15. They're Worth Fighting For

                           

                                                 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 whitewashed 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 o    f what awaits our own world. He thought of the gluttonous cannibalism in the purser’s office just a couple of hours ago. All that bloodletting 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 himself 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 skintight 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 whitewashed 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!” They floated towards the end of the patio.
     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 his 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 them. “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 everyone 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. It's only three feet high. Think of it. Only three feet between you and a thousand foot drop to the sea.”
     “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.”
     “Whatever 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 brown noser 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 anymore.”
     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!” Everyone 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 drinks before them that Dan 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 better 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 everyone 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 them. “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 everyone’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. My God! They are trying to flee their country!”  She 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 sunlight. 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 and jumped to his feet. "You can't do this! You can't let them win!" He threw himself in front of them. They collapsed into a ball of flailing limbs that rolled up against the wall. They bounced against it and started to pour over it. Screams and curses pounded against each other. Fingers pulled frantically at skin and clothes. Dan's voice boomed over the cacophony as the three of them swayed over the abyss. "You can't leave by the back door! There's nothing worse than killing yourself! Nothing!" 

     The surging ball of fury froze. Then it collapsed. The pounding fists opened. They held each other. They stroked each other. They wept.                                                                                                                                                       

 

                                                                   THE END