King of Her Desire

30

Ben came and sat down in the seat in front of me—the jet seats could swivel all kinds of ways—and said, "Miles away, huh?"

I was. Thousands of miles away. The attendant set this fancy, private plane breakfast in front of me and I didn't even notice until Ben sat down.

"I'm just...I partied a little harder than usual," I told him. Best answer I could offer.

I was actually thinking about seeing Elliott after being so drawn to Sochi. "Drawn to" doesn't even say it, does it? But I was kind of amazed that I was really happy to be going back in a way. That I could care so much about both of them at the same time...

There was Elliott's energy—those wide open eyes and that wide open heart.

She knew how the world could beat you down one day and then lift you up higher than you ever dreamed you could go the next. So she was still like a little kid, always absolutely sure there was another miracle just around the corner. Or that she could make one.

I mean, I'd say, "I wish..." and before I finished that sentence she was like a dog waiting for you to throw that stick, right? Ready to go for it, ready to make it happen.

And then Sochi was her polar opposite. Even as she was starting to be more playful and more open to the world in her own way, she was still the old soul I'd watched on the beach.

She was making miracles, too, now. Those paintings were just the beginning. I'd always known there was magic down deep inside her. Whole worlds were in there--the wisdom from them. waiting to come out and teach us how to see our own world better, maybe. I could feel that, when I held her. That I was holding onto all those worlds in one tiny little woman.

That's what was going on behind that faraway gaze Ben teased me about.

And he chuckled and said, "Ah, youth. But listen, lemme just cut to the chase—and eat, okay? We've got one of my favorite breakfasts today. Best lox ever. I keep forgetting to ask 'em where they get that stuff."

Across the aisle, Gerri was definitely enjoying her meal. And nodding to whatever kind of music she was listening to on her Bose buds. They all had top of the line everything.

I didn't even know the brand and designer names they dropped half the time, but I was starting to understand why that mattered. You really do get what you pay for in a lot of cases.

I mean, Bose earbuds and the best lox...that's no big deal. But the fact that everything they have, do, see, experience from the toothpaste they use in the morning to the bedsheets they lay down in every night and everything in-between is better and better for you than someone like me could ever imagine. And I felt guilty about it, I'm not going to lie.

But she had those buds in to give us privacy, not to flex. That's Gerri. Like I said before, she didn't want to get all in your business, that one. Until you asked her to.

So I slathered cream cheese all over half of a bagel and started laying Ben's favorite lox on top of that. I'd found out I liked lox at these meetings David had with the people who worked in his buildings. It looked raw and kind of slimy, but once I'd tasted it, I always sort of hoped he'd have some when we got together.

Ben grinned when I sprinkled some capers on top and said, "A boy after my own heart. But look...let's get down to business here. I mean...look, Aaron can be...well, he's a lot, okay? I know this. And after years of kinda doin' this and kinda doin' that—half-baked little projects that kept his name out there but didn't get him anywhere--this is about the most important thing he's ever latched onto. And yes, I pulled a few strings and made a few tweaks—that's where you come in."