The Sleeping Serpent:

by Luna Saint Claire

  “Well, traditionally the feathers would be from the night seeing bird—the owl—but it’s not legal to use owl feathers anymore. These are pheasant.”

  “Is this a good spot to hang it?” Nico leaned over, his face a breath away from hers, and placed the loop of the dreamcatcher over the arm of a standing lamp next to the bed.

  Luna’s fire butterflies swarmed as he looked at her for approval. Sitting on the bed next to the lamp, she reached over and fingered the feathers overhanging his pillow, seeing that they swung freely with the slightest breeze. She uttered, “That’s perfect,” and smiled.

  “Luna…you’re so different. What you give to me has so much meaning.”

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, she said she needed to get going. Tyler would be waiting for her because they had dinner plans.

  Nico walked over to his desk and picked up a stack of papers in a binder clip. Scowling, he shook his head, “Can you please just take a minute and read this. It’s my scenes for the documentary. It’s very important and has to be right. You know more about me and my work than anyone. You’re the only one I trust.”

  Luna replied, “But, Nico, I’m not a writer. Sofia’s a great writer. I’m sure it’s perfect.”

  Nico shook his head. “She’s not smart enough. She may be able to write dialogue for those stupid girls on the show, but she has no idea about the spiritual nature of what I do!”

  She sighed, “Of course I’ll help you, Nico.”

  He brightened. “We have to recover this thing. I need to get it to Erin right away. Jacob has been waiting for me to finish this, and it’s very late, Luna. Jacob wants to shoot where I lived with the Q’ero, in Peru. Would you like to come?”

  She smiled. “I would love to go with you! If I can.” Luna felt so attached to him and would happily follow him anywhere.

  He replied, “OK, good. Then stay here and help me. Sofia wrote all kinds of bullshit that makes no sense.”

  Luna sighed again, “All right, Nico. Let me see what she wrote.”

  Nico pushed a chair close to Luna so that their legs touched as they reviewed the pages together. But while she worked, he got up and paced around the studio. Finally, she couldn’t take it. All that unbridled energy flying around unsettled her. “Nico, could you busy yourself with something else so I can concentrate?”

  Since practicing yoga, she’d become calmer and more centered, yet he was always so hyperactive. Thankfully, he talked on the phone with his sister and Ita while she worked. By the time he hung up, she was ready to show him what she did, offering up comments, “Sofia did a great job describing the despacho ceremony, but she didn’t explain the spiritual meaning.”

  “That’s right, Luna,” he chimed back. “That’s precisely why I need you!”

  Luna continued, “She didn’t describe the San Pedro ceremony.”

  “No, I never did that with her. Only with special people.”

  He caught her eye and she saw something behind them again, and was almost certain she wasn’t reading her own feelings into it. She wished he would share his thoughts, but knew better. “I found the San Pedro to be the most mystical and awakening of the ceremonies. I hope you agree, because I summarized my experience and explained how psychoactive plants have been used for thousands of years in religious and healing ceremonies in many cultures throughout the world.”

  Nico smiled at her approvingly, sitting down next to her again. Scrolling to the top so he could read, he stopped occasionally to reword a few things. Even though he had a backward sense of grammar, she did what he asked. It didn’t change the meaning, and this “script” was really only a guideline to the scenes to be shot anyway. When they got to the despacho ceremony, Nico asked, “Do you think it explains too much?”

  Luna slipped up. “I thought Jacob needed more detailed explanation of the ceremonies.”

  She immediately realized what she’d done and saw that Nico caught her slip, too. He gripped her chin, pulling her face toward him. “How do you know that?” he asked menacingly.

  Luna’s voice caught in her throat, and for a second she couldn’t respond. “I ran into Sofia in the ladies room at work—we only spoke for a minute, Nico.”

  He turned dark. “Why didn’t you tell me before that you’d talked to Sofia?”

  She feigned nonchalance, “I didn’t think it mattered.”

  “Tell me the truth.”

  “I didn’t want to upset you.”

  Relentlessly, Nico pursued, “But you kept a secret from me, Luna. What other secrets are you keeping?” He eyed her suspiciously.

  Luna went on the defense. “I haven’t kept any secrets from you, Nico. I just didn’t want you to turn an innocent conversation in the ladies room into a drama—like this.”

  Nico paced back and forth, making Luna nervous. When he sat down again, she was relieved the incident hadn’t escalated. She composed an e-mail to Erin and Jacob explaining the script was late because Nico had been traveling. No credit was given to Luna or Sofia for their assistance, and she realized she still craved Nico’s approval. “Let me know if they like it. It’s going to be such an outstanding film, and it’ll be really good for your business.”

  Taking a quick look at her cell phone, she realized how late it was and knew Tyler was probably wondering why she’d been gone so long. Nico walked her to her car, and she was glad when he thanked her for the dreamcatcher. But as she got into the Land Rover, Nico cautioned her, “Don’t betray me again, Luna.”

  “Never, Nico. I promise you,” she replied.

  He returned to the studio and Luna’s eyes welled up with tears as she texted Tyler to let him know everything was OK, and she was on her way home.

  His reply, Whatever, signaled he was clearly pissed off.

  When she arrived home, Tyler was dressed and impatient to leave. His lean, athletic body looked great in tight dark grey jeans and a black zip-front knit top. His salt and pepper hair was perfectly tousled, making him look much younger. Darting past him, she called over her shoulder, “I’ll only be a couple of minutes, promise.” Slipping on a calf-length suede fringed skirt with a fitted black top and python printed sandals, she unfastened her hair from the clip and brushed it out so it fell luxuriously over her shoulders. Then she smudged some black kohl on her eyes and warm nude gloss on her lips, and was ready in less than fifteen minutes.

  Tyler smiled. “You look beautiful.”

  She kissed him and took his hand as they walked to the elevator.

  “Luna…I don’t mind you helping Nico,” Tyler said evenly. “Just remember who you’re married to—and that I come first.”

  Luna was a bit shaken. She squeezed his hand and reassured him. “I know, Ty. I would never cross that line. You always come first.”

  15

  When Luna heard the familiar ringtone “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” she panicked, fearing Nico was calling to cancel her session.

  He sounded agitated. “Luna, come to Malibu instead of the studio, OK? I need you. Something’s happened and I can’t tell you on the phone.”

  “Is everything all right? Where’s Sofia?”

  “I just told you, not on the phone. Hurry up.”

  Thankfully, she had already packed a change of clothes and toiletries in the kilim bag she used for yoga. Trembling, she got in the car and headed to Malibu, wondering what could possibly be wrong. Luckily, there wasn’t any traffic so early on Saturday morning.

  To steady her nerves, she turned the Land Rover’s stereo up and selected a playlist with a mix of Sia, Imagine Dragons, and Florence and the Machine. “Burn the Pages” pumped out of the car’s speakers, and she sang along while convincing herself that Nico always exaggerated, and it was probably nothing. Pulling onto Malibu Road, she called his cell just to be sure it would be OK for her to pull into the driveway.

  Nico answered, “Where are you? What’s taking so long?”

  His reply flustered her. “I just got here. Where should I park?”
<
br />   Abruptly, he snapped, “What do you mean? Park here, in the driveway.”

  On the deck, the bright sunlight dancing off the pool stirred her memory of the party last September when Nico had pulled her into the water. Feeling fire butterflies surging from her belly down her arms to the tips of her fingers, she caught herself on the railing just as Nico slid open the glass door from the living room, a mug of coffee in his hand.

  “Come inside. I have to show you something.” She could hear the strain in his voice, and she followed him in, anxious about what he wanted to show her.

  “Where’s Sofia, Nico?” she asked, worried something had happened to her.

  “She told me her sister’s in town with some friends. They wanted to go out clubbing, and she said she would stay with them at the hotel, so she wouldn’t have to drive home. But when I show you this, you tell me!” He pointed to the coffee table. “I think she lied to me. I think her parents are here, too.”

  On the coffee table sat three used brandy glasses and an open bottle of brandy. Nico looked back and forth between the table and Luna.

  She shook her head and, looking at Nico, asked, “I don’t understand. What are you showing me?”

  Nico barked, “Luna! This is a message. How do you not know that?”

  She looked at him incredulously. “What kind of message?”

  “This is a warning sign from her father! He must’ve sent some of his goombah friends last night to threaten me. I didn’t get home till late. They must have been waiting for me, and when I didn’t show up, they left.”

  “You mean they were waiting for you…like to hurt you?” she exclaimed, now alarmed.

  He answered sarcastically, “Wake up Luna! Yes, her father, the mob lawyer, called his goombahs to hurt me and scare me away from Sofia, thank you very much. That’s exactly what I’ve been trying to tell you! So glad you finally caught on!”

  “Fine, Nico. No need to badger me, please. I’m trying to understand how all this came about so I can help you, or at least be supportive.”

  “I’m sorry, Luna. It’s just very upsetting. Obviously.”

  “So then, how did this all start?”

  “When Sofia told me her sister was in town and that she was going out partying, I fought with her. I don’t want her out drinking at clubs. I got a little rough, but nothing serious. She called her mother anyway. I’ve told her a thousand times not to call her mother every time we have a fight. But she’s always crying to her on the phone.”

  Luna recalled Sofia telling her she had spoken to her mom once about Nico, but hadn’t said she cried to her frequently.

  Nico bemoaned, “I know she said shit about me to her father when he was here. I warned her. But she’s a crybaby, and I can’t be with a child. I have to be with a woman. I’m sure her mother told her father some shit, and he sent over his goombahs to threaten me.”

  “Wow…you think?” Luna wasn’t sure what to believe. “That seems pretty extreme. Maybe Sofia left the glasses there? Maybe she and her sister had a drink,” she offered.

  “Luna, don’t piss me off.” He glared ominously. “Sofia wasn’t here. I got that expensive bottle of brandy as a gift, and I hadn’t opened it yet. This was a message, loud and clear.”

  She shivered. “Wow, Nico. I’m scared. What if he has you hurt? Or killed! This is serious.”

  “No, I’m not worried about that. They just want to scare me, I’m sure. But Sofia’s made me look bad to her parents. That’s not right. I’ve been good to her, and I cured her. She’s never been healthier than she has with me. And because she is healthy, she’s done her best work and even won that stupid award. All because of me! Now she goes and talks shit to her parents about me, and they want me out of the house and to stay away from her. And she doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to them. She’s already made excuses to me, saying this house is on loan from her father’s client—some mobster—and they don’t want me here. So, it’s starting. I’ve been calling her all morning, and she hasn’t answered her phone. She’s afraid to speak to me, Luna. What am I going to do?”

  “Nico, I’m sure everything’s fine. She loves you, I know it. You just can’t fight like that with her and make her cry. You’re right, she never should have complained about you to her parents. They will only worry. I told you that you should’ve met them, or at least have gone to dinner with her father. Then they would know you.”

  “Do you think I’m too hard on her?”

  “Yes, Nico. You are too hard on her. She’s a young girl.”

  Luna didn’t dare reveal that Sofia had been confiding in her for months. Instead, she did her best to console Nico. She went to get the bottle of brandy and wash the offending glasses, but he told her to leave them. Pouring herself a cup of coffee and refilling his, she said, “Come, Nico. Let’s sit on the deck.”

  He followed her outside. “Luna, what will I do without Sofia? I love her. I know I’m too hard on her. But she knows I love her! I mean, she’s my woman.”

  Luna thought to remind him he’d always said he loved Sofia only as a friend. And that business about not liking her smell. But she knew he needed Sofia, that she made his life easier and more comfortable. She did a lot for him, and he didn’t want to lose that.

  Nico’s cell phone rang, and he put his finger up to silence Luna. “Sofia!” he said, but then he was silent, listening intently. “What do you mean in the hospital?” he screamed into the phone. “What’s wrong with her!?”

  He was silent again, listening, but began pacing furiously back and forth from one end of the pool to the other. “Put her on the phone!” he huffed, then barked, “Now, don’t play games with me!” Whoever called must have hung up, because Nico made moves as if to throw the phone into the ocean.

  “Luna,” he called to her. “See what I’m dealing with here?” He walked toward her and sat down on the end of a chaise lounge. “Sofia made a huge scene! That was her sister, telling me Sofia had a breakdown and is in the hospital. They took her phone away and won’t let me speak to her! Do you believe this?”

  Confused, Luna tried to make sense of the story. First, Sofia and Nico had a fight about her going out dancing with her sister and some friends. Then, it escalated to mobsters coming to the house and leaving “signs.” Now Sofia is in the hospital with a breakdown? Luna doubted she would ever know the truth.

  Moments later, Nico’s cell phone rang again. This time, he made the sign to hush but also signaled for her to listen by leaning his head next to hers. This time, rather than Sofia’s sister, it was her mother. Nico mouthed to Luna, “See, her parents are here!” Sofia’s mother spoke easily but firmly and told Nico he was no longer welcome to stay at the house, and that if Sofia didn’t break things off with him herself, they would intervene.

  Luna gasped silently, realizing that Nico was right. The used glasses must actually have been a warning sign! In any case, what she had heard was certainly threatening.

  Nico began pacing again. “I would never hurt Sofia! She’s exaggerating. No, that’s not what happened.”

  Luna could hear Sofia’s mother say, “There’s no excuse for calling her names. From what Sofia told me, I feel you are verbally abusive to her, and I won’t stand for it.”

  While Sofia’s mother was speaking, Nico talked over her, “Sofia’s being dramatic. I don’t know what she is trying to do, but we love each other, and couples fight sometimes. All I said was that she couldn’t go to the club. It’s not safe, and she is my woman. I love her, and I do not see a reason for her to be out all night, even with her sister.”

  Luna nodded her head, encouraging Nico to remain composed while explaining himself. Luna could hear Sofia’s mother arguing with someone nearby, but couldn’t make out what was said. There was a gap of silence, then Nico repeated, “Hello? Hello?”

  A few seconds later, Luna heard Sofia’s voice, small and meek. “Why do you yell at me, Nico? You get me upset and make me cry. I just don’t know if I can stay with you if
it’s going to be like this all the time.”

  Nico was distressed and almost sobbing into the phone, pleaded with her, “You’re my woman. You know I love you.” Pacing back and forth, he kept talking until Luna could tell things were going his way. After a few minutes, he said, “You tell them you exaggerated and that everything is good.” After a pause he continued, “Well you need to tell your father. Otherwise, these guys will come for me.”

  Another pause, then he said, “No, I don’t watch too much television. I know this.” After a few minutes, during which Sofia must have been talking, Nico laughed, “Honey…”

  Luna loved the way that word floated off his tongue. His accent gave it a rounded, mellow sound. He called her honey, too, as an endearment, not intending it to be too intimate, and she had started calling him honey as well.

  He seemed to have quelled the storm, at least for the time being. “I’ll be here waiting for you. All right, I’ll try to be more in control. Just don’t provoke me with your nonsense. No, I’m not starting. Just make sure you tell them you overreacted.”

  Sofia must have launched into a diatribe, because Nico kept interrupting. “Sofia, let me speak. I don’t mean it when I yell at you. I just get frustrated…You never listen…Well, no, I don’t want you running around to nightclubs without me. You know shit can happen. No, I don’t think I’m overprotective. Someone can give you a drink that’s spiked. No, I’m not exaggerating again.”

  Then Nico put the phone on speaker. Luna could hear Sofia whimpering about how much she loved him and that she was sorry she had caused so much drama. Then she said she would be home later, after her parents left.

  When she asked if he still loved her, Nico replied, “Yes, of course I love you. When will you be home?” His voice was calmer knowing she was coming home. “Honey…”

  That melting word again.

  His voice became a whisper, “Text me when you’re on the way. I’ll be here. OK. Love you, too.”

  When Nico hung up the phone, he still paced nervously. Looking squarely at Luna as if she hadn’t believed him, he said, “See, I told you they were all there, behind this. She made a big scene, causing me all this trouble.”