Page 96 of The Explorer
“To make sure it’s not a dream.”
“You idiot.” I laughed. “You have to pinch yourself; not me.”
He pinched me again and buried his head against my neck. “Are you sure you want to call your husband an idiot?” His hands were wandering and I heard that arousing undertone of lust in his voice that turned me on.
“Hello?”
We stiffened for a second, listening.
“Indy and Aubri, are you here?”
“Yes, Mom, I was just showing Aubri the curtains you made for me in the bedroom.” With a smile, Indiana got off the bed and pulled me with him.
We walked out of the bedroom and found Christina standing by the entrance with a plate of cookies in her hands.
“Your father said that I should wait for you to come over, but we saw you land, and I wanted to welcome you to your home.” She held out her hands with the plate. “I baked these for you.”
“Thanks, Mom.” Indiana jogged down the stairs and across the room to give his mom a hug.
I followed and smiled wide. “Hey, neighbor.”
Christina reached out her arms to me. “I’m sorry if I interrupted anything. I promise to not come over unannounced again, but I’m still floating on a pink cloud of happiness that you two are here. It’s been difficult these past six months.”
Since Indiana’s parents owned an entire island with amazing wilderness and tranquility, he had built a house not far from them. The walk between the houses wasn’t more than three minutes.
“I never thought about the pain my time in Old Europe would cause you. When Indiana volunteered to stay with me, I tried to tell him to go home, but you know your son.”
“Yes, he’s a protector like his father. They can’t help it, I think.”
Indiana had taken the cookies and was already chewing on one. “Mmm, these are good.” From his tone I could tell he was being polite. Christina loved to spoil us with homemade food and cakes, but she had an unfortunate habit of being too generous with the salt.
“I actually have a gift for you.” Biting my lip, I fetched the box that I’d brought with me from Old Europe.
“What is it?” Christina asked as I placed the box on the large dining table.
“Come open it.” I was dying to see her reaction to the old clock.
The three of us gathered around the table just as there was a tap on the door.
“Come on in,” Indiana called out to his father Alexander, who we could see through the glass in the door.
“I figured it was safe since you didn’t kick your mom out.” Alexander gave us both hugs and shone with joy to have Indiana back home.
“They brought me a gift.” Christina nodded to the box on the table. “I was just about to open it.”
Alexander took a stand on Christina’s other side and encouraged her: “Well, go on then, let’s see what’s inside.”
I was impatient and wanted her to rip the box open, but Christina was an archeologist and exercised restraint and patience as she uncovered the treasure that we had brought her.
“Is this…?” She gulped and slowly lifted the old clock out of the box to set it on the table.
“We retrieved it from the ruins of an old city called Bordeaux.”
“How is that possible? The state of this clock is impeccable. I wouldn’t have thought anything could survive without damage.”
“Oh, it was damaged, but Banni took us to a repair shop that specialized in old stuff. They restored the clock for you.”
Christina pulled out a chair and sat down to study the clock up close. She was clearly in awe and kept making sounds to underline her amazement. “The level of craftsmanship is mind-blowing. I can’t believe you brought me a real rococo clock.”
