The Reunion (Conclusion)

The group calmed down after Tommy’s demonstration and sat at the long dining table in our dining room.  After finishing off four large pizzas, five pounds of hot buffalo wings and a quarter barrel of beer, the group was more sedate and relaxed as they continued their conversations... everyone but Jago.

“So Tommy, what else can you do with Joseph’s coins?  Do you have x-ray vision?  I bet you do and you secretly look under the ladies clothing with x-ray eyes and remember what you see for later.”  Jago broke into loud laughter, but (as usual) everyone else just stared at him, ready for the next predictable and pointless comment to leave his lips.  Jago had a problem with keeping things to himself.  You would think after centuries of being thrashed by soldiers, crowds, and religious groups - that he would learn to just shut up. “Come on Tommy”, he said as he moved from his end of the table toward the younger man, arms raised mocking him, “fly for us, breathe fire for us or maybe walk on water.”

“Enough!”  I exclaimed as I stood up and pounded my fist on the table.  “Do you always have to be so crude  . . . so crass?  I am tired of this Jago!  I am tired of babysitting all of you!” I tried to control my outrage, but couldn’t. “We have a chance to do something good that is well above and beyond anything anyone has ever done for humanity and half of you are either afraid of a change as momentous as this or worried about exposure to the world.  Don’t you have any foresight?  Have you become so complacent over the centuries that you have forgotten the wonderful things we have done in the past?  Jago, why are you still so arrogant after all this time?  Your Greek and Sicilian blood line makes you so verbally aggressive and loud … only Mona can stand you --- most of the time.” 

Jago stood in silence, sinking his head down like a puppy that knows it was bad to pee on the carpet but couldn’t stop from doing it.  “I’m sorry Joseph.” He said as he returned to his chair.

I shook my head from side to side and continued.  “Do you think this is bad?  Did any of you object when I gave you the brew that saved your life and changed you into a time walker, an immortal? “There was complete silence in the room.  They didn’t like it when I got upset…I suppose that came out of respect because I am the senior among them, the alpha.

“Jago, you were the next one to receive the gift after Eve.  We found you dying, the last survivor on a battlefield in Thrace and brought you to our tents.  We nursed you and brought you back to health and befriended you.  We decided to give you the medicine when an infection from your wounds set in and we thought you were going to die -- this saved you. We did this because we loved you --no other earth shaking reason -- just because you were unique to us and still are. After you we found Adam who had lost his footing on a mountainside and fell.  He too was dying, but we saw warmth in his eyes and through his pain he smiled to thank us for being with him in his last moments.  We were touched by that and saved him too.  Then we saved Mona from death because Jago loved her, then Chester, then Neecie, followed by Dani and finally Tommy and Lori.  All off you dying and we saw something wonderful in each of you to save.  Longevity and regeneration are side effects from the brew that changed our body chemistry.  The purpose of giving it to you was to save you because you made the world a better place.”

“We all appreciate that, Joseph”, Adam broke in, “more than you will ever know, but this thing with the coins is too much.  It’s not for all of us.”

Neecie added, “We just want to live -- not be tied down forever to humanity and be looked upon as its only hope to fix their lives”.

Lori was listening intently to the issues being presents and spoke. “Some of us want this and others do not.  I say, those that want to test and eventually use the abilities the coins give us to help people will do so, and those that don’t want the coins don’t have to take them.  Let’s not have this split us apart.  We have been together as a family for so long, that we have learned to love each other in spite of ourselves.  Take them or leave them, but don’t leave our family.”

Eve spoke, “I love you all and would be heartbroken if anyone rejected another.  As Lori said – take them or leave them.”

Jago interrupted with his loud voice, “Hey!  I lift my glass (or beer bottle) to all of you.  I am sorry to have been so crass.  Let us take from Joseph Ancient’s House of Ancient Coins and Curios what we will have and to those who need no adventure, leave the coins where they lay.”  He stretched his bottle upward in a toast. “To us … the children of Joseph and Eve, may we be together forever --- no matter what.”

They all cheered in agreement then I spoke.  “This has been a memorable reunion.  As always we will spend five years together then move on to other places and adventures for another forty or fifty years until the next reunion.  So whoever wants some coins, come and get what we have tried and take them with you.  If you have any questions, Tommy can help you. Be careful not to let anyone outside of group see you use them.”

I was surprised when Jago took coins and that Mona joined him in agreement to try them.  Chester took 3 coins but Dani took none. Adam and Neecie didn’t take any, but wished the others well in their endeavors in learning how to work them as well as when to work them.  I told them all to check my website at www.ancientscoin.com for coins that give us abilities. They will be highlighted as specials and they could get them from me this way if they want them.  We still don’t know what these coins will do to us --- if there will be side effects, but nothing has happened to Tommy or me ---- yet.