Revenge of the Black Virgin (17 page)

Once inside she vomited bits of stringy
greens and a lot of bile. She hadn’t eaten much that day, and now
she knew why. She was afraid. She’d been afraid since the night
before.

This is the end. And I can’t bear it. I
can’t. I can’t. I can’t.

Tears threatened to ruin her carefully
applied makeup, and she blotted them as best she could. Then she
took some deep breaths and forced herself to buck up.

This is ridiculous. I have to tell him how
I feel. Swallow my pride and tell
him that I want him to
take me home with him. Or have him stay here with me. Either way,
we have to be together…

Her head was spinning with details as she
carefully made her way back to the table and sat down.

She must have looked ill because Luc’s face
grew grave. “Joanna! What’s happened to you? Are you alright?”

A concerned waiter appeared and asked if
there was a problem with the salads.

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m just feeling a little
unwell,” she said to both men. Then she looked at Luc. “I think I
should go home.”

Instantly Luc got up to arrange for a taxi
and settle the bill for their uneaten food.

Then he helped her negotiate the stairs and
the short ride home. Once they were inside the apartment Jo took
off her shoes and went to brush her teeth.

When she came out into the living room, Luc
was standing with his back to her, staring out over the waters of
English Bay. It was a calm evening, and the skies were a clear,
dark blue. The room seemed abnormally quiet. She was holding
herself so rigidly she thought she would shatter.

“I can guess what you’re thinking,” he said
as she walked up behind him, encircled his waist with her arms and
lay her cheek against his broad back.

“You can?”

“I’m going home tomorrow.”

“Yes.”

“And I haven’t asked you to come with
me.”

Her heart froze.

“No. You haven’t.”

“I want you to.” He turned around and put his
hands on her shoulders, peering down into her eyes.

“You do?”

He took something out of the inside pocket of
his jacket.

“Yes. I want you to come with me. As my
wife.”

He opened a little hinged box and held it out
to her.

“I saw this yesterday and I thought it would
look perfect on your hand.”

Jo saw a delicately beautiful ring—small
colored stones and seed pearls in an intricate Art Nouveau design.
Her mouth was hanging open, she knew, as she looked from the ring
into Luc’s shining eyes. Her own eyes brimmed with tears, and she
made a sobbing sound as she practically jumped into his arms.

* * * *

The Departures Lounge at the YVR was one of
the best he’d ever seen, Luc thought as he found himself a
comfortable nook and put his feet up. He’d already checked out the
extensive native art exhibit, and then he spent some time studying
the huge aquarium stocked with salmon and other local sea life.

He opened his laptop and fired off one last
email to his son, saying he’d be back by the time the boy got home
from school the next day.

Then he sent one to Joanna. He couldn’t help
telling her that he missed her already. He knew she was probably
just getting home herself.

She was going to be a busy girl. He wondered
what she’d do first. Of course she’d have to give Brenda notice
immediately. Then she’d have to break the lease on her apartment.
Move her things back to Seattle. Sell her condo. Get her dog back
and prepare to have him exported.

And plan a wedding.

But those were all long-term tasks. In the
short-term she had to get ready for another trip. This time to
Paris for a week. Then he would bring her back to Cahors, where he
was going to line up some rental properties for her to inspect.

They’d spent the morning booking her flights
and discussing a million and one things they planned to do once he
picked her up at Charles de Gaulle. First off, he wanted to show
her Paris.
His
Paris. He hoped it would be like a honeymoon
before the wedding.

Then he wanted to show off his hometown.
Maybe Cahors wasn’t as cosmopolitan as Seattle or Vancouver, but it
was a great place to live. And raise children.

They would find a house to rent, at first,
until they found the perfect property to buy. It might take time to
find something that was just right, but that was fine with both of
them.

It also would take Joanna time to find
something that she wanted to do besides keep house. She said that
was fine with her, too. She’d laughed and said she wasn’t going to
miss working so much that she had to rush right back into another
job. He was glad.

After her two weeks in France, he promised he
would fly back to Seattle with her to meet her family and help her
pack up and move her things. When her affairs were settled, they
would return to France to start the rest of their lives
together.

The smell of food caught his attention. He
looked up at the kiosks and thought he might grab some sushi before
he had to board the plane.

Then he could sleep all the way home.

To be
continued
…

About the Author

Serena Janes is proud to say she was born in
Vancouver, Canada. She now lives about 100 miles from that
beautiful city, on a beautiful island, in a house called “Ocean
Glimpses.”

Serena holds both a Bachelors and Masters
degree in English, and has been teaching university-level courses
in literature and composition for many years. She loves to travel
and her goal is to write a story or novel set in every one of the
foreign countries she’s ever visited. This should keep her busy for
the rest of her life, she figures.

When she’s not reading, writing, gardening,
beach-combing, swimming, cooking, walking, sewing and collecting
stamps and postcards from around the world, Serena enjoys her
husband and Mr. Bates, a tabby cat named after a character in
Downton Abbey.

If you enjoyed Revenge of the Black Virgin,
look for its sequel, Gift of the Black Virgin, and its prequel,
Cult of the Black Virgin.