Hope was mortified to feel her face heat. She had no idea how long it had been since she’d blushed. Or even if she ever had. For a long moment she just stood there, uncertain what to say. Suddenly, a memory of Aunt Olivia telling her, when she was just a little girl, to always accept a compliment with grace, popped into her mind.
“Thank you,” Hope said. “That’s very kind of you.” She took a moment to study their uniforms, impressed with all of the glittering medals and badges. “You guys look very nice as well. Your uniforms are beautiful.”
Jackson, Clark and Rob all smiled and bowed, pleased with her reaction.
Jackson stepped forward and offered her his arm, which she accepted, silently thanking Aunt Olivia for all of the little lessons over the years. She had never thought she would use them, but now she understood how important they were.
Jackson guided her to the door, which Clark opened for them.
Hope had the strongest feeling that they all wanted to kiss her, but they held back, revealing nothing of their feelings in their demeanor, which she was happy about. She wasn’t sure of herself at the moment. She wanted to relax and enjoy herself, and not worry about expectations.
“Where are we going?” she asked as Jackson guided her into the elevator.
“The Director recommended a restaurant called the Golden Swan. We went earlier today to check it and found it to be acceptable.”
Hope was surprised. The Golden Swan was the most elite restaurant in the D.C. area. She was touched that they had actually gone to the restaurant themselves to check it out.
“Did you get a reservation for tonight so quickly?” she asked.
“Actually, we got a private room, if that is acceptable with you,” Jackson replied as they left the building. “If you object, we also reserved a table in the main room of the restaurant as well.”
Hope wasn’t sure how the heck they had managed that, but she decided it didn’t matter. Karma had been right about the new dress, so she was going to take her advice about relaxing and enjoying the evening as well.
When they got out of the car at the restaurant, Jackson offered her his arm again. She took it, remembering the times that she had seen Harlan do this for girls when he dated. For the first time, the memory of her cousin did not make her feel sad.
She sensed Clark and Rob just behind them as they walked toward the restaurant, and there was something about it that felt right to her. For a moment, she wondered if it was all right to feel that way. She smiled inwardly. Since when did she become so self-analytical? Sheesh, she thought. This is getting ridiculous. Just relax and enjoy yourself, Hope.
“Have you decided whether or not the private room is acceptable to you?” Jackson asked.
Hope smiled, a bright, wide smile that took Jackson’s breath away. He wasn’t sure why he was receiving such a gift, but he was happy for it.
“The private room is fine,” Hope replied.
“Excellent,” Jackson replied.
Rob moved ahead to open the door for them, and Clark approached the maître d'. Hope looked around, enjoying the opportunity to see the inside of the exclusive Golden Swan. She knew it wasn’t likely she’d ever get the chance again.
The decor had a distinctive vintage feel with deep, burgundy velvets, glossy woods, rich leather, flocked wallpaper, and glittering crystal chandeliers unlike anything she had ever seen in her life. As the maître d' led them through the candlelit restaurant, she was glad that Jackson was guiding her steps because she was too caught up in her surroundings to pay much attention to where she was going.
By the time they were all seated at a table in a small, private room, Hope was touched that the guys had thought to bring her to such an extraordinary place. She wasn’t sure why they had brought her here, but she was happy that they had. They had given her a memory that she would cherish long after they returned to Jasan.
“Thank you so much for bringing me here,” she said after they had ordered their dinner and wine. “It’s a beautiful place.”
“We are pleased that you like it, Hope,” Jackson said with a smile. “This is the most special place we could find in the city, and for you, we had to have the best.”
Hope deliberately arched a brow at him. “Okay, what are you guys up to?”
Jackson shrugged one shoulder, his expression the picture of innocence. “What makes you think we are up to anything?” he asked.
Hope glanced at Clark, then Rob, then back to Jackson, still smiling, but clearly not buying it.
“All right, you are correct, I confess,” Jackson said. “We did bring you here for a reason. We wanted to be sure to get on your good side before we did this.”
“Did what?” Hope asked.
“We have a little confession to make,” Jackson said, his smile fading.
“What kind of confession?” Hope asked, suddenly feeling tense. Rob reached over and patted her arm gently.
“Don’t worry, aspara,” he said. “There is nothing for you to be worried about. We did not do anything dreadful.”
Hope smiled her thanks for the reassurance, but she was still tense.
“When we were in your apartment with Ellicia, helping her to search for something that she could use to find you, we came across a book in your office. A book of images.”
Hope relaxed a little. “The Wedding Book,” she said.
“Yes,” Clark replied. “I am the culprit who found it. I saw the spine of it between the desk and the vid terminal, and hoped it might be something that Ellicia could use.”
“Would you mind telling us a little about it?” Jackson asked.
“Not at all. For some reason, there are very few males in my family. Harlan was the first boy born to us in several generations. Even among the females, there have never been a lot of us. Usually only one or two at a time. I am actually the last of my family, now that Harlan is gone.”
Hope paused for a moment and took a sip of wine as she struggled against an upwelling of sadness.
“On Earth, when a woman marries a man, she usually takes his name,” she said when she had composed herself.
“Yes, that is the custom on Jasan as well,” Jackson said.
“Because of that, the women in my family never have the same name from one generation to the next, and since there are so few males to carry a name on, it becomes nearly impossible to trace our ancestors. In my family, we use the Wedding Book to remind us of our ancestors. Each bride puts one image of herself on her wedding day into the book, along with the date and her name. Since there have always been so few of us, it has never been a problem to keep the book in the family, and the tradition alive.”
“How far back do the images go?” Rob asked curiously. “I noticed that the earlier images appeared to have been painted, or drawn by hand.”
“Yes, from before the time of imaging. Unfortunately, many of those were also before the time of date keeping as we now know it. At a guess, we think some of the images go back as much as two to three thousand years. Of course, the book is not that old. The images have been removed from older books and placed in new ones as they wear out. Some of the earlier images have been restored, or are images taken of the original art.”
“That is a unique and thoughtful tradition,” Clark said. “It must be interesting to look at the faces of your ancestors.”
“Yes, I have always loved the Wedding Book,” Hope said. “As a little girl I used to dream of the dress I would wear on my wedding day because I wanted to have the most beautiful one in the Wedding Book,” Hope paused for a moment. “Now that I have no family left to me, the book helps me to remember that my family has existed for a long time, and that as long as I am still here, it still exists.”
“When we found the book, we sensed that it was something important to you,” Jackson said. “As Clark said, we thought that Ellicia might be able to find you through it, and she tried, but it didn’t work. Her gift did not work that way. But I admit that we went through the book.”
>
“Is that the thing you wish to confess?” Hope asked.
“Yes, it is,” Jackson replied. “In part.”
“I don’t mind,” Hope assured them. “It’s a book meant to be seen, not a book of secrets.”
“That’s a relief,” Rob said with a smile.
“We found one image that we sensed you returned to many times,” Jackson continued. “It was about half way through the book, the name below the image was...,”
“Minerva,” Hope interrupted.
Jackson smiled. “Yes, that one.”
“There is something about her that always draws me,” Hope said. “My mother was named after her.”
Their dinner arrived at that moment so they set their conversation aside for a while. Once the wine was poured and the waiter left them to their dinner, Jackson led the discussion toward more general topics while they ate. When they were finished and the plates were taken, he returned to more important matters.
“We understand that you think your beliefs are different from ours, Hope,” Jackson began, “but in truth, we did not understand what your beliefs really are, or what they meant. We asked the Director for help, and he assisted us in finding three people to teach us your beliefs, and the meanings behind them. We spent many hours with these people over the past week, discussing our beliefs and our ways, as well as yours.”
Hope was stunned. She had never imagined that they would do such a thing. She wanted to ask them why they had done it, but she also wanted to hear the rest of what Jackson wanted to say.
“In the end, we discovered that our morals, rules, and beliefs, are very much like your own. Much more than they might appear, actually.”
“Why did you do this?” Hope asked, unable to withhold the question any longer.
“We know, from what you told us, that the ceremony of marriage is very important to you,” Jackson explained. “In truth, it would have been a simple thing for us to go through with that ceremony just to satisfy your beliefs. But our beliefs would not allow us to do that.”
“It would have felt like we were lying to you,” Rob said.
“So we took the time to learn, and understand, the meanings behind your beliefs,” Clark added.
“Having done that, we can now honestly say that we appreciate and respect your beliefs,” Jackson said, “and we find that, at their core, they are very much the same as our own. Without sacrificing our own beliefs, we are certain that yours, and ours, can live together in harmony.
“Therefore, we do this with a full understanding of what we ask, and what our obligations to you, and ourselves, will be if you agree,” Jackson said.
Jackson rose from his seat, then held his hands out to Hope. She wasn’t sure what he meant to do but she took his hand and stood up. Clark and Rob came around the table to stand beside Jackson and then, much to her shock, all three of them went down on one knee in front of her. Jackson reached into his pocket and pulled out a cream colored velvet box.
“Hope Strigida, we love you, and we ask that you marry us,” Jackson said.
“We will stay here, on Earth, with you and the boys, if that is what you wish,” Clark said.
“We will live anywhere you want, do anything you want, make whatever you want work for all of us,” Rob added.
“No matter what we do or where we live, for the remainder of our lives, we both need and want you with us,” Jackson finished. “Please, say yes.”
Jackson flipped the box open, revealing a ring that seemed to draw all of the light in the room and convert it to white fire. There were three round diamonds set in a row on a platinum band, each one surrounded by tiny gemstones; topaz that matched the blue of Jackson’s eyes, peridot that matched the green of Clark’s eyes, and moonstones that matched the pale silver of Rob’s eyes. She had never seen a more beautiful, or meaningful ring, and she instantly wanted to wear it.
But she had to think about this for a moment. Did she really want them to sacrifice their lives for her? Why would they even offer to do such a thing? What would the Jasani think about them keeping the only members of one of the Lost Clans on Earth?
All of these questions, and others, raced through her mind in the space of a few seconds.
Jackson reached out and touched her hand lightly with one finger. “Hope, don’t think of anything else right now,” he said. “Only one thing matters at this moment. Do you love us, as we love you, and if you do, will you marry us and spend the rest of your life with us?”
Hope did as Jackson asked, and considered that one question only. When she did that, she knew that the answer to the question was really very simple.
“Yes,” she said. “I do love you, each of you. But, there is a problem.”
“Which is?” Jackson asked warily.
“I cannot marry three men,” she said. “It is not allowed.”
“It is allowed,” Jackson said. “We have already addressed this issue with the proper authorities. Since we are Jasani, and our physiology and culture are what they are, we have received approval to legally marry you.”
“But I am not Jasani,” Hope pointed out.
“Actually, you are,” Jackson replied, much to Hope’s shock. “You will need to have a genetic test to prove it, but considering that your cousin fathered the first three members of the Owlfen in many thousands of years, and you are berezi, we have no doubt that you will have some Jasani genetic markers as well.”
Hope considered that and decided that, on the surface, it made sense, though she was going to have a few questions about it. Later.
“And because of that, it will be allowed?” she asked, sticking to the subject.
“Yes,” Jackson replied. “However, it will be a civil ceremony, not a religious one.”
Hope didn’t mind that. Neither she nor her family had ever been particularly religious. Strong morals, and a sense of right and wrong did not have to go hand in hand with religion. It was important to her that she do the right thing in the right way, according to how she was raised, but that was all she wanted. The Bearens had certainly done everything they could to ensure that was possible.
The question now was, why? Why had they done it? Did they really love her that much?
She looked down at the ring that Jackson still held out toward her, and was very tempted to say yes. She wanted to say yes with her entire being. But what if she was wrong again?
“Would you mind if I take a little time to think about this?” she asked. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to make it difficult, but...,”
“Of course not,” Rob interrupted as the three of them rose to their feet.
“We have had time to think on this,” Jackson added. “You are certainly entitled to take some time to consider it as well.”
“Efharistos.”
***
Hope sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the mural of the Bearens that still graced her wall. She had thought about painting over it, but hadn’t been able to make herself do it.
The guys had been subdued after she’d asked for time to consider their proposal, though they had tried very hard not to show it. She’d been worried that they would get angry with her, but they hadn’t. She’d sensed that they were disappointed, and hopeful, but not angry.
She got up and wandered to the corner of her room where she had set up a small drawing table and a few art supplies. Most of her supplies were still in the room that Berta was now using. Hope missed her studio, but not as much as she would miss Berta when she left for Jasan.
Hope sat down at the table and reached for a large sketch pad from the stack nearby. Sometimes, when she was worried or had a problem, just doodling helped her to think. She reached for a box of colored pencils, grabbed one at random and began drawing without thinking about what she was doing. She just kept remembering Jackson, Clark and Rob as they knelt before her on one knee, their hearts in their eyes as they’d proposed to her.
A couple of hours later Hope blinked, feeling as though she were waking
from a dream. She was still sitting at her drawing table, holding a pencil in one hand. She looked down and gasped at what she saw.
***
Jackson, Clark and Rob sat in the living room of the apartment they’d been using since arriving on Earth. None of them could sleep, nor could they find anything to talk about that held their interest for long. They were worried, and a little afraid. If Hope turned them down, they didn’t know if they would ever find a way to change her mind.
Jackson stood up and stretched. “I think I’ll go up to the roof for awhile,” he said. As he turned toward the door, someone began knocking on it.
Jackson paused and sniffed the air, surprised to scent Hope. Had she crossed the city at night from her apartment to theirs, alone? he wondered. Why had the Director’s men not voxed them as they were supposed to? Had something happened? He hurried forward and pulled the door open.
“I’m sorry if I woke you up,” Hope began before noticing that Jackson was fully dressed. Clark and Rob crowded close behind him and she saw that they were fully dressed as well, which was a relief. She hadn’t given a moment’s thought to the time.
“No, you didn’t wake us,” Jackson replied, relaxing when he saw that Hope seemed nervous, but not frightened. “Come in, please.”
Hope entered the apartment, feeling a little awkward all of a sudden. She had simply thrown a sweater over her pajamas, stuck her feet in a pair of shoes, grabbed her sketch pad and raced out of her apartment. She had needed to speak with the Bearens right away, and had not thought about anything else.
“Are you all right?” Clark asked as Jackson guided her to a chair in the living room. She sat down, holding the big sketch pad in her lap.
“Yes, I’m fine,” she said. “Well, sort of.”
“Why are you here?” Rob asked. “I don’t mean to be rude,” he said quickly. “I’m curious, and a little concerned.”
“Yes well, that’s understandable,” she said. “Listen, do you guys remember when I told you that I got images in my head that I had to paint, and that’s when I did those murals in my apartment?”
They all nodded. “Of course,” Jackson said.
The Bearens' Hope: Book Four of the Soul-Linked Saga Page 45
