Third Person

 

 

DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

CHAPTER ONE - WE HAVE FEASTED UPON THE WORLD

     Dan came to in an alley with his face on the pavement. He rolled over on his back. Garbage bins rose above him. They were swarming with rats. Shit, he thought. It happened. It really happened. I'm on the God damned street. I'm homeless. He realized he still had a bottle in his hand. He took a swig.

     The rats froze. Their teeth glittered. One of them spoke. "It looks like someone's on the skids, boys."

     "What's the matter, punk?", jeered another. "Cat got your tongue?"
     "The poor kid's depressed.", sneered a third rat.
     "Passed out in an alley with a bottle in his hand? Duh!", laughed the first rat.
     A fourth rat leaned over the rim of a garbage can. "Hey, fellahs, let's take a closer

look." They slowly climbed down to the sidewalk and crept toward him.
He heard a snicker. "It looks like he's down for the count. This could be quite an

opportunity."
     They surrounded him and closed in. "See what's in his pockets!", hissed one.

     "Those ears look tasty.", growled another.
     He felt a rat sniffing at his ear. "Smells delicious."
     "I saw that ear first!", snapped another.
     "Both of you are going to have to get through me!", muttered a third.
     A fourth rat cackled loudly. "For God's sake, you greedy bastards! There are two ears,

plenty for all of us!"
     "Sounds like we got a damn socialist in the crowd.", grumbled the first rat. The second lunged. "Let's get him! There'll be more for us."
     The third rat stood in his way. "More for me!"
     "All for me!", laughed one.
     "All for me!", laughed another.

     They were on top of him now. His vision blurred and he felt himself fading in and out of consciousness. They began to sing:

     "The world's an angry world and God's an angry God.

     It's survival of the fittest and dog eat dog.
     There ain't no place for love and compassion.
     It's eat or be eaten, that's the fashion.

     A rat's a rat and a man's a man.
     There ain't no difference and that's God's plan."
     He woke up with a scream. His eyes raced around the hotel room and focused on

the clock. If he didn’t move his ass, he was going to miss the ship. He threw on his clothes, grabbed his shoulder bag, bolted for the front desk and ordered a cab.

   The smog hadn’t changed in Athens after twenty years. Neither had the heat. A redhead walked out of the lobby and joined him. He did a poor job of pretending she didn’t exist. His taxi didn’t show. Hers did. He mentioned Piraeus and the cruise he had booked. Her breasts swayed enticingly as she lowered herself into the cab. Her legs folded like the wings of a dove. He caressed them with my eyes and caught her heady scent as she invited him in with a nod.

     He glanced around nervously as the cab pulled into traffic. Her eyes danced as she suppressed a wicked smile. She lifted her chin and looked out the window. The driver stared salaciously at them in the rear view mirror. When they reached the pier, she sashayed into the ship and abandoned him. She made an appearance in the dining room the first night but left before he got up the courage to approach her. He caught glimpse of her on deck and then she was gone.

     The next morning was Patmos. It would have been just another pretty little island in the Dodecanese had it not been crowned with the monastery where Saint John wrote that little romp of his, The Book of Revelation. Dan walked around Skala reveling in its primitive beauty and wondering how anyone could whip themselves into ecstatic Armageddon in a place like this. She sneaked up behind him while he was gazing into the Aegean and slipped her hand under his arm. She suggested they have a drink in a cafe. They took a small table and ordered a couple of beers. She was American. Her name was Lucia and she pronounced it in the Italian. He told her his name was Dan.

     She repeated the name Daniel three times. “Why are you here?”

     He fell into her enormous green eyes. “There is no place like Greece on earth. Its history is overwhelming. The blue of the Aegean is unfathomable. It’s a good place to clear your mind. When we shared the cab to the ship, you wanted to kiss me.”

     “I want to kiss you now.”, she said nonchalantly. “But I won’t, not yet. I’m not teasing you. I think you understand.”

     Dan smiled and leaned back in my chair. “Why are you here?”

     “Greece is the birth place of democracy, Daniel.” she said. “Saint John wrote about the end of the world here. I wanted to see where democracy began before it ends.”

     “Really?”

     “America is stagnant. Our country is a cesspool. President Reagan once said we are a shining city on a hill, that it was morning in America. Now it is twilight. We are at war, Daniel.”

     The mention of Ronald Reagan made Dan shudder. She dropped her eyes and creased the tablecloth with a burgundy fingernail. “In the Plaka, the hair on your chest caught the sunlight. Your eyes are beautiful.”

     “At war?” He wiped away a bead of sweat. “At war with whom?”

     “At war with each other.”, she whispered. “We have feasted upon the world and it tasted good, so good that we have begun to feast upon each other.” She reached across the table and clasped his hand.

     He placed his other hand over hers. “This is a beautiful day in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I want to make love to you. You want to make love to me. If this is your idea of foreplay, I have some ideas of my own.”

     She pulled her hand away and swung it off the table taking a glass with it. A waitress

hurried over. Lucia blushed and apologized. “Parakalo.”, smiled the waitress warmly before turning to give Dan a cold look.

     Lucia tossed some bills on the table, took Dan’s hand and led him out of the cafe. She tried to contain herself but she could not. “The time for democracy is over, Daniel. It was an interesting experiment but it never really worked. It never really existed. Democracy has always been a pretty facade to make the little people feel important.”

     Play along, he thought. Just play along. “Are you an historian? Do you do talk radio?”          

 

     She looked at him impatiently and pulled his hand. She quickened her step. “There are two kinds of people in this world, Daniel, the powerful and the rest. I’m so sick of everyone wailing on about how they built the highways and the schools and the water system and the power grid, and that it all belongs to them. Do you realize the highest tax bracket under the Eisenhower Administration was 90%? The little people didn’t build the American infrastructure, we did!”

     In your Manolos and Prada, he thought as she pulled him into the ship. Past his cabin and up two levels to the suites, she opened a door and swung her hand out proudly at a dazzling interior. But Dan wasn’t interested in the address or the furniture and he’d had enough of the lecture. He grabbed her, swung her around and slammed her to him. Her nails dug into his back. She clasped his shoulders and pulled him against her breasts. She reached up and bit his neck. He touched his lips to hers. They opened our mouths to each other. They danced out of our clothes.      

 

 

 

AS PISSED OFF AS A STIFFED HOOKER


  

     They coiled around each other. The rest of the day and the night they slept, they woke, they consumed each other. A break for room service, a relaxing stretch on the balcony to watch the sunset, dinner in the room, none of it lasted for long. They were obsessed. The next morning the ship was at sea. Dan looked out the windows at a sky on fire with the dawn. Lucia slept like a cat beside me. He stared at her and went short of breath. She stirred. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. “Is it morning, Daniel?” She reached up and brushed away a lock of hair from his forehead. The expression on her face was of wonder, of flooding affection. “Daniel, what have we done?”
        He blushed as he looked back into her eyes. He felt more than lust. He realized what he was feeling and that suddenly shook him. “Something we didn’t intend.”
     She reached up and put her fingers to his lips. “We are very much alike, you and I, two divas strutting around the stage.”
     “You know nothing about me.”
     She stroked his leg. “Your presence broadcasts itself to the world. You are too confident and the world sees that and wants to take you down.”
     “Words of wisdom from Marie Antoinette digging her own grave in her Petit Hameau. Do you really believe those things you said?”
     “Petit Hameau? Really? I was testing you, trying to see what kind of man was behind the bravado. I could feel your sympathy and your empathy. It disgusted me but you are gorgeous down to your toes. I have a plan. I am going to transform you.”
     He stood up from the bed. “Transform me?”
     “Bring you to your senses.”
     “There is magic between us. We go wild with each other. Isn’t that enough?“
     She smiled through her teeth. “Never enough.”
     He suddenly had enough. “I feel like you’ve slapped me.”
     “There’s the door.” She tossed her chin. “Paddle yourself back to Patmos and check into the monastery, Saint Daniel.” She lay back on the bed on one elbow. Her red hair flowed over her shoulders and breasts. The sunrise lit up her eyes.
     Dan left her stateroom with her laughter echoing in his ears. He tried to collect myself in my cabin but the walls closed in around him. The ship would be at sea for the next day and night. He spent the day walking around the deck. He gazed at passing islands, shifting sky and swelling sea making every attempt to marvel at it all and failing miserably. He purposely stayed away from the booze. He listlessly pushed around the dolmas and spanakopita on his plate at lunch and let a bit of melancholy cross swords with the confusion that was threatening to overwhelm him. He had fallen for someone he knew nothing of. It wasn’t just lust. He was amazed at the way she carried herself. The nod of her head and her quick smile as she turned casually toward his stares before continuing up the pier seemed almost angelic. But he had never so completely misjudged anyone. Arrogance and acrimony had poured out of her mouth. His naive affection vanished. The thrill of conquest replaced it and that lit them both on fire. He felt exhausted. He felt dirty. He felt excited and wanted more. He stretched out on a lounge chair and let the afternoon sun bake away his bemusement.
     A steward woke him and announced dinner as the sun boiled the clouds drifting over the horizon. He was myself again. He dressed for dinner in the company of a double scotch on the rocks. He selected a shirt and tie with studied ritual. Lucia had a wonderfully warm smile. He slipped into his shoes and looped the tie around his neck. Even her God damned name was beautiful. He swirled each slug of scotch around his mouth and pumped it through his teeth. The fumes rolled up his nose and lapped at the back of his eyes. She had chased him away with a cynical laugh but only moments before she had gazed into his eyes and caressed him tenderly. He buttoned my shirt and turned to the mirror to knot his tie. Brace yourself, he thought.
     Dan stopped at the bar before dinner. The bartender had it to herself. Her scarlet nails and lipstick matched the setting sun that flooded the room with a golden light. He ordered a double scotch on the rocks and looked out the window.
    “You have woman problem.”, announced the bartender.
     His eyebrows arched in surprise. “Where are you from?”
     “I am from Bulgaria! Buy her ring!”
     “What’s your name?”, he parried.
     “I am Snezhana. Gold ring expensive in Greece. I buy gold ring in Dubai with diamond.” She jabbed a finger graced with a thin band of gold before his eyes. A tiny sparkle was attached to it. “Gold ring with diamond. Two hundred American dollars.”
     “But that’s just a chip.”, He said gently.
     “Yes! Very chip!”, said Snezhana proudly. “We go to Crete. Go to Gyorgios in
Heraklion. Chip place in Greece to buy ring.”
    “She is rich.”, He sighed.
     The bartender’s shoulders dropped. “You love woman?”
     “I do not.”
     “You do not know. Too much money poison same as too much drink. Poison woman poison love.”
    A heavy set man in his sixties lumbered into the bar and sat down next to Dan. The bartender gave him a welcome smile and dropped a couple of ice cubes into a double old fashion glass. She opened an I. W. Harper bottle and let the whiskey course out in gurgling spurts. He took the glass in his hands and stared at it reverently.  His eyes smiled as he lifted it to his lips and drank deeply. He turned to Dan and grinned. “Ah, sweet, sweet whiskey. Dive in head first then wallow like a pig in shit the rest of the night. My name’s Buck. What’s yours?”
     “My name’s Dan. There’s another way of drinking, you know, kind of like sex. Start out slow, go slow and slowly build up.”
     “What about wild and crazy fuckin’?”, countered Buck. “Gruntin’ like animals fuckin’? Don’t tell me you never done that?”
     “I won’t.”, smiled Dan.
     Buck smiled back. “There’s all kinda fuckin’ just like there’s all kinda drinkin’ and eatin’ and dancin’ and singin’ and livin’.  Doin’ some of it together is a good idea. I like to mix and match. Music and fuckin’ is one of my favorites.”
     “Music and fucking?” He had Dan’s attention now.
     “Sure thing, amigo. There’s all kinda music for all kinda fuckin’.”
     “Like?”
     “Like the Goldberg Variations.”
     Dan eyes widened. “Bach? Classical music?”
     “The Variations are real cerebral. You get lost in all them twisty notes. Try it sometime.”
     “It’s just that you don’t seem like the classical music type, no offense.”
     “None taken. Mozart’s operas can be woody material. Some of them babes squeal like they’re gettin’ it real good. Smoke a doobie and listen to Cosi Fan Tutti sometime.”
     “Maybe I should have a hit of that doobie now.”, I grinned.
     “OK.”, snorted Buck.  “How about Indian music, North Indian music, South Indian music, Kerala? Or Flamenco? Shit! Flamenco!”
     Suddenly it clicked. Dan understood completely. “Repetition, passion, intellect.”, he murmured as he looked into Buck’s dark eyes with astonishment. “You’ve turned sex into an intellectual exercise.”
     Buck rubbed his hands together. “When ever I get a belly full of how superior we are to the rest of God’s creatures, I think of fuckin’, an’ when ever I get a belly full of how some of us are more superior than others, I think of music. From professors to priests to presidents, you ain’t so high and mighty when you’re bouncin’ around squealin’ your head off. And anyone can make music, Dan, whether you’re a prince or a pauper because music is divine. Fuckin’s a joke God played on his talkin’ monkeys, and music is their revenge.”
     Snezhana dropped a couple of ice cubes in each of our glasses and filled them up. Buck looked up at her and winked. She smiled shyly.

   “My God, you work fast. This is only the second night of the cruise.”, Dan marveled.
     “I ain’t the only one.” said Buck.
     “What do you mean?”
     “Ah, come on, Dan. Half the ship saw that sex pot drag you up the pier yesterday.”
     Dan sighed. “It was a mistake. She’s filthy rich and a right wing nut job.”
     “And dynamite in the sack.”, Buck grinned.
     “Better than dynamite.”
     “It might not be all that bad to have a filthy rich doll like that in your corner these days.”, said Buck slowly and deliberately.
     Dan stared into his glass. “What do you mean? I’m just trying to see if there’s any good in her and overlook the lunacy.”
     “Overlook the lunacy? Get used to it.”, grunted Buck. “The world’s on a short fuse,
amigo. Sooner than later the shit’s gonna hit the fan. Did you notice how tense Athens was? As pissed off as a stiffed hooker. Greece herself is about to explode in our faces. Wall Street fucked Greece like a pimp fucks his crack whore, offered her millions in loans in exchange for her airport taxes and highway tolls for the next twenty years along with millions in fees. Then like any pimp worth his leather fedora and mink overcoat, Wall Street went down to the local bookie, bet Greece wouldn’t last the night and steps out with his wad. Then the mafia moves in for the serious business. The ECB and the IMF are workin’ over the poor workin’ girl like a seventy year old senator works over a seventeen year old intern. Fuck the small change like raisin’ the retirement age or guttin’ the civil service. These clowns are serious. Can’t make the loan payments, can’t make the interest? We’ll take everything that belongs to Greece: the railways, the airports, the water rights, the power grid, the post office, the national parks, and to twist the knife, the thing most dear to a people with thousands of years of the sea under their belts, the ports, from Piraeus to Thessaloniki.”
     Dan was taken aback. “I didn’t think the banks would treat Greece like a banana republic.”
     Buck offered a twisted smile. “The whole world’s a banana republic to them fuckers. The whores runnin’ Greece now are bendin’ over real good to privatize real quick. Sell the country right out from under the noses of its people but do it before they figure out they’re gettin’ gutted, skinned and butchered. It’s gonna be a hell of a cruise of the Greek islands.” He swirled the ice in his glass and looked out the window. “I thought maybe I could get away from all this horse shit but there really ain’t no place to get away.”
    Dan looked out the window. It was twilight. “That seems to be the case in general when we get older. There is no place to get away.  But then that’s not so bad. With time running out, you realize it’s better to change course than get away. What are you getting away from?”
     “You’re right, Dan." Buck said. Some of his confidence seemed to breathe away. “I guess I ain’t gettin’ away, I’m changin’ course. My wife’s gone. I got a boy. You say your red head’s a right wing fanatic? Seems like almost every one’s a fanatic these days. My boy turned pinhead, turned right wing, turned Zombie. What is it with this world these days? You used to be conservative and just go to church. Now you get a gun and go on a Crusade. Then to hammer the nail in the coffin, some nut case Jesus weasels got a hold o’ my boy and his family and before ya know it, they’re all prayin’ for the end of days. There’s a hole in my gut and I gotta fill it before it kills me.”
     Dan could see the pain in his face. “I’m sorry.”
     “Yeah, me too. Thanks. Shit happens.”, Buck said under his breath. He took a swallow of bourbon.
    Dan took a swallow of scotch. “Shit happens. I feel sometimes like the world is lost.”
     “When the world starts fallin’ apart, Dan, the fanatics and lunatics come out of the woodwork. Hell, the reason the world’s fallin’ apart is ‘cause they been chewin’ on the woodwork all along. When up is down and down is up, you start listenin’ to anything just to try and make sense of the world. They come outa the woodwork ‘cause all of a sudden they got an audience. That’s when the politicians and the preachers and the CEOs and the rest of the thieving, murderin’, rapin’ scum of the earth get their claws in you, and before you can say let’s have a snort of whiskey and think things out,  Armageddon’s breathin’ down your neck.”
     “Yesterday she told me there are two kinds of people, the powerful and the rest.”
     Buck shook his head. “There’s two kinda people, alright. There’s definitely two kinda people.”
     Dan finished the last of his scotch. “The world is upside down for me these days.”
     “You got a hole in your gut too, eh, Dan? How about fillin’ it up with a little more scotch?”
     Dan sighed and stood up. “The booze is beginning to get to me. Will you join me for dinner?”   
     “I ain’t hungry.”, muttered Buck.
     “Well, then, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you.” Dan shook his hand.
     “Same here.”, Buck grunted. He turned his back to Dan and stared out the window.
      Dan signed the check and left a generous tip. “Thanks for the drink, Snezhana. Take good care of him.”
     “Snezhana not nursemaid!”, barked the bartender.
     Dan walked into the dining room feeling no pain but confused all over again. The dining room captain sat him with a middleaged couple. They both smiled broadly as he took a seat. He saw nothing but warmth, openness and innocence. It was a refuge. He thought of Lucia. They had slept entwined in each other’s arms. Half awake, they pulled themselves closer. They coiled around each other.

 

 

THE STARS WERE THUNDEROUS

    “Hi! My name’s Bob and this is my wife, Sally. Where are you from?”
      Dan was staring at an open hand extended across the table. He took it. “The last place was San Francisco. My name is Dan. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”
     Bob was a balding man with an immaculately trimmed goatee. “No kidding! We’re from Los Altos. This ship is full of Americans.”
     Sally offered me her hand. She was a big woman, once voluptuous and still comfortable with herself. “We love San Francisco. We’re always up for the Opera or the Symphony and we have season tickets for the Giants. We have a place in Tahoe and a winter home in Sedona. Have you been to Greece before?”
     Dan smiled and took her hand. “A long time ago when I was young during my wine and roses days.”
     “Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick! I loved that film!”, laughed Sally.
     “And I love to drink.”, Dan sighed, lifting the glass he’d carried in from the bar. “Cheers.”
     “Here’s to new friends!”, boomed Bob.
     Sally picked up the menu. “My goodness. All these dishes have the longest names. Each one is a mouth full. I’m beginning to feel full already. You must have been impressed with Greece if you’ve come back for more, Dan. I’ve never been here. You know, democracy was invented here and somehow it feels patriotic as a citizen of the greatest democracy in the world, a country that shines democracy like a beacon into the dark, oppressed, undemocratic shadows of the world to visit the place where democracy was born.”
     “I’ve never heard the word democracy used so many times in one sentence before.”

     “Well it’s true isn’t it?”, demanded Sally. “Of course Greek women and slaves couldn’t vote.”
     Dan shook his head. “Thank God for Abraham Lincoln, Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony and Martin Luther King.”
     “Sojourner who?”, asked Sally.
     Bob wore a lusty grin. “I’ve heard the Greek girls are real lookers and so far I can’t argue with that.”
     “Oh you men with your one track mind!”, scolded Sally.
     Bob winked at his wife then turned to Dan. “What was that about Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King?”
     A proud smile spread across Sally’s face. “You know, Dan, we were just up in San Francisco at a wonderful fundraiser for President Obama.”
     Dan offered a pained smile. “Good for you.” He looked around the dining room wondering if the sexy bitch would make an appearance.
     “We just love President Obama.”, Sally said reverently. “I cried at his inaugural.” She flapped her hands and rolled her eyes in not so feigned abandonment. 

     Dan noticed a huge diamond on her wedding ring as she stroked a large string of pearls around her neck.  “I shed a few tears myself until I found out he had chosen a megalomaniacal, homophobe to give the invocation.” He smiled and finished his drink with one swallow.
     Bob grinned after giving me a searching look. “You know, Sally, I’m with Dan on this one. That preacher was a big supporter of that anti gay marriage measure.”
     Sally looked confused for a moment then collected herself. “I completely understand, Dan. It hadn’t occurred to me that that would have been and insult to you people but President Obama has to include all his fellow citizens.” She offered me a winning smile.
     “Sally, my dear, I don’t think Dan here is gay!”, announced Bob almost too loudly.
“Not that it would matter one way or another.” He cleared his throat. “It’s just that I
happen to have seen Dan here with a sultry vixen having more than just a little tete a tete in a cafe in Patmos yesterday.”
     The dining room was warm. Dan loosened his tie. “We were talking politics. We come from different ends of the spectrum.”
     Sally was generous. “Every one’s talking politics these days or should I say, every one’s screaming politics these days. Why can’t people be civil? We’re all Americans. We all have a right to speak our minds and be respected for our opinions. Doesn’t your girl friend like President Obama?”
     Dan was beginning to sweat. “His name didn’t come up.” He pulled open his tie and opened his shirt.
     “Well, something must have come up, old buddy! Look at the size of that hickey on your neck!”, roared Bob.
     “Well, would you look at him blush!”, giggled Sally. “Don’t be embarrassed, honey.
You’re never too old for a hickey. Why it’s been just about forever since I’ve had one.”
     Bob jumped in his seat. “Ouch! Sally! You don’t have to kick me. Hell, if you want one that bad we can take care of things right at the table!”
     “Stop it!”, screeched Sally as she let loose peals of laughter and tossed Dan a flirtatious glance. “What other battle scars do you have, sweety, a couple of scratches on your back?” A waiter approached and she put her hand over her mouth, unsuccessfully trying to stifle herself as bursts of giggles broke through her fingers.

     Dan leaned back in his chair and suddenly shifted his weight as the rail pressed into his wounds.
     Sally was beside herself. “You devil, you!  Bob, in honor of our new friend Dan, I think we should have a bottle of wine with dinner tonight.” She looked up at the waiter. “What is Moussaka?”
     “Aubergine, basil, lamb.”, grunted the waiter.
     Sally’s eyes crossed slightly. “Aubergine? What in the world is that?”
     “Eggplant.”, sighed Dan. “It’s a casserole. Try it. You’ll like it.”
     “Oh look!”, exclaimed Bob. “They have calamari. I love that.”
     Dan looked up from the menu. “I’ll have the arni limonato me patates, please and bring us a bottle of Boutari Santorini.”
     “Well someone certainly doesn’t have trouble with all those vowels and consonants.”, sniffed Sally. “Santorini? That sounds Italian.”
     “It’s an island.”, said Dan. “We’re going there. Thirty five hundred years ago it blew up and destroyed western civilization.”
     Dinner proceeded on a quieter note. Dan heard about his dining companions three grown children, about grandchildren, about their home, and their other homes. He offered back a few bits and pieces about myself, some true, some not so. Just as he began to feel relieved that politics had been forgotten, they came up again.
   Sally was shaking salt on her Moussaka when a sudden thought lit up her eyes. “The strangest thing happened at that fundraiser for President Obama I was telling you about. All of a sudden a bunch of woman in the audience started singing about that traitor queer - uh gay soldier who gave away all those top secrets to that internet muckraker group. What’s his name, Bob?” 
     “His name is Bradley Manning.”, sighed Dan.
     Sally squeezed the salt shaker and gave him a concerned look. “That’s it! And President Obama told them what for. He told them that when you break the law, you pay the price, or something like that.”
     “He said Bradley Manning broke the law?”, asked Dan.
     “No question there.”, said Bob over a mouth full of calamari.
     “No question there?”, Dan snorted. “ He hasn’t even been put on trial. He has been rotting away in solitary confinement for months in a tiny six by eight foot cell. He is forced to strip naked every night, not allowed sheets or a pillow, only allowed out one hour out of twenty-four to walk around in figure eights while shackled. That kind of treatment resulted in the right to a speedy trial guaranteed by the sixth amendment, not that he ever will have a fair trial with the President of the United States claiming he is guilty before being proven innocent.”
     “You approve of what this guy did?”, choked Bob.
     “I think he’s a hero.”, Dan said calmly as he lifted a fork full of lamb to his mouth.
     “A hero?”, gasped Sally. “For giving top secrets to the enemy?”
     “The files were marked secret and confidential. They did not damage the United States, they embarrassed it. They were diplomatic cables, cables about American Corporations, reports and video of American war crimes in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, information about how the First World is raping the Third World, and the ‘enemy’ he gave them to was the New York Times. When a soldier of any rank in the United States military is witness to American war crimes, it is his duty to report them. Your wonderful President Obama despises whistle blowers and embraces the Security State.  He has extended the Patriot Act, virtually pardoned the Bush Administration and then there’s that pesky Guantanamo. For God’s sake, it’s 2011. Haven’t you figured things out yet?”
     “That’s not his fault!”, pleaded Sally, her tone moving from sincere to angry. “The Republicans wouldn’t let him close it!”
     The wine had got to Sally’s head and Dan realized that the scotch had got to him. He reached across the table, glanced at Bob and took Sally’s hand. “Forgive me.”
     “You spout off all these facts or somebody’s facts and attack this grand, noble man.”, Sally pouted.
     Bob put an arm around his wife. “Now, honey, you brought it up.”
    Dan tried pathos. “I feel betrayed, that’s all. I feel I’ve been taken for a ride and it's infuriating.”
     “Taken for a ride?”, moaned Sally. “He has given us Universal Health Care. They’ve been trying to get that for sixty years!”
     Dan couldn’t stop myself. “Forcing every American into the jaws of the parasitic Health Care Industry is hardly Universal Health Care. When the bill passed, the industry’s stocks went through the roof and why shouldn’t they? The industry wrote the bill.”
     Silence reigned supreme for a moment then Sally exploded. “You hate our President! Is it because he is black? You right wingers hate President Obama!”
     “Whether he is a puppet of Corporate America, or a willing participant or even if he was sat down in the oval office his first day and told that if he loved his wife and children, he better play along, he still filled his administration with corporate lobbyists: Wall Street, the Oil Companies, Agribusiness, you name it. We’re screwed, Sally.”
     Bob put his hands up. “I can’t tell where you’re coming from, Dan. Things aren’t that bad. The Stock Market is way up.”
     “Do you know what would happen to this country if a Republican was elected President?”, Sally asked. “Do you see what those republican governors and legislatures are doing in states around the country?”
     Dan shook his head and sighed. “But that’s the whole point, Sally. That’s the whole dog and pony show. The republicans scare the hell out of Americans by threatening to destroy democracy immediately so we vote for a democrat who will do the same only slower, more subtly, under the radar and much, much more effectively. Don’t you get it? There’s no difference between the two. Any difference is manufactured to keep us yelling at each other, to distract us from their agenda of handing over the country to their corporate masters."
     “Where did you get all this nonsense?”, demanded Sally. “I have had just about enough of you! What are you, Tea Party? Green Party? Crazy Party?” She stood up from the table and looked down at me in a rage.
     Dan caught the red flame of Lucia's hair out of the corner of his eye. Her appearance quieted the din of the dining room. Heads turned. Dan’s head turned. Their eyes met. She stomped toward him like a storm trooper. Bob and Sally’s mouths dropped open. Sally sat down. Suddenly she was standing over them. She was regal. She was divine. She was satanic. She glanced scornfully at Bob and Sally. She bent down and caressed Dan’s face.  She ran her fingers through his hair before grabbing bunches of it in her fists. A moan escaped her. She kissed him. She grasped his hand and pulled him to his feet.
      He loped behind her as she dragged him out of the dining room. She burst through the double doors, marched through the lobby and out a door to the deck. There was no moon in the night sky and the stars were thunderous. She grabbed the rail and gulped in the salt air. Her back was toward him as she stared silently at the black sea. The only sound was the rush of the waves against the ship.
     Then she whirled around. “All day?”, she shot. “All day and all evening? Was that it? One night? Do I look like a whore to you? DO I?  I have never in my life done what I did with you! I don’t care who you are or what you think! I want you! I thought you wanted me!”
     For a moment Dan stood mute before her. Her rage stunned him. Her rage overwhelmed him. “I want you right now, right here, not in my cabin, not in your suite, right here.”, he blurted.

     He threw my arms around her. They kissed each other frantically. They rolled along the rail burning in each other’s arms. They washed up under a lifeboat. She looked up at it and back into Dan’s eyes. They both tore at the knotted ropes tying down its cover. She stepped up on the rail and dove into the boat. Dan dove in after her.

 

 

PLEASE DON'T TELL US IT WAS FRANCE

    That night Dan dreamed of another time in America. He dreamed of sex, drugs and Vietnam - peace, love and the Ku Klux Klan. He dreamed of tear gas and pepper gas - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme - billy clubs and paddy wagons - wooden ships on the water and the answer blowin’ in the wind. Images flickered before his eyes in a Nickelodeon of acid trips at the beach, of VW vans full of clouds of pot answering his thumb on the side of the road. He heard the first girl thanking me for being gentle and the next screaming her head off.  He dreamed of cities burning with rage and thousands of angry voices chanting ‘The whole world is watching!’. He saw four dead in Ohio and the young with hope shining in their eyes turned away from the fossilized Democratic Party and the poisonously corrupt unions. He wept at the slaughter and mayhem in South East Asia. He swayed to the music. He kissed the girls. He held a prism in his hand washed clean of pain by time and endurance and youth passed. His dreams shined with the glow of hope and the certainty that, yes, we can change the country, of change we can believe in, of the audacity of hope, of the conviction that yes, we can change the world. Yes we can. Yes we can.
     He woke up in a cold sweat gasping for air. Lucia was beside me in bed. They were in his cabin. The bed was small and she was half out of it. “Daniel, for God’s sake, wake up!”
     Dan’s dreams fled out the porthole like gusts of bats. He reached up and put his hands on her shoulders. He stroked her cheeks and looked into her eyes. he saw panic. Her eyes darted around the cabin. “What is it, darling? Calm down, my love.”, He heard himself saying. The booze hung heavy on hiseyes. He swore, as he had sworn so many mornings for so many years to cut down.   
     She was almost hyperventilating. “The steward has just been by! Athens is in flames!”
     His eyes widened. “Calm down, Lucia. We are not in Athens.”
     “But we have to go back there!”, she gasped.
     “I have to go back there. You do not.”
     She suddenly grabbed on to reality and looked at him. “My God, you’re right! How could I have been such a fool? I must make arrangements immediately. We will fly out together. What island do we go to next? Daniel, are you alright?”, she asked, seeing him for the first time.
     Dan sat up in bed and put his hand to his forehead. “Just a little fuzzy”, he mumbled.
     “Well, I’m not surprised, darling. You certainly were in your cups last night. We just had to spend the night in this -” She looked around disdainfully. “this cabin. Is that a porthole? My God, what level are we on? I hope you’ve got this out of you. Once is enough. We’ll be sleeping in the state room from now on.” Suddenly confusion swept over her face. “But today I will be flying out of whatever God forsaken island we’ll be landing on! What is it? Do you know?”
     “The port of Heraklion is our next destination. We arrive tomorrow.”,
     “Tomorrow? You know, this God damned cruise wasn’t even my idea!”, Lucia blurted. “What island will we be landing on?”
     “The island of Crete, home of the Minoan civilization, Daedalus, Icarus,
the Minotaur.”
     “The Minotaur.”, Lucia shot back with a lusty grin. “Half man, half bull. That always turned me on in some strange way.”
     “Your sex fueled passion seems to be the only thing we have in common.”
     “Well for God’s sake!”, she frowned. “We only just met each other. Let’s see what else we have in common. How about cuisine? I’m famished!” She glanced at her watch. “It’s lunch time already! Get shaved and dressed. I’ll meet you in the dining room in twenty minutes.” She stood up like a shot and searched the cabin frantically. “Is there a bathroom in this - cabin?”
     “Behind you.”, Dan sighed.
     She spun around and leaned into the bathroom to face the mirror over the sink. She ran her fingers through her hair and patted her face. “Oh my God!”, she moaned. She turned to the door and started out then stopped and composed herself. She stood over him and looked down. The impatience and irritation melted away. For a moment she seemed lost. “Oh, Daniel.”, she whispered. “I have never met any one like you. I -” She reached down and placed a hand under his chin. She lowered herself to the bed and kissed him. “Daniel, I -” She stood up and rushed from the room.
     After he showered and dressed, Dan found myself on the Promenade deck. This time the beauty of the Aegean came back to him. The ocean was bluer than any he had ever seen. The islands, stripped bare of trees thousands of years ago rose up out of the sea like mountains in the desert. They glowed a golden gray. They reeked of thousands of stories, millions of lives, of Minos and Aegeus, Theseus and Ariadne, Labyrinths and Minotaurs. The bickering and squabbling of his fellow Americans seemed pathetic. Their lying and thieving seemed like repetitious child’s play. They were all a bunch of greasy, dancing cannibals. He closed his eyes and felt himself warmed by the sun.
     A familiar voice jarred him from his trance. “Daniel! What are you doing?  I’ve been waiting for you!” He turned to see Lucia across the deck. A warm smile graced her beautiful face. “We have company!” She almost skipped across the deck into his arms. “Darling, there are two wonderful friends sailing with us and I didn’t even know it!” She hurried him toward a door to the dining room. “I just ran into them. Come on, you must meet them. We will have lunch together. There they are!” She pointed to a pair of older ladies across the room and waved. She led him to the table. “Ladies, this is my friend Daniel.”
     A thin, pinched woman with piercing blue eyes extended her hand. “Gladys Euryale. I am very pleased to meet you Daniel.”
     As Dan took her hand, I felt another hand touch him. “And I am Nadine Setheno” She was heavier and painted with torrid rouge and lipstick. Steamy vermilion eye shadow washed over her large, dark eyes.
     Gladys smiled through her teeth. “Lucia says you haven't known each other long. Tell me, Daniel, what do you do for a living?”
     He looked into her eyes. “Lucia told me you were two dear friends. I think she is keeping something from me. Are you her aunt?”
     “Why no, I  -”
     He cut her off. “Forgive me for being such a Cretan. You are her sister.” He caught a hint of color through her makeup.
     “No, no, Daniel. I am just a …”
     Dan moved in for the kill. “But you could be her sister. You have the same beautiful complexion and though your eyes are blue not green, they are just as riveting.”
     Nadine let out a loud laugh. “Come on Daniel, tell me what you do for a living.”
     “Glamour pours out of your every pore.”, he leered,  giving her the once over.
     “Now that one I have never heard before.” She unconsciously shifted herself in her chair toward me. “Mission accomplished, sir. I don’t care what you do for a living. You could be a liberal for all I care as long as you keep talking like that. I haven’t been so charmed since I met Jack.”
     “Jack?”
     “Jack Kennedy, you duffus!”, she scolded. “Of course, I was just a young girl.”
     “A twinkle in your father’s eye.”, snapped Gladys. She rolled her eyes at Dan. “Well, what ever you do and who ever you are, Lucia seems quite smitten with you and we were just being protective.”
     Lucia broke in. “Daniel, Gladys and Nadine have heard news about Athens. It’s not in flames. There is just a lot of rioting going on.”
     A swarthy waiter appeared at the table. Gladys glanced at the menu impatiently.         “You know, Nadine, we never should have booked a Greek ship. They serve nothing but Greek food. “I’ll have the Mezes.”, she announced to the room, never once looking at the waiter.
     Dan suppressed an urge to reach over and slap her. “But Greek food is sensational!”, “The freshest ingredients are beautifully prepared so as to bring out the -”
     Nadine interrupted him. “Yes, beautifully prepared. I’ll have the Greek Salad.” She shoved the menu into the waiter’s hand.
     “You two are being impossible, as usual. I know you just love Greek food. You’re just putting on a show for Daniel.”, Lucia scolded.
     “Oh but we do love Greek food, don’t we Gladys?”, tittered Nadine.
     “The most sophisticated cuisine in the world!”, Gladys guffawed.
     Lucia smiled seductively at the waiter. “Would you please bring me Horta and Kolokythoanthoi?”
     She’s doing her best to keep a variety of saliva from spicing up our lunch, Dan thought with a smile. “I’ll have the Aginares a la Polita and the Apaki.” The waiter smiled seductively at Lucia who winked at him. She had saved them all.
     The waiter hurried away. “Cannibal.”, muttered Gladys under her breath.
     Lucia turned to her friends. “Why on earth are all the Greeks so upset?”
     Gladys wagged finger. “Because they are greedy and they got caught. They wanted to be admitted to the European Union but they had too much debt so they hid it and now, with the recession and all, the cat’s out of the bag. They are going to have to make sacrifices just like people at home are going to have to make. We are going to have to raise the retirement age for social security to fix the deficit. Of course the smart people in Washington want to get rid of the ridiculous ponzi scheme altogether. When Roosevelt shoved social security down America’s throat, people were lucky if they even lived to see sixty five, at least the people who supposedly needed it. Now they are living past seventy five, some of them. George Bush tried to privatize it and the Democrats stopped him. Now, thank goodness it looks like the Democrats are coming around. If we don’t do something soon, it will bankrupt the country, that and Medicare of course.” She reached into her purse and pulled out a small card. “Here’s my Medicare card. I took it out the last time I saw my doctor and said, ‘Here, take it. I refuse to be part of the Gerontocracy!’ Everyone expects to be taken care of these days. Everybody is screaming about nine and ten percent unemployment. Well, what do you expect when you extend unemployment benefits over and over again? If people don’t have to go to work, people won’t go to work. The greedy Greeks retire at sixty or some ridiculous age, they have health care, they have minimum wage and God knows what else. They’re up to their noses in entitlements and they’re just going to have to do without them. Too bad for them.”
     “But great for us!” Nadine was primping her hair. “This cruise is so cheap, it’s almost free! I have done without ever since the crash. I mean, I was terrified just like everyone else. I let Consuela go. Juan and Haruki are indispensable. I can hardly be expected to drive myself to my bridge games and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have a gardener. Of course they are almost family so they understood that there needed to be shared sacrifices and agreed to a pay cut. I even cut back Maria’s hours. Can you believe it? She won’t be asking me for a raise anytime soon. Did I tell you, Gladys that her father died and she had the nerve to ask me for five hundred dollars to help with the funeral?  Five hundred dollars! What was she planning on, a bronze coffin? How many bronze coffins do you think there are in Mexico? She even pulled the loyalty card. I reminded her that she may have worked for me for fourteen years but I was the one paying for it. After subjecting me to much weeping and hair pulling, I finally said I would lend it to her, with ten percent interest, of course. I mean for God’s sake, I had to close down the house in Pebble for the summer. The summer! That was the last straw.  I finally said to Gladys, enough is enough. We just have to get away somewhere and if it all comes crashing down around our heads at least we had the courage and the joie de vivre to go out in style.”
     Dan had to change the subject or he would never be able to eat my lunch. “Those pearls are the biggest pearls I have ever seen.”

     “Aren’t they wonderful?”, Nadine cooed. “My husband Frank gave them to me, God rest his soul. You know it took him awhile to get it right. His first attempt was a dismal failure. I had to take the entire suite back to Tiffany’s.”
      Gladys choked. “You never told me that!” Her eyes narrowed with disgust. “Never, ever give back the jewelry!” She turned to Lucia and me. “My husband Tom was the same way, God rest his soul. I wouldn’t let Michelle Obama wear my first suite but it is still in the safe. I just took him down to Shreve’s and picked what I wanted. Problem solved." Her eyes swiveled back to Nadine. "You also never told me about Jack Kennedy. Just because he was handsome doesn’t excuse the fact that he was a democrat and a lecher. Now Ronnie and Nancy, there was a pair to win. My husband and I had a ranch in Santa Barbara not far from Ronnie and Nancy’s ranch, Rancho Del Cielo. Isn’t that a beautiful name, Heaven’s Ranch? We all used to picnic on Lucky Lake.”
     Nadine shrugged and stroked her pearls. “Well La Di Da. Who hasn’t been to Rancho del Cielo and who hasn’t commented on that dreadful seventies furniture. He was a lovely man and the greatest president in modern history but he didn’t have much taste and frankly, Gladys neither did Nancy. I mean, really what was with those hats of hers? I had to take her aside one day and tell her that people were beginning to talk.”
     The waiter arrived with lunch. As he laid it out on the table, Gladys and Nadine stared at the ceiling with irritated, impatient expressions on their faces. Dan marveled at the putrescent prima donnas. He felt as though he were in a zoo staring at some extreme life form and his initial disgust was turning into genuine fascination, a fascination that just might keep him from losing my temper. He closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.
     “Oh, Daniel, you aren’t feeling well, are you?” Lucia turned to her friends. “Daniel had a bit too much to drink last night.”
     Nadine reached over and gave him a squeeze. “What he needs is some hair of the dog. I think we all could use a little something. Waiter, bring us a bottle of wine and not that Godawful Retsina! Bring us some chardonnay! Now where were we?” She looked at Gladys. “Oh, Nancy and Ronnie. You know, Lucia, just talking about them makes me so nostalgic. Those were glorious days for America. That man single handedly broke the back of the Soviet Union. He finally freed us from the commie threat.”
     Dan could take it no longer. “He shaved his armpits.” The table fell silent.
     “I beg your pardon?”, asked Gladys.
     Lucia frowned. “Daniel isn’t exactly on the same page with us.”
     “You know, I’ve heard that rumor about Ronnie.”, said Nadine, oblivious. “But we’ve all got our quirks. My husband was an ophthamologist. After he retired, he used to give eye exams one day a week at the free ophthalmology clinic.”
     “And the only people who could take advantage of that were people without insurance! What does that tell you?”, Gladys snipped. “If you keep giving things away to people they’re going to start expecting it. They thought they should own their own homes too and look what that led to. I mean, these people who blew up the housing market could no more afford a mortgage than they could afford dinner in a decent restaurant and yet they were allowed to buy a home and a lot of times more than one and now the rest of us are paying a terrible price. When did it all of a sudden become acceptable for the poor to own their own home?  For God’s sake, they don’t contribute a thing to the country. As far as I’m concerned they shouldn’t be allowed to vote either. They just vote themselves more welfare, more entitlements that the real citizens have to pay for. Do you realize that half the people in the country don’t pay any income tax?”
     The waiter arrived with the wine and Dan drank the first glass like water. “I thought the recession was President Obama’s fault.”
     “Well, all those people elected him and things only got worse.”, said Nadine as she sipped her wine. "We’ve gone from Doctors donating their time to socialized medicine in just a couple of years. Ronnie is spinning in his grave. It just goes to show you, Communism is always with us waiting for a chance to rear its ugly head.”
     “Do you really think Obama is a communist?”, Dan asked the table as he poured himself another glass of wine.
     “Somebody certainly is thirsty.”, sniffed Gladys. “You’re not trying to tell us you are an Obama fan, are you?”
    “I was.”, he sighed.
    “But you have come to your senses.”, Nadine said sternly.
    “I have.”
     “And that’s a relief!”, said Gladys as she patted her lips with her napkin. “Not that I thought you were, of course. It’s just that you never know and those people can be so difficult. They are absolutely convinced that their arrogant, ignorant and ridiculous view of the world is sacrosanct and God help anyone who disagrees with them.”
     Lucia was wide eyed. “Daniel, I thought for sure you…” She caught herself.
     “You thought for sure what?”, asked Nadine as she peered into Lucia’s eyes.
     “Oh, it’s nothing. Daniel and I have had a few disagreements that now that I think back on them were probably just misunderstandings.”
     Gladys gave Lucia a maternal look.” My dear, all couples have misunderstandings especially when they first meet. When my husband and I were looking for our first home, he was just crazy for this Eichler in the hills and really didn’t understand that even though he wasn’t a sailor or even a swimmer, and to tell you the truth, didn’t even like the water at all, that a home on the water with its own pier and boat house was where we should live. It took him awhile to understand the error of his ways and as though it were a sign from God, just a month after we moved into the home that was destined for us, the Eichler in the hills burned to the ground!”
   The table fell silent. Dan cleared his mind and thought of nothing but his food as he dug into it. It was delicious. After a few minutes He felt the waiter breeze by. He caught him and asked him to bring a double scotch on the rocks. He looked up at his dining companions. “Would anyone care for a drink, another bottle of wine?“ All three of them were staring at him. He put down my fork and knife. “What is it?”
     “Ordering a cocktail in the middle of a meal seems so… plebeian.”, said Gladys. “Do you own a restaurant?”
     “You are eating your food like a European with the knife and fork in the wrong hands, piling all your food on the back of your fork with your knife. You haven’t told us where you are from. Were you raised in Europe?”  Nadine realized her question might be considered rude. “Please don’t tell us it was France.”, she giggled awkwardly.
     "What's wrong with France?", asked Lucia.
     "Those idiots almost stopped us from liberating Iraq!", gasped Nadine.
     "I haven't touched a french fry since.", growled Gladys.
     "But you can now since they've been renamed Freedom Fries.", sighed Dan. "Speaking of freedom, we wouldn't exist as a country if the French hadn't saved us at the battle of Yorktown."
     There was an uncomfortable pause. “You drink scotch. You don’t drink bourbon, you drink scotch.”, muttered Gladys.
     Dan turned back to his food. “You’ve found me out.”, he admitted between bites. “I am a left wing spy sent on a mission to slit your throats in the middle of the night and throw your bodies overboard.”
     There was a deafening silence for just a couple of seconds too long and then the table exploded in laughter. The women heaped praise upon Dan’s brilliant wit and cast glances back and forth between each other. Lucia gave him a knowing smile. He poured them the rest of the wine and raised his scotch in a toast to Gladys and Nadine. He thanked them for their good humor and lied through his teeth about how much he enjoyed their company and how glad he was to have met them. He finished his lunch and his scotch, rose from the table, kissed Lucia and begged her forgiveness. He had to sleep off the night before on deck in the sun. Lucia gave him a concerned look but he put her worries to rest promising he would call on her before dinner. She smiled and took his hand. The three of them launched into a frenzied conversation, catching up with themselves as he walked out of the dining room.
     When he reached the sunwarmed deck, the charming facade he had smeared over himself began to stink. Why had he played such a disgusting game? What else was he going to subject himself to for the sake of the company of ‘his love’? Lucia was beginning to feel like a very seductive drug. He referenced his extensive experience with just about every kind of drug as he walked along the deck. She wasn’t heroin, that never did much for him anyway except make him itch. Not pot, there wasn’t much negative in that high except it made him drink too much. The same with coke, besides the realization that coke was frighteningly addictive. What else, mushrooms, acid, mescaline, ecstasy, peyote? Peyote! That was it. A cactus bud coated in poison that made you puke your guts out then gave you the most euphoric, lucid, physical high of all. Great, he thought, a fantastic, beautiful woman, the best sex and ptomaine poisoning.
     He came upon a row of deck chairs all empty but one. Buck was stretched out eyes closed, with an ipod plugged into his ears. Dan lay down next to him. Buck spoke without opening his eyes. “How ya doin’, Romeo?”
     Dan smiled. “Not so good, Cyrano. How about you?” 
     Buck opened an eye. “I’m listenin’ to African music. We didn’t get to African music and fuckin’.”
     Dan turned his head to Buck. “You have a one track mind.”
     “Unlike all the other guys in the world.”, he snorted.
     “OK. Let’s hear about African music and fucking.”
     Buck unplugged his ear buds and handed them to Dan. “Tinariwen, a buncha pissed off Tuareg guys, that started jammin’ in a refugee camp in Libya. Their music is Tishoumaren, music for fucked over, unemployed suckers without a home that are fed up and are about to do somethin’ about it.”
     Dan put the ear buds in his ears. He was astounded. He heard the calls of holy men. He heard the blues. The rhythm massaged him. The harmonies were haunting. Women ululated. A caravan rose out over the dunes and the necks of the camels swayed hypnotically. He wanted to whirl like a dervish. He wanted to chant. He wanted to make love. “Oh my God!”
     “Good fuckin' music, ain’t it?”, Buck leered. “And the Tuareg guys get all gowed up and dance for their women. Just the other way around from us which ain’t so bad an idea, I think.”
     Dan handed back the ear buds and relaxed on the deck chair. He let loose a long sigh. “I just tried that and it made me sick. I just performed for Lucia and two of her good friends, a pair of gorgons hell itself wouldn’t have.”
     “But you and your redhead are on fire in the sack. If you got that, you got almost all of it. Let it play out and run with it.”
     “The Greek uprising scares her to death. She wants me to fly out of Crete with her when we land.”
     Buck shook his head. “That don’t sound good. Sometimes a man’s gotta draw the line even if the fuckin’s dynamite. You can meet her half way, even more than half way but if she takes control, you ain’t a man no more, and of course the Greeks scare her shitless. When the little people rise up, the rich shit their pants. Greece is a trial run for what them fuckers plan for us. You seen it. You heard them, moanin’ and groanin’ about how there ain’t no money for nothin’ so they gotta take what’s shit all left and hand it over to themselves.”
      “It seems as though the country has been attacked by maggots and it’s not even dead yet.”, sighed Dan. “But we are the Greatest Country in the World.”
     “Yeah, that horse shit. How much different is the Greatest Country in the World from the Master Race?”
     Dan put my hands behind his head and looked up into the sky. “I had a dream this morning that I was a kid again protesting the war in Vietnam and facing the draft. I almost feel we’re on our way back there except the American people haven’t a clue.”
     Buck turned on his side and put his chin in his hand. “Did they get you?”
     “Nah, I got lucky. I was too young. Tricky Dick was out. Did they get you?"
     "I was hooked up with a shiny blond babe, the one and only blond babe I ever hooked up with as I swore off blonds after her and only went for brunettes and red heads, red heads like that red head of yours, but I digress. Tricky Dick decides he wants a piece o’ my ass and I wasn’t up for dyin’ in some shit hole swamp in Nam. I wasn’t the robust specimen of manhood I am today and Nam, jail, Canada or never porkin’ my shiny blond again gave me a ulcer. The Doc looks me over, puts me on Belladonna and durin’ the rest of the check up he notices I have real flat feet. He writes a letter to the Army sayin’ I am a wuss with a ulcer and recommends me to a anti war commie foot Doc that looks at my feet and says I have a 50-50 chance of foolin’ the Army. The commie foot Doc writes a letter to the Army foot Doc sayin’ I am a cripple and a wuss. He then writes a bunch of mumbo jumbo to prove it and tells me to go out and buy the weirdest pair of shoes I can find and before you know it, this double wuss is standin’ naked with a buncha other naked wusses in the Army pre induction physical with a real light in the loafers Doc - not that I got anything against gays cause I don’t - goin’ from wuss to wuss puttin’ his finger under their balls an tellin them to cough. When he gets to yours truly, and I ain’t braggin’ here, it just happened, OK? he starts feelin’ me up like Henry Kissinger feels up a whore just before he snuffs her. I finally have to grab his ear and give it a yank in order to wake him outa his dreams. The rest of the day is the usual Nazi routine, marchin’ from station to station gettin’ checked out to see if I am fit enough to die in a foxhole sittin’ in my own shit. I soon become so pissed off and mixed up that I make a bad mistake that lookin’ back on it was a good mistake. There was a station where you all have to stand in front of a urinal and piss in a paper cup and I did so accordingly. I then turns a corner and, cause I was a little slow in pissin’, all the other wusses have marched on. I find myself alone with some black queen all decked out in a white jacket and, I kid you not, three inch fingernails. He motions me over with one of his fingernails and sticks some sorta paper in my cup. He then looks at the paper and I guess everythin’s fine cause he waves me on and I find myself with a cup fulla piss wonderin’ what to do next. I sees a sink and next to it is some sorta rack all skiwampus with all kinda holes and tubes and whatnot and probably ‘cause my dear old ma would have slapped me silly if I ever poured piss in a sink, I pours the piss on the rack instead. All of a sudden the queen is screamin’ like a stuck pig and I am high tailin’ it outa there only to jump outa the fryin’ pan and into the fire. I end up in a small room with another queen who is gonna decide if I’m bonkers enough to give myself a ulcer. And don’t ask me why I keep runnin’ into queens cause I ain’t got no answer for that. After readin’ the letter about my ulcer, the bastard lets me know pronto that if I fuck with him in any way, my ass will be on the next flight to Nam. He asks all kinda personal questions and I tells him all kinda personal lies and before you can say God bless America, he tells me that even though he thinks I’m too bonkers for Nam, he’s gonna send me there anyways. I walks out with my head hangin’ and only one chance left. When the army foot Doc reads the commie foot Doc’s letter, he gets a real concerned look on his face and I’m thinking maybe I have a chance after all so I waves my weird shoes in his face. He gives a jump and says, ‘He make you wear them?’ at which point I sees him scribblin’ ‘Unfit for Military Service’ on a piece of paper which I then take right away to some dip shit behind a desk who says, ‘Head for the hills, kid’.”
     Dan let out a laugh and started clapping. “That is a wonderful story.”
     “I ain’t finished yet. As I am hitch hikin’ back to the motel thinkin’ about bumpin’ my shiny blond, a guy in a mustang convertible pulls up and tells me he is goin’ my way. He asks me why I have such a shit eatin’ grin on my face and I tells him I have just got a big fat ticket outa Nam. There is a pause and he tells me he is just back from Nam and outa the Army where he was a helicopter gunner. There is another pause where I am wonderin’ if I am about to be ejected out of a mustang movin’ along at sixty miles an hour when all of a sudden he says ‘Congratulations, Kid! Open the glove compartment and help yourself.’, and as God is my witness, I ain’t never seen so much coke and crank and smack and weed and plenty of stuff I ain’t never seen before, so I thanks him and helps myself and that is the end of my story.”
     Dan let out a long sigh. “You’re one hell of a story teller.”
     Buck frowned and handed him the ear buds. “One little bit of light in a whole lotta darkness. Let’s change the subject. Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Some Zulu kids livin’ under apartheid in South Africa that broke free with their music.”
     Dan plugged the ear buds in.  He heard deep, swelling acapella, incredible harmony that turned opera on its head, powerful rhythm punctuated with grunts and warbles, music that boiled in the base of his brain. His eyes opened wide in amazement. He swayed back and forth, lost in another world.
     "You wanna dance, don't you?", smiled Buck.
     "I do."
     "Well then, dance."
     I did.

 

 

LABYRINTH


    The Mbira’s dripping, sparkling tones lifted Dan awake. A breeze had picked up. Buck was nowhere to be seen. Lucia was asleep on the deck chair beside him. He rested his hand on her arm. She smiled and opened her eyes.
     “Daniel.”, she stretched her arms and legs. “You looked so comfortable so I joined you. How do you feel?”
     “Better.”, he breathed, relishing the sight of her laying next to him “Have I been asleep long? ”
      “I’m not sure. I’ve been asleep too. What are you listening to?”
     He pulled the ear buds from his ears. “A chorus of Mbiras.”
     She frowned. “A chorus of what?”
    He plugged the buds into her ears. Her eyes widened. “Oh my God! That’s beautiful! What is it?”
     “African thumb pianos. What time is it?”
     “African what?”  A dreamy look came over her face. She looked at her watch. “Four thirty. Gladys and Nadine said we dock sometime early next morning. We’ll wake up in port. They’re going to stay on the cruise. They calmed me down. They told me the island people are always happy. It’s the Greeks on the mainland who are trouble. I think we should stay on the cruise as well.” She took the ear buds from her ears and handed them back to him. “You certainly gave an award winning performance for them. Thank you. They are going shopping for jewelry tomorrow and asked if we would join them.”
     “No thanks”, he said, batting the image of the fanged shrews out of his mind. “Let’s not talk politics for awhile. Let’s not see anyone for awhile. Let’s get to know each other. We seem to have a comparable appreciation of Greek food. That’s two things we have in common. Tell me about yourself. Why are you taking a cruise all by yourself? A beautiful woman like you should have a consort. Don’t tell me you’re licking your wounds from a recent divorce.”
     “Yes!”, she blurted.
     “I’m sorry. Was it nasty? Are there children?”
     “No and no.”, she said, looking down at the deck. “It was a long marriage. It was a good marriage. Neither of us wanted children. We just grew apart and one day we realized it. He has a business, Real Estate, in L.A. for many years, then Palm Springs when that took off. He was successful for a long time so we weathered the recession. I have an interior design business. It’s been dicey these days but the settlement made me comfortable and now I’m starting all over again.”
     “We’re both at loose ends, it seems.”, smiled. Dan “I was in the restaurant business, owned a couple of bars, a restaurant, but booze and drugs and entertaining an endless parade of leeches almost got the better of me so I got a divorce too.”
     “You were a bartender?”, grinned Lucia. “I’ve always had a little fantasy about a bartender.”
     “Fantasy fulfilled and you didn’t even know it.”
     She climbed into his deck chair. “You must have had a lot of women.”
     He rolled on his side to let her in. “As many as there are stars in the sky.”
     “Tell me.”, she laughed as she rolled over on her back and threw her arms over her  head. “What drew you to the restaurant business?”
    “Nobody else would have me. Then I found that you’re on stage all the time. You
can reinvent yourself fifteen times a night. You have a captive audience: lonely men and women, angry men and women, men and women filled with the ecstasy of life, young, innocent souls still dripping with embryonic fluid. You’re a therapist, a very cheap therapist, a marriage counselor, a court jester, a cop, a clown, a whore, a politician but that’s redundant, a symphony director. A symphony director! On a busy night, you can look over the players, lift your arms, let the din fill you and sometimes, if you’re lucky hear the applause build and build.”
     Lucia placed her fingers on his lips. “That’s what it’s like when we make love.”
     “Ah come on, darlin’.”, he smiled. “You’ve had one too many. Time to go home.”
     Lucia took his collar in her hand. “And I’m there with you when the audience explodes.”
     He looked into her eyes. “You’re God damn right you are.”
     She leaned over him and kissed him. “We have something very special but there are worlds between us.” She seemed to catch herself. “ Where was your restaurant?”
     “In San Francisco.” He took her chin in his hand and changed the subject. "Are you an interior decorator?”
     “I know a lot of people, a lot of society.”, she said, lifting her nose slightly.  “I like antiques. They bring history into the home. It can be very difficult but very rewarding. Now, because of the economy, it’s difficult. A friend suggested a cruise, something to take my mind off the divorce and the business.”
     That comment brought Dan back to Patmos. “I thought you came to Greece to see where Democracy began before it ends.”
     The smile faded from her face. She gazed at the sea. “I don’t know why I said what I said. I don’t believe all that.” A strained look replaced the contemplative. “I mean, I do believe it.  Everyone does. Everyone I know does. I don’t know why I said it all to you. Maybe I was hoping you would agree with me but just looking at you, listening to you, I knew you wouldn’t. Maybe I wanted to drive you away because I was so scared of my attraction to you. But when you took it as a challenge, when you grabbed me and seemed so turned on, I just kept going. And it was wonderful, wasn’t it, Daniel?”
     “Wonderful in a dirty sort of way.”, He muttered.
     Lucia put her hand on his leg and offered a shy grin. “I’ve never experienced anything so - dirty.”  She stood up from the deck chair and stretched out her hand. “It’s getting chilly out here. Would you like to give me your side of the argument in my suite, in bed?”
     He took her hand and stood. “No more politics, no more arguments, no more lifeboats, just you and me, just us.”
     This time it wasn’t phosphorus and Armageddon. It wasn’t stinking rage and stinking arrogance. It wasn’t diving in and wallowing like pigs in shit. It was burning embers, glowing coals. It was a smoky dance sipping and inhaling each other. It was twisting, repetitious harmony. It was poetry. It was Kerala.
     Lucia insisted they dress for dinner in her suite. he relented and knocked on her door with his dinner clothes in one hand and a bottle of scotch in the other. He poured two shots and gave her a glass. She reluctantly accepted it and after touching glasses took a sip. She screwed her face dramatically and swallowed. She offered a dainty cough. There was no drama on the second taste, or the third. They dressed completely self absorbed and without a word, not looking at each other until she finally tore herself away from the mirror and joined him on the balcony where he was waiting for her. She complained that she was not used to drinking before dinner. He rolled his eyes. They sat silently for some time looking at the sinking sun. He rose and offered his arm. He told her they had to stop at the bar for a drink. There was someone he wanted her to meet.
     Buck was at the bar as Dan expected. He was alone with Snezhana. A smile creased her stoic face for a fraction of a second when she saw the two of them walk in.
     Buck turned slowly as Dan pulled up a stool next to him and offered it to Lucia. He grinned as she sat down. “Hiya, doll. Enjoyin’ the cruise?”
     Lucia seemed taken aback. Dan introduced them. “Lucia, this is Buck. We had a couple of pops before dinner last night.”
     Lucia put on the charm. “It’s very nice to meet you. I am enjoying the cruise very much indeed. Greece is so beautiful and I am very happy with the ship. My accommodations are more than adequate and the restaurant is quite good. Have you been to Greece before?”
     Buck’s face went blank. He stared at her for a moment then turned back to his drink. “Yup.”
     So much for first impressions, thought Dan. “Lucia, I would like you to meet Snezhana. She is from Bulgaria.”
     Lucia tried again. “Snezhana! What a lovely name. I’ve never heard it before. Is there an equivalent in English?”
     Snezhana poured a double scotch on the rocks and set it on the bar in front of Dan. “Snow woman.”, She grunted. “You want drink?”
       “I’ll have a gin and tonic, please.” Lucia turned to Dan with a confused look on her face. “Well, what did you and Buck have to talk about?”
     “Music.”, said Dan sheepishly as he pulled the Ipod out of his pocket and handed it to Buck.
     Lucia’s eyebrows arched as her eyes followed the exchange. She turned to Buck. “Music? What kind of music?”
     Buck looked into her green eyes. His face was expressionless. His brown eyes seemed to darken. His voice was low and rich. “Goldberg Variations.”
     Snezhana was about to set the gin and tonic on the bar. She paused. A smile slowly spread across Lucia’s face. “I love the Goldberg Variations.”, she whispered. “Each one is a wonderful world. When I listen to variation five, I see the parched earth rejoicing at the pattering of rain that grows and grows into a deluge.”
     Buck turned on the bar stool and leaned toward Lucia. “I see a man kissin’ away his baby’s tears in fifteen.”
     Lucia seemed entranced. “In variation eleven, two lovers talk with baited breath on a summer’s day.”
     Buck’s voice was a hushed basso profundo. “In sixteen, hands all over each other’s bodies slow at first, testing and proddin’ and gigglin’ then faster and faster ‘til you move into seventeen and you really get goin‘, kissin’ and grabbin’ and -.”
     Snezhana slammed Lucia’s drink on the bar. “Gin and Tonic!”
     Lucia jumped. She looked at Snezhana and smiled. “Thank you.” She picked up her
drink, turned her back to the bar and leaned over to place a hand on Buck’s shoulder. “You know, Buck, I don’t think I have ever met someone so familiar with the Variations. Cheers.”
     “Cheers!”, Dan announced a little too loudly. “Buck is a font of knowledge when it comes to music. We had quite a talk over a couple of drinks.”
     “You’re not going to tell me that two guys talked about nothing but music over a couple of drinks, are you?” , laughed Lucia. “What else was so interesting?”
     “Greece.”, said Buck abruptly.
     “Well of course!”, Lucia eyes widened. “Here we are on a wonderful cruise of the Greek islands and those hooligans in Athens have to ruin everything just because they’re greedy and they got caught.”
     Dan put his hand to his forehead and glanced at the bartender. He didn’t like what he saw. She was staring at Lucia with an astonished look on her face that was quickly turning to anger. Her voice was low. “Who tell you that, lady?”
     Lucia jumped again. This time she was annoyed. “It’s common knowledge. Everyone knows it, at least everyone I know.”
     Dan felt a bout of ptomaine poisoning coming on. “Lucia, please. No politics.”
     But it was too late. Snezhana leaned across the bar and put her face close to Lucia’s. “Greeks not greedy. Fascists steal Greece from Greeks.”
     Lucia was clueless. “Fascists? What on earth are you talking about? Italians?”
     “Fascists bastard child of big money and big power.", growled Snezhana. “Fascists like roaches. Hide in kitchen. Wait for dark. Give Fascists food because lazy and no clean kitchen then Fascists everywhere. Greece lazy. America lazy. World lazy. Must close kitchen and poison. March around with signs, Fascists laugh. You have great black man in America that march around with sign and Fascists laugh. Great black man get bullet in head. Black people rise up and burn cities and Fascists listen. Fascists not listen to signs. Fascists listen to fire and guns. Fascists listen when Fascists dead. I read about America. Americans children. Americans always win, never lose, never see boots of enemy. America think America belong to Americans. America belong to Fascists. Everyone think free, free at last. Is joke. Fascists steal money, break country and get more money. Fascists think break more, steal more. No Fascists in jail. No Fascists hang from lamp posts. No clean kitchen, no kitchen.”
     Lucia took a long draw from her drink. A broad smile bloomed on Buck’s face. He began to slowly clap. Snezhana turned her chin in the air, picked up a glass and began to polish it. Dan heard the door of the bar swing open. Before he could turn to see who was coming in, Lucia jumped from her stool. “Gladys! Nadine! What a surprise!”
     The two hags made a regal entrance. Their evening dresses shimmered. Their jewels flashed and their pearls glowed. They floated toward the bar, heads rotating slowly, arms moving from side to side like clock work automatons. Dan sighed a silent sigh. Snezhana offered a stiff, professional smile. Buck turned on his stool. His face went blank. He turned back to the bar and his bourbon.
     They touched down at Lucia’s side. Nadine swung her arm grandly and offered Dan her hand. “Daniel, darling. We are so glad to see you again. How handsome you look. I trust you had a relaxing afternoon?”
     “I did, and you?” He helped her on to a stool where she perched her grand ass and swayed slowly, almost imperceptibly like a dozing vulture.
     Gladys stood staring at Buck’s broad back waiting in vain for him to offer her his stool. “We had a problem with the food.”
     Lucia helped Gladys on to her stool. “No! You weren’t sick were you?”
   “Oh, Gladys!”, admonished Nadine. “It was just a little indigestion.”
     Gladys shuffled her shoulders and surveyed the room. “I made my complaints known to the purser.” She gave Snezhana a cold once over. “Bourbon and water.”
     “I’ll have a strawberry daiquiri!”, Nadine chirped. “Can you make me a strawberry daiquiri?”
     Snezhana was pouring the bourbon and water. She did not look up. “No berries in bar.”
     “No berries in bar? Well what can you make me that’s light and fruity?”
     The bartender pushed Gladys’ drink toward her. “Vodka stinger.”
     “Why that’s not fruity at all!”, sniffed Nadine. “A vodka stinger? I mean, really.” But before a frown could form on her face, her eyes opened in reminiscence. “A vodka stinger! I haven’t had one of those in years and I used to drink oodles of them at lunch! Why I think that’s a grand idea, young lady. I’ll have a vodka stinger.”
     Lucia broke in. “Nadine, Gladys, I would like you to meet Snezhana. It means Snow Woman in Bulgarian.” She shot the bartender a quick, condescending smile.
     “That’s so exotic.”, Nadine cooed as she watched Snezhana pour her drink.
     “Snow Woman. How romantic.” Gladys snipped. She turned to look again at Buck’s back. “And who is the large man with the large back?”
     Lucia put her hands on Buck’s shoulders and turned him to face the music. “This is Buck. Buck I would like you to meet Gladys and Nadine, two very dear friends of mine. Buck and I were discussing the Goldberg Variations before you came in.”
     Buck touched a finger to his forehead. “Ladies.”
     “The Goldberg Variations?” Nadine looked him up and down, took a swallow of her vodka stinger and cleared her throat. “That’s Bach, isn’t it?” She offered a coy smile. “I am very pleased to meet you, sir.”
     Gladys lifted her drink to him. “Still waters run deep, they say. So, big man, are you just going to ignore me?”
     Buck turned back to his drink. “You takin’ a step down not orderin’ call bourbon?”
     The old bird dug her ass into her bar stool and squared her shoulders. “You must have been impressed with me to size me up so thoroughly.”
     The blank look on Buck’s face cracked. “You ain’t so bad.”
     “You, on the other hand are a miserable bastard.”, Gladys sniffed.
     “Guilty as charged.”, said Buck to his drink. “I think under all that attitude might be what’s left of a rosebud.”
     “Touche.”, said Gladys, her eyes blinking in charmed retreat.
     “I’m glad you’ve recovered enough to have a drink before dinner.”, offered Dan.
     Buck’s blunt charm had warmed Gladys’ frosty arrogance but for only a moment. “Well, I’m going to need something to get myself through dinner. I tell you, the service on cruise ships has gone to hell these days.” She caught Snezhana looking at her and turned up her nose.
     Buck shook his head. “I don’t mind an old dinosaur or two to add a little flavor to the pot. The problem is, I seen plenty of young people who fit right in with you, your highness.”
     Gladys pressed her lips. “I should think so. Why there are two right here in the bar with us, aren’t there Lucia? Tell me you run a hedge fund, Daniel. I just know you do.”
     “You’re down right psychic!”, smiled Dan, giving Buck a sidelong glance. Lucia gave me a dirty look. “We specialize in commodity speculation, oil has been a gold mine, though that’s not going to last. We’re getting into food speculation now. All of Wall Street is. The handwriting is on the wall.  Sovereign Wealth Funds are jumping at buying up third world farm land, bumping the local peasants out and filling it with genetically modified monoculture. My fund opened its farmland portfolio to investors this year.”
     “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Daniel.”, beamed Gladys. “Those people have had all that land for eons and they never knew what to do with it. If they can’t make any money on it then somebody should.”
      Gladys’ enthusiasm chilled Dan but he kept spinning. “What they need is some good old American know how. Ninety percent of our corn and soy and potato crops are genetically modified and we’re producing more food than any other country. A little taxpayer subsidy helps of course and why shouldn’t it?  We’re developing GM crops of every kind. We’ll soon be eating nothing but. And don’t worry about those naysayers warning it might not be good for you. The EPA and the FDA have cleared all the studies on the safety of GM crops that have been done by the giant chemical companies who create them.”
     Buck offered a sinister smile. “They’re even buyin’ up all the seed banks in the world. They’re gonna have control of the world’s food faster than shit through a tin horn.”
     Nadine was engrossed. “My God, I’m going to have a talk with my broker when I get back.”
     Lucia was flustered. “Oh, Nadine, I think they’re taking you for a ride.”
     “They are not.”, snapped Gladys. “How can you go wrong with a company that owns the world’s food supply?”
     “The most profitable angle of all this is the volatility.”, Dan whispered conspiratorially. “All these commodities didn’t used to be very volatile at all but now everything is volatile so we might as well cash in on it. And the wonderful thing is the more we cash in on it, the more volatile it gets. Life is dangerous. We’re all in a lifeboat in a storm. We could sink any minute or land in El Dorado. So what do you do? Sit there and piss and moan or open a bottle of champagne and make love?”
     Lucia blushed. Buck raised his glass.  “Here’s to America, the greatest country in the world.”
     “And here’s to all of us!”, beamed Nadine.  “And to this wonderful cruise, to these two young lovebirds, and to bravado in the face of impending doom!”
     Gladys shot her a look. “Impending doom? Oh, Nadine, put a cork in it.”
     Nadine took another swallow out of her vodka stinger. “But it’s true, Gladys! Heavens to Betsy! The Greeks are rioting, the British are rioting! They surrounded Prince Charles and Camila’s Limo and screamed ‘Off with their heads!’ All of the Arabs are rioting! Even that horrible Clinton woman was aghast that the ‘dear friend of her family’, President Mubarac was arrested. Goodness gracious, I’m aghast! And at home there are all those idiots in Wisconsin taking over the capital and threatening the governor just because he had to cut the bloated salaries of the public school teachers. That sort of thing is only going to spread, Gladys when you have a Communist, Socialist, Nazi, Bolshevik in the White House!”
     Buck choked on his drink. Lucia patted his back. His coughing turned to laughter. He grinned at Nadine. “I can just see the look on your face when they lay you out on your belly, clamp your head in the guillotine and you get a good look at all them heads in the basket below you.”
     All the color in Nadine’s face slipped away. Gladys’ mouth dropped open. “You know, that sort of speech under the Patriot Act could be considered support for terrorism, material or otherwise. If I were you, I’d watch what I say. Some one could report you.”
     “Why don’t you have another chat with the purser? Be my guest, Comrade Battle Ax.”
     Dan heard the door to the bar creak open. Everyone turned to see Bob and Sally make their entrance. They were grinning broadly until they saw Dan. They stopped in their tracks. Then Sally offered him a warm smile. “Dan! I owe you an apology!” Bob heaved a sigh of relief. The two of them walked toward him. He welcomed them in and introduced them to everyone.
     Sally gave him a kiss on the cheek and turned to Gladys. “It’s just so silly. You see Dan was having dinner with us last night when politics came up and before we knew it, things got a little heated, if you can imagine that.” She paused for a moment then turned to Nadine. “I swear your pearls are larger than mine and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive you for that!”
     The image of bodiless heads staring up at her flew out of Nadine’s brain and the safe thoughts of jewelry embraced her.
     Sally looked at Lucia. “And I am so happy to meet you, Lucia. You just swept us off our feet with that stunning performance last night.”
     Bob gave Lucia a lusty smile. “Boy, did you ever.”
     Gladys winced. “What in the world are they talking about, Lucia?”
      Lucia ignored her. “What will you have? This is Snezhana and she pours a mean drink.”
     “Well, that’s a mouthful!”, leered Bob. “I’ll have a vodka on the rocks and Sally here will have a vodka stinger.”
     “A vodka stinger?”, squealed Nadine. “That’s what I'm having! I’ll have another one, bartender! Who else is thirsty? Why don’t you pour another all the way around? I think we all could use one!” She reached out and touched Sally’s shoulder. “Where are you two from?”
     “We’re from a lovely little town on the Peninsula just south of San Francisco. We’ve lived there for years and it’s gotten quite exclusive these days.”, Sally answered with a satisfied grin.
     Gladys warmed a bit. “Ah, California. You know it used to be so pink, if you know what I mean, a tax for this and a tax for that. I know several people who have relocated to Florida because they just couldn’t keep a home in tax crazy, socialist California, let alone two or three but it looks like you are finally starting to wise up. I read just the other day that you are thinking about having a holiday for people who put their money in off shore accounts.”
     It was Bob’s turn to smile. “I sure hope so! It would be just great. All you have to do is pay the money back you owe, no penalties or fines or …”, he lowered his voice. “prosecution of any kind.”
     Sally jumped in. “It’s like Christmas in September! I’ll bet you don’t even have to declare anywhere near the money you’ve, well, you know, not declared.”
     Nadine was intrigued now. “That’s fabulous. Just throw them a couple of bones so they can support some senior center somewhere or pay off a few Welfare parasites and you’re clean as a whistle. I know congress is going to give the corporations another tax holiday, pennies on the dollar as long as they invest in America.”
     Gladys tittered. “I’m glad someone is finally wising up and giving the private citizen, or should I say job creator the same break.”
     Bob gave Nadine a knowing wink. “And they don’t apply it to everyone. You can’t claim hardship or ignorance.”
     “Ignorance of the law is no excuse!” Nadine burst out laughing. The other three joined in.
     Buck snorted. “Job creators! You gotta be kiddin’ me.”
     “But we are job creators!”, exclaimed Nadine.
     Buck shook his head. “I guess she means the maid and the chauffer.”
     Nadine turned up her nose. “And the gardener. I’ll bet everyone here has some sort of staff. Then there’s the staff at the restaurants we go to and the cast of the plays we go to and the sales people in the shops and all the people on this ship we employ. I could go on and on.” She gave Snezhana a dismissive glance.
     Gladys smiled at Buck condescendingly. “How many people do you employ, Mr. Holier Than Thou?” She turned back to me. “We’re having a fine cocktail hour and, with the exception of the large man at the bar -”. She shot Buck a look. “Everyone is having a splendid time!”
     “In vino veritas.”, muttered Buck. “Let’s change the subject.” He looked at Dan. “What are you and your girl gonna do tomorrow on Crete?”
   Dan smiled with relief. “We haven’t discussed it but I hope I can talk her into seeing the ruins of Knossos.”
     “The ship is offering a tour tomorrow.”, said Bob. “Sally and I are going. How could you pass on King Minos’ Palace? It’s so mysterious, you know, Labyrinths and Minotaurs and all.”
     “We are going shopping for jewelry.”, announced Gladys. “Are you going to join us, Lucia?”
     Snezhana was pouring a bourbon and water for Gladys. “Go to Gyorgios in Heraklion. Best place to buy gold in Crete.”
     “I’m sure it is. Did you buy that lovely ring there? “, Gladys sniffed, turning her back on Snezhana before she could reply.
     “Mayka ti duha na mechki v gorata”, muttered Snezhana under her breath. She cut off the water and let the bourbon fill up the glass. She dumped the ice in Nadine’s rocks glass and made her next vodka stinger in a double Old Fashion glass.
     Lucia’s interest was piqued. “Nadine, Gladys, why don’t you join us on the tour? We can all go together. I have always had this thing for Minotaurs. We can go shopping later in the day.”
     Sally jumped in. “Oh come on, Ladies. It’ll be awesome!”
     Gladys gave Sally a cold look and took a swig of bourbon. “Awesome?”
     Bob laughed. “You know how it is, Gladys. Your kids have their own vocabulary just like we did. They have ‘awesome’, we had ‘far out’'. You’re always around your kids and you can’t help picking it up. What do you say, Nadine? When are you ever going to get the chance to meet a Minotaur again?”
     Sally gave her husband a loving look. “I think it will be wonderful. It’s so nice to get away. Things have been so difficult lately in spite of President Obama’s heart felt effort to get the country back on track again.”
     Nadine raised her double vodka stinger. “We’ll be there! I don’t know about all the rest of you but I’m on this vacation to forget about the fact that my portfolio is in the toilet, that I’m down to a bare bones staff and that we have a Hottentot in the White House!”
     Buck let out a laugh. Sally jerked involuntarily and looked around the room wildly. Snezhana smirked, picked up a glass and began polishing. Bob rolled his eyes. Lucia just stood there with her mouth open. Dan caught Buck looking at him. He smiled. Dan smiled. He grinned. Dan grinned. He started to laugh. Dan followed.
     “What are you laughing at?” It was Sally.
     “They’re laughing at you.” It was Gladys.
     Buck grinned. “I ain’t laughing at her, Comrade. I’m laughin’ at the parrot on the bar stool next to you.”
     “Parrot?” squawked Nadine, looking around.
     Sally gathered her self for battle. She glared at Gladys. “Don’t tell me a sophisticated woman like you thinks our President is a Hottentot?”
     “Labels, labels.”, chuckled Gladys. “They come, they go.”
     Dan couldn’t help himself. “Careful, Sally, This one bites.”
      Nadine took a long, delicious draw from her double Old Fashion glass. “Look, Sally. I know what I’m talking about. Obama is a communist. I was no blessed child. My husband and I worked our behinds off to get where we are, where I am. I even spent time in public schools! I saw a report on television the other night about the high school I went to. They’ve turned it into some sort of welfare school for black girls who are pregnant. They baby sit the little bastards and they baby sit the mothers who couldn’t manage to keep their legs together!”
     Lucia frowned. “Nadine, please! I saw that report! It’s for children who are pregnant, young girls!”
     Nadine swayed on her bar stool, her vodka stinger dangling from her fingers. “And those girls are going to tell all their other little pregnant friends to come on over for free room and board. Are we supposed to take care of everybody now?”
     Sally exploded. “What the hell are you going to do with those poor girls, throw them in the garbage can?”
     “That’s where they came from in the first place.”, hissed Gladys. “Maybe you could declare a little more of your off shore money and have them over for dinner.”   
     “Good God, mother!”, exclaimed Bob. “You do bite!”
     “I’m not your mother!”, shot Gladys.
     “I have elected a President who is going to do something about it!”, Sally said proudly, slamming her empty glass on the bar and waving at the bartender for a fill up.
     Buck let loose another burst of laughter. I joined him.
     “Why are you laughing ?” Sally turned to Dan. “Are you going to just sit there and listen to this? Whose side are you on?”
     Dan picked up his glass and raised it to Sally. “On the side of those who might make an ignorant mistake because of their hardship.”
     “Where did that come from, Daniel?” Gladys’ voice was shrill. “That doesn’t sound like something someone who owns a hedge fund would say. Showing your true colors, are you? You really do support that, that…”
     “Dan! You own a hedge fund?” Bob was impressed. “Why didn’t you say so? I've got some money sitting around in a savings account collecting point zero percent interest.”
     Sally gave a start. “You own a hedge fund? No wonder you don’t like president -.”
     Buck glared at Gladys. “I don’t think our boy here supports the Yes We Can Clown in the White House any more than you or me, Comrade.”
     Sally whirled around. “The Yes We Can Clown? THE YES WE CAN CLOWN?”
     Gladys was starting to come unhinged. “Stop calling me Comrade! I will make some calls if you are not careful! We don’t tolerate people like you any more! We don’t have to!” She sucked long and hard on her bourbon and water.  
   Dan gave Buck a concerned look. “Careful, Buck, you don’t want to be disappeared.”
   Gladys’ eyes were beginning to cross from anger and the bourbon. She launched herself at me. “You are one of those Wall Street buffoons who gave that Kenyon all that campaign money! You are on thin ice, young man! You threatened to slit my throat this afternoon!”
     Sally put a hand over her mouth. “Why that’s crazy! Dan would never say such a thing!”
     Dan had had enough. “What the hell is it with you people? You should love Obama. He’s one of you! He lied to angry Americans desperate for someone to lead them out of the stinking swamp we’re sinking in. We elected him and he betrayed us!”
     “He wants to help us, Dan!”, pleaded Sally. “He is on our side! You know that! It’s the republicans! It’s the republicans!”
     The vodka stingers were taking Nadine to a wonderful place she missed dearly. “You’re not sending this big, handsome man anywhere, Gladys! Buck, honey, if they send you to Guantanamo, I’ll wait for you!”
     Buck blew her a kiss. “I know you will, gorgeous.”
     Nadine sighed and blushed then turned to Sally and Bob. “But as for you two, what the hell are you doing voting for that, that thing? Are you traitors to your class? Don’t you see these people want to take everything we have all worked so hard for away from us? Buck was right! They want to put an end to us! There will be another French Revolution if we don’t stop them! We have to stop them before they kill again! We have to put them in their place! There are two kinds of people in the world, the powerful and the rest!”
     “This idiot!”, Gladys roared. “This idiot is trying to take us back to the days of that cripple in the White House!”
     “For God’s sake, shut up!” Lucia commanded. “What the hell is this all about? Just because you two are having a little bit less of a grand tour than you usually have, why do you have to spoil everything?”
     Sally looked at Lucia and suddenly came to herself. “Things aren’t so bad that we have to yell at each other.”
     Gladys turned to Lucia. She paused for a moment of venomous sobriety and offered a sticky smile. “Lucia, why are you getting involved? You have no need for politics. All those criminals will keep you in Chanel for the rest of your life.”
     Dan looked at Lucia. Her eyes began to fill. “Lucia, what is she talking about?”
     “Didn’t she tell you?”, gurgled Nadine. “Her ex husband made a fortune in the private prison industry.”
     “I thought you were an interior decorator.”, Dan blurted idiotically.
     “And I though you owned a restaurant.”, sobbed Lucia.
     Gladys and Nadine laughed with savage delight. Tears flowed down Lucia’s face. “Shut up! Both of you shut up!”
     The tension in the air cracked as the door creaked loudly and opened once again. Everyone turned. An elderly woman walked into the bar. Her back was bent with osteoporosis. She was dressed in a kaleidoscope of antique tribal fabric. She moved carefully with the help of an intricately carved cane. Dan stepped toward her. “Would you like a seat?”
     “At the bar.”, she smiled.  The men got off their stools. Dan took her arm. “That won’t be necessary.”, she said quietly but firmly. She hooked her cane on the bar rail and lifted a leg to place a foot on the lower rung of the stool. Dan offered his hand. “Please.”, she smiled and with one hand on the bar rail and a palm on the seat of the stool, she lifted herself up. She raised her head to face Snezhana.. “Will you please pour me a Manhattan up with Maker’s Mark, twist, no cherry,  no bitters?”
     Snezhana’s hard face glowed with admiration. She constructed the drink swiftly with a show of professionalism, as a gift. She filled a pint glass with ice then water and set it on the bar. She ran her fingers down a row of over turned stems before selecting one and flipping it over. She placed it on the bar with two fingers and filled it with ice. She emptied the chilled pint glass, refilled it with ice and glanced over her shoulder. One arm reached for the bottle of Maker’s Mark on the back bar while the other reached into the well at her waist to withdraw a bottle of sweet vermouth. She poured with both hands, snapping away the vermouth bottle and dropping it back into the well while the bourbon continued to pour. She turned her wrist and replaced the Maker’s Mark on the back bar without looking. She picked up a stir stick and tentatively dipped it into the Manhattan then slid it in. She slowly spun the stick, whirling the ice faster and faster. She pulled the stir stick out and slapped a sieve onto the top of the pint glass. With a deft flip of her wrist, she emptied the ice from the stem into the ice bin and placed it back where it was, this time twisting it ever so slightly with her two fingers as if to secure it to the bar.  Her hand passed over a glass of precut lemon twists and picked up a virgin lemon. She spun it to select a perfect side to slice and spiral a perfect twist into the stem. She slid the stem toward the lady then picked up the pint glass, holding it for a moment over the stem before pouring the Manhattan slowly but not too slowly until it shrunk to a trickle and filled the glass to the rim. With a final flourish, she snapped the pint glass away and stepped back, pausing for a moment to look at the lady before turning away. 
  The lady reached for the Manhattan.  Her fingers quivered slightly before stopping firm. She picked up the drink and brought it toward her. Just before it touched her lips, she paused, smiled and looked around the room. All eyes were upon her. Her eyes lit up. She lifted the glass. “Cheers, everyone!”, she announced then took a sip. She looked at Snezhana. “Excellent!” She took another. She swirled the Manhattan in the glass and took another. “Much better.” She stretched her arm out to the bar and set down the drink gently. Her fingers lingered for a moment on the stem before slipping away. Dan stepped up to her and introduced himself. She offered her hand. “I am Cesaria.”
     Nadine was now completely submerged in her vodka stingers. She was swaying rhythmically on her barstool. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many ooga booga rags on one person at the same time in all my life.”
     Gladys frowned. “I think you’ve had just about enough.”
      Nadine clutched her drink to her bosom. “Nobody tells me when I’ve had enough, least of all you.”
     Lucia wiped away her tears and introduced herself. "These are my dear friends, Gladys and Nadine. I’m sorry if they seem a bit forward but we’ve all been having a lively conversation about politics and none of us seem to have any common ground.”
     Cesaria smiled graciously. “Lively isn’t the word. My goodness, it sounded like a bunch of cannibals dancing around the cooking pot.”
     Buck’s blank face broke into a smile. “You got that right, lady. A buncha cannibals. The name’s Buck.”, He stuck out a big ham hand. The lady placed her fingers on a large, stubby thumb. 
     Sally was jittery with embarrassment. “Please accept my apologies for all the ruckus. We’re not that way, really. Live and let live, I always say. To each his own. I’m Sally and this is my husband Bob.”
     “Chacun a son gout.” sighed Cesaria. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
     Nadine was rocking back and forth on her bar stool. The stool’s legs were beginning to tip off the floor. Her face was beginning to dissolve. “So what’s with the old hippie routine?”
     Cesaria took her time turning on her stool and raising herself to face Nadine. “Madame, if you are not careful, you are going to take a spill. Take it from the voice of experience. I was once so taken by Norma Teagarden’s flying fingers on the piano, I rocked myself right off a bar stool.”
     Nadine’s rocking came to a sudden halt. “Are you presuming I am intoxicated over my limit of one too many?”
     Gladys pounded her fist on the bar. “Why is it so expensive to drown these days?  What do you do when the car won’t start, when the lights don’t turn on?”
     Dan looked at the two of them and realized Snezhana had worked her revenge. It had sneaked up and smothered Nadine. It hit Gladys with a sledgehammer. Now Gladys was rocking on her bar stool, her bourbon and water clutched in her hands and anchored firmly in her lap, her face down. Some people blossom when the booze hits them. Some crumble into the miserable, self loathing, self anointed potentates they hide under a veneer of mock sophistication.
        Snezhana’s eyebrows arched. She tossed a look at Buck. Buck looked long at Snezhana and finished his drink in one gulp.
     Lucia gently guided the two tyrants off their barstools. “Is the party over with already?”, Nadine asked the ceiling.  
     Lucia gave Dan a reassuring look over her shoulder as she led them out. She shook her head when he stood to help her. “They’re performing The Marriage of Figaro tonight.”, mumbled Gladys. “I’m so looking forward to it.”
     “You know, Dan, you got a good girl there.”, Buck offered.
     “I seem to have come in at the denouement.”, Cesaria observed. She looked at Sally and smiled. “Was all that so necessary?”
     Sally took the last swig of her vodka stinger. “They said horrible things about our president. I know he hasn’t done all he promised. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I’m disappointed, very disappointed, so very, very disappointed, so very disappointed.”
     Cesaria put a hand on Sally’s hand. “My dear, don’t let that worry you. The president of the United States is nothing more than a figurehead, like the Queen of England. Corporations run our country.”
     Dan understood now why a bottle of wine at the table last night was such an honor. Bob drank, Sally didn’t. Her two vodka stingers had taken hold. She gave Cesaria a broad, golden smile. “Tomorrow I’m going to meet a Minotaur.”
     Bob put his arm around his wife and turned her to the door. “Come on, honey. Let’s put some dinner in our stomachs.”
     “Minotaur?”, queried Cesaria as the bar door closed behind Bob and Sally. “Is she talking about the tour of Knossos tomorrow? I’ll be there.”
     “Every one will be there.”, said Dan.
     “I love the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.”, said Cesaria wistfully. “It all started with a little bit of bestiality.” There were only the three of TEM and the bartender left in the bar and Cesaria had their attention. “The Minoans were the super power in the Mediterranean thirty five hundred years ago, a beacon of civilization so strong, so superior that they didn’t even need walls to protect their cities, so exceptional, so free that the rest of the world hated them for it.” Cesaria paused and offered a conspiratorial smile. “But this shining city on a hill had a dirty little secret in the basement and an even dirtier secret reason for it. King Minos, in his struggle with his brothers for the throne prayed to God for victory, well the God of the sea that is - they had so many back then. Our leaders only have one God to talk to these days. It makes things so much more convenient - and Minos asked Poseidon to send him a white bull as proof that God, or rather Poseidon was on his side. When the white bull arrived shortly after Minos vanquished his brothers, Minos was so impressed with the bull and so impressed with himself that he refused to sacrifice it. That was a mistake. Poseidon was very irritated. He made King Minos’ wife, Pasiphae fall in love with the bull. Pasiphae was so infatuated that she insisted that Daedalus, the fellow who would later be the first man to fly, but that’s another story, make her a hollow cow which she immediately climbed into in order to have her way with the bull and the result was the Minotaur - half man, half bull and completely pissed off. King Minos went running to the Oracle of Delphi for advice and was promptly told to have Daedalus build a Labyrinth in which to hide the unfortunate Minotaur. The Minotaur was the result of the power and the blind arrogance of the king of the greatest country in the world. And what is the result of power and blind arrogance everywhere? Corruption, making the pure un pure, the truth a lie, rot, decay, putrefaction, and what do you do with corruption? You hide it in the basement, at least at first. Why, the labyrinth itself can be a metaphor for the dark, twisted path of corruption, a mythological roach motel - the truth walks in and never walks out.”
     Snezhana was staring at Buck. “Good story. Bar close for dinner.”
     Cesaria paused, picked up her Manhattan and took a dainty sip. “I’m not finished yet, dear.”
     Buck smiled and waived Snezhana off. “Finish the story, your honor.”
     Cesaria replaced the stem on the bar. “Everything seemed to settle down and get back to normal until King Minos’ son, Prince Androgeus won all the medals in the Olympics in that dirty little backwater, Athens and somehow wound up dead. King Minos was not amused and he decided to put his sequestered stepson to use. He ordered Aegues, the king of Athens to deliver seven young men and seven young women to the Labyrinth every seven years to be sacrificed and eaten by the Minotaur. You see, there comes a time when the powerful become so arrogant, there is no need to hide corruption anymore. When the powerful break the law and are not subject to it because they are powerful, the result is tyranny. Resignation to that fear is tyranny’s greatest weapon. Luckily for Athens, Poseidon diddled King Aegeus’ wife as well and she produced a son. You know, this son of God thing goes back a long time. The son’s name was Theseus and he made his way to Athens heroically killing murderers and robbers along the way and dispatching the crooked courtiers of the king when he got there. Once King Aegeus took him as his son and prince, Theseus decided he wanted to sail to Crete as one of the sacrificed in order to kill the Minotaur and put an end to all the sacrificing. When he left Athens, he promised the king that if he killed the Minotaur, he would raise a white sail on his ship upon return as a sign that he was alive and well. When Theseus arrived in Crete, King Minos’ daughters, Ariadne and Phaedra fell hook, line and sinker for him. I tell you, that Minos should have sacrificed that bull. Ariadne talked Daedalus into giving Theseus a ball of twine to navigate the Labyrinth. Theseus descended into the maze, found the Minotaur asleep and murdered him. Ariadne and Phaedra joined Theseus on the ship back to Athens. Theseus showed his gratitude for Ariadne’s help and love by dumping her on the island of Naxos and sailing off with her younger sister. Whether it was the result of blind arrogance or divine retribution, Theseus forgot to raise the white sail when he returned to Athens. Maybe Theseus had a reason of his own. When King Aegeus saw the ship without the white sail, he threw himself into the sea which was ever after named the Aegean, and Theseus inherited the throne. I wonder what it was in the Greek mind that would turn the destroyer of corruption into corruption personified. Maybe the Greeks had a lesson for us all, that corruption is contagious, a pathogen that has no cure. It’s a wonderful story isn’t it? And timely. Have we not placed the powerful above the law ourselves?” Cesaria smiled . “In 1979, Archaeologists found what appeared to be a Labyrinth in Knossis along with evidence of human sacrifice, butchery and cannibalism. Cannibalism. Isn’t that what people do when they have devoured everything and there is nothing left to eat?”
     Snezhana gave Buck a smoldering look. She turned to Cesaria. “You finish story? Bar close for dinner. Come back after.”
     Dan offered a smile. “Will you join me for dinner tonight?”.
     “I ain’t hungry.” Buck grunted.
     He turned to Cesaria. “Well then, may I accompany you to the dining room?”
     “It would be a pleasure.”, said the lady.
     Slowly, exquisitely Cesaria descended from the bar stool. She unhooked her cane from the rail and took Dan’s arm. As they made our way to the dining room, she looked up at him from time to time with a smile but said not one word. A wistful mood descended on Dan and he lost himself in it. He shuffled along with the intrepid woman on his arm not thinking, just feeling as passengers streamed by in slow motion. The ship rocked gently forcing their weight from side to side, from foot to foot. There was a pianist that night in the lobby before the dining room. They stopped and listened for a moment. It was as if Dan’s mood had invented the scene: a warmly lit room, an exotic woman on his arm, the musician’s fingers rolling over the keys. The ship’s horn let loose an interminable groan. The pianist’s eyes lit up and his fingers flourished. Cesaria pulled at his sleeve. He looked down at her and she smiled grandly. They walked through the doors to the dining room. The room was full but quiet. Dan scanned the crowd and there against the far wall was Lucia sitting alone at a table, her back to him. Cesaria led him too her, pulling him along with an increasing urgency until they stood behind her. Lucia turned, looked into Dan’s eyes and seemed to recognize an old friend, someone she had thought of many times recently and missed terribly. She stood and gently placed her arms around him. She rested her cheek on his chest. He held her close and buried his face in her hair.
     Cesaria began to walk away. Lucia turned and called her name. “Cesaria, please join us.”
     The lady turned and smiled. “I think the two of you have much to talk about without me.”
     Dan looked at Cesaria warmly. “Please, Cesaria.”
     She shook her head. “I cannot and will not interject myself between two people who need to clear the air as much as the two of you do.”
     Lucia and Dan sat down and looked at one another. He took her hand. “I do not own a hedge fund. I’m sorry. I just couldn’t help myself.”
     “And I am not an interior decorator.” Lucia lowered her eyes. “Though I want to be one. I plan to be one.”
     “And your husband did not make his fortune in Real Estate.”, he said.
     “He made his first fortune in real estate.”, admitted Lucia. “His current fortune, our current fortune was made less honorably. What Gladys and Nadine said was true. My ex husband got rich representing, lobbying for and investing in the private prison industry.”
     “How did he manage to get himself involved in that?”
      Lucia shrugged. “The whole idea seemed to come out of nowhere but I knew some of his friends got him involved. One thing I didn’t know about was private prisons. What the hell was a private prison and who the hell cared? I turned out a lot of people cared. At first, my husband kept me out of it but when the money started to pour in he had no choice but to include me. Then he was glad he did. He would get so excited telling me about it, about all the money that was in it. It was the details that started to confuse me. I am republican through and through. To hell with the liberals and their welfare state and their peace and love and tax and spend.”
     Dan shook his head. “It was morning in America and the sun was shining on the shining city on the hill.”
     Lucia frowned. “But Daniel, things started to get very strange. Once the industry started making so much money, more money had to be made and how does the private prison industry make more money? With more prisoners. The largest company that operates private prisons offered to take over the prison systems in forty eight states if those states commit to a ninety percent occupancy. Sounds like a hotel chain, doesn’t it?”
     “The Gray Bar Hotel.”, muttered Dan.
     “My husband and his associates started lobbying Congress for harsher punishment, more prison time for small time crimes like drug use, or prostitution. And why? For the labor. Private prisons all over the country are using their inmates as forced labor. I can’t believe I’m telling you this. I don’t think I’ve ever even articulated it. I couldn’t even explain my feelings to my husband though I tried. They aren’t making just license plates anymore. They make hardware for the military, processed food for the School Lunch Program. In Florida, the prisons are the printing industry. In Wisconsin, they are forcing the public work force out of business by doing city maintenance, landscaping. I tried to talk to some of my friends but I always got the same answer: ‘They’re criminals, for heaven’s sake.’ But, Daniel, it just ate at me. Even I knew that anyone can end up committing a crime or that innocent people can be convicted of a crime. Who hasn’t smoked pot in college? Who hasn’t gotten behind the wheel after a couple of drinks? If you committed a crime, you went to prison to pay for it, but labor camps? That’s something out of the Soviet Union. I was tied in knots. I finally confronted my husband and  he looked at me as if I were insane. Then he laughed at me. He didn’t care what I thought at that point. He was so caught up in the money and the power. He was traveling all over the country and meeting with all sorts of CEOs and politicians. It went to his head. It went somewhere else too and that at least got me a decent settlement in the divorce. It was quick. It was amicable and I am comfortable. But somehow I can’t get completely over it. Why would we Americans do that to ourselves?”
     “Is that why on Patmos when we met you said that we have feasted on the world and it tasted good so we have begun to feast on each other?”
     She looked at him. Her eyes welled. “I felt like Lady Macbeth sometimes, Daniel, washing the blood off my hands in my sleep.”
     He took her hand and gently rubbed it. “Out, damned spot. Out, I say.”
     Lucia placed her other hand on theirs. “One, two, why then, t’is time to do it. Hell is murky.”
     “Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him? Don’t tell me you do summer stock.”
     Lucia put a finger to his lips. “Speaking of blood on our hands, your hedge fund performance was quiet good. How do you know all those things you talked about? It didn’t sound like you were making them up as you went along.”
     Dan was caught off guard. He didn’t want to tip his hand, or lack of one. Maybe if he started with a little truth. “The bar business is down. I have a lot of time on my hands. I wanted to find out what went wrong the last couple of decades and I wanted to find out by myself. I’ve been doing a lot of reading.”
     Lucia didn’t push it. “Did the EPA really just take the industry’s own research and approve GMOs without any testing of its own?”
     Dan sighed. “Yes they did. There has been a lot of independent testing but the scientists who conducted the research were discredited by the industry. They were fired and there lives were ruined. Studies all over the world have shown sterility and hair growth in the mouth occurs in rats and hamsters in only a couple of generations as well as immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin problems, organ mutations.”
     A waiter appeared. Lucia looked at Dan. Now he felt his eyes welling. “The entire country of Greece went GMO free in 2004. Greece is safe for now.” We picked up the menus. I looked up at the waiter. “I’ll start with the Gharithes Vrastes then I’ll have Stifatho, please.”
   Lucia gave him a grateful smile. “I’ll start with Salata Therini, please and I’ll have Kotopoulo Lemonato.”
   

 

 

 

 

THE CANNIBALS IN THE GARBAGE CAN


     The next morning was Heraklion. The Venetian Castle was brooding over the harbor. The parchment colored buildings of the city rising up from the sea looked like wedding cakes. The tour bus to Knossos left at eleven. Lucia and Dan were the first to arrive. Her billowy, white Greek blouse glowed in the morning sun. The swaying necks of the camel caravan the Tuareg rhythms had evoked the day before came back to Dan as he watched Gladys and Nadine painfully make their way to the bus each protected from the sun by a ridiculously large straw hat. How the hell did they manage to get those in their luggage, he asked myself. Any sympathy he may have felt for the pair of hung over potentates was purely self centered. He shuddered at the thought of himself at their age sweating out the scotch from the night before while trying to negotiate a broiling Cretan sun. Bob and Sally showed up in matched floral and striped outfits. Bob waived, gave Dan a beaming smile and an almost sexual thumbs up. Sally blew him a kiss through slightly crossed eyes and an all suffering wince. Cesaria was decked out in an even more eccentric outfit and proudly refused any help as she worked her way up the stairs of the bus. Buck was the last to arrive. He appeared distracted and out of breath but he soon turned magnanimous and flush with life. He shook Dan's hand while fanning himself with a baseball cap, and gave Lucia a little too long and a little too hard of a hug. Everyone began to board the bus. The tour guide looked at Buck and then looked at a piece of paper in his hand. Buck smiled awkwardly and muttered something to the guide under his breath. Dan was behind Buck but could not understand what he was saying. It almost sounded like he was speaking Greek. Buck reached into his pocket and pulled out some cash. He handed it to the guide who paused for a moment then nodded. Dan looked up and saw Gladys staring down at us through the bus window.
     When the bus had fully boarded, Dan was surprised at how small the crowd was. There were the eight of them from the bar last night and only three other Americans: a young blonde couple in jeans and tee shirts and a tall, lanky man in his forties with bright red hair wearing a Hawaiian shirt and very tight shorts. The bus rumbled into gear and lurched forward.
     The tour guide blew into the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the beautiful city of Heraklion on the glorious island of Crete. We will take a brief tour of the city before proceeding on to Knossos.”
     The bus shuddered and wandered toward the town. Dan looked across the aisle at the young couple. The girl looked back. He smiled. “I haven’t noticed you on the ship. Have you been to Greece before?” The girl’s expression turned cold look and she turned away. “Oh, I’m sorry.”, Dan stuttered. “I thought you were American.”
     The girl turned around. “We are American.”
   “Forgive me then.” Dan offered. “I was just being friendly. Everyone is on vacation and all.”
     The young man offered a strained smile. “We’ve never been anywhere and now we’re going to go to as many places as we can.”
     Lucia smiled. “I can’t tell whether the tone of your voice is defiant or desperate.”
     The man seemed surprised then irritated. “I am Justin and this is my wife Courtney. We’re both defiant and desperate.”
     “Dan and Lucia.”, offered Dan. “Those are odd emotions for two young people on a cruise of the
Greek islands.”
     Courtney stared back. “We are desperate because we have just graduated from college with tens of thousands of dollars in debt hanging over our heads and can’t find work. We’ve been looking for months and -”
     Justin broke in. “We can’t just take any job. Our loan payments can be delayed if we are unemployed but if we find minimum wage work we have to pay and we can’t even live on minimum wage let alone service a loan.”
     “And we are defiant because we still have credit cards!”, said Courtney. “There are no jobs. We can’t go bankrupt on a student loan. We’re doomed so we said, to heck with it, to heck with them all! If they are going to crush us, we are going out with a bang!”   

     Dan looked at the two of them and smiled. “You know, in a way I’m right there with you.”
     The bus had left the port and was careening through traffic. The tour guide lectured us on the history of Heraklion. Lucia was enthralled and sympathetic. “But who are ‘they’? Who is trying to crush you?”
     “You are!”, snapped Courtney.

     Dan was taken aback. “We are trying to crush you? What are you talking about?”
     Justin gave them both a frosty look. “You Baby Boomers!”
     “What?”
     Courtney was imperious. “We Millenials are living in the ruin that you Baby Boomers wrought!”
     Lucia’s eyes widened. “You Millenia - what?”
     “Millenials!”, barked Justin. “My generation! You Baby Boomers had everything we don’t.”
     “Your college education was free if you wanted it or almost free, and what did you do with it?”,
demanded Courtney. “Sex, drugs and Rock and Roll, hot tubs and peacock feathers, Peace and Love, Disco Music, the Grateful Dead.”
     “The Grateful Dead!”, sneered Justin. “They can’t even carry a tune. Your parents, the Greatest Generation saved the world and what did you do? You spit on the returning Vietnam vets.”
     “Where the hell did this come from and why have I never even heard of it?”, Dan asked in a stunned whisper.
     “Maybe because you are so completely self absorbed.”, sniffed Courtney. “You had everything and instead of making the world a better place, you destroyed it.”
     “Destroyed it?” Dan couldn’t believe it. “The Civil Rights Act was initiated under our watch. We ended the war in Vietnam with the peace movement. We created the environmental movement, the women’s movement, the gay rights movement, the-”
     Justin cut him off angrily. “The affront to private property rights act, the capitulation to communism movement, the eviro-nazi movement, the abortion rights movement, the perverts rights movement -”
     “Movement, movement, movement.”, snarled Courtney. “Bowel movement. ‘Greed Is Good’ is your motto and your greed destroyed the economy and enslaved the rest of us and our children and our grand children yet most of you haven’t saved a penny for your retirement and think that the rest of us will continue to fund Social Security so you can take nice cruises of the Greek Islands. My God, you retire at sixty five and die at seventy five or eighty five. That’s ten or twenty years the government has to support you, to say nothing of the free health care you get with Medicare. You just keep on living and living and bleeding the country dry with your entitlements!”

     "Haven't I heard this before?", shot Dan. "Like yesterday?"
     “Entitlements?”, sputtered Lucia. “But we paid into it all our working lives! And how is a few hundred dollars a month going to support us anyway?”
    “I’m sorry so many of us are living so long.”, growled Dan. “Health care is expensive because the Health Care Industry is bleeding us dry. And Social Security is completely funded through 2037. What are you so worried about? Your input only guarantees there will be money there for you when you retire.”
     “We’ll never see a penny of it! You have borrowed trillions against it!”, blurted Justin. “And we aren’t going to continue to support you parasites! Not that we could if we wanted to. We’re $113,000.00 in debt. We’ll never own a home. We won’t even be able to afford children and why would we want to bring children into this world? It’s corrupt. It’s mean. It’s filthy and it’s about fall off the cliff of global warming. There will be conquest, war, famine and -”
     “Where’s Jesus when you need him?”, asked Dan more flabbergasted than angry.
     “He’s on his way!”, announced Courtney. “The Jews have returned to Jerusalem. The Anti Christ sits in the White House -”
     Dan threw up his hands. “And now the world is about to end. You must have enjoyed Patmos. Did you get to the monastery?”
    “What’s that got to do with anything?”, Justin demanded.
     “I didn’t think so.”, Dan said. “And how exactly does Jesus fit into all this?”
     “We decided to accept Jesus just before we left.”, Courtney sniffed.
     “How convenient.”, smiled Lucia. “Does the Rapture accept American Express?”
     “You’ll find Jesus soon enough,” Courtney spat. “when there’s no Medicare to take care of your cancer and no Social Security to pay your mortgage. You’ll be selling your belongings on the street for food then you’ll be living on the street.”
     “Maybe you can hum Grateful Dead songs to yourself under your card board box.”, Justin hissed.
     Courtney gave us a withering look. “Or maybe you’ll finally find some morality in your life and do yourselves and the country a favor and check out early.” The two of them turned their backs to us.
     Lucia looked at Dan with wide eyes. “What monsters.”
     The roar of the bus and the chattering of the passengers filled their stunned silence. The guide was expounding on the beauty of the old town we were passing through. Dan caught a glimpse of Gladys. “Can’t you take us to a nice part of town?”, she brayed.
     He slumped in his seat. “My God, Lucia. Could you ever have imagined? They’ve turned one generation on another.”
     Lucia was exasperated. “They? Who are they?”
     “We. We have turned one generation on another.”, Dan sighed. “We have allowed a bilious
slime to rise up and smother us all. I know where they got the check out early idea. Some smarmy columnist in the New York Times suggested it. Even the Grey Lady has lifted her skirts. We have stood by while a few poisonous rich old men and a few poisonous rich young freaks fester in poisonous think tanks and spew filth on us. A few tortured shit heads have captured our world and turned us against each other and they dance and cackle like witches. ‘Double, double toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble’.”
     Lucia grabbed my hand. “Fillet of a fenny snake, in the cauldron boil and bake…”
     She amazed Dan. He continued. “Eye of newt and toe of frog, wool of bat and tongue of dog..”
     “Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting.”, she moaned.
     “Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing!”, He gasped.
     “For a charm of powerful trouble, like a hell broth boil and bubble.” Her breasts were heaving.
     “Double, double toil and trouble: fire burn and cauldron bubble!” He kissed her. “You are so  hot! This trip is a revelation. Bach and sex and now Shakespeare and sex!”
     She pushed him away and started to giggle. “What are you talking about?”
     “You know exactly what I’m taking about.”
     “It’s so absurd, it’s surreal.”, she laughed. “Zombie baby boomers sucking the brains out of all who come after.”
     He shook his head. “We’re howling horrors from the depths of hell coming after you and your children…”
     Lucia gave him a mischievous smile. “And your grand children and your great grand children. Oh wait, there won’t be any great grand children, will there?”
     “If there are, they’ll have hair in their mouths!”

     “That would scare the hell out of even a Zombie!” She kissed him.
     Lucia looked out the window again. They had left town and were on our way to Knossos. “Daniel, what did you mean when you told those two that you were right there with them?”
     Dan avoided the question. He looked around the bus and noticed Cesaria was sitting by herself. Buck was in the seat in front of her. They were talking to each other. “Lucia, do you mind if I go and sit with Cesaria for a bit?”
     “Of course not, Daniel.”, she said with a slightly concerned look on her face.
     Buck had turned around by the time Dan got to Cesaria.  He patted him on the shoulder. Buck raised a hand with outstretched fingers in salute. Cesaria looked up and smiled. She nodded her head toward the empty seat. He sat down. “I wanted to thank you for letting Lucia and I dine alone last night.”
     Cesaria looked into my eyes. “I trust everything worked out?”
     “So far, so good.”, I sighed. “How was your night?”
     "Very good, thank you. The kitchen puts out very good food. Did you two enjoy your dinner?”
     Dan smiled. “Greek food is one of the only things we have in common, that and Shakespeare.”  
     Cesaria smiled back. “Greek food and Shakespeare and...?”
     Dan was surprised. “Yes, and…”
     Cesaria changed the subject. “I overheard that most unusual conversation between you
two and those college kids. Isn’t it sad that those most victimized can be so evilly manipulated? The people who have enslaved the young and educated with debt have done so purposely. If they have their way, there will be no higher education for the next generation, no education at all, really except what’s needed to serve the system.”
     “Be careful what you say, Cesaria.”, Dan warned. "Gladys will report you to the authorities."
     “Oh, they already know all about me.”, she scoffed. “I’m surprised I’m not on the no fly list. Educated young people are a threat and the few that run our country know that. That’s why they are destroying public education. College age kids who looked forward to a good public education now face the tripling and quadrupling of tuition from year to year.”
     “With no tax money coming in and federal and state money drying up in this recession, the only way for the public universities and colleges to stay open is to lay it on the backs of the students.”, said Dan.
     “That’s what they’d have us believe.”, frowned Cesaria. “The school administration has turned into a kind of cancer, multiplying and spreading throughout the schools sucking up all the expenses for itself. Presidents, deans, administrators give themselves salaries on par with corporate America while the salaries and benefits of professors are going the way of the rest of American middle class jobs. Do you know that seventy percent of professors are contract labor who now, instead of working a secure job must bid for each class each semester for insanely low pay. Many are living on food stamps. They have no health insurance, no pension, not even unemployment benefits. Look how crippling debt has twisted those two poor young things. It has driven them into the hands of hateful, fanatical religion. Education has become a privilege for the rich and an entitlement to be taken away from everyone else.”
     “There’s that ‘entitlement’ word again!”, Dan snapped. “Where did that word come from, The Heritage Foundation, The Cato Institute?”
     Cesaria’s response was quick. “The Cato Institutes Policy Analysis 269 is blunt. ‘The Goal: Complete separation from school and state.’ Laws have been written that use tax payer money to compete with and defund public schools. Children are forced to memorize by rote mechanical facts that have nothing to do with creative thinking. Schools whose children can’t pass the tests are turned over to a charter operator or simply closed. There are tax credits that allow individuals and corporations to defer their taxes from public schools to private schools. After all, if you have the money to send your children to private schools, why should you pay taxes to educate some one else’s children?”
     Buck turned around in his seat to face them. “That’s the real genius, amigos, forcin’ the public to pay for private education that turns a profit for the shareholders. Ain’t it grand? All our tax money goin’ direct into the pockets of billionaires, the poor and the middle class soon to be poor subsidizin’ billionaires to teach their kids what billionaires want to teach them.”
     The bus slowed as we approached the ruins. The tour guide picked up the microphone.“Ladies and gentlemen, we have now arrived at…” A curious expression formed on his face as he looked out the window. We seemed to be the only tour bus there. The guide began rattling away excitedly to the driver. The driver picked up a cell phone. His call was brief as was his response to the guide. The guide’s eyes grew wide. He asked the driver a terse question. The driver shook his head. The guide’s eyes grew wider. He launched into an excited diatribe and the two of them began arguing. The guide’s voice rose. He waived his hands. The driver crossed his arms on his chest. The guide’s voice turned cajoling, then imploring. The driver’s angry expression began to soften. Finally his shoulders drooped and his head wagged. 

     The guide let out an audible sigh. He slowly picked up the microphone. “Ladies and gentlemen…”, he paused to recover his thoughts. “We have had the very good fortune of having the entire Knossos to ourselves today. There is some problem with the other tours but I myself and our driver assure you that you will not be inconvenienced. You will have the tour and we will return to the ship promptly.”
     Lucia had come up to The three of them during the commotion. “What do you suppose all that was about?”
     Buck gave her a once over. “My Greek ain’t that good but I got it. There’s a general strike been called on the island. The tour guide just managed to bribe the bus driver into takin’ us back to the ship.”
     Lucia paled. “A general strike! I thought the island people were happy.”
     “Who told you that?”, Buck snorted. “Them two buzzards you hang out with?”
     Cesaria tapped Buck with her finger. “The guide didn’t bribe the driver. The driver agreed it would not be wise to just leave us here. Let’s hope no one else understood them. Why don’t we just keep quiet and enjoy the incredible fact that we have this glorious piece of history to ourselves?”
     The crowd slowly ambled out of the bus and gathered around the guide. He led them to a bronze bust on a plinth. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sir Arthur Evans, the English man who excavated Knossos. Shortly after Crete won its independence from the Turks, Evans purchased Knossos from the Crete government and in 1900 began excavation. He was sad to see the destruction of the island that had occurred during the war for independence and made a point of hiring both Turkish and Greek youths.” The guide then led us up a hill toward the ruins. “You can see several buildings with pillars and we will be visiting several of the rooms inside. As Sir Arthur Evans uncovered and excavated the ruins, he built temporary structures to preserve them from the weather. While he was excavating Knossos, he decided in 1905 to build a villa nearby for himself he named Ariadne. He built it with reinforced concrete rather than traditional island construction. He soon began replacing the temporary walls in the site with reinforced concrete. His imagination was very strong and by 1930 the Knossos you see today was completed. This is Sir Arthur Evans’ vision of the civilization on Crete thirty five hundred years ago. You may judge him however you want but Sir Arthur Evans truly loved Crete and Knossos. He would often walk down from Ariadne at sunset and compose beautiful writing about his Minoans.”
     The lanky man in the Hawaiian shirt raised his hand. “You mean to tell me that some archaeologist just built a bunch of buildings on one of the most important archeological sites in the Mediterranean?”
     The guide shrugged his shoulders. “Sir Arthur Evans was not the archaeologist that we know today. At the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth century, rich Europeans like Heinrich Schliemann and Sir Arthur Evans were the fathers of the modern archeology. Heinrich Schliemann said that he had found Troy. On the island of Crete, Sir Arthur Evans thought he had discovered a civilization that was based on sea trade and peace rather than conquest and war. He said that he could find no evidence of defensive walls, that the fragments of fresco murals and sculptures that were uncovered showed that the society worshipped female gods. The rooms uncovered in Knossos reminded Sir Arthur Evans of the myth of the Minotaur and paintings and sculptures of bulls convinced him that he had found King Minos’ palace at Knossos. It was he who named the civilization the Minoans. You will please now follow me to the throne room.”
     Gladys was showing signs of life after hangover. “It’s so damn hot and desolate here. How in the hell did his wife put up with it?”
     The guide looked away. “He didn’t have a wife.”
     A smile crossed the red head’s face. “Are you trying to tell us he was gay?”
     Nadine had found herself as well. “Of course he wasn’t!”, she shot.
     A look of surprise on the guide’s face turned to irritation. “Sir Arthur Evans was an upstanding citizen. He was a supporter of the Boy Scouts all his life and left them his estate in his will.”
     The red head broke out laughing. “The Boy Scouts! You’ve got to be kidding me!”
     Dan noticed Justin out of the corner of my eye. He had a scowl on his face. “Do you have
something against the Boy Scouts?”, he asked angrily.
    The lanky man’s answer was abrupt. “I can’t stand the very idea of them. Is that a problem?”
     The guide interrupted. “Please, gentlemen. We are about to enter the throne room of the palace. You will see gypsum benches lining the walls and a throne with a large basin in front. Sir Arthur Evans noticed the feminine shapes in the seat of the throne and decided it was for a queen or priestess. The basin was for ritual bathing.”
     They had arrived at the top of the ruins which were crowned with an open and closed series of simple bunker like structures graced with brightly painted squat columns. They walked into a large room lined with stone benches around a throne all surrounded by walls painted with whimsical murals of reclining griffins. Sally let out a gasp. “How beautiful and how amazing these murals could have survived all those centuries!”
     “Actually they did not.”, corrected the guide. “Sir Arthur Evans hired a father and son team of artists to recreate the murals of  Knossos based on some small fragments that were excavated.”
     It was the red head again. “My god! That girl was a control freak!”
     “Really, sir. Must you?”, Sally sniffed.
     The red head grimaced. Dan decided something had to be done. He reached over and offered his hand. “My name’s Dan and this is Lucia. A bunch of us got to know each other rather quickly last night over a few drinks. We found we have almost nothing in common. What’s your name?”
     “My name is John.” The smile returned to his face.
     Bob was grandiose. “My name’s Bob and this is my wife Sally. We’re all a little shaky after last night. You can say anything you want. My wife and I are not prejudice in the least.”
     John rolled his eyes. “Well, I can’t tell you what a relief that is to hear.”
     Dan tried the peace maker again. “John, this is Gladys and Nadine, old friends of Lucia, and this is Justin and Courtney.” The four of them smiled through their teeth at John.
     Buck extended a hand. “The name’s Buck. Pleased to meet you.”
     “I am Cesaria!”, boomed the tiny woman. All heads turned to her.
     John was smitten. “Darling! I’ve been admiring you all morning! Where did you get that fabulous outfit? I’m absolutely dazzled! You look like some ravishing pilgrim in search of Gandhi. What is that carved on your cane, some sort of bird?”
     “Thank you, young man.”, smiled Cesaria. “That is Garuda, half man and half bird and the chariot of Vishnu. It was given to me by a holy man when I was living in Kerala.”
     Dan touched Cesaria’s arm. “Ah, Kerala. Beautiful music.”
     “Damn straight.”, Buck chuckled.  
     John smiled warmly at Cesaria. “I don’t care where you got it, honey. It’s to die for.”
     Courtney winced. “Must you go on like that? Do you always have to make such a show of everything?”
     The guide was waving at us, trying to catch our attention. “Ladies and gentlemen -”
     John whirled around. “What did you say?”
     The guide was exasperated. “Please! Ladies and gentlemen! Follow me now to the Temple Repositories! There is a beautiful view of the surrounding hills from there.” He turned on his heals and walked away.  
     “Come on, Courtney.”, growled Justin as he followed the guide. With that, everyone began to move. John caught up to the guide and kept pace with him, asking him for more details on Arthur Evans. Bob and Sally were a few steps behind and Dan followed them. Lucia took his arm.
    Cesaria took the other. “You know, Dan, Evans’ take on the Minoan civilization had a very extensive audience. Before and after the First World War people were desperate for some peaceable kingdom in history that was an exception to the rule of interminable war. Artists, writers, ordinary people still reach for that idyllic promise. Evans looked at the ruins of Knossos and saw what he desperately wanted to see and then proclaimed it unto the world. He was a prophet in a way.”
     Buck was walking behind me. “We got a lot of them prophets these days who see what they wanna see, paintin’ pretty murals around the ugly truth, Boy Scouts or no Boy Scouts, and they ain’t doin’ nobody no good.”
    Gladys and Nadine were behind Buck. Gladys was sporting a cane herself. She tapped Buck’s shoulder with it. “Slow down, big man. We need your shade.” He paused and turned to look at her as she continued. “Mr. Buck, what is your last name?”
     “That’s a job for you and the purser to find out.”, he answered.
     She looked up at him. “OK, I was drunk last night.”
     “Ain’t no crime in that.”
     “And I am an old lady.”
     “No crime in that neither.”
     Gladys sighed. “With little ahead of me and not too much to brag about behind me.”
     Nadine’s eyes grew wide. “Gladys, what on earth are you talking about?”  She looked at Gladys then at Buck and frowned. “Well, we all have our burdens to bear, don’t  we, Buck, honey? Tell me, what’s a big, strong man like you doing all alone on a cruise?” She suddenly realized she was over stepping and looked around nervously.
     Gladys went on. “And here I am walking around a bunch of half baked ruins on a half baked island looking back at my half baked life and wondering why I never got up on stage.”
     Buck began walking. Gladys took his arm. “Can I take your arm and fantasize for a moment that my life and the world await me?”
     Nadine took his other arm. “Will you, big man humor two old ladies for a few moments?”
     “The pleasure’s all mine, ladies.”, smiled Buck.
     Gladys glanced at John who was still talking intently to the guide. “That guy sure doesn’t have a problem telling the whole world he’s gay.”
     “Why should he?”, asked Buck. “You don’t have no problem tellin' the world who you are.”
     Nadine pulled herself close to Buck. “Why do they have to go around trying to prove that half the world is gay too?” 
     “So what if they do? And what if it is?”, Buck asked. “I read that they found gay whales and dolphins and monkeys and dogs and birds and even bugs. Who the fuck cares who other people screw? Unless you ain’t happy with who you’re screwin‘, or what you’re eatin’ or how you’re livin’. It’s the miserable people in this world that drag the rest of us down with ‘em and the ones that don’t know they’re miserable are the most dangerous of all. Them little shits are bringin’ the world down around our ears.”
     Gladys squeezed Bucks arm. “You are so oddly charming, you seem almost poetic. Too bad you’re on the wrong side. Sometimes I think you liberals have different brains than the rest of us.”
     “Funny you should say that, your highness.”, Buck laughed. “I also read that the part of the brain that handles fear is twice the size in conservatives as in liberals. Are you afraid all the time?”, he asked, looking at them both.
     “Certainly not!”, snapped Gladys.
     “Not even afraid of losin’ your money?”
     “Well, my God!”, gasped Nadine. “Who isn’t afraid of that now days? We aren’t all
hedge fund managers or CEOs. I have some money, sure but my husband and I worked
hard to make his business succeed, to buy our first home and our other homes. Our kids worked hard to get into good schools and we paid through the teeth to keep them there. Am I a thoughtless aristocrat because I want to hold onto what I’ve worked so hard to get? Do I have to turn it over to every immigrant drug addict who wanders into my country and fills it up with countless brown babies? The resources of our great country may have seemed infinite once but they are certainly not any more.”
     “Immigrants ain’t taking your money away, your highness, corporations are, big oil, Wall Street. The world is teeterin’ on a tightrope above a hole that makes the Great Depression look like a sand box. People ain’t gonna wait in bread lines this time, your highness, not when they got AR15s. There’s so much to go around. There’s plenty of money to keep the masses you’re so scared of happy but it’s been taken away from ‘em and now they’re boilin’ mad.”
     “I own a great deal of stock in those corporations and that has done fine by me.”, sniffed Gladys.
     Buck looked down at Gladys and smiled. “What are you gonna do when your portfolio ain’t worth shit?”
     John had slowed down and let the guide walk ahead. Courtney and Justin walked quickly past John. Lucia, Cesaria and Dan caught up to him. He smiled. “What’s with that pair of little twits?"
     “They’ve just graduated from college. They’re flat ass broke, unemployed and a hundred thousand in debt.”, sighed Dan.
     “And they’re on a cruise?”
     “They’re maxing out their credit cards in defiance of the banks.”, sighed Cesaria.
     “You know,”, John offered. “that’s not such a bad idea. Maybe we should all get together, all of America and do that, you know, give Wall Street the shaft.”
     Cesaria seemed impressed. “Young man, you just might have something there. And how did you come to Greece?”
     John looked down. “My husband and I had always talked about it but things never got good enough to for us to be able to afford it. Then these last few years everything went to hell. He got sick and we decided to sell the house and take the trip while we still could, while he still could. He didn’t make it but he made me promise that if he didn’t, I would go anyway, for us.”
     “Lucia frowned. “I am so sorry.”
     “Yeah, me too.”, sighed John. “Life’s a bitch. I thought I’d seen enough dying in the AIDS epidemic but I was so young and somehow, even though so many people were dying hideous deaths all around me, I survived. I got another chance that they didn’t and yet here I am all over again.”
     Cesaria voice was comforting. “You have lived more lives than most, young man. Pain begets wisdom and you will find consolation in the sharing of it.”
     John looked around the ruins then up at the sky. “An old chestnut, a beautiful old chestnut but of little consolation.”
     Cesaria stopped in her tracks and stopped us all. “I am sorry. The holy man in Kerala
didn’t rub off much. Tell me about him.”
     “I cannot.”, said John, color coming to his face. “I don’t know you at all.”
     “I'll offer you another chestnut.”, the old lady smiled. “So much the better.”
     John sighed. “We met when I was twenty-two. I am forty seven. He was all I have ever known. I am lost.”
     “It appears just about everyone I’ve met on this cruise is lost or has some skeleton in their closet.”, Dan said wistfully.
     Lucia pulled on his arm. “Don’t tell me you are lost, Daniel. What was that you said to those two, that you’re right there with them?”
      "I saw the recession coming, everyone buying houses the banks were offering for no money down and no interest. ‘Welcome to my parlor said the spider to the fly.’ I was burned out by the restaurant business and drowning my disgust in booze. I saw the country led into Iraq like lambs to slaughter and I saw the country led into disaster by Wall Street. I sold the restaurant and watched from the sidelines as the country went down like the Titanic and now I’m almost broke myself. I’m fifty something and unemployable so I said fuck it all too. I’m going on vacation. I’m going to Greece one last time just like you, darling to see where democracy began before it’s over.”
     Lucia’s face fell. “Oh, Daniel.”
     Courtney pointed to a large saddle like sculpture some distance away and called out to the guide. “What is that awesome thing?”
     “Those are the Horns of Consecration.”, the guide replied. “Sir Arthur Evans claimed they represented the horns of the Minotaur, the monster that was the child of the Queen of the Minoans and a sacred bull.”
     Justin crossed his arms across his chest and squinted at the horns. “They’re cool but they don’t really look like horns to me. Did Arthur Evans build them too?”
     “The symbol of the horns was found very often in Minoan excavations. Sir Arthur Evans thought it appropriate to restore them here.”
     Gladys and Nadine were still clinging to Buck’ arms. Gladys couldn’t let Buck’s challenge go. “So what if it all goes to shit? I’ve gone to shit. What the hell do you care anyway? Where did you come from? What was all that out of breath routine this morning?”  
     Buck didn’t look at her. He just kept walking. “There was a ship leavin’ Heraklion to join the Gaza Flotilla. I was goin’ to be on it. It was leavin’ this morning. Mossad agents sabotaged its propellers and told the Greek authorities. Everybody split.”
     Both Nadine and Gladys let go of Buck’s arms and stopped in their tracks. “My God, you are a terrorist.”, Nadine whispered.
     “Guilty as charged, your highness.”, laughed Buck as he walked on.
     The crowd had arrived in a courtyard framed by two large stone door frames. A set of carved stairs led up to an area overlooking the surrounding hills. “My goodness, what impressive doors.”, said Sally.”
     Justin stood in one and looked around. “Awesome. They are very sturdy. At least they
survived.”
     The guide sighed. “Sir Arthur Evans reconstructed the doors when he excavated -”
     “Dude!”, sputtered Justin. “I know the ruins are ancient but it sounds like there was nothing left but a pile of stones. What happened?”
     The guide was tapping his foot. He ran his fingers through his hair and gnawed on his lower lip. “There are many, many earth quakes in Greece. In Athens in 1999, a hundred and fifty people were killed in one. We also have volcanoes. Archeologists think the Minoan Civilization was destroyed by the eruption on the island of Thira that produced horrible earthquakes and Tsunamis.” He paused and took a deep breath. “When he was excavating this area, Sir Arthur Evans noticed some of the floors were sinking. More digging found large repositories filled with storage jars and vats. In one repository many sacred objects were found including statues of female gods holding snakes.”
     Gladys was fuming away and hadn’t heard a thing. “That big man infuriates me!”, she muttered .
     “Do you think he really is a terrorist?”, whispered Nadine. “He is so sexy! If only I were
younger!”
     “Get a grip on yourself, Nadine!” Gladys hissed.
     “Is that where Arthur Evans got the idea that the Minoans worshiped female gods?”, asked Bob.
     The guide’s answer was terse. “Sir Arthur Evans thought that the Minoan priests may have dressed in female clothes when they worshiped their goddesses.”
     “It sounds like this guy was making it up as he went along.”, said Courtney.
     The guide frowned.  “As I said before, Sir Arthur Evans was not the archeologist we know today.”
     Justin continued. “And framing history in his life style.”
     “Life style?”, shot John. “Where the hell did they dig that word up?”
      "Well, it is a life style!”, announced  Sally loudly. “The gay life style!”
      “A life style is something you choose!”, said John, his voice rising. “It’s what kind of clothes you wear, whether you play golf or play tennis. Do you think I would have put up with all the shit I put up with all my life if I had a choice?”
     The guide was pale. “Please! Will every one be calm?”  
     “What I’m trying to say”, said Justin. “is that everything we know about this awesome civilization has been fouled by a -”
     John cut him off. “Fouled? FOULED? So this fag excavates an ancient civilization, builds himself a fairy palace a few steps away and waltzes down every day to fantasize about an ancient fag world where cross dressing priests worship dyke goddesses? Then he slaps the myth of the Minotaur on everything like cheap mascara all the while constructing a re enforced concrete fag Disney land on top of a priceless archeological ruin and diddling the young Cretan help every chance he gets? Is that what you’re trying to say?”
     “I couldn’t have said it better!”, snarled Justin.
     Nadine was taken aback. “Good grief! What is all this about? I thought you young people were more tolerant. There’s nothing wrong with being gay.”
     “And you call yourself the greatest generation!”, spat Courtney.
     “I do?”, asked Nadine.
     “I could see that nonsense coming out of the mouth of a Baby Boomer, not you!”, said
Justin.
     “Oh shut up, you little morons!”, snapped Lucia. “I have heard just about enough out of you two!”
     “What in the world are you people talking about?”, asked Gladys. “Fruits?”
     “Don’t you tell my husband to shut up, you leech!”, Courtney growled.
     “Haven’t you heard?”, Dan asked. “These two are at the end of their rope and who do they blame, the republicans, the democrats, Wall Street? No! It’s the evil Baby Boomers who have ruined the world!”
     “It’s the terrorist you young people should be fighting!”, gasped Sally.
     “The fruits of the world are after your history and your children!”, John hollered.
     Buck was frowning at Sally. “When you swallow that terrorist line of shit, you’re playin’ into the hands of the security state!” 
     “Don’t you yell at my wife!”, snapped Bob.
     “He is a terrorist! Just listen to him!”, shrieked Gladys.
     “My goodness,  woman!”, gasped Cesaria. “Are you insane?” She stepped back from Gladys unsteadily and lifted her cane up to catch her balance.
     “Don’t you threaten me, you old hippie!”, yelled Gladys as she raised her own cane in the air. “This man tried to join a terrorist ship sailing for the Gaza strip this morning!”
     “Is that true?”, asked Bob. “You support the terrorist Hezbollah?”
     “Israel’s a terrorist state occupyin’ Palestinian territory!”, snapped Buck. “Was the French resistance a terrorist organization? How ‘bout the American revolution?”
     “I would never have introduced myself to you if I had known you were antisemitic!”, roared Sally.
     “WILL YOU PEOPLE SHUT UP!” Every one froze and slowly turned to the guide who was standing before us trembling with rage. “What is with you idiots? You yell at each other more than we do and we are a poor, tiny country trying to hold onto what belongs to us while you try to steal it away! What are you anyway? A rotten empire full of spoiled fools screaming at each other while your world falls down around you! You are a plague upon the world! You are terrorists! You give nothing to the world! The only things you make are weapons that spread death around the world.  You invade countries that have not attacked you! You shoot bombs from robots in the sky onto countries you have not even declared war on! Your World Bank and International Monetary Fund descend upon the world like locusts! You are monsters and you don’t even know what monsters you are! How are you different from the Germans, the French, the English, the Turks? You devour the world and then turn on yourself like filthy cannibals! Can you not hear yourselves screaming at each other? The world has had enough of you! A hundred thousand businesses have closed in Greece! A third of my people live in poverty! Suicides in Greece have gone up forty percent this year! Hundreds of families are abandoning their children because they can not feed them!  While you screech like monkeys the rest of the world is rising up against you! You are garbage! GARBAGE!! I curse you and your children and your children’s children!” The guide took a deep breath. He face was bright red. Ours were white. “The bus leaves in half and hour!” He whirled around and stomped off.
     “My God!”, whispered Sally. “He even cursed our children’s children.”
     Lucia and Dan looked at each other. A smile cracked on her face. “But there won’t be any children’s children.”
     “Or if there are…”, Dan followed.
     They finished in unison at the top of our voices. “THEY’LL ALL HAVE HAIR IN THEIR MOUTHS!” They roared with laughter.
     “What on earth is the matter with you two?”, gasped Sally.
     “They’re insane! That’s what’s the matter with them!”, Justin shouted.
     “They’ve got dementia, Alzheimer’s!”, Courtney blared.
     “Maybe you oughta have ‘em put down.”, Buck sneered.
     John glared at Justin. “Or maybe we ought to put you down!”
     Justin rose to his full height. “Don’t you threaten me, you -”
     “How can you people go on like this when we’ve all just been insulted by a cannibal?”, brayed. Gladys.
     Nadine was fanning herself with her hands. “How dare that dirty little Greek speak to us like that!”
     “Well every thing he said is true!”, shot Cesaria. “He dressed us down for screaming at each other and how do we respond? By screaming at each other!”
     “Oh, shut your liberal, pinko, socialist mouth!”, hissed Gladys.
     “Don’t you talk to her like that, you constipated, old biddy!”, ordered John.
     Dan had had enough. He stepped away from the fracas and looked over the valley. It was indeed a beautiful view. It was a miracle that they had these ruins to themselves and look how they were thanking fate for such a gift. One of the most mysterious and wonderful places in the world was theirs to witness alone and they might as well have been at Disney Land with a million other fools staring at an ersatz, twisted, corporate vision of the world while giant mice and ducks pranced around them. What the hell was this cruise he found himself on? Who were all these idiotic fellow citizens hollering like lunatics in a snake pit? He scanned the golden hills and sighed. There was no hope for his country. It would go the way of all rotten empires before, a nation of cannibals soon to be taken out with the trash.
     He looked down the hill toward the bus and was surprised to see a limousine parked next to it. He looked closer and saw two men in dark suits approaching our group. They appeared to be bodyguards of a middle aged couple. The man was portly and in his sixties. His white shorts and shirt matched his hair. The woman looked twenty years younger. She was dressed in a skin tight Barbie doll pink mini skirt. She negotiated the hill in matching pink heels. She had the strangest hair, something out of a science fiction movie, all severe planes and curves dyed platinum and sprayed so stiff they looked like armor plates. Dan was about to warn every one that we had company but he thought better of it. It would be interesting to see what kind of reaction they would have when they stumbled upon this caterwauling pile of garbage.
     Sure enough, when they came within earshot, a look of concern flashed on the bodyguards' faces. “What is going on here?”, one of them demanded.
     The free for all suddenly stopped and everyone slowly turned. Dan gave a slight bow and gestured grandly to the crowd. “We are just having a lively discussion about the history of Knossos. You are American. Please join us. I’m sure you have something to add.”
     Gladys puffed up her chest and approached the two men, her cane waving before her. “Who are you and why in God’s name are you dressed in black when it’s ninety degrees out?”
     “Stay where you are, lady!”, ordered one of the men.
     It was then that Dan recognized the couple as they crested the hill. “My God, everyone, we have the pleasure to sharing the ruins with Sal Muculint and his wife Tweety!” He looked at the two guards. “And the Secret Service, no doubt.”
     “Sal Muculint!”, gasped Nadine. “The senator running for president?”
     John was next to Dan. He looked at the couple and smiled. “I don’t believe it!”, he whispered. “I read that that little shit took a sudden break from his campaign to go on a cruise and here he is in the flesh! And look at that woman! That pile of make up would put Tammy Fay to shame. And that hair! It looks like a battering ram! How the hell do you fuck something like that without getting bruised and bloody? You’d have to take off the head and put it on the nightstand.”
     Dan put a finger to my lips. “Let’s let this play out.” He turned to the crowd. “Please, every one!”, he announced at the top of his voice. “Can we not be civil and welcome one of Washington’s finest and perhaps the next president of the United States?”
     It was like feeding candy to a baby. Sal’s face lit up when he heard it. A proud smile spread across his face. He waved his bodyguards away. His wife was right behind him. She was a frightening sight. She had the most astoundingly wild eyes I had ever seen. They had a life all their own. They seemed to almost rotate on her face. They were of another world, an ancient, brutal world. Dan instinctively turned away. As the senator stepped up into the Temple Repositories, Dan noticed he was just the right height to block the hill behind that held the Horns of Consecration so that the horns themselves seemed to crown his head. 
     Cesaria smiled. “The Minotaur has arrived.”
     Gladys and Nadine hobbled toward the senator, their eyes and mouths wide open with delight. The agents closed in but Sal motioned them off once again. Gladys took Sal’s hand. “What an amazing thrill it is to meet the next president of the United States on a God forsaken island in Greece! I am Gladys Euryale!”
     Nadine was right behind her. “And I am Nadine Sethenno! I hope Mrs. Muculint doesn’t mind if I tell you how handsome you look!”
     Sal chuckled as his eyes darted around the crowd sizing us up. “She hears it all the time and it drives her crazy.”
     Gladys was furiously beckoning Lucia who stepped forward. “This is our dear friend Lucia.”
     Sal gave her a long, slimy once over. “What a beautiful - name.”
    Tweety was just behind Lucia. She stepped too close to her, forcing Lucia to step aside. Her terrifying eyes swept around the crowd. Her platinum hair was a satanic halo. Her beaked nose seemed to sift through the dust and sweat searching for any threats. Then she smiled. Her pupils swam in the whites of her eyes. Her eyebrows danced like spider’s legs. Her twitching lips smeared with screaming red lipstick framed saucer like teeth.  Lucia let out an audible gasp. Tweety’s voice was calm and monotonic. “What a lovely crowd. I trust you all are enjoying your own private tour of Knossos.”
    Lucia composed herself, offered her hand to Sal then turned to Tweety and smiled graciously. “I don’t suppose you were on that fabulous yacht I noticed in the harbor this morning?”
     Tweety‘s bouncing pupils froze. “The Argonaut Adventure? We are.”
     Gladys huffed . “We were enjoying our own private tour until our filthy little guide had a fit and told us off.”
     “Who else do we have here?”, demanded Sal, brushing the two old women off like flies. “Who are these two delightful people?”, he demanded as he walked toward Sally and Bob.
     Bob offered his hand. Sally put her nose in the air. “Two delightful people who voted for President Obama.”
     Sal was undaunted. “A decision I’m sure you’ve come to regret.”
     Nadine pointed a finger at Dan. “That man has regretted that decision!”
     “Tell me about your suite.”, said Lucia, trying to change the subject and warm up to the frozen pink apparition. "“Does it have a spa? We are on a Greek ship, very charming and all, but minimal. We do have a balcony of sorts. It’s all really quite quaint.”
     Tweety’s voice was robotic. “I’m sure it is. Of course we have a spa. What are you people doing here? We were told there was a general strike on and that no tours would be at Knossos.”
     “A general strike?”, gasped Nadine. “Why didn’t that little cannibal say anything?”
     John offered the senator a venomous smile. “Sal Muculint, you recently referred to gay marriage as a ‘temporary aberration’. My husband and I were amazed that someone who has cheated on two wives,”, he glanced at Tweety. “so far would have anything to say about the institution of marriage.”
     Nadine grasped Gladys’ arm. “Oh Gladys, a general strike! We should never have left the
ship! We should never have taken a cruise in this decrepit part of the world! What are we going to do? How are we going to get back to the ship?”
     Sal offered John a broad smile in return. “I’ve been around congress for a good long time, young man. There are many things a man has to say in life to get by and a good many more to get elected. When are the American people going to learn that all is fair in love and war and politics? What the hell do you care what I think anyway? You people don’t like me and I don’t need you people to get elected. You people are the shining example of the secularization of American society. My dealings with Vatican officials confirms that the Church is appalled by the Godlessness of Europe but is shocked by the direction of American society. We need to go back to what America really is, one nation under God. I hear you people are getting ready for an appearance before the Supreme Court. When I am president, the corruption of the Judiciary will meet its match in the power of the Executive. It is outrageous that nine people have such power over the rest of America.”
     Buck lumbered up to the senator. “Howya doin’, Senator? The name’s Buck. Sounds to me like it’s gonna be one person over the rest of the country if you’re selected. Hell, the way things are goin’,  none of our selected officials need any particular group of Americans from the silent majority to the loud minority to get selected.”
    Tweety’s eyes popped wide and started to spin. She called out to her husband. Sal turned and stuck out his hand. The dry, grey skin on his face cracked and quivered into a smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet a man with strong opinions! Don’t mind my wife. She’s a little upset that there is a bit of unrest in Greece.”
     Buck gave Tweety a slow once over. “Sorry to ruin your day, princess.”
     “Don’t make light of it, Sal!”, Tweety  squawked. Her voice was no longer low and lifeless. She cawed like a crow. “I set this vacation up so you could have a little hiatus from the campaign! I was sure that we would have the ruins to ourselves!”, she looked around at all of us and a cold smile slithered across her face. Her voiced dropped again. “Not that we are disappointed that we have the good fortune to share Knossos with my husband’s future constituents.”
     “What are you going to do about the student debt crisis if you are elected?”, Justin called from across the room.
     “Didn’t you hear what he just said?”, asked John.
     “He was talking about you people.”, sniffed Courtney.  
     Justin reached out to the Senator. “My wife and I had every intention of paying back the loans we took out for college but we were scammed. The bank and Sally Mae told us they were offering us simple loans with fixed interest but the interest was compounded and fees came out of nowhere, late fees, forbearance fees, return item fees, back end premium fees, repayment fees, REPAYMENT FEES!” 
     Courtney grasped her husband’s hand. “The school we went to added to our loans when we didn’t need it and without our permission and without even telling us.”
     Justin was almost pleading. “We worked two jobs at once when we were in school to service the debt and to eat. Only a tiny fraction of our payments went to the principle and the fees and interest just kept going up and up.”
     Courtney was looking at all of us now. “Half of what we owe is interest. Half! Then they turned us over to collection agencies who called us ten times a day and told us we were losers and scumbags and -”
     “They even started calling and threatening our family and friends!”, Justin gasped.
      Nadine was rapt. “My goodness, children. That’s terrible.”
      Courtney looked as if she were about to cry. “All those years of hard work and we’re $113,000 in debt!”
     Tweety’s eyes narrowed. “What the hell is someone $113,000 in debt doing in Greece?”
     Sal suddenly realized he had been left out of the conversation. “I’m going to readjust all student debt to help people live a decent life. We need to bring the middle class back into the conversation in our country. But most of all, we need to get Americans back to work. We must cut corporate tax rates so businesses can compete and start hiring again. We have to get rid of the regulations that keep businesses from expanding. We have to reform entitlements so that people will have control over their future.”
     “By getting rid of them altogether!”, Justin blurted.
     Courtney’s eyes lit up. “And make the parasites work for a living!”
     Sal smiled grandly. “By letting everyone invest their retirement themselves. Instead of some government bureaucracy taking your money out of your paycheck in taxes, you take that money and invest it in the stock market.”
     “No.”, said Buck. “Instead of government takin’ your money out of your paycheck and savin’ it, government will take your money out of your paycheck and hand it over to Wall Street to gamble with it, and we all know what good gamblers they are on Wall Street.”
     “My husband has been in public life for decades. He has written dozens of books.”, said Tweety dismissively. “Please don’t waste his time trying to argue the facts with him.”
     Gladys stomped her cane. “Don’t pay any attention to these idiots! I’m behind you! America is behind you!”
     Sal beamed. “I will see to it that Americans will be free of the monolithic overlord of big government. I will let Americans make their own future, a safe future, a strong and moral future, an exceptional future for the greatest country in the world.”
     Nadine placed a hand on her breast and stared at the senator. “The greatest country in the world!”
     Sally was nervously pulling at her shirt. “All you republicans promise the moon and turn 180 degrees when you are elected.”
     “That’s a strange comment coming from someone who voted for Obama. How’s that change you can believe in working for you?”, smiled John.
     Bob gave John a pleading look. “My wife just happens to love Obama. That’s all there is to it and the rest of you are just going to have to get used to it and give her a break.”
     “It don’t matter what any of ‘em say, Sally.”, said Buck as he raked Tweety with his eyes
again. “Whether it be your great black hope or this witch doctor. Ain’t none of ‘em gonna do shit until the American people wake up and join the rest o’ the people pourin’ into the streets all around the world.”
     Sal laughed out loud. His eyes grew wide in mock amazement. “Doesn’t your little Greek barge have internet access? The people are rising up to shrug off the mean old machine. A few dirty hippies in New York have taken over a square in Wall Street and set up tents. Power to the people! They call themselves Occupy Wall Street. Whoop de do. But don’t get your hopes up, big fella. It won’t ever amount to much.”
    Cesaria tugged on Buck’s shirt. “It has begun.”
     Lucia offered Dan an imploring smile. She reached out and took him by the hand. “Senator and Mrs. Muculint, I would like you to meet my boyfriend, Dan.”
     Sal’s face crinkled and shifted. “It’s a pleasure to meet you sir! I hear you are regretting your vote for Obama. You are not alone.”
     “Tell me, senator Muculint, “, Dan asked. “what do you think when you see a ruined civilization thirty five hundred years old?”
     “I’ll see what you want me to see, my friend.”
     "And what will you see when and if you are President of the United States?"
     Sal’s eyes left Dan's and swept over the crowd. “I will see the future! I will see the future of our great country that is suffering so much, our country that needs to revive its strength and lead the world as it has in the past. You won’t see me groveling around the world apologizing for my country. Under my stewardship, America will be great again. The American people are lost and they need a leader to help them find their way out of the wilderness.”
     “They are lost.”, Dan agreed. “But the last thing they need is a leader. They tried that the last election. They are quite capable of finding their way out of the wilderness themselves. It is people like you who have led them into the wilderness in the first place and it is people like you who must be twisted from the nation like ticks and thrown under its feet. Only when the country sees its own blood gushing from your bloated corpses will it realize that you have sucked the life out of it.”
     Dan could feel Tweety’s eyes boring into him. Lucia was shaking her head. Gladys and Nadine had their hands over their mouths. Buck was grinning. The agent’s faces darkened. Sal masked his surprise with a knowing smile. “Ah, the sweet smell of sanctimony. Very poetic. Do you have a blog?”
    DanI smiled back. “The president of the United States will be chosen but not by the American people. You are as much a pawn as the rest of us. Where will the gas in your sails blow when you are vetted before the Bilderberg Group? Will you prance around the stage full of sound and fury? Will you blow Henry Kissinger a kiss?”
     “That’s enough out of you!”, barked an agent as he closed in. Tweety’s face was vermilion. The senator’s face twitched and crinkled. The agent grabbed Dan's arm. “All of you clear out of here right now! Get back to your bus!”
     “Easy does it!”, growled Buck. “I don’t think your boss here wants any kinda embarrassin’ mistake to muck up his campaign.”
     Cesaria’s voice was shrill and penetrating. “You will release that man this instant!”
     The senator’s eyes lit up. They scanned the crowd in front of him then swept across the ruins. “Not a camera in sight, no reporters, not even a cell phone. "Let him go!”  Dan was released. He stepped back away and into the crowd. Sal’s eyes bored into his. “Royal outrage? Please. You look like you don’t have a pot to piss in. What are you going to do when you crawl back home and face the rent? Stand on a street corner and howl at the moon? Erect a barricade? If you do, you might find yourself in a cage somewhere for the rest of your life. While your high and mighty ass has been off cruising around the Mediterranean, the big boys back home are finalizing things and it won’t matter if I’m president or your yes we can Kenyan is. We’re having the time of our lives right now, him included and we’re just getting started. Any starry eyed misfits who try a Tahrir Square back home will be shuffled off to camp, detention camp. Everything’s in place. It’s just a matter of time. Did you get that, boy? Let me say it again. Everything’s in place! It’s just a matter of time!” Sal looked at everyone all standing around with their mouths open. They all slowly backed away. His eyes found Dan's. “These dirty Greek monkeys are throwing a fit because the IMF is privatizing Greece but guess what? They can riot all they want but it’s a done deal. It’s a done deal here and it’s a done deal everywhere including The Land of The Free. There’s no stopping history, boy. It’s a big, shiny new world out there so get used to it.”
      Tweety stepped up from behind her husband and took his hand. A ghastly smile crawled across her face. Her teeth glittered. Her eyes danced. “You’re going to have to strap on some balls, boy and fight to survive because it’s survival of the fittest! It’s dog eat dog! There isn’t any place for love and compassion! It’s eat or be eaten, that’s the - ”
     The ground began to shake. A cloud of dust sprang from the stones. There was a rumble, then a roar. The earth jumped and rolled. The noise was deafening. Everyone  fell to the ground. It was if something had taken hold of them and shook them harder and harder and harder. A large crack appeared in the floor stones in front of them. It shot across the room straight toward the senator and his entourage and raced beneath them to the stone door frames that were swaying above them like corn stalks in the wind. The earth moaned and howled then suddenly opened. They disappeared right in front of everyone as the door frames exploded and collapsed on all four of them.

     BEND OVER AND LICK
  
  
    The shaking subsided. The grinding sounds of the earth quieted and skittered away. It was over. Everyone was gasping for air. They began pulling themselves up. Gladys stared blankly and moaned. Nadine’s eyes wandered around the rubble before resting on the pile of stones rising out of the hole in the floor. She focused on one shiny, pink pump balanced on a large block. She started to wail. Sally stumbled over to her, kneeled down, put an arm around her and gently rocked back and forth. Bob stood over them and stroked his wife’s hair. Buck lifted Cesaria to her feet. John was brushing himself off as he stared at the devastation. Justin and Courtney took a few tentative steps towards the wreckage then stopped and held each other. Dan looked down the hill and could see the guide running up to them. Lucia grabbed his hand. “My God, Daniel. They’re all dead.”
     “They’re all dead!”, Nadine howled.
     “There’ll be a party in hell tonight.”, muttered Buck.
     The guide crested the hill. “Is every one alright?”, he demanded. As he looked at them, Dan could see him counting under his breath. When he finished, relief washed over his face. It was suddenly replaced with a look of panic. “Where is the American politician and his wife? Where are their body guards?”
     “I’m afraid they’ve gone to meet their maker.”, said Cesaria as she motioned toward the pile of stones.
     “Oh God!”, screamed the guide. “Oh God! Oh God!” He pulled out his cell phone, dialed and frantically rattled on. He placed his hand over his heaving chest and stared at the sky. Then he looked at them again. “You must get back to the bus and back to town. We must get you all back on the
ship. What ship are you on? I can’t remember what ship are you on!”
     Buck’s voice was sonorous. “We’re on the Argonaut Adventure.”
     “But Buck,” blurted Lucia. “We’re not - ”
     Buck’s expression was black. He looked at the rest of them menacingly. No one said a word. “We’re on the Argonaut Adventure.”, he repeated.
     “The Argonaut Adventure!”, gasped the guide. “It sails at five this evening. Oh God! I'm going to lose my job!”
     “What about Mr. and Mrs. Dead?”, grunted Buck.
     The guide was breathing heavily. “I will stay with the bodies until the police arrive! The driver will take you back to the ship! There are riots now in Heraklion and the roads may be blocked!”
     “Riots!”, wailed Nadine. “Gladys, they are rioting! We’re doomed!”
     Gladys looked like she was in shock. She stared straight ahead. She clutched her cane. Her lips moved as if she were mumbling something but no words escaped her.
     “Come on, ladies!”, snapped Buck. “Let’s get a move on!” He picked both of them up by their elbows and stood them on their feet.
     “Oh, Buck!”, swooned Nadine. “Take me away from all this!” Gladys swayed unsteadily on her feet. She looked at Buck as if she had never seen him before.
     “Come on, everyone!”, Dan yelled. “Let’s get going!”
     They slowly began to pick their way down the hill through the rocks and debris. The only sounds
were Sally’s gentle weeping and Nadine’s whimpering. Lucia had Dan's arm. He heard sirens in
the distance.
     “Let’s go, you guys!”, Buck ordered. “We gotta get on the bus and get the hell outa here before the police get here and take us in for questioning!”
     “And if we ditch them, they’ll make for the Argonaut Adventure.”, Dan smiled, looking at Buck.
     Buck nodded. “And maybe we just might make it off the island. Maybe.”
     The driver sat glumly in his seat. He did not look at them as they filed past. He did not move. “What’s the matter with you?”, Lucia implored. “We have to get back to the ship or it could sail without us!” The driver looked straight out the window.
     Buck had broken out into a sweat. He walked up to the driver and began speaking to him in Greek. The driver shook his head. Buck continued, this time with an intimidating tone of voice. The driver shook his head. “Shit!”, muttered Buck. “We’re screwed!”
      Cesaria rose from her seat and slowly walked up to the driver. When she stood before him, she rose up to her full height and balanced herself on her cane. She spoke in quiet and urgent Greek. The driver turned and looked at her. He responded gruffly. She continued. His eyebrows arched. He asked her a question. She answered. They went back and forth, their tone turning amicable. Then he smiled, reached into his pocket, pulled out the keys and turned the ignition. They were well out of the parking lot and on their way back to Heraklion when a stream of emergency vehicles roared past.
     Everyone’s eyes were on Cesaria. She smiled. “There was a news stand at the port this morning where we boarded the bus. The headlines proclaimed the destruction of the taxi cab profession, one of well over a hundred professions that would be destroyed in the deregulation demanded by the IMF for a bailout of Greece. That’s probably what the riots are about. I told him what I thought of the IMF, what all of us thought of the IMF. Like everyone else in Greece, the driver has relatives in America. He knows that we are not all devils. I even told him that Buck had tried to board a ship headed for Gaza this morning.”
     The earthquake had shattered Courtney and Justin’s arrogance. Justin’s voice was high and meek. “But how can there still be riots after an earthquake?”
     The bus suddenly swerved. “The bus driver called his relatives. There was very little damage in Heraklion, some rocks in the roads.”, smiled Cesaria. “The protesters have closed the airport and the port. Hopefully the earthquake quieted things down a bit.”
     John put his hand on Cesaria’s. “You’re a genius, darling. You saved us.”
     Cesaria patted his hand. “We’re going to need a whole lot more saving before this is over.”                   John turned to Buck. “So you really were going to be on a boat in the Gaza flotilla. I’m impressed.”
     “It ain’t nothin”, kid, just somethin’ I wanted to do.”
     Sally had begun to recover. “Hardly any damage in the town, yet a whole wall collapses on four innocent people right in front of us?” 
     “It was God’s work.”, Courtney blurted.
     Justin frowned at Buck. “What’s all this about you trying to board a ship for Gaza? Why was it so important that the police not question us? The guide called the wrong ship. If he had called our ship they would surely be waiting for us. Now they don’t know where we are.”
     “I think you are more concerned with the police questioning you.”, said Courtney accusingly.
     “That’s enough out of both of you.”, said Dan. “We have to have a plan once we get into the town. We have to get through to the port and the ship.” The bus swerved again.
     “What the hell is wrong with the driver?  Is he drunk?”, Gladys was back.
     “Oh, Gladys!”, moaned Nadine. “Prepare yourself! We’re going to run the gauntlet!”
     “I don’t know what the hell you are talking about!”, snapped Gladys. “What is this? Where am I?”
      Dan leaned over and put his hand on Gladys’ shoulder. “You’re on the bus back to Heraklion.  Do you remember the earth quake?”
     “Of course I remember the God damned earthquake!”, Gladys barked. “That gas bag was huffing and puffing at us and his toothpick of a wife was looking down her nose at us when suddenly…” The color ran out of her face. “they - were - squashed to death.”
     “AND NOW THE POLICE ARE AFTER US!”, Nadine screeched.
     Every one jumped. Cesaria stood over Nadine unsteadily and wagged a finger. “For God’s sake, woman! Get a grip on yourself! Now is not the time for histrionics!”
     Nadine turned to Gladys. “We’ve left the scene of a crime! We’re harboring a terrorist! We’ll end up in some Greek jail at the mercy of a bunch of dirty Greeks! We’ll - ”
     Cesaria reached over, grabbed her collar and shook her. “Pull yourself together, you stupid cow! Stop thinking of yourself for once in your life and think how the hell we are going to all get back to the ship safe and sound!”
     “Gladys!”, gasped Nadine. “That little hippie assaulted me!”  
     Gladys gave her a withering look. “Nadine, I’ve been dreaming about assaulting you for years.”
    Buck stood and looked over them. “Listen everybody! I been in this spot before. I had to get outa Egypt in a hurry. We’re gonna have to get through a lotta check points, a lotta ambushes. There’s gonna be some pissed off dick wad with a gun or a club and a whole lotta other pissed off dick wads behind him. There’s two things that are gonna get us through this shit, distraction and balls. We got about five minutes to figure out who in this sorry lot has what and how to use it. Then we gotta have everyone in sync, everyone timed, everyone ready to play their part. Who’s with me?”
     “I’m with you!”, said John.
     “What the hell!”, said Justin. “Let’s do it!”
     “I used to be in plays in High School!”, said Sally.
     “That’s right.”, said Buck. “You and your husband can play the ‘why can’t we all just get along?’ card. Kill ‘em with kindness then stab ‘em in the back.”  
     “We have to put on a play in five minutes!”, Dan said.
     “What the hell are you all talking about?”, moaned Nadine.
     “OK, Nadine. This is your chance.”, said Bob. “You like to moan and groan and play the damsel in distress. Play it to the hilt. You’re a natural!”
     Courtney was in. “All you have to do is hold back and when the time is right, let loose with everything you’ve got! You’ll be awesome!”
     Bob’s eyes left Nadine and settled on Courtney. They stayed there. “That’s right. Awesome!”
     “You two are furious at the world.”, Dan said to Justin and Courtney. “Use that fury.”
     “What about me?”, brayed Gladys. “What about me?” 
     “You’re the loose cannon.” said Dan. “Just keep your trap shut for as long as you can. Let your outrage build and build and when the time’s right, give ‘em hell! Do you think you can handle it?”
     Gladys answered with a wicked smile.
     Buck focused on Cesaria. “And you will be our translator.”
     “And you“, said Cesaria, “will be our director.”
     Buck shook his head. “This crowd don’t need no director.”
     “And me?”, asked Dan.
     “Do what you been doin’ all along.”, answered Buck. “Observin‘, mendin’ fences, stirrin’ up shit, takin’ the long view. You keep the timin’ right.”
     “I'll bet they’ve never met an angry queen before!”, John bellowed.
     Lucia smiled. “And I’ll put my pride aside and seduce them!”
     “At a gal!”, leered Buck.
    “What the hell did you just say?”, Dan demanded. “I thought we were done with life boats.”
     Lucia took his collar in her hands. “Darling! We’ve just lived through an earthquake! We watched a candidate for president of the United States die right in front of us and we ran away!  We’re on the only bus in a city torn with riots and we will probably miss the ship! If there was ever a time for life boats, it’s now!” She kissed him long and hard. She infected him with her strength and her panic and her thrill. He held her to his chest and looked at everyone else. They all had a wild look in their eyes. The driver suddenly laid on the horn. They had reached the city and were racing toward a swirling, angry mob. The bus came to a sudden stop. The crowds surrounded them. Angry faces snarled and chanted.
     There was fear in Lucia’s face. “What are they yelling?”
     “They are real pissed that there’s a bus movin’ in the town.”, said Buck.
     Cesaria pulled herself to her feet. “They want us out.”
     Gladys glared out the window at the protesters and hammered the glass with her cane. “What the hell are we supposed to do, walk back to the port? I’m not going anywhere! Driver! Start the bus!” Suddenly the doors flew open and a group of men poured onto the bus. They yelled at the driver who threw his hands in the air and yelled back.
     Sally stood next Cesaria. She gingerly tapped the old lady’s shoulder. “How do you flip off someone in Greek?” Cesaria looked aghast. Sally tried again. “How do you give the finger in Greek?”
     Everyone turned and looked at Sally in surprise. Cesaria frowned. “I don’t think this is
the time -”
     “How do you say go fuck yourself ?”, Sally demanded.
     “My God.”, said John. “I wouldn’t think she’d say shit if she had a mouth full.”
     Cesaria rolled her eyes. “Put both palms out with your fingers and thumbs extended and say ante gamesou”.
     As Sally silently mouthed the words, Justin leaned over. “I think she’s on to something. How do you say your mother is a whore?”
     “Oh for heaven’s sake.” sighed Cesaria.
     “I think we got somethin’ here.”, smiled Buck. “I mana sou ine putana.”
     “Cool.”, said Justin. “That’s an easy one. I mana sou ine putana.”
     “I think you’re right.”, John whispered. “Americans acting like thugs? They won’t know what to think. How do you say suck my dick?”
     Buck was keeping an eye on the squabbling men. “Pare mou pipa.”
     “How about asshole?”, Courtney asked breathlessly.
     “Klotipa.”, Cesaria winced.
     “What the hell do you people think you’re doing?”, Dan demanded. “You can’t just start swearing at a bunch of enraged Greeks! They’ll beat the hell out of you!”
     “Or they’ll think we’re crazy and run the other way.”, said Gladys. “How do you say bend over and lick?”
     “Gladys!”, gasped Nadine. “That’s disgusting! Have you lost your mind?”
     Buck gave her a broad smile. “Skipse kai glipse.”
     Nadine insisted on taking the high road. “Heavens to Betsy! Why do all of you want to say something dirty? Why can’t you say something nice like Merry Christmas or Christ has risen? How do you say Christ has risen, you dirty old hippie?”
     Cesaria was amused. “Christos anesti, you old cow.”
     “Christos anesti.”, Nadine repeated. “Isn’t that lovely? Christos anesti.”
     These idiots are serious, thought Dan. “Buck, this is a huge mistake!”
     Lucia chimed in. “How do you say hello, do you like my breasts?”
     “Ya sou. Sas aresei vysia mou?”, Buck answered. “And I do. I really do.”
     Dan was exasperated. Any minute the mob would come surging down the aisle. “Lucia! This is crazy!”
     “Ya sou. Sas aresei vysia mou?”, she answered.
     We’re doomed, he thought. “How do you say we’re all crazy?”
     “Eímaste óloi treloí.”, said Cesaria. “And we are definitely all crazy.”
     “Or retarded.”, Bob moaned.
     Buck was staring at the men in the front of the bus. They were looking at us now. “Ain’t nothing wrong with bein’ kathysterimeno.”  
     Bob shook his head. “Kathysterimeno. My daughter’s name is Kathy. Such a pretty name for retarded. Kathysterimeno. Kathysterimeno.”
     A furious Greek stomped down the aisle toward us. “You Americans! Get off bus! Get off now!”
     Sally stood in the aisle and blocked his way. “You are a nice man. What is your name?”
     The Greek stopped in his tracks. A confused look crossed his face. “Lady, you get off
bus.”
     Now Bob stood. “Get off bus? Why? We love Greece.”
     The Greek hesitated. The Greek behind him did not. “Get off bus, American pigs! There
is strike! No bus! No taxi! No airport! No ship!”
     Nadine jumped to her feet and almost fell into the second Greek’s arms. “No ship? No ship?” She started genuflecting. “Christos anesti! Christos anesti!”
     Another Greek pushed against the second. He cursed at them. Courtney rose behind him, stretched up to his ear and yelled. “Klotipa!”
     All the Greeks on the bus froze. Then their astonishment turned to anger. They burst into a cacophony of furious Greek.
     Justin stood and put his arm around Courtney. “I mana sou ine putana!”
     The first Greek was dumbfounded. He stepped back. The two behind him were not. They reached for Justin. Sally stood and stretched out her hands and shouted at the top of her voice “Ante Gamesou!”
     The first Greek backed up and stepped on the second’s toes. John stood up and grabbed his crotch. “Pare mou pipa!”
     The Greeks blew up. They surged forward with blood lust in their eyes. It’s now or never, Dan thought. “Eimaste oloi treloi!”
     “Kathysterimeno!”, roared Bob. “Kathysterimeno!”
     Buck began to jump up and down. “Kathysterimeno! Kathysterimeno!” The bus rocked back and forth with his weight. The Greeks’ mouths dropped open. They grabbed the seat backs to keep their balance.
     Now every one joined in. “Kathysterimeno!”, they yelled over and over.
     Gladys pushed her way through the crowd until she was in front of the Greeks. She smiled. “Skipse kai glipse!” The Greeks recoiled in horror.
     Lucia jumped to her feet. Her red hair burned. Her green eyes blazed. “Ya sou!”, she yelled. The Greeks were transfixed. Then, in one sudden motion she offered the Greeks a crazed smile and opened her blouse. “Sas aresei vysia mou?”
     Nadine began to genuflect. “Christos aresti.”, she moaned. “Christos aresti.”
    They all followed suit, quietly chanting ‘Christ has risen’ and genuflecting reverently. Cesaria rose and, playing it to the hilt with her neck bent severely and affecting a slight tremor from head to foot, approached the lead Greek who was staring at all of us with disbelief. She took his hand and began to mumble. The Greek bent down to hear her. There was a quiet back and forth then the Greek looked up and shook his head. “Kathysterimeno.” He turned to the other Greeks and repeated himself. They shook their heads in turn and slowly backed down the aisle. Before they left the bus, they had a terse exchange with the driver.
    Dan couldn’t believe it. He looked at Cesaria in amazement. “It worked! We did it! What did you say
to them?”
     Cesaria straightened her dress. “I told them that you were all special needs Americans and you were my charge. I told them you were all part of an American with disabilities tour of Greece and that we had to get you back to your ship because your medication ran out. I’ll have to admit, swearing at them in Greek almost backfired until I played the idiot savant card. I told them you could focus on one thing and learn it quickly. I told them you had focused on the Greek language.”, she turned to the rest of the crowd. “And because of your Academy Award performance, they bought it.”
     Everyone was stunned for a moment then a cheer went up. They were all congratulating
each other. All differences had been put aside. They were a family now. Cesaria turned and pointed out the window at the crowd. The men who had boarded the bus were shouting orders. “They are going to place a placard on the bus to get us through the strike and into the port.” After much confusion, a large cardboard sign appeared. The men strapped it onto the front of the bus and barked a few words to the driver. He barked back and turned the ignition. Another cheer went up.
    Gladys was bloated with pride. “We showed those cannibals what we’re made of! We took them for a ride!”
     Lucia was pressing her blouse with her hands. “I don’t think I’ve ever done anything like that before. It felt wonderful!”
     John was flush with excitement. “Those jerks will think twice before they ever fuck with a pissed off queen again.”
     Justin had his arms around his wife. “I told them their mother was a whore!”
    Courtney gave him a kiss. “And I called them assholes!”
     “Now you see what we Americans can do when we put our differences aside!”, beamed Sally. “We showed them what for!”
     Bob gave her a hug. “They didn’t stand a chance!”
     “What does the sign say?”, Nadine demanded breathlessly. “Make way for the Americans? ”
     Buck smiled. “Retards.”
     Silence descended on the bus like a cloud of cyanide. It took a couple of minutes for the realization to sink into their proud skulls that their asses had been saved because the Greeks thought they were mentally challenged.  
     Gladys slowly turned and looked out the window. She noticed three boys lurching along side below her as the bus slowly meandered through the town. They were laughing. Their eyes were crossed. Their tongues hung out of their mouths. Their arms swung and twitched. Gladys flew into a rage. “Take that God damned sign off the bus!”
     Sally was right with her. “I will not be humiliated by of a bunch of peasants!”
     Courtney grabbed her husband’s arm. “My God, honey! They think we’re all retarded!”
     John burst out laughing. Justin glared at him. “Are you laughing at my wife?”
     “Don’t be ridiculous!”, John choked. “I would never laugh at someone who is mentally challenged.”
     Nadine gazed out her window and noticed some local women staring at her with sad looks on their faces as they shook their heads. “Oh my stars!”, she moaned. “They feel sorry for us!”
     Justin raised his chin in the air. “I have a graduate degree from one of the best schools in
the country! I’m not going to put up with this!”  
     Courtney put her fists on her hips. “We drowned ourselves in debt to get a good education and what do we get, respect? A good job? No! We’re pitied for being mentally challenged!”
     Bob stomped his feet. “This is outrageous! I have a home in one of the best suburbs in the country! I have a home in Sedona! I have a home in Tahoe!”
     The crowd that had surrounded the bus was following it and more and more curious Greeks were joining the procession. You could see the word ‘kathysterimeno’ form on their lips. You could hear it in the air. Gladys was beside herself. She pulled at her hair and pounded her seat. “We are a God damn freak show!”
     Buck stood up and turned around. He lowered his face to hers. It was dark with fury. “That’s right, Comrade, we’re ridin' on the coattails of of people bigger than all of us who face more than any of us can imagine. Count yourself lucky and shut the fuck up. We're a fuckin’ freak show and we’re gonna stay a fuckin’ freak show till we jerk and twitch and drag every one of our sorry asses into the ship!”
     “Don’t you threaten me, you terrorist!”, Gladys snarled. “When we get back to the ship, I’m going to report you!”
     Here we go again, Dan thought. He looked out the window and was surprised to see the port only a couple of  blocks away. “Buck! I see the port ahead!”
     A column of white smoke arched across the sky, then another and another. A sudden furious
yell rose from the crowd of Greeks. They began to scatter as tear gas canisters fell among them.
     Gladys pounded her cane on the floor of the bus. “What the hell is going on?”
     “Tear gas!”, screamed Courtney.
     Nadine threw her hands over her mouth. “Oh, God no! It can’t be!”
     “Everyone off the bus!”, Buck yelled.
     Sally stood and stomped her feet. “I’m an American and I’m not going anywhere!”
     “Then you’ll choke to death!”, Dan yelled. “Let’s get the hell out of here!”
     The gas was drifting into the bus. The driver was long gone. Cesaria was making her way to the front with her hand over her face. “Come on, men!”, ordered Buck “Let’s get the women outa here!” He loomed over Gladys. “It’s now or never, your highness!”
     Gladys jerked back into her seat. “Don’t even think of touching me!”
     “Buck!”, screeched Nadine. “Help! Help!”
     Buck turned, yanked Nadine to her feet and threw her over his shoulder. The crowd stumbled down the aisle. Lucia was next to Cesaria with her arm around Cesaria’s shoulders. Bob dragged his wife to her feet still kicking until a snort of tear gas rendered her helpless. Courtney and Justin were pushing at the backs of Lucia and Cesaria. They all descended the steps and fell into the street.
     John and Dan stood over Gladys. “Come on, girl!”, urged John. “We’ll get you out of here!”
     “Get your fairy hands away from me!”, she roared. “I’m not going anywhere!”
     “For God’s sake, Gladys,”, implored  Dan. “Get up!”
     “You don’t own a hedge fund, do you? If you did you would be on the Argonaut Adventure instead of some Greek tub!”, she hissed. “You’re a God damned pinko fag like all the rest, aren’t
you? Or maybe you’re another terrorist like the fat man!”
     Suddenly a window across the aisle shattered. A tear gas canister burst into the bus. They were blinded. “We have to get out!”, yelled John. The two of them staggered toward the door and down the steps.  
     Buck was waiting for us. “Where’s the old battle ax?”
     “Down for the count!”, panted John.
     Buck pushed past uthem and into the cloud of tear gas billowing out of the bus. A minute later he appeared at the top of the stairs with Gladys over his shoulder.
     The eleven of them huddled together gagging and choking. Strikers and police swirled around them. A paving stone flew over their heads and bounced off the bus. Two helmeted policemen caught a protester and rammed him against a wall. They beat him with billy clubs until they were surrounded by a dozen protesters who beat them with fists. A tear gas canister lobbed into the fight and broke it up. Sirens howled. an could hear a helicopter hovering over head. He took Lucia’s hand and, pointing to the port yelled at the others.
    They worked our way down a narrow street that opened on to a small plaza with a fountain in it. They struggled up to the fountain and collapsed. Gladys came to when Buck lowered her down to the paving stones. They could hear the ongoing battles raging in the streets. They washed Gladys first. They helped each other wash their faces, their eyes, their hair. They poured water on their clothes.
     Buck started to cough. It got worse. He began gasping for air. His nose was running and saliva was pouring from his mouth. He threw up. He fell toward the fountain. John grabbed him. He scooped water out of the fountain into Buck’s face. “It’s the tear gas!”, John shouted. “He’s had too much of it!” A startled look flashed across Buck’s face, then a panicked look. He began hyperventilating. His eyes rolled back.
     Dan knelt down and grabbed Buck’s hand. “Buck! Stay with us!”
     Lucia was next to me. “Buck! What’s your name?”
     John took him in his arms. “Come on Buck!”, he said firmly. “Come back to us! We need you! What’s your name?”
     Buck’s eyes suddenly flew open. He grabbed John’s shoulders. “Buck! My name is Buck!”
     John took Buck’s face in his hands. “Say it again!”
     “Buck.” He pulled away, placing one hand on John’s shoulder and the other on the back of his head. “Thanks.”
     They could see the gates of the port a block away. Clouds of gas drifted over dozens of police and strikers having at each other. They arranged ourselves into a phalanx. Buck, John and Dan led. Gladys, Sally and Nadine grabbed their belts and followed. Behind them, Justin and Courtney braced Cesaria. Bob and Lucia brought up the rear. A cop charged them, baton in the air and stopped in his tracks. Two others appeared behind him. The three of them raced forward but were swept away by a mob of protesters. A group of strikers came running at them fists waving then suddenly parted and rushed past. A single large protester appeared out of nowhere and grabbed Courtney. Cesaria hit him square between the eyes with her cane and he stumbled off. A gust of wind suddenly cleared the air around everyone and they found ourselves between a group of strikers and a line of police. Dan don’t know if it was the shock of seeing such a parade appear out of the fog of gas and dust or just blind luck but they all froze and stared. Everyone marched through them. They cleared the main gates and arrived at the inner gate. They could see their ship ahead and not far beyond, the Argonaut Adventure. It was cordoned off and surrounded by police. Crew members waiting at the foot of their ship recognized them and rushed down the pier toward them. They waived them forward and helped them onto the ship.
   Suddenly Gladys broke away and started to march back down the pier. Her arm was in the air waving her fist over her head. She had a high and mighty, indignant look on her face. She began to bray. “To hell with you horrible little brown people! To hell with your horrible little brown country! I hate Greece! I hate Greeks! You cannibals will pay for this! I am an American! I am - ”
   Dan raced down the gangway, grabbed her by the back of her collar and swung her around. Without a word,  he lifted her to her toes and marched her up into the ship. The ship’s horn blew. We did it. We made it.
  
  BUTCHA ARE
                                                          
      No cheer went up as they streamed into the ship. No one stopped to congratulate anyone. They all hurried off to their cabins and staterooms pulling at their wreaking clothes and dreaming of a hot shower. Once again Lucia was dragging Dan behind her as she stomped to her suite. The shower was small but they both squeezed in. They let the hot water pour over otheir heads for several minutes before picking up the soap and shampoo to wash each other. There was no sensuality in that hot shower, no smiles, no moaning and groaning. They were exhausted. They finally crawled out of the shower and fell on the bed. Dan looked around the room for the scotch bottle then passed out.
      When he awoke, he was starving. He glanced at his watch and was shocked at how late it
was. If they hurried, they could just make it before the dining room closed. Dan gently shook Lucia. She rolled over wide eyed with a glorious smile on her face. “Daniel! What a marvelous adventure! You were wonderful! I love you!”
     “I didn’t do anything more than anyone else.”
     “But you and I!” She kissed him “We were magic! How will I ever forget the look on all those poor fools faces when they realized they were being let through because the Greeks thought they were retarded? They were eviscerated! They were outraged! ‘I have a degree from an important university! I have a home in Sedona!’ And we laughed! We laughed all day!”
     “Why weren’t you there with them?”, Dan asked, surprised at himself for asking the question. He pushed on. “Now it’s time to take back what was ours to begin with. The time for democracy is over.”
     She sat up on her elbows. Her breasts called to him. She rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s true, isn’t it,
Daniel? The time for democracy is over. That horrible little man and his Martian wife made it quite clear before hell itself opened up and swallowed them whole.”
     “But what are we going to do about it?”
     “One thing I’m not going to do is waist my time worrying about it.”, said Lucia exasperatedly. “Onward and upward, Daniel.”
     “So it’s survival of the fittest?”, he demanded. “Dog eat dog?”
     She took his chin in her hand. “Survival, Daniel, survival!  I’m famished! Aren’t you?”
     “I need a drink.”
     “We can get one at the table. Do you want to eat tonight?”
     They threw on their clothes and made for the dining room. They passed the bar on the way. Dan was surprised to see it empty. Another bartender was behind the bar. He stopped and stuck my head in. “No Snezhana tonight?”
     The bartender gave him a bored look. “Snezhana not well. Back tomorrow.”
     “Not well, my ass!”, muttered Dan. “No Buck. No Snezhana. That guy’s incredible. He tries and fails to get on a boat to Gaza in the morning, lives through an earthquake, a riot and tear gas poisoning in the afternoon and still has it in him to pork the bartender in the evening. And he’s older than I am!”
     “Poor baby.”, taunted Lucia. “I’m sure you’ll be yourself again once you have a decent meal in you.”
     The dining room was not crowded. Dan noticed Justin and Courtney just settling down to a
table. He walked toward them.
     Lucia was taken aback. “You don’t want to sit with those two, do you, you decrepit Baby
Boomer.”
     “I can’t imagine them inviting us to sit with them. But we did have quite an adventure and they were part of it. The least we can do is say hello.” The two of them glanced nervously at each other when they saw Dan and Lucia approaching.
     “Justine, Courtney! We’re glad to see you are alright.”, Lucia beamed through a forced smile.
     “We fell asleep as soon as we got to the room.”, said Courtney. “We woke up just in time and had to eat something. You too?”
     "Yes, the same scenario.”, laughed Lucia. “Well, you two have a good meal. We’ll see you soon.”
     “Won’t you join us?”, asked Courtney with a timid smile.
     Lucia’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh, I don’t think you want to eat with the old folks.”
     Justin stood up. “My wife is right. We went through a riot together.” He pulled a chair
back for Lucia. “Please.”
     Dan couldn’t believe it. The little monsters had come around. “Well thank you, Justin.” He looked at Lucia. “Shall we?”
     Lucia was grand. “It would be a pleasure! We can exchange notes!”
     As soon as they sat down, a waiter arrived. “I guess we just made it.”, said Justin with a frown. I’m not familiar with Greek food but so far it’s been pretty good.”
     “Daniel and I both love Greek food.”, said Lucia. “Do you like chicken? Their Kotopoulo Lemonato, lemon chicken is wonderful.”
     “That sounds good!”, said Courtney. “I’ll have that.”
     “Do they have lamb?”, asked Justin.
     “Giouvesti tonight.” grunted the waiter.
     “That’s lamb stew in a clay pot.”, said Dan. “It’s good.”
     “I’m in.”, said Justin as he handed the menu to the waiter.
     “How’s the Keftethakia?”, Dan asked the waiter.
     “Keftethakia good.”
     “Oh, they have rabbit tonight!”, announced Lucia. “I’ll have the Kouneli Lemonato.”
     “Don’t tell me they have Bugs Bunny on the menu!” Everyone looked up to see John standing behind the waiter. “Mind if I join you?”
     Justin coughed and looked at the table. Courtney offered a strained smile. Lucia stood up and gave John a hug. “Come on every one! Make room for a fellow soldier!”
     “All for one and one for all.”, Dan said motioning toward an empty chair. “What’ll you have?”
     “I love rabbit.”, said John. “How is it prepared?”
     The waiter pointed at a menu in his hand. “Kouneli Lemonato, Kouneli me aspri saltsa. Rabbit with lemon. Rabbit with wine and garlic.”
     “Wine and garlic sounds delicious!”, said John as he sat down.
     “And Kreatosoupa me Trahana for everyone to start!”, Lucia said with a flourish. “That’s like minestrone. It’s very good!”  
     “And two scotch on the rocks!”, said Dan in near panic for forgetting all about it. “Make one a double. Any one else?”
     Lucia rolled her eyes. “Make that a double scotch on the rocks and a gin and tonic, please.”
     “I’ll have a gin and tonic too.”, said John.
     “Mineral water for the two of us.”, said Justin.
     “I’ll have something Greek.”, said Courtney with her chin in the air. She looked at the waiter. “What’s a good Greek drink?”
   “Ouzo good before dinner.” The waiter grunted.
   “Cool! I‘ll have some Ouzo!”, beamed Courtney.
   “The wine! My God what’s the matter with me?” Dan grabbed a menu from the waiter’s hand. “Bring a bottle of Antonopoulos Chardonnay and a bottle of Lazaridis Amethystos, please.”
    The waiter hurried away. John looked around the table. “Well, together again at last. I don’t suppose anyone else is going to show up tonight after a day like that.”
    Lucia put her hand over her mouth. “I should have checked on Gladys and Nadine! Do
you think they are alright?”
     “Are you kidding?”, laughed John. “Those two could live through Armageddon.”
     “You’re probably right.”, admitted Courtney. “After all, they are the greatest generation.”
     “I beg your pardon?”, asked John.
     “Justin and Courtney have a unique take on the current state of affairs in our great country.”, said Dan quietly, silently praying for the quick arrival of his scotch. “My parent’s generation saved the world. My generation destroyed it.”
     “Oh dudes!”, exclaimed John, placing both hands on the table and leaning forward. “You mean the Baby Boomer plague? I’ve heard about that. That’s way harsh. An asshole is an asshole. Doesn’t matter when he or she was born. Hitler was part of the greatest generation. If I were you I’d concentrate on who’s screwing you and not when they were born. From what you were telling that politician and his wife, may they roast in hell, you guys have a lot to be pissed about.”
     Courtney was twisting her napkin in her hands. “That’s right.”
    Dan changed the subject. “Have any of you been to Rhodes before? That’s our next island. We arrive late tomorrow morning.” Everyone shook their heads. “You know.”, smiled Dan. “The Colossus of Rhodes, a giant bronze statue standing over the harbor.”
     “Of course, of course!”, smiled John. “Long gone though, right?”
     “I can’t wait to hear what Cesaria has to say about the Colossus of Rhodes.”, said Lucia “Daniel said she had quite a take on the myth of the Minotaur.”
     Justin looked at Courtney. “I wonder if there will be riots there too.”
      “Here are the drinks!”, announced Lucia with relief. Both of them grabbed their drinks and took a swig.
     John raised his drink to the table. “Here’s to a decent end to one hell of day!”
     Courtney raised her glass and elbowed Justin who was looking at his lap with a confused expression on his face. He looked around and reluctantly followed suit. Glasses touched all around. Courtney took a swallow, grimaced, closed her eyes and shook her head then smiled. “That was the most awesome day in my life!” She looked around and caught Justin eyeing her. “Except my wedding day of course.” Justin offered a pained smile. “And the day I found Jesus.”
     “Where was he hiding?”, asked John earnestly. “Just kidding! Just kidding! I should joke. I did a lot of searching after my husband died. No really.”
     “Life is a stormy sea these days“, Dan offered. “We’re all searching.”
     “I agree with Courtney.”, said Lucia. “This day was absolutely amazing and we got through it together, despite our differences.”
     “Can you believe the way the Lord took those people?”, asked Courtney wide eyed. “It was like
a movie! They disappeared right in front of us!”
     Justin reached over, picked up Courtney’s glass and took a swig. “It scared the hell out of me. Mmm, liquorish.”
     Courtney took the glass out of her husband’s hand. “Justin! You don’t drink any more!”
     John reached over and patted Justin on the arm. “Well, if there was ever a time to start, it’s now. Here’s to new beginnings!”
     “To new beginnings!”, they toasted.
     The waiter arrived with the wine and the soup. Dan tasted the white wine and the waiter began to pour. Justin put his hand over his glass, saw us all looking at him then shrugged his shoulders and let the waiter fill his glass. Courtney frowned then sighed and shrugged her shoulders. 

     Dan raised his glass. “And here’s to new friends.”
     “To new friends!”
      “This soup is awesome!”, gasped Courtney. “I’m starving!”
     The table grew quiet as they devoured their food. The soup filled their bellies and the wine stroked their frazzled spirits. Dan looked up and saw Justin actually smiling at him. He smiled back. Lucia hooked her arm in his. Courtney gave Justin a peck on the cheek. John sighed. The waiter removed the spotless soup bowls. The entrees quickly followed.
     Justin allowed a glass of red to be poured. His face was beginning to match the wine. “I honestly think that spontaneous performance on the bus was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced. How could we have possibly pulled it off?”
     “It was like some sort of contagious thrill.”, said John as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. “And what a hilarious anticlimax with the mentally challenged routine.”
     Lucia put down her fork and knife and looked around the table. “I think we were so pumped full of adrenaline after the earthquake and …”
     “Did you see all the security around the Argonaut Adventure?”, asked John. “They were waiting for us.”
     “I’m nervous about all that.”, whispered Courtney. “It’s as if we purposely avoided the authorities.”
     Dan finished his scotch and looked around for the waiter. “We did purposely avoid the authorities. I wonder if they will be waiting for us at the next port.”
     “It could easily be construed as an honest mistake!”, said Lucia urgently. “I mean there was an earthquake and riots.”
     Justin took another swallow of wine. “But it wasn’t an honest mistake! That large man insisted on it! It’s almost as if he had something to hide!”
     Courtney looked nervously at her husband. “Justin, you don’t drink any more. Take it easy.”
     “I’m fine! I’m fine!”, blurted Justin as he waved his wine glass in the air. “That old biddy kept calling him a terrorist then we find out he tried to break the Gaza blockade!”
     “He saved Gladys’ life.” Dan said quietly.
     “And she’s going to report him!”, announced Courtney. “Well, you have to be on the safe side.”
     Dan was astonished. “The safe side? What the hell do you mean by that?”
     “You can never be too sure these days.”, said Justin sternly. “We all have to keep an eye out.”
     “An eye out for what?”, Dan asked. “Terrorists? Commies? My God, we are becoming the Soviet Union. Watch your fellow citizens. Watch your neighbor. Watch your family.”
     Lucia finished the wine in her glass. “I thought Obama was going to end all that Patriot Act stuff.”
     John shook his head. “That and a lot of other Fascist acts under Bush but I wised up sooner than most. That preacher who he invited to give the invocation at the inauguration worked his fat ass off to make sure we couldn’t get married. That was a slap in the face. What was that all about?, I thought. Who the hell is this guy and what - ”
     Justin interrupted him. “I thought he was going to appease the terrorists then I thought he was going to protect us. After all, he did get Bin Laden and he signed the Patriot Act again. I thought that was a good thing to keep us safe from the terrorists but now I’m not so sure. What was that senator talking about when he said every thing is in place and everyone is having the time of their lives and what was that about detention camps? I’m beginning to think I don’t know what the hell is going on!”
     While Justin drifted toward belligerence, the booze had the opposite affect on his wife. “I find it so awesome that that large man talks like a hic but speaks Greek.”, Courtney giggled. “That’s out of out of a movie too, don’t you think, honey? And that ridiculous old lady with the funny clothes. She was a riot and she spoke Greek too!”
     “Oh come on, Courtney.”, Dan sighed. “She got the bus moving, not once but twice.”
     John laughed into his wine. “I love that girl! What a hoot! I’m going get to know her better. And you’re right about Buck. That man intrigues me. What is he, some sort of East Texas Hemingway? Even those old bags were a couple of characters. We’ve got quite a cast on this cruise.”
     “I have to admit I got a kick out of Cesaria almost throttling Nadine.”, blushed Lucia.
     “And don’t forget Mr. and Mrs. Suburbia.”, said John. “I can’t tell you how appreciative I was when they told me they weren’t prejudiced against gays. Not blacks either, I gathered. She would have kissed Obama’s feet if she got half the chance. I wouldn’t be surprised if she dreams about kissing something else from time to time.”
     A wave of Ouzo infused sentimentality washed over Courtney. “They kind of remind me of my mom and dad. Did you see the way Bob was always there for his wife? He never took his eyes off her. My dad’s like that with my mom. They’re so worried about us.” She frowned sadly.    
     “I thought they were kind of creepy, even for Baby Boomers.”, muttered Justin. He looked down at his plate and picked up his fork, dropped it and picked it up again. “This is the most awesome food I’ve had yet on the cruise! Mmm, really good.” He turned to Dan. “How come you know so much about Greek food and wine?”
     A nostalgic smile crossed Dan's face. “It all started a long time ago when I tended bar in a Greek restaurant when I was - .”
     “I love good food!”, announced Justin. “I sometimes think I can’t get enough of it.”
     “I’m right there with you.”, said John. “I like spicy food. Do you like peppers?”
     “The hotter the better!” relished Justin. “Habaneros are the hottest and I love ‘em.”
     “You know, there is one that is hotter.”, countered John. “Have you ever heard of the ghost pepper?”
     “The ghost pepper is hotter than a habanero?”, mumbled John through a mouth full of lamb. “How hot is it?”
     “You know what they say about peppers, don’t you?”, asked John with an innocent look on his face.
     “No, what?”
     John leered and winked. “They put lead in your pencil.”
     Justin looked intently at John. “I don’t follow you.”
     “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”, smiled John. “A ghost pepper is like a double does of viagra.”
     Justin gave a start. “Why is it all about sex with you homosexuals?”
     “It’s all about sex with all guys and I dare you to tell me differently.” laughed John.
     Justin was still staring at John. “Exactly when did you become a homosexual?”
     John rolled his eyes. “When I was born. It takes some time to figure it out and accept it. Some people take longer than others what with the threat of being beaten to death and all. Some people come out right away. Some people never come out and are miserable all their lives which is bad enough for the poor devils themselves but misery loves company and all and they just have to spread it around. The worst homophobes are gay themselves, you know.”
     Justin finished off his glass of wine and leaned toward John. “What’s it like, I mean besides the shame and the disease?”
     John didn’t even blink. “Once you get over the hellfire and the leprosy it’s fantastic.  You’re free. You’re unbound. You can have as much sex as you want with as many people as you want. There’s so little awkwardness about sex. I mean, come on it’s guys. Oh sure, there’s jealousy and hurt feelings and even stalkers and violence just like straight people but for the most part you do what ever you want or don’t do what ever you don’t want and there’s no guilt, no guilt and as long as you’re careful, it’s safe and you don’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant. And when you decide to settle down, you get married like everyone else.  Well, maybe not like everyone else. Not yet, at least.”
     Justin didn’t say a word as he stared at John and let all that he had said sink in. He finally blinked his eyes and smiled. “Cool, I kind of get it. I come from a conservative family. Homosexuality almost never came up and if it did, it was bad.”
     John leaned close to Justin. “Kind of like a dirty secret?”
     There was no more resistance in Justin’s face as his mind started to open. “Sort of.” Suddenly a look of fear crossed his face. “But the church says you people are devils.”
     John smiled and took a drink of wine. “Would Jesus think we are devils? Would the twelve bachelors he always hung around with think so?”  
     Courtney had withdrawn at the memory of her parents. She turned and looked closely at Dan. “I’m sorry we said those things to you. You know, all that Baby Boomer stuff.”
     Dan felt something touch his heart. While John played Justin on the line, he looked at Courtney for the first time, really looked at her. She was a pretty girl. Her eyes were large and a dark shade of brown, unusual for a blond with fair skin. There was an obvious strength in them but a deep melancholy as well. “It must have taken great courage to turn your back on such debt and grab what credit you had left and jump.”
     “We didn’t jump. We were pushed.”, said Courtney quietly. “No jobs, we had to live with our parents because we couldn’t afford an apartment of our own, and the calls from the creditors all day and all night. We fled the country. We’re exiles.”
     “So what are you going to do after the cruise?”, Dan asked. “Are you destitute? Do you have any plans? Do you have any hope?”
     Courtney smiled and looked down at her wine glass. “We thought maybe we might find
work abroad after the cruise. I have a cousin in London I’m very close to. There are people from our church working in Scotland.”
      “So your church will help you one way or another.”

      “Oh, the church.”, said Courtney as an irritated look crossed her face. She swallowed a mouthful of wine. “Sometimes I feel like I was pushed into Jesus too, but He has calmed down Justin and that’s awesome. I was very worried about my husband. The stress was affecting our marriage. It just seems like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. We graduated two years ago and it’s just getting worse.”
   Dan took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “If your husband finds peace in Jesus then so much the better. You can take the church, yours and all the rest of them and toss them back to hell where they came from as far as I’m concerned but Jesus had a lot of good to say. He wouldn’t be very happy with the money changers who ruined you, ruined you and just about everybody else. This recession just drags on and on. So many people who managed to stay in business for the first year didn’t make it through the second. Most who made it through the second year didn’t make it through the third. It seems like the only ones who will survive this thing are the banks and the big corporations and they’re doing gangbusters. They’re sitting on trillions in cash, pay little or no income tax yet they continue to move jobs overseas and make what workers they still employ in America work longer hours while cutting their salaries and benefits. I sometimes wonder if they didn’t bring this calamity about on purpose. While they got billions, trillions in bailouts, the little guy got nothing and we’re sinking fast. How convenient.”
     “We even thought of joining the military.” said Courtney looking away.
     “It’s becoming the only answer these days for young people.” Dan said bitterly.   
     Courtney smiled wistfully. “When I was a little girl I did all the American little girl things. I
played with dolls. I dreamed of becoming a professor. I pledged allegiance to the flag. I was going to have a successful career and marry and buy a house and raise a family and make the world a better place. When I met my husband and married him, it was awesome. When I got into the school I wanted to, it was awesome. When the banks offered us money to get through school, it was awesome. Then everything began to change. My husband wanted to teach too but we didn't want to go into more debt to get a master's degree and teach college when we found out that if a university was even offering, it was an adjunct job, an independent contract that lasted just a semester, and if there were any high school jobs, they didn't pay enough to live on and repay our loans either.”
     “Every kid grows up and wakes up to reality, or at least they used to.”, Dan said. “Now
they grow up and wake up to a nightmare. When I was a kid, getting an education and buying a house used to be the ticket to happiness and success. Now they’re a ticket to slavery and ruin.”
     “How have you survived?”, asked Courtney.
     Dan looked down at my empty plate and my empty drink. He saw the waiter across the room and caught his attention. He approached. “I’ll have another double scotch on the rocks, please. Who else is thirsty?”
     Lucia’s eyes lit up. “Let’s have some Metaxa! Metaxa is wonderful after dinner. Waiter, Metaxa for every one, please.”
      Courtney’s eyes were beginning to go their separate ways. “What’s Metaxa?”
     “Greek brandy. Trust me.”, Dam said. “You’ll like it. It’s good for the digestion.”
     “I’ll bet it’s as good as the Ouzo!” blurted Justin. “Mmm, Ouzo, awesome.” A knowing
look shot from Lucia to John to me. Justin turned to John again. “I have the feeling you’re implying something obscene and blasphemous with that twelve apostles dig.”
     “Oh you devil, you!”, laughed John. “Is that what you’re trying to say? Look, how about this. I won’t hold the Jesus thing against you if you don’t hold the pervert thing against me.” He offered his hand to Justin.
     Justin stopped chewing, put down his fork, picked up his wine glass and took a gulp. He never took his eyes off John. “We went through a riot together. I’m in.” He shook John’s hand.
     Lucia had been listening to the back and forth. A smile spread across her face. “What about those riots? What about the tear gas?”
     “It’s amazing we made it through all that in one piece.”, marveled John.
     “Did you see the old lady hit that jerk with her cane right between the eyes when he grabbed me ?”, gasped Courtney. “Oh my God, I just now remembered it! She saved me!”
     “And what about marching between the rioters and the police?”, asked Lucia. “I thought for sure we would be smashed between them.”
     “There were cobble stones flying over our heads! One almost hit me!”, panted Justin.
     John frowned. “You should have been on the bus when the tear gas canister crashed through the window. Dan and I tried to help that old bag up and she wouldn’t budge. We had to leave her there. We couldn’t breath. I don’t know how Buck got her out of there. Or why for that matter.”
     “Where is that big mysterious man tonight?”, asked Courtney, her face flushed red.
     “Fucking.”, Dan muttered under his breath.
     Justin gave him a curious look through slightly crossed eyes. “What’d you say?”
     “Recovering!”, Dan said loudly. “Recovering from the tear gas.”
     John frowned. “It really did hit him. I hope he’s alright.”
     “I’m sure he’s doing just fine.”, smiled Lucia. Her eyes teased Dan. “He loves classical music. He’s probably listening to Bach as we speak.”
     “Bach? Get outa here!”, laughed John. “Willy Nelson, maybe.” He looked closer at Lucia.
“You’re not kidding, are you?”
     Dan gave Lucia a dirty look. “He’s especially fond of the Goldberg Variations.”
     “Goldberg Variations.”, said Justin to himself. “Cool.”  
      John looked into the distance. “My God, that man fascinates me.”
     “Is anyone familiar with the Goldberg Variations?”, asked Lucia.
     Justin was staring at the wine glass in this hand. “Goldberg Variations. Cool. That large man is cool.”
     The waiter arrived with the drinks. Dam raised his glass. “Here’s to an Oscar winning performance.”
     “Oh my God!”, gushed Courtney. “I’ll never forget that bus ride! Never!”
     They were all thrilled with the adventure and with the booze, some of them more than others. Justin took a swig of Metaxa. He puffed out his chest and shook his head back and forth then took another belt. He seemed lost for a moment as the booze closed in. He looked around the table. “What is it with these Greeksh?”, he slurred. “They riot and destroy because they can’t retire at fifty anymore, because their health care isn’t free anymore? They got themselves into this problem by hiding their debt.”
     Dan looked down at his feet. Here we go again. “Didn’t you hear what our guide said this afternoon? Greeks are abandoning their children because they can’t feed them. They’re killing themselves.”
     “And what about the article in the paper that Cesaria read?”, asked John. “They are losing their unions and their jobs.”
     “Austerity measures!”, grunted Justin. “They have to do something to prove their worth.” The ends of his mouth curved downward. “Unions! Huh!”  
     Dan could feel a rage suddenly coming to a boil in his gut. “Austerity measures? Austerity
measures are the excuse to starve the Greek people and pick their bones! This debt is predatory! It’s odious! Austerity measures are the excuse to end Social Security and Medicare at home!”
     Courtney took a gulp of Metaxa and wagged the glass at Dan. “I heard the Greeks hid their debt too. They got themselves into this mess. They can get themselves out of it.”
     “The Greek people didn’t hide their debt.”, hissed Dan. “Wall Street hooked some corrupt politicians and it was done in secret. Wall Street securitized millions of worthless mortgages, rated them triple A, sold them to the world and took out insurance against them. They destroyed our economy and made a fortune. Americans lost their jobs, their savings, their homes. Marriages were destroyed. Families were torn apart. Millions of American children go to bed hungry. These people disenfranchised their own countrymen. They are destroying nations. They are snuffing out democracy. They should be tried and convicted in The Hague for crimes against humanity then stood up against a wall and shot! Are you going to blame the American people for the Great Recession? You said yourselves how you were victims of loan deceit and loan modification and fees and penalties and compounded interest. You’re a hundred thousand in debt and you’ll never own a home. You’ll never have children. You have given up on your future. Do you blame yourselves?”
     Courtney’s glass froze in mid air. A confused look darkened her face. She frowned. A tear rolled down her cheek. Justin turned bright red and looked at me. “Now look what you have done! We were having a good time and you ruined it with your poisonous accusations!”
     Dan was taken aback. He felt bad. “I’m sorry. I really am.”
     “He didn’t ruin anything!”, sobbed Courtney. “He’s right! We were scammed!”  
     Justin took another hit and put his arm around his wife. “Jesush warned us, Courtney. Satin is loose in the land.”
     Courtney shook his arm off her shoulders. “Jesus? JESUS? What the hell is Jesus going to do about it? Is he going to pay off our loans? Is he going to get us a job? I pray and I pray and I STILL feel like shit! I’m beginning to think this whole Jesus routine is just another con job! And why not? We were scammed out of our money! We were scammed out of our future! We were scammed into a life of indentured servitude to the banks! We were scammed into believing Obama was going to save us! We were scammed into believing Obama is the anti Christ when he’s just another FUCKING PUPPET! And now Jesus is going to fix every thing. Well guess what? Jesus isn’t going to fix SHIT! Maybe we should be in the streets with the Greeks! What’s this Occupy Wall Street that dead asshole was talking about? Maybe I should be there!”
     Lucia put her hand on Courtney’s hand. “I know how you feel, sweet heart. I was scammed into believing my husband loved me.” Her eyes drifted across the room. “I thought I was a naïve fool but now I know I was scammed. I was used. All my friends looked down their noses at me. I was a failure. People hated me for that.”
     John finished off his wine and took a swig of Metaxa. “Shit, people hate me just for being me.”
     Justin had been staring at Courtney with his mouth open. His head wobbled. He closed one eye. He picked up his glass of Metaxa and finished it. “Good grief, Courtney, where did all of thish come from? You never told me you questioned Jesush. You never told me you thought Obama was going to save ush. I’ve never heard you swear like that before. Where is all this coming from? Is it the booze? Why would you want to join a bunch of hippiesh? Are you drunk?”
     “In vino veritas.”, Dan smiled.
     Justin looked angrily at him “Or is it these Baby Boomersh who are leading you ashtray?”
     Courtney picked up her glass, gave her husband a withering look and downed the Metaxa. “Jesush? Hippiesh? Baby Boomersh? And you’re asking me if I’M drunk? To hell with this Baby Boomer shit! That’s just a scam too! Nobody is leading me astray! When we get to shore I’m going to take the first flight out and go to New York to make a stand against the ASS HOLES WHO RUINED US! That fucking senator and his wife were gloating! GLOATING! They knew they were in control! They’re royalty and we’re just peasants, just animals milling around the God damned barnyard waiting to be butchered! I’m glad they’re dead! I'M GLAD THEY'RE DEAD! They’re so fucking satisfied as they feed on the rest of us! It’s time we feed on them! Hang them up on meat hooks! Slice them up before they slice us up!”
     “Courtney, darling. You’re making a shpectacle of yourself!”, gasped Justin.
     Courtney pushed her chair from the table. “I most certainly am not!”
     John chuckled. “Butcha are, Courtney. Ya are making a shpectacle of yourshelf.”
     Justin pounded the table with his fist. “Don’t you make fun of my wife, you - you Catamite! I know what you’ve been up to tonight! You’re trying to sheduce me!”  
     “Don’t flatter yourself, kid. You’re not my type. I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man on earth.”, laughed John.
     “What are you talking - talking about?”, stammered Justin. “All you homoshexuals want is sex all the time with any guy, shpecially if they’re shtraight. I know all about you and that’sh why I don’t like you!”
     There was an interminable silence for a couple of seconds then John turned to Lucia and Dan. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.” The three of us broke up.
     Courtney was jolted out of her self absorption. She looked at us then at her husband. “Are you people laughing at my Justin?” She stood up, swayed back and forth and crashed back down into her seat.
     “No, no of course not.”, Dan reassured her still choking with laughter.
     Courtney spoke quietly to herself. “I'm going to get those mother fucking bankers.”
     Now Justin stood up. He listed suddenly and grabbed the table. He looked lost. “Hitler was one of the greatesht generation. Aweshome.”, he said quietly to himself. He looked up and saw us staring at him. “You are laughing at me! You’re all laughing at me! I’m not going to tolerate being laughed at by a bunch of parashitshes!” He jerked out his hand to his wife. “Come, Courtney, shweetheart! We are leaving!”
     Courtney struggled to her feet and took her husband’s hand. She looked down at the three of us with proud disdain. “It is time for my husband and myself  to leave you to yourselves. Good night.” The two of them turned their backs, stuck their chins in the air and proudly zigzagged out of the dining room.
     “Well that wash quite a performansh.”, marveled Lucia.
     “I found it quite touching.”, sighed Dan. “Those poor kids are in a hell of a spot.” He swirled the metaxa in his glass. “But in good company with the rest of our sorry lot.”
     John watched Courtney and Justin stagger through the dining room doors. “I wouldn’t want to be in their position. Hell, they’re good kids.”
     “He just insulted you.”, said Lucia.
     “He’s drunk.”, said John. “He’s drunk and confused and humiliated by the jam he’s in. He’s a cool kid and his wife is even better.  They’re just striking out at the world that has done nothing but shit on them. They’ll come around when they get things figured out. Mark my word.”
     Lucia gave Dan a glowing smile. “The lady doth protest too much, me thinks.”
     John chuckled. “Me thinks she does.”
     “Oh, but she’ll keep her word.”, whispered Dan.
     “Have you heard the argument? Is there no offense in it?”, asked Lucia wide eyed.
     “No, no. They do but jest,”, Dan leered. “poison in jest, no offense in the world.”
     Lucia grinned. “What do you call the play?”
     “The Three Parashites!”, announced John. “And this lady always keeps her word.”
     Dan smiled and raised my glass. “Here’s to The Three Parashites!”
     “All for one!”, chimed John.
     “And one for all!”, pealed Lucia.
     Glasses rung all around.

  WHAT’S THAT HORRIBLE SMELL?

     One thing Cesaria had learned about astral projection was that you couldn’t force it. It was all a matter of suggestion. The dream was inconsequential. She was standing in a crowd by the piano in the lobby before the dining room. The piano player was rhapsodic. Cesaria’s feet left the floor and she was off. She glided around the room dipping here and there examining the faces of the others. A young girl clutched the hand of her mother as she marveled at the pianist’s flying fingers. A young man gazed straight ahead ignoring the yearning stares of the girl beside him. A statuesque man in his fifties tapped his foot to the music and smiled serenely. Cesaria noticed a large window in the room. She floated to it then drifted through it. Her ankle caught in the glass and she turned to gently free it. She sailed out into the darkness. The waves reflected the light of the stars just barely. She turned and looked at the ship churning steadfastly into the night. She looked above her, paused for a moment then shot straight up into the heavens.
     Her cabin was dark when Cesaria awoke and she did not know where she was. The experience was familiar these last few years and for good reason. She had witnessed loved ones die at an alarming rate, left a comfortable middle class life behind, traveled the world and slowly but surely opened her eyes to the dark cloud descending upon it. This morning she did not know what time in her life it was. That had only happened once or twice and it was always unsettling. This morning it was not.  When she realized she was floating in a void without time or space, she was filled with the innocent wonder of youth. Reality would arrive in its own good time. It was quiet. She was in a warm bed. The bed was moving. She was at sea. The ship’s horn sounded. She was sailing her beloved Aegean. The pain in her neck was back. She was no longer young. Suddenly the memories of the day before rushed in. She had toured Knossos with a diverse group of Americans who, rather than marvel at one of the wonders of the world fought like rats. She had negotiated tear gas and riots, a stubborn bus driver and an angry mob. She had the personal audience of an important charlatan running for president of the United States and his twisted, coiled snake of a wife. She had watched them die right in front of her. She smiled in the darkness. Yesterday was Crete. Today would be Rhodes and her family. The images of her cousins and nieces and nephews flashed before her eyes. She wondered what they would look like now. It had been so long. Many of the children she had not even seen. She reached for the light and was back in her small cabin. She pulled herself up, sat on the edge of the bed and began her morning yoga. She may not have learned much in Kerala but she had learned yoga and that kept the pain under control. When she stood, she went to the mirror and looked at herself. She was still relaxed from the hours in her small bathtub the night before. She would have coffee on the Lido. Dressing for the day was such a pleasure on a cruise, she thought as she assembled her ensemble. Dressing for her family was a joy.
                                                                  *
     Dan awoke in the early morning black with the fear wrapped around his racing heart. His eyes darted around the room. Consciousness opened the door to safety. He was in Lucia’s suite. She lay sleeping beside him. He looked out the balcony window and caught the first blush of dawn. He was at sea. He was sailing the Aegean. He was back in the arms of the Levant. The fear began to peel off him. A puddle of creamy light spread across the horizon. He kissed Lucia’s cheek, rolled out of bed and dressed. He left a note on her mirror.
     The deck was deserted. Dan walked it dazed, with confidence slowly filling his empty soul again. The booze from the night before scratched at him as always. The booze slashes away the fear in the evening and opens up your guts to it when you face another day with fewer options than you had the day before. He felt like time was running out for him. IHecouldn’t let that out. He had to keep it hidden until he figured something out. But he had already tipped his hand to Lucia. What would a wealthy right wing beauty want with a washed up liberal bust? But that was the point. They didn’t care about where they came from or who they were before wtheystepped into that cab in Athens. They set each other free. Was that love? Should he give a damn what it was? He couldn’t get enough of her. Wasn’t that enough? His mind wandered to the others he had met on the cruise. He realized most of them had something hidden. Probably they all did. Ihewouldn’t have been surprised if even Bob and Sally had a very nasty skeleton in their closet that they were running from. Everyone takes a vacation to get away from the daily drudge but why did he feel that everyone was running from something? He should have been amused, amused by their hypocrisy, amused by their bickering, amused by their mentally challenged stage debut. Then he remembered the millennia of history and the tons of divine retribution crashing down on the heads of the senator and his wife. He smiled.  He remembered Justin saying Satan was loose in the world. The fear hung over him. The fear hung over them all. This day the Aegean dawn kept him safe. Its silence slowed his pulse. For a moment he was at peace. At least he wasn’t reaching for a drink in the half-light of dawn. What could he reach for? He stared at the sea slowly rising and falling like the breasts of a beautiful woman dreaming of fond memories. Fond memories. He remembered dining in the Plaka many years ago in a roof top restaurant at the base of the Acropolis. He remembered staring up at the Parthenon glowing in the warm evening sky. He remembered a bouzouki serenade, the Ouzo and the Mezes, a dark haired woman at his side with an impossibly long neck and obsidian eyes, full lips dancing over glistening teeth, a smile that could make a man faint.
                                                                  *
     The smell of coffee led me to the Lido. A waiter gave Dan a mug and he scanned the collection of umbrella covered tables. They were all empty save one. Cesaria was bent over a steaming mug. “Good morning.”, he said quietly. “May I join you?”
     “Good morning to you, Dan.” Cesaria waived her arm at the sunrise. “Isn’t it grand?”
     “That’s why I’m here.”, he said. “It calms me down.”
     “Still edgy from yesterdays skirmishes?”, asked Cesaria.
     He sat down. “Something like that.”
     “Something like that, indeed, young man. Been fighting some demons, have we?”
    He ignored her prodding. “I’m surprised to see any one else up so early after a day like yesterday. I trust you are well?”
     Cesaria lowered her coffee mug and looked at me. “I enjoyed the day very much, especially after we managed to make it back to the ship in time. I have a bath in my room. I spent a couple of hours in it last night relishing the memories.”
     “I was relishing some memories of my own this morning. They are a comfort but only to a point. I think it’s time to make some new ones, this time without the earthquakes and the tear gas.”
     “The cruise has just begun.”, smiled Cesaria. “There are other islands to visit.”
     “And more strikes and more tear gas?”
     Cesaria looked away. “And an inquisition by the authorities.”
     Dan changed the subject. “We arrive at Rhodes this morning. Last night at dinner your musings on Knossos came up. Lucia thought you might have a story for us about the Colossus. Can you indulge me?”
     “Oh, I don’t know.”, sighed Cesaria. “I’m awfully worn out from yesterday.”
     “Forgive me. You ought to be. You were magnificent. How is it that you speak Greek?”
     Cesaria took a sip of coffee and gazed at the sun climbing out of the sea. “My father’s family was originally from Brazil. They immigrated to the States where he was born. My mother was Greek. She was born on Rhodes. I have not been there for a very long time. I have relatives there. I am looking forward to returning.”
     “I was there once before. It has been a long time for me too. Greece is a different place now. When I first set foot on Patmos there was one tourist cafe in Skala.”
     “Greece is different but the Greeks are the same. They will always be the same.”, Cesaria said more to herself than to Dan. “Did you know the Statue of Liberty was inspired by The Colossus of Rhodes?”
   Cesaria had surprised him. “I did not.”
     “The poem by Emma Lazarus inscribed at her feet is named The New Colossus: ‘Not like the brazen giant, with conquering limbs astride from land to land, here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand, a mighty woman with a torch,’. Bartholdi, the Frenchman who created her was inspired by the Colossus, as well he should have been. The Colossus of Rhodes was almost as large as the Statue of Liberty. It was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It took twelve years to build it and it only stood for fifty-six years until it was destroyed by an earthquake. There are a lot of earthquakes in Greece you know.” Cesaria offered me a knowing smile. “But it’s ruins lay on the soil of Rhodes for eight hundred years.”
                                                                 *
   The dawn light tapped on Courtney’s eyelids. A shooting pain in her head brought her to consciousness. She rolled over in her bed and grimaced. She remembered the searing pain of tear gas and memories of the day before filled her scattered thoughts. A large man came running at her. She saw the agony in his face when it met the back of Cesaria’s cane. She remembered weeping in the shower as she washed the terror of the riots out of her hair. There was a taste of liquorish in her mouth. The laughing faces of her dinner companions danced in her head. She gingerly raised herself from her bed and reached for her husband all the while battling the pain in her head. She shook him gently. He did not respond. She shook him harder and called his name. He groaned miserably. She thought better of waking him and crawled into the shower. Ten minutes later she crawled out. The pain had subsided somewhat. The tiny cabin felt claustrophobic. She needed air. She dressed and carefully bent down to kiss her husband on the cheek. My sweet man, she thought. My sweet, sweet man. You sleep. I love you so much.
   The morning twilight lifted the pain a bit more. She walked along the promenade deck toward the stern and remembered her drunken tirade against the world. She pushed it out of her mind. Suddenly the horrible empty fear that had invaded her sanity more and more as the world closed in on her hopes and dreams was back. She stopped and gasped. She grabbed the rail and breathed in the salt air. Her heart was slamming in her chest. Tears rolled down her cheeks. She bent her head. “Please, Lord Jesus forgive my blaspheme, last night. I don’t know why I doubted you. I don’t understand things hardly any more. I don’t know why I’m here. I don’t know what I am going to do. I don’t have any more money. I don’t want to end up on the street. I am so scared. Please help me. I am so scared. Please help me.” The quiet surge of the sea calmed her panic. She opened her eyes to the swelling Aegean. She sighed. “Thank you, Lord. Thank you.” She would get a job in England. Justin would get a job. Let it go, she said to herself. Look where you are. Look what you have experienced already. Look at the strange and wonderful people you have met. The sounds of a quiet conversation chased away any lingering fear. She saw Dan and Cesaria sitting together at a table on the Lido. She walked toward them. She paused for a moment when she was in earshot and took in the back and forth. Cesaria was talking about the Statue of Liberty and the Colossus of Rhodes. Courtney approached them with a smile on her face.
                                                                *
     “Hello again. I think I owe you an apology.”
     They both looked up. Courtney was standing over them looking very hung over. “If anyone owes an apology, it is me” Dan said. “I did not mean to upset you last night. Will you sit with us?”
     “On the contrary, you were awesome,”, said Courtney as she sat down. “at least as far as I’m concerned. I can’t speak for my husband. He’s still asleep.”
     “More cannibals dancing around the cooking pot?”, guessed Cesaria.
     “I’m afraid so.”, shrugged Dan. “Courtney, Cesaria was giving us a history lesson on the Colossus of Rhodes.”
     A waiter placed a mug of coffee in front of Courtney. “I overheard. Please, ma’am, continue.”
     “Well.”, said Cesaria.  “Over two thousand years ago, the island of Rhodes was besieged. In
304 BC, its citizens defeated the enemy and The Colossus was erected to the god of the sun
thanking him for their victory. When it was destroyed by an earthquake only a few years later, the king of Egypt offered to rebuild it but the Oracle of Delphi recommended against it. When Rhodes fell to invaders in 654, the conquerors sold it for scrap.”
     “Go on.”, Dan nudged after a pause.
     “That’s it.”, said Cesaria. “I’m tired.”
     “But where’s the hidden hubris?”, Dan asked anxiously. “Where’s the perversion, the cannibalism?”
     “You tell me.”, smiled Cesaria.
     “You said the Statue of Liberty is similar to the Statue of Rhodes in size and inspiration.”, said Courtney. “I think it’s similar to the Statue of Rhodes in another way.”
     Cesaria’s eyebrows arched. “How is that, my dear?”
     “The Statue of Liberty has fallen and been sold for scrap as well.”
      “Brilliant, my dear. A chill just went umy spine.”, said Cesaria. “The huddled masses once more yearn to be free. The first time they left the old world for the promise of the new, they faced Industrial America. We Americans have constructed quite a fairy tale about the immigrants who filled our factories a hundred years ago. We hear little of what life was really like back then, the squalid tenements, child labor, twelve hour work days, six days a week waiting for you if you were young and healthy, and disease, drugs, alcohol, starvation, and death if you were not. That Emma Lazarus fairy tale is propped up by a hundred years of struggle by those intrepid people, not to rise themselves up by their boot straps as the myth has it, but to fight against the tyranny and oppression of the Robber Barons and the Gilded Age. And an amazing thing happened. They won. They won enough to have a decent life, an honorable life and a way upward in society, you know, the American Dream.”  
     “The American Dream is just that, a dream.”, said Courtney. “ And we have all awakened to a nightmare. Last night when you asked me if I blamed myself for the terrible mess I’m in, a light went off in my head and it was awesome. I realized that I had been convinced that the recession and debt and misery in my country was caused by my parents’ generation. That kind of idiocy was a crown of anger and resentment that had been placed on my head and pushed down over my eyes. I was blaming any one and every one except the powerful people who put it on my head in the first place. My husband and I turned to Jesus in search of some sort of peace. We found peace, some peace but no answers. Last night I didn’t know what I was going to do. This morning I feel better. I know my cousin or my friends in the church will get us work in Britain. I know they will. We can get on our feet a little bit, maybe send back money to our families. Both of our families went into debt to help us with our debt. It will be awesome living and working in another country. We will be the new huddled masses yearning to be free only this time we will be traveling in the opposite direction.”
     Cesaria patted Courtney’s hand. “Go to England. You will eventually find yourself. You will eventually find peace. I have been looking for peace for a long time and have not found it yet. I can’t wait to see my relatives on Rhodes. I don’t know if I’ll find any peace there but I am looking forward to it very much indeed.”
                                                                    *
     Buck woke up alone in his cabin. He was not surprised. He figured Snezhana had left the minute he fell asleep. She could be fired if she was found out. No fuckin’ the passengers, thought Buck with a smile. He went to the bathroom and took a boiling piss. He walked back to the bed and snapped open a laptop on the nightstand. He perused Al Jazeera to see what was new in Libya. He read a column on a group of young people camping out in Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan. They called themselves Occupy Wall Street. He smiled and closed the screen. Then the ghosts returned. They crowded into the cabin and stared at him. He stared back. Not bad, he thought. I got a few minutes to myself without you this morning. I can thank that Bulgarian with the tight ass for that. A small child stunted by malnutrition pushed his way to the front of the crowd and extended his hand. His eyes were listless. “I am hungry. I hurt all over.”, he said in Arabic. Buck shook himself, walked back into the bathroom and began to shave. Faces in the mirror crowded around his. A small Vietnamese woman suddenly looked terrified. The razor slipped and Buck cut himself. He placed the razor on the sink, pinched the bridge of his nose, closed his eyes and moaned. The shower washed the shadows away for a moment. He wondered why fate had kept him from Gaza. He relived the tear gas poisoning of the afternoon before. It had never affected him like that. He remembered the senator and his wife disappearing into the damnation they had brought on themselves. He smiled. When he pulled back the shower curtain and reached for the towel, a beautiful woman stood naked before him. His heart began to beat irregularly. “Not now, Sophia.”, he said aloud. “Not now.”  He quickly dressed and made his way to the promenade deck. The knowledge that the authorities would be waiting in Rhodes blackened everything further. Escape would be tricky. Then he saw the sun rising from the sea. His worried frown turned to a grateful smile. There should be food and coffee on the Lido, he thought as he walked. He had not eaten for twenty-four hours. His pace quickened.
                                                                    *
     Dan glanced across the horizon thinking he might catch a glimpse of Rhodes. Instead he saw
Buck ambling across the deck with a mug of coffee in his hand. He smiled and approached.
     “Kalimera!”, smiled Cesaria.
     “Kalimera!”, barked Buck. “Ti Kanis?”
     “Kala, efharisto. Kathiste mazi mas.”
     Buck took a seat next to Cesaria and gave Courtney a once over. “And how’s the angry young babe with the fire in her eyes?”
     Courtney blushed. “Not so angry this morning, at least not at your generation.”
     “She has come to her senses.”, smiled Dan. “She’s going after the Wall Street bankers. Do you remember that, Courtney?”
     Courtney smiled sheepishly. “I do now.”
     “Atta girl. I’ll be there with you.”, growled Buck. “What are we goin’ to do to ‘em?”
     “Bring them before the people.”, said Courtney firmly.
     “Before a committee.”, said Cesaria. “In front of a big table.”
     “And you’ll be sitting behind that table.”, said Dan somberly.
     Buck leaned toward Courtney. “With a gavel in your hand.”
     “And what are you going to say when they’re dragged up before you?”, Dan asked with a sly smile
on my face.
.     “Off with their heads!”, Courtney shouted.
     They all broke up. “My goodness! That felt awesome!”, gasped Courtney.
     Dan was happy to see a beautiful young woman beginning to shed her bitterness. “I want to see the look on their face when they’re dragged whining and whimpering before her.”
     “They won’t never have the courage to look up.”, smiled Buck. “They won’t even notice the shit drippin’ down their legs and fillin’ their shoes."
     Courtney’s eyes were wide. Color filled her cheeks. She wore a broad grin from ear to ear. “Off with their heads!”
     Buck offered Courtney a paternal grin. “So what brought you around, darlin’?”
     Courtney sighed. “Dan and Lucia and John and my husband and I had quite a dinner together last night. Too much to drink. Or maybe just enough depending on how you look at it. Did you enjoy your evening with Bach?”
     Buck’s eyes widened. “What?”
     “Dan and Lucia said you probably spent the evening with Bach, The Goldberg Variations to be precise.”
     Buck looked at Dan and smiled. “Yeah, sure, Doll. The Goldberg Variations. A sudden storm, a man’s sweet heart cryin’, two lovers rollin’ in the sheets, rollin’ and kissin’ and gaspin’ and yellin’
and lovin’.”
     A confused look crossed Courtney’s face. Cesaria smiled. “If you are a fan of Bach, surely you are fan of Greek music, Buck.”
     “Hopa!”, grinned Buck as he raised both arms in the air and snapped his fingers.
     Cesaria’s face lit up. “I will introduce you all to my relatives on Rhodes. We will dance.” 
     “Who do you have there?”, Dan asked. 
     “My mother’s sister's family is there. Her son and two daughters are still with us. Their children are your age.” Cesaria looked at Courtney. “And their children are your age and some of them have children. Things have been very difficult for them but the family has land. Everyone is beginning to live off it now. The Greeks are returning to the land if they can. If they cannot pay the electricity bills, they do without. If they cannot afford central heat, they do without. They are learning to be strong.”
     Courtney looked at Dan. “Last night you said Greece’s debt is odious. That’s a strange way of describing it.”
     Cesaria patted Courtney’s arm. “Not strange at all, my dear. Odious debt is a legal theory first proposed by a Russian by the name of Alexander Sack in 1927. It basically states that if another country, an entity outside a country like, oh I don’t know, a bank, the country’s leaders themselves or a combination of any or all instigate a debt on a country that profits them to the detriment of the country and its people, it is their debt and not the people’s debt and it is therefore non binding. The theory was inspired by the repudiation of Mexico’s debt incurred under Maximilian and America’s dismissal of Cuba’s debt under Spain after the Spanish American War. Odious debt can occupy and decimate a country almost like an occupying army. It hangs over the Third World like a Sword of Damocles. Half of Ecuador’s budget is slated to pay interest on IMF and World Bank Loans. The same for a quarter of Egypt’s budget. Greece’s debt is odious. Your debt, my dear is odious.”
     Courtney let loose a weary smile. “Now I have a name for it.” We all fell silent.
     Suddenly Courtney shattered the gloom. “Dolphins! I see dolphins!” She jumped up and
ran to the rail. She leaned into the breeze as it lifted her hair from her shoulders. With one
arm over the rail and the other reaching toward the sea, she stretched her fingers out to the school of dolphins flying through the air beneath her. Her eyes were wide open. Her face was flushed. She laughed with delight.
     “That”, said Cesaria “is our country’s future.”
    A look of admiration bloomed on Buck’s face. “And ain’t it a glorious thing to see?” 
                                                              *
    Lucia knew she was alone before she even opened her eyes. A slight headache nagged her. There was a terrible, stale taste in her mouth. What the hell have I got myself into, she thought. I’ve thrown myself at a man I know nothing about after being deserted by a man I thought I knew everything about. And he’s a God damned liberal. What do I do on the rebound? Fall for a God damned liberal. I was a fool even to consider I might show him the errors of his ways. Christ, I’m beginning to think he is changing me. I’ve caught myself saying and thinking idiotic, liberal gibberish ever since I met him. And from what he’s been letting slip, he just might be broke and unemployed. It looks like I’ve caught myself a loser. I better throw him back into the sea before it’s too late. She looked around the suite and saw a note stuck in the frame of her mirror. Her heart sunk. A Dear Jane letter left on a mirror, she thought. How trite. The morning light that filled the suite suddenly darkened. What did I do? What did I say? How could he just end it while we’re still at sea? God damn fucking men. She rose in a fury and tore the note from the mirror. She felt like a fool. It was practically a love letter. She let it fall to the floor. She began to cry. I am such an idiot. I’m a mess. She stepped into the shower. I must be hooked, she thought as she let the hot water steam out the booze. My heart’s up and down like a school girl’s. She dressed and made her way to the deck. When she reached it, she put her hands on the rail and took in the glorious sunrise.
                                                                  *
     Justin tried to force himself back to sleep but the pain in his head would not let him. Please, Jesus, he prayed. Let me sleep. Let Courtney sleep. At the thought of his wife, his eyes snapped open. When he saw he was alone, he sat up. A furious pain stabbed his head. Forgive me, Jesus, he thought. Forgive me. He did not bother with a shower. He had to find his wife. Why had she left him alone? Had he done something stupid when he was drunk? He couldn’t even remember leaving the dining room. Did I say something to my wife? Did I hurt my beautiful wife who fills me with life? Lord Jesus, he thought. I will never drink again. Please don’t let her hate me. Please don’t let me be alone. He dressed quickly and stumbled to the door. He knew he would find his wife on the deck. When he opened an outside door he saw a woman leaning against the rail looking at the sea. “Courtney!”, he gasped. “Are you alright?”
     Lucia turned and looked at Justin. “My God, young man. You look like hell warmed over.”  
     “I have to find my wife!”, Justin blurted. “I woke up and she was not there!” 
     Lucia took Justin’s arm. “I know just how you feel, my friend. I woke up alone as well. Let’s you and me go find those ingrates.” As Lucia led Justin to the rear of the ship they saw a young
woman suddenly race to the rail and hang over.
                                                                   *
     “Courtney! Be careful!” They all turned to see Justin standing on the deck with his hand over his forehead and a painful wince on his face.
    Lucia was standing next to him. She led him to the table. “Make way for the walking wounded.”, she smiled. “Will someone please get this young man a cup of coffee before he expires on the spot?” A waiter filled our mugs and placed two more on the table. Lucia sat down.
     Courtney joined us. “Do you have a headache?”, she asked her husband.
     “Of course he has a headache.”, chided Lucia. “Don’t you?”
     “I did.”, said Courtney. “But it’s gone now. Justin, come to the rail and see the dolphins. They’re awesome!”
     “Go on, Boy.”, chuckled Buck. “They’re better lookin’ than them pink pachyderms you was dancin’ with last night.”
     Lucia frowned. “Go easy on him, Buck. He doesn’t drink.”
     “I never will again.” Justin looked accusingly at his wife. “I woke up and didn’t know where you were.”
     Buck pulled out a chair. “Take a load off your feet, boy.”
   Courtney left the rail and knelt down by her husband as he took a seat. “Oh, sweet heart. I wanted you to sleep. I felt so terrible myself, I wasn’t thinking straight.”
     Justin put a hand to his face and winced. “I thought for a moment I’d lost you, baby. I thought I said something bad last night when I was -”
     Lucia shot Dan a look. “You mean she didn’t have the decency to leave you a note?”
     Dan shrugged and glanced up to see a waiter carrying a large tray. He set it on the table. There
were pastries stuffed with cheese, pots of honey and yogurt and tahini, bowls of olives, plates of fruit and baskets of medallion pancakes. “Eat, Justin. It’s the best cure for a hangover.”
     “Olives for breakfast?”, moaned Justin as he sat next to Buck who was ravenously stuffing his
mouth with food.
     Lucia spread a pancake with honey, wrapped a strawberry in it and pushed it into Justin’s mouth. A grateful smile warmed his face. Courtney threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek. We all dug in. It was comforting to watch everyone eating with such pleasure. The sun was climbing higher in the sky and baking away the morning chill. Everyone seemed so comfortable. It almost had the feeling of a family table.
     Cesaria looked at Justin and Courtney. “You will learn to love the food of Greece.”
     “Cesaria has family on Rhodes.”, said Dan. “She has offered to introduce us to them.”
     “You will all meet them.”, said Cesaria.    
     “I think I already love Greek food. It’s awesome.”, mumbled Justin over a mouthful.
     Buck patted him on the back. “Atta boy! I heard you had quite a dinner last night. Even shared a table with a sinner.”
     Justin looked into Buck’s eyes first with curiosity then with genuine fascination. “John and I made a deal. He won’t hold Jesus against me if I don’t hold Satan against him. I can’t remember much past that.  I remember you speaking Greek to the bus driver. How is that you speak
Greek?”
     Buck was surprised at the question. “I don’t. Not really too good.”
     Justin was insistent. “But I heard you speaking it. It came naturally to you.” 
     Buck turned and looked at the Aegean. His pause caught the attention of the rest of us. “My wife was Greek.” 
     Justin seemed enthralled. “What was her name?”
     Buck stared long and hard at the sea. “Sophia.”
     Justin leaned close to Buck. “That’s a beautiful name. Was she beautiful?”
    “Slim. Not like me. Black, curly hair like on the vases. A nose like on the statues. Brown eyes. Brown eyes.”
     She is with Jesus now.”, sighed Justin.
     Buck spun around in his chair. There was fury in his face. “Screw that shit, boy! What the hell is a young man full of life and married to a gorgeous young babe waistin’ his time with holy roller crap for? It’s just gonna poison you and suck the life outa you! You get religion and you’re no better than a cockroach, small, dirty and stupid. Life’s about now, boy, not  about when you’re dead! Think about your pecker, boy, not your salvation!”
     No one said a word. Justin was white. His mouth hung open. The anger drained out of
Buck’s face. He looked tired. He sighed. “Sorry, kid. It’s a touchy subject.”
     Justin’s mouth slowly closed. The shocked look on his face was replaced by a strangely warm, almost reverent look. “That’s cool. My wife said something similar to me last night. Things have been very difficult for us, for me. When Jesus came into my life, he helped me get through the day.”
     Buck smiled. “Bourbon helps me get through the day, boy but it ain’t the answer. It can strangle you if you’re not careful. So can religion.”
     “Amen to that."“ said Dan.
     “And amen to the little things that get us through the day.”, said Cesaria.
     A smile lit up Lucia’s face. “What a wonderful thing to say. And isn’t it a beautiful morning? I
should go find Gladys and Nadine. They should be out enjoying this lovely breakfast with the rest of us.” And she was off before I could say a word.
     Courtney watched Lucia walk away and turned to her husband. “I’m sorry what I said about
Jesus last night, honey. There was a lot to drink and I was angry.”
     “When I’m angry,  sometimes I question Jesus.”, said Justin.
     Courtney was taken aback. “You question Jesus?”
     “Children, please!”, said Cesaria. “Faith is an ongoing conversation.”
     “Yeah,”, snorted Buck, “Hello. Goodbye.”
     Dan leaned back in his chair and put his hands behind his head. “I’m with you there, my friend. Religion is just another form of politics, a way to control people. When God comes into your life, you don’t need a middle man.”
     “But the church is a sanctuary.”, pleaded Courtney.
     “A sanctuary of dumb fucks, no offense.”, grumbled Buck. “It don’t matter if you’re a Jew or a Moslem or a Mackerel Snapper, you’re told who to fuck and how to fuck ’em. Religion tells you you’re the chosen people and you can wipe the people that ain’t chosen off the face of the earth. Religion tells you the world is comin’ to a end and everyone is gonna burn in hell except you and you’re goin’ to heaven. What the fuck are you gonna do in heaven, park your ass on a cloud and play a harp? What a bunch of horse shit.”
     “I think I like the way the Greeks figured out religion is the best.”, said Dan. “The first people were so close to nature they were nature so their gods were animate: ravens, eagles, bears, lions. Early civilization combined the two. Sumerian and Egyptian gods were human with jackal heads, eagle heads, crocodiles. Then the Greeks came along and made their gods human, with human strengths and weaknesses, more like friends and family. That worked out so well their conquerors, the Romans went along with it. Then something went horribly wrong.”
     “I feel sometimes no one loves us.”, said Courtney. “And everyone despises us. But I know
Jesus loves us, no matter what and that saves me. You know”, smiled Courtney. “Jesus saves.”
     “Praying to the Lord grounds me.”, said Justin.
     Buck shrugged his shoulders. “I ain’t got nothin’ against prayin’, boy. I pray all the time. And I ain’t got nothin’ against Jesus. It’s them that gets between you and God, like Dan said, that will burn in hell.”
     “But the morning is heavenly,”, announced Cesaria. “and no one is going to burn in hell  today. End of conversation.”
     Everyone smiled. “The priestess has spoken.”, announced Dan.
                                                                *
     Bob woke to the rush of water in the shower. He was starving. He had been too exhausted the night before to eat the meal Sally had ordered in the suite. His plate was still by the bed. He reached over and inhaled a pork chop. Some one was singing. Sally was singing. The tune was familiar. He listened closer. “We shall overcoooome! We shall overcoooome! We shall overcome some daaaaay!”
     Bob moaned and fell back in bed. He covered his ears and dug himself back into the mattress in disgust. The shower shut off. There was peace and quiet. Suddenly Sally appeared in the bathroom doorway in all her glory. “Are you awake, honey?”, she twittered. “I spy with my little eye a big handsome daddy looking for a little love and here I am, clean as a whistle and naked as the day I was born! Does that give you any ideas?” Bob groaned. “Oh, sweety!”, she pouted. “Is papa still pooped out from yesterday? Well he should be after taking care of mama in those horrible riots. What you need is some coffee and breakfast! Come on, big boy. Let’s get you showered and dressed.”
     Bob walked to the shower without looking at his wife. I should feel guilty, he thought, but sometimes I just can't stand the sight of her. Sally's beaming smile was frozen on her face. It stayed there while she dressed. After a shower, Bob felt good enough to dress and let his wife drag him to the deck. When they opened the outside door they found themselves in a cool fog. “That’s strange.”, said Sally. “I thought sure I saw the sunrise through the window.” She took Bob’s arm and pulled him forward. “Come on, honey. Let’s get you to the Lido and breakfast.”
                                                                *
     A sudden patch of fog blew out of nowhere. The temperature dropped. Everyone gave a start and twisted uncomfortably in their chairs. Dan noticed two figures walking toward them in the mist. “Hello? Hello? Hello!”, warbled Sally. “Everyone is here already! What a beautiful day!”
     A waiter moved over a couple of chairs from a nearby table and brought two more mugs of coffee. “Oh no, no, no!”, protested Sally as Bob slid a chair under her. “No coffee for me. I’ve given it up. A few years ago, Bob had a high blood pressure incident. We had to get him to the emergency room and the doctors recommended he give up coffee until his system calmed down so of course, I gave up coffee too and, don’t you know, I had a terrible withdrawal what with being all fuzzy headed and the head aches and I couldn’t think straight for a couple of weeks at least so I said to myself, if giving up coffee is going to make me miserable, maybe I should give it up for good so I did, and even though Bob has started drinking coffee again, I haven’t been in the least bit tempted, and now, even if I do say so myself, when I see everyone lining up for their cup of coffee at the coffee shop in the morning with that jumpy, stressed out dare I say pitiful look on their faces, I have to admit I sometimes just feel a teensy weensy bit smug.”
     A gust of wind picked up the mist and swirled it around for a moment before blowing it away. Everyone was silent as the sun warmed them up. Buck crossed his arms across his chest. “Well, that was quite an entrance, darlin’. I didn’t even see you take a breath. Do you ever whistle in the dark?”
     “Do I ever whistle in the dark?”, asked Sally with a start. “Well, I suppose someone has to be brave sometimes.”
     There was an awkward pause. “It looks like no one is the worse for wear after our adventure yesterday.”, offered Bob. “I slept like a baby for fifteen hours! I couldn’t even eat dinner last night. Look at that spread!”
     “Help yourself.”, said Cesaria. “We’ve had a delightful conversation about The Colossus of Rhodes and The Statue of Liberty and religion.”
     “We saw dolphins!”, gasped Courtney. “They were awesome! They were leaping out of the water right along the ship! I could almost touch them!”
     Bob was sitting next to Courtney. He leaned close as he reached for a handful of
pancakes. “That must have been very exciting. I’ve always thought dolphins were the most wonderful of creatures.”
     Dan was surprised at Bob’s sudden interest in dolphins. “Cesaria has family on Rhodes she hasn’t seen for a very long time. She said she will introduce us to them.”
     Sally was piling a plate with fruit. “Wouldn’t that be wonderful!  We’ll have a fabulous day!”
     Bob gave Courtney a warm smile. “You seem some how different than when we met yesterday, relaxed kind of.”  
     Courtney returned the smile. “I have been doing a lot of thinking. Yesterday was very traumatic. It was exciting. It was scary. It was cool. I think the experience put a different perspective on things for me. If so many awesome things can happen in one day, maybe we shouldn’t be so worried about how things will turn out.”
     “And how are things going to turn out?”, asked Bob.
     “We’re going to get jobs in the U.K.”, said Courtney firmly.
     Justin looked at Buck. “We’re going to start calling today or tomorrow. People from our church living in Scotland are going to help us. You know, offer us sanctuary.”
     “You got me there, kid.”, smiled Buck.
     Bob shook his head. “They are having as hard a time in England as they are at home.”
     “My cousin in London will get us work.”, said Courtney defiantly. “I know she will. We have to get work. We have to and we will.”
     Justin was still looking at Buck. “Tell me, Buck is there a boat leaving for Gaza from Rhodes?”  
     Buck shrugged his shoulders. “Nah, not that I know of. That was my chance and it didn’t happen.”
     “And why would you want to go to Gaza?”, asked Justin.
     “I feel for ’em.”, said Buck. “They’re trapped. They’re completely dependent on what foreign aid the Israelis let in. For years they only let in enough food to just barely feed the Palestinians and they figured that out with a formula concludin’ that that was 2279 calories a day. Did you know that the Israelis destroyed the Gaza sports stadium in 2006? Why would they do that except to punish a occupied people, to show ‘em who’s boss. Sports bring a people together. Sports bring joy. Sports bring hope. There ain’t no place for any of that in the occupation. In Israel, they have a sayin’, ‘every once in awhile, you gotta trim the grass’. By that they mean when a new generation of kids grows up under occupation with rage in their hearts and a will to do somethin’ about it, Israel has to go in and stomp ‘em out. It won’t be long before they go in and do some more trimmin’. Ain’t it funny them bein’ the victims of the worst concentration camps in history runnin’ one of their own?”
     Sally swallowed a mouthful of yogurt. “It’s not the Israelis fault. They have to protect themselves from the terrorists. It’s a complicated situation in a troubled part of the world and there are arguments on both sides. Mmm, this food is delicious. You know I feel like a new woman after going through that ordeal yesterday. My goodness, earthquakes, riots, tear gas. We were fabulous, weren’t we? I feel empowered, alive, ready to take on the republicans and get president Obama reelected when I get home. That man got Osama Ben Laden and he stands shoulder to shoulder with the Jewish people as well, you know.”
     “I know.”, said Buck. “And the exiled Cuban community and the NRA and any one else that’ll get him selected just like that senator said.”
     Sally suddenly grabbed her shoulders as if to ward off a chill. “Oh, God. They were killed right in front of us and we ran away.”
     “You don’t like President Obama do you?”, Justin asked Buck. “Why?”
    Buck looked into Justin’s eyes and smiled painfully. “Of all the disturbin’ perturbation the Yes We Can Clown has rained down on me, none comes close to his betrayal. I don’t mind bein’ fooled, bein’ taken for a dope, even lied to but betrayal, son, there ain’t nothin’ worse you can do to me. How many times have I heard people say ‘Just wait till he gets reelected. Then you’ll see the real Obama.’? How many times? As many times as I prayed they was right. But then I thinks of what he’s done to Bradley Manning and what he’s tryin’ to do to Julian Assange. And I thinks of Afghanistan and drones and cluster bombs and killin’ American citizens without even so much as a trial in absentia, trottin’ along happily in the footsteps of Dubya believin’ he can throw any American he wants into prison without charges for as long as he wants. Yes We Can. Yes We Can, and, well I ain’t got all day, son and you ain’t got all day neither. So I asks myself why? Why is bein’ betrayed by the Audacity of Hope Dope the twist of the knife? The lugi in the face? And I starts thinkin’ about the dupes that depend on any man, that love any man, that sees any man turn away from them, it’s them who are betrayed over and over again like some sorry doll who gets lovin’ promise after lovin’ promise from her cheatin’ husband that he ain’t never gonna cheat no more. And I think them lovin’ promises still sit in my gut like a stinkin’ tumor.”
     A concerned look creased Justin’s face. Dan smiled. Sally rolled her eyes.
                                                                      *
    The rising sun warmed John’s face as he lay in bed. He smiled. He clicked through the events of
the previous day before he even opened his eyes. He reached over for his husband, anxious to share his adventure. His smile vanished. The darkness was back. His heart emptied. His stomach hurt. He sat up in bed with a start. “Every God damned morning, Charlie.”, he muttered. He pulled a framed photo from the nightstand and kissed it. “Every God damned morning and I’m fucking sick of it.” He traced his fingers along the face in the photo then ran them through his hair. He threw his legs over the side of the bed. “I have no more tears, my love.”, he sobbed. The faces of the people he had met the day before swirled around in the dim light. He saw Buck. Buck smiled. John rubbed his eyes and put a hand on his forehead. But he’s straight as the day is long, thought John. “Well who gives a shit?”, he said out loud. “Any port in a storm.” He threw on some clothes, took a deep breath and opened the cabin door. When he got to the deck, he began to walk. How long is this pain going to go on, he asked himself. He looked out at the sea and entertained the thought of jumping overboard. He remembered someone telling him once that drowning is terribly painful. And then there was Charlie. Charlie would definitely not approve. Charlie would want him to bask in the sun on the nude beaches of Mykonos. When he came to the stern, he saw a familiar crowd sitting around a table wrapped in conversation. He saw Buck. He was telling a story. He finished as John walked up unnoticed behind him.
                                                                            *
     Justin’s hand lifted from the table and reached out to Buck. He caught himself and lowered it. “You are so different than anyone I’ve ever met.” 
     “You took the words right out of my mouth, Justin.” John pulled up a chair next to Buck and sat down. He flashed a brilliant smile at Buck. “You don’t happen to be from East Texas, do you?”
     The ends of Justin’s mouth turned down. “That’s not even a Texas accent.”
     “Good morning, John.”, Dan beamed. “You don’t look like you’re suffering at all from last
night.”
     John picked up a strawberry and popped it in his mouth. “Not in the least. I feel great. Good morning everyone! Good morning, Dan. Where is that beautiful girlfriend of yours?”
     “Gone trollin’ for catfish.”, chuckled Buck. 
     “That’s not a very nice thing to say about Gladys and Nadine.”, laughed Dan.
     John reached for a pancake. “Trollin’ for catfish! I love it! We missed you last night, Buck. Did you spend the evening with Bach?”
     “That’s the second time I been asked that.”, said Buck.
      Justin’s eyes narrowed. “Goldberg Variations. Buck likes the Goldberg Variations.”
     John rolled his eyes. “I know, I know. I was there last night too. Don’t you remember?”
     Cesaria reached out and patted Justin on the shoulder then looked at John. “We were all talking about how so many of us have lost hope in our political system.”
     “Not all of us.”, said Sally as she examined a strawberry. “Some of us feel we finally have the right man at the helm.”
     “It’s very worrisome.”, sighed Cesaria. “But we are still one people and we will rise up and over come what has happened to us.”
     Buck wagged a finger.  “I was thinkin’ the other day about all them powerful parasites that run our country and I starts thinkin’ about vampires. Me personally, I think vampires and parasites, the human variety of parasites that is, are the same kinda freaks except when a vampire sucks your blood, you become a vampire pronto. Then I starts thinkin’ about how just about every schmoe in the country is becoming a vampire suckin’ the money and the property and the rights outa everybody else and how, just like vampires, when you get your life sucked outa you, you think, well, shit maybe I oughta start doin’ some suckin’ of my own. Next I starts thinkin’ about all them movies and TV shows showin’ all them teenage vampires suckin’ the life outa all them teenage girls. What the hell is that all about? Why are America’s teenage girls getting turned on by some teenage hunk that’s gonna turn ‘em into a monster? Hell’s bells! How did we get to such a place? What a way to sell zit cream and panty hose. And what about all them damn zombies. Everywhere you look, if you don’t run into a vampire after your blood, you get run over by some dumb ass corps after your brains. And just like a vampire, if some zombie dip shit gets a hold of you, presto change-o, you’re a zombie too. I guess it’s mornin’ in America all over again what with your teenage daughter dreamin’ about gettin’ porked by some blood suckin’ vampire at least once before her brains get sucked out by some brain suckin’ zombie.”
     “My God, you’re too much!”, laughed John. “War protester, Greek speaker, life saver, classical music expert and now a twenty first century Will Rogers. ‘A fool and his money are soon elected’.”
     Buck smiled. “‘If you ever injected truth into politics, you’d have no politics’.” 
     Justin looked at John. “‘You have to go out on a limb sometimes because that’s where the fruit is’.”
     John smiled through his teeth. “That’s very clever. How in the world did someone your age
come up with a Will Rogers quote?”
     “Twentieth Century American Culture 101B.”, smiled Justin. “How did someone your age come up with a Will Rogers quote?”
     “I was always fascinated with him. I read his biography. I - “ The irritated look on John’s
face disappeared as something suddenly dawned on him. He looked at Justin. He looked at Buck. He looked back at Justin.  He smiled condescendingly. “Of course, of course, Twentieth Century American Culture 101B. This cruise is getting more interesting by the minute.”
     “Your take on the manifestation of the Zeitgeist in the, pardon the pun, bloodless, brainless blather of the media does have a kind of twenty first century Will Rogers ring to it, Buck.”, said Dan. “Americans have had everything stolen from them, their homes, their savings, their health, their education, their jobs, and they’re main lined a lifeless pop culture of Hollywood pap and tabloid sensationalism, metaphorically their blood drained and their brains eaten but instead of turning away in horror and fighting back to stop it, society exalts it, revels in it. I heard some one say recently that we Americans have feasted upon the world and it tasted so good we have begun to feast upon ourselves.”
     “That tour guide called us cannibals.”, said Justin.
     “That tour guide was a twit!”, snapped Sally.
     John smiled. “He also called us garbage.”
     Sally popped a strawberry in her mouth. “A twit!”
     “Do all of us really revel in it?”, asked Courtney. “Or do those who are doing the stealing revel in it?”
     “Oh come on.”, said John. “Teenagers relate to vampires because vampires are ‘the other’. Vampires are outcasts, you know, like teenagers.”
     Sally rolled her eyes. “What about zombies?”
     “Brainless liberal killers, parasitic welfare queens. ”, laughed Dan.
     “All zombies do in the movies and the TV programs is stumble around moaning and trying to eat you.”, said Justin. “And all everyone does is blow their heads off.”
     “That’s so gross!”, frowned Courtney. “Zombies are people too.”
     Sally’s eyes flashed. “They most certainly are not people!”
     John suddenly sat up in his chair. “Hey, wait a minute! Zombies are trying to eat us. Zombies are everywhere in the media. Maybe American society is expressing itself rather clearly. We’re cannibalizing ourselves!”
     “I don’t know.”, scoffed Bob. “Zombies are dead.”
     “Wow.”, marveled Justin. “Dead cannibals. That would be an awesome name for a band.” 
     “It’s the other.”, said Cesaria. “Zombies are the other that’s after you and your money and your children.”
     “Armies of brainless monsters goose steppin’ over the world.”, smiled Buck.
     Dan stretched out his arms at Courtney and mugged a zombie face. “Baby Boomers!” She giggled, threw her hands on her cheeks and looked horrified.
     John laughed and stretched his arms out at Justin. “Homosexuals!”
     Justin laughed and followed suit. “Jesus freaks, dude!”
     Cesaria shook her head. “And you blow their brains out.”
     Dan looked into Courtney’s eyes. “The perfect terror. The perfect terrorist, Muslim, atheist, homosexual, socialist, fascist, choose your flavor. One bite, one scratch and suddenly you or the one next to you is a terrorist after your flesh, your warm flesh and the warm flesh of your wife, your husband, your daughter, your brother, your mother and there are so many of them. That’s how it is now. That’s how it will be. The world is falling apart. Trust no one. Everyone is your enemy, if not now, any second from now. Fear rules the land. There is little hope and what there is left resides behind the barrel of a gun.”
      Bob was smiling at Courtney. He turned to Buck. “Well, for what ever it’s worth, Buck, I don’t think your twisted prediction of movies or TV shows about vampires and zombies having sex with teenage girls is ever going to happen and thank God for that.”
     “Why not?”, asked Buck. “They got vampire teenage girl sex. Zombie teenage girl sex is just another step down the road.”  
     Bob was adamant. “Buck, zombie teenage girl sex is necrophilia! There’s no way Hollywood
would sink that low.”
     “Never underestimate the depths Hollywood will sink to in order to make a buck.”,  Dan muttered.
     “But there would be moral outrage!”, Bob insisted. “Theaters would be picketed. Reviewers would scream bloody murder.”
     “They’ll make the movie and there will be no picket lines.”, Dan predicted. “Reviewers will chuckle and the movie will make tens of millions the first weekend.”
     “Oh for goodness sake!”, blurted Sally. “Can’t everyone stop yammering about politics for just one minute? We’re on a cruise in the Greek Isles. Let’s talk about Greece. Tell us about your family on Rhodes, Cesaria.”
     Cesaria smiled and shook her head. She settled back into her seat. “Thank you, Sally. There are my cousins Georgious and Kalliope and Amaltheia. Georgious is married to Alkestis. They have two children, Nikolaos and Pyrrhos. Nikolas is married to Vasiliki. They are blessed with Orestes and Polydoros. Pyrrhos is with Agapios. Kalliope is married to Minos. They have a child named Dimitris. Dimitris is married to Kassiopeia. They are blessed with Eumelia and Kallistos. Amalthia has three children by Leandros: Heliodoros, Leda and Penelopeia. Penelopeia is married to Khristos. They are blessed with Basileus, Aktaion and Sofia. Leda is with Dorothea. Heliodoros is married to Phylomela. They are blessed with Alexandreus and Bartholomaios. Bartholomaios is with Daphne. Alexandreus is married to Adrasteia. The are blessed with Persefone.”
     Dan finished his coffee and waived to the waiter for more. “You mentioned they live on a farm.”
     “Not a farm.”, said Cesaria. “They have orchards, olives and fruit, pasture land and
animals. The land borders the sea. There is the sea.”
     “That sounds awesome.”, marveled Courtney. “How I would love to bring up a family on the land. A college friend of mine had family that raised goats and made cheese.” She turned to her husband. “Justin, when we get out of this mess, wouldn’t it be awesome if we somehow bought some land?”
     “Just don’t start a commune.”, snickered Bob. “We don’t want to go back to the sixties
with dope and hippies and free love. Well, maybe the free love.” He flashed his eyes at Courtney.
     Sally smacked his arm. “Bob, you devil you! Isn’t a little early in the day for that?” She smiled shyly and snickered. “At least that’s what you said earlier.” She batted her eyes seductively. “Is the sun warming you up?”
                                                                         *
     Nadine woke with a smile on her face. She looked around the suite and thought of breakfast. Suddenly tear gas and the memories of the day before raced out from under the bed and surrounded her. “Gladys!”, she gasped. “Gladys, where are you?”
     Gladys was constructing her face in the bathroom. She leaned out the door. “Christ on a crutch, Nadine. What is it?”
     “I don’t know! I don’t know! A dream maybe? Are we alright? Did we get away?”
     “Did we get away?”, asked Gladys as she returned to the mirror. “What in heaven’s name are you talking about? We’re at sea, if that’s what you mean.”
     “Oh thank heavens!”, Nadine sighed. “I was resting so peacefully and all of a sudden I remembered everything. Will you be long? I have to go.”
     Gladys picked up her make up and walked to a vanity next to her bed. “Well go on then. And get dressed. I’m starving to death and I’d kill for a bloody mary.”
     Nadine hurried into the bathroom. “Do you think Lucia is alright?”, she asked from behind the door. “And that young man of hers? Did everyone make it back alright? I can hardly remember.”
     “I’m sure Lucia is fine and as for that man of hers, I could care less. He lied to me. He man handled me. He dragged me onto the ship.”
     “Now I remember!”, squealed Nadine. “It was for your own good! You were marching up and down the dock ranting and raving like a lunatic! What about the big man? Is he safe?”
     “What the hell is it with you and that God damned fat terrorist?”, Gladys huffed.
     The toilet flushed and the bathroom door flew open. “That man went back into a bus filled with tear gas and saved your life, you old fool!”
     “Poppycock! I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself and don’t you dare talk to me like that, you hysterical harlot.”, snapped Gladys as she carefully applied her eyeliner. “I could very easily have you removed from the Bridge Club.”
     “You wouldn’t dare!”, gasped Nadine.
     Gladys meticulously swept eyes shadow over her eyelids with her ring fingers. “And the Docents Committee. And the Historical Society. And the Ladies Opera League. And the - ”
     The wrinkles on Nadine’s face boiled. “You’re awfully impressed with yourself! You told me on that bus that you dreamed of assaulting me and now you threaten me! You moaned that you got food poisoning! You told everyone that Dan had threatened to slit your throat! I wouldn’t banter about your little fantasies so lightly if I were you, Gladys! They just might someday come -”
     There was an anxious rap at the door. “Wake up, ladies! It’s Lucia! It’s a gorgeous day out here!” 
     Nadine stomped to the door and cracked it open. Her anger melted and she offered an all suffering smile. “Lucia, my dear. How nice to see you. What brings you to our door?”  
     “What’s all that God damn banging?”, barked Gladys.
     “It’s Lucia, Gladys.”, sighed Nadine. “Come to the aid of two weary old war horses.”
     Gladys marched to the door with a blustery scowl on her face. “Speak for yourself, Nadine!” She grabbed Lucia by the wrist and yanked her into the suite. “Come on, Lucia and help us finish getting dressed! I’m ready for the day. I’m ready for breakfast and most of all, I’m ready for a Bloody Mary!”
                                                               *
     “Is it too early for Bloody Marys?” Lucia called from across the deck. She led Gladys by one arm and Nadine by the other. The two duchesses looked particularly saurian that morning. Their legs shuffled slowly back and forth. Their eyes darted from side to side. Their pearls hung around their necks like dewlaps. Colorful sun hats crowned their heads like spiked crests. Their mouths hung open in concentration. Their tongues twitched back and forth. 

     “Bloody Mary.”, hissed Gladys as she lowered herself into a chair Lucia offered her. “That’s what I want. And look at breakfast. The world is new again.”
     “Waiter!”, Nadine wailed. “Waiter! Waiter! Can we get some cocktails over here?” She maneuvered herself between John and Buck. John rolled his eyes and slid his chair away as Lucia pushed an empty one to the table. Nadine lowered her grand ass into the chair and surveyed the table. “I see everyone is here. Eleven valiant veterans of the Greek revolution. Daniel, darling, how good to see you again. I trust you had a restful night? And what did the big man do last night, sail off to the Holy Land in search of some poor Arabs to save?”
     A familiar, sinewy figure appeared with a tray. Snezhana gave Buck a steamy look. “You want drinks?”
     “Ladies and gentlemen.”, announced Dan. “May I present Johann Sebastian Bach.”
      “Well if it isn’t Snow Woman.”, snarled Gladys.
      “Bloody Marys all around!”, snapped Nadine.
      “Make mine with gin, please.”, said Lucia.
      "Mine too.”, said John.
      “My wife and I are not drinking.”, frowned Justin.
     “I’ll have a champagne and orange juice, please in honor of the dolphins.”, said Courtney.
     “Ooh, Champaign and orange juice!”, squealed Sally. “That won’t hurt us, will it honey?”
     “Bloody Mary and a Mimosa.”, said Bob.
     “Mythos for me.”, grunted Buck as his eyes scoured Snezhana."

     "And  me." sighed Dan.
     “What’s that?”, asked Justin.
     “Greek beer.”, said Buck.
     "Beer sound cool. I’m in."
     “Hair of the dog that bit you, son.”
     “On second thought, change my Gin Mary to a beer.”, grinned John.
     A smug look suddenly spread across Nadine’s face. She picked up a strawberry and waved it at Snezhana. “And change my Bloody Mary to a strawberry daiquiri.”  
     Snezhana ignored her and looked to Cesaria. “Bloody Mary for lady?”
     “This is a very special day for me. I am to be with relatives after a long time.”, smiled Cesaria. “I will have a glass of champagne.”
     “Three vodka bloody Marys, one gin, two mimosa, four Mythos, one strawberry daiquiri, one
glass champagne.” Snezhana spun on her heels and walked away.
     John gave Dan a curious look. “Why did you introduce the waitress as Johann Sebastian Bach?”
     Dan smiled, lifted his eyebrows and nodded my head at Buck.
     “Oh.”, said John. “Really?”
     Gladys was piling food on a plate. She glanced up and saw Dan looking at her. “We had nothing to eat last night.”
     "Nothing to eat?", gasped Lucia. "Why not, for heaven's sake?"
     Nadine was shoveling pancakes into her mouth. "By the time we got out of the salon, we were lucky to have the energy to make it back to the room and collapse."
     Dan gave her a curious look. "The salon? The ship's beauty salon?"
     Gladys frowned and shook her head. "Priorities, young man. A lady always finds time for her hair."
     John leaned close to Dan. “What’s with the Buck and Bach routine?”, he whispered. “Is that some sort of code? Is he a classical music fan or not?”
     “He loves all kinds of music.”, Dan said quietly. “He has a thing about music and fucking.”
     “Music and what?”, asked John with astonishment.
     “All kinda music for all kinda fuckin’.”, Dan said under his breath.
     John leaned back in his chair. “Jesus Christ. I think I’m in love.”
     Gladys hammered her coffee mug on the table. “What are you two whispering about?”
     “We were talking about Cesaria’s family on Rhodes.”, Dan lied. “She was telling us all about it. You missed it. She wants us all to meet them.”
     “No wonder you speak Greek!”, said Nadine as she eyed Cesaria suspiciously. “And no wonder you are so excitable. If I were you I’d give me a wide birth for the rest of the cruise. I’ll be consulting my lawyer about your assault as well.”
     “Oh for heaven’s sake!”, Lucia exclaimed. “She brought you to your senses. We wouldn’t have
made the ship if it were not for Cesaria and now she will be with her family.”
    “That’s a good place for you.”, snipped Gladys. “I will be delighted to leave you Greeks to your rioting.”
     “You will be facing riots at home sooner than you think.”, smiled Cesaria.
     “Whatever do you mean by that?”, gasped Nadine.
     “Drinks!”, Snezhana announced. She placed our drinks on the table accordingly and saved the glass of champagne for last. She handed it to Cesaria with a curt bow. “I hope your family will be happy, lady.”
     Gladys swallowed a mouthful of pancakes and waived her hand in the air dismissively as Snezhana walked away. “Why do these people have to make a point of trying to be part of the lives of the people they are paid to wait on? This is not some corner pub or church bingo parlor. This is a cruise ship, albeit a Greek cruise ship but none the less, there used to be such a thing as protocol.”
     “Honestly, Gladys!”, said Lucia. “Is that all you can say on the dawn of a beautiful day in Greece?”
     “Honestly, Lucia.”, Nadine snipped. “You are beginning to sound like some kind of
hippie.”
     “Ain’t it a beautiful day and ain’t we all lucky to be alive?”, countered Buck. “You all got an invitation to meet a buncha locals on Rhodes so you can skip the tours and the shoppin’ and get an idea what the real island is all about.”
     “I can arrange for a couple of cars or maybe we could just hire a couple of taxis.”, said Cesaria. “We will do some shopping alright but for food and we will have wine and flowers. We will spread a great table in the orchard and look at the sea. The children will play at our feet. I will hire a couple of Bouzouki players and we will dance.”
     “Will we all line up and dance those wonderful Greek dances?”, asked Lucia breathlessly. She took Dan's arm and looked lovingly into his eyes. “I knew there was a reason to come to Greece! This will be wonderful!”
     “We’ll have an awesome time!”, exclaimed Courtney. “Don’t you think, everyone?”
     Dan raised his glass. “Cheers everyone! We should be coming in sight of the island soon. Here’s to a great day!”
     “This is awesome beer.”, said Justin. “I used to drink beer before I quit. Thanks for recommending it.”
     “My pleasure, son.”, said Buck. “What did you quit for in the first place?”
     Justin frowned. “Things have just been so bad and drinking was making them worse. The hateful phone calls from the creditors, having to live with our parents. It was all so hard on me and my wife.”
     “What about the restaurant business?”, Dan asked. “That’s where I ended up. It’s a start at least. You might even end up owning your own place.”
     “Do you own your own place?”, asked Justin.
     “I used to.”, Dan muttered.
     Gladys pulled on Nadine’s sleeve. “I told you he didn’t own a hedge fund.”
     “Oh, he was just having a little fun with you.”, said Lucia. “We were all drinking.”
     “We’re drinking now.” muttered Gladys.
     “Ah, relax, your highness.”, laughed Buck. “You’re on vacation. Have a little fun yourself.”
     “What kind of work are you in?”, Justin asked Buck.
     “I’m retired.”, said Buck.
     “From the stage?,” asked John.
     Sally swallowed too much of her mimosa and coughed. “Well I don’t care who owns a hedge fund or a restaurant or who is retired from what and I don’t think anyone else should give a darn. When you’re on vacation, you meet new people and go to new places and, as far as I’m concerned, you can be who ever you want to be. Maybe Bob and I don’t own three homes. Maybe we’re not retired. Maybe Buck is an international terrorist. Maybe John is straight. Maybe Courtney and Justin are a couple of bankers. Maybe Cesaria works for the CIA. Who cares? As far as I’m concerned, I -”
     “WHAT’S THAT HORRIBLE SMELL?”, screeched Nadine.
     “Judas priest! What the hell is the matter with you, woman?”, snapped Gladys. “Can’t I even have a Bloody Mary in peace without you screaming your head off?”
      “It smells like something’s burning.”, whispered Dan.  
     “Oh my God!”, gasped Nadine. “The ship is on fire!”
     Everyone stood up and looked around. “There’s an island!”, gasped Courtney. “Is that Rhodes?”
    “That’s Rhodes, alright.”, said Buck.
    We had been so caught up in ourselves, we hadn’t even noticed that we had come upon
the Island of Rhodes. All of us watched in stunned silence as a large column of smoke rose from the port and the city behind it. The buzz of a microphone crackled above us. “Ladies and Gentlemen.”, sputtered a voice heavy with a Greek accent. “We are now informed that the Port of Rhodes is closed by general strike. I regret to inform you that our arrival has been postponed indefinitely. We will proceed to our next destination, the beautiful island of Santorini. We are scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. Please excuse for the inconvenience.”
    “What is it with these Greeks?”, squawked Nadine. “Are we just going to circle around the Mediterranean like The Voyage of the Damned? My God, we’ll never get home!”
     “Well isn’t that just peachy!”, sneered Gladys. “I don’t think I’ll ever get a chance to shop for gold on this trip.”
     Buck swung around. “Cesaria.”
     Cesaria was sitting in a chair. She was white as a sheet. Her hands gripped her cane. 
     Justin put a fist in his mouth. Courtney raced to her side and knelt before her. “I am so sorry. I am so sorry.”
      John’s shoulders sagged. “Oh shit, babe. I’m right there with you.”
     Lucia grabbed Dan's hand. “You’ll get there, Cesaria. You can fly from the next island. I can help you.”
     Cesaria looked up. A sigh racked her body. All the life in the tiny woman seemed to drain out of her. Sally leaned close to her husband. Gladys and Nadine fidgeted. Everyone stood above Cesaria like helpless children. She stared silently past us. Then her eyes left the smoking city and swept over the Aegean. She inhaled an endless breath, lifted herself from her chair and turned.
     Dan stepped toward her. “Cesaria.”
     Buck took his arm and stopped him.
     Cesaria held a hand up to them as she slowly walked away.

   WHISTLING IN THE DARK

    No one said a word as they watched Cesaria walk down the deck. When she disappeared into the ship, Courtney let out a quiet moan. "“That poor lady. She is so strong. We went through those riots and she helped us. She helped me. And now she is heartbroken.”
     “Oh for God’s sake! What's the big deal?”, snapped Gladys. “She can always fly out of Thira or Athens for that matter.”
     “But her family was waiting for her.”, pleaded Justin.
     “What makes you think she can just hop on a plane and fly back?”, demanded Courtney.
     “That’s what any one else would do.”, sniffed Nadine.
     Courtney looked at Nadine with astonishment. “But she may not have the money!”
     “Or she may not have the time or the energy!”, Justin sputtered.
     “What’s next?”, snipped Gladys. “Are you going to tell me she’s dying of cancer? And what about the rest of us who paid good money we could hardly afford for a tour of that island and all the rest of them the Greeks are burning to the ground?”
     Courtney’s lips were trembling. She turned red. Dan reached out to distract her but it was too late. “I haven’t heard either one of  you even acknowledge the fact that Buck carried you both out of a bus filled with tear gas and suffered tear gas poisoning as a consequence, let alone thank him for it. Who do you think you are? Some sort of - ”
     Gladys slapped her hand on the table. “Don’t you talk to me like that young lady!  Didn’t your parents teach you any manners?”
     Courtney’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Don't you DARE speak of my parents!”
     Nadine closed ranks. “The last I heard, this is a free country and any one can say what every they want, when ever they want and how ever they want!”
     Courtney was so taken aback, she almost smiled. “This is a free country? What do you mean? Greece? Or do you mean America? The last I heard it was five thousand miles away. And that country five thousand miles away is hardly free. Not any more.”
     “Here we go again!”, exclaimed Sally. “Why can’t we all just get along? Now I want all of you to stop this bickering right now!”
     Bob reached over to Courtney and placed this hand on her arm. “Come on, young lady.   
There’s no need to get angry. Gladys and Nadine didn’t hear Cesaria go on and on about her family. They didn’t realize how much she was looking forward to seeing them.” Courtney looked at Bob’s hand on her arm. He retrieved it and blushed. “Cesaria would not want us arguing over her.”
     Nadine’s anger ebbed and flowed as quickly as her concentration. She gave Courtney a concerned look. “Now I remember you telling that senator and his wife, God rest their souls, about your financial troubles. That all sounded so dreadful. You poor dears must have been so ashamed.”
     Gladys shuffled her shoulders and took a drink of her Bloody Mary. “I remember the two of you complaining about the banks yesterday as well. I don’t envy you in the least. Bankers weren’t always like the way they are today. My God, my grandson can’t even get a loan on a home. He has his own business and the banks said they won’t loan to some one who works for themselves. Can you imagine that? Something very strange is going on. I’ve always had confidence in our major corporations and own stock in most of them but the big man here was telling me some very disturbing facts yesterday.” Her eyes drifted to Buck then looked quickly away.
     Nadine fluttered her hands at Gladys. “A friend of my daughter’s bought a house for cash from a bank that had foreclosed on it, then a couple of months later, the bank foreclosed on my daughter’s friend! And it was the same MO as with Justin and Courtney here! The bank wouldn’t answer his calls and told him to go screw himself! When he finally contacted the media and hired a lawyer, the bank said it was all a mistake! It was an accident!”
     Courtney looked into Nadine’s vapid eyes and realized there was no malice in the woman. She sighed and let her anger go. “I said some pretty terrible things about the Baby Boomers yesterday, too. It’s not cool to strike out at other people who have nothing to do with your problems. I’ve learned so much in twenty four hours. The people who caused our problems have painted targets on everyone else to keep us from striking out at them.”
     “That’s very adroit, young lady.”, sniffed Gladys. She looked around at all of us regally. “Bullies do that in the school yard.” A knowing smile cracked her petrified face. “The politicians who wear lies and hypocrisy on their lapels so proudly these days would be beaten senseless in the third grade.” Her eyes returned to Buck. She offered him a shy smile. “Thank you for getting me off that bus, big man.”
     Buck was staring at the smoking city. “All in a day’s work, your highness.”
     Nadine’s eyes and mouth snapped open so wide and so quickly you’d have thought some one had stuck a pin in her ass. She turned her back on Gladys and gave Buck a smoldering look. “You threw me over your shoulders! No man has ever thrown me over his shoulders!”
     “Well if it ain’t my lucky day.”, smiled Buck.
     Justin gave Buck a concerned look. “Have you recovered completely from the tear gas? You really got sick.”
     John leaned forward blocking Justin’s view of Buck. “I wasn’t sure you were going to make it at the fountain there, big guy.”
     “It never hit me that hard before.”, admitted Buck.
     “You mean you’ve faced tear gas before?”, asked Nadine breathlessly. “Have you been in many revolutions?”
     Lucia leaned close to Dan and whispered in mhis ear. “Am I crazy or all four of them fighting over Buck?”
      Nadine’s passion blew through a chink in Gladys’ armor. She shuddered and turned to Courtney. “You’re a spirited girl. I’m sure you’ll find a decent job when you get back home.”
     “She’s not going home.”, announced Bob.
     A startling smile exploded on Sally’s face. “Courtney and her husband are going to live and work in London!”
   “  London?”, squealed Nadine. “I adore London! Trafalgar Square! Hyde Park! Westminster! Covent Garden! Piccadilly Circus! Piccadilly! I saw Claire Bloom play Blanche Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Piccadilly Theater!” She reached out and patted Courtney’s hand. “They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and transfer to one called Cemeteries, and ride six blocks and get off at Elysian Fields!”
     Gladys rolled her eyes. “What kind of work will you be doing when you are in London?”
     “I don’t know yet.”, admitted Courtney. “My cousin lives there. She will find us work.”
     Nadine’s eyes grew wide. “You mean you don’t have anything lined up yet? Well aren’t you two brave. Oh, to catch one more glimpse of my salad days, to taste La Dolce Vita once more! Remember when we were young, Gladys and were filled with the same devil may care joie de vivre?”
     Gladys smiled and looked away. “Yes I do Nadine. Yes I do.”, She turned back to Justin and Courtney. “ Now children, you must be careful and proceed with caution. I think I may still have a couple of connections in London. Let me see what I can come up with.”
     “Oh my goodness!”, squawked Nadine. “My late husband’s business partner lives in London! I’m sure I can contact him!”
     An irritated look flashed across Gladys’ face. “Now I remember. A good friend of mine is good friends of the wife of the owner of several specialty boutiques in London. They met in Monaco many years ago. I will see what I can do.”
     Courtney looked down at her lap. “You two are very kind. Why would you want to help
a couple of strangers?”
     John waved his arm. “Well I know I’ve always relied on the kindness of  - ”
     “Why, you’re not strangers to us, sweety, not after what we all went through yesterday.” Nadine removed her hat and fluffed her hair. “My late husband’s business partner, Miles is his name, has a cottage on Bishop’s Avenue in East Finchley. Richard Desmond lives on one side and the Sultan of Brunai lives on the other. If any one in London can get you a job, he - ”
     “Sabrina! That’s it.”, snapped Gladys. “Sabrina and her husband run these marvelous boutiques in Belgravia. Let me tell you my dear Courtney, you wouldn’t have any problem at all being a shop girl in one of those establishments.”
     Nadine waived a hand at Gladys. “Don’t pay any attention to Gladys. The poor dear is
delusional at times. East Finchley puts Beverly Hills to shame and Belgravia is just, you know, Rodeo Drive.”
     “Don’t you call me delusional, you empty headed hussy!”, scowled Gladys.
     As Nadine and Gladys brayed away, Justin leaned close to John and nodded his head. John leaned forward. Justin whispered. “You know as well as I do that accent isn’t anywhere near East Texas.”
     John leaned back and looked at Justin. He felt sad. Justin is a good kid, he thought to
himself. He means well. He loves Jesus. He loves his wife and he’s gay. This poor kid’s so far back in the closet, if he tries to come out now he’ll be buried. He’s so confused, he’ll snap. And his wife is a sweet heart. She’d be crushed. On the other hand, she’s wasting her time. She’s young. She’s beautiful. She shouldn’t be stuck in a dead end. Suddenly John sat up with a start. Wait a minute. You’re not getting the least bit involved. You’re not touching this with a ten foot pole.
     Justin leaned close again and whispered another question. “What was that Johann Sebastian Back routine that Dan was talking about? He was looking at the waitress. What’s going on?”
     “I guess Buck’s doing the waitress.”, mumbled John.
     Justin’s mouth dropped open. “The waitress? But she must be twenty years younger.”
     John shrugged his shoulders.
     “You’re not going to tell me that’s her name are you?”, murmured Justin.
     “No, no it’s just with Buck it’s the music and -”. Shit, thought John. How the hell am I going to get out of this?
     Justin set down his beer. “It’s the music and what?”
     “Never mind.”, fumbled John. “It’s private. It’s none of our business.”
     Justin pressed. “None of our business? Then how come you know about it?”
     John twisted nervously in his chair then leaned close to Justin again. “Dan told me about it.”
     Justin frowned. “Dan told you?”, he asked in a barely audible tone. “I thought you said it’s private. Music and what?”
     “Music and fucking.”, whispered John. “Okay? Music and fucking.”
     Justin gave him a startled look. John’s shoulders sagged in resignation. Justin leaned back in his chair. His eyes lost focus as everything sunk in. He smiled. “Awesome.”
     God damn it, thought John. Now you’ve gone and done it. Well at least this stops me from making a fool out of myself. He’s all yours kid.
     Lucia was enthralled with the two elephant seals bellowing and honking over Courtney. Dan was not. He had been watching John and Justin. Buck stared out to sea. Bob stared at Courtney. Sally was looking at Dan. She had a strange frozen, wide eyed smile on her face. “It’s so sad we won’t get to see Rhodes but we mustn’t dwell on things we have no control of.” Her eyes blurred, danced nervously around then refocused. “Tell me Dan, have you been to Santorini?”
     “I have.”, he said realizing that he had not even thought about their next destination.
     Sally’s ossified grin began to loosen. “Is it a pretty island?”
     “Pretty?”, Dan's eyes drifted. “My God, it is one of the most spectacular places on the face of the earth.” That comment got everyone’s attention. He looked around. “Oh come on, you mean no one has ever been there?” Buck smiled. The others answered with silence. “Well surely some one has heard of it?” More silence.
     “Well go on, Daniel.”, prodded Lucia. “Tell us about it.”
     “It is an island in the Cyclades. It is the remains of an ancient caldera of the eruption thirty five hundred years ago that destroyed the Minoans. You remember yesterday at the ruins, King Minos, the Minotaur, pompous assholes squashed like bugs. The white washed town of Thira clings to the crest of the crater a thousand feet above the Aegean. You can sit in a cafe and look straight down at our ship. It will look no larger than a postage stamp. I remember one cafe in particular where the drop off from the patio is straight to the sea. We must all meet there. The only way up to the town from the sea is by way of a narrow switch back path on the back of a donkey.” A look of horror crossed Nadine’s and Gladys’ face. “At least that’s all there was when I was there as a young man. I hear they have a gondola cable car now. Everything has been domesticated these days.”
     “Will we at long last be able to buy gold there?”, asked Gladys exasperatedly.
     “Fine jewelry, fine restaurants, cafes and bars and views unsurpassed anywhere in the
world."
     Nadine finished off her Bloody Mary. “Well at least we’ll have something to look forward to besides, you know, Greeks.”
     Buck grunted and stood up. “I’m takin’ a walk.”
     “What was that all about?”, asked Nadine as she watched Buck lumber off.
     Justin shook his head. “Buck’s wife was Greek. Her name was Sophia.”
     “Well how in the world was I supposed to know that?”, squawked Nadine. Her eyes crossed as she looked around in confusion. “Oh dear, what have I said? Buck? Buck?” Nadine turned to the table. “Buck’s wife was Greek? Past tense? Is he a widower? What did she look like? Was she beautiful? Did anybody find out?”
     “Of course she was beautiful.”, chuckled Lucia. “Can you imagine anything else?”
     “So he’s a widower?”, asked John.
     “He’s got a hole in his gut.”, said Dan.
     “I sensed something tragic behind the wit.”, sighed John.
     Justin nodded. “Something tragic and something deep.”
     Sally put her hands on the table and stood. “You know, I need to stretch my legs. Come on, honey. Let’s go for a walk.”
     Bob didn’t look up at his wife. “You go ahead, Sally. I’m enjoying the sunshine and the company.”
     “A walk would do you good after all that food.”, said Sally.
     “No really, honey. You go ahead.”
     “A walk would do you good.”, repeated Sally a couple of decibels louder and a couple of notes lower.
     Bob finally looked up at his wife standing over him. A stifled rage boiled in him. He beat it down with all his will. He felt sick to his stomach. “You’re probably right, Sally.” He pushed himself to his feet and looked around at the rest of us. “My wife’s always got my best interest at heart.”
     As Bob followed his wife down the deck, Courtney looked fondly at the couple. “They really look out for each other. They seem so devoted.”
     Justin’s arms were crossed across his chest. The corners of his mouth were turned down. “I still think they’re kind of creepy.”
     Gladys straightened her collar, pulled at the cuffs of her blouse and stroked her pearls. “They’re liberals. Of course they’re creepy. Please don’t tell me you voted for Osama Obama, young man.”
     Justin kicked the deck boards under his feet. “It doesn’t matter who voted for who. Don’t you get it?”
     Nadine was pushing loose hairs back into her sun hat. “Don’t talk like that, young man. When that interloper is voted out of office, a republican will get the economy going again and you’ll both be fine.”
     Justin looked at the chair Buck had been sitting in. He sighed and slouched in his chair. Then he stood up and looked at his wife. “Come on Courtney, let’s take a walk.”
     Courtney smiled warmly at her husband. She looked around the deck then out to sea for another school of dolphins. She rose from her chair and took her husband’s hand. Justin looked long at her and offered a relieved smile. He kissed her. The two of them excused themselves and walked slowly away. 
     Lucia turned to Gladys and Nadine. “Do you really think you can help those two get jobs in London? I’m worried about them.”
     Nadine was touching up her lipstick. “When someone’s address is Bishop’s Avenue, there isn’t anything he can’t do.”
     “Nothing he can’t do, maybe.”, said Gladys nonchalantly. “But what will he do? Will he do whatever he can do if he doesn’t want to do it?”
     “You can’t expect an American college graduate to work as a shop girl, can you?”, asked Nadine with feigned incredulity.
     Dan frowned. “Whatever you both can do, you must. Those kids are desperate.” His comment was met with cold stares.
    “You two could give another performance of Shakespeare and I doubt you’d get through.”, said John. “Say, what is it with you two and Shakespeare? I’m intrigued. Have you been doing it long? There was definitely an undertone, if you know what I mean. Is it something on the order of Buck and Bach?”
     “What in the world are you talking about, young man?”, demanded Gladys. “Shakespeare, Buck, Bach? Are you on drugs?”
     Nadine cringed. “Buck! Buck! What have I said? I’m such a fool!”
     “I wonder if Buck has any idea how popular he is?”, laughed Lucia. She looked at me then at John. “It just happened a couple of times. We never even asked each other about it. It’s kind of magic.”
     Dan took Lucia’s hand. “I don’t think we should ask each other.”
     “Well you two seem made for each other.”, said John. “How long have you been together?”
     “A couple of days.”, sighed Lucia. "And we come from different worlds."
     John smiled nostalgically. “You know, you could have everything in common and it could end in disaster. I remember my affair with the piano player in a cabaret. He loved - “
     “Only a couple of days?”, squealed Nadine.
     Lucia blushed. “We shared a cab from Athens to Piraeus.”
     Gladys and Nadine seemed stunned. John continued. “The piano player loved classical music and I loved classical music. I was raised with classical music but when my parents went through a divorce - “
     “Please don’t interrupt, young man.”, snapped Gladys. “We’re trying do digest Lucia’s
predicament.”
     Lucia’s eyes widened. “Predicament?”
     “You’re asking me not to interrupt you?”, asked John.
     Gladys gave John a haughty look. “I hardly think this is the time or place to hear about your trysts and assignations.”
     John glared at Gladys. “When my parents went through a divorce, I couldn’t listen to classical music and put it out of my life until one day at a summer job when I was going to college I was cleaning a house and the radio started playing Rimsky - “
     Nadine waived a hand at Gladys. “For heaven’s sake, Gladys, lighten up! We have gay
friends. Why there’s my caterer and there’s your secretary, and my chauffeur and I not so
sure about the gardeners, yours or mine.”
     “Rimsky Korsakov’s Scheherazade!”, shot John. “A symphony I’ve loved all my life and suddenly my love for classical music came back to me. I got home and started painting a canvass to Scheherazade and it was the best painting I’d done.”
     “You’re an artist?", Dan asked.
     “I am.”, John replied. “And I carried that canvass all through college. I had it when I was penniless and trying to find a job after I graduated, not so different from Justin and Courtney except I wasn’t enslaved with debt. It was during those hard times that I met the piano player. We hit it off just like the two of you yet it went - “
     “I was trying to ask Lucia and Daniel about themselves.”, said Gladys tersely.
     “Now Gladys.”, chastised Nadine. “The least we can do is be polite and hear about the young man’s peccadilloes.”
      John turned red. “Peccadilloes?”
     Gladys twitched with irritation. “It’s such a beautiful morning. There’s so many things we could do besides listen to - “
     “The water looks great.”, snapped John. “Why don’t you go for a swim?”
     Gladys slammed her glass down on the table. “Come, Nadine. We are not wanted here.”
     “Don’t be silly, Gladys.”, pleaded Lucia.
     Gladys stood. “Nadine, we have to prepare for lunch.”
     An idea suddenly flew into Nadine’s head. “We should find Buck! I must apologize!”
     “Oh come on.”, said Dan. “Let’s all calm down.”
     “I am perfectly calm, Daniel.”, sniffed Gladys. “We will see you at lunch. I think twelve o’clock would be civilized.”
     “Toodles, everyone!”, whinnied Nadine as she got to her feet. “We’ll see you at lunch!”
     John called after the two duchesses as they waddled away. “We’ll get the whole crowd together! I’ll see you there!”
     “I’m sorry.”, said Lucia. “They’re really not all that bad. They’re just set in their ways. They’re used to the world running their way and it isn’t anymore.”
     “Ah forget it.”, said John. “They’re amusing, like a couple of Marquesas.”
     “Amusing while their heads are still on their shoulders.”, Dan grumbled. “Finish your story.”
     “There’s not really much more to say.”, sighed John. “It all went wonderfully for the first couple of months then it crashed and burned. I was so enthralled with the man, I gave him the Scheherazade painting. Not long after it was over with, I found the painting on my door step ripped to shreds.”
     “Why that’s awful!”, exclaimed Lucia.
     “Better the painting than me.”, smiled John. “But my point was don’t worry if you have little in common, if you come from different worlds. Look at Romeo and Juliet.” John paused and looked at the two of us. “Well, I’m waiting.”
     Dan took Lucia’s hand. “Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear, that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops -”
     Lucia smiled and put a finger to my lips, “Oh, swear not by the moon, the inconsistent moon, who monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable.”
     “What shall I swear by?” 
     Lucia looked down at her feet. “Do not swear at all. Or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I’ll believe thee.”
     “That’s fabulous!”, gasped John.
     Dan gave Lucia a lustful look then turned to John. “Probably the most famous dialogue in all of Shakespeare and in case you forgot, Romeo and Juliet didn’t turn out too well either.”
     “But they did!”, protested John. “They were perfect. The world destroyed them.  Hell, the world makes or breaks you, takes you where it will no matter what mighty plans you’ve made. I’m an artist and all I wanted to do with my life was make a living at it, maybe even get a little fame here and there but life intervened. I met my husband and for the first time in my life I was happy. I had done the impossible in love and the world lay at my feet. But then the unthinkable happened. Everyone around us started dying of horrible, incurable diseases, unheard of cancers, blotches all over body that rivaled the Bubonic Plague, sudden wasting that fit you right into Dachau, derangement, Turret’s Syndrome, bodies literally exploding from the inside out, and you never knew if you were next. AIDS was a war zone you couldn’t escape and why find out if you’re infected as long as you’re not sleeping around? What good would it do to know?” John paused and looked at us. He smiled. “So of course I lived like there was no tomorrow because there wasn’t. I was young. I was in love. I was probably going to die a hideous death at any time so why would I spend every waking moment trying to get into this gallery or that, fucking whoever I had to fuck to get somewhere in the art world? To quote Charles Dickens, It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”
     Lucia looked at John. “I’m so sorry.”
     John frowned. “Sorry I had to go on dump.” He looked at Lucia then at me. “I should take a walk myself but before I go, let’s plan on all of us having lunch together. Let’s get every one at the table. Think of the theater!”
     “I’m not sure we can get everyone at the same time.”, said Lucia.
     “We’ll need a good excuse.”, said John.
     Dan clapped his hands. “I’ve got it! We know the authorities, whoever they are will be waiting for us on Santnorini. We all have to get our stories straight. There’s nothing like fear to get people motivated.”
     “That’s perfect.”, smiled John. He rose to his feet. “We’ll spread the word. It’s a small ship. How about noon?”
     “That’s already been decided. Don’t you remember? And I will expect a command performance out of you.”, said Lucia.
     “And I of you.”, said John as he turned and walked away.
     Lucia and IDan were quiet for a few moments as they absorbed the events of the morning. Dan thought of Cesaria and his heart ached for her. He thought of Buck’s wife and the wound he had concealed until Justin had exposed it. He remembered how he had left Lucia alone in her suite. “I’m sorry about the note. I had to get out and get some air. I thought I’d get back before you woke.”
     “Your note was lovely but women are not fond of waking up to notes.”
     “I had to get some air.”
     Lucia looked into his eyes. “We’ve only just met but I feel you’re keeping something from me.”
     “John said we seemed made for each other but he could see we come from two different worlds.”           Lucia gave him an impatient look. “So you’re liberal and I’m conservative. Plenty of couples manage to get over that.”
     “Things are different now.”, Dan said quietly. “Our worlds are colliding.”
     “And we will survive, Daniel. We will survive.”
     He smiled and took her hand. “I’ve never met anyone who I wanted to both know more of and not know more of. I feel like we’re frozen in time.”
     "But we are!", exclaimed Lucia. "We’re on a cruise, floating along, rolling along, racing along. And we are getting to know each other in many more ways than one.”
     “You quote Reagan and I shudder.”, he sighed.
     She pulled her hand from his. “And you spout liberal gibberish and I shudder.”
     Dan was exasperated. “Why do you want to devour us? There is so much to go around. America is the richest country the world has ever seen yet you are out to take away what little we have left. Do you really want to turn out senior citizens onto the street? Why in God’s name would you do that? Is it blind arrogance? Blind Avarice? Blind vanity? You are predators.”
     Lucia looked at me as if I were a child. “You have to be stopped. If anyone is the predator, it is you because there are so many of you. You envy us. You despise us. You thirst after us. Do you really think if we give you anything, ANYTHING you will be satisfied? If we don’t keep a tight reign on you, you will devour us.”
     Dan felt the disgust rise in him. “What was that crap about Lady Macbeth? A ruse? Did you just make all of that up, sitting at the table rubbing your hands together and sniffling crocodile tears? I don’t think you give a shit about prison labor. You won’t be happy until the whole country is a prison camp. Are you happy with stripping the middle class of decent wages, benefits, pensions and health care? Do you think it’s right to shove what the public sector has managed to hold on to into the face of the private sector who has had it all stripped away in order to turn one against the other and strip from both what both fought a hundred years to attain?”
    Lucia gave mhima stern look. “It’s working, isn’t it? And when they whine and snivel, take more away. When they offer to compromise, refuse and claim both sides are intractable.”
     “Any fool can see both sides are not intractabl."
     “That’s not what the papers say.”, she scoffed. “That’s not what the liberal press says. That’s not what the majority of Americans say.”
     Dan slammed his hand on the table. “And you sour the working class to democracy and open the door to fascism.”
     Lucia smiled innocently. “ Fascism? Are we back in Italy again?”
     He reached out and took Lucia’s arm. “So there’s a plan for the new master race: become
unimaginably wealthy by bankrupting the country, saddle its citizens with suffocating debt, sink them into endless war then use the threat of national insolvency as an excuse to eviscerate the government, destroy the educational system, steal what common wealth the people have left and use the threat of national security to create a police state to perpetuate your power.”
     Lucia pulled her arm away. “There’s a tipping point.”
     Her comment took him off guard. “A tipping point? Is that what you’re planning for, global warming?”
     She shook her head. “If global warming descends upon us the way your liberal scientists predict, who will be in the position to survive it? The poor? The middle class? You?”
     Dan fell back into his chair. “So the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are galloping down upon the world and you are spurring them on, yet you think you will be able to survive behind your walls and moats?”
     Lucia glared at me. “We will survive. You’re screwed.” She looked away and sighed.  “Who knows? Maybe there will be some other way the population can be reduced to a manageable level, some way not so violent.”
     “Something that’s probably in the works already, no doubt.”, Dan spat.
     “No doubt.”, said Lucia bitterly.
     “Something like mass sterilization in a couple of generations? How many did it take in mice?”,             Lucia smiled bravely. “I think that might be preferable to war and starvation.”
     “You won’t think much when your head is on a pike.”, Dan growled.  They sat opposite each other spent and deflated. He searched for her beautiful eyes cast glumly downward. Her shoulders drooped. Her head hung. She wasn’t attacking him. He felt sorry for her. She was as lost as I was. Hee felt lust for her. Why were they saying these things to each other like a couple of sock puppets, a Punch and Judy show for the benefit of their masters? He felt overwhelmed by her presence. I felt inadequate. He felt superior. He was confused. “When I realized the restaurant was in bad shape, when I realized the business was all that was between me and the street, all my arrogant disdain for it vanished. I tried everything to keep it afloat. My employees tried everything but it was in vain. When I met you I was lost. The last thing I ever expected was to meet someone as wonderful as you and - and fall for her.”
     Lucia shook her head. “When I met you, I was lost. I tried everything to keep my marriage afloat. I really was conflicted about the business. I didn’t know how much until I met you. You’re the last person I expected to fall for. I can’t comprehend my feelings for you but they are overwhelming. My entire life points in the opposite direction as yours. We shouldn’t even be talking to each other.”
     Dan put his hand on her shoulder. “Yet we quote Shakespeare! How is it that we quote - “
    “Are we dreaming?” Lucia took his hand.
     He closed my fingers around hers. “Are we whistling in the dark?”
     Lucia face flushed. “I like that tune.”
     He kissed her. “And I like it in the dark.”
     She put a hand on his head and curled his hair in her fingers. “We have a very fragile ecstasy.”
     He ran a finger down her arm. “And we’re no spring chickens.”
     She put her hand in his shirt. “We don’t have as much time as we used to have.” 
     He breathed in her ear. “I’m fucking crazy about you, Shakespeare notwithstanding.”
     She kissed him. “Shakespeare notwithstanding?”
     He slipped his tongue in her mouth. “Screw Shakespeare.”
     She nipped his lip. “Screw me.”
     He kissed her neck. “Where? Here?”
     She caught her breath. “Anywhere, but quick!”
     He nibbled her ear. “Somewhere in the dark. I want to feel your legs in the dark.”
     She gasped. “A lifeboat, a closet!”
     He stood and pulled her to her feet. “Let’s find a closet!”
     Her eyes were wild. “Standing up among the brooms and mops!”
     They raced hand in hand into the bowels of the ship.
                                           
  IS THAT ALL THERE IS?

     Gladys stomped along the deck. As Nadine hurried to catch up, her idiotic put down of all things Greek echoed in her head. How was she supposed to know Buck’s wife was Greek? She wondered how long Buck had been a widower. What did Justin say her name was? Sophia! What a pretty name. Life can change so quickly, she thought. The riots of the day before suddenly came back to her. She relived the memory of Buck’s ham hands reaching down to her on the bus as she choked on the tear gas. She remembered being lifted to her feet like a doll. She could hear Buck saying something to her. She could hear herself wailing with fear. Suddenly she was thrown over his broad shoulders. She felt herself flop and sag against Buck’s body as he carried her out of the bus. Confusion and joy swirled around her. She smiled. She gasped. She felt light headed and grabbed onto the railing. “Gladys! Stop for a moment! I'm going to faint!”
     Gladys whirled around and glared at her. “Be my guest!”
     Nadine was shocked. “Aren’t you even going to come to the aid of your old friend?”
     “Where were you when that horrible homosexual assaulted me?”
     “Assaulted you?”, smiled Nadine. “He just suggested you go for a swim.”
     “And you find that amusing?”
     Now Nadine was flustered. “Oh just listen to the two of us! You tell that young man that his affair was nothing more than a tryst. I refer to it as a peccadillo. You wonder if Cesaria has cancer. I insult the Greeks. I think these two old ladies ought to be ashamed of themselves.”
     Gladys sighed. Her haughty look sagged. Fear danced across her face. Resignation gelled her quivering wrinkles. Despair darkened her eyes. “What does this empty husk have left besides bitterness?” She leaned on the rail and let out a sigh. “I defend and support and prop up my family all my life and here I am alone in the middle of the Mediterranean with nothing more to offer the world than vitriol, acrimony and disdain.” A tear rolled out of her eye and caked the powder on her face.
     Nadine’s eyes opened wide. Then a maternal smile spread across her face. “Now, now Gladys. Where’s that joie de vivre? Where’s that devil may care? Come on now. There’s life in the old girl yet.”
     Gladys smiled a sad smile. Then something came back to her. “Nadine, do you remember when you and Frank and Tom and I were in San Francisco and saw Peggy Lee in the Venetian Room at the Fairmont? Wasn’t that a marvelous show?”
     Nadine put her fingers to her lips. “Good God, that was a long time ago!”
     Gladys shook her head. “In the seventies, I seem to remember.”
     Nadine stretched out a hand as if to ward of time itself. “The seventies! How many lives ago was that?”
     Gladys gave a start. “Too many and not enough, Nadine! “Oh, how I loved Peggy Lee! 'Is that all there is? Is that all there is?'”
     Nadine stepped close to Gladys and took her hand. “If that all there is my friends -”
     Gladys rested her hand on Nadine’s waist and stepped into a gentle spin. “Then let’s keep dancing -” 
     Nadine placed her hand on Gladys’ shoulder, stepped back and the two Marquesas floated across the deck. “Let’s break out the booze and have a ball.”
     Gladys lifted her chin in the air and beamed. “If that’s all -”
     Nadine’s expression was ecstatic. “there is.”
     Nadine felt a gentle thrill as she drifted in circles with Gladys on an ocean of blissful memories.   “Oh, Gladys, remember the party afterwards?”
     “My goodness yes.”, said Gladys as she watched the sea flow into the deck and the deck flow back to the sea again. “It was an apartment on one of those impossibly steep hills. Whose was it?”
     Nadine looked up to the sky. “Friends of Tom’s. Rick and Stu, I think.”
     Gladys followed her gaze. “What a memory, Nadine. It was. I always wondered about those two, unmarried and all.”
     Nadine took her hand from Gladys’ shoulder and stepped back for a dainty dip.  “Everyone was dancing in the living room and the fog horns were bellowing and hooting out the window.”
     Gladys returned with a subtle flourish. “What an enchanting sound. We danced to Edith Piaf, I remember, and that drunk hussy, what was her name? She fell into the fireplace.”
     Nadine coasted back into Gladys’ arms. “Janet. That was her name. She was doing some sort of Isadora Duncan routine. The King Tut Tango!”
     “She was still flopping around in the fireplace without a clue to where she was. Her arms and legs were flapping around so wildly, Frank had to pull her out by her dress.”, smiled Gladys.
     Nadine took in a sudden quick breath. “And she got up and just kept dancing.”
     Gladys sighed. “And we just kept dancing.”
     Nadine looked into Gladys’ eyes. “To Edith Piaf.”
     Gladys smiled grandly. “And Peggy Lee.”
     Nadine released herself from Gladys, took a slow motion spin and offered a curtsy. Gladys smiled and gave a slow bow.
     A quiet round of applause woke Gladys and Nadine from their reverie. The two of them blushed in front of a small group of passengers who had gathered around. Buck stepped forward as the crowd dispersed. “That was a real fine show, ladies.”
     Nadine gasped. “Oh Buck! I owe you and apology! I didn’t know your wife was - . I didn’t mean to -”
     “You don't have to say nothin’ after a performance like that. I ain’t seen nothin’ so sweet in years. You have warmed my cold heart.”
     Gladys opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before coming to herself. “You are very much the charmer. Will you have lunch with us?”
     “Oh you must!”, pleaded Nadine. “You must give me a chance to make up for my rudeness!”
     "That’s a couple of hours and a couple of drinks away, ladies. Anythin’ can happen before then."
     “Oh come on, big man.”, said Gladys. “Do a couple of old war horses a favor.”
     Nadine smiled at Gladys. “Promise us, Buck. Daniel and Lucia will be with us. Shall we say twelve o’clock?”
     “If that red head’s the bait, I’ll bite. I gotta go now.  I got a date with a glass of bourbon.” As Buck walked away, he mulled over the ghosts that had haunted him that morning. First I get a break then they mau-mau me , he thought. Shit, if I’d have got on that ship to Gaza they’d have taken a powder. He looked down and watched his feet fall one in front of the other. He relived sliding back the shower curtain that morning and seeing his wife standing before him. Please, Sophia, he thought. I can’t take you showin’ up like that unannounced. Please stick to my dreams where you belong.
     “Buck!”
     Buck stopped in his tracks. Justin was standing before him. Buck marveled at the flush of youth filling Justin’s face. How old was he, wondered Buck, twenty four, twenty five? Courtney was behind him leaning on a rail. Her smile was radiant. Her eyes glowed with affection. Buck smiled paternally at the two of them. Just out of college. Just affianced. So young to be burdened by the ugly shit of the world instead of sailin’ along full of all it has to offer. Behind her were Bob and Sally. Buck looked closely at the two of them for the first time. There was something wrong under their middle aged, upper middle class skins, something rotten.
     Courtney walked up to Buck. “We’re having a cool conversation about the sixties. You know. Peace and Love. Sally was telling us that she was an anti war protester and Bob said he was at Altamont.”
     Justin gave Buck a concerned look. “Were you in Vietnam?”
     Buck seemed taken off guard. “Uh, no. I got out of it.”
     “So did I!”, said Bob. “Believe it or not, I was too fat!”
     “Bob was a big boy before he got high blood pressure.”, said Sally. “I was telling Courtney that I was in a lot of demonstrations.” She turned back to Courtney. “Reagan was governor of California then. He was flying into the Santa Barbara airport to give a speech at the convention center. We all marched out and blocked the runway.”
     “That’s cool. I’m going to do some marching soon.”, said Courtney. “Did you keep him from landing?”
     “We formed a line across the tarmac.”, said Sally conspiratorially. “But then a row of police
cars came down the runway at us and we had to break and run. We regrouped at the convention center. There was a very narrow entry into the parking lot and we all stood there asking all the people driving slowly in if they had eaten a Vietnamese baby for breakfast.” Sally broke into uncontrollable giggles.
     “Awesome.”, said Courtney.
     Justin frowned. “I don’t know about all that. When your country calls, you should answer.”
     Buck smiled. “You don’t know what you're talkin’ about, son, and I don’t see no medals on your chest.”
     “I thought about joining. We both did.”
     “We thought about joining because we were desperate and broke and unemployed and drowning in debt.”, admonished Courtney.
     “The music was a whole lot better back then.”, said Bob. “Of course I guess it’s all a matter of where you’re coming from. Altamont was great. I was going with a real loose gal in college when she suggested I go with her. Some friends of hers picked me up in the early morning. They were smoking pot. That’s the first time I smelled it. God, what a stink. They had a VW van. Two of them were having sex in the back.” 
     “You never told me that!”, said Sally.
     “Sex, drugs and rock and roll.”, frowned Justin.
     “You got a problem with sex, drugs and rock and roll?”, asked Buck.
     Justin was flustered. “No. I mean I -”
     “Everybody fucks, boy and thank God for that.”, laughed Buck. “And everybody does drugs. You did too much last night yourself and just some more this mornin’.”
     “I was drinking.”, Justin protested. “I wasn’t doing - I mean I - OK, I get you. But I shouldn’t have been drinking. Jesus is enough for me.
     “That kinda Jesus is the worst drug there is.”, muttered Buck.
     “And please don’t tell me you don’t like music, young man.”, said Sally. “The music was fabulous back then: The Rolling Stones. Jefferson Airplane, Bob Dylan.”
     “Joan Baez.”, Bob continued. “Dionne Warwick, Petula Clark.”
     “Thank goodness the war ended, we came to our senses and we grew up!”, said Sally. “You can’t raise a family on sex, drugs and rock and roll!  Isn’t that right, Bob? We have the most wonderful family. My goodness, just thinking of them makes me homesick. We will have plenty of stories to tell them when we get back, won’t we Bob?”
     A sudden gust of wind blew a patch of fog out of nowhere. Sally grew irritated. “What is it with this sudden fog?”
     “There was a cold fog when you two came on deck this morning.”, said Courtney.
     “Well don’t go blaming us for the weather, now!”, laughed Sally.
     “I see clouds on the horizon.”, said Justin.
     “Well you needn’t worry about a thing, young man.”, said Sally. “The last thing we’ll see is a storm this time of year. That’s a fact because my Doctor told me so when he prescribed my sea sick patch.”
     “You have a sea sick patch?”, asked Courtney.
     “See for yourself!”, beamed Sally as she pulled back her hair and pointed to a patch behind her ear. “And it’s worked wonderfully. It’s just that my Doctor couldn’t guarantee it would work in a storm but why are we even talking about it? It’s a wonderful day on the Mediterranean and we have nothing to look forward to but the sun and the next meal. Why don’t we all get together for lunch?”
     Bob leaned toward Courtney. “What do you say? Is it a date?”
     “Will you join us for lunch, Buck?”, asked Justin.
     “I got a date with a red head.”, said Buck.
     “A red head?”, tittered Sally. “Tell us about her.”
     “A red head and her boy friend and a couple o’ catfish.”
     Sally’s eyes crossed with momentary confusion. “A couple of catfish? Oh, catfish! You mean Gladys and Nadine. Now Buck, that’s not very nice of you.”
     “But very accurate.”, said Bob. “It sounds like everyone will be there, and why not?”
     “Well yes!”, said Sally. “We went through those terrible riots together. We’re practically a family by now. What time are you planning on having lunch?”
     “High noon.”, sighed Buck.
     “Noon sounds cool.”, said Justin. “I’m in.”
     Buck shook his head. The last thing he wanted was another clown show. He looked at the horizon. There was a storm coming up. Things could get rough in the afternoon. What the hell, he thought. They won’t be much of a bother when they’re pukin’ their guts out. I better loosen up with a couple of snorts before the show and who better to have ‘em with than a bartender with a hot ass and a pair of tight tits.  “I gotta see a man about a horse. I'll see you at lunch.”, he mumbled to the four of them before turning and walking off. As he ambled along, he breathed in the sea air with relish. There was something so pure about the air in the Aegean. It seemed full of memories, clean memories. He didn’t have many clean memories. He noticed the door to the bar a few steps down the deck and the sweet taste of bourbon filled his mouth. He opened the door with a smile and stopped dead. Sophia stood in the half shadow smiling. He closed the door and shuddered. What the fuck is this, he thought?. Is it all closin’ in again? He took a deep breath.
     “Hello, Buck!” It was John with a shy look on his face. “You shouldn’t have left the crowd so abruptly. Nadine was crestfallen. Do you have any idea how popular you are with our little mob of expats?”
     “Hiya, pal. No harm done. I can’t seem to get away from any of you. I caught them old buzzards waltzin’ along memory lane and the two kids gettin’ a history lesson about the sixties from Mr. and Mrs. hippy light.”
     “Frankly, I don’t blame you for leaving. Those two Marquesas can’t seem to keep their mouth shut about anything.” John rolled his eyes. “As opposed to the rest of us wall flowers. I’m sorry about your wife.”
     Buck’s eyebrows arched. “My wife?”
     “It’s none of my business,”, offered John. “but it seems we’re both widowers.”
     Buck looked at John for a moment then smiled. “Oh. I get you. I heard you talkin’ about it at Knossos. Yeah, I guess we are.”
     “You know, I’ve been thinking about your love for classical music.”, said John.
     “Classical music.?”, asked Buck.
     “Well everyone says you just adore Bach.” pushed John. “I was raised with classical music myself and my husband loved opera. Do you love opera?”
     Buck looked past John out to sea. “My wife took me to my first opera, La Boheme.”
     “That’s amazing!”, gasped John. “What a coincidence. Charlie took me to my first opera. Well, in a way he did. We met in a bar a few days before but we didn’t go home together, if you can imagine that. We exchanged numbers and I called him. I never did that before. They always called me. It wasn’t the next night but I did get tired of waiting. We had an incredible first night together. Have you ever held hands when you came together?”
     “Yup.”, said Buck quietly.
     “Anyway,”, continued John breathlessly. “He had season tickets to the opera, orchestra seats, and he asked me to join him the next night. He was called away on business that afternoon but he insisted I go anyway, for the two of us. It was Norma. Do you know Norma?”
     “Yup.”, said Buck with a smile.
     “Well I didn’t know anything about it.”, John continued. “Can you imagine sitting in orchestra seats for four tragic, incredibly romantic, heavenly lyrical hours, full of Druids, Romans, betrayal, rage, attempted infanticide, self immolation, and all by yourself - alone wrapping it all around you and your new love sitting in the empty seat next to you? Sounds like a recipe for disaster, right? Crash and burn when reality sets in. But it didn’t happen. Each day got better. Each opera got better. Each aria got better for twenty five fucking years.” John had wandered to a place he didn’t intend to. His mouth hung open. Tears welled in his eyes. “The Norma, Adalgesa duet, I’ve never heard anything like it.”
     John had a lost look on his face. Buck patted him on the shoulder. “I know, buddy. I know. It’s a fuckin’ bitch. It gets its fingers around your neck and you can’t breathe. You curse the world and reach for a bottle but that ain’t gonna help too much. You just gotta hang in there and the pain ‘ll ease a bit after time. At least that’s what they tell me.” John took a deep breath and gripped the rail. Buck frowned. “Just remember kid, no matter who you are, you never walk alone.”
     John blinked away the tears. “I didn’t think you were the religious type.”
     “I ain’t.”, Buck grunted. “And I ain’t talkin’ about religion. I’m talkin’ about God and that’s a whole different enchilada.”
     Buck left John leaning against the rail staring at the sky. He felt the air pressure beginning to drop in the pit of his stomach. Maybe the storm would blow away the ghosts. His stomach hurt. Shit, he thought. That kid’s pain got to me. Shit, Sophia. I miss you. I miss you so much. As he rounded the deck, he swept his eyes across the few passengers stretched out on lounges taking in the rays. He could see the smoking island of Rhodes in the distance. At the very front of the deck he noticed the figure of a delicate old woman leaning against the rail into the breeze. He sighed, walked up to Cesaria and rested his hands on the rail. “Eiste se megalo pono.”
     Cesaria looked up. “Yes, but the pain is subsiding.”
     Buck looked at the burning city. “I’m sorry about the riots. I’m sorry we couldn’t land in Rhodes. I’m sorry you couldn’t see your family.”
     Cesaria sighed. “My heart broke for a moment but we’ve had our hearts broken before and survived, haven’t we, Buck?”
     “Damn straight, your honor.”, smiled Buck.
     Cesaria took a deep breath. “I take refuge in music, Buck. Do you?”
     “I do, your honor.”
     Cesaria turned back into the wind. “You know Buck, I’m very fond of Tchaikovsky.”
     “Who ain’t, your honor?”
     Cesaria shivered. “I had cancer.”
     Buck sighed. “I done a lot of killin’ in Nam.”
     She ran her fingers through her hair. “I had a room on the fifth floor of the hospital. One night when I was very sick from the chemo and high on marijuana brownies to ease the pain, I was listening to the 1812 Overture when suddenly a pair of falcons landed on the ledge outside the window.”
     “My sergeant used to go through the pockets of the dead gooks after a fire fight lookin’ for pictures of their women. He told me he’d make a little pile of ‘em and burn ‘em.”
     Cesaria patted Buck’s arm. “That’s not so good.”
     “Not so good but not so bad as what some of the grunts collected.”
     “Scalps?”
     “Scalps, ears, noses, fingers, dicks.”  
     Cesaria pulled her shawl tight around her shoulders and shuddered. “To plunder, to slaughter, to steal, these are things they misname empire; and where they make a wilderness, they call it empire. Tacitus said that two thousand years ago.”
    Buck shook his shoulders and groaned. “When you see a GI’s head liquidate in midair right next to you, everythin’ changes. If you was lucky, you didn’t know him too well. If you wasn’t, you did.”
    Cesaria looked at Buck and offered a comforting smile. “Do you remember how the prelude offers all the themes of the overture in such a wonderful way and then thunders up before wandering away?”
     “Wanderin’ away across the endless rollin’ steppes.”, said Buck quietly.
     Cesaria placed her hand on Buck’s. “I was listening to that part of the overture when the falcons settled down. Were you lucky? No retribution. No Scalps. No Mai Lai?”
     “Yer honor, Mai Lai was an exception.”
     “An exception of GIs gone mad?”
     “Of GI's got caught. Panicked young kids high as kites not knowin’ who’s gonna kill ‘em or who’s gonna fuck ‘em for a couple of bucks or both, full of hate for the thugs that put ‘em there, of disgust with themselves for bein’ helpless saps on their way to hell, them kids are gonna snap, snap all the time and they did.”
     “And were you one of those kids, Buck?”
     “I still am, your honor.”
     Cesaria’s fingers wrapped around one of Buck’s. “Close to ten years in Vietnam and what did we learn?”
     Buck shook his head. “The bastards that run our country learned to wait a generation so’s they could have a new batch of innocent flesh to smear across the battle field. These kids today are facin’ the same thing I did. ‘Hearts and minds‘. LBJ couldn’t stop sayin’ it in Nam, and Dubya couldn’t stop sayin’ it in Iraq, and Obama can’t stop sayin’ it in Afghanistan. ‘Nation Buildin’.’ That’s another sack of shit they just can’t get enough of. It’s the same fuckin’ war over and over again. If I could get my hands around the neck of just one of them bastards, they’d go real slow.”
     Cesaria sighed and looked at the horizon. “And just as the theme wanders away, the overture erupts and swirls and pounds.”
     “But then there’s a calm.”
     Cesaria let loose of Buck’s finger. “Yes there is.”
     “And what did the falcons do?”
     Cesaria crossed her arms across her breasts. “They turned and looked at me.”
     “Before the cannons and the bells?”
     “Before the cannons and the bells.”
     “And then?”
     Cesaria smiled gloriously. “And then there was Tchaikovsky!”
     “Amen, your honor. Amen.”
     And the island of Rhodes boiled and burned as it shrunk into the horizon.
  
   PARLOR GAMES

   Dan woke in pitch black. He was sitting up leaning against a wall. He felt Lucia’s head on his lap. She stirred. Ah, filthy love. He heard her catch her breath. He reached down and put my hand over her mouth. He felt her hand on his. He heard her giggle. He heard myself say I love you. He reached for the door and cracked it open. The hallway was empty. Now was their chance. They went for it. They made their way down the corridor like a couple of clowns, pulling at their clothes and patting their hair all the while glancing around guiltily.
    Dan looked at his watch. It was eleven thirty. Lucia insisted on a quick freshening up. She straightened his collar, brushed her fingers through his hair, ordered him to the dining room to hold a table and hurried off to her suite. H opened a door onto the deck. He was on the bow. He was alone. Storm clouds were building on the horizon. The ship was churning into a heavy mist. A gust of wind blew through him and he was suddenly free. He stared into the oncoming storm and felt his fluttering life lift from his shoulders and dance away in the wind. There is nothing like sailing into your future at the bow of a ship headed into a gale, nothing. The ship’s horn blared.
    The dining room was practically empty when Dan walked in. There wasn’t a veteran of the Greek revolution in sight. He asked the waiter for a table for eleven and apologized for not making arrangements with the dining room captain. He sat at the table, realized he was missing his baton and asked the waiter for a double scotch on the rocks. He ordered wine for the table, a double I. W. Harper’s for Buck, Wild Turkey and water for Gladys, Beefeater and tonic for Lucia and John, Stoli stingers for Sally and Nadine, Ketel one on the rocks for Bob, a Maker’s Mark Manhattan up for Cesaria, twist, no bitters, and Barbayannis for Courtney and Justin. He carefully described each victim to the waiter and asked that their drinks be served as soon as they arrived. He sat at the table alone, clutching my drink in his hands and waiting for the curtain to rise.
    He didn’t wait long. A cacophony of chatter and laughter burst into the dining room like a round of applause. Gladys and Nadine led the charge. They had completely refitted themselves. Sun hats had turned into jaunty polo caps, sun dresses into mid day pant suits. Pearls had grown larger, diamonds had brightened. Eyeliner had darkened, lipstick crisped. Both of them offered Dan a royal wave. They drifted in on their self inflated barge nodding their heads at non existent sycophants and smiling grandly at audiences long gone. Lucia’s raging red hair flowed over a low cut blouse tucked into skin tight shorts. John was at her side. A screaming Hawaiian shirt open to his navel boiled out of an even tighter pair of shorts. Sally wore a shapeless dress stained with such a frightening array of polka dots and stripes, she looked like an illustration out of a text book of tropical diseases. The same terrifying smile was pasted on her face as she gesticulated spasmodically at her husband decked out in brown nylon shorts and a mangled American flag tee shirt. His eyes were glazed, his smile wide as he babbled at Courtney through bleached teeth. Courtney was wearing a strapless red dress that complimented Cesaria’s saffron sari. Cesaria seemed to have recovered as she engaged in an intense parlay with Courtney. The carefree look on Justin’s face was as surprising as his own wide open Hawaiian shirt. He shadowed Buck lumbering along dressed down in Greek linen. Dan raised his drink to his lips and took a swig as the tide of American lunacy swept toward him.
    Nadine hovered over him like a dark Djinn. “Daniel, my dear. Here we are at the head of the pack. I call them my entourage. Gladys calls them hangers on. All I can say is my glass is half full.”
    Lucia swept around Gladys and Nadine and sat next to Dan. “Daniel, isn’t it amazing we all showed up at the same time? I saw Buck and Cesaria walking along the deck and as we approached the dining room, everyone fell into place like some sort of procession!”
     “It reminded me of The Music Man!”, giggled Sally. “You know, when everyone joins the parade? My high school put on The Music Man and I was in it!”
     John sat next to Lucia and patted his hands on the table. “Well here we all are together and I didn’t have anything to do with it. I fell asleep in my cabin and woke up just in time for lunch. On the way, I ran into Justin and Courtney dressed like a couple of missionaries. There was no way I was going to have lunch with a fashion catastrophe so we had a little tete a tete and voila!”
     Cesaria was standing behind Dan. Before taking a seat, she put her hands on his shoulders and leaned down to his ear. “Dan, I am recovered as much as I’ll ever be and I have been thinking about you. You have intrigued me since we first met. We will get to know each other more.”
     Buck dropped down on the other side of him and looked around. “This little play time will be over sooner than later. It’ll be a real trip if the storm hits in the middle of lunch.”
     Justin planted himself next to Buck. “Storm? Sally’s doctor said there were no storms this time of year in Greece.”
     Courtney sat next to her husband. “What do you think?”, she asked the table. “We were walking along and John had a fit. I had to put on my best dress and Justin had to try on one of John’s shirts. He insisted we dress properly for what he called ‘The Performance’.”
     Bob crashed down next to Courtney. “I think that was an awesome idea!”
     Sally shuffled her petri dish and lowered herself down next to her husband. “I think John has the right idea! The veteran’s lunch is what this is! The veteran’s lunch! The veteran’s lunch!”
     Gladys and Nadine billowed into the last seats at the table. Gladys surveyed the crowd and nodded. “I feel a storm coming on. That calls for cocktails.”
     Sally’s eyes remained wild, even with a frown. “What is this about bad weather from everyone? My doctor said the weather is beautiful this time of year in the Mediterranean.”
     “Wow, a medical Doctor and a meteorologist. Sounds like something out of a soap opera.”, laughed John. “What’s his name, Dr. Lance Storm?”
     Sally gave John an irritated glance then turned to the table. “I was just thinking about our adventure yesterday and how wonderful it was how we all came together to chase those trouble makers off the bus.”
     “And how we all got together to charge through the riots!”, exclaimed Courtney. “All we did was argue all day with each other -”
     Bob offered Courtney a toothy grin. “But when it got down to brass tacks, we all pulled together and got back safe to the ship.”
     “I think we had a lovely morning this morning getting to know each other more.”, said
Courtney. “Except for poor Cesaria here.” She offered Cesaria a consoling smile. “I’m so sorry, Cesaria.”
     Cesaria shook her head. “There is no need, my dear. I will get back to them. Why Gladys and Nadine have suggested I fly out of Thira or at least Athens when the cruise is over.”
     “Them two are always thinkin’ about others.”, smiled Buck. “Ain’t ya, dolls?”
     “We’re way too old and over the hill to waste our time on ourselves.”, tittered Nadine. “There comes a time in life when you realize the world doesn’t revolve around you anymore.”
     Gladys smiled at Buck. “Very funny, big man but you might be surprised to find we’re not the poisonous plutocrats you make us out to be. John has apologized for his prickly humor and we have graciously admitted that we can be thin skinned at times.”
     John beamed and offered up two crossed fingers. “That’s right! The Marquesas and me are like this.”
     “Two dirty fingers?”, asked Buck.
     “Oooh!”, smirked John. “A bitchy crack out of the big man. Or should I say snarky. Straight guys are never bitchy, are they? They’re snarky.” He smiled smugly at the table. “You know it’s just amazing how every one seemed to naturally congregate at lunch. Dan, Lucia and I had a plan to get every one together but we didn’t even need it.”
     Cesaria touched John’s shoulder. “What was your plan, John?”
     “Well, we knew we would most likely be interrogated by someone when we reached Santorini - the local police, FBI, the Secret Service, the CIA, Interpol, hell, I don’t know. Anyway, we thought it might be a good idea to get our stories straight.”
     An uncomfortable silence descended on the table. Every one looked around at a loss for words.
     “Well, I guess I stepped in it. “, said John. “I mean, we were the only witnesses to the death of a candidate for president of the United States. We’re gonna get grilled. There’s no question about that.”
     Gladys was carefully unfolding her napkin and spreading it on her lap. “Grilled?”, she asked nonchalantly. “We went through an earthquake. We could have been killed ourselves.”
     “Well we almost were!”, panted Nadine. “We were just a few feet from them!”
     “Oh, they’ll be waiting for us, alright. It doesn’t take anything these days to have the dogs turned on you.”, said Dan.
     “It’s not like they were assassinated.”, protested Justin.
     “I’m sure the authorities took one look at what was left of them and that was that.”, said Lucia.
     “But we left.”, whispered Sally. “We didn’t wait for them.”
     “That’s because the tour guide told us to!”, said Courtney.
     “That’s right!”, said Nadine. “It’s that filthy little cannibal’s fault!”
     “All we have to do is tell who ever is asking the questions tomorrow that we were told to go back to the ship by our tour guide”, said Bob. “Case closed.”  
     “Except we told the tour guide that we were on the Argonaut Adventure.”, said Lucia.
     Nadine pointed a finger at Buck. “That’s your fault!”
     “And we didn’t have to face the gauntlet waiting for us at the Argonaut Adventure.”, said Cesaria.
     “But we have to face it tomorrow!”, gasped Nadine.
     “They will have had a chance to cool down.”, said Dan.
     Sally was wringing her hands. “Or get worked up!”
     “No one has to know we said shit.”, said Buck. “Don’t say a fuckin’ thing. They’ll just think the tour guide got it wrong. He’s the one that asked us which ship we were on in the first place. Shit, him and the driver were the only people who knew we were there. With all the shit that came down yesterday on Crete, it’ll take ‘em awhile to figure it all out, if they ever do.”
     Nadine’s eyes flew open. “Buck is right! We went through an earthquake and riots and tear gas. I can hardly remember any of it!”
     Sally was breathing easier. “What can they expect of us? We’re just tourists. They should feel sorry for us.”
     “I’m sure they will.”, Dan said reassuringly as he stole a glance at Buck

      “Of course they will.”, smiled Cesaria. “Everything is going to be just fine.”
     Gladys took a sip of her drink and smiled wickedly at Cesaria. “You’re the one who spoke to that bus driver in Greek. God knows what you really said.”
     “And I’m not in the least bit worried what anyone is going to ask me about yesterday, if anyone asks at all.”, said Cesaria. “Does that make every one happy?”
     “It’s simple.”, said Dan. “It’s easy. The guide told us to take the bus back to the ship. We got stopped in a riot and made our way back through the riot to the ship. That’s all we have to say. Period. Are we all in then?”
     "I’m cool with that.”, said Justin.
     “Atta boy.”, Buck grunted.
     “Awesome.”, said Courtney.
     “Awesome!”, gasped Sally.
     Nadine gave Buck a lingering look. “If that’s what Buck wants, that’s what I want.”  
     Lucia put down her fork and smiled at Buck. “If that’s what Buck wants, that’s what everybody wants.”
     Dan stared at Gladys. She crossed her arms, rolled her eyes and nodded.
     “We’re good then.”, said Bob.
     John raised his glass. “One for all and all for one.”
     Cesaria pulled at her sari. “One big happy family.”
     A waiter appeared with a large tray of cocktails. He gracefully lowered each drink in front of each of us. Every one seemed to let loose a sigh of relief. “I took the liberty of jump starting the lunch.”, I said. “The wine will arrive with the food.”
     “Bravo, Machiavelli!”, John announced as he raised his glass to me. “Ladies and gentlemen, here’s to the next act.”
     “A vodka stinger!”, tittered Nadine. “Ah, the good old days.” She turned to Gladys.
“Here’s to many more!”
     “Wild Turkey.”, murmured Gladys after tasting her drink. She cast a smile in my direction. “You are an evil man.”
     “Is this that licorice stuff?”, asked John as he took a sip. “Awesome.”
      “I remember this from last night.”, protested Courtney. “I’m not going to drink all day and night.”
     “Oh yes you are.”, countered Gladys. “You are on a cruise. It’s mandatory.”
     “I’ll drink to that, your highness.”, grunted Buck as he took a swallow. “Ah sweet, sweet whiskey.”
     Cesaria admired the stem full of golden orange liquor in her hand. “Snezhana has worked her magic.

     Dan raised his glass. “Here’s to Thira and Santorini.” Every one followed suit. “Now I want a promise from every one. I want every one to meet tomorrow at noon at the cafe I mentioned earlier, the one that has the sudden drop to the sea. It’s called Skliri Agapi.”
    “How the hell am I supposed to remember that?”, demanded Gladys. “What’s it mean in English?”
    Cesaria gave me a knowing smile. “Skliri Agapi. Cafe Cruel love. I know of it.”
     Dan offered Lucia a smug smile. "A beautiful cafe in a shining city on a hill." He raised his glass again. “Come on every one. Raise your glass if you promise.” Glasses raised all around.
    The waiter returned with several small plates full of delicacies, spread them around the table and placed a menu in each of our hands. “What’s this?”, asked Bob.
     “Mezes.”, said Lucia. “Greek hors d’oeuvres to counter the booze, especially the ouzo.” She gave Justin and Courtney a concerned look. “It’s ethyl alcohol. You have to have something in your stomach or , well -”
     “Yes.”, sighed Courtney. “I know. I remember you ordered the most delicious soup last night. I could use some soup right now. Any suggestions?”
     Lucia smiled sheepishly and looked at the menu. Her face lit up. “Fakes! Fakes is perfect for a - um, a hangover. I know I could use some. It’s simple lentil soup served with a little vinegar and Feta cheese. The tang of the vinegar and the salt of the Feta is wonderful.” She gave the waiter a dazzling smile. “Fakes, please.”
     “Oh, that does sound good.”, said Courtney. She turned to the waiter. “Fakes for me too.”
     “It has been a long time since I had Fakes.”, sighed Cesaria as she nodded to the waiter.   “Kaliope and Amaltheia had a great rivalry for who made the best -”
     “Lentils?”, squawked Sally. “As in beans? Oh no, no, no. Beans give Bob gas.”
     Bob gave his wife a withering look. “I'll have the Gigindes - Gigandes -”
     “Gigandes Plake?”, asked the waiter.
     “That’s it.”, said Bob.
     John shook his head. “Poor Bob. I’ll have the Fakes. Does any one else suffer from gas?”
     “I’ve always liked lentil soup but for some reason that’s the last thing I want for lunch.”, snorted Gladys. She waived the menu at the waiter. “I’ll have the Kefalonian Kreatopita.”
     “What in the world is that?”, demanded Sally as her eyes darted over the menu. “Oh here it is. Meat pie. Yes, yes, I’ll have the Kefa - whatever you call it.” She tugged at Bob’s shirt. “What did you order, honey?”
     “Gigandes Plake is a wonderful vegetarian dish.”, Dan offered. “It’s got tomatoes and peppers and spices and beans, lots of beans.”
     “Ha, ha, ha!”, scoffed Sally. “Aren’t you the card. The last thing Bob would order would be -”, she caught her breath and gave Bob a startled look.
     “Oh my!”, squealed Nadine. “Ratatouille! I’ll have Ratatouille.”
     “I thought that was a French dish.”, said Justin. “Where do you see that?”
     “Briam.”, said Buck. “Greek ratatouille,” He opened the menu to Justin and pointed then looked up at the waiter. “Give me the Ameletita.”
     “What’s that?”, asked Justin as he searched the menu.
     “Lamb’s balls.” Buck grunted.
     Justin gave a jump. “Lamb’s balls? You’ve got to be - oh, here it is. Lamb’s testicles. What the hell. I’ll try anything once.” He handed the waiter his menu.
     John smiled. “Yes you will. Then again and then again.”
     Justin gave John a quizzical look then turned to me. “What are you gonna have, Dan?”
    Dan offered his menu up. “I’ll have the Bekri Meze, please.” The waiter nodded and turned.
     “What’s that?”, asked Justin.
     “Drunkard’s snack.”, smiled Cesaria.
     John raised his glass and looked at me. “Act II, scene I. Enter a drunkard. He saunters to center stage and addresses the audience.” Dan gave him a quisical look. John raised his eyebrows and motioned with his head. Dan frowned. John returned an exasperated look, put down his drink and lifted his palms up.
     Dan smiled a wicked smile. “I have to calm down. I can’t have another episode like the one in the elevator today. I got on and a young woman followed with a horrible little dog. Everybody in the city has a dog these days. What the hell is the matter with them? Don’t they have something better to do with their time like go to parties or screw or dance or sing? All they do is walk the dog. How are they going to feel when they’re old and look back at their youth full of horrible little animals that do nothing but whine and howl and shit? There are plastic bags full of dog shit everywhere you go now lining the gutters, overflowing the garbage cans, piled in the corners of doorways. When archeologists sift through the detritus of the 21st century they will find millions and millions of little plastic bags full of dog shit and look back in horror. The dog in the elevator started barking at me. ‘Oh, fluffy. Stop barking at the nice man.’, pleaded the woman. The dog barked louder, working his way into a fury. I looked down and said ‘Now fluffy. I’ve had enough of your barking. Your going to have to stop.' But Fluffy barked louder and faster. ‘Oh, Fluffy.’, the woman wined. ‘Why won’t you listen to mommy?’ Fluffy flew into a snarling fit.  ‘What’s the matter, Fluffy? Can’t you hear?' I said 'Stop barking!’ Fluffy jumped at me and clamped its jaws on my foot. ‘Fluffy!’, shouted the woman. ‘No!’ I reached out and grabbed the mutt by the scruff of the neck. It twisted and jerked trying to free itself. ‘Fluffy! Give Fluffy to me!’, she gasped. I threw the rabid rat into the corner of the elevator. The woman whirled around and bent down to pick up the dog. It leaped at me again. I smacked it out of the air. It landed at its owner's feet in a heap. ‘Oh my God, Fluffy! What have you done to Fluffy, you asshole?’ She scooped up the dog and lunged at me. ‘I’ll report you to the police! I’ll sue you into bankruptcy! If my boyfriend ever sets eyes on you he’ll beat you bloody!’ The elevator came to a stop and the gate opened. The woman looked into the dog’s eyes. ‘Come on, Fluffy. Let’s go home and figure out how to make sure this lunatic never harms another innocent little dog again.’ As she stomped out of the elevator, the dog peed all over her arms.”
     Everyone was staring at him. Silence reigned supreme. A few bits of conversation from other tables drifted in and out. Buck smiled.
     “That was quite a rant.”, said Cesaria. “Do you dislike dogs?”
     “I am uncomfortable with every one under thirty owning one. Some own two, three, whole families.”
     “Maybe they’re lonely.”, said Nadine.
     “Then why don’t they have children?", asked Dan.
     “Maybe they can’t afford to.”, frowned Courtney.
     Cesaria looked at Dan intensely. “Did that actually happen to you?”
     “The world is going to hell in a hand basket and people buy little dogs.”, Dan grumbled.
     Sally shook her head condescendingly. “So it’s better to party all night and get drunk than stay home with a loving pet?”
     “I’d rather battle a hangover in the morning than pick up dog shit.”, frowned Dan.
     “That’s quite obvious when you can flippantly fantasize about attacking an innocent little dog.”, said Sally more to the table than to me. “Or did you really hit some poor little dog?”
     Dan smiled. “I was disgusted by a snarling, inbred, brain dead, freak who exists solely for the pleasure of some other snarling, inbred, brain dead freak.”
     Lucia took Dan's hand and looked into his eyes. “I think it’s sweet that all these young people have dogs. It’s a kinder, gentler world than when we were that age.”
     “A kinder, gentler world?”, Dan asked incredulously.
     Cesaria shook her head. “All this anger, all this rage, where is it coming from, Dan?”
     John’s eyes flashed. “When my husband Charlie and I were driving through the Southwest almost twenty years ago we checked out this antique store in Albuquerque. As we wandered to the back of a store a voice boomed out. ‘Where are you guys from?’ The owner was behind a large desk. He had his hands behind his head and his feet up on the desk. When we told him were from San Diego, he laughed and said he once had a store there but gave it up to come back to his home town but he found out that Thomas Wolfe was right - you can’t go home again. He told us he and his partner had a neighbor, an old lady with a horrible little dog that barked day and night. They had tried everything with the old woman, pleas, bribes, threats but nothing worked. Finally they called the cops and the cops gave the woman a good dressing down. The next day they noticed the women leaning on the fence between their two properties smoking a cigarette and staring at them. She said ‘I know who called the cops on fluffy. It was you fags that called the cops on Fluffy. Don’t you think I don’t know what you two fags are doing over there night after night. You’re stretching each other’s assholes. That’s what you’re doing.' "
    There was another long pause. A swell lifted the ship up and gently set her down. She steamed on.  Lucia smiled and raised her glass. “How many remember their first time in Paris? OK, dumb question. I was eighteen with an over loaded backpack and an over stimulated girlfriend. She had been babbling about her first day in Paris since we boarded the plane to Europe. It was late at night when the train from London pulled into Paris. We managed to find a cheap room in a five story walk up, fall into our beds and pass out. The next morning, my traveling companion was still exhausted and refused to get out of bed so it would be just me and Paris. I noticed French doors in the room I hadn’t seen the night before. I opened them and there, right across the street towering over me glowing with the dawn was the dome of the Pantheon. I had arrived. My first promenade down Le Boule Miche was heaven. I stared up at the plane trees above me hardly believing I was actually there. The next day, my friend had recovered and we went straight to Versailles.” Lucia paused and looked at me. “When Daniel and I first met, he mentioned Marie Antoinette’s Petit Hameau, the little village she had built so she and her ladies in waiting could play peasants. When I first saw it, I was completely overwhelmed with deja vu.”, she tossed a sweet smile in my direction. “I have never before or since experienced anything like it. I knew every cottage, every pathway. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I finally walked some distance away and just stared at Mary Antoinette’s little fantasy framed by a brilliant blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds.”
     “What a cool story.”, said Courtney. “We’re going to Paris someday.”
     “Fluffy! I used to be called Fluffy in high school! Jesus Christ! I haven’t thought of that in years!” Everyone turned to Bob. He sat wide eyed clutching his drink.
     “Oh, honey.”, tutted Sally. “I don't think -”
     “I was fat and I had curly hair!”, blurted Bob. “Fluffy Bartlet!” He looked around and smiled nervously. “Well I’ll be damned. Back to the future or something.”
     Lucia leaned forward and patted Bob’s hand. “Every one was tortured in high school.”
     “I don’t think you were.”, he shot. He tried to collect himself and smiled. “I remember one of the worst bullies. He would follow me down the hall. ‘Fluffy Bartlet, fatty Bartlet, fag Bartlet.’ I would just ignore him. ‘Here comes Fluffy the fag!’ It went on for months.”
     John rolled his eyes. “You poor dear. It must have been horrible for you.”
     “Then one afternoon I was walking to my locker and he was walking down the hall toward me. ‘Hey look who’s mincing down the hall. It’s that fag, Fluffy Bartlet!’ The bully swaggered up to me with a shit eating grin on his face. And then it happened. I snapped. I walked right up to him, slammed his head against a locker and said ‘If you even so much as look at me again, I’ll beat the shit out of you!’ He was paralyzed with shock. His eyes were as big as pancakes. No one ever called me Fluffy again.”
     Nadine turned her vodka stinger in her hand. “Isn’t that a lovely story. Has any one ever had a Fluffy Duck ? I used to drink oodles of them at lunch. It’s orange juice and orange liquor and rum and Advocatt, that’s that custardy liquor, and cream topped with an orange slice and a maraschino cherry."
     “What the hell is going on here?”, snapped Gladys. “Fluffy this and fluffy that. I’m not the least bit interested in parlor games. Don’t you think we could spend our luncheon conversation on something more adult?”
     Buck leaned over to Lucia and leered. “How ‘bout you and me talk about somethin’ adult?”
     Lucia smiled demurely. “Thank you, Buck but I’m afraid my dance card is full.”
     Buck looked her up and down then looked at me. “I ain't interested in dancin', Doll. Tell me about them private prisons. Tell me some facts, Doll. Tell me some figures. Somethin’ tells me you got a head full of ‘em.”
    Lucia offered a conspiratorial smile. “Two firms dominate the industry. Correction Corporation of America has sixty six facilities, 91,000 beds and had 1.7 billion revenue in 2011. Executive compensation that same year was 3.7 million. In the last ten years the company spent 17.4 million in lobbying and 1.9 million in political contributions. The Geo Group Inc has sixty five facilities, 65,700 beds and had 1.6 billion in revenue in 2011. In 2011, their CEO got 5.7 million in compensation. In ten years, the company spent 2.5 million on lobbying and 2.9 million in political contributions. The number of prisoners between 2002 and 2009 increased thirty seven percent. Half of Louisiana’s inmates are in private prisons and half of all immigrant prisoners in the country.”
     Justin was taken aback. “How is that you know so much about -?”
     “She made a fortune in the private prison industry.”, Dan muttered.
     “How is that you can remember all those figures?”, asked Bob.
     “She’s fluent in Shakespeare too.”
     Lucia smiled proudly. “There were 604,201 arrests for marijuana so far this year alone, 87% for possession. That’s about one every forty two seconds. Just think about it.”
    "Just think about what?”, asked Justin.
     “The new American work force.”, Dan muttered. “Slave labor.”
     Buck frowned darkly. “In some parts of the country if you're convicted of a misdemeanor like a traffic ticket and you can’t pay the fine, they throw you in jail then charge you a fee for every day you're there. If you're poor and can’t pay, your fines keep pilin’ up and you soon find yourself in jail for debt with no way out.”
     “Ah, fees.”, said Cesaria quietly. “They’ve taken their cue from the banks. Fees and fines and interest and penalties, before you know it you’re enslaved behind bars in a debtor’s prison. Debtor’s prison, one of the reasons we fought the Revolutionary War.”
     Gladys was staring at her drink as she set it down on the table. “I’m surprised that one of you liberals didn’t bring a pulpit to the table. I haven’t experienced so much hand wringing and heard so many dire pronouncements and holier than thou proclamations since Jimmy Carter was president. Why don’t you all grow up? People go to prison because they break the law. Banks have to make money just like any other business which, now brace yourselves because this is going to come as a shock, exists to make money. In order to make money in the Free Market, you have to compete and in order to compete you have to be efficient which government is far from. You liberals think you’re progressive but a progressive thinker realizes that privatizing government improves government.”
     “Bankers break the law and they don’t go to prison.”, said Courtney.
     Another swell lifted the ship higher and set her down not so gently. Sally had a confused
look on her face. “Please, every one. We’re on vacation. Oh look! Here’s our food!” A warm smile spread across her face as she watched with admiration and curiosity as each plate was placed on the table. She oohed and aahed when her meat pie appeared in front of her and choked at the plate of beans and vegetables lowered in front of Bob. “Bob!”, she gasped. “Don’t be silly!” Another wave lifted the ship as Bob dug into his lunch.
    Gladys watched the waiter pour the wine. “Well it looks like we’re in for a little weather after all. Good thing I don’t get sea sick.”  
     “We are not going to have any weather and no one is going to get sea sick.”, said Sally firmly as her eyes fell on the last two plates placed in front of Buck and Justin. “What in the world is that?”
     “Lamb’s testicles.”, announced Justin as he gingerly prodded a wiggly pile with a fork.
     “Oh, I heard you two joking around earlier.”, scoffed Sally with a hint of fear in her voice. “Now, come on, what is it really?” 
     The ship listed slightly then righted herself. “We weren’t kiddin’ around, Doll. The Greeks in Cyprus grill ‘em over coals. See how they’re kinda crunchy on the outside but they have that slippery feelin’ when you cut into ‘em?”
     Justin took a deep breath and rammed a fork full into his mouth. His eyes widened in surprise. One eyebrow raised as he began to chew. His face relaxed and he smiled. “Not bad. Not bad at all.”
     “Atta boy.”, grunted Buck as he poured himself another glass of wine. “Good choice of wine, Dan.”
     A gust of wind tossed spray on the window next to the table. “Oh, goodness!”, sighed Nadine. “The Ratatouille is divine.”
     Justin swallowed a mouth full of balls, put down his knife and fork and looked at Buck. “What other kind of music do you like besides Bach?”
     “All kinda music, son.”, said Buck over a mouth full of testicles.
     Justin picked up his fork. “Like ethnic music and opera and salsa and jazz?”
     “Yup.” 
     Justin smiled conspiratorially. “And rap?”
     “When they’re rappin’ about what’s pissin’ me off.”, nodded Buck.
     “Awesome. What about punk rock?”, pushed Justin. “I really got into punk rock when I was in high school.”
     “It’s pop.”, said Buck. “Angry pop. I like that.”
     “Oh my God! Oh my God! I don’t believe it!”, gasped Courtney. Every one looked at her. “I loved punk in high school and you’ll never believe what my favorite girl band from the UK was called! Fluffy!”
     “Get outa here.”, said John.
     “I swear!”, said Courtney. “A London girl band around ‘95, ‘97.” She pointed to John and smiled. “And, oh my God! They were inspired by a singer in a gay cafe in London on -”
     “Not Old Compton Street.”, frowned John.
     “On Old Compton Street!”, gasped Courtney. “Oh my God!”
     “What the hell is the matter with you, young lady?”, asked Gladys between bites of meat pie.
     “It’s just so awesome that every one was talking about fluffy things and I remembered the band Fluffy and they were inspired by a gay café singer and John is gay, not that that matters.” Courtney turned to Justin. “My favorite song was ‘Husband’! Oh my God! It was awesome! ‘He doesn’t like the color of your hair when you put it back in your underwear. He thinks you look fat in that dress. The truth is he doesn’t want you to effervesce.’ I used to obsess over that band!”
     Nadine delicately wiped a bit of ratatouille from the corner of her mouth. “I’m with you there, dear. Men can be such jerks.”
    “Not all men are jerks are they, darlin’?”, asked Buck with a seductive grin.
     “Certainly not!”, gulped Nadine. “Some men are divine.”
     Cesaria plucked at her sari. “Love is divine. Love is what life is worth living for.”
     “Oh love, love!”, waxed Nadine. “Where would the world be with out love? Why look at all the love birds here at this table: young love, new love, tried and true love, and goodness knows what else could pop up any time.” She batted her eyes at Buck. “After all, we are on a romantic cruise in the middle of paradise.”
     With a sudden jolt the ship was lifted by a wave and slammed down. The dishes and glasses jumped on the table. Dan looked a Lucia. “Your meticulous statistics on the private prison industry were unsettling, Miss Antoinette. Are you sure you had nothing to do with your ex husband’s business?”
     John’s eyebrows arched. “Miss Antoinette? That sounds like something I’d say. Where did that come from?”
     Bob swallowed a mouthful of beans. “She knew that fake farm at Versailles by heart. Don’t you remember?”
     John frowned at Bob. “ Yes, I remember. Of course I remember but I don’t think that had anything to do with -”
     “Where did you ever get that idea, Daniel?”, asked Gladys. “Lucia and her husband were a business dynamo if ever there was one.” She looked fondly at Lucia. “Too bad he had to stray, my dear. The money was just pouring in. Oh well, all good things must come to an end and you’re doing quite well for yourself at the moment.”
     Dan frowned at Lucia. “There seems to be a discrepancy.”
     Lucia looked exasperated. "I did work with my husband and we made a lot of money. I did start to think about it. I was confused. I didn’t know how confused I was until I met you, Daniel, until I told you about it at dinner.”
     Gladys’ eyebrows lifted. “Confused? Confused about what, Lucia?”
     Sally rolled her eyes. “So she worked for her husband. Honestly, Dan, what’s the big deal?”
     Buck looked out the window at the enclosing clouds then looked at Lucia. “It takes a cold heart to make money outa other people’s misery, but then again, you ain’t alone, doll. You're in good company with a whole lotta others these days. What the hell. You gotta make a buck some how.”
     Gladys swirled the ice cubes in her glass and smiled through her teeth at Buck. “You know, big man, with all your knowledge and concern for what you think is going wrong in America and how the little guy is being screwed, I can’t for the life of me wonder what you’re doing on a cruise instead of organizing a union somewhere or marching in a protest. Lambs testicles, indeed. What are you, an actor?” She gave Dan a condescending look. “The same goes for you, Mr. Hedge Fund. That hallucinogenic raving about attacking some stranger’s dog hardly puts you in a position to question Lucia’s professional life. And here you are cruising along with the rest of us proudly spouting your seemingly fathomless knowledge about the terrible state of affairs in our great country. Why aren’t you back home feeding the unemployed in your restaurant, or do you really have a restaurant?” She followed through with a dismissive nod at Cesaria. “And moaning and groaning about the down trodden dressed in a sari sitting at a fine lunch on a cruise doesn’t do much for your image either.”
     A wave hit the ship. She shuddered. John stared at Gladys amazed. “My God, you’re dangerous. You’re not a drag queen are you?”
     “How dare you!”, shot Gladys.
     “Careful, John.”, smiled Bob. “She bites.”    
     “She’s really not mean.”, Courtney protested. “Gladys and Nadine are going to find my husband and I work in London.” She gave Nadine a pleading look. “Aren’t you?”
     Nadine toyed nervously with the vegetables on her plate. “Of course we are, dear. Well, I mean we’ll make some calls when we get back home.”
     “Get back home?”, asked Justin. “But you can call from the ship. You can use my cell phone.”
     Gladys turned to Justin and rolled her eyes. “You don’t think we travel with an international telephone directory, do you? We will make some calls to some of our contacts in London when we return home, all in good time.”
     Courtney was wide eyed. “But we don’t have ‘good time’! We’re not going home! We’re flying from Athens to London when the cruise is over!”
     Cesaria was finishing the last spoon full of her soup. She did not look up. “Why are you so caustic, Gladys? Buck is a war veteran. Dan is having trouble with his business in the recession and I am just a little old lady with osteoporosis. I’m getting the impression that you despise yourself.”
     “A veteran?”, Dan asked incredulously. “But I thought you got out of the draft.”
     Buck looked down at his plate. “Sorry, Dan. It’s a dirty secret. The foot doctor didn’t buy the shoes.”
     Bob gave Buck a fraternal smile. “What are you sorry about, buddy. There’s no shame in serving your country.”
     “So you were a soldier after all.”, smiled John warmly. “And too self effacing to admit it.”  
     Gladys cast a haughty look at Cesaria. “Despise myself? You’ve got to be kidding me. I’m actually very fond of myself. I think you should be worrying about some of the other people at this table. Why on earth would any one want to hide the fact that they served their country?”
     “You’re a soldier?”, gasped Nadine. “Why didn’t you tell me? You’re an officer aren’t you? Were you in Korea? Vietnam? Laos? Cambodia? The liberation of the Dominican Republic? The liberation of  Panama? The liberation of Lebanon? Grenada? Somalia? Bosina? Kososvo? The Gulf War? Afghanistan? Iraq? It must have been horrible for you! Were you wounded?. How many medals do you -”
     Buck’s eyebrows arched. “You got a head full of wars, darlin’. How’s that?”
     Nadine blushed. “My late husband, God rest his soul was a great patriot. He was an expert on America’s struggle against tyranny in the world. He was familiar in great detail with every conflict.”
     “Did he fight in any of them?”, asked Justin.
     Dan pushed his chair back from the table and looked at Lucia. “Everybody’s stories change daily including yours. Who are you?”
     Lucia picked up her napkin from her lap and placed it on the table. “What difference does it make? Who are you? How many times have we already asked that question?”
     “Why are you two fighting?”, asked Courtney. “You’re perfect for each other and now you’re fighting.”
     Bob gave Courtney a nudge and winked. “Oh they won’t be fighting for long. You should have seen them in the dining room the other night and before that in a cafe on the first island we were on.”
     “He’s a Montague.”, smiled John. “And she’s a Capulet.”
     “A perfect metaphor!”, Dan shot. “Fighting to the death for no reason, and aren’t we all Montagues and Capulets, the people at this table, the citizens of our country snarling and spitting at each other as our country comes down around our ears?”
     Sally wagged a finger at him. “Oh for goodness sake, Dan. You’re going to worry your self into a heart attack. You don’t like what the corporations and the banks are doing. You don’t like what the democrats and President Obama is doing.”
     “Now, now.”, cooed Nadine. “They’re not fighting. They’re just getting to know each other.” She turned to Lucia and Dan. “I’ll have no squabbling from the two of you. Daniel, I think you are reaching above your station with that holier than thou routine. Every one has to make a living some how.”
     “My husband and I have to make a living and you are going to get us jobs in London like you promised.”, said Courtney.
     Gladys took a swig of wine. “I wouldn’t get on your high horse, young lady. You are in no position to give orders to anybody.”
     A look of surprise wilted to an angry scowl on Courtney’s face. “Neither one of you had any intention of helping us, did you?” She looked at the rest of them. “This whole thing is a set up, isn’t it? You all pretend to be so concerned but none of you give a shit about Justin and me. We’re just entertainment to you!” The ship shuddered and dipped. The silverware on the table clattered. The crystal clinked.
     “Oh my God!”, whispered Sally. “I think there’s going to be a storm.”
     John leaned back in his chair and smiled. “What a show. What a glorious show.”
     Courtney shot an angry look at John. “Why did you insist on dressing me and my husband up? Why did he have to wear one of your Hawaiian shirts?”
     “Why do you think he insisted your husband wear one of his ‘colorful’ shirts?”, sniffed Gladys. “Misery loves company.”
     Dan raised his scotch in the air and looked around the table. His eyes settled on Gladys.
“You’re bound and determined to skewer everyone at this table.”
     Buck looked up at the ceiling. “And away we go.”
     Nadine gasped. “Daniel! What a terrible thing to say and we’re having such a lovely lunch."
     Dan looked at Nadine. “Oh can the crap, lady. Am I reaching above my station by having lunch with you? Am I reaching above my station listening to you brag about charging ten percent interest on a loan to a loyal employee so she can bury her father?” He turned back to Gladys.  “I can’t believe I actually sat at lunch and listened to you tell the world that the poor shouldn’t be allowed to vote. Every time one of you would say something so breathtakingly vulgar, I stopped myself from saying anything just to see how the other would top it.”
     “Daniel!”, exclaimed Lucia. “I won’t have you talking to my friends like that!”
     The gentle rocking that had sneaked up on the dining room was now at a full roll. Dan glared at Lucia. “And you, Medusa, the most dangerous Gorgon of all, blithely running your fingers through the pile of snakes on your head.”
     “Such pretty words from an unemployed bartender.”, snarled Lucia.
     “Stop it you two!”, pleaded Sally. “I’m not feeling well.”
     Dan slowly turned to Sally. “And here we have the bleeding heart liberal with three homes. The perfect mouthpiece for the corporate whore in the White House, espousing his hollow magnanimity, blinding herself to his fascist agenda.”
     Lucia look was frigid. “The Fascist communist in the White House!”
     Nadine grabbed the table with both hands. “Fascist communist Bolshevic!”
     Gladys slammed her fist on the table. “Fascist communist Bolshevic Hottentot!”
     “Holy shit!”, gasped John.
     Dan stared at all three of them. “Fancy words dancing around the word you’re thinking but don’t dare say.”
     “Don’t be ridiculous.”, scoffed Gladys. “I don’t have any trouble at all saying the word ni-”
     “Stop it!” Sally threw her hands over her ears.
     “Heavens to Betsy!”, exclaimed Nadine. “What’s the big deal? Since when did it become a crime to state the fact that the White House is now home to a ni- ?”
     “I SAID STOP IT!”, screeched Sally! “Words are weapons and that word causes terrible damage! Don’t you care the slightest for your fellow human beings?” She whirled around. “Bob!”, cried Sally. “Are you gong to just sit there and let these people talk like this to me? They’re trying to say the n-word!” She stood up. “Bob, it’s time for us to go.” Bob let out a long, slow fart. The ship dropped suddenly. Sally threw her hand over her mouth. “I voted for President Obama because he offered me hope! I voted for President Obama because all I had was hope, hope and three reverse mortgages on three homes underwater!” Sally was turning vermillion. She glared at Courtney and Justin. “The banks may have you in their clutches but at least you have your youth! You can do anything! You can even run away! How would you feel if the world was closing in around you and all you had to look forward to was an early grave?” The ship suddenly climbed with a swell. Sally was lifted off her feet then almost knocked off them when the ship settled with a thump. Before she could catch her breath, the ship raced to the top of another swell then sank again. Sally grabbed her stomach and rushed out of the dining room.
     Courtney had lost all the color in her face. “Bob! You aren’t going to just sit there are you?”
     Bob rolled his eyes and stood up. He looked around the dining room. “Honey! Don’t get so upset. Every one just got carried away. Honey!” His shoulders sagged. He turned and followed Sally out of the dining room.
    Courtney spun around in her seat and took Justin’s arm. “Justin! These two old women aren’t going to do anything for us! We must call the UK now! I have to know if there is any chance for us there!”
     “Come on, sweet heart.”, sighed Justin. “We’re having lunch. We have the rest of the cruise to find out. Why spoil everything?”
     Courtney stood up. The ship lurched and she almost lost her balance. “I think every thing is pretty well spoiled already! I have to find out!” She turned on her heels and rushed out.
     Nadine downed a glass of wine. “That young lady is certainly right! Lunch is spoiled thanks to you, Daniel! We have been nothing but kind to you and have accepted you with open arms and how do you repay us? With poisonous insults and disrespect. Come Gladys. Come Lucia. This man is beneath us.”
     The three of them stood and looked down at Dan with regal disdain. IHeglared at them. “My name is Dan, God damn it! Not Daniel, DAN!”
     Lucia began to whimper. Gladys and Nadine put their arms around her, gave Dan a final, hateful look and escorted her out. When the dining room doors closed behind them he turned back to the table in a rage. Buck, Cesaria, Justin and John were staring at him.
     “Is any one sea sick yet?”, asked Cesaria. She began to snicker. Buck snorted. Justin giggled and John guffawed.
     “What a magnificent performansh!”, crowed John. “Fascist communist Bolshevic Hottentot? Oh my God! I think we should have another round!” The waiter returned to the table and began clearing the dishes. “Some of us have begun to feel the weather. The rest of us need something to fortify us. Let’s see. Metaxa sounds about right. Will every one join me? No objections? Fabulous.”
     The dining room was emptying fast. The drinks arrived quickly. The waiter was pale and looked as if he was getting sick. Buck touched his snifter to Dan's “You done it now, Dan. That redhead won’t be putting out for you for awhile especially with them two buzzard’s claws in her.”
     Dan needed some self confidence. He swallowed a mouth full of Metaxa. “We’ll make up sooner than later. God knows where. Maybe in a public toilet or the back of the ships pantry.”
     “I beg your pardon?”, asked Justin as he took a swig and coughed.
     “Don’t tell me you’re one of those perverted couples who like to do it in public places.”, asked John.
     “Come on fellas.”, said Buck. “There’s a lady present.”
     “It just happened.”, I admitted.
     “It did?”, pushed John. “Where?”
      Dan sighed. “A broom closet, a lifeboat.”
     The ship was in full sway. They had to keep hold of their snifters. “Gentlemen.”, said Cesaria. “The weather doesn’t usually affect me but this afternoon, coupled with the direction of this conversation, it just might. Will you excuse me?” Everyone stood. A waiter approached to help her through the dining room but she waived him off.
     The four of them sat down. John looked around then pressed close to me. “A lifeboat? A lifeboat? You’ve got to be kidding me. And I thought we were over the top. You straights are wicked!”
     “Ain’t no difference between the two, pal.”, chuckled Buck. “Fuckin's fuckin’.”
     Justin leaned close to Buck. “Did you ever do it in a public place?”
     Buck took a swig of Metaxa. “Sure, kid.”
     Justin caught his breath. “Where? With who?”
     “It don’t matter, son. Every one’s done it. Don’t tell me you ain’t.”  
     “Courtney would never do that.”, whispered Justin. “She’s very, very -”
     “Vanilla?”, asked John.
     Justin took another gulp. “I think guys should be able to do it when ever and where ever they want. Don’t you, Buck?”
     John was swirling his brandy in his snifter. “Careful, kid. You’re about to jump in without your water wings.”
     Justin turned to John with an irritated look on his face. “Look, what would you know about any of this? This is two dudes talking about babes.”
     A devilish smile lit up John’s face. “No, this is about one dude hitting on another.”
     Justin looked like he’d been slapped. “What the hell are you insinuating?”
     John rolled his eyes. “I’m not insinuating anything. Hell, I don’t blame you. I think this East Texas daddy is hot too. Who wouldn’t?  But I’d be barking up the wrong tree. He’s straight. It ain’t never gonna happen.”
     Justin was red. “That’s not an East Texas accent!”  Small bubbles had appeared in the corners of his mouth. “Barking up the wrong tree? What isn’t ever going to happen? What are you talking about?”
     Buck sighed and patted Justin on the shoulder. “Look, kid. It don’t matter. I’m flattered. Hell, you're a good lookin’ kid. It’s just that I don’t -”
     Justin shot to his feet. His chair fell to the floor behind him. The ship jumped. “Oh my God! No! You’ve got the wrong - you can’t think that I - Where’s my wife? Courtney was so upset and I just let her go! I have to find her! I’m such an ass!” He looked wildly around the room then back to the table. “I have to go!”, and he was gone.
     John smiled. “My work here is done.”
     “The poor kid’s a mess.”, sighed Buck.
     The ship lurched and dipped. Dan finished his Metaxa and looked around the room for a waiter. It was empty. “My God. I think everyone’s sick.”
     “Including me.”, moaned John. “It just hit me.”
     Dan turned around to look at him. He was turning green. “You look bad, John. You better get to your cabin while you still can.”
     As John staggered out, Dan turned to Buck. “It looks like it’s just you and me, kid. Shall we retire to the bar?”
     Buck smiled and finished his drink. “Sure, kid.”
                                                     
  DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

     John had never been sea sick before. He managed to make it to the sink in his cabin, then the toilet. He thought it would be over with when he had emptied his stomach but the ship dipped and swayed and danced and John retched and retched and retched. Oh my God, he thought. Is this going to go on and on? Is this payback for harassing that little closet case? Why do you have to be such a bitch sometimes? He threw himself on the bed and curled up into a fetal position holding his stomach and groaning. What the hell did I come on this cruise for in the first place? For Charlie? For Charlie? He felt a hand stroke the back of his neck. He heard Charlie’s sonorous voice. “What’s the matter, Johnny boy? It’s only a storm. It won’t last forever.” John’s eyes snapped open. He looked around the cabin in a panic. Christ, am I going crazy? Shit, Charlie, where the hell are you? Why did you have to leave me? God I miss you so. If I could just hold you one more time. If I could just wake up one more time in your arms. The room stank of puke. John leaned over the bed and retched. I have to get out, he thought. I’m going to fucking go nuts in here. He pulled himself to his feet and stumbled out the door.
                                                                   *
     “So you ended up in Vietnam after all.”, said Dan as Snezhana set their drinks in front of them.  “Why did you tell me you got out?”
     “I don’t tell nobody about Nam.”, muttered Buck. “I’m sorry I lied to you. I like you. I wanted to keep things clean.”
     Dan swirled the ice in my drink. “You told Cesaria.”
     “She got to me.”, said Buck. “She was in pain and her pain got to my pain.”
     “Misery loves company.”, smiled Dan.
     “We’re all murderin’ animals, Dan.”, Buck said quietly. “And when that animal gets outta your skin, you can spend the rest of your life tryin’ to put it back in and you never will.”
     “I’m sorry I brought it up
     “Don’t be sorry, Dan.”
     "You tried to go to Gaza. What’s in Gaza for you?”
     Buck swallowed a mouth full of bourbon and looked out the window at the dancing waves. “Demo

     “Demons? You want to find demons?”
     “I already know a whole bunch of demons. Sometimes when I introduce some of ‘em to other demons, some of ‘em leave me alone.”
     “Sounds complicated."
     Buck turned and looked at Dan. “Things get complicated when you start killin’ people.”
                                                               *
     Courtney sat in the cabin staring at the cell phone in her hand. The storm had settled over the ship that rose and fell with an angry, unceasing, unmerciful rhythm. Courtney slowly, carefully placed the phone on the table. She looked out the porthole and watched the spray fly. She lowered her head into her hands and let out a sob. So this was it, she thought. Our childish fantasies have come to an end. No church to save us. No cousin to save us. No rich old ladies. What about you, Jesus? You still there? The thought of facing her parents waiting for them when they got off the airplane shot a searing pain in her stomach. The collection agency nightmares came back to her: the ringing, ringing, ringing day and night, the incessant threatening text messages, the stalking on Facebook, the threatening calls to her parents, the obscenities echoing in her ears long after she slammed the phone down. “We know your father has been molesting you. Why don’t you have him take his cock out of your pussy and stick it in your mouth? You know you like it. Why don’t you have your husband come over here and give us blow jobs? You’re a loser. Why don’t you jump in front of a train and kill yourself?”  How the hell did I get to such a place?, she asked herself. I’m only twenty four. I can’t even hardly remember when the world wasn’t suffocating me. What did I do to lose everything? I didn’t commit any crime. I worked my butt off for years to try and make something of my life and yet here I am. The walls of the cabin began to close in on her. She couldn’t catch her breath. She jumped to her feet and rushed out.
                                                                      *
     Dan set his drink on the bar and looked at Buck. “But it’s war. You kill or be killed. It’s self defense.”
     Buck’s eyes returned to the sea. “Some times it is. Some times it ain’t.”
     “I see.”, Dan caught Snezhana shaking her head. “Well for Christ’s sake, you were a kid. Young men and young women don’t know anything about the wars old men and women send them to.”
     “Forget tryin’ to make any sense out of it, Dan. Killin’s killin’. Gooks was nothin’ but animals to us grunts just like Palestinians ain’t nothin’ but animals to Isreali soldiers just like their grand parents was nothin’ but animals to Nazis. Your mind goes dead, shuts out the life of someone you gotta kill for whatever reason. It’s a job you got to do. The problem is, sometimes a job can be fun. Sometimes in order to do a really good job, you got to enjoy doin’ it.”
     “You didn’t enjoy it.”, Dan admonished. “It was survival.”
      Buck shook his head. “And then, after you’re done and you get a shiny new medal on your chest, your mind wakes up and you realize what you’ve done.”
      “But you had to do it!”                                      

      “What makes a man kill someone? What makes him rape ‘em or rob ‘em or torture ‘em or grind ‘em into the dust? The reason don’t matter, Dan. The reason don’t matter.”
                                                                *
     Nadine insisted Lucia come to their suite. When Gladys opened the door and ushered her in, she couldn’t help asking Lucia what she saw in some pinko, down and out bartender. Lucia burst into tears. Nadine put her arm around Lucia and wagged an angry finger at Gladys. Lucia’s tears turned to full blown sobs. “How could you say such an awful thing about Daniel?”, she moaned. “He’s a wonderful man! I’ve never met any one like him! He’s so tender and thoughtful! We quote Shakespeare together spontaneously! We make wonderful love! We love Greek food! He told me he loves me! He cares about people! He cares about the world and I don’t give a shit about anything but myself! I lied to him! I lied to him because I love him!” She suddenly looked up at Gladys and Nadine in astonishment. “You two are glad we had a fight! You two can’t stand him! I shouldn’t have left him at all! I should have stayed with him! I have to find him and talk to him! I have to tell him I lied to him!”  Lucia looked at the door and went for it.
                                                                 *  
     Snezhana heard the tone Buck’s voice had taken. She saw the tension in his eyes. She
respectfully stepped to the other end of the bar out of earshot. Buck leaned close to me. His deep voice was barely audible. “I see the faces of the dead.”
    Dan looked into his eyes and saw fear. “We all have nightmares.”
    Buck’s voice fell an octave lower. “I ain’t talkin’ about nightmares.”
    Dan didn’t know what to think. “What dead faces do you see?”
    Buck’s fingers were massaging his forehead. “People I killed. People I love who are gone. People I ain’t never seen before.”
     “My God.”, Dan whispered. “Where do you see them?”
     “A Charlie’s snarlin’ face I see in a dark window at night.”, he sighed. “Gook villagers scared shitless stare at me out of the mirror.  I see people I ain’t never seen before that I know are dead standin’ right in front of me. I see kids. My wife’s been showin’ up a lot lately. She stares at me with love in her eyes. I miss my wife. I miss her so much, it’s killin’ me.”
                                                                 *
     Justin held on to the rail and emptied the last of the lamb’s testicles into the Aegean. The image of John’s smirking face danced in front of him. Justin shook himself. He felt Buck’s hand giving him an avuncular pat on the shoulder. What have I done?, he thought. What the hell is going on with me? How could they possibly think I’m gay? I was just talking with the guys. That God damn asshole fag started all this and now Buck thinks I’m gay. Buck is a nice guy, a lot nicer than my dad sometimes. I was just getting to know him. I like another guy who’s a lot older than me and all of a sudden I’m gay? I can’t get a job. I can’t pay off my loans. I can’t support my wife. I can’t afford to ever have kids or own my own home and now I’m gay?  He threw his head over the rail and retched. “Lord Jesus.”, he whispered. “I am sick of body and sick at heart.”
                                                                *
     Buck finished his drink and pushed the empty glass away from himself. Snezhana refilled it in an instant, topped mine off and stepped away. The storm was full upon us. We had to balance on the bar stools and steady ourselves with our feet. Snezhana had secured all the glassware and liquor but she did not close the bar. Buck offered her a thankful smile. “Thanks, Doll. You’re a life saver.”
      Dan tried to say something comforting. “Have you suffered from PTSD all these years?”
     “I got it under control, for awhile at least.”, said Buck. “But your mind wanders when things get short, when you get older, when you lose your moorin’s.”, He took a drink and looked me in the eyes. “Dan, I see the world losin’ it’s moorin’s and I think the only way I can get mine back is to help the world get its back. That’s why I wanted to go to Gaza. I wanted it to be in the papers and on the news that an old, fat vet thinks a big wrong should be righted. I wanted to look Apartheid in the face. I wanted to see the hunger in the eyes of them kids in Gaza. I wanted to see the Israeli checkpoints. I wanted to see the fear in them young soldier’s eyes, fear of the truth that's starvin' their souls, hunger for the truth they're starvin' for."
                                                                  *
     Cesaria was working her way along the deck. She lifted her cane in front of her with one hand and took a step. She leaned on her cane, slid her other hand forward down the rail and took another step. Her sari flapped and fluttered in the wind. Her mind reeled with the boiling cauldron of events and people that had filled the last two days. Gladys and Nadine tittered and squawked in her ears. They were running from their empty lives and they didn’t even know it. Their arrogance brought to mind the rapacious banks that had stolen Greece from the Greeks and her family reunion from her. For some reason she had not been surprised in the least when Sally blurted her financial predicament and almost cursed Courtney and Justin for having the temerity to be younger and more resilient than she. Sally was running from an ocean of debt yet fear had turned her against those two kids running from the same thing. Bob was running too. Running to build a feckless wall of self-denial. Dan was running from ruin and Lucia was running from herself. Poor John was running from a broken heart and Buck was running from his past. And I’m running too. A wave crested near the ship and threw spray in her face. It startled her. Look what has become of my country, she thought. We are all running form reality, dancing around in circles terrified of the wave that is about to engulf us all. The sky suddenly darkened. It began to rain.
                                                               *
     Dan reached over and touched his drink to Buck’s. “I think like you. I see my fellow citizens mewing like new born kittens or yapping like spoiled lap dogs without a clue that there’s a boot hovering over them ready to crush them into a puddle of blood and guts.”
     Buck grinned. “That was some twisted story you told, amigo.’
     “The man smiles once more."
     “Them dogs and kittens don’t know nothin’ about that boot cause the news ain’t the news no more.”, said Buck. “In Nam you had reporters and cameramen on the battle field. You saw the trenches filled with corpses in Mai Lai. You saw the body parts all over the streets after a bomb went off in a Saigon cafe. You saw grunts screamin’ in the dirt as their life bled outa them. You saw -”.  Buck’s voice caught in his throat.  He took a long belt of bourbon. “You saw that gook police chief blow the brains outa that Charlie durin’ the Tet Offensive. You saw that naked little girl covered in napalm runnin’ down the road screamin’ to the Lord.” Buck lowered his head, pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a quiet groan. “Now all you see is the video game the military puts out for you to see: Shock and Awe, Operation Iraqi Freedom. The news don’t put out the facts no more. They put out what they call ‘Both Sides o’ the Story’: the truth or what ever part of the truth they can drag their asses as close as they can drag ‘em  to, and the lies that they are glad to hand out with frostin’ and candles. Shit, you’re lucky if you even get ‘Both Sides o’ the Story’. Instead of hearin’ about how chemical companies are takin’ over the food supply, you hear about the poor little bear cub caught in the whirl pool. Instead of hearin’ about international trade agreements that agree there ain’t oughta be no nations no more, you hear about the poor little drugged out millionaire teenage actress that got a speedin’ ticket. Instead of hearin’ about Wall Street’s for profit universities scammin’ innocent kids and lost vets outa all their money and into the belly of debt, you hear about the kitten that saved the puppy.”
     Dan chuckled. “Shit, it’s flat out corporate propaganda as brazen as anything Goebbels spewed. What do you think is going to happen to this great country of ours?”
     Buck shook his head. “People are pissed. People are catchin’ on. I think this Occupy Wall Street is gonna be a Tahrir Square, at least for awhile.”
     “Americans are going to start a revolution on Wall Street?”, Dan scoffed.
     “It’ll be the first step.”, said Buck. “It won’t last long. Wall Street will snap its fingers and the FBI and Home Land Security will squash ‘em.”
     "How do you know so much about this"  
     “Hell, it’s on the internet, Dan. You got a lap top? You got a phone?”
     “I have a phone but I swore I’d shut everything out on this last trip of mine and think.”
     “And instead, all you’re doin’ is fuckin’”, laughed Buck. “What do you think is going to happen to this great country of ours?”
     Dan looked into his drink. “I see everyone sitting around their televisions or their computers shaking their heads in confusion or willful ignorance or fear watching the Security State rise out of its fascist grave. It can’t happen here, they’ll say, but people will come to their senses. We’re the birthplace of democracy, the land of the free, the shining city on a hill.”
     “There’s a time slot that’s still open, Dan, but it’s closin’. You heard what that punk senator now roastin’ in hell said. You heard him, Dan. ‘The big boys back home are settin’ things in motion. Everything’s in place. It’s just a matter of time.’ If by some chance we come to our senses in time, we may be able to stop it. There’s a lot of us and there ain’t too many o’ them.”
     “Percy Bysshe Shelley.”, smiled Dan.
     “Who?”, asked Buck as a bank of black rain raked the window.
      Dan swallowed a mouth full of scotch.  
     “Rise like Lions after slumber
     In unvanquishable number,
     Shake your chains to earth like dew
     Which in sleep had fallen on you -
     Ye are many - they are few.”
     “You know a awful lot of snooty shit for a bartender.”, said Buck. “Politics, Shakespeare, poetry. Maybe you ain’t who you say you are.” 
     Dan raised an eyebrow. “The Goldberg Variations, Cossi fon tutti, Tinariwen, apartheid? Maybe you aren’t who you say you are.”
     Buck was staring out the window running with rain. His eyes slid over to look at me. “Maybe I ain’t.”
                                                                    *
     Sally put her hands on the toilet seat, pulled her head away from the bowl and pushed herself to her feet. She shivered with humiliation. She had exposed herself. How could she have told those people about the mortgages? Her horrible secret was out. Now every one knew Bob and she were - they were failures, flakes. Their sparkly, perfect, enviable life from Tiffany’s had been exposed for what it was, a Blue Light Special. She moaned and put her hand on her forehead. Nadine hadn’t said a word when Sally compared her string of plastic to Nadine’s pearls. Was she being polite or just nearsighted? Bob had put on such a good show about his off shore money and the tax holiday that she couldn’t help but play along. What was she supposed to do, tell the ugly truth? Why hadn’t president Obama kept the banks off their back like he promised? She let out a bitter laugh. Mortgages? Plural? Sedona was gone. Tahoe was gone. Los Altos was next. My God, she thought. What will happen to us? Bob’s job hung in the balance. Their savings were almost gone. His 401K was worthless. She hadn’t worked since she was a young woman. What will we do?  Where will we live? She hadn’t even told the children. What would they say when they found out their parents were practically bankrupt yet had run away to Greece? She shuddered. Why hadn’t Bob even reacted to her shameful actions? Maybe he didn’t care. No one else had said anything. Maybe no one else cared. They were all so concerned about those two college kids. They were probably having a good laugh around the table on her behalf. Why hadn’t Bob followed her out? Was he still at the table? Was he still sitting next to that college girl? Why was she always next to her husband? What were those two doing on a cruise in the first place? What were they doing working their way into the company of people so much older than them? Why was she always smiling at Bob? Why had she worn such a low cut dress to lunch? A sudden feeling of terror swept over Sally. She looked wild eyed around the suite. “I must find my husband!”, she shouted before bolting out the door.
                                                                  *
    “An international man of mystery.”, laughed Dan. The lunch was beginning to wear off and he was feeling the whiskey. He was getting a thrill out of the storm. The ship would take a deep dive and then lift up and up, hang in mid air then crash back onto the sea. “Did you order this storm for it’s dramatic effect on our end of the world conversation, Buck?”
     Buck laughed and tossed a lurid look at Snejhana. “I ordered this storm in order to make sure all them squawkin’ Yankees on this ship shut the fuck up.”
     Dan nodded. “We couldn’t have ordered a better crowd to offer up to God a better example of the citizens of the greatest country in the world and their God given right to lead the other nations of the world into the challenges we all face in the twenty first century.”
     Buck raised his glass to him “You oughta run for office, Dan.”
     “I’ve got to run for something. I’m broke, over fifty and unemployable.”
     “Hell.”, said Buck. “If worse comes to worse, you can always tend bar again.”
     Dan shook his head. “Did you make up that entire story about your pre induction physical?”
     Buck shrugged. “All true but like I told you, Dan. The weird shoes didn’t work and the guy that picked me up in the mustang gave me the drugs cause he felt sorry for me.”  
     “Well we have a funny coincidence here.”, sighed Dan. “You see, I have bad feet too. They get worse the older I get. I can’t stand for more that a couple of hours any more and I can’t tend bar sitting down. All that experience, all that knowledge and natural talent to do ten things at once, to cajole and reassure and flatter and tease, to stay one step ahead of everyone in the room, all useless now." Dan swirled the ice in his glass and took a swallow. “But I don’t think I could last long anyway. I’m sick of the business. It got worse and worse in the recession and trying to stay afloat and keep it open day after day, coming to work and seeing fewer and fewer customers, I started to hate it. I’m sick of it. I’m fucking sick of it. There are very few people who have the constitution to survive more that a few years in the business. Everyone else slowly kills themselves with booze and drugs or gets out of the business entirely. If you’re smart enough to get out of the business, you better be young. If you’re over fifty in America, shit, over forty, you’re unemployable.”
    Buck shook his head and looked into his drink. “Have you done what you wanted to do with your life, Dan? Do you look back and feel good about your life? If you do then you're ahead of most poor fools. What if you had done the ‘sensible’ thing to do? What if you spent your entire life workin’ nine to five at some grunt job at some grunt company so you could retire and live out your ‘golden years’? What if your bosses got tired of payin’ you for a lifetime of commitment and you was forced to train your Chinese replacement before your job got shipped to China and you lost your retirement and your health insurance and your ass was out on the street?  At least you didn’t waste your life just to have some fellow American bend you over and fuck you. You had a life. You lived a life doin’ what you wanted to do. You was lucky. Most of the boobs in our country wasn’t. And those two kids ain’t, them an’ 99 percent of the rest of the people in the country. Maybe you oughta get off the grid, Dan. Maybe you oughta jump in and do somethin’ for your country before it’s too late.”
     “What,”, Dan asked. “march in the streets? Put up a tent in a square?”
     Buck tapped his glass on the bar. “The Mexicans fought back. Ever heard o’ the Zapatistas?. They didn’t win but they fought back. In ‘93, the Zapatista National Liberation Army Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle said ‘We got nothin’ to lose, absolutely nothin’, no decent roof over our heads, no land, no work, poor health, no food, no education, no right to freely and democratically choose our leaders, no independence from foreign interests, and no justice for ourselves or our children. But we say enough is enough!’. There’s a lotta things you can do, Dan.”  Buck turned back to the window splattered with furious rain. “There’s a lotta things that are happenin’ that you don’t know about.”
     “Are you going to tell me you’re a member of Anonymous?”, laughed Dan. 
     “You believe in free speech like every other red blooded American, don’t you Dan? And it don’t sit well with you when countries prosecute their reporters and censor the internet. Thank God that we don’t have to worry about that in the Land of the Free.”
     “I know. I know.”, Dan moaned. “The world’s gone to shit. It’s being sucked dry by zombies and vampires but what the hell am I going to do about it? I’m no hacker and if I were, I how could I live, by sleeping on some couch moving from safe house to safe house? Am I supposed to live in a tent in some square at my age? How are you going to do it, if that’s what you're intimating? What do you do? How do you live?”
                                                              *
     It took all of Cesaria’s concentration to keep her balance as the deck rose and fell. Her head was down as she watched one foot follow another. It was raining hard now, her sari was drenched. Her hand slid forward on the rail and touched Justin’s. They both jumped.
     “Cesaria!”, shouted Justin. “What are you doing out here? It’s raining! It’s dangerous for you!”
     “Dangerous and thrilling, my boy!”, grinned Cesaria. “What are you doing out here?”
     “Puking my guts out.”, groaned Justin.
     “It’s a lot easier to do that in your cabin.”, said Cesaria. “Where’s Courtney?”
     Justin’s eyes flew open in alarm. “I don’t know! She left the table and I didn’t follow her.”
     “Don’t worry.”, said Cesaria reassuringly. “She’s probably in your cabin calling England.”
     “Everyone thinks I’m gay!”, blurted Justin.
     Cesaria let go of the rail and patted Justin’s arm. “Justin, dear. It doesn’t matter what anybody thinks.”
     “Do you think I’m gay?”, demanded Justin.
     A sudden wave hit the ship and almost tossed Cesaria off her feet. She fell into Justin’s arms. They danced around for a moment trying to keep from falling to the deck. “Thank you dear.”, said Cesaria.” And for heaven’s sake don’t worry about any of that. The only person who really knows whether you’re gay or not is you.”
     “I’m not gay!”, shouted Justin.
     “Oh for heaven’s sake, young man!”, frowned Cesaria as she blinked the rain out of her eyes. “You are young and healthy and you have your whole life ahead of you. Should you ever be so lucky to get to my age, you’ll look back and chide yourself for wasting precious time worrying about something as silly as whether you’re gay or not!”  
     Justin looked past Cesaria. There was terror in his eyes. “I have to find my wife!”
     Cesaria reached up and took hold of Justin’s collar. “Did you hear what I just said to you, dear? You have your whole life ahead of you. Somewhere, sometime in your confusion, in your struggle try to think of what’s ahead of you, what a gift you have in life, what you can do with your life, what you can experience, what you can live and what you can give back to the world. You are blessed with youth, my dear. You are blessed with youth.”
     Justin looked down at Cesaria with panic in his eyes and shook his head. He pushed himself from the rail and staggered off.
                                                                        *
     Buck changed the subject. “Do you love that red head?”
     Dan shuddered. “Hell, I don’t know. I told her I did this morning.”
     “In the closet?”, asked Buck.
     “In the closet.".
     “Them closets can mix a guy up.”, said Buck.
     “So can a red head.”.
     “With the body of the gods.”, smiled Buck.
     Dan lifted his glass skywards. “And an ass that could make a man swoon.”
     Buck leered at Snezhana. “And really great tits.”
     Dan lowered his glass. “And she’s fucking crazy.”
     Buck smiled warmly. “Ya sou. Sas aresei vysia mou?”
     Dan dropped his head. “And she loves Shakespeare and Greek food and laughter and Kerala. Shit, I’m I love and I’m doomed.”
     “Bullshit.”, said Buck. “Over fifty and unemployable and you still got a rich bombshell after you. I’d say you’re doin’ pretty good.”
                                                               *
     Lucia bolted down the hallway. She careened from left to right as the ship swayed in the storm. She saw an outside door and opened it. Rain splashed on her face. A gust of wind almost knocked her off her feet. She stumbled to the rail and slammed into someone bent over and retching. “John! What are you doing? You should be in your cabin if you’re this sick! What’s the matter?”
     John looked up at her. Tears were streaming down his face. “This is my last dance, Lucia!”, he shouted over the wind and waves. “I miss Charlie! I miss him so much, it’s killing me!”
     For a moment the fog of conflicting emotions and self pity swirling around Lucia dissipated.  She hooked her arm in John’s. “Oh, you poor man! Here I am feeling sorry for myself because I had a fight with Daniel and you’re all alone in the world!”
     John wiped the tears and rain off his face. It began to pour. He looked down at Lucia. “You two are in love. Do you know that?”
     Lucia started to cry. “I just figured that out. How in the hell did I fall for a liberal? These last few days I’ve heard things come out of my mouth that I thought I’d never say. My plan was to bring him to the light, to accept the way the world is going and enjoy each other while there’s time left. It was a fool’s errand and now I’m trapped.”  
     “Trapped? Trapped in love? For God’s sake, woman. The only thing worth living for is love. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Try being trapped in love with nothing left but memories. I remember when I first met Charlie. He stood at the end of the bar like a wooden owl on a building. Every one around him was smaller. They all ignored him. The DJ was playing The Tennessee Waltz. I pushed my way through the crowd. I asked him to dance. What is that conduit between two mutually attracted pairs of eyes? It’s tastes of spring water when you wake up parched in the middle of the night. He had a salt and pepper beard that rose to his cheeks and down his neck and suddenly I was dancing at the prom I never got to, held close. He said I smelled sweet. And then he was gone and I had nothing but a phone number, his owl face a mirage and The Tennessee Waltz ringing in my ears. I was alone with a perfect memory, unspoiled by disappointment, faceted by unrequited potential, a drop of the joy of life to be put in a bottle and kept for emergencies and now that’s all I’ve got. You’ve got a man. Go to him.”
                                                                   *
     Dan let out a laugh and looked at Buck. “God damn, you’re right. What am I doing moping around when I’m here on a cruise of the Greek islands with a rich, beautiful woman. I ought to be ashamed of myself.”
     Buck gave Snezhana a once over. “We both oughta be enjoyin’ life more. We’re a couple of old farts with God knows what in front of us and too much behind us to give a shit. So what if the world’s goin’ down the toilet. We won’t be around much more to worry about it. It’s them kids, I think about.”
     “Courtney and Justin?”
     “Them and all the others, Dan. I remember when I was a kid and looked at people our age and thought they was from another world. Now I look at kids and think the same thing. That’s ‘cause we are from two different worlds. They look at the world and think there’s no tomorrow. We look at the world and know they might be right. They’re the future and the rest of us squabblin’  cannibals oughta forget about everything else for once and think about them.”
                                                                 *
     Nadine and Gladys were left alone in their suite with their hands hanging by their sides. Nadine stared angrily at Gladys. “See what you’ve done, you old fool! You’ve driven our Lucia back into the arms of that, that bartender!”
     “Don’t you dare talk to me like that!”, huffed Gladys. “Lucia’s lost her way and there’s nothing you or I or anyone else can do about it. That horrible man has poisoned her and she’s on her way to rack and ruin.”
     Nadine nervously ran her hands down her blouse. “You’re right, Gladys. There’s not a damn thing we can do about it because Lucia is in - ” Nadine gulped. A shocked look spread over her face. “Because Lucia is - ” Nadine smiled and put her hand over her breast. “Because Lucia is in love!”
     “Don’t be silly, you empty headed hussy!”, snapped Gladys. “She’s nothing of the sort! She’s merely -”  Something suddenly entered the bitter old woman’s heart that hadn’t been there for a very long time. “My God, Nadine! You’re right! Our Lucia’s in love and there’s nothing we can do about it!”
     Nadine clutched Gladys’ wrist. “Except make sure our dear Lucia is happy! Oh Gladys! Lucia is in love! Come! We have to find her! We must make amends! She needs us!”
     The two of them hurriedly shuffled out the door into the corridor where they ran head long into to Courtney. “It’s you two!”, she gasped. “Oh my God! I’ve just called my church in Scotland and my cousin in London and there’s nothing for us! No job, no lodging! They’re all out of work themselves! They didn’t even want to see my husband and me! Please! It’s fate that I ran into you!  I’m desperate! You are our last hope!”
     “Oh Courtney!”, gasped Nadine. “We’re on a mission! Lucia is lost and in love and we have to find her!”
     “Lost and in love!”, shot Courtney. “Justin and I are desperate! You said you could help us!”
     “Help you?”, hissed Gladys as she marched forward and pushed Courtney out of the way. “You helped yourself to a fortune in free money and what do you do when you can’t pay it back? You dance around the Mediterranean on a cruise! You got your free education and found out that nothing in life is free! Grow up, you little parasite!”
                                                                       *
  
    Buck winked at Snezhana. “Fill ‘er up one more time, doll and then we’ll leave you alone.” Snezhana smiled and carefully poured another drink.
    Dan raised my glass. “Those poor kids  have gone through hell and they haven’t even begun. They can’t go home. God knows if they will get jobs in England.”
    Buck lifted his glass. “They got sucked into that Baby Boomer shit. They got sucked into that Jesus crap. They got sucked into believing’ those old harpies could help ‘em but they keep goin‘. They keep goin’ cause they gotta. They’re the future. They’re our future. They’re worth fightin’ for.”
     Dan ran his fingers through his hair. “So what do we do? Drag out the barricades? Find another Gandhi? Another Martin Luther King? Some Molotov cocktails?”
     Buck shrugged his shoulders “How desperate are you, Dan? How far are you from the street? You’re at the end if you end up on the street alone. You’re smart, you’re informed, you’re pissed off. Wouldn’t you rather be on the street with a bunch of others just like you? So you run from some half way house to another. Ain’t you runnin’ now? Sure a Greek cruise is better than a couch but I’m guessin’ you don’t have another cruise lined up when this one runs out.”
     “What is this? Are you asking this old fart to join the revolution?”
     Buck’s bottomless brown eyes focused on Dan's. He was transfixed. “I like that poem of yours, Dan. It reminds me of somethin’. ‘We are legion. We do not forgive. We do not forget. Expect us.’ These goons are serious, Dan. We already got more people in jail than any other country, more than twice as much as fifteen years ago. There’s eighty thousand in solitary in the Land of the Free. Dubya claimed he could throw any of us in jail without trial for as long as the war on terror lasts which is forever, and I heard Obama's gonna codify it. We are bein’ conquered and enslaved just as flat out as if it was at the end of a gun and when we resist, it will be. It’s comin’, Dan, and you gotta be ready for it. When you’re standin’ in a crowd of ten thousand, fifty thousand and everyone shouts at the top of their lungs ‘RISE UP!’, you’re gonna feel a surge of power run through you like you never felt in your life. And you're gonna shout with ‘em Dan. You're gonna shout at the top of your lungs ‘RISE UP!’ It’s comin‘, Dan. There’s gonna be riots and burnin‘. There’s gonna be blood, Dan, a sea of blood. We’re gonna run like rats and roar like lions. The goons that run this world and the millions of morons clutchin’ their money are gonna come down on us like a hammer but we’re gonna drown ‘em. We’re gonna smother ‘em cause when a man gets to a certain point in a fight, he don’t care if he lives or dies. We’re gonna be in a place we never been before, Dan and we ain't gonna recognize any of it. The arc of history is gonna come crashin’ down on all the little monkeys that stand upright and change us forever, one way or the other, for better or worse. When the dust clears, if it's for the better, a couple of guillotines'll do. If it's for the worse, it's heil Hitler all over again. Just remember, Dan. Never weaken. Never become a victim. Keep fightin’. You gotta keep fightin’ ‘cause it’s the only way you’re gonna get through what’s comin’.”
                                                                     *
     Bob slowly made his way back to the suite. He shuddered at the drama he would be facing. Sally would whimper and whine. Then she would get angry and loud. The only thing that would calm her down was a good fuck and Bob wasn’t interested. Maybe he could suddenly get sea sick and beg off. Maybe Sally was too sick to care. Bob sighed. He would not even have left the table if Courtney hadn’t shamed him into it. It was so wonderful sitting next to her. He couldn’t get the image of her red dress out of his mind. He could see her long fingers twisting around her wine glass. He could smell her just washed hair. Her beautiful brown eyes smiled at him and all the lies and fear and shame he had come on this cruise to get away from disappeared. The door to his suite was just down the hall. He lowered his head in resignation and opened it. The suite was empty. He suddenly heard the pattering of feet running down the hall. He looked out side to see Courtney running toward him. His heart was in his throat.
                                                                 *
     Dan heard the door to the bar swing open. His skin tingled and the hair on the back of his neck stood on edge. He turned to see Lucia standing in the doorway dripping with rain. She had a lost look on her face. Her eyes found his. “I lied to you, Daniel. I lied to myself. I was as deep into the business as my husband. I was making money hand over fist and I loved it. I didn’t care about slave labor. I worked with my husband to push for laws that would put someone away for years for a gram of cocaine or an ounce of marijuana. The only thing that put an end to my greed was my husband’s infidelity and the divorce. Even that was more a blow to my pride than anything else. I got my divorce. I got my money and I got a new life yet here I am lost in a storm in the middle of the Mediterranean in love with an out of work, liberal bartender.”  Confusion knitted her brow and creased her face. She buried her face in her hands. She groaned and threw her hands to her side. She looked out the window. “What the hell is wrong with me?”, she asked the storm battering the glass. She looked back at Dan. “What the hell am I going to do?”
    Dan got off his stool and stepped toward her. “We’ll figure this out, darling.”  
     A startled look shot across her face. Then she frowned. “No! No we won’t figure this out! I will figure this out!” She turned on her heels and stormed out.
     For a moment Dan was paralyzed. “What the hell have I got myself into?”, he asked the room. The ship swayed and dipped, shuddered and jumped. “How the hell did I fall in love with that little Nazi bitch?” He turned around to see Buck and Snezhana staring at me helplessly. “What am I going to do?” He staggered out the door.
     The door to the bar slammed shut. Buck turned on his bar stool and shook his head. “That didn’t work out the way I thought.”
     Snezhana shrugged her shoulders. “Americans sad bunch of dummies.”
     Buck let out a laugh. “Ain’t we? The storm’s ragin’ on the sea and all the rats are dancin’ around in circles.” Buck sighed and looked into his bourbon. “The storm’s ragin’ in the world and all the rats are dancin’ around in circles.”
     Snezhana placed her hands on the bar and leaned close to Buck. “Poison woman, poison love.”
     “One thing’s for sure.”, said Buck. “If they get together tonight, they’re gonna have one hell of a fuck.”
     Snezhana snorted and shook her head. “That woman beautiful on outside but inside like old witch.”
     “I hope you’re wrong, darlin’. I really do.”, muttered Buck. He looked at Snezhana and smiled. “That reminds me. I been meanin’ to ask you. You said somethin’ to one of them old hags in Bulgarian in the bar the other night. Do you remember?”
     Snezhana smirked. “Mayka ti duha na mechki v gorata. Is old Bulgarian curse. Your mother suck bear in forest.”
     “That ain’t bad.”, laughed Buck. “I’ll put that in my file. I’m gonna need all the ammo I can get where I’m goin’.”
     “Where you go?”, asked Snezhana with feigned indifference.
     Buck finished the bourbon in his glass. “Up and down, in and out, here and there. I been on the road a long time, doll. Plenty of thugs want to see me off it. I done a lotta things I ain’t proud of  to stay on my feet and I’ll probably do a lot more but nobody’s gonna knock me off my feet, not if I can help it.”
     Snezhana looked warmly at Buck and filled his glass. “Is other Bulgarian saying. When in much danger, is OK to walk with devil until you cross bridge.”
     Buck smiled nostalgically. “A great American once used that sayin’, doll when talkin’ about a devil named Stalin.”  He looked out the window at the boiling rain. “A great American that we ain’t never gonna see the likes of again.”
     Snezhana reached across the bar and placed a small hand on Buck’s. “Bar close now. Bartender sea sick.”
     Buck smiled and traced a finger down her cheek. “I ain’t feelin’ so hot myself. Best we get to bed and sleep this weather off.”

                                                                  
                                                                         *

     Courtney was blind with tears and panic. She almost bowled Bob over. “Courtney! What’s wrong? Where are you running to?”
     Courtney eyes ricocheted with fear. “I’m not running to anything. I’m - I’m running away!”
     “Calm down.”, said Bob breathlessly. “You’re all in a dither.”
    Courtney looked around the hall. “I’m trying to get outside and I can’t find a way out! What level am I on?”
     Bob smiled reassuringly. “Top level. Suite level. This is our suite. Why don’t you come in and relax?”
     Courtney looked at Bob for the first time. “This is your suite?” She took a deep breath. “Where is Sally?”
     Bob opened the door and motioned Courtney in. “She must have just stepped out. I’m sure she’ll be right back.”
     Courtney stuck her head in the door and looked around. She looked at Bob. “You two are so nice.” She stepped into the suite. “I hope you don’t take offense at this but you kind of remind me of my mom and dad and I can’t even look my mom and dad in the eyes. There are no jobs for Justin and me in England! No jobs!”
     Bob followed her in and closed the door. “I may remind you of your father but you and I have more in common than you think.”
     “We do?”, asked Courtney, her head swimming. “What do you mean?”
     Bob stepped toward Courtney. “Financially.”  
     A confused look crossed Courtney’s face. “Financially?”
     Bob stepped closer. “You heard my wife at the table. Don’t you remember? You two can run away. You can’t go bankrupt but you can run away.”
     Courtney stepped back. “What do you mean?”
     Bob put his hand on Courtney arm. “I can run away too.”
     Courtney lifted Bob’s hand off her arm. “That is the second time you’ve done that today. That’s not appropriate, Bob.”
     Bob’s face suddenly flushed. “I can run away and I can go bankrupt.”
     The confusion on Courtney’s face turned to fear. “What in the world are you talking about?”

     “I’m just as much of a victim of the banks as you are!” blurted  Bob in an urgent whisper. “My wife worships that fucking monkey, Obama but did he lift a finger to help us? While he spouted a lot of gas, the banks said they were going to renegotiate our mortgages! ‘Just keep making the payments and we’d be fine.’, they said, but they fucked me just like they fucked you! I know what you’ve been through because I’ve been through it too! We’re both victims but I can go bankrupt! You’ve run your cards out but I’ve got plenty of credit left on my cards! We could last for years in Europe! I could get rid of that fat mill stone around my neck and you could get rid of that fruit of a husband of yours!” He grabbed both of her arms and pulled her to him. “I can’t get you out of my mind! I look into your eyes and all this bullshit evaporates! You made me happy for the first time since I can remember! You make me happy and I can make you happy!”

     Courtney was terrified. "Oh my God!  What are you doing? What are you saying? You’re crazy!”

     Bob put his hands on her face and pulled her to him. “You’re damned right I am! Crazy for you, you steaming, sexy vixen!”

     Courtney pushed against him with all her strength. “Get out of my way or I’ll start screaming!”

     Bob grabbed Courtney’s breast and forced her hand on his crotch. He put his lips to her ear and growled. “Feel that, baby? Feel that? We’re gonna make each other scream!” He rammed his tongue in her mouth.

     “WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?”

     Sally was standing behind them with a furious look on her face. Bob let go and spun around. “A 

 wave hit the ship! She fell. I had to catch her!”

     Sally stormed past her husband and grabbed Courtney’s dress. “What in hell do you think you are

 doing?”

     Courtney was white. “What am I doing? My God! Can’t you see?”

     Sally shook Courtney’s arm. “I see a little slut who had no qualms about waltzing her way into a

 married man’s suite while his wife was away! That’s what I see!”

     “But he invited me in here!”, stammered Courtney. “I trusted him! You reminded me of my parents!”

     “She said she had only a cabin with a port hole!”, babbled Bob. “She said she wanted to see what a

 suite looked like.”

     “What kind of parents would raise a whore like you?”, hissed Sally as she shook Courtney’s arm 

harder and harder.

     “You’re both insane!”, screamed Courtney. “Let go of me! You’re hurting me!”

     “I’m hurting you?”, snarled Sally. “I ought to throw you overboard!”

     “Get your hands off me, you lunatic!”, screeched Courtney.

     Sally slapped Courtney across the face. “Shut your mouth, you little tramp!” She looked at Bob. 

“What the hell are we going to do with her?”

    Bob was staring past her with a stunned look on his face. Suddenly Sally felt herself being lifted off

 the floor. She let go of Courtney and spun around. Justin’s face was inches from hers. “Get your hands

 off my wife!”

    The rage in Sally’s eyes ignited. “How dare you touch me!”

    Courtney ran behind her husband. Bob was cowering against the wall. Steam was shooting out of 

Sally’s ears. She shook herself free of Justin’s grasp and slapped him. “Just look at you all macho and 

manly storming into someone else’s suite pretending to save his wife when she’s the one after another

 woman’s husband, and why shouldn’t she when she’s married to a FAGGOT? You stupid little pansy!

 You pathetic little queer! The whole ship is laughing behind your back watching you dance around 

throwing yourself at that fat anti semite!” 

    Both Courtney and Justin backed away. Courtney was clutching Justin’s arm. “How dare you talk to

 my husband like that! You’re berserk!”

    Sally looked as if she were about to burst into flames. She picked a glass up off the table and hurled it

 at them “Get out of my suite you perverts! I’ll have you arrested! I’ll have you thrown off the ship!”

     Justin and Courtney were at the door. Another glass sailed past their heads. They backed into the

corridor. Sally came at them with her arms in the air. “Whore! Cocksucker!”

     A wave hit the ship hard. The fire in Sally’s eyes turned to cold terror. She threw her hand over her 

mouth and vomited. The door slammed in their faces.

    The two of them stood staring at the door until the ship took a dip and threw them into each other’s 

arms. Courtney burst into tears and buried her head in Justin’s chest.

    “Justin!”, she sobbed. “I can’t believe this is happening to us!”

     Justin stroked her hair and kissed her cheek. “It’s OK, babe. It’s over. You’re safe now. I’m here.

 We’re together. We have each other.”

    “It’s not over, Justin. It’s not near over.”

     “Babe, I love you. You’re everything to me.”

     “I love you. I love you. I love you.”

     “Cesaria told me  I - we have our whole lives ahead of us. It’s awesome. It’s so awesome. We’ll get

 off this ship. We’ll get away from these poisonous people. We’ll make a whole new life.  We’ll get to 

London and find jobs.”

     “There are no jobs, my dear husband.”

      “Of course there are jobs! If not in London, then Scotland!”

     “There are no jobs.”

                                                                        *

     Dan saw a door to the deck and stepped out into the rain. He grabbed the rail to keep his balance and

began to work his way to the bow. The wind beat the clothes around his body and his hair around his

face. His feet slipped on the deck. When he reached the prow, the ship reared like an angry stallion then

crashed back into the sea. He had tried to embrace Lucia but she had turned from him. He said they

would figure things out. She said she would figure things out. He felt like a lap dog, a brainless little lap

dog begging to be stomped. He came to Greece to find himself and he found a fool dancing a jester’s

dance. He clung to the rail as the ship sailed up into the sky and dove into the waves. A geyser of foam

exploded over his head. His guts were twisting. He had been a performer his whole life thinking he had

created his own wonderful world when he was only entertaining a parade of fools for shelter and

sustenance. And now the fools had moved on. His performance was over. The curtain had fallen to 

listless applause and the back door to the back alley was open and waiting for him. He lowered his head

in anger and shame. What the hell was he going to do? What if he couldn’t get another joint opened?

What if he couldn’t even get a gig? How could this dinosaur with the beat up feet even keep a gig if he

got one? Was he going to end up on the street? How many sad souls laying on the sidewalk had he

passed shaking his head and thinking there but for the grace of God go I? Jesus Christ, he thought. Was

it worth it anymore? Did he really want to spiral down that hellhole - limping back from a pitiful last 

hurrah to an eviction notice on his door, a decent into madness shivering under a filthy blanket on a

freezing cement sidewalk in an interminable black night? Maybe he should step off now. What could be

a more dramatic goodbye, a more thrilling exit than just letting go and flying off into the Aegean? He

shook himself. Hell, he had a beautiful woman rich as sin who said she loves him. She could back him

in a new place. If it didn’t work out between them, he’d make the joint a go and buy her out. That was

an option, wasn’t it?  My God, it was a gift. Wasn’t it? Or it was a pact with the devil, a red headed

devil with green eyes who just might get him over the abyss that was opening under his feet or just

might push him in. He gripped the rail in frustrated impotence, twisted his fists around the wet steel and

squeezed with all the strength in his hands and his wrists and his arms and his shoulders and his chest.

The prow flew up and up, hung for a moment in the air then dropped like a stone. It hit the sea so hard

his legs flew out from under him. The only thing that kept him from sailing overboard was his furious,

white knuckled grip. His nose caught the rail as he crashed back down on the deck. Blood ran down his

face. he turned into the storm and the rain washed him clean. The prow soared into the air again. He

 threw his arms over the rail and pressed it into his arm pits. He prayed to God to give him the strength

to keep from being thrown into the sea. This time the ship sliced the waves like a knife. The wind had

suddenly changed and the ship was riding with it. The jarring crash into the ocean turned into a mad 

roller coaster. Jesus Christ, he thought. He  almost died. He gulped in the air and grinned wide eyed at

the horizon. He found his breath. The rain pelted his face. He found his pride. The wind caressed him. 

He found the rest of his life opening its arms to him. So he was fucked. What the hell was he gonna do?

You gotta keep pushing. When a man gets to certain point in a fight, he doesn’t care if he lives or dies. 

 He has to let go and face life with all he’s got. He lowered his head and swore to himself that no matter 

what happens, he will never leave by the back door. And then he prayed. He prayed to God almighty

that he would never get so desperate as to kill himself. There was nothing worse than that, God. 

Nothing.

 

 

 

 

WHY, THERE THEY ARE BOTH

 
    The storm blew the rest of the day and evening. Dan made his way back to his cabin and slept off the lunch, the booze, the performance and the fact that he had almost died. When he woke, the storm was still raging. He made his way to the bar before dinner. It was closed. There was a notice on the dining room doors announcing only limited room service was available. As he struggled back to his cabin, the odor of vomit permeated the hall ways. The only soul he ran into was a sorry steward trying to mop up the mess that seemed to be deposited every few feet. The stench was beginning to get to him. He could smell it in his room. For the first time in his life, he began to feel seasick. He opened a bottle of scotch. He fell asleep and into a pit of nightmares.  
     His eyes snapped open. He reached for Lucia and realized he was alone. Sunlight filled the room. He took a deep breath and looked out the port hole. He saw the base of the caldera of Santorini. They had arrived. He breathed easier. He dressed thinking of breakfast on the Lido. There was a knock at the door. He opened it to a large Greek in uniform. “You come to purser’s office!”
     “What for?”, he asked knowing full well.
      “For questions!”

       Dan followed him down corridors and up steps. He opened the door to the purser’s office and motioned Dan in. Ten chairs were lined up along the walls. Five of them were already there. Lucia was sitting next to Gladys and Nadine. She looked at Dan forlornly then looked away. Gladys glared. Nadine’s eyes were wide with fear. Bob was a deflated heap. He smiled sheepishly at Dan. Sally was glacial. She sat bolt upright. Her eyes flew around the room when Dan entered. They settled on him for a fraction of a second before darting away. He sat by himself, looked at his feet and smiled. The Greek spun on his heels and left the room.
     Nadine’s hand shot to her mouth. “It was horrible! The earth opened and swallowed them whole!”
     Gladys shuffled her shoulders, folded her hands in her lap and smiled condescendingly. “There was an earthquake. They were killed.”
     “We could have been killed ourselves!”, gasped Nadine.
     Dan looked at the two of them. “Rehearsing our lines are we?”
     The door to the room opened and John walked in. He was dressed conservatively. He
looked depressed. He smiled when he saw Dan then he looked confused. “Why aren’t you sitting next to Lucia? Lucia, darling, what’s going on?”  He sat next to Dan giving him a quizzical stare.
     Sally suddenly came out of her trance. “We are innocent American citizens who have gone through a traumatic experience!”
     “A traumatic experience?", squawked Nadine. “There were dozens of them! There was an earthquake! We almost went off the road on the way back to the ship! We were assaulted by a filthy Greek mob! They said we were retarded! There were riots! There was tear gas!”
     Dan rolled his eyes “For God’s sake, Nadine. Calm down.”
     “Don’t you yell at Nadine, you - bartender!”, snapped Gladys. “She’s an old woman who has gone through an experience her feeble mind is not capable of handling.”
     “FEEBLE MIND?”, roared Nadine. “How dare you say that, you bitter old fool! If any one has a -”
     The door to the room opened again. Cesaria walked in. She had a knowing smile on her face. She looked around the room and winked when she saw Dan. “So we’re being brought before the docket, are we? FBI, I assume.”
     “That woman is a communist!”, brayed Nadine. “She assaulted me!”
     Sally turned and stared angrily at Cesaria. “That woman told me President Obama is nothing more than a figurehead!”
     Bob took his wife’s hand. “Oh, honey. Calm down. We’re here to be questioned. It will soon be over with.”
     Sally jumped away from her husband as if she’d been bitten. “Don’t you touch me! Don’t you touch me!”
     Cesaria sat next to John. “It looks like the cannibals are working their way into a feeding frenzy. So much for one big happy family.”
     He leaned over and murmured in her ear. “Sally will be the first one to snap. It won’t be long before the others follow.”
     Sally turned her back to her husband. Nadine started fanning the air with her hands. Gladys crossed her arms and harrumphed. John pursed his lips and rolled his eyes. Lucia looked at Dan then looked away. Cesaria smiled sadly. Dan cleared his throat. “Enough of this ridiculous hysteria. First things first. We are about to be questioned. Yesterday afternoon we agreed to get our stories straight. The senator was giving a speech. His wife was by his side and the agents were behind them. They were standing in front of two large stone doorframes. When the earthquake struck, the floor collapsed underneath them and the doorframes fell on top of them. There was nothing we could do. The guide ran up the hill and told us he would call the authorities. He told us to get back in the bus so we could return to the ship before it sailed. The bus driver drove us into town. The bus was stopped by a mob. A riot erupted between the police and the mob around the bus. We vacated the bus and made our way through the tear gas and the riots to the ship. That’s it. That’s what happened. Agreed?”
     “That’s exactly what happened.”, said Bob. “That’s all we have to tell them.”
     “Whose idea was it to tell the tour guide that our ship was the Argonaut Adventure?”, smiled Lucia.   
     Everyone jumped. The bewildered look on Nadine’s face was replaced with a look of fear. “Buck! It was Buck’s idea! Where is Buck? Buck, where are you?”
     Gladys’ expression was virulent. “That fat terrorist told the guide we were on the Argonaut Adventure and he threatened us if we said otherwise!”
     Sally’s nose was in the air. “That man hates president Obama!”
     Nadine pointed a shaky finger at Cesaria. “That communist speaks Greek and so did Buck!”
    “They both talked to the bus driver in Greek!”, hissed Gladys. “They talked to the Greek hooligans in Greek!”
     “Oh, for God’s sake, Gladys!”, said Dan “Everyone talked to the Greeks in Greek. Courtney called them ass holes, Justin said their mother was a whore, John told them to suck his dick, Sally told them to fuck off, Bob told them we were mentally challenged, Lucia asked them if they liked her tits and you told them to bend over and lick!”
     John looked around the room. “Where is Buck, anyway?”
     “The Big Man!”, wailed Nadine. “Buck saved my life and I have betrayed him!”
     Gladys smirked. “Hasn’t anyone noticed that there are only ten chairs in the room? We’re missing three but there are only two empty chairs, two left for those college kids. Buck’s not coming and the authorities don’t even know he exists.”
     “What are you talking about?”, demanded Sally. “He was on the tour with us.”
     “Was he?”, asked Gladys. “He never really planned to go on the tour. He planned to jump on a ship to Gaza. He arrived late. The guide looked for his name on the list and couldn’t find it. Buck slipped him something, probably money. I saw it with my own eyes.”
      “Well they’ll probably figure it out sooner than later.”, sighed Dan. “They’re going to want to know who he is, what he looks like -” 
     Nadine placed her hands on her heart. “He’s tall. He's handsome. He’s strong. He’s - “
     “He’s fat.”, said Gladys.
     “He has a deep voice with an East Texas accent.”, said John. “He has beautiful hair.”
     “He’s bald!”, said Bob
     Cesaria gave Dan a hint of a smile. “He’s a handsome man, middle aged.”
     Sally whirled around and stared at Cesaria. “Are you in league with that hick? He’s sixty if he’s a day!”
     Lucia had a cold look on her face. “He’s in his early sixties. He’s about two hundred and fifty pounds, six foot one or two, brown eyes, balding with white hair.” She looked at Dan and offered a sweet smile. “He likes Bach.”
     “He’s long gone.”, smiled Cesaria.
     Gladys frowned. “What did you say?”
     Cesaria cleared her throat. “I said it appears he’s long gone.”
     “And why would he be long gone?”, Gladys demanded.
     Nadine had removed a hanky from her purse. She dabbed her eyes with it. “He’s a war hero. A man of the world grieving for his beautiful Greek wife.”
     John had a distant look in his eyes. “He’s a wonderful performer, a magnificent story teller, an East Texas Will Rogers.”  
     Gladys rolled her eyes. “He’s an actor.”
     “He’s a hick!”, huffed Sally. “A hick who is afraid of being questioned because he hates the people of Israel!”
     “It’s that Hezbollah!”, hissed Gladys. “He’s on his way there now!”
     “He’s a good man!”, moaned Nadine. “He got us back to the ship! He didn’t want us to end up in some stinking Greek jail!”
     Cesaria was exasperated. “For heaven's sake! It doesn’t matter who Buck is. It doesn’t matter who any of us are. It was one hell of a day we all went through. We were terrified by the earthquake. We thought for sure we would miss the ship and end up stuck on Crete in the middle of a riot torn city. There is nothing wrong or suspicious about Buck or any of us. We’re just a bunch of tourists. Now I suggest we stop all this arguing, answer any questions we are asked and get through this sensibly. We have a date with each other in a cafe this afternoon.”
      “Oh, everything is going to be just fine, isn’t it?”, snarled Gladys. “Never mind we are about to be raked over the coals by the FBI for providing aid and comfort to the enemy.” She looked at the two empty seats. “That fat man will never show up. And where are the other two? Where are those sniveling little college kids?”
     Nadine’s eyes opened wide. She threw a hand over her mouth. “Maybe they left with Buck!”
     Cesaria smiled warmly. “He was very fond of them both. I said they are our country’s future and what did he say? Ain’t it a glorious thing to see.”
     “Ranting and raving their way into the future.”, Lucia snorted. “What the hell is Jesus going to do about it? I pray and I pray and I still feel like shit!”
     John let out a laugh. “Courtney darling. You’re making a shpectacle of yourself!”
     Gladys placed a hand on her throat and feigned a swoon. “There are no jobs in London! No lodging! They didn’t even want to see my husband and me!”
     Nadine placed a hand on Gladys’ shoulder and cast her eyes upward. “It’s fate that I ran into you! I’m desperate! You’re our last hope!”
     The door opened and Justin and Courtney walked in. The room went quiet. They looked exhausted. Dark circles hung under their eyes. They took the last two seats. For a moment there was peace. Then Dan heard the ring of blade against steel.
     Sally stood up. “That little slut made a pass at my husband and her fairy husband put his hands on me.”
     Courtney grabbed Justin’s arm. There was panic in her eyes. Bob put his head in his hands. The rest of them looked at Sally in amazement. “What the hell are you talking about?”, Dan demanded.
     “Not so helpless and innocent after all, eh?”, snipped Gladys. “Somehow I’m not surprised.”
     Cesaria stared at Sally. “Slut? Fairy? What in heaven’s name has gotten into you, woman?”
     “She went after my husband in our suite!”, spat Sally. “My husband had to fight her off!”
    Courtney buried her face in Justin’s chest. Justin was quietly hyperventilating. “My wife was attacked.”
     “I didn’t - I didn’t lay a finger on her!”, stuttered Bob.  
     Gladys rose to her feet and frowned at Justin and Courtney. “Poor little victims. I’m sick of listening to the poor little victims, the poor little college educated victims whining about the cold, cruel world while on a cruise of the Greek Isles.”
     Cesaria pulled herself to her feet with the help of her cane. “How dare you badger these poor children. You wouldn’t dare talk like this if Buck were here!”
     Lucia’s voice was cold. “But he isn’t, is he?” She turned to Justin and Courtney. “When I first met the two of you, you told me it was my fault that you were in such a sorry state, then it was the banks, then the colleges. What’s next? The FBI?”
     Nadine stood up behind Gladys and put her hands on her heart. “Oh, Gladys! Our vacation is ruined!”
     A sinister smile spread across Gladys’ face. “I don’t know what Buck was thinking. These two aren’t exactly angels, you know. You keep harassing us about getting you jobs in London. What are we, some sort of walking employment agency?”
     “I can’t imagine why Buck was so interested in you two.”, Nadine complained. “All you do is moan and groan. Maybe you chased him away. I wouldn’t be surprised if he just got tired of hearing you whine. I know I sure did.”
     Lucia rolled her eyes. “Now, now. We mustn’t pick on the poor children. They’re scared.”
     “Scared of coming out of the closet.”, said John. “I mean, come on. It’s 2011.”
     Sally whirled around. “Scared of paying the bills! Scared of going home and facing the music! Everyone is in debt! You can’t live these days without going into debt! All they do is go on and on about being in debt! Well guess what? Everyone’s in debt! Get used to it! Those damn banks tricked us too! We didn’t go to them! They came to us! ‘Have you ever heard of a reverse mortgage? Do you know you have your very own bank in your home? Why not buy your vacation dream house? Why not two? No money down. No interest for the first year. You could travel.’ I’ve always wanted to take a cruise of the Greek Isles.”
     The assault was on full bore as one jaw snapped after the next. “There, do you feel better now?”, snarled Lucia, giving Justin and Courtney a dismissive glance. “You’re not the only miserable victims.”
     “He wouldn’t be so miserable if he’d just come out.”, snipped John.
     Gladys bristled. “I doubt if anything will cheer up these two prima donnas.”
     Nadine pressed her lips and clutched her hands. “Why did you have to drive Buck away?”
     Sally’s eyes began to spin. “And why do you think we’ve seen the last of Buck?” She pointed a finger at Justin. “You couldn’t stop drooling over Buck! It was so obvious! Every one saw it! You were all over him!” Her finger jerked to Courtney. “And you’re nothing but a sex fueled slut! You came after my husband and he is just too good a man to admit it!”
     Gladys growled. “Who ever you two are and what ever your motives are, I suggest for your sake you give everyone a wide berth from now on.”
     Sally’s voice dropped as she moved in for the kill. “You’re grifters. Nothing but a pair of grifters. What are you doing on this cruise, anyway? What’s your plan besides seducing a married man and assaulting his wife? You got yourself a free education and you jump on a cruise and prey on your fellow citizens. But I’m not worried because everything has a way of working itself out. You’re so God damned pathetic. You’ll never get a job. You can’t even play a decent grifter. Going after a retired couple about to go bankrupt? Give me a break. You’ll end up on the street selling yourselves and what ever else you can sell for a mouth full of food for a couple of years before you come to your senses and do us all a favor by checking out early.”
     Justin looked long and hard at Sally. He put his arm around his wife and slowly turned to the rest of them. He studied them one by one. The angry expression on his face turned to confusion, then fear. Courtney was terrified.
     Dan felt sick. He looked at Lucia. “Why, there they are both, baked in that pie; whereof their mother daintily hath fed, eating the flesh that she herself hath bred.”　
                                   
    THEY'RE WORTH FIGHTING FOR
 
     The tender was only half full as Dan stepped down into it. It bobbed gently on the waves. He looked up at Santorini. The white washed buildings of Thira crested the remains of one of the greatest disasters civilization had ever known. He remembered Patmos and Saint John obsessing on the end of the world there. Santorini had witnessed the end of the world. He thought of Buck’s dark omen of what awaits our own world. He thought of the gluttonous cannibalism in the purser’s office just a couple of hours ago. All that blood letting for what? Two FBI agents asked them to describe what had happened at the ruins and to be available for further questioning if the need arose. Buck’s name never came up and no one mentioned him. That was it. They’d come in unannounced at the height of the hysteria and just gaped at them. In a way, Dan was a bit disappointed they didn’t react to such savagery the way the tour guide at Knossos did. But hell, they were Americans too. They were used to it. He smiled to myself and shook his head.
     Just as the pilot was casting off the tender’s lines, a mesmerizing pair of legs appeared at the top of the steps. The pilot smiled lustfully and stepped aside. A skin tight skirt stretched across perfect hips was followed by a narrow waist and pair of breasts that took Dan’s breath away. Lucia’s green eyes glowed in a halo of burning red hair. Dan caught a sweet, rich, intoxicating aroma as she took a seat across from him. Her lips pressed into a shy smile. The tender pushed off and chugged toward the island. The dock was busy with people when it pulled up. Lucia deliberately floated up the stairs ahead of Dan, turned and disappeared into the crowd.
     The gondola car started its ascent. Dan watched the ship grow smaller and smaller until it was just a white jewel sparkling in an unfathomably blue sea. He stepped out into the streets of Thira and drifted through the crowds of tourists. He gazed over their heads and forced himself back to the Greece he had first met so many years ago. The bright light of the Levant, the lapis sea and sky, the white washed buildings and gray brown earth had filled him with the joy of being alive. The warmth of the Greeks and their constant excitability grounded in a timeless peace of mind had intrigued him. There was no bitterness or hopelessness or cynicism, only the naiveté of his youth. The sun warmed his shoulders. He took sanctuary remembering a time in his life when his countrymen were far from hate and fear, when they weren’t thrashing around in a gutter of arrogance, impotence and uncertainty. He stopped still and closed his eyes.
     A familiar voice shook him from his reverie. “I’ve never been so insulted in my life!”, hissed Gladys. “These people are con artists! Everyone is unemployed and starving or so I’ve been told but I might as well have been shopping at Tiffany’s!”
     Nadine and Gladys charged out of a jewelry shop. “Wild horses couldn’t drag me back to that shyster palace!”, wailed Nadine. “Can you believe that little savage quoted me the price of gold when I recoiled at the cost of his - his trinkets?”
     “Wait till I tell Lucia what’s waiting for her!”, snarled Gladys. “I’d have preferred another riot to being taken for all I’ve got! And here I was naive enough to think I could make a killing buying jewelry for the grandchildren for Christmas! These people are monsters! Monsters!”
     “Where is Lucia?”, demanded Nadine. “Why didn’t she come with us on the tender? You don’t think she’s planning to make up with that liberal bartender do you? Honestly, I’m so confused. One minute she’s running off to tell him she loves him, the next she’s flying back into our arms telling us it’s all over.”
     “Of course she’s not going to make up with that liberal!”, huffed Gladys. “She’s seen the light as far as that liberal is concerned. Heavens! Liberals literally make me sick! They’ll be the end of us all!”
     Nadine stomped her foot and scowled. “Liberals! I think they should -”, and then she saw him. It took her less than a second to compose herself. “Daniel, darling! How nice to see you again. We were just talking about you. You haven’t seen Lucia, have you? She can be so independent sometimes, one could almost accuse her of being a liberal.”
     Gladys didn’t bother with pretense. “Maybe that’s why she can’t shake herself of you.”
     “Now Gladys,”, purred Nadine. “I know we all had a rough night and an even rougher morning but here we are in Thira and it’s just as beautiful as Daniel told us. As a matter of fact, we were just on our way to that cafe where every one promised to meet, weren’t we, Gladys? Why, we can all three go together, can’t we, Gladys?”
     “I wouldn’t be surprised that’s where we’ll find Lucia.”, muttered Gladys. “Well, since we are so very fond of her and we haven’t a clue as to how the two of you are going to end up, I suppose we should let bygones be bygones.” She smiled through her teeth. “Daniel, my dear. May we accompany you to Cafe Cruel Love?”
     Dan smiled graciously and offered each buzzard an arm. He looked around and remembered the cafe was on the street they were standing on. A few steps further and he caught sight of the sign. They stepped through a small cafe and onto a patio. The two vultures let go of his arms.
     Nadine let out a gasp. “ My God! It’s like we are on the edge of the world! It’s straight down just like you said! Is that our ship? It looks like a toy!”
     Dan felt a hand slip under his arm. Lucia was smiling. “Titus Andronicus? Macbeth, sure. Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, of course, but Titus Andronicus?”
     “It was appropriate.”, Dan said coldly.
     “And you know Titus Andronicus by heart?”, she asked incredulously.
     “I was thinking about Courtney and Justin this morning. Titus Andronicus seemed appropriate."
     Lucia laughed uncomfortably. “I remember cannibalism in the play but that's about it. Does this mean the spontaneity has gone out of our relationship?”
     “What do you think? You seem to be the one making the decisions.”
     Lucia looked into Dan’s eyes. “I hope not. I think we should try and make a go of it.”
      “I’m so glad you have come to a decision.”, Dan said snidely. “Have you decided to invest in a restaurant?”
     “If the restaurateur will have me.”
     Dan sighed and looked down. “I can’t think of a better place to start the negotiations than Cafe Cruel Love.”
     Lucia took his hand. “In a shining city on a hill.” She ran her fingers through his hair.
     He reached up and grabbed her fingers into a ball. She tightened her hand into a fist and pulled his hair. “Where this time, my love?”, she whispered. “A back alley? The restroom in a cafe?”
     He pulled her close. He slid my tongue in her mouth. She moaned quietly. He whispered in her ear. “We could find the donkey stables.”
     “Donkey stables!”, she gasped. “You mean among the animals?”
     “Dan! Lucia! You’ve made up! Thank God!”  They turned to see John standing in the cafe doorway. The expression of relief faded from his face as he took a good look at us. “Am I interrupting anything? Are you two perverts making unholy plans?”
     Lucia pushed herself away from Dan. “John, I knew you would show, and look.” She pointed to Gladys and Nadine. “It looks as though every one else will keep their promise.”
     John smiled knowingly. “I’ve brought Cesaria. She’s chatting with the lady behind the counter in the cafe. Let’s have a drink and see if the rest show up. How are the two Marquesas? They seem enthralled. Maybe I should help them up on the wall for a better view.”
     “Justin and Courtney have not been here.”, said Cesaria as she stepped onto the Patio. “Oh my goodness! What a view. It’s every bit as incredible as you described, Dan.” She smiled at Lucia. “I knew you two could not be kept apart for long. Come, let us sit. The others will soon arrive.”
     Dan pushed a couple of tables together and pulled up a chair for Cesaria. “I’m not so sure about that.”
     “What ever transpired yesterday was the result of the alcohol and the weather. That nasty little scene this morning was nothing more than scared tourists lashing out at each other.”, reassured Cesaria. “Misunderstandings will be straightened out and ruffled feathers will be smoothed.”
     The two prima donnas had wandered back from the wall wearing condescending smiles. Nadine lowered herself daintily into a seat. “What will you do, Dragon Lady, offer up some incantation and throw holy water on everyone?”
     Gladys was looking down her nose. “Ruffled feathers? Whatever happened yesterday, that Obama brownnoser certainly got her knickers in a knot. The way her head was spinning around on her shoulders this morning, I thought I was watching The Exorcist.”
     “She said such awful things about Justin and Courtney.”, sighed Cesaria.
     “Maybe she’s losing her mind.”, Dan offered. “Propping up that facade of upper middle class success only to pull back the curtain herself.”
     “You were pulling on that curtain a little yourself, my friend.”, said John.
     Dan felt his shoulders droop. “You’re right, John. As a matter of fact, we’ve all been chewing on each other shamelessly.”
     “I should have kept my mouth shut about poor Justin.”, admitted John.
     “I’m really beginning to worry about those two children.”, said Cesaria. “They looked terrible when they walked in the purser’s office this morning. I should have stood up for them more.”
     “And we practically eviscerated them.”, said John.
     Dan looked at Cesaria. “We were all abominable except for you.”
     “Oh for heaven’s sake.”, snipped Gladys. “They are over twenty-one. Nobody ever promised us a rose garden. Life is tough and you have to be tough to get through it.”
     “So it’s dog eat dog?”, asked Cesaria. “Survival of the fittest?”
     “That’s how it’s always been and that’s how it always will be.”, said Lucia.
     John ran his fingers through his hair. “What did that horrible senator’s wife say before the devil took her? There’s no room for love and compassion any more.”
     Nadine pulled a compact out of her purse and studied her face. “She was right, dear. It’s eat or be eaten.”
     “Hello everybody! Hello! Hello! It’s me and I’ve come to apologize once again!” Every one turned to see Sally and Bob. The maniacal look on Sally’s face had returned and was more frightening than ever. Bob looked bleary eyed. His shoulders were slack and his arms hung listlessly at his sides. “Bob has explained everything to me! Courtney didn’t throw herself at him! The storm threw her into his arms! Where are they? Where are Courtney and Justin?”
     John leaned over and whispered in Dan’s ear. “Bob looks exhausted. He must have had to fuck Sally senseless to get her to swallow that line of crap.”
     Gladys was looking around for a waitress. “You might as well sit down. After that blistering imputation of yours this morning, I’d be surprised if we ever see them again.”
     Cesaria’s gave Gladys an astonished look. “My goodness! The two of you were hardly better!”
     Gladys rolled her eyes. Sally collapsed in a chair. “I was distraught! I was exhausted!  I was seasick all night! I had too much to drink! I let the cat out of the bag about our mortgages!”
     Cesaria frowned. “Now, now, Sally. We’ve all been through the ringer on this cruise.” She looked around the table. “I’m sure if everyone explains everything and apologizes to Justin and Courtney, they will find room in their hearts to forgive us all.”
     Gladys slapped her hand on the table. “Waiter! Waitress! God, I’m parched!”
     A waiter appeared with a large tray of cocktails. One by one, he placed the same drink before us that I had ordered yesterday at lunch. John smiled at Dan and picked up his drink. “My God, you’re good. I’m going to make sure I have a bartender in my entourage when I go traveling from now on.”
     “I didn’t have anything to do with this.”, said Dan. The waiter slid a folded piece of paper into his hand. He opened it. “It’s a note from Buck. ‘One last snort of hooch to the finest bunch of cannibals I ever did meet. Adios, amigos. Buck. PS. Take care of them kids’.”
     Nadine threw a hand over her mouth. “It’s Buck! He’s saying goodbye! He’s left us! Oh my God! It’s all my fault! What have I done?”
     Dan felt a pit in his stomach. “I’ll miss him, God damn it.”
     “You’ll miss him?”, moaned John. “I think I was in love with him.”
     “Oh Buck!”, sniffled Sally. “I said such horrible things about him.”
     “Calm down, honey.”, urged Bob. “I’m sure it’s for the best. There was a lot we didn’t know about him and maybe it’s good we didn’t. He had to move on and he did.”
     Lucia put her hand on Dan’s. “The Goldberg Variations will never sound the same.”  
     “Will every one just shut up.”, said Gladys quietly through trembling lips as she pressed the corners of her eyes with her fingers and looked toward the horizon. “He was a communist. He carried me out of a bus full of tear gas.“ She raised her glass. “Here’s to the big man. He was one of a kind.”
     “To the man who saved my life!”, blubbered Nadine.
     Sally raised her glass. “To a man with strong opinions and not afraid to tell them.”
     “To a real lady’s man.”, grinned Bob.
     "To a West Texas Will Rogers.", sighed John.
     Lucia gazed at the breathtaking panorama before us. “To one of the few men who made me think.”
     “Amen to that.”, smiled Dan. “To good fuckin’ music.”
     Cesaria lowered her head. “Antio kalos filos.”, she said softly. “Tha leipeis.” When she  looked up, her eyes fell upon the two glasses of Barbayannis on the table before a pair of empty chairs. “He told us to take care of the children. Where are they?”
     “I’m sure they’ll be here any minute!”, chirped Sally. “And I can apologize and everything will be back to normal. Buck would like that. Maybe we can even exchange war stories about the banks.”
     Lucia rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry about your trouble with the bank but don’t you think every one’s being a bit dramatic? Buck said goodbye with a round of drinks. Well, here’s to him. And didn’t you hear what Gladys said? Justin and Courtney are adults. They’ll be fine. For all I know, they’re out prowling for Baby Boomers.”
     “That’s an awfully cold comment coming from a beautiful woman in love.”, said Cesaria with a surprised look on her face.
     “A beautiful prison warden.”, Dan mumbled under his breath.
     “Those children are our future.”, chastised Cesaria. “And Buck knew it. They’ve launched themselves into a world of little if any opportunity. Their country has demanded they get a college education to be successful in life then bled them dry for achieving one. Instead of rewarding them for all their hard work, their country has turned on them and humiliated them for being naive enough to believe that everyone, from the college they attended to the banks that hooked them on loans had their best interests in mind.” Cesaria clutched her cane and pounded it on the patio. “Their country! Their country! Their country has used them and enslaved them. Their countrymen torture them day and night with viscous taunts and threats. My God! They are trying to flee their country!”  Cesaria looked away angrily. She sighed, gazed across the patio then suddenly grabbed her cane and pulled herself to her feet. “Justin! Courtney! You made it! You’re here!”
     Everyone turned and squinted in the bright noonday sun. Justin and Courtney were standing in the doorway of the café at the foot of the patio. They were holding hands. Courtney was wearing the strapless red dress from the day before. Justin was wearing a pressed pair of slacks and a white button down shirt. Their faces were flushed. They had a lost look in their eyes as they scanned the patio.
     Cesaria placed a hand on her cheek. “Don’t they look beautiful?”
     A warm smile crept across Lucia’s face. “My God, they do.”
     “I’m ashamed of myself.", sighed John. "All the shit I've gone through and I'm just another asshole.”
     “Isn’t young love glorious?”, whispered Nadine breathlessly.  
     Gladys’ eyes fluttered. “We were too hard on them. I was too hard on them. I’ll make some calls today. I’ll get them jobs.”
     Bob reached over and took Sally’s hand. “It reminds me of us when we were young and madly in love, honey.”
     A tear rolled down Sally’s cheek. “I have been such a selfish woman. I’m a pathetic fool so caught up in myself that I have nothing better to do than attack those beautiful children. They could be our kids. I should be helping them. We should be helping each other. That's God's plan.”
     “Buck was right.”, said Dan. “They’re the future and the rest of us squabbling cannibals ought to forget about everything else for once and think about them. They’re worth fighting for.”
     Justin never let go of Courtney’s hand. He looked deep into her eyes. He leaned over and kissed her passionately. She embraced him. They held each other. They pulled themselves away from each other and looked out to sea. Still holding hands they began to walk. Their pace quickened and in an instant they were in a full run. They flew straight toward the end of the patio. Dan let out a bloodcurdling scream as they leaped onto the wall and took flight. The vision of Courtney’s red dress and Justin’s pressed white shirt hovering for an endless moment over the blue Aegean would never leave him.


                                                        

                                                              THE END

  

 

 

CHAPTER ONE - WE HAVE FEASTED UPON THE WORLD

I came to in an alley with my face on the pavement. I rolled over on my back. Garbage cans rose above me. They were swarming with rats. Shit, I thought. It happened. It really happened. I'm on the God damned street. I'm homeless. I realized I still had a bottle in my hand. I took a swig.

The rats froze. Their teeth glittered. One of them spoke. "It looks like someone's on the skids, boys."

"What's the matter, punk?", jeered another. "Cat got your tongue?"
"The poor kid's depressed.", sneered a third rat.
"Passed out in an alley with a bottle in his hand? Duh!", laughed the first rat.
A fourth rat leaned over the rim of a garbage can. "Hey, fellahs, let's take a closer

look." They slowly climbed down to the sidewalk and crept toward me.
I heard a snicker. "It looks like he's down for the count. This could be quite an

opportunity."
They surrounded me and closed in. "See what's in his pockets!", hissed one.

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DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

"Those ears look tasty.", growled another.
I felt a rat sniffing at my ear. "Smells delicious."
"I saw that ear first!", snapped another.
"Both of you are going to have to get through me!", muttered a third.
A fourth rat cackled loudly. "For God's sake, you greedy bastards! There are two ears,

plenty for all of us!"
"Sounds like we got a damn socialist in the crowd.", grumbled the first rat. The second lunged. "Let's get him! There'll be more for us."
The third rat stood in his way. "More for me!"
"All for me!", laughed one.
"All for me!", laughed another.

They were on top of me now. My vision blurred and I felt myself fading in and out of consciousness. They began to sing:

"The world's an angry world and God's an angry God. It's survival of the fittest and dog eat dog.
There ain't no place for love and compassion.
It's eat or be eaten, that's the fashion.

A rat's a rat and a man's a man.
There ain't no difference and that's God's plan."
I woke myself up with a scream. My eyes raced around the hotel room and focused on

the clock. If I didn’t move my ass, I was going to miss the ship. I threw on my clothes, grabbed my shoulder bag, bolted for the front desk and ordered a cab. I limped out of the

3

DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

hotel and calmed myself down. If the cab was quick, I would make the ship before she sailed.

The smog hadn’t changed in Athens after twenty years. Neither had the heat. A redhead walked out of the lobby and joined me. I did a poor job of pretending she didn’t exist. My taxi didn’t show. Hers did. I mentioned Piraeus and the cruise I had booked. Her breasts swayed enticingly as she lowered herself into the cab. Her legs folded like the wings of a dove. I caressed them with my eyes and caught her heady scent as she invited me in with a nod.

I glanced around nervously as the cab pulled into traffic. Her eyes danced as she suppressed a wicked smile. She lifted her chin and looked out the window. The driver stared salaciously at us in the rear view mirror. When we reached the ship, she sashayed up the gangplank and abandoned me. She made an appearance in the dining room the first night but left before I got up the courage to approach her. I caught glimpse of her on deck and then she was gone.

The next morning was Patmos. It would have been just another pretty little island in the Dodecanese had it not been crowned with the monastery where Saint John wrote that little romp of his, The Book of Revelation. I walked around Skala reveling in its primitive beauty and wondering how anyone could whip themselves into ecstatic Armageddon in a place like this. She sneaked up behind me while I was gazing into the Aegean and slipped her hand under my arm. She suggested we have a drink in a cafe. We took a small table and ordered a couple of beers. She was American. Her name was Lucia and she pronounced it in the Italian. I told her my name was Dan.

She repeated the name Daniel three times. “Why are you here?”

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DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

I fell into her enormous green eyes. “There is no place like Greece on earth. Its history is overwhelming. The blue of the Aegean is unfathomable. It’s a good place to clear your mind. When we shared the cab to the ship, you wanted to kiss me.”

“I want to kiss you now.”, she said nonchalantly. “But I won’t, not yet. I’m not teasing you. I think you understand.”

I smiled and leaned back in my chair. “Why are you here?”

“Greece is the birth place of democracy, Daniel.” she said. “Saint John wrote about the end of the world here. I wanted to see where democracy began before it ends.”

“Really?”

“America is stagnant. Our country is a cesspool. President Reagan once said we are a shining city on a hill, that it was morning in America. Now it is twilight. We are at war, Daniel.”

The mention of Ronald Reagan made me shudder. She dropped her eyes and creased the tablecloth with a burgundy fingernail. “In the Plaka, the hair on your chest caught the sunlight. Your eyes are beautiful.”

“At war?” I wiped away a bead of sweat. “At war with whom?”

“At war with each other.”, she whispered. “We have feasted upon the world and it tasted good, so good that we have begun to feast upon each other.” She reached across the table and clasped my hand.

I placed my other hand over hers. “This is a beautiful day in one of the most beautiful places on earth. I want to make love to you. You want to make love to me. If this is your idea of foreplay, I have some ideas of my own.”

She pulled her hand away and swung it off the table taking a glass with it. A waitress

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DANCING AROUND THE COOKING POT

hurried over. Lucia blushed and apologized. “Parakalo.”, smiled the waitress warmly before turning to give me a cold look.

Lucia tossed some bills on the table, took my hand and led me out of the cafe. “You’re right, Daniel.” She tried to contain herself but she could not. “But the time for democracy is over, Daniel. It was an interesting experiment but it never really worked. It never really existed. Democracy has always been a pretty facade to make the little people feel important.”

Play along, I thought. Just play along. “Are you an historian? Do you do talk radio?” She looked at me impatiently and pulled my hand. She quickened her steps. “There are

two kinds of people in this world, Daniel, the powerful and the rest. I’m so sick of everyone wailing on about how they built the highways and the schools and the water system and the power grid, and that it all belongs to them. Do you realize the highest tax bracket under the Eisenhower Administration was 90%? The little people didn’t build the American infrastructure, we did!”

In your manolos and prada, I thought as she pulled me up the gangplank and into the ship. Past my cabin and up two levels to the suites, she opened a door and swung her hand out proudly at a dazzling interior. But I wasn’t interested in the address or the furniture and I’d had enough of the lecture. I grabbed her, swung her around and slammed her to me. Her nails dug into my back. She clasped my shoulders and pulled me against her breasts. She reached up and bit my neck. I touched my lips to hers. We opened our mouths to each other. We danced out of our clothes.

    

 

AS PISSED OFF AS A STIFFED HOOKER                     

We coiled around each other. The rest of the day and the night we slept, we woke, we consumed each other. A break for room service, a relaxing stretch on the balcony to watch the sunset, dinner in the room,  none of it lasted for long. We were obsessed. The next morning we were at sea. I looked out the windows at a sky on fire with the dawn. Lucia slept like a cat beside me. I stared at her and went short of breath. She stirred. She opened her eyes and looked up at me. “Is it morning, Daniel?” She reached up and brushed away a lock of hair from my forehead. The expression on her face was of wonder, of flooding affection. “Daniel, what have we done?”
   I blushed as I looked back into her eyes. I felt more than lust. I realized what I was feeling and that suddenly shook me. “Something we didn’t intend.”
   She reached up and put her fingers to my lips. “We are very much alike, you and I, two divas strutting around the stage.”
   “You know nothing about me.”, I said.
   She stroked my leg. “Your presence broadcasts itself to the world. You are too confident and the world sees that and wants to take you down.”
   “Words of wisdom from Marie Antoinette digging her own grave in her Petit Hameau.
Do you really believe those things you said?”
   “Petit Hameau? Really? I was testing you, trying to see what kind of man was behind the bravado. I could feel your sympathy and your empathy. It disgusted me but you are gorgeous down to your toes. I have a plan. I am going to transform you.”
   I stood up from the bed. I looked at her incredulously.  “Transform me?”
   “Bring you to your senses.”
    “There is magic between us. We go wild with each other. Isn’t that enough?“
   She smiled through her teeth. “Never enough.”
   I suddenly had enough. “I feel like you’ve slapped me.”
   “There’s the door.” She tossed her chin. “Paddle yourself back to Patmos and check into the monastery, Saint Daniel.” She lay back on the bed on one elbow. Her red hair flowed over her shoulders and breasts. The sunrise lit up her eyes.
   I left her stateroom with her laughter echoing in my ears. I tried to collect myself in my cabin but the walls closed in around me. The ship would be at sea for the next day and night. I spent the day walking around the deck. I gazed at passing islands, shifting sky and swelling sea making every attempt to marvel at it all and failing miserably. I purposely stayed away from the booze. I listlessly pushed around the dolmas and spanakopita on my plate at lunch. I let a bit of melancholy cross swords with the confusion that was threatening to overwhelm me. I had fallen for someone I knew nothing of. It wasn’t just lust. I was amazed at the way she carried herself. The nod of her head and her quick smile as she turned casually toward my stares before continuing up the gangway seemed almost angelic. But I had never so completely misjudged anyone. Arrogance and acrimony had poured out of her mouth. My naivete and affection vanished. The thrill of conquest replaced them and that lit us both on fire. I felt exhausted. I felt dirty. I felt excited. I wanted more. I stretched out on a lounge chair and let the afternoon sun bake away my bemusement.
   A steward woke me and announced dinner as the sun boiled the clouds drifting over the horizon. I was myself again. I dressed for dinner in the company of a double scotch on the rocks. I selected a shirt and tie with studied ritual. Lucia had a wonderfully warm smile. I slipped into my shoes and looped the tie around my neck. Even her God damned name was beautiful. I swirled each slug of scotch around my mouth and pumped it through my teeth. The fumes rolled up my nose and lapped at the back of my eyes. She had chased me away with a cynical laugh but only moments before she had gazed into my eyes and caressed me tenderly. I buttoned my shirt and turned to the mirror to knot my tie. Brace yourself, I thought.
   I stopped at the bar before dinner. The bartender had it to herself. Her scarlet nails and lipstick matched the setting sun that flooded the room with a golden light. I ordered a double scotch on the rocks and looked out the window.
   “You have woman problem.”, announced the bartender.
   My eyebrows arched in surprise. “Where are you from?”
   “I am from Bulgaria! Buy her ring!”
   “What’s your name?”, I parried.
   “I am Snezhana. Gold ring expensive in Greece. I buy gold ring in Dubai with diamond.” She jabbed a finger graced with a thin band of gold before my eyes. A tiny sparkle was attached to it. “Gold ring with diamond. Two hundred American dollars.”
   “But that’s just a chip.”, I said gently.
   “Yes! Very chip!”, said Snezhana proudly. “We go to Crete. Go to Gyorgios in
Heraklion. Chip place in Greece to buy ring.”
  “She is rich.”, I sighed.
   The bartender’s shoulders dropped. “You love woman?”
   “I do not.”, I said.
   “You do not know. Too much money poison same as too much drink. Poison woman poison love.”
   A heavy set man in his sixties lumbered into the bar and sat down next to me. The bartender gave him a welcome smile and dropped a couple of ice cubes into a double old fashion glass. She opened an I. W. Harper bottle and let the whiskey course out in gurgling spurts. He took the glass in his hands and stared at it reverently.  His eyes smiled as he lifted it to his lips and drank deeply. He turned to me and grinned. “Ah, sweet, sweet whiskey. Dive in head first then wallow like a pig in shit the rest of the night. My name’s Buck. What’s yours?”
    “My name’s Dan.” I shook his hand. “There’s another way of drinking, you know, kind of like sex. Start out slow, go slow and slowly build up.”
   “What about wild and crazy fuckin’?”, countered Buck. “Gruntin’ like animals fuckin’? Don’t tell me you never tried that?”
   “I won’t.”, I said with a humble smile.
   Buck smiled back. “There’s all kinda fuckin’ just like there’s all kinda drinkin’ and eatin’ and dancin’ and singin’ and livin’.  Doin’ some of it together is a good idea. I like to mix and match.
Music and fuckin’ is one of my favorites.”
   “Music and fucking?” He had my attention now.
   “Sure thing, amigo. There’s all kinda music for all kinda fuckin’.”
   “Like?”
   “Like the Goldberg Variations.”
   “Bach?”, I shot back astounded. “Classical music?”
   “The Variations are real cerebral. You get lost in all them twisty notes. Try it sometime.”
   “It’s just that you don’t seem like the classical music type, no offense.”
   “None taken. Mozart’s operas can be woody material. Some of them babes squeal like they’re gettin’ it real good. Smoke a doobie and listen to Cosi Fan Tutti sometime.”
   “Maybe I should have a hit of that doobie now.”, I grinned.
   “OK.”, snorted Buck.  “How about Indian music, North Indian music, South Indian music, Kerala? Or Flamenco? Shit! Flamenco!”
   Suddenly it clicked. I understood what he was saying completely. “Repetition, passion, intellect.”, I murmured. I looked into his dark eyes with astonishment. He wasn’t playing with me. He was serious and his eyes told me so. I smiled. “You’ve turned sex into an intellectual exercise.”
   Buck rubbed his hands together. “When ever I get a belly full of how superior we are to the rest of God’s creatures, I think of fuckin’, an’ when ever I get a belly full of how some of us are more superior than others, I think of music. From professors to priests to presidents, you ain’t so high and mighty when you’re bouncin’ around squealin’ your head off. And anyone can make music, Dan, whether you’re a prince or a pauper because music is divine. Fuckin’s a joke God played on his talkin’ monkeys, and music is their revenge.”
   Snezhana dropped a couple of ice cubes in each of our glasses and filled them up. Buck looked up at her and winked. She smiled shyly. “My God, you work fast. This is only the second night of the cruise.”, I marveled.
   “I ain’t the only one.” said Buck.
   “What?”, I asked with a whiff of idiotic self righteousness.
   “Ah, come on, Dan. Half the ship saw that sex pot drag you up the gangplank yesterday.”
   I sighed. “It was a mistake. She’s filthy rich and a right wing nut job.”
   “And dynamite in the sack.”, Buck grinned.
   “Better than dynamite.”
   “It might not be all that bad to have a filthy rich doll like that in your corner these days.”, said Buck slowly and deliberately.
   I stared into my glass. “What do you mean? I’m just trying to see if there’s any good in her and overlook the lunacy.”
   “Overlook the lunacy? Get used to it.”, grunted Buck. “The world’s on a short fuse,
amigo. Sooner than later the shit’s gonna hit the fan. Did you notice how tense Athens was? As pissed off as a stiffed hooker. Greece herself is about to explode in our faces. Wall Street fucked Greece like a pimp fucks his crack whore, offered her millions in loans in exchange for her airport taxes and highway tolls for the next twenty years along with millions in fees. Then like any pimp worth his leather fedora and mink overcoat, Wall Street went down to the local bookie, bet Greece wouldn’t last the night and steps out with his wad. Then the mafia moves in for the serious business. The ECB and the IMF are workin’ over the poor workin’ girl like a seventy year old senator works over a seventeen year old intern. Fuck the small change like raisin’ the retirement age or guttin’ the civil service. These clowns are serious. Can’t make the loan payments, can’t make the interest? We’ll take everything that belongs to Greece: the railways, the airports, the water rights, the power grid, the post office, the national parks, and to twist the knife, the thing most dear to a people with thousands of years of the sea under their belts, the ports, from Piraeus to Thessaloniki.”
   I was taken aback. “I didn’t think the banks would treat Greece like a banana republic.”
   Buck offered a twisted smile. “The whole world’s a banana republic to them fuckers. The whores runnin’ Greece now are bendin’ over real good to privatize real quick. Sell the country right out from under the noses of its people but do it before they figure out they’re gettin’ gutted, skinned and butchered. It’s gonna be a hell of a cruise of the Greek islands.” He swirled the ice in his glass and looked out the window. “I thought maybe I could get away from all this horse shit but there really ain’t no place to get away.”
   I looked out the window. It was twilight. “That seems to be the case in general when we get older. There is no place to get away.  But then that’s not so bad. With time running out, you realize it’s better to change course than get away. What are you getting away from?”
   “You’re right, Dan." Buck said. Some of his confidence seemed to breathe away. “I guess I ain’t gettin’ away, I’m changin’ course. My wife’s gone. I got a boy. You say your red head’s a right wing fanatic? Seems like almost every one’s a fanatic these days. My boy turned pinhead, turned right wing, turned Zombie. What is it with this world these days? You used to be conservative and just go to church. Now you get a gun and go on a Crusade. Then to hammer the nail in the coffin, some nut case Jesus weasels got a hold o’ my boy and his family and before ya know it, they’re all prayin’ for the end of days. There’s a hole in my gut and I gotta fill it before it kills me.”
   I could see the pain in his face. “I’m sorry.”
   “Yeah, me too. Thanks. Shit happens.”, Buck said under his breath. He took a swallow
of bourbon.
  “Shit happens.” I took a swallow of scotch. “I feel sometimes like the world is lost.”
   “When the world starts fallin’ apart, Dan, the fanatics and lunatics come out of the woodwork. Hell, the reason the world’s fallin’ apart is ‘cause they been chewin’ on the woodwork all along. When up is down and down is up, you start listenin’ to anything just to try and make sense of the world. They come outa the woodwork ‘cause all of a sudden they got an audience. That’s when the politicians and the preachers and the CEOs and the rest of the thieving, murderin’, rapin’ scum of the earth get their claws in you, and before you can say let’s have a snort of whiskey and think things out,  Armageddon’s breathin’ down your neck.”
   “Yesterday she told me there are two kinds of people, the powerful and the rest.”, I said.
   Buck shook his head. “There’s two kinda people, alright. There’s definitely two kinda people.”
   I finished the last of my scotch. “The world is upside down for me these days.”
   “You got a hole in your gut too, eh, Dan? How about fillin’ it up with a little more scotch?”
   I sighed and stood up. “The booze is beginning to get to me. Will you join me for dinner?”   
   “I ain’t hungry.”, muttered Buck.
   “Well, then, it’s been a pleasure meeting you. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you.” I shook his hand.
   “Same here.”, Buck grunted. He turned his back to me and stared out the window.
    I signed the check and left a generous tip. “Thanks for the drink, Snezhana. Take good care of him.”
   “Snezhana not nursemaid!”, barked the bartender.
   I walked into the dining room feeling no pain but confused all over again. The dining room captain sat me with a middle aged couple. They both smiled broadly as I sat down. I saw nothing but warmth, openness and innocence. It was a refuge. I thought of Lucia. We had slept entwined in each other’s arms. Half awake, we pulled ourselves closer. We coiled around each other.