PIECES OF LOVE

by JRO

Vincent entered Father’s chamber and saw that he was fingering a small piece of wood.

“Good morning, Father. I see that you are not the only one to receive a gift this morning.”

Father looked up. “Good morning, Vincent. Yes, I was just wondering who could have left it on my desk. I thought perhaps it was from you.”

Vincent smiled. “It was not me. I wonder how many others also received one.”

Father placed the piece in his pocket and reached for his cane before standing up. “I don’t know, but I’m guessing we’ll find out when we make our way to the dining chamber for breakfast.”

As Father predicted, the dining chamber was buzzing with excitement. Everyone had received a puzzle piece during the night. As they ate, theories about who was behind it spread through the room. As it was Saturday, and there were no urgent work crews, everyone lingered longer than normal at their tables.

Eventually, the dishes were cleared away and Cullen brought in a large, thin sheet of wood. He placed it on one of the tables, and everyone put their pieces onto it. The youngest children were taken to their play chambers by those on duty that morning. Sentries, and several others who had jobs to do or who were not interested in puzzles, also left. Almost everyone else gathered around the puzzle table. Samantha, Kipper, and a few others started to organize all the pieces.

A frown appeared on Samantha’s face as she examined a few pieces closely. “How do we know which side is up? Most of the pieces have bits of black on them, but there are a lot that don’t.”

“I guess we’ll have to try them both ways,” Kipper said. “What I want to know is how we’re supposed to put it together without the picture? I don’t even know where to start. There aren’t even any colors to try and match.”

Vincent was sitting on a nearby table, watching and listening. “Perhaps that is part of the challenge.”

It was quiet for a minute, as everyone looked at the array of puzzle pieces scattered across the table.

“Edges,” said Eric. “When we did that puzzle we got for Christmas, Father said we should do the edges first.”

Everyone agreed, and they began separating the edge pieces to one side. Several others suggested getting another sheet of wood and starting on the inside pieces on another table. Cullen didn’t have any more large sheets of wood, but he found a large piece of cardboard.

For the next hour, everyone worked together to assemble as many pieces as they could. They made progress with the edges, and those working on the inside pieces had managed to start forming a few words. Unfortunately, it appeared as though they didn’t have all the pieces, because there were several places in the edges where nothing would fit together.

Sensing that everyone was getting frustrated, Father suggested that they take a break. Unhappy about giving up, the children got up to leave.

Eric ran up to Samantha. “Maybe we missed pieces this morning or maybe there are pieces hidden in other chambers. We should go look.”

The rest of the children agreed, and they broke into pairs to spread out and search. When the sound of their footsteps had faded away, the adults also headed out to take care of their own duties for the day.

Father was the last to get up. He had been closely examining one of the puzzle pieces.

“Vincent, are you sure you didn’t have anything to do with this?”

Vincent tilted his head to the side. “I promise Father. I was as surprised as you.”

“It’s just that the puzzle pieces are beautifully made…oak, or maple perhaps? They are much larger than usual, and all the pieces are shaped differently, unlike most puzzles these days. They fit together perfectly, and the finish on each is perfectly smooth. Something like this would take a long time to create and would be fairly expensive. I thought perhaps Catherine might have something to do with this.”

Vincent let out a small chuckle. “Yes, it does seem like something she’d do. However, if it is Catherine’s doing, she has not let me in on the secret. Besides, Catherine has been in Connecticut for nearly a week to help her friend Nancy after her husband was in an accident.”

“I do hope that he is all right and that Catherine returns to us safely. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens with the puzzle.”

By late morning, the children had found over a dozen more pieces. The pieces given to the infants in the nursery had gone unnoticed in the early morning rush. The children had also visited Elizabeth, who usually slept in on Saturdays, and Narcissa. Mouse had been off exploring all night and hadn’t been to breakfast, but Kipper brought back Mouse’s piece and Arthur’s piece as well. In addition, Jamie and the other sentries with the night shift had not been to breakfast either.

After lunch, a large group stayed behind to continue working on the puzzle. With the additional pieces, a little more progress was made, but it was apparent that there were still quite a few pieces missing. Since the tunnels had been searched, everyone was a little disappointed, especially the children. After the children had gone, several of the adults wondered if the rest of the pieces would be sent a little at a time, to prolong the mystery. They knew whoever had put in the time and energy to arrange for such a gift would not let it remain incomplete.

Later that afternoon, Father was sitting at his desk reading. Mary and Vincent were helping a group of children make decorations and Valentine’s Day cards. A message came through the pipes, requesting an escort to assist one of the helpers Below. Father sent Kipper, but only a few minutes later, another request came for helpers at a different entrance. Zach was sent, and then Samantha volunteered for the next request.

“My goodness,” Mary said. “I don’t think we’ve had this many helpers come down at once since Winterfest.”

Father put down his book and stood. “I do believe you’re right. I am going to stretch my legs for a minute, and then I will stop by the kitchen to make sure there is enough tea. The weather up top is so cold, I think everyone would appreciate a cup.”

Almost an hour later, Father, Vincent, and almost a dozen helpers were gathered around the puzzle tables. Each of the helpers had mysteriously received a puzzle piece. With their pieces, a few more parts of the puzzle were revealed.

After dinner, several more groups of helpers came down. The puzzle was finally beginning to take shape. The outline was nearly complete, and large sections of the inside had been put in place. By the time everyone headed off to bed, there were only about a couple dozen pieces missing.

The next morning brought more helpers and more puzzle pieces. By then, almost everyone had helped place at least one or two pieces. After lunch, everybody’s attention was pulled away from the puzzle in order to celebrate the fact that it was Valentine’s Day. Handmade Valentines were given out. Couples spent time in their chambers or made their way to more private tunnel areas. William provided batches of sugar cookies and allowed the children to put on the sprinkles.

Vincent spent much of the day in his chamber, thinking and writing in his journal. While he had a small collection of Valentines from some of the children, he felt a bit lonely, and envious of some of his friends. When a message came through the pipes, he quickly capped his pen and grabbed his cloak.

Catherine was waiting for him at her threshold. She practically threw herself into his arms and hugged him as hard as she could.

“Oh Vincent. I missed you so much. I was afraid I wouldn’t get to see you today.”

He held her close, returning her embrace. “I missed you too. I didn’t expect you for a few more days.”

“I know. The weather broke long enough for Paul’s mother to travel. Nancy insisted that I head home right away.”

“I’m glad she did.” He hesitated for a moment. “I know you must be tired, but would you like to join us for dinner?”

She smiled broadly. “I was hoping you’d ask. I would love to.”

He held out his arm and she took it, but then turned back to the threshold.

“I’m sorry Vincent. I almost forgot my bag.”

He took it from her hands and felt its weight. “What have you brought?”

Catherine took his arm and they began to walk. “There are a few treats for everyone to share, and something for you. Oh, and I had an interesting package in my mail. Do you know anything about this?” She held out a puzzle piece. “The note just said to bring it Below.”

Vincent smiled. “Come. I’ll show you.”

Before heading to the dining chamber, they stopped at Vincent’s chamber. Catherine removed her coat to reveal her beautiful deep red velvet dress. She also took a red wrapped package out of her bag and set it on his desk. They spent a few minutes simply holding each other. Eventually, they both stepped back. With a smile, Catherine reached back towards the table, and handed him his gift. He carefully removed the paper and removed the lid. Inside he found a dozen wrapped chocolates surrounding a beautiful wooden box. A Celtic heart knot was carved on top, and inside was a beautiful fountain pen.

“Catherine, this is beautiful. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” she said, as she leaned against him. “It originally was to be part of your birthday gift, but the carving wasn’t ready in time.”

“I can’t wait to try it. I’m afraid my current pen has started to show its age.”

Vincent admired the pen for another few moments, before carefully closing the lid and setting it down.

“I have something for you as well. Close your eyes.”

She complied. When he held a rose up to her nose, she smiled at the scent.

“Mmm…a rose. It smells lovely. May I open my eyes?”

“Not yet. Hold out your hand.”

When she did, he placed a stone in her hand. Keeping her eyes closed, she inspected the stone with her hand.

“It’s heart shaped,” she said. “May I look now, please?”

He gave his consent and she looked closely at the heart in her hand. It was a gray stone that had been polished to a brilliant shine. When she turned it over, she gasped. A thin vein of white formed an almost perfect heart, right in the center of the stone, as though it had been designed that way.

“Oh Vincent, it’s lovely. How in the world did you make this?”

“Amazingly enough, I found it when I took a trip down near the nameless river. It was almost perfect. I just needed to round some of the edges and smooth the surface. I’m glad you like it.”

“I love it. Now I can carry your heart with me no matter where I go.”

She wrapped his arms around him again. Vincent wanted nothing more than to stand there forever. However, the first call for dinner came through the pipes. Picking up Catherine’s bag, he offered his arm, and they made their way to the dining chamber.

The community was just beginning to gather, and several adults were admiring the nearly completed puzzle. Catherine shared their admiration. The golden finish of the polished wood shone. Crisp black lettering stood out clearly. Words, in several different sizes and fonts, filled the puzzle area.

“Respect, kindness, generosity, friendship, safety, healing, support, forgiveness…all of these words beautifully describe your world, Vincent. And this large circle of words in the center: one family, one community. Where have I heard that phrase?”

“At Winterfest,” Vincent said. “Those are some of the words Father recites each year at the opening ceremony.”

Catherine smiled. “Of course, and the circle mimics the circle that you form at the end.”

She pulled out the puzzle piece from her pocket, and tried to hand it to Vincent.

“No, Catherine. I have already put several pieces in. That one is for you.”

He watched as she studied the empty spaces that remained. After only a few moments, she carefully placed her piece in its correct position.

“Where are the rest of the pieces?”

“We don’t know.” He ran his finger across several of the words. “Probably with more of our helpers, although almost all of them have already been here. Father thought perhaps you had a hand in this.”

“I know I tend to be a little more lavish than Father likes with my gifts to the community at times. But this is way beyond anything I could have dreamed up.”

As more people gathered and began sitting at the tables, Vincent led Catherine to the table where he usually sat with Father and Mary. Just as they were about to eat, Peter arrived to join them for dinner. It was a lovely meal of beef stew and biscuits. Conversions were light, and the entire community seemed to be happy.

Just before William was to bring out the cookies for dessert, Peter pulled a package out of his coat, stood up, and clapped his hands.

“Good evening, everyone. Happy Valentine’s Day. I can see that you have been mostly successful with your puzzle challenge. Yes, it was my doing.”

Peter had to pause, as almost everyone had broken out into applause.

“I don’t think any of you know this, but Father, who I know as Jacob, and I met on Valentine’s Day. We were studying in the library. Apparently he had hoped for a date, because he had a nice box of chocolates.”

Again he had to pause, but this time because of the laughter that spread around the chamber. As he waited for it to die down, he slowly walked across the chamber.

“Anyway, by the time we finished off the box, we had become friends. I’m not going to tell you how long ago that was, but I thought it was high time to celebrate, not only our friendship but this amazing world that he has created. I have made arrangements with Cullen to build a new table with this puzzle built into the top. It will be a reminder of what this community represents.”

Peter looked down at the nearly completed puzzle.

“It appears that you’re missing a few pieces. I may be able to help with that. It was no small feat to make sure that every tunnel member and helper received a puzzle piece, in order to be a part of this gift. It was also difficult to design a puzzle with the correct number of pieces, especially considering how frequently the tunnel membership changes. I would like to thank Mouse and Cullen for helping me distribute the pieces Below, and keeping the secret.”

“Didn’t tell.” Mouse jumped up. “Not even Jamie. Mouse can keep a secret.”

A few laughs and a smattering of applause broke out as Mouse sat back down.

Peter raised his hands for quiet. “Father, could you please join me, along with the other council members who are here.”

Peter handed out the remaining pieces. Mary, Vincent, William, Pascal, and Peter himself each placed their piece in the puzzle. Father was almost overcome with emotion when he saw that the last space, in the center of the puzzle, was in the shape of a heart.

“Jacob, my dear friend,” Peter said. “Here’s to our many years of friendship, to your faithful leadership Below, and to many more years ahead.”

Peter handed Father the final piece, and Father admired it in his hands for a few moments as everyone applauded.

“I must admit,” Father finally said, “that all those years ago, I had no idea how our community would turn out. It was an idea that continued to grow and evolve over the years. It couldn’t have happened without Peter and our other helpers, those who are still with us, and those who have passed on. The words Peter has chosen to place on this beautiful gift are the foundation of our way of life. We truly are a community, and more importantly, a family.

“St. Valentine’s Day has become a holiday focused on romantic love. However, there are many other types of love. There is the love for your child, the love for a parent or sibling, the love for a friend. May we all continue to cherish our love for each other, and may we all find the person who completes our heart.”

With that, Father held up the heart shaped piece and then put it in place to complete the puzzle.