Honor heard Josh’s voice before she saw him. He was calling after Cody while at the same time, trying to catch a helium-filled Mylar balloon before it rose too high for him to reach. Then she caught sight of Cody, running to her full-tilt. She bent down to catch him up in her arms and hugged him close as she walked toward Josh. Cody was holding onto her so tightly that she had to turn sideways to give Josh an awkward hug and kiss.
Josh laughed. “He missed you.”
Honor replied, “I guess so! How about you?”
Josh licked his lips. “Me too. I plan to show you how much later tonight.” He held up a bouquet of flowers for her while still wrestling with the uncooperative balloon. “Hey, Cody… you forgot to hold onto your present for Honor.”
Cody released his death grip and reached for the string that was tied to the floating Mylar balloon. “We bought you presents to make you happy you’re home.”
Honor smiled at him and then at the red and silver I Love You balloon. “Why, thanks Cody. But truthfully, I missed the two of you something awful, so just seeing your faces was enough to make me happy.”
By the time they took the escalator down to the baggage claim area, Cody was growing heavy in Honor’s arms, but she didn’t put him down. It was sheer joy having his little arms wrapped around her, with his cheek resting on her shoulder. She exchanged loving glances with Josh over the top of Cody’s head, wishing nothing more from life than to experience a few thousand more moments, just like this one.
Once Honor had unpacked her things at the Belleview Biltmore, she and Josh took Cody down to the playground to burn off some energy before bed. They sat together on a double-wide Adirondack chair, watching Cody play in the sandbox.
Honor gazed into Josh’s blue eyes. “I didn’t realize how much I missed you until I saw you in the airport.”
Josh tucked one of her curls behind her ear, and then let his fingertips slide over her cheek to trace the outline of her lips before lifting her chin for a tender kiss. “I’m so damn glad you’re back. I was worried you wouldn’t want to leave Chicago.”
“You have nothing to worry about. Don’t you know you take my breath away?”
Josh swallowed hard. “I think it’s time for Cody to get his bath and hit the hay.”
Honor nodded in agreement.
“Cody! Come on, buddy - play time is over for the night.”
After his bath, Cody decided he wanted Honor to be the one to read him a story and tuck him into bed. She obliged, but when she finished the story, he begged her to read another.
“Hey, Josh, why don’t you read the next story, while I hop in the shower? I think it’s our bedtime, too.” Honor licked her lips and gave him a seductive wink.
Josh cleared his throat. “Pick a short story, Cody…a very short story!”
When Honor walked out of the bathroom, clad in a pink lace baby-doll nightie and thong underwear, Josh let out a soft wolf-whistle. He flipped back the comforter and pulled her into bed with him as soon as she was within reach.
His voice was gruff with passion. “Christ…you just get better and better. You look incredible.”
***
Honor snuggled with Josh, relishing the tranquil afterglow and amused at how quickly he had fallen asleep after making love. She wondered if she would have an encounter with the spirit realm her first night back -- or for that matter, ever again.
She whispered, “Margaret, I hope we still have a connection. I want to tell you about my new social circle and learn what happened to Darcy.”
Honor dozed in and out of sleep, enjoying the simple pleasure of Josh’s hard, lean body resting against hers. Finally, the fog started to swirl around her, thick and damp. Honor relaxed, letting the fog take her away.
When the clouds began to dissipate, Honor had no idea where she was. It was difficult to get her footing and the air was cold and misty. As the haze continued to lift, she recognized the outline of a ship’s bow and saw Darcy on the deck, leaning against the railing. As she gulped in air to settle her stomach, Honor realized Darcy was attempting to do exactly the same thing.
“I’ve never been on a ship before and I’m not adapting to the conditions very well,” Darcy moaned. “Perhaps my delicate condition makes the rocking more difficult to endure…” Her words trailed off, as she gulped more of the cold night air and then slid onto a nearby bench. “Thus far, I’ve spent most of the journey on this deck, where the effects of seasickness are less pronounced. Margaret makes excuses for me, least the other passengers take note of my growing belly and begin to suspect my condition.”
She pointed to a woman, walking across the deck towards them. “And she sends her accountant, Hannah, to see to my needs.”
As the woman drew closer, Honor’s memory clicked. Margaret’s accountant, Hannah, had been a child prostitute. Margaret saved her life the night she was almost beaten to death in a brothel.
Honor guessed Hannah was about twenty five years old now, and she still walked with a bit of a limp. Hannah sat by Darcy on the bench and placed a tray between them. Lifting off a cloth, she revealed a small bowl of stew, some crackers and a cup of hot tea. Darcy gratefully accepted the tea, holding the cup in her hands to warm them, but she looked warily at the stew and crackers.
Hannah encouraged, “I know you don’t feel well, but you must eat. Starving yourself isn’t good for the babe.”
Darcy avoided eye contact with Hannah. “What has Margaret told you about my situation?”
“Margaret knows I can be trusted and she thought you might appreciate the company of a woman who has dark secrets of her own.”
Darcy nodded. “She’s an insightful woman.”
The two sat quietly while Darcy nibbled at the stew and crackers.
Finally Hannah interrupted the silence, hoping to cheer Darcy. “Take heart. This wretched journey will soon be over.”
“The end of the journey might relieve the vapors, but it will also mark the onset of new tortures that I will be forced to endure,” Darcy lamented.
Hannah tilted her head quizzically.
Unable to stem a tide of emotion, Darcy wept, “God is surely punishing me for being unfaithful to my marriage vows. And the worst of my punishment is yet to come. After I suffer childbirth, I must abandon the babe -- the only evidence that Rory ever lived. To the world, it will be as though he and our love never existed. I alone will ache for him every moment of every day for the rest of my years.”
Large teardrops rolled unattended down Darcy’s cheeks. “Alas, I can think of no greater retribution than what God has in store for me.”
Hannah soothed, “I do not pretend to know God’s plan, but I learned long ago that no one can tell a heart whom it is to love. A heart doesn’t care about wedding vows or social circumstance, and it doesn’t consider consequences. A heart can bedevil the mind until nothing else matters except what it desires, and it can convince the purest soul that all will work out in the end, even when this is far from the truth. When reality is laid bare, the heart often shatters.”
Hannah rubbed Darcy’s hands, warming them. “But I know from experience that one can survive heartbreak. The pain may seem unbearable for a time, but when your mind finally regains control of your heart, you will come to realize you made the best decision for yourself and for the infant. That’s when you’ll discover a glimmer of hope still lives within your broken heart, and with hope, all things will become possible once more.”
Honor’s eyes welled with tears. She was amazed that Hannah was still capable of such compassion after her ordeal. Honor was so lost in the moment, she didn’t notice the folds of fog gathering until they were swirling around like a tempest. Knowing it was useless to resist traveling to the next memory destination, she relaxed and allowed herself to be carried away.