Gedi Puniku- Cat Eyes

by Jeanie P Johnson

  “You should think about it. I am finding I am becoming quite attracted to you.”

  “I know nothing about you, and according to the story you told Gavin, you are the kind of man who thinks nothing of being with a married woman, the same as Gavin.”

  “The difference is, I did not know she was married at the time. Had I known, I would have looked elsewhere for a woman to love. I have sobered during my time traveling, and maybe grown up a little.”

  He gave me a charming smile.

  “I think I have learned my lesson about looking before I leap.”

  “Perhaps we may become friends, but after all the things I have been learning, I don’t think I can trust any man. The poor ones want to take advantage of rich women, and the rich ones seem to marry out of duty or to expand the family’s wealth.

  “Gavin told me once to marry out of love, not duty. He probably told me that because of what happened to Patrick when he married Loretta when he didn’t love her. Maybe on some level, he was falling in love with me, but now Patrick is dead, he needs to ask his own heart if he is doing the right thing trying to persuade me to marry him. If he was truly in love with Loretta, and her children belong to him, he should own up to it, despite the consequences of who inherits what. He owes it to her and his own children.”

  “I agree,” Nigel said. “I will give you time, considering you have almost a year before you could make a firm decision anyway.”

  “All I need is another person asking me to marry him, I grumbled. “I am too confused as it is!”.

  Then we turned the horses and started galloping along the shore. I needed to feel the wind on my face so it could help me think. I was getting to a point I didn’t know who to trust any longer. My whole life had been one lie after another, and I wasn’t sure where I could turn to find peace of mind?

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I sat at the window, looking out to the ocean below. The one thing I liked about the house was the view of the sea crashing against the shore. If I ever left, that would be the only thing I would miss. I had never grown close to my parents. Before, their attention was focused on finding me, when Patrick needed their attention. Now they were mourning for Patrick when I needed their attention. The role was reversed. I don’t think my parents would ever be truly happy. They didn’t know how to show their love to Patrick, and I had been away for so long, I was like a stranger to them, and they didn’t know how to show their love to me either.

  All these separate paths God was supposed to be leading people on. How could God keep track of them all? Maybe we just chose our own path and was merely judged by God according to our choices? I still had not figured it out yet.

  Gavin approached me and sat down beside me in the great room. At first, he didn’t say much and just watched the view below with me.

  “I heard Nigel was here today,” he said at last. “The groom told me the two of you went riding on the beach.”

  “Did you enjoy your trip to the city with Loretta?” I asked in return. “She couldn’t have loved Patrick if what you tell me is true.”

  Gavin merely shrugged. I could tell something was on his mind, but I wasn’t sure what it was.

  “You told me once to marry out of love, and not duty,” I murmured. “Perhaps you should take your own advice.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Gavin replied.

  “I know you really don’t love me, Gavin. You have always loved Loretta, so how can you try to make me believe you wish to marry me?”

  Gavin merely stared at me, trying to figure out why I was saying that?

  “What makes you think I love Loretta?” he asked, at last.

  “You can’t tell me you don’t love the mother of your own children,” I responded.

  “Where did you hear that?” he demanded.

  “It’s true, isn’t it? They are not Patrick’s children. You knew you couldn’t have Loretta, so I guess I was the next best thing, wasn’t I? It’s just that you didn’t expect Patrick to die. Now you have to weigh your options. If you don’t tell my parents the truth and marry Loretta when the year of mourning is up, you won’t be able to raise your son. You will have to leave him here to believe Patrick was his father. You know you can’t marry me because I know the truth about you and Loretta. So if you love her, why don’t you just own up to it, and let the truth be known?”

  Gavin stood with his mouth open, trying to decide what he should say. I was not sure he wanted to admit it yet, but I could tell he had changed when he returned from his trip with Loretta.

  “Don’t do it for money, Gavin. Do it for love. Let your children know who their real father is. Patrick never paid any attention to them. Are you going to let them remain fatherless out of wanting money? If I could, I would give you my inheritance. I certainly don’t want it. I don’t know how much longer I can remain here and keep my sanity.

  “Nigel and I were talking about maybe taking a cruise together. It would be nice to see the other side of the globe.”

  “Don’t tell me you are planning to marry Nigel!” he bellowed. “You just met him! Has he been the one putting all this nonsense in your head?”

  “You know it is not nonsense, but marrying Nigel may be my best choice. My parents will disown me for marrying into new money, and Nigel has plenty of money to support me. It could work out better than anyone knows.”

  “Only you don’t love Nigel, do you?”

  I shrugged. He was right. But I wouldn’t be marrying him out of the sense of duty. I would be marrying him to escape. It was probably a stupid reason as well, but I didn’t know what else to do? I certainly did not want to remain in that monstrosity of a house, with all the awareness of what had been going on there while I was thinking my parents were just a flimflam man and a school teacher. I liked Nigel well enough, and he was very good looking. He seemed impressed with me, and wanted me to think about it. I had been giving it a lot of thought after he left.

  “Tell my parents so they will know the truth,” I continued. “They lost their son and they will soon be losing their daughter again. Maybe they will give in and allow you to inherit since there is no one else to leave the money to. After all, Loretta suffered with their son, the same way Patrick suffered with them. They owe her and your children something! Also, she does have Patrick’s money. You wouldn’t be destitute.”

  Gavin hung his head, and then looked into my eyes.

  “I always thought you were a smart and brave person. I could never be as brave as you have been thus far. I suppose I should take your advice. When we were out today, all those old feelings I had been trying to escape, started coming back. I thought I would just have to put Loretta out of my mind since Patrick would never divorce her. He wanted her to suffer, the same way he was suffering. He wanted everyone around him to suffer, because of the way he was treated growing up. Now he is dead, I suppose we should stop the suffering as best we can.

  “We saw Megan when we were in the city today. She knows Loretta’s children do not belong to Patrick. She told us that she was carrying Patrick’s baby. I was contemplating whether I should tell your parents or not?”

  “What? That is wonderful! If she has a boy, the name will carry on, even if the blood has been diluted a little,” I laughed. “Tell them, Gavin. Tell them everything and get it off your chest. I will come with you for moral support if you wish.”

  “It can’t get any worse,” Gavin murmured. I suppose we should have Loretta be there too.”

  An hour later, we were all gathered in in the great room together, while Gavin began explaining everything to my parents. They were shocked and angry and threatened to oust both of them along with their children. Then Gavin told them about Megan having a piece of Patrick within her. I begged them to take her under their wing so his child could be raised where it rightfully belonged. It was difficult for them to relent, but I could see the pain in my mothers face, knowing how she and my father had failed to love Patrick the way they should have loved him. Now
they had a second chance, I told them, to make it all right.

  As I was speaking, there was a knock on the door. I rose to answer it, even though I knew the butler would do it. I had been transported into my dream. I started to remember this was my dream, and now I would discover who was at the door.

  Just as in my dream, the door was opened before I could get to it. Someone stood in the doorway, with the sun to their back. I could not see their face, but I saw the shocked look on the butler’s face when he opened the door.

  “There is a wild Indian standing at the door,” he told my parents.

  “Wawee’ne?” I cried, and he stepped forward, dressed in his Shoshoni attire.

  “Gedi Puniku!” he breathed. “I have found you at last!”

  A moment later he had gathered me up into his arms.

  “I could not live with just a portion of your soul next to my heart. I had to have all your soul, so I came out searching for you.”

  “How did you know where to look?” I gasped.

  “I go back to gold fields and find man you call Papa. He told me where to look.”

  “The one good thing my Papa ever did for me,” I cried, as tears started to flow. “I have missed you so much. I didn’t think you would even think about me!”

  “Your face fills my thoughts always and forever.”

  He reached out and touched my hair.

  “I see you getting rest of soul back,” he smiled.

  Everyone stood astonished, except for Gavin, who knew who Wawee’ne was. He stood there with his arm around Loretta’s waist.

  “Looks like you’ve got your wish,” he said. “If I were you, I wouldn’t turn him down the next time he asks you to become his wife.”

  Wawee’ne glanced at Gavin, and then back at me.

  “You no refuse me now,” he said. “God leads my path to you. I brought love flute to persuade you,” he smiled, taking it from his pouch.

  To everyone’s astonishment, Wasee’ne began playing the flute. I had never heard anything quite as beautiful as the melody he played on his flute. Or it could be the love I was hearing that poured out of his breath as he played the notes. It floated on the air, and I could see everyone else was spellbound, the same as I was, but the music was going straight through my heart to my very soul. It had taken a long time, but maybe Wawee’ne was right. God had thrown us together somehow, and God wasn’t going to let me get away without feeling what it was like to have someone love me the way Wawee’ne seemed to love me.

  When he finished playing, I threw my arms around his neck.

  “I’m your’s,” I sighed. “All of my soul and all of my heart belongs to you now.”

  Wawee’ne hugged me to him, as though he was never going to let me go. When he finally did, I turned to my parents who still looked astonished and at a loss for words.

  “This is the man I am going to marry,” I told them. “You can disown me if you wish, but I love Wawee’ne and I belong with him. I will be returning to the Shoshoni village with him when I leave here.”

  My mother stood stiffly, trying to decide how to react.

  “You never were our daughter, once someone else raised you. I shouldn’t be surprised this is your choice. But I am happy you were brought back, so we knew what happened to you and could put our mind at ease. If this is the man you wish to marry, I will not object. You would do it without our consent. Only I can see the love in your eyes that you have for this man. It is the same love I see in Gavin’s eyes for Loretta. I believe that Megan loved Patrick the same way. I often saw her looking at him with that same light in her eyes. I will send Gavin to bring her here, where she will have the best of care.

  “I know we should remain in mourning, but I can’t let you leave until I can attend your wedding. I can’t imagine what people are going to say when they discover who your husband is, but at this point, I really don’t give a care. For once we are going to defy tradition and protocol, and do something that will cause a stir in society!

  “You and Gavin could have a double wedding, and set everything straight, the way it should have been a long time ago.”

  “I suppose it is up to Gavin,” I murmured.

  “Think I’ll ask Nigel to be my best man since he is the one who made us have to face the truth,” Gavin smiled. “He’s going to be disappointed that you are not going to take that cruise with him, though.”

  “The only person I wish to be with is Wawee’ne. I should have gone with him from the start.”

  “Only we wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet you,” Gavin insisted. “In spite of all the complications, you brought something that I don’t think anyone else could have brought to us, Helen.”

  “Call me Gedi Puniku. I was never Haley or Helen. I was someone else altogether,” I said.

  I have been told there is no such thing as fate. According to my mama, fate is just another word for the workings of God. “God directs us and leads our paths,” she would always tell me. Now I realized the woman who raised me was right. I would have to make it up to God somehow, I told myself, as Wawee’ne enfolded me in his arms and gave me a loving kiss, I just didn’t know how I was going to do it yet.

  THE END