The Mask of Minos, Bruno's Inferno

Chapter 54 - Seprios

                                                

They would be expecting him, and he was excited to see Chris again after all these years. She was a beautiful woman with no expiration date. She was one of those women who slowed the effects of aging. She had an inner beauty and self-confidence that made those around her feel better about themselves, she cared about people. Harry used to tell her she'd make a great salesman except her sincerity was genuine. And their children were perfect.

David had offered to help, and Harry thought it over a great deal and decided to take him up on it, at least until Sara joined him. He phoned from the mainland to let them know he was coming. "We'll be there, you can drive us back," David said. "Chris will be with me."

"Hi Harry," she shouted from the background. The tiny island of Seprios appeared in the crystal water and soon the ferry docked on the long stone pier. On a distant hill stood a partially denigrated temple showing only three of its mighty pillars and a portion of the structure. It had been excavated almost 100 years prior and luckily it survived to this day. The Temple of Jupiter once covered several acres in area and was now a curiosity to the locals, and not much more. David had slated that project to be resurrected in the coming years, budget allowing.

Ten other people got off the ferry with him and he had his car ready to get off along with two others. David and Chris were waiting.

"So where is the Sara, I've heard so much about?" Chris said.

"She'll be coming here soon to join us," His meeting with Romanov he kept to himself.

They had come on scooters and left the Healey at the port. David rode his scooter back to their house, Harry rode on the back of Chris.' He remembered when he first met her. A warm smile crossed his face. He was in high school, on a short trip to the island to help survey a new site. His father had arranged the trip, being old friends with David's family, and a contributor to the university.

The school was looking for evidence of the Roman occupation of Seprios, and David was a graduate student at the time. Harry stayed with Chris, whose parents were out of town. When he met her, it was love at first sight, but she was David's friend. Still, Harry was fond of her, as were many young men she met. She took the most out of each moment. If someone got too fresh, she'd shoot them down with a stern look, and told them in Perfect English, "I am unattainable," and she'd throw her head back and laugh, and the boys would blush and turn their eyes in shame. Older men looked and flirted, but all they wanted was a smile - their women scorned her.

She showed him around town and the countryside while they waited for the week to begin, riding on the back of her moped tenderly holding on to her slim waist and watching the wind ruffle her short dark hair.

She was soft and tan and Harry had a boyish crush on the older – by three years -woman. He remembered how they shopped for the big beach cookout on the other side of the island and how they gathered all the food they would need, how the butcher dressed and skewered the lamb, and the market had the bread and fruit they'd need and the Retsina in a large five-gallon cask, and Harry carried it all to the boat on a horse-drawn cab. It was here that he made love with his first Greek woman from the dig, a local girl who took a fancy to the young well-traveled boy. He wished it were Chris.

In no time they were at the house. Their two little scooters they parked side by side at the entrance. A stone landing had table and chairs and a large umbrella and stairs that led down to the white sandy private beach which was along a cove, and the waves were minimized because of the way the land was formed and if he stood on the edge of the cliff, as it was, and looked up the long coastline that swept away to the right, it was lost to the grand Mediterranean Sea. Dinner was prepared by the girl that worked for them, and she had it ready and left for the night.