Gypsy Charms – Part Four
Joshua sat up, his head pounding as usual, and looked at Stephen. “I had the strangest dream,” he announced. “There was this woman, no, not a woman, more like a goddess. She had the darkest hair, and the prettiest eyes. Stephen, she was amazing, if only you could have seen her.”
Stephen laughed at his friend. “I have seen her.”
“I’m not jesting with you,” Joshua proclaimed indignantly.
“Neither am I,” Stephen defended. “This goddess of yours in none other than Jasmine, the gypsy woman who is going to lead us to Lady Juliet. I’m not jesting with you, just you wait until she walks in through that door.”
Joshua turned toward the door, just as it opened. Sure enough, his goddess strode in, carrying a bucket of water. His mouth fell open. “You’re…” he trailed off, not sure what to say.
“I’m Jasmine. I’m a gypsy, as I’ve told your little friend, and I don’t care what you think of me for it. You’ve hired me to find the Lady Juliet for you, and I’ll take you to where she is. She’s joined the same band of gypsies that I have, and unfortunately they are on the move. It may take as long as two months to catch up to them. They move very quickly, and two men like you, who have obviously grown up very wealthy, will not be able to travel as quickly as they can. They cover as many as twenty miles day. Judging from the looks of you two, we’ll be lucky if we can cover fifteen.” She looked pointedly at Stephen when she made that comment.
"You just be sure that you’re not pulling one of your gypsy tricks on us. Because if we find out that you’re leading us on, you’ll pay with your life.”
“Stephen,” Joshua yelled at his friend. “Honestly, your mother would have a fit if she were here.”
“Well, she’s not, Josh. You need to realize that. We’re out in the world now, about as far from out mothers as we can be. Stop worrying so much about what your mother would think,” Stephen said as if accusing Josh of some unspeakable sin.
“I don’t care so much about what my mother would say,” Josh defended. “I just happen to have actually learned a few manners from her. One of them being that it’s impolite to threaten a lady’s life.”
“She’s not a lady,” Stephen told him. “She’s a gypsy.”
Joshua went to punch his friend, but Jasmine chimed in then, “I truly don’t care what you think of me, and you can threaten my life all you want. I know you can’t kill me. If you do, you will not only never find the Lady Juliet, but you will also never get out of this area alive. We won’t be traveling along roads; in fact the ones we do cross will be few and far between. We will always be traveling in the woods, at least three miles from the main road. I am a gypsy after all, and therefore an outlaw. I can’t very well go parading myself around the streets.”
“Of course not,” Joshua agreed. “When are we to leave?”
“As soon as we have collected all of the necessary supplies. I’ll make a list, as I’m sure between the two of you it still won’t be done right.”
Joshua smiled to himself. This girl certainly had a mind of her own. He stole a look at Stephen, whom he could tell was becoming more and more angry with every insult she dealt. He knew right then that this was definitely an adventure worth going on.
They had been in the little town for a week. Stephen was more than just a little restless. “When are we leaving,” he demanded.
"Tomorrow morning,” Jasmine impatiently told him for the hundredth time that day. “We would leave today, but you slept so late we didn’t get a chance. We have to leave predawn.”
“Have fun waking him up tomorrow morning,” Josh laughed. “And watch out for flying objects too. He’s got quite an arm on him when he’s half asleep.”
“Nobody asked you anything, Josh,” Stephen impatiently commented.
The three had done nothing but fight the entire week. The tension between Jasmine and Stephen was almost palpable. Josh knew that they hated each other intensely, and because of that he was almost worried for Jasmine.
If Stephen was a friend, he was the most loyal man in the world. He would give his life for a friend without any questions asked. However, if it was someone he hated, that person would truly regret having ever met him. Joshua truly believed that Stephen wouldn’t hesitate to kill an enemy if given the excuse. That had always scared him, but he grew to accept it as part of who his friend was.
"We should probably put all of our things together so that we don’t have to do it later on tonight, or tomorrow morning,” Joshua commented.
Without saying a word, Jasmine and Stephen got up to do just that. Josh was sick of the constant glares between them, so he took Jasmine by the arm. “We’re going for a walk,” he told Stephen, and led Jasmine out the door.
“What is it with you two?” Josh asked her as soon as they were out of the room.
“He doesn’t understand me, and he hates me because of it. I hate him in return for his closed-mindedness. I can’t stand people who are afraid of anything different than what they are used to. I grew up with that, and I escaped it because I could no longer take it.”
“When did you join the gypsies?” Joshua asked her.
Jasmine looked at him with wide-eyes, “How did you know I wasn’t born one?”
Joshua laughed at her, “Well, you said you escaped the world you had been born into. I’m assuming you didn’t run from one band to another.”
She sighed, almost in relief. “I joined the gypsies about two years ago.”
“Oh,” he replied. “When did Juliet join this band?”
"Floretta brought Juliet to this band about seven months ago. So far they haven’t decided what she can do yet. She does what every gypsy woman is expected to do, but she doesn’t have her own trade yet. She hasn’t yet been married to one of them either.”
"What do you mean by ‘what every gypsy woman is expected to do’?” Joshua asked.
Jasmine blushed. “Well, it’s just…it’s…Oh, it’s nothing,” she proclaimed.
Joshua was afraid he already knew what it was that all gypsy women did. “And are you a ‘gypsy woman’ yet?” He asked.
“Of course. At sixteen you are an official woman, and you have certain expectations you need to meet. Everyone has to pull their own weight; there are no slackers in my band,” she announced proudly.
He smiled at her. “I’m sure there aren’t. At what age is a woman expected to marry?”
Jasmine sighed. “By eighteen a woman should be married with at least one child.”
“Why do you sound so upset about that?”
She looked up at him. “It’s the one expectation I haven’t yet fulfilled. I’m nearly nineteen, and I haven’t yet married. I just can’t seem to find a man that I care for enough.”
“They are understanding about matters of the heart?” he asked in bewilderment.
“Of course they are. Gypsies are nothing like what you’ve heard. We don’t cheat, we don’t lie, we do marry for love, and although our beliefs vary widely from that of society, we earn an honestly humble living.”
He reached out and touched her cheek. “I’m sure you do.”
“We should be getting back,” she told him abruptly. “There’s no telling what that friend of yours is doing with our things”
“I suppose you’re right,” he conceded. They turned and walked back toward where they were staying.
Gypsy Charms – Part Six
Joshua slapped his arm, again, as he felt the familiar bite of a mosquito. “And I thought we had too many bugs back home,” he commented to Stephen.
Stephen slapped the back of his neck as he agreed. “Remind me to never again complain about the mosquitoes in the summer.”
Jasmine walked along, about two yards in front of them, seemingly untouched by the annoying bugs. Her walk was as graceful as if she were walking down a flight of stairs at a ball. “I really don’t know what you two are complaining about,” she commented. “They are incredibly scarce this season.”
Stephen and Joshua looked at each other, in disbelief, and offered prayers of thanks that they weren’t here when it was a normal season.
“Are we about ready to stop for the night?” Joshua asked. “My feet are killing me.”
“We’ve only walked ten miles,” Jasmine protested. “We’ll never catch up to them if you don’t toughen up a little.”
Joshua glared at her back and mentally prepared himself for at least another five miles of agony. He wondered whether this adventure was going to be worth it in the end.
No one said anything else for the rest of the early evening. They walked until well after dark. Stephen guessed it to be about eleven before Jasmine finally gave her sign that they were to stop.
Joshua smiled as Jasmine did her familiar little quirky habit of a succession of five forward handsprings and two backwards so that she was facing them. She ended with her legs spread wide, and her hands raised high in the air. Then, and only then, would she announce, “Time to sleep.”
“Why does she always do that?” Stephen demanded.
“I think it’s cute,” Joshua replied.
“You would,” Stephen accused with a hint of contempt in his voice. “I honestly don’t see what you see in her. She’s a wild gypsy with no religion, and absolutely no manners.”
“You’re one to speak of manners,” Joshua laughed. “You truly don’t see in her what I do. I see a fun-loving girl who doesn’t give a damn about society.”
“Much like that sister of yours,” Stephen reminded him. Suddenly, Stephen burst into laughter. “Remember the time that she rode standing up on that horse? She almost gave your parents a heart attack. Oh, how I miss that girl,” he confided.
“So marry her,” Joshua joked.
“No thanks,” Stephen admitted. “As much as I love that girl, I could never marry her. She’s too much of a sister to me, it would almost be wrong.”
“Good, I didn’t want you for a brother-in-law anyway,” Joshua said with a smile on his face.
“What are you two laughing about? You should get some sleep, we’re getting up early tomorrow so that we can make up for how much time we lost today. And if you thought today was hard, just wait until tomorrow,” Jasmine told the men as she walked toward where she was going to sleep.
“Some adventure. This is more like torture,” Stephen told Josh.
“But what wonderful torture it is,” Josh sighed as he laid his head down on the rock that was to be his pillow for the night.
Gypsy Charms – Part Seven
“I swear if we don’t see some sign of that gypsy camp soon, I’m going to slit her throat,” Stephen said as he sat down on a rock to rest his weary feet.
“She warned us it would take some time,” Joshua reminded him.
“Three weeks, Josh, three weeks and not a sign of any of them anywhere. And with you coddling her the way you do,”
“I do not coddle her,” He denied indignantly.
“You do coddle her, and I pity you because I am sure that you truly don’t see it. You treat her like she’s a piece of spun glass. She’s not, Josh, she’s a gypsy.”
Joshua jumped to his feet. “You can’t see past that, can you? She’ll always be nothing more than a gypsy to you. She was right; you have an incredibly closed mind. If you would just talk with her, you’d learn some things. Or are you afraid of anything that’s different from you, like she said?”
Stephen glared at his friend. “She has poisoned your mind. Listen to you, singing her praises. She’s a heathen,”
“Don’t you call her that,” Joshua screamed as he lunged at Stephen.
Jasmine walked back into camp to find the two men brawling on the floor. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She stood there in mute shock for a few moments before realizing that they would truly kill each other if she didn’t stop them. “Joshua Douglas,” she screamed as she went to pull him off of Stephen. “What are you two doing?” She yelled at them when she finally managed to pull them apart.
The two men looked at each other, Stephen with his bloody nose and Josh with a split lip. First they smiled at the realization that the very girl they had been fighting over had broken them up unknowingly. Then they laughed at the fact that the very same girl was standing over them, attempting to glare them into submission.
“I truly don’t see what is so funny about this,” Jasmine noted. “We aren’t more than a month into this journey and already you’re trying to kill each other. I suggest that you two put aside your differences and learn to live with each other.”
That speech only managed to make the men laugh harder. They helped each other up, and went to go clean up, still laughing at what had just happened. “You're welcome,” Jasmine yelled at their retreating backs. “See if I ever stop you two from brawling again. You can brawl till the death next time,” she told them. “It’ll make my life a whole lot easier.”
Gypsy Charms – Part Eight
That night, after they had made camp, Jasmine stood up. “We’re running low on money. I’m going to go into town tonight to see if I can get enough to last us the rest of the way. I’m guessing it’ll only be another couple of weeks before we catch up to them.”
“What kind of job are you going to find at this time of night?” Joshua demanded. “It’s nearly midnight.”
Jasmine looked wistfully at Josh, but didn’t answer his question. “I’ll be back before morning,” She announced, and walked toward where they could see lights in the distance.
“I don’t trust her,” Stephen said as she disappeared. “What if she doesn’t come back?”
“She’s going to come back,” Josh assured him. “I can tell.”
“Still,” Stephen persisted, “I don’t trust her. Maybe we should follow her. She could be going over there to do anything. Like you said, there isn’t any decent work to be found at this time of night. And aren’t you the least bit curious to find out where she’s going?”
Josh sighed; knowing that Stephen had won. “Well, we can’t both go. One of us needs to stay here and watch our stuff. There are still thieves out here.”
“And I suppose that you, being the oldest, are going to demand to be the one to go,” Stephen asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Of course,” Joshua replied, and struck out to follow the same path his goddess had just taken.
It didn’t take him long to find her once he had reached the town. There was only one building still open, and that was the tavern. He walked in, and immediately found her leaning against the bar, smiling sweetly at the drunk man that was standing next to her, too close to her in Josh’s opinion.
“What do you say you and I get out of here for a little bit?” The drunken man asked her.
Josh saw red. Without thinking, he went and stood in-between Jasmine and the drunken man. “What do you say you leave this girl alone?” Josh asked the man.
“Josh,” Jasmine pleaded. “Please just leave. Why did you follow me, anyway?”
“It doesn’t matter why, I’m just glad I did. We’re getting out of here, now,” he said as he took hold of her arm and dragged her out of the tavern.
“What do you think you’re doing?” She demanded as she wrenched free of his hold.
“What do I think I’m doing?” Josh asked in amazement. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m doing my job,” she shot back at him.
“That’s no job, Jasmine. Why are you degrading yourself like that? You’re worth ten times more than that,” he stated.
“It’s who I am,” she told him, tears shining in her eyes. “I thought you understood that.”
He pulled her to him, “I do understand who you are. I just don’t understand why. Make me understand, Jasmine. I want to know.”
“I can’t make you,” she said as she shook her head against his chest. “You do or you don’t. There’s no making someone understand.”
“Tell me why it’s part of who you are then. Why do you do it if you don’t have to? Stephen and I are perfectly capable of working and making just as much money as you are. Why do you put yourself through that then?”
“That’s not understanding,” she told him as she began to back away. “That’s rationalizing. You’re starting to sound like Stephen. I thought you were different, Josh. I thought you would accept me, no matter who or what I was.”
“I do,” he stated flatly. “What I don’t accept it you putting yourself through that immoral--”
“And the judgements begin. I should have known that deep down you were just like him. You two have been friends since you were born; it’s only natural that you have the same beliefs. Well, not to worry, Joshua. As soon as we get to this gypsy camp that you want to reach so desperately I’ll be out of your sight. And after all, out of sight is out of mind.” She turned and stormed away from him.
Joshua just stood there for a few moments. That’s not what he had wanted to happen at all. He wondered if he would ever do anything right where she was concerned. He hoped that eventually he would.
“No. It’s been over a week. I didn’t think I had hurt her that badly,” Josh said with a touch of guilt in his voice.
“She’s overemotional,” Stephen told his friend. “Don’t take it so personally.”
“He can take it as personally as he likes,” Jasmine announced, looking daggers at Josh. “I’m leaving for the night. I’ll be back before morning.” She turned to leave, but turned back to them just before she disappeared from sight. “Don’t either one of you follow me, either.” She then turned and walked away.
“She hates me,” Joshua told Stephen.
“No,” Stephen protested. “She hates me. She likes you.”<>br>“That’s not too much like liking in my opinion.” Joshua laughed without humor.
“That’s because you like her too, and therefore you don’t see anything as it is,” Stephen said as he laid his head down. “I think that the most amusing part of this adventure is watching you two battle it out when all the both of you want is to--”
“That’s enough Stephen,” Joshua warned.
Without another word the two men fell asleep.
Jasmine, on the other hand, went to meet with her friends. “Floretta, I don’t know what to do. I can’t hold them off for much longer, and I have to get away from Josh.”
“Why do you have to get away from him? He seems like a nice enough man,” Floretta stated.
Jasmine sighed. “That’s the problem. He is nice. Too nice. He’s not who I want to spend my life with. I want a man who lives for adventures, and is always taking things one day at a time. Josh just wants to better the world, and he sees me as his latest conquest.” She sighed. “Why does my heart seem so two-sided?”
Floretta laughed at the girl’s naiveté. “You’re heart isn’t two-sided, girl. You’re head is warring with your heart. You think you want one thing, but in fact, your heart has something far different in mind. Listen to your heart, Jasmine. That’s the only part of you that can truly tell you what you want. Now, go back to that camp, and lead those men in a few more circles, then you bring them to us.” Floretta turned to leave.
Jasmine, not quite sure about how she should phrase her question, yelled for her to come back. Floretta turned expectantly. “What do I do about Juliet?” Jasmine asked.
Floretta smiled at her. “You do what’s best for her.”
Gypsy Charms – Part Ten
Josh lay awake, not being able to stand where he knew Jasmine was. It tied his stomach in knots when he imagined her with another man. He couldn’t get the vision out of his head. Finally, he stood up to go for a walk. He looked at Stephen and determined that he was sleeping. Not quite knowing where exactly he was going to go, he began to walk.
He walked for what seemed like hours to him. He tried thinking of anything that he could, anything but her. Nothing worked. Then, as if conjured up by his very imagination, she came out of the trees. They both jumped in surprise when they saw each other.
“What are you doing here?” She demanded.
“I was going for a walk,” he yelled back at her. He saw a sort of relief in her eyes when she realized he wasn’t following her. He wondered what exactly he would have seen if he had been. He shook those thoughts from his mind immediately; he didn’t want to know. “Look,” he began, hoping to make peace with her. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“You don’t want to fight anyone,” she accused. “You’re not a fighter.”
“No,” he admitted. “I’m not. God pulled a fast one over on us all when he gave all of the fighting instinct to my twin sister. But that’s not the point. The point is that I don’t want to fight with you particularly. I hate fighting with you. I’m sorry for anything I’ve said or done that’s made you this upset. Forgive me, Jasmine.”
She wanted to forgive him. In her heart she already had. But she couldn’t turn back now. She had chosen her path, and she needed to stick to it. “Josh, it’s really nothing against you. It’s just that we’re so different.”
“That’s what I like about you. You’re so much different than I am. It’s those quirky little habits that I find so endearing about you,” he confessed.
Jasmine laughed lightly. “Josh, if we were two different people, in another place and different circumstances, then maybe. But not us, not like this.”
He ran his thumb lightly along her cheekbone. “Then give me just this one night, Jasmine. Please.” His voice was so filled with raw emotion that Jasmine was close to taking him into her arms and telling him that everything would be all right.
She looked at him and realized just how much he meant to her. She could never have him for just one night. It wouldn’t be enough. “I can’t,” she said and ran from him.
Josh stared at her retreating back. For the first time in his adult life, he felt the urge to cry.
Jasmine walked for hours after she had run from Josh. She sorted things out in her mind as best she could. By the time she ambled back into camp she had decided two things. One of them was that what Juliet needed most was to be left alone; left to live out her life in the way she chose, with the people she chose, and in the place she chose. The second thing she decided was that she wanted Josh. Even if it was only for that one night. She realized that that one night would leave her with memories enough to last a lifetime. She knew she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with him, so she would take what little part of her life she could spend with him and live it to the fullest.
She walked over to where he was lying and softly called his name. There was no response. She walked over to the other side of him and looked at his face. She realized that he was sleeping, but she didn’t have the heart to wake him so she let him slumber on. What she did instead was lie down next to him, and worked her way so that her body was up against his.
In his sleep, he put his arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I love you, Jasmine,” he murmured.
She wondered if he was truly sleeping. She turned in his arms to look at him. It struck her for the second time how truly handsome he was. She smoothed his unruly hair from his forehead and laughed to herself when it instantly fell back down.
She sighed like a contented cat, and snuggled deeper into the warmth that his body offered. She wished with all of her heart that circumstances had been different, that she had the ability to spend her life with him. But she knew she would never belong in his family. She was too wild, too unconventional. He may have seen it as endearing, but Jasmine wasn’t going to convince herself that his family would feel the same way, it would only lead to disappointment.
Gypsy Charms – Part Twelve
“If you squeeze your eyes shut any tighter you’re going to go blind.”
Josh opened first one eye, and then the other. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Jasmine was in his arms. “Where did you come from?” he sleepily asked.
“I was thinking last night,” she said as she once again smoothed his hair from his brow, and it once again fell back where it had been. “You’re right,” she absently commented. “About what?”
“About having just one night together. There is no way that we could live together forever, but I’d like at least one special night to remember you by.” She looked at him with eyes that told of a terrible longing.
“I don’t want just one night,” he told her. “I want every night between now and forever.”
“I can’t offer you that,” she said sadly. “I’m a gypsy, remember? We never stay in one place for longer than a few days, and I’m not about to leave them. They’re the only true family that I know.”
“Let me be your family,” he pleaded. “Jasmine, at least consider it.”
“I have,” she told him as she pulled from his embrace and stood up. “I’ve tried to see myself becoming a housewife for you, content to merely stay home and watch your children. I’d never be happy living like that. I’d grow to hate my life, and despise you for it. I don’t ever want to despise you.”
Josh was now sitting on a tree that had been knocked down by a storm some years ago. “Jasmine, come here,” he ordered. She walked to him, and he pulled her down onto his lap. “I could never live my life in peace knowing that every night you’d be in bed with some other man. I could never be happy thinking that maybe you were having someone else’s child. I would never be satisfied if I had to face every day without you standing next to me to experience the same things at the same time. Jasmine, my life will mean nothing to me without you.” He kissed the tip of her nose, and each of her eyelids. “I’m not asking you to give up your adventures. I’m asking you to, please, at least try it. Barbados is nothing like it is here. You’ll have plenty of adventures, more than you could ever have here.”
“None of which I would experience with the people who took me in when I had nowhere to go. It’s not as easy as you’re making it sound, Josh. My band is like my family; they take care of me. I can’t just leave them, you understand that, don’t you?”
Josh sighed. “I suppose I do.”
“Then please, let’s not talk about this anymore,” she pleaded with him. “We only have a couple hours left together, I want them to be happy ones.”
“What was that about a couple hours?” Stephen asked though a yawn.
Jasmine got off of Josh’s lap and put on a dazzling smile. “We’ve caught up with my band,” she told Stephen. “They’re only a few hours ahead of us. The sooner we get started, the sooner we’ll catch up with them.”
Stephen jumped up. “Well then, let’s go. Josh, quit sitting around, we’ve got reward money to collect on.”
Jasmine watched as Josh joined his friend in the act of rolling up sleeping bags, putting out the fire, and packing up supplies. She wanted to spend more time with him, but her heart couldn’t take it. Floretta’s words echoed through her head, but she quickly blocked them out, and began to help the men pack.
Gypsy Charms – Part Thirteen
The three were within minutes of catching up to the gypsies. They were so close that Stephen could almost feel the reward money in his palm. Josh and Jasmine on the other hand, bore heavier hearts with every step they took.
Joshua purposefully held back because he knew that Jasmine would subconsciously do the same. When they were our of Stephen’s hearing range, Josh began to plead with her again.
“Jasmine, why won’t you just try living with me? If you truly don’t like it, I’ll bring you back to them. I swear to you I will.”
“I know you would,” she told him. “But, again, it’s not that easy. They are constantly moving, Josh. We’d never find them if I left here for months. There are hundreds of places they could go, and we would have a one in a million chance of finding them again.”
“Then I’ll stay here with you,” he announced. “I could learn to be one of them, Jasmine, I could.”
She smiled at him, a wistful smile that almost had a touch of pity added to it. “I know you mean well. And I know that you truly would try because you truly do want to spend the rest of your life with me, but Josh, it’s not nearly as romantic as it seems. You’re constantly running from the law, you’re living on a whim and prayer. You have to learn a specific trade because you can’t just tag along, everyone pulls their own weight, and you’re much too old to learn acrobatics.”
Josh smiled at her. “What? You’re not going to teach me that cute little trick you pull every night?” he teased her.
“Josh, please be serious.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” She told him. “You aren’t going to take it seriously, I know you’re not. You’ll be completely disenchanted inside of a week, and you’ll grow to resent me.” When he opened his mouth to protest, she held up her hand to stop him. “Don’t feel bad about it, it’s no different than if I were to go live with you.”
“Jasmine, I would take it seriously. I would do anything that it took to make it possible for us to stay together. Jasmine, I--”
“Stop calling me Jasmine,” she cried out suddenly.
Stephen turned around to find out what had just happened, and Joshua looked at her in pure shock. “What else would I call you?” he asked.
“Juliet,” Came a voice that was familiar to all three of the travelers.
They turned to see a group of about thirty gypsies who seemingly were being led by Floretta.
"How could we have been so blind?" Stephen asked suddenly." I mean, if you think about it, she doesn't look at all like a gypsy. Why was it possible for her to fool us as she did?"
"Because we had no reason not to believe her," Joshua told him. "We have to leave her here."
Stephen stared at his friend in shock. "Leave her here? Have you gone mad? We did not come all of this way to find the missing Lady Juliet just to leave her here."
Joshua shot an icy glare at Stephen. "She's happy here. I'm not going to take away that happiness. And I'm not going to let you do it either. I'll fight you, Stephen, so help me God I will."
"She's really got you hooked," Stephen commented. "I never thought I'd live to see the day that a woman changed you so much."
Joshua laughed. "It is really sad, isn't it?" Just then, Juliet walked up to Josh and held out her hands. "What do you want?" he asked her. She nodded towards the woods, and Joshua took her hands and got up. She led him toward a cut path.
"Joshua," She began. She really wanted to say what she was about to, but she wasn't quite sure how to do it.
"What is it?" He asked her; it was a gentle urging to get her to say what was on her mind.
"I want tonight." She blurted out. Joshua looked at her oddly, and she clarified. "I want to be with you tonight," she said.
"Juliet, I have been with you at night. Every night since we've left."
"No, I mean really with you."
Joshua looked at her, and he saw an almost pained expression on her face. He could tell that she feared what his answer would be. He held out his arms and she walked into them. "Are you sure?"
"I've never been more sure of anything," she told him.
"It's going to make tomorrow all that much harder," her reminded her.
"Don't worry about tomorrow," she told him. "Just worry about today."
Stephen had been furious about this, but Joshua just laughed it off. Leave it to his gypsy to lead him in circles in more ways than just one.
Joshua felt someone slip their hand into his, and he turned to see who was there. He felt his heart constrict at the sight of Juliet. "I love you, Joshua," she said to him.
"I love you, Juliet," he assured her.
She shook her head at him. "Juliet is gone. There is nothing left of her, she might as well have died. I'm Jasmine," she told him.
"Well then, Jasmine. I love you too," he said with a pained smile. He kissed her forehead and turned to leave.
"Call him back, Child," Floretta said to Jasmine.
Jasmine shook her head through her tears. "I can't. It would never work. I'm not going to do that to him."
"So you will live out the rest of your life wishing for something else, instead?" Floretta asked disbelievingly.
"If that's what it takes to make him happy, then yes."
"What would make that boy happy is if you would call him back," Floretta said. "Or maybe, if you decided to join him on his journey home." Jasmine spun on Floretta, a shocked expression on her face. "Don't act so surprised, Child." Floretta laughed. "When I found you, you didn't know which end was up. Now, we've gotten your feet planted firmly on the ground. We have served our purpose in your life. You won't be betraying us by leaving; we all want you to be happy. Think about it," Floretta ordered as she left the room.
Stephen got up and looked out at the ocean where his friend was also, dazedly, staring. "Wow," Stephen commented. "That's some imagination."
"I'm not in the mood for teasing, Stephen," Joshua told his friend.
"No, really," Stephen protested. "That is some imagination, I can see her too."
Joshua looked at Stephen and back out at the ocean. Sure enough, his goddess was strolling along the beach. He ran down the stairs that led directly to the beach, ran to her, picked her up, and spun her in a circle before putting her back on her feet. "How did you find me?" He asked her.
She laughed, "Is that all you care about?" He kissed her, and she seemed mollified. "Well," she said in a breathless voice, "I knew you were from Barbados, and once I got here it wasn't to hard to find you."
"Are you here for good?" He asked her worriedly.
She smiled sweetly at him. "For as long as you can put up with me."
"I love you, Jasmine."
"I love you too," She told him as he leaned down to kiss her again.
"I agree," Jasmine threw in. "Had I know what a wimp I would have been marrying, maybe I would have stayed with the gypsies."
Little Corey looked at Joshua and they nodded to each other. At the same time, they lunged toward the girls and tackled them. The four then proceeded to splash each other mercilessly.
"And to think we were worried about them being happy," Victoria commented her husband.
"What bothers me is that it seems everyone related to you has to go to another continent to find someone to marry. Why can't just one of them stay close to home for once?" Corey whined.
"And what if I had stayed home?" Victoria reminded him. Corey gave his wife a look of mock irritation. "Then stop complaining." She ordered him.
"Well," Corey added after a moment of silence. "One down, and only two more to go."