“No, I didn’t kill anyone.”
“Why did you pause?”
“Thought I’d be funny.” He chuckled.
“You ass…not funny. So tell me, Paolo DeLaurentis, what’s this big secret?”
“It’s nothing bad,” Paolo stammered. Sydney reached out and held his hand.
“It’s okay, you can tell me. I won’t run away.”
“Someday you will.” Paolo knew he could only discuss certain aspects of his gift. Because of Bill’s assassination, he decided to omit many truths, because of his fear that his family and now Sydney would be harmed. His involvement with Rami and BOET—well, Sydney didn’t have to know.
“Stop talking like an ass. I’m here to stay.”
“Okay,” Paolo inhaled deeply and began to tell the story. “When I was ten years old, I had an uncanny sense of knowing events before they occurred. I was clairvoyant.”
The waiter approached the table with two cups of tea and the leather check holder. “Whenever you are ready, sir.” Paolo pulled out his Platinum American Express card and gave it to the waiter. With a strange look on her face, Sydney removed her hand from his. She picked up her spoon and squeezed her tea bag.
He stared at her and said, “Maybe I should stop—you seem concerned.”
“No, please don’t. I want to hear. Don’t be like Peter and keep secrets from me. I want to know.”
“So, where was I?”
“Clairvoyant.”
“As a child, I can remember the phone ringing. I’d tell my mother who was calling before she answered the phone.”
“Can you tell me what the lotto numbers are?” she said with a smile on her face.
“Now you sound like my father. He wanted me to tell him who was going to win the football games.”
Sydney moved closer and said to him in a whisper, “You were able to do that?”
Paolo came back with a curt reply. “Yes. I’m sorry, it’s just…”
“What, Paolo?” With passionate sincerity, she said, “I believe you.”
“I felt like I was in a freak show. My dad loved to bet football, so every weekend he’d ask me to pick the winning football teams. At first, it was fun. All I had to do was think about the two teams playing against each other. Out of nowhere I’d see the winning team and the final score.”
“Holy shit, are you serious?”
“Oh, I’m serious. My father won seven consecutive weeks in a row. This went on for three years. He later told me the money he won paid for my college education and a family vacation to Hawaii. Dad won so much money, the bookies cut him off.”
“Wow. What about you and me…” She stopped in midsentence, her head down as she spoke. “When I said I won’t run away, and you said someday I will.”
“I couldn’t tell you. The thought popped into my head.”
“Popped into your head?”
“Yep. Those thoughts that pop into my head helped me in my business. I can’t explain it, I wish I could. I just know the outcomes of events and things that are going to happen. Sydney, I think a lot about you and me. Where will our future bring us? I have no idea. I have no precognition about us other than one recurring dream.”
“A dream?”
“Yes.” Paolo’s face flushed in embarrassment. “Ever since I was a child, I’d dream about this woman who touched my heart, and we became one. A real dream—the type of dream you believe actually happened. I didn’t realize it was about you until recently.”
“How often have you had the dream?” Sydney asked, puzzled.
“A lot. I can’t remember a month when I didn’t dream of this woman.”
“How do you know it’s me?”
“I just do. Would you like me to describe the dream to you?” I hope she says no.
“Yes, please.”
An awkward silence fell as Paolo recalled the dream before he spoke.
Paolo described the dream. She floated toward him, her eyes focused on his. Mesmerized, he could not move. She began to speak, but he heard no words. Tranquility engulfed the two. Paolo knew he was dreaming; his heart began to race. She touched his face, her hand smooth; she looked in his eyes, her head tilted. Her hand dropped to his chest. He took her hand and placed it within him. She clutched his heart, withdrew her hand; she placed his heart onto hers. Their two hearts beating as one, she kissed him and disappeared.
Sydney stared at Paolo in disbelief. “Wow, that’s a hell of a dream.”
“Sure is.”
“So, tell me more about your clairvoyance?”
“Over the years, the gift came and went but I always knew the right choice—except for my marriage.” He chuckled. “No, I’m very blessed. I have two wonderful children. And Victoria, she’s a nice person—we were just wrong for each other.”
“Gift?”
“That’s what I call it.” Paolo struggled to get the words out. “This is hard for me. Like I said, I used the gift to grow my business, specifically my investment in gold. And now the gift has led me in a different direction.”
“A different direction?”
“Yes, I see…” Paolo was about to tell her about the vision he had and his involvement with BOET. Instead, he stopped and decided not to.
“You see what?”
“Never mind, I’ll tell you another time.”
“Okay, but you know I don’t like secrets?”
“Yes, I know.” Paolo laughed and rolled his eyes, trying to make light of it.
Sydney said nothing. She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms across her chest. An uncomfortable silence followed as each reflected on the other’s words. Sydney leaned over and gave Paolo a kiss. She smiled, and changed the subject.
“Can you tell me when we’re going to make love?”
Paolo smiled, “Soon, I hope, soon.” Paolo was relieved when the conversation ended. He pulled the sleeve of his shirt back and looked at his watch. “It’s eleven-thirty. What do you say I take you home?”
“Yeah, good idea. Lisa and I have a busy day tomorrow. Mother-daughter bonding.”
“Nice. I’m supposed to spend the day with Rio, but I think she made plans.”
They left the restaurant hand in hand. When they reached Sydney’s driveway, she said, “I had a wonderful time, Mr. DeLaurentis.”
“So did I, Mrs. Hill, so did I.”
They kissed passionately for several minutes. Paolo walked her to the door and said goodnight.
He climbed the stairs to his au pair apartment at one in the morning and fell asleep, exhausted. Unexpectedly, he woke at sunrise, a vision in his mind. A set of steel girders in a pile of rubble. “This is the second time I’ve seen this vision, what do I do?” he asked aloud, to no one, as a ray of sunlight crept into his room.
The parts of the story Paolo didn’t tell Sydney were the tragic world events and incidents he witnessed in his mind. He had no control over his visions. In addition, he knew the gift was for the benefit of humanity and this secret would cause their relationship to take a roller coaster ride. Secrets bothered Sydney, but Paolo had no choice.
CHAPTER 37
I sit here with thoughts of you.
Your green eyes enrapture my soul.
I am lost in my heart, not knowing what to do
My mind preoccupied with when we will be together again
At times a few minutes seems like a lifetime
a lifetime with you seems too short
My dreams are filled with you and me
When you speak the words “I love you,”
My heart trembles with an unspeakable joy
How can it be I feel this way?
To love you is like a Hershey kiss
The excitement of a child anticipating the taste
The memory never leaves
The memory of you and me etched in our souls
Never to be forgotten
The love of you and me
LIFE MOVED FAST, too fast. Sydney’s maternal devotion to her
seventeen-year-old daughter’s social schedule limited their evening dates. Sydney, like many mothers with teenagers, was the taxi driver. She was in the car so often it became her second home.
Paolo and Sydney changed their daytime schedules so they could be together. They would meet at nearby parks and stroll the grounds, holding hands in the spring afternoons. Paolo and Sydney talked, hugged, and kissed, their passions stopped by time. Their love blossomed. Paolo’s dream was coming to fruition. Talk of the future always crept into their conversations—how they would grow old together, sitting on the porch in their rocking chairs, holding hands. Like a movie, everyone lived happily ever after. But in reality, life is not a movie, and sometimes the endings are not happy.
Nights were lonely for Paolo. He tried to occupy his time with dinners with his daughter, an occasional dinner with his mother, and once in a while, a men’s night out with Steve, Tony, and Warren. Overall, he was lonely as hell. Paolo’s release came from the words he wrote on paper, the thoughts from his heart and soul, and the love he had for Sydney. Deep in his heart, he understood their relationship would end. He didn’t know how or why, he just knew. The idea of not having her in his life someday only increased the love he felt for her.
Paolo reminisced about their first passionate kiss. “A kiss to end all kisses,” he would say. Sydney told him when their lips touched, a tingling sensation overcame her. She was unable to explain the sensation except that it was overwhelming. For Paolo, to be kissed by someone he truly loved and who loved him was a miracle.
Five weeks later, their passions ignited, the time for consummation finally came. Sydney and Paolo were to attend a meeting together at the Yale School of Business. Paolo was late due to an international phone call. He telephoned Sydney to let her know.
“Hello?”
“Hi. I’m running late.”
“Okay.”
“Would you like to make love with me after the meeting?”
He could visualize Sydney’s face, red with embarrassment. “Sure.”
The meeting couldn’t end fast enough. Hearts raced and hormones raged as they ventured to the Brewster Estate. On the way, they laughed about their earlier conversation.
“I can’t believe you asked me that question.”
“I hoped you were surrounded by people,” Paolo laughed.
She gave him one of those love punches to the shoulder, saying, “I thought you would never ask.”
“I had to, I’m writing way too much about you,” he chuckled.
“Writing about me? About what?”
“You. I told my therapist you are my Lara. Did you ever see Dr. Zhivago?”
“No.”
“Someday we should watch the movie. To make a long story short, the doctor falls madly in love with a woman named Lara. He writes poetry about her to ease the pain of her absence in his life.”
“You write poems about me?”
“Yep.”
“When can I read them?” Sydney gave him another punch in the arm.
“In time.”
“Where are we going?”
“To my new house.”
“It’s finished?”
“Almost, but don’t worry—my bedroom is.”
“Interesting.”
Paolo drove the car through the open gate. He pressed a button on his visor and a gate to the left of the guardhouse swung open.
“Oh my god, Paolo, I can’t believe all the work that’s been accomplished in such a short time.”
“Yeah, it’s amazing.” He drove around a bend, the stone wall to his left, and pressed a second button on his visor. A rear garage door opened.
“A garage with a back and front door. I’m impressed.”
“Thank you.”
Paolo opened the door. The alarm system buzzed. He entered his security code into the control pad. Together they walked into the twenty-five-foot-high foyer. Their footsteps echoed through the unfurnished house.
Paolo said, “Would you like the ninety-nine-cent tour?”
Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Paolo placed his hands on her face. They kissed deeply, their hands traveling down each other’s bodies. Paolo whispered in her ear, “Let’s go to the bedroom, or else this is going to end right here.”
“Oh, we don’t want that to happen, now do we?”
Paolo took her hand and climbed the unfinished hardwood stairs. At the top of the staircase to the right was the master bedroom suite. Paolo opened the doors. As if they were going through a time portal, everything changed. The room was fully furnished, like something out of Architectural Digest.
They shared the same worries as other first-time lovers—will it work? Not work? Is my breath okay? Will it be too fast? Clothes came off at a rapid pace and they fell onto the bed, intertwined. The room was dark, their bodies silhouetted by the hint of sunlight through the drapes. Her kisses, the smoothness of her body, her touch—Paolo was overcome. The memory of this moment would always bring him to her. Paolo had never experienced a love as intimate as when he was with Sydney. To his embarrassment, he wasn’t able to make love with her. He made sure he satisfied her in every way possible.
They lay in bed. Paolo started to laugh. “I can’t believe this. I’m a little embarrassed. I dreamt of this moment, and I had to get droopy. We should’ve stayed downstairs.”
“Paolo, don’t be embarrassed. I’m sure the next time everything will work just fine.” Sydney cuddled up to him, her hand weaving through his chest hairs.
“I get a second chance?” They both laughed.
“Oh yeah, you get a second chance,” she said as she kissed his lips. “I can’t stay long. I need to pick up Lisa. We should get dressed and go.”
As they dressed, Paolo said, “Remember, I leave for Los Angeles tomorrow. I’ll be gone for about a week.”
“Right, I almost forgot.”
Paolo drove Sydney to her car. Before she got out, she leaned over and kissed him. “Thanks for the beautiful afternoon, you made me happy. Next time I’ll make you happy.”
“You already do.”
“You know what I mean.” She punched him in the arm. He laughed. As the door swung closed, Sydney said, “Don’t forget me.”
“That will never happen.”
CHAPTER 38
PAOLO HAD PACKED his suitcase after saying goodnight to Sydney. American Airlines Flight 2 to Los Angeles departed at 9:35 a.m. He placed his first-class ticket inside his suit jacket. Paolo was scheduled to meet with a representative from the Chinese government to discuss a possible joint venture with several Italian and American corporations. His cell phone rang and the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He knew who it was.
“Hello, Colin.”
“Paolo, how are you?” The sound of Dr. Payne’s nasal voice turned Paolo’s stomach.
“Fine, Colin, and you?”
“Fine. We haven’t spoken in a while, how have you been?”
What a piece of shit. “Come on, Colin, my best friend was assassinated two months ago, how do you think I’m doing?”
“You’re right, I do know. I saw you at the funeral…”
Paolo cut him off. “Yeah, I saw you. Why were you there?”
“I knew Bill, and I wanted to show my respect. I guess he pissed somebody off. It’s a shame you had to witness his death. Like I told you when you were in my office, you have to be careful with whom you associate. It could’ve been you.”
Paolo was stunned at the comment. The balls on this guy. The anger within him began to boil over. “What the hell do you mean by that, you little piece of shit?”
“Paolo, Paolo, calm down, there goes that Italian temper again. I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just saying you have to be careful, that’s all.”
“Well, it sounds like you’re saying something else.”
“No, just be careful, that’s all.”
“I can take care of myself. Now, what do you want?”
“I’ve be
en meaning to ask you…do you still see the vision of the steel girders and the falling ash?”
Paolo was silent. I wish I’d never told him. “Yes.”
“You still don’t know where or when it will occur?”
“That’s correct.” Paolo’s answers were blunt and to the point.
“The FBI was approached by a Cuban national with information about a potential terrorist attack against the country. I need you to talk with him. He happens to be in Los Angeles.”
Paolo also wanted answers about the vision, so he acquiesced. “Sure, I’ll meet with him.”
“His name is Javier Castellanos. Contact Fred Birch of the LA branch of the FBI. He will arrange a meeting. And Paolo? Don’t share the information with the FBI. Report directly back to me.”
“Yeah, okay. By the way, Colin, how do you know I’m going to be in LA?” The phone call ended.
Paolo reached for the secure satellite phone and punched in the speed-dial number.
“Paolo, we believe he’s sending you on a wild goose chase. Do what he asks, there is probably some validity. It’s definitely a red herring. He just about told us that he had Bill shot. Be patient, my friend, and watch your anger. Our people will meet you in Los Angeles.” The phone conversation ended.
Paolo walked out of the Los Angeles terminal into the cool June morning. His black Lincoln sedan with tinted windows waited at the curb. Paolo placed his bags in the empty gray trunk, then got in the rear passenger seat. He was surprised to see a beautiful woman sitting next to him.
“Hello, Mr. DeLaurentis.”
“Hello, Christine Little.”
“You know my name?”
“Yep. What does Rami have for me?”
She pulled a typewritten message from a manila envelope and handed it to Paolo.
Paolo, as you know, you are being watched. Our inside man discovered that you were the target in Venice, not Bill. Paolo read on. The Italians found the shooter dead in the Grande Canal. She was the same woman who was with Payne in Russia. “Shit, shit, shit.” He crumpled the paper and put it in his coat jacket.
“Are you okay, Mr. DeLaurentis?”
“I’ve had better days and please call me Paolo. How long have you been with BOET?”
Messenger From God (The Last Eulogy Series Book 1) Page 17