An Aegean Prophecy - Jeffrey Siger [30]
He peeked into the bedroom. The drapes were open to a view of a brightly lit Acropolis, and Lila was sitting up in bed. ‘Guess who?’
‘Daddy’s home.’ She patted her belly.
Andreas walked to the bed, leaned over, and kissed her; then kissed her belly.
‘Daddy’s going to take you out to play soon,’ she said.
He rubbed her belly, and winked. ‘Too bad I can’t stop up for a visit.’
Lila smacked his arm. ‘Don’t even joke about sex. Rent movies.’ She smiled.
He kissed her belly again, and then her forehead. ‘See, I made it home before midnight.’
She looked at the clock on her bedside table. ‘Wow, ten-thirty, you’re a man of your word! Do you want something to eat? I couldn’t wait for you.’
‘No problem, I didn’t expect you to. I’ll make something later in the kitchen.’
Lila shook her head and picked up the intercom handset. ‘Marietta, would you please prepare a plate for Mr Kaldis and bring it into our bedroom. Thank you.’ She put it down and said, ‘When are you going to get used to having help around the house?’
Andreas shrugged, kicked off his shoes, and flopped onto the bed beside her. ‘I feel more at home among the monks. Doing things for myself.’
‘Let’s not go there. I said no more talk about sex.’
He laughed. ‘But I really admire someone who finds a life so rewarding and purposeful that he willingly gives up what so much of the rest of the world considers so damn important.’
‘Moderation, I’m afraid, is a thing of the past, even among churchmen. There are very few I know who have given up much of the material world in the pursuit of their faith.’
‘But there still are some who believe “nothing in excess” is the right way to live.’
Lila turned and stared at him. He’d just quoted from one of her lectures. ‘That was carved in Delphi by Athenians 2,500 years ago. It’s Apollo’s Creed.’
‘And a favorite of a scholar I much admire.’ He kissed her on the cheek. ‘But I’m talking about monks, not all churchmen, and one monk in particular.’
‘The murdered one?’
‘Yes. He must have been a rare soul. Amazing how no one had a cross word to say about him.’ Andreas pushed up on his elbows and stared out the window at the Parthenon. ‘Imagine feeling so much a part of something, a part of something so much bigger than yourself that when your time has come you’re totally at peace.’ He smiled and took her hand. ‘I guess it’s sort of how I feel at this moment.’
Andreas stared at her hand and wrapped his fingers around hers. ‘He died at peace … embracing his past … clutching his cross.’ He let the thought drift off.
Lila spread her arms. ‘Come here with …’ she looked down at her belly ‘… us.’
Andreas smiled and lay down next to her. Lila rested her head against his chest. Neither said a word.
Andreas drifted off into that state just before sleep when the senses recede and thoughts become meditative. He pictured the cross in the monk’s hand. The cross of his grandfather, the cross with which he might well have shared virtually every day of his life. Andreas’ eyes popped open. He felt as if a silent bomb had gone off in the room.
‘His cross,’ Andreas cried out and jumped out of the bed, almost sending Lila tumbling off onto the floor. ‘It wasn’t his cross he was holding when he died. His cross, the one he treasured from his grandfather, was left dangling openly around his neck, free for anyone to take. The one he chose to grip, to guard when he knew he was dying, was a cheap, ten euro piece of junk he’d bought only hours before! How could it possibly have meant so much to him that his last act on earth was to protect it?’
Andreas paced back and forth in front of the window. Lila said nothing, just watched him.
‘He didn’t die accepting the end of his life. He died sending a message. But what message?’ He turned to Lila, ‘I’ve got to get back to Patmos, right away.’
‘“Right away?”’
He didn’t miss the disappointment in her voice. Andreas drew in and let out a breath. ‘“Right away,” as in