Trouble finding Blondie (29 page)

“I did change. I am different. I held myself to be the man you have always seen in me. I didn’t think it was necessary to inflict more pain.”

“Look, I’m not pointing fingers. I’m admitting wrong doing. I just don’t think our love has a fighting chance if we have skeletons in the closet.”

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Ask me anything.”

“I already did. I have read the rest...”

“I thought I should take this one to my grave…”

“Me too. But it felt deceitful, withholding...”

“Shady?” Andre used Simona’s expression.

“Yes, shady. It felt like a burden, a heavy load,” she said. “Why are you smiling?”

“I love the way you are. You make me smile.”

“It was new to me, Andre. I have never been cheated on. And the timing of it all?”
 

“Priceless. I know.” Andre was being sympathetic.

Then she continued, “Patrick was playing the victim card in our final months together, so I was left to be the villain. Then, overnight, I became a victim of your actions. I didn’t volunteer for either of those, decided not to be either, and chose ‘happy’ instead. I gave myself a pity party, then counted my blessings, and came up with a plan. I had directions, and not only on a map, but in life. As Philippe says, money gave me options, and instead of being miserable, I chose to be grateful.”

“Is it really that simple for you?”

“Hell no. But the bad days are good, too. They remind me that I’m human, still in a learning process, making progress.”

“Blondie, would we be here if I was more forthcoming a few weeks ago?”

“I don’t know...”

The energy was calm, the feelings were raw and honest. There was not much to add.
 

“Can I call you in the morning?”

“I will be in the streets tonight. It’s the Manhattan Solstice. I’m so excited. After all these years of seeing it on pictures and paintings, I’m finally here to witness it myself.”

“What are you talking about?” Andre was lost.

“Oh, I’m sorry. It’s a sunset phenomenon, perfectly aligned with the east-west streets of Manhattan. It only occurs twice a year. And today is the day. July 13th.”

“Wow. I have never even heard of it.”

“Maybe never heard but I’m sure you have seen plenty pictures of the sun setting on the horizon, perfectly centered on the streets of NY City.”

“That’s great. Hope you get some great shots. Have you seen Ales already?”

“No. Ales and Geoffrey are on my agenda for tomorrow. Then Philippe scheduled some interviews the next day.”

“Seriously? You finally caved in?”

“Oh, no. Just a magazine and a website. No TV, no pictures either.”

“It’s still amazing how you get away with it.” Andre was finally smiling.

“This one I wouldn’t have been able to pull off without my connections. Every time the publishers start threatening, Geoffrey or Philippe iron it out.”

“Are you afraid of fame?”

“You know how I feel about social media. I’m an old fashioned girl. And I love my life the way it is.”

“I don’t think fame would change you, Blondie.”

“Maybe not me. But my life would. And that’s a hand of poker I’m not willing to play.”

“Ok, Thea Andree.”

“Good night, Andre Zatopek.”

❖ ❖ ❖

It had been one week only, and yet it already felt like an eternity. Simona was back at the airport, sitting in the first class lounge, when her phone rang.

“Hey. What are you guys up to?”

“Blondie, I have read the interview.”

“How? It’s not posted yet.”

“Philippe sent it to me. I will read my favorite part, ok?

“You have been quoted that behind every successful man we should look for the woman. The famous ‘cherchez la femme’ expression.”

“Yes, very true. There are some exceptions to the rule of course, but even those credit their mothers, grandmothers... I guess in today’s world the term ‘partner’ would be more appropriate, considering all the successful gay men.”

“So, how does that apply to successful women?”

“Well, as my friend Karen says…Behind every successful woman is someone who pissed her off.”

“Well, considering your amazing success and three bestsellers in two years, someone really must have pissed you off!”

“Hahaha, I guess I set myself up for that one.”

“Are you going to share?”

“His name is Andre, and he is the love of my life…”

“Is that what I think it is?”

“Yes. I’m coming home...”

“Home to me?”

“My name is Simona Thea Andree. It’s really nice to meet you.”

“I’m Andre Zatopek. And I can’t wait to see you.”

“Andre. You are going to have to figure out how to make peace with Philippe. I can’t give him up.”

“I got that.”

“Merci.”

They both smiled with victory, on opposite continents, letting the importance of what they just said out loud sink in. The mark of a new start. They were writing a new destiny together, going into the unknown, but on the same boat, with an endless horizon and countless possibilities.

❖ ❖ ❖

The next two years of their lives were one huge thrill. Simona convinced Andre to take advantage of Francois being little and travel. For many, that would spell more hassle, but her philosophy was that this was the best time to expose him to the world, before he requires the security of a home and the structure of a school. They spent the time traveling in amazing countries, meeting wonderful people, and exploring colorful cultures.
 

They stayed in England for a few months to settle Cori into his new school. They spent the winters in Hawaii, bringing the boys back for the holidays. The biggest adventure was two months spent on a catamaran cruising the Caribbean islands with both Cori and Arye and many friends taking turns.
 

They were also able to spend a lot of time in Prague with Andre’s family. Simona and his mom Elise became close. A mom she’d never had. Andre’s dad Josef with his second wife Danielle loved Francois, and so did Andre’s brother Adam whose three children were the best cousins Francois could dream of.
 

They took ski trips with Patrick and his cute Japanese girlfriend Akemi. The two met in Whistler on one of Patrick’s annual ski trips. She was a chiropractor with her own practice and a kick-ass snowboarder.

Everyone was very excited about her, mainly because she was as competitive as Patrick, kicking his ass and his ego down the hill. Patrick became a new man. He changed from the grumpy pessimist he used to be into someone with great energy, smiling and laughing. Andre kept teasing him that no wonder he was looking younger when he got every day ‘fixing’ for free. The boys were ecstatic to finally see their dad happy with someone who enriched his life.

Akemi was raised in California, but she spoke fluent Japanese. She was very athletic. Her discipline came from her strict upbringing and playing competitive sports. She competed in snowboarding competitions until her knee injury which made her go for sports medicine. She stayed close to sports and travelled as a chiropractor with the US snowboarding team to the Olympics. Akemi and Patrick were a match made in heaven. They both loved all the crazy from sport biking to surfing, but it was their common love and passion for mountains and snow that brought them together. Akemi means ‘bright beauty’, and it was very fitting. She was not only bright in knowledge, but shiny in soul.
 

The boys would compete in everything with her, too, from sliding, ping pong, even hockey, all the way to board games. Akemi became a tough nut for the Adamec boyhood.

Simona was laughing, walking around, enjoying Francois, watching them all around her. She kept asking them if she had a sign on her forehead, ‘all the crazy competitive people come to me?’”

Because everyone got along so well, they all decided to take a trip to New Zealand. It had been on Simona’s bucket list for over two decades.
 

They rented two RV’s, brought their bikes for mountain biking, even their surf boards. Simona had her Mary Poppins bike with a baby seat on the back. She was happily cruising when her adrenaline junkies went jumping crazy hills and climbing mountains.
 

Everyone loved the hikes, and even the four hour trails seemed easy with all the men taking turns carrying Francois on their backs in his fancy carrier.
 

Patrick loved Francois as his own, and the boys never tired of him. Akemi was a self-proclaimed non-motherly type who never wanted children, but Francois somehow managed to crawl even into her heart. She kidnapped him any chance she had.

All their travels were amazing. Andre and Simona always had an extra pair of hands wanting to give them a break, and Francois seemed like the easiest toddler due to all the attention he was constantly getting.

When Francois turned three, Andre put his foot down. He finally wanted to settle down. He rented a huge apartment in Paris, arguing that Simona’s small one was fine for a few weeks, but not to live in as a family. She agreed, acknowledging that Francois needed his own room.
 

Francois was going to start pre-school, and Simona wasn’t sure how this kid was going to settle into a structured environment. He spent all his life browsing continents, exotic countries, swimming in the ocean like a fish, and being constantly part of nature. How is this three year old, fluent in three languages, going to sit in one room for a whole day, listening to baby books, when he is telling pirate stories?

Simona’s boys transferred to Barcelona. She was spending more and more weekends in the south of France, close to the Spanish border. She fell in love with the area and started to look for a house.

17

"LEAVE THE GRUMPY HOME."

IT WAS JUNE 28th, and Andre’s anticipated 40th birthday celebration was here. He arrived the night before from his dream trip to Nepal. He had known that Simona was going to have a killer present for him, but this was more like a mission impossible that she made happen.
 

He joined an expedition with the national geographic experts, world class climbers, famous scientists, and photographers. It was privately funded by one of the richest conservationists who was also part of the expedition which meant that everyone was lucky on the first class service: private jets, helicopters, camps, private chefs and royal treatment all the way. Andre was his guest, and they clicked from their initial meeting a few months prior in London.

He wanted to meet Andre before agreeing to take him on board. Simona and Philippe asked him to keep it a secret, and he did. They told Andre that they had to attend one of Murdoch’s parties in London, held in his friend’s house.
 

Simona had everything packed weeks in advance in their Paris apartment. Ten days before his birthday, they flew to Paris under a pretense of going to the opera. At dinner, Simona gave him his birthday card with his airline tickets. He had tears in his eyes, but then also almost a heart attack when he looked at the departure date. It was in three hours. They were walking out of the restaurant, and Andre felt as if it was still a joke. Simona was smiling, enjoying his surprise. He was hugging and kissing her, still in denial.

He went from ‘completely surreal’ to ‘holy shit this is for real’ when he saw Marcello waiting for them outside.
 

On the way to Charles de Gaulle airport, he was protesting that he needed to go home to grab his stuff. Simona told him that he was packed. Marcello also grabbed his computer and headphones. For the rest he needed to trust her packing skills.

❖ ❖ ❖

Simona had almost ten days to get everything ready for all the people coming from everywhere. She knew that Andre wouldn’t want a huge celebration. It was only the people that mattered. Simona rented a small chateau with a private chef and a Bed & Breakfast right next to it. She rented several cars and flew everyone to Perpignan.

The only person staying at their house was Andre’s mom. She had been helping with Francois for several days to give Simona time to get organized.
 

Everyone arrived the day before; she made sure that all the flights landed way before Andre’s. As usual, it became more complicated with Margaret and Anton who missed their connection from London which meant that they were going to have to stay overnight.
 

Margaret called from Heathrow airport. Simona asked to speak to the airline agent, sensing she was very upset and wouldn’t get far. The agent went from ‘hell no’ to 'let me see if that would work,’ and he finally transferred them onto a flight to Barcelona which was just a little longer drive across the border. Andre was arriving with Philippe, so she called him to stall a little. She wanted to make sure that there would be no running into anyone.

Arye and Cori were arriving by train the day of the celebration. They loved riding on trains ever since they were small children growing up on Maui where there were no trains, tramways, or anything on rails besides the old historical sugar-cane factory train.