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They reluctantly obey while whining about how late it is. When we pull up to the temple, they’re even more confused.
“Laurel, what are we doing here? Especially at this hour. It’s not even open.” Mom sounds almost irritated, but she’ll quickly get past that.
“I know a guy,” I assure them, getting out of the car and making my way to the trunk to grab the duffle bags I packed for us. “Come on, we’ve only got a short window tonight.”
Cas is waiting at the back door for us, smiling and hugging my moms as they pass inside and kissing me sweetly before letting me in. “I have something for you.” He looks sheepish, almost as if he’s done something he thinks may not be well received. “It’s in the temple.”
“Well, let’s go then! I love presents.”
He takes the heaviest bag from me and grabs my hand as we walk to the temple, Mom and Sil trailing behind once we pass.
When we hit the temple doors, Mom can’t handle it anymore. “Laurel, what is going on? Why are we here?”
I drop Cas’s hand, turn to wink at Mom, and pretend I'm a model on The Price Is Right as I dramatically open the doors. “Tonight, we worship in the temple of the false god.”
Mom and Silly are shocked, but almost immediately wear matching devious grins. “Honey, that’s perfect! We can defile the false god’s temple while worshiping the Mother.”
Cas snorts next to me and moves to look like he’s kissing my cheek. Instead, he whispers, “I think we already took care of the defiling part. Should we tell them? It may be important to know for the ceremony.”
I pinch his side until he squirms away from me with a laugh, holding his hands up in surrender. Cutting my eyes at him, I hold the duffle out to Mom and let them know their robes are inside. They head to an empty office to change and I open the other duffle to pull out the implements I’ll need for the ceremony.
“So, like I said, I have something for you,” Cas tells me. “You don’t have to take it, but I wanted to offer it all the same.”
He picks up a black bag I hadn’t noticed and places it on the bench seat. When he opens it and I see a sea of white fabric with a silver pendant on top, I immediately realize what he’s doing. He’s offering me his mother’s High Priestess robe and ceremonial necklace.
“Are you sure?” I ask him, jerking my eyes to his in shock. “Don’t you want to keep this?”
“No. I think if Mom was still here she’d want you to have it. She loved you. Before she died, she told me how sorry she was that she separated us. She also promised me that it would work out in the end, and when it did, a piece of her would be with us. I think this is that piece.”
Eyes blurry from unspent tears, I jump forward and wrap my arms around him, hugging him tight. My robe was a gift from Mom and Sil when I took my position so it is special to me, but the history and love in his mom’s robe takes things to another level. On top of that, these are the robes of the wife of the Reverant. Living a life worshiping the Goddess under his nose in these robes like she did? What better way to say fuck you to the false god and his minion?
“I sort of have something for you too,” I hedge. “You don’t have to wear it, but I thought I’d get it in case you wanted to.” Reaching into my own duffle, I pull out a smaller bag and hand it to him. He takes it and looks inside, smiling and pulling out the stack of white clothing.
“You don’t have to wear it, but I wanted you to feel like you’re part of this. If you want to, I mean.”
“I absolutely do, thank you. I think Mom would be proud to see this.” He steps up to me and leans down, pulling me to him with a hand on my ass. “Do you think we have time to sneak back under the tablecloth before your parents get back?”
I choke out a startled laugh and smack a kiss to his lips. “Nope. Time’s wasting so we need to get moving. Go change.”
Laughing, he turns to head to his office while I begin to prepare the altar. I brought a white tablecloth to cover it, but when I lift the corner of the black cloth already covering, it I pause.
“Cas?”
“What’s up?” He’s almost to the door but turns around with his brow furrowed in worry. I guess I didn't do a good job hiding the absolute shock in my voice.
“Tell me I’m hallucinating. Tell me the Reverant doesn’t have a white marble altar hiding under this black tablecloth.”
“Seriously?” He rushes back to join me and laughs as I whip the rest of the cloth off like a matador’s cape.
It’s absolutely stunning! The marble is clean and full of silver veins that sparkle in the light. If I were to design my own altar, this is what I would choose. Built similar to Stonehenge, the top is about eight feet long with rough, unsanded edges on the ends, and is supported by two vertical pillars that match the width of the top.
What in the fuck is the Reverant doing with an alter made of white marble for a god that doesn’t allow it?
I’d love to keep mulling over this, and honestly even ask the Reverant at some point, but we don’t have time for it. Cas shakes his head in exasperation. I waive him off to change and begin to lay out the implements we need directly on the altar. There's no way I could ever imagine covering up this beautiful creation. Candles, incense, fresh and dried Laurel blossoms, herbs, and an athame. The door opens again and Mom, Sil, and Cas return together as I’m placing the last item. Mom is on Cas’s arm and beaming at me when she sees the altar set up, everything surrounding a large prism that I purchased for her. Though a prism isn’t a traditional item used during worship, I purchased it because Mom has always loved them. Ever since I was small she'd talk about how special they are. She'd tell me that like us, they absorb natural light and release it back to the world more beautifully than when they received it.
That’s what it is to be a follower of the Goodess. Receiving light from the world and shining brighter because of it, doing what we can to illuminate the darkness created by the false god.
Instead of wasting time going to another room to change, I simply undress next to the bench where my new robe sits. Mom comes over to help me put it on properly since it’s a different style than what I’m used to, and it takes a minute but we finally get it straight. Stepping back, Mom’s eyes water with pride filled tears. Silly moves up next to her and pulls her close, kissing her bald head and smiling at me.
