nod my head and silently return her words. Part of me almost wishes for the wedding where Kasper would be the only witness. It would take no time at all to say ‘I do.’ All I want, all I have ever wanted, is to spend my life with Annemieke. I have been lucky to do that so far, and I have been blessed that it continues. 

After the wedding, we have our first dance at a huge reception. We grin with pride when we see Hopple and Carmine dancing together. I watch Annemieke dance with the children. I even share a dance with Coraline, who has become so dear to me. By the end of the evening, as Annemieke rests in my arms and we watch our loved ones move together, we are happier than ever. 

“How was it?” Annemieke asks me. 

“Like everything in our lives, it was perfect.” I kiss her lovingly. “Thank you.”

She kisses my knuckles. “It’s the least I can do to thank you for everything.” She snuggles closer to me. “Until the next wedding.”

I laugh and rest my cheek on her head. “I’ll plan that one.”