“You ok,” he wanted to know.
“I thought I’d dreamed you here and that the gods were playing their final cruel joke on me. It would be more than I could endure.”
Thinking of it made me shudder.
To proclaim his presence, he rolled his body on top of mine and again sandwiched my face in his hands before he kissed me. We got slammed by the wave a couple of times before I had to scramble to the bathroom to take care of my business.
Michael and I met up in the garden, each toting a mug of coffee. Like old times he made his morning toast.
“To making hay while the sun shines, cheers, thanks a lot, eh?”
My practice was always to clear away any new weeds that may have dared to grow in the previous 24 hours but lately my buddies had been taking it upon themselves to not allow any nutrient-stealing plants to invade their space. They had created even more ease in my work as I no longer had to search for the ripe fruit. I just communicated to them what I wanted and they gave it up. Picking up the produce where they guided me was all the work necessary.
After the sun had risen we left to prepare breakfast using the specially selected bounty from my buddies. As we exited the garden we sang; I started the song because it popped into my head.
‘Down at an English fair one evening I was there
When I heard a showman shouting underneath the flair
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts
There they are all standing in a row
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head
Give them a twist a flick of the wrist
That’s what the showman said
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts
Every ball you throw will make me rich
There stands my wife, the idol of me life
Singing roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
Roll a bowl a ball, roll a bowl a ball
Singing roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts (they’re lovely)
There they are all standing in a row (one, two, three, four)
Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head (and bigger)
Give them a twist a flick of the wrist
That’s what the showman said
I’ve got a lovely bunch of coconuts
Every ball you throw will make me rich
There stands my wife, the idol of me life
Singing roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch (all together now)
Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch (harmony)
Roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch
Roll a bowl a ball, roll a bowl a ball
Singing roll a bowl a ball a penny a pitch’
We were laughing when the song came to an end. Not too many know that song anymore.
We made some yummy omelets and lingered over them while we made plans for the day. I had my regular Friday errands to run and Michael had some phone business that he needed to take care of. We decided to separate for the time it took for me to run my errands.
Just as I was leaving to take care of my Friday routine, Michael got a call from David.
Michael said but a few words but he listened and listened. The conversation from the caller was lengthy.
“I can’t do that,” he said and then he listened a long time, again.
“She’s on her way, supposed to arrive in SFO at 9.”
After that little statement he didn’t say anything for a long time.
“Never heard of ‘um, don’t know ‘um.”
There was more listening and then Michael looked over at me. We held eye contact while he listened some more.
“How much time can I have?”
Right about now you’re thinking that I am deciphering that ‘one-sided’ conversation but I learned long ago that assumptions, no matter how probable will lead to misunderstanding. It’s not that I’m patient because, Lordy, I’ve proven that I am not but I don’t like jumping the gun. Plus remember that I have a hard enough time figuring things out when I have all of the pieces.
“That’s bull-shit.”
He spit at the phone.
The sound of my name came from the phone, ‘Helen’. I strained to hear more but decided that it was silly to try.
As a gift, all was quiet for a couple of minutes. When I saw that the call was ending, I gestured that I’d like to say hello to David.
“David, Helen wants to say hello.”
Then he handed me the phone.
When I took the phone it went dead. I just handed it back to Michael and didn’t give it another thought.
Even though Michael could make about a zillion expressions and imitate everyone, he wore his concern right out there for the world to be privy to. Seeing that concern, created a response from me that was adrenaline driven. The accompanying fear would not be my guide; instead, I used the boost to direct my focus.
A number of minutes passed as I waited for Michael to puzzle something together in his head and clue me into what the danger was. When he made a move, he wrapped me up in his arms and kissed the top of my head. He took my hand and then led me to the table in the garden.
“Do you know someone name Rick Waller?” Michael asked.
“Yes,” I said.
“Tell me more,” Michael pressed.
“You know him, kind of. You saw him in LA on the last two days of the tour before the break. Remember? You also got all jealous of him when I went to dinner with him one night before I came up to Vancouver to see you before the Australia part of the tour; Remember?”
Michael made the connection mentally.
“Did something happen with the two of you?”
“After you and Lu were married, I went out with Rick another time. We went out with the ‘Red and White’ fleet to cruise the bay for the evening and had dinner aboard the boat. It was one of those magical evenings with every star in the night sky trying to outshine the next one. The air was warm and balmy; we danced under those same stars. It couldn’t have been more perfect and should’ve worked if anything could to bring me out of my passive state. I tried, for Rick’s sake, I tried. Whatever, it would take more than Rick to give me back any passion.”
“What happened?”
“Well, I made it through the evening and when Rick brought me home, I tried to explain that I was not a healthy person and that I was going through a bout of depression. He told me that he remembered that I didn’t like men who were disrespectful and then asked if he could kiss me. He said that he’d heard a good kiss could chase away the blues. I thought it rather a clever line so I agreed to a kiss. He kissed me in an adult like manner, pushed me against the door to the house and groped my breasts. He pinched and hurt me. You know me, I was instantly insulted and tried to shove him away from me but he had me pinned to the door. Without even a thought I reached down and grabbed his testicles; it didn’t take much torque to twist him into retreat and submission.