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Tonight was cruelly cold, and Joanne was worried about her garage stowaway. Luckily, the garden service had been out and plowed the driveway, although it was drifting over again quickly. She pulled into the long lane and circled behind the Tsakiris home to the garage. It was actually a large carriage house that had been modified to suit modern times. It was only when she pulled up that she realized the garden service had conscientiously locked the garage before leaving.

Joanne had taken a flashlight and looked around but no windows were broken and the street kid was not around. Joanne checked for footprints but saw none. If the child had come, her footprints had long been covered in. It was only later, when she stood inside at the kitchen window watching her Golden Retriever, Nugget, running in circles through the new snow, that she finally found her. Nugget suddenly stopped, sniffed under the low, thick branches of a blue spruce, then backed off and started to bark.

Joanne was out the door immediately. The sudden tightness in her heart had told her that it was the teen. She was unconscious and curled in a small ball, like a wild animal's cub. Joanne had lifted her carefully into her arms and carried her into the house.

"So she cared for me. Bought me clothes, gave me a room and food. She even took me to movies and things. She...she was a real friend," finished Robin, tears painting patterns down her cheeks.

"What happened?" asked Jamie, reaching over to touch her counterpart's arm.

Robin's head dropped in shame. "I had hid some drugs in Joanne's car without her knowing. She got pulled over and busted. Her parents had to fly home. You know, they were big society people. It was an awful scandal. I went to the police and confessed how I'd been using the carriage house to... make money for drugs."

"You were a prostitute?" asked Gunnul bluntly.

Robin blushed deeply and stared at her hands. "I'd been sleeping with the man who supplied me whenever he wanted it. Joanne, she was there in the room when I made my statement. It was awful."

For a few minutes, they sat in silence giving Robin time to pull herself together. Gunnul's jaw worked angrily and Jamie made eye contact, sending a silent plea to her soulmate not to loss her temper. Gunnul was faithful to her Moslem faith and expected people to live by high moral standards. For Gunnul too, it was harder because naturally she identified with Joanne, her look-a-like.

The ice blue of Gunnul's eyes melted a bit. "Then what happened?" she asked softly.

"I was jailed for six months and I never saw Joanne again. It would be ten years ago this winter...I've never forgotten her. Never forgiven myself."

"You still take drugs?"

"No! I never touched them again. I owed Joanne that at least. I went back to school and after got a job down in Florida as a journalist for a small newspaper. I just had a novel published and it is doing well. It gave me enough money to come here."

"What is the title of your novel?" asked Jamie with interest, trying to draw Robin away from her pain.

"The Roundabout."

"You are R. R. Bradly?! We've read your excellent novel. It's on the best seller list this week!"

Robin nodded and looked out across the sea. "I went to a travel agent and when I saw the brochures on Turkey, I just knew that I'd find answers here. So I came, and I've been searching ever since, until I ended up here this morning. Tell me what is going on. Why can't I let Joanne go from my heart? " begged Robin looking up at the two women, whose life so reflected the special bond she had glimpsed briefly with Joanne.

"We have been trying desperately to find the answer to that question," explained Gunnul. "We have made discreet inquires, run ads, talked to, as one woman called them, the Others, and researched the local history closely."

"The grave belongs to a warrior and a bard," said Jamie taking up the story, "They traveled together and fought for justice during the time when this land was part of ancient Greece. There appear to be decedents of that remarkable pair, that share the same distinct characteristics. My Gunnul and your Joanne take after the warrior. You and I have the qualities of the Bard. So far, we are aware of six couples and two single individuals, who seem to be part of this genetic web."

"But what does it mean?" asked Robin.

"We are not sure. One of the women we talked to seemed convinced that the original pair were, well, not quite human, that they were somehow related to the Greek gods!" laughed Jamie and they all smiled. "What we do know is that the original pair faced a crisis in their relationship. At that time, the grave started to crack and more and more people were drawn to it."

"We believe," Gunnul said, "that the grave is drawing the energy from our loves to some how help those in the past. That could be very important to all of us. Can we exist today, if the original pair's strange relationship did not survive? We seem to be part of a loop in the space/time continuum."

Jamie nodded and took over the story again, "Two significant things have happened in the last twenty-four hours; the grave has stopped disintegrating and you have shown up."

"I'm significant?!"

"Yes, you are not lame and you have no contact with drugs now. That makes you unique. I think you might be the link to a time after the crisis. When the Host pair stopped crippling each other and the confusion, lies and misunderstandings that existed between them started to clear."

"All the other couples who have made contact with us, have had a lame bard character and a warrior involved with drugs in some manner. Somehow, whatever the events are in the past involving the Bard, they seem to cripple the present day character. I think the Bard must have experienced great pain."

It was Gunnul who continued the explanation. " The warrior, we think must have been very confused, and made decisions that were not wise. That is why so many of the warrior Others have been involved in things...," Jamie's hand came out and took Gunnul's knowing the pain she felt because of the many lives she had taken in defense of her country, "they regret."

"But your story is different. We think it is very important that you make contact with Joanne," said Jamie, taking up the conversation again. "The grave called you, so you must be part of the process to help the Hosts. Do you know where to find Joanne?"

Robin nodded, her jade green eyes filled with hope and worry, as she looked out over the sea. "Yes, she is the American Ambassador to Peru."

Willy paced back and forth while Cheops talked in Egyptian on the phone. Cheops looked very serious and the conversation had been going on for some time. Cheops was talking to the agency which was looking after Amand and Zahi. Willy paced some more. Finally, Cheops hung up and looked at Willy. "So, would you like to stick around, and help me raise two children?" she asked.

"Yes!" Willy cheered throwing her head back and closing her eyes. Then she looked at the small, brave woman standing across the room and went to her, wrapping her gently in her arms.

"You are wonderful. I don't know what I did to be allowed to have this second chance at life, but I am so very blessed."

The two women kissed tenderly and stood in each other's arms for a very long time. Then they went to find the tour group. In the late afternoon they had continued the tour, Cheops taking them to see the imposing, Temple of Horus with its brooding black, stone statue of the falcon god. The building still had its immense stone ceiling intact and within its walls, the cool, shaded interior, housed massive murals and capitols of carved stone. It was when they got back to the boat that they found a message waiting for Cheops to call the orphanage about Amand and Zahi.

Bill and Abe sat at the bar having a beer and talking baseball. The two women had moved to the far end of the ship to watch the sun set over the Nile, while they waited to hear Cheops news about the children.

"Ahhh, Betty, in Salt Lake City, we tend to be pretty conservative and well, I might sound rather stupid here, but Bill said he thought Cheops and Willy were, well, ahhh...gay," Jean stumbled out.

Betty laughed out loud. "I think they're two women very much in love! You see a lot of that in New York."

Jean blushed and looked awkward. "I've never met any before. They are both really nice. I was raised to think this sort of thing was a sin and perverted but well, I don't think it's for me to judge. They seem happy and I would be proud to have them visit me anytime. Although, God knows what the neighbours would say!"

Betty chuckled happily and petted the confused woman's hand. "Live and let live, I always say.

I always think it's a shame that gays are labeled by their bedroom practices. I mean, no one ever asks me what Abe and I are doing in our bedroom."

"Betty!"

"Well, it's true! Jean, my advice is don't speculate on their sex life, just enjoy their company like you do any other couple. They are a pair of remarkable women."

"But Betty, what about the children?!"

"They would be better off half starved in the hold of a ship?! What kid ever believes their parents are having sex, anyway?!"

Jean laughed and buried her red face in her hands before looking up at Betty. "Betty, you sure put things in perspective! I'm sure my parents never had sex!"

"Mine neither, our entire generation must have been adopted!" The two women shared another laugh and then saw Cheops and Willy. They met them over where the men stood at the bar.

"I'm going to be able to adopt the children," Cheops announced happily.

Jean stepped forward and hugged Cheops and then Willy, with the others following in turn. "That is wonderful news!" Jean exclaimed. "You two will be wonderful parents for Amand and Zahi."

Bill looked over Willy's shoulder at his conservative wife in surprise. Willy looked down at Cheops, her face showing all her love openly now, as she slipped a protective arm around the archaeologist. Bill saw the red creeping up his wife's neck and smiled; new liberated thought is one thing, but old attitudes die hard!

After a loud and merry celebration, Cheops and Willy said their goodnights and walked hand in hand back to their cabin. It was funny, Cheops thought, as she tried to look busy tidying up things. They had been lovers and yet now she felt as embarrassed and awkward as a girl on her first date. Long arms wrapped around her and Willy whispered softly into her ear. "I want to be your soulmate, Malone. I can be a better partner, I know. Can you be patient with me, until these drugs get out of my system?"

Cheops turned, trusting Willy to support her if she went off balance. For a second, she looked deep into those powerful eyes and then gently pulled Will's head down to kiss her passionately. Some minutes later, she released Willy long enough to lift an chain from around her neck. Willy's eyes brimmed with emotion as she realized that the ring she had given Cheops, that wonderful season two years ago, was attached. Cheops slipped it off and placed it in Willy's palm, then held out her hand for the warrior to place it back on her finger.

Gently, Willy took Cheops' hand and slipped the simple gold band into place. "I love you, as the strong river wind, embraces the fragile reed. Please, do me the honour of being my soulmate in life," Willy whispered, lifting Cheops' hand to place it on her lips.

"You are the river that runs through my lands and my heart, my warrior," responded Cheops, tears running down her face. Their night was spent in each other's arms, rediscovering the magic of their bond. Only in the small hours of the morning did they fall into an exhausted sleep. To the east, the sun slowly rose from the under world, filling the desert sky with light. The eastern side of the Nile. The side of life.

A thousand miles away, the cracks in an old grave slowly knit together. A soft breeze blew through the foliage and on it was the sweet scent of spice and sun drenched herbs.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14