King Solomon's Journey (The Dominguez Adventures) (16 page)

            A mirror of Antonio, it was a smooth mix of New Mexico and Miami, as well as a reflection of his blended nationalities as a Cuban- American and Jew. Not a single part screamed out, yet not one of them could hide. All the cultures were equal, and presented proudly. Antonio was a beautiful assumption of equality without struggle.

            Amanda stood spell-bound by the simple beauty of this place of refuge and escape from the outside world. Antonio had to touch her arm in order to get her response to a question.

            "Amanda, come on I'll show you your room." He led her across the hall and opened a door to reveal a smaller, feminine version of the room they had just left.

            When Amanda looked at him for an explanation, Antonio blushed and swallowed.

            "When I rebuilt the house, I did most of the design elements myself, and I had run out of ideas for this room. I liked what the Master Suite made me feel, so I just duplicated it in all the rooms."

            "That may be the sweetest, most open thing you have ever told me."

            Antonio chose to hide behind his new best friend persona; "Anything I can do to raise your opinion of me, is all I want." Amanda just lifted an eyebrow, so Antonio continued;

            “Amanda, we need to prepare for tomorrow.”

            "I will let you get settled, and then meet me downstairs for dinner in an hour or so, then we can get down to business, okay?" He walked out of the room, and returned to his oasis of solitude. Once he closed the door, he realized this room no longer held the peace it once offered. She wasn't here, and now the room felt empty and cold. Antonio would do everything in his power to bring her back to this room, on a permanent basis.

Chapter 15

"Don't get too comfortable with who you are at any given time-you may miss the opportunity to become who you want to be."
Jon Bon Jovi

            In the kitchen, staring at the wine rack, Antonio wanted to choose the perfect bottle of wine. This was a celebration. Amanda was at his house, and staying with him for at least a few days. So why did he feel so conflicted? He smacked himself in the forehead! He had broken his cardinal rule with Amanda!

            The one thing he had promised his mother when he left home was that no matter what happened, no matter how many women he fell for, he would never bring a strange woman home unless he was sure she was the one he wanted to stay forever. She had told him, a home holds memories forever; make sure the memories were of only one woman.

            He had made it his number one rule in every relationship he had; take them to their house, a hotel or, if he was out of the country, his place there, but never bring them home.  He was ready for that forever kind of memory with Amanda, and just maybe, she was ready to start a journey of her own. Shaking his head he grabbed the wine, and was suddenly quite anxious to get this day moving.

            They had already embarked on the beginning of their journey to complete the prophecy spoken of in Solomon's Scrolls, and with only a few pages left to translate, Antonio was anxious to see just what had to be done in the time left them.

            Amanda gazed at the gorgeous mountains through the French doors of the Great Room. Engrossed in the view, she failed to hear Antonio enter.

             “Oh my, she was enthralled by the sight that met her eyes, and as she dropped her gaze she spotted one of her hearts greatest pleasures.

            “Oh my what? Is something wrong?”

            “The pool, I did not know you had a pool. I miss my pool. Let’s go out there, Antonio?” He laughed, and agreed. “Sure.”

            Since Amanda swam every chance she got, she had carried her bikini with her to Vegas, and now rushed to put it on, while Antonio went to put on his suit, then they met downstairs, and Antonio led her outside.

            The air felt warm and clean, it was perfect. Artistically designed, the pool was an exaggerated kidney shape surrounded by flat-mortared sandstones native to the region. Around the pool, a seating area highlighted the edges, and complimented a fireplace and outdoor kitchen. With the view of the mountains in the distance, it was breathtaking.

            “Antonio, this is the best. I love it. I want to live out here.”

            “Well, Amanda… the pool is heated.”

            Her unexpected brief kiss sent a warm wave of emotion throughout his chest. Holding her longer, he offered her a drink.

            Walking over to the edge, she poked her foot in the pool.

             “Antonio, come in with me.” She held out her hand to him, as she made the request in a soft voice …no longer teasing, she was inviting.

            Amanda laughed, dropped her hand and slid smoothly into the water in a perfect gliding dive.

             Outlined by the sun, his magnificent body left her gasping, as Amanda surfaced in time to watch him enter the pool. His physique tightened, and he dove into the water in a powerful dive that brought him to her side within seconds.

            “Antonio, this makes me very happy. I love the water.”

            They played for an hour, swimming and diving, and felt young and carefree. For awhile they forgot they had a destiny to save the world, and were just two people enjoying a fine moment in time.

            Even with the heated water, the unnaturally cold weather eventually drove them back up on the deck.

            Antonio wrapped Amanda in a towel. The outside air felt brisk against their cold, wet bodies.

            “Come on. Let’s go inside.” He led her into the house.

            Amanda's teeth were chattering, but she laughed and said, "We never did drink that wine."

            "Well, let's go shower and change, get warmed up and I will start a fire, and we can have it then."

            Amanda sat on the ottoman drying her hair by the heat of the fire when Antonio walked in with the wine, and handed her a glass that sparkled like rubies in the firelight.

            “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, for your love is better than wine.” She quoted from Solomon’s ‘Song of Songs’, and then added, “Antonio, her love for him has her in a state of euphoria.”

            Taking a seat across from her, Antonio responded; “As a rose among the thorns, so is my beloved among the daughters,” Antonio finished the verse softly, “She is beautiful to him, other women pale in comparison.”

            Amanda smiled at his response. Of course he knew the Song of Solomon; another reason he was perfect for this venture with the Scrolls.

            “Antonio, who is King Solomon’s beloved? Who is the woman in the Song of Songs?”

            Antonio knew, without a doubt, Amanda handed him a loaded question. He knew who Amanda believed it to be, and more importantly, he knew who she wanted her to be.

            “Why are you asking me when you know who she is?” His voice gave a sarcastic tone. Then he told her what she wanted to hear. “The Queen of Sheba, no doubt.”

            “Antonio, I’m impressed.”

            He patted himself on the back, thinking he was staying one-step ahead of her.

            She continued. “This is of monumental importance to the Legacy of King Solomon’s Scrolls.”

            Seeing Antonio's puzzled look, Amanda qualified her statement. “Everything King Solomon did was complex, multi-layered, and usually three-fold. His relationship with the Queen of Sheba completed him. She stayed with Solomon for three and a half years. Against Solomon’s will, with duty to her country hovering above her, she eventually returned to her Kingdom.

            Even The Hebrew Bible makes it clear that he understood her plight. He showered her with amazing gifts to take home, but her absence destroyed him. During the time she stayed with him, he was at his best. They shared secrets. In Chronicles, Sheba came to Solomon. She spoke with him about all that was in her heart.

            Solomon shared all of his knowledge and wisdom with her. He withheld nothing. Antonio, they shared knowledge, and exchanged wisdom of the mind. The ‘Song of Songs’ teaches us the journey of their bodies.

            In fact, in explicit detail, we learn a process of connecting on a physical level. The details suggest that we must explore, learn, become familiar, and allow ourselves to open up to one another. It is contrary to many sexual inferences that point to the procreation of babies. This is about the procreation of completeness.

            Eventually Sheba was allowed to enter the Temple. Solomon taught her ascension, and she witnessed how he spoke to God. She gained the ability to experience an ecstatic state with Solomon. Together they traveled to the fourth dimension. Solomon and Sheba united mind, body, and soul. Together they entered a Monatomic State, transcending separateness.

            Antonio, to reach this state of balance there is a process. We must complete a journey coupled with travel. Along the way, we must travel and understand the other side with objectivity.

            Solomon and Sheba are duality, polar opposites. They accepted it, and learned what was hidden from them. Ultimately, they embraced the difference. Their union gave birth to a Monatomic State. Together they became a new, more perfected existence.”

            Antonio was fascinated with her insight. It also irritated him. She had failed to enlighten him about her extensive knowledge of Solomon.

            “Amanda, I’m impressed. I see this could be monumental to King Solomon’s intentions within the Scrolls, but I have a huge concern. Explain why it fell apart when she left. Solomon wasn’t the same without her presence, and fell apart - to the point that he broke his covenant with God. Israel fell apart.”

            “Do you think I will answer that?” She asked.

            “Amanda, it’s a stretch to think you can, but please try.”

            “The world is based on change. Without change, everything ceases to exist. The universe is in a constant state of motion, creating, evolving, and changing. God requires change. King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba visited the land of ‘Milk and Honey’, and they experienced the land.

            Nevertheless, because of the changing universe, they could not maintain their completed state beyond a certain amount of change. Having experienced the state, they knew what they lost. The connection requires periodic renewal, energizing growth, and change. If you split the atom, it becomes a nuke.”

            She did it, answered and explained what he thought was impossible. He didn’t understand how in the hell she acquired such a vast knowledge, based on what he previously knew about her. Was she a mystic, or a scholar? Every time he decided, she turned around and blew it all to hell.

            “Amazing, Amanda…  You didn’t just answer. You defined and qualified your answer.”

            “Antonio, what is magic?” She wanted to make a point.

“Geez…the belief you’re intentionally controlling things supernaturally, to achieve a desired result.” He hated her for doing this.

            “Define ‘supernatural’.”

            He felt irritated. He tried not to, but his attempts were failing.

            “I’m not a dictionary. Let’s see…supernatural is not natural, it defies the laws of nature.”

            She proceeded, ignoring his annoyance.

            “Who can define the laws of nature? What is natural? What is not natural? Does Humanity decide what the laws of nature are? Does God decide the laws of nature? The laws of nature reflect what we believe to know at any given moment, and become obsolete the next moment.

            Antonio, it is supernatural to us until we define it. Better yet, we will deny it exists, or that it even occurred until we are able to define it.”

            He noticed her getting emotional. The mystical flower child replaced the Harvard scholar.

            What she said made sense. Why she said it - made no sense.

            “Think. King Solomon was an alchemist, an architect, botanist, and an astrologer. To some, he was a magician. We could continue and make a long list of many more professions. He understood genetics. He created hybrid plants and studied the DNA of animals. People came for his wisdom, bringing lavish gifts from all over the world."  Amanda paused expectantly; she hoped Antonio understood why it was important for her to speak her mind. The true love of life she enjoyed was only heightened by this verbal sparring!

            “I’m following you, but you have to take me farther. I’m not seeing the relevance here. You’ve lost me.”

            "Are you taking me seriously, Antonio? Or are you patronizing me?”

            His tone was defensive. “I’m not patronizing you. That I promise. I know what you’re saying. I think you’re right, I’m just not seeing the significance. Amanda, please look at me. I swear that I’m open. For pities sake, I’m an anthropologist. I’m wide open to evidence.

            Show me, teach me, and I’ll never shut you out. But please don’t ask me loaded questions. More than anything, I need you to believe in me. You have to trust me.”

            Damn. He knew he’d broken one of his own rules; never cast stones at another's intellect or believe yours was the only right one. Her intellect intimidated him, something he’d not faced before. Subconsciously, or wherever we think without knowing it, he feared she was much more of an intellectual scholar than he was. Sure, he was one of the top in the world amongst his peers, but she was giving him a run for his money anyway.

            He’d reacted too drastically, too much the scientist, too much the professor. He bullied her from qualifying her answer, instead of embracing her willingness to share. He deserved an Oscar. He played the part with dynamic expertise, The Asshole Academic. Having no idea what to do next, he decided to go make a phone call. He’d apologize later.

            Antonio decided to call Joe. “Amanda, I’ll be back.” Throwing on a pair of loose pants, he made his way to the kitchen.