SPARKS 23

“Land!” Jason kneels down and kisses the sand under his feet. The beach is empty. They are all probably having lunch by now *don’t you worry about me Howard I’m bloody fine*
I smack Jason’s ass “come off of it! You had a good workout and you performed a very good did. You’ll be in heaven in no time” I squat by him, he’s still trying to catch his breath and I smile “it was nice meeting you Jason, you are a decent man and let me tell you, there are not that many around, whoever she is, she’s truly lucky”
He takes my hand, “would you mind calling her and tell her what you just said to me? I feel she would beg to differ.” He looks at me “don’t go, wait at least another day, come to the masquerade tonight”
“And sink a little deeper in the sea of humiliation the Dark Lord created for her own amusement? I can just picture her. Thanks but not thanks”
“Dawn you mean? She is a very nice woman, she’s just doing what she thinks is right”
I take my hand back “Tell me about it, I can’t help but love her”
“It’s for my birthday, stay”
I kiss his forehead “Sorry, I can’t”, I collect my backpack, my sarong and I walk away.

I make sure I meet no one when I go back into the house, I’m dripping wet but good manners are the last thing on my mind at the moment. I can hear voices from the kitchen; it’s probably the happy family and the happy couple. Keep my head down and go to my room and start packing my stuff. I realize I have tears streaming down my face when my clothes become just a blur. My mobile rings I pick it up. *Caro, I need a friendly voice right now*
“We are sitting comfortably in Julie’s living room. We have popcorns, a wild imagination, pen and paper! We’re waiting for a full report here!” I can tell she’s laughing, happy for me. And I simply start sobbing
“What happened?”
“She’s here … Dawn convinced … come here…I swam … didn’t follow me… doesn’t give a shit … Jason … jumped … the water”
“Take a deep breathe, come on, breath in, breath out”
I do what she asks me to… I slowly regain some control
“No need to panic, do you hear me? It’s not over until I say it’s over”
“Caro, SHE is here”
“The fact we underestimated Mrs. Barlow doesn’t mean we are ready to throw in the towel”
“He’s with her now, what else do you want to hear? Should I draw you a picture? I made a fool of myself, once again, so soon. Maybe I like it and I don’t know it yet”
I can almost hear her brain working “so the Barbarians are moving against the Roman invader… she is one creative cow. Well history is on your side babe. You had the gladiators and greatest empire after all” *why does she has to be such a history nerd?*
“And it felI. I’m tired; I’m just going to call uncle Will and come back home”
“NO! You are a fighter, and you – we - will fight. I forbid you to give up on him, you hear me? … Julie here is nodding. Tricia does not know what we’re talking about yet but I’m sure she agrees too. You know you have never been this happy in your life. We’re given one chance only Bea, when I met Felix I knew he was the one and I wasted no time. We just need to focus… We need to follow the signs… Who is my favorite man in the whole wide world?”
I sigh “I’m really really tired”
“Answer me”
“Your beloved husband?”
“I said the whole wide world”
“Silly me, Mark Owen”
“Whose son’s name is Elwood”
“You lost me”
“As in the Blues Brothers and I’m quoting here ‘was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell NO!”
“The Germans didn’t…”
“That’s not the point, Elwood, the Blues Brothers, the quote is about Germany … what are the odds? This is a good omen, I feel it. *she feels it* I want you to calm down, breathe deep, and try to get some sleep. I know he has a very good reason for not running after you right now. If you’re shocked just try to imagine what he must feel like. You are staying and you will go to the masquerade and you will make the best of it.”
“I need to get out of this damn island, I‘m claustrophobic”
“Do it for me, for us. Just one more night, don’t you think he deserves it?”
“I don’t think I deserve it, I cannot face the bloody couple of the year or Dawn”
“Yes you can. You’re on the loose now babe. We’re past the going to the mattresses stage, this is bloody war. If she tells you something you answer back. Do you remember the little cursing class Gordon thought us? Use it. Take no prisoners”
“Doesn’t sound like a great idea; I’m no longer in the mood”
“Stay or you’ll regret for the rest of your life, when was the last time you did follow your heart?”
“1988… Can you come here?”
“No I can’t honey, but I’ll have my mobile on so call me if you need a friend”
“I better lay down, I’m feeling dizzy”
“Love you hun”

I lay on the bed, trying to get some sleep, but the moment I relax I realize I’m starving. The bedroom door opens, very slowly, I can hear Daniel’s voice whisper “she’s here Emily, she’s back.., shushhhhhhhhh, she’s sleeping”.
I open my eyes “come on in guys, I’m not sleeping”
They run and jump on my bed “we saw you swimming … we wanted to come too but daddy didn’t let us”
“And he was very wise”
Daniel sees my bag, and my clothes scattered on the bed and on the floor “are you leaving?”
“Yes sweetheart. I have a family emergency and I have to go back to London today”
“Did we do something wrong?”
“Of course not baby, it’s not your fault, it’s just sometimes adult life is complicated”
They both stare at me, I sigh “Daniel, could you do something for me?”
He smiles and nods “I’m sooooooo hungry. Would you mind going down to the kitchen and grab something to eat? Anything would do, a sandwich, leftovers of any kind, even a kitchen towel, as long as it’s a clean one”
He laughs “I’ll be right back with the best thing ever!” and runs out.
Emily snuggles close to me; I caress her hair.
“Can I come with you?”
“No baby, you cannot”
“Will I see you soon?”
“I don’t know. I need to solve some issues first, but I will think about you every day”
“Me too”
And we just lay there until the door opens up again and Daniel walks by me carrying a glass of cold milk.
“Thanks honey, wasn’t there any food you could steal from the fridge?”
He’s about to answer when the door opens again “I got it. I saved you a slice of chocolate cake. Not an easy task believe me, Gaz is some resolute lad!”
I look at him in disbelief, standing in front of me like nothing happened “Go away, I don’t want to talk to you” I hiss
“Emily, Daniel, could you please leave us alone? I need to talk to Bea”
“Sure uncle Howard”
I seat on the bed and I hold Emily tight, “they are going nowhere, you on the other hand, get out of here now. I bet your beloved is waiting for you”
“Guys out”
“THEY’RE STAYING”
“NO THERE ARE NOT. I NEED TO TALK TO YOU CAN I CANNOT DO IT WITH THEM IN THE ROOM”
“YOU DON’T NEED TO TALK TO ME BECAUSE I’M DONE LISTENING TO YOU! HALF-WITTED LECHER” I am so mad at him and at myself.
Emily and Daniel look scared, I should know better. “I’m so sorry babies; maybe it’s better if you come back later. Don’t worry; we’re not really fighting. We are just rehearsing a little play I’ll perform tonight for Jay’s birthday. It’s called ‘why do I always fall for losers’, and uncle Howard is helping me” and I let Emily go.
They tiptoe outside and Howard wastes no time to seat on the bed by me “STAY AWAY FROM ME” I yell kicking him. He’s trying to avoid my feet when the door opens again and before I can see who’s coming in I scream “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON TODAY? DON’T YOU HAVE A BETTER PLACE YOU NEED TO BE RIGHT NOW PEOPLE?”
Dawn closes the door behind her “are the two of you out of your minds? We can hear you from the garden”
“Dawn go away, I need to talk to her”
“No you don’t”
He looks at her like she’s invisible, turns his attention back to me “you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast. There you go” and takes a spoon full of cake and brings it to my mouth. I look at him and he smiles like you do with stubborn children, I shake my head so he puts the spoon back on the plate and takes the piece of cake with his thumb and index finger placing it over my lips. “I am a very patient man”
I open my mouth and eat the cake. “Good?”
I nod.
“Howard for heaven’s sake. Come with me”
He ignores her and so do I. Our eyes lock. *what do you think you’re doing? Focus stupid cow, you are supposed to be mad at him. do not, I repeat, do not look into his eyes* He takes another piece of cake, this time my lips are open already and he slips his fingers inside too touching my tongue. It feels so good. *whatever* He takes them out and licks them. Smiles, caresses the back of my neck kissing my cheek. “I’m so sorry, I was taken by surprise. I didn’t know what to do and then you disappeared into the sea” he whispers
“You didn’t follow me”
“Because he has responsibilities! The two of you are morons”. This time Howard stands up “just a second love”, grabs Dawn’s arm, opens the door and pushes her out, not a word is exchanged between them. Smiles back at me and locks the door, “where were we?”
“At the point in which you chose not to follow me” I say crossing my arms
“I couldn’t, I suck at swimming, I would have drowned in no time. And the lighthouse looks really far far away”
“It is” *he cannot swim DO-H!* I smile back while he seats by me.
“I’m sorry love, I really am. I wanted to wait for you down at the beach but it was so complicated. And I knew Jason was with you. I thought we had more time but it doesn’t matter. I’ll talk to her tonight, after the party. I don’t want to ruin Jason’s birthday masquerade. Do you think you can wait few more hours? Because if you can’t I’ll just go down now and do it”
I breathe deep; my heart is doing a bizarre happy break-dance inside my chest “The cake is really good. Would you like to taste it?” and I trace the length of his arm with one finger; he waits for me in patient silence. I lean toward his beautiful face and I kiss him. What starts out as tentative and exploratory quickly becomes frantic and intense. His arms snake up the length of my chest, his body pinning mine against the headboard. I have both my arms around his neck playing with his curly hair. "Hi. I don’t like fighting with you" he whispers with a chuckle when we came up for air. "H-hi, me neither" I reply, I am so happy I want to scream it to the whole world. “I love this little crinkle of laugh lines around your eyes” I say while outlining them with my finger. "You know, I think it's important for you to understand that I don't normally do things like this."Howard's laughter is a deep bass growl. "Do what? Seduce straight men?”
“That is so uncalled for!”
He buries his face into my neck kissing it “you’re salty”
“I haven’t showered yet” and I yawn
He looks into my eyes “Am I not boring you, am I?”
“I’m so sorry, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been in my life but I am also so, so tired”
He runs his fingers through my sticky hair “Let’s rest then”
Takes my waist and has me slide down the bed so that I am lying beside him. I arch my naked back so that it comes to rest against his chest. He places his lips on my tanned shoulder and softly kisses his way toward my neck. "Mmm" I purr.
“Sweet dreams baby” he whispers
I take his hand into mine; I place it over my belly and fall asleep.