Chapter 9:
The Villas was not a single house; clearly there had been many opulent homes dotting the island at one time, but between hurricanes through the years and abandonment by owners that needed to adapt to an electricity free world, the island had been mostly reclaimed by nature. The Villa was an exception. A condo community that formed a 'U' shape around a massive, terraced courtyard, the building was made of concrete, weathered white by time and had clearly been quite exclusive in its day – each unit had several balconies with waist high, black wrought iron railings; there had been 1 massive pool in the courtyard, two smaller pools hidden in coves of palm trees and a pair of hot tubs, as well as multiple beach access points. The selection of the spot allowed for all family and militia members to enjoy a private suite, many with stunning views. Nora stood at the top of the stairs that led from the beach in awe. She supposed that they simply selected the best available structure that would provide sufficient space for all members of the party, but she wondered – it felt almost as though Miles and Bass knew of this place somehow. Turning, she looked at their faces. Each man was smiling at the other, clearly silently sharing a memory. Betting a hunch, "This is not your first stay at this place? You've been here before."
Grinning Miles kissed the crown of her head, but it was Bass who responded, "When we were stationed at Lejeune we met a couple of girls one April night at a bar in Jacksonville. They had been vacationing and when we mentioned having a two day pass, they asked us to join them out here."
Smacking his shoulder as she passed, "So, you decided to bring your wife and children to a place you and Miles partied with a pair of Marine groupies… nice, really classy." Charlotte alleged.
Miles laughed as Bass trailed after Charlotte attempting to determine if she was really mad at him. Nora cuddled closer before speaking, "Coming back here, bringing us here is not the same as never leaving. But, it is kind of fun to picture you as a cocky 19 year-old with his best friend and not a single responsibility – before the tours you told me about in Iraq and Afghanistan, before the lights went out and you and your best friend walked across the east in search of your family, before you started a country, conquered your enemies and I fell in love with you."
Miles caressed the spot behind her ear before suggesting they head back down the stairs to watch the boys play in the sand as the sun sets behind them.
On the third floor of the right wing, Charlotte smiled as she saw her eldest girls grinning with laughter, "Mom, you and Dad have got to see the view from our rooms and it is so incredibly cool that you are letting us stay in our own unit!" Shaking her head, Charlotte could barely keep herself from chuckling as she watched Claire and Danni vibrate with joy. Of course she did double over with laughter a moment later when she heard Bass sputter at learning the knowledge that his daughters would not be staying in the same unit.
"But, but… what… excuse me?" Bass questioned.
Patting his chest, "I spoke with the Militia guard that investigated this place for us. The condos each have two bedrooms. We will be in 317 with Maddie, Miles and Nora will be in 319 with Eve, and Claire and Danni will be in 318 with all 5 boys."
Then it was her daughters turn to plead and argue, "You can't be serious?! There are two rooms and two of us. Why would you stick us with those lunatics?" Danni demanded.
"Mom, wouldn't it make more sense if you put the boys with an adult? They don't listen to us and you don't want them unattended." Claire reasoned.
Looking at his practical little heir, Bass smiled in thought before speaking, "Ok, I think she is right Charlotte. Based on the map there is one room beyond Miles and Nora's and we can put the 5 boys in there with Pike and Grant to keep tabs on them at night." Bass smiled at the almost instantaneous screams of "NO!" coming from both girls, as though there was any scenario that those two young guards would share a condo with his daughters. At the look on their father's face they pivoted and stormed off toward the rooms.
Smiling Bass took Charlotte's hand and walked her toward their unit. Before she could reach for the door, Bass scooped her up and pushed the door open with his ass.
"Bass what are you doing? Put me down." Charlotte demanded.
With a smile Bass shook his head, "No, my beautiful bride; I have every intention of carrying my bride over the threshold like I did on our honeymoon. Just think we have a unit that we will only be sharing with the one child that we can control! It's the perfect opportunity for a romantic second honeymoon."
Shaking her head at his childlike antics, "It's been a few years, but I don't remember sand, or palm trees, or warm temperatures anywhere during our honeymoon. I just remember a whole lot of snow and two weeks of a naked you!"
With a sparkle in his eyes, Bass offered, "I could be naked now?"
Climbing out of his arms, Charlotte started to explore the condo. Just inside the door, to the left, was a small bright yellow bedroom with a large bed and a small chest of drawers; what had once been a serviceable, but not particularly fancy bathroom was attached. Ahead the hallway split; on the left the hall led to an open kitchen with an eating bar, stools and a counter made of brown and black flecked granite. Beyond the kitchen was a living room – all the furnishings the same as they had been on the night electricity disappeared from the world, a large L-shaped couch a low glass coffee table filled with sea shells and a wall sized TV that her husband appeared to be mooning over. Turning she walked back toward the other hall and realized it was actually a part of the master bedroom. Another, slightly nicer bathroom was on the right and the hall opened to a large room with a king-sized bed. Another TV hung on the cream colored wall opposite the bed, and an almost wall sized sliding glass door stood open to the breeze of salt air that filled the room, made up the far wall.
After exploring the deck beyond the flowing curtains, Charlotte moved back to the living room before responding to her husband's offer, "Sorry, naked time will have to wait; I need to retrieve Maddie, you need to make sure the boys are settled into their rooms and check that the Militia has a guard rotation schedule, and we all need to gather for dinner, all before we can put the kids to bed. Then, maybe we can have some reenactments of our first vacation."
Charlotte opened the sliding glass doors in the living room and the windows in the small bedroom to let in the ocean breeze before she walked out the door to check with the head of her security. Minutes later she found Duncan in the room next door watching Maddie and Eve while Danni unpacked. Looking around the room, Charlotte noticed Claire was missing almost immediately and asked, "Duncan have you seen Claire?"
Smiling up from her spot on the floor, she dropped the doll back in Eve's hands before getting up to speak with her boss. "Claire grabbed her book, a sweater and a blanket and headed down to the courtyard to read in one of the wooden chairs on the lawn. Don't worry – Lance Corporal Pike followed her to keep watch."
Charlotte sat down and grabbed a doll to play with her little girl and her younger sister, "Join us Duncan. There is nothing more fun that dolls with a little girl."
Outside as the evening light started to fade; Claire sat under a pair of tiki torches with a blanket over her legs and her favorite old book on her lap. Off to the side, on an oversized rock, Robert sat watching her read and wondering how he could give her the books he had bought without leading her on.
After 15 minutes of half reading and covertly watching him stare, Claire finally decided to engage Robert in conversation. "Aren't you bored watching me?"
Unwilling to answer, Robert leaned forward and decided to ask a question instead, "Tell me about what you are reading?"
Nodding Claire showed him the cover of the book she was holding, It looked handmade and well used, "My mom found this book when she was my age. Her, my dad, Grandpa had gone on vacation to Boston. She said that they had gone to a farmers market called Haymarket that had been in operation since 1830 to buy food, and then wandered over a few streets to an open air market called Faneuil Hall. There was a woman there that was selling all kinds of old world things and mom found this book. She said she wasn't sure the woman meant to have brought it that day or wanted to sell it, but dad offered her a lot of money. Mom told me about her when I found this book in her private study; she said that the book was written by the woman she bought it from. The book is a collection of pictures that she took and watercolors that she drew during her travels in Peru; and on each page she tells the stories of her adventures." Leaning forward Claire showed the cover entitled 'Travel Tips for Machu Picchu, Peru'; before she started talking again, "Do you want to hear my favorite part?"
Robert looked at the smile on her face and heard the excitement in her voice, so he moved closer to sit on the grass at the base of the chair, "Tell me everything. Read to me, show me the pictures, teach me all about whatever Macho Picco is."
Claire laughed and hit his shoulder, sure he was making fun of her, but corrected him anyway, "Machu Picchu, it is in Peru, a country in South America, and it is a lost city that was hidden for hundreds of years in the Amazon jungle. Evidently it was built by the Inca and people would travel there to see the stunning ruins and explore the hiking trail that led there. The author is an amazing photographer, and her drawings are beautiful, but I think the best part is the story she told. I keep reading it and just wish I could find a way to travel in her footsteps. Here listen to this…"
Robert watched her joy as she began to read, "It's been two weeks since I have returned from exploring Peru. I went with my Keens a beat up pair of jean shorts, a tankini top, and a hiking pack that included my extra khaki shorts, 4 cotton t-shirts, underwear that isn't practical for what I am doing, 3 water bottles, a ten pack of Mocha Almond Bars – you know the really good kind that don't just have almonds and a little bit of dark chocolate, but walnuts and apricots and flax seeds and way more dark chocolate than is really necessary, and gum, oh, and of course my camera with the extra lens, and my water painting travel kit. As we hiked, I listened to Turn Right at Machu Picchu on my IPhone and enjoyed the incredible fresh air of the jungle that enclosed the Inca Trail. The entire trip was supposed to take 4 days, but with all the stops to take pictures, sketch and paint it was 7 before we reached Aguas Calientes, the small town at the base of Machu Picchu. We stayed in a hostel for the night before we rode the first bus of the morning up the hill at 5:30 am. I suppose I could have taken the 2 hour hike up the stairs, but by riding the bus for 20 minutes it got me in the gate first and I still had my energy intact, so I could enjoy exploring the ruins, make friends with the llamas, photograph – EVERYTHING – and sketch and draw from 19 different angles."
Robert looked at the photographs she showed from the book and examined the detail of the watercolor paintings, but said nothing, just knowing Claire had more to say.
Understanding he was willing to listen, Claire continued, "She describes the sunrise that first morning in Machu Picchu and there are pages and pages of pictures and the watercolors she did – and she explains what everything is, quotes a bunch of different books and at one point she tells a story of how a llama snuck up on her from behind while she painted and sniffed her drawing."
"It sounds amazing. Do think she traveled to other places? Maybe she wrote other books." He took the book from her hand and thumbed through the pages.
In a soft, shy voice Claire offered, "You can borrow it… I mean if you're interested I, I would let you borrow it."
Before he could respond, they both heard her grandfather calling her uncles and brothers up from the beach to dinner. Realizing they would have company in a few moments, Robert stood and thanked her for the book, "I would love to read it. I promise to keep it safe."
A grinning Claire followed him toward the picnic tables on the far side of the upper terrace positive if she was patient he would learn to see her as more than a little sister.
After dinner they all headed up the stairs and Bass paused as he watched Danni and Claire pass their door and walk toward the boys Condo. Stunned his voice broke as he bellowed, "Where are you going?"
Claire walked back and cuddled into her father's arms, "Night Daddy, I am going to read to the boys before bed. You remember, I bought those Potter books as bedtime stories for them."
Bass grudgingly muttered an "I guess" before he let Charlotte pull him into their unit. And Danni waited until the door clicked close to extend her invitation, "You know John, Claire said this whole Potter story is supposed to be really great. You and Robert should totally stay and listen."
From his place just around the corner Miles heard the offer and had to choke on his laughter. It served Bass right that he had to deal with those two, he loved his granddaughters, but their less than subtle interest in boys was certainly taking its toll on Bass, and to be fair that is just more fun for him.
