“Look,” Leon swam toward one and pointed.
I stared at them.
The larger of the two came up to Leon, making a high-pitch squeaky noise.
He put out his hand, patting its side. “See, dauphins. They are harmless.”
“Do you think they know?” I asked, extending my hand to the smaller one who chirped in a different pitch. Its head was round. Its body appeared in the dark waters to be a few feet longer than mine.
“What? That you are the next supermodel of the world? From the big city? In need of getting back to the mainland for a photo shoot?”
“Leon, I think I liked you better when you were mute.” Nervous energy bubbling over, I giggled.
“Maybe.” Swimming up beside me, Leon placed his hand on the small of my back. His touch reactivated that tingle throughout my body. “They sense we do not belong here.”
One nudged me as I gave him a gentle tap.
The dolphins circled around us as we kept swimming. Unsure of how far we’d gone, I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. Something told me to keep going. Hope? Must be. My spirit felt filled with hope. My heart told me my friends were okay. I’d see them again. I pictured their happy faces, and I focused on getting to Eden.
As a pair, side by side, they swam. One wouldn’t get too far away from the other without them regrouping.
When my feet scraped the sand, I let go of the dolphin and stood. I felt as if I’d won my life back.
“Do you believe in miracles?” Leon asked, coming up behind me.
“No…can’t say I did.”
He held me close. We watched the dolphins turn back out to sea.
“And now?”
I nodded, buried my face in his chest, and wrapped my arms, as best as I could, around his broad back.
Together, we waded our way to the shore and collapsed under what appeared in the dark to be a palm tree.
“This can’t be Eden,” I said in disbelief. “Where is everyone?”
From what I could make out in the moonlight, this place wasn’t inhabited. There were no lights, no noises, only us and paradise.
“Close your eyes, Mademoiselle. We will find them at sunrise.”
“What if we’re the only…survivors?”
“Do you remember what we talked about?”
“Sorry.” Naked, I curled up against him. His magnificent chest rose-up high as he inhaled. I kissed his flesh. First his chest, then I found my way up to his face. We locked lips. He turned my body around and spooned me protectively into a tight hold. On land and in his arms, Leon felt different than in the water. Leon seemed confident of his abilities yet still I got a sense of apprehension from him.
I never slept locked body-to-body before. Foreign to me, I could get used to it. Moments past, and I thought he’d fallen asleep. I lifted one of his heavy arms.
He cupped my breasts, pulled me close, and spoke more lyrical French words in my ear. Leon comforted me. We made love in the dark. Unlike before, he came when I did, filling me with him.
“Will you hide this for me?” My BFF asked, handing me a large bag of candy. It made a noise like loose change in a pocket.
Dreaming, I had to be; we were in my childhood bedroom.
“Sure, Lex.” I said, sliding the jellybeans, licorice, and Lord only knows what else, under my bed. We must’ve been around ten because I was wearing a training bra. I hated the way it felt, like a Band-Aid.
Lex had started to fill out that year, not just in her chest but also on her hips and thighs.
Birdie hated that. She’d taken desperate measures such as locking the refrigerator.
“Why don’t you just stop eating sweets?” I asked in my-ten-year old voice, not knowing any better.
“Dunno. I can’t seem to stop myself.” The hurt became evident in Lex’s watery eyes.
Not seeing it till now, Lex filled herself with sugar in place of the love she so desperately wanted from her parents, mostly her father. He hadn’t been home much in recent years. His success as a rocker was global.
“Whatcha doin?” Lex asked as I returned to putting the Candy Land board game in the trash.
“Mom told me to get rid of everything in my room that’s for kids. She wants this place to look like the daughter of a countess and not a toy store.”
“Why?” From her front pocket, Lex withdrew a small box of gummy bears, her secret stash. She chomped with a smile.
“We’re having a party this weekend. Mom’ll give one of her usual tours of the place. It’s like a museum around here.”
“Your parent’s parties are weird.”
“Weird how?”
“Both of our Moms get trashed and act silly.”
“My dad says that’s what ladies do.”
“Well, you can count me out. I’m not coming.”
“What’s gotten into you?”
“Nothing…”
“Liar!”
“I don’t wanna be around your parents when they have their parties.” Lex turned her back to me and faced the window. A view of Central Park West stared back at us.
“There’s something you’re not telling me.”
“Not gonna say.”
“Okay then.” This meant tough love time. “You’re not getting your candy back.”
“That’s not fair.” Whipping around, her face revealed that she was more upset than I realized.
“We don’t keep secrets from one another.”
Balling her hands into fists, Lex pouted.
“Spill it…”
“Fine.” Lex’s porcelain face flushed. “Last month, when your parents had that dinner for the people from Washington, DC, I drank too much soda and had to pee. All the bathrooms were full. People were shoving stuff up their nose.”
“So, Eddie does drugs.” Her father was a major coke-head. We’d figured that out last year.
She pulled her hair up into a ponytail, tying it with a band she had around her wrist. Whatever she was going to say made her uncomfortable. The redness on Lex’s pretty face traveled down her neck showing large blotches.
“I went to your parent’s bedroom to use their bathroom. I walked in and Countess Irma was naked with my mother.”
Fast, hard, I slapped Lex across the cheek. “Don’t say that.”
Stunned, Lex held her face. “I knew you’d be mad. That’s why I told you not to make me tell.”