“Home sweet home,” Steven said, walking into the kitchen after locking the deadbolts on the door.
“It’s not the Ritz, but I don’t think I’ve ever been happier to arrive someplace.”
Steven picked up his orange juice and went to the rear of the house to explore the two bedrooms, which were small but adequate. The bathroom was also typical of a home of the size and era; the entire upstairs was around twelve hundred square feet of living space.
When he returned, Natalie was munching on some crackers she’d found in the pantry.
“So what do you think?” she asked.
“It’s fine. I vote we get some sleep, and then I’ll start on decrypting the Scroll. Shouldn’t take all that long, but never say never. I’ve seen enough to know that it’s what you don’t see coming that takes your head off,” Steven said, finishing his juice and yawning. “I’m going to take a shower and hit the sack. Pick whatever room you want – they’re both about the same. I have no preference.”
“Then neither do I. Only one bathroom, I guess?”
“You got it. Let’s hope the plumbing works reasonably well. My place in Florence was a nightmare,” Steven said.
He hefted his bag and threw it on the bed in the first bedroom, quickly hanging his shirts in the wall closet before carrying his shaving kit into the bathroom and closing the door. A pair of thick towels hung from hooks above a small linen cupboard that housed necessities like soap, washcloths and shampoo.
Steven stripped down and turned on the shower, waiting for a few minutes until the hot water made its way up from the downstairs heater and the temperature stabilized. He unwrapped a bar of soap and stepped under the stream, luxuriating in the warmth after spending almost eight hours cramped in car seats. As he washed the shampoo out of his hair, a gust of cool air blew through the small room, stirring the cloud of steam that had formed. He rinsed the suds off his face and out of his eyes and pulled back the shower curtain, to be greeted by the amazing sight of Natalie, naked, standing in her bare feet on the bathmat he’d placed on the floor. For a moment he thought he was hallucinating, and then her lips locked on his, her tongue probing with an urgency that was electrifying in its intensity. After what seemed like an eternity of this essential contact, his arousal was pressing against her belly. She gripped him with a wet hand, stroking him as she stared into his eyes.
“I don’t want to sleep in the other bedroom,” she said.
Steven turned his head towards Natalie, who was resting easily beside him on the damp bed, partially soaked from their abrupt departure from the shower. Those amazing violet eyes pierced his defenses, and he smiled as he caressed her still-wet hair.
She cleared her throat, and Steven let her speak.
“I’ve been wanting to do that since the church, but it never seemed like the right time. This probably wasn’t either, but you don’t always get to pick the perfect moment, right?” she started.
Steven smiled. “That was perfect as far as I’m concerned.”
“I thought we should get it out of the way while we have some time alone. I hope you’re okay with me taking my lustful urges out on you,” Natalie said, returning his smile.
“I’m not easy, under normal circumstances. But these are anything but normal circumstances…”
“I like the way you think. Now do you want to finish the shower, or is there anything else I can interest you in?” she asked innocently.
He gazed at her perfectly-formed breasts, the hint of invitation obvious in her huskily-whispered question, and his body made the decision for them.
Eventually, spent, they returned to the bathroom together and cleaned each other, Steven marveling at how magnificently toned she was as he caressed her with soap suds. Finally, exhausted, they made their way to the unused bedroom, falling asleep in an embrace that suggested they’d been sleeping together like that forever. His last thought as he drifted into the soothing balm of sleep was that Natalie was incredible, and that maybe everything really did happen for a reason.
When they came to, Steven woke first and watched as Natalie’s nostrils flared almost imperceptibly each time she inhaled. She smelled like some sort of exotic aphrodisiac, and it was only with considerable restraint that he kept from rousing her in an amorous manner. He studied the contour of her shoulder and considered what had happened. The dam had broken, and almost three years of self-imposed drought had come to an abrupt and memorable end with a woman he knew little about and had known for less than a week. It was amazing, physically, but he didn’t know what to make of it on an emotional level. He’d occupied his time with work and trivial pursuits since his wife had died, and he hadn’t been much interested in any overtures he’d received, nor had any appetite for the hunt. Then Natalie had blown into his life and upended his comfortable existence on every possible level.
He shifted and reached over to the nightstand for his wristwatch. It was four thirty-five p.m.. He realized he was starving just as Natalie’s eyes fluttered and opened, fixing him with her intense gaze.
“Good morning. Or more appropriately, good afternoon,” he greeted.
She didn’t say anything, preferring to shut her eyes and snuggle against his chest. Her hand drifted down from his pectoral muscle and lazed along his stomach before brushing the sheets. Without opening her eyes, she slid a leg over his waist and straddled him, and all thoughts of anything but Natalie evaporated, along with his doubts.
Forty minutes later, Natalie opened her eyes again, and this time, spoke.
“I’m starving. You?”
“Absolutely. What are you in the mood for?” Steven asked.
“I don’t know. I’m thinking…Italian. How about we get cleaned up and head into Venice for dinner? I’ve never been there, and it might be fun.”
“Perfect. When in Venice…I want to program in the cypher before much longer, though, so I’ll take a fast shower and do as much as I can before we leave.”
“Suit yourself. I’ll take twenty minutes. Come on, Doctor. Let’s get busy,” Natalie said and swung her legs off the bed, standing quickly, with no self-consciousness of her nudity.
I could get used to this
, Steven thought.
They repeated their showering experience, this time focusing on bathing. Steven stepped out after two minutes and quickly dressed, brushing his wet hair back to dry as it liked. He padded to the living room and set up the laptop, then extracted the brass tablet. While peering at the ancient surface, he began creating a table of glyph pairs and letters. It went faster than he’d hoped, and by the time Natalie was ready he was nearly finished.
“I’m almost done,” Steven said, admiring Natalie, who seemed to be glowing.
“We can wait if you want to finish it,” she said.
“No. It’s better if we leave it till later. Once it’s all programed, I’ll want to do the glyph matching, and then I won’t want to stop until I’ve got it decrypted. It’s better if I come back to it. I know myself too well…”
“All right. What’s the plan? Drive to Venice, or take a boat?”
“Let’s drive over the bridge and park. Way faster. There are a lot of great restaurants, so we shouldn’t have too much trouble getting fed,” Steven assured her.
“Have you been there before?”
“A few times. But it’s been years…” Steven banished the habitual melancholy that loomed on the periphery as he spoke the words. There was no point to wallowing in it under his new circumstances. Antonia would never be replaced in his heart, but the universe was sending him a message that it was time to move on. Much as he still loved her, he felt a pull and realized it was time to let go – to rejoin the living.
“No time like the present, then. Let’s hit the bridge. Lead the way,” Natalie said brightly.
Steven nodded as he saved the work to his dongle and slipped it into his pocket. He wasn’t going to take any chances after everything that had happened. Moody might have been the last honest man on the planet, but that didn’t mean that Steven had to leave his hard-fought treasure on the coffee table for anyone else with a key to rummage through. He picked up the brass tablet and stuck it under his arm. Natalie gave him a neutral look.
“Taking it for an outing? Get some air?” she asked.
“I guess it’s kind of silly… I mean, if I leave it in the car, the chances of it being stolen are higher than someone breaking in here. And I can’t carry it to dinner, like some kind of latter-day Moses…”
“You can do whatever you like, sweetie. I won’t laugh, no matter how weird it gets. You can wear my underwear if you want,” she assured him with a look of complete insincerity.
He compromised with his doubts by taking it downstairs and hiding it behind the washing machine. Natalie watched him without expression, being true to her word.
They drove across the bridge that led to Venice and she silently took his free hand, holding it loosely to maintain the connection they’d forged so passionately throughout the day. It was comfortable, and he realized with a start that he liked it.
Once parked, they strolled the streets until they came across a bustling restaurant exuding heavenly aromas. They were escorted to a table in a discreet corner by an officious hostess, and before long had chosen a decent bottle of chianti at an exorbitant price, which they savored as they browsed the enormous menu. After some back and forth with the waiter they ordered gnocchi in a truffle reduction to start, and then Natalie chose the baked fish and he got seafood pasta. The pace of service was relaxed, and the meal was the perfect accompaniment to a remarkable day for them both. Yet even as they sipped their wine and ate, Steven was preoccupied by the tablet, as well as the ramifications of his sudden entanglement with Natalie. She sensed his preoccupation, and once their plates were removed, called him on it.
“Where have you been? It’s like you’re miles away. Hello…”
“I’m sorry. I’m probably still tired, as well as a little surprised by…well…by this.”
“Are you complaining?”
“No. Quite the opposite. I mean, it’s–”
“If you find my company too distracting, we can always go back to being platonic colleagues,” she offered.
“I’m not sure that would work,” Steven countered.
“It had better not.”
Steven didn’t know what else to say. There was a whole world he wanted to talk about, but at the same time, where did one start? He decided to punt it.
“Tell me more about you, Natalie. All the stuff you’ve been holding back. I’m curious.”
“I’d say you know me pretty well, by now,” she said, then took a sip of wine.
“Let’s see. First off, I don’t hop into the sack with every amateur cryptographer who plies me with cyphers. Let’s start with that. In fact, I can safely say you’re my first amateur cryptographer. In Italy. So far.”
Steven took that in, nodding. “I’m not in the habit of showering with every sexy damsel in distress who soaps up next to me,” Steven said.
“That’s reassuring. I’d hate to think I was just one in an endless line of naked bathing partners you lure to safe houses with lascivious intentions to have your way with.”
“Seriously, though. It’s been years since I had a…a relationship. Of that kind,” Steven admitted.
That put an effective end to the banter, although unintentionally. Steven felt awkward with the situation and was still fumbling his way through. Natalie seemed fine with that.
She took his arm as they meandered down the small winding footpaths that were the only connecting mechanism Venice had, beyond the canals. They made their way to Saint Mark’s Square – easily the most famous landmark in Venice. Once there, they watched several wizened old women feeding the pigeons on the massive plaza as dusk cast its final shadows over the long row of gondolas on the waterfront.
Natalie pulled Steven by the hand. “Let’s take a gondola ride. I’ve never done it, and who knows when I’ll be back in Venice again?” she pleaded.
Steven couldn’t think of a good reason not to, and soon they were meandering up the nearest canal. Natalie seemed delighted with the experience and leaned into Steven and kissed him as they cut through the dark water beneath the Bridge of Sighs. She looked deep into his eyes when they finally disengaged.
“It’ll all turn out okay, Steven. You’ll see. Everything.” Then she returned to kissing him.
They disembarked and made their way back to the car as night fell upon the city. Something important had changed between them, and Steven resolved to just let it unfold, without questioning it or forcing anything. He hadn’t signed up to be chased all over Italy, nor had he volunteered for a whirlwind romance, much less to be a hair away from solving one of history’s most enduring riddles. Attempting to steer things seemed like a waste of time. He’d simply float along and see where the tide took him. Hopefully, alive.
Once they were back at the house, Natalie had most of her clothes off by the time they made it down the hall, and Steven’s focus on completing the remainder of the decryption process was sidelined in favor of more pressing matters. The tablet would still be there in an hour, he figured, so he enthusiastically followed her to the bedroom, kicking the door shut behind him.