The memory was still there, plauging him after all this time. It had started out innocently enough, but the lines of fate had twisted them all into a new tale, one where they weren't sure if they wanted to reach the conclusion. He sighed, knowing that it had begun one day in early summer...
"So I've heard," Justin said. He rummaged through the papers that surrounded him. "I've got the reports here somewhere...Oh, yes, here we are. Martin Brisby spent yesterday running errands for Arthur's excavation crew up on the fourth level. They send their gratitude. And Teresa Brisby has been seen helping out in the day-care centre, ditto." He glanced up. "Did you have any inkling that they had these proclivities?"
"Well, I knew that Martin is interested in construction," she said. "He's been making a lot of use of those tools you left us. But Teresa..." She shook her head. "No, I don't know what put that idea into her mind." She smiled. "Unless it's some of my genes at work."
"She must have a few, at least," Justin agreed blandly. "Where are the four of them this morning?"
"Out at the swimming hole, I think," Elizabeth said. "I thought it might be a little chilly this early in the morning, but they insisted it wouldn't." She shrugged helplessly.
Justin peered at her in some surprise. Here was another change, one which she might not even be aware of herself. Five days ago, would she have let the four of them go to the swimming hole by themselves? True, they were perfectly safe, with the lifeguard on duty; but even that would not have prevented her from supervising. Truly, Thorn Valley was having its effects on her; more and more each day.
"What I really wanted to know," Justin said, "is how you are doing. I know your kids love this place-but what about you?"
"I'm fine," she assured him. "I have to admit, this community did take some getting used to, and there are some things that are still a little strange to me. But so far at least I'm... comfortable. Yes, that's the word: comfortable."
"That's all?" he asked, in mock dismay. "Just 'comfortable'?"
She shrugged. "When you've spent as much time as I have being uncomfortable, it's enough. I've spent too much of my life being cold, hungry, frightened...Jonathan did what he could, but even he couldn't always make it go away. And since he's been gone..." She spread her arms. "But here, you have made it go away."
"I'd wait until winter," he advised, "Before I made statements like that. But right this minute, I suppose you have a point."
"And I think that's going to be the hardest thing for me to give up, when we leave."
Then why leave? The words almost slipped out, but he bit them back just in time. Of course the Brisby family would have to leave eventually. This was just a visit; their real home was back on the farm, and at some point they would return to it. They had to, of course...didn't they?
"Did you and Jonathan ever fight?" Justin asked. "Forgive me if I'm being too nosy," he added quickly.
"No, you're not," she said. She paused. "Of course we did, once in a while," she went on. "Not much, and of course we always made up soon enough. But there are times when it's cold and snowing and you have four hungry children, and you can't find dry firewood or food...and tempers can get short." She shook her head. "Somehow it doesn't seem very important anymore." For a moment she was silent, gazing out at the morning; then she chuckled. "You know, it's strange. Looking back, it seems to me that Jonathan always won those arguments. Except when he let me win, which is just as irritating. Now I finally understand why." She glanced up at Justin. "I don't think that would happen anymore."
He smiled. "No, I don't suppose it would." He couldn't quite suppress the catch in his voice as he said that; but she appeared not to notice. Probably-knowing that he missed Jonathan too-she would just chalk it up to emotion.
"But there was one thing he never did," Elizabeth went on quietly. "No matter how badly we fought. He never used words to hurt me. And he absolutely never physically hurt me. He could have; he was smarter than me, and stronger. But he always seemed to be afraid of that. In some ways I think he was afraid of his own intelligence and his strength, when it came to me." She paused. "I understand that now too," she finished wistfully.
Suddenly then, and to his extreme surprise, Justin realized that his left arm, with a mind of its own, had somehow draped itself around Elizabeth's shoulders, as she sat there beside him. That was embarrassing enough—but doubly so was the fact that she didn't seem to mind. Rather the opposite, in fact; she had moved in a little closer to him, so that her leg was actually touching his.
And that quickly, he felt a sudden surge of panic grip him. No, he thought desperately. Please, God, no! This wasn't right; any minute now one or the other of them was going to say something that shouldn't be said...
"Justin," she said suddenly. She gazed up at him, her blue eyes sparkling in her lovely face; it took every ounce of his willpower to keep his emotions locked up. "May we speak somewhere else…in private?" she whispered the words, so that the few others in the room wouldn't hear. He hesitated then, knowing it was a mistake, slowly nodded. In a few moments they were back in his apartment. He shut the door softly behind him, watching her from the corner of his eye, wondering what her reason was for this. He followed her to the sofa, taking a seat while she climbed up beside him; but she didn't sit. Instead she remained standing, still a bit shorter than he was. Their eyes met, briefly, before he looked away.
"Pardon my asking but, what's your reason for this?"
She laughed gently, and he felt her arms slip quietly around his neck. Her face was so close, her scent so intoxicatingly sweet, that he felt his feelings explode; but he still fought to keep them inside. Still, nothing could have prepared him for what happened next. One moment fear had gripped his heart, then the next he was filled with ecstasy. Elizabeth Brisby had finally revealed her feelings for him.
Her lips were amazingly soft, and the heat of her love quickly flooded his heart. At first he didn't respond but, as he had in his dreams since she'd arrived, he found himself slowly melting into the kiss, his arms wrapping tightly around her. He was breathless when she pulled away.
"Forgive me," she said. She panted lightly. "I've felt like this for some time, and I just couldn't keep it inside anymore."
A sharp pain told him of the crime he'd committed. Jonathan was still alive, though he was miles away, and Justin had let his true feelings be known. But she thought her husband was dead. He knew how long she had lived with the torment, but he still couldn't bring himself to tell her. He wanted her far too much. "Is something wrong?" her quiet voice snapped reality back to his nerves.
"No," he said. It was only a partial lie. "I've just never felt this way before." Sure, he'd had relationships before, but they'd never made him feel this way. He pulled her close, so that their bodies were pressed together, finally allowing the release of his feelings. But there was one question that still pounded at the back of his mind. What would Jonathan say?
I am a big fan of this pairing, but I still honor other people's opinions. And I've been informed that I've used someone else's work. I really cannot take credit for the beginning (after italics), so I'm going to thank Paul for allowing me to use this, but I can't remember where I found it.