Balancer's Soul (22 page)

Rhoda spun around to look at Connor still
leaning on the doorway, as he now crossed his arms. “How did she
react to it?” He gave her a proud grin as an appropriate answer.
She smiled and seemed satisfied with the simple response. She
walked into the kitchen again, wearing a pleased expression.

When she left, he looked at his grandfather,
who still rubbed the top of his head. “I need to do some research
online. May I use your computer in the study?” David looked up,
smiling. He’s used to his wife’s treatment.

“Sure, go right ahead. I will see you at
supper anyways.” He stood up and entered the kitchen, taking his
life in his own hands.

Pushing himself off the door frame, Connor
walked down the hall and entered the study. There were many books
covering the wall in no particular order. There was one big desk
and a comfortable chair. The walls were painted in a sky blue and a
fan on the ceiling remained motionless. On the desk sat his
grandfather’s laptop and connected to it was a mouse and a printer.
David recently upgraded to digital, high-speed internet, not too
long ago and it really helped when anyone needed to do some
research and not hog the phone line.

After sitting down and turning on the
computer, Connor went directly to his favorite search engine. The
first topic he entered into the search line was
house foundation diagrams
. They were then printed
on a few papers, showing lengths, diagrams and angles to fit his
needs. He continued searching and printing everything he deemed
necessary for the upcoming project; from plumbing, furniture,
fireplaces to kitchens.

Sarah’s mother, Jillian kept creeping into
his mind. She kept telling him about Balancers and their powers.
And an idea struck.

Connor didn’t want to research anything
on Balancers because he wanted to hear it all from the woman he
loved, but he did want to know more about the elements. In the
computer, he typed
Elemental
representations
, and there were over two hundred
million possible results. He sifted through many websites until he
found exactly what he was looking for.

Understanding washed over him as Connor read
this particular site. Originally he thought that there were only
the four elements; Fire, Air, Water and Earth. But there was much
more to it than that. In fact there are five basic elements, all
with a different meaning. The screen showed the name and their
definitions.

Fire (Energy) – The movement of molecules
that can either emanate heat as it moves faster or cool as it
decelerates. Kinetic energy is the source of warmth.

Terra (Earth) – Solid material that holds
minerals.

Liquid (Water) – All forms of non-solid
elements like water. (The air we breathe is classified as a fluid
just like the water you swim in or drink.)

Pressure (Wind) – The application of force on
an object to alter and change its outcome, movement or shape.

Metal – An alloy that is capable of being
fashioned into a new form and can be liquefied and reshaped by
heat. It is a malleable element.

After reading everything on the site, an
image popped into his mind that could represent all of these most
basic elements. It was a simple and elegant mental image. It felt
right.

The last line of the site read “If all
of these elements come together, you create life, but take just one
element away, it will result in death.” It reminded Connor of
Sarah.
“Without knowing her secret and her
not knowing mine, we were like the five elements. It was all or
nothing. Sarah, I love you, all of you.”
He looked up
at the now spinning ceiling fan in the study.
“When you see the surprise I have in store for you, I hope
it’s to your liking.”

“Connor, Dinners Ready!” Rhoda announced from
the dining room. He looked at the clock on the wall and outside the
window to notice how dark it became. The hours of research flew by
all too quickly.

Connor sat all of the printouts on the side
of the desk and grabbed the spiral notebook and a pen and sat them
all together.

Entering the dining room, Connor stopped
suddenly. A mouthwatering scene laid out before him. His
grandparents were both sitting together across from where he
usually sits at the table and seemed to gloat from his reaction.
The old oak dining room table sat brimming with food. Upon it were
three crystal glasses, filled with sweet iced tea and lemon,
stuffing, mashed potatoes, Corn bread, Cranberry sauce, biscuits,
sweet potatoes and last but not least was a large, uncut slab of
steak. It felt almost like a May’s Thanksgiving dinner.

Connor sat down in a daze and asked “What is
all of this?”

Rhoda looked beyond pleased at his response
and started “Jenny called here just after you left the house to
come over and said for us to trust you with whatever you are up to.
Your mom also said ‘Connor’s ecstatic about something. So Mom,
please cook up something hardy for him.’”

Davis looked at her in obvious confusion.
“You mean to tell me you knew he was coming, yet you still hit me
on the head?”

She looked at him with a feral smile. “I told
you I was looking for an excuse to hit you, didn’t I? This simply
fit in with my plans.” He shook his head in defeat as she looked
back at Connor and said with a playful smile “Let’s dig in.”

After ten minutes of eating, David started
the conversation they all wanted to hear, after putting his fork
down on the table. “Alright, Son. Now we may talk about whatever
you have planned.”

Taking a breath and laying his utensils down
Connor started with “I know I do not have any money, but I’m strong
enough to work off whatever debt I accumulate. If you need anything
done around here I’ll do it, no questions asked. Give me the tasks
that are especially too difficult for you to do.”

“Go on.” David wore his calm business
expression.

“Well I will need some building supplies
bought and to borrow some of your tools. I’ll need to also borrow
your trailer to haul the materials.” Looking businesslike himself
came easily and natural.

“You may borrow whatever you need. Do you
need to use my truck?”

“Only for a part of the way, I’ll pull it
myself for the rest of the journey, when I find the ideal spot.
That’s why I brought my harness that I pull Kara to school in every
morning. I’m going to use everything I’ve got for this
project.”

“That’s understandable, now what kind of
supplies are you going to need?” David leaned forward, interlacing
his thick fingers on the table.

“Some lumber, plywood panels, plenty of two
by fours and several posts, insulation, some piping; preferably
PVC, some concrete, plenty of nails, glue, calking, red bricks, and
some double pane glass panels. I will get you a more accurate list
in the morning; I still need to plan and draw out everything I have
in my head.”

“Sounds like your building a house?” Rhoda
jumped in the conversation.

“A small cottage.” He corrected with a
smile.

“But why?” She looked frustrated.

“I’ve only told Mark this, but it looks
like I need to tell you as well. I need your word that you will not
tell anyone. Not a single person can know or the surprise will be
ruined, not even Mom can know and
especially
Kara.” He looked them in the eyes
seriously.

“You have our word.” Said Rhoda and David
nodded in agreement.

“Sarah and I are now privately engaged. I
want to make a small house just for the two of us. After I am
finished with everything, I will show it to Sarah as an early
wedding present, then I will bring everyone over to see our home.”
Connor leaned back in his chair to let this sink in. They grinned
at each other and Connor continued “I will also need to use your
forge for another side project.”

“I think that we can handle that! Anything
else you need from us?” David asked calmly.

Connor then steadied himself. “This last
request is going to be more difficult to acquire.”

“Well out with it! I’m getting excited; I’m
looking forward to this project.” Rhoda chimed in and began
bubbling over with anticipation.

“I need raw silver ore, about the size of my
fist.” He balled up his fist to show as an example.

“That might be difficult, as you said.” David
said, looking up to think.

“Not for me!” Rhoda blurted out with a
gleeful laugh. Grandfather and grandson both looked at her with
dumbfounded expressions. It made her laugh harder. “I might be an
old woman, but jewelry is still my best friend. I have a girlfriend
who owns a jewelry store. She and her husband make everything
themselves from raw materials. She buys raw ore and uncut stones
all the time. Since I personally financed her store to open a few
years ago, she owes me
Big
. So
Connor don’t worry, I will get you that silver on one
condition?”

“Anything.” And he meant it.

“Whatever you make from it, I want to
see the final product
first
.”

“Done.” Connor got out of the chair, ran
around the table and picked her up in a hug and spun her around
saying “Thank You So Much, Grandma.” She giggled ever so happily.
Setting her on the ground again and looking at them both, he said
honestly “Thank you. Both of you. You will not regret it.”

“Well a good man takes care of his woman and
the woman does the same. A relationship won’t work if it’s one
sided.” Rhoda said, smiling up at him.

As he left the dining room, Connor overheard
his grandfather say to his grandmother “Your right honey, this will
be exciting. Well it seems like I need to find some things for him
to do around here, huh?”

She said “You’re right, David. He will be
upset if we gave it all to him without him feeling like he owes us.
I’ll call Monday morning about the ore…”

Entering the study again, he acquired the
printouts and drawing instruments and then headed upstairs. Connor
spread the papers over the spare bed and began the first step of
building a home for Sarah and himself. He first began drawing out
the dimensions and estimating the materials he’d need to begin
construction.

***

After waving goodbye to her future mate as he
left in the red truck with his grandfather, Sarah’s weekend felt so
slow. She wouldn’t see him for a month and that thought kept her
spirits down. She so badly wanted to be near him and secretly
figure out his plans, but that wouldn’t happen.

Waking up Monday morning, she couldn’t
keep certain images from her mind. All of the anguish on Connor’s
face as he revealed the pattern on his chest and how he was
preparing himself for the worst of her expectations, kept being
repeated over and over in her mind. His story about how the mark
painfully seared into him gave her the chills every time her mind
touched the subject. And the relief that washed over him as she
told him that she loved him made her melt. The truth was that the
mark over his chest made him look even manlier. Rugged and
dangerous personified the mark. At least to her it did. His godly
musculature and their first real kiss…
“I’ll never forget any of it
.”

Getting out of bed to get ready for
school, Sarah took a steaming hot shower and put on her usual
clothes, a silver t-shirt and knee high shorts.
“Since you won’t be there, I won’t care how I
look.”

Entering the living room, she noticed the
lights were on. Sarah’s parents are never up this early in the
morning without reason. “Good morning, Sarah.” Jillian announced
cheerfully, even at this early hour. Something was happening. She
was wearing only her usual red silk robe that tied around her waist
and she wasn’t wearing any foot apparel. She sat on the loveseat
with a cup of coffee in her hands, looking excited for some
reason.

“Morning…” Sarah said while yawning. “Why are
you up so early?”

“We have company.” Her face remained
neutral.

Now awake and alert to what she said, Sarah
asked quietly “At this hour?” And Jillian smiled a playful smile.
She was up to something yet again.

Seeing movement in the kitchen Sarah spotted
sandy blond hair at the sink. “Connor! Why are you back so soon?”
She yelled in excitement.

“Nope! Try again.” Said a chirpy voice and
her heart crashed in on itself.

Recognition hit like a truck. “Kara?” she
asked skeptically.

“Bingo!” Kara stepped out of the kitchen,
wearing a cutoff pink halter top and blue shorts. She held a cup of
coffee in one hand and walked past Sarah to sit down with her
mother on the sofa. She looked at Jillian and said “Your little
sister needs to get her eyes checked. She mistook little ol me, for
my gigantic brother. Don’t you agree, Jillian?”

Jillian stole a quick glance at Sarah. “Nah,
but she gets ahead of herself when she gets excited… Especially
recently.”

Quickly processing what’s going on
Sarah figured it out. Connor told Kara that her mother was her
sister. Jillian entered her mind and said
“Connor is keeping our surreptitious life closed to the public
and is keeping up our usual cover story. It seems Jack and I were
right in trusting him.”

Only one thing didn’t add up so Sarah asked
“Kara, why are you here so early in the morning?”

“Oh, Brother said that while he was gone that
you would take me to school.” She looked at Jillian and then back,
after realizing the looks they both shared. “He said it would be
alright.” Tilting her head to the side she asked “Brother, did ask
you right?”