me?"
"Sure. So tell me, how was your date?" she asked, her eyes twinkling and her eyebrows moving up and down in question.
I ignored her for the moment, grabbed a couple of forks from the drainer on the kitchen counter and stepped back into the living room.
"Well… my non -date was really good.” Better than good, really . "He’s so easy to talk to. It turned out to be very… fruitful."
"Fruitful? Now that's a strange thing to say about a date."
"A non-date,” I reminded her with a grin.
"Did he buy you dinner?"
"You know he did. You're eating part of it," I replied.
"Then that's a date."
"How about almost-a-date ?"
"Date lite?" she suggested.
"Okay, okay," I laughed. "I give up. Look he wants to go to the movies sometime. That can be our official date. And if you insist, I'll even have him come by and meet you first."
Catching a glimpse of the chaos behind her, I jumped at the chance to change the subject. “What are you up to?" I pointed at the interesting portraits scattered over the desk. I reached around her to pick one up.
She shrugged. "Just some watercolor washes I've been experimenting with."
They were fascinating and hauntingly beautiful monochromatic studies. I looked through the half-dozen portraits she had painted while I'd been gone. Each face reflected a sereneness that seemed to glow from within. "These are beautiful,” I breathed, and they really were. “Whatever inspired you to paint these?"
She pointed over at the computer. "I was going through some of your photos, and I came across these interesting ones that looked like people around a campfire."
Campfire? Oh, the volcano trip, a lantern in the middle of our little group. Which reminded me…
"Maria, there's something I never told you about the volcano trip."
"Really?" Maria raised her eyebrows and waited.
"Well, I had a little… special adventure on that trip. See, we were coming back from the volcano on this narrow twisty road, when the driver veered the bus away from a rockslide, but we ended up over the side of the mountain."
Maria's eyes got large. "Was everyone okay?"
"Yeah, we got a little banged up, but the bus got it the worst. We were stranded until they could pick us up. So we missed the ship, but they put us up overnight in a really swanky hotel, and then flew us to meet the ship at the next stop. In fact, that's when I bought your carved bird. I got it the next day, shopping near the hotel."
"And you decided not to tell me, because…" I heard the hurt in Maria's voice.
"Well, there was nothing you could do. In fact, there was nothing I could do, either. But mostly, I didn't want you to worry about me. And I was afraid, if I told you about my little adventure, that you would be worried about me for the rest of the trip."
I couldn't tell how Maria was taking my confession, or even what she was thinking. She didn't look happy, more stunned and thoughtful if anything.
"Part of why I bought the bird was because it was a special souvenir, even for me. And, the reception I got from Antonio when I got back to the ship, oh Maria… that was priceless."
In fact, those next few days on-board ship had turned into something I would never forget. I sighed. Antonio, Antonio. Everything kept coming back to Antonio. Would we ever be able to free ourselves from this hold he had over our lives?
"Well," she said after taking a moment to consider what I'd just shared, "I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pissed that you held something that important from me and even more pissed that you still insist on treating me like a fragile doll, unable to handle the realities of life.”
“But…” I tried to interject, not used to hearing her raise her voice at me, but the hand she lifted, palm out, silenced me.
“But…I'm glad everything turned out okay. You need to promise me something. First of all, you need to promise me you'll try to keep those kinds of "adventures" to a minimum? Because you're right, I would have worried like
"Sure. So tell me, how was your date?" she asked, her eyes twinkling and her eyebrows moving up and down in question.
I ignored her for the moment, grabbed a couple of forks from the drainer on the kitchen counter and stepped back into the living room.
"Well… my non -date was really good.” Better than good, really . "He’s so easy to talk to. It turned out to be very… fruitful."
"Fruitful? Now that's a strange thing to say about a date."
"A non-date,” I reminded her with a grin.
"Did he buy you dinner?"
"You know he did. You're eating part of it," I replied.
"Then that's a date."
"How about almost-a-date ?"
"Date lite?" she suggested.
"Okay, okay," I laughed. "I give up. Look he wants to go to the movies sometime. That can be our official date. And if you insist, I'll even have him come by and meet you first."
Catching a glimpse of the chaos behind her, I jumped at the chance to change the subject. “What are you up to?" I pointed at the interesting portraits scattered over the desk. I reached around her to pick one up.
She shrugged. "Just some watercolor washes I've been experimenting with."
They were fascinating and hauntingly beautiful monochromatic studies. I looked through the half-dozen portraits she had painted while I'd been gone. Each face reflected a sereneness that seemed to glow from within. "These are beautiful,” I breathed, and they really were. “Whatever inspired you to paint these?"
She pointed over at the computer. "I was going through some of your photos, and I came across these interesting ones that looked like people around a campfire."
Campfire? Oh, the volcano trip, a lantern in the middle of our little group. Which reminded me…
"Maria, there's something I never told you about the volcano trip."
"Really?" Maria raised her eyebrows and waited.
"Well, I had a little… special adventure on that trip. See, we were coming back from the volcano on this narrow twisty road, when the driver veered the bus away from a rockslide, but we ended up over the side of the mountain."
Maria's eyes got large. "Was everyone okay?"
"Yeah, we got a little banged up, but the bus got it the worst. We were stranded until they could pick us up. So we missed the ship, but they put us up overnight in a really swanky hotel, and then flew us to meet the ship at the next stop. In fact, that's when I bought your carved bird. I got it the next day, shopping near the hotel."
"And you decided not to tell me, because…" I heard the hurt in Maria's voice.
"Well, there was nothing you could do. In fact, there was nothing I could do, either. But mostly, I didn't want you to worry about me. And I was afraid, if I told you about my little adventure, that you would be worried about me for the rest of the trip."
I couldn't tell how Maria was taking my confession, or even what she was thinking. She didn't look happy, more stunned and thoughtful if anything.
"Part of why I bought the bird was because it was a special souvenir, even for me. And, the reception I got from Antonio when I got back to the ship, oh Maria… that was priceless."
In fact, those next few days on-board ship had turned into something I would never forget. I sighed. Antonio, Antonio. Everything kept coming back to Antonio. Would we ever be able to free ourselves from this hold he had over our lives?
"Well," she said after taking a moment to consider what I'd just shared, "I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pissed that you held something that important from me and even more pissed that you still insist on treating me like a fragile doll, unable to handle the realities of life.”
“But…” I tried to interject, not used to hearing her raise her voice at me, but the hand she lifted, palm out, silenced me.
“But…I'm glad everything turned out okay. You need to promise me something. First of all, you need to promise me you'll try to keep those kinds of "adventures" to a minimum? Because you're right, I would have worried like
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