Summer – the first time.
I followed her into the house, still not really knowing why I was invited. I guess I was a little in awe of a woman as beautiful as she, quite speechless, once I had realized who she was.
After all, she was rumored to have been (until recently) the lover of a foreign prince; jilted, it was said, when he tried to lay claim to her, exclusively. Even before that, her notoriety drew interest in the international press over one fiery affair or another. . .with some of the most admired movie stars in several countries.
Passing through the entrance hall, she led me to a high-ceilinged room with a small fountain in the center. At one end, French windows opened onto a terrace overlooking the beach. Bird calls mingled with the gentle thunder of surf, and the scents of snowy jasmine and strident lavender collided on the breeze. Luscious ferns overflowed large pots just within the doors and the light through the windows was dappled and dreamy.
I moved to the fountain and traced a pattern with my fingertips on its shimmering surface. Small flowers in white, mauve and cream cast rippling shadows as they shivered in gentle eddies. The water felt so cool, I cupped my hands to dampen my face, just a little – but most of the water ran down my neck, soaking my singlet.
Embarrassed, I remembered myself and sought her eyes; but her back was toward me as she poured drinks at a low cabinet set into the wall.
I admired the drape of her clothes, expensively sheer, her shoulders straight, small waisted, spherical breasts - the classic picture of voluptuous; round of bottom and all curves.
When she turned to me again, she was carrying large, tear shaped glasses, frothing with chilled champagne and fresh fruit.
She handed me a brimming glass, arched brows over her hazel eyes, which met mine in a penetrating manner.
"Salute," she smiled, her soft accent apparent. I tilted my head back to drink. Her thick lashes lowered, her gaze following the trickle of moisture from the glass, along my chin, my neck, my collarbone, then to the damp patches over my breasts.
Her eyes lingered there, fingers circling the rim of her glass thoughtfully, then dabbling in the fruit of her drink, she plucked a strawberry and ran it along her full lips, leaving a damp glossy trail, which her pink tongue removed with a flickering caress; it was so sensual, I was mesmerized and felt myself blushing as my nipples hardened in response; she grinned just a tiny bit before meeting my eyes again.
I felt such a slob, and began to stammer an apology, gesturing toward the little pool, but she reached her fingers out to me, touching my lips and, smiling secretively, shook her head, just a little. Her glossy dark curls swung, the gems at her ears twinkled and my breath caught in my throat; I thought how easily those great men must have been caught by her beauty, how compelling she was in the flesh.
Sipping again from the frosty glass she brushed past me; I followed as meekly as a puppy, thoroughly out of me depth. We walked back into bright sunshine past more windows and along the terrace to turn in again at another door, this time to an enormous room filled with plants.
She swept a graceful hand around the room. "The conservatory" she announced with an airy gesture, her dusky voice and sultry accent intriguing.
I stopped, dazzled by her & by the change in light. my eyes adjusted unti I found myself staring at her, once again fascinated, as she gracefully turned, her wide, silken sleeve cascaded down her slender ar. The fabric of her blouse pulling tightly against her body, one large, shapely breast held in sharp relief against the light; full and naturally round, with the bud of a delicate flower at it's tip. I could not pull my eyes away and she caught me looking, that same little twist of her lips I had earlier noted, when she had stopped beside me on the pier.
It had been a fine morning in the little fishing village. She had been marketing, I supposed and returning to her car with a basket of flowers, must have heard us shouting, Jerry & I.
As he turned back toward our mooring, I stood my ground but burst into tears. I had left my home and my job for him, to travel on his yacht, fuzzy dreams of romantic adventures and passions had rapidly dwindled as I found myself responsible for all the unpaid cooking and cleaning chores, and none of the respect I knew I had earned. If she had not happened along when she did, chic but unrecognizable in shades & a floppy hat, I would be sitting on the road by the market, hoping to hitch a ride to somewhere, anywhere else.
"You need to cool down," she said firmly, appraising the blonde hair, poking through my bandanna, and fair skin, my face streaked with tears and no doubt red, to boot.
"You can come in my car, if you like." I hesitated, looking over my shoulder at Jerry who sauntered arrogantly along the dock with the confidence of a man sure I had nowhere else to go. Brimming with anger I saw him ogling the pretty girl, sitting on the seat by the flower stall; it was enough. I turned on my heel and accompanied my rescuer to her Saab.
"Do not be shy," she had told me, as I had hesitated before climbing into the Saab. As we drove into the hills beyond the bay, I told her I had known for some time Jerry had taken advantage of me,that I would never trust amen again. "they are all bastards" I declared, before subsiding, embarrassed.
"The only way to find someone who makes you happy is to take the chance, again, again each time," she laughed, a musical sound, confident and feminine.
"When your tears are dry, you will remember that life's little setbacks are soon behind you; excitement follows when you know there is no seeing what lies around the next corner."
She put the top up and the air conditioner on, removing her hat. With Latin music accompanying us, we followed a winding road along the coast, and I tried to place her, her image somehow familiar, but elusive in my memory. That name came to me as we stopped to turn in at lacy metal gates, which glided open at the touch of a panel set into her dashboard.
To cover my alarm, I turned to watch them close behind us, then disappear behind a riot of colorful foliage & palms as we followed a curling road through undulating parkland to a large white house with spreading verandahs on every side.