Harmony (Part 8 Of 16)

Posted on August 25th, 2010 in Short Stories by kimber

Read Part 1 Here

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Eduardo searched through her backpack the next morning, his stomach growling. Nothing. No food. “We will eat a big breakfast once we get to the village,” he promised.

“What will we have?” She winced as she combed through her snarled hair.

“Here, let me.” He took the comb from her, sitting behind her, gathering her hair up in his hands. It was the color of raw honey. Pearl earrings glistened in her ears. “We will have fryjack, lots of fryjack.” He carefully separated the strands with his fingers as he had often seen mothers do with their little girls.

“Hhhmmm… is that like a pancake?” She was no little girl. Her eyes closed, her head lulled back. He wanted to kiss that exposed neck. “I like pancakes.”

“Better than pancake.” She’d changed her clothes, this blouse bright and frilly and feminine. It suited her. “And we will have black bean and egg.”

“That sounds yummy.”

She sounded yummy. He combed, singing softly, happy to care for her. Javier would come for them soon, the shooting long done. Until then it was him and her and a beautiful Belizean morning. “Stacy”

“Eduardo.” Her eyes opened. She turned her head slightly.

He kissed her, a light, harmless brush against that full mouth. Her lips parted with the contact so he kissed her again. Harder. Longer. Not a kiss a lover would give but not a kiss of a friend either.

Although he wanted more, he didn’t risk rushing her. He reluctantly drew back, returning to combing her hair, trying to act like nothing happened, like a missing piece of his heart hadn’t been found. She stared straight ahead, the emotions flying across her face easy to read. Passion, bemusement, realization, guilt.

“About…, that is…, I mean…,” A pause. “Daniel asked me to marry him,” she blurted out.

Had she been thinking of that half man while kissing him? “Do you see him here? No. I don’t. This has nothing to do with your almost fiancé.”

“It does. I’m an honorable woman, Eduardo.”

“And I dishonored you?” He drew himself up, offended at the implication. “I would never dishonor you.” She was a treasure.

“We…,” She waved her hand.

Could she not even say the words? He set down the comb not trusting himself to be gentle.
“We kissed. That is all. There is no dishonor in kissing.”

“It shouldn’t happen again.”

Eduardo didn’t agree because it would happen again, many, many times.

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Read Part 9 September 1st

Harmony (Part 7 Of 16)

Posted on August 18th, 2010 in Short Stories by kimber

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“Like a Belizean sky, you are, you are.” Stacy joined in with the ‘you are’s’ as Eduardo added his own lyrics to “Eres Tú”. They lay under the stars, staring up, Stacy’s body so close, he felt her warmth.

It was a comfortable bed but no hotel room in Dangriga. Still his little dove didn’t complain. She smiled and sang. Eduardo could stay here forever. If not for… He checked his phone again.

“Any word?” Although she had not met the children, she sounded as worried as he was.

“No.” She would like Paz, he knew it. She wouldn’t see his imperfections like some others did. “That is good.” He said more for himself than her. “Javier would only contact me if there was a problem.”

“Eduardo?” She rolled onto her side, facing him.

He did the same. All he could see was the outline of her face, the moonlight reflecting off her blonde hair. “Yes, Stacy.”

“Thank you.” She touched his chest. “For today.”

He captured her hand, turning her wrist to kiss it. “It was nothing.” It was everything. Her pulse beat strong under his thumb.

“Tomorrow you will take me to Dangriga.”

“If you like.”

She didn’t speak. A lonely bird called out in the night. She wiggled a little closer to him.
He put his arm around her. “If you had time, I would take you to my village.” Have her meet his friends, the children, Paz.

“I have time.” He barely heard her words. “I have two more weeks before I go home.”

Two weeks. She could fall in love with him in two weeks. “In two weeks, I would show you my Belize.” She’d see how beautiful it was and then she’d choose him

“I’d like that.”

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Read Part 8 August 25th

Harmony (Part 6 Of 16)

Posted on August 11th, 2010 in Short Stories by kimber

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Stacy woke with her head on Eduardo’s shoulder. It felt right there. Comforting. He was comforting, so sure of everything. Was he right about Daniel? No. Daniel had said he loved her. Twice. Although he was not one for excessive displays of emotion, that didn’t mean he didn’t feel love. He loved her. He did.

There was a humming between their bodies. Eduardo pulled out his phone, looked at the screen, and frowned.

“Is your friend coming?”

“No.” He held out the phone to her. “The Boss wants all the men to stay near to the village. He worries that the bad men will cause trouble tonight.”

Stacy read the message. There was a mention of taking care of children. “You have children?”

“Of my heart, not of my blood. The village children.” He snatched back the phone. “It is nothing. Javier assures me of their safety.”

It was not nothing. Children of his heart. Like Izel, the little Mexican girl who captured her affections last year. She’d cried when Stacy told her she was going to a new school. Daniel had pushed those feelings aside, telling her there’d be more little girls at the new school. He hadn’t understood. But she understood Eduardo now. “You wish you were there…,”

“Then I would not be here.” Eduardo summoned up a smile. “And I would not have met you.”

“And I would have died.” Dead in Belize. Her parents and Daniel might have worried but they wouldn’t have known something was wrong. Not for two more weeks, when she didn’t return.

“You should not be traveling alone, little dove.” He rummaged through her backpack treating is as his own. “If I was your almost fiancé, I would travel with you.” He pulled out the patties she purchased before crossing the border.

She had asked him. “Daniel was working.” And his idea of a vacation was a five star resort in the Mediterranean. “He couldn’t come.” She took the patty Eduardo passed her and bit into it, the spices hot in her mouth.

“He decided not to come. There is always choice. I chose to be with you today.” He chewed on a patty. “He chose not to be.”

Stacy didn’t want to talk about it. “Are we walking again?” Her body ached and the sun was setting, but she was rested after her nap and her stomach was full. The big man stood up, looked around, they were in a cozy clearing.

“No. We walked enough. Now, we build our bedroom. We sleep here tonight.”

Read Part 7 August 18

Harmony (Part 5 Of 16)

Posted on August 4th, 2010 in Short Stories by kimber

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Eduardo added more and more verses to his song. He enjoyed how her humming blended with his words, like they were a team, a couple. She asked him questions about himself, as though she cared.

He should do the same. “What do you do in America?”

“I am a teacher. I teach music and languages.” There was pride in her voice.

A teacher. The Boss needed a teacher. Not for music and the children would laugh if she taught them Spanish but she was an intelligent woman. She could teach other things. “We have a school. A big school. Only one teacher. Many, many children.” They would adore her, especially Paz, he would never let her out of his sight. As Eduardo would never.

“Do you?” That earned him one of her face-lighting smiles. “I used to teach at a big school. We didn’t have enough teachers either but the kids, oh, the kids.” She clasped her hands together.

Used to. Did that mean she had no job? “Did you quit your job to find yourself in Belize?” Would it really be that easy to keep her forever?

“No. In September, I’ll be starting at a small but very prestigious school. It is quite an honor.” It didn’t sound like an honor. She snipped off the words as though it was a horrible fate.

Prestigious meant rich kids. Eduardo looked down at the leaves adorning Stacy’s hair. “That is not you, little dove.”

“It could be.” Her lips set mulishly. “Daniel says…,”

“Daniel?” Not Dan but a Daniel. Eduardo already hated this pretentious prig. “Who is this Daniel?”

Her dirty face went red. She unbuttoned her collar, tugged at a chain, and held up a ring. A lady’s ring. With a big diamond. Eduardo had worked long enough for the Boss to know it was an expensive piece of jewelry.

“You are engaged?” His gut seized. But no, she was here. Alone. What man would allow his future wife to be put in such danger?

“I will be.” She dropped the ring like it burned her fingers.

“Will be.” That meant not yet. His careless rival had given her a ring. He had asked. She hadn’t said yes, not yet.

“I think not.” Eduardo snorted. She would choose him, not this Daniel, this half man. This time he would be chosen. “He doesn’t love you, not the way you should be loved.”

“He is a good man.”

Eduardo pressed his lips together to prevent from retorting. If he pushed, she would only end up defending her almost fiancé more. “He is a lucky man.” The son of a bitch. “You will be very happy.” With Eduardo del Popolo Vicente Rodriguez Garcia, not the Americano. “Sit.” He pointed to a log. “We will rest for a minute.” He sat beside her, his thigh pressing against hers, before she moved her leg. The song he chose was of an unrequited love.

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Read Part 6 August 11