Edge of Tomorrow (60 page)

Syd laughed a happy, bright laugh.

“You think so? You think women can handle the
pressure at that level?” snorted General Lincoln.

“Stop baiting her, Larry,” interjected
Carrie.

Syd answered him, “Of course! Even the
services have women generals. I partially agree with Margaret
Thatcher on women in politics. She said, quote, ‘In politics, if
you want anything said, ask a man; if you want anything done, ask a
woman.’ Sometimes, I think a woman can say it better, too!”

“Well, I always wonder how women will
handle things when they get gripped in the hands of
fear
. Military
or
political!” continued the General.

Syd thought a second, then mused, “Fear is
often misunderstood, General. In times of danger, the animal
instincts built into our genes raise warning signals. It’s how our
minds process those signals that produce what we call fear. The
mind is very powerful. Fear, properly channeled, can help one
defeat the bogey man.”

The General fell silent while trying to
digest her statement, and fortunately for Syd, Hatch returned
followed by Papa Papa with a tray of drinks.

Trying to regain the upper hand, the General
asked, “You wouldn’t be one of those feminists, would you?”

“Lordy no, Larry! Do I look like someone who
would burn a perfectly good bra?” Syd smiled sweetly, an eyebrow
arched.

The General’s neck seemed to turn a darker
shade as Carrie glared at him.

Hatch remarked, “Did I miss something?”

Carrie replied sweetly, “No, dear. Your
father was trying to have a duel of wits with Syd and lost.”

Papa Papa served their drinks and gave
them menus. He also described the specials for the evening. Then he
suggested that they enjoy the
joie de
vivre
, Greek style. He recommended that they start off
with a selection of
mezedes
,
Greek
hors d’oeuvres
. They
agreed, but left the selection to him.

Greeks in all walks of life use evening
dining as one of their principal sources of entertainment,
especially in the small island villages.
Papa’s Taverna
catered to Greek clientele
primarily. The only other non-Greek guests besides Hatch’s group
were two French couples. Nearly all the tables were now
full.

Papa Papa returned in ten minutes and
placed an assortment of filled plates in the center of the round
table. He explained that Greeks preferred their
mezedes
served family style so all could sample
some of everything. He related in detail what each dish was. There
was
dolmadakia
, meat rolled
in grapevine leaves;
kolokithakia
, deep fried zucchini with a spread
called
tzatziki
, made from
yogurt, garlic, and cucumbers;
keftedes
(meat balls); and pickled
octopus.

These were all new foods to Syd, since
her experience with Greek food was limited to an occasional Greek
salad and a few pita bread sandwiches stuffed with grilled
lamb
souvlaki
. She figured
the food could not be any spicier than some of the dishes she had
eaten in the Middle East.

They all sampled the various dishes, ordered
a second round of drinks, and partook of lively and comfortable
conversation. Hatch was enjoying himself even more than he had
expected.

The General finally said to Syd, “If I didn’t
say so before, Sydney, my deepest condolences on the loss of your
parents. A little family get-together like this must make you sad.
Did you ever find out who the culprits were?”

This brought a glare from both Carrie and
Hatch, but Syd took it in stride and answered with a wan smile,
“Thank you, General. The group who took credit for the bombing was
a group of Muslim extremists who called themselves the Wrath of
Allah.”

She did not wish to go into more detail for
obvious reasons.

The General reached for another zucchini and
said, “Didn’t I read something about a group in Iran getting blown
up a couple of weeks ago? As I remember, that was their name! That
must have been something to see! Those bastards being blown to
hell, where they belong!”

Syd recalled the scene vividly, including
Sara’s blood everywhere.

“Yes, that would be something to see,” she
whispered.

“Let’s change the subject, General,”
interjected Hatch. “We needn’t remind Syd of the loss of her
parents.”

“I just thought she would be pleased that
…”

“I’m sure she is. How’s your golf game these
days, General?” continued Hatch, determined to save Syd from any
more of his father’s probing.

“Well, I’m no Tiger Woods.”

• • •

By the time they had finished their
dinner—pork cooked in a covered pot with apples, pears, and
vegetables—the entertainment was in full swing. The musical group
consisted of two men each playing an eight-string
bouzouki
(a mandolin-like instrument
with four pairs of strings), one playing a
baglamas
(a three-stringed instrument), and one
with a
kithara
(guitar).
Occasionally, the musician playing the lead melody on a
bouzouki
, would switch to a
klarino
—a Greek clarinet—to play the
melody. His name was Otus Andros, Papa Papa’s forty-year-old
nephew. He was a well-known expert musician in Greek circles. His
daughter Kaly sang many of the songs the band played. The place was
now packed to capacity.

Hatch ordered a couple of Zorbatinis for
himself and Syd, and ordered a bottle of Metaxa Private Reserve
brandy for his parents. He ordered the entire bottle so he and Syd
could take what was left to their rooms later for their ritualistic
nightcap.

“What’s a Zorbatini?” Syd had asked.

“It’s one quarter ounce of
ouzo
and one and a quarter ounces of
Stoli vodka—or, in our case, a double dose of each. You’ll love
it!” he had explained.

When the drinks were served, Carrie and Syd
excused themselves and went to the Ladies’ Room. Hatch bought two
cigars from the bar and led his father outside to the dock. There
were several tables out there filled with revelers, so the two
walked farther down the dock to gain some privacy.

“Are you still allowed a cigar, General?”
queried Hatch.

“It’s my fucking fiftieth anniversary, so
I’ll have one if I want!”

“I’ll take that as a no, but you’ll have one
anyway.”

They lit up and leaned on a rail and peered
out over the dark water. They could see lights on some of the boats
anchored on buoys. The clanking of sail lines against masts drifted
in off the water like a wind chime.

“How did the interrogation of Syd go,
General?” chuckled Hatch as he puffed his thin cigar.

“Interrogation? No such thing! Just friendly
banter, getting to know her.”

“Sure.”

“Well, if it means anything, this gal I
like. I know it’s only been a few hours, but she outshines the
usual brainless pussy you bring around. She’s smart, and has
mucho
backbone,” said the General as
he puffed his cigar. “She’s the only person besides your mother who
has ever had the guts to talk back to me!”

Hatch sipped his Zorbatini and smiled,
ignoring the insult about backbone and his usual taste in
women.

She passed the old man’s friggin’ test! Not
that it would have changed my course of action in any way if she
hadn’t, but it will make things much more pleasant now. Maybe he
will accept her as a daughter-in-law!

“I’m glad you like her, General, because you
are right: she is not like anyone I’ve known before, and I love her
deeply. I’m going to ask her to marry me!” Hatch informed him.

“You’re not! Well! You are! I guess it’s
about time you found someone. She’s certainly a looker, too!”

“Don’t say anything to Mom. Syd could very
well turn me down, and I don’t want Mom getting all excited and
then being let down,” replied Hatch, taking another puff off his
cigar.

“Why should she turn you down? You’re the
richest fucking man in the world! And you have my good looks!”
laughed the General, raising his wine glass in toast to Hatch.

Hatch touched his glass to the General’s and
answered, “Money doesn’t impress her. She believes in things like
human values and honesty and love. I’m not sure I’ll measure up.
She’s still trying to figure me out.”

“Well, give her the hard sell, and I’m
putting in my order for a grand
son
right now! I love my granddaughters, but I’d like to see the
Lincoln name carried on,” ordered General Lincoln.

“Don’t you dare say anything like that in
front of Syd! We’ve never discussed how she feels about children,”
snapped Hatch.

“All right, all right! Go get her, son!”

“Why don’t you go back in and stay with
Mom and ask Syd to join me out here with her drink. I’ll do it now.
I need her answer
now
!”

The General went back inside and Syd wandered
out with her Zorbatini in her hand.

“What’s up, sweetie?” she smiled. “Need
company while you finish that cigar?”

“I always crave your company, cigar or no,”
he smiled.

“I like your parents. Your mother’s a doll. I
see what you meant about your father, but I either tamed him or
pissed him off. I’m not sure which,” she chortled. “Got a
cigarette? I’ll have a couple of drags with you.”

He gave her one and lit it for her, then
clinked his glass against hers in a silent toast.

“There’s something I’ve been dying to ask you
ever since yesterday, but I wanted the atmosphere to be just right.
Also, I thought it only fair that you meet some of my family, to
put things in perspective,” he said, groping for words.

“Whatever are you rambling about, Hatch?” she
laughed. “Spit it out!”

“I want to spend the rest of my life with
you, Syd. I think you feel the same way, don’t you?”

“Of course, sweetheart! We said all that
yesterday, but I don’t mind saying it again, and again,” she
replied as she kissed his cheek.

“Well, there’s only one proper way to do
that, dear one.”

He went down to one knee, peered up at her,
and said solemnly, “Will you marry me, Syd? Please?”

Syd went into shock! She had not seen it
coming, even though she should have. Somehow, it had never entered
her mind that he would make such a commitment so soon, if ever.

“Are you serious, Hatch?” she gasped, nearly
spilling her drink.

“Very! I want you to be my wife!” he affirmed
as he stood.

“Have you thought this through? Your lawyers
will have you committed! Marrying someone you’ve known less than a
month! They’ll know I’m just some friggin’ gold digger!”

“Fuck my lawyers!” he snapped as he put
his hand on her shoulder. “My lawyers work for
me
! They do what I tell them, nothing
more.”

He sat his glass on the railing, than took
hers and did the same with it. He snuffed out his cigar in a bucket
of sand, then took her cigarette and crushed it out also. He then
took her into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips.

“I want to marry you, darling. Nothing else
matters. Please say yes,” he whispered in her ear.

Syd began thinking of all the reasons why
this could not work, then her mind skipped to planning a wedding,
then back again to the problems.

“Screw it!” she finally blurted. “Screw the
problems! Yes! I’ll marry you, Hatch! We’ll solve the problems
together!”

The next kiss was much more sensuous, tongues
dueling.

“Stop!” she sighed as his hand sought her
breast. “This will get out of hand quickly! Let’s save it for our
room—where we can do it right!”

Hatch stepped back from her and laughed,
“Thanks, Syd! I forgot where we were for a moment. I’m just too
friggin’ happy! Let’s go tell your future in-laws!”

“They’re not going to approve, are they?”

“You’ll be surprised about that, I think. Why
don’t we go and find out?”

They returned to their seats at the
round table inside and Hatch ordered two more double Zorbatinis and
refreshed his parent’s snifters from the
Metaxa
bottle. The General raised an eyebrow at
Hatch, who winked at him, and the old man smiled. When the drinks
arrived, Hatch raised his glass.

“A toast,” he said, “to Sydney Steppe, the
woman I love!”

They all clinked glasses, then took sips. Syd
was actually radiant. Hatch retrieved the ring box from his
pocket.

“Mom, General. I have just asked this
gorgeous woman to marry me and she has done me the honor of
accepting my proposal!” Hatch announced proudly. He opened the box
so they all could see the ring. Syd gasped when she saw it.

Hatch continued, “I thought I would share
with you the ceremony of placing this ring on Syd’s finger. I hope
you like it, Syd! I tried not to be too ostentatious.”

Syd was stunned by the size of the
diamond and the beauty of the ring. She whispered, “Oh, my … God!
It’s
unbelievable
!”

“Congratulations!” boomed the General while
Hatch placed the ring on Syd’s finger. It fit perfectly, since he
had measured one of her dinner rings without her knowledge.

Carrie had tears running down her face as she
got up and went to Syd. Syd stood and they hugged, then Carrie
hugged her son. When Papa Papa saw what was happening, he grinned
and signaled the band to start up the song he had prearranged, just
in case. Otus Andros played a lively melody, then began a raucous
song about a woman losing her virginity to a handsome sailor.
Fortunately, he sang it in Greek, so Syd never knew why all the
regulars were clapping to the beat, looking at her, and laughing
boisterously.