Keepsake

Chapter 20

Alysia Evers

I wake up extra early and get dressed fast. Downstairs, my parents are having breakfast and sharing the morning cup of coffee. So badly I wanted to tell them what Marcus had told me. They already gave their approval of Marcus and I being together, so this would reinforce that.

At work I do my job and give extra attention to the computers. Already I am desperate to get on one and start searching on what Marcus told me. The only chance is at closing time. I'd have to wait till after work. With each passing moment, I grow more and more anxious to get on the computer and start pressing keys.

Through the double doors, Marcus makes his entrance. His sexy eyes moves around the whole place slowly. When they land on me, he smiles my favorite smile that consists of white teeth and slightly long fangs.

I tell him, "Go ahead and get on a computer and I'll catch up to you in a few hours once I close the library."

He sits and gets a head start. I catch him staring at me several times as if he's found something new and amazing and just can't wait to show it to me.

I pass by him quickly and feel anxious. "What are you looking at?"

"Homemade videos of cousins being interviewed. I had no idea, Alysia. Not even a clue at what I'm learning here," he says shocked. "There are couples who show their faces on video and tell their story of how they first met and became a couple. Their stories are beyond anything I could have imagined."

I return to my work and watch from a distance as time passes by.

The end of work comes and the last people leave and I lock the doors. I pull up a chair next to Marcus and he's already on the website that he wants to show me. The marriage facts alone surprise me. In the USA, twenty-six states allow cousin marriage. And the USA is the only western country with cousin marriage restrictions.

In several of the world religions, people are allowed to marry their cousins. Buddhists have nearly no laws against cousin marriage. When Marcus show me the part where cousin marriage would be explained through the Bible and Christianity, I started to get worried. Nevertheless, Marcus walked me through it slowly and I read everything on it.

We take a look at the book of Leviticus where it talks about sexual impurity as described by God. It contains in it a list of sexual partners that were forbidden. Sex between siblings, children and their parents, children and their uncles and aunts, and several others were described as sinful. The list proved to be accurate and detailed. I smiled when I realize that cousins were not on that list.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, Isaac married Rebekkah whom is his first cousin once removed. In Genesis 29, Jacob wanted to marry Rachel, his cousin, but was tricked into marrying both Leah first and then Rachel. Both women were his cousins. These people were called great people of God, yet He never punished them for marrying their cousins. God approved of such unions. He supported it.

The information was very detailed and I couldn't stop reading it. I get onto another computer, go to the website and start reading more. Apparently, cousins have only a slight increased risk of having children with birth defects. That brings a relief to me.

The website mentions several great names in history of people who married their cousin and it was accepted by all those within their circle of friends and co-workers.

Once all is done, I feel exhausted. Maybe it was the relief taking over me and making me fall asleep. Or my brain had soaked up all that it could and was trying to process it.

We shut the computers down and head out the doors. As Marcus drives, his eyes glance at me often.

"Are you falling asleep?" he asks.