It was great reconnecting with Tianni after the hiatus. The next two days sped by, the nights were long and arduous to get through. Until he eventually fell asleep. The emptiness was only being partially filled. Even Shania allowing him to go without a walking stick, wasn't as pleasing as advertised. She'd made him do a few bends and stretches of the leg, then had him try the stairs. The all clear she gave him dampened by seeing Leilani. Made worse by her seeing him, without acknowledging his presence. She'd been distracted as she'd hurried past, but it still hurt. Loving someone was highly overrated, as far as he could see from his limited experience. Although on the other hand the love he had for Jacob, Sophie and Tianni was what had carried him through, time after time.
The following day Rory got reassigned. He was now part of the detail who protected Palau. It was the king who told him this. They'd intended the transfer to take place later, but there were some negotiations Palau had to take care of in China, after which he was heading to London. Secretly gleeful at Rory's departure, Jay used all his powers to pay full attention, as they walked along together. He could hardly do anything else apart from follow his employers lead. There was no urgent appointment he could make up. Jay wasn't even sure why he wanted to get away. Palau was good company. He had the same cut glass accent as Leilani and Tianni. It sounded a lot smarter than American English. Later he figured it out. He'd banged the king's daughter. Somewhere, possibly in his genes, there was an instinct not to be found out.
The trip to the UK was about removing the Queen as head of state, then installing Palau. It was all a hangover from the days of empire and the Commonwealth that replaced it. The whole thing was farcical in the modern context. Up to now Jay hadn't known that though they lived in the former residence of the British governor of Tuvah, that office was still filled. Having moved to Newtown years previously, the current Queen's representative would be remaining there. Even after the removal of her majesty. The only thing that would really change was his job title. He would become the British ambassador. The same staff, the same local girlfriend. Only there'd be a big ceremony to signify the transferral of power. Power which didn't exist. The whole thing was purely symbolic, since Sir Robin Nickleby had no influence over anything.
"Strictly speaking, Tianni outranks me. Leilani to, due to the matrilinear principle. So while the arrangement with the UK might seem archaic, there are hundreds of examples of similar anachronisms in every country. Even in your homeland I expect. For example you have no idea how hard it was for me to marry my late wife Cassandra. Her parents were all for it, the islanders and my parents less so. Not that they disapproved of her personally, there were suggestions she should be my mistress." He chuckled. "You see because of tradition I was expected to marry a Tuvan. Tianni and Leilani will be under that obligation as well. Unless I can drag Tuvah into the 21st century. That might be even harder to do. Given I've already diluted the bloodline."
That amused the king as well. Jay however was starting to understand why Leilani might have put the brakes on and dropped him before it became too serious. She'd already blotted her copybook with a long list of alleged affairs. Although it was far more likely she just didn't see him in that way. He hadn't seen her in that way either. Not until she'd dropped him. Something better might have come along. Right now he was wishing his talent for helping people find out who they really were, didn't work so quickly. Less than a week in Leilani's case. If he only knew how he did it, he'd have put a stop to it.
It was only when they reached the summerhouse that Jay became aware of how long they'd been talking. Palau doing most of that of course. It had to be well over an hour. Officially Jay was still on sick leave, so he didn't have a lot to do. Rather than attribute this to some kind of agenda, he decided it was merely the king getting to know him, now that he was sort of a fixture with Tianni. They entered the building, heading to where he'd first met the sovereign of this tiny nation.
"You're a handsome man Jay." Palau slipped an arm around his shoulder.
Whoa! Where was this going?
"Thank you sir. Does that have particular significance?"
It was about as diplomatic as he could get, but it might not have signalled Jay's unease at the direction the conversation had taken. The arm hugged him firmly before being removed as the king approached the same flowered bush they'd met at.
"Only that someone as good looking as you will eventually find a partner." He hadn't stated a gender so this could go either way. "We wouldn't want her to take you away from us, but we'd understand. I suppose what I'm trying to say is there will always be a place for you here on Tuvah. Should you choose to settle down, we'd like to think you'd think of here as an option. Your family of course is an obstacle, but they'd be welcome here as well."
Well that was a relief. For a moment there he'd thought he was being propositioned by a bisexual head of state. Unconsciously his eyes looked longingly in the direction of where he assumed Leilani would be.
"I don't know that I'm the settling down type sir."
"Really? Haven't you met a woman you could see yourself being with for the rest of your life?"
"Yes." While true this was a road he couldn't go down. He hated thinking of Leilani in that sense . More importantly he needed a way to escape this line of questioning. "I don't think she saw things the same way though."
"Didn't you ask her?"
He was still flailing around trying get out of this.
"No. If I'm honest I didn't know how I felt for her until it was too late."
"It's never too late Jay. Not while you have breath in your body. You should be headed off for America before too long, perhaps you could look her up again."
Oh God when would this end? It was worth the risk. He hoped.
"She's not in America unfortunately. This plant here what is it called?"
Palau gave a wry smile, as he turned towards it, cupping a bloom in his hand.
"It's called Lisianthus Kassiandrus. This is a unique hybrid Cassandra produced. It has a scent unlike its forebears which don't really have one. This was her space you see. Everything in here was hers. It still is. That's why I brought you here to meet her, I'd say she approves. Well don't let me keep you, I can see your leg's troubling you. My apologies for dragging you so far. Will you be alright getting back."
"Yes I will. Thank you sir."
With a waist deep nod Jay set off back.
"Remember what I said young man. It's never too late."
As if that hadn't been fraught enough Jay blundered into another awkward situation almost the second he got back. Tianni running up to him in the entrance hall, that wonderful smile on her face. It froze when she caught sight of her aunt who'd been coming along the corridor. The two of them gazed at each other. Jay knew that both of them wanted to return to their former relationship, but neither had any idea how to do this. When both of them looked at him, he knew he was the worst scum on the planet. He didn't know what to do either. The two of them dying to be together once again, but dreading being rejected. As he'd been rejected by Leilani. It wasn't the same. He hadn't been rejected. Oh Jesus, this wasn't about him. Could this day get any more uncomfortable?
The spell broke. Leilani straightening her back as she headed out the way he'd come in. Tianni hugged his legs. He rested his hand on her hair. Jay didn't know what else to do. The stoicism, that put him to shame, came out as she took his hand and began to fill him in on what was happening in her world. Trying very hard not to show his pleasure at the removal of the usurper Rory. He did ask, pretending it was a joke, whether she'd not prefer to keep his replacement. Maybe Rory was better. Though he'd thought it impossible to feel more affection for the little lady, her response disproved this. He was way better than that imposter, his words in his head, he could juggle and do tricks. His stand in wasn't too keen on watching movies either.
If only there was some way to get the two of them alone together. Somewhere they couldn't flee from or avoid one another. That applied to Palau as well. Jay was pretty sure counselling wasn't in his job description. You couldn't describe what he was doing as counselling really, but it was adjacent. Right now he couldn't see any way of working this out. Given the way things had turned out between Leilani and him, it seemed clear she'd be avoiding him again. With the added factor of him being with Tianni most of the time from now on, the difficulties had increased exponentially. It was possible there was a way round this standoff, but he wasn't banking on it for now. All he could do was be there for Tianni.