Gate Deadlock (9 page)

‘What about Colin?’ he whispered in my ear.

‘Who’s Colin?’ I felt him smile against my
lips.

He lifted me in his arms and carried me to his
bedroom. For the rest of the night, I lost track of place and time
in the warmth of his body. I was in the center of the universe,
experiencing a bizarre sense of fulfillment. The last piece of the
puzzle was in place now. Still, a low, warning voice inside me kept
warning me that this was only the beginning.

And this is how our love story started, in
blissful ignorance of the nightmare that lay beneath and had
already slyly changed my life in so many ways.

5.

REVELATIONS

I woke up with the
sweet smell of toasted bread hitting my nostrils. For a few
seconds, I lay back in the large bed confused at first, but
gradually realizing I was not in my bedroom.

And then it hit me. A flow of emotions
overwhelmed my whole body, as the kisses, the cuddling and the
tender whispers of the previous night, all came back to me. It was
no dream. In fact, it was a dream come true. And it had been a
perfect one, beyond any possible imagination. I was experiencing a
strange feeling of contentment, as if I had been able to find my
way home, after a long course of misfortunes. Home, where I
belonged. ‘
Home is where your heart
is
’ my father used to say to me. My heart belonged to
Christopher. Christopher. I had already missed him.

Still drowsy, I rolled the vivid orange sheets
around my body hastily and got up. I tiptoed to peep into the empty
kitchen when I suddenly felt Christopher behind me, his arms
hugging me, his warm breath against the back of my neck. I leaned
my back on him as I had imagined myself doing so many times.

It felt so good not being cautious anymore. I
turned towards him and hugged him impatiently. He was smiling, but
I caught a hint of worry in his eyes.

‘Good morning.’ he whispered in my ear. ‘Do you
still not hate me?’

Instead of replying, I stood on the tips of my
toes and kissed him softly.

‘That’ll do.’ He looked relieved. ‘I made
breakfast.’

‘How come you’re dressed already? Have you been
out?’ I said, still hanging from his neck, noticing his car keys
and a shopping bag on the table.

‘You wouldn’t want to go out in the same, torn
dress you wore last night, would you?’ he asked with the most
innocent smile.

‘So?’

‘So, I bought you a dress …and a pair of
sandals. I was very quick. I only left you for fifteen minutes. I
hope you’ll like them.’

I was about to protest but he stopped me.

‘You will pay me back of course.’

‘Thank you.’ I said finally. ‘You take care of
everything, don’t you?’

‘That’s the idea.’ He sighed. ‘I hate to say
this, but Harry will be back in the next half hour. So, why don’t
you take a shower, get dressed and join me for breakfast?’

‘Ok.’ I released him reluctantly and headed for
the bathroom.

He knew how embarrassing it would be for me to
let Harry know I had spent the night with one of my supervising
tutors. At least, we should preserve appearances.

I had a quick shower, trying not to wet my hair.
The short, white, linen dress he had bought for me was perfect. He
had impressed me with his ability to find my size. I found him at
the porch, leafing through a magazine. Breakfast was on the coffee
table. When he saw me, he put the magazine next to him and grabbed
my arm, making me sit on his lap.

‘I need a lot of coffee.’ I said.

‘Is that all you need?’ he whispered in my
ear.

‘I’ve told you… I need you.’ I whispered
back.

‘No regrets then?’ he asked kissing me behind my
ear.

‘No regrets.’ I repeated. ‘Definitely.’

I looked at his beautiful face, thinking I just
could not get enough of him. This beautiful man had been mine for a
whole night and, I hoped, for many other nights to come. He was too
good for me, much more than I deserved. I shivered as he kissed the
curve of my shoulder.

‘How do you do that?’ I asked.

‘What?’ he whispered.

‘Take my breath away every time you touch
me.’

‘Really? I thought this was one of your talents
only.’ he said, without stopping his kisses, burning my skin with
every touch. He was wearing a white, sleeveless T-shirt. I noticed
for the first time the tattoo on the muscles of his armrest, the
pattern of a cross penetrated by the sharp edge of a dagger.

‘That’s strange. I hadn’t noticed your tattoo
before. Does this signify something?’ I asked curiously, examining
the strange pattern.

He hesitated for a few seconds and then he
said,

‘As a matter of fact, it does. But it’s bad.
Nothing I would like to talk about…yet.’ I knew this was some of
the things we would have to talk about in the future. For nothing
in this world would I spoil this day, the first day of my life, my
real life.

He sighed. ‘Emma, I just wish…we had more time.
Take things… more slowly.’

‘But we do have time.’ I assured him. ‘Maybe not
right now, but we have the rest of the day, and tomorrow, and the
day after tomorrow, and….’ My smile froze when my eyes met his. He
looked too serious.

‘Oh, Emma. I can’t help feeling that…our time
is…just running out.’ He was playing with my hair as he said that,
but I noticed the grief in his voice.

‘Are you telling me… you’re leaving?’ I asked
him, truly worried this time. His expression changed at once. He
touched the tip of my nose playfully.

‘No, silly. But we’re not staying in Greece
forever, are we?’ His smile was back, although not entirely
convincing. It surprised me that a man like him would be insecure.
I was, of course, aware of the fact that he was risking more than
me with our relationship.

I took a deep breath. ‘Look Christopher, let’s
not worry about the future now. Let’s not spoil this, okay? ’

‘Not worry about the future, mmm.’ He thought
about it for a moment. ‘I wish I could do that.’ he said in a
sullen voice that didn’t match his smile.

‘Are you trying to tell me something?’ I asked
again, unable to read his eyes, as he was looking down. He had got
serious again for a few seconds. But then his beautiful smile lit
his face again.

‘It can wait. Now eat or I’ll feed you.’ He made
me sit next to him. I was really curious about what he meant but I
was determined not to ruin our first morning together. Frustrating
as it was, I comforted myself with the idea that whatever was
bugging him, we would face it together. Just not now, not
today.

It turned out I was really hungry. ‘You do
realize that we both missed the school meeting, right?’ he said as
I was gobbling down a large piece of toasted bread.

‘Oh no!’

‘I know. Think of all the gossip!’ He seemed to
find this amusing.

I pictured Rose, doing her best to give a full
account of all our movements at the wedding the previous night.

‘Well, you know what? I don’t care. Let them
gossip. We’re both adults.’ The determined sound of my voice
impressed me. He laughed loudly, the most wonderful laugh. Of
course, I had omitted an important detail, that he was a tutor at
the university where I was a student. But no one knew we had slept
together. We had just showed up together at the wedding. Besides,
for some strange reason, Christopher did not seem to care at all
about the possibility of losing his job because of me.

On the way back, I remembered to check my cell
phone for any messages. I found three calls by Kate, one by
Demetra, the archeologist, one by my mother and three calls by
numbers that were not registered in my cell phone memory. I called
Kate first.

‘Hey! We missed you today in class.’ Her voice
was casual, not revealing any serious damage.

‘I’m sure you did. What’s up?’ I asked.

‘Just a few tidbits of gossip, you know. Oh,
Colin called last night, three times actually.’

‘What did you tell him?’

‘Told him you weren’t back yet.’

‘Do you think he’s going to surprise me at
home?’

‘I doubt it. His plane is leaving in two hours.
He’s probably on his way.’ I was relieved.

‘Don wants to see you. He sounded rather
serious.’

‘Ok.’ That wasn’t good.

‘Two questions. Were you with Christopher?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you smiling now?’

‘Yes.’

‘By the way, Rose was really shocked when she
saw you with him last night, from what I hear. See you.’ I could
not help smiling at her last comment.

‘Is there a problem?’ Christopher asked.

‘Nothing serious.’ There was no reason to tell
him about Don or Colin as I was going to deal with them on my own.
Besides, we were already outside my apartment.

‘What are you going to do today?’ I asked,
reluctant to leave him.

‘I have a few appointments. How about you?’

‘I’m meeting Don. He probably wants to say
goodbye before flying to London. Then, I have a class.’

‘Call me as soon as you’re free, then.’ he
said.

He came closer and gave me a soft kiss. And I
got off.

As soon as Christopher had left, I called
Demetra. She told me that everything was ready and the excavation
could start the following week, if I could get the green light from
Brantel, the project sponsor. This should not be a problem. I told
her I would ask the finance department to get in touch with her for
the details. The day was getting better and better and I was on top
of the world.

I thought about calling my mother but I
decided to postpone it for later that night. I checked my computer
for messages and I took off. I was going to meet Steven De Marko,
my tutor, to apologize for missing the morning session and then I
would pay Don a visit just before the afternoon class. This would
provide a perfect opportunity to toddle off quickly. I was certain
that Colin had deliberately tipped Don off about last night but I
was not going to put myself under the stress of inventing excuses
or trying to justify my actions.
They
both just had to accept my choices and me. I had been expecting Don
would
launch a tirade against my affair with
Christopher. I knew he had always envisaged Colin and me together,
no less than my mother and stepfather had. But there was no way I
could have been prepared for what was about to happen.

An hour later, I was knocking on the door of
Don’s office.

‘Emma, it’s good to see you. Sit down please.’
he said warmly, but I noticed that he was sitting behind his desk,
putting a distance between us which, considering Don’s way of
thinking, meant to signify his intentions; this was not a casual
chat, he was making it clear.

Don was a tall, stout man with pale, gray eyes
and thinning hair. In the brightly lit office by the hot rays of
the afternoon sun, I could see the furrows on his forehead were
deeper today. He was obviously too worried about something.

‘I thought you were leaving today Don.’ I said
casually.

‘
As a matter of fact I decided to stay
for a few more days.’

‘That’s great! If you are here next week you’ll
have to come to Pylos to see the excavation.’ This was an effective
distraction, and Don seemed very interested in the new
developments.

‘You know, I’m totally with you in this, Emma.
I’ll talk to Finance, ask them to expedite the procedure.’ But
before I had the chance to say anything, he added seriously, ‘Your
mother called me this morning. She was wondering how your
presentation came out. I was surprised you didn’t mention anything
about it yesterday.’ The hint was tactful, but still obvious.

‘Oh, it was fine. A bit stressful of
course, but we…
I
… was well
prepared. It will be included in the conference proceedings, you
know, published and stuff like that.’

‘Great! Congratulations then. Your
parents will be very happy for you.’

Still the same distant tone in his voice. I
looked at my watch.

‘Well, I have to be going to class.’ I got up,
straightening my dress.

‘Just give me a few minutes Emma. I won’t
keep you long.’ he said, opening his cigar box
. That was close
, I thought.
So much for my plans to retain my good
mood
.

He lit his cigar with an expensive golden
lighter, breathed in and sat back in his armchair as he exhaled,
filling the room with the sweet smell of cigar.

‘I hear you Don.’ I said impatiently, playing
with my key ring among my fingers.

‘Colin visited me this morning. He was on his
way to the airport. Yesterday I was under the impression he
intended to stay.’

‘I wouldn’t know about that.’ I said coldly. He
examined my face, which was stiff as rock, revealing no sign of
emotion.

‘He told me you’ve become really close
with this Auburn guy.’ I remained
silent looking at
the window, trying to calm myself down and avoid arguing with
Don.

‘Don’t misunderstand me please. I’m the last
person to advise a young woman like you about how to live her life.
It’s just that….’ He put his cigar in the ashtray and folded his
arms in front of his chest.

‘How well do you know this man, Emma?’

‘I know all I need to know.’ I replied
without hiding my
frustration about this
conversation.

‘Has he told you about his past, how he came
here, why he came here?’ He was guiding this conversation to the
last thing I wanted to think about.

‘You should know better Don. Brantel sent him to
spy on me, I didn’t ask for him. And Daugh, of course, thought I
needed a baby sitter.’ I grinned bitterly at him.