Bound for the Outer Banks (17 page)

The Mercedes wound through the old town and then went over a bridge into a rocky mountainous area where the density of the homes thinned out considerably. The homes they passed were more recently built and much larger than the homes in the city center. Dante informed Ella that the area was a popular place for Italians building vacation homes and that a few clients lived here. Ella rolled her eyes.

Dante rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. “Ah Mia Cara, I promise I will only be away from you a few hours while we’re here.”

Ella surrendered her pout and took his hand. “That’s good because I want you my last two days in Europe all to myself.”

Dante did not speak but kissed Ella softly on the mouth.

True to his word Dante spent the entire day with Ella. The first portion of the day was spent lying on the sandy beach on the grounds of the Sentido Phenicia Hotel. Late in the afternoon they traded the sand for the enormous beachside pool where they ordered lobster served at an intimate table atop one of the pool’s rock formation islands. Elevated on the pool island, Dante and Ella could see across the tops of the palm trees to the expanse of the celadon ocean. Both were exhausted after the almost ten hour trip from Sicily since they both slept only in snatches atop the ferry deck.

When they retired to their room, they peeled off their swimsuits. Ella turned down the crisp white covers and both were sound asleep after a quick kiss goodnight. Ella didn’t bother removing the fresh flowers staggered along the edge of the matelassé coverlet at the foot of the bed.

The next morning when Ella awoke she saw Dante sitting in the blue velvet desk chair slipping on his shoes. “Let me guess,” she said. “You’re going to meet with a couple of investors for a few hours.”

“You are a smart girl,” Dante quipped.

“But that’s not why you love me,” Ella teased as she slowly pulled down the covers revealing her athletic, naked body.

Dante closed his eyes and finished tying his black patent shoe. “You are an evil woman. Can’t you see I’m trying to work?” He opened his eyes, gave Ella several staccato kisses down the length of her body, said, “Goodbye, Love,” and walked out the door.

After fifteen minutes of attempting to go back to sleep, Ella gave up and showered. She pulled on a fitted, lace shift dress and grabbed her small over the shoulder Tory Burch bag she’d bought in one of the Biloxi casinos with her first design check. She wanted to go into town and check out the bazaar they had driven past the morning before after arriving in Hammamet. Ella preferred to go alone to the bazaar to shop. She didn’t want Dante to think she looked all country mouse goes to the city when she admired the exotic wares of Tunisia. The concierge informed Ella that a van departed every half hour to the old city and that the drop off and pick up point was at the entrance to the bazaar.

“Perfect,” Ella said. She silently stood under the portico and waited for the van. Clearly nine o’clock was considered too early a time to rise at the all-inclusive hedonism like resort. Ella was the sole passenger. When she exited the van, she tipped the friendly driver “Salah” who gave her tips on the best merchants to shop from at the bazaar.

The bazaar was truly a feast for the eyes. Ella suspected her rods and cones had never been inundated with so many bright colors at once. There were rows and rows of solid and patterned pottery in all shapes and sizes, bins of earthy spices, beautifully patterned rugs, woven baskets, leather poufs, perfumes in delicate ornate bottles, blown glass lanterns in every shade, and endless assortments of fruits, some of which Ella couldn’t identify.

There were shops full of shiny copper and brass oil decanters, lamps, coffee pots and bake ware, hookah and tobacco supplies, ladies head scarves, a stall selling henna tattoos, and even a shop that sold live animals, including turtles and chickens.

Ella had stopped to admire some heavily embroidered head scarves when she noticed two men talking. Immediately Ella recognized the man in the dark suit. It was Dante. He was in a very intense conversation with a very rough around the edges type man. The man was taking long drags off a cigarette. He had on a dark green shirt with one white stripe and one red stripe on the chest. Just above the marks the shirt read Bulgaria Soccer. Ella stood still and watched the conversation for about five more minutes. Dante still had his back to her. Ella paid the frail lady for one of the scarves and wrapped it around her head and shoulders. She pulled the fabric over her mouth and nose and fastened the clasp turning the scarf into a full niqab. Only Ella’s eyes were peeking through the slit left in the fabric.

Ella inched closer to the two men, pretending to shop a little at each successive stall she walked by. She could hear the two men arguing loudly. They were clearly at odds with one another regarding the topic of their conversation. Ella wondered for how long Dante had been conversing with this man, assuming at first they had just made one another’s acquaintance. Twenty minutes later as Ella made her way across the street to the other bazaar stalls, it became quite apparent that this was no chance encounter. Ella pressed through boxes of pineapples and crates of various dried fruits to the back of the stalls. She navigated through the eerily quiet tunnel formed by the quilted fabrics which served as back walls of the bazaar’s shops and the ancient cut stone walls of the buildings behind them. When the van approached to transport her back to the resort, Ella’s face was blank. She climbed into the van and did not converse with the driver, only saying thank you once they arrived back at the Phenicia.

When Dante returned an hour later, Ella was not in the room. She had managed to drag one of the wooden lounge chairs down to the surf. She was sitting alone, sipping a Diet Coke, although it was called Coca Cola Light with Lemon in Tunisia. The label featured the classic Coke logo with a wide yellow band and a lemon wedge. Ella was going to miss these when she and Dante returned to the states. According to the schedule they should be flying out within forty eight hours in order for Ella to return to work on time. Ella assumed that the trip to the resort in Hammamet would be their vacation’s last hurrah. Dante made his way down to the water recognizing Ella’s large, brimmed beach hat. He’d been very impressed when Ella showed him how it folded in on itself to become totally compact for packing. BeBe had bought it for Ella when she started St. Stanislaus assuming that Ella would be frequenting the Biloxi beaches with her friends.

Dante sat down on the end of Ella’s lounge chair. “Want to get a late lunch? There’s an amazing spread under the pool pavilion.”

“I’m so sorry. I actually came down and had a late breakfast. How was your meeting?” Ella stared bullets through Dante and held her breath.

“It was fine. You know, dry financial stuff. The usual.” Dante said this as he picked up a tiny conch shell before the receding wave could bury it in the sand.

Ella continued to watch his face. “Was the meeting at a good restaurant? I figured you would have already eaten.”

“No actually. I never even made it into town. Both investors have beach houses near one another. Each one offered me some sliced fruit but I wanted to take advantage of the smorgasbord here.”

Ella’s mouth was so dry it was like she’d been chewing sand. Dante just lied to her. She suddenly realized the significance of this. The man she’d traveled halfway around the world with had just lied to her. She wondered what else he was lying about.

Chapter 17

On the beach when Dante announced to Ella they would be leaving Hammamet in a few hours, she wasn’t the least bit surprised. She was becoming accustomed to last minute notices from Dante, and she had already anticipated this since they would be returning to the states the next day. Her leave had come to an end and she knew she would be busier than ever when she returned to Biloxi.

As Ella pressed the latch on Old Finnegan she said, “I’m assuming we’re flying out of Sicily.”

“Actually,” Dante stated with the inflection in his voice rising, “I have yet another surprise.”

Ella swallowed hard. She was still trying to dissect Dante’s actions of the last twenty four hours and now he was springing on her yet another surprise. “Really?” Ella asked, her voice sounding upbeat despite remaining extremely skeptical of a man who’d found it necessary to lie to her hours before. “You’re full of surprises these days.”

“Yes, I understand women love surprises even though I know you can’t possibly love me anymore than you already do, no matter how many surprises I have in store for you.”

Ella giggled, letting her guard down for a moment. She was slowly but surely realizing that one of the great tragedies in this life was suddenly not being able to trust the person you were madly in love with.

“Well, Mr. Vitali, what’s you’re big surprise this time?”

“We’re not headed back to Mississippi tomorrow. I’ve extended our vacation for a while longer.” Dante held his arms out as if balancing two objects. He bounced his left hand, “Mississippi?” Then he bounced his right hand, “Greece? Monaco? Germany?” Dante let his right hand fall clumsily to his side as if collapsing under the weight. “I think we have a winner!”

Ella snatched Old Finnegan off the bed and sat it down on the tile floor with a thud. “Dante, I need to go back to work!”

“No you don’t.” Dante smiled and swept Ella’s hair behind her shoulders with the back of his hand. “I made a call. You’re on an extended leave of absence. I’ve taken care of it.”

Ella yelled at Dante, something she’d never done in their entire history of dating. “I don’t want an extended leave of absence! I want to go home! I have an appointment in China in 12 days to give the final approval on the new uniform designs. I need to go! We’re here working on your future, but what about my future?”

“Mia Cara, I will have you home in time to make your trip to China, but in the meantime enjoy Europe with me.”

Ella was, as BeBe used to say, “Pissed to the gills.” It was the only way she could adequately describe her emotions at the moment. Ella believed that had she not caught Dante in a lie she would be thrilled to escort him through more European countries while he met with his business associates, but her instincts were being ruffled by the fact that Dante had lied to her. Now she was beginning to question his motives for this trip, asking her to accompany him, and now the impromptu extension of an already extended vacation.

BeBe had always preached to Ella that there wasn’t a more stupid person on Earth than a person in love. Ella smiled at Dante, kissed him on the cheek, and said, “O.K., we’re off!” Even while she was saying it she was overwhelmed by the thought that she was seriously resembling her mother’s remark.

After a night in Messina and another night spent in Brindisi at Alphonse’s house again, Ella and Dante arrived in Patras, Greece. Ella had asked why they had not seen Dante’s parents when they overnighted in Brindisi, but Dante informed her that they weren’t completely over their bout with this particularly exhausting strain of the flu. Not only had they not visited with Dante’s parents in Brindisi, there was no sign of Alphonse. The two had retrieved a key hidden a few inches under the dirt in a small flower pot behind the house. This struck a chord in Ella. It seemed normal people hid keys under pots or stepping stones, Alphonse had actually buried the key in the soil surrounding the plant. Even Nicoletta didn’t make an appearance, leaving Dante and Ella to taxi to the Brindisi port to catch the ferry to Greece.

The port was much larger than Ella expected, with huge cruise ships, cargo ships, and of course several ferries which connected Brindisi to Greece and Albania. At the mouth of the port was the islet of San Andrea which contained Alfonsino Castle which was built in 1445. Ella couldn’t help thinking it looked a lot like Alcatraz. It was nicknamed “The Red Castle.” Ella assumed this was because of all the bloodletting that occurred at the creepy looking place, but Dante explained that the setting light reflecting off the hues of the castle’s stone gave it a red appearance at sunset. Even after the explanation Ella wasn’t so sure.

Ella and Dante managed to sleep on the fifteen hour ferry ride thanks to a cabin opening up at the last minute which provided them with a bed and modest toilet and sink room. The first few hours were spent dining in the restaurant, with the lights of the coast of Italy fading in the night providing a romantic backdrop for their classic Greek fare.

After arriving in Patras, the couple took a taxi to their accomodations. Ella assumed they would be staying in a hotel in the city but it became clear as they followed the coastline they were leaving the city of Patras behind. After twenty minutes the taxi took a winding gravel road up the side of one of the craggly hills on the ocean side. Ella’s surprise was evident by her slack jawed expression when she saw Villa Antigone. The home was a curvy white architectural extension of the hilltop. After entering the front door which was on the top floor of the home, you were treated to a bank of glass on the other side with a breathtaking view of the sea beyond. The inside of the villa had a beautiful white floor with an inset Greek Key pattern of ebony. The walls and furniture were also all white. In the corner was a white lacquer grand piano next to an oversized modern sectional in front of a fireplace topped with a towering marble mantel piece. The white dining table on the other side of the room would seat fourteen in its modern clear acrylic chairs. It was clear to Ella that this villa was all about the view and the interior designer was careful not to obstruct it with lots of solid furniture pieces.

Dante sauntered over to the opposite wall and picked up a remote from a funky white acrylic table which had carved horse legs and hooves for its base. With one click the retractable glass opened and Ella felt the breeze from the Ionian Sea blow on her face. It seemed clear to Ella that Dante had been to Villa Antigone before. He crossed the room, took Ella’s hand, and lead her out on to the terrace.

An infinity pool poured over the edge of the terrace to an unknown destination, appearing to pour directly into the sea beyond. Tucked in a corner next to the edge of the pool was an outdoor canopy bed made of a rich textured teak. The bed was covered with a neutral muslin fabric and oversized Kelly Green pillows with a large scale geometric pattern were placed on the inclined end of the bed. Sheer panels hung loosely from the frame of the canopy and danced in the ocean breeze. Dante pulled Ella down on to the bed and whispered, “Aren’t you glad we stayed?”

How could Ella say no? This awe inspiring property was more luxurious than any place she could have imagined. “Of course I am.” She decided Dante must have had a good reason to tell a fib with regards to his meeting with the man at the bazaar back in Tunisia.

After three days of enjoying residency in the ultra-posh beach house, Dante returned from town having wrapped up his meetings and notified Ella that they would be leaving that night. No longer batting an eye to these late afternoon proclamations from Dante, Ella packed her things in Old Finnegan, placing her damp swimsuit in a Ziploc bag to protect her other items of clothing.

“Are you almost ready?” Dante fidgeted as he held his already packed bag.

“Yes, I was just going to pull my hair back. Is the cab waiting?”

“There’s no cab. I rented a car. It’s a convertible.” Dante jangled the keys in front of Ella. “So are you ready?” he asked hurriedly.

Ella gave Dante a look considering she was in the process of brushing her hair back. She took the elastic band off her wrist and twisted it around her ponytail. A convertible would have her long hair in a million knots by the time they arrived at their destination so now a ponytail was a necessity.

Dante yanked up Old Finnegan and placed their two pieces of luggage into the small trunk of the Porsche 918 Spyder.

“Impressive!” exclaimed Ella. “Now that’s what I call traveling in style.”

Dante smiled and closed Ella’s door behind her, always the gentleman. He drove them away from the beach house and Patras straight up the E55 along the coast of Greece.

“Honey you’re driving like a bat out of Hell. Slow down. You’re going to kill us.” Ella was white knuckling the handle on the car door on one side and the console on the other. She was unnerved by the combination of high speeds, hair pin curves, and rocky drop offs.

“I have an important meeting in the morning.” Dante half yelled over the roar of the Porsche’s engine.

Of course you do, thought Ella. Ella wondered how a man as young as Dante had secured so many international clients. Also it seemed strange that they seemed to be dispersed throughout several countries and this didn’t include all of his stateside clients he was constantly meeting with in New Orleans and New York. Some people are just go getters, she thought, and Dante certainly seemed to fit the bill.

After they had driven about four and a half hours, and Ella had taken a few cat naps, she noticed that the blue signs that had words formed by the strange looking Greek alphabet had disappeared, replaced with rust colored signs with more Russian sounding city names. “Where are we?” she asked Dante.

“After the fall of the Berlin wall when Eastern Europe was liberating itself from the stronghold of communism, my uncle started doing some business in Albania and he introduced me to some folks who later became my clients. Don’t worry. We’re only stopping for one night.”

Ella tried to equalize the pressure in her ears as the Porsche climbed the coastal mountains into the ancient village of Kanina. Kanina was known for its third century B.C. castle erected on the side of Shushica Mountain. Besides the castle, there wasn’t much in the tiny village other than a bakery, a butcher, two dress shops, and a beauty salon.

It was around midnight when Dante pulled in to the drive of a small stone house. Without warning the garage door lifted and Dante pulled the car in. Ella gave Dante a frightened look. “Don’t worry Elle, Besjan is expecting us.”

A door opened and light poured into the garage. A man with coal black hair and deep set eyes smiled at Ella. She noticed the man’s eyes were showing white beneath his irises which gave him a sad puppy dog look despite his devilish looking goatee. BeBe had taught Ella that the Chinese referred to this condition of the eyes as Sanpaku and believed that those who possessed it had a physical imbalance of the body and it was especially common in drug addicts and alcoholics so Ella immediately felt wary of Besjan.

After a quick introduction, Dante showed Ella to a small bedroom. He pointed out a tiny powder room next to it where Ella could freshen up. Just like the palatial house in Patras, it seemed to Ella that Dante had been here before.

As exhausted as she was, sleep was eluding Ella. She could hear Dante and Besjan in a clearly heated discussion. Ella crept closer to the door to see if she could make out any part of their conversation. While Ella tried to decipher any words she recognized she could tell that Besjan seemed agitated and Dante was trying to calm him. Ella wasn’t even sure what language they were speaking but she noticed a word which seemed to continue to pop up in the conversation. Twice Besjan said the word Rudaj in a fiery manner. Ella filed the word away and tried to get some sleep, giving up on extracting any information from the conversation between her boyfriend and some goateed Albanian with the Sanpaku curse.