Coventina (31 page)

“Until midnight,” Coventina said.

Whoever was not cooking was outside preparing the tables at which they would eat.

Within the hour, the shower was finished, the first cups of coffee downed, and the cooking finished.

“What can we do help?” Denise asked.

“Nothing,” Aja said. “Actually my dear friends, this feast is in your honor.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Okay. Come on darlin’,” Denise smiled, taking Layla by the hand as they walked out the front door.

They were greeted with smiles from everyone.

“Oh my. Looks like a few of you got to do some shopping yesterday,” Denise said, looking beyond the table set for the feast to a large stack of items they had purchased for those leaving to take with them.

“Yes. Amazing how long a list of items can get if you know you won’t be coming back for a very long time if at all,” Anna giggled. “Lots and lots of music.”

“Actually, the way they can replicate things it probably wasn’t necessary, but, after all, we’re only human,” Diana laughed.

It was finally time to sit down to eat. Coventina started with offering a toast. “To Denise and Layla, without whom none of us would be here today.”

Everyone took a drink of their wine before giving them a standing ovation.

The table was filled with fish, chicken, assorted vegetable dishes, fruit and of course, French pastries.

Midway through the meal, Quintus stood up to offer another toast. “I offer a toast, to my dearest friend Marcus. We have been through so much together. We have saved each other’s lives more than once. I am going to miss you my dear friend.”

Everyone raised his or her glass, but there was no applause. Everyone knew that the toast meant Marcus would not be leaving.

“So,” Denise started, looking at Lucilla with a wide smile, “what has everyone else decided?”

“I too will remain here,” Lucius said, before turning to Aja to kiss her.

“Okay, you won’t be alone,” Layla said, smiling at Marcus.

“Anyone else staying?” Denise asked.

Petilius shook his head from side to side and kissed Maria. Anna threw her arms around Odumnus and Coventina sitting alongside her and smiled. “Where my dearest friends on this planet or any other planet go, I go.”

“I guess you know my answer,” Diana laughed before attacking Venutius passionately.

“Who needs more wine?” Layla laughed.

She walked around the table filling everyone’s glasses.

They partied until the sun went down, eating, drinking, and dancing.

Mys and company arrived around 9 p.m. to collect them all but Aja, Lucius, Lucilla and Marcus. After beaming their belongings aboard, everyone and the Mustang followed. In its place appeared a burgundy Mustang. Denise had given Mys the okay to reverse engineer her gift from the members of the Tyrine as a gift to Aja for all her help, including all the lessons on how to operate it.

The night settled into the sights and sounds of a French summer evening, the moon glowing in the night sky, as each couple headed to their own building for the night.

Departure

Aya and Mys seemed to float in front of the view outside their craft as they made their way across the Atlantic back to Southern Illinois.

“Aja is really going to love that vehicle,” Denise smiled.

“Be sure to give her my number in case she has any questions,” Layla giggled.

Here,
Mys said, handing Denise and Layla what looked like jewelry cases.
These are for you.

They opened the cases to reveal elegantly decorated medallions.

“They are beautiful, thank you very much,” Denise said.

“They are indeed, thank you.” Layla smiled.

“How silly of us. You’ll be wanting these back,” Denise said, removing the medallion given to them earlier. Layla did the same.

“What do the markings mean?” Layla asked.

They show you where in the cosmos your friends will start their new lives,
Aya said.

Layla looked at the medallion puzzled.

Would you like me to show you?

“Yes, please.”

Aya moved closer, extended one hand over the medallion and pointed the other towards a wall Mys had moved to, that was illuminated somehow with the image of the medallion in Layla’s hand.
Mys, if you would please.

This is our galaxy, which you can find here.
The image changed, as if the view was rapidly pulling away from it, until it revealed the constellations of Leo and Virgo.
The medallion also shows the home of your friends on the Tyrine in relation to the new home of Quintus and the others.

“Leo Constellation. Thanks. It would have taken me quite a while to figure that one out,” Layla laughed.

Denise could see from the screen they had already reached North America and were zipping across the eastern United States heading west. “Maybe some day we will be able to pay them a visit.”

I believe one day you just might,
Aya said.

“Is it allowed Aya?” Denise asked, holding her arms out as one would to hug someone.

It is.

Denise hugged her gently, experiencing a tingling sensation when she did. “That was nice,” she smiled.

Layla did the same, each of them moving from Aya to Mys.

We are over your home,
Aya said.

Come,
Mys motioned, seeming to float as she led them through the doorway to the Mustang, where the others were waiting.

They began their final goodbyes. Denise actually saw a tear roll down the cheek of Diana who until this moment had seemed so hardened by what she had been through. She knew what it meant. She was happy to be alive, to be free and in love.

They finally got to Quintus and Coventina. “Layla, this is for you, to remember us,” he said, handing her a Gladius in a magnificently crafted scabbard.

“Why thank you, so very much Quintus,” she said before kissing him on both cheeks.

“And this Denise, is for you,” Coventina smiled, handing her the very bracelet Anna lent to her to aid in locating and recovering her from those that held her captive. “To remember me.”

Denise thought she looked like a goddess in the light shining on her from overhead. “Thank you my dear. Enjoy your new life.” They hugged and kissed, as women who are friends do.

“You know, I have this funny feeling we will meet again,” Layla grinned, holding up her case with the medallion inside.

“I believe one day we shall, here, or in the afterlife,” Quintus smiled.

“Goodbye, dear friends,” Denise said.

They got into the Mustang to the sound of goodbye being offered by the four couples. The immediate area was cleared and the Mustang departed, touching down on Southern Illinois grass between their home and the barn that housed the other Mustang.

In what sounded like a whisper, the light disappeared and the craft seemed to vanish as it sped into the heavens. After a long moment of silence, the sounds of a beautiful Southern Illinois night filled the air.

“We are home baby,” Layla said.

“Home,” Denise said, leaning over to kiss the woman she loved.

Starry Night

“I wonder how far they’ve gotten?” Layla asked.

She and Denise lay out on a blanket on their property near Makanda. The full moon did not make for the best star gazing night, but it had been more than a month since they all parted ways, and it was Layla’s birthday wish.

“I wonder if they were even going in that direction first? I forgot to ask,” Denise sighed.

“I know what you’re thinking?”

“Really?” Denise smiled. “Maybe I really am rubbing off on you.”

“Yep. You’re thinking about just how nice it would be to travel, out there.”

“Yes I was.”

“I have to pee, I’ll be right back, don’t go away,” Layla giggled.

“Bring out the other bottle of wine when you return.”

“Affirmative.”

Denise gazed up at the sky full of stars and smiled.

“Here you are, give me your glass,” Layla said after returning.

She topped off their glasses.

“I never drank this much wine before meeting those Romans,” Denise laughed. “What do you have there?”

“The gift they left us.”

“That moon is so bright it makes it easy to see the details on it.”

“Have you ever wondered what it would be like, to have an entire world to yourself, I mean just you and a handful of other couples?” Denise asked.

“The thought briefly did cross my mind. How is Lucilla doing with Marcus?”

Denise turned towards her with her legs crossed in a Lotus position. “I believe she is finding it much easier to rehab that farmhouse in Tuscany she bought since we gave her our suggestion for that Italian Lotto.”

“Oh yes. Thirty two million dollars will definitely come in handy.”

“Aja does not need it. She’s loaded,” Denise laughed, taking another sip of wine.

“She is indeed. It was awfully nice of her to direct all that money to Judith for all the women who were victims. When do you expect we are going to see little ones from either of them?”

Denise just smiled, took another drink and sighed. “Not in the immediate future. Oh and yes, it was nice of Aja to give all of that dirty money for something good to come out of it.

Layla was tracing the engravings on the medallion she was holding when the symbol for the new home of Quintus, Conventina and the others glowed red. In each of their minds they heard their own voices speaking.
I wish we could move like that,
Layla whispered.
Quieter than tip toes,
Denise said quietly.

“So these gifts are not just for show after all,” Layla said.

“I never thought they were. Too bad they did not come with an instruction book,” Denise giggled.

“You didn’t huh?”

“Nope. Come on, let’s go inside, put on some good tunes and turn down the lights.”

“Really? You got a birthday present for me?” Layla smiled.

“Oh do I have a birthday present for you.”

Denise stood up and walked towards the house. “Just leave everything out here until the morning,” she said, carrying only the bottle of unfinished wine.

“Okay,” Layla said. The medallion she held still glowed red. She stood up and made for the house to find herself floating towards it. “Well I’ll be.”

“Did you say something baby?” Denise said, turning to find Layla moving effortlessly coming up behind her, changing directions at will.

“Yes. I was saying well I’ll be,” she smiled before kissing Denise. When she did her feet were not touching the ground.

“You may have to figure out how to deactivate that, or put it down to stay on the bed,” Denise laughed.

“I wonder how high we can go?”

“I have a feeling we are going to find out,” Denise smiled as she followed Layla who floated into the house, closing the door behind her.

The sound of Patti Smith could be heard through the open windows.

On their ship, light years from Earth, the same song was playing in Coventina’s room. “Take me now baby here as I am, Pull me close try and understand, Desire is the hunger is the fire I breathe, Love is the banquet on which we feed.”

In Makanda, the song continued to play when the lights went out.

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