Gertie's Choice (8 page)

John is an only child and
his parents have passed on. He has many friends, however, all in
the army like he is. No, I cannot imagine he would ever give up his
position. He also has a child, a one year old son named Donald.
Donald’s mother died in child birth. I told John that Ophelia’s
father is no longer alive although I managed to not mention if I
have ever been married before or not. He thinks I am an innocent
widow.” Gertie said.

“He would not think you so
innocent if he knew that you poisoned a man.” Janet said. “I assume
the word widow refers to a women who has lost her
husband?”

“Lost him to death, if a
husband and wife leave each other and the marriage before death it
is called a divorce. Either way, over the mountain they have all
these laws or rules and paper work to fill out. John has already
asked me about my birth certificate and apparently you cannot even
enter into a school unless you produce such a document.” Gertie
said.

“Paper documents need not
be a problem.” Cindy offered. “We can come up with whatever you
need there.” She said.

“You also have to take a
blood test.” Gertie said. This stumped all three of the ladies on
the porch. “Do you think that means to test to see if you bleed or
are mortal?” Gertie asked Janet and Cindy.

“I can’t even imagine what
that means. But just the word, blood, does not bode well for us. I
imagine ours would be of a very different variety than John’s.”
Cindy said.

“Not to mention what
changes occurred in the lightening tunnels when we first got here.”
Gertie said. “Another concern is that Ophelia wants nothing to do
with either John, or his son.”

“You could leave Ophelia
with us, Janet and I will take good care of her.” Cindy
offered.

“No! I will not trade my
precious daughter for anyone, not even for John Ellis! No, I will
take her with me when I leave.” Gertie said. “Why can’t we just go
and have a life with John? Why do we have to go through a wedding
ceremony? This is not the dark ages where a woman would be stoned
to death if she took up with a man she was not married to.” Gertie
said.

“You have much to think
about, Gertie. We do not have to figure this all out tonight.
However, we are not going to let you put yourself and Ophelia at
risk. Tomorrow I will go with you into the town, me and Ashton. You
need to take tonight and think very, very hard, Gertie. What you
are proposing to do will not just change your life, but also
Ophelia’s and ours. We could never give John’s son our special
coffee and you could not expect John to come here without his son.
Would you be living just on the other side of the mountain in the
town, or would he take you further away from us?” Cindy
asked.

“I just do not know. I am
surprised as you are by all of this. I know that my daughter is
half mortal, as is Hugo, Luna and Thelma. Cindy, you and Ashton are
fully within the power. My parents also were fully within the
power. I have never imagined myself falling for a mortal man. Not
that we have any other kind around here, other than Ashton that
is.”

“And you can forget about
anything that may come out of your mouth after that statement!”
Cindy declared.

“Don’t be daft, I am sure
that is not where Gertie’s mind is going.” Janet said.

“No, it is not, but right
now I don’t have enough words to express all the directions my
thoughts are rushing off in. I think I need a glass of wine. Anyone
want to join me?”

Chapter 12

The next morning, a very
anxious Gertie set out for the Sometimes Pass with Cindy and
Ashton. Although Gertie was happy to introduce them to John Ellis,
her nervousness was getting the better of her. The entire trip
almost had to be aborted when Gertie got a case of the hiccups and
with each hic and each cup came a bit of blue mist.

“I think I have it under
control now.” Gertie announced after several such occurrences. “I
hope you like John. He is such a good man. Always polite and he has
always put my wellbeing in the forefront.”

“That is important, of
course.” Cindy said. “Janet thought the same thing when she married
her husband Mathew and you know how that turned out.” Cindy
said.

“Yes, you killed him.”
Added Ashton.

“Gertie turned so fast she
produced yet another puff of blue. “Ashton! How could you ever know
that?”

“You left poisoned wine for
the Great Evil, it was not such a stretch to believe you also left
a similar gift for the huntsman who was sent to destroy us.” Ashton
answered.

“I’ve never mentioned it,
does Janet know?” Gertie asked, afraid of the answer.

“I am sure that she
suspects it.” Cindy said. “I know that she would not think badly of
you because of it. You were protecting all of us, including her own
son Hugo. That being said, I am sure it must be something that she
is not willing to take out and examine if the subject comes
up.”

“I do not regret it, of
course, but I thought that we would all leave together. When momma
and Ophelia stayed behind it put them in possible danger for
retaliation.” Gertie said sadly.

“Probably not, think about
it, Gertie.” Cindy reasoned. “We are talking about the 1600s and
about two men that no one knew or if they did, they feared. I doubt
anyone thought very much one way or the other about it.”

“I did not poison the king.
He would have been included only if he had drank of the wine that I
left in the bed chambers of Mathew and the Great Evil.” Gertie
said. “Janet was leaving Mathew, for everyone’s safety, but I doubt
if she would have ever gone as far as planning his death.” Gertie
said.

“You never know.” Ashton
said. “You know what they say about mothers, that they will go to
any lengths for their children.”

“This is true.” Gertie
said. “We are here – John should be waiting for us in that
restaurant over there.”

John jumped up as soon as
he saw Gertie enter with a man and woman. He shook Ashton’s hand
firmly. “Good to meet you, my name is John Ellis.” Cindy and Ashton
were introduced as her cousin and her cousin’s husband. “Coffee?”
The waitress offered, pot in hand. John had to laugh at the
reaction that got from the three people in front of him. “I am
guessing not.” He said, “I will have a cup though,
thanks.”

John wasted no time. “What
do you think about Gertie and me getting married? I trust she has
mentioned to you that I have a son not much younger than Ophelia,
so I do have father experience.”

“Where exactly would you
two live? Around here, or somewhere else?” Cindy asked.

“I need to stay on base
some nights, but I do have a house about an hour and a half from
here which would be our family home. It’s not real big, but it’s
clean and in a good neighborhood, has a big backyard and a full
porch with a swing. I am also happy to mention that I own it free
and clear.”

The other three looked at
each other in confusion. “Free and clear?” Ashton asked.

Misunderstanding their
confusion, John went on. “I know that might be hard to believe
because of my age, but I assure you that I have worked hard and
saved much and that indeed, the house is paid for in
full.”

“But why get married?”
Cindy asked. “Can’t you just stay together and be happy with each
other as you are now?”

John looked shocked. “I
would never put Gertie in that position! She is a lady and I will
always treat her as such. My love for her is pure!”

Gertie took John’s hands in
hers. “I love you, John, and I want to be with you. But, I do not
wish to marry you.”

“But why? Is it true then
that you have a husband already? Do you somehow fear me or is it my
son that is keeping you from committing to me?”

“She is committing to you
more than you will ever know.” Ashton said, and then quickly
changed the subject. “You are in the military and Gertie has told
us about the bombs and aircraft. What can you say that would ease
her worry that you would be hurt, or worse?”

John looked defeated. What
could he say? “What Ashton mentioned is true. That could be a very
real situation. But isn’t everything? We could walk out of this
restaurant and get hit by a vehicle or have a heart attack. No one
knows what tomorrow will bring. I only ask that you allow me to
take care of you and Ophelia to the best of my ability.” John
said.

“John, I do love you and
all that I can promise you is that for as long as you can share
yourself with me, I want you. I do not wish to marry and my reasons
are my own. I can promise you that I am not already married to
someone else. If we are going to continue on with our relationship,
you must know and understand that I will not change my mind. You
also have to know that I am not able to have more
children.”

That last comment had Cindy
and Ashton surprised right along with John.

“I am so sorry, Gertie. But
it will be O.K. We have Donald and Ophelia, we can share our love
with them, and we do not have to have more children.”

Gertie, Cindy and Ashton
looked at each other and nodded. “In that case, John Ellis, I will
be happy to spend the rest of my life with you. So, when should we
do this?” Gertie said.

Now John was the one
looking from face to face. He laughed out loud. “Whenever it is
convenient for you, my love. I am not rushing you.”

“I would like to take a
little bit of time. I need to take care of a few things before we
leave.” Gertie said.

“I will be leaving the base
next month and going home. Why don’t you take all the time you need
and we will plan on leaving for my home then? Cindy, you and Ashton
are always welcome there. I promise to take very good care of
her.”

Cindy and Ashton were the
ones to laugh out loud then. “Oh, we know, but Gertie is quite
capable of taking care of herself.”

When they were alone again
Cindy asked Gertie about her remark about not being able to have
more children. “Is that true, Gertie?”

“I don’t know, but how it
would it look if I were with child for another how many years? No,
better that I do not get with child. I don’t want to see a doctor,
I don’t know what the lightening and travel tunnel did to me or to
any of us. Things are so different here, doctors are smarter and I
would never do anything to put any of us into danger.” Gertie
said.

“You are very brave,
Gertie.” Ashton said.

“No, I am not, I am
terrified. I know that I love John beyond reason and want and need
to be with him. My fears have nothing to do with that part of our
lives. I do worry about his son, though. I hope I will be a good
influence on him, the poor child has already lost one mother, I
hope he does not get stuck with one who can’t take care of
him.”

“You will do just fine,
Gertie. Trust in yourself and you will be fine.” Cindy
said.

The time went quickly.
Janet painted several pictures of Gertie and Ophelia, including a
full sized one in her beautiful bright red dress and heels. Gertie
also learned some simple dishes to prepare for meals and told Janet
and the others everything she had learned about the other side of
the mountain and how they lived.

There were many laughs and
many tears as Gertie prepared to take her and her daughter Ophelia
to begin a new life with John. On the day they were leaving, Janet
pressed the ruby red ring into Gertie’s hands. “Take this and know
that you can come back to Enchanted any time you wish. Be safe and
be careful and if you ever feel in danger or scared or need
anything, you know how to reach us.”

Gertie felt afraid to leave
her family, but she could not imagine living even one more day
without being with John.

Chapter 13

John was all smiles as they
drove up to the house which they would share their lives in. Gertie
too was smiling, Ophelia – not so much.

A nice looking middle aged
lady met them on the porch. “Mrs. Davis, this is my new bride –
Gertie, and her daughter Ophelia. Gertie – this is Mrs. Davis and
in her arms is my son, Donald.” John said, taking the baby from
Mrs. Davis’s arms.

Gertie inwardly winced at
the term ‘bride’, but it was much easier for people to think that
they had wed. She said hello to Mrs. Davis and the three of them
made small talk. Mrs. Davis mentioned that her son, Ted, had
recently got a job with an insurance company and told Gertie how
important it was to have the right kind of insurance. Gertie
understood none of what she was saying, so she stood there with the
same unchanging smile.

Donald was a strange
looking child. His head was not quite shaped as it should be and he
did not smile or reach for his father. Gertie wanted to make this
work with John, but she was afraid she would fall short as far as
doing everything that would be required of her to make this
arrangement viable.

John handed Donald to
Gertie and then went to the car to get their suitcases. Mrs. Davis
opened the front door and motioned Gertie and Ophelia into the
house.