Jade

Chapter 19

“Jade,” Aris whispered softly.  He gently shook me by my right shoulder, “Jade.”

I slowly opened my eyes.  “It is time to get ready for breakfast.”  I slowly slid off of him, “okay.”  He got up, instantly dressed in khakis and a t-shirt, and went to the fireplace.  “They will be over soon.  Put on comfortable clothes, but make it a t-shirt this time.”  I did as he said.  “Are you cold?”  “A little,” I answered, still groggy.  “Let me fix this fire, then I will help you to the chair.”  “Do you want to look at it first?”  He came over to me.  I lifted my shirt and he examined it.  “It does look a lot better.  I will have Max look when he gets here.”  He went back to the fireplace and put our last little bit of firewood in and lit it.

There was a light knock on the door.  “It is us,” Ripley called out.  Aris went to the door and opened it.  Ripley and Max both came in carrying more firewood and stacked it by the fireplace.  “Jax, want to go out?” Ripley asked, “Reese is waiting on you.”  Jax jumped from the bed and took off out of the door.  Ripley went out after him.  Max went to the kitchen sink and washed and dried his hands.  He came over to me, “can I take a look?”  I shook my head yes and rolled onto my back.  I lifted my shirt up.  “Do you mind if I touch it?” he asked.  “Go ahead.”  He laid his hand flat on my side for a minute then moved to cupping my breast.  After about a minute there, he removed his hand and helped me pull my shirt back down.  He turned to Aris, “It is a lot better.”  He then turned back to me, “We want it to stay that way, so lots of bed rest for you.  Ripley said that the front desk told him the roads should be clear enough day after tomorrow.  I want you resting until then.”  “Can I sit in the recliner?”  “Yes, for a little while,” he effortlessly picked me up and moved me to the recliner.  Aris put more wood on the fire.  Max got me an extra blanket out of the closet and tucked me into the chair.

Aris went to the kitchen and looked in the refrigerator, “Jade, do you want some eggs and bacon?”  “That sounds really good,” I answered.  “Sounds good to me too,” Max chimed in.  Just then Ripley came in, “what sounds good?”  “Would you like eggs and bacon too?” Aris offered.  “Sounds good.  Want some help?”  Ripley dried and fed the dogs first, then went to help Aris.

“How do you know Aris and Ripley?” I asked Max while they busied themselves in the kitchen.  “Yaris and I grew up together.  I met Ripley just a few years ago.”  “Are you and Yaris friends then?”  “Yes.  Very good friends,” he smiled.  “Do you have any stories that you can tell me?”  “I do.  I do not know if he would want me to tell them, though.”  “C'mon just one?” I prodded.  “I can tell you about how we competed for a girl once,” he lowered his voice and moved his chair closer to me.  “Yes.  Tell me that one.”  “This girl, no one was truly worthy of, but he and I were the closest.  Our peoples put together a competition for us to prove ourselves.  There were games to determine who was the strongest, the fastest and the smartest of many people.”  “How many competed?”  “I believe there were about twenty of us.”  “Was Ripley a competitor in these games?”  “No, he would not have been old enough.”  “What kind of games were there?”  “They were very similar to the Ironman Decathlon that they have here.”

“I'm sorry.  I know that I ask a lot of questions,” I apologized.  “I am okay with that,” he grinned conspiratorially, “I might leave out important details if you did not ask questions.” “What are you two talking about?” Aris called out.  “He's just telling me how the two of you competed for a girl once,”  I answered.  “Oh,” Aris looked taken aback, “Well he needs to talk louder.  He likes to lie about that one.”  “He is right.  I do like to lie about that one,” Max admitted, “but for you I will tell the truth.  Just this once.”  “We will see about that,” Aris seemed unsure as he handed Max and I our plates.  Max paused in his storytelling for us to eat.  It didn't take long to eat.  I was starving.  Max was only about halfway done, so I waited patiently.  “Do you want more?” Aris asked me as he sat down at the table to eat, “there is more over there.”  He paused for a minute, ”Actually, I want you to eat more.”  He got up and collected my plate.  He came back with more bacon and eggs.  I ate it all.  I felt so stuffed.  “Please, no more,” I begged as Ripley collected our plates and took them to the sink.  It took him maybe twenty minutes to load the dishwasher and wipe down the counters.  He must be rushing so that he can hear this story too.  When he was finished, he sat back down at the table.

Max lit me a cigarette, then himself, then passed the pack around.  “I have a question that is totally unrelated to your story,” they all looked at me, waiting, “why do you all always light my cigarettes for me?”  “It is just good manners,” Ripley answered, “someone please catch me up on this story.”  Max filled him in adding a few details here and there, then came the part where he left off, which was pretty close to the beginning.
“So, why were you fighting for this girl?  Did someone in Ripley's people compete too?”  “Whoa, wait!” Aris stopped me, “Who is telling this story?”  “Sorry, I just get excited.  I love stories!”  “Save your questions for the end.”

“So,” Max took a long draw off of his cigarette, “there were races and sword fights, throwing competitions, pretty much any type of competition you can think of.  Yaris and I kept tying for first place.  Then came the contests for diplomacy.  I am not diplomatic at all, so he won.  I also had realized that I was not competing for the right reasons.  Yaris really wanted the girl.  She was all he ever talked about.  I really just liked winning.  I did not deserve her.  I would not have appreciated her enough.”  He fell silent, done telling his story.  “Is that it?” Ripley asked, clearly dissatisfied.  “Yes that is it.  What more should there be?  Yaris and I did become best friends afterwards.”

I looked at Aris, “You won the girl.  What was she like?  Was she worth the fight?”  “She is wonderful.  Yes, she is worth the fight.”  “You say ‘is.’  Do I get to meet her?” “You already have.”  I just looked at him thinking back.  I hadn't met Lia yet.  The only other female I have met, so far, is a dog.  Surely not.

“You are really thick headed,” Max told me, “Yaris you are going to have to be direct with her.”

“Jade,” Aris brought my attention back to him, “I am looking at that girl right now.”

I took a long draw off of my cigarette.  “So, you two, along with eighteen other men, fought over me?  When did this happen?  Because you talk about it like it was a long time ago.”

“Before you were born,” Max answered, “your mother was pregnant with you.”

I turned my attention to Aris again, trying to grasp what I had been told.  “How did you know, so long ago, that you would want me?”  “Jade, I have been waiting for you for a long time.  Much longer than that.  That competition was just a formality.  Something petty brought up by a few jealous men.  I was set up to fail.  When I won, they still were not happy.  They still did not even follow their own rules.  Look at what we are dealing with now.”  The room fell silent.

After some time, “Now, I think it is time for that bath that I promised you, if you feel up to it.  Then back to bed.”  “That sounds really good,” I agreed.  Max and Ripley stood up.  “I might take a nap too,” Max agreed.  “I will take first watch,” Ripley offered.  “That would be great,” Aris accepted the offer, “Wake me when you are ready for a nap.  I will take second watch.”  They left then, taking the dogs out with them.  We waited for Jax to come back.  Then Aris ran me a warm bath.  He added some more wood to the fire, then carried me into the bathroom.  I changed into a purple bikini and he helped me into the bathtub, “Let me know when you are ready for me to wash your hair.  I will leave the door open a crack.  Okay?”  “Sounds good.”  I waited for him to leave then removed the bikini.  I washed and rinsed real good with some soap that Ripley had bought us, then put the bikini back on.  I laid back to relax for a minute before I called for him, trying to process what I had been told.  What if I end up being a major disappointment?  You will not be a disappointment, ever.  You don't know everything about me.  I do.  It is you that does not know about me.

He entered the bathroom then.  “How do I ever compete with that?”  He sat down on the toilet, “compete with what?”  “Some Barbie doll girl that you’ve been dreaming up for how many years?  There is bound to be some standard in your mind that I will fail to live up to.  Then you will look at me differently and I don't know if I can handle that.”  “That's why you distance yourself?”  “Yes.”  “It is the same for me.  I have done things that I am not proud of.  Things that I do not tell anyone out of shame.  Some of them, I will have to tell you.  I fear nothing more than the way you will look at me.”

“So we are sort of even, then?” I asked.  “Not even close,” he smiled, “I owe you so much more.”  “You don't owe me anything.  Am I allowed to just forgive you without going through all of that?”  “I do not know.”  I went under and soaked my hair.  He got down on his knees, by the tub, and helped me sit up.  He put some shampoo in the palm of his hand, lathered both hands up and began working it through my hair.  He slowly lowered me back into the water and started running his fingers through my hair, rinsing the shampoo out.  He did the same with conditioner.  As he finished rinsing the conditioner out there was a knock on the door.  “Someone is coming,” Ripley called out, “Max will be out shortly.”  “I will too,” Aris answered.  He let the water out of the tub, then picked me up and sat me on the toilet.  I quickly towel dried my hair, then dried myself off.  I changed into sweats and brushed my wet hair.

“Can you put me in the recliner, get me a Diet Coke and a cigarette?”  He put me in the recliner as requested.  He lit himself a cigarette and left me the pack.  He leaned down and hovered in front of my face.  Without any warning, I felt a light feather kiss on my cheek then my mouth.  As he headed for the door, he threw a blanket at me.  Bundle up.  The fire is getting low.  Someone will be in as soon as possible.  He went outside.  I smiled as I spread the blanket over my legs then tucked the edges in on my sides.  I opened my beverage and guzzled about half of it.  Then I lit my cigarette and took a drag.  He kissed me, I smiled again.  Not because he had to, but because he wanted to.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment, remembering the feel of it.

I put the but of my cigarette out in the ashtray.  Surely it wouldn't hurt if I doze off for a minute, I thought, feeling my eyes get real heavy.  I will just close them for a minute.