by Marten, Mimi
Akemi was raised in California, but she spoke fluent Japanese. She was very athletic. Her discipline came from her strict upbringing and playing competitive sports. She competed in snowboarding competitions until her knee injury which made her go for sports medicine. She stayed close to sports and travelled as a chiropractor with the US snowboarding team to the Olympics. Akemi and Patrick were a match made in heaven. They both loved all the crazy from sport biking to surfing, but it was their common love and passion for mountains and snow that brought them together. Akemi means ‘bright beauty’, and it was very fitting. She was not only bright in knowledge, but shiny in soul.
The boys would compete in everything with her, too, from sliding, ping pong, even hockey, all the way to board games. Akemi became a tough nut for the Adamec boyhood.
Simona was laughing, walking around, enjoying Francois, watching them all around her. She kept asking them if she had a sign on her forehead, ‘all the crazy competitive people come to me?’”
Because everyone got along so well, they all decided to take a trip to New Zealand. It had been on Simona’s bucket list for over two decades.
They rented two RV’s, brought their bikes for mountain biking, even their surf boards. Simona had her Mary Poppins bike with a baby seat on the back. She was happily cruising when her adrenaline junkies went jumping crazy hills and climbing mountains.
Everyone loved the hikes, and even the four hour trails seemed easy with all the men taking turns carrying Francois on their backs in his fancy carrier.
Patrick loved Francois as his own, and the boys never tired of him. Akemi was a self-proclaimed non-motherly type who never wanted children, but Francois somehow managed to crawl even into her heart. She kidnapped him any chance she had.
All their travels were amazing. Andre and Simona always had an extra pair of hands wanting to give them a break, and Francois seemed like the easiest toddler due to all the attention he was constantly getting.
When Francois turned three, Andre put his foot down. He finally wanted to settle down. He rented a huge apartment in Paris, arguing that Simona’s small one was fine for a few weeks, but not to live in as a family. She agreed, acknowledging that Francois needed his own room.
Francois was going to start pre-school, and Simona wasn’t sure how this kid was going to settle into a structured environment. He spent all his life browsing continents, exotic countries, swimming in the ocean like a fish, and being constantly part of nature. How is this three year old, fluent in three languages, going to sit in one room for a whole day, listening to baby books, when he is telling pirate stories?
Simona’s boys transferred to Barcelona. She was spending more and more weekends in the south of France, close to the Spanish border. She fell in love with the area and started to look for a house.
17
"LEAVE THE GRUMPY HOME."
IT WAS JUNE 28th, and Andre’s anticipated 40th birthday celebration was here. He arrived the night before from his dream trip to Nepal. He had known that Simona was going to have a killer present for him, but this was more like a mission impossible that she made happen.
He joined an expedition with the national geographic experts, world class climbers, famous scientists, and photographers. It was privately funded by one of the richest conservationists who was also part of the expedition which meant that everyone was lucky on the first class service: private jets, helicopters, camps, private chefs and royal treatment all the way. Andre was his guest, and they clicked from their initial meeting a few months prior in London.
He wanted to meet Andre before agreeing to take him on board. Simona and Philippe asked him to keep it a secret, and he did. They told Andre that they had to attend one of Murdoch’s parties in London, held in his friend’s house.
Simona had everything packed weeks in advance in their Paris apartment. Ten days before his birthday, they flew to Paris under a pretense of going to the opera. At dinner, Simona gave him his birthday card with his airline tickets. He had tears in his eyes, but then also almost a heart attack when he looked at the departure date. It was in three hours. They were walking out of the restaurant, and Andre felt as if it was still a joke. Simona was smiling, enjoying his surprise. He was hugging and kissing her, still in denial.
He went from ‘completely surreal’ to ‘holy shit this is for real’ when he saw Marcello waiting for them outside.
On the way to Charles de Gaulle airport, he was protesting that he needed to go home to grab his stuff. Simona told him that he was packed. Marcello also grabbed his computer and headphones. For the rest he needed to trust her packing skills.
❖ ❖ ❖
Simona had almost ten days to get everything ready for all the people coming from everywhere. She knew that Andre wouldn’t want a huge celebration. It was only the people that mattered. Simona rented a small chateau with a private chef and a Bed & Breakfast right next to it. She rented several cars and flew everyone to Perpignan.
The only person staying at their house was Andre’s mom. She had been helping with Francois for several days to give Simona time to get organized.
Everyone arrived the day before; she made sure that all the flights landed way before Andre’s. As usual, it became more complicated with Margaret and Anton who missed their connection from London which meant that they were going to have to stay overnight.
Margaret called from Heathrow airport. Simona asked to speak to the airline agent, sensing she was very upset and wouldn’t get far. The agent went from ‘hell no’ to 'let me see if that would work,’ and he finally transferred them onto a flight to Barcelona which was just a little longer drive across the border. Andre was arriving with Philippe, so she called him to stall a little. She wanted to make sure that there would be no running into anyone.
Arye and Cori were arriving by train the day of the celebration. They loved riding on trains ever since they were small children growing up on Maui where there were no trains, tramways, or anything on rails besides the old historical sugar-cane factory train.
Simona knew it wouldn’t be easy to get Andre out of the house, so she decided to throw the dinner party at the rented chateau. It was a historical chateau in a beautiful setting among old trees and manicured gardens, offering stunning views. The stone patio was massive. A perfect setting for a huge table and enough party set up space; every caterer’s dream. She had everything planned. The only challenge was going to be to get away from Andre.
The door bell rang. Francois was in his short pajamas, excited that he could wait for papa. He ran to the door, and having already learned the hard way not to stand right behind it, he stepped back and waited for mama to open it. Simona wanted him to have his moment. He was hopping and clapping with excitement. The door opened, and Andre’s view was his mini me, with the excitement of mini Simona.
“Papaaaaaaaaaa!”
He went to his knees, and Francois instantly climbed around his shoulders, squeezing him hard, kissing him, telling him everything and anything, so fast that no one could follow. Simona was watching, enjoying the scene, smiling from behind the door.
“Where is mama, Francois?”
Francois pointed at mama hiding behind. Andre jumped up with Francois still hanging on him like a monkey. It wasn’t just a hug. It was a shower of kisses, telling her how much he loved her, how amazing his trip was, how it was the best present ever. Simona couldn’t help but laugh at how those two were identical, in every way. Simona finally pulled back as Andre’s mom walked in, and he went over to greet her.
“Where is Philippe?” she asked.
“Right behind me,” Andre said.
Simona ran out only to catch him at the last minute as he was getting back into the car.
“Philippe! No hi, no bye, no kiss my ass??”
“Sorry. I felt like an intruder, but it was great to watch…”
She detected sadness in his voice and wanted to make it up to him.
“I made dinner. I insist. Please.”
; “Simo, I love to see you so happy. This is your evening, and I would feel like an odd man out.”
“Nonsense. You are my family. You are Francois’ family. You belong with us. Plus, if you don’t come, my mother-in-law is going to be the odd man out.”
“Your mother-in-law is my date?”
“Precisely,” she laughed.
“Love to see who you hooking me up with tomorrow then.”
“Do you want your bags with you or taken to the chateau?”
“I just have one bag. No need.”
Philippe paid the driver, and they walked back to the house. Simona ducked under Philippe’s arm, smiling at him, wanting to give him as much love as he could take. Andre was standing in the door, watching them with a mysterious gaze.
It was a wonderful evening, full of stories and excitement. Francois was asleep long ago, and Philippe declined dessert, announcing his departure. Simona walked him out and gave him her car keys. When she returned to the house, she found Andre standing in the doorway as before.
“What is it?”
“I’m not sure...”
“Are you still uncomfortable with Philippe?”
“No, I love Philippe. I actually can’t get enough of him. Talking, golfing, his company in general.”
“So what then?”
“It’s you and him together that I feel threatened about.”
“What? Since when?”
“Since always. But this was the longest I have been away from you in the last four years. I don’t want to do that again.”
“And you feel insecure leaving me alone?”
“No, I trust you. But that was the first thing I asked Philippe. If he saw you since I left.”
“Really? And did you get a satisfactory answer?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, so he didn’t tell you about the weekend in Paris, right?”
“Come here. I will show you a weekend in Paris! Bouchard, or whoever else...”
Simona was laughing, running back to the kitchen, hiding behind Andre’s mom who was laughing with them, always surprised how childish they could get. She admired them. They had something she never had. They were her proof that love exists, and that even after many years they made sure that the magic never died.
Francois climbed into their bed, but not on mama’s side this time. He crawled under papa’s arm. Andre woke up, caressing his blond curls, and kissing him everywhere.
“Papa, stop making me wet!”
“Haha....shhh, we are still sleeping.”
“No, papa, we have to get up. Arye and Cori are coming today.”
“Really? Wow! Five more minutes.”
Simona got up and went to the kitchen, thanking Jesus and grandma for the smell of fresh coffee.
“Where is Francois?” Elise asked.
“With his favorite person, your dear son.”
“His pancakes are ready. I’ll go get him.”
“Watch out grandma. Your son is butt naked.”
“I heard someone is naked, so I can’t come in,” Elise called out. “Francois, come eat your pancakes.”
“I’m not naked, grandma. It’s only papa. And you have seen him naked, so you can come in.”
“What do you know about grandma seeing me naked?” Andre asked his son with an amusement.
“Well, if she is your mom, it’s like mama sees me naked all the time,” Francois replied with serious logics.
“Ok, smarty pants. Go get your pancakes.”
“But it’s already been five minutes.”
“How do you know? You don’t have a watch.”
“I counted.”
“You don’t know how to count.”
“Grandma taught me.”
“No, I didn’t,” Andre’s mom finally walked in, smiling and giggling at Francois’ logic.
“You said five fingers on each hand. Two hands together make ten.”
“That still doesn’t explain five minutes.”
“Cori told me one minute has sixty, hmmm, what is it?”
“Seconds.”
“Yes. So I counted my fingers six times five times over.”
Andre looked at his mom. She was shocked. They both stopped laughing and had puzzled looks at the amazing logic of their four year old genius.
By the time Andre made it to the kitchen, Simona was dressed and ready to go.
“Where are you off to? No, no, no...”
“Going to run errands. You mean you didn’t have enough of me all night?”
“No, and No! I’m not letting you out of my sight today.”
“You mean you want to be attached to my hip?”
“I would like to be attached to many other things...”
“Ok, dirty mind. Pretty soon your son is gonna figure out your secret language and call you on it.”
“Speaking of smart, he kinda freaked me out with his counting this morning.”
Andre sat down, and Francois climbed into his lap. Simona was trying to push him out with her butt, “This is my lap. Heeey, you stole my lap.”
“No, mommy, this is papa’s lap, and we can share.”
They both looked at him with love and kissed him. Simona kissed Andre and dashed for the exit. Andre realized her quick move, put Francois into his seat, and ran after her.
“Wait. Are you serious? You are leaving?”
“I will be back in no time, silly. I have to get things ready for dinner tonight and stock up for the weekend with the boys being home.”
“But I want you on my lap,” Andre was making puppy eyes.
“He is gonna keep you busy,” Simona pointed at the small creature bouncing in his seat. “You won’t even miss me.”
“I doubt that. I miss you already, and you are still here.” Andre came closer, lifted Simona up, and brought her to the wall. He leaned closer with his body pushing against her, kissing her neck. She felt his excitement, and she was getting the same ideas. She looked over to the closet.
“Great idea,” Andre whispered.
“No, no. Got to go. Hop away, horny toad,” Simona started giggling.
“Wait. Just little kisses, please.”
“No. I would be driving around in wet underwear. Go away...”
Andre reached under her skirt and whispered in her ear, “They are already wet”. He smiled and carried her to the closet. She was giggling, punching him, threatening to scream. Andre put her down, started kissing her from her lips to her eyes, all the way down to her neck, breasts, and when he got to the belly button, she was in full agony. He came back up, whispering in her ear, “Let me kiss you, please.”
“What? Here? Are you crazy? And how? We can’t even move!”
Simona got out of the closet as Francois walked with grandma into the foyer. She looked at grandma and said, “Grandma, go find a leash somewhere, please. He needs to be leashed.”
She smiled and headed back to her bedroom to change her underwear. Andre stepped out, too, kissed Francois, and told him that mommy and papa were playing hide and seek. Before he could say that he wanted to play, too, he told him it was a boring kind, just for grownups. He smiled and kissed grandma, rushing after Simona to the bedroom…
Simona didn’t have a chance to take her underwear off. She only managed to get to the drawer to get clean ones out. Andre grabbed her and threw her on the bed.
“Where were we?”
“Nowhere. I was on my way...”
“Yes, I remember. On your way around the world. You were making sounds that are music to my ears.”
He was inspecting her underwear, agreeing that she should not be walking around like that.
“It’s time for kisses,” Andre started kissing her all over again. When he came down to her underwear, she pushed him away. He came up, looked at her seriously, and stated the most convincing argument, “It’s like nectar, remember? Mother Nature doesn’t waste nectar, and neither should we.”
“Since when did you become an expert on the vulva’s juice
s or making honey?”
“Making honey is my specialty. I’ll show you.”
“This is not a show and tell, and I have to go.”
“I won’t tell, but I’m going to show you. Stay still and quiet.”
Neither was possible with his torture…
Simona was in the shower, full of the happy hormone, but also incredibly late. When she came out, Andre had the biggest grin all over his face. “You are radiating sex and smell like vulva honey.”
She couldn’t stand his satisfaction at the victory and fired back, “That’s good. You know me. Once you get me going, I never have enough.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“That means all the men around me will be feeling the energy, thanks to you, and taking me on a ride around the world today.”
“What men? Where are you going?”
Simona was blowing him kisses, walking out. Andre jumped out of the bed, realizing he was still naked.
“I have to check on Philippe; see if his chateau is to his satisfaction. I’ll be back, no worries.”
Andre was standing in the doorway, his victory grin replaced with a sullen, worried look. Simona on the other hand beamed with serotonin, the happy hormone, and a mischievous look.
“I even packed extra underwear,” she took a pair of undies out of her pocket and laughed. That took Andre over the edge. He ran out after her naked. Francois and grandma went for a walk outside to the pond, but Andre didn’t care. He was furious.
“Why the hell would you need extra underwear?”
Simona was still smiling, enjoying his torture, and finally gave in.
“Well, considering your swimmers inside, I may get wet soon again.”
Andre grabbed her by the hand and kissed her with authority.
“You drive me crazy.”
“Right back at you.” Simona finally walked out, one hour later than she wanted.
❖ ❖ ❖
She was smiling the whole way. When she arrived at the chateau, she was greeted by the staff and a full breakfast table of familiar faces. She walked over to Philippe first, and then one by one hugged and kissed everyone. Most of the party guests were already there, as planned. After an hour of making sure that everyone was settled and happy, she revealed her plan for the surprise dinner. Simona told them about the arrangements for them to spend the day at a golf resort because the chateau was going to get hectic with all the setting up and preparation. Philippe was the tour guide. She was taking count for the spa appointments, tee times, and tennis courts. The club house had an amazing swimming pool for those who just wanted to lounge. It was the perfect setting for everyone to nurse their jet-lag.