Awakenings

Chapter 10:The Plan

As they flew through the air, Wendy was not surprised that they seemed headed toward Neverland, but she was surprised that Peter did not speak to her during the entire voyage. Instead, he looked always ahead, his jaw set in determined lines.

When they arrived in Neverland, Peter led her to a clearing she had never seen before, beside a huge, towering oak tree. "Peter...?" she began, but Peter raised a hand to stop her. He stood stiffly and nervously, just as he had done in her bedroom.

"Wendy, don't say anything. I want to show you something. Or ... well ... more than one thing. So, just ... wait ... wait until you see everything. Don't say anything now."

Puzzled, Wendy nodded, curious to see what it was that Peter was referring to.

Bowing formally, Peter said with great solemnity, as if he had prepared the statement in advance, "Wendy, I want to be your husband."

Her eyebrows rising, Wendy opened her mouth to speak, to assure Peter that she had come with him to stay, but Peter again raised his hand to ask her to stay silent. Unsure exactly what was happening, Wendy closed her mouth and watched Peter in confusion. He was behaving so very strangely!

Taking her hand with a rather gallant gesture, Peter flew up into the gigantic oak tree, landing upon a thick branch with Wendy beside him. Up close, Wendy could see that some structure was built within the branches of the tree, and indeed Peter opened a door in front of her, and showed her inside.

It was a house very like the one the Lost Boys had built for her so long ago, though this was much larger, and contained rustic furniture. The walls and floors - and indeed the bed and chairs and tables and other furnishings - were made of branches, vines, moss, bark, leaves, and other such natural materials. Tinker Bell was inside waiting for them, and flew about the room with a jingling chatter, stopping beside each new interesting part of the house to gesture encouragingly for Wendy to look.

From the ground, the house had been nearly invisible, its colorings and textures blending easily with the tree's leaves and branches, but the dwelling was quite cunning from the inside, very cozy and comfortable, with plenty of sunlight to illuminate its many charms.

"Oh, Peter, it's lovely!" cried Wendy, clasping her hands before her in pleasure.

"A husband must provide a house," stated Peter, still in the stilted tone that seemed to indicate he was reciting well-practiced lines. Rubbing one hand nervously through his always messy hair, Peter then boasted shyly, "I made this house for you, so that I can be your husband."

In truth, the Lost Boys had done most of the actual construction while Peter "supervised," but Peter blithely claimed the credit for a job well done. He remembered his initial intent to build a house for Wendy, and conveniently forgot that others had been instrumental in the execution of his plan. He was quite proud of the clever house "he" had built.

"But, Peter..." Wendy began, wanting to tell him that he did not need to go to such lengths for her, but again Peter raised his hand, looking so anxious and determined that Wendy nodded reluctantly and waited for him to continue.

Peter's sudden high, sharp whistle made Wendy jump with fright, and then press one hand to her racing heart, laughing lightly at her own silliness. Tinker Bell flew to him and perched upon his shoulder to watch the proceedings. Wendy was rather glad the fairy was now holding still and had ceased her energetic attempts to show the house to best advantage, for her sparkling flourishes had been exceedingly distracting.

In response to the whistle, five young boys appeared as if out of nowhere, most likely descending from the branches of the tree. They shuffled to stand before her on the mossy floor, hats in their hands and innocently impish smiles upon their not-quite-clean faces. Peter had convinced them to wash for the occasion, but they had done a rather haphazard job of it, and if Wendy had checked behind their ears she would have been quite horrified.