Chapter 2: Jacienthe Redux

Her grandmother raised her arms to the sky and said, “Ayibobo!”

I flashed back to when Jacienthe had cast her charm, and said the same thing. I still didn’t know what it meant, but it obviously had significance.

Whatever it was, I surely had her family’s blessing, and while we never rubbed their noses in it, they were quite aware of our physical relationship and gave it their tacit approval.

I was able to sublet my apartment and moved in with Jasmine, saving quite a bit of money due to Boston’s sky-high rents.

We got through the holidays with no complications. Jasmine’s parents and grandmother joined us for Thanksgiving at my parents’ home in New Hampshire, and we all gathered for Christmas with Jasmine’s family.

Granny was a mystery to me. Sometimes she was like any other elderly grandparent, seemingly blissfully unaware of all that was going on around her. At other times there was a glint in her eye, something that told me not to take her for granted.

By mutual agreement, we decided to avoid the craziness that was New Year’s Eve, and celebrate quietly at home.

We were rather busy, so we didn’t notice the ball drop at midnight, but didn’t miss it one bit.

The morning sun was just teasing my eyelids when I heard a gentle rapping on our apartment door.

As I sat up to pull on my boxers, Jasmine grumbled at the disturbance and rolled over to the other side of the bed, dragging the blanket with her.

Grumbling myself, I stumbled to the door, wondering who could be calling at this ungodly hour.

I yanked open the door, prepared to rip whoever was there a new asshole, only to find Jasmine’s granny there with a bulging canvas bag. How the hell did she get by the main door?

“Good, good, you are awake,” she said, speaking better English than I thought she was able.

“I am now,” I muttered under my breath.

“Where is Jasmine?” she asked, ignoring my bad mood.

“Um, in bed?”

“Go, go, get her,” she commanded.

Dreading the response I knew I was going to get, I made my way back to our bedroom.

The door seemed to squeak louder than ever, causing Jasmine to burrow deeper into her pillow.

“Jasmine, Jasmine, you have to get up.”

“Go ‘way, let me shleep, I’m tired.”

“Your grandmother is here, she wants to see you, us, whatever.”

That got her attention.

“Granny? Granny’s here,” she said, rubbing her eyes. “What does she want?”

“How the fuck should I know? I don’t even know how she got here. I didn’t know that she could drive!”

Jasmine sat bolt upright.

“She doesn’t drive!” Jasmine said, leaping out of bed and heading for the door.

“Um, Jasmine?”

“What?”

“Don’t you think you should put some clothes on?”

She glanced down at her naked body, blushed, and throwing on her robe headed for the living room as I followed.

Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I entered the living room.

All the furniture was pushed back against the walls; how Granny had the strength to do that without us hearing anything would have to be a mystery for another day, as there was a circle about ten feet in diameter made out of some sort of white powder in the middle of the living room.

In the center was a red candle in a candlestick that looked exactly like the one in Jacienthe’s hut, with three mats around it, equidistant from each other.

Granny was sitting on one of the mats in a position that showed her to be much more flexible than I would have thought a woman of her age could be.

She was holding a red rock. As I got closer I saw that it was actually some sort of crystal. She was gently stroking it with her eyes closed, and as she chanted softly it seemed to be glowing.

Although her eyes were closed, she seemed to sense our presence.

“Come, come,” she said, gesturing to the other mats, “Sit, sit.”

Glancing nervously at each other, Jasmine and I stepped carefully over the line and assumed our positions on the mats.

Granny placed the crystal on her lap, actually on her groin. As it glowed brighter, it seemed to pulse like a heartbeat. She spread her arms wide, palms up.

“Ago,” she said, just as Jacienthe had done.

She continued chanting softly, then passed the crystal to me. It felt strangely warm to the touch, and I could feel it pulsing as its glow brightened and dimmed.

Still chanting, Granny gestured for me to pass the crystal to Jasmine. She seemed startled at its warmth and pulsation, and I was sure that it was glowing even brighter. I even thought that I could see it physically pulsing.

Granny reached out for the crystal, and Jasmine seemed reluctant to let it go, but she eventually relented. As Granny once again placed the crystal at her crotch, it glowed brighter and brighter until with a blinding flash the glow faded until it was once more just a simple crystal.

“Ayibobo,” Granny said, “It is done.”

As we stood up, I noticed that the circle on the floor was gone! Granny blew out the candle and put it in her bag. She gave us each a kiss on the cheek and handed me the crystal.

“Be sure to keep this by your bed,” she said.

“If you say so, but why?” I asked.

“All will be revealed in due time,” she said and walked out the door.

I still didn’t know how she got there, or how she was going to get home, but when I got to the door and threw it open, she was gone.

Jasmine and I just shook our heads as we put all the furniture back where it belonged, put on a pot of coffee and started breakfast. It was still early, but there was no way we were going to be able to go back to sleep. I did think of something else that we could do in bed, but Jasmine seemed to be in another world.

Our relationship, which wasn’t exactly cool to begin with, seemed to really heat up after Granny’s visit. I felt that it was time to be more proactive

I would say that we dated, though since we were already living together, that would be a bit of an understatement. We did do the usual things young couples do, movies, parties, sporting events and of course, sailing. Jasmine really got into sailing, to the point where she took out her own membership in Community Boating. Even though we usually sailed together, she wanted to be able to take her own boat out, and sometimes we would each get a boat, have informal races, and damned if she didn’t usually win!

With our parents’ help, I took Jasmine for a short vacation to Bermuda over Valentine’s Day weekend. As we were packing I saw Jasmine gently place the crystal in with her lingerie.

“Why are you packing that?” I asked.

“Granny said that we should keep it by our bed.”

“‘Granny said, Granny said,’ you know I’m getting a little tired of all this superstition crap. It’s just a pretty rock.”

Jasmine looked a little crushed, and I softened.

“Okay, Honey, if it means that much to you, bring it along. I still think it’s silly, though.”

Jasmine brightened immediately, and showed her appreciation repeatedly. I’m afraid our packing took a little longer than planned.

The trip to Bermuda was everything that we could have hoped for, though I was disappointed that there were no nude or even topless beaches. Then again, why would I want to share the vision of my exotic beauty with others?

We were on a catamaran sail watching the dolphins cavorting, laughing at their antics. As the sun started to set, we headed back to port, and I took Jasmine in my arms as we enjoyed the beautiful sunset, and I decided the time was right.

“Jasmine, I suppose it’s not exactly breaking news that I love you more than my life.”

“As I do you, James,” she said, snuggling in closer and tilting her head up to give me a passionate kiss.

While her eyes were closed, I reached into my pocket, pulling out the ring box. She was still starry-eyed when I said, “Jasmine, will you make me the happiest man alive and be my wife?” I just barely managed to keep the ring from falling overboard as she leaped into my arms.

“Yes, James, of course I’ll marry you.”

“Heh, Mon,” the Captain said, “the way you were hanging all over each other we thought you were already on your honeymoon!”

He reached into a cooler, pulled out a bottle of champagne and popped the cork. He poured everyone a glass, and the entire boat toasted us, wishing us a long and happy marriage.

We managed to take our eyes off of each other long enough to enjoy the remainder of the sunset, but we were really just waiting for the boat to dock so that we could get back to our room and seal the deal. I was too interested in my dusky beauty in our bed to even think about the crystal on the nightstand.

After an initial love-making session, Jasmine turned to me, looking a little upset.

“You know, James, I’m a little pissed off that our parents knew about the engagement before I did.”

“But, Jasmine,” I tried to explain, “the trip couldn’t have happened without their help.”

She seemed to be considering that when I added. “Besides, they only knew that I was going to ask you, it still wouldn’t be official until you said yes.”

With that, she launched herself at me kissing all over my face.

“Yes, yes, yes, James, is that official enough for you?”

I could only nod stupidly, an art that was very useful over the years.

“You still owe me a big apology though,” she said.

I wasn’t sure what she meant until she laid back spreading her legs wide open.

I may be slow, but I’m not stupid, and I spent a good part of that night apologizing between her legs, until she needed something else there, then we fell exhausted into each other’s arms, until the morning sun peeking through the blinds woke us up.

We got married right after graduation, and I don’t know if it was magic, or Vodou, or just dumb, blind luck, but it was everything that I could have hoped for.

We got good jobs in our chosen fields, and our careers were progressing nicely. Our sex life, amazingly, got even better as we learned about each other’s bodies.

Several times while we were making love I thought I could detect the crystal glowing with a pulsating light, but as soon as I would look over at it, it would seem perfectly normal.

We soon bought a small house, suitable for raising a couple of kids, and decided to start trying for a baby, and while it hadn’t reached the point of talking to a doctor about it, we seemed to be having a hard time conceiving.

“Jasmine, don’t forget I have that conference next weekend. It’s not too late for you to join me...”

“I’d love to, Honey, but did you forget I have Sally’s baby shower? That’s why I wasn’t too upset when you told me you had to go to the conference.”

“Shit! I did forget. Oh, well I guess that’s all for the best. What is this, her second baby?”

It seemed like a cloud came over Jasmine’s face.

“No, it’s her third,” she said sadly.

“Don’t worry, Baby,” I said, “Our time will come.”

“I know,” she said, “It’s just so frustrating, especially when I see all my friends having babies.”

I took her in my arms, just letting her get it all out of her system.

Jasmine settled down, and I took her out for a romantic dinner and dancing, and when we got home we got back to trying to make a baby.

We practiced all week until I had to leave for my conference Friday morning.

I called home as often as I could, but Jasmine remained depressed, especially Saturday when she came home from the baby shower.

Sunday morning, Jasmine called me.

“Hi, Honey,” she said, sounding more cheerful than she had in weeks.

“Sounds like someone took a happy pill this morning,” I said.

“It’s just such a beautiful day, and I can’t wait for you to come home so that I can jump your bones!”

“Well, as romantic as that sounds, I’m going to wrap up as soon as I can and get home in time for dinner. Would you like to go out?”

“No, Honey, I’ve got a very special dinner planned.”

“That sounds intriguing,” I said, “I’d better get going so that I can get out of here on time. See you around dinner time. Love you!”

“I love you, too,” she said and we hung up.

That sounds promising, I thought. Maybe we’re over the hump.

I came in the front door to delicious, exotic aromas, and my beautiful wife nearly leaping into my arms. She was wearing an apron with various stains, her hair was askew, she was sweating from the heat in the kitchen, and I thought that she was the most beautiful thing in the world.

“Dinner’s almost ready, Honey. Why don’t you dump your luggage and get comfortable?”

I didn’t need to be told twice. I left my luggage in the entryway, went up to our room and changed into jeans and a T-shirt. Grabbing a beer I sat at the kitchen table watching Jasmine hustle around with more energy than I had seen in months.

“Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked.

“No, you just sit there. You’re going to need your strength for later,” she said with a wink.

The food was ready in just a few minutes, and as we carried the food into the dining room I was surprised that the curtains were drawn and the room was lit by several candles, including Granny’s candlestick with a red candle in the middle of the table. In front of the candlestick, facing my seat was the red crystal, and my antennae went up.

“What’s going on, Jasmine? What’s that doing here?”

“N ... Nothing, Honey,” she said nervously. “Granny was here last night, and thought that it would be romantic for your first night back.”