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Again… Josef and Beth are just friends.
The ring is a traditional engagement ring, which contains six birthstones, one each for the couple in the center and their parents' on either side of theirs to signify the joining of families.
The Ring
Beth pulled up to Josef's. Josef hopped out and jogged inside. Beth got out and chased him.
She followed him up the stairs and into his room. Adriana was asleep on the bed. She looked content, but Beth could tell she had been crying. Josef rummaged through his closet. Pulling out boxes, as if to get to a something far in the back.
Beth caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. I look terrible. She thought. "Hey Josef." She asked, "Can I get cleaned up? If I am going to get married, I want to look presentable."
"Sure," came his response from somewhere within the depth of his closet. "The bathroom is through the door on the right."
Beth walked into the bathroom. The room was extra large, with plush carpeting. The entire second story of Josef's amazing house was just the master bedroom and bathroom.
There was a large black marble box in the middle of the room. She walked over cautiously and stared in. Her breath caught in her chest. She looked down at Mick, in all his glory, lying behind a pane of thick glass.
This must be Josef's freezer. I heard him tell Mick he could sleep there today. Beth tried to keep her mind off Mick's exposed body, but she felt her stomach tighten as she looked at Mick's sleeping form. She tore her eyes away. It is rude to watch people when they don't know, especially if they are naked.
She found the shower and striped. She needed a cold shower…
Beth dried her hair with a towel and walked back into the bedroom, carefully avoiding looking at the freezer where Mick still lay sleeping.
Beth reasoned that Josef probably kept the freezer in the bathroom because, one, it was safe from sunlight there and two he could shut and lock the door to the bathroom if he had guests in the bedroom.
Josef emerged from the closet as Beth walked back in. He stopped dead in his tracks. Beth was wearing nothing, but a white towel and she was running her hand through her tangled hair. Josef realized what Mick saw in her. The towel clung to her very feminine form and he gulped for air.
Beth smiled at him. She liked to know that she could make men speechless. "Do you have some other clothes or a hair dryer?"
"Yes, downstairs. In the freshies rooms." Josef was slightly curt, in an attempt to hide his arousal.
Beth smiled and bounded down the stairs. Josef shook his head and decided a shower and change of clothes wouldn't hurt him either.
Mick slept uneasily. He was still too cold.
He dreamed of Beth. She was there, with him. He could feel her, like she was on the other side of a glass door, just out of reach, calling to him. He couldn't get to her.
Mick tried to move, but his body was frozen. So cold. She was warm, hot actually. She was so near, so close, he could feel her presence. She engulfed him.
Now Mick could hear water. Was it her tears? He strained to listen. I'll destroy what ever make her cry. Water poured over her. He could hear each drop as it hit her skin. Emotions welled up in him. He was jealous. Jealous of the water running over her body. He wished he was the water. At the same time, he wanted to protect her from the water. From the water's bombardment of her delicate skin.
Suddenly it was over. The water had stopped. He could still fell her, her warmth, moving around, beyond his reach. She was distant. He tried to call out. He wanted to stop her, but she left, she just walked out.
His heart fell. The pain started to overwhelm him and he struggled to breath. He felt trapped… alone.
He awoke with a start. Mick heaved a deep breath. The dream had been so real. He still had trouble breathing and the feeling of dread in the bottom of his stomach was not going away. His whole heart ached, an emotion he had never felt before. The only thing that compared was when he learned that he had been turned.
Even then he hadn't felt this kind of passion. He knew he was lost. He couldn't live without Beth. She was everything to him. This scared and thrilled him at the same time.
This is love. This is what love feels like. He thought. What I had with Coraline was passion, not love, not like this…
Finally, Mick calmed down and fell back into a fitful sleep.
After she finished drying her hair, Beth found a nice array of clothes. She chose a trendy pair of jeans and a nice shirt.
She returned upstairs to find Josef sitting on the bed caressing Adriana's cheek. He leaned in and kissed her softly on the forehead.
He was wearing a button down shirt and jeans. Beth realized she hadn't seen Josef in anything, but a suit, and while he looked good in a suit, he wore the jeans and shirt just as well.
"Shall we go?" Josef asked, offering her his arm in gentlemanly fashion.
Beth smiled took his arm and walked down stairs. She headed for the front door, but Josef asked, "Where are you going?"
"Um, to the car."
"If I remember my chivalry lessons correctly, the man is supposed to drive." Josef smiled and motioned toward the garage.
Beth opened the door to the garage and gasped. Josef asked, "So which one do you want to take?"
There was a fleet of high-end cars parked in the garage. Beth couldn't contain her pleasure, she giggled like a schoolgirl. Josef motioned toward his red Ferrari and said, "This is one of my favorites, but if you would like to go with something more-"
"No. That's perfect." She cut him off. Josef smiled and led her to the passenger side door, where he opened the door and helped her in. Then he shut the door and walked around to the driver side. Beth's eyes lit up as he revved the engine and backed out of the garage.
Beth slightly regretted having done her hair because the wind had ruined it within moments, but she wanted the top down. She and Josef chatted about their cover story.
"Okay, so we met three months ago." Beth summed up, "My family wants a huge church ceremony and you are not religious. We are sick of the fighting and the stress and we decided to elope and have a reception later with our families."
"That sounds believable." Josef said as they pulled up to the courthouse. Beth started to get out, but he stopped her. "Wait, I stopped at the house to get this. It will help with the cover story." Josef handed Beth a ring.
It wasn't any normal ring. This ring was gold with six deep red stones arranged in a bow pattern. There were two large bloodstones in the middle and two smaller rubies beside each. The ring was of exquisite craftsmanship. Beth gasped as she turned the ring over in her hands. It looked very old, almost ancient.
"Where did you get this?" Beth whispered.
"I've had it since before I was turned. It was my wife's" Beth looked at Josef in astonishment.
"Your wife?"
"Yes, once upon a time I was married. It was a long time ago." Josef tried to brush it off, but Beth caught the emotion in his voice.
"Did you love her?" Beth asked.
"Marriages were arranged back then," Josef stated, "But I became fond of her. She had character." Josef throat choked-up and his eyes swam with tears. "When I was turned I had to give up that life. I was a danger to my friends and family."
Beth remembered Mick's similar statement and asked, "Why didn't you turn her?"
Josef paused, as if weighing his response, then he answered, "I was fond of her, but I didn't want her around for the rest of eternity. She just assumed I died and lived out her life as another well-to-do widow."
Beth knew he was lying. Josef wouldn't have kept the ring for all these centuries just because. Beth knew this woman had meant something to him and if she had to venture to guess Josef hadn't turn her because he didn't want to make her into a monster like himself. Maybe he has more in common with Mick then I thought?
Josef regained his composure, took a deep breath and said, "Well, now that we are done reminiscing, put that thing on and let's go get married, so we can have that blasted blood work done."
Josef exited the car and walked around to Beth's door. Beth slipped the ring onto her finger, admired it for a second and exited the car. They climbed the courthouse steps.