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Ivan had to breathe deeply. Now he understood how Paul had felt about his land. Ivan may never have land, but this house meant as much to him. It was his hope and his future as well as his present. A symbol of what hard work and persistence could achieve.
He turned to Claire and kissed her. “I love you and treasure you,” he said.
“I love you, too,” she replied.
Then he clapped his hand on Mitchell’s shoulder. “I honor you for including me in this family. I respect you above all other men.”
“I respect you, too. This would never have been achieved without you, and I could share Claire with no one but you,” responded Mitchell.
“We need to return to Paul’s house so we can eat our meal. It’ll be ready by now. Mary’s watching it for me. Then we need to find a bride for Paul. Once we move into this house properly, he’s going to be lonely with only Mary’s company,” said Claire.
Ivan agreed with her. He hadn’t realized how lonely he’d been until he’d met up with Paul and Claire. Adding Mitchell, then Old Mary to the mix, had provided him with a family again. He loved having a sort-of grandmother and being surrounded by these people gave him great joy. Paul deserved to find someone special, too.
They walked the short distance from their house to Paul’s, Ivan automatically looking around for danger. He’d never seen danger near the stronghold, but a lifetime of awareness would never leave him.
When they arrived at Paul’s house, Mary was stirring the food in the cooking pot, and Paul was sitting at the table with a young woman Ivan vaguely recognized. She didn’t work at the stronghold—or he didn’t think she did—but he’d definitely seen her around. Paul with a woman was an excellent thing though, and it fitted well with the conversation they’d just had.
“Joan, how great to see you. I haven’t talked to you in a long time,” said Claire.
“My brother’s wife had another baby, and I stayed with them over winter and spring. But she’s doing fine by herself now, so I’m back home again,” said Joan.
Ivan watched as Claire moved to the fire and began serving the meal with help from Mary. He went and got their mugs and the pot of water to give everyone a drink, but his attention was on this woman, Joan, and Paul.
“Was the baby a boy or a girl?” asked Claire.
“Another boy. That’s three they have now. I’d hoped for a niece this time, but it wasn’t to be.”
Paul and Joan were sitting very close together and seemed comfortable with that. Ivan felt happy. Maybe this was the solution to their worries about Paul’s loneliness. Joan was bright and lively, the conversation flowing well, back and forth across the room. Every now and then, Paul looked at Joan, and Ivan was sure it was in appreciation.
Ivan watched Claire finish serving the meal and move to the table. She was so beautiful. She meant everything to him. He and Mitchell had to be the luckiest men on Earth.
It appeared Paul had found a woman of his own. Life couldn’t get any better than this.
THE END
