by Lina Ellina
Hippocrates, who came to see what the commotion was all about, woofed around him demanding his attention. With Ioanna in his left arm, Marin stretched his right arm and patted Hippocrates playfully while Elena watched unable to move.
Was that really him? How did he find her? Breathe, she reminded herself.
“She’s grown!” Marin stated the obvious.
Yeah, you missed that while you were having fun with your fiancé, Elena thought wryly. “What are you doing here?” she asked austerely when she finally was in command of her voice again.
“Elena, we need to talk. Aren’t you going to ask me to come in?” He half-feared she wouldn’t.
Elena hesitated for a moment but decided she could do without the neighbors’ gossip and let him in. Marin had a quick glance around at her humble place and took the seat she offered him.
She sat opposite him and folded her arms in front of her chest. “I’m listening,” Elena encouraged him although she wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he had to say.
With Ioanna on his lap and Hippocrates at his feet, Marin looked deeply into Elena’s eyes, took a piece of paper out of his doublet, and asked the question he had so long waited for to ask, “Why?”
Her eyes focused on the note she had left for him on the door of nana’s house and decided not to satisfy his curiosity. She lifted her chin and looked him straight in the eye.
“Don’t you think I’m the one who should be asking this question?”
86 - 2011
Marina took her time under the steaming water, striving to put her thoughts in order. When she joined him again, he was adding the final touches. Lorenzo stopped what he was doing and looked at her from head to toe - her hair still damp and no make-up.
“Do you have an ID?” The seriousness in his voice startled her.
“What?”
“I could swear you look seventeen right now.” His penetrating gaze caused her heart to thump.
“Is that bad?”
“No, unless you are. Then I’m in trouble!” He chuckled.
“Why?” she asked, trying to wipe the self-satisfied grin off her face.
Lorenzo lit the candle on the table, poured some wine in two glasses, and offered her one.
“You know why,” he said boldly. He clinked his glass against hers. Slowly, he pinched a prawn-smoked-salmon saffron ravioli, one of Lorenzo’s signature dishes, with his fork. “Here, try this.”
Marina closed her eyes and concentrated on the tantalizing taste sensation. “Mm... Mm… this is so delectably scrumptious – divine!” The rapture on her face was what he had craved.
He pulled her close and felt her heart racing as he brushed his lips playfully against hers taking his time. She clasped his neck and responded with a delirious lingering kiss that took them both by surprise, awakening senses and reflexes.
“Amore mio,” he whispered short of breath. He hid his face in the curls on her neck, kissing her, tasting her like a Château Lafitte. Marina surrendered to the magic of his kiss and the seductive sound of Italian words of love he whispered in her ear. “Sei tanto bella… carissima...”
The ringing of the doorbell put an abrupt end to their moment.
“Expecting someone?” he asked, holding her in his arms still.
“No. They’ll go away.”
But the ringing became more persistent.
87 - 1468
“You haven’t been back to our love nest, have you?” Marin enquired without answering her question - their eyes still locked.
Love nest! “No.”
“I left you a note there explaining there’s not going to be an engagement.” He stared at her with his penetrating Glaucous blue eyes.
He obviously expected her to ask ‘why’, but she wouldn’t grant him this satisfaction, although she was dying to find out. She felt something stirring inside her and clenched her stomach. Oh, you can stop kicking now, she thought!
“Elena, are you all right?”
She looked up and met his worried look. “Other than you broke my heart to pieces, I am the size of an elephant, and I have to raise the children all by myself... yeah, I’d say everything’s fine.” She rose to her feet. “I have to check on the food.”
She didn’t really. She had just added the trahanas[1] into some boiling water when she heard him knock on the door, but she needed an excuse to put some physical distance between them. She needed time to think. But Marin could read her face like the palm of his hand. He followed her to the boiling cauldron, let Ioanna down on her blanket, and gave her a puppa[2]. Ioanna took it, put it in her mouth, and rubbed it against her sore gums.
“Need a hand?” he asked casually as if nothing had changed between them. He came and stood right behind her.
Elena felt flustered. Why wouldn’t he leave her be for a moment? “No, thank you,” she said and stood with her back still turned to him, avoiding his gaze that was so upsetting.
“You think you have stirred the food long enough?” he asked gently.
Elena took a deep breath, mastered her self-control, and turned to face him. “What do you want, Marin?” She emphasized every single word. The proximity of his body agitated the balance of her pregnancy hormones even more. Why was he doing this to her?
“You and Ioanna in my life,” he whispered in her ear, sending thrills to her excited body and mind.
Pull yourself together! He abandoned you first chance he had, she reminded herself.
“You did have us in your life. Apparently, we have failed to fulfill your needs.” The bitterness in her voice felt like a slap on his face.
“You haven’t failed me, Elena. I have.” His voice was hoarse.
“Yes, you have. You... you cheated on me!”
“I did not. I never touched her.”
Elena looked at him through narrowed eyes, wondering if he was telling the truth. “Still, you were going to get engaged to her.”
“But I never did,” he said in a quiet tone of voice that infuriated her even more.
“You... You did not respect me... You...” Noticing Ioanna’s puzzled look, she took a deep breath to calm herself.
“I have always had the greatest respect for you,” Marin said quietly, but Elena cut him short.
“You call this respect!” she cried out indignantly.
“That was the most stupid mistake in my entire life! Elena, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry I hurt you. Let me make it up to you.”
His pleading eyes met hers, but Elena had no intention of making it easy on him.
“For how long? Until another puffed and powdered fancy lady hits your way? Face it, Marin. We live in two different worlds you and I. I carry the stigma of a common native and can never be part of your life with the exquisite banquets and feasts.” Her voice was a farrago of resolve and acrimony.
“Elena, I won’t lie to you. It is a tempting world, but it means nothing without you. Trust me. I’ve been there. I know now.”
[1] Cracked wheat and soured goat’s milk
[2] A doll made of rugs - from French puppée
88 - 2011
“Maybe you should get that,” Lorenzo said without smiling and let go of her.
Marina stepped away from him and ran her fingers through her hair. Ill-equipped for the intensity of the emotions his kiss had evoked in her, she stood with her hand on the door knob for a few moments, only too aware that his eyes were fixed on her.
She took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders before she opened the door. A clean-shaven George in a navy blue suit, white shirt, and blue and yellow tie stood half-hidden behind a bouquet of red roses.
Still standing in the kitchen niche, Lorenzo scrutinized Marina’s perplexed expression and heard the young man’s wheedling voice until his olive green eyes rested on him.
So, you’re the lover boy, Lorenzo thought.
The young man’s voice became cold as ice when he spoke again. He must have asked Marina who Lorenzo was because Marina made the introdu
ctions in English in an attempt to keep this awkward situation as civil as possible.
Lorenzo humored her, came closer, and stretched his arm, but George ignored him. He turned to Marina and spoke fervently, but she spoke in a quiet, almost tender voice. Eventually, the young man nodded and cast a glance at Lorenzo who could not fathom from their facial expressions or their tone of voice what was going on exactly and that irritated him. His flexed muscles relaxed only when Marina closed the door behind the young man moments later.
Marina stood with her forehead against the door for a while. Lorenzo didn’t move, sensing she needed time and space.
89 - 1468
“Trust you! I’ve already done that. I can’t say I’m impressed,” Elena said disdainfully.
Marin sighed. He was running out of ideas. He only knew he didn’t want to lose her again. “Elena, please, I don’t want to live without you. I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Like master and mistress?” she asked with contempt.
He looked at her intensely and said in a gruff voice, “Like my wife.” He got down on one knee and asked, “Will you marry me?”
“What would your uncle say?” Elena challenged him.
Marin didn’t miss the provocative touch in her voice. She had every right to be hurt and chagrined, he reminded himself. He placed his palms on her belly, kissed it, and rose to his feet.
“Let me worry about that. You just worry about the children. How pregnant are you anyway?”
“The baby’s due in two new moons.”
Marin made a quick calculation in his mind. “Let me be there for you and the children. For their sake,” he added tenderly.
Elena’s pride wanted to hurt him as much as he had hurt her, but it would only be a fleeting moment of her ego’s victory to tell him to go. She looked at his earnest expression.
“If I were to allow you to visit us, could you live in celibacy for as long as it takes?” she challenged him with a draconian measure, knowing his Achilles’ heel only too well.
“If that’s what you really want.”
“I swear to you, Marin, if I hear the slightest gossip about you and prostitutes even, I’ll move somewhere you will never find me or your child,” she threatened, her icy tone of voice serious as a heart attack, but Marin chose to pay attention to the words that interested him the most.
“So it is mine!” He smiled at her affectionately and placed his palms gently on her rounded belly.
“Whose did you think it was?” she asked affronted.
“Mine, but it’s still nice to hear it from your lips.” He felt the tenderness for her and his unborn child welling inside him.
He bent down to kiss her, but she turned her face away. “I don’t remember saying I forgave you. You will clear your position with your uncle first. When is your next report to him?”
“In less than a fortnight.”
“Come and see me then.” She turned to stir the soup, implying his time was up.
He came and stood right behind her again. “Elena!” His husky whisper in her ear always worked, and he knew it when she got the goose bumps.
“What?”
What a pyrrhic victory! She was regretting the celibacy condition already.
“You are even more beautiful when you are pregnant. And I could swear your breasts are larger... When I’m forgiven, we should do this more often. I want to have a house full of children with you.”
“Provided I forgive you and you stay around long enough.”
“I will. You’ll see.”
90 - 2011
“Do you mind if we skip the ‘Lemesos by night’ tour tonight? I’d rather drive you to the hotel now if that’s all right with you.” Her voice trailed off.
“Sure. No problem,” he lied. He locked eyes with her, but Marina did not even want to try and make out his inscrutable gaze. She had to put her own thoughts in order first.
On the illuminated coastal road, Marina turned left and headed east toward Germasogeia and the Four Seasons Hotel. There was hardly any traffic that January Thursday night, but Marina drove unusually slowly with her vacant gaze fixed on the road. Lorenzo frowned and rubbed his chin, squeezing his brain for a way to bring down the glass wall she erected withdrawing in her silence. For lack of any smart ideas, he remained quiet, too.
When Marina pulled up by the hotel entrance, Lorenzo knew it was a long shot, but he gave it a try anyway.
“Would you like to come in for a drink? Perhaps talk about what happened tonight? You may not know this about me, but I’m an excellent listener... Or not talk at all. You don’t have to go through this alone, you know. I’m here for you.”
“Thanks, but it’s late... Do you think you could check in alone?”
He nodded faking a smile.
“Same time tomorrow?”
“Sure. You can call me any time. Good night.” Lorenzo gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and got out of the car.
91 - 1468
“That was reckless.” Andrea Cornaro took his spectacles off and placed them on a pile of documents on his desk, as soon as Marin finished reporting on the sugar mill and the cotton farm progress.
“I beg your pardon?”
“Arranging Anna’s engagement with Visconti. You do realize this could have ended in a vendetta.”
But it didn’t, the young man contemplated but held his tongue.
“That would have been an egregious error. You acted irresponsibly, Marin.” Andrea was disappointed in Marin for the first time.
“The conte is happy, Anna is happy, the Contarini are happy. I’m happy. So, what’s the problem? I don’t love her, uncle,” Marin said to his defense.
“What has love got to do with marriage? You’d learn to love her along the way. She’s young, beautiful, educated, and rich. What’s there not to love?”
Marin wondered if his uncle had ever loved a woman like he loved Elena, but he decided not to go down that path. “Well, it’s over now.”
“What do you intend to do with this native? I hear she’s pregnant. Is this your child?” Andrea studied Marin’s face.
Marin wondered how his uncle knew. Yet again, he wondered if there was anything going on on this island that he didn’t know of. “Yes, Sir.”
“What do you want to do?” Andrea folded his hands on the desk in front of him.
Marin swallowed hard. “Marry her, with your permission.”
“My permission! You didn’t ask for my permission when you broke off the engagement… Marin, this woman is no match for you. She has nothing to offer you. You can do great things, my boy. I’ve seen how your brain works. Married into the right family, you could do wonders, but you’ll have an insignificant, isolated life in poverty with her. Why? Because you love her? What makes you so sure your love won’t wither?”
He snorted scornfully and went on, “Love… If you loved her – if you really loved her like you think you do – how come you agreed to marry Anna, Marin?”
“That was a temporary erosion of judgment.” How many times did he have to apologize for the same mistake?
“So you say now. What will you do in a few years’ time when your love for the widow is stilled and the misery of your new life dawns on you, and more beautiful young ladies come your way? What makes you so sure that romantic love guarantees a successful marriage?”
“I would like to try anyway.” Marin tried not to get upset with his uncle for whom he had the greatest respect.
Seeing the young man’s determination, Andrea looked at him with renewed interest. Was he really willing to lose it all? He decided to change his tactics.
“Marin, why don’t you wait a while with this marriage idea?” Why buy the cow when you can milk it? “I’m throwing a banquet at my residence in Nicosia next Saturday. This is an opportunity to meet more ladies. Humor me, Marin; do this for me!” he said, making a mental note to assign his secretary to organize a banquet right after Marin left.
“All right, uncle. I will respect your wish and keep my eyes open for the woman who will steal my heart from Elena’s hands. But if no one does, I expect your blessings at our wedding.”
“As long as you promise to keep an open mind,” Andrea said and realized he needed to come up with a backup plan.
92 - 2011
Lorenzo awoke with the memory of the sensation of the kiss the night before and had a hard time controlling his imagination and his testosterone. But the warm smile that lit her eyes and drew him to her was hardly there that morning, he noticed with disappointment.
“Originally, I had thought of a trip to Pafos for your last day – it is so archaeologically abundant that the entire town is on the UNESCO World Heritage List, but since we only have a few hours before your flight, we should perhaps best visit Kourion. It’s just a thirty-minute drive,” she suggested wearing her professional smile that fortified the glass wall between them.
“Exactly because these are my last few hours here, I just want to spend them with you.”
He looked at her intensely, but Marina cast her gaze on her hands.
“So what would you like to do?” Lorenzo took her hand in his, but she pulled it gently away and picked up her coffee cup.
“Visit Kourion. You’ll love it.” Her voice was professionally polite.
“Then Kourion it is.” Lorenzo sighed somewhat miffed.
Some forty-five minutes later, they were walking on the bridge over the well-preserved mosaics in the complex of Eustolios at Kourion. Lorenzo heard Marina’s voice explaining something about the image symbolism, but he wasn’t really listening. Had George sweet-talked her after all? Did it matter? Lorenzo was unprepared for the cold shoulder she was giving him or how it gave his ulcer an anxiety attack. She must have grown on him while he wasn’t paying attention, he thought.