by Kahn, Denise
"But can't you see? I don't care what happens to me, as long as you and everyone else are safe. Davina, you don’t understand. He is a killer!”
“What about Rodrigo? Have you thought about him? Do you think he wants to lose you? My God, he adores you.”
“I love him!” Jean wailed.
“And he loves you. Listen, Jean…”
“I’ve been in jail.”
“I know.”
“How do you know?”
“We checked you out when you boarded our plane in Miami. We were just being careful, you understand. There was never a doubt about your innocence. You have been completely cleared.”
“You knew all along?”
“Yes, Jean, listen. What we can do, you in particular, since you know Simon better than anyone, is to figure out who he’s hanging around with. He's been hiding out since the last incident with the prostitute."
Jean sat very still. “He couldn't care less who gets killed. That’s what scares me, Davina. Like I said, he’s a killer.”
The Aphrodite moored in Rome’s nearest port for Davina’s next concert. Robini was true to his word, at least his final word. The concert was sold out. The fans and the press followed Davina’s limousine from San Leone Auditorium all the way to the marina. They swamped Davina and her famous diva godmother and they also tried to board the tender that would take them to the Aphrodite. The polizia had a difficult time containing the crowd. Only after several more autographs from Davina and Eleni, and many more photographs, were they able to safely board the tender.
That night the Aphrodite set sail for the Strait of Messina and the Aegean islands. Davina excused herself, pleading exhaustion. It was not so much the physical exhaustion as the emotional turmoil that had run her down, although it was not enough to keep her from making love with Alejandro. Nothing in this world made her happier than her caballero.
They awoke the next day cradled in each other’s arms. Refreshed and anticipating another relaxing day on the yacht, they slipped into their swimsuits and headed for breakfast and the Mediterranean sun.
The Aphrodite sailed the gentle waters of the Tyrrhenian Sea, stopping for short periods along Italy's western coast so that her passengers could explore Naples and visit Capri and Pompeii. After a full day of sightseeing and shopping, most of the Aphrodite’s passengers retired early for the night.
Eric was strolling on the deck when he ran into Penelope, almost knocking her down. “I really don’t feel like going to sleep,” he said, as if by way of apology.
“I don’t either. I’m just going to walk around.”
“Would you like some company?”
“Sure.”
The Irishman folded her arm over his, and they walked the empty upper deck under the stars. They stopped in front of the life-size gold statue of Aphrodite the goddess.
“She’s grand!” Eric said. “I suppose she’s a favorite of your father’s?”
“Not so much the goddess but what she stood for. Love changed my father’s life so profoundly. He’s not the same person he is today that he used to be.”
“What happened?” Eric asked. His eyes shined like emeralds in the beam of a deck strobe.
“He met Eleni and they fell in love. He had never known love before, not like that.”
Eric took Penelope’s hands in his own. “You are very beautiful, but you already know that. May I tell you what I find even more beautiful about you?”
“If you wish.”
“You. The real you. The you deep down inside, the you who’s dying to burst out and give all the love you have to the man who makes you happy and doesn’t want you for your money or your business. And I just happen to know this man.”
“Do you?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“Me.” He pulled her gently to him, and as their bodies touched, he softly put his lips to hers. They held for a moment until her arms came up around his neck. Their passion had been mounting for days and now it exploded.
Penelope suddenly pulled away.
“What is it?”
“Shh. Listen.”
They went to the railing and peered down to the lower deck. Faydon and Bianca were there in an impassioned embrace.
Penelope laughed. They were twins, after all. Twins managed incomprehensibly to do the same things, to make the same decisions, to have the same emotions at the same time. Had they fallen in love together? In the same place?
When Faydon looked up towards the muffled sound of laughter, he blushed. His sister had never seen him kissing a woman before. But when he saw that Penelope and Eric had an arm around each other, he chuckled too.
The Aphrodite continued southward through the Strait of Messina between Italy's 'toe' and the 'soccer ball' known as Sicily. The following day, she sailed into the Ionian Sea and headed toward the Gulf of Corinth and the isthmus that would lead them into the Aegean.
Eric and Penelope and Jean and Rodrigo were on the bridge to watch their trek through the narrow passageway. The Aphrodite's master, Stefanos Koulouris, passed the wheel over to the pilot, Captain Haralambos, who had boarded the yacht for the trip through the isthmus.
“Did you know that the isthmus was an idea dreamed up by Periander in the seventh century BC,” Penelope said. “But it wasn’t completed until the end of the nineteenth century.”
“Who’s Periander?” Jean asked.
“A tyrant.”
“And just a few miles from here,” the pilot said, “the Spartans defeated the great Persian army.” He smiled, looking very pleased with himself. He was a short man. Most of his dark curly hair was hidden under a typical Greek fisherman's hat. His dark eyes and olive complexion were accented by a large mustache, handlebar style. "Captain Koulouris, are we ready?” the pilot asked. “My men at the pilot station are awaiting my signal."
“You are in full command, Captain. You may proceed at any time."
“Endaxi. Okay. We leave now." He gave orders to his crew over a walkie-talkie. Every time he spoke into the gadget, his whiskers got caught in the tiny speaker holes.
Once the crossing through the twenty-mile stretch was over, Captain Haralambos said good day and descended the ladder to his tender.
Faydon stood with his father on the upper deck as the Aphrodite approached Sinefaki, the secluded Koulouris island in the heart of the Aegean. There is no blue like the blue of the Aegean, Faydon thought. It is a combination of sky and sea. The Greeks are so proud of it they put the same color on their flag.
“She is beautiful, Father. I don't think I ever realized how beautiful nature really is. Every time I come here, I feel as though I’m coming from one world into another. It’s like a dream.”
“My son, I know you have always liked Sinefaki but now you see it differently, like a man. You always were the quiet and peaceful one, always wanting to help. Even stray cats! I remember one summer, you were a little boy sitting on the patio surrounded by a dozen cats climbing all over you. You had saved them from a terrible fate.”
Faydon remembered the cats. They were all starving. He fed them all.
“I wondered, I’ll be honest with you, I thought to myself, well, how kind he is with all these little friends climbing all over him, but is this kindness good for the one who will run my empire? A good businessman must be ruthless. This thought stayed with me for some years. I should have realized then that you would not follow in my footsteps. Instead, Faydon, you followed your heart. This is good.”
Faydon laughed. How much his father had changed.
“I'm very proud of you, my son. Never give up something you love so deeply, and always fight for what you so greatly believe in.”
Faydon embraced his father. For a moment, he felt like a little boy. He realized how important it was to him to know that his father was proud of him.
“Promise me, Faydon, always do your best and above all be happy. I do have one request though."
“And what is that, Patera?"
> “Grandchildren," he said. "Many."
“We could both try for twins," a familiar voice behind them said.
They turned to see Penelope with Eric and Bianca. Penelope kissed her father on the cheek. Stefanos wasn’t exactly sure what his daughter meant, but it felt right, too good to interrupt the magic of the moment with a question seeking an explanation.
The five of them bent over the rail and took the salt into their lungs and the sun into their hearts. It really was dreamlike. They all felt it.
The Aphrodite pulled up to its moorings at the island.
“What does the name Sinefaki mean?” Bianca asked.
“Little cloud,” Faydon replied.
How appropriate, she thought. Floating on a cloud surrounded by an infinity of blue as far as the eye can see.
Stefanos interrupted their thoughts. "Children, it is still early. Go and enjoy yourselves. Lunch will be served at two o'clock on the veranda.”
Faydon and Penelope decided to show their island to Eric and Bianca and to Adam and Ruth, who had remained fairly secluded in their stateroom for much of the trip. Eleni, Melina and Stefanos opted to go up to the house and relax. Jacques needed to attend to last minute details for Davina’s last European concert in Athens. The others decided to go water skiing, although it took some coaxing to get Jean in the skiing launch and even more to get her into the water.
“We're going in that?" Jean asked.
Rodrigo laughed. "Don't be afraid, amor, you will be perfectly safe. I will put a life vest on you. I will definitely have to teach you how to swim. You are missing so many fine things we could do in the water together."
He promptly threw his slalom ski into the water and dove in. He swam to where his brother and future sister-in-law were putting on their skis. The trio was ready. They signaled the driver and the powerful twin engines of the boat started to pull them. They gently rose out of the water behind their tow ropes, Davina between the two del Valle brothers, all on single skis. Their sculpted bodies glistened under the hot summer sun as the cool water flowed off them. They sachéed back and forth off the side of the boat's wake in perfect unison.
Jean watched them in awe and with envy. Seeing them like this together, as if on a stage, reminded her of the gratitude she felt for having these people come into her life. She loved them intensely. Each one held a special place in her heart. Davina was like a sister. Alejandro was special as well. To Jean, he was the epitome of a gentleman, kind and thoughtful, strong and intelligent. And Rodrigo. He had given her life new meaning, an intense desire for living. He had shown her the intimate joys of love, affection and respect between a man and a woman. She would never get enough of this. She wanted to spend her entire life by his side, wanted to grow old with him and have his children. And he wanted the same. Soon she would be at the Koulouris clinic in Athens. Faydon had told her there was hope. He made her believe it.
“Hey, you, beautiful!” Rodrigo yelled from the side of the launch. “You seem deep in thought."
“I wish I could swim. I’m sorry.”
“Would you like to ski?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Good.”
“But, Rodrigo, I can’t swim!”
“That is not important. Come, we will ski together.”
Surely, he’s not serious, she thought.
“Trust me."
“I do but how..."
“Shh." Rodrigo lifted a finger to his lips. "Just do exactly as I say.”
“Okay,” Jean said nervously. “But why do I have the feeling I’m about to jump out of a plane without a parachute?”
Davina and Alejandro, who held onto the other side of the craft, tried to be supportive. “Well, you never flew before we met either, do you remember?” Davina said, laughing.
“Oh, right,” Jean said, giggling. “Now I can fly!”
“So you don’t need a parachute," Alejandro said.
“Do you know that Rodrigo is Spain's national water skiing champ?"
“Really?” Jean said, impressed.
Rodrigo squeezed her arm. "Come, time for skiing now." He checked Jean's life vest and positioned his skis as Alejandro and Davina helped Jean into the water.
“Now, remember," Davina said, "there's nothing to worry about. If you get some water in you mouth just spit it back out."
Jean rolled her eyes and moaned.
Rodrigo grabbed the towrope with one hand, and with the other, he reached for Jean around the waist and pulled her toward him. "Listen carefully, querida. There is absolutely no way that you will go under water. The life vest will keep you afloat. This is what you are going to do: You will put your feet on top of mine and you will hold my arms. Okay?"
Jean started to laugh.
"What is so funny?" Rodrigo asked.
“This is probably my last hour on this earth, or should I say the ocean, but at least I'll die in your arms.”
Rodrigo's eyes locked onto hers. He kissed her gently. "I will never let anything happen to you, amor mio, and believe me, I will die before you for I am a selfish Spaniard. I could not bear to live without you.”
Alejandro, at the wheel of the launch, gave the all-ready sign. Rodrigo cradled Jean between his arms, her back against his chest, her feet on his. She put her hands on his arms and held tight. Rodrigo gave a thumbs-up and Alejandro slowly pulled them out of the water. They were up, the two of them together on one pair of skis. "Relax, this is all there is to it. Now do you believe me? Easy, no?"
Jean tried to hold her breath. She wasn't about to answer for fear that even the movement of her jaw muscles might topple her into the water.
The boat pulled them around toward the Koulouris mansion. As the skiers passed in front of the veranda overlooking the tiny bay, those on the patio waved and clapped.
“Wave back to them," Rodrigo said.
“I can’t let go!"
“If you don't, I will."
“Okay, okay," she said, digging her nails deeper into his arm. She slowly lifted a hand and waved. Rodrigo did the same.
“You are getting tired?"
Jean nodded.
“Very well, we will stop then.” He felt Jean's body tighten. "Do not worry, just do exactly what you have been doing. I will let go of the rope and we will slowly descend into the water. Nothing to fear, you will see. Ready?"
Jean nodded again.
Rodrigo signaled to the boat that they were quitting and let go of the handle. As he promised, they slowly glided downward until they were neck deep and floating. Rodrigo held on to Jean for added protection, more for her benefit that for safety's sake.
The launch promptly was at their side and Alejandro helped Jean up out of the water.
"You were marvelous, Jean! Water skiing is very becoming to you. You should do it more often."
Jean smiled, relieved but very excited. "I must admit it was a lot more fun than I expected. I really liked it.”
Rodrigo lifted himself onto the boat as the radio started crackling and Stefanos' voice came over the speaker. "Lunch is ready, children, come join us."
Ouzo and mezedes were on the table which had been set up on the veranda under huge umbrellas. There were small bits of cheese, olives, cucumbers and tomatoes, and Greek delicacies-- keftedes, tzatziki, taramosalata, and pyramids of dolmades. The fresh seafood and meats were baked in a brick outdoor country oven. There was red snapper and octopus, as well as lamb and rich pastries and fruits that grew on the island.
The terrace jutted out over the sea overlooking a small beach. In the distance other tiny islands could be seen on the horizon. They were surrounded by olive trees and the bushes whose flower buds were harvested as capers. Flowers were everywhere—jasmine, honeysuckle, hibiscus, geraniums, roses. A gentle breeze from the sea carried the perfumes of the flowers. They feasted in paradise.
“How are you doing?” Penelope asked Davina, helping herself to the stuffed grape leaves.
“Great. You?”
Penelop
e lowered her voice. “Davina, I think I’m falling in love.”
“Ah ha!”
“What do you mean…ah ha?”
“I mean I noticed.”
“No!”
“Yes.”
“How could you when I’m not even sure?”
“Penelope, I’ve known you a long time. You’ve never really been interested in any guy, and now…”
“Yeah?”
“Somewhere after Pompeii or Capri, you two are always together.”
“I didn’t realize that.”
“What’s to realize?”
“You’re right. What do I do now?”
“This isn’t a business deal. It’s your heart talking to you. Listen to it. “
“You mean take the guy to bed?”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“I think Faydon is…”
“I’ve noticed that too.”
Their visit to Sinefaki lasted only twenty-four hours. The next day, most of the group dispersed. They left for Athens aboard Stefanos’ sleek Falcon 50 which lifted off from Sinefaki’s own airstrip. Upon arrival at the Airport in Athens, they bade each other goodbye. Adam Spencer and his crew flew back to the Riviera to pick up the DC-3. Ruth caught a flight to Tel Aviv. Alejandro went to Havana, and Rodrigo, against his better judgment, went home to Madrid to his computer business. Jean was adamant about it, after she finally got the courage to tell him about her illness. She would not let him accompany her to the clinic.
♫
MIAMI
CHAPTER 28
Simon Grady had run out of places to hide. The police were hot on his trail. There was only one place left he could think to go. Gina Thornton would not be happy about it, but he didn't give a damn about that. He knocked on the screen door and Johnny opened it. Gina never told her brother about the incident with the police, so Johnny was quite surprised to see him at the front door.
"Simon! Come in."