Gen 8 Ch 6

For the twins' thirteenth birthday, Topaz surprised them with a trip to France.

Coral could hardly wait to accompany her mom on another of her exciting adventures, but all Rose talked about was the herd of wild horses that she had read about that roamed the hillsides surrounding Champs Les Sims.

Topaz also had an ulterior motive for this French trip. She was hoping to reconnect with Jolene, and left Coral and Rose to explore the market while she paid a visit to her friend.

However, it was immediately obvious that Jolene had become involved with her long time roommate in the intervening years. Topaz was disappointed to find herself the odd woman out, and soon said her goodbyes and returned to the hotel.

Rose, meanwhile, had met a handsome young man at the market, who dazzled her with stories of the local wild horse herd, and promised to show her around, if her mother approved.

And Coral was excited to discover a bookcase full of books she had never read before, and lost no time in burying her nose in one of the more interesting looking stories.

Only the promise of adventures could drag Coral away from her books. Topaz had learned of a system of tunnels under the nectary, and Coral could hardly wait to explore them with her mother.

Topaz taught her how to locate hidden doors by knocking carefully on each section of wall, and listening for the slight echo that meant a hidden chamber beyond.

They were rewarded this time with a room full of not only artifacts, but ancient bottles of nectar as well. They would make a fine addition to Topaz' growing nectar collection.

Rose spent the most of her vacation with her new friend Pascal Morel. He knew all the favorite grazing spots for wild horses, and Rose was content to spend her days just watching them. Pascal, on the other hand, spent most of his time watching Rose.

As she became more familiar with them, she ignored Pascal's advice and dared to approach more closely. The day the chestnut mare took an apple from her hand was the highlight of her vacation.

She named her Ginger, and begged her mother to allow her to take Ginger home to Bridgeport. Of course this was impossible; they had no space for a horse in their tiny yard.

That evening, she said goodbye to her friend one last time, and watched with tears in her eyes as Ginger galloped off into the hills.

After the sad farewell, Rose ran back to Pascal, looking for comfort. If there was anyone who could lift her spirits, it was her new best friend.

He pulled her into a long comforting hug.

"Don't worry, Rosie. They will still be here next time you visit. We'll see them again, I promise."

They sat together on the soft grass long after the sun went down that evening, talking about everything except the thing most on their minds - they had only two days left together before Rose would have to board the plane for home.

The next day, Pascal picked her up early for a trip to the museum. He had liked showing Rose the horses, mainly because it meant spending time with her, but art was his true calling. Rose was thrilled by the Egyptian exhibit.

""Look at that statue, Pascal! My mom has one of those!"

"Not a real one? How is that possible?"

"I'm pretty sure it's real - she brought it home from Egypt before I was born."

As they wandered through the Egyptian Exhibit, Rose considered telling Pascal about the strange circumstances surrounding her birth - how she and her sister were conceived in Egypt, how her mother had never revealed who their father was, and the tattoo her mother had returned with, a tattoo of a woman with hair that matched the color of Rose's own. She opened her mouth to speak, and then shut again just as quickly.

"Pascal!" Rose whispered, "Look over there - that woman!"

"What woman? I don't see anyone. Are you sure?"

Rose looked again, and there was no one there. She told herself she must have just imagined it. There was no way that was the woman from her mother's tattoo.

She was shaking still, so Pascal pulled her into a gentle embrace.

"Calm down, Rosie. There's nothing to be afraid of here, I promise."

Rose buried her head in his shoulder, and willed herself to be calm. But when she opened her eyes again, she immediately caught sight of the same woman, watching her with a curious expression on her face.

"It's almost closing time. Let's go, Pascal. Please?"

"Of course, Rosie."

The next day was their last day in France, and Rose spent it with Pascal at his home, well chaperoned by his father, much to both their dismay.

As the three of them sat down to dinner that evening, Pascal's father brought up the subject they had both been avoiding.

"Rose, you are leaving in the morning?"

"Unfortunately, yes." She watched Pascals face fall as she said the words, and knew that he felt just as sad as she did.

"He has been telling me about an exchange program at your school in Bridgeport. I am considering allowing him to attend."

Rose almost choked on her salad. Pascal had told her there might be a chance his papa would let him go, but it was a small one.

"There's a good art program there. I think he'll like it," she managed to answer.

Topaz and Coral spent their last day in France exploring a few of the ancient tombs in the graveyard.

"You're not really going in there, are you mom?"

"Of course I am, there might be some relics in that chest."

"But... this is a graveyard.."

"Okay mom. I guess I'll just stand out here and pretend I don't know you... err.. I mean, stand guard..."

As Coral's eyes roamed over the burial ground, they came to rest on a slight figure, half hidden behind a  bush bursting with large pink blooms.

"Mom!" she squeaked. It had to be the same woman her sister had told her she had seen in the museum. "Come quick!"

"What is it?"

Topaz was alarmed at her daughter's tone of voice, and was at her side in seconds.

When she saw where Coral was pointing, she thought her heart would jump right out of her chest. She never expected to see that face again. The memories of that time had faded so far into the deepest recesses of her mind, but in an instant they all came flooding back.

"Tabitha!" she called, running as fast as she could toward the flowering shrub. But by the time she got there, Tabitha had disappeared, seemingly into thin air.

Gen 8 Ch 5

Sadly, not long before the Topaz and the girls were supposed to leave for China, their lives were turned upside down by an unexpected visit from the grim reaper. It was her mom's time, and nothing Topaz or Coal could do was going to stop it.

She wanted to cancel the trip, but her dad wouldn't hear of it. He insisted it would do them good to get away  for a few days. Topaz at least tried to convince him to come with them, but he didn't want to do that either, claiming he was way too old to be gallivanting all over the world - and besides, who would take care of his garden?

They finally reached a compromise, where Agate would stop in every day to check on their dad, and make sure he was doing alright. Topaz was still reluctant, but felt a little better, knowing that her dad would be taken care of.

When they arrived at the hotel in China, she was immediately accosted by a group of autograph seekers. They had heard a 'famous artist' would be visiting, she was told. She hadn't realized that people in China had even heard of her! Rose and Coral waited impatiently. They couldn't wait to begin exploring.

Their first stop was at the Terracotta Army. Topaz' contract specified that a painting of the ancient burial grounds be included in the final portfolio. Rose and Coral had a great time playing tag among the giant figures, and were only lured away by promises to visit the market square the next day.

The next day, they all headed down to the Forbidden City. Topaz set up her easel to capture the view of the market square.....

....while Rose and Coral wandered off to explore. Soon they came running back, all excited.

"Come here, mom, you gotta see this!"

"Wait just a minute, girls, let me put my paints away."

"Look, mom! It's a pad with footprints on it, just like the ones you told us you found in the tombs of Egypt!"

"Smart girls! It does look like some kind of triggering device. I've heard there is a secret entrance to the treasure rooms of the infamous Dong Huo somewhere in this square. I wonder if this is it?"

"There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" Topaz exclaimed.

Rose and Coral looked none too pleased with their mom's 'try it and see' attitude, and were even more shocked when a stairway appeared, leading down into darkness.

They stood in open-mouthed silence while Topaz explained about hidden doors, and directed the girls to pick up anything interesting that they found.

They were thrilled for a few moments, at finding a bag of money and a silver bar, but soon they lagged behind again, afraid to pass the silent watchers in the hall.

"Come on! You need to keep up, girls! Now stand back! I found a key. Let's see what it opens!"

Everything seemed safe so far, so Topaz wasn't really worried. After all, who would hide anything dangerous under the market?

As they descended the next set of stairs, however, Topaz stopped short in alarm. There were definitely traps here - dangerous ones.

"Stop right now, girls. Not another step. I never expected to find traps like this here. I'm taking you back to the surface."

After depositing the twins back at the market, and giving them some spending money to keep them occupied, Topaz returned below. There was no way she was going to leave this place unexplored. But so many traps! It took hours to navigate through the maze.

Her persistence finally paid off, and she found herself standing in one of Dong Huo's ancient treasure rooms. She didn't know if she should just take the loot, or... or what? Turn it in to the authorities? But who would that be? She gathered it all up, anyway. She would just have to ask around later.

When she arrived back at the market, she was amazed to see Rose and Coral working on a writing project. She had forgotten that they were supposed to write a report on their travels, as make up work for missing a week of school. She left them to it, while she went to check in with the relic dealer. There she got another surprise - she could keep all the relics she had found in Dong Huo's treasure room!

Then, the treasure packed, and the reports complete, it was time once again to head for home.

They arrived home to find Agate and Coal engaged in a rousing game of foosball. Topaz was a little put out, that they were so involved in the little swinging men, they couldn't be bothered to ask her about her trip. 

Coral and Rose scurried up the stairs to their bedroom as fast as the could, as soon as they stepped out of the car.

They couldn't wait to be back together with their imaginary friends.

Topaz surveyed her work one last time, before loading her new paintings into the car and heading to the art museum. She was please and was sure she'd be able to fund her next trip, on the proceeds from these China paintings alone.

One last stop on the way back from delivering the paintings - a new tattoo in the shape of a koi, to remind her of China.

Turn about is fair play, or so the saying goes, and Agate and Jojo needed a vacation. So Coal and Topaz agreed to watch all the kids for a few days. Reagan was now a teen, and was a huge help with her little sister and twin brothers, but there was no way she could handle that mob alone.

The twins, Lowell and Bennie, were quite a handful.

Jana was a real sweetie, and she and Rose and Coral had a great time together.

But Coal's favorite was little Bennie - maybe because he was the only one of all the grandchildren to inherit the famous Sinbad's red hair?

Note:

Sorry about the lame ending for this chapter. I wanted to include all the kid spam from Agate and Jojo; their kids turned out really cute, I think.