The Adventure Continues

[abrightboy]

For thatsfascinating.



The villa Malcolm rented was in the Languedoc, not far from Marseilles, south of Avignon. It was a very historic region, though Malcolm was particularly not interested in visiting Marseilles again. There was a charming village nearby the villa and if they were going to go to an historic city for a day, he'd rather make the trip over to Montpellier, where he'd never been at all, much less with Dr Whitly.

The villa had six bedrooms. As the driver brought their luggage inside the bright and spacious main room, Malcolm handed him some folded Euros and thanked him and shut the door behind him.

"First choice of a room is yours," he told Edrisa with a smile. "But you might want to explore first."

Comments

[abrightboy]

"If there's anything you want to say, or discuss or get off your chest, you absolutely should," he advised.

[thatsfascinating]

She thought about it for a quiet moment.

"I feel like there's just...so much we don't know," she murmured. "Who was he? How many people he kill?" Then, quieter. "Could we have stopped him some other way?"

Did she have to kill him? And if not, did that make her responsible for an unnecessary death?

[abrightboy]

"We definitely couldn't have stopped him any other way. He was going to kill both of us. And then he was going to continue hunting his prey."

[thatsfascinating]

She nodded. She knew that was true. Or at least most of her did.

"Who do you think he was?" she asked softly. "How would you profile him?"

[abrightboy]

"I'm sure we can learn more about him from the police when we go give our statements, but I would classify him as an opportunistic predator. The pleasure he took from extinguishing life was more important to him than who his victims were. And he was increasing in frequency like any addict. His need for a high was only going to get more intense and more insatiable."

[thatsfascinating]

"We saved a lot of people," she said quietly. That was good. She just needed to keep reminding herself of that. Right?

[abrightboy]

"We can't even know how many." He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.


After a few days shopping and touring the area, they decided to get married at the villa. Malcolm's suit was going to be ready on the Friday morning. A Friday afternoon wedding would leave them with one weekend of honeymoon at the villa before returning to New York.

[thatsfascinating]

Despite Edrisa's concerns that it was impossible, Malcolm hadn't seen her dress. While their wedding clothes were being prepared, Edrisa arranged for a bower to be built in the yard, and ordered flowers from a local florist. They got a local justice to officiate, and a couple of people from the police station to be witnesses. They, and a photographer, were the only ones attending their wedding. It was perfect, and Edrisa couldn't wait for Friday, when they would become Mr. and Mrs. Bright.

[abrightboy]

They'd been busy, planning the wedding, but now they were waiting. Waiting was quiet. Quiet was never good for Malcolm, but at least he had something happy to focus on.

And he did try to focus on it and not on how his mother would react when she found out.

"Edrisa, what colour flowers did you order for the bower?" he asked as he walked into the kitchen to make tea.

[thatsfascinating]

Waiting for that afternoon. Waiting for the wedding clothes to arrive, the flowers to arrive, the photographer and the officiant and the witnesses.

Oh. And a string quartet.

Edrisa was sitting at the table in a tshirt and sweatpants, a cup of coffee cradled in her hands. She beamed up at him as he came in and rose to follow him into the kitchen.

"Pastels," she answered. "I thought it would look nice against the green of the vineyard."

She came over and kissed him.

"Good morning," she murmured, her eyes shining, her smile excited. "Today's the day!"

[abrightboy]

He smiled faintly. Part of him was elated and excited about this new adventure. Part of him had concerns about whether they were being too hasty. Was this a decision made in crisis? Was it a decision that should have been made in crisis?

But.... ultimately it was what he wanted, so did it matter?

He returned the kiss. "Have you had breakfast?" he asked softly.

[thatsfascinating]

She hoped he was okay with it. He said he was okay with it, and ultimately Edrisa had to trust that he was telling the truth. For Edrisa's part, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that this was what she wanted.

"Not yet," she answered. "I haven't been up for very long. Would you like to eat outside on the patio?"

[abrightboy]

He had to overthink things. And he had to consider dealing with his mother. But he also knew he wanted this. 'Are you okay with doing this?' wasn't a simple yes or no question for him, but he also knew he wouldn't regret it.

"That sounds nice. Just tea for me, though."

[thatsfascinating]

Edrisa knew Mrs. Whitly would probably not be very happy about the two of them eloping like this. But this was for them. Malcolm and Edrisa becoming husband and wife, not a member of a wealthy and influential family marrying a commoner, or the Son of the Surgeon taking a bride. They would doubtlessly deal with those narratives once they returned home and news of their marriage spread. This way it wouldn't affect their actual wedding.

Edrisa gathered up a few things...croissant, butter, jam, fruit salad...and brought them out to the patio table.

"Isn't the weather perfect?" she said, setting everything down.

[abrightboy]

He took a breath, nodding as he glanced around.

"Yeah. It's beautiful. A perfect day." He looked over at her. "It's going to be a perfect day," he assured her.

[thatsfascinating]

"It really will be," she sighed happily. "I can't wait until you see the dress! It's really lovely. Total fairytale princess." She spread some butter and jam on her croissant and took a bite. "Mmm..." She swallowed. "What time were they delivering the wedding clothes?"

[abrightboy]

"Eleven o'clock." He took a tentative sip of tea. His stomach was not entirely happy and he wanted to keep the peace with it. "And the flowers are coming for twelve."

[thatsfascinating]

"The musicians are coming at twelve, too! Hopefully an hour is enough time for them to set up."

She took another bite.

The doorbell sounded.

She looked at Malcolm, eyes widened. "What time is it?"

[abrightboy]

He frowned faintly and tilted his hand back to look at his watch.

"It's only ten," he told her.

[thatsfascinating]

"Could they be early?"

She stood and headed inside to answer the door. A delivery man stood on the doorstep holding a huge floral arrangement and a bottle of champagne. He began to speak to her in French and she shook her head.

"I don't...Bright?" she called over her shoulder. "Someone sent us flowers."

[abrightboy]

He hurried over, asking the delivery man to start again.

"It's from the police," he told her, taking the items from the delivery man, handing Edrisa the champagne.

[thatsfascinating]

"Oh! That's so nice of them!" She took the champagne and smiled at the delivery man. "Merci beaucoup," she said, before heading in to put the champagne on the table.

[abrightboy]

"I guess it's a good thing we haven't told people. We have to fly back to the States in a few days."

Getting showered with gifts was... not the best for traveling.

He set the flower arrangement down, picking at a few of the ends on the pretense of straightening it a little, then he looked over at Edrisa.

"How are we going to tell everyone? Have you thought about how you're going to tell your parents?"

[thatsfascinating]

"I'll call them when we get home," Edrisa said, coming out of the kitchen with a pair of champagne flutes. She set them down on the table next to the bottle. "I have told them about you." She smiled warmly, a visible sign of all the love in her heart. "A lot about you." She raised her eyebrows. "How about your parents? I'd imagine it would be best to do it in person."

Of course, that would look a lot different for his father than for his mother.

[abrightboy]

"You have? Are they concerned?" he asked, assuming they wouldn't be happy with her choosing someone in his line of work if they didn't approve of hers.

At the mention of his parents, he huffed a laugh.

"Parent. My father doesn't need more ammunition."