Now live splendidly together,
Free from adversity.
Pick your figs.
May his be large and hard.
May hers be sweet.
Aristophanes’ The Peace (422 B.C.)
“No,” Cosmos said emphatically. “You can’t stay on boat.”
“But, why?” Honey found Cosmos demeanor strangely stern; she had always found him so amiable before.
“Boat needs to come out of water. It’s not safe. Now, you get ready. You and Effie get ready.”
He turned away, but not before Honey noticed a worried look in his eyes. “He looks troubled.”
“He has many things on his mind,” Effie explained.
“But, have you ever heard him sound so unyielding before?”
Effie was tying the laces of her sturdy boots. “When he acts this way, it makes my heart flutter like wings on a bird.”
Smiling, Honey answered, “So, you like your men steadfast.”
Effie looked up, her eyes warm and the harsh lines around her mouth softened by love. “I like my men tough and strong.”
Honey thought about how she liked her men. Man, she amended. There was only one man.
Stop it.
Yes, she must stop such thoughts. She must.
She put on her shoes, and she and Effie left the boat.
Honey endured the trip to the top once again, wishing there had been some place to pass the time down below. The last thing she wanted was to see Nick’s beautiful, whitewashed home or his succulent expanse of grapevines. It would only remind her of what she’d lost.
But Cosmos urged them on through the tiny village toward Nick’s property.
“I can’t go there, Cosmos,” she said, trying to keep the panic from her voice.
“Nick is not home.” He turned and studied her. “Is that what you want to hear?”
Was it? She wasn’t sure.
They arrived at Nick’s house. Honey stepped into the large, airy foyer and felt in awe. The walls were white, the sunlight gleaming in through the expansive windows, making everything so bright she nearly had to shield her eyes.
Expensive, vibrantly colored Oriental carpets were everywhere, covering luxuriously ceramic tiled floors. The furniture was sparse, yet did not leave the rooms appearing empty, simple without being Spartan.
And the view from every window left her breathless.
This could have been yours.
Perhaps, but at what cost? Surely Nick would never have believed she loved him for himself if she had accepted his offer of marriage.
Are you better off now?
A humorless smile touched her lips. She didn’t want to think about her future at the moment, it was bleaker than anything she could ever have imagined.
A sound behind her caused her to turn. Her hand went to her heart, hoping to keep it in her chest. Nick.
He stood tall and darkly handsome, his blue-black hair wind-tossed, his beautiful face clean-shaven, his eyes, so brown they were darker than the coffee grounds that settled in the bottom of her cup.
She was flustered, giddy and embarrassed. “Cosmos said you weren’t going to be home.”
He walked toward her, his steps panther-like. “Would you have come if you’d known I was?”
She shook her head, her heart still bounding, and her gaze taking in all of him. “No, I would not have come.”
“That’s why I told Cosmos to lie to you.”
She turned away, for to look at him aggrieved her so deeply, she thought she might faint. “I have failed my father.”
He chuckled. “That’s my girl, taking on all the responsibility. Do you feel like a martyr yet?”
She whirled to face him. “It’s not one bit humorous, Nick.” She blinked back stinging tears. “I made a promise to my father and I failed him.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“But you don’t know,” she argued, on the verge of tears. “I made an absolute mess of things.”
“You haven’t.” He pulled an envelope from his inside pocket and handed it to her.
She wiped at her tears and took the envelope. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
She did, but couldn’t quite believe it. Glancing up, she said, “What have you done?”
He stood next to her, his nearness a reminder of all that she’d missed. “I thought it was quite self-explanatory.”
“You’d do this for us? For Father and me? Bail us out of debt? Why?”
“Because I love you.”
“You do?”
“Yes,” he answered simply.
“How long have you loved me?”
“Honestly?”
She nodded, her gaze never leaving his face.
“Probably since the first night we met and you asked me to make love to you.”
She laughed; it was a wet sound through her tears. “Oh, do be serious.”
“I am. I didn’t know what the feeling was until you came into my life; I thought maybe it was indigestion.” He smiled, his eyes warm.
She laughed again, brushing away her tears with her fingertips. “Oh, Nick, I—” She suddenly remembered her condition and she turned quickly away from him again.
“I don’t want to spend another day without you.”
His voice made her want him with a greedy ferocity. She squeezed her eyes closed, forcing back a choking sob. Finally she said, “I thought I made myself clear on the Athena, Nick. You were a fling, nothing more.”
“Bull.”
Hope slowly sprang into her heart. “You don’t believe me?”
He stepped close and took her hands in his. “You did what you’d promised to do, Honey. You could do no less. I was hurt for a little while, but then I realized that because you are who you are, you had to go through with it even though you’d fallen in love with me.”
Her gaze dropped to their clasped hands. “What makes you so sure of that?”
“Because we share the same soul. What you feel, I feel. And because when we kissed, it shot through me like a lightning bolt.” He grinned at her. “And I know you felt it, too.”
His sweet, knowing smile cracked her remaining reserve and she cried. “But you don’t know all of it.”
He touched her chin with his fingers, lifting her face to his. “Oh, I think I do.”
She looked at him through her tears, loving him, wanting him, needing for him to wash away her fears. “You do?”
“Effie and Cosmos have grown very close, you know.”
She gave him a one shouldered shrug. “I know. I’m very happy for them.” But what did that have to do with her, she wondered?
“Unlike you, Effie doesn’t keep secrets from her man.”
Again she lifted her gaze to his warm eyes. “Secrets?”
He nodded. “If it’s a boy, I’d like to name him Theo, after my father.”
She flung herself into his arms. “Oh, Nick, I do love you so.”
“I know. And your father is on his way here as we speak; he’ll marry us the moment he arrives.”
“Oh, you are a wonderful, wonderful man!”
“I know that too,” he teased, and then he kissed her.
And the kiss was electric, like it had been when they had kissed before, but this time they let it thrill them. They drank in the excitement, let the feeling wash over them, both knowing that this was love, that it would last, and that their lives would be filled with lust, love and adoration. And hopefully, many, many children.