The Sugarhouse was an old-fashioned name in a region that blended old with new. Not cleverly crafted, nor a vibrant name choice, it was nonetheless virtually timeless in a region that had roots in the 1600s.

Originally a maple sugaring barn for a farmer in the 19^th century, twenty years before, an enterprising young man and the inheritor of the property, decided the old barn would best survive if put to modern uses.

Spacious, with a thirty three by twenty two metre footprint, and tall, with a split-loft section on either side and with a connecting area towards the back, the barn had magically transformed into a modern dining facility, the rustically triumphant vision of Jeremy Thomas.

Six months after his twenty-second birthday, Jeremy inherited the property from his maternal grandfather; his mom was lost five years before to ovarian cancer, a loss that impacted him emotionally ever since. Also on the property with the barn was an old farmhouse, a hodge podge structure combining the original dwelling with three additions.

The tail end of the structure was his grandfather’s workspace and garage, which at the time of Jeremy’s inheritance housed a 1954 Bentley R type four door, and the money earned from the sale of that vehicle financed Jeremy’s dream: to refurbish the property, and extend its useful life.

Now listed on the United States Register of Antiquity Properties, the structure, first built in 1764 and almost completely remodelled under Jeremy’s care and direction in 1988, proved a model for how one could tastefully modernise property within a framework of protecting the original integrity of the home and barn.

Set on the periphery of woods, field, and lake, the property retained a 19^th century feel, while offering guests to the Forest Lake Inn and Sugarhouse restaurant modern conveniences in old fashioned décor.

The Inn housed but fourteen unique suites, and the waiting list for the suites extended out fifteen months. The restaurant, one of the finest in the state, required reservations, as seating capacity was limited to one hundred diners.

The barn was home to the restaurant, as well as to special functions and Jeremy’s office.

Located but three miles from the Salston-Khentavra-T’yaeli-K’avahra enclave, on this night, but a week before Christmas, it served as host to Ronnie and Jahrae, there alone to discuss family and diplomatic relations.

Tim and Ronnie had been occasional guests of the Sugarhouse, and Jeremy knew both quite well. Now that Tim was gone and llhaesa was in his stead, the acquaintanceship continued, but in a reshaped form. Llhaesa noticed that Jeremy’s attitude toward her had changed to something more charming, perhaps with a sizeable touch of enthralled, but the change was a good deal more amusing than bothersome, and llhaesa let it go at that.

Ronnie and Jahrae, prior to llhaesa’s release, had spent some time chatting and sorting out their relationship, but had promised at the time to continue the discussion only to have the hectic schedule of events get in the way.

Therefore, they resolved that this would be their night out alone, to chat, have fun, and generally continue where they left off, but with new perspective of time and a wholly assembled family.

Ronnie requested and received a table away from the hubbub and commotion of the main dining area. The host offered a table at the far end of the left side loft, near one of the sizeable windows that looked out over the field and lake.

The table seated four, and so Jahrae and Ronnie sat kitty corner to one another, eschewing face-to-face seating due to the distance between diners. The table linen was classic country fare, with simple red and white squares as a pattern. The linen lay perfectly on the table, with corners draped over the straight edges of each side. A single, unobtrusive, but romantically flickering candle occupied table centre, a low lying wide candle carrying fall scents, perfect for the holiday season.

Though it was dark, the full moon cast sufficient light for them to see field and lake clearly.

“Jahrae, do you have legends and superstitions on Arrhazon? By that I mean we associate a full moon with weirdness and unusual happenings.”

“Well, llhaesa occasionally moons me, quite often in fact as she dresses and disrobes, and we do tend to get a little whacky, Ronnie! I have the strongest urge to playfully nibble on her derriere!”

“That is not quite what I meant, Jahrae, though I can see how I set myself up for that comeback.”

“Sorry, Ronnie, I could not resist! To properly answer your question, yes we do have our lunar superstitions, including some that relate to certain interactions of our two moons.”

“Two moons must be a sight to see!”

“It has its charms, yes. There is one place llhaesa and I once camped that was rather surreal at night, and I later had dreams of the place, dreams that was of the Arlkhala Constellation, which was clearly visible from that location. The head star of the tree like constellation is your star, Ronnie.”

“You think the dreams of that constellation pointed you towards llhaesa, right?”

“I know not, but I do believe it, yes. In any case, the reflected light from the twin moons lit up the area, an area laden with vivid green mosses. The mosses contain phosphorous, and as a result give off a mild glow visible at night.”

“I would like to see that, Jahrae.”

“You shall, Ronnie… sis.”

Ronnie’s eyes lit up at the first use of the term. Thank you for saying that, we have thought it, but that is the first time we have used the term in real time. There is something quite symmetrical about this, Jahrae. Neither you, llhaesa, Elsrensia, or I have sisters, but now… we have each other, a round robin of sisterhood.”

“A round robin – do you have spherical birds on this world, Ronnie?” Jahrae quipped, in reality searching for a meaning.

“The term is most often used in sports, to signify a certain structure of tournament where multiple teams initially play each other, rather than a two team series.”

“I see, and so you see us arranged in this round robin way, each a sister to two of the other three.”

“Exactly.”

A server stopped by their table, both Ronnie and Jahrae aware there would be a slight delay due to a kitchen accident – the host had so informed them.

“Good evening, ladies! My name is Sylvain, and I am your server for the evening. I recognise both of you, and so I will dispense with the usual information we provide first time guests. Are you satisfied with your seating?

“Yes, we are, Sylvain, but thank you,” Ronnie replied.

“Very well. May I take your order for cocktails?”

“Ronnie, shall we share a bottle of wine? Llhaesa dropped us off and will return at our call, so are you with me in indulging our thirst?” Jahrae asked out of decorum, but already knowing the answer.

“That sounds perfect, Jahrae. May I recommend a wine as our choice?”

“Please, feel free to order, Ronnie, I will love whatever you select.”

“In that case, Sylvain, would you bring us a bottle of your finest Misty Valley Chardonnay reserve?”

“Ah, a most excellent selection for this evening, Madame Salston. I will see to your request at once.”

Sylvain traipsed off to fulfil his serving mission, allowing the diners to resume their conversation.

“When I was on the way here, I had no idea what awaited me. My vision was rather myopic, focused on finding llhaesa, on her well-being. Finding out she lived stripped me of other purpose, and reunion dominated all else.

Over time though, I watched the news reporting from your world, saw images of you, of the girls, of llhaesa, and saw the struggle of each of you to cope with this new and bizarre reality. Yet you pulled through brilliantly, a resilient family that adjusted and reformed.

Then I arrived, and though the dust had barely settled on your reconstituted and reformed family, you greeted me on the slope of your back yard, greeted me with honour by virtue of knowing and acknowledging my identity, and introducing our children to me as my own. That had to be the single nicest thing anyone other than llhaesa has ever done for me, and I wish you to know Ronnie, I will treasure the memory always.”

“You are most welcome, Jahrae, though what I most remember is how you sought out me and the girls as your first act upon this world. Had the police not arrived, what was your intent?”

“I hoped you would provide insight and perspective that I lacked watching from afar, but as you recall, Saehressa was with me, and it was my fervent wish that she meet and visit with her grandchildren; after all, they are her direct descendants.

I never expected, not once, not one thought, that you would greet me with an introduction that called out the girls as my children.

I fully intended to stay if you would have me, Ronnie. I just never thought in terms of someone spotting Chekresu and notifying authorities. A night landing would have been a better choice, but I did not think of it at that time.

I knew not whether you would be hostile, given all you and the girls had gone through, but somehow deep inside, from all I observed from your media, I knew that such a reaction was unlikely.”

“When llhaesa and I first spent time together, we were hiding out at this beautiful country home in Vermont.

Llhaesa spent time bonding with the girls, for even though she spent their entire lives around them, she was a stranger on the outside, and in many ways on the inside, to her children. Heck, she and Tim were quite divergent creatures.

She put the time in, she made it work, she put the children at ease and welcomed them to her world, to her mind, and she did that by reassuring that their world still existed, but that it was about to get a whole lot better.

Llhaesa was brilliant with them, and I marvelled at how she went about the re-bonding. She is one intelligent human being, and she knows how to take down walls and connect with others. In the end, she did the same with me, and it changed my world, it changed my life.”

“One thing that gets forgotten in this, Ronnie, and that is you. We praise llhaesa, you praise me, but in truth, you are remarkable. How you faced the loss of your husband and recognised that it was no loss at all but a potential opportunity to reach out to a future you could not even imagine not long before.

You thought on your feet in the face of unexpected occurrences, and you boldly took steps to move your family forward, without animosity, and with much love. I am certain most would not guide themselves through the mire of what unfolded around you.

Some would be angry, some would be devastated, and some might be both. You saw a light where most would see dark. We are a family that for better or worse, finds our way through, and you rightfully belong as part of this family – an equal part.

This leads me to mention Elsrensia. I never expected you and she would fall in love, and both llhaesa and I love that you have. She is such a wonderful person, I have known her since two months after llhaesa was lost, and well… you are an astute judge of womanhood, sis!”

“I surprised myself, to be honest, Jahrae. Things started to change for me when I watched llhaesa with the girls. She was so loving and caring, and I began to notice her beauty. The more I noticed this, the more I realised that over time I built walls to shunt off any ability to find attraction in other women. As this became conscious thought, the walls began to fall.

When I met Elsrensia, my heart leapt in my chest. Llhaesa first mentioned she thought there was some interest on the part of Elsrensia, and we – Elsrensia and me – took it from there.”

As she finished her point, Sylvain arrived with their wine, setting up a portable table to hold a container of ice. He popped the cork with skill and precision, poured just enough wine to coat the glass and collect at the bottom, and passed it to Ronnie for her tasting and approval.

Ronnie took the proffered glass, and sipped the light golden liquid. “Mmmm…excellent. Thank you, Sylvain!”

“You are most welcome, Ms Salston. Ms Khentavra, may I pour for you?”

“Please do, Sylvain!”

After Sylvain finished his task, he set out to see to the needs of his other patrons, knowing Ronnie and Jahrae were in no rush to order.

“The two of you already live together, Ronnie, and I don’t think I am presumptuous in seeing a future formalisation of your relationship.”

“You are not presumptuous, and this is under discussion. We both similar and different logistics than you and llhaesa, but the bottom line is we may have to do the split wedding thing, one on each world.”

“Would your mum express her wishes for a wedding, as Saehressa did with llhaesa?” Jahrae teased.

“That was pretty funny Jahrae, but Saehressa had a good and sound point. I know both of you are more in the public eye than I am, or have been in the past, anyway, but it is important people see this aspect of your lives.”

“Ooh, llhaesa was not thrilled with the prospect of two worlds watching us remarry. It isn’t so much that the average person watches, it is how llhaesa views this as a serious commitment and expression of love, and she does not wish it to be some tacky media circus.”

“Any ideas on how you might avoid this becoming a spectacle, Jahrae?”

“We decided that since we accede to Saehressa’s wishes, we intend to hold this in a specific location up north that can accommodate thousands of people, assuming the weather cooperates next summer.”

“Next summer? OK, so we are looking at least seven months before the wedding. What is the location, Jahrae?”

Jahrae sat back in her chair, a wide and confident smile forming on her face. “We have yet to discuss it with the owners, Ronnie, and I shall refrain from revealing the location until we gain their blessing.”