The Sibylline Oracle (10 page)

Looking up the stairs in amusement, Ava glanced back to Alex. “Evidently, Daphne’s not taking this well.” She laughed as she shot a glance toward Valeria. Alex shrugged as if he wasn’t going to answer the question. Then Ava began looking around with concern. “So…uh...” She looked at Lars, troubled. “No fatted calf?”

Lars affectionately retorted, “There would have been, if someone had given us a better ETA!” With an accusatory glare, Lars touched Ava’s forehead with his own. She kissed him lightly and turned around.

“Tavish, you usually do a better job on my ETA,” Ava said, in mock irritation. Tavish grumbled something that sounded like an insult. Ava laughed loudly and hugged him around the neck, which Tavish almost seemed to tolerate. Then she stepped back and scoffed as she rolled her eyes. “Well, you have my ETA now! Where’s the barbecue?”

Tavish narrowed his eyes at Ava. “The usual?” Valeria noticed Tavish’s attempt again at a smile.

Camille smiled at Valeria who seemed a bit lost. “Would you like to come with me? I’m going to fix a couple of salads for lunch." Camille glanced up the staircase as if she was trying to find Daphne. “Daphne will want to be part of this,” she said.

A door flew open upstairs. “No! Thank you!” Then the door slammed again.

Camille smiled at Valeria. “Alex and the rest of them will be
tied up in business until dinner. Come keep me company!”

Although Valeria was glad for the distraction, she wasn’t ready for the moment with Alex to end—despite the fact that she knew it would be best if she kept her mind occupied. She knew that, without distraction, she would replay that moment numerous times and convince herself that Alex meant more than he actually had. And that would be an unwise assessment for her to make. It would only cause her heartbreak and dissatisfaction with David and, most importantly, it could create problems for Alex.

The afternoon sun flittered through the leaves and into the enormous country kitchen, as Valeria sat on a stool slicing her fourth zucchini on the tiled island. She wasn’t much for zucchini but, at this point, she was more than a little hungry.

“You don’t usually like zucchini, do you?” Camille asked over the tomatoes she was slicing. Valeria shrugged, cursing her lack of a poker face.

“Well, I’ll bet you’ll like this!” Camille winked and then focused her attention on the living room.

“Caleb! I mean now!”

“Just one more minute! I’m almost done!” Valeria heard Caleb’s distracted voice.

Camille leaned her head to the side. “As I was saying…If I can ever get Caleb out there to start the barbecue, I think you will like this.”

“You do all the cooking here?” Valeria asked, as she took in the lovely French flavor of the kitchen design; the tiny etched vines on the knobs of the cerulean cabinets and shelves that
displayed brightly painted bowls and casseroles.

“No! I’m not going to be the cook for this brood on a regular basis!” Camille laughed, and then turned to glance toward the living room with a look of irritation. Valeria heard a sound come from the other room and assumed it was Caleb. Camille smiled pleasantly, returning her focus to Valeria. “Still, I enjoy it now and again. Tavish does an amazing barbecue. And Lars makes a mean Sauerbraten.” Tilting her head to the side with a quiet wince, Camille added, “We don’t
let
Ava cook.

“Poor Caleb wants to help. But he ends up running errands and cleaning.” Camille raised her delicate eyebrows and leaned on the kitchen counter. “Do you want to know who the real gourmet is?” she teased.

“Daphne?” Valeria responded.

“Lord, no!” Camille let out a sweet giggle, like that of a child. It was contagious.

Daphne’s voice bellowed down from the stairs, “I
did
hear that, Camille!”

Leaning her head apologetically to the side, Camille said, “Oops!” as she released another one of her delightful giggles. “No, I was referring to Alex. He is truly a renaissance man! There isn’t much he doesn’t do well.” Valeria was already battling her thoughts about Alex. She really didn’t want more fuel for her imagination, yet she was hungry for more information about him.

Pulling out an oversized, ornately decorated platter, Camille began layering tomatoes and mozzarella. Then she went to the window with a small bowl and began artistically plucking leaves from one of the many fresh herbs growing there. Valeria had finished off the zucchini, so Camille pushed the finished plate of tomatoes and mozzarella in front of her and handed her the bowl. “Can you place a basil leaf on each slice of mozzarella?”

“Sure.” Valeria was glad for something to do. She tiptoed
back around to the subject. “So…Daphne and Alex?”

“Yes, well…sorry about that! Daphne doesn’t always behave the way she should when it comes to Alex. She’s always a bit jealous of him; especially when new women join the family. It was many years before Daph decided I wasn’t a threat with Alex.” Lightly smiling, Camille continued, “It’s just her way. But after a while, believe it or not, she kind of grows on you.”

There was no way that Valeria was going to give Daphne a chance to grow on her! Daphne, the woman who had the heart of the man Valeria—
No!
She abruptly stopped herself from that thought.

Valeria reminded herself again that she was engaged to a good man. But thoughts of David were definitely eclipsed by Alex. She wondered why. Both were attractive men. Though, there was something in her physical response to Alex that she couldn’t explain. He was easily the most beautiful man she had ever met. But physical beauty had never been a prerequisite for her. There was something about Alex that made her feel like she had never felt before. Not that any of that seemed to matter, because he was with someone else…and so was she.

Running in from the side door to the kitchen, Caleb announced, “Okay! Tavish says he’s almost ready for the zucchini.”

Liberally pouring olive oil over the slices of zucchini, Camille then grinded the salt and pepper and tossed it with her hands. When Valeria grabbed the bowl to take it to Caleb, she saw Camille give him a non-verbal warning. He carefully grasped the side of the bowl to avoid giving Valeria a shock.

After rinsing a mix of fresh berries in the colander, Camille poured them into another brightly painted bowl.

“Val, the temperature is pretty nice; these are probably our last few warm days. I think we’ll eat out back. Can you grab the tablecloth and napkins from that drawer?”

Valeria opened a drawer next to where she had been sitting. Camille grabbed a pitcher of what looked like iced tea and a bottle of balsamic vinegar.

Within minutes, Alex appeared at the kitchen door. Valeria noticed the turn of a smile on the corner of his lips. Her heart fluttered and she begged for something to distract her. She immediately got her wish as she heard stomping on the staircase in the living room; Daphne was on her way.

Alex grabbed two serving forks and placed them on the plates with tomato and mozzarella. Noticing that Valeria was watching him, his eyes narrowed and then he winked. “Everything alright?”

Valeria couldn’t stop her face from lighting up. “Of course!” she attempted to answer simply, as Daphne entered.

“What do you want me to do?” Daphne said in irritation, looking over the food. “Where’s the wine?”

Camille shook her head. “We have too much to do to be enjoying wine.”

Daphne glared at Valeria before grabbing the bowl of berries and stomping outside. Alex’s face was apologetic.

“Sorry about Daphne. She really does have a good heart if you can look beyond the tantrums,” he said, while grabbing the two platters. “Ready?” he asked Camille and Valeria.

The backyard was extraordinary. Trees surrounded the enormous lawn and, directly ahead, Valeria saw an outdoor stone fireplace. The dining table was long and flanked by woven chairs; a tree branch provided shade. Tavish was removing barbecued chicken from a built-in grill that sat next to the fireplace.

Alex grabbed the other end of the tablecloth from Valeria and helped her place it on the table. Camille removed glasses, plates, and silverware from a cabinet next to the grill.

The breeze gently kissed Valeria and she smiled at Alex, though not for long. He stepped to her and, while maintaining eye contact, grabbed half of the napkins from her stack and set them on the plates.

Camille began setting the table. Alex moved a vase filled with bright yellow flowers onto the table.

Lying on the lounger, while the others worked, Daphne lowered her sunglasses over her eyes. With everything loaded on the table, Lars and Ava exited the kitchen and headed for the table walking hand in hand. Caleb came running from behind. Alex sat next to Valeria and held the platter of tomatoes and mozzarella for her as she carefully placed one onto her plate. Alex took a couple for himself and passed it on to Caleb. Tavish sat on the other side of Valeria with a platter of grilled zucchini slices. Valeria took one slice of zucchini and passed it on.

Helping herself to the grilled chicken, Camille noticed Valeria’s selection. “Alex, she’s never had the grilled zucchini. Give her a few more. You know with this brood there won’t be any left by the time it makes a round.”

As he placed a few more zucchini on Valeria’s dish he said, “Don’t worry, you don’t have to clean your plate here!”

The food was delicious and Valeria attempted to hide how hungry she was. She glanced around the table; she couldn’t think of a time she had ever sat at a table like this and really felt a part of things. There was an odd feeling of comfort combined with nerves about not letting herself get too settled in. She thought of how wonderful it would be to belong to this family. Alex helped himself to a large serving of grilled zucchini and passed them on.

Daphne continued to glare at Valeria throughout the dinner. In fact, she noticed Daphne take a bite of her chicken as if she were ripping off a head. Attempting to ease the tension, Valeria moved just a bit away from Alex, unwittingly placing herself closer to Tavish, who offered her his smile-sneer. Alex gave Valeria a questioning look and then shook his head at Daphne in slight irritation.

“So, Val, where is your family from?” Ava spoke up over her third piece of chicken.

Oh, questions about her life. Valeria cringed. “I…well, we lived in Youngstown, Ohio until I was twelve. Then Dad took a job in Hoboken, New Jersey, a suburb of New York City.”

“Tell me about yourself,” Ava continued.

Dread filled Valeria. She decided to turn the tables on this discussion. “My life isn’t really very interesting. Tell me about you. Where are you from, Ava?”

Ava looked at Lars, as she took a bite of chicken and laughed loudly. “Well, that’s an interesting question! Yes…it is. Isn’t it Larsi?” Lars and several others laughed.

“Here and there,” she said, as she grabbed the remainder of the zucchini. “We’ve moved around so much. But this is the closest to home any of us has had in...”

Ava’s eyes sparked for a moment. Valeria noticed Camille and Alex giving Ava a look, as if she had said enough. “What?” Ava glared at Alex. “I was going to say,
in some time!
That’s all.” Ava’s eyes danced with humor, enjoying the game. “
Besides,
you said she already knew…about us.” Valeria wondered why it was such a mystery.

With Ava now ending that discussion, Valeria knew it would return to her own life. She quickly asked, “How long have you been gone?”

Ava’s eyes narrowed as the sun moved behind the house. She looked down the table. “How long has it been, Camille? This time, I think it was about three years.” Camille thought for a moment and then nodded.

“You’ve been gone from your husband for three years? Where were you?”

Camille dabbed her mouth with her napkin. “Valeria, you might as well know that Ava has been on a long-term project to find my husband, Jonah.”

“What happened to your husband, Camille?” Valeria asked, before taking a bite of zucchini—which she realized was really quite good.

First glancing to Alex, Camille responded, “He was…murdered. At least, that’s what we think happened. There are indications that the murder occurred in the Caribbean. So, that’s where Ava has been.” Camille glanced at Alex, who gently nodded.

“But there is a project that has come up. So, Ava had several…details to handle. Otherwise, she would have been here this morning.” Something in Camille’s tone and their exchange of glances made Valeria suspect that the “project” had something to do with her.

Still anxious to keep the focus from her, Valeria asked, “Was Jonah an oracle? I mean, if he is immortal, then I thought he couldn’t be murdered…right? You must think he’s alive.” Her brow furrowed. “Oh. But then, I guess you wouldn’t believe he was murdered. Ava, are you searching for the murderer or for information?”

A burst of laughter erupted from Ava. “Wow! That’s…well…that is just a lot of questions you have!” She shook her head in amusement, taking another bite of chicken.

Valeria noticed the amused expression on almost everyone at the table. She suspected that they had caught onto her game of diverting attention. Valeria murmured, “Okay…I guess that was a bit much.” She saw Alex’s mouth dance in mild amusement as he winked at her.

Ava seemed to be watching the interplay between Alex and Valeria with some interest. She was about to ask a question and then glanced at Camille. Valeria noticed a slight shake of Camille’s head. Ava glanced at Alex. Even from her peripheral view, Valeria noticed Alex’s pupils constrict in irritation. Ava
leaned her head to the side as she stretched out her arms and leaned back in her chair. Her face took on an amused curiosity. “So, what’s going on here with you and Alex?”

The table got incredibly quiet. Forks that had been loaded with food were now held in suspense, awaiting the answer. Valeria wondered about the purpose of the question. Was it to cause Valeria to admit that she was after Daphne’s man? Was it to shove Valeria toward the waiting arms of Tavish? Valeria wondered how she should properly answer the question—especially with Daphne listening so closely.

While certain that her face was flaming red, Valeria decided this was the perfect opportunity to end
any
notion they had about setting her up. She would tell them that she was happily engaged to David. But somehow, she couldn’t bring herself to say the words in front of Alex—despite the fact that Daphne was right there and it was the right thing to do to squelch the rumors.

“Why? Have I done something inappropriate?” Valeria raised a delicate eyebrow at Ava and then, with more intensity, at Daphne.

Seeing Daphne’s response, Valeria thought, O
h, God, there is going to be a wa
r
!
She saw that Ava was working hard to withhold her laughter. In fact, everyone around the table, except Caleb, who had pulled out a computer game, seemed to be on the verge of hysterical tears; their nearly silenced snickers filled the air. Even Alex was pursing his lips, withholding his laughter.

Daphne stood. “I don’t know about the rest of you but, frankly, I have heard
enough
about what is going on here with this…this...” Daphne gestured furiously toward Alex and Valeria, “this
situation!
”