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“No worries, Simon. I’ll take care of it. I’ll phone the house when I have the schedule.”
He went upstairs to his bedroom, undressed, and slipped between the sheets. He loved his bed. Being in it made him feel like a boy again, safe and at home with family. Much as he traveled, this was better than anything, the luxury of a bed to himself in a room so familiar to him that he could navigate it blindfolded. It held so many pieces of his past, and he was comforted by each one.
He yawned hugely and rolled onto his side, clutching the cool, crisp pillow, and looking out the window into the darkness of the gulf. There was a full moon that night, and though it was not visible from his bedroom window, it illuminated the landscape so that he could see the vague shapes of trees, and in the distance the outline of a mountain, limned with silver. When Athena came home, it would be perfect, he thought as he began to drift into sleep. The family together, that’s how he liked things to be. But of course, it was rare these days, and therefore so much more precious.
Everything fell away, and Simon dreamed of the sea, and of the temple of Poseidon overlooking the blue water.
The next morning, a phone call woke him. “You have an hour until we leave.” His father was always a little annoyed when Simon slept late.
“What’s the time?”
“Nine. Get yourself out of bed, Simon.”
“I’m up, I’m up. Is breakfast ready?”
“Your mother and I are in the dining room.” The connection closed and Simon groaned, and stuck one leg out from beneath the sheet. Surely that was close enough to being up?
“Can’t fall asleep, can’t fall asleep,” he chanted, and finally it worked. He managed to sit up, then stand, then propel himself into the shower where he finally woke up properly. Why had he thought this trip was a good idea?
He threw a few things into a bag and carried it downstairs to try to grab a cup of coffee at least before they left for the airstrip. Nina Calo was at the table with Helena and Nick, just finishing her breakfast. “Good morning, sunshine!” she said with oppressive brightness.
“I’ll let you know when I’ve been up for a while. Please tell me there’s coffee.”
“A bit.”
He poured a cup and sat down.
“You should eat something,” his mother said.
“My stomach isn’t awake.”
Nina got up, filled a plate and set it on the table in front of him. “Your mother is right. Eat. The plane will wait.”
He knew there was no point in arguing so he dug into the eggs and grilled sausages, and the freshly baked bread with cheese and honey. As he ate, his appetite returned, and he cleaned the plate and had a second cup of coffee. “Thank you,” he said. “You were right. I needed that.”
“I’m always right,” Helena said with an impish smile. “Now are we almost ready?”
On the way to the airstrip, Nina confirmed that Athena would be meeting them in Paris, that she and Helena had an appointment with a couturier, and both Nick and Simon had appointments with their tailors.
“What would we do without you, Nina?” Nick asked.
“Hire someone else,” she said.
And once they were on the ground in Paris, and Simon felt the lovely, flower-scented breezes swirling around him, he was glad he’d talked his father into this trip. He and Nick went off to the tailor as soon as they’d dropped their bags at the hotel, and after the fitting, they had a glass of wine at a nearby cafe and watched the world go by.
“I’m glad we’re here,” Nick said. “And I’ll be honest, I’ve been wanting to talk to you about something.”
Simon’s good mood evaporated, When Nick got serious like this, it was usually one of those what-are-you-doing-with-your-life talks.
“Simon… have you thought about the future?”
“Not in the last half hour, no.”
“Do you have any plans? What about marriage? A family? Your mother and I aren’t old, but we’d like to see our grandchildren before we die, you know?” He smoothed his mustache in a gesture so familiar that it made Simon smile.
“Just haven’t found the right mother for my children,” Simon joked.
“There are millions of wonderful women out there.”
