by Linnea Hall
Jewell looked around at the expressionless faces surrounding her, “so that’s it then?” As she looked at each person, they gave her a curt nod as they cast their eyes downward, not willing to meet Jewell’s eyes as she looked at them. She swallowed once and took a deep breath. “I see. Will you be kidnapping Collin again, or will you actually give him the chance to say goodbye properly?”
Percy looked at Collin but answered Jewell. “That depends on Collin. We would all prefer a proper goodbye. Of course, we will do what we have to.” He let the last sentence hang in the air between him and Collin.
Jewell nodded again. “Can I have a minute with Collin?” No one moved. “Alone?” She emphasized the last word.
Gladys was the first to move. She took Kendryck and Percy by the hand and started leading them out. “Percy, Hugh, Nicky.” Nicky? Jewell suppressed a laugh at how this apparently young woman addressed her superior.
When they had all left the room, Jewell gently pushed herself away from Collin so that she could look at him. “What now?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try to think of something, but…” he looked around as if he was trying to ascertain whether someone was listening. “Kendryck, is a telepath. Kendryck is very talented. I’m not entirely sure that my thoughts will be as private as I want them to be.” He kissed her, gently on the forehead and pulled her head to his chest. “I can’t live without you, I won’t. I’ll find a solution. I love you Honeysuckle.” Jewell just nodded against his chest. He pushed her back a little bit so that he could kiss her lips.
Jewell savored the touch of Collin’s soft, warm lips, savored the taste of honey and almond on his breath, breathed in his unique smell of cedar, rain and laurel. She tried to think of what life would be like without him, but she couldn’t. Her thoughts reeled as she thought about everything she had been told, but primarily about the very likely possibility that she would never see Collin again.
They were still kissing when they heard a knock on the door. Collin and Jewell looked up in time to see Percy opening the doors to the parlor. “Jewell, honey, it’s time to get you home.” Jewell looked at Collin and tightened her grip on his hand. “You’ll see him again. I will promise you that.”
“Do you swear on the Templar Cross that I will see him again?” Jewell didn’t completely trust Percy’s word, but she did know a little about the Templar Knights. If he made that swear, he would do whatever possible to ensure that she saw him again.
Percy looked startled for a moment as he stood in the doorway. He sucked in a deep breath and whispered quietly, “I swear on the Templar Cross that you will see Collin again.”
Jewell nodded curtly and stood, still holding Collin’s hand. She leaned down and kissed him again on the mouth, passionately and not caring that Percy was watching. “I love you Collin Sykes. I will always love you no matter what happens. Please always remember that. I will always love you.”
“And I will always love you.” He reached for a cane leaning on the edge of the couch. Jewell helped him as he struggled to stand. By the time he was standing and leaning on his cane, his breath was coming in sharp pulls. She waited until his breathing returned to normal, and walked with him slowly across the room. Percy preceded them down the hallway and out the front door. When Collin and Jewell reached the stairs leading down from the porch, Collin stopped. Jewell looked at Percy standing next to the passenger side of the door. Collin dropped the cane and pulled her close, holding her as if he was willing them to become one person. Finally, she pushed herself away and started down the stairs toward the car.
Jewell didn’t see Collin again for another week. She had started back to work which helped to alleviate some of the boredom she was experiencing at home. It also gave her less time to think about everything she had learned in the past couple of weeks.
Jewell had very strong feelings about the idea of immortality. She definitely did not think that it was a trait that should be explored and exploited. The fact that people were now living longer thanks to better medicine and nutrition, and the number of live births has increased, the world population is exploding. Without new sources of nutrition and additional space to house these individuals, immortality would lead to ultimate suffering. Another problem was that despite scientific research, progress is usually generated by new people. If people don’t die, then there will be no progress, because new people are necessary to create new ideas.
But she loved Collin. The fact that he represented something that she found objectionable didn’t change her feelings for him any more than finding out he had cancer would change her feelings for him. And the thought of living without him was almost unbearable.
As she worked, she mulled over the arguments presented by Collin’s Family, Dr. Babineaux, and Sheriff Payne. She understood their position. She was a threat to their existence, not just Collin’s, but everyone like him. She also understood that as she grew older, he wouldn’t age. Would he still love her when she looked twice his age? Three times his age? When she appeared old enough to be his grandmother? If he continued to love her, could she stand to let him watch her die? Could she inflict that pain on him? A pain that he wouldn’t carry with him for decades, but for centuries to come?
“Jewell!” She glanced up to see Nurse Yohanan standing above her. “Honey, you’ve been sitting there for over half an hour without doing anything. I think that’s enough for tonight. Why don’t you go ahead and go home and get some rest. You’re still healing and it’s going to be difficult to get back into your usual routine.”
Jewell rubbed her hands over her face. She looked at the patient chart sitting on the desk next to her. She had filled in the name on the computer screen but had not gone beyond that. She glanced at the stack of charts sitting on the desk waiting to be entered into the computer. “I don’t know,” she gestured to the charts sitting in her in box. “I’m fine. I just got distracted for a while. I just want to get these entered before I leave.”
“Nonsense! I’ll get an intern to do it on the day shift. You go home and I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
Jewell nodded and glanced at her watch. It was only midnight. She hadn’t even finished half her shift. She had driven herself to work since she hadn’t been working regular shifts. It seemed that these first few nights back had been more difficult than she had expected them to be and she found herself leaving early every night. She hated to leave work unfinished, but Nurse Yohanan was right. She wasn’t very useful if she couldn’t finish her work. She called Ashley upstairs to let her know she was leaving. She walked slowly to the locker room to gather her things before heading home.
Ashley met her in the locker room as Jewell was gathering her things. “Not feeling well?” she asked as she waited for Jewell to change.
“That’s not it. It’s Collin. I don’t know, maybe because I’m not one hundred percent I’m having trouble concentrating on work. I’ve just got to focus.”
“I thought everything was cool between you, now that he’s back and all.”
“It’s hard to explain Ash. I want so bad to talk to you about it, but I just don’t know what to say. It’s really hard to put into words.”
“That’s okay, I understand. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.” She reached over and gave Jewell a quick hug as Jewell picked up her bag.
As Jewell walked to her car, she noticed someone standing next to her car, waiting. She picked up her pace, anxious now to meet the man waiting for her. “I needed to see you so badly.” As she reached him, she fell into his arms, soaking in the electricity that his touch generated. “Collin, I missed you so much. I can’t work, I can’t sleep. I just keep thinking about you.”
Collin pulled her closer, breathing in the honeysuckle scent he missed so much. “I knew you needed me, I could feel it. That’s why I’m here. My uncle has been…reluctant to let me see you. He thinks that if I let you have your space, both of us will realize that we don’t need each other as much as we think we do.” He kissed her for
ehead. “I don’t think it’s working.” He grinned sadly. “Jewell, can we talk?” he asked, suddenly serious.
“Yeah. Of course. Do you want to go somewhere, or you can come to my place, or we can go to yours?”
“I want to go back to my place. I know everyone will be there, but I need you to know where I live. I want you to be able to find me…in case.”
“In case of what?”
“I don’t know, just in case. The house isn’t just used by my uncle and me. It belongs to the Family. I don’t want what happened before to happen again. I want to be certain that if something happens, you can always find me.” He left unsaid that if they were ever separated, someone in the Family could probably find him.
He opened the driver’s door for Jewell and then went to sit in the passenger’s seat. He directed her to the house while she tried to remember each turn as he pointed it out. He showed her landmarks to help her remember the way. Finally, she was driving down the long driveway that led to the house. He took her into the servant’s quarters rather than the main house. “This is where I’ve been staying. I think that I’m the only person who really uses this part of the house. When we moved here, it was being used for storage. I fixed it up so that I could have a little more privacy.” He laughed. “It seems like no matter where we are there are always at least five people living in the same place. Even though the houses are big, and there are plenty of rooms, I still feel crowded.”
He motioned towards a comfortable looking, well-worn leather chair. As she sat, she asked, “What do you want to talk about?”
He pulled an ottoman that didn’t match the chair closer to her and sat down so that he could rest his hands on her legs. “I’ve been thinking, about us. I mean, about what us would mean to you.”
“What do you mean?”
“My uncle was right. If you and I were to stay together you would have to give so much up. I don’t know if I could take that away from you.”
“What do you mean?”
He sighed, tiredly as if he had been thinking about this for days. “Jewell, if you were to stay with me, you would need to give up everything. You couldn’t stay here. You couldn’t keep your job, your friends; even your dad. I don’t know how often you would be able to see him, or even talk to him on the phone. It’s my way of life. It’s how I’ve always lived so I never really thought about it, but lately…” he shook his head. “I can’t give you what you deserve. I can’t be what I want to be.”
Jewell sat quietly for several minutes. “So, this is it? You’re leaving?”
“My uncle won’t let me stay with you, and he won’t let me take you with us. But it’s your decision. In the end, I can’t decide for you because if I do, I will take away from you the last thing that I can offer; your right to choose.”
“Do I have to make a decision now?”
“No. Right now, we don’t have any definite plans to leave, but we won’t stay long; maybe a couple of months at the most.”
“Right now then, I just want to spend time with you.” She looked around. “It’s really late. I don’t want to drive an hour and a half home. Do you mind if I just crash here for a couple of hours?”
Collin looked startled at the sudden shift in the conversation. “No, not at all. You can take the bed,” he started to walk toward a door on the other side of the room that Jewell hadn’t noticed earlier. “I’ll just sleep in one of the rooms inside. Or you can sleep in the main house if you feel more comfortable; there are plenty of rooms.” Collin was babbling. He was nervous because for the first time in his life, he really wanted something. He had never wanted anything before in his life, but now he wanted, needed, something and whether he got it or not was no longer his decision.
“No, the bed is fine, but I don’t want to sleep here by myself.”
“Of course not.” Collin answered. “I wasn’t even thinking. The couch in here pulls out. I’ll sleep in here so if you need anything…”
“I’m really tired. I just want to sleep, but right now, I don’t want to be alone.” She took his hand and pulled him toward the bedroom. She pulled down the covers, and crawled in on one side of the bed. Collin pulled the sheet over her, and lay on the bed next to her, cradling her head on his arm, and wrapping his other arm around her waist. “Thank you.” She whispered as she dropped off into a peaceful slumber.
Jewell woke up with the sun sneaking in between the slits on the window blinds. She was in the bed alone. She got out of bed and walked to the door, where she saw Collin sitting in the old leather chair. When he heard her he looked up from the book he was reading. “Good morning Honeysuckle. Did you sleep well?”
“Wonderful. I would love to wake up like this every morning.” She smiled as he stood up.
“I’m sure Gladys has breakfast. She makes the best biscuits and serves them with cane syrup.” He took her hand and led her into the main house and down the long hallway to the kitchen in the back. True to his word, Gladys was taking a pan of biscuits out of the oven.
“Hey kids. Everyone else has already eaten. Sit down and have some biscuits. There’s sausage on the table, and cane syrup is in the pitcher.” Gladys smiled as she shuffled around the kitchen, pouring glasses of juice, getting plates and silverware, and making sure Collin and Jewell had everything they needed. When she was satisfied that all was in order she sat down.
Gladys sat at the table, watching them eat. “I want to talk to you two.” She sat studying their faces. Reaching across the table, she took one of each of their hands and placed them together on the table, with hers covering theirs protectively. “Don’t let anyone tell you what to do.” She looked at them seriously, making sure that they were listening to what she said. “The Family can take care of itself. And the Family can and will take care of you too. No matter what you are told, Family protects Family and if you decide to bring Jewell into your life, then she’s Family too. It won’t be easy, but if you love each other,” she paused, smiling, “it’ll work itself out. If you need anything, you come to me and I’ll take care of it.” She stood up and left the room before either Collin or Jewell had time to process what she had said and formulate a response.
Jewell and Collin sat together quietly in the kitchen without saying anything for several minutes before Jewell finally broke the silence. “I really need to get home.” Collin nodded and taking her hand, he led her back to the servants’ quarters to collect her things.
Jewell drove Collin back to the hospital so he could pick up his car. As he started to get out of the car, he grabbed her hand. “It will work out.” Jewell nodded without saying anything and watched him as he walked to his car.
CHAPTER 54
Jewell sat alone in her house. It was her day off, her father was at work, and Ashley was on a date with Ray. Jewell heard Collin’s car when it drove into the driveway and she met him at the door. She didn’t move to the side to let him in; instead, she stood blocking the doorway. What she had to tell him had to be short. If she let him in, if he sat down, she would lose her nerve.
Collin leaned forward to kiss her and she turned her head so he kissed her on the cheek. She suppressed a shudder as the electricity of his touch shot through her. She knew she would never find that again; she knew that she would never love anyone again. She was going to die an old spinster; a crazy cat lady. Her lips curved into a tight, painful smile at the thought.
“You’re not going to come with me.” It was a statement. Somehow, he knew all along that this was the choice she would make. It was almost a relief that she had made the decision; that he didn’t have to tell her that it would be better for her to stay with her family. He didn’t have the strength to leave her on his own, but he didn’t have the heart to subject her to a life on the run, to take her away from everything she had everything she had ever known. He nodded, and started to turn to leave.
As he turned, she reached out, grabbing his arm to stop him. “Wait. It’s not what you think. I can’t bear the thought of you ha
ving to watch me grow old. Percy…well, the longer we’re together the harder it will be for you when I…” she swallowed the tears that were trying to push through to the surface. She couldn’t bring herself to say die. “…when I can’t be with you anymore. I can’t bear the thought of you suffering for centuries like your uncle. This way, you can remember me as I am and that way, I’ll always be alive in your memories. I don’t want your last thought of me to be of holding me when I die.” She stepped back to close the door. “I just wanted you to know my reasons.”
As she started to close the door, Collin put out his hand to stop it from closing. “I’ll wait for you until the end of time. If you ever change your mind, I will be there. You will always be mine, Honeysuckle. I’ll never love anyone else.” He stepped back, dropping his hand to his side and turned to leave not wanting to see the door close.
As she watched him leave, she heard a single word echo through her mind, “forever.”