Rhythm in Blue (9 page)

“That sounds like it would be a lot of fun,” Rick said, and Randy nodded.

From behind him, Rick heard a loud, spiteful voice, “I don’t know why you’d want to. Everybody knows Morgan’s a slut! And her boobs aren’t even real!” Rick turned to find a red-faced Shelby and a horrified Erin standing behind him.

“SHELBY!” Larry boomed from nearby. Everyone was silent, all staring at Shelby. “Go home, now!” Larry yelled again, pointing toward the road, the vein on his temple visibly throbbing.

As Shelby turned to leave, she hung her head and tears began running down her cheeks. His first instinct was to reach out to her, but he knew that would be a mistake. After she left, Rick turned to Morgan to see how she was reacting, but Judy and Erin descended on her and pushed Rick out of the way. All he could see of her face was that it went from ghostly pale to bright red in a matter of seconds.

Larry grabbed his arm and asked, “You see? Your friend Randy
has
gotten to her. Shelby would never do anything like that, but when she saw him, all over Morgan, she went nuts!” As Larry went on about Randy leading on a young girl, Rick saw Takis jump the back wall. He was just about to pull away from Larry and follow Shelby, but he saw Devon was watching too, and was already headed toward the exit.

Chapter Nine

The morning sun burned into Rick’s face as he leaned back in his chair on the hotel’s veranda. The warmth did little to alleviate the angst that filled him from the previous evening’s events. On the one hand, he felt gratified by Shelby’s outburst – her jealousy validated the feelings he knew she had for him. On the other hand, it accentuated the fine line he straddled. Very aware of his luck that Larry assumed it was on Randy’s behalf, rather than his own, Rick knew there were others who would not make that same assumption. One of those people now approached, and Rick was not looking forward to the imminent conversation.

“Good morning,” he said as Devon took a seat across from him.

“Morning,” Devon replied, pulling a cigarette out of the pack in his pocket, and lighting it with a match. “Someone pinched my lighter last night.”

As he smoked he stared at Rick, as though expecting him to explain himself. Rick felt like he was sitting in front of his father, waiting to see how bad a beating he would get.

“What?” Rick asked, unable to stand the silence.

“You know
what
…”

“No, I really don’t.”

“Fine, you wanna act stupid, that’s okay, but I’m gonna tell you what I think anyway.” Rick already knew there was no way around that. Devon continued, “I had a little talk with Shelby last night.”

“Oh yeah?”

Devon rolled his eyes. “Yeah, she likes to act just as stupid as you, but I finally got it out of her.”

Rick furrowed his brow. “Got what out of her?”

“That girl’s over the moon for you, and while that doesn’t surprise me much, the fact that you’re in the same boat and encouraging her shocks the hell out of me.”

“Me? Now, you’re talking crazy! She’s just a kid…I would never –” Rick shook his head, but Devon cut him off.

“Don’t even give me that shit! I’m not stupid. I’ve been watching you, and whenever she’s around, you can’t take your eyes off her. She walks in the room, and you perk up like a puppy going for a walk, can almost hear your tail thumping the floor.”

Rick nervously reached for his own cigarettes while Devon continued, “I would expect this sort of shit from Randy, but, Jesus Ricky, you know better.”

Rick gave up. It was no use trying to lie to Devon, and the sooner he gave in, the sooner the conversation would be over. He couldn’t speak, he just looked at the cigarette in his hand. “How did you let this happen?”

Rick shook his head, still unable to form any words to make sense of the situation.

“How long? How long has it been going on?”

“There’s nothing
going on
. I haven’t laid a finger on her.”

“I should hope not, but I mean, how long have you felt this way?”

“I’m not really sure. It may have been since that first night.”

“Jesus Ricky! And you’re not
gonna
lay a finger on her, right?”

“Of course not. I’m not that stupid.”

“Don’t be too sure…love will make you do stupid things,” Devon said.

“I’m not in –” Rick began, but he could tell by the way Devon looked at him he wouldn’t buy it. “I know,” he finished with a sigh.

“Lucky for you, she has no idea she’s not alone in her feelings. You can still take the high road without rejecting her.”

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Devon’s next comment was inevitable. “You’re gonna have to stop the lessons, because if something were to happen, it could ruin both your lives – hell, all our lives.” Rick nodded, but knew there was no way he was going to stop.

Devon continued, “If she really wants to learn, she’ll find a way. You stopping now won’t make or break her.” Rick was still nodding. “We’ll go back home, back to work, and once you get back into the routine, you’ll forget all about it. In the mean time, you need to stay away from her.”

From behind Devon, Randy stepped out, onto the veranda, “Holy shit! It is sunny here every damn day, I haven’t seen a cloud since we got here.” Keith followed, shielding his eyes from the bright sun even though he wore sunglasses.

“I can’t believe your sister and Kostas aren’t taking a honeymoon, or even an extra day off,” Randy said, leaning back against the veranda’s railing.

“Yeah, me too,” Rick said, still trying to shake the hollow feeling he had at the thought of trying to forget Shelby. “I offered to pay to cover the club for a few days, but they want to wait ‘till the tourist season’s done. They’re going to take a couple of weeks off before they go back to work at Kostas’ bar in Athens for the winter.”

Devon stood up and stretched, arms high above his head. “Well that’ll be better anyway. That way they can enjoy themselves without having to worry about the business.” He bent from side to side, bones popping as he moved, and asked, “So what’s on the agenda today, boys?”

“We’ve been invited to Morgan’s for lunch,” Randy said. “I told her I would be there, and Keith? You said you’d go, right?” Keith nodded.

“I thought she kinda backed off that whole idea,” Rick said.

“Na, once she had a few more drinks, she got over her embarrassment and started in again,” Randy was laughing and shaking his head.

“Why is that so funny?” Devon asked, joining him on the railing.

“Oh, it’s not,” he was still laughing. “I was just thinking about Shelby freaking out like that. Man oh man, I had no idea I had such a strong effect on her! To think, all this time she’s had a thing for me.”

“Well, don’t feel too good about yourself,” Devon told him, giving Rick a wink, “I think there may have been other contributing factors to her tantrum.”

“Like what?” asked Randy, with a hint of disappointment in his voice. Rick tensed up, worried Devon was going public with their secret.

“Well, for one thing, there was a guy there that’s been harassing her, so I’m sure she was anxious about that,” Devon said. “So, boy problems, and I guess today is her birthday – maybe turning sixteen is stressful.”

“Another year closer to legal, huh?” Randy grinned.

“Don’t. Even.” Devon jabbed his finger in Randy’s direction with each word.

Randy rolled his eyes. “So, are you guys coming to Morgan’s or not?” He demanded, no longer interested in the subject since his involvement was questionable.

“I’ll go. Ricky? You’re free this afternoon, right?” Devon reminded Rick.

“Yeah, I’m free.” Rick sighed, unable to come up with a believable excuse to skip the lunch.

~

The walk out to Morgan’s was a hot one. The heat amplified the smell of thyme and oregano permeating the air, and every drop of sweat rolling down Rick’s face seemed to signal the cicadas to intensify their afternoon song. Their clamor only served to increase his resentment of the impending visit. Rick knew he had no reason to be angry with Morgan, or Devon for that matter, but the fact he had to cancel with Shelby annoyed him. Willing to acknowledge Devon was right – he should stop the lessons and quit hanging around her – it was easier said than done, and Rick had no intention of trying.

When they finally arrived, Morgan was ready with cold water from a well and Rick drank until he felt his stomach would burst. He wet his bandanna, wrapped it around his neck, and began to survey his surroundings. Morgan had decorated her place with traditional Greek rugs and tapestries, and she had a penchant for knickknacks and picturesque postcards of the island. On one shelf was a display of prayer beads, the shelf above that held an array of Greek pottery, and there were postcards taped up all over the wall. Rick expected to find her artwork on display, but felt he had instead stumbled into a souvenir shop.

“It’s cozy,” Devon said, surprise evident on his face as he looked around.

“Well, it’s not much, but it’s home.” She laughed that eerie laugh again. “In here is my studio,” she led them through a door into another room. The studio’s ceiling was much higher than the rest of the house, with large windows and a double door overlooking the beach Morgan bragged about. The view would have been perfect, except the beach was crowded with naked tourists. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she sighed, obviously not bothered by the sun worshipers.

Rick and Devon exchanged glances. “It’s just…lovely,” Devon finally agreed, as Morgan began rummaging through a stack of stretched canvases leaning against the wall.

“These are some of my paintings from last winter,” she said, pulling out several of the canvases and handing them out as though they were party favors. Rick looked at the painting she handed him, noting that it, and the one Devon held beside him, looked exactly like the postcards he’d seen hanging on the wall.

“You’re very…precise,” was all Rick could muster.

Randy, who struggled to tear himself away from the view on the beach, was now gushing. “These are amazing! You are so talented. I could never do anything like this.”

Fed by the praise, Morgan began rummaging through more paintings and laid them out on a table. They were all the same, the scenes varied but they all had that postcard characteristic. As Rick set his painting down, Morgan handed him another she pulled off the table. “This one is a watercolor. I call it
Sunset in the West.”
She stared at him expectantly.

“That’s very clever,” he assured her.

As she showed them painting after postcard painting, Rick wondered at her lack of imagination as well as her rumored success. He was beginning to think perhaps she was no deeper than a puddle, and maybe it was she who sought a persona to emulate.

Just then, there was a knock at the door, and Rick heard Shelby calling, “Morgan?”

“In here,” Morgan yelled.

Rick froze. Earlier, he stopped by Shelby’s work to let her know he would have to miss their lesson. Trying to keep it simple, he told her only that something came up. “But I’ll meet you later at the chapel for a swim.” Rick nervously set the painting back on the table as Shelby entered the studio.

Her eyes widened and her face reddened upon seeing them all, standing there, staring back at her expectantly. “Rick! Dev– hi guys,” she stammered, acknowledging them each in turn with a nod, her gaze finally coming to rest on Rick. At length, she turned to Morgan and said, “Can I talk to you? In private?” Morgan nodded and followed Shelby out of the room.

“Five bucks says that is one awkward conversation.” Randy chuckled, and returned to the window to observe the nude sunbathers.

Larry told Rick the night before that he would have Shelby apologize the next day, but he had forgotten all about it. He was grateful for the time their departure from the room gave him to recover from his surprise, but he felt Devon’s eyes on him, gauging his reaction to Shelby’s sudden appearance. In an attempt to disguise his shock, he held up Morgan’s sunset watercolor for Devon’s inspection, “Would you pay two hundred dollars for this?”

“Be nice,” Devon said, “Just because you don’t like it doesn’t mean nobody would.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“I know I didn’t,” Devon laughed, “and I won’t. Is that what she wants for it? Does she have a price on there?”

Rick nodded as he gingerly leafed through the remaining watercolors on the table. He wasn’t particularly interested to see them, he just needed to appear busy.

Devon joined Randy at the window, and Keith disappeared. Rick was just about to go looking for him when he reappeared with a handful of postcards taken from the wall in the other room. He began inspecting the paintings while shuffling through the postcards, and finding a match, stuck the postcard to the corresponding painting.

Stunned, Rick stood in astonishment as Keith charged around the room, matching postcards to paintings. “Keith!” Rick tried to yell quietly, “You have to put those back, it’s not a game!” But Keith was lost in his matchmaking. Rick followed behind him, ripping the postcards off the canvas’s from which they dangled. Finally, catching up to Keith, Rick returned the cards he had collected to the top of the pile in Keith’s hands, and grasping them to get his attention, said, “You have to put these back, now!” Keith looked at him blankly, shrugged his shoulders, and left the room with the stack of postcards.

When Morgan finally returned, she was alone. She suggested that they head out to the terrace for lunch, and as they filed through the door, Morgan held Rick back. “Shelby had to get back to town, but she wanted me to tell you that she’d see you later.”

He could tell that Morgan wanted more information, but instead he asked, “You two work things out?” She just nodded and gave him a wink. He turned and followed the others, and when he passed by the postcard wall, he noted they all hung upside down.

Chapter Ten

As Rick descended the steps scaling the cliff, anticipation pulsed through his veins. After surviving two short meetings with Shelby since the previous night’s fiasco, and his heart-to-heart with Devon, he was keen to be alone with her. He felt the need to reassure her that his attention to Morgan was no more than a study of character, or lack thereof.