by Wolf Wootan
Syd placed herself between Hatch and his businesses for as long as she could. She didn’t want him to have any stress until he was completely healed. She discovered that making multimillion dollar decisions did not bother her at all. It was somehow like Monopoly money. She dealt with Marty at least once a week, and approved things with a flip of her beautiful hair. Business flourished.
The President of the United States called “Bob” in late October about an airline highjacking in the Middle East. Syd had told him that she was Bob’s secretary and would make sure he got the message. She gave the problem to Sara, who got online with the Istanbul HRT and they solved the problem with professional ease. That proved that even the HRTs worked well without Hatch and Syd’s hands-on involvement. After all, that is what Sara had trained them to do. A gold star for Sara!
• • •
As Thanksgiving approached, Hatch told Syd he would like to get out of the sun and get to the snow in Virginia, so they flew up to his plantation outside Langley and enjoyed the crisp, cold weather for a change. The snow covered the ground and hung in the trees, and when Roosevelt hooked up a horse to a sleigh and brought it to the door to take her and Hatch for a ride through the countryside, Syd felt as if she were part of a Currier and Ives painting.
Abby cooked a large turkey and all the trimmings, and they feasted until they thought they would burst. After dinner, Syd and Hatch snuggled on the couch in front of a roaring fire and sipped hot chocolate laced with cognac. Hatch no longer had flashbacks to Kat and Germany when he sat with Syd in front of a fire.
Syd had over a week off for the Christmas break, so they went back to Virginia to enjoy the snow again. Syd wanted her friends and family around her for Christmas, so they flew Karen and Bruno in from San Francisco, and Sara and Mrs. C. up from Florida. Marty also agreed to join them, which pleased Sara immensely.
They had a few sleigh rides and snow ball fights. They enjoyed a snowman building contest, men against the women, which was declared a draw. Karen, Bruno, Sara, and Marty went skiing one day, but Syd did not think the exertion was good for Hatch yet. Hatch did not gripe too much about it, because at least she was letting him have sex again. All in all, Syd could not remember a better Christmas.
• • •
Syd’s teaching career came to an end—at least, for the foreseeable future—on January 11, 2002. She graded her last final, turned in her keys, and left the University of Miami. She shut down her Miami condo and moved back to Klaus Haus.
• • •
In January, Don Tessitore sent Joey Dante back to Monterra to explore the possibility of restoring their money-laundering operation. Captain Rossini was ready for them this time, however. He arrested Joey Dante for loitering and threw him in the dank, rat-infested dungeon to await trial. After 27 days, Dante appeared before the judge and was deported. The Tessitores abandoned Monterra for the foreseeable future.
• • •
Karen—Lady Karen—used her influence with the Prince of Monterra, and Hatch and Syd’s wedding was held at the Royal Palace on February 10, 2002. Syd had Marty handle the transportation problems—she and Hatch wanted to provide all transportation and lodging for the invited guests.
The wedding was filled with more pomp and circumstance than Hatch would have liked, but after all, he was only the groom, and he was marrying the most beautiful bride that had ever existed! Hatch and Syd had finally discovered they were both lapsed Catholics, and since Monterra was a Catholic nation, they were married by the Archbishop of Monterra.
Lady Karen was the Maid of Honor, and Hatch’s brother Vernon was his Best Man. Since Syd had no father, General Lincoln did double duty and proudly marched his future daughter-in-law down the aisle. Several of the General’s friends had been invited. They were also generals, of course.
The wedding was shown on closed-circuit TV at all Lincoln companies so that those who wished to could watch. Carmelo and his family came, but Colonel Coffer said his crew was on alert because of a situation unfolding in Russia, so they watched on TV.
After the wedding, the Royal Carriage took the bride and groom, along with the Maid of Honor and Best Man, down the main street of Monterra. The streets were lined with mobs of people wanting to see Lady Karen, her sister and her sister’s new husband. They were all throwing flowers into the streets as the carriage passed. No woman had ever had a more glorious wedding as far as Syd was concerned. She was in the clouds.
She stopped all methods of birth control that day.
• • •
Syd awoke from her twilight zone when the boat bumped against the dock at Bora Tiki. She yawned and scratched an itch on her bare right breast. She sat up and gathered her towel and stepped onto the dock and walked toward the small house she had called home for the last month. She looked forward to a cool shower.
She thought, Screw you, Zeus! You can have tomorrow! I own today!
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About the author:
I also am the author of the hardboiled private eye Sam Crown mystery series: Crown's Law, Crown's Justice, and Crown's Dilemma. Check my page in Smashwords to sample them: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/WolfWootan. I am a member of Private Eye Writers of America.
Visit my website at www.wolfwootan.com.