Jack woke to the high-pitched sound of motorbikes racing up the hill outside the hotel, revving their engines to make it up the steep incline. He had slept late; the sun was high in the sky outside, bathing his room in its glow.
He stretched out his long arms and noticed a small vase of yellow-and-white flowers on the table by his bed. Next to the flowers was a small sheet of folded note paper. He picked up the paper and read Ravenna’s handwritten note.
Good morning-
Dress for the beach. We will make a day of it at God’s Beach.
I’ll pack a picnic basket for us.
Let me know if you need anything.
See you soon.
R
The note was scented with her sweet perfume and the mere smell of it brought back memories from the night before. He remembered holding her in his arms, her body next to his, her hair brushing against his cheek.
She was so sweet, yet so provocative. God, I can’t believe this is happening. Ravenna, here, on this Greek island. What were the chances of that happening? Must be fate. But then reality set in. Get a hold of yourself, Jack.
He bounded from the bed, showered, shaved, and dressed in an old swimsuit and t-shirt, and was soon out the door.
Ravenna made a light breakfast of fruit and goat cheese. Afterward, they started up the motorbikes and headed to the beach. They retraced their route up the hill and then began a sharp descent on the old gravel road to the shore. The road was rougher and steeper than it looked when Jack first saw it. He held the handlebars tight on the small motorbike and let off the gas. When they finally got to the beach, Jack could see that it lived up to its reputation of the most beautiful beach in the world. It was spectacular.
Ravenna turned to him and said, “Was that worth it?”
He looked around in amazement. The beach was two hundred yards long, protected by tall trees and shrubs, with huge rocks, at least thirty feet tall, surrounding the clearest light-blue water Jack had ever seen. He could see the bottom. “Yeah, this is so beautiful and so private.”
Jack grabbed the blankets and picnic basket from the motorbikes and they walked closer to the water. The soft, pure white sand caressed his feet and was a delight, especially compared to the rocky road they had just ridden. He turned to Ravenna and said, “I’ll buy it and live here the rest of my life. This is the most beautiful sight on earth. I love it.”
She laughed. “I’m so glad.” She took the blanket from his hand and spread it out over the sand, then placed the old wicker basket at the top of the blanket and walked over to the water.
“I love it here,” she said out loud to no one in particular. “I used to come here just to talk to myself and calm myself. It might sound strange, but I used to think of you here. I felt we were the closest here than anywhere else, even though I thought you were dead. Strange isn’t it? But enough of this; today is our day and we are just going to relax and enjoy the beautiful beach and gorgeous weather. Okay?” A steady breeze blew in from the shallow waves cooling the private cove.
“No,” he said putting his hands on her shoulders. “First, I want to tell you how sorry I am about all the pain that the thought of my death caused you. I’m so sorry.”
Moving a wayward hair from his forehead she confided, “You have always been so sweet. Thanks for understanding, Jack. Come on, let’s enjoy the day. I don’t know how much time we have left. The ferry will be back before we know it to take you away.”
They lay side by side in their bathing suits on the blanket. Later, when Jack turned over, he marveled to himself again at what a beautiful women she had become. If only things had been different.
“So tell me, doc,” he began, trying to get his mind off of her body. “Do you ever plan to go back to being a doctor? I mean a full-time doctor?”
She turned on her stomach, lying beside him, their bodies almost touching, and her hair blowing in the gentle breeze. Her twinkling green eyes were more alluring than ever.
“Someday, maybe. But I love it here. I love the people, the island, the way of life, everything.” She touched Jack’s nose and smiled.
Same old Sparky, he thought.
“After I finished medical school, I did my internship and started in private practice with some other doctors in London. Then my brother was diagnosed with ARN. It is a condition similar to ALS, only worse.” Her eyes started to tear up as she thought back to those troubling times. “ARN is an insidious disease that attacks the nervous system but leaves the brain intact. It comes in waves but we don’t know why—it just does. Each wave is more debilitating than the one before. He was doing fine for a while with medication. Then he was in a wheelchair for six months and went downhill soon after. He died about nine months later from complications.” By this point she was crying and reached to hold Jack’s hand, cupping it in hers.
“I spent over three years, days and nights, working in a research center for the study of ARN. I was determined to help find a cure for this dreaded disease. I made a commitment that I was not going to stop searching, studying, and testing until I found a cure for the disease. I was working probably nineteen hours a day. I ate, breathed, and slept ARN every day.”
She chuckled to herself thinking back at the way she’d driven herself. She had been so close to a cure. She knew it in her heart of hearts, but it was not to be.
“What were you trying to do, kill yourself?”
“Maybe, in a way, I guess I was. But I saw what it did to my brother and I wanted to keep my commitment to finding a cure. My boss, Dr. Porter, came to me after three years of this and sent me packing. He told me I was no good to myself or to the research team. He gave me a leave of absence but said he didn’t really expect me back. He told me I’d done good work, but that I was way too close to the disease to be objective enough to take it any further.”
She looked at Jack and he began to understand her feelings.
“He gave me a lead about this job here at the hotel, but he more or less fired me. He said he did it for my own good, but once again, I broke a commitment I had made to myself. I was determined to find a cure for the awful disease which killed my brother.” Her voice became louder. “I promised myself—never again will I break a commitment I make, never.” She was resolute.
Ravenna turned on her back and gazed up at the cloudless blue sky, the seagulls drifting by overhead. She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand, then laid it on her chest. Jack could feel her heart beat beneath her breast. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
They both lay on the blanket, her hand in his. “Are you okay?” Jack asked.
“Yes, I guess. It has not been easy, that’s all. But I have come to grips with it now. It just took a long time. Why don’t you open the wine and the picnic basket?” She managed a weak grin.
He opened the bottle of red wine she packed and they enjoyed a picnic on the beach with the water lapping the nearby beach. The crackers, cheese, sausage, fruit, and other treasures she had brought were perfect. They talked and laughed about old times as they drank the rich Cabernet, and when they had finished it, they opened another bottle.
The two old friends lay there, side by side, facing one another, their arms and legs touching. The sun climbed high overhead as they enjoyed the luxury and peace of each other’s company.
Later, Jack said in a near-silent whisper, “It does not get any better than this.” He leaned closer.
She was quiet at first, then sprang to her feet. She rushed toward the water, shouting, “Come on in, Jack.” She ran into the waves, tossing first her t-shirt, then her swimsuit top, high into the air. Her bikini top landed on the sandy beach by Jack’s feet. Jack gulped, amazed, as he watched her plunge, topless, into the shallow surf just beyond the water’s edge.
“Come on, Jack,” she taunted him. “The water is fine. It’ll do you good!”
He gazed at her as she urged him on. He took a deep breath and followed her in. The water was cool on his legs as he waded into the shallow surf and then dove into the deeper water to join her. His head broke the water’s surface beside her. She grinned devilishly.
“If someone would have told you a week ago that you would be here, with me, in Greece, would you have believed it?” she asked him, splashing him with a handful of water.
“No, never,” he said, the effects of the wine surging through his body in this watery paradise.
She swam closer, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him. It was a warm, inviting kiss. He could feel her breasts pressing against his chest.
“I’m sorry. I should not have done that. It must be the wine, the beach, or the sun. I don’t know. Forgive me, Jack. I promised myself I wouldn’t throw myself at you. But seeing you here, after all these years… It was a little too much for me to bear. I have all of these mixed-up feelings right now.” She paused to collect her thoughts and compose herself. “Jack, maybe this picnic was not such a good idea after all. I don’t want to complicate your life… or mine. My feelings just got away from me. I’m sorry.”
“Ravenna, there is something I must tell you,” he started to say.
“Jack, I’m sorry, but all of a sudden the feelings I have for you just took over. But I have a secret to tell you, too, I love…”
“Hey, lookie, lookie, red-haired lady! This here, it belong you?” came the coarse holler from the shore. It was Kraken with his gang, standing on the beach, holding Ravenna’s white bathing suit top high above his head, waving it in the air. “You come here and I give to you, and maybe let my friends give to you, too,” he said with a cruel-sounding laugh. “You come out now, red-haired lady. And you, you big American, you go home, now. Or Kraken, he cut you up real good. Or maybe, yes, maybe, we keep you here and you can watch the fun,” he joked, tossing his cruel taunts at them.
Ravenna and Jack walked from the water toward the group of men. Jack led the way. “Stay behind me,” Jack told her. “Stay close. Do whatever I say, all right?” He could feel her shivering from cold and fear. He was going to protect her. He was not going to let anything happen to her. No, not ever.
“Jack, I can normally handle myself pretty well, but I’m scared, real scared,” she whispered in his ear. “These guys are crazy.”
“It’ll be all right.”
Hearing those words from him reassured her, and she glanced up at him. His expression was determined, his jaw set and his eyes steely. She had never seen him like this before. She was no longer afraid. God, I love him, she thought to herself. At that moment she realized just how much he meant to her—just at the time when her life was in the greatest danger.
“Lookie, lookie at these two,” Kraken repeated.
Jack stopped walking and held out his hand. “I will take the lady’s swimsuit now.”
Kraken and his group of two other men all had out their knives and came forward, led by the big Albanian.
“I don’t think so, my American friend. I lost job because of that hot redhead lady here. The fat old Greek, he fire me! You believe he fire me, Kraken, the best craftsman in all of Albania? No, now I will have her, my American friend. I want to taste her sweetness. I have wanted her for a very long time. Get out of my way, or I will cut both of you into bloody little pieces.”
“I am not your friend, and I will take that swimsuit now,” Jack repeated, standing his ground as the waves crashed against his legs.
“You see this?” Kraken asked, waving his blade. “This is my tile knife. It real sharp. I cut you real good. Now get out of the way, big American,” he said in rising anger, tossing away the cigarette that had been dangling from his mouth.
Jack responded in a calm, deep tone, “Kraken, they have the death penalty for murder here in Greece. Did you know that?”
“Oh, we don’t want to murder her, we just want to have her, if you know what I mean. Ha, ha, ha… When we finished with her, she may wish she were dead.” He laughed that evil laugh again.
Jack could feel Ravenna move closer to him, pressing against him. She shook uncontrollably.
“I know what you want,” Jack told him. “But it is not going to happen. You are all going to have to kill me first before I let you touch one hair on this lady’s body. Do you understand? So if you want trouble, come here and get it.”
Kraken stopped smiling. He dropped the swimsuit onto the beach, turning to look at his friends. He began to walk away.
“Ravenna, step back. I don’t trust him,” he whispered to her.
Suddenly, Kraken turned to slash him with his knife. Jack stepped back and landed his first blow on the chin of the young Albanian, jerking his head sideways. Jack’s second punch was a crashing blow to his stomach. Kraken let out a surprised yelp and fell to the ground, the wind gone from his lungs. He lay there, doubled over, moaning and clutching his stomach.
Jack came close to him and leaned over the bully, the weapon now gone from his hand. They were face-to-face. The other men scattered, backing away from this big American. Jack grabbed Kraken by his shirt, pulling his head off the sand, and said, “Get out of here now, while you still can. And I never want to see you snooping around the hotel ever again, do you hear me?”
Ravenna stayed behind Jack, crossing her arms to cover herself.
The defeated man on the ground moaned again, still clutching his stomach.
Jack shook him again, causing even louder moans. “I didn’t hear you. Kraken, you stay away from the hotel and you stay from this lady, yes? If you don’t, I will come and find you. Do you understand me? Yes?” he said, his face nearly touching the Albanian’s.
“Yes,” came the feeble reply from the shaken ruffian.
Jack told the others, “Get your friend out of here. Do it now, before I change my mind.”
They hesitated to come any closer.
“Now!” Jack commanded them.
Ravenna clung close behind him, no longer shaking, watching and listening.
The thugs grabbed their traumatized leader and ran, dragging him behind them.
Jack turned to her and asked, “Are you okay?”
“Still shaky, but I guess I’m okay.” Her arms were still folded in front of her, covering her.
Jack handed her the swimsuit top and turned away to let her dress.
When she was done, she told him, “I’m okay now.” She trembled, still marveling at what she had just witnessed.
He watched the gang scurry away. The ruffians were soon out of sight. “I think our picnic is over, don’t you?”
“Yes, I agree.” Ravenna said and pointed to the threatening sky overhead. The storm clouds rose fast and high above them, promising rain. “We better get a move on. Those clouds look like rain, and all the roads here on the island are near impassable when it rains. We better hurry. Let’s go.”
When they reached the place up the hill where they had left the motorbikes, they saw the Albanians had left their calling card on the defenseless motorbikes. One bike was totally destroyed, and the other one started under great protest. It sported a bent frame and a twisted wheel, making it a challenge to steer.
Ravenna climbed up behind Jack and wrapped her arms around his waist; her legs clung tightly to his, pressing into him. He could feel the heat radiating from her body.
The old bike struggled to mount the steep hill with the added weight of a second person. It took all of Jack’s strength to guide it in the right direction. Sputtering all the way, they barely made it up the hill leading back to the hotel.
Sprinkling at first, it soon began to rain. The wind picked up and lightning filled the air around them. They reached the hotel just as the skies opened and it started to pour. After putting the bike in the shed, the rain and wind ravaged the tiny island with barrages of wind, pummeling it with sheets of rain.
“Let’s get inside, quick,” Ravenna said, and went to flick on the wall switch. The lights did not come on. The electricity had been knocked out from the rainstorm.
“We need to get some candles and blankets; the rain will cool everything off this evening,” she said, grabbing his hand. They went to the rear of the hotel, heading towards her room. She unlocked the door leading to her room and there was another long hallway with three doors.
“I thought this was the door to your room?”
“No, my apartment is there,” she told him, pointing to the door at the far left. “That one is Trevor’s apartment.” Ravenna pointed in the direction of the door at the far right. “Here is the storage room.” She opened the center door. “Help me, quick.”
Trevor’s apartment? They didn’t live together? That was odd. Jack looked at all three doors before grabbing supplies.
Ravenna piled boxes of candles, flashlights, lanterns, blankets, and other provisions into Jack’s waiting arms. She could not help but see the questioning look in his eyes every time she loaded a new item onto the growing pile.
“What?” she finally asked him.
“It is none of my business, but your husband does not sleep in the same room with you?”
She stopped and turned to face him, a resolute look on her face. “He’s not my husband. And no, we have not slept together. That’s what I was about to tell you at the beach.”
“Oh.” He did not know what else to say. They weren’t married? They weren’t sleeping together? Were they just friends, or was she just an employee? He didn’t understand.
“Come on,” she told him. “Let’s get this stuff inside the hotel. We can talk later. There’s more I need to tell you.”
More? What else could there be? They both had a lot to talk about. Sooner rather than later. Time was running out.