“I think it’s too early to take a decision. I’m feeling very well and I don’t feel I have to give up my pastimes. There is no reason for this.”
“Sorry Jill. I was just concerned.”
“To talk about something else: have you read the meu of the day?”
“Yes, there are some lobsters. It would be fine to treat ourselves with that meal at lunch. In Amsterdam lobsters are never fresh.”
“Yes and afterwards we will have a nap to better enjoy the jogging of the afternoon,” said Jill with enthusiasm.
“Now let’s enjoy the rays of the sun,” she carried on.
“What are you reading?” asked Araon with his stubborn curiosity.
“The Taming of the Shrew. It has nothing to do with Shakespeare. It’s the story of a woman married to a man who spends a lot of money on stupid things and who decides to indulge his whims in order to save their marriage. I have two books left to read. They will be my companion during our long flight,” she said.
“Jill.”
“Yes love?”
“ I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Araon’s glance checked Jill’s effusion. What a thrilling day was their current perspective. They enjoyed the last rays of the sun before lunch and they were ready to fulfill the program just dictated.
“Van der Baast,” Samantha was confused. She must contact him as soon as possible but there was a certain amount of stamina missing from her side. Yes Samantha dealt with the fact as if it was something troublesome and she needed the strength to face the truth.
“Hi love. Have you been waiting for me?” Suddenly Phil appeared on the scene.
“Don’t worry about your friend. She doesn’t need Van der Baast any more. She has met a rich Mediterranean businessman who is mad about her and she is under his protection. She doesn’t need vagina surgery. Her companion has had two hundred lovers in his mind,” he said quietly.
“But Philip you read my mind. You absolutely control my life. How do you know I was thinking of Van der Baast?” she said bewildered.
“I am simply deeply in love with you, so I can read your mind.”
“Have you already forgotten the smack of the other day?”
“Certainly. The age of chivalry is not dead. I won’t give it back to you.”
“Now stop spying on me. Am I clear?” said Samantha screaming.
“Definitely it’s clear. I love you Samantha. Tell me what you have done in my absence.”
“I have been at the beautician.” She could talk and breathe deeply calming her nerves down. “I didn’t expect you to come so early.”
“Well the business was a success. I was born with a silver spoon. So I’m now here. I have sold a yacht to an Italian rich businessman. A floating monster with piscine, beautician, restaurant, comfortable bedroom. My customer was very happy with this. He has paid me £20. 000. 000 for it. Come here. I’ll show you something. Look at this leaflet. This is you. The picture was taken when you were relaxing at the swimming pool the other day. There is a plant that takes pictures of all people present in the place. This is part of the surveillance system to catch foreign bodies in the house. It is impressive, isn’t it?”
“Sure,” Samantha said with a more placatory tone.
“You must be overwhelmed. I’ll ask the housekeeper to prepare a coffee for us and we will go to relax in the swimming pool room,” he said.
“OK. It’s fine,” she said.
They go to the swimming pool room passing through the garden. It was an oasis in the desert. Everything was a wonder to the eyes of Samantha. They stretched themselves and went to sit on a deckchair forgetting the discussion they had earlier. But at a certain point a flame appeared in the water of the piscine. “Don’t worry,” said Philip to calm Samantha down. “It’s just the system. It’s a 3d virtual image of a fire. It appears when somebody outside comes close to the post box. It’s a question of privacy,” he said.
“I can imagine how many other secrets are hidden over here,” said Samantha, shocked.
“Don’t worry about that. You will always be safe in my arms.”
The telephone rung. “Sorry sweetheart. Just one second,” Philip apologized. “Hello?” he said.
“Hello? Can I speak to Phil Morris please?”
“ Speaking.”
“Good evening. Sorry to disturb you. I would like to have an appointment for the purchase of a building in Mayfair. Have you got some spare time next week to discuss it?”
“Sure. We can meet on Wednesday at four pm.”
“It’s OK for me. Shall we meet at my lawyer’s office in Piccadilly?”
“Of course we can. I’m looking forward to meeting you. So goodbye. I apologize again.” The man hung up.
“Sorry Samantha. Usually I switch my phone off when I am out of work. I have a window from work next Wednesday so I decided to let people go fishing. I mean to ask an appointment for something good. I catch the right thing. I swear to you that today we won’t have got other nuisances. Now let me show you a surprise.”
He picked a packet from under the deckchair and asked Samantha to open it. A gorgeous diamond was inside the box. “Oh! It’s gorgeous. What does it mean?”
“It’s a De Beer darling. It’s the sign of my love for you. Oh, the coffee is finally arriving.”
He thanked the housekeeper and asked her to organize dinner. She already knew what was tasty or not for Samantha. Phil sipped the coffee quickly and watched Samantha’s eyes: “You don’t know how much I love you. You are the perfect spouse for me. To be sincere with you, I wish you break your friendships of the past. I don’t like Lucia. She doesn’t mind her business as she should do.”
“Unfortunately, I agree with you. The other day she confessed that she suffers from envy. She is envious of whoever can have a gorgeous marriage. She is hampered to have a marriage by the fact that she is a mother of a small daughter. It is impossible for her to find a man who might help her to raise the baby, this is what she thinks. I’m very sorry for her. But I think that to break with the past entirely is a bit of a mistake.”
“It’s up to you. I don’t want to interfere in your private businesses. My advice was genuine but I can go back to better remarks. I am so frightened of loosing you. I feel old. I am eleven years older than you. I hope this is not a problem for you.”
“I have never thought of it with complacence. The only think I don’t like is that you are too oppressive. Sorry love. I didn’t want to…” At that point the alarm rung. “What’s happening?” asked Samantha frightened.
“Nothing serious. The alarm system starts working when somebody enters the house clandestinely. There is just a cat that came in from the window.”
Samantha listened carefully to what Phil was telling her. There was a lot to know about the house. She felt trapped in a cage whose exit was in a maze. She let Phil hold her tight and they closed their eyes for a pacifying kiss. Only someone ill-natured nature could stop them enjoying those moments. Samantha didn’t want to be left out when it came to know about the commodities of the house: she was aware that some cameras somewhere were filming them and she wanted to live those moments with solace. She knew that Phil would make a hell of her life if she was not able to take over the reins of their relationship. But she was damned safe during those moments. She finally stopped thinking and immersed herself in the beauty of the moment. Each kiss of Phil was different from the other and this helped the passion stay alive. Anyway they were so in love with each other!
It was nearly dinner time. It’s a pity, Phil thought. He wanted to have a plunge in the swimming pool with Samantha but he was refrained by the lateness of the hour. They cuddled each other for another while and then they rushed to the dining room to taste the housekeeper’s special dish.
Jill and Araon were finally on the return flight to Amsterdam. Jill, as drowsy as she was, fell immediately asleep. Araon loved to watch her in that state of bliss. He didn’t wake her up even
when the hostess arrived with the meal. He didn’t eat either. He stretched himself quietly in the seat as a slave of the turmoil of his thoughts. “Ida Itch. What is her name? I don’t remember She was the twin sister of Olga Itch. I haven’t taken notes of any detail of my investigation for the fear that Jill could find them. Hopefully there is Van der Baast who holds everything secretly. We are so deafened by the mystery of that death. Poor woman: not even a rose on her grave wishes her to rest in peace. Was she such a horrible person not to deserve it? Van der Baast knows well where Olga Itch lived. But he cannot search the house without the authorization of the police. And there is also another riddle: The Hen and the Mud., the never published book. Why didn’t I think that that guy wanted to give us a clue so far? I live all these vicissitudes as a detective story. Now I remember what an uncle of mine told me: a woman who refuses to have sexual intercourse is called a hen in the mud. Probably the man wanted to give us a nagging suspicion. He must know everything but he doesn’t want to go to report it to the police. here is another issue which bothers me: the abundant amount of blood in the handkerchief. Who know if the woman has been killed. Once in Amsterdam I’ll go to Van der Baast to take the account of the situation. We are dealing with something dangerous. Who the hell must have thought of concealing a corpse without leaving traces of it? We face a double penalty because of that. I am also nosey to know more about the defacement in the pub in Amsterdam. The acrostic L. A. U. R. A. And the clue: give me back your jewels doesn’t seem to be a child game. But I see time is passing very quickly. “Jill, Jill, wake up we are landing.”
“Good morning love. I have slept a lot.”
“I would think so. I was not so brave to wake you up. You were such a sleeping beauty. Now we have to hope we are not victim of the jet lag,” said Araon.
“ What have you done all this time?” asked Jill with a sense of surprise.
“Nothing special. Just watching the clouds outside as a blessing in disguise. The wing of the plane disturbed my vision, which didn’t allow me to enjoy the travel properly. Now we are landing. Make sure the safety belts are fastened perfectly.”
“We are descending. What an emotion!” Jill finally opened her eyes wide. “What strange feelings: we are in Amsterdam and everything seems new for me,” said Jill once in the luggage room of their airport. “Phew, what a queue. Who knows how long will it take us to collect our baggage,” she said while Araon was struck dumb. “Araon, what happened to you? Why did you tie pink ribbons to our suitcases?”
“Just because I am superstitious. I want a baby girl and I think this trick will help me.”
“You are crazy, it’s not a bet. Just let’s go to pick the baggage up.”
“I’ll do, of course.”
“Araon, do you mind if I take some coffee with croissants. I’m a bit hungry even if it’s seven pm, early time for dinner.”
“I don’t think we will have dinner later on. We are so tired. The difference of time with Florida will mess our metabolism up.”
“So let’s take something for the joy of our stomach. Here is the bar. Come on, added Jill..
It was an idyllic picture of a young couple in love. The bitter taste of the coffee filled their mood up. The kindness of the waitress, the grudge of somebody sitting nearby blaspheming about the past were all what was needed to overcome the fear of the jet lag. Jill left Miami in her heart and her sense of beauty. Coming back home was a sour surprise for her. Araon was the right attendant for those moments. Suddenly arrived the moment to go back to reality: they were at home and it would take quite a bit before they would be able to savour the joy of another holiday.
Araon’s phone rung, as usual in Amsterdam. “Hi Araon. How are you? It’s Van der Baast speaking. I know you are in Amsterdam now, aren’t you?”
“Yes, we are at the airport. We are already missing Miami. By the way: we have a small present for you,” Araon said.
“Are you kidding me? You are too kind,” said the doctor.
“Have you received the postcard?”
“Not yet. I’ll wait for it. Tell me: how was Miami?”
“It’s gorgeous. Really a lovely place. We spent two fantastic exhausting weeks. The sun was dark and handsome over there. You would rarely recognize us. We are sporting an unusual suntan. Tell me when and where I can see you.”
“Tomorrow I’m busy at the hospital day and evening. You can come any time until seven pm. Just tell your name when you ask the nurse you want to see me. It’s routine. Annoying, I know. I’m looking forward to seeing you. Let me talk to Jill, please.”
“Sure. She is here for you.”
“Hi Van der Baast. How nice to hear from you. How are you?” Jill said.
“Very well, thanks. What about you.? Are you still coveting the epidural?”
“Oh no!. I’m slowly losing my fears.”
“This is good news. Remember: don’t take antibiotics.”
“Not at all. I’m fine without them.”
“Good. Always follow my advice. Why don’t you come to meet me with Araon tomorrow? Now I have to stop my call. There are dozens of patients waiting for me. Bye Jill. See you.”
“Bye. See you tomorrow,” answered Jill nervously.
“Araon can you see that porter? We can ask him to help us take the luggage to the taxi.”
“As you like my dear. I’ll call him,” he said.
“Can you help us?” The porter arrived immediately. “We need your help to bring our luggage to the taxi,” said Araon.
The porter took the suitcases with his powerful arms. and in a few minutes, he was near the first taxi. “Ten euros, please,” he said.
“Here you are,” answered Araon.
The taxi driver accommodated Jill and Araon quietly. “Luciensteeg street, please,” said Araon.
The two arrived home sparkling with joy mixed with unhappiness.
“Home, sweet home,” said Jill.
“Yes, tomorrow we will start our routine life. Me with my long walks in the streets of Amsterdam, you with your shopping, your tip tap course, your knitting course.”
“Stop, please,” answered Jill surprisingly.
“Now we have to think only of ourselves. What about a movie with popcorn?” he said.
“First we have to unpack the suitcases,” answered Jill.
“And then?”
“Then is another story. I know you are going to provoke me. You are the perfect husband in these moments. You know it very well. You see: the sky is gloomy and sombre. What are going to do two nice chaps with a weather like this?”
“I abandon myself to my senses and then we will see,” answered Araon hypochondriac.
CHAPTER THIRY-NINE
The old lady of the rusty abandoned house on the outskirts arrived early at Jill’s address. She bumped into Jill just at the entrance of her house. “Hi Jill. Sorry if I disturb you, I’m coming with important issues. You may be amazed because I know your address. Well it’s not something that happened accidentally. You remember recently you came to visit me and you found the ‘Sorry not at home. I’ll be back soon’ note on the gate of my house. I saw you far in the distance but it was too late to accommodate you inside. So I followed, keeping a certain distance and I walked until I could see where you are living now. Here I am. Surprised? Do you know what happened? When the door bell rung the dogs started barking and I dropped the vase of my husband’s ashes on the floor. Hopefully I have been able to get it into the vase again. I saved it in a safer location. My husband died in 1996 when the law forbad to keep ashes of dead people in their relatives houses. Thank God the law has changed. I have no people to confide in but you. Everything seems weird when it happens that two women see each other after quite a long time. I have been very busy recently and I had to postpone my visit to you several times. If you ever want to visit me come after ten am. I go to church every day and you won’t find me before ten am.. I was also a lost soul in confession. I never know what to say to the priest during t
his sacrament. I trust God’s mercy nevertheless. I always keep with myself a memorandum where I take notes on what I do during the day. It’s a healthy habit I have been undertaking since I was very young. One day I told the priest that I clean my teeth without a toothbrush and he started laughing noisily. For the atonement of my sins he told me to be less absent-minded during the day. But now have a look: I have a present for you. A necklace with a cross. It is to bring joy to you. Sorry I speak too much. I didn’t let you whisper a single word,” said the lady with an outburst of emotions.
“I was concentrating on what you were saying. I’m sorry to have caused trouble to you. It won’t happen any more,” said Jill a bit offended.
“Don’t worry. The next time you come to my house ring the right bell. I can be in the garden and I won’t hear you.”
“OK. But don’t you think we have to look for a more appropriate place to chat. We are right in the middle of the street. and we are making a show for free for the bystanders. What do you think about having a coffee in the bar down the corner? Of course I’ll pay for you.”
“You are very kind Jill but I rarely have coffee in the middle of the day. I take the host at church which means I have to take it with an empty stomach. Today I missed the mass. I had absolutely to come and see you,” she said smiling. “Can you see my teeth when I smile?” she told Jill with euphoria. “They are all broken. I have never been a beauty in my life. My husband has always been very protective because of this. When it came for him to chat with gorgeous women he never failed to save for me the ultimate attention. It was an act of gallantry to avoid that I could believe he was flirting with other women. I know he never had brief affairs despite my looks. You are lucky you have beauty, intelligence, charm. You are able to paralyse a man with your look. I see you have an unusual dark skin. What happened?” the lady said.
The Red Box Page 49
