Dating An Urban Legend
The Tale of Jonathon and Danielle

By Thomas Mc

Chapter 17 : New Directions

Danielle lowered her eyes. She had been afraid that her pastor might object to her marriage but she had not expected such a blunt response. The tone of his voice when he had said ‘creature’ had carried disdain. She felt Jonathon take her hand and his love flowing into her, bolstering her. She glanced down at his furred and clawed hand as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze. Finally she looked up defiantly at the pastor. “That is exactly what I want.” She squared her shoulders. “I want to marry Jonathon in a proper church ceremony. He has as much right to that as any other person.”

The pastor gazed at her for a while, his face unreadable, then he spoke. “And you have no doubts about this proposed union, despite the obvious differences?”

“None what so ever.” She shot back.

“I’m glad to hear that.” He smiled at her. “Despite what some have said, I believe that Jonathon and those like him are as much children of God as you and I.” He leaned forward. “I wanted to see if you really believed that too.”

“I do believe that. I love Jonathon with all my heart and I know he loves me just as much.” She was feeling more sure of herself now. “We are already joined heart and soul and” She glanced over at Jonathon. “we both believe this is meant to be.”

“Are you referring to that empathic bond I’ve heard rumors about?” Her pastor asked, leaning forward.

“Yes I am.” She replied, a soft smile spreading across her face.

“What is that like?” He asked, his curiosity peaked.

For the next half hour, with occasional input from Jonathon, Danielle described what it was like to share the emotional bond that they had. Her pastor sat back with his fingers steepled together listening and asking the occasional question for clarification of certain points. He was fascinated by the idea of being linked like that, even when they were far apart. Finally she ran out of description and looked back at him expectantly.

He gazed at them both for a moment then shifted forward in his chair. “Well, it seems to me that God has already joined you two together regardless of what some of my colleagues might think.” The pastor stood up. “Far be it from me to buck his will. I will be happy to perform your wedding ceremony for you.” He reached out to shake Jonathon’s hand. “And I look forward to seeing more of you young man. You fascinate me.” Danielle was beaming as they left the office.

After they left the pastor sat back down and stared out his office door. He had been expecting this to come up ever since he had seen those two at her brother’s wedding. Their feelings for each other had been obvious to him back then. There had been a lot of discussions about the Wells-Chandlers among the various religious leaders. A few had insisted that they were not really human. A slightly larger percentage had said that they were as human as any other person. The largest percentage by far, however, were unsure and were taking a wait and see attitude. It had taken a lot of hard thought and soul searching before he had come to his own conclusions about this situation. This particular wedding would have repercussions through out the religious community. It would certainly force the issue into the forefront.

This meeting, short as it had been, had satisfied him on two counts. The girl had shown that she had the strength of her convictions, and she might just need that if the debate he was expecting turned ugly. The second result was that he had gotten a chance to look into Jonathon’s eyes. Despite their inhuman golden hue, if there was not a human soul in there then he was in the wrong field. He had heard about their empathic ability and it had taken a lot of effort to keep his emotions under very tight control. He had spent days creating images in his mind to help him. He had expected Jonathon to become angry but instead the boy had displayed true compassion as he had reached out to Danielle to provide comfort during the interview. Danielle’s reaction to that comfort had been obvious.

Based on what he had just witnessed and everything he had read and heard about the Wells-Chandlers, they certainly seemed to be on the side of the angels. He had chosen his side in the coming debate and he was looking forward to the wedding of Jonathon and Danielle. He had known her most of her life, she was a good kid and he was rooting for them both. He smiled as he wondered just how long it had taken Danielle to screw up enough courage to broach the subject with him today.

* * * * *

Jonathon was excited when he picked up Danielle. They had settled on the place in Brooklyn and today they would sign the lease. “What are you so happy about?” she asked him. She had been feeling his happiness for a couple of hours now and was curious about it’s cause.

“Today at work we began designing a new type of construction bot and they put me on the design team.” He was practically beaming with pride.

“That’s wonderful, congratulations.” She was so happy for him. He enjoyed working at this company so much.

They headed off to get their new apartment. Tomorrow Jonathon would begin moving in. Danielle would begin moving her stuff over next week. Things were coming together quickly now. It was less than a month until the wedding and she was starting to get impatient for that day to arrive.

At the leasing office she began to feel like a giddy school girl as they signed the lease and were given their keys. Then they went up to their newly acquired fifth floor apartment. As they stood in the empty apartment they held each other and gazed around at the space that was now their very own home. It was a bit larger and nicer than your average starter home but Jonathon’s job was paying well and they could afford it. Though like the rest of his family, Jonathon had access to the rather large Chandler-Wells family trust fund, he was determined to make his own way. She liked that about him.

* * * * *

All of Danielle’s girl friends were gathered around her at Shania’s place for the party. Shania told her that they had considered getting a male stripper but had decided that after Jonathon, she would probably find anyone else to be pretty boring. It turned out that the babies got as much attention as Danielle.

Alexandra had taken a week off to bring the twins up to New York to show them off and attend the wedding. Alexandra’s grandfather had been ecstatic. Alexandra’s twins and Shania’s baby girl were at present the center of attention. Danielle had found the twins too adorable for words. The babies were left in the nursery under the care of Shania’s mother and they all went back into the small apartment’s living room.

The subject shifted to the wedding, then to Jonathon and Alexander, then to boys in general. Melanie was very happy about her new boyfriend and things seemed to be going well for them. Then the subject shifted to married life.

* * * * *

Jonathon was pouring over some charts and figures when he became aware of someone approaching his desk. He looked up to see his supervisor coming up. He was a little annoyed by this interruption. He had several details he needed to finalize so that he could take the next two weeks off. Tomorrow was the rehearsal and the wedding was two days later.

“You’ve been summoned to the VP’s office.” His supervisor told him.

Jonathon could tell by the prevalence of curiosity coming from him that he didn’t know what it was about. He locked his computer and headed off to the office of the VP of his division. The VP’s secretary smiled at him and passed him straight through. She also was consumed with curiosity. With just a hint of trepidation he entered the office. The emotions he felt from this man were complex but generally upbeat, still no clue what this was about. This was the first time he had actually met the man face to face.

The VP looked up as Jonathon approached. “I know you start your leave tomorrow for your wedding and have a lot to do before then so I will keep this short.” He looked down at a folder on his desk. “I notice that you have applied for educational assistance for two classes this Summer.” He looked at Jonathon expectantly.

“Yes, sir.” Jonathon responded wondering what this was about.

“The company won’t be able to cover those classes and we would prefer that you didn’t take any college classes this Summer.” The VP was looking at him with a totally deadpan look on his face but Jonathon could sense a simmering humor in his emotions.

“May I ask why?” Jonathon inquired. From the man’s emotional response that’s exactly what he wanted.

“The company doesn’t want you taking summer courses because we want to send you to Houston this summer for astronaut training.” He paused a moment to give what he had said time to sink in. “In three years they will begin using the equipment we are designing here for construction of the Moonbase Spaceport. That training will give you a unique perspective of the types of requirements our designs must meet.” Jonathon’s heart was racing. They wanted him to train with the astronauts. He almost missed the VP’s next statement. “We also are hoping to be able to send you to the Moon on occasion as an advisor and consultant to the men that will be using our equipment.”

Jonathon had a moment when he thought his knees would give out. The VP was obviously enjoying his reaction. “Ah . . . Ah . . . Thank-you, sir. I, ah , I wont let you down.”

The VP grinned back. “I know you won’t Now get out of here and finish up your work so you can go on that honeymoon. And don’t forget to cancel those classes.”

The rest of the day sailed by. And when he got home Danielle was waiting for him.

She met him at the door and grabbed the front of his shirt as he entered. “OK bud what happened, spill it. I’ve been going crazy since I felt that burst of joy three hours ago. I’m half convinced they decided to send you into space.” She stared into his eyes for about a half second then her eyes got very big. “No! They are sending you up?!”

“They’re sending me to Houston this summer for astronaut training. They want me to be able to go up and show them how to use our equipment.” He responded.

Danielle threw her arms around him. She knew how much this would mean to him and she was thrilled for him. She was going to miss him while he was gone but his joy was so infectious and she was so happy for him. Besides with their bond they would never be truly separated, even when he was on the Moon. In a way it would be interesting to see what effect that much distance would have on it. She already knew from conversations with Devin and Emily that even being on the other side of the world didn’t seem to have any effect on their bond.

After a quick little celebration they called his parents and her parents and passed on the news. Once the news had been spread they went out on the town to celebrate.

* * * * *

The rehearsal had gone off without any problems even though it had been held at the wrong place. The pastor told them that his chapel was closed today for some repair work so he had chosen this chapel in the Bronx because it was very similar in shape to the to one they planned to use. At her worried query, he assured her that their chapel would be ready in plenty of time for the wedding in two days.

The next evening she and Jonathon were watching the news on the video when there was an article about a growing debate among some religious leaders about the church and the Wells-Chandlers. It had been brought to a head when news had leaked out that Jonathon and Danielle were planning to have a church wedding. There were a few fringe groups that were threatening to picket and even swearing to disrupt the wedding tomorrow.

Danielle became very upset when she heard this. “How could they do such a thing?” She turned to Jonathon. “They have no right.” She found herself edging close to tears at the thought of her wedding being destroyed by those hateful people.

Jonathon felt her anger and sorrow over the news and put his arms around her soothing her heart with his love and confidence. “There will always be small minded people that can’t tolerate anything different, but fortunately they are a very small minority. Our friends won’t let them ruin our wedding day.” He kissed her. “I believe in us and our friends. Everything will turn out OK.”

William spoke up from behind them. “Your wedding is a private affair for family and close friends by invitation only so they won’t be able to get in. I talked with your pastor after the rehearsal and he assured me that there would be no problems with your wedding tomorrow.”

* * * * *

Danielle was excited and nervous as Shania, Pamela and Melanie helped her get ready. Her mother stood back and looked her over, a hint of tears in her eyes then she sniffed once and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “You are such a beautiful bride.” She sniffed again. “I am so proud of you.”

There was a knock at the door and her father’s voice called out. “Danielle, honey, may I come in.”

“Sure Daddy, I’m almost ready. Come on in.” She replied.

Her father entered and stood there for a few seconds gazing at his daughter. There was a suspicious glimmer in his eyes. He shook himself and with a grin announced. “There’s something you have got to see.” Then he went over and turned on the little video that sat on the corner of the vanity.

The news crew was covering a fair sized demonstration that had formed outside the church. The announcer said that there had been some minor scuffles with supporters of the couple when some of the protesters had tried to enter the church. The biggest problem was the din caused by the protesters loud chanting. The announcer also reported that so far they had seen no signs of the wedding party itself and there was speculation about whether the wedding would be canceled.

Danielle was upset, then confused. The noise of the protesters was very loud but she didn’t hear anything. Then she looked closer at the screen and began to laugh. The protests were at the wrong church. They were at that church in the Bronx where the rehearsal had been held. Her pastor, the sly fox, had pulled a fast one on the public and the media.

Jonathon’s stood in the little alcove with his older brother Alexander, as his best man, and his other two groomsmen, Danny and Wayne. He was anxious for the ceremony to start. Wayne gave his shoulder a clout. “Hang in there, it’ll all be over soon.” He told him. “Just be sure you take good care of my sister.” He smiled.

“I will do everything in my power to make her happy.” Jonathon responded. His eyes lost focus for a second then he looked confused. Finally he shrugged.

“What’s wrong?” Alexander asked.

“I don’t know. Something got Danielle upset but now I think she’s laughing.” He shook his head.

The pastor entered the alcove to pass along some last minute advice. Jonathon asked him. “One thing I am worried about. Is there going to be any trouble because of the threatened protests? Danielle and I saw the bit in the news about it last night.”

The pastor smiled and told him. “That’s not something you need to worry about because that little problem has already been dealt with. There will be no protesters at this church.” Jonathon could sense both certainty and bubbling humor in the man. Then it was time to start and the Pastor led them out into the front of the small chapel before his friends and family.

Danielle’s mother gave her one last kiss for good-luck then left the room to get to her seat Her father offered her his arm and they lined up behind her bridesmaids. Her father leaned towards her and spoke quietly. “I love you pumpkin and I am so very proud of how you have turned out.” He patted her hand that held his elbow. “I also want you to know how glad I am that you found someone like Jonathon to bring into our family.”

The doors opened and, with joy in her heart, Danielle stepped out into her shiny new future.

THE END

‘Beauty and the Beast’ and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.