Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 114

Bella's P.O.V.

I arrive back at the Amon's looking forward to my day with Lucien's mother. We have nail appointments and facials at my favorite Esthetician in two hours, so we have to get going if she wants to stop at the grocery store first. I climb the steps and knock on the front door. Kate opens it with a flourish, dressed in an old fashioned long sleeved dress with lace at the cuffs and hem of the skirt. I think I need to take her shopping instead of going to the movies today. "Hi!" I say, "Are you ready?"

Kate nods. "Do I need to bring anything?" When I shake my head she says, "Sam said to give you this," she says, handing me a large wad of bills. Holy Shit! She just handed me over five thousand dollars. She watches me look at it and says, "Is it not enough? I can ask Sam for more."

"Oh gosh no, this is probably way too much," I tell her, then stop. "Actually, Mr. Amon gave you plenty of money to go shopping with. I think we should do that instead of going to the movies."

She nods slightly. "I know I need more fashionable clothing, Sam said there are stores to buy that kind of thing here and he handed me all that money. I understand what money is, but I had livre, pounds, shillings and pence, not these linen dollars," she says, crossing her hands in front of her.

We stand there for a second, and I realize she doesn't know what to do, doesn't even know how to get into my car, so I take her hand and walk her over to the passenger door. Without speaking, I show her how to open it, then I close it again, letting her open it on her own. When she slips in, I show her how to buckle her seat belt, then I undo it so she can do it herself. She smiles gratefully at me as I get in behind the wheel and start it up.

"It must be so strange for you to see all the advancements in the world since you were...here last," I finish lamely. What do you say to somebody who lived, died, was kept prisoner, then made immortal to return to her lost husband and son three hundred and sixty years later? I look at her with sympathy as she responds.

"It's not so bad, I just have to keep an open mind," she admits. "Nothing can compare to when I first met Samael and fell in love with him." She smiles wistfully. "It's not that I had a hard time accepting his love, it's just...who he is sort of spun my world backwards for a while."

Now that I can understand, and I nod at her admission. "How did you two meet?"

"I was picking medicinal flowers for my mother, she was known as a healer in our town, when this handsome man happened upon me." She smiles in remembrance. "I had never seen such a refined man. He was dressed to the nines in his black breeches and linen shirt. He sat and talked with me, even helped carry my basket of flowers back to my mother. I knew right away there was something between us."

"What did your parents think of him?" I ask, genuinely curious.

"They didn't like him at first, but he was always courteous to them, and he obviously had money. In order to attract a potential husband, my father would have had to put up a great sum of money and goods as a dowry. My family didn't have a lot of money, so I always knew I would never marry above my station...until I met Samael. He literally and figuratively swept me off my feet. I couldn't understand why somebody like him would want somebody like me...then he told me who he really was." She's quiet for a moment, and I'm sure his revelation didn't go over very well. In the seventeenth century, the church affected everything from politics to the behavior and attitudes of people, and I'm sure the Devil had a major part in the sermons every week. "But we had a connection, a genuine love for one another, so I forsook what I was taught to believe and put my faith in Samael Amon instead."

We arrive at the Pack-N-Save near their house and I park, getting out of the car after showing Kate where the door handle is. "Why didn't you have more than one child?" I ask as I grab a cart and head into the building. "I thought in those times it was a woman's responsibility to give her husband as many children as she could."

Kate smiles at me before her eyes go wide at the variety and selection of food found in the store. She looks at me in disbelief, and before she answers my question, she whispers, "Is this market for everyone?"

I look at her and smile, "Yes, it's a public market. As long as you have money, or credit cards, anyone can shop here."

"Credit cards?" she asks offhandedly. I can tell she's not thinking about our conversation anymore. Instead, she walks through the produce section staring at all the perfect fruits and vegetables. I'm worried she might say something strange around other shoppers, but she silently assimilates everything I expose her to. I walk her through the isles, purchasing ingredients for dinner and quietly explain what some items are. We spend twenty minutes in the toiletries section, and Kate decides on a few items based on their scent. We check out, and head back to the car with our purchases.

"So anytime I need more...lotion...I can just come back here and get it?" she asks, bewildered.

I laugh, "Yes, that's what this store is for. You can purchase other items, like clothes, sports equipment, pet supplies, or jewelry at different kinds of stores, but grocery stores are for food."

"That makes life very easy," she says offhandedly. "When I was a little girl, our lives were directed by crop failures and illnesses. Samael changed all that for me."

"Where are you from?" I ask, noticing a small lilt in her voice, but I am unable to place it.

"I was born in England, but Sam took me to France where he had property on the river in Montreuil. That's where Lucien was born." She stops talking for a minute and when I look at her, she seems to be thinking about something. "I wanted more children, but Samael did not. He believed Lucien was going to have a hard life being....who he is." Then she turns to me and says something that makes me slam on the brakes by accident. "I just realized being immortal allows me to bear children again, and we did not think about that possibility yesterday."

I cough a few times, clearing my throat. Times like theses, I miss my mother very much. Kate is gentle and kind, and I feel a blossoming connection with her, so I decide to tell her what has been constantly hanging in the back of my mind like a gutter off a roof. "Lucien and I broke through a condom." At her look of confusion, I say, "it's a contraceptive method, you know, to prevent pregnancies," I explain while she continues to look at me strangely. "Anyway, since we tore through it, we may as well have been trying to start a family. I'm positive I will end up pregnant because of it."

She smiles widely, reaching for my hand. "I always wanted to be a Grandmother." Then she puts a hand over her abdomen. "What if we're both pregnant, wouldn't that be grand?"

Uhh, no, no it would not.