Shadows 03 Greek Shadows

by K C West

  “Hungry?” I asked, digging into the bag.

  “You’ve got to be kidding.” She stopped when she saw that I hadn’t pulled out any food. “Ooh, for me?”

  “Yes, for you.” I opened the small white box and pinned the corsage of miniature red roses to her shawl, and although my hand was shaking, I managed to do it without pricking her with the pin. Then I dug into the bag again and pulled out a small bottle of champagne and two plastic goblets.

  “What’s the occasion? It’s not like an anniversary or anything, is it?” The shine in PJ’s eyes mirrored the rising moon.

  “The occasion, sweetheart, is our commitment to each other. I know it hurts you that we can’t be joined together like any two people in love.”

  I poured us each a glass and we linked arms to drink a silent toast. PJ got a case of the giggles.

  “I can’t wait to see what else you’ve got hidden in that bag.”

  I put it down on the sand and took her hand as I stood up. “Nothing more in there. Just gifts from my heart.”

  We looked at each other for a few seconds. PJ inhaled and, sensing the mood had turned serious, she went still.

  I turned her hand over and kissed her palm. “I pledge to you now, on this perfectly lovely night on Sappho’s island, in the presence of this full moon and Sappho’s ghost, that I’ll care for you always. I’ll protect you and die for you if I have to because I love you so very much.” I reached into my pocket for the tiny, velvet covered ring box. Inside was a set of matching bands inscribed with our names looped together.

  “With this ring comes my heart.” I slid one of the bands on PJ’s finger. “For without you, my heart will certainly shrivel and die.”

  “Oh, Kimmy.” Her eyes filled to overflowing.

  I kissed her, tasting the sweetness of her lips and the salty flavor of her tears. “Will you be mine forever?”

  The moon was riding higher in the sky, spreading its light along the beach and over the headland. In the not too far distance, the lights of Eresos twinkled like candles in the night.

  PJ had been unnaturally quiet, but she took the other ring and reached for my hand. “I’ll be proud to take you forever as my own. I shall love you with all my heart for as long as I live on this earth and forever afterwards. Recent experience has shown us that we can be together throughout eternity, and that we’ll follow the path that’s already laid out for us. Ours is a never ending journey.”

  I knew she was referring to our destiny as Leeja and Marna had explained it. Although in her more down-to-earth moments, she still insisted it was a dream, she was coming to accept that not all things could be so easily explained.

  We held each other in the moonlight. PJ stood with her back to the cliff. I leaned in to her and my lips sought hers. Without hesitancy, she responded, the tip of her tongue teasing mine and warming me to the core.

  “Time to go back to the cottage,” I whispered hoarsely.

  “I thought you had a hot date for later on.”

  “I do.” I found the soft spot under her throat and kissed her there. “With you.”

  “Then we’d better go, before I take you here and now in the moonlight.”

  “And allow the waters of the Aegean to wash over us, bathing us in our moment of passion.”

  “You can be so romantic at times.”

  “Only at times?”

  PJ put her arms around my neck and gazed into my eyes. “How can I ever thank you for this evening, for marrying me in the here and now? And thank you, too, for all the other evenings and days that have made my life so complete.”

  “Having you share my life is all the thanks I’ll ever need or want.” I kissed her, gently at first, then passionately.

  “Whoa there, tiger. Let’s get back to the cottage where there’s some privacy.”

  We started back, two dressed up women strolling arm in arm along the beach in one of the most romantic places on earth, carrying our shoes and the bag with the now empty corsage box and the remains of our commitment celebration.

  “It’s so beautiful,” PJ said, stopping and gazing out to sea. She took my hand and touched it to her lips, then stood quietly at my side.

  “What is it?” I asked, seeing her eyes misting in the moonlight. “What are you thinking about?”

  “I’m thinking that it would’ve been nice if Leeja and Marna had been here tonight to share all this.”

  “What makes you think they weren’t?”

  “We didn’t see them.”

  “No, but they seem to know all that goes on with us.”

  “Spooky, isn’t it? I wonder if Sappho sees all, too.”

  “Hmm. I think I’m a little jealous of Sappho.”

  PJ’s arm came around my waist. “You don’t need to be.”

  We kissed there, in the moonlight, our bare feet cooling in the moist sand. Gentle waves broke against the shore, splashing our ankles with foamy surf. Lost in our warm embrace, we forgot about everything but each other and the bond of love that held us together.

  Laughter sounded from a great distance and a sudden clap of thunder startled us.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked looking skyward. Two figures emerged along the moon’s reflected pathway to the horizon. They sat astride horses who tossed their heads until their long and beautiful manes became one with the surf and spray.

  “Whoa.”

  “What? Is something the matter?” PJ turned and looked in the same direction, but the image had faded. In its place, a pair of sea birds soared low over the waters.

  “Nothing’s the matter. Everything’s fine.” I rubbed my eyes and peered into the spray-laden air. As soon as PJ turned away, the image changed again, and was that of a pair of dolphins leaping gracefully into the air, guided by two masked riders, their swords held high, glinting in the moon beam’s path.

  What the hell was going on? Was it the shape-changing shaman, paying us a visit? Or had I sipped too much champagne?

  I became aware that PJ was asking a question. She had not, it seemed, seen what I had seen. “But how can there be thunder when there isn’t a cloud in sight?”

  Before I could respond, the sand shifted beneath our feet, and a strong tug threw us off balance.

  “Kim, the waves are breaking higher now. We’d better - “

  “Yeow!”

  A wall of cold seawater doused us and dumped us on the beach.

  Laughing, sputtering, and soaked to the skin, we helped each other up and stumbled toward the cottage.

  “Still think that Marna and Leeja didn’t drop in and visit us back there?” I asked PJ, when we reached our sanctuary.

  She shivered. When she spoke, her teeth chattered. “Of all the d-dirty, low-down, des-despicable, pranks. Yeah, it had to be them. And Sappho probably p-put them up to it.”

  “Oh, I know she did. That blouse of yours is transparent when it’s wet.”

  PJ gasped and shook her fist at the sky. “Pervert!”

  I held her tightly. “Come on, let’s go inside and get out of these wet things. We can dry off in front of a roaring fire. You can doubt them or accept them, but one thing is certain. The Amazons have made our lives interesting.”

  “Definitely. And we can be sure that wherever our future takes us, our lives will never be dull.”

  I wiped wet bangs from her forehead. “I knew my life would never be dull the moment I first met you.”

  “You rocked my world, too, Kim, though I had no idea what I was in for when I fell in love with you.”

  I opened the door and we stepped inside, quickly peeling off our clothing, trying not to drip too much on the polished floors.

  PJ hung our soggy garments in the bathroom, allowing them to dry over the tub. She grabbed a couple of large, fluffy towels to wrap around our bodies and hair. I lit the logs in the fireplace, and we stretched out on the sofa under a thick quilt.

  “Ah, this is perfect,” I said, sliding my hand inside the flap of PJ’s towel, tickling her
belly.

  She launched a retaliatory strike on my ribcage, and before we knew it, the towels were gone and some serious lip-locking ensued.

  “If we’re heading where I think we’re heading,” PJ said, as my hands cupped her breasts, “I’d just like to say that I loved the ceremony you planned, and the corsage, and the ring, and the vows we said. Most of all, I loved that you understood that I needed something to make our love valid.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She shifted her body so that her head was tucked under my chin and her cheek pressed against my breast. “I can’t say positively that ancient warrior women came out of the shadows, took us back to their world, and made us a part of their legacy. It’s still possible that when we were caught in the cave-in, and in an unconscious state, we somehow dreamed the event.”

  “But how could we both have had the same dream?”

  “I haven’t figured that part out yet. Maybe, just maybe, we were caught up in some sort of time warp and - “

  “Your doubts are my hopes.”

  “One thing you should never doubt, Kim. I love you, and I’ll follow you anywhere our life together takes us.”

  “How about we take up where we left off this afternoon? We’re already naked and warm.”

  “Mmm. And this time, our tummies are full.”

  I slid my fingers down her smooth, firm torso. “We should be good until morning, then, Mrs. Blair.”

  Her head lifted. Desire shone in her eyes. “Let the loving begin, Mrs. Curtis.”