Librium

by PJ Bayliss

  ‘So, Adrienne will be staying with us I guess…’ said Chaise.

  ‘Yeah. Looks that way.’

  ‘What do you think about that?’

  ‘It’s certainly convenient,’ smiled Carlos. ‘Very convenient indeed,’ he glanced at his brother and they burst out into laughter. It was cut short as the waitress arrived with their drinks'.

  ‘She seems nice Stunning.’

  ‘Dude, you have no idea. She’s super fit beneath that shirt. Very tidy.’

  ‘You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?’

  ‘Not really,’ Carlos smiled, ‘You remember when she pinned me down in the plane with all that kung-fu stuff?’

  ‘Not likely to forget that. Absolutely magic.’

  ‘Yeah, well… when she had me on the ground, she was right here,’ Carlos held his hands out a couple of inches from his chest, ‘and dude, talk about absolutely magic,’ his hands were trembling as if he was grabbing some fruit.

  ‘Hmm, I noticed that.’

  ‘But Chaise! No knickers!’ replied Carlos with a huge grin on his face.

  ‘Oh shit! Really?’

  ‘None! She was right there, her skirt inches from my chin, and everything was right there in plain view!’

  ‘Fuck!’ replied Chaise, ‘How the hell does shit like that always happen to you?’

  Carlos leant back in his chair and threw his hands up in the air. ‘Dunno dude. I must be a magician.’

  Chaise tossed a coaster at his boasting brother which ricocheted off his temple just as the waitress returned with their meals. 'Here! magic this!' he said with a laugh.

  24

  The motion of the waves rocked the boat gently up and down. It memorised Chaise as he sat next to Peyton, the occasional drift of sea water bringing him back to his senses. It wasn’t as if he was that exhausted though. It had been a big day with the early start, flight and Champaign, but he was daydreaming for another reason.

  Carlos and Adrienne sat opposite him on the ferry, their luggage between them in the aisle. They were chatting away and looking at the view while Chaise admired Adrienne’s shapely thighs and muscular calves. They were right there in plain view right before him, flexing to balance herself as the boat rocked. His mind wandered to the impression Carlos left him of Adrienne and her knicker-less attire. The short red skirt rode up upon the seat, revealing all the way up to within inches of her panty line. Or at least, where a panty line should be.

  ‘She must be special?’

  ‘Huh? What’s that?’

  Peyton repeated herself, ‘I said, she must be special. Christ Chaise! You’re away with the fairies’ honey. You must be thinking of someone special.’

  ‘Oh, yeah…’ Chaise went along with her accusation. ‘I thought she might’ve texted me back by now.’

  ‘Who’s that? Julie?’

  Chaise nodded. ‘I guess she is probably busy with her father. Or maybe recovering from the other night. It's been a pretty restless trip.’

  ‘Partying again, huh?’

  ‘Yeah… first we hooked up with that group you told me about.’

  Peyton giggled. ‘The fetish club? You’re kidding me, right?’

  ‘No. We went alright. It was kind of far out.’

  ‘You haven’t changed very much since we last met, have you Chaise?’ He sniggered. ‘What was it like? Did you get into any trouble?’

  ‘Me? Never!’

  Peyton raised her eyebrow.

  ‘Okay, we did try something a little different,’ he looked over toward his brother. ‘Come with me…’

  Chaise walked over to the side of the ferry to be out of earshot of his brother. ‘It was Julie’s idea in the beginning. She’d had a few drinks and was pretty much raring to go…’

  ‘To party?’

  ‘Err.. yeah, but she was horny as fuck. Just really, really, horny.’

  Peyton held her snigger back with the palm of her hand.

  ‘Who could blame her though, Peyton? There were these exhibits, shows, and man…’

  ‘What shows? C’mon, fill me in.’

  ‘First there was a bukkake show okay? A handful of guys, doing it, right there! That was a close encounter for sure. Then we watched a spanking demo with another girl.’

  ‘Mmm…’ purred Peyton. ‘Nothing like the palm of a hand upon someone’s red arse.’

  ‘Yeah that’s cool, but then they started with the paddles, some floggers’, all sorts. Even a fuckin’ hairbrush!’

  ‘Sounds interesting, I should’ve joined you.’ Chaise rolled his eyes at her suggestion, ‘I know. It would’ve been disastrous, but a spectacular disaster nonetheless.’

  ‘Never a train wreck with you involved, Peyton. But the night didn’t end there with her. She wanted to participate somehow.’

  ‘Excuse me?’

  ‘Like I said, she was mega horny. Julie wanted to take part somehow.’

  ‘Oh no! What’d she do?’

  Chaise paused for a moment to consider if Peyton needed to know or not. He was still trying to process the night himself and wasn’t sure if discussing it further would change his mind and how he felt about Julie at this moment in time. Granted, they had a little tiff, and a bit of an argument on the side of the road, but things weren’t all that bad in the scheme of things. Nothing that Chaise considered to be terminal for their relationship.

  He nodded toward a couple standing next to Peyton and used them as an excuse to change the subject. ‘I might tell you later Peyton, when there are fewer ears’ around. How ‘bout tonight?’

  ‘Hmm, yeah, I suppose,’ she replied.‘What about the work Visa then? Did you talk to her about it? Has she said she’ll be coming to the States?’

  ‘I did, and she didn’t’

  Peyton raised her eyebrows with interest. Chaise explained the situation to her and that he had agreed to let Julie think about it more until he returned to London and that they’d decide upon his return.

  Explaining the situation to Peyton helped to clear things off his chest, but it didn’t clear the air. As Chaise listened to himself he felt it was nothing more than a justification for her indecisiveness, but it didn’t help to explain why she was so indecisive. If anything, it placed another black strike next to Julie’s name alongside her misbehaviour from the night in Edinburgh.

  ‘So how do you feel about this girl, anyway? Has she caught your heart?’

  Chaise sighed. ‘Julie is something else alright. I think I realised that from the moment I first saw her.’

  ‘But is she the one, Chaise?’

  Chaise knew he shouldn’t, but he looked Peyton in the eye. This girl, whom he’d practically know from when he was wearing diapers, couldn't be lied to. She was his best friend, and being his neighbour back in New York, was literally the girl next door.

  ‘I just don't know Peyton.

  You know, I thought I had the perfect girl in my hands once before…’

  ‘And what happened?’

  ‘She slipped away, but she’s always within my reach I guess.’

  25

  Capri was a tourist mecca with many hotels and beautiful scenery to enjoy. It was a place to relax, unwind and shop. However, given its exclusive location, it was pricey and the locals knew it. They would bring in as much as possible from the mainland whenever they returned to the island.

  It was a tiny island, which became clearer to Chaise as they approached the ferry dock. ‘Christ, it’s a small place to live.’

  ‘The campus is almost as big…’ remarked Carlos. He was almost right. The island wasn’t even three times larger than the University campus they were accustomed to.

  ‘It’s not so small when you have to walk to the top in heels,’ replied Peyton, ‘but lucky we have a vehicle as Federico is a resident.’

  Chaise gave a breath of relief. It wasn’t the hike that concerned him, it was carrying all the shopping the girls had purchased in Naples before boarding. But he didn’t mind as their spirits were high
and for the first time in forever he felt relaxed and ready to unwind.

  The actual nature of their visit still had not hit home until they finally made it to Federico’s villa on the southern side of the island. The house looked out from a rocky outcrop toward the Tyrrhenian Sea. It had a beautiful view of the harbour and was very private and secluded, just like all his houses. Dusk was settling into the earth as they parked the car and Chaise’s mother flung the doors open wide to greet them.

  It had been such a long time since she’d seen her two boys. They hugged and she welcomed them inside. The lobby was spacious with beech timber walls that seemingly glowed under the lights and natural stone pillars that propped up the white plaster ceiling. A whisper from the ceiling fans filled the room, but it quickly scattered when they entered and chatted to each other.

  Josephine stepped back and admired her two growing boys. They were men now, but always remained her babies as far as she was concerned.

  ‘Right! Sleeping arrangements for you four, let me see…’ she looked down a hallway and hummed, ‘Hmm, Peyton, you stay in your room, okay? Adrienne will need to share it with you, I hope that will be satisfactory?’

  Peyton nodded and accepted Josephine’s proposal. She glanced at Adrienne and sized her up. ‘I’m sure we’ll be fine, Josephine. It’ll be cosy.’

  Chaise smiled and swallowed back the lump in his throat. He remembered the first night he top-and-tailed with Peyton many years ago.

  ‘You two boys will take the room opposite, there are two single beds in there, and your father and I are in the room upstairs.’ she looked at them for a moment, ‘Off with you then! The sooner you settle in the sooner we can talk.’

  Chaise and the others left with their luggage to their rooms. Chaise threw his bag on the bed and took a brief look around as Carlos bounced on the edge of his. ‘I’m going to check the girls room out,’ said Carlos and he took off across the hallway.

  Chaise wandered back into the kitchen where he found half a bottle of wine on the counter. He poured himself a glass and exited out through a side door to an outside balcony to watch the sun sink into the ocean.

  ‘Your father will be back soon.’

  Chaise turned around, his mother was in the doorway with the bottle and a glass of wine.

  ‘Yes, from Rome so he tells me. Busy man.’

  ‘Busy, but happy. For once,’ replied his mother.

  ‘You’re happy too?’

  ‘Times are good, Chaise. So, I’m as happy as one could be.’

  It wasn’t a definite yes, but it wasn’t a denial either. Chaise could read his mother well and it always had been a sacrifice for her when it came down to the relationship with his father. Josephine would never elaborate on the details though. She was a strong and proud woman who always believed positive outcomes would always come from difficulty and pain. Chaise figured it was a motherly child-birth thing.

  ‘Did your papa talk to you, dear? About the business?’

  ‘Yes,’ Chaise replied. ‘He told me about it on the plane.’

  ‘To become a partner?’

  That's right.'

  Chaise was pleased she had brought the topic up this way. He wasn’t too sure how much Josephine knew, or should know. It wasn’t uncommon for Gianni to retain a secret like this.

  ‘Well, what do you think?’

  ‘I think I have very little choice in the matter,’ replied Chaise. She nodded and stepped forward to fill his glass.

  ‘Life isn't always about the choices you make, but sometimes the choices you are offered.’

  ‘And if you were offered this choice?’

  Josephine considered her son’s eyes. ‘What makes you think I wasn’t?’To think she had any choice in the ownership of the business was a huge assumption. His mother may have been proud and strong-willed, but she was completely devoted to Gianni first and foremost. She would follow him to the ends of the earth if need be, without question or doubt.

  In the distance the sound of Gianni’s helicopter could be heard thundering across the ocean. It swung into view from behind the cliff faces below and flew in to land on a nearby stretch of land.

  ‘I know you have plenty to think about Chaise. What you’ve told me about Julie, and what I know your father has asked you. But you should do what your heart says is right. Always go with your heart. This is what Federico would have wanted for you. It is what we want for you too.’

  Chaise reflected upon her words, then, he wondered where Federico’s body was. He asked her if Federico was with the undertaker.

  ‘No. He is downstairs. The undertaker did a marvellous job on him. Did you want to see him?’

  ‘Yes. I think I do, Mama.’

  Josephine called for Peyton to come out of her room and to escort him downstairs to where Federico was.

  They walked to the stairway where Chaise paused at the top of the stairs. He looked back toward Josephine, ‘And what if my heart can’t decide, Mama?’

  ‘A wise man’s head will always know what the heart wants.’

  Chaise’s shoulders sunk. He knew what his mother was telling him, but now he wasn’t sure if it was relevant to Gianni’s offer, or to his relationship with Julie.

  26

  Peyton escorted Chaise down the stairs to a room at the end of the hallway. There was a cold chill in the air and music quietly playing in the distance. Peyton stopped at the door with her hand on the latch.

  ‘This was Federico’s favourite room. He left orders in his will for him to be placed here.’

  Chaise nodded and she opened the door to reveal his casket positioned in front of a doorway that opened out to his garden and the sea. Chaise looked around the room and saw that the music was coming from a stereo on a book case beside the door.

  ‘He also wanted this music to play,’ said Peyton, 'He actually set this room up like this in his final days.'

  ‘That sounds just like him. He was a perfectionist, but still so caring…’

  Chaise approached his grandfather to say goodbye. His body looked so peaceful with his wrinkled face peering out from the open casket. His suit was immaculate and he looked as handsome as ever in Chaise’s eyes.

  He closed his eyes and said a prayer to himself in front of his grandfather, saying goodbye to him for the very last time. When he opened his eyes, he noticed a strange object.

  ‘What’s this?’ he said with a frown upon his face.

  ‘What’s what?’ replied Peyton. She walked over to see what Chaise was pointing out.

  ‘There, on his neck. Is it a tattoo?’ he pointed at a dark line running across his shirt collar. ‘See it?’

  ‘Yes, I know what you’re talking about. It’s the strangest thing.’

  ‘It’s not a tattoo then?’ Chaise looked at her, ‘You’ve seen it before?’

  ‘I saw it before, and he has more. On his arms, across his chest.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You want to see?’ Do you mind?’ Peyton asked.

  It was a pretty fucked up and morbid proposition from Peyton, but Chaise wasn’t surprised. She had a medical background and found her footing in the company with an experimental formaldehyde recipe for embalming. For several years, she paid regular visits to mortuaries with medical examiners to test the new substance.

  ‘I guess, maybe…’

  There was almost instantaneous regret as he talked, but she couldn’t be deterred and Peyton dashed across to the door and shut it. She propped a door up beneath the handle to keep it tight.

  ‘In case we’re interrupted…’

  ‘You’re crazy! How suspicious will that look?’ Chaise flicked his hand toward the door.

  ‘Trust me! Look quick!’

  Peyton flicked Federico’s collar down to reveal more of the pattern running across his neck. Chaise flinched as she did so, as if a spirit had run over his spine.

  ‘I don't know how you can do that!’

  ‘We had to do this all the time in medical school. New cadave
rs every fortnight.’

  ‘I know that, but still…’

  ‘Forget it, look at these! What do you think it looks like?’

  Chaise looked closer at the pattern. ‘Is it… a circuit board?’

  ‘Yes! That’s what I thought too. See?’ Peyton quickly unbuttoned Federico’s shirt cuff and rolled it up to reveal another pattern on his wrist.

  ‘Jesus Christ! It’s definitely not a tattoo!’’

  ‘And here,’ she frantically opened his jacket and shirt top to expose his chest, ‘You’ll love this one…’ she opened it up wider to show Chaise.

  ‘Holy shit! Is that…?’

  Peyton nodded. They could hear some footsteps coming down the hallway.

  ‘Quick, close him up. I’ll distract them,’ said Chaise. He darted across the room, brushed his fingers through his hair to settle his nerves and calmly opened the door to greet his brother.

  ‘You come to see him too, dude?’

  ‘Yeah, final goodbye ‘n all,’ replied Carlos.

  Chaise nodded solemnly and sighed just as Peyton came out of the room behind him.

  ‘He’s all yours, Carl.’

  They passed each other by as Carlos entered the room, like ships in the channel. Then Josephine’s voice called Chaise from upstairs.

  ‘Yes, Mama?’

  ‘Please come here. Your father and I need to talk to you.’

  Chaise knew this would be the signing of the agreement. He desperately wanted to speak to Peyton about what he’d seen, but he also knew Gianni wouldn't be kept waiting.

  27

  The whispering ceiling fans didn't keep him up that night. It was the earlier encounter with his grandfather and what Peyton had shown him beneath Federico’s shirt that kept him awake. Nothing could remove that from his mind, or maybe…

  For a moment, he contemplated searching Carlos’ luggage for a remedy. A sleeping pill? Or anything that would take him to that place. Chaise glanced over to his sleeping brother and hopped out of his bed to crawl over to his brother’s bag.