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Hilda didn’t understand why Dr. Cee was acting so strangely. He had been shifty-eyed and anxious for nearly a week after he came to the mortuary to speak with Zelda of all people. Hilda was confused as to why he would want to speak with her sister instead of her, but she chalked it up to occult things of which Hilda was decidedly less knowledgeable.
But ever since that private conversation, Cerberus hadn’t been himself. He’d been avoiding her, as if he had a secret that he didn’t want her to know. She couldn’t imagine what could possibly be in greater need of secrecy than his incubus...and they had already weathered that storm together. The not-knowing weighed on her for days before she finally confronted him in the storeroom, after the shop had closed for the night.
“Cee?” said Hilda, nervously, as he rifled through the shelves looking for some book or other than had been misplaced.
“Yes, Hilda?” he said, but he was clearly distracted, and didn’t even take the time to spare her a glance.
“What’s wrong?”
Cerberus paused to take a brief look at her, before going back to his search. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You haven’t been yourself since… since you spoke to my sister.”
That got his attention, and froze him to his spot. “Nonsense.”
Hilda placed her hands on her hips. “It’s true. What did she say to you? What did she do?”
Dr. Cerberus finally turned to Hilda, giving her his full attention. “She didn’t do anything! We had a lovely conversation.”
“About what?” said Hilda, suspiciously. “You shouldn’t believe everything she says. She likes to toy with mortals.”
“She wasn’t toying with me,” said Cerberus, shaking his head and smiling slightly. “She was very direct.”
“That’s even worse,” said Hilda, closing her eyes. “I’m sorry, Cee. She’s going through a lot right now, and whatever she said, she didn’t mean it.”
“I’m fairly certain she did,” said Cerberus, his smile growing wider.
Hilda took in his cheerful disposition, and finally came to the conclusion that whatever they had talked about, it must not have been too serious.
“Well…good,” said Hilda, taking off her apron. “Maybe she’s finally learned some manners.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that,” said Cerberus, eyes dancing. “She got in a good lethal threat or two.”
“What?!” said Hilda, grabbing his hand. “I’ll kill her. I mean it this time. I’ll—”
“Hilda, Hilda,” said Cerberus, pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry I haven’t been myself. But it has nothing to do with your sister.”
“Then what?” said Hilda, clinging to the lapels of his jacket.
“I wanted to wait for everything to be perfect,” he said, gazing into her eyes with an intensity that almost frightened her, “but I don’t think I can wait any longer.”
“Cee?” said Hilda, breathlessly. “What…what are you talking about?”
Cerberus took her hands off of his jacket and held them in his own. “Hilda, you are the most incredible person I’ve ever met. I didn’t believe in soul mates until I met you.”
Hilda’s breath caught in her throat. “Cee…”
“Let me finish, and then you can talk for as long as you like, alright?” he said, giving her hands a squeeze.
“Alright then,” said Hilda, feeling very light and floaty, as if she were a balloon being carried away by the wind.
“I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if it means having to deal with your sister on a regular basis,” said Cerberus, chuckling.
Hilda felt her heart skip a beat at that. “She won’t bother you ever again, if I have anything to do with it.”
Cerberus squeezed her hands again, indicating that she should let him finish. “I’ve told you, Hilda, that you ought to listen to everything I have to say.”
Hilda nodded, though she still wanted to transfer away immediately. She already had a poison in mind that would make everything quick and painless. A night in the Cain Pit might be just what the doctor ordered. Zelda was running herself ragged, as the first High Priestess of the Church of Lilith. She could claim that Mother Spellman had come down with a 24-hour bug, and she was sure no one would challenge her…
“Do you really want to know what I spoke to your sister about?” said Cerberus, placing a hand on her cheek to bring her attention back to him.
Hilda just nodded, remembering that she wasn’t supposed to interrupt him again, and leaned into his touch.
“I know it’s an old-fashioned tradition, but I’m an old-fashioned man, at heart,” said Cerberus, rubbing his thumb lovingly over her cheek. “I asked your sister if she would bless our marriage. I didn’t ask for permission, mind you—just a blessing. I know how important family is to you, and I wanted to make sure Zelda understood how committed I am—”
“Wait,” said Hilda, all of the air leaving her body. “Did you just say…what I think you said?”
Cerberus let go of her cheek, before easing his body down, until he was on one knee. “I really wanted to wait until Friday. There’s a full moon, you see, and it’s the 13th—and, well, I wanted to take you stargazing, and have a picnic beneath the moon…but the storeroom is romantic enough, I guess.”
Cerberus put his hand inside his jacket, and produced a small, velvet box. “I know witch-tradition involves two turtledove hearts…but I didn’t have the stomach for it. So, I got you a ring—”
Cerberus opened the box, revealing a beautiful diamond ring, with two turtledoves engraved on either side.
“—with them instead.”
Hilda placed a hand over her heart. She could feel it racing madly. She wanted to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming, but no, she was certain she was awake.
“Hilda Spellman, will you marry me?”
Hilda could feel tears pricking at her eyes, and though she tried to keep them at bay, they started falling in rapid succession down her cheeks. She was completely and utterly speechless.
Cerberus seemed concerned, and quickly stood up, closing the ring box as he did. “Hilda? Are you alright? I hope I haven’t offended you—or, or, or…moved too fast—or done something wrong…? Here.”
He produced a handkerchief from the wrist of his jacket. She took it, gratefully, dabbing at her eyes.
“Hilda?”
She hardly felt she could breathe, let alone speak, but as she handed the handkerchief back to Cerberus, she pulled him in close for a tight hug. “Of course, I’ll marry you, you sweet, sweet man.”
Cerberus let out a huge sigh of relief. “I was afraid I'd upset you.”
“You could never,” she said, pulling back from the hug to give him a quick kiss.
“May I?” he said, holding the ring box up, and removing the ring.
“Please do,” said Hilda, lifting her left hand and keeping it steady for him.
When the ring slipped onto her finger, Hilda felt tears prick at her eyes once more. Trying to keep them under control, she let out a laugh, and said, “Did Zelda threaten to curse and dismember you if you ever so much as made me cry?”
“As a matter of fact, she did,” said Cerberus, dabbing at her cheeks once more with the handkerchief.
“Well, it looks like you’re a dead man,” said Hilda, her smile wide and teasing.
“I think she’ll make an exception for happy tears,” said Cerberus, tucking the handkerchief away once more. “Or…we could leave out that part of the proposal story…?”
“Agreed,” Hilda said, before launching herself into his arms.