by Cher Etan
“Thank you.” He said.
“You’re very welcome Sam,” Solomon replied. Sam left the room to return to the garden where he liked to paint. Solomon watched him go then pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt then went off to find Sam’s mother.
Chapter 6
Sophie was already up, sitting in the dining room having breakfast. Sol lifted his brow at her.
“Since when are you an early riser?” he asked.
Sophie smiled in delight, “I love that you remember things,” she said.
Solomon smiled back and then looked quizzically at her, waiting for an answer to his question.
“Benjy woke me at 5am…apparently he was hungry. Didn’t seem much point in going back to sleep after that.” She said.
Solomon smiled his understanding and leaned forward to kiss her forehead, “Sorry babe. I hear it gets worse before it gets better.”
“Oh yeah? Hear from who?” Sophie called as Solomon was walking out of the dining hall.
“Katarina told me.” He said cryptically as he hastened his pace so Sophie couldn’t get any more questions in before he was out of the room.
He found her in the kitchen rattling dishes unnecessarily.
“G’morning,” he said to her, feeling suddenly breathless for no reason. She cast a quick look at him and smiled and then went back to rattling dishes. Solomon breathed in deep looking for something to say…then breathed out again.
“So…” he said finally.
She looked inquiringly in his direction.
“I…er, how are you?” he asked feeling his cheeks heat up. If he was a bit lighter his face would have been red as a beetroot.
“Can I help you with something? Would you like some pancakes or something?” she asked. Her voice wasn’t cold, but it was distant.
“Kat…?” Solomon said, his voice tentative and questioning.
She glanced at him and then away then dropped the cutlery she was holding and walked out the kitchen door into the garden. Solomon followed like a marionette on a string.
She walked without looking back to ‘their’ bench in the garden near the fence, under the trees, away from everyone. She sat down still not looking at him and he came to sit beside her. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Sitting with her arms crossed like that and her face closed, he was afraid he’d done something unforgivable last night and she was about to tell him she never wanted to see him again. Solomon thought about apologizing but he didn’t want to lie, and he wasn’t sorry.
“Was it something I said?” he ventured.
Katarina looked at him and then she smiled, “You really don’t know do you?” she said.
“No. I’m afraid I don’t. But I’m listening if you’ll tell me.” He said.
Inexplicably, Katarina blushed and now Solomon was really intrigued.
“Last night…you, why did you push me away?” she asked.
Solomon stared at her, lost for words, “What? I…wha…you didn’t want me to push you away?”
She just looked at him. Her color was high but her eyes were steady.
“I…it..I. It was the first time I kissed you. I didn’t think you’d…be ready to go further than that.” He stammered.
“If I wanted you to stop, I’d have said so.” She said quietly but clearly.
Solomon just stared at her, his mouth open in disbelief.
“I figured…we’d take it slow.” He said slowly.
Kat nodded her head, mouth twisting wryly, “How slow?” she asked.
“Well…let me at least buy you dinner first.” He said.
Kat laughed and stood up.
“Okay then. Ask me out then you old fashioned sap. I suppose I should enjoy it while it lasts.” She said.
“Hey! Don’t do me like that. I’m not trying to pull one over you. I really mean to treat you like you deserve to be treated. Forev-“ Solomon cut himself off abruptly, looking down.
Katarina just gave him a sideways glance and walked back toward the house. Solomon was just about to follow her when Sam came running out of the cottage where they stayed.
“Hey little man,” Solomon said sitting back down.
“Show me how to use the water colors.” Sam said holding them out to him.
“I said hey little man,” Solomon replied not reaching for the watercolors.
Sam hesitated looking like he wanted to start swaying from side to side – his version of a tantrum – but then he said, “Hey.”
Solomon smiled at him and took the watercolors, inclining his head for Sam to follow him, “Come on, we need some water, and some brushes of course.” He said, “When I was your age I was already drawing whole landscapes you know? My grandma taught me.”
Sam said nothing but he walked at Solomon’s side and kept step with him so Solomon assumed he was listening.
***
“Yo G’monaaay!” Sophie exclaimed in greeting as her grandfather walked into the dining room.
“Good morning to you too. And how is my great grandson doing?” he asked.
“Well fed and sleeping like a babe; unlike his mother who is wide awake, has aching boobs and is dead tired.”
Elijah winced at her frankness but refrained from commenting, “Well, I expect you can go right back to sleep after breakfast.”
“That’s the theory anyway.” Sophie said.
“Has Solomon woken?” he asked.
“Yeah, he was here briefly; but I could smell his raging hormones from here. I think he went off to look for Kat.”
Elijah laughed and poured himself some coffee.
“So what exactly happened in New Orleans? You didn’t tell me.” She asked after a brief peaceful silence.
Elijah sighed and looked at her in an assessing way as if trying to judge her capacity to hear what he had to say.
“It’s a long story.” He warned.
Just then Tony walked in, baby monitor in hand and made a beeline for Sophie.
“Good morning darling. Why didn’t you wake me?” he asked leaning down to kiss her.
“You were so peaceful I thought I’d give you one night of peace before shit gets really real around here.”
Tony laughed placing the baby monitor on the table and taking a seat next to his wife.
“As opposed to what?” he asked irony heavy in his voice.
“Shh, G’s just about to tell us how it all went down in New Orleans.”
“Oh,” Tony said leaning forward expectantly with his own cup of coffee.
Elijah stared resignedly at both of them and then stood up and left the room. Tony and Sophie looked at each other in stupefaction wondering what the hell was happening with Elijah. After a few minutes he came back though and placed a box on the table in front of them. All three of them stared at it for a while.
“Open it,” Elijah said.
Sophie reached slowly forward and pulled the wooden box toward her. The lid was a sliding piece of wood fitted along the sides through a groove in the box. She pulled at it and it slid out without problems. Inside was a velvet bag winched shut with a string. Sophie pulled the string open, peering inside with Tony crowding in next to her.
The black emerald glinted with its own eerie light and almost seemed to breathe with life. Sophie drew back from it instinctively and pulled her hands away from the velvet covering, loathe to touch it.
“You feel it don’t you?” Elijah said.
She nodded her head and leaned back looking at him expectantly.
“The black emerald that Camille was foaming to get her hands on,” Elijah said.
“You’ve had it the whole time?” Sophie asked.
Elijah knew she was asking about more than the time they were in New Orleans.
“The stone is passed from eldest child to eldest child, hand to hand to hand since 1864,” he said quietly.
Tony reached out to touch the stone but found that he could not lay his fingers on it. Elijah watched him for a while without speaking and eventua
lly Tony withdrew his hand.
“Yes, I’ve had it all this time. I’ve had it in that box and no one but a true Devereaux first born can know about it. It’s how we’ve managed to keep it hidden all these years.”
Tony and Sophie stared at each other in wonder and then back at Elijah, “Why?”Sophie asked him.
Elijah looked quizzically at her as if he didn’t understand.
“Why do you keep it?” Sophie asked, fear tingeing her voice.
“Because it is a legacy. It’s like a family heirloom or sigil. Your ancestor obtained it and her freedom from slavery. It is a piece of our history. You know how important it is to know your history Sophie?”
Sophie just looked at him, understanding in her eyes. “I know,” she said.
Elijah nodded his head, “Besides treasure such as this does strange things to people. Greed is a funny thing. Look what happened to Solomon because of it.”
Sophie blanched and Tony put his arm around her. Elijah reached out and closed the box.
“Don’t worry about it now dear; no-one knows where it is. And we just have to keep it that way and all will be well.”
“Yeah, that’s all we need to do; just make sure no-one finds out where.” Sophie repeated faintly.
Tony looked at Elijah, “This is a big thing you are trusting me with,” he said with no inflection.
Elijah nodded but said nothing and after a while Tony looked back at Sophie, rubbing her back soothingly.
Elijah stood up took the box and left the room. Sophie sighed.
“If it ain’t one thing it’s another huh?” she said wryly.
Tony laughed in sympathy and then leaned forward and planted a kiss on her lips.
“That reminds me, you know we can’t have sex for like…3 years right?” she told him.
“I think it’s more like three months Soph,” he replied with a smile.
“Isn’t that what I said?” Sophie countered her heart in her eyes. Tony stared at her then leaned forward slowly to kiss her slowly and deeply.
“I’m looking on the bright side and taking it as an opportunity to get creative,” he said against her lips.
“Creative huh? Sounds ominous.” She said smiling.
“We’ll just have to see won’t we?” he promised nibbling her jaw.
“Ooh, I thought I was supposed to be like, a eunuch. I definitely felt that,” she whispered with a small shiver.
“Oh really? What about this?” he asked breathing into her ear. Sophie shuddered in response and Tony caught said ear in his mouth and bit down gently.
“Oooh,” Sophie sighed.
Just then the baby monitor went off. Benjy was up and demanding attention immediately. Sophie jumped up and was off before Tony knew what was happening. He stared balefully at the monitor before getting up more slowly with his coffee to go see if the fire required them both.
***
Solomon came through the kitchen with Sam trailing in his wake. He exchanged a hot glance with Sam’s mother before picking up a plastic container and filling it with water.
“Let’s go to the patio, it has really good light at this time,” he said to Sam who was carrying his watercolors and pad.
They went out on the patio where the sun was just starting to pattern the ground with alternate bursts of light within the shadow of morning. Solomon took a brush and dipped it in the water and then rubbed it in the green paint and then a bit of the yellow as well.
“Now, let’s see if we can do this still,” he murmured mostly to himself bending over the pad. Sam watched him quietly, taking in every move and brush stroke, committing it all to memory – ready to reproduce exactly at a moment’s notice.
Solomon got lost in his work, losing awareness of anything but the picture he was creating and the tableau from which it came. He even forgot about Sam sitting quietly next to him.
“I’ve brought you some tea and biscuits,” Kat’s voice interrupted his reverie. He looked up in surprise, noting that the sun had moved quite a bit as he painted.
“Oh. Thanks Kat.” He said.
Kat smiled at him and then glared playfully at her son. “Sam, you make sure you eat,” she said.
Solomon smiled at her, “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that he does.” He said.
Kat looked down at his painting and lifted up her brows impressed, “Wow, you really have talent in this painting thing don’t you?” she said.
Solomon smiled and shrugged but didn’t say anything, shading in a tree trunk as she watched. He was more aware of her than the drawing he was doing, in fact he was just straight out showing off adding shadow and light to a picture that was essentially complete.
“I could do you sometime maybe.” He said eyes on his work. He could feel her transfer her gaze from his work to him but didn’t look up.
“Maybe you could,” she said just as quietly. Sol had to remember how to breathe.
***
Roman came by later in the day to check on them. They had all stayed close to home, sufficiently relieved to have averted the latest crisis not to want to be out of sight and tired out from worry and childbirth and kidnapping. He sat with Tony in the study, drinking White Russians and telling him about what he had learned from Camille and her gun for hire.
Apparently the black emerald had been whispered about in the French Quarter for as long as anyone could remember but nobody knew if it was a real artifact or a creature of legend grown big with retelling. Then Camille had stumbled upon a journal picked up by her granddaughter as she had gone to the Devereaux house to look for Solomon in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The language had been simple and seemed to talk about nothing more momentous than everyday business carried out by Sylvie’s daughter and her husband. But she had grown up with Sylvie and she knew her codes and hence had discovered that the emerald existed. Too late to do anything about it, her being half blind and Elijah and his granddaughter having moved away. Then Solomon had been found and an opportunity presented itself to get the stone, which could pay for a black market heart maybe; to replace the one that was failing her. Her heart condition was genetic and Camille junior had tested positive for the gene. It was worth the risk of kidnapping to make sure they had enough money to maybe save both of their lives. Camille senior remembered Elijah as a mild mannered man who valued family above everything. Whatever the emerald meant to him wouldn’t be more than getting his grandson back.
They were not expecting that Elijah would find them so fast. The plan had been to intercept him when he did and take the stone away from him and then let the boy go. They reckoned without Roman and his team of Bratva.
“That is a crazy story,” Tony said, ‘but not as crazy as the one I heard this morning’ he thought.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his father, but that story wasn’t his to tell.
“What did you do with them after?” he asked, remembering Solomon asking that they not be killed.
“Broke the man’s legs. Let the girl go with a warning. If she tries anything…the Bratva will watch them for us.”
“Why?”
Roman inclined his head and smiled, “Doubtless they will exert a price. Don’t worry, I will pay it.”
“Do they know about the emerald?” Tony asked, fearing something bad would happen.
His father glared at him. “What do you take me for?” he asked.
“Not a fool,” Tony said quickly.
Roman nodded his head in agreement and sipped his drink. Sophie came in just then and stopped short when she saw Roman.
“Oh. Hello,” she said.
Roman stood up and bowed to her. “Sophie,” he said.
“Don’t stand on my account,” she said motioning him back down.
Roman sat and Tony motioned for Sophie to join him. He was sitting on a leather couch and he took hold of her hip and settled her next to him.
“How’s the brat?” he asked.
“Ugh. Asleep,” she said laying her head on his shoulder,
.“I’m scared to close my eyes also in case Benjy takes it as a cue to wake up screaming complaints. Entertain me.”
Tony chuckled and she felt it like a rumble in her ear, the sound oddly soothing yet arousing. If Roman hadn’t been sitting in the other chair…
“The situation in New Orleans has been resolved,” he said to her.
“Oh? How?” she asked opening her eyes.
“The girl confessed. They were after the black emerald because they thought they could use it to cure the grandmother of illness and prevent the granddaughter from falling ill.”
“So are they still going to chase after it?” she asked closing her eyes again and leaning against Tony’s shoulder.
“No. I think they are sufficiently dissuaded of that. Whatever they think this emerald can do, they were made to understand that it’s out of reach.”
“Thank you Roman,” she said sitting up.
“You don’t ever have to thank me,” he said standing up. “May I go see my grandson?”
“Of course. You know where his nursery is…” Sophie said. They watched him walk out and head for the stairs and then Tony reached out and gathered Sophie to him. He reached down and kissed her hair and she snuggled into him in contentment.
‘Safe’ was the word that streaked through her mind as she closed her eyes in contentment.
“I won’t let anything harm you or Benjy,” Tony whispered to her as she napped.
“I know,” she murmured back a smile flickering on her face.
***
“Kat?” Solomon called softly knocking on the open door of her cottage.
“Yes?” she asked sounding startled.
“Can I come in?” he asked peering in to her. She was sitting on the sofa looking at the drawing pad on which Sam had reproduced Solomon’s work. She smiled at him; the look on her face was enough of a welcome.
Sol walked in gesturing at the sofa where she was sitting, “May I?”
She patted the seat next to her and he sat down, taking her hand in his.
“It’s a miracle what you’ve done with him,” she said.
Solomon smiled staring at the painting. “He’s the miracle,” he said.
The look on Kat’s face caused Solomon to become hard immediately. He thought about standing up and leaving but didn’t think he could walk at the moment.