by Kahn, Denise
"How you doin’, man?”
“Good. You're looking at a college man. University of Miami.”
“You rich yet?”
“Naw. I’m making it, but it’s not easy. I’ve got a job on the side.”
"Yeah? Doing what?"
"Orange Bowl. When there's a concert, I help set up the lights.”
Grady perked up. Now he knew how he would get into the stadium. “I got a favor to ask you, Johnny. I'm kind of hard up for money right now. Do you think they might need someone else around there? At the Orange Bowl? I'll take anything, even for just a week."
"I don't know.”
“Hey, man, you owe me one.”
“Yeah, yeah. Well, I'll see what I can find out. I'm going to see the promoter this afternoon. He wants me to look at blueprints for the layout for the stage lights. I'll ask him."
Better and better, Grady thought. "Great, man. And hey, I have another favor to ask. I don't have a place to stay right now. Would you mind if I crashed here for a couple of nights?"
"I don't think Gina will mind," Johnny said, knowing that she would. But he owed Grady.
“Yeah, I’m sure she won’t.”
Gina and Zeferino arrived to find Grady asleep on the couch.
"Simon’s here,” Johnny said, announcing the obvious.
"I can see that!" Gina snapped. She dragged her brother into the kitchen. "I don't like the idea of that man in my house.”
"He just needs a place to crash for a couple of days.”
"I don't care what he needs. This is a small house, you know."
"He's in a bad way right now. He needs a job."
"Johnny, sometimes you're too nice. He’s not coming back here."
Gina would not return to the living room until she heard the screen door slam to signal that Grady had left with her brother for the Orange Bowl.
"What was that all about?" Zeferino asked.
"Simon Grady, an old racing buddy of Johnny's."
"You do not seem to like him very much."
"Let's just say I don't have any use for him."
"Any use for him?"
"You're right, I don't like him very much. I don’t like him at all."
"I think maybe I understand. I too have this feeling that he is not a very good person."
"Would you like to help me make dinner?"
"No. I will make dinner for you. I love to cook. I will prepare a specialty from Brazil, yes?"
"Okay." A smile came back to her lips.
The sound and light company, which had been hired out of Los Angeles to work at the Orange Bowl, needed extra help, and they were using locals to fill those slots to set up for the Davina Walters concert. Simon Grady was hired right away.
This is too easy, he thought, much too easy. He worked with Johnny on the wires. He was good with his hands. When he needed information for his own benefit, he pretended he needed the knowledge because he wanted to be thorough, he wanted to do a good job. When he took a cigarette break alone, he’d take out the picture of Jean and Davina and those two men in Spain. There were bulls in the picture too. All of them but the bulls were smiling.
Johnny knew his sister would be happy to know that he had been promoted. He was the head light man now. It meant a raise. He also had two tickets, gratis, for Gina and Zeferino for the Davina Walters concert. But before he could announce his good news, Zeferino and Gina had news of their own. They were engaged to be married.
“I would like your permission,” Zeferino said to Johnny. “As the man of the family, you must decide.”
“Yeah, sure,” Johnny said. “It’s okay with me.”
Zeferino hugged his future brother-in-law and kissed him on the cheeks.
“Hey, hey!” Johnny tried to wriggle away. “We don’t do that in the States.”
“But I’m happy! In Brazil it means you’re happy.”
“Okay, okay.”
“And now,” Zeferino continued, “I have something to tell both of you. Please sit down.”
They did as they were asked and Zeferino made a quick phone call. He said he had to call a friend to bring the gifts he bought for them. He returned with a bottle of champagne.
“First we open the champagne and put a little music on.”
“The suspense is killing me!” Gina said.
“Patience,” he said into her loving eyes.
Finally, the doorbell rang. “Don’t move,” he ordered and went to the door.
“Johnny, could you give me a hand please!” he called.
Zeferino was trying to bring in a huge bouquet of red roses that wouldn’t quite fit through the door.
”Jesus H. Christ, Gina is going to kill you,” Johnny said. “You must have spent a fortune!”
“It is only once that a man gets married, and when you are in love, nothing is good enough for your woman, si?”
They managed to get the dozens of red roses through the door.
“Now you go sit too, amigo,” Zeferino told Johnny.
“Wait ‘till you see this, you’re gonna flip,” Johnny told his sister.
Zeferino came into the living room carrying the bouquet. It was so large it hid most of his body. “Oh, Zeferino, they’re gorgeous! But why did you have to go and spend so much money?”
“Okay, it is time,” Zeferino said. “First, my love, the roses truly are beautiful, but nothing compared to your beauty.”
Gina blushed. She still wasn’t used to his compliments but she did so enjoy them. He made her feel that she was important, not only for him but for herself as well.
Zeferino handed Johnny an envelope. “I hope you will make good use of it, my friend.”
The envelope held two thousand dollars in cash and a receipt for the balance of Johnny’s tuition at the University of Miami. It was all paid for.
Johnny stammered a thank you.
“I don’t understand,” Gina said. “Have you hit the lottery or something?”
“Or something. That is what I have to tell you. Come, there is a gift waiting for you outside, Gina.”
“Zeferino, please tell me what is going on first,” Gina said, beginning to fear something, something she wanted no part of.
“Very well. I will tell you. When I first came to Miami, I met Johnny at the university housing office. I hoped that maybe someone there could help me look for an apartment, something inexpensive, something a student, a foreign student, could afford, someone who did not have much money. To my luck, Johnny was there and he overheard my conversation and offered me his house for a small fee. You see, I wanted so much to be like everybody else, just another face in the crowd, as they say, and that is exactly what happened. We became friends. And, Gina, you and I fell in love. You fell in love with me, with my heart and not my wealth.”
“Are you trying to tell us that you are rich?” Gina asked.
“I believe you say filthy, yes? Please now, let me finally give you your present, Gina, for our engagement, yes?” He pulled them both by their arms off the couch.
Outside was a yellow Dino Ferrari, wrapped with a big red bow on top of the roof.
“My love, please accept this key,” he said, putting it in Gina’s hand. “It is yours.”
The Thorntons just stood there staring. Zeferino gently pushed Gina toward the driver’s side. He took the keys from her hand and opened the door. “Go on,” he prompted her.
Inside on the driver’s seat was another red rose tied to a small yellow box. He had it specially made to match the car. She gently caressed the leather of the seat until her long manicured fingers touched the soft velvet box. She carefully opened it and caught her breath. Inside was a heart shaped ruby surrounded by yellow diamonds.
Zeferino took the ring and placed it on her finger and kissed the stone.
“Oh, Zeferino, is all this really true?”
“Yes, querida.”
“I don’t know what to say. You have done so much for me, given me so much, but I have nothing to give you.”
&nb
sp; “You are wrong, Gina. You have given me your love! I am truly sorry I had to pretend all this time, but so many times people loved me but I found out they did not really love me; they loved my wealth. You see, I was falling in love with you and I wanted you to fall in love with me,” he said slapping his chest with his hands. “Do you understand now why I had to play this silly charade? Believe me, I am sorry, but I had to be sure of your feelings. Will you forgive me?”
“Oh, Zeferino, there is nothing to forgive, and I do understand, and I do love you very much. I just don’t know what to say. I’m a little stunned. I hope I’m not upsetting you.”
“Of course not, but I have one demand.”
“What is that?”
“That you enjoy everything I can offer you, and that you love me until the day I die, yes?”
She had come to realize in the past moments that she could now afford everything she had ever dreamed of. She had come into money, a lot of money, but she had also come into love. She had fallen in love with a man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. He was the real wealth and the most important thing in her life, not his riches. “Alright, but only if you love me until the day I die.”
“I accept,” he said and hugged her.
“Listen, you two,” Johnny tried to interrupt them. “I’ve got tickets for you for the Davina Walters concert.”
“Good!” Zeferino said. “I wouldn’t miss it. Davina and I have known each other since we were kids.”
“You know her?”
“Yes. She has been to my house in Brazil. My father has always been a fan of hers. You know, my father is in the construction business in Brazil. He always needs engineers. He has businesses all over the world. Believe me, he will be very impressed to have an expert who has set up the lighting for a Davina Walters concert.”
“What kind of buildings?”
“Big ones, sky scrappers, entire neighborhoods for new cities. You see, Brazil has so much virgin territory that the need is great.”
Zeferino thought it would be appropriate to tell Davina in person about his engagement after the concert.
“What will I wear?” Gina fretted.
“Let’s go drive in your new car and buy you a dress, one to match the ring perhaps?”
Gina could not keep the corners of her mouth from rising. In the back of her mind she was just starting to feel the power money could buy.
♫
ATHENS
CHAPTER 29
Faydon Koulouris had a reputation for being a brilliant physician and a humanitarian. When his patients were in pain, a part of him hurt with them. If someone needed help, advice or information, he always found the time, and when Faydon in turn asked for the smallest of favors, his co-workers practically ran to help him. He set the tone for the professionalism and the dedication of the staff that the Koulouris Clinic was renown for. Poor villagers from the mountains of Greece, as well as the international elite came here. Some could not pay. For these people, the medical help was free. Those who were wealthy donated generously, especially those who knew the Koulouris family. Writing a check for a million dollars or five million dollars was an act of the heart. The wealthy donors did this with pleasure, whether the final outcome of their treatment at the clinic was a positive one or not.
Prominent doctors from various institutions around the world made visits to the clinic. There was a tacit agreement among them that whenever a new development arose, they would try the new technique or medicine, whatever it was. Being in Greece, they did not have the severe restrictions that were imposed on experimental treatments and medications in other countries such as the United States.
Faydon examined Jean. She had leukemia, a rare form of the disease, so rare that the treatment for this was far from standard. Jean’s white blood cell count was alarmingly high and she had begun to experience episodes of fatigue and nausea. Faydon and his team designed a course of treatment for her. They decided to move cautiously. A bone marrow transplant would be a last resort. They opted to try a new chemotherapy drug in combination with radiation. Because the drug was experimental, Jean would have to stay in the hospital. They would have to watch her very closely.
Davina accompanied Jean to the clinic on the day her treatment was to start. They were led to a private room that looked more like a luxury suite in a hotel. The room was filled with dozens of flowers from Rodrigo, Stefanos and Eleni, and Melina. It perfumed the room with a sweet delicate aroma.
Jean tried to reassure her friend. “I’m okay, really, Davina.”
“I’m glad. Did Faydon tell you they’re on the verge of a major breakthrough?”
“Jean lowered her eyes and held Davina’s hand. “I have a dream. I want to give Rodrigo a son and I want you to be the godmother. If only I could accomplish that before I go, then I’ll know that my life would have been worth something, that I could repay you and Rodrigo for some of the love and happiness you’ve given me. Even if I weren’t around, at least I’d know that a little piece of me still is.”
Davina was shaken. She tried to hold back tears. “Don’t be silly. You’ll probably outlive us all.” She held up the hospital gown to Jean. “Come on, get dressed. Faydon’s waiting.”
The treatments took their toll. That first week, Jean would wake up gagging on her own vomit, or she would be soaked in perspiration and shake uncontrollably. She lost track of the days and the dry-heaves that seemed to tear her stomach to shreds, and the nightmares, and the hell of what her body was going through. She finally just wanted to die, but every time she thought of giving up, there was a new letter from Rodrigo or he was on the telephone. Or Eleni and Melina were on the telephone together talking to her. Or Davina was holding her hand, talking of hope. Or one of the nurses or doctors or Faydon himself was there for her.
Jean had been at the clinic for a week when Faydon told Davina that Jean was making progress. Her white blood cell count had declined dramatically, enough to make the doctors think that she might go into remission. “She is very brave,” Faydon said. “She wants to beat this. You know, one of the strongest medicines is will. She has it. You and Rodrigo seem to have given that to her.”
“Does remission mean cure?”
“We are optimistic.”
“Does Jean know?”
“Yes, I spoke to her this morning, but as I told her, she must follow directions. She must avoid depression and unhappiness. That could put her back to square one and we would have to start from the beginning, without knowing the final results, which might not take effect as well. We really can’t tell from one individual to another or from a previous case of that certain person. It could vary each time, sometimes better, sometimes not. It’s strange, even to doctors, that the mind plays such an important role in the physical well being of the body. You see, we have two battles to fight, and if we defeat one and not the other, we will have lost both and in consequence, the war. I talk too much.”
“Not at all, Faydon. Thank you. Will you be at the concert tonight?”
“Yes. I’m taking Bianca.”
“How nice.”
Of course Jean would not be there. She had another week to go at the clinic. But she had been through the worst. This second part of her stay, Faydon said, would be a “piece of cake.”
Davina spent that afternoon rehearsing for the concert in Athens. When she returned from the Acropolis, she asked the hotel to hold all her calls and got into a bubble bath. She planned to soak for a long time. But within five minutes, she thought she heard Jacques calling her name. She got out of the tub and grabbed a towel.
“Chérie! Davina!” he shouted.
Something was up. She could tell by the excitement in Jacques’ voice. He was always so calm.
Jacques was definitely not calm. He walked in on her in the bathroom, oblivious to her nakedness. It was a simple matter for him to enter her room as it adjoined his room.
“I’ve just talked to Charles Charpentier,” Jacques said, almost breathless. “M
onique is out of the coma!”
Davina finished wrapping the towel around her and sat down on the toilet seat cover.
“She’s just… about an hour ago,” he said.
"Oh, Jacques, what wonderful news.”
Jacques nodded and then he shook his head. Suddenly, he could not find his tongue. Davina led him out of the bathroom.
“Start from the beginning.”
Jacques was sweating. "The good news is she is out of her coma. She is physically and mentally sound. She woke up an hour ago.”
“Thank God.”
"The bad news is she has amnesia. She doesn't remember anything or anybody. She doesn't even know who she is."
"But won’t she remember, eventually?”
"Yes, he says yes, maybe, he says, maybe.”
"We'll leave right after the show. Jacques, can you arrange everything that fast?"
"Yes, of course."
The Herodus Atticus Theater was at the base of the Acropolis. From the top of the hill, you could look down into the two-thousand-year-old theater and clearly see its columns, most in ruins but still stately, and its semi-circle of stone seats. It was a kind of mini-Coliseum, hewn of the rock of the hill that was so famous. Few entertainers had ever been permitted to sing there. It was usually restricted to symphonies and ballets, and now Davina would join the exclusive group of performers to shine under the lights of the Parthenon, the giant temple of marble built for Athena, the guardian of the city of Athens.
A warm breeze was blowing down the slopes of the Acropolis toward the ancient theater below Athena's temple. Students and others, mostly young people, who could not afford the ticket prices, were allowed to sit on blankets on the slopes of the Acropolis to hear the performance. The stone bleachers of the theater were packed with spectators who could afford the price of a ticket. The lower seats, which were carved out of marble near the stage, were reserved for important personages. The President, Prime Minister, and other prominent Greeks took those seats. Davina’s mother Melina and Eleni and Stefanos, Faydon and Bianca, and Penelope and Eric also sat on the marble stones in the front row.