The Girl, The Gold Ring, And Everything
The Five Of Hearts Series
By Thomas Mc
Chapter 9
His first night in Jennifer's family home had been a restless affair. He was aware of the presence of Vincent and Charles and it made it hard to relax enough to fall asleep. He was also acutely aware that Jennifer was sleeping in the room next to his. He finally dropped off some time after two in the morning. He awoke to the sound of someone knocking on his door then Jennifer's voice calling to him.
"Wake up, sleepyhead – it's Christmas morning and we're all waiting for you so we can open the presents." She paused a second then knocked again. "Hey, are you still alive in there?" A pause and another knock. "Hey Byron, are you awake yet?"
After a few moments to clear some of the cobwebs from his brain he finally responded. "I'm awake, I'm awake. I'll be out in a few minutes."
"OK." She responded then after a moment she added. "Dress code for the official present unwrapping is strictly early morning PJ casual.
A couple of minutes later Byron came down in a comfortable warm-up suit and bathrobe. He had felt a little too exposed in just his usual boxers. The tree glittered with the festive lights as the parlor was filled with Christmas music from the stereo system.
One of the first things that caught Byron's eye was Vincent standing by the fireplace. He had on a dark grey robe and under that he was wearing blue flannel pajamas covered with little white snowmen. The image was so incongruous that Byron had to smother a laugh.
Vincent had obviously sensed his amusement and looked down at himself then shrugged. "Catherine gave this to me. She said that I look cute." He chuckled. "Anything to keep our women happy."
Byron could only smile and nod in agreement. Though Vincent was still an imposing figure his attire seem to drain away some of Byron's nervousness. How could he fear anyone wearing a terrycloth bathrobe over blue and white snowman pajamas? He noticed that Catherine was wearing matching blue pajamas but hers had little white polar bears on it. He became aware that Jacob, Linda and Charles were dressed in similar winter themed PJs.
The next moment his attention was drawn to Jennifer as she came out of the kitchen area carrying a glass of milk. Even in a baggy sweat suit she looked beautiful to Byron.
Finally Brigit and Nancy came bounding down the stairs and it was time to get down to the serious business of opening the Christmas presents
One of the first presents that Byron opened was a gift that was labeled as being from Catherine and 'The Girls'. The package contained a pair of tiny remote control helicopters, one was black and the other was desert tan. Byron had seen other toys similar to these at the malls and been fascinated by them. On closer examination he discovered that these helicopters could shoot each other down with little infrared lasers. In short order Charles and Jacob discovered that they had received similar gifts from the girls. Soon all six of the little helicopters were lined up on the dining room serving board being charged up. Two of them were black, one was tan, one was camouflage green, one was navy blue, and one was slate gray.
It wasn't long before the floor was littered with wrapping paper and open boxes containing the spoils of Christmas.
After all the presents had been examined and commented on, everyone pitched in to clean up the parlor. Then it was lunch time and they made a meal out of the leftovers from last night.
The little helicopters had four selectable channels so there could be up to four of them in the air at the same time. It wasn't long before the parlor had become a battlefield as the tiny helicopters fought it out for aerial supremacy. The first few battles were free-for-alls with everyone taking a turn.
Eventually it came down to Byron and Vincent teamed up against Jacob and Charles. Byron was flying one of the blacks, Vincent the green, Jacob the gray and Charles the tan. Linda and Jennifer were seated in the sofa cheering on the combatants. Catherine and the twin girls had positioned themselves by the dining room safely out of the field of battle. Byron glanced over as Vincent groaned, his green helicopter spiraling down after being shot by Charles. Byron didn't see a lion-man next to him. What he saw was his team mate and any thought of his leonine appearance had disappeared in the heat of battle. He quickly turned his attention back to the battle field as his black chopper swooped in on Jacobs gray for the kill. Then the gray helicopter spiraled down, temporarily out of service.
Byron's black swung around in a wide arc and he was soon engaged in battle to the death with the tan for control of the parlor's airspace. The next instant Linda and Jennifer dived to the side with shrieks of laughter as the tan swooped down behind the sofa where Byron couldn't see it. Byron pulled up and away from the sofa and his black took up a position hovering near the Christmas tree where Charles couldn't see it. The battle had now become a game of hide and seek.
The opponents faced each other across the room daring the other to break cover first.
Suddenly the tan shot around the side of the sofa nearest the tree in an arc intended to come at Byron from the other side of the tree. Byron's black copter swung in a wide arc out of the path of the tan then curved back and dove under the tan copter. The next instant he reversed and caught the tan from behind. A quick burst of simulated gunfire and Charles's tan copter spiraled down to defeat.
Byron and Vincent cheered their victory and exchanged high fives. A second later it hit Byron that he had just slapped palms with Vincent's clawed hand without a second thought. He glanced around to see his own surprise reflected in several other faces in the room.
Jennifer jumped up and rushed up to Byron giving him a big hug as she whispered. "Byron, my conquering hero, I'm so proud."
Byron returned the hug with interest. As they let go he looked over at Vincent. "How about another round?"
Vincent smiled back at Byron. "I'm game if you are."
While their four helicopters were recharging, Linda and Jennifer engaged in battle with the other two fully charged helicopters. Linda was the victor. Then it was Charles versus Jacob in a quick battle.
The final aerial battle was the rematch of Vincent and Byron versus Charles and Jacob. This ended with Vincent and Byron again coming out on top.
The helicopters were put away and Catherine came out with wine, soda and snacks. Everyone found a seat for the classic Christmas movie tradition. They started with the George C Scott version of 'A Christmas Carol' then followed up with 'White Christmas'. When the title song began near the end of the movie several of them joined in. Jennifer and Catherine both had beautiful singing voices, which wasn't really surprising, but Byron was amazed to discovered that Vincent also had a pretty good singing voice as well.
Then it was dinner time and with the last of the leftovers. The evening finished up with 'Miracle on 34th Street'.
After the movie ended most of the household retired for the night leaving Byron and Jennifer cuddled in one of the two loveseats before the fire. The other loveseat was occupied by Jacob and Linda. The only sound in the room was the crackling of the fire. Byron marveled at how easy things had become between himself and the leonine males of Jennifer's family. Today had apparently severed the connection in his mind between them and the lions in the zoo that still terrified him. Vincent still intimidated him just a bit but he was no longer afraid of him. He found that he respected Vincent the same way he respected The Senator.
Byron glanced over at the other love seat. Jacob and Linda had their heads together and were murmuring something unintelligible. Their love obvious in their posture, the look on their faces, and the way their hands were entwined in their laps. Byron grinned as he realized that he and Jennifer seemed to be mirroring them. He kissed Jennifer on the forehead. She opened her eyes and smiled up at his face.
He quietly spoke his heart to her. "I already knew that I've fallen in love with you . . ." He glanced over at Jacob and Linda. ". . . and now I realize that I seem to have also fallen for your family as well."
"No more fears?" She asked.
He shook his head. "Not of your family . . . Not since I began to see them as people. They may have a very unusual appearance but I see them as human beings now." He kissed her again.
At that moment Jacob stretched and released a wide yawn showing all four long sharp fangs. "I think I'm going to turn in for the night." He stood up and held out his clawed hand to Linda. "Would you care to join me?"
Linda responded with a huge grin. "Why I would love to join you." She took his hand and giggled as he pulled her to her feet.
Arm in arm they headed up the great spiral stairs. Byron watched them disappear up the stairs then turned to Jennifer. "Even with all those fangs and claws I still like your father and brothers." He shrugged. "I may never be able to get over my fear of lions but where your family is concerned, that has apparently become irrelevant."
The smile on Jennifer's face was like the sun coming out. Then they were kissing.
~ BnB ~
Byron woke up the next morning with a big smile on his face.
He lay there in bed thinking of last night. He and Jennifer had spent almost an hour making out in front of the fireplace after Jacob and Linda had gone to bed. When they had finally headed upstairs they had stopped before the door to his room and kissed again. That kiss had developed some major heat and they found themselves edging into the bedroom. It had taken some serious will power on both of their parts to break that kiss and reluctantly retire to their separate bedrooms.
Byron was pulled out of his reverie by the sound of Jennifer knocking on his door. His grin widened at the sound of her voice. "Better get a move on or you're going to miss breakfast. We have a full day planned for today. . . and dress warmly"
Byron climbed out of bed with a light heart wondering what the new day held in store for him. He quickly dressed, making sure to add an extra layer or two, and headed downstairs. When he reached the dining room everyone was already there and they had started setting out the food.
As Byron sat down he noticed that everyone else had also dressed warmly. The breakfast conversation was totally innocuous but there was a definite air of high anticipation around the table and Jennifer's eyes seemed to sparkle with suppressed excitement. Something was definitely up. His curiosity reared its head and he tried a few verbal probes but no one was giving anything away.
After breakfast everyone pitched in on the cleanup then Jennifer put her arm through his. "Are you ready to go?" She inquired, her eyes shining in excited mischief.
"Go where?" He asked.
"On an adventure, of course." She responded as they all headed toward the back of the house.
At the back behind the kitchen they all descended the stairs into the basement. The first thing he noticed besides the pool table was the huge wine rack that took up all of the far wall. The group approached the wine rack then Vincent pulled four of the wines halfway out and a section of the rack swung away from the wall revealing an open doorway. As they passed through the opening, Byron found himself on a long stairway heading down.
This was definitely getting interesting. Byron was reminded of his speculations about the possible existence of a community living in the city's utility tunnels. He turned to Jennifer, his left eyebrow raised in an inquiring look.
Jennifer merely smiled and continued to draw him down the stairs.
After about twenty feet the stairs took a left turn and continued down for another forty feet where they came to a blank wall. Vincent took a quick glance at some kind of small display then he pressed a switch and the blank wall swung away. They passed through the opening. When Byron looked back at the opening that they had passed through it looked like they had just stepped out of a large, floor to ceiling electrical junction box. Vincent closed the access panel and the illusion was complete.
Jennifer leaned in speaking quietly. "What we're going to show you is secret. The lives of many good people depend on the secrecy of the place we are going to visit. You can never talk about it to anyone that isn't already in the know." She cocked her head. "The fact that you have kept my family's secret proves that you can be trusted with this."
Byron looked at her puzzled. "But everyone knows about the New York utility tunnels."
She shook her head. "The utility tunnels are not the secret. They are merely an access point." She paused glancing at the others walking ahead of them. "We still have a bit of a walk before we reach our destination. Then you will get to see where Vincent grew up."
They had walked through what seemed like a couple of miles of maze-like tunnels, including two very cleverly hidden doors. Byron was completely lost and getting more intrigued as they moved steadily downward. He had also become aware of an occasional irregular clanking noise coming from some of the pipes that ran through some of the tunnels.
Byron was about to ask Jennifer about the noisy pipes when they came out into a large rectangular chamber. Joe, Sammy, and Elizabeth were there waiting for them. Charles and Elizabeth were immediately in each other's arms. Joe grinned at Byron. "Ready for your first trip down the rabbit hole?"
Byron chuckled. "Well . . ." He glanced at Vincent. "Charles does have a pretty big Cheshire grin. Should I expect to meet Alice or Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum next?"
Linda laughed. "Well we do have an Alice living below and Brigit and Nancy are twins . . ."
That brought a squawk of protest from both Nancy and Brigit and a smattering of laughter from the rest.
"I guess we should head on down." Remarked Catherine, moving toward the center of the chamber.
At that point Byron noticed the large hole in the middle of the room and the spiral stone steps that lined the wall of the shaft. As they started down the stairs Byron looked down the shaft in amazement. It appeared to be hundreds of feet deep and the bottom was lost in the mist far below.
Jennifer noticed the direction of his gaze and commented. "Legend has it that this shaft is miles deep . . . maybe even bottomless and that there is an old blind witch living at the bottom."
Byron grinned but at the moment he wasn't quite sure what to believe or what to expect. He just knew that he was heading into a very different world.
Continued in Part 10
'Beauty and the Beast' and its characters are owned by Witt-Thomas Productions and Republic Pictures. No infringement on copyrights is intended. This story is presented merely for the enjoyment of fans. Original concepts and story elements may be used by other authors as long as appropriate credit is given.
