Ona stood in the kitchen with her back to the door.  She could hear the men whispering in the other room.  She stepped away from the sink when she heard her mother returning.  Aldeara’s footfalls were light and unmistakable.  When Ona turned, she noticed that her mother had changed clothes and the outfit complimented her tanned complexion.

Aldeara sighed when she said...

“Geff was here earlier.  Right before your brother’s left, in search of you.  He sat right there at the kitchen table, and he talked of nothing except this dinner.  Ona...”

Ona waited for her mother to continue and in her pause, she noticed a deep concentration.  Aldeara slowly crossed the room and as she did this, Caleb’s voice rose over her mothers steps.  His voice sounded angry but his outburst didn’t appear to affect her mother.  She neared the table when she said...

“You know...we aren’t special.  We make mistakes...just like those who are unlike us.  We’ve all been tested.”

Ona lowered her eyes and she tried to imagine her parent’s knee deep in her current situation.  When she had the image in her head, she lifted her eyes, fixing her mother with a questioning gaze.

Ona said...

“Did you fall in love with someone not like us?”

Her mother’s face held a cautious expression, then she stepped closer while saying...

“I have loved only one man in my lifetime.  And I married him, two months after I’d reached the age of consent.”

Ona stared at her confused and she stuttered saying...

“But...but--you just said...”

Aldeara broke in, bringing an end to her scattered chorus.  She’d sounded more like a friend, than a mother.

“My dear...I was speaking about our mission.  I was referring to our work as Samaritans.  Living and working outside of our commune with Non-Samaritans can tempt the strongest of our Sect.  When we stumble, living as they do, instead of practicing our way of life; that is when the Creed becomes important.  The Creed will redirect your path--showing you the way of the Lord, returning you to your Samaritan roots.”

Aldeara touched her shoulder when she said...

“He is a good man.  Geff that is.  He will be a good helpmate...and your father and I have given him our blessings.”

Ona heard the roar of her beating heart.  She couldn’t find the words to speak, so she stood silent.  Her mother spoke, making everything clear.

“Ona...your father and I approve of this match.  All that remains to happen is your approval.”

She felt as if the room was closing in on her.  More so when she didn’t hear any voices coming from the other room.  What had happened?  Had they bridged a gulf; deciding how best to deal with her?  Would her parents allow her to return to the Children’s Center alone or would one of her brothers accompany her, remaining by her side, like a chaperon, never allowing her a second of privacy?  She stared at her mother’s face, watching the rise of her arched brow.  After fifteen-seconds ticked and still her remark had remained unanswered, Aldeara drew her daughter in, then she kissed her on the side of her face.

She said...

“Ona...I have every confidence in you.  I’m sure that you will make the correct decision.”

Ona didn’t see her choices as correct or wrong, primarily because she didn’t feel like she had much of a choice in the matter.  Her voice sounded weak when she said...

“I’ll do what is best.”

She waited, studying her mother’s subtle moves; all the while, she wanted to shrink back into the woodworks.  Seconds ticked before her mother finally said...

“Wear the dress that your father and I bought for you when we’d traveled through Johannesburg.  The colors are vibrant--and Geff said that the dress is one of his favorites.”

Ona recalled the dress but she’d never known that Geff admired her whenever she wore it for special occasions.  She recalled how for the past few months, she’d made an effort to dress, wearing clothes that might appeal to Lucien--and the dress from Johannesburg had been the only outfit in her closet that wasn’t blue, black or grey.  She’d worn that dress for Lucien, and she remembered the way that his eyes had lit with excitement.  That day had been special, and that had made the dress special too.  Now to learn that her dress had appealed to Geff as well; Ona would not allow him to spoil the only lasting memory that she could actually touch and hold close to her body.  When she’d been with him, wearing that dress; traces of Lucien’s cologne had sealed within the fibers.  If she wore the dress today, being around the smell of soap and food; she would risk losing Lucien’s scent.  She couldn’t do that.

Ona noticed her mother’s expression when she said...

“I’ll wear something suitable for the occasion.”

“Good.”  Her mother simply replied.

Ona heard the sound of an opening, then closing door.  She assumed that her brother’s had left, to go to their apartments to dress for the dinner.  She sighed, because she’d seen the slow approach of this day, and for years she’d purposely denied it.  For years Geff had cozied up to her parents and he’d become one of Noah’s closest friends.  Even though she’d known this, Ona had crafted a plan that would diffuse Geff’s offer without offending him or his parents.  But after the way things had played out at the Children’s Center, then enduring disappointment from her brothers and her parents; Ona couldn’t bring herself to put up a fight.  She’d hurt them in a way that she could never take back.

In her minds eye, she pictured Geff, and she couldn’t imagine spending a lifetime, being his wife.  She just didn’t love him.  She wondered what it would feel like living with a man, all the while, wishing that she were with another.

Ona said...

“Mother...does Geff know?  Does he know about Lucien?”

“No he doesn’t.  And why should he know?”

Why indeed, she’d thought, because what good would come from knowing.  Geff had already made his intentions known, and he would disgrace his family if he retracted his word; the retraction would be viewed as deception, or a lie.  Even if Geff knew about Lucien or the time that she’d spent with him; the knowledge wouldn’t preclude their marriage.  She mulled the thought, until her mothers voice broke into her musing.

Aldeara forced a smile when she said...

“We shouldn’t be late dear.”

“No...we wouldn’t want to be late.”  Ona absentmindedly replied.

“Your father and I will wait for you”

Ona frowned, then she said...

“Please mother--don’t break with tradition on my behalf.  Go.  You’ll need to talk to Geff’s parents before I arrive.”

She couldn’t believe that she was encouraging this custom; but she had.  Following with tradition, tonights dinner ceremony will give Geff’s parent’s their opportunity to bless the union.  Soon after that, Ona’s parents would host a dinner party, doing the same.

Her mother stepped away, saying...

“Don’t delay dear.  You’ll need time to shower and change.”

Ona wanted to say more, but her brain filled with Lucien’s voice.  She could hear every word, and every compliment he’d ever given her.  She could see his face, and she could feel his gentle caressing touches.  She loved him.  But--they couldn’t be together.

Ona nodded her head, and when she’d acquiesced, this gesture had been an acceptance of her fate.

She said...

“I won’t be late mother.  I promise.”

**********

Chapter 19

Sit down.  Shush.  Get it right.

“It isn’t my fault daddy.  I just went there to talk to him.”

“Sit down, and shut up!”

Morpheus had chosen his two story library at his home in Maine to discuss this problem with a person who was the spitting image of him; and it galled him to admit that.  Fawn stalked over to one of the wing backed leather chairs, plopping her weight on the cushion, then she rolled her eyes.  Morpheus directed his attention on one of his attorney’s whose job it was to clean up his daughters legal messes.