02 The Moon And The Tide - Marina's Tales (10 page)

Cruz narrowed his eyes and studied me
critically. We went through my jewelry box and he finally settled
on a pair of simple rhinestone drop earrings that barely grazed my
shoulders when I moved. He found a sparkling art deco pin that
looked like it was made to match the dress.

“Bingo!” he looked satisfied with himself.
“Is this real diamonds?”

I shrugged, “It’s from Evie.”

He shook his head with a dreamy sigh.

“How do you want the hair?” I asked him,
knowing he had a complete look in mind.

“I want it down, wavy and side parted, with
the pin right here.” He held the jewelry up to my hair.

“Veronica Lake style?” I asked.

“Are you a mind reader?” he cocked his head,
brushing his shaggy bangs away from his eyes to cast me a sideways
glance.

“Oh please!” I said, flipping my hair back. I
was reminded of Lorelei, thinking about how she really
could
read minds. I wondered how far away she could hear me from… could
she could hear me right now?

“And what are
you
going to be
wearing?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise,” said Cruz, eyes glittering
with suppressed amusement.

Then he added officiously, “And now I must go
finish Miss Megan’s dress for her scheduled fitting.” He swept out
of my room, his chin leading the way.

I slipped out of the dress and hung it up,
setting aside the jewelry and the shoes. I put on my clothes and
dropped the dress back off to Cruz for its final tailoring. Megan
arrived, and we were both curious to see what Cruz had dreamt up
for her.

He emerged from his room with a mass of
tiered fabric slung over his arm. Cruz held the dress up with a
flourish and Megan exhaled heavily.

“Well,” he said, tapping his foot
impatiently, “Is that good or bad?”

My dress was old Hollywood, but Megan’s
screamed fifties glamor girl with a modern edge. It was a strapless
tea length dress, with a bodice of rich green velvet and a
sweetheart bust line. The skirt was full, with tiers of
asymmetrical black ruffles edged in lace with a pinstripe of green
satin ribbon twining through them.

“Holy cow! Do you really think I can pull
that off?” Megan said, dubious. Megan was self-conscious about her
curves, and normally sported oversized shapeless clothes.

“First Marina and now you?” Cruz stomped
impatiently, “I’m in no mood! Get your butt in there and try it
on!” He pointed towards my room with baleful eyes and returned to
his sewing.

Megan rolled her eyes at me, calling after
Cruz, “Ya volt commandant!”

“Go ahead Megan,” I said, “I can’t wait to
see it!”

A few minutes later my door opened a crack
and Megan’s worried face peered out.

“Marina...” she said timidly, “could you
please come in here?”

I slipped in to find Megan hunched over, arms
protectively crossed over her chest.

“Let’s see,” I said.

She turned her back to me, “Could you help me
with the zipper?” I pulled up the last few inches, and fastened a
miniature hook. Cruz had measured perfectly, and the dress hugged
her torso and flared out dramatically at the hips. She turned
around and dropped her arms, smoothing the skirt down
nervously.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. She looked like a fifties
bombshell, all cleavage and rustling skirt. The bodice fit
precisely, and the color was beautiful against her fair skin and
brilliant red hair.

“What do you think?” she asked nervously.

“You look awesome!” I said, “Cruz is gonna
love this!”

“I’m not sure...” she said.

I laughed, “You sound just like me! Just wait
until we do the hair and makeup and then decide. At least yours has
half a back!”

There was an impatient rapping on the door
and Megan looked at me with a smile, “He
has
been working
his tail off.”

I opened the door and Cruz came in with a
gasp, “I knew it!” he pumped his fist in the air, “You look like a
pin-up girl!”

“And that’s a good thing?” Megan asked
sarcastically.

Cruz turned towards me, “If you’ve got
it...”

“Flaunt it,” I finished with a patient
smile.

I got down to see under my bed and started
fishing out all the suitable shoes I could find. Megan’s feet were
almost exactly my size, and I had lots of black shoes to choose
from.

“What about these?” I asked, pulling a pair
of elbow length gloves out of a suitcase crammed with accessories.
“Too much?”

“Let’s see...” Cruz chose a pair of suede
open-toed black pumps and Megan put on the gloves. We stood back to
scrutinize. “I like the gloves,” said Cruz, “Very fifties.”

I rummaged through my jewelry box but
couldn’t find anything Cruz liked.

“I know!” I ran to Cruz’s room and came back
with some black velvet ribbon. I tied a short length in a bow
around Megan’s neck. It was the perfect touch.

“Saucy,” said Cruz with a wink, and we
started to plan on a hairstyle, pulling Megan’s wild curls back
away from her face.

“I’m counting on you to do some killer
makeup,” said Cruz, “She’s gonna need a bold eye.”

“I’ll pack my kit,” I replied, watching as
Cruz busied himself pinning up Megan’s hem for his final
adjustments. “Nice job Cruz! I can’t believe you did all this in
less than a week. Evie’s going to be really impressed.”

He smiled up at me impishly, pins in his
mouth.

“So what are we going to do about sleeping
arrangements?” asked Megan.

“Well, we have three bedrooms and a couch...
two couches if you count the one in my art studio. We ought to be
alright,” I said, thinking out loud.

“We’ll only be alright if I get these dresses
finished!” Cruz fretted, standing up and addressing Megan, “Now get
that dress off and back to me right now!”

“Megalomaniac!” Megan muttered with mock
indignation.

“I don’t know what it means, but if it gets
you out of that dress any quicker then I’m it,” Cruz snapped
sharply.

Saturday morning arrived along with a break
in the weather. I got up, showered and dressed, thinking about
seeing Ethan soon. I barely made it out my bedroom door when I
encountered hurricane Cruz.

“Are you ready? Where’s Ethan? I need to pack
my blow drier! Did you remember to pack everything? What time is
Evie expecting us? Are you–?”

“Hey! Cruz,
relax
,” I put my hand on
his chest and spoke slowly, “Take a deep breath and count to
ten.”

“Don’t you be condescending to me, missy,” he
said with a smile.

“Did you manage to get any sleep?” I asked,
concerned. Cruz had been wound up tight all week long and I was
worried that he was going to burn himself out before we even got to
Evie’s.

“Don’t worry about me, just make sure we have
everything we need,” said Cruz as he rushed out to go double-check
his packing.

Abby made pancakes and we forced Cruz to sit
and eat a few bites. Megan showed up and joined us for coffee while
Cruz loaded the Jaguar with his garment bags. Ethan arrived on time
as usual and sat down with us.

Cruz barged in, snapping his fingers, “Let’s
go people!” Megan and I exchanged a look.

“
You’re
driving with him,” I said to
her dryly. She just nodded with pursed lips.

I got up and packed my bags into the
Mercedes, returning for Ethan.

“Ready?” I asked him with a smile.

“Absolutely,” he said, getting up from the
table.

I hugged Abby goodbye and followed Cruz and
Megan outside. I opened the car door for Ethan with exaggerated
formality and he got in with a smile. I slid into the driver’s seat
and looked over at him. We leaned over for a kiss simultaneously,
laughed at each other and kissed again. Cruz started laying on the
horn, so we broke apart and got on the road to San Francisco.

We pulled into the parking garage first and
Boris came up to the window with a grin, “Marina! Hey sveetheart,
how are you going?”

“Hi Boris! I’m great, this is my friend
Ethan.”

I gestured to him, and Boris leaned down to
look him over with the same suspicious look he gave every newcomer
to the building. Ethan held out his hand and Boris shook it,
reaching his massive forearm across me.

Boris looked back at me with a smile,
“Velcome home.”

“Thanks,” I said, but I suddenly realized my
home was back in Aptos.

“You be drivink careful, zhat’s alot of
car.”

“I am… I’ll go ahead and park it on Evie’s
floor. My cousin Cruz and our friend Megan are right behind me in
the Jag, OK?”

“OK, my sveet,” he patted my arm and I
squeezed his hand. We drove deeper into the parking garage.

“Where did he come from?” Ethan asked as we
turned onto an underground ramp.

“Russia,” I said with a smile, “I grew up
with Boris too.”

“He looks… formidable,” said Ethan.

“I suppose so, nobody gets in the building
unless they get past him.”

I drove to Evie’s floor of the garage and we
got out.

“My God,” Ethan said, looking around in awe,
“It’s like a car museum.” Cruz pulled up as I was getting my bags
out of the car, and I waved at Megan.

He stepped out of the Jaguar and looked at
Ethan, “Did I tell you or what?”

“I thought you were exaggerating,” Ethan
said, shaking his head in wonder.

Megan and I unpacked as Cruz pointed out some
of the rarer cars to Ethan. After we had emptied our cars out Megan
cleared her throat impatiently. Cruz turned back to help carry his
garment bags.

“We need to get this stuff hung up!” Cruz was
back on task as he took a bag from Megan and we all made for the
elevator. After we piled in Cruz pressed the button for the top
floor.

“Really?” said Megan with a cocked eyebrow,
“Dang Marina, you never mentioned you lived in the penthouse!”

“We share the floor with Evie,” I said, taken
aback. That was just how things always were and I never really
imagined anything different.

“Wait ’till you see Evie’s!” Cruz said,
looking at her knowingly.

I felt strange suddenly, and grabbed hold of
Ethan’s hand. The elevator opened as I fumbled in my bag for the
house keys. I opened the door to let everyone in.

“Welcome to base camp,” I said.

It was still inside, and the air was stale. I
drew the curtains and opened up the picture windows, sweeping the
room clean with the fresh air blowing in off the bay.

“Whoa!” said Megan, “Check out that
view!”

It was weird for me, seeing familiar things
through someone else’s eyes, and I felt nervous, looking over at
Ethan. He was wandering around, looking at some of the objects my
dad and I had gathered from our travels. Peppered with random
pieces pottery and art, our place wasn’t lavishly furnished, at
least not compared to Evie’s. My father favored clean, uncluttered
design, and had furnished the place in low, dark leather couches
and simple polished wooden tables.

His one extravagance was books, and an
enormous wall in the great room was lined with oak shelves and
crammed with every kind of book you could possibly imagine. They
spanned from the high ceiling down to the floor, lined up spine to
spine like soldiers or randomly tucked in sideways as though
someone in a hurry would be back for them momentarily. There was a
sliding ladder off to one side that I used to play on when Dad
wasn’t looking. Ethan walked over to take a closer look.

“I’ll hang these in your studio,” Cruz said
to me, holding up his garment bags. “C’mon Megan, you gotta see
this view!”

“I’ll be right back, I need to go make up the
beds,” I walked down the hall to the linen closet and picked out
some fresh sheets. First I went to my father’s room and stripped
the bed. The smell of his things reminded me of simpler times, back
before everything changed. I was struck by a pang of loneliness and
heaved a sigh.

I looked up to see Ethan standing in the
doorway.

“Let me help,” he said, and we made the bed
together. He followed me down the hall to the next room. The guest
room was ready to go, so we went into my bedroom with another stack
of sheets. It felt odd, having him there; I watched him as he
looked around and over at me with a smile.

“More shoes?” he teased me, nodding at my
open closet. I shot him a dirty look before I turned to open the
drapes. He snuck up behind me and grabbed me around the waist,
tickling me. We fell backwards on the bed, laughing, until I rolled
over on top of him and our eyes met.

He looked so handsome laying there it took my
breath away. He took my face between his hands and kissed me,
slowly and intensely, making me forget everything but him. My hair
fell down like a curtain, shielding us from the whole rest of the
world. Gravity pressed me into him, and I felt my insides lurch and
my head spin as we molded together. Abby was right, it would be
very easy to get carried away. I wrenched myself off of him and sat
on the edge of the bed, shaking a little.

“We better get going,” I said, afraid to look
at him.

He sat up and rested his chin on my shoulder,
“I know.”

“I just...” How could I explain my fears when
I didn’t really understand them?

“It’s okay,” he said, twining his fingers in
mine.

I sighed, and wanted nothing more than to lay
back down with him and forget about everything else.

Cruz poked his head in the door, eyeing us
suspiciously, “There you are. Did you bring a flat iron?”

“Yes,” I said, smiling because he had asked
me to pack it at least twenty times. “I’ll get it out in a
minute.”

“Where should I put my stuff?”

“I’m putting you in Dad’s room, Ethan in the
guest room and Megan in here.”

“What about you?” Cruz asked with wide
eyes.

“I’m staying in my studio,” I said, casting
him a warning look.