Chapter 54

By the time the girls returned from their explorations, all of us at the table, including Myrna, were three sheets to the wind. I was feeling great, but when Kat and Sally dragged chairs up on either side of me, I had the sense to try to act a little guilty for my inebriated condition. Not Myrna, she had to open her big mouth, telling Kat and the rest how great the Brandy we were drinking tasted, and how smooth it was going down the hatch. We all busted out in uproarious laughter at her. Kat looked at Sally, then at me, and told Sally to tell the kitchen to send out some food for all the drunks. It was obvious we were all in need of it. She also said to tell them to send out plenty of strong coffee for her drunken husband to be. She sat and glared at me, to the delight of Myrna and the rest of our guests. When the food came, I dug in almost as greedily as the rest. I ate until I thought I would bust. Myrna proposed a toast to me and Kat, with the rest of them laughing at Kat as she glared at Myrna for filling up our glasses again with the potent Brandy. We all finished it in one drink, and cheered at Kat's red face. That's when she leaned over to me and whispered the words I would remember the rest of the night.

"Jon Morgan, this is the eve of our wedding, and if you don't quit drinking, I will sleep in another room. I know you are celebrating with your friends, but remember we have to be at the village at dawn for the first ceremony. I know how you are in the morning after you drink, and if you ruin the mood tomorrow by being surly and in a bad mood, I will be going home by myself and unmarried. This means the world to me because I love you so much and I want us to be happy tomorrow. If you take one more drink of anything but coffee, Sally and I will gang up on you and make your evening miserable. I want you clear headed for tomorrow and able to share in the joy of the ceremony we are going to go through as part of our becoming man and wife."

I looked at her with double vision, and realized how drunk I really was. I set my drink down and poured myself a cup of black coffee. I spilled almost as much as I got in the cup, but finally got it full. I leaned over and kissed her on the forehead and whispered back, slurring my words somewhat; "I love you Kat and I would never set out to ruin what is going to happen tomorrow. I don't need Brandy to celebrate my feelings for you. They are imbedded so deep in my heart that they remind me every minute how much I love you. I promise you, my love, that I am looking forward to tomorrow as much as you are and no amount of alcohol would spoil it for either of us. Sally is my heart and you are my soul."

I don't know where any of that came from but I knew it was the truth because it felt completely right to me after I said it. It must have been the right thing to say because Sally and Kat were looking at me with tears running down their cheeks. The look of pure love I was getting from both of them warmed me twenty times more than the alcohol in my system. I looked up at Myrna. She winked at me and mouthed at me, "We all love you, Jon." The party started breaking up at that point, and both Captains got up saying they would see me at noon tomorrow in the village. I was grinning as they both headed down the steps to the beach, holding each other up and laughing their heads off at some private joke. By the time I looked back at the table, the only one sitting there was Myrna. She was trying to get up but wasn't having much success, so Katie and Sally went over and helped her to the house. Watching her made me feel sad for her as tomorrow was supposed to be her day too. Thanks to a bigoted hard headed man, she was once again by herself. Damn him anyway, I thought, he better never show his face around me after breaking this wonderful woman's heart. Kat must have sensed what I was thinking because she started talking to me as I staggered toward the house with her helping me navigate.

"Jon, my love, I feel bad for Myrna too. If I thought I could have gotten away with it, I would have shot that sorry excuse for a man for what he did to her. You know that as much as I love you and Sally, I know for a fact that my love will never be as strong as hers for the two of you. Now, let's get you to bed because dawn is going to come mighty early for you, especially in your condition. You should know, I watched the expressions on your face as you watched Captain LeMeur and his friend leave. I know you miss your life with them and the Legion. Jon, as much as I love you, I don't want you to ever change because you wouldn't be the man I fell in love with if that happened. All three of us will always love you and be here for you, no matter what happens in the future."

I was still trying to compute her words when I passed out on the bed, still dressed with a smile on my face.

When I woke up the next morning, it was still dark and my head felt like there were a thousand drummers having a concert in it. I looked over at Kat and she was sound asleep with a smile on her face. Again, as every time I looked at her with her hair spread out across the pillow, it took my breath away and made me feel at peace with myself. I got up very carefully and headed for the bathroom. I swallowed four aspirins, undressed, and got in the shower with the cold water on full blast. It was all I could do to keep from yelling out loud at the cold. I hated cold showers, but I knew in my condition, it would be the only thing that would make my nausea, as well as my headache, ease off so I could function. I stood there for awhile with my hands against the shower wall, letting the cold water beat down on me. I hadn't realized Kat had come in until she pulled the shower curtain open and squealed when she got splashed.

"Jon, if you think I am going to get in there with you and freeze, you better think again. Now, please put some hot water on, or get out so I can wash."

I opened my eyes and my mouth fell open at the sight that greeted me. I almost choked when the water ran in. I started coughing and noticed she had that ornery grin on her face as she watched my reaction to her standing before me naked. I quickly readjusted the water temperature and she got in with me. She asked me to wash her hair for her, but not to get against her as I was as cold as an icicle. Me, being me, I didn't listen and immediately hugged her, at which she started squealing and laughing. She looked down and made some smart comment I didn't catch, so I turned the cold water on again full blast. She pushed me out of the shower with the warning that I had better get dried and dressed. Sitting on my rear on the bathroom floor looking up at her, I started laughing at her standing there with her fists on her beautiful hips. I got up and leaned in and kissed her. Before she could react, I quickly closed the shower curtain in her face, chuckling at her look of indignation. I got dried and put on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then called down to the kitchen to order breakfast and coffee. Kat was still in the bathroom when the knock came at the door. I said come in and the young girl from the village came in with a coffee carafe but no food on the tray.

"I thought I ordered breakfast, little one."

"You did, my chief, but you are not allowed to eat until the purification ceremony is over. They will feed you at the village when this is completed. I am sorry, my chief, but these are the customs of our people. The rest of your guests will be there a little later, but you and your bride will be escorted by the shaman to the place where you will complete your first ceremony."

"Thank you for reminding me of the customs. How soon should we come down to meet Pala?"

"You have about fifteen minutes, my chief."

With that, she grinned at me, bowed, and went back out the door. Kat came in, wrapped in a sarong that took my breath away. The colors make her red hair seem like it was on fire as she stood in the sun smiling at me. I motioned to the coffee and she made a face at me. She poured herself a glass of the juice on the tray, and sat down in my lap to drink it. I told her what the girl had told me and she just smiled.

"Kat, my love, I know I haven't said it enough since we met but I love you and have to be one of the luckiest men alive to marry a woman so beautiful. There is something else I need to say while we have a few moments together this morning. Kat, I need to make it very clear to you that me being who I am, and what I personally believe in, I want to explain something to you. The vows we are about to take today are, to me, written in stone and I will never break them as long as we are alive. I have seen what divorce does to families and I have always sworn to myself if I ever got married I would never break my vows. When we become man and wife, it is for life as far as I'm concerned. If someone had told me five years ago I would give my heart and soul to a woman, I would have laughed in their face. You own those, and everything I want is sitting here in my lap like a goddess from a movie. Sometimes I feel like I have had a spell put on me, because whenever I kiss you or look at you, it's like there is nothing in the world but you. I love you with all my heart and soul, and I don't think there is anything in this world that will ever change the feelings I have for you."

She looked at me with tears running down her face before she leaned over and kissed me. Like always, I was in a total fog when she did. She broke free, leaned back, and looked me directly in the eyes as she said she felt the same way. She told me that if I ever broke our love and vows, she would not be responsible for what would happen to me. Her next words threw me for a loop and shocked me to the core.

"Jon, if you ever leave me or break our vows and the love we have for each other, I will personally kill you rather than watch as another takes my place at your side. You are my love and my whole world, and God help anyone that tries to come between us. There isn't and never will be another for me but you. I loved my first husband, but it was nothing compared to the love I have for you. With the type of work you do I know you have seen things I don't even want to think about. That is not us and never will be. We are one in all things and I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that never changes. I will be there to council you and help you in any way I can for the rest of our lives. This is my own vow to you, my love, and I will never break it for any reason."

I felt tears running down my face when she finished. I realized that every man I knew that had ever gotten married had felt love, but it was nothing like what we had for each other. I had unwittingly picked a woman who could or would have been a queen in the old times. Soul mates came to mind and I kissed her. There was a knock at the door and Sally stuck her head in.

"Will you two wait a little longer for all this mushy stuff? The shaman is waiting for you. Hurry up, or you will be late for your own wedding!"

We busted up laughing and we got up, still holding hands as we went out the door. Sally got on my other side smiled at both of us and took my hand as we walked down the steps to go outside. When we stepped out into the rising sun, Sally kissed both of us and went back inside. Pala motioned us to follow him, and it was then I realized I didn't have any shoes on. I looked down and Kat was without hers too. I whispered, "What about our clothes?", and was told that they were already at the village waiting for us.

We followed Pala into the tree line and walked for about a half hour to a clear spot in the forest. To say it was beautiful would be an understatement. There was a small pool with a waterfall feeding it. We were told to wade in holding hands and stand directly under the falling water. We did as directed; smiling at each other when we realized the water was lukewarm. As we stood under the falling water, I could hear Pala faintly chanting over the noise of the falling water. We stood there until Pala motioned us to come out. We waded back to the shore, where he had us stand on a flat rock that looked like polished glass. We were told to kneel and bow our heads, and stay in that position for fifteen minutes.

"You will kneel and stay in this position until the Sun God lets you see each other's reflection in the rock you are kneeling on. When that happens, you are to kiss and tell each other how much your love means to each other. When you are finished, kiss and release your hands and walk back to the village. You will be met on the path by Koma, who will instruct you on your next step in the marriage ceremony. When you reach the village, you will be fed breakfast then separated until high noon. That's when your Captain will do his ceremony. Then you will be separated again until the sun is setting over the water. I will then conduct the finishing ceremony before you go to your first night together as man and wife. You, torch bearer, have another ceremony to attend before noon with the men of the village. I will leave you now and return to the village to prepare."

He turned and walked away, leaving us to the sounds of the waterfall and the birds in the forest that enclosed the clearing. As we were instructed, we didn't say anything until I realized the sun was beating on our backs and it felt hot to me. I looked down at the polished rock we were kneeling on and saw that our reflections in the stone were so clear I could see the tears running down Kat's face. I raised myself up to rest on my legs bringing Kat with me and looked at her fully. Before I could speak, she did.

"Jon, this is the wedding of a life time, and I love you with all my heart. If ever we have any troubles in our relationship, I will think about this ceremony and know that you love me."

"Kat, I am almost overcome with my love for you, and even if I passed tomorrow, it would never change. You are my everything, and I promise you that I will always strive to make you happy. I love you, Fire Hair."

Where that came from, I would always wonder about in the years to come, but it just felt right. We kissed, and again I was in a fog until she broke it. We both got up, dropping our clasped hands to our side. I saw a faint trail into the tree line, so we followed it side by side, not disturbing the sounds of the forest around us. Kat was smiling and I felt like I could start flying at any time. She looked like she was glowing, but I thought it was a trick of the light.

We had been walking on the trail for about five minutes when Koma materialized, seemingly out of thin air. When he looked at Kat, he stopped with a look of wonder on his face and knelt in front of her. I looked over and she was glowing, and I mean literally. She had a look of peace on her face and she didn't even notice Koma, She had her eyes closed, seeming to be seeing something only she could see. I froze in place with my mouth hanging open in shock at what I was seeing. I felt that she was communing with something that only she could see and understand. The glow around her got brighter before disappearing completely. She seemed to shake herself and looked at me. To my shock, her eyes, which had always been green, now looked like glowing emeralds. She smiled at me and finally seemed to realize that we were standing still. She looked down and saw Koma, then went to her knees and rubbed his head, telling him he didn't have to bow to her. He got up, and the look of adoration on his face made the scars disappear. Kat reached out and clasped his head in both of her tiny hands and kissed him on each cheek.

"I do not understand what happened, but as my husband and I walked, I was speaking with someone who seemed very powerful and all seeing. She told me about the torch society and my husband's part in it. Koma, you are a favored one with whoever was speaking to me. She didn't give me her name, but I had a deep feeling she was very old and wise. She told me I would always be called Fire Hair by all members of the society, and that my grandmother was a wise woman for many years in the old country. Koma, do you know who was speaking to me? I was told to ask you and to talk to Quanta's wife as soon as we returned to the village. I do not understand all of this; it is very confusing to me."