Once the last of the postponed concerts had been made up, Amadeus came home. We had decided to go slow and see what happened. Recording with his brothers, working on another near future tour with Peter, one where Amadeus could include his classical pieces. Settling into life back in the Pacific Northwest on what had been Damien and Julia’s island home. It would give us all time to get to know each other, Logan, Elizabeth, Amadeus, and me.
Chapter Eleven
Though Amadeus was home, the brother’s tour commitments finished, it didn’t mean there weren’t other projects either in the works or being thought up. Things that could be done at everyone’s leisure.
The school year wound down for Logan. While he’d met new friends, he was anxious to spend some guy time with his dad. He seemed to thrive in Amadeus’s presence, which made us both realize Logan hadn’t had much in the way of father figures until now. The two became inseparable, as Amadeus showed him how to clean up and maintain the Tudor Queen from all the effects of the salt water. He never complained or batted an eye at the chores assigned to him. Of course, we both knew sooner or later the other shoe would drop and there would be some old fashioned teen aged rebellion. Enjoy it while it lasted.
Everyone seemed to be melding into their own family routines. Angus and Ashleigh were speaking on better terms. Amadeus and I hoped they’d work through their issues. Angus was a mess without his family. He might act all silly in front of others, but when everyone else was gone, he was a very devoted family man and husband.
Damien himself had enough issues dealing with his decision to divorce Julia. His daughters were living with him in Seattle, though the eldest was college bound. Nowhere exotic, a college nearby where she could still see her dad and help him out.
With no word from Julia and not having a way to contact her, his divorce hit the fast track. The judge deemed she had deserted him, the marriage, and the children. Whatever she had left behind was Damien’s to do with what he liked. This meant Amadeus and I were free to do the trade with him. The judge approved the transaction, and we were owners of what had been Damien’s castle. But he had our old condo, and he loved it and being close to everything, the marina in particular.
We were free to do our remodeling, and everyone moved into the guest house while it got underway. Believing it would be the longest six weeks, Amadeus and I were pleasantly surprised at how efficiently the contractor worked to schedule all the tasks. Of course, a nice bonus at the end of the project didn’t hurt his motivation.
Ah yes, everything was how it should be…quiet. I loved taking day trips into Seattle, just the four of us. We would hit various stores for items we needed for the renovation. Amadeus and Logan would feign their displeasure of being forced to endure my hours of hunting and comparing by silently escaping my clutches. They’d go find the manly things to check out. Stuff like power saws and even lawn mowers.
“Come on, Amadeus, I need you to help me pick out the sinks for both bathrooms. You promised,” I teased as he and Logan attempted to sneak off.
“Zara, I’m sure whatever you choose will be wonderful,” he moaned. “You have exquisite taste.”
“No, you’re not getting off that easy. All I’m asking is for a yay or nay on two choices for each bathroom.”
“Okay, okay.”
Just as he was pondering two vastly different sinks and faucets for the main bath, my iPhone rang. It was Damien.
“Hi, Dame, everything okay?” I asked cautiously, only because he usually called Amadeus.
“Yeah. I knew you guys were coming over. I thought perhaps I could talk you into a late lunch at my place. I have an idea I want to run past you, Zara.”
“Sure, we can do that. We’re almost finished anyway. Just let Amadeus make his final choice on a couple of items so we can pay for them. Then we’ll be right over. Can we bring anything?”
“No, just you two and the kids.”
I was quite curious at our quick conversation. Whatever it was, Damien was excited. I hung up and turned to Amadeus, who was eyeing me. I shrugged my shoulders and repeated the conversation.
“Well, let’s finish what you dragged me here for so we can go see what’s up.”
“Maybe Uncle Damien’s got a girlfriend!” Logan chimed in, grinning.
I pretended not to hear him, instead keeping my eyes focused on the sink I wanted Amadeus to approve. He shook his head at Logan and turned back around to me.
“What? It’s bound to happen sooner or later.”
“You know something I don’t?”
“No, just sayin’.”
“I know, but it’s none of our business. So get your mind on the sink in front of you.”
We finished our tasks, paid for the items with delivery to be made the following day. The rest could wait. I’d written down numbers off the tags of mirrors and other things I wanted. I’d order it online or give the list to Bill, our contractor, and let him order them.
It was a strange feeling to walk back into the condo Amadeus and I had shared. The larger one I had moved us into when he was in a coma so I could take care of him at home. That all seemed like it was another lifetime ago. Shaking that off, I could also recall a lot of good times we’d shared after that incident. Damien seemed to enjoy the place as much as we had.
“Smile, Zara,” Amadeus chided, pinching me in the ribs.
Damien greeted us, and we followed him in. Julia leaving him with virtually nothing had run its course. Damien had obviously been shopping. There was a new leather sofa in the living room with matching recliners along with a huge television on one wall. It felt like a man cave, and I wondered where the girls hung out. Damien showed us around, proud of what decorating he’d pulled off on his own. The den or small office was just that, an office for Damien. All of his professional items along with his piano were neatly positioned in the room. The sun room was what the girls had staked out as their own. We all went back into the living room where he offered us both a beer and Logan a soda. Elizabeth was oblivious to everything, sound asleep. I took her to one of the girl’s bedrooms and laid her down on a bed. I banked pillows on the floor just in case she rolled her way to the edge.
I joined the two of them. Logan had found his way to the TV and a game.
“So what’s up, Damien?” Amadeus asked, taking a swig off his beer.
“Well, I didn’t know if Zara had an opportunity to read her emails this morning, but it seems Jack, our photographer, is going to be occupied and making it here for the sailing photos might have to wait. I thought you could do them, Zara.”
“Me?”
“Why not? I think it would be the perfect solution. I was really hesitant about taking a stranger out to your place.”
“That had occurred to me as well. The only way I saw around it was if Amadeus sailed the boat back here to Seattle.”
“Well, how about if I come out and bring the girls? The three of us can go out for a short sail, and you can take the shots. Hell, Zara, you’re as good as Jack if not better.”
“It would be a perfect way to get you back doing something you love, Zara,” Amadeus added taking a drink off his long neck beer bottle.
“You’re both right. How about if I send Jack and Christina an email this evening and make the suggestion? I’ll also suggest that I could take the photos of the three of you. I’ll use the fact that here is easier. You’re all here.”
“Thanks, Zara. Jack says he still would like to do the ones of me in New York if I can get over there in the next week or so.”
“Do you want me to accompany you for the shoot? Make sure they do what you want?”
“If Amadeus doesn’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind. In fact, it might be a fun trip for all of us.”
“How’s that?” I asked, eyeing them both. Something was going on I was unaware of. Something the two of them were privy to.
“Well,” Amadeus started, “Mother and Peter have rented a home in the Hamptons. You know she’s dying
to meet Logan. We could take the kids, stay with them. You and Damien could go into the city and do the shoot. Once you’re finished, we could relax and stuff.”
“Yeah it’s the stuff that worries me. But that sounds like a good idea. I know how much she wants to see Logan.”
“Then you’ll arrange it?” Damien inquired.
“Yes, consider it done. I’m sure the two of you will tell me what else you’ve got up your sleeve at some point.”
“Us, plot against you Zara? No, never.” Amadeus cackled, winking at his older brother.
“Damien, didn’t you mention something about lunch? Can I help you with anything?” I asked. Something was up, or they were doing a good job trying to make me think there was.
“Yeah, if you don’t mind, Zara. I got us some crab for lunch. Logan can order a pizza if he’d prefer. I was down at Pikes Place this morning, and there was some Dungeness crab, fresh off the boat. I had to grab a bunch.”
“We need to go, Amadeus, pick up some salmon or something, and grill it out.”
My quest was ignored by the rustling of newspaper as he and Damien spread it over the dining room table. New dining room table. Damien was certainly settling into his new life. I was glad.
We all sat down, picking apart our crabs. Logan’s pizza arrived, and he was eating it in the front of the TV. Both of Damien’s girls were out for the day. Lessons, visiting friends, they both kept busy.
Hearing what I thought was Elizabeth, I was almost horrified to see her crawling along the floor towards us. While she could walk now, if it meant a distance, she still preferred to get down on all fours and cruise. I wiped my hands on a damp cloth and got up to catch her before she got into too much. Amadeus beat me to the punch, scooping her up. She was babbling and happy, and he quickly passed her on to me. The odor permeating from her was more than he could take.
“Oh, that’s right. Give her to mom. What do you do when I’m not around? I know you must change her.”
“Well, you’re here, I’m eating, and if I have to smell that much longer, I won’t be.”
Shaking my head, I took her off to change her as she screamed her disapproval of being separated from her fun loving daddy. She was becoming more independent and made her likes and dislikes well known. How babies could know how making a diaper change hard by not lying still and by squalling was beyond me. It must be in the genes or something. I was not looking forward to her toddler years and these little bursts of anger and independence she was throwing.
Joining the guys, I made my way to the kitchen to dispose of Elizabeth’s mess and to wash my hands. I sat back down at the table, noting Amadeus had cracked my crab so I could relax. I took a sip off my beer and smiled over at him, saying nothing.
“Damien was telling me that the girls got an email from their mother,” Amadeus said flatly, eyeing me for a reaction.
“Did she? What did their mother have to say?”
“Just that she missed the two of them and me very much,” Damien replied. “Oh, and the email actually went to her sister, Zara. I had the girls shut down their old email accounts until we knew what was going on.”
“Do you know where she is or what she wants?”
“No, she never said where she was other than it was someplace she had always dreamed of going. So my guess would be Italy or France. She always wanted to go, but would never go with me when I toured abroad. She hinted at wanting to see the girls.”
“They do know they can’t do that. Not right now.”
“Oh, yeah. I’m not worried about that, Zara. They both are still angry and confused by what she did to them, and to me.”
“Trouble in paradise then, or perhaps a twinge of guilt?”
“I say either or both. In either case, I don’t care,” Damien replied. “She made her bed, now she can lie in it. I’m over her.”
Looking at Amadeus for a clue, I got none. There must not be anyone new. No, I believed Damien was finally enjoying his life. His daughters were now his life, at least for the immediate future.
****
Clearing the local photo shoot with Christina and Jack was easy. Damien had done a good job convincing them they’d get high quality shots of him on the boat. He’d no doubt given them my photographic resume.
A week before we were to leave for New York, and the Seattle area enjoying a stretch of beautiful weather, the three of us set out for an afternoon of sailing. Damien’s daughters had accompanied him on the trip over to help out with Elizabeth.
Amadeus had stowed all my photography equipment in the cabin earlier along with a lunch I’d prepared for us. I found myself actually excited. It had been a long time since we’d been out together. I had been reluctant to take Elizabeth out even though Amadeus assured me she’d be fine.
We cast off and headed out into the open water. I sat back, wind blowing through my tied back hair, and let them get us underway, enjoying the sights of the islands one could only get from this angle.
Once the sails were set and the boat opening up the way Amadeus wanted, the three of us simply took in what Mother Nature wanted us to enjoy. Men had done this for millennium in all sized craft, and here we were in modern times doing the exact same thing. Harnessing the force of nature and using it to our advantage and pleasure.
Having earlier discussed with Amadeus and Damien about what I was after, I began shooting Damien as Amadeus let him take over the helm. He looks fantastic! I thought to myself as I took frame after frame of stills. He’s come such a long way; he should be proud of himself. This piece should be an inspiration to others.
An hour or so later, satisfied with what I had, Amadeus headed the Tudor Queen back home. I noted as Damien lowered the main sail and jib that he didn’t secure either sail. Thinking nothing of it, either, that perhaps they were going to take the kids out for a sail, I went below to pack up my camera and gather everything to take topside. I heard the familiar sound of the inboard diesel engine begin to hum. My indication we were nearing the dock.
Hearing someone jump off the side and on to the dock I scrambled up top. Amadeus hadn’t cut the engine, something he always did as soon as the boat was within a foot or so of the dock. As I reached the top step and on to the cockpit I noticed Damien pushing the boat away from the dock as Amadeus stood there, a mischievous grin on his face. He waved at Damien as he put the boat in reverse and maneuvered her back out into the deeper waters of the sound.
I must have appeared panicked for a second as the words just blurted from my mouth. “What are you doing? Elizabeth…”
“Damien and the girls and Logan are perfectly capable of taking care of Elizabeth overnight, Zara. Relax, enjoy yourself.”
“You planned this all along, didn’t you?”
“Yep,” he replied turning the baseball cap he had covering his long brown hair around so the bill was to the back. “I figured we should take advantage to slip away by ourselves every chance we get. Damien offered. I merely accepted.”
“Do you have somewhere in mind, or are we sailing blind?”
“I think I remember a cove we anchored in overnight not too far from here. Remember? We tried to fish and tried to gather clams?”
“Yeah, and if memory serves me, we had to grill steaks out or else we’d have gone hungry. Is that the place?
“Good memory, Zara. I thought we could try it and a few other things again.”
“Amadeus Tudor, you’re terrible.”
“Oh, now don’t tell me you didn’t enjoy yourself, Zara. If I remember, you took quite a bit of pleasure in letting me try new things.”
“Pervert,” I teased. “I’m going below to secure my camera equipment. Can I get you anything?”
I turned to start back down inside the cabin when he grabbed me by the wrist and playfully pulled me towards him. “Yeah, you can take these off, and bring me a bottle of water if you don’t mind.” He slipped his hand on to the waistband of my panties, yanking on them gently.
“A bottle of water
it is.”
“And don’t forget the other, Zara,” he teased after me as I entered the cabin.
Gathering the two camera bags, I stowed them into one of the precious few storage areas of the cabin. I knew this one was completely waterproof, and off the floor of the hull. Moisture was always a factor you had to deal with putting anything under the floor of the cabin. No, everything would be safe and secure in here.
I grabbed two bottles of water out of the cooler. Placing them in the small sink, I made my way forward to the small cabin where Amadeus and I slept. Shaking my head and smiling, I pulled off my shorts and removed the offensive panties. A wicked idea came to mind as I put the shorts back on. Pulling my arms through the tank top I unfastened the front clasp of my bra and placed both it and the panties into a cubby hole. A devious smile came over my face as I lowered the tank top. Two could play his little game, and tease him I intended to do.
As I made my way back up top, I noted he was standing, peering across the sound, checking the sails. He pretended not to see me at first until I joined him. Passing a water bottle to him I leaned up and kissed him. Placing the bottle into a cup holder, he switched hands on the wheel while running his free hand up under my shorts.
All of a sudden he burst out laughing. Having no idea whether I’d done something or if he was having one of his private male moments I probably wouldn’t understand, I pulled away.
“You find it funny?”
“No, Zara, I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at myself, at us.”
“I didn’t know we were so funny or pathetic.”
“No, you don’t understand. Look…” He pointed to the top of the cabin where the inflatable usually sat when we first got underway on a trip. It was not there. “Damien and I removed it. We thought the boat would look better for your photos if it wasn’t there.”
Tudor Reunion Tour Page 12