Between HeVan and Hell by Lucy Kelly Page B

and looked in
the case. There wasn’t much there, but what she saw…
    “Oh, my, your designs are beautiful!”
Grace said.
    “Grace, would you like one ring or
two? No, don’t answer that, we’ll get two,” said Jalen.
    “Why would I need two?” she
asked.
    “One for the assignment and one for
us, I don’t think you would like to use our ring for your
assignment,” he said.
    By then a young woman wearing jeans
came out from the back.
    Grace wasn’t listening any longer to
the conversation going on around her.
    He wants to buy me a ring?
He’s actually going to buy two rings because he doesn’t want me to
have bad memories associated with my wedding ring? She thought in
amazement. She would convince him that one ring was plenty; all the
memories would be good.
    “Thank you, child. It’s a pity I can’t
afford to put really good stones in the settings,” said the old
lady.
    “Marta, these three lovely people are
getting married and they need rings. Did you bring the
rings?”
    “Did they tell you that, Grandma, or
did you guess?” asked Marta.
    She turned to them and
said, “We’ve been reading Valerie Hudson’s new book HeVan’s Own, and so
she’s got multiple partner marriages on the brain. I hope you’re
not offended.”
    “Actually, we have a third
brother who couldn’t be here today. All three of us are planning
to Join with
Grace,” said Jalen.
    “Wow, you guys must really be fans.
Well, I’ll go get the rings.” And she left to go into the
back.
    “She’s a good girl, but she has no
imagination. She’s young, she’ll learn,” said the old lady, with a
twinkle.
    “Lady Grandma...” began Jalen, when
she interrupted.
    “Please, call me Gilda. And you
are?”
    “I am Jalen and this is my brother
Jett and this is our…”
    Jalen almost gave their real last
names. He needed to remember to use their aliases.
    “When you know me better, you’ll tell
me more,” said Gilda, with a big smile.
    Jalen gave her a strange look and once
again pulled out the silk pouch and the briefkes. He handed them to
her and let her open them.
    She opened the first paper packet and
drew in a breath, “Oh my, what beautiful black and red diamonds;
the quality, cut, and clarity are remarkable for stones of this
size.” She opened the second briefke and was once again surprised
at what she saw. “These are the most magnificent opals I’ve ever
seen. The colors are so clear, and they have beautiful formations,”
she added, looking at the stones through her jeweler’s loupe. As
she was examining the stones, her granddaughter came back with
three trays of ring settings; none of them had stones.
    “Marta, go on over to the table with
the young lady and show her the settings. I’m going to talk to
these gentlemen about these beautiful diamonds and
opals.”
    She waited until they sat down and
Grace was trying on rings.
    “Gentlemen, I believe we can do very
well together. It’s easy to see that the stones you’ve brought are
superior to any I have in stock. In fact, a few of these are better
than any stones I’ve ever seen.”
    “And it’s also easy to see,
Lady Gilda, that you are a jewelry designer beyond compare. You are
correct that we will make a good team. Now, Grace’s sister has
already been Joined . We have a picture of her and her Ankida. You are familiar
with our words?” asked Jett.
    “Oh, yes. Many of them have been
passed down in my family for generations. We don’t share them with
outsiders. Just mother to daughter; Marta had just reached her
fifteenth year, and I was getting ready to share the old stories
with her. Her parents died, you see, when she was a little girl, a
house fire. Anyway, I was going to tell her and then that woman
Valerie came out with her books. Every time I tell her a story, she
points to one of those books. So now she thinks I’m going senile.
Bah! Four years now, I’ve stopped trying to convince her lest she
put me in a home. And now you’re here! Have