The Symbolon (17 page)

The bathroom door opened
. “Val?” It was Weege.

“Tell him to leave!” was all she could say.

Knocking on the door to the stall, Weege said softly, “Honey, open up. Okay?”

“Tell him to leave! Just do that! Just tell him to leave!” She felt herself getting hysterical.

“Okay. Okay, honey,” Weege whispered. “I don’t know what happened with you and Alex, but, Val, Paolo is right outside the door and he can hear everything you say.

“I explained to him that you just went through a rough break-up. He says he just wants to make sure you’re
all right.” Valeria didn’t know how to respond. “Honey, did Paolo say something that upset you? He says he didn’t even say hello before you took off.” Weege knocked again. “He’s really a nice guy, he said—”

Valeria felt the hysteria take over. She screamed, “You tell that son-of-a-bitch…you tell him that I will
never
want to see him. Never! Get rid of him! You tell him to get the hell out of my life!”

Nausea overtook Valeria and she turned and vomited again. Weege knocked on the door to the stall
. “Okay… It’s okay. I understand. This is about Alex. It’s probably just too soon. No problem. Come on out, okay, honey?”

Something snapped in Valeria. She realized that she wasn’t a coward…and she certainly wasn’t afraid of Paolo! She opened the door of the stall and pushed past Weege and the five women holding out in the restroom waiting to witness the event. She rinsed her mouth and washed her trembling hands then splashed some cool water on her face, all while Weege stood looking helpless. She patted the water from her face with a towel. The other women in the restroom continued to watch, trying to pretend to be engaged in other activities, like lipstick application, obviously afraid they would miss the action when Valeria went postal on the man outside. That’s all right—she was stronger now. He had already taken everything she loved. There was
nothing
else he could take from her now!

She pushed open the bathroom door and marched directly past him without even looking at him. If he touched her,
he would regret it!
She walked around the front of the bar and down the stairs with Weege following her to the door. “Val, wait! I need to get my purse!” But Valeria wasn’t waiting. She bolted, running past the Shubert Theater and then up 8th Avenue. She ran two blocks and then stopped, choking on a sudden sob that held her hostage. She leaned down on her knees as one long sob went through her and then she pushed it back. She wasn’t going to cry anymore.

When she finally stood back up, Paolo was behind her looking concerned. Valeria looked at him and
, again, no words would come from her mouth…and then something that was angry and animal arose in her.
She would make him hurt!
The street was still crowed with tourists when she swung her purse at his head, hitting him in the face, then she began punching him with her fists and kicking him. The tourists stared at her like this was just the sort of behavior they expected from a New Yorker. Then the tears started flowing, increasing with each punch or kick, becoming tears of rage and then pain. He didn’t defend himself. He didn’t need to. He wasn’t hurt by her efforts.

When she realized that fact, she shook her head and said quietly
, dangerously, “If you ever come near me again, I will kill you! I don’t care if I spend the rest of my life in jail. I’m already dead!” She turned and began to walk down the street, feeling empowered, and a little less dead than she had felt in months!

Finally
, he spoke with no anger or charm. “Bella, I had to do what I did. You would do the same thing for your family.” Valeria ignored him and flagged a cab. One angled in, and she waited until she was in the seat and the door was closed before giving the cabbie her address.

It was silly. If he could find Weege and set-up this elaborate scene, he knew everything he needed to know about her. He had prepped Weege well. The set-up in the bar was perfect so that she was forced to see him. He knew she would attack him. He was prepared for that
, too.

An hour later, Weege showed up at Valeria’s. But Valeria didn’t want any company—except Alex. She
needed
Alex. But he didn’t come back to her. She had lain in her bed and willed him to come to her night after night, with no response. Now she was certain that it must have been a dream or a hallucination.

Still, sometimes she had the feeling that his lips were there, inches from hers. And sometimes
, she felt like he was thinking about her, especially when she was running. Didn’t he know that she needed him now? If it had been real, and it
had
to be real, she needed him. Weege kept pounding and apologizing until one of the neighbors started yelling at her to shut up. Now, Valeria listened as Weege and the neighbor had it out verbally. But Valeria had gotten her keys back from Weege and just didn’t want to talk. She hoped Weege would leave. How could she explain all this? Then she realized that she couldn’t.

In her bed
, she tried over and over to recreate the moment when Alex had come to her. She drifted again into a restless, dreamless state.

∞

The next day, Valeria drank her coffee and then went to Zabar’s for groceries. She wore her sunglasses as a protective mechanism—she wasn’t in the mood to talk. She picked up kale, strawberries, more coffee, and cream and then walked back to her brownstone, sighing with relief after seeing no signs of Paolo.

Maybe she could get a restraining order. Valeria wondered if there were any complexities in getting restraining orders against immortals…she didn’t even know his last name. Did he even have one? Back at her brownstone she blended the kale and strawberries and drank it down.

Why didn’t Alex come back to her, like he did that time? That was real…she had to believe it was real! Maybe she had gone insane, like Cassandra. Valeria changed into her running clothes. She ran to the park and around the reservoir. Everything was in bloom. She realized that no matter the time of year, there was never a time when she didn’t love the view of the skyscrapers about the rich green foliage. She could feel Alex’s love and then she remembered something that he said, “I’m sending you some people who I think can help us with this problem. We need help!”

Had Alex intended to get help from Paolo? No! But then his last words to her in Greece were that Paolo had loved her. Alex had to know that she would
never
be with Paolo. But maybe Paolo had something that could help them resolve this. Maybe he knew where Kristiana was. Alex had to know that Valeria could never violate her loyalties or even pretend that she had anything but repulsion for Paolo. Still, maybe there was a way to get what she wanted. Maybe Paolo could understand how she felt about Alex. If Paolo had ever loved her, maybe he would drop this ridiculous petition.

Valeria ran to the Bow Bridge overlooking the pond. She stopped to stretch, throwing
one of her legs on top of the wrought iron rail, while glancing down at the rowboats in the narrow pond below. She heard his voice from behind her.

“Bella?”

She froze
. Finally, she lowered her leg from the bridge and turned. “Why are you following me?” she asked hostilely.

He stepped forward with a shrug and she sensed his nervousness. “Bella…Valeria
, I know you are very angry with me. But I did what I had to do. You would do the same.”

With no recognition or evaluation of the statement
, she slapped Paolo with all of her might. His face turned from her effort. She noticed with pleasure, the red, angry mark on his face. She had finally made an impression!

She glared at him
with venom in her eyes. “What do you want from me?”

Paolo looked down. “I want to make it up to you.”

“There is only one way you can even begin to make it up. And until you are willing to do that, we have nothing to discuss.” She turned and started to walk away.

“Yes…you are right.” He spoke with no hint of the arrogance that she had heard before. “That is what I am offering.” Valeria stopped. Was this a trick? Of course it was.

She didn’t turn. “If that’s what you were offering, Alex would be here. Not you.”

“It’s a proposition.”

Valeria turned around. “Go on.”

Paolo knew better than to reach for her.
He evaluated her. “Maybe we should discuss this over lunch. You have lost too much weight.”

“My weight is none of your business!” She glared at him
. “Besides, you ruin my appetite. It’s here or nothing.”

Paolo nodded
. “I think I like you better like this than the sweet, young girl I married.”

“Yeah, and I liked you better when you were
gone!
” She took a few steps toward him, “You need to understand this—you may have taken advantage of a fifteen-year-old girl who looked like me, but
don’t you ever
, for even one moment, think that you can talk to me that way now. Do you understand?” Paolo looked down and nodded. “Get to the point,” she demanded.

“I want to see you.”

“Not in your dreams!” She started to walk away.

“I will allow you to see him.” It stopped her in her tracks as her heart suddenly lurched into her throat. She turned to look at him and felt her heart pounding heavily in anticipation.
Oh, God, what she would do to see him!

“I don’t believe anything you say,” she said cautiously.

Paolo looked at her and his eyes softened. “You have my oath on it.” She felt her heart rate increase and she feared her emotions would overtake her if she didn’t remember that he was a con man.

“What? I have to whore myself
out to you and in exchange…” She gave him a look of vile disgust, but inside she knew that she would do anything for five more minutes in Alex’s arms.

“No,
Bella. There are many opportunities for me, if that was all that I desired. I want you to spend time with me.” She rolled her eyes in disbelief.

“What’s the catch?” she asked suspiciously. A breeze suddenly moved through the greenery around the bridge and she thought she
caught that blend of aftershave and soap on the air. Was it because they were talking about him?

“No catch.” Paolo shrugged
. “I believe that if you spend time with me you will get over your affliction for Alex. I am certain that you will realize that it is you and I who belong together.”

Releasing a short
, caustic laugh, she rolled her eyes. “That will
never
happen!”

“
That is a risk I am willing to take. Of course, if you are too afraid to risk the possibility that you and Alex are not meant to be together...”

“I’m not afraid of you. I hate you.” The only emotion she
felt at that moment was a well-hidden desperate desire to see Alex…and her obvious hatred of Paolo. “There is no risk for me, except that you won’t perform as agreed.”

“Oh, I always perform.” He winked seductively. “Well then
,” Paolo smirked, “I will see you this evening.”

“Not so fast. What’s the agreement?”

He looked up as if he was calculating but she knew that he would have considered all of this long before he arrived. “I will see you two weeks a month for a year and then you can see him for one day.” She calculated quickly.

“You think I would do that? I will go out with you for a month one time a week, four dates, and then you withdraw this ridiculous petition!”

“I cannot withdraw the petition. That would require a scheduled council meeting. Besides, it is in defense of my sister. But I can amend it. So eight months spending every weekend with me and then I will let you see him for eight hours.”

She narrowed her eyes and shook her head. Truly she was willing to do anything she needed to for any time with Alex. And she knew that Paolo also knew that. “Three months, one date a week. Then you give me a weekend with Alex.”

“I cannot give you overnight visits or I have violated our laws. Your visit can be no more than a day.”

Leaning on the bridge
, her eyes tightened as she had seen the attorneys do in negotiation. “Last offer: I see you for three months, two dates a week. No physical contact. At the end of the three months, you permit me twelve hours with Alex.”

“Yes. But
just so that you understand, I will not be offended if you wish to have physical contact with me. But I cannot permit you to have any physical contact with him.”

A chance to see Alex, in three months! Valeria was certain her face flushed.
“All right. I won’t ever want you. But I insist on seeing Alex alone.”

“I agree to all of your terms, except
again, it would be a violation for you to be alone with him. You may, however, be with him in a public place,” Paolo said, and she gave him a slight nod. While they both displayed a level of seriousness, inside they were both doing a victory dance…for very different reasons. “The first date is tonight. Be ready at six.”