Chapter 8
Booker had a speech prepared. He had words of apology and remorse branded into his brain. He felt sorry for the fear that he had seen in their eyes at the lab, but the remorse for testing them would come later.
He knew the more he waited, the more his resolve would leave him. So he spoke.
They were all seated down for dinner. Booker was playing with his food and they all had noticed.
"Bastien, everything okay?"
He shook his head. " What is it? You can tell us."
"I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t leave me. Please. I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.
“Tell us, Booker. We won’t be mad. Tell us.”
“The capture. That was me. I asked Copley to arrange it. Please don’t leave me. Please.” His voice decreased in volume as he continued to beg for their forgiveness.
Booker was staring at his plate, so he completely missed the looks of surprise on his family's faces.
They stayed quiet, for a few minutes. They hadn’t expected Booker to tell them. Ever. Odd happiness bubbled in Andy’s chest as she figured that Booker finally trusted them enough. However, another thought popped up in her head; a far more likely reason. Guilt.
"Why?" Andy's voice was gentler, softer than he expected and deserved, yet he could not bring himself to look at her.
"I needed to know if you thought that I would do it. If your mind would snap to me. I needed to know."
"We knew it was you, Booker. And we also knew that it was a test. It was rather obvious. The escape was too easy. No mad scientist. And no one died. And well Copley told us once we reached the safe house." Yusuf told him as he put his hand on his brother's shoulder.
“Im sor-”
“Don’t be. Please trust us now, trust us when we say that we won’t leave you.”
“You say that now. But when I become an intrusion, then you will leave or resent me for keeping you tied. I don’t want that. I trust your word and you will stay, but resentment will occur. I want to earn neither your resentment nor anger. You won't forgive me I tie you down. And actions speak louder than words. I do not blame you for wanting to leave, couples need their privacy and I cannot be easy to live with.”
“We won't resent you. I promise. You have my word, so believe it.”
It took many decades for him to believe it. To believe that he could stay with them.
Weeks after the conversation, the family bought a house in the outskirts of Marseille. They found a therapist they could trust and started seeing her. They revealed their secret and she took it in stride.
It was not easy for any of them. The doctor made it clear that it would become worse before it became better and she was right. As they first started, Booker seemed to retreat further into his shell and it became increasingly difficult to pull him out. But then they started to see the small changes. He stopped doing things just so they’d hug him, instead, he’d touch them on their shoulder, as a sign.
Thirty years after Nile joined them, Booker kissed her for the first time, surprising himself, her and the rest of their family who was in the room. The others had noticed the signs and had a bet among themselves on who would make the first move. Yusuf won.
A pregnancy soon occurred to their surprise. It wasn’t that Andy and Quynh had never slept with men, but they had never borne children in their immortal years. To Booker, it was a second chance, a chance to do things right. Although, Nile did argue that he had done nothing wrong the first time around. Grudgingly, they (Nile) agreed to disagree.
They settled in Marseille, in the very house that Booker had grown up in. His descendent was more than willing to sell it, having settled in USA.
On the 9th of July 2051, a chubby blue-eyed boy was born. He was named Anthony in honour of his paternal grandfather and maternal uncle.
Neither Nile nor Sebastien lost their immortality and both worried about the time when they would have to tell their son of their gift.
That time came rather fast for both of them. When Anthony was twenty-two years of age, he was killed defending a child from being kidnapped.
Less than an hour later, he took his first breath as an immortal. Sebastien Booker Le Livre would never lose another child again.
The turning point of Sebastien’s life was when he betrayed them. If he had not done that, he would have continued to believe an untruth, a lie that he conjured up for himself so that he would not feel. He was glad he did betray them. He wasn’t glad for the pain he put them through. But he was glad that those events led to his - and their - happiness. For the family of seven was happier than they had ever been.