Chapter 3:Something in the Water
It was impossible to tell which of the two was more nervous. Odd, really, being nervous on a date with your BFF, but they'd never really done anything all that romantic before. Maybe a "compliment appearance" here or a 'dirty joke' there, but never…a date. Just the two of them, in Willow Creek.
(Actually, Sergio was there, too. Despite all the Angelfish spotted swimming around in the ocean just below the cliff where their house stood, he had yet to catch one, and wondered if maybe his luck would change in Willow Creek. But he stayed down by the river with his rod and did not interfere one iota with the 'date' in progress).
And it did go well. Quite well, in fact. The two were able to focus on one another, and for once, they got to talk about something other than work.
"Belladonna Cove? I've never heard of the place," queried Joaquin.
"Oh, it's in another dimension. No way of getting there from here - not without a complete and utter transformation of the self which, trust me, you don’t really want to get into," Iris replied. "Trust me."
"Oh, I understand how the dimensions work. My family comes from Champs Les Sims. I guess I'm never going to see it, am I?" he sighed. He seemed almost…regretful.
"Ah, Monsieur Le Chien. Je regrette que tu es pris ici à Windenberg."
"Bien oui. Mais je suis pris ici avec toi."
"I mean, it's not so bad, really," Joaquin sighed. He had been staring up at the stars, but now he had something…
someone more beautiful to stare at.
"What's not so bad?" asked Iris.
"Being stuck here with you."
Iris smiled. Mournfully, regretfully, but also happily. She was well aware of the curse of Immortality. She was stuck here nigh on forever. Joaquin would move on, without her.
She wished she could hold onto this moment, here in this place, this minute in the midst of all of time and space, forever.
In fact, she swore to herself that she would.
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Dynasty Achievement Unlocked: Gold Medal Date
And even as the two of them moved on to much more… primal? expressions of love, Iris remained moved by that moment.
So that the next morning, the two of them made their relationship official, as they promised to be exclusive to one another.
A moment commemorated, of course, with another selfie.
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"Alright Sergio. You and I have both been stalling as much as the other here," I said, finding the boy busy at work fixing the shower. "I think it's time we got started on operation pollination."Sergio bashed the wrench into the wall of the shower with greater force than before.
"Seriously, I know you heard me. Single child-bearing females in your contacts, show them to me."He sighed. "Do I have to."
"Trust me," I said, "I'm asking myself the same question."
And so, Candy Behr was brought out to stand in the shadow of the weeping cherry blossom tree, where Sergio woo'd her until she followed him up to her bedroom.
And, well, one thing led to another.
"It must have been something I ate," mumbled Candy, as she found herself getting up close and personal with the porcelain throne. But I was a little bit more the wiser.
A few nights later, two other lovers were found stargazing under the branches of the weeping cherry blossom tree, presumably in anticipation for another session of violin practice (they were starting to get quite good, actually).
"The humans have a story," said Iris, "About a watcher who said to a man named Abraham, that one day his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Which was remarkable, as Abraham and his wife were both quite elderly, and they had no children."
"That's funny," said Joaquin. "What happened?"
"Well, Abraham thought the watcher was being ridiculous, so he woohoo'd his slave so she would get pregnant by him, so that the prophecy would come true. And yet, not long after the slave girl gave birth, his wife became pregnant anyways. So the watcher knew what they were doing. Three major religions of the human world have this story in them, and all of them claim to be children of Abraham."
Joaquin sighed. "I'm glad we don't have to worry about religion."
"Me, too," said Iris. "But I suppose I'm a bit like Abraham. In that I do worry about the future sometimes. I mean, there's so much that I just can't control."
"Why is that?" asked Joaquin.
"Well, I worry that maybe I'll fail, or one of my children will, and we won't be able to complete our Dynasty," said Iris. "Or I worry that I'll lose heart if I have to carry on without Sergio's help, without all my friends, some of whom have already been taken by the grim reaper. Or most of all, that I'll struggle to carry on without you."
Joaquin said nothing for a while. He just lay there in silence. Iris was almost beginning to worry that she'd told him too much. But it was true - even though they were still young adults, she knew that the day would come when he would leave and she would stay before either of them were anywhere near ready.
"Get up," said Joaquin, quietly.
"Iris, as much as I hate to admit it, you're absolutely right. One day we will be separated, and it hurts to think about it. And I suppose I'm the lucky one - I get to move on and be at peace while you have to carry on the Dynasty that you came here to start. And that breaks my heart."
"Joaquin, what are you…"
"Shhh. Iris, I still want you to know that as long as I'm here, and as long as I'm alive, I want to spend every minute possible with you. Helping you, supporting you, loving you, in every way I can. It may only be brief in the eyes of the universe, but to me, it would be a lifetime."
"Iris Morven. Will you marry me?"
"Oh Joey," gasped Iris, tears welling in her eyes, "oh Joey, of course I will!"
The next morning, Sergio had barely finished the breakfast dishes and was about to head out for a quick jog before tackling the gardening for the day, when there was a rather abraisive knock on the door, accompanied by a shout of "Sergio Romeo! You had better get your butt out here you lousy low life!"
Reluctantly, Sergio opened the door to face the music.
"Now tell me. What the heck do you expect my sister to do with YOUR baby?"
Sergio gulped. How on earth was he supposed to explain this?
