LEGACY

Book #5 in the Eva & Zoe Series

(c) November 2002

Mary D. Brooks

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Legacy is the fifth novel in the Intertwined Souls series - set after the events of Full Circle. Eva and Zoe are back from Europe and starting on a new Chapter in their lives. Having impressed the Foreign Affairs minister with her work during the European trip, Eva gets promoted to the position of assistant to the Minister much to the disgust of the bigoted Paula Williams. Zoe deals with the issue of sexual harassment at the Gallery. Her plans to add to their family strikes a major hurdle but certain events overtake them both and destiny takes over and the two women are faced with the realization that their lives have been altered once again.

Many thanks go to Tee, my wonderful editor and friend for persevering through this novel, for her support and encouragement. It was a difficult birth but it’s arrived safe and sound <g> Legacy was originally going to be published under the name of New Beginnings but like the events in Legacy, fate stepped in and altered it’s life <g>

I would also like to thank the Eva and Zoe group for hanging in there with me on this baby and to Lucia, once again her illustrations/artwork that inspire me.

Feedback is always welcome - maryd@ausxip.com

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LEGACY

Chapter 1

“Weed! Weed!” A young boy’s voice drifted in from outside where the hot, humid air barely raised a breeze to cool things inside the large Federation home of Eva and Zoe Haralambos. Summer in Sydney was once again extremely hot and humid and this day was no different. The heat wave announced a long dry summer, which didn’t go down very well for one particular person.

Zoe Haralambos leaned over the kitchen sink and looked out the window to find the source of the squealing. Kneeling beside the vegetable patch in the backyard was her beloved partner, Eva and their ‘nephew’, young Albert Jacobs.

Eva loved gardening and the backyard bore the fruits of her labors. It was a beautifully kept garden with three trees on either side. At the back, towards the high fence that separated the house from the cliff face that went down into the sea was a tall avocado tree. To the side was a well-tendered vegetable patch with tomatoes, thyme and basil. What the tall woman loved most was the jasmine that grew around the steps and intertwined with the lattice surrounding the verandah.

Zoe was a petite young woman, in her mid-twenties with short chestnut-brown colored hair that turned a golden shade in the sun; that is if she stayed out long enough in the sun, which she regularly tried to avoid doing. Her fair complexion soon turned into rosy tint that didn’t appeal to her or, nor did what her partner called the ‘Lobster look’. Zoe wore a white, short-sleeved shirt, which actually belonged to her much taller partner, over knee length shorts; it was the coolest thing she could find to wear.

A smile creased the young woman’s face as she watched Eva tenderly wipe a smudge of dirt from the young boy’s nose. Albert Jeremiah Jacobs (or ‘AJ’ as Eva had nicknamed him) was a regular visitor to the Haralambos house; his mother often joked he spent more time at the women’s home that his own.

Zoe watched them laugh at something which in turn made her smile. She couldn’t hear what Eva was telling him, but by the look on AJ’s face, Zoe knew Eva had sprung her surprise for his birthday on the young boy, which was going to be in a few days.

Zoe continued to look outside as Eva reached into a large bag and produced her surprise. It was Eva’s old camera which excited Albert to the point that he squealed and leapt up at his ‘Tante’, wrapping his arm around her neck.

“Oh Evy, that’s going to sting,” Zoe said when she noticed her partner’s neck had turned a bright shade of red. The hat the tall woman wore shielded her face from the sunshine but the scorching sun had found its mark one her long, slender neck. AJ also wore one of Eva’s hats which came down to cover half his face which made Zoe grin.

AJ was a rambunctious three-and-a-half-year-old that idolized the tall, dark-haired woman and attached himself to her side whenever he could. Today was no different and, although the weeding was a chore to many people, the young boy made it a game with his Tante Eva. He spoke fluent German and English, which made his parents deliriously happy since they thought that he wouldn’t speak their native language, thus forgetting a part of his heritage.

Albert’s parents were Elena and Friedrich Jacobs, holocaust survivors who had found each other in the most unusual of ways. Zoe often wondered if their lives had been pre-destined because she was sure her two friends would never have met, had it not been for the ‘cloak and dagger job’ Friedrich held.

Friedrich was a lawyer with the War Crimes Section trying to search out war criminals, ex-Nazis, collaborators and other assorted flotsam and jetsam left over from World War II. Tracking them down and bringing them to justice was Friedrich’s job, one that gave him enormous satisfaction, since he had lost his entire family to Hitler’s ‘final solution’. He was the only one left from a family consisting of his German father and Russian mother, four sisters and a brother.

Elena, a talented sculptor and artist, was also a holocaust survivor who had managed to live through the horror of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and several other horrific experiences before settling in Australia. She had found herself alone; all her family was lost and she was engulfed in loneliness and despair. Yet, in the midst of all her pain, she had found herself a friend; Zoe. Meeting the young woman on the ship bound for a new land and new life was fortuitous. Becoming friends with her was one of Elena’s greatest joys.

Zoe turned from the window and turned her attention to the large watermelon sitting on the table. She picked up the butcher’s knife and grinned.

“It’s time to die,” Zoe laughed wickedly as she lifted the knife and cut into the thick layer of skin.

“It’s already dead, Zo,” Elena Jacobs announced as she walked into the kitchen, fanning herself with a magazine. Elena was a slight woman with shoulder length wavy brown hair and caramel colored eyes. Normally quite slim, her bulging belly announced to the world she was expecting and she fervently hoped her delivery would occur sooner rather than later. The news she was expecting twins had sent her husband Friedrich racing up and down the house, screaming. The raucous noise was enough to bring Eva and Zoe running from next door to see if everything was alright.

Zoe looked around and spotted her friend sitting on a chair looking very hot and tired. She raised the knife. “I know its dead but that’s what my papa used to say when he cut up a watermelon.”

“Ah, a Lambros family tradition,” Elena chuckled. She stopped when one of the twins kicked her. “Hey, you in there, stop it,” she admonished her belly.

Zoe put the knife on the table and knelt beside her friend. “Hey, Gertrude, stop it okay? You’re making your mama cranky.”

“Oh stop that, Zoe,” Elena gently pushed Zoe away from her, causing the young woman to fall back onto her behind, laughing. “I’m so sick of Friedrich talking to my belly,” Elena said and then stopped fanning herself. “Gertrude?”

“Friedrich said he liked the name.”

Elena snorted. “He also likes Sigmund but he’s not going to get it.”

“Sigmund is nice,” Zoe said facetiously. “Are you still leaning toward Friedrich Junior?

“No,” Elena replied a little dejected that she couldn’t get the name she wanted. “Freddy doesn’t like it.”

“Doesn’t like his own name?”

“He thinks it’s pretentious calling a child after yourself,” Elena shrugged. “I think we are going to fall back to our original choice, Nicolas.”

“That was my papa’s name,” Zoe grinned.

“It’s a compromise name,” Elena chuckled. “If we have two boys we are going to have trouble.”

“What if you have two girls?”

Elena rolled her eyes. “That’s even worse. I like Inga but Freddy doesn’t want to.”

“Why?”

The young woman smiled. “He has bad memories of girls named Inga,” she chuckled

“Oh,” Zoe scrunched up her face.

“My point exactly,” Elena chuckled. “What would you choose if you could name the babies?” Elena challenged her friend who looked up and grinned. “And you can’t say Eva.”

“Oh, you take all the fun out of it,” Zoe grinned. She pursed her lips in thought even though she already knew what she would call her child if she ever had one. She had fantasized about it ever since she had mentioned her desire for children to her partner. “Larissa.”

“Larissa? Your home town?”

“Yeah, it’s special. It’s where I met Evy and I think it’s a beautiful name,” Zoe replied. “But that’s not going to happen so it’s only a fantasy.”

“I like that name, Zo,” Elena reached out and tenderly touched the young woman on the shoulder. “Can I use it? Would you mind?”

Zoe looked up at her friend and smiled. “Are you serious?”

“Of course I am,”

“What about Freddy?”

Elena smiled. “Naming a little girl ‘Freddy’ is just not nice,” she chuckled. “Freddy has got naming rights if one of the little Jacobs inside here,” she laid her hands on her belly, “is a boy.”

“That would be special, El,” Zoe said her voice breaking a little. “I hope it’s a girl.” Zoe laughed and leaned over Elena’s belly. “Hey, Larissa, are you in there?” she spoke at her friend’s stomach.

“Stop that, Zoe,” Elena warned her again. “Eva has a lot to answer for.”

Zoe laughed knowing Eva was responsible for Friedrich’s idea of talking to the twins. The tall woman had listened to a doctor on a radio show theorizing that the unborn can hear, so Eva took the news to Friedrich. Their friend took up the habit of greeting his wife and then the twins. It was a novelty at first for Elena and then it had become annoying until Zoe reminded her that by the time the babies are born, they would know their daddy by his voice. Not that Zoe knew that was going to happen, but it made settled Elena a little.

Zoe decided it was cooler on the floor and she sat cross-legged on the linoleum. “Hey this is nice. Want to join me?” she patted the floor next to her.

Elena hiked an eyebrow in disbelief and shook her head sadly. “You are insane. Do you want what would happen if I sat on the floor?”

“You’ll be cooler,” Zoe said with a smile.

“I’ll need one of those freighter cranes to pick me up,” Elena replied and rubbed her hands over her belly. “Wait until you have one, then you can tell me if you want to sit on the floor.”

Zoe pursed her lips in thought at Elena’s words. The young woman yearned to have children of her own. She also knew that yearning for something and actually getting it were two different things. While in Greece during their recent visit, a visit necessitated by Eva’s position as an interpreter for the Foreign Affairs Minister, Eva’s stepmother had suggested using a syringe. That idea, which worked on animals, did not work for humans all that well and even the idea of the procedure made Zoe cringe. Even if they attempted it, Zoe doubted it would work.

Elena noticed the change in her friend and mentally kicked herself at saying something she knew was a sore point for Zoe at that moment. They had discussed Zoe’s desire for children and how disappointed the young woman was that there was no way to do it without ‘cheating’ on her partner. “I’m sorry, Zoe. This heat is frying my brain “

The young woman shrugged, a little dejectedly and said, “It’s okay, El,” and smiled sadly up at her friend. “I can live vicariously through you.”

“You can have it,” Elena replied fanning herself with the magazine again. “You know you are going to get babytending duty, don’t you?”

“Looking forward to it,” Zoe grinned. “So is Evy. She’s already practicing changing nappies on a doll.”

Elena snorted and continued to fan herself as a gust of hot air blew through from the open window.

“So what’s it’s like?” Zoe got up from the floor and sat in a chair next to her friend. “What it’s like having a life inside you?”

Elena smiled at the look of wonder on Zoe’s face. “It’s bloating,” she quipped, getting the laugh from her friend she was expecting. “I feel like the Hindenburg.”

Elena smiled and took Zoe’s hand and placed it on the left side of her belly. She watched Zoe’s eyes go round as one of the babies decided to play soccer inside her stomach.

“Wow,” Zoe whispered in awe. “That’s incredible!”

“It is, I admit it,” Elena replied as she leaned over and kissed the top of Zoe’s head. “I wish you could experience it, Zo. You could get married…” Elena stopped mid sentence at the look she was getting from her friend.

“I’ve got Eva,” Zoe replied, a little miffed that Elena had forgotten that one little detail. While their relationship was not recognized by state or by their Church, Zoe felt they were ‘married’ in the eyes of God. She didn’t care that the Greek Orthodox Church, or any church for that matter, thought they were ‘an abomination’, as one priest had called homosexuals. She had her faith and she believed with all her heart that God would approve of her love for Eva. In any event, she hoped that God approved because if He didn’t … it didn’t matter to her since she wasn’t going to change for any God or anyone else.

“Yes, I know, but you can’t have children with Eva,” Elena replied quietly. She knew the two women loved each other; that wasn’t a secret. She was one of the few that knew about their true relationship and wasn’t judgmental about it. Zoe had been upset about losing a friendship whenever someone had found out about her relationship with Eva. It amazed her how committed Zoe was to the relationship, as was her partner, Eva.

Elena doubted that more than a handful of people were aware of the true nature of the two women’s relationship. To most, they were sisters sharing a house or simply friends. When Elena had first met Zoe, it had come as quite a shock to learn her new-found friend was a lesbian.

The smell of the sea greeted Elena Mannheim as she walked out to the deck of the big refugee liner, The Patris. She breathed in the sea air and exhaled loudly, so glad to be out of that cabin. Since it had been necessary to share it with three other people, it didn’t take long to discover that snoring by threes quickly became unbearable. It wasn’t as if she wasn’t used to sleeping in an overcrowded, dormitory-type environment. Having been forced to spend two years in Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, she was pretty well cured of the need for quiet to fall asleep. There were exceptions, however. The fact that Mrs. Elimbos was snoring loudly enough to disturb the dead buried at sea was the reason she was out on the deck tonight.

“One more month,” Elena chanted as she sat on a foldaway chair on the deck. She sighed. It was a chilly night, and she pulled the thin blanket she’d brought around her to protect against the wind.

“Excuse me, miss, but won’t your parents be worried about you, out here alone at this hour?”

Elena turned to find a steward standing next to her and grinned. “I can’t sleep, and I don’t have any parents. I’m alone. Besides, I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry…um…Take care you don’t…uh…fall overboard,” the steward said, then turned and walked off.

Elena’s eyebrows raised to her hairline at the strange warning. She shook her head slightly and pulled the blanket the rest of the way up to her neck, then leaned back in the chair to gaze at the stars. She was indeed alone. Her mother had died in her arms back in Bergen-Belsen. Too weak and frail to fight off the infection that ravaged her body, Sarah Mannheim had quietly slipped away one night. Elena had truly been alone after that, even though the barracks were filled to the rafters with women. She had celebrated her fifteenth birthday alone, cleaning out the latrines. But, in the end, although she didn’t know how or why, she had survived.

Sensing something, Elena was startled to find that someone was standing just a few feet from her. “Hello,” she tentatively said, hoping she was going to be able to speak to someone tonight and maybe have some company.

A petite, chestnut-haired woman turned and grinned. “Hi.”

“Have a seat. We seem to have the whole deck to ourselves tonight,” Elena said as she motioned to the chair beside her.

“Thanks,” the young woman said. “I’m Zoe.” She stuck out her hand.

Elena smiled and shook the young woman’s hand and watched as she sat in the next chair.

“It’s kind of cool out here. Want to share my blanket?”

“Thanks,” Zoe grinned, scooting her chair right next to Elena’s, and pulled some of the blanket over her legs. “Can’t sleep?”

“Can sleep, but Mrs. Elimbos won’t let me,” Elena corrected.

“How come?”

“Her snoring would wake even the dead,” Elena said with a grin. “You have a snoring partner too?”

Zoe laughed. “Actually, I think I’m the one who snores. No, she’s asleep. She was sick for most of the day with that flu bug, and she finally nodded off.”

Elena liked the young woman; she had such an open and honest face. “I’m Elena. Where you from, Zoe?”

“Larissa, Greece, for most of my life, and more recently from Egypt,” Zoe replied. “Have you got anyone in Australia?”

“No, I don’t have any family. Just me, myself and I,” Elena joked. “How about you?”

“My family was killed during the war.”

“Kindred spirits, huh?” Elena whispered. “So you’re by yourself then, as well?”

“No, not any more. I’m with my w.. uh .. friend.” Zoe corrected herself and smiled at the young woman.

“Your friend?”

“Yeah, Eva Muller. You may have seen her around; very tall, short dark hair, blue eyes. You can’t miss her, she’s like a lighthouse,” Zoe joked.

Elena nodded her head. She had seen the woman Zoe was describing. The tall female had always seemed rather aloof and cold to her. “Mmm, yes, I’ve seen her, but I thought she was a part of the ship’s crew.”

“What made you think that?” Zoe asked.

“She’s not very friendly.” Elena regretted the words as soon as she uttered them. “Look, I’m sorry…”

“It’s alright. You don’t know her. She’s quiet around people she doesn’t know and I’m sure that it looks like she’s not friendly. But she is really the most loving and giving person I know.”

“Look, Zoe, I didn’t mean…well, it’s… she’s so quiet, and I don’t think I’ve heard two words from her. I’ve seen her around and I did hear her speak German once. Is she German?”

“She was born in Austria, but her parents were Greek,” Zoe said quietly.

“Oh, she speaks quite fluent German. I heard her speak to a German couple when they were having some problems with their steward. That’s why I thought she was part of the crew.”

They sat in silence for a few moments. “Look, I’m sorry again for upsetting you…”

Zoe was about to respond when she heard someone else come on deck, then frowned when she looked over and realized that it was Eva. “Hey, you! Why are you out of bed and out here in the cold air?”

“I was wondering where you were,” Eva replied before engaging in a coughing fit.

“You shouldn’t be up here, love. It’s too cold in this wind,” Zoe lightly scolded the tall woman, frowning at her.

“It’s too hot in the cabin, Zoe. I’ll just stay out here for a few minutes,” Eva insisted.

“Well, at least rug up.” Zoe got out of her chair and fussed around the older woman, pulling the blanket that Eva had brought with her up and around her head. “This is Elena.” She motioned to the young woman still seated. “Elena, this is Eva Haralambos, my friend and one sick, little puppy.”

Elena laughed. She was enjoying her night even though she thought she might have put her foot in her mouth about Zoe’s friend. She watched as the two spoke briefly to each other, then Zoe sat back down again.

“Thanks, Mum,” Eva said and gave Zoe a wink. “Hi, Elena. I see you met my mother here.”

“I have, yes. Are you from Larissa as well?”

“Not exactly. But I met Zoe in Larissa,” Eva replied quietly, sitting down in a chair next to Zoe.

“I was just saying to Zoe that I overheard you speak German, and I was wondering if you were German?” Elena never believed in beating around the bush and almost always spoke her mind, though it had gotten her into trouble more than once.

“She didn’t take your head off, did she?” Eva asked as she looked at Zoe who was smiling at her. “I speak German, Italian, Greek and English. But I grew up in Germany.”

“Oh,” Elena replied.

“Come on, Evy, let’s get you inside before you get worse,” Zoe said, pulling the older woman to her feet. “Elena, if you would like to join us, I know I would enjoy talking to you some more.”

Elena looked at the two women. She liked them even though she feared she had gotten off on the wrong foot with the younger of the pair. “Okay, are you sure you don’t want to go back to sleep?” she asked Eva.

“Oh no, that’s fine. Come on then.”

Elena followed them back to the cabin as they walked in front of her. Zoe was still fussing over the older woman. She smiled when she saw Eva kiss Zoe on the cheek and slap her on the behind. They invited Elena into their cabin, which was quite small, and Elena tried to figure out how the tall woman coped in such a cramped room.

“Welcome to our broom closet,” Zoe joked as she got Eva back in bed. She looked down at her friend in mock exasperation. “Can you please stay here?”

Elena watched the two women interact and she didn’t need to be told they were more than friends. She had seen a few women who preferred companionship with other women in the concentration camp. It was forbidden, but that still didn’t stop them. She had asked her mother about it, and her mother said that Elena had enough to worry about and to forget about those women. She couldn’t exactly forget since they shared a bunk beside her.

“Were you married?” Elena asked, hoping that they would say that they had been, because she didn’t want to find out that her new-found friend was a lesbian.

Eva lifted her head from her pillow and grinned at Zoe. “Why do you ask?”

“Well, you’re both alone and you’re sailing for Australia…”

Zoe glanced at her new friend and brought up the blanket to cover Eva’s shoulders. “So are you.”

“Good point,” Elena grinned.

“Why are you going to Australia?” Eva asked a little sleepily as the tiredness overcame her.

“I’m Jewish,” Elena replied and glanced at Zoe to see a reaction. When she didn’t get the response she thought she was going to get, she continued. “Well, after they burnt down our shop, Mama and Papa decided it was too dangerous to stay there and we fled. We went to Thessalonika. Papa had a cousin there so we stayed with them. When Greece was invaded, we were trapped there.”

“What happened?” Zoe asked as she poured Elena a cup of lemonade.

“Hitler’s final solution. He was going to find and kill all the Jews.” Elena’s voice grew slightly bitter. “We were treated worse than animals. I remember the commandant of the camp had this cat… it went all over the place. It was treated much better than we were. I was at Bergen-Belsen camp until the last few months of the war, and then we were all going to be shipped to Auschwitz.”

“I’ve heard stories about Auschwitz. Mrs. Hoffman, the lady I was translating for, was in that camp,” Eva said.

“Well, they all are true. All the horror stories are true,” Elena stated quietly. She didn’t want to think about the camps because, if she did, she would lose any control she had over those memories.

“I’m sorry, Elena,” Eva whispered.

“You know, Eva, I think those poor souls that died are the lucky ones; the survivors are the ones that have to live with the nightmares…” Elena stopped. She didn’t want to let those memories take over again.

“How did you survive?” Zoe asked.

“I don’t know. Fate, God, luck…I really don’t know. Everyone was being shipped off to Auschwitz. In the boxcar I was in, well, some of the men managed to get some of the rotten timbers pulled out and they jumped. I don’t think the guards were aware of it. I remember seeing a patch of blue sky and thinking it might be the last thing I’d ever see. I just closed my eyes and jumped. I woke up a few days later. You know the first thing I saw? This ugly shade of green of a tent… I’ve never been so happy to see that particular shade of green in all my life,” Elena said and sipped her drink. “You’re not Jewish?”

“No, we’re Greek,” Zoe replied.

“Eva doesn’t sound Greek,” Elena chuckled.

“No, she grew up in Germany but her parents were Greek. Long story.” Zoe glanced at her sleeping partner and smiled.

“How did you meet?”

“In Larissa, that’s where I’m from. Her stepfather was the German commander of the area and he brought her along.”

“Wow,” Elena whispered. “You became friends with the enemy?”

Zoe looked up sharply. “She wasn’t the enemy.” The young woman’s tone softened. “Well she was but she wasn’t really.” The youthful face brightened.

“And you became friends?”

Zoe grinned. “Yeah, but more than that.”

“Oh?”

“I wanted to kill her because I thought she was the enemy but I found out she was helping the Resistance, so I didn’t,” Zoe replied and gently brushed Eva’s hair away from her face. “I couldn’t kill her.”

Elena watched the young woman and sighed. “You and she are…”

“Lovers,” Zoe supplied. “Partners.”

“Oh,” Elena whispered. The two women sat in silence for a few moments looking at each other. “That’s not normal, is it?”

“It’s normal for me,” Zoe replied a little defensively. “I’m different to you. Do you hate me for that?”

“No, I like you,” Elena replied with a smile.

“That’s good, because I like you,” Zoe returned the smile and Elena somehow knew that a friendship had been born that night. She had just met the young woman and yet she felt she had known her all her life.

“Helloooo ? Is anyone home?” Zoe giggled as she clicked her fingers in front of her friend’s face. “Where did you go?”

Elena shook her head to clear the happy memory and chuckled. “Oh, Zoe, remember the first time we met?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe chuckled. “The night Eva proposed to me.”

“You looked so happy that night.” Elena ruffled her friend’s coppery hair.

“And it was your first lesbian encounter.” Zoe leaned back in her chair and grinned up at the ceiling. “I bet you weren’t expecting that.”

“Actually there were some lesbians in the concentration camp,” Elena replied. The two friends talked had about everything except what the young woman had endured at Bergen-Belsen Concentration camp. She’d confided in Zoe a few years before about some of her experiences, but lately, then she hadn’t been able to bring herself to talk about them.

“Here I thought I was the first,” Zoe grinned.

“Oh, baby, don’t you wish?” Elena roared with laughter with Zoe as the two friends shared the joke. It had taken Elena a long time to be comfortable about Zoe’s preference for women. She had felt uncomfortable at first but decided that she liked Zoe and would accept her for who she was.

“Mama! Mama!” AJ raced into the kitchen holding an old camera. “Look at what Tante Eva gave me,” he said and bounced up and down.

Zoe watched as the little boy scrambled onto the seat next to his mother and began to tell her all about the camera. She glanced up to find Eva leaning against the door jam. The tall woman had a huge smile on her face as she watched AJ show off her gift.. The camera belonged to Eva and it was the first camera she had owned.

Elena looked up and gave her friend a smile. “Did you thank Tante Eva for the camera?”

“Yes and I gave her a kiss,” the young boy nodded vigorously.

“I don’t remember that,” Eva replied in a softly-spoken German accent that always made Zoe smile. She loved the sound of Eva’s voice; very soft and feminine unlike some of the German women she had met that sounded harsh and stern.

Eva came into the kitchen and took off her gloves. She sat on the same chair as Zoe, her partner taking half the chair to give her room. “Did you really kiss me? I would have remembered that,” she said to AJ, knotting her brows in a ‘pretend’ consideration.

The young boy looked back at his mother. “I did,” he said. He left the camera on the table and scrambled down off the chair. He went and stood beside the sitting women. “Aunty Eva, you’re too big,” he announced as he tugged on her shirt.

Zoe chuckled as Eva leaned down. “Is that better?”

“Yes,” AJ replied, putting his arms around her neck. “This is so you won’t forget again,” he kissed her on the cheek, blowing a raspberry, much to everyone’s delight.

“I won’t forget that,” Eva chuckled and kissed the young boy on the cheek. She picked him up and sat him on her lap. She gave him another kiss before he scrambled down.

Later Eva stood and watched Elena and her son say goodbye to Zoe before they left. She glanced at Zoe who had such a wishful look on her face, it made Eva’s heart ache. It was the only time in her life she wished she was a man so she could give her beloved partner what she wanted most. But no amount of wishing was going to solve that problem.

Chapter Two

“OH, THIS IS NICE,” Eva mumbled as she took the juicy watermelon offered to her. The stifling humid air enveloped them like a cocoon, which made Eva feel like staying where she was, lying on the sofa with her head on Zoe’s lap.

They sat on the weather beaten sofa that had seen better days; it was the first piece of furniture they’d purchased after they had arrived in Sydney in 1946. It had sentimental value for Zoe who was loathe throwing it away. When they moved into their home, the sofa moved with them. It was a little too short to accommodate Eva’s 6-foot plus frame; her legs dangled off the edge. That didn’t stop her from lying down and letting Zoe feed her the watermelon.

Zoe smiled down at the dark head resting on her lap and ran her hand through Eva’s hair. “I told you tapping it would tell us if it was a good one.”

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you,” Eva chuckled. They had spent the morning at the fruit market where Zoe tapped on watermelons to select the right one. Eva had never seen anyone select a watermelon based on whether it sounded right but then her partner was a little different to anyone else she ever known.

The young woman had captured her heart in 1944 in the middle of a major war and had never let go. The partners had met during the darkest days of World War II amidst the German occupation of Greece. German forces had besieged the small farming community of Larissa for three long years. The human cost had been high with the deaths of many of the villagers occurring as retaliation for the Greek Resistance being active in the area.

Larissa was an old city, dating back 5,000 years, and the Greeks had seen many invaders come and had seen them out. A strong patriotic people who never buckled despite the hopeless situation, they may have been beaten but their fighting spirit endured. It was one of the things that Eva found truly amazing about her native countrymen and she respected them. She was after all, ‘one of them’, having been born of a Greek mother who had been sent to live in Austria out of shame.

Eva’s grandfather, Petros Mitsos, was a World War I war hero. He was a man ‘respected and loved’, if one was to believe his mother’s chatter. To his horror, Mitsos found out his unwed daughter was pregnant. What was even worse for the ‘war hero’ was that the man responsible was a plain shepherd boy, not a man of substance, but a foolish young man too ‘common’ even for Mitsos to overlook the fact that his daughter had brought him shame to let her marry the man. He chose instead to exile his daughter to far off family of allowing her to wed the man she loved.

Daphne, Eva’s mother, had eventually married Hans Muller, a German Army officer, even though she didn’t, and never would, love him. She had made the decision in order to give her young daughter a father and, at the same time, remove the stigma of having the child regarded as a ‘bastard’.

The final scenario to life had been a very strange turn of events for Eva; one in which she knew God must have played a part. She couldn’t believe that it all had occurred by just plain coincidence.

Eva was a trapped young woman. Her stepfather, upon learning that she was a lesbian, had ordered that she be ‘fixed’. The person he chose for that job was his brother, Doctor Dieter Muller. After months of ‘rehabilitation’ at an Austrian spa that doubled as a Nazi experimentation center, Eva had finally found it easier to submit and allow the her tormentors to believe she had been ‘returned to normal’.

It wasn’t easy for the tall woman, but she managed to maintain her charade. Then her stepfather, whom Eva believed was her natural parent, ordered her to be with him in Larissa. And so, she went. The hand of Fate, hand of God, whatever it was, Eva was grateful for the chance since the result was, she got to meet the love of her life.

Zoe was only 16 years old when the two had met and under the most inauspicious conditions. The younger woman was so determined to avenge her mother’s death at the hands of Muller’s villainy that she chose to kill the German officer’s daughter. Zoe had come to Eva’s attention when the teenager had thrown a rock, hitting Eva in the back of the head. A memorable meeting for the tall, dark haired woman. What Zoe didn’t know at the time was that Eva was helping the Greek Resistance.

Despite that first meeting, the two women became friends and eventually lovers, even though Eva had tried to resist her growing attraction to the zesty young woman. She feared what might happen to Zoe if anyone found out about their relationship. Eva had no doubt that her stepfather would have executed her young friend. It had been a rough beginning, but the years since were proving to be a soothing balm on Eva’s scarred soul. She smiled down at her partner and thanked God every day that she was alive and here with her cherished companion.

The tall woman was stirred out of her musings by Zoe’s fingers tracing a lazy eight on her bare thigh. On hot days she preferred to wear shorts that came down to her knees; they were much cooler than the long pants she usually favored.

“My papa told me that,” Zoe proudly announced and caught sight of a mosquito on Eva’s leg. She slapped it away, causing the tall woman to jump.

“Hey!”

“He was biting you,” Zoe mischievously looked up and winked.

“As opposed to you hitting me?” Eva teasingly asked.

“Which do you prefer, a mosquito eating you or my gentle touch?”

Eva smirked. “The mosquito,” she replied causing Zoe to start tickling her, which in turn caused the bowl to fall on the timber deck, scattering the watermelon.

“Uncle!” Eva yelped and took hold of Zoe’s hands to prevent the tickle torture Zoe favored. Eva brought the young woman’s palms to her lips and kissed them. “Always your touch.”

“Much better,” Zoe grinned. The two women looked at each other for a moment before both broke out laughing.

Eva felt at peace with her life and with the woman sharing her life. She could be herself when she was with Zoe; there was no need to hide or to watch what she said. Their relationship was based on love, honesty and trust. Added to the mix was Zoe’s overwhelming joy, despite her own devastating tragedy in the loss of her family. Zoe’s great joy in life was only one thing Eva found adoring.

They reversed their positions with Zoe now lying across the sofa, which was just right for her petite frame.

“You need a haircut, love,” Eva told her, ruffling the chestnut hair.

Zoe looked up and smiled. “I’m not going back to Mrs. Koalas. She’s always trying to marry me off to her son.”

“What did you tell her?”

Zoe snickered. “I told her you might be interested.”

“What?” Eva shrieked, astounded that Zoe would even mention her in the same breath as the phrase ‘dating men’. They’d both had problems with well-meaning people who weren’t aware of their true nature of their relationship. To many the two women were sisters; they never told actually said they were but let them assume they were related.

“That’s called a joke, Evy.” Zoe laughed so hard at the look on Eva’s face, she nearly fell off the sofa . “You are so easy to tease.” She tweaked her partner’s dimpled chin. Eva let her fingers journey to the smaller woman’s shoulders. Zoe closed her eyes, absorbing the tender kneading of her aching muscles. “So, AJ liked the camera, huh?” Zoe asked, almost moaning with delight as Eva’s hands loosened the tightness in her neck.

Eva grinned broadly at the mention of her gift to the young boy. “It was passed to me by my mother and I think he will enjoy it.”

“Oh I’m sure he will with his Aunty Eva showing him how,” Zoe teased. “It’s a good thing he’s only four. I could get jealous you know.”

Eva laughed. “Not my type.”

“I should hope not, ‘cause you’re mine,” Zoe announced and took Eva’s hands in her own. They sat in silence for a moment before Zoe looked up to find Eva smiling down at her.

“Evy, I’ve been thinking,”

“About what?” the tall woman asked and let her hands massage the copper head that rested on her lap.

Zoe took a deep breath and released it slowly. “You know how Alberta said that we might conceive if we did it with a syringe?” Zoe looked up, trying to gauge Eva reaction. On their recent visit back to Greece they’d consulted Eva’s stepmother, Alberta Haralambos, a licensed nurse, on the ways that Zoe could conceive without having sex with Pat. The desire for children made Zoe contemplate that scenario for a few seconds before she decided that she didn’t want to do it that way. The other method Alberta had suggested was using a syringe, which sounded too much like animal breeding to the young woman.

“Zoe, you know any children we have would be teased and ridiculed for being bastards,” Eva explained patiently. They had had this particular conversation for many days and still Zoe wasn’t deterred.

“I know that,” Zoe nodded. “But they will be loved by two very loving parents.”

Eva smiled at the mention of her being a parent. The thought had crossed her mind and she had had her own desire to be a mother but that was in the past. Eva knew she was unable to conceive but the desire had been rekindled recently, and then died very slowly. “That’s a given that any child we would have would be loved, Zoe.”

“My point exactly, Evy,” Zoe replied, used the affectionate altering of Eva’s name, one that made the tall woman smile. “We could try.”

“Zoe, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“But you thought it was a good idea before we went to Europe,” Zoe countered. She got up from her reclining position and faced her partner.

“I know, love, but apart from what society…”

“Society, saschmiaty, I don’t care what they think,” Zoe replied tersely. “I want a baby.”

“There’s the other way that Alberta mentioned…” Eva was cut short by the look of total outrage on her younger partner’s face.

“I will not marry Pat to satisfy others,” Zoe muttered. “I’m already married to you.”

Eva smiled despite the seriousness of the conversation. She was pleased by the idea that Zoe wouldn’t marry a man just so she could achieve her goal. Despite Zoe’s desire, Eva wasn’t prepared to make that choice. It had been nearly five years since she’d gotten down on her knees and asked Zoe to be with her for the rest of their lives. She had been ill and it wasn’t exactly under the right conditions, but it was something she would always remember as being special.

Eva had spent the day in their small cabin being ill with the flu that was sweeping the refugees on the ship. Zoe had spent the day with her; cleaning up after her and making her feel better. Eva wasn’t sure why she had chosen that moment but it felt right.

“Hey are you okay?”

“I’m okay… argh, no, I’m not okay,” Eva groaned, and heaved again into the bucket Zoe held for her. Zoe had patted her on the back and gave her a glass of water, then opened the cabin door to slip the bucket outside. It was bad enough that the cabin was small; they didn’t need that smell in there as well.

“Any better?” Zoe asked as she helped the older woman sit up. The tiny, narrow bunk was almost too small for Eva. She had to sleep with her legs pulled up, lest they hang over the end of the bunk with its thin mattress.

“Oh yeah, fine. Wish I could stop this room from spinning.”

“Oh is that all?” Zoe responded and kissed her on the head.

“Zo, can I ask you something?”

“No, you can’t ask the Captain to stop the ship and get off. I tried,” Zoe replied, and got a chuckle from her sick friend. She perched on the edge of the bed and caressed Eva’s cheek for a moment, before moving her hand up to softly stroke her dark hair.

“What do you want to ask me?”

“I know it’s not a good time and it’s not very romantic here, but…” Eva swallowed. She was nervous. She had spent the last year loving this woman and falling in love with her. She got out of her bunk despite the dizziness and fell to her knees in front of a very confused young woman.

“Evy, why are you out of the bunk?”

“Has your ‘heavy-like’ progressed yet?” Eva said quickly ignoring her partner’s question, needing to say anything to hide her nervousness.

“Huh?” Zoe replied and looked down at her friend in confusion for a moment before she realized what Eva was talking about. She started grinning. “I think I passed ‘heavy-like’ between Alexandria and Cairo.”

“You did?” Eva said in a small voice that sounded so young to Zoe, even though Eva was the older of the two.

“Oh yeah. You know, Eva Muller, I have bad news for you,” Zoe said, suppressing a grin.

“Oh?” Eva sounded alarmed and looked up with a frown.

“I’m afraid you’re stuck with me. It’s too late to throw me back, you know. I can’t swim,” Zoe joked. Her eyes gentled as she gazed at the woman she had almost lost to the cruelty and hatred of war. “I love you so much that it hurts. That’s how much I love you.”

“Oh!” was all Eva could say.

Zoe leaned down and gently wiped Eva’s face with the moist towel and kissed her. “So tell me, is that what you wanted to ask me, love?”

“No, I mean…um…Zoe,” Eva stammered.

“You know, that fever is going down. You remembered my name,” Zoe teased.

“Will you marry me?” Eva was able to ask quickly. “I mean it’s not the same as a man and wife marriage thing,” Eva rambled. “But I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Um, are we allowed?” Zoe asked quietly.

“Not legally, and I don’t think it’s allowed in Australia, but you know, in Ancient Greece it was allowed. I don’t see why we can’t follow our ancestors and their traditions…”

“That’s good, I’m sure there was a wild woman in my past.”

“So is that a yes?” Eva asked tentatively, still worrying over Zoe’s answer.

“To what question?” Zoe teased.

“Will you spend the rest of your life with me?” Eva asked again a little unsure of what Zoe’s answer was going to be

“I would spend an eternity with you,” Zoe announced and took the older woman’s hands in her own. “I love you with all my heart and soul.”

Eva smiled and produced a small tin-plated ring, placing it on Zoe’s ring finger. “I promise to love you for the rest of my life,” she said as she let the ring rest on Zoe’s finger. “I’ll also get you a better ring in Australia but that belonged to Father H and it was the ring he was going to give my mother. I’ll get you something…”

“No, I love this ring,” Zoe shook her head. “It doesn’t matter what it’s made of.”

Silent tears tracked down Eva’s cheeks as she scooped up the young woman in her arms and kissed her passionately.

Eva smiled at the memory as Zoe continued explaining her reasons why society was wrong and that it was made up of prejudiced people. She gave her partner a look and shook her head. “Evy, you don’t want me to marry Pat do you?”

“NO!” Eva nearly yelled which made Zoe smile. “I mean, if you want to have a baby…”

“I want to have a baby but I don’t want to have sex with Pat, or any man, for that matter.”

“That’s the only way, love.”

“No, it’s not. I want to try with the syringe,” Zoe patiently told her partner, who had heard the same thing for the past week.

“It probably won’t work,” Eva reasoned.

“Why can’t we try?”

Eva sighed. There was no force on earth that would dissuade her stubborn but lovable spouse if her mind were made up. It was set in stone with this issue. “We can try,” Eva said, resigned to the fact that they were going to disappointed. She could never deny this young woman anything and if Zoe wanted to try and have a baby despite everything being against them, then that is what Eva would do.

Zoe jumped up and danced a little around the sitting woman who was laughing at her antics. She sat back down and stretched out on the sofa. “I felt the babies move today.”

Eva looked down a little perplexed at the statement. “Zoe, we need to conceive…”

Zoe laughed at Eva’s confusion. “Elena’s little ones, silly!”

“Oh,” Eva chuckled.

“She’s going to let me name one of the babies,” Zoe grinned.

“She is?”

“Yep. Freddy is going to name the boy, if they have a boy and she was going to name a girl.”

“What if they have two boys or two girls?”

“They have a problem,” Zoe chuckled.

“What did you choose?” Eva asked hoping it wasn’t one of the names Zoe had found in a mythology book she had been reading.

“Larissa,” Zoe grinned up at her.

Eva smiled broadly on hearing the name. “I like that.”

“Me too, it’s special,” Zoe took Eva’s hand and kissed it. “If we have a baby girl, that’s what I want to call her.”

“That’s a beautiful name, love,” Eva replied as she leaned down and kissed Zoe tenderly.

“So when can we start to make babies?”

Eva chuckled. “You’re not going to forget this are you?”

“No.”

“Okay, we’ll talk to Patty and then we’ll see.”

“When?”

Eva shook her head. “I don’t know, love. Tomorrow?”

“Okay.” Zoe mumbled settling next to her partner as they both relaxed and enjoyed the gentle breeze cooling them down. Half an hour later Eva reluctantly decided she needed to finish her gardening duty.

“I have to finish this weeding, Zoe.”

“You’re going to get sunstroke,” Zoe admonished her. “You’re already sun burnt.”

“It stings a bit,” the tall woman replied gingerly feeling around her burnt neck. “You’re just have to give me some tender loving care tonight.” Eva grinned as spiked the remaining watermelon with a fork, the juice flowing down her chin.

Zoe snorted. “I’ll give you that even if you don’t have sunstroke,” She put her arms around her tall partner and gazed up into sparkling blue eyes. The sapphires in the pendant Eva wore around her neck matched the color of her partner’s eyes. Two weeks had passed since they’d arrived back home from Europe and yet the trip seemed like a lifetime ago.

“I know,” Eva smirked.

“Okay, tough stuff, I need to go inside. It’s too yucky out here.” Zoe gave Eva a quick kiss and walked back into the kitchen. Eva watched her go as she put her gardening gloves back on and walked down the small flight of steps to the garden.

A short time later, Zoe wandered outside to find Eva hard at work towards the back of the yard. Her gaze fell on the uncoiled hose that lay near the steps. “Well it is a hot day,” she mumbled to herself.

She giggled mischievously and quietly made her way down the steps. Moving stealthily over to the kneeling woman, Zoe quickly put the hose inside Eva’s shirt.

The tall woman yelped in alarm as the water splashed her. “Argh!” she screamed and jumped up.

Zoe squealed and ran for the stairs, but she wasn’t fast enough. Eva grabbed the hose and caught the smaller woman, bringing her down on the grass.

“You are going to pay for that, Mrs. H!”

“Oh No! Have mercy on me,” Zoe beseeched her partner, who was now dripping wet. Eva grinned evilly, brought the hose closer and put it under her partner’s shirt. Zoe yelped and tried to get away but it wasn’t possible with Eva holding her down.

“Uncle! Uncle!”

“Okay, you live to fight another day,” Eva relented, throwing the hose into the tomato patch.

“Oh, Eva, I’m wet!”

Eva gave her a sexy grin, which soon dissolved into giggles. They lay on the wet grass starring up at the blue cloudless sky, their fingers interlocked. Eva turned and smiled at Zoe, who wore a smile that Eva never tired of seeing.

“Come on, love. I really need to finish this before it rains.”

Zoe opened her eyes and stared back at the blue expanse above. “How much more do you have to do? It’s been hours.”

“Just a little more. I’ve got the last patch here and then it’s done. Have to do it before it rains.’

“Uh, Evy, there is no rain.”

“It could rain.”

“Since when did you become a weather expert?” Zoe chuckled. “Weeds are weeds, Evy. They can stay there for a few more days.”

“True, but I don’t have a few more days. I’m going to start work on Tuesday.”

Eva’s long vacation would soon come to an end. The trip to Europe with Percy Hester, the Foreign Affairs and Immigration Minister, had gone so well that, as soon as they’d returned to Australia, Eva was offered a promotion. Eva had worked for the Interpreter Section as a German and Greek interpreter. Her language skills were quite useful to her department boss who chose to stay in Sydney rather than accompany the Minister. Farmer chose Eva to go in his place, overlooking other experienced members of his department. That didn’t sit well with some but the Minister was delighted with his choice.

Percy Hester was impressed with the way Eva had handled herself on the diplomatic tour. So much so that her promotion to his assistant was one that neither of the women had expected. It was going to be different to what she was used to and, with Zoe convincing her she was right for the position, she had accepted.

Eva chuckled as she lay on the grass watching Zoe pick up the hose to put it away. But when Eva noticed a dark mark against Zoe’s wet shorts that had become transparent with their playful dousing, the tall woman frowned.

“Zo, come here for a minute.”

“What?”

Eva pulled Zoe to her and sat her down. “Turn around for me.”

“Evy, if you want to inspect my bum just say so, I’ll do…”

“No, love, I’m serious.” Eva pulled her closer and pulled down the elastic of the waistband. “Does this hurt?” She pushed a purplish bruise on Zoe’s backside.

“Nope.”

“How did you hurt yourself?”

Zoe sat back down and played with the hose for a moment, feeling enormously silly at the moment.

“Zoe?”

“I think it’s from work. My new boss…umm…”

Eva wasn’t sure why Zoe was being so reticent about this. They had no secrets between them and yet her partner was acting very strangely. Zoe looked up and met Eva’s confused look.

“He cornered me in the storeroom and pinched my bum.” Zoe winced at the memory and the humiliation she had felt at being groped by the man.

“What?” Eva practically yelled. “Why didn’t you tell me this? When did it happen?”

“Friday. Evy, I didn’t want to upset our weekend.”

“Zoe,” Eva replied, shaking her head and scooping her partner in her arms. “Who is this boofhead?” Eva asked using one of Zoe’s favorite Aussie slang words for idiot.

“His name is Amery Henderson; he took over Stacey’s position while we were away. He keeps pinching me and wants to touch me all the time,” Zoe replied quietly.

“Did you report him?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I would have to go to the head of the division. Henderson knows I’m a lesbian and can sack me. I don’t want to lose that job, Evy.”

“Well I don’t want you being pinched and groped by that buffoon,” Eva replied, angry that Zoe had been subjected to that kind of abuse at her workplace. Not that it was uncommon; she was luckier than most in that she worked with mostly women. Zoe wasn’t as lucky.

“Does Stacey know?”

“Stacey is the one that told him I was a lesbian. He said all I needed was a good man.”

“How did Stacey find out?”

Zoe shrugged. “I don’t know. She asked me if I had a boyfriend and I said no.”

“And she guessed from that?”

“No,” Zoe shook her head. “I dropped my bag one day and I had a photo of you.”

“That’s isn’t so bad,” Eva replied trying to figure out how the woman had surmised that Zoe was a lesbian from a photo.

Zoe grinned. “You’re in your birthday suit,” she replied.

Eva sat on the grass in disbelief. “Oh my.”

“Hmm, well she put two and two and came up with four.” Zoe shrugged. “Come on, are you telling me you don’t have a photo of me in your purse?”

Eva smiled. “Yes, but you’re not naked.”

“Really?”

“Well not really,” Eva grinned. “Okay so she found out. What did she say?”

“She thought I was sick,” Zoe scrunched up her face. “She said I needed to stop being so perverted and go out with men. She offered to fix me up with her brother.”

“I bet,” Eva snorted. “Did you tell her to mind her own business?”

Zoe looked at her wife in disbelief. “Evy, Stacey is the biggest gossip in the place. It’s like asking the tide not to come in.”

“Well, we’re going to find a way to make that idiot stop what he is doing to do you.”

“You can always do a big bad butch thing and scare him.”

“A what?”

“A big butch dyke,” Zoe repeated and smiled up at her partner.

“Uh-huh, and how do I do that?”

“You dress up in leathers and scare the heebie-jeebies out of him.”

“Zoe, I can’t intimidate you,” Eva chuckled.

“Because I know you can’t hurt a fly,” Zoe replied and tweaked her partner’s dimpled chin. “But he doesn’t know it.”

“You’ve thought about this, haven’t you?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe said enthusiastically. “You’re wearing black pants, a t-shirt and a leather jacket. You are the butchest thing I’ve ever seen. You’re HOT.”

Eva laughed. “Zoe, have you been fantasizing about me?”

Zoe snorted. “Morning, noon and night,” she replied. “You remember that really horrible movie we went and saw with Pat and Earl?”

Earl was Earl Wiggins, a big burly Australian who had befriended Eva when she worked as a process worker in biscuit factory to support them soon after arriving in Australia. Earl was a gentle giant who had the reputation of a ladies man. Ironically, Earl was a homosexual who tried to cover his true nature by trying to woo the ladies in the factory thus avoiding unnecessary attention or the sack, if he were found out.

When Eva met him, she was on his ‘hit’ list. His intention was to date Eva to once again to live up to his reputation. Much to his surprise he found that Eva was a lesbian and she agreed to work with Earl to keep his reputation intact. Their friendship grew and he became their closest friend in Sydney. Pat was Patrick Hennessey, Earl’s partner of three years. The two of them shared a house next door to the women, which was quite fortuitous.

The four of them had gone to dinner and caught a re-run of a movie that Pat had wanted to see for a long time. Called ‘Motorcycle Squad’, it was about a policeman going undercover to thwart a criminal motorcycle gang.

“Well, it just got me thinking.” Zoe giggled.

“So, I dress up and then what do I do?”

“You make passionate love to me on your bike.” Zoe looked up and laughed when she saw the look on Eva’s face.

She knew what Eva was asking but decided that since she’d told Eva about her fantasy, she might as well reveal it all. “Oh, you mean Henderson. Well, you meet me at work and you scare him off from touching me.”

“Hmm, I can do that.” Eva nodded her head. If this was how she could make Zoe’s boss stop his roving hands, then she would do it.

“Huh? Are you serious? You want to make love on the bike?” Zoe asked in surprise.

Eva chuckled. “No, not that part. That would kill my back. I meant the big butch dyke thing,” she replied and kissed the tip of Zoe’s pert nose. “Come on, let’s go inside and change or else you’re going to catch another cold.” Eva got off the grass and pulled Zoe up with her.

“Eva?”

“Yes, Zoe?”

“I love you.” Zoe stood on the top step and, being level with the tall woman, captured her mouth for a long, sensual kiss.

“Hmm, let’s go inside.” Eva gently pushed the young woman inside and closed the door. “Let’s see how fast I can get those wet things off you.” She quickly raced into the bedroom, after her squealing partner.

Chapter 3

FREDDY JACOBS SAT ON THE edge of his desk, the phone cradled on his shoulder, patiently nodding his head every so often. Freddy was a man of immeasurable patience but the woman on the other end of the line was testing it at the moment. Shaking his head, he ‘ummed’ and ‘ahhhhuhhed’ to what the woman was saying.

“Yes, Mrs. Smith, I know it’s looks suspicious,” he told her and tried to inject some interest. “Yes, ma’am, we will come out and investigate it,” Freddy told her finally, which seemed to satisfy the woman. She hung up abruptly, much to the young man’s surprise.

He looked at the phone receiver for a moment and shook his head. “I’m also a mind reader,” he muttered to himself before placing it back in its cradle.

Freddy was a young man in his late twenties, with short dark brown hair already receding at the temples despite his young age, a legacy from his father who had gone completely bald by the time he was fifty. He wore wire-rimmed glasses that hid warm, brown eyes or, as his wife was fond of calling them, his ‘doe ‘ eyes. He was never sure what that meant and he didn’t want to find out either. Those around him knew him as Freddy for reasons best known to themselves since his given name was Friedrich. He didn’t want to know why Australians insisted on shortening his name but he just accepted it. He used to resent his name being butchered but found there wasn’t any point in arguing about it and now often found himself answering to Fred or Freddy.

The slender young man turned and sat back down on his seat. He had a small office that he shared with David Harrison, a colleague who was also a dear friend. David had been his best man at his wedding. It was a good thing they got on so well because the office was smaller than most washrooms. The meager space had also been recently made more crowded by the inclusion of a third desk, which irritated both men.

The War Crimes Section had undergone a transformation in the years following World War II, one change of which was, it had been expanded. Unfortunately for Friedrich and David, the renovations on the new offices were taking an extensive amount of time to complete. They weren’t surprised; the public service never moved quicker than a snail.

His musings were cut short by the voices he could hear coming down the linoleum-lined corridor. Freddy didn’t have to wait long to see two men enter the office.

David Harrison was a tall, stocky man with thick blond hair and green eyes that crinkled when he smiled. He was also in his late twenties and a veteran of the War Crimes Section since it’s inception. Beside him stood an older man with dark brooding eyes that scanned the office before settling on the lone occupant. The top of his salt and pepper hair was covered by a kipa, which was a customary Jewish head covering.

Isaac Abels was an Orthodox Jew and holocaust survivor. He distrusted everyone until he could ascertain if they were either friend or foe. It was a legacy from his time in Germany as a survivor of Auschwitz. He watched the young man sitting at the desk with some interest.

“And this is our Royal Palace,” David announced with a sweep of his hand. “As you will see, you don’t need a carrier pigeon to send a message.”

Freddy chuckled and patted the desk. “Welcome to our humble abode.”

“Freddy, this is Isaac Abels. Isaac this is Freddy Jacobs,” David introduced the two. “Feel like some tea?”

Isaac nodded his assent and sat down opposite Freddy. “I’m quite sure I won’t remember everyone’s name.”

“That’s okay,” Freddy replied. “David still doesn’t know what our boss’ name is,” he chuckled.

“You’re Jewish?” Isaac asked and looked around the neat office before turning his attention back to Freddy.

“Yes,” Freddy smiled at David who shrugged. “With a name like Jacobs, it’s a little hard to disguise that fact,” he chuckled.

“You’re not an Orthodox Jew?”

Fred smiled. “No, just the standard version.”

Abels scowled. “Is David, Jewish?”

“No, he’s Kaluthumpion,” Freddy replied with a smirk, which was totally lost on the other man. Abels stared at him for a moment, unsure if he was being teased.

“What religion is that?”

“No religion,” David entered and put the hot tea in front of Abels. “I’m an atheist.”

“You mean you don’t believe in God?”

“Nope,” David shook his head and took a sip of his tea.

Abels frowned. He wasn’t sure if he liked the two men or not. He was now faced with a Jew who had an Anglicized name and wore no skullcap as well as a fool who didn’t believe in God at all. It bothered him. A lot.

“Does it bother you I’m an atheist?” David grinned, handing Abels a steaming cup.

“You are what you are,” Abels shrugged, accepting the tea.

“Good,” David glanced at Freddy, “because I don’t have a problem with you being Jewish.”

Isaac stopped sipping his tea and looked over the top of the cup at the two men. “Is that a joke?”

“One of his many bad ones,” Freddy chuckled. “Religion doesn’t play a part in this office.”

“It doesn’t?”

“No,” Freddy shook his head. “We have Jews, Christians,” he glanced at David, “and atheists.”

“What we believe in doesn’t matter. We all strive to catch the bad guys,” David added, sitting down at his desk and sipping his own tea.

“The ‘bad guys’? Is that how you refer to them?”

“How else should we refer to them?” David asked, hoping their new colleague wasn’t going to be difficult. He didn’t hold out much hope with the questions he had been fielding.

“Butchers and mass murderers,” Abels replied quietly. “Collaborators and rats.”

“BAMM,” David smiled at the acronym.

“It’s not funny, sir,” Abels was starting to get annoyed by the man’s flippant attitude.

David put his teacup down and leaned forward in his chair. “I was there when the Americans liberated Dachau,” David said quietly and looked down at the desk. He had been with the British army, which had landed at Normandy but had been assigned to the 7th Army because of his language skills. Their German-speaking officers had been killed so David found himself attached to the Americans.

David mentally shuddered at the images he could never erase from his mind. The day he had walked into hell had been a turning point in his life. The army chaplain had warned him beforehand since the unit had liberated a camp a few weeks previously. But nothing could prepare him for the absolute carnage of human life he witnessed when they arrived at the concentration camp.

The first thing he had noticed was the stench. Some nights he could still smell it and no matter what he did, he could never get rid of the memory of that smell. It was the smell of death. David’s heart had broken when he saw the human skeletons that walked, talked and breathed. He knew he should have listened to the chaplain but it had been too late.

Of all the sights that overpowered him, none were as horrendous as seeing the dead bodies and that haunted him to this day. With trepidation and a heavy heart, he had helped load the Dachau murdered inmates onto trucks. The chaplain had warned him not to look into their faces but to just do the job, because it was the only way he could do so without losing control.

But David had stopped and looked into her eyes; soft brown eyes that had seen too much suffering. He’d lost his composure and snapped, grabbing his rifle and shooting two of the former guards dead on the spot. His commanding officer had looked at the men at his feet, surveyed the devastation and just ordered the bodies of the two guards to be taken away.

Abels bowed his head and nodded. “I was at Auschwitz.”

“My family died at Auschwitz,” Freddy noted. “How long were you there?”

Abels pursed his lips in thought before replying. “Too long.”

David glanced at his colleague with a puzzled expression. “You survived that hellhole?”

“Hmm,” Abels took a sip of his tea and looked up. “I survived.”

“That’s the reason I believe there is no God.” David ran his hand through his hair and sighed.

Abels nodded his head slowly. “My faith kept me going.”

“And mine deserted me,” David replied. “So now, we do what we can to catch the bad guys.”

Abels nodded again. “We catch the bad guys.”

Freddy tapped his hand on the desk to get the men’s attention. “I think we’ve had enough reminiscing.”

“You were not there?” Abels turned his attention to Freddy and found no evidence of the number that all concentration camp survivors bore.

“No, I wasn’t,” Freddy shook his head. “But my family was.”

“I’m sorry.”

“So we catch the bad guys,” Freddy bowed his head.

The three men sat around the desks in silence for a few moments before Freddy look up at his new colleague. “Do you like BBQs?”

Isaac was a little startled, not anticipating that question. Finally he nodded.

“Are you doing anything tonight?”

“No,” Isaac answered and smiled at the apparent initiation.

“Well, you will need a cast iron stomach because Freddy is cooking,” David teased his friend and slapped him on the shoulder.

“I survived potato soup, I think I can survive Freddy’s cooking,” Isaac quipped.

“Funny ha ha,” Freddy chuckled. “I’ll call and let Elena know we have another guest.”

*

“You cooked?” Elena stuck her head in between Eva and Zoe who had just walked into her kitchen. The tall woman held a covered plate and gave their friend a look before shaking her head as she walked off.

Elena started laughing and was joined by Zoe who watched her partner stick her tongue out and walk off, muttering about ‘under appreciated’.

“What did she make?”

“I don’t know, she shooed me out of the kitchen,” Zoe replied and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “She’s getting better, you know,” Zoe chuckled. Her partner’s lack of culinary skill was a joke between them and their friends took every opportunity to tease the tall woman about it.

“Oh, I remember that soufflé she tried,” Elena giggled

“I thought we promised not to bring that up again?” Zoe shook her finger at her friend and gave her a mock scowl before getting the giggles.

Zoe surveyed the back yard, which was set up with tables and chairs under the tree. A barbeque was placed at the back; a sign, which read “Freddy’s Domain”, was nailed to the wooden fence behind the barbeque. The house and the yard were identical to their own home next door, with the exception of the garden.

Zoe turned when Elena put her arm around her friend’s shoulder.

“I didn’t upset you earlier, did I?” Elena asked hoping that quip about Zoe finding a husband so she could achieve her desire for children.

“Nah,” Zoe smiled.

“Did you tell Eva about naming Larissa?”

“She thought it was a very nice thing to do,” Zoe replied and patted her friend’s belly. She grinned as she leaned down. Elena pulled her up from her shirt collar and shook her head.

“Don’t,” Elena warned and then laughed as the two friends shared the joke. “So, did you tell Eva about Henderson?”

Zoe sighed and nodded. She pulled up a seat and sat down heavily. “She saw the bruise.”

Elena stopped and turned to her friend. “What bruise?”

“The one she has on her butt,” Eva answered giving Zoe a look. “You knew about it?”

Elena glanced at Zoe and nodded. “Sort of.”

“Sort of?”

“Henderson was a little too gropey with me as well,” she admitted. She saw the look of disgust on Eva’s face and shrugged. The two friends both worked at the New South Wales Art Gallery with Zoe working in cataloguing the art and Elena in the accounts section. There wasn’t much either of them could do about their boss and his wandering hands.

“You’re married,” Eva stated the obvious and sat down next to her partner.

“Yes, well, that doesn’t bother him.”

“Obviously not,” Eva snorted in disgust.

“I have a plan,” Zoe giggled when Eva groaned. Their conversation was interrupted when AJ raced into the house dragging a young woman with him.

Eva looked up and smiled. Debbie was laughing at AJ’s antics and trying to balance a cake without losing it. Deborah McBride was a young woman with long blond hair, a change from her usual light brown, a few years younger than Eva and quite a few inches shorter. The two women had met when Eva started working in the Interpreter Service of the Immigration Department.

Debbie had taken an instant liking to the tall woman and set about getting to know her better. It wasn’t an easy task with her shy, quiet boss but she did it. She was also privy to Eva’s true relationship with Zoe and kept it a secret.

With Eva’s promotion, Debbie had found herself being offered the job as Eva’s secretary. She didn’t need any time to consider the offer; she’d jumped at the chance to leave her position as Receptionist and become a Department Head secretary. She was certain that others in the secretarial pool weren’t all that happy with her move but she didn’t care. She was thrilled to be working with Eva again.

Debbie had surprised them both when they’d returned from Europe with the news that she was engaged to David Harrison. Zoe was delighted, since she had been instrumental in getting the two together, despite Eva’s misgivings about getting involved.

“I bring gifts,” Debbie announced and gave the cake to AJ who took it, took a sniff and made a face making everyone laugh. “Hey, AJ, I cooked that.”

“That’s probably why he made a face,” Eva quipped taking the cake from AJ and setting it on the table.

“You should talk,” Debbie retorted as she sat down amidst the guffaws coming from Elena and Zoe.

“Everyone’s a critic,” Eva muttered good-naturedly. “You’re fired.”

“Oh thank you, God!” Debbie raised her hands in the air and then crossed herself. “At least now I won’t have to deal with Satan’s spawn.”

Eva chuckled. “Not so fast, you’re hired again.”

“You’re a sadist,” Debbie said playfully.

“Satan’s spawn?” Elena asked as she took the cake and set it on a plate. She was sure that sponge cake would be eaten quite quickly after their dinner.

“Ah yes, also known as Paula Satan.”

“That’s not her Christian name,” Zoe chuckled.

“Wait, is that the woman who thought you were making a pass at her?” Elena asked.

“That’s the one. She think I’m the deviant from hell,” Eva shrugged. “I hope I don’t have to see her too often.”

Debbie giggled. “Oh, I don’t think you’re going to get that wish.”

Eva glanced at her friend with some trepidation. “Do I really want to know what that means?”

“Yep,” Debbie nodded slowly giving her long suffering friend a smile. “It seems the maintenance department has started to paint the building and they will be doing Mr. Hester’s offices next.”

“And..?”

“Weell,” Debbie grinned. “The devil’s spawn and I are sharing office space.”

“What?” Eva nearly yelped and stared at her secretary. “Is this a joke?”

The younger woman grinned and shook her head. “Not this time.”

Eva groaned and slumped back in her seat. “How long is that going to last?”

“You’re lucky. I have to deal with her every day,” Debbie told her boss. She didn’t like working with Paula; the older woman made her uncomfortable. They hadn’t had time to exchange conversation with Debbie trying to set up the office for Eva ‘s arrival on Monday. But she was certain that Paula still wanted to ‘chat’ with her.

“She makes my scalp itch,” Eva muttered.

“Aw, let me scratch it,” Zoe grinned and lightly scratched the back of Eva’s dark head. “Hey maybe Paula needs a good relaxing scratch.”

“Paula needs to jump off the harbor bridge,” Eva muttered getting a gentle slap on the head from her partner. “Well, it’s true.”

“Well, boss, she’s going to be working with us for a week or so, until the painters finish.”

“I don’t like it,” Eva muttered.

Zoe and Debbie looked at each other and they both smiled. “Do you want me to come and hold your hand?” Zoe whispered loud enough for the others to hear, getting guffaws out of both their friends.

Eva shook her head. “Remind me of this when you next go to the dentist.”

The four friends laughed as the sound of the front door opened and the boisterous sounds of AJ greeting his father reverberated around the house.

Chapter 4

“SO, DID YOU MAKE THAT?” Earl looked over Eva’s shoulder and whispered loudly, amidst the guffaws coming from Elena and Zoe, who were sitting outside on the veranda.

Eva gave the tall man an indignant look before walking away shaking her head.

“Was it something I said?” Earl asked innocently. He took a piece of the cake and chewed for a moment before grabbing his throat and making gagging noises. Amidst the laughter, he fell to the grass and played dead.

Eva shook her head and walked way to get a beer, leaving her friend on the grass laughing hysterically. He got up and dusted himself off. In the next moment, he found a tea towel hitting him in the face. “Hey!”

“Wise guy,” Eva replied and then grinned when her friend rushed her and nearly tackled her to the ground. The two friends laughed and carried on like children, much to Zoe’s delight. She loved to see Eva relax and try to unwind because she knew her beloved partner had a tendency to bottle up her frustrations and anxiety, which manifested itself as severe back pain. Not that her back problems were only from stress, but it didn’t help.

“Her aim is quite good,” Elena said to Zoe, who was grinning at her partner.

“It’s the height,” Zoe chuckled. “The Flames want her for next season,” she explained. ‘The Flames’ were The North Sydney Flames, a women’s basketball team that played in a local competition. Eva’s height, 6 feet 2 inches, was a huge advantage to a team who had consistently found themselves at the bottom of their division. She was a competent center and managed to score a few times per game.

“Aren’t they still last in the league?”

Zoe chuckled. “Yep. Eva thinks that if they win a game, they might faint from the shock.” The two women laughed.

The BBQ was well underway with the men doing the cooking or what passed for cooking if standing around the BBQ with beer in hand was classified as that duty. The summer evenings when it was too hot to cook inside the kitchen provided a perfect opportunity for all of them to get together.

Eva laughed at her friend’s antics and tried to steady herself in case she fell over from the boisterous play. Freddy, Pat and David laughed at Eva’s predicament of having Earl capture her around her waist and not let go.

Isaac Abels watched the couple and smiled. The tall woman was beautiful and the couple looked good together with their different coloring complimenting each other. The camaraderie the two had was unmistakable. He watched as Eva patted her friend and then gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Abels turned to Pat and nodded towards the two. “Your sister is beautiful.”

Patrick Hennessey blinked and then looked back in surprise. He smiled at being referred to as Eva’s brother. He had thick, black hair, blue eyes and a cleft in his chin that reminded people of Kirk Douglas, much to his annoyance. He was always being told that he resembled the actor.

“Eva’s not my sister,” Pat replied and glanced at David.

“Oh, you look alike,” Abels replied a little surprised at the news. “They still make a nice couple,” he said and took a sip of his beer.

“Who?” Freddy asked turning away from the heat of the coals. Abels motioned to the two friends. He followed his gaze and started to laugh. “Eva and Earl are not a couple.”

“A couple of clowns,” Pat piped up and got a dig in the ribs from David who laughed. Patrick was Earl’s partner of five years who coincidently resembled Eva a great deal.

“They are not a couple?” Abels repeated, not quite understanding the point. To him the two appeared to be very affectionate and it was hard to accept that they weren’t a couple.

“Ahhh…No,” David chuckled.

“What’s the joke?” Abels asked looking at the men, who just grinned.

David took a sip of his beer and waited for the others to speak up. When no one did, he shook his head. “Eva is..”

“Eva is?” Eva came up to them and took the beer that Pat handed to her.

“Eva is a good cook,” Earl quipped and got a chuckle out of them.

“You know you would think I had poisoned you all,” Eva grumbled good-naturedly and took a swig of her beer.

“No, just Zoe,” Pat replied, getting more guffaws out of the group.

“I get no respect,” Eva mumbled and walked away, leaving the men laughing with her.

Abels watched her go and turned to the others with a questioning look. “Eva is?”

The men looked at each other and decided they weren’t going to reveal Eva’s sexual preference to a stranger. “Eva is … not interested in any of us,” Pat replied and got a puzzled look from Earl. “Well, not in the way you’re thinking.”

“Oh?”

“Trust me, Isaac, she isn’t your type,” David put his arm around the man’s shoulders.

“I’m not interested. I’m just curious,” Abels replied to amused looks from the men.

“Yeah right,” David chuckled. “It’s okay, I was very interested when I met Eva so you’re not alone.” David’s first meeting with the tall woman had been memorable. Eva had taken an instant dislike to him, which didn’t bode well for any friendship.

In order to get Freddy and Elena to go to the local dance, David had agreed to escort Zoe as her date. When Eva found out David was escorting her lover to the dance, her jealous streak had decided to surface. She threatened him with bodily harm if he touched Zoe inappropriately. Even though he found the younger woman cute, David had found he was more drawn to the taller woman. He was shocked to discover that Zoe and Eva were a couple and, even when he was told later by Zoe that Eva was a gentle soul that wouldn’t hurt a fly, he wasn’t all that sure that she wouldn’t have carried out her threat, if Zoe had been hurt.

Since that auspicious occasion their friendship had blossomed and it was through the two women that he’d been introduced to Debbie, his fiancée.

“She’s a Gentile,” Abels said as he raised his beer to drink.

“Gentle? Oh yeah, Eva is very gentle,” Earl said, and everyone laughed at the obvious misunderstanding.

“Gentile, you heathen.” Freddy backhanded his friend’s stomach. “You know, non Jewish.”

“Oh!” Earl grinned. “Nah, she’s not Jewish. She’s Greek Orthodox.”

“She’s Greek?”

“Long story,” Earl grinned.

“She has a German accent,” Abels persisted. The woman intrigued him and despite the obvious reticence from the men about her, he wanted to find out more.

“Yes she does and a cute one at that,” Earl replied.

Abels decided he wasn’t going to get any information from these men. He would find out about the mysterious Eva on his own. He watched as the tall woman interacted with the other women on the veranda. They all seemed very comfortable in each other’s company. He wondered what the story was with the other woman called Zoe. She’d looked in his direction a couple of times and held his gaze until Abels turned away. He turned to the group again and smiled at some joke. He didn’t like the fact that he didn’t have all the facts about those he associated with. That, he decided, was going to change.

Zoe stared at Abels. She found she disliked the man and she wasn’t sure why. It wasn’t the fact he kept looking at Eva; she was used to men looking at Eva. Her partner was a beautiful woman.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Eva whispered, taking her partner’s hand.

“I don’t like him,” Zoe whispered back.

Eva smiled. “Why?”

“I don’t know, Evy,” Zoe shook her head. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Zoe smiled and wiped a smidgen of beer froth from Eva’s lips. “I don’t know, he just looks at you ‘funny like’.” She leaned in and kissed her tenderly, tasting the beverage.

Eva grinned. “Want some beer?”

“Nup, I can taste it from you,” Zoe chuckled and tweaked her partner’s dimpled chin.

“No kissing is allowed on the veranda,” Elena tapped her friend as she passed her with the barbequed meat.

“Why?” Eva chuckled.

“You get pregnant,” Elena mumbled and then realized what she’d said. She looked back to find all her friends laughing except for Zoe, who was again looking at Abels. She shook her head and went into the kitchen, wondering when she was going to get her size eight foot out of her mouth.

Eva chuckled until she realized Zoe was still staring at Abels. She put her arm around her partner and leaned in. “Zoe, forget it.”

“Hmm, he makes my scalp itch,” the younger woman replied.

Eva grinned and lightly scratched her partner’s chestnut-colored head. Zoe giggled. She leaned against Eva’s long body and sighed.

“Earl and Patty are coming over later so we can plot how to deal with Henderson,” Eva put her arm around the younger woman.

“You told Earl?”

“No, just told him I need to speak to him and Patty afterwards,” Eva replied. She grinned at seeing AJ trying to take photos with the camera she had given him.

“Are you serious?” Zoe asked, not quite sure how Eva was going to scare her boss. She wasn’t sure how they would do it but it would be a lot of fun trying to find out.

“Of course.”

“My hero.” Zoe smiled up at her grinning partner. This was going to be something to behold if only to see Eva in the leather outfit and sitting on a bike. She stopped when she realized that her bike with a sidecar wasn’t going to make a huge impression on anyone, least of her nemesis. “Evy, the bike…”

“Got that covered. I’m going to use Patty’s bike.”

“You thought about this, didn’t you?”

“Of course! We have to do something about that oaf,” Eva replied. She was determined to end her partner’s misery at work, one or way another. Having Henderson touch Zoe wasn’t something she was prepared to tolerate.

“What oaf?” Debbie asked. She sat down on the next step and looked up expectantly.

“Zoe’s boss has been touching her,” Eva explained.

“Touching her? How?”

“He’s pinched her behind and made some sexual advances to her.”

Debbie shook her head but wasn’t all that surprised. She had heard many stories of women being put in a position where it was to either give in to their boss’ advances or face the risk of being sacked. She was fortunate that she was going to be working for Eva, although the rumor mill in the secretarial pool thought it was a dangerous move to be so close to a lesbian.

“You remember Jimmy Bracken?” Debbie asked Eva who nodded in recognition of the name. “Well, he liked to pinch my bum whenever we were in the filing room together.”

“Really?” Eva asked surprised at the revelation. She knew Jimmy was a married man with three children.

“Really. The secretarial pool called him Octopus.”

“Why?” Zoe asked not quite getting the connection.

Debbie grinned. “He had his hands everywhere,” she replied getting a chuckle from the women.

“He didn’t try anything with me,” Eva said. Not that she was disappointed at not being in Bracken’s line of fire.

“He was terrified of you.” Debbie laughed at the look on Eva’s face. “You can be very intimidating, you know.”

“Oh very,” Zoe nodded her head vigorously and started to laugh when Eva gave her a mock scowl, which only made Zoe laugh harder.

Chapter 5

THE ROOM WAS CAST IN shadows as the dawn began to cast its light through the curtains. Eva was looking up at the ornate ceiling trying to figure out how they were going to get Zoe’s immediate boss to stop touching her. She had awakened early; she did most of her thinking in the quiet before the hubbub of the day began in earnest. Eva found it a time to meditate and try to get herself focused for the day.

She turned to see her partner sleeping beside her. Eva was a little upset with the younger woman for withholding the news about Henderson’s behavior from her, but she knew Zoe was very inexperienced when it came to matters of the opposite sex. Not that her young lover was totally naďve but despite her bravado, Zoe was shy when it came to men who were overtly sexual with her. Eva had noticed how her partner behaved when men showed an interest; she was a totally different person and very timid. Most men took that as Zoe being coy and gave them an invitation to try and woo her.

Henderson’s unwanted advances fell under the heading of Zoe’s inexperience with males and sexual matters. Eva turned and rested on her side watching her lover sleep. Even though Zoe was 27 years old, she looked much younger, despite the horrors she’d endured during World War II.

Zoe had been in the Greek Resistance and quite adept at setting off bombs and, because she was petite, the conspirators used her to crawl under wires and through tunnels. As a result, it had become plainly obvious to Eva why her partner hated caves and other close, confined places.

Yet it had been only just recently that Eva had found out about Zoe’s Resistance activities. Of course she knew that Zoe had taken part in the group’s covert activities; that was how they had originally met. But Eva had been unaware of the specifics of what the young woman had endured and accomplished during her association with the Greek organization. Zoe hadn’t wanted to discuss the war or the tragic death of her family, but when the nightmares finally surfaced, Eva had held her, reassuring her young lover that she was safe. Eventually, the two survivors had talked. Both women had suffered much and lost a great deal but they had found each other, despite the odds against them.

The two had met when Zoe was 16 years old, a young woman with hatred in her heart and a fire in the belly. The death of her family and her friends had made revenge her strongest emotion. It was the only thing that had kept the young woman alive. A friendship with Captain Muller’s daughter was the last thing she would have considered, especially when that friendship had blossomed into love.

On the advice of their Resistance leader and friend, they’d left Greece after the War and went to Egypt. Eva had marveled at the younger woman’s courage as they traveled to a foreign land. Eva was recovering from injuries sustained in Greece during the final hours of the War. Zoe had not only cared for her but she had also created a safe place for Eva to recover.

It was in Egypt that Eva had discovered Zoe’s timidity with men. They had met some Australian soldiers who told them about their country. One of the young men had taken an instant liking to Zoe and tried to woo her at every opportunity. Zoe was shy and Eva wasn’t sure if she should intervene, electing instead to ‘give the young woman some space’, at the same time fervently hoping Zoe would choose to stay with her, rather than go with someone else.

It was a balmy evening and Eva had taken a stroll trying to decide whether to go back to their room and ask Zoe if she thought it was better that they lived apart or together. Eva had begun to have doubts about her relationship to the young woman. She wasn’t sure if moving to Egypt and away from Greece had been the best move for her young companion.

Then there were all the men who were showing Zoe a great deal of attention. She was a very beautiful woman and the soldiers stationed in Egypt were all her own age. Eva was eight years older and she felt she was stopping Zoe from making a decision about their future together.

“You’re a coward,” Eva had muttered to herself and begun the walk back to the bungalow. It wasn’t until she got close to their home that it was evident Zoe had a visitor. Eva had decided to walk away when a very loud, ‘NO’, stopped her.

Upon her hurried arrival she found a young man trying very hard to kiss her partner. She raced over and pushed the young man off Zoe, who was crying.

“Hey!” The young man was annoyed that his ‘date’ had been so rudely interrupted. Eva could smell the alcohol and it was obvious what had happened.

“Get out.”

“But..”

“I said, Get out!” Eva stood her ground. She was taller than the young man and she intimidated him, much to her relief. She knew she wasn’t in any condition to fight off an attacker.

The young man looked at Zoe and pointed at her. “She said I could!”

“I doubt that.” Eva pointed to the door. The young man stumbled out and Eva closed the door behind him. She turned to her very frightened young partner. Eva knelt and scooped her up in her arms. She held Zoe as the young woman cried.

“I didn’t lead him on,” Zoe hiccupped and wiped her tears with the back of her sleeve.

“I know you didn’t,” Eva reassured her. “But Zoe, sometimes men think you’re being coy with them.”

“What does that mean?”

“They think you’re acting shy so they can make the first move.”

Zoe looked at her lover as if she had grown two heads. She protested vigorously. “I don’t like men!”

“Are you sure?”

“Evy, did someone hit you with a rock?” her partner asked, forgetting about herself for a moment. “I’m in love with you.”

“You are?”

Zoe exhaled loudly in frustration. “Yes!” NOTE: Perhaps whatever is Greek for ‘Oh for cryin’ out loud!!’ would work here. <G>

“I thought maybe meeting all these young men…”

“What about them? It’s not as I haven’t seen men before!”

It was Eva’s turn to get bashful as she looked away. Zoe turned the treasured face back towards hers. “What’s wrong?”

“I was taking a stroll and …I was thinking maybe you wanted to try having a relationship with one of the young men.”

Zoe rolled her eyes. “No!” she stated, grimacing comically.

“No?”

“Why would I? I love you!” A moment of blatant fear clouded the young woman’s expression. “Unless you don’t want me to be with you?” Zoe asked, looking at her partner in trepidation.

Eva thudded to the floor and let her head rest against the wall in relief. She pulled Zoe to her. “I thought you wanted to leave me.”

“Now I really know you got hit on the head,” Zoe replied and made a show of examining Eva’s scalp. “I love you. You drive me crazy sometimes when you don’t listen to what I say, but…”

“I listen to you.”

“No, you don’t. You hear but you don’t listen. I’m younger than you but I figured we were partners.”

“We are, Zoe.”

“Not when you treat me like a child.”

“You’re not a child,” Eva tried to reassure her lover but didn’t think she was succeeding, from the look on the young woman’s face.

“I know I’m not and I want to be your equal,” Zoe announced, her green eyes steady on her lover’s. “I want to be with you forever.”

“Forever is a long time.” Eva replied and smiled.

“It sure is,” Zoe agreed and hugged her tall partner. All of the young woman’s questions had been answered that night and their relationship was strengthened. However, Zoe continued to receive attention from the soldiers until they set sail for Australia.

It seemed like lifetime ago but yet had been a mere six years since those events. Eva smiled in reflex when she watched Zoe’s eyes flutter and a smile crease the young woman’s face.

“What are you dreaming about?” Eva whispered. She brushed her fingers lightly against Zoe’s cheek causing the younger woman to twitch a little and then settle into the obvious wonderful dream she was having. Eva hoped it was a good dream.

Before Zoe, the tall woman’s life had been one long nightmare, a nightmare that had threatened to destroy her. With Zoe in her life, Eva had found her balance. The younger woman gave her a purpose and the will to see what the future held. Zoe was her anchor.

A gentle breeze, from the open window, fluttered the curtains and made a multicolored scarf that was wrapped around the bedpost float upward. Eva looked at it and grinned. The scarf was a wonderful reminder of the Christmas present she’d received from her partner; a surprise and one she wasn’t going to forget in a hurry.

Christmas Eve 1949 had been a very frustrating day for Eva. Zoe had been acting strangely secretive all week, which wasn’t like Zoe at all. It wasn’t until after Eva had braved the Christmas Eve shopping crush that she’d home to a very nice surprise. She had been blindfolded and led into their house by co-conspirator, Elena.

Zoe had meticulously planned the evening. Eva sat in the comfortable chair, blindfolded, while she waited patiently for Elena to leave.

“Are we alone?” Eva asked, not quite knowing where her partner was in the room. She could smell flowers nearby and next to her was what she thought was a candle, but she wasn’t sure.

“Oh yeah,” Zoe whispered into her ear which made Eva jump a little. She removed the blindfold to reveal the lounge room decorated as a Bedouin tent; something that they had seen while in Egypt. It was gorgeous. The Christmas tree was a little out of the ordinary for a Bedouin tent but it was decorated with lights and assorted ornaments. Eva looked around the room; there were cushions thrown around the room and real sand on their floorboards, which was quite interesting.

“I’ve got plastic underneath,” Zoe said, anticipating her lover’s question. She continued to stand behind Eva until she was ready to show herself.

Eva grinned but didn’t look back. The windows were covered in colorful cloth curtains. Her partner had gone to a whole lot of trouble to create this wonderful scene. “Zoe, this is beautiful, where…” Eva was prevented from turning around by Zoe’s hands on her head.

“Not yet. Close your eyes,” Zoe whispered into Eva’s ear.” Trust me.”

Eva closed her eyes and she heard a rustling sound from behind her. “You can open them now.”

Eva slowly opened her eyes and blinked. Standing before her was her partner in a belly dancers outfit with some major alterations. The bottom part was sheer, deep green material and covered in emeralds. Her ‘top’ consisted of see-through, multicolored scarves draped over a very brief bow which just barely covered her breasts. The color of the bow and the bottom part of the costume were the same color as her eyes.

“Pah,” Eva managed to say when she could finally breath. Her spouse was gorgeous and in true Zoe fashion had made an all out effort to surprise her.

“Surprised?”

Eva grinned and nodded.

“Good because there’s more,” Zoe went over to the record player to turn it on. The music began and Eva’s heart rate increased as her lover began to dance one of the sensual dances Eva knew. It was a part belly dance and part vertical sex was how she could describe it. The gyrations her lover was making made Eva blink and then grin as Zoe began a lap dance which made the tall woman warm. She went to put her arms around the gyrating woman but her hands were brushed away.

“Not yet,” was all Zoe said before leaning down and kissing the startled woman with a feather light kiss. “Patience.”

Eva laughed, knowing her partner lacked patience and made an art form of not waiting for anything. What she also found was that it was rather frustrating being on the ‘waiting end’ of this seduction.

Eva watched as her partner began to remove the scarves draping them around the tall woman’s neck and leaving feather light kisses whenever a scarf was removed. “How many of these things do you have on?”

Zoe laughed at her partner’s impatience and didn’t answer as she continued to dance. The final scarf was removed and draped over Eva’s shoulders. “Merry Christmas, Evy,” she said and straddled her lover.

“Oh, can I open it now?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe giggled but held Eva’s hands in her own. “But not with your hands.”

“Oh,” Eva grinned in response and nuzzled Zoe’s neck, kissing her until she got to the bow. “Oh this is going to be tight.”

“I have faith in you,” Zoe chuckled. Blue eyes met green before Eva went about trying to untie the bow with her teeth. After a few growls and laughter from Zoe she finally managed to loosen it.

“Oh nice,” Eva said with glee. “Can I use these?” She held up her hands. Zoe grinned and shook her head. “Oh, this is going to be interesting.”

“Want to go into our room? I’ve got a few more things in there that will make it even more interesting.”

“Tough choice, love,” Eva grinned then giggled as Zoe hopped up, causing the entire outfit to fall apart. “Oh nice,” she murmured as she was led into the bedroom. Just before they left the lounge room, Eva looked up to find some mistletoe above the doorway. “Wait,” she said and brought Zoe into her arms. “Merry Christmas, love.”

“Merry Christmas, Evy,” Zoe replied and went up on her toes for a passionate kiss. “Now let’s get really mushy inside the bedroom,” she said and led her laughing partner inside their room and some more ‘surprises’.

Eva chuckled at the memory. It had been one of the best Christmas presents she’d ever received and above all else, it was given from the heart.

“Hey.”

Eva looked down to see sleepy green eyes gazing back at her. “Hey.” She leaned over and kissed her partner.

“Why are you smiling?”

The tall woman chuckled. “I was thinking about my Christmas present,” she said and reached up to snag the scarf.

The two women laughed as Eva wrapped the scarf around her partner’s neck and brought her close to snuggle. “Did I tell you how much I loved that?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe giggled again. “Quite few times, if I remember correctly.”

“Well, I loved it,” Eva chuckled and laced her fingers with her partner’s and brought them to her lips. “Very, very nice.”

Zoe cuddled up to Eva who put her arms around her. She sighed contently. This was the perfect way to wake up and face another day. Zoe looked up to find Eva with the scarf on her head. They both laughed and then settled for some quiet time. Neither spoke and just relaxed in each other’s arms.

“Evy,” Zoe finally spoke and looked up. “Are you sure you want to dress up to scare Henderson?”

“Of course, love, if that’s the way we can scare him into not touching you,” her partner replied. The idea of scaring anyone was so foreign to the older woman that she wanted to laugh. “Did he do anything else to you?”

“He tried to kiss me,” Zoe admitted and could feel her partner tense. “I know I should have told you but…”

“Zoe..” Eva stopped and then gathered her thoughts. She softened her tone, knowing that she wasn’t going to make the situation any better if Zoe felt bad. “Don’t ever think you can’t tell me things.”

“I tell you everything, Evy. You know I don’t keep anything from you,” Zoe replied and played with Eva’s fingers.

“I know you don’t usually, love, but I don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about this.”

Zoe shrugged. “I .. I don’t know.”

“Zoe, you have to tell me if something is bothering you.”

“It’s just not something I can come home and tell you as if it was something I was proud of.”

“Huh?” Eva was beyond puzzled at the younger woman’s words. “Zoe, what are you talking about?”

“Well, the other girls say that I must be asking for it if Henderson wants to touch me,” Zoe stopped and looked up. “That I make him want to.”

Eva looked into her partner’s troubled eyes and shook her head. “Don’t ever think that you are responsible for that idiot’s behavior.”

“But the girls…”

“They’re twits.” Eva sighed in frustration that anyone would try to convince her beloved partner that she was responsible for the unwanted sexual advances. “You are not responsible.”

“Alice says that I flirt with him,” Zoe’s voice broke, “and that’s why he touches me.”

Eva made a sound that was part snort, part angry growl. “She lied to you. You don’t flirt with men or women. You’re not the type to do that,” Eva stated firmly and held her lover in her arms as Zoe trembled. After a moment, the tall woman had settled her own irritation.

“Remember when that soldier boy was trying to kiss you?” she gently asked her partner.

“When was that?” Zoe’s voice was less anxious.

“In Cairo,” Eva reminded her. “Remember I walked in?”

“Oh that,” Zoe sniffled. “He’d had too much to drink. I think that was my fault.”

Eva sighed. “No, that wasn’t your fault. He had too much to drink and he wanted a kiss. He overstepped the mark. Like now, Henderson has gone beyond what the soldier was doing. That boy was drunk but Henderson just wants to show you he has power,” Eva reassured her stroking the chestnut head.

“But Alice…”

“Forget Alice. Listen to me.” Eva tipped her partner’s chin and made eye contact. She wiped the tears that had tracked down her partner’s face. “It’s not your fault. He is taking advantage of the fact that you don’t fight back.”

“I do fight back.”

Eva smiled. “Zoe, you’re brave and courageous. You’re my knight and I’m quite sure if someone hurt me, you would battle Satan himself. But, love, you’re very … faint-hearted when it comes to men.”

“I don’t have a problem with Earl or Patty.”

“There’s not trying to hurt you,” Eva reasoned. “You’ve never been with a man and that frightens you.”

Zoe looked up and blinked in surprise at Eva’s insight into her personality. She was scared of men when they tried to make any advances towards her. Eva realized that Zoe now finally understood the problem when the younger woman nodded.

“Let me ask you something; did I ask the Mullers to hurt me?” Eva asked knowing the answer to that question. She knew it and her partner knew it. Her stepfather and her uncle had been responsible for her incarceration at a popular Nazi resort which also doubled as a medical experiments center. The ordeal had nearly broken the young woman’s spirit and her will to live. Eva mentally shuddered at the mention of her stepfather and uncle.

Zoe hitched herself on her elbow and looked at her partner. “Never.”

Despite their serious conversation, Eva smiled. “So how do you figure this is your fault?”

Zoe looked down. “It’s not?”

“No, it’s not, love. It’s not your fault.”

“He makes me feel dirty,” Zoe whispered putting her arms around her partner.

Eva sighed. “I know,” she repeated. Eva closed her eyes and tried to will the images that surfaced in her mind of a terrified young woman who’d had no control and who had been raped and tortured. “When I was raped I thought it was my fault; that somehow, because I was a lesbian, I was to blame.”

Zoe looked up and cupped her partner’s cheek. “You felt that way?”

“Yes, for a long time. I felt dirty and I was disgusted with myself and angry that I let them do that to me.”

“But you didn’t let them…”

“No, I had no control over it. What they did was about power, Zoe. I was raped because they thought they could change who I was and to show me they could.” Eva stopped and took a deep breath. “Henderson is trying to intimidate you, to show you that you need a man to fulfill you.”

“I already have what fulfils me,” Zoe replied putting her hand on Eva’s chest.

Her partner smiled. “He thinks he’s the man you need to show you how it’s done.” Eva’s smile disappeared. “If we don’t stop him, he’s going to try and go further.”

Zoe shuddered. “I hope not.”

“That’s why we’re going to stop him,” she reassured her beloved partner. At that moment, they both heard the doorbell and looked at each other to see who was going to get out of bed first. Eva was closest to the door and she sighed before rising and pulling her robe and slippers. A moment later, the tall woman left the bedroom, heading for the kitchen door and their visitors.

“Zoe, the boys are here!”

“I am not a boy,” Earl teased and ruffled Eva’s hair as they both entered. Both men gave her a kiss on the cheek as they passed. “I’m a man.”

“A manly man,” Patty playfully slapped his partner on the back as he moved past him. “Where’s Zoe?”

“Getting dressed,” Eva replied as she led them into the living room. “I said early in the morning, but not this early.”

Earl glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner and shrugged. “So what’s up?”

Eva waited as Zoe came down the hallway and joined them. “We have a problem.” Eva sat down opposite the two men. Zoe took up a position behind Eva and brushed back Eva’s hair.

“What kind of problem?”

The two women looked at each other for a moment. Zoe lowered her eyes and played with the edge of sofa allowing Eva to do the talking. “Zoe has been groped and intimidated by her boss.”

The two men looked at each other and then they both stood.

“Where are you going?”

“To break the bastard’s fingers and shove them where the sun doesn’t shine,” Earl replied.

Eva took the big man’s hand. “It’s a tempting thought, but we have a another idea.”

“Mine is better. He won’t have hands for very long.” Earl scowled, but he and Patty resumed their seat on the couch. “When did this happen?”

“It’s been happening … at work,” Zoe replied quietly and took Eva’s hand. She looked up at her partner who gently squeezed her fingers in reassurance.

“For how long?”

Zoe nibbled her lip and looked up at Earl who was scowling. “A few months.”

Earl exhaled loudly and was about to swear when he met Eva’s eyes who signalled for him to calm down. She knew his anger was real; Zoe was like a little sister to him and anyone that hurt her was going to meet the big man’s fist in quick time.

He glanced at Zoe and nodded. “Okay, what are we going to do?”

“We cut off some other part of his anatomy!” Pat spoke up.

“Zoe wants me to scare him,” Eva told the two men who stared back at her. For a few moments nothing happened and then the two men began laughing loudly.

“How tall is the guy?” Earl asked a few moments later, brushing away the tears that ran down his face.

“A bit taller than me,” Zoe replied.

“Yep, that would scare him if you stood over him, Eva,” Earl chuckled, imagining his tall friend trying to be intimidating. Of all the things one could describe Eva as, the least believable would be intimidating. She was the most gentle of souls and as non-threatening as you could find.

“That’s not what Zoe had in mind. She wants me to dress up as a biker and scare the living daylights out of him.”

The two men looked at each other and then back at Eva. They began laughing harder than before.

“I don’t think they like that idea, Zoe.” Eva looked up at her partner, who was scowling at their two friends.

“Okay, okay.” Earl tried to stop laughing. “Tell us again what you think will happen.”

“Eva is tall,” Zoe stated the obvious to their friends. “and she can do ‘intimidating’, you know; I’ve seen her,” Zoe defended her partner. “Eva will get dressed up in a leather jacket and black pants and t-shirt and look the part of a really tough butch dyke.”

“Uh-huh.” Pat nodded. “Where is she going to find the leather jacket, the black pants and the t-shirt.”

Zoe grinned for the first time since their arrival. “Stand up, Patty.”

Both men looked at each other and even Eva was a little baffled. Pat stood and looked expectantly at Zoe who took Eva’s hand and asked her to stand next to him. Both of them had thick black hair, blue eyes and the dimple Zoe adored so much. Both were over six feet tall and thin. They were indeed very much alike and Zoe didn’t need to say anything else for it was quite evident.

“I get it,” Earl chuckled. “Pat has the black pants, the leather jacket and the t-shirt.”

“And the black motorbike,” Zoe added.

“Yeah, I don’t think Mabel would be good for the image,” Earl said and laughed at the thought of a tough-looking Eva on a yellow motorcycle. ‘Mabel’ was an old 1920’s motorcycle with a side car that Zoe managed to talk Earl into giving her. It was either teaching her how to drive or giving her the motorcycle. He chose the more safer and saner option.

“I think we can create a tough butch dyke out of you, Eva, my girl.” Pat turned to his friend and brushed back her hair off her face. “I think some Bryl Cream will do wonders along with a smoke dangling from your mouth. You’re going to be every lesbian’s dream by the time we’re finished with you,” Pat announced as he took off his jacket and handed it to Eva to try on for size.

Chapter 6

IT WAS QUIET IN THE storeroom, save for the occasional sound of Zoe’s pencil as she marked down the artwork that was housed in the large room. The store room was located in the basement and was windowless which made Zoe feel very uncomfortable. She hated not being able to see anything of the outside world. She sighed and glanced down at her watch. It was only midmorning and it seemed like the day had dragged on forever. She hoped Eva was going to be able to pull off the acting job of her life with Henderson.

Zoe wasn’t sure if asking Eva to scare Henderson had been such a good idea in the clear light of day or in this case, the light of a fluorescent light globe. She looked up at the lights which were blinking madly.

“Of course you would do that while I’m down here,” she muttered to the lights and went back to worrying about Henderson and what she was asking Eva to do.

Even though it had been her own idea, Zoe was having second thoughts about her own sanity in asking Eva to dress up like a butch biker. But Eva had reassured her that she was fine with the idea and that everything would be sorted out that day. Despite the seriousness of the problem, Zoe smiled to herself. She wasn’t going to deny that she would give anything to see Eva in leathers, riding on a black motorcycle. It was her special fantasy.

The light decided it had had enough and totally flickered out much to Zoe’s annoyance. She was in the dark when she felt something brush up against her leg. Zoe screamed and ran, straight into filing cabinets, causing a loud bang.

She was angry with herself for being scared. She made it up the stairs into bright light and was about to close the door to the stairway leading down to the storeroom when she heard laughter from where she had been.

Zoe swore under her breath and stalked off to find something to wipe away the blood from a gash in her leg. She passed Stacy who watched her stalk off not bothering to acknowledge her presence.

“Hey, Zoe,” she called after the young woman who stopped and turned.

“What?”

“What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Zoe muttered and walked away, leaving the woman looking very surprised at her gruff manner.

A few moments later, Amery Henderson walked out of the stairwell door and closed it. He was still chuckling to himself as he walked off, leaving Stacy with a bemused look on her face.

“What was that about?” Rachel Withers asked. She had also witnessed Zoe’s gruff outburst and Henderson’s happy mood which was unusual for the man since he was surly for most of the time.

“I don’t know.” Stacy shook her head slowly and turned to her co-worker.

“I do,” Rachel whispered back.

“You do?”

“Henderson is sweet on Zoe.”

“What?”

“Oh come on, Stacy, don’t tell me you haven’t heard?” Rachel frowned at her immediate supervisor. “Henderson is sweet on Zoe.”

“He’s old enough to be her father,” Stacy grumbled, dismissing the younger woman’s gossip.

“He’s not old enough to want to touch her,” Rachel continued knowing the older man liked to touch most of the girls whenever he could. Usually he relied on the pretext of reaching for something or some other flimsy excuse. It was a well known fact around the gallery that you didn’t allow yourself to get cornered by him.

“That’s idle gossip.” Stacy shook her head. “Get back to work, Rachel,” she said and walked off leaving the younger woman staring at her in disbelief.

After a few moments Rachel decided to go and see if Zoe was alright and entered the bathroom which also doubled as their locker room. “Hey Zoe,” she called out and heard sniffling coming from the locker area. She went around the lockers to find Zoe sitting on the floor, her back to the metal cabinets looking very upset.

“Hey, are you okay?” Rachel asking noting the bloodied handkerchief Zoe held to her leg.

“No,” Zoe replied.

“You hurt your leg?”

“The light went out in the storeroom,” Zoe replied quietly. “I ran into a filing cabinet.”

“Yeah, my mama did that a lot as well,” Rachel muttered and stopped when Zoe scowled at her.

“That’s not funny.”

“Wasn’t meant to be,” Rachel replied and sat down next to her friend. “What happened?”

“I ran into a filing cabinet,” Zoe repeated.

“Zoe, you don’t seem the type to scare that easy because the light went out,” Rachel persisted.

Zoe sighed. “I felt something brush against my leg and I got scared.”

“Oh,” Rachel nodded. “That something was Sleazy Toupee wasn’t it?” she asked using their nickname for their boss who didn’t fool anyone with the bad toupee on his bald head.

Zoe nodded. “I hate this job, Rachel.”

“No you don’t. You hate Henderson.”

“Him too,” Zoe muttered and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

“Stacy doesn’t believe that Henderson is sweet on you.”

“Henderson is a letch,” Zoe muttered. “Stacy’s the one that told him I was a lesbian.”

“That bitch,” Rachel muttered getting a wry smile from her friend. “Why?”

“I don’t know. She probably thought I was going to make a pass at her,” Zoe replied sarcastically knowing Stacy wasn’t in any danger of that happening in any lifetime.

“Were you?”

Zoe groaned. “Good lord,” she muttered. “If you saw what I have at home, you wouldn’t ask me that question.”

“I’ve never met your .. um..” Rachel was at a loss to describe her friend’s lover. She didn’t want to use the word lover because it felt wrong and she didn’t want to sound stupid in case that wasn’t what lesbians called themselves.

Zoe looked up for a moment. “My partner.”

“Well I’ve never met her. What does she look like?”

For the first time since entering the bathroom, Zoe smiled. “She’s tall, her hair is so black, sometimes I can see midnight blue streaks in it.”

“Spoken like an artist,” Rachel chuckled.

“Well it’s true. She hasn’t got any white in her hair yet, although I tease her about it,” Zoe smiled. “She has sapphire-colored eyes and a face that Helen of Troy would be jealous of.”

“Wow, that’s some description,” Rachel grinned. She doubted the woman actually looked that good but she wasn’t going to mention that to her friend.

“She’s very slim, too slim if you ask me,” Zoe continued. Talking about Eva was one of her favorite pastimes. “She’s intelligent, can speak several languages and she going to start work as the assistant to the Foreign Affairs Minister.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Zoe smiled feeling immensely proud of her partner. “She’s reserved but only with strangers.”

“Unlike you,” Rachel chuckled. Her friend couldn’t be described as reserved by any stretch of the imagination. She was outgoing, intelligent and very talented. As soon as they’d met, Rachel felt like she had known the young woman all her life. One thing that bothered her was Zoe had never invited to her home, despite Rachel dropping several rather pointed hints. “So, when am I going to meet Helen of Troy?”

Zoe grinned. “Soon.”

“Ladies, do you think you want to go back to work or is this a stop work meeting?” Stacy leaned against the lockers glowering at the two women. “The Gallery does not pay you to chinwag.”

The two women looked at each other and got up from the floor and quickly made their way past their supervisor. Stacy shook her head and strode out of the locker room.

*

A black motorcycle maneuvered into the parking lot of the New South Wales Art Gallery closely followed by a dark blue sedan. Two old women sitting on a park bench opposite the Gallery were curious about motorcycle and its rider. They watched the rider get off the bike and remove his helmet. To their utter surprise it wasn’t a man but a woman and they were both shocked as they sat transfixed.

Eva glanced at them and grinned. She was dressed in tight, a little too tight, black pants, a black leather jacket with a white t-shirt borrowed from Pat. The black boots were a little too big but that didn’t matter much. To add to the tough look that they were going for, Zoe had drawn on a snake, the venomous creature rising from under Eva’s shirt and taking up residence on the side of her neck. If one didn’t get close enough, they wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference between the fake image and a real tattoo.

When the boys had finished transforming her into the mean tough butch biker, under Elena’s supervision, they were all amazed at the transformation. Her short hair was slicked back with thick hair cream. The concoction made her scalp itch but it added to the image. She’d practiced riding Pat’s motorcycle around the block a few times before attempting to ride into the central business district. When she was ready, Earl and Pat drove behind her in her car. They weren’t about to miss this show for anything.

Eva waved at the old women and leered at them which made Pat laugh and Earl to look at his friend in disbelief.

“I thought you liked your women a little younger?” Earl slapped Eva on the back and laughed after he got over his initial shock.

“The one on the right is giving me a look,” Eva chuckled. “Okay, I’m ready to roll.”

“Oops, hold on a sec’.” Pat withdrew a packet of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for Eva. “Smoke this.”

“Ah, thanks just what I need.” Eva took a few drags of the cigarette, feeling it helped to ease the butterflies in her stomach.”

“Hey, I didn’t say smoke it now,” Pat laughed. “Let it dangle from your mouth.”

“And waste a good cigarette?” Eva grinned and took a few more puffs before sticking the cigarette in the corner of her mouth. She displayed the scowl Elena had suggested she use to look mean, but it only made the two men chuckle as they steered Eva towards the entrance.

“No, wait.” Earl stopped Eva and turned her around. “No self respecting biker would be without their dark glasses.” He produced a pair of dark sunglasses and put them on Eva to complete the package. “There, now you’re done.”

“Are you sure?”

“Oh absolutely,” Pat chuckled. “Wait a few minutes to let us go in so we can get good seats to the show,” he snickered and the two men walked quickly towards the gallery.

Zoe looked up as Henderson stopped in front of her. Leaning down so only Zoe could hear him, he whispered. “Tell me, Zoe, do you want to see what a real man can do?”

Zoe rolled her eyes and shook her head slowly. “Mr. Henderson…”

“Yes?” Henderson asked straightening his tie and smiled at the young woman.

“You make me sick,” Zoe hissed at him.

“You know, I would love to meet your lesbian lover—do you think she would enjoy a threesome?” Henderson laughed uproariously at his own joke and walked away leaving a seething young woman in his wake. He did enjoy teasing her and she was an easy mark, quick to anger. She had a fire in the belly, as his father would say.

Zoe was still angry when she heard Rachel say “Oh, my God.” She looked up and blinked.

“Oh, God,” Zoe echoed.

Zoe’s knees went weak at the sight of her partner and, if she hadn’t already been sitting down, she would have fallen over. Her fantasy was absolutely nothing compared to the vision in front of her. Off to the right she spied Earl and Pat looking at the art and trying to appear as if they hadn’t noticed Eva at all.

“Holy mother of God, who is that?” Rachel whispered to her.

“My Helen of Troy,” Zoe replied, “Mmm, oh boy,” she muttered to herself as Eva struck a pose.

She put one hand on her hip and in the other she held the cigarette, taking a drag from it.

“That’s Eva?” Rachel asked incredulously at her friend. Zoe had never mentioned that her partner was this … unusual.

“Oh yeah, that’s my Eva.”

“She looks mean,” Rachel whispered back to her friend who was just grinning from ear to ear.

“As a pussycat,” Zoe chuckled.

Eva walked over with a slight swagger, making Zoe sigh. “Hey, Zo!” she called out loudly letting the cigarette dangle from her mouth.

“Oh, I’m gonna die on the spot,” Zoe muttered and crossed herself when Eva came to within a few feet from her.

Eva leaned down and whispered, “How am I doing?”

“Dear God, you are gorgeous,” Zoe muttered much to Eva’s delight. The tall woman gave her partner a sexy smile and then scooped her up for a rough kiss before releasing her. The entire gallery was now watching the show and two men in the corner were especially proud of their handiwork.

“Oh, God, I’m gonna die right here,” Zoe fanned herself with a folder and sat down heavily in a nearby chair.

Henderson entered the gallery at that moment and stopped dead in his tracks on catching sight of the black-clad biker. “Young man, do you think you can be quiet? This is a gallery.”

Eva slowly slid the black sunglasses down her nose and peered over them at the short, rotund man. “I am not a man,” she growled, her German accent more pronounced and heavier than Zoe had ever heard. It gave her goose bumps to listen to her normally soft-spoken partner taken on the persona of her fantasies.

“Oh,” Henderson stopped. “I’m sorry.”

“So you should be. Can’t you tell a male from a female, old man?” Eva continued. She was beginning to enjoy the charade as she watched the older man take out his handkerchief and wipe his forehead.

“Yes, well, what can I do for you?”

“Nothing you have will cure what I have,” Eva leered at him and removed her glasses. She grinned at Henderson as she folded the glasses and tucked them into the neck of her t-shirt. She grinned at the man who was now quite obviously ogling her. “You like what you see?”

Henderson cleared his throat. “How can I help you?”

“Oh don’t you wish,” Eva chuckled. “I’m here to see ..” Eva made a show of taking a piece of paper out of her tight pants. She was rather pleased when she heard a small giggle coming from her partner who was obviously enjoying the show. “I want to see Amery Henderson.”

“You do?” Henderson asked in disbelief.

“Ja,” Eva lapsed into German and mustered up the meanest look she was capable off.

“I .. I am he,” Henderson stammered.

“Then I want to speak to you.” Eva put her arm around the shorter man’s shoulders and steered him into an office, leaving everyone starring after them.

Henderson backed away from Eva as they entered the office and for once wished there was a door so he could at least have some privacy. Everyone was within earshot of the office and no one was going anywhere. He sat down behind his desk and waited.

Eva smiled and took a seat opposite him. Much to his surprise, she raised her booted feet and planted them on the desk.

“You have a problem,” Eva said loud enough for everyone to hear.

“I do?”

“You do,” Eva took her feet off the desk and leaned forward. “You are touching something that doesn’t belong to you.”

Henderson sat back in alarm. “Um, I didn’t mean to touch that painting, it’s not my fault…”

“Oh shut up,” Eva yelled which caught everyone by surprise, including Zoe who sat back herself and blinked in surprise. “You are touching what I own,” Eva snarled at him, her lip curling in a sneer. She brought out the snarl she had practiced in the mirror until she got it right.

“I don’t understand Miss…”

“My name is Snake,” Eva replied and just barely got away without breaking out in a smile. Zoe’s suggestion had made her laugh when she’d first heard it.

“Miss … Snake, I don’t know what you are talking about,” Henderson stammered. He was mesmerized by the snake tattoo on the woman’s neck.

Eva got out of her seat and leaned forward, catching Henderson completely by surprise. She clutched him by his tie and brought him forward. “You know, where I come from we used to get little boys like you and make them sopranos if they touched someone’s girl.” Eva shoved Henderson closer and snarled, “You are touching my girl, so if you don’t want to become a soprano…keep your hands off!”

“Your girl?” Henderson squeaked

“Leave Zoe alone,” Eva warned.

“Uh… Um…” the hapless man stammered and turned to find Zoe standing in the doorway, giving him a look that would have killed him if it were possible.

Henderson nodded quickly.

“Good boy.” Eva patted his cheek and shoved him back into his seat. She put her sunglasses back on and turned to leave. “I don’t want to hear from Zoe that you touched her again—or else.”

Henderson gulped and nodded.

Eva sneered, grabbed Zoe’s hand and they both walked out of the gallery, hoping they could sustain the charade long enough. Eva got onto the motorcycle not daring to look back.

“Is he watching?”

“No but the rest of them are,” Zoe giggled.

“Good,” Eva replied. She turned, cupped Zoe’s face and kissed her, causing everyone to gasp. “Get on,” she whispered quite pleased with her performance.

Zoe was stunned for a few moments before she climbed on and put her arms around her leather clad partner. Eva gunned the motorcycle and roared off, much to the delight of her partner.

*

The black motorcycle came to a stop outside their house with Zoe laughing as it stopped. They were met by a bemused Elena who was sitting outside on the veranda.

“So how did it go?”

“Snake was mean,” Eva struck a pose and then laughed. “I think he got the message.”

Eva smiled when she saw the boys arrive in her car. Earl and Pat had driven away from the gallery soon after the two women had left.

“Was that good or what?” Pat grinned. “I reckon you should get an Academy Award.”

“You think?” Eva grinned.

“He was nearly peeing in his pants,” Earl snickered.

“Oh, dear God, don’t move,” Zoe told her partner and raced inside the house.

Eva grinned at the two men. “It worked.”

“Of course it worked! Look at you; you’re hot, you’re butch and you reek intimidation,” Earl replied as he continued to chuckle. “I didn’t think it was possible but Patrick the Magnificent worked a miracle!”

“Well of course,” Pat stuck out his chest. “I am Patrick the Magnificent!”

Zoe came rushing out of the house with a camera in her hand. “Oh, Evy, dear God you are gorgeous.”

“Zoe, do you really…”

“Yes! I really want to take a photo or two.”

“…or a million,” Elena chuckled.

“Or a million, come on, humor me,” Zoe smiled and waited for her partner. Eva sighed and gave into Zoe’s request. “Evy, do me a really, really big favor?”

“Yes, love?”

“Lean over the bike for me and lower those glasses so I can see those sapphires?”

Earl and Pat snickered as Eva gave them a look and complied with her lover’s request. Zoe took several shots in succession as Eva did as she was asked. “Zoe, I really need to get this gunk out of my hair.”

“Just a few more,” Zoe implored. “Turn your head so I can take a good shot of the snake.” Eva complied. “That was a nice drawing,” Zoe grinned. “Come on, my greasy girl.”

Finally Zoe took pity on her partner who was giving her a puppy dog look. It didn’t quite fit the image of the tough biker. Zoe smiled and reached out to touch Eva’s shoulder. The fantasy was great but she enjoyed the gentle soul that sat on the bike rather than the tough biker chick.

Eva got off the bike, handed the keys to Pat and took off his leather jacket. “Thanks for the loan, Pat.”

“It fits you well, Eva.”

“Yeah, too well,” Zoe giggled and put her arm around her partner’s waist.

As the women entered their house, Zoe turned to Eva. “Thank you for doing that.”

“I would do anything for you, love. Do you think it worked?”

Zoe nodded. “I think you scared Henderson enough to give him a few more gray hairs.”

“He didn’t have hair to begin with,” Eva chuckled and then scratched her head. “This stuff itches.”

“Come on, let’s take that grease out of your hair.”

Zoe took Eva’s hand and led her into the bathroom. She was certain that, even if it didn’t work, the look on Henderson’s face had been well worth all this effort.

Chapter 7

LIGHTS FLICKERED ALL THE way down the corridor as Isaac Abels strode purposely to the War Crimes filing room. It was early in the morning and the only people around were the cleaning stuff. They wouldn’t be anywhere near the filing room and he smiled to himself when he realized he’d been right in planning this visit.

The BBQ had raised questions in his mind that he needed to resolve. It bothered him about his new friends and the more he knew, the better he could anticipate any problems. That’s what he had learned along time ago and it still held him in good stead.

He entered the filing area and whistled when he saw the wall to wall files. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket.

“What is so special about you?” he muttered to himself as he went through the alphabetical listing. He found the file he was searching for and pulled it out of its place with a sneer.

“Eva Haralambos,” he read under his breath. He opened the file and began to read. “I knew it,” he mumbled and shook his head. He started to read the reports unaware of the time as it slipped away. He was scheduled to be in the office at 7:00 am.

“What are you doing?”

Isaac Abels turned around to find David leaning on the doorjamb with a scowl on his face. Abels looked at his watch and winced. He closed the file he was reading and took off his glasses.

“I’m reading.”

“No? Really?”

“What’s the matter?” Abels asking and put both his hands over the file. “I had to know about your ‘friend’.”

“That wouldn’t be Eva’s file you are reading?” David closed the distance and pulled the file away from the older man.

“Yes it is.”

“When I said you should get acquainted with the cases we have, I didn’t say come down to the archives.”

“Why? Is it because I might find out the truth about Miss Muller?” Abels replied. He pulled out his handkerchief and began to clean his glasses. The file was interesting reading and it validated his opinion about the woman; there was more to her than he ever thought.

“Eva Haralambos is an honest, hard working, intelligent woman.”

“And you’re in love with her,” Abels said dismissively.

David looked at him for a moment and then started to laugh. “You are off your rocker, mate, if that’s what you think.”

“You’re not?”

“No,” David continued to chuckle. “If I was interested in anyone it would be Zoe, but I’m not. Eva is a dear friend and so is Zoe.”

“You’re not interested because they are,” Abels made a face, “lesbians.”

“No!” David fell back against the filing cabinets in mock shock.

“They are disgusting,” Abels sneered. “They should be exterminated.”

David looked at him for a moment. “Like the Jews, huh?”

Abels looked up sharply. “That was not funny.”

“It wasn’t meant to be,” David replied. “I would have expected better from someone who was on the extermination list.”

“Homosexuals were also on that list. The only decision Hitler and I agreed on,” Abels replied as David stared at him open-mouthed.

David shook his head to clear it from the tangent the conversation had taken and decided he wasn’t in the mood to tackle Abels on that issue. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to find out what the secrecy was.”

“What secrecy?”

“At the BBQ you were all vague about Eva, I wanted to find out the truth,” Abels replied watching David as he sat opposite him.

“We thought you were interested in her,” David smiled. “I didn’t know you were paranoid.”

“It pays to be paranoid. You have to know who your enemy is,”

“Enemy?”

“It may have escaped your notice, Mr. Harrison, but she’s the daughter of a Nazi Major.”

“Stepdaughter,” David corrected him. “Do the sins of the father have to follow the daughter?”

Abels looked at him for a long moment. “They are all the same.”

“Who are?”

“You know who I mean. That’s why we are here,” Abels indicated around the room. “To catch the bad guys.”

“Eva is not a bad guy.”

Abels took out his cigarettes and lit one. He took a drag from his cigarette and then looked up at his colleague. “They were all ‘bad guys’”.

“Really?”

“Oh yes,” Abels nodded. “Neighbors we knew for years and close friends, all betrayed us to the Nazis.”

“Not everyone was like that,” David leaned forward. “There were some good guys.”

Abels looked away. “Not where I was.”

“Eva isn’t a bad guy. Eva was as much of a prisoner as you were.”

“In a gold gilded cage,” Abels scoffed. “She’s never experienced real pain, never knew how it felt to see her whole family perish in front of her,” he took a breath. “Her father caught her at being a lesbian and hit her. Big deal.”

“You are a bitter man, Abels,” David slowly shook his head. “Your bitterness is going to kill you.”

“At least I can still feel,” Abels shrugged. “Her father came to Australia and she conveniently stopped him. I think that is fanciful.”

“I think it’s none of your business,” David told him and held up the file. “Eva is not who you think she is.”

“No, no one is, are they?” Abels took a drag of his cigarette and exhaled. He watched the smoke drift up. “You look for Nazis and collaborators but one is right under your nose.”

David shook his head and got up from his seat. “Trust me, I would know if a collaborator or a Nazi was under my nose.”

“Would you?” Abels smiled thinly.

“Yes I would,” David held the door ajar waiting for Abels to leave the room. “That’s my job and Eva isn’t one of them.”

“I’m sure I’ll sleep safer knowing that,” Abels muttered and walked away down the corridor leaving David watching him leave.

*

“Zoe, I have to get up,” Eva whispered into her partner’s ear. Zoe’s legs were intertwined with her own as they lay in bed. A part of Eva wanted to stay in bed and not get up; the part that was feeling a little nervous about starting her new job. The other part wanted to stay in bed and make love to her partner. That was the hedonist that occasionally ruled her.

“Don’t want to,” Zoe mumbled and giggled when Eva kissed her. “And that’s why I don’t.”

“Come on, love, I have to make a good impression.”

Zoe looked up and smiled. “Oh, you’re going to make a great impression. You worry too much.”

“You think so?”

“I think so,” Zoe replied and tweaked her partner’s dimpled chin. She grinned and traced the snake that was still etched into her lover’s neck. “Did I thank you for yesterday?”

“A few times,” Eva wrapped her arms around the younger woman’s body and closed her eyes. “I would do it again if you wanted me to.”

“This time just for me,” Zoe giggled.

“You liked Snake,” Eva lowered her voice and growled causing her partner to laugh. “Sssnnnaakkke,” she hissed and then laughed.

“Rachel thought you were mean looking.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Zoe brushed a strand of hair that had fallen over her partner’s eyes. “A real tiger.”

“Nah,” Eva waggled her finger at her, “a Ssssnnnaaakkee,” she hissed.

Zoe lifted herself and kissed her partner softly. She looked into her partner’s eyes and shook her head. “You know I thank God every day for you.”

“You do?” Eva asked brushing back Zoe’s chestnut coloured hair. “Well I thank Him for sending you to me .”

The two women looked at each for a long moment, both aware that their hearts were intertwined. It was a revelation both women came to early in their relationship. It scared Eva to realize that she placed all her trust in this woman and she was never going to regret it. Zoe had no qualms about giving her heart to the older woman.

“You can’t throw me back,” Zoe chuckled and repeated what she had told Eva on the ship heading to Australia.

Eva kissed her again. “Never.” They stayed in each other’s arms for a little longer. She smiled when Zoe started trace the snake again.

“I like the snake,” Zoe told her again and began to place feather light kisses tracing the snake over Eva’s throat. The older woman closed her eyes and smiled.

“Ahh, Zoe.”

“Yes?” The younger woman stopped her ministrations and looked up with a mischievous glint in her green eyes.

“I have to get up,” Eva said reluctantly.

“Hmm, I prefer to stay in bed,” Zoe let her fingers brush against Eva’s cheek. “This is much more fun.”

“True,” Eva looked down and grinned. “But I’m going to be late.”

“Are you going to remove the snake?” Zoe asked and nuzzled her partner’s neck.

“Hmm,” Eva nodded. “That idiotic woman is going to have a heart attack if I show up with a tattoo” she said and took Zoe’s hands in her own.

“One of my best artworks,” Zoe grinned and then laughed when she remembered her boss’ face when he saw Eva. “Oh my god, Evy, that was hilarious. Did you see Henderson? He nearly peed on himself.”

“That was funny. Well, I hope it does something,” Eva was still chuckling as she reluctantly pulled the covers down. She grinned and looked back when Zoe let out a whistle as she removed her nightshirt.

“I love mornings,” Zoe giggled and was soon out of the bed as well.

*

The radio blared in the background, something about traffic problems on the Harbor Bridge, while Eva played with her fork, pushing the bacon from one end of the plate to the other. Her mind was elsewhere. Today was going to be her first day on the job and she was extremely nervous. So nervous her stomach was doing flip-flops. The morning had started off wonderfully well but her butterflies had return to tangle her up again.

Zoe came out of the kitchen with a couple of pieces of toast for herself and stopped when she saw Eva playing with her food. Zoe put down the toast, went over to her partner and put her arms around the tall woman’s shoulders.

“It’s going to be great. Don’t worry yourself all up in knots,” Zoe tried to reassured her. Eva looked up and gave her a look. “Trust me, you’re going to be fine.” She placed a gentle kiss on Eva’s temple. “It’s like the first day at school; everyone will want to know who you are, what you like, if you can play basketball and then,” Zoe gently teased, “you’re going to knock ‘em dead, Miss Eva.”

“This is where the big boys play, Zoe,” Eva said, wrapping one long arm around her partner’s waist. “I’ll be meeting people from all over the world. Did you know that Michael had to meet the Emperor of Ethiopia.”

“There’s an Emperor of Ethiopia?” Zoe asked and grinned.

“Zo, that’s royalty!”

“So what? Do you think they are better than you?” Zoe asked as she sat down on Eva’s lap.

“No, but—”

“You are equal to them, Eva.”

Eva hugged her partner for her simple and straightforward logic. Zoe was one of the most down-to-earth women she had ever met. Yet, at times, her ‘diplomacy’ could use a little work.

“Now, of course, if Queen Elizabeth comes to our house, then you can have a nervous breakdown,” Zoe teased, knowing Eva was unashamedly a monarchist. Greece had a monarch but Zoe had lost all respect for the King when he fled the country at it’s hour of need. Eva had explained to her that her respect for Queen Elizabeth, the present Queen’s mother, had risen when Hitler had bombed London and the Queen and her husband, King George, hadn’t fled the country.

“If I meet the Queen, love, I don’t think you will be able to get me down from the clouds for days!”

Zoe chuckled. “Well you won’t get a chance to meet the Queen if you don’t go. You’re going to be great at this job, Evy, I know it. Percy Hester made the best decision of his career.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. You’re going to have Debbie, and you won’t have to be interrogated again by your new secretary.”

Eva nodded. It had been customary for new employees to be given the ‘interrogation’ as her secretary had called it. She had been subjected to it when she started at the Immigration Department as an Interpreter. The person who had that particular task was now her secretary. Eva was glad she had asked for Debbie to move over to the new position. She was comfortable with Debbie and she didn’t have to start from the beginning.

“What are you going to wear?” Zoe asked pulling on the shirt Eva wore. It was one of her favorites but an old one. “You’re not wearing that?”

“No,” Eva shook her head. “I think the black pants, white shirt, and jacket,” she replied, taking a sip of Zoe’s tea and made a face. “Zoe, that’s not tea!”

“Yes it is, it’s Chamomile.”

Eva grimaced. “That’s not tea, that’s grass.”

“You’re quite funny, Miss Eva.”

“Only when I drink grass masquerading as tea,” Eva teased back. “So are you going in today?”

“Hmm, yeah. I think Stacy is going to have a mini heart attack with me,” Zoe admitted. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing what the fallout was going to be after yesterday’s antics.

Eva lowered her voice and growled, “They don’t want to mess with The Snake.”

Zoe laughed. “I can’t wait to do that artwork of you looking at me over the top of your glasses.” She ran her hands through Eva’s short dark hair and gazed into sapphire eyes. “You are a gorgeous woman,” she whispered. Eva smiled and captured Zoe’s mouth in a gentle kiss.

*

Eva was sick to her stomach. Looking in the bathroom mirror, she straightened her jacket and picked some lint off her shoulder. She was here and was ready if only her feet would take her out. She was getting more nervous as she starred at herself in the mirror.

“Coward,” she told her reflection.

Taking a deep breath she opened the bathroom door and exited to the lobby of the Foreign Affairs Department building. Her briefcase felt heavy in her hand as she waited by the lift alongside other people. She took another deep breath to settle herself, walked into the lift, and pushed the top button.

The lift finally arrived at its destination and Eva stepped out into a cream-colored corridor with offices on either side of a main central waiting area. She was very impressed with the look of the place, a world away from the crowded Interpreter Service she had worked in for the last four years.

“I guess this is how the higher mucky mucks live,” Eva echoed Zoe’s opinion and chuckled. She was now what Zoe described at ‘mucky muck’ - the high end of society. The public service had a tier of service and gaining entry into the Foreign Affairs Department was a plum job. Percy Hester warned her that some might chafe at her promotion. Eva was certain that this was going to happen and steeled herself for the inevitable ‘talk’ about her.

Debbie had told her that it didn’t take long for the gossip to hit the grapevine; in fact it had started to circulate soon after the news of her promotion was made public. They both knew it was inevitable that people were going to talk.

Following the signs, she found the office of the assistant to the foreign affairs and immigration minister. She smiled when she saw the name on the door in bold silver lettering: Eva Haralambos. It gave her a small thrill seeing the sign. She looked around and traced the lettering with her finger.

She didn’t mind admitting that she enjoyed seeing that sign. She had worked very hard in the Immigration Department and, although the public service was not her preferred vocation, she was determined to do her best. She pushed the door open and entered an outer office which was looking a little cramped.

Eva suppressed a scowl on catching sight of Paula, Percy Hester’s secretary sitting at her desk in a corner of the office. Debbie had warned her that Paula was going to be in their office until the painters had finished in her own. The woman made Eva’s hackles rise. She disliked the older woman and had made no secret of her feelings during their recent European trip, warning the bigot that if Paula continued to make life difficult for Zoe, Eva would reassign her outside the Department. Paula finally realized that it wasn’t an idle threat; Eva was now in a position to do as she threatened.

It was no secret among Percy Hester’s immediate staff that Eva was a lesbian; it had been the subject of office gossip ever since Hester had taken her on board. Paula, however, had taken it upon herself to inform her boss of how wrong he was and was determined to prove Eva was unworthy of the position.

Paula’s smile faded when she saw who had entered the office. She scowled and returned to her work trying not giving the woman any notice.

Debbie broke out in a huge smile on seeing her new boss “Well, well, well, aren’t you looking sharp?”

Debbie McBride was a few years younger than Eva and quite a few inches shorter. The two women had met when Eva started working in the Interpreter Service of the Immigration Department. Debbie had taken an instant liking to the quiet woman and made it her goal to get to know her better. It wasn’t an easy task with the shy and private, Eva but Debbie had managed to do it. She was also privy to her true relationship with Zoe and kept it a secret. She came around the desk and. hugged Eva under Paula’s disapproving gaze.

“Long time no see, boss,” Debbie laughed.

“Welcome aboard, Deborah. You like the new office?” Eva teased using her full first name. Debbie grinned.

“Love it!” Debbie replied and rubbed Eva’s arm in excitement. “Let me take your briefcase. You have a meeting with Mr. Hester. Into the frying pan for you.” She took charge, taking Eva’s briefcase from her hand and turning her towards the door.

“Don’t I get to see my office? What about a cup of tea?”

“No, later. Now you have a meeting, go.” Debbie pushed her towards the door. “Mr. Hester is in Conference Room 2, down the hall.”

“Remind me when I come back as to why I hired you,” Eva teased and gave her a wave and out of the door she had entered a few moments earlier.

“Because you love me,” Debbie replied loudly, getting a laugh out of Eva as the door closed.

Debbie watched her leave and chuckled to herself. She was going to enjoy working with Eva. Their rapport was going to help in the transition and quell a few grumbles she had overheard. She had started working a week before Eva and had already had to quell a few rumors that had circulated. One particular rumor was started by the woman who shared her office.

“You’d better watch that one,” Paula grumbled and shuffled her files.

Debbie plastered a smile on her face before turning to face the woman “Pardon?” she asked politely

“Miss Haralambos. You’d better watch your back with that one.”

Debbie scowled. “What are you talking about?”

“She’s one of those and I wouldn’t hug her next time.” Paula sniffed and sighed dramatically. “She’s,” she lowered her voice, “a lesbian.”

Debbie put her hands up in mock horror. “Oh, my God!”

Paula looked at her, not quite sure if she was being made fun of. “I am serious.”

“I know you are. You wouldn’t be warning me if you weren’t serious.” Debbie took her seat and leaned across it. “So what do you know about Miss Haralambos?

Paula’s face creased into a smile. Finally, someone who wanted to listen to all the gossip about this perverse woman. If she played her cards right, she might be able to convince Mr. Hester to remove Eva. If only she could get this new girl on her side. She knew the younger woman had worked in the same office as the irritating kraut.

“She’s a lesbian, you know.”

“Really?” Debbie nodded her head, trying to keep a straight face. “How do you know that? She didn’t…you know…”

“Oh my,” Paula fanned herself. “No, she didn’t, thank God.”

“Oh that’s good, you can never be too sure about these…”

“Deviants, that’s what they are,” Paula added warming up to Debbie. “I don’t know if you heard about the Minister’s trip to Europe but she had the gall to bring her lesbian lover with us.”

“No!” Debbie exclaimed in mock outrage.

“What’s worse, the Minister didn’t even mind! Why he hired a deviant is beyond me but I have my suspicions.”

“You do?”

“Yes,” Paula nodded and leaned forward to whisper to her new found friend even though they were alone in the office. “I think the Minister finds her attractive.”

“Well, she is,” Debbie shrugged. “Don’t you think so?”

Paula sniffed. “If you like that kind of woman. She’s a kraut as well!”

“I thought she was Greek?”

Paula rolled her eyes at her naďve friend. “That accent is German, Debbie, didn’t you know that?”

Debbie picked up her pencil and chewed it in thought. “I often wondered about that.”

“It’s true. I had a look at her personnel file,” Paula nodded gravely. “She was born in Austria.”

“Oh, is that in Greece?” Debbie asked and kept a straight face.

“No, silly, that’s near Germany!”

“Oh, so do you think she was a Nazi?”

“Between you and me? I think she is. I could really see her in that black SS uniform. Can’t you?”

“Oh I don’t know,” Debbie wanted to roll her eyes at the absurdity. Eva as an SS officer was so improbable that it was verging on the ridiculous. “So do you think she has her SS uniform at home?”

Paula pursed her lips. “You’re laughing at me now,”

“No, I’m not. I was just wondering. My granddad had his old uniform in the closet and would bring out on Anzac day for the parade.”

“I don’t know but I think if you dig deep enough you will find that she is. Anyway as I was telling you, she brought her lesbian lover with her. “

“Are you sure it was her lesbian lover?”

“I saw her and that other woman kissing and hugging. Disgusting. A young kid. Can’t be more than 18 years old!”

Debbie realized what Eva had meant when she said to be careful of this woman. Her boss had contacted her soon after she was offered the position and told her about their trip and about the bigoted woman now in front of her.

“I would be careful that she doesn’t try something with you.”

“Did she try anything with you?” Debbie wanted to giggle at the idea but restrained herself.

“No, but I warned her not to,” Paula nodded gravely. “Mr. Hester has made a terrible mistake. We work in a very sensitive area of the government. WE are Australia when people first visit. WE have to set the example. What kind of impression will we give when a lesbian is the assistant to one of the most important men in the government?” Paula finished with a flourish. “If you will work with me, I’m quite sure we can get this woman transferred.”

Debbie scowled. She wondered if Eva knew how dangerous this woman was and what kind of enemy she had become. For the moment, she decided she would play along. “What do you suggest?” she asked. Making an enemy of this woman was not the right choice at this time. She would talk to Eva before she did anything.

“I haven’t really thought about it in great detail, but I’m sure we can find a way. Deviants like that don’t deserve to be here.” Paula smiled. Finally, a way to get rid of the woman. ‘I’ll show you who fires who,’ Paula thought to herself.

Chapter 8

ZOE RUBBED HER EYES as she finished the paperwork for a new piece of artwork and then glanced at her watch. She was quite sure she didn’t want to be at work today; she was worried about the repercussions of the previous days events and Eva’s first day at work. Henderson left her alone for most of the day, which was not a good sign. On any other day she would have been doing cartwheels when he wasn’t around but today she wondered if they had given the man a heart attack.

“Hey Zoe,” Rachel stopped in and leaned against the door.

“Hi,” Zoe replied and continued to work.

“So,” Rachel cleared her throat, “the girls want to know something…”

Zoe looked up expectantly. “What?”

“Was that really your, um,”

“My what?”

“Your, you know, lover?”

“Yeah it was,” Zoe replied a little tersely and went back to the endless paperwork.

“Is her name really Snake?”

For the first time since she got into work Zoe grinned. “No.”

“So what’s her name?”

“Eva,” Zoe replied. She got out of her chair and picked up her purse. Taking a photo of Eva out of her purse she gave it to Rachel. “That’s what she really looks like.”

Rachel looked at the photo and smiled. It was a photo of Zoe and her partner near a mountain top. The woman looking back was a beautiful woman and very unlike the woman she had seen the previous day. “This is nice.”

“Yeah she is,” Zoe smiled. “That was taken at Medlow Bath last year.”

“The Blue Mountains? That’s a nice place.” Rachel handed the photo back. “Zoe, she doesn’t really have a snake tattoo, does she?”

Zoe laughed. “No, I drew that yesterday.”

“You’re in trouble, my friend,” Rachel said, lowering her voice.

“I know,” Zoe replied. The waiting was driving her crazy and as she wasn’t known for her patience it was getting to her. “Have you heard anything?”

“No but Henderson was livid after you left.”

Zoe shrugged.

“Rachel, get back to work,” Stacy ordered and watched as the young woman scurried away leaving Zoe and their supervisor in the office. “Zoe, I want to see you in my office,” she said and walked away.

“Okay,” Zoe muttered to herself. She sighed and put down her pen and got up. This definitely wasn’t going to be a good day.

Her supervisor waited for Zoe to enter and shut the door which only made the younger woman nervous. She indicated for Zoe to take a seat.

“How long have you worked with us, Zoe?”

“Three years,” Zoe replied hesitantly.

“I see,” Stacy’s double chin wobbled. “This morning I had a very disturbing conversation with Mr. Henderson.”

“Oh, gee, what a surprise,” Zoe thought to herself but kept the smile plastered on her face.

“Mr. Henderson wanted to press charges but I talked him out of it.”

Zoe scowled. “Press charges for what?”

“I believe,” Stacy opened a drawer and took out a folder from the desk. She put on his wire rimmed glasses and read from the file. “A woman called ‘Snake’ entered the art gallery where she threatened to do bodily harm to me, pushed me and I firmly believe she would have done damage to my person.” Stacy looked over the rim of the glasses at the young woman and shook her head. “Do you know anything about this?”

“Um, yes.”

“What?”

“Well,” Zoe started and then stopped. She wasn’t sure how to get herself out of this without causing anymore damage. “Mr. Henderson touches me and Eva wanted him to stop.”

“Touches you?”

“Yes, he pinches my bottom and asks me for a threesome…”

“Mr. Henderson is a married man with four children, Zoe,” the older woman told her and folded her hands on top of the desk. “Why would he want to touch you?”

“I don’t know,” Zoe replied feeling like she was being cornered. “He does.”

“No one else has reported this to me.”

“They’re too scared.”

“I see,” Stacy replied in a tone that told Zoe she wasn’t being believed. “We have ten women working here and not one of them has said anything to me about it except you.”

Zoe shrugged.

“But you didn’t tell me, you got your friend to come in here and disturb your working environment.”

“Eva is not a violent person!” Zoe muttered. She was losing any remains of patience and her fear was quickly turning into anger.

“Did she push Mr. Henderson?”

“She has a name,” Zoe replied tersely. “Her name is Eva.”

“Zoe,” Stacy leaned forward and took off her glasses. “You are skating on thin ice here, don’t be belligerent with me. Did Eva threaten Mr. Henderson?”

“She asked him not to touch me.”

“She told him she was going to turn him into a soprano,” Stacy read from the report and then looked up at Zoe who was trying very hard to suppress the grin despite the serious situation she was in. “It’s not funny, Zoe.”

Zoe lowered her head and tried to stop grinning. “No, ma’am.”

“Who is this Eva?”

Zoe sighed. ‘Well there goes the job,’ she thought to herself. She was going to resign anyway, but this wasn’t the way she wanted to leave.

“She’s my partner.”

“Your partner?”

Zoe rolled her eyes and then looked up to find her boss glaring at her. “She’s my lover.”

“So, Mr. Henderson’s statement that you are a lesbian is correct?”

“Yes, ma’am, it is.”

“You got your lover to assault Mr. Henderson…”

“She didn’t assault him!” Zoe gritted her teeth and glared at the Director. Stacy’s use of the word ‘lover’ for Eva was sarcastic and lowered her relationship with her partner to something casual and from the tone of her voice, Zoe thought, sleazy. “Mr. Henderson was touching me and making sexual advances towards me. I told him to stop but he wouldn’t.”

“Why didn’t you report this to me, Miss Haralambos?”

“Because what I feared would happen, is happening,” Zoe muttered and slumped back into her chair.

“What did you fear would happen?”

“Henderson would make up lies and tell you that I was a lesbian.”

“I don’t see any lies being presented, Miss Haralambos. What I do see is that your lover came in here, was asked to leave and she assaulted Mr. Henderson totally unprovoked.”

Zoe’s last patient nerve evaporated. She got to her feet, her face going a deep shade of red. “That is a total lie! Henderson assaulted me!”

“Sit down, Miss Haralambos.”

“Why are you taking his side without hearing the full story!”

“I thought that was what I was doing. Did your lover not come in here and refuse to go, when she was asked to leave? She also kissed you in full view of the gallery and the staff?”

“Yes, she did come in yesterday.” Zoe swore in Greek and shook her head in disgust. “That’s so stupid. Eva kissed me.”

Stacy cleared her throat and put down her glasses. “Zoe, you are a very talented artist but your future here is in jeopardy and you are close to losing this job.” Stacy cleared her throat. “I suggest you stop your nonsense with this woman and discontinue seeing her. Take it from me, it’s for your own good. You are a pretty girl and talented. You have a future…”

“What?” Zoe asked incredulously.

“I know a little about you and I understand the War was hard on you, with you losing your family, so this may be a…”

Zoe stared at her in disbelief. She couldn’t believe the woman opposite was asking her to give up her love for Eva to save her job. She had been prepared to be carpeted for yesterday’s prank. She had expected to be disciplined but never to be asked to choose between her job or Eva.

“Are you telling me that I have to choose?”

“Yes,” Stacy replied. “Think of your future, Zoe. You have a bright future as an artist and when you become well known, this will come back and hurt you.”

“Well,” Zoe ran her hand through her hair and exhaled. “Eva means more to me than some job.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind?”

Zoe nodded and slumped back in her chair.

Stacy’s lips curled in distaste. “In that case, it’s not an easy decision to make but I have to make it. I’m sorry but your services for the art gallery are no longer required.”

“You’re firing me?” Zoe asked. It was a slap in the face for all the hard work she put into her job and the pride she took in giving her best. It wasn’t the way she wanted to leave. “That’s unfair. No one else is asked to choose between their partner or their job.”

“You are a troublesome influence on the section, Miss Haralambos. I will give you full pay for the rest of the week but I do not want you to come in tomorrow.” Stacy stood and walked around the desk to where Zoe was slumped down fuming at the injustice of the situation.

Zoe got up, opened the door and walked out without a second glance back at her former boss. She was downright angry. Angry that she had been called a liar and angry anyone would even think Eva was violent. But to add insult to injury, the fact that she had been asked to choose made her even more than furious because it was ridiculous and stupid.

Zoe stormed down the steps taking them two at a time. When she walked around the corner, she slammed into Amery Henderson. She couldn’t contain her anger any longer as she shoved the man aside.

“Hey! That’s assault!” Henderson whined and rubbed his chest.

“You want assault do you?” Zoe turned and came face to face with him. “Try this on for size!” Zoe spat out, brought her knee up and it connected with a thud. Henderson doubled up and fell to the floor in pain, groaning. “I dare you to charge me with assault, you son of a bitch.” Zoe stormed off leaving Henderson on the floor.

*

Percy Hester was listening to the radio; the door to his office was open and he had a good view of the main office door from his desk where the painters were finishing their painting of his outer office. He hated the smell of paint and hoped they weren’t going to take forever.

It was inconvenient to have his secretary down the corridor in another office and not close by. If it weren’t for the fact that she had been with him for years and it would be difficult to bring in another secretary to train, he was sure he would have replaced her.

The door opened and a very smartly-dressed Eva walked through, trying not to get paint on her clothes as she threaded herself through the ladders. Percy smiled as he caught sight of his new assistant. He was certain he made the right choice for a position that was extremely important. He knew he could trust Eva to carry out whatever he asked of her. She had gained that trust in Europe, despite the apparent hostility of the Greeks. He presumed it was because of her German accent, but she had kept her cool and charmed everyone.

Eva saw the Minister and smiled. She entered the office and took a seat opposite her new boss.

“Good morning, Eva. So, you found your way alright?”

“Good morning, sir. Debbie pointed me in the right direction.”

“Ah a good secretary is a must in this job. Now have you filled out the 1001 forms the personnel department insists we fill out?”

“No, not yet. I thought I would come here and sort myself out first,” Eva responded.

It was her first time in the Minister’s office, which was very tastefully decorated. The artwork on the walls was of Australian landscapes. The view from the wide, spacious windows was breathtaking. It overlooked the Harbor with the Harbor Bridge in the background.

The Minister grinned when he noticed what Eva was looking at. “Nice view. I wish I had more time to look at it. Okay now I want to go through the schedule with you. I hope you don’t mind if I throw you off the deep end?”

Eva chuckled. “No, that’s fine.”

“That’s good. Now how is your Turkish?”

“Nonexistent,” Eva replied and watched as the Minister opened a draw and pulled out a small book and handed it to her.

“Brush up on some words. On Saturday, we are going to be meeting the Turkish ambassador for dinner. He can speak English but it’s a nice ice breaker to say a few words in their language.” Percy thumbed through his own Turkish phrasebook for a moment. “I hope you didn’t have anything planned for Saturday.”

Eva mentally winced. Their fifth anniversary was going to be that day and Eva had booked a weekend away for them at the Medlow Bath in the Blue Mountains. They spent special occasions in a small hotel resort, The Hydro Majestic, and their anniversary was a special event.

“I was going to the Blue Mountains,” Eva said with a wry smile.

“Oh that’s very nice,” Hester replied. “Well, you can reschedule?” Hester asked looking over his glasses at her.

“Oh sure,” Eva said. Zoe wasn’t going to be at all impressed and Eva hoped she didn’t spend the night on the couch. Their anniversary was treasured by both of them, and if the day fell during the weekend they booked the Hydro Majestic and took the weekend off.

“Oh good. You can brush up on your Turkish,” Hester said and went on to discuss the meeting. Eva was half listening, her mind already on the problem of telling Zoe.

*

The meeting with her new boss over, Eva went to the Personnel Department and filled out numerous forms. By the end of it all, she was sick of signing her name. She walked back to her office, her mind still on the problem of how she was going to tell Zoe that their anniversary day at the Hydro Majestic was not going to happen.

Eva got out of the elevator, still thinking about the weekend. As she rounded a corner her musings were abruptly interrupted when a mail cart crashed into her shins. She dropped the files in surprise and winced.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Emily Andrews exclaimed and bent down to pick up the files. She was met by the most intense blue eyes she had ever seen.

“It’s alright, my fault,” Eva muttered and bent down to pick up her files.

“Oh wow! You must be the Minister’s new assistant!” Emily exclaimed and handed the files to Eva. “I’m Emily, I work in the mail room.” Emily shook her long blond hair. She had heard so much about this woman when she was delivering the mail to the various offices. The whispers about her being a lesbian were also bandied about and she was eagerly looking forward to meeting her. The various descriptions of the tall woman didn’t do her justice, Emily thought to herself.

“Is there a sign on me?” Eva looked down at her shirt and grinned. “Eva Haralambos, pleased to meet you, Emily.” Eva extended her hand.

“Oh no, your accent gave it away,” the young woman giggled. “The grapevine has been abuzz with the news of your arrival.”

“Really?”

“Absolutely. Our basketball team really needs someone like you,” Emily exclaimed. “It’s at the bottom of the competition.”

“Oh I see,” Eva half smiled.

“We heard that you were on the team at the Interpreter Service. Would you like to join us?”

“Sure, just drop off the details with my secretary,” Eva replied and was about to move off when she was stopped.

“Eva, a group of us are going to the local pub for drinks. Would you like to come with us?” Emily smiled shyly. “Or maybe have dinner later at my place to celebrate your new position?”

Eva was a little taken aback. This was the first time, apart from Zoe; that anyone had ever flirted with her. She was a little amused by it, although she was sure Zoe wouldn’t find it funny. “I’m sorry I can’t make it, but thank you for the invitation,” Eva replied with a smile, took the remaining files from Emily and walked off.

Emily stood watching Eva walk away with a smile on her face. Her friend Lorraine came around the corner and smashed into her cart.

“Emily!” the young girl exclaimed in frustration.

“I just met Eva Haralambos,” Emily told her friend with a grin.

“Yeah, so?”

“She’s so beautiful!” Emily put her hand on her heart and sighed.

Lorraine snorted. “She’s a lesbian.”

“You don’t know that!”

Lorraine rolled her eyes. “Yes I do, Mr. Hester’s secretary told me.”

“I thought that was gossip.”

“Em, if we don’t deliver this mail, I think the boss is going to hit the roof,” Lorraine pleaded with her friend and pushed her towards the cart.

*

“We have a problem,” Debbie said as Eva walked in.

“I just got here!” Eva protested.

“You’re a trouble magnet, Miss Haralambos,” her secretary teased.

“Among other things,” Eva grumbled and opened the door to her new office and stopped. The room was quite spacious with a huge oak desk in the center and two large windows overlooking the Botanical Gardens. It was a beautiful view and she couldn’t wait to bring Zoe here to have a look at it.

She smiled when she saw her photos on the wall. Zoe had had a hand in the decoration; it had her touch on it. “Zoe was here?” Eva asked and turned to her grinning friend.

“She called me and asked me to decorate the office and make it homey or words to that effect.”

“When did she do this?”

“Just after you came back from Europe.”

Debbie watched Eva sit in her new chair and swivel around, enjoying herself. Few people saw the playful side of her boss and she felt privileged, in a way, to be able to see it. The secretary pool was not enthused about Eva; she seemed too severe and difficult. Some even complained they couldn’t understand her with her German accent, which sounded quite silly to Debbie.

Eva stopped her merry-go-round and put her hands on her desk. “Okay, what problem did I inherit?”

“Paula.”

Eva made a face. “What about her?”

“She’s out for your blood.”

“My what?”

Debbie smiled despite the serious conversation. She sometimes forgot that Eva had only been in the country for four years and sometimes had a problem with how she phrased things. “She wants to see you fired.”

“Old news.”

“Well, boss, I think she is going to be real trouble.”

Eva leaned back and sighed. “I know.”

“What’s her problem? Other than being a complete bitch.”

“She thinks I’m a deviant. She thought I was going to make a pass at her.”

“I don’t think she’s your type, is she?”

“I like them shorter, younger, less bitchy and much cuter.”

Debbie smiled. “Anyway, Attila wants to make trouble for you.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I’m going to help her,” Debbie replied with an evil grin. “I want to give her enough rope to hang herself.”

Eva sighed. She really hated office politics but the woman had thrown down the gauntlet and Eva was going to meet her challenge.

“Now onto something much more pleasant; I got a phone call from the Foreign Affairs Basketball coach as soon as they found out you were 6 foot 2. They want you.”

“So it seems. I ran into Emily from the mail room and she asked me to join, as well.”

“Emily? Tall, blue eyed blond?”

Eva nodded. “That’s the one. She nearly ran me over with the mail cart before invited me to dinner.”

“Ooh, I didn’t get a dinner invite on my first day here! I’m jealous.”

“You should get run over by the mail cart. Maybe she will ask you out.”

“Oh, sure, I need to get hurt to be asked out,” Debbie chuckled. Eva was happy that Debbie had accepted the promotion. It made the transition to the new position easier.

“Can you find the customs and taboos of the Turks for me? I’m meeting the Ambassador next Saturday.”

“Done,” Debbie wrote a note to herself on her shorthand notebook.

“What am I doing for next Saturday?”

“The Minister and you will be at a soiree at Kirribili House with the Governor-General.”

Eva glared at her secretary. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “What about the following Saturday?”

Debbie consulted her diary and looked up with a grin. “You’re free.”

“I’d better be,” Eva muttered to herself.

Chapter 9

EVA YAWNED AS SHE DROVE home. She was tired but quite satisfied. Going to meetings with the Minister was something she had expected, but finding out she was to conduct regular staff meetings to free up the Minister’s time was a surprise, however. Paula, or ‘Attila the Hen’ as Debbie had nicknamed her, greeted her in the usual way and Eva made a mental note to herself to make sure she had her back covered in case things blew up. The basketball coach didn’t waste any time in contacting her, much to Eva’s surprise. It had been a whirlwind of a day.

She was eager to tell Zoe about her first day and then to just snuggle with her partner and relax. The dark blue Holden pulled into the driveway and Eva was surprised to see Mabel, Zoe’s motorcycle, on the ground, lying sideways. The motorbike had no sidecar, which was most unusual, and it wasn’t where it was normally parked. Turning the engine off, Eva got out of the car and went to inspect the motorbike. The body had multiple scratches on it and was covered in mud she was quite sure wasn’t there this morning.

Leaving her briefcase in the car, she bounded up the steps of their house and through the open door. The house was quiet and Eva looked into the first bedroom, which acted as Zoe’s studio, but she wasn’t there.

“Zoe!” she called out anxiously.

“Here,” a tiny voice came from their bedroom.

Eva opened the door slowly and was met with a darkened room. Sitting huddled up in a corner was her partner. Despite the darkness, Eva could see the tear-stained face. She quickly came to her and knelt beside her.

“What happened, love?” she asked brushing away the wet and muddy bangs that fell into her partner’s eyes. Her face was smudged with dirt and Eva noticed her clothes were also wet and muddy.

“They fired me, Evy,” Zoe said, her voice breaking and she started to cry. She felt so humiliated at how she had been just thrown out. All the work she put into the gallery, all the time she spent on giving her best and it was for nothing. It wasn’t just the job, it was the way it was done that hurt the most.

Eva scooped her crying partner into her arms and held her, rocking her gently “I’m so sorry, love.” Zoe’s sobs subsided and she hiccupped. “What happened to you?”

“I was so mad I sped and…” Zoe explained. She had been angry and hurt and riding the motorbike at full speed was a way for her to just scream out her frustration at the injustice of what had happened. “I hit a rock and I went over.”

Eva’s presence calmed the young woman down and Zoe closed her eyes. Eva kissed her gently and led her to the bed. “Why don’t we take all these muddy clothes off and then have a bath?”

“Okay,” Zoe said quietly. “Evy, why does this hurt so much?”

Eva sighed and looked into those emerald eyes that glistened from the unshed tears. “You give of yourself with your whole heart, love. You don’t do things half-hearted, never have. It hurts because you gave them your best.”

“I didn’t want to leave like that.”

“I know,” Eva tried to ease the pain but she knew how Zoe felt. She had been fired from her first job and it was painful. She had felt so useless and incompetent, although that was far from the truth, but the feelings were there. Eva removed Zoe’s muddy shoes and socks, putting them aside. “How did you get so wet?”

“I fell into the river after I got off my bike,” Zoe said and then sneezed.

Eva shook her head and unbuttoned Zoe’s shirt, which was torn, and then her bra. Her arms were covered with scratches, mud, and she had a giant bruise on her shoulder. Eva removed the wet pants and threw them with the rest of the soiled clothes on the floor. Her partner was black and blue all over. Eva stood and lifted the young woman into her arms.

“I can walk,” Zoe mumbled, although she loved the fact Eva was holding her this way despite Eva’s bad back.

“I know,” Eva said and carried her mud-covered partner into the bathroom where she put her down. Zoe watched as Eva filled the bathtub and helped her partner inside the tub.

*

A stiff breeze blew the curtains as a weather change came through. Thunder cracked overhead, startling Eva awake. Zoe’s head rested on her shoulder and she was very much asleep. Eva pulled the sheet up to cover Zoe from the cool breeze. Looking down at the woman that held her soul, it broke her heart to see the bruises on the smaller woman’s shoulder and back. After she’d cleaned the mud and grime, Eva had meticulously applied antiseptic to the cuts. What worried her a little was that Zoe had remained quiet. Over the years Eva had grown accustomed to Zoe’s temperament and the young woman didn’t know the meaning of giving up. Eva knew that, in Zoe’s eyes being fired was the same as giving up. Eva didn’t push in asking questions; they could wait until Zoe was ready to talk.

Eva wanted to do was go down to that gallery and have a few words with the director but she didn’t think it would achieve anything. It would make her feel better but it wouldn’t get Zoe her job back.

Eva ran her fingers lightly through the still-wet chestnut hair. Zoe was exhausted from the wild ride and emotionally spent. The last time Eva had seen her partner this way was when they’d found out her father was willing to go on the train destined to be blown up by the Resistance forces. It was also the night she’d discovered that Zoe had let her into her heart.

Zoe stirred and opened sleepy, emerald-colored eyes. She gazed up into her partner’s clear blue pools. “Today was the pits,” she said. Her voice a little husky from sleep, she shifted and winced a little as she rested her head on Eva’s chest.

“I know how you feel, love.” Eva whispered and kissed the top of Zoe’s head.

“Have you ever been fired?”

“Yes, my first job. I was a librarian’s assistant,” Eva replied. It was a long time ago and she could still remember the feeling that she’d let her parents down by the dismissal.

Zoe looked up with a frown. “How could you lose a job being a library assistant?”

“By reading the books and not putting them away,” Eva replied with a grin. “I would come across a book and just had to flip through it. I guess the librarian didn’t like it.”

Zoe shook her head and resumed her spot. Eva’s love for books was a little joke between them. They couldn’t pass a book store without going in. Zoe loved to read anything she could get her hands on but Eva was truly a bookworm

“Only you could get fired from a Library,” Zoe gently teased. “What did you do?”

“I was angry and I told the Librarian that I would never go back there, ever.” Eva replied with a smile.

“Oh yeah I bet that scared her,” Zoe mumbled. “Did you go back?”

“Yeah, the next day. I had to borrow a book for school.” Eva grinned. She really hadn’t wanted to go back to the library but it was the only place she could get the textbook she needed. Her mother had told her to swallow her pride and just go. She did and was met by the librarian who didn’t remind her of her angry outburst but helped her get the book. Eva wondered whatever had happened to that woman. She looked down at the auburn head and kissed it. “So what happened today?”

Zoe sighed. “They wanted me to choose.”

“Choose what?”

Zoe looked up. “They wanted me to choose between the job or you.”

“You chose the job, of course,” she gently teased and got a smile from her beloved spouse.

“Of course,” Zoe mumbled. “The director called me in and said Henderson wanted to press charges against you for assault.”

Eva snorted. “He didn’t like the cigarette smoke?”

“Well he said you pushed him. She wouldn’t listen to anything I said about Henderson touching me. She said no one else has come forward to report anything like that.”

“No, I don’t suppose they would.”

“And then she told me I had to choose between my career as an artist and you,” Zoe said bitterly. The whole thing had left a truly sour taste in her mouth. “I would give up anything for you,” she murmured causing the older woman to smile.

Eva was now more angry than when she’d found Zoe earlier. She couldn’t see how they could sack someone with Zoe’s ability but to ask the young woman to give up her relationship was beyond idiotic. Eva swore in German. Zoe looked up in total surprise.

“There’s a new one. I think I was more shocked than anything else. I never thought I would be sacked, Evy.”

Eva’s anger dissipated when she looked down into her partner’s eyes. “I love you, Zo. I know it’s not a nice feeling getting sacked.” Eva intertwined her large hand with Zoe’s smaller one and brought it up to her lips and kissed it.

“It’s truly sucky,” Zoe said in a tiny voice.

“You’ll find another job, love, I know you will.”

“You think so?” Zoe asked and looked up hopefully and Eva nodded.

“I know you will.”

“You believe in me, don’t you?” Zoe asked. Her confidence took a huge rise to have Eva utter the words, even though she knew Eva loved her.

“I believe in you,” Eva said slowly. “You are a talented artist, a beautiful woman and I love you more than you will ever know.”

Zoe sighed and rested her head on Eva’s shoulder. “Evy, with all this going on, I was thinking.” Zoe stopped and looked up for a moment to find Eva looking at her expectantly. “I really want to have a baby.”

“Because you lost your job?”

“No, it’s not that, it’s just … I don’t know,” Zoe stopped. She couldn’t express into words why she wanted to become a mother so badly but she did. “I want to.”

“Zoe…”

“I know that it’s going to be seen as a bastard, I know that people will talk, I know that it’s going to be hard. But I still want to do it,” Zoe repeated everything they had discussed about the possibility of having a child. Eva was reluctant at first, then warmed to the idea before leaving for Europe. But the longer she thought about it, the worse the idea became. Yet, Zoe was not deterred. She was determined and once Zoe was determined, Eva had to really knuckle down and try to convince her partner that having a child out of wedlock was going to be something she didn’t want a child to go through.

“I want to try,” Zoe said quietly.

“How?”

“That syringe thing,”

“That doesn’t work,” Eva reminded her. Despite discussing the possibility of them using syringe insemination, it was still something which sounded quite vile to Eva, when she took the time to think about. After a few moments Eva decided that if Zoe wanted this child, then she wasn’t going to try and stop it from happening. She could try and convince Zoe that it was a wrong decision but she knew that Zoe wouldn’t let go and if she did, it would be because of Eva’s objections. She didn’t want Zoe to be deprived of a chance to fulfill something she really wanted. “There is another way.”

“Sex?”

“Yeah,” Eva said quietly. She was already getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.

“Are you alright with that?” Zoe asked and looked up. As soon as she saw the look in her partner’s eyes she knew what the answer was. “Honestly?”

Eva sighed. “Well I’m not going to lie to you and say it doesn’t bother me. It does, but if it’s something you want …”

“I really want this baby, Evy,”

“I know you do,” Eva told her and kissed the top of her head. “I’m not that happy about it but this is the only way.”

“We could try the syringe…”

“We could but it’s not likely to work.”

“I was hoping I wouldn’t have to have sex with a man.”

“Well it wasn’t high on my list of things you would do,” Eva replied. “But it appears that’s the only way.”

“Evy, you know I’ve never been with a man…”

“Yeah I know,” the older woman replied and brought Zoe closer to her. “I was your first.”

They held each other for a long time, each lost in her own thoughts. Eva was disappointed that Zoe still wanted to try and have a baby after all the time Eva had spent in trying to convince her that it wasn’t a good idea. But she put the disappointment aside. Zoe had made sacrifices for her and this was something her beloved partner wanted badly.

“I’m really looking forward to this Saturday.” Zoe looked up only to find a pained expression on Eva’s face. “Hey, am I hurting you?”

“No, no,” Eva said and smiled. “Uh…Zoe .. about Saturday.”

“Don’t tell me you forgot to book it?”

“No, I never forget our anniversary, love,” Eva replied, feeling a little put out that Zoe would ever consider she’d forget their anniversary or Zoe’s birthday. “We can’t go this Saturday.”

Zoe hitched herself up and leaned on her elbow. “Why?”

“Hester and I are meeting the Turkish Ambassador for dinner.” Eva rushed through her explanation and hoped Zoe was going to understand that with her new job came extra responsibilities.

“So we won’t have dinner on Saturday?”

“We will, Zo, it’s just going to be a little late and not at the Hydro Majestic.”

“Okay,” Zoe mumbled and lay back down. Eva’s eyebrows went up in total surprise.

“You’re not mad?”

“No. I’ll have dinner ready by the time you come home and then we can have our anniversary,” Zoe replied. She would prepare a special dinner herself and have everything ready.

“I love you, Zo,” Eva scooped the young woman in her arms and kissed her gently.

“Hmm, that was nice,” Zoe grinned caressing Eva’s cheek. “So do you think we can try and have a baby on Saturday?”

They lay together listening to the distant thunder and the rain. Zoe looked up and saw a smile on Eva’s lips, her eyes closed. Zoe then remembered that it was Eva’s first day at her new job.

“My day sucked lemons. So how was your first day?” Zoe said brightly. She was feeling much better after the horrid end to the day and having Eva hold her always made her feel safe.

“Hmm, apart from Hester telling me Saturday was out, Paula is out to make trouble for me.”

“You know I wonder if she just doesn’t need to have a good roll in the hay…”

“Zoe!” Eva wasn’t surprised at Zoe’s suggestion since she had thought about telling the older woman the exact same thing.

“As if you didn’t think about it.”

“No, love, I doubt I would be rolling in the hay with her!” Eva joked getting a laugh out of her younger partner. “Although there is this nice girl in the mail room who asked me out to dinner.”

“Really?” Zoe turned her head a little and gave Eva a grin. “What does she look like?”

“She’s tall, blonde and has blue eyes.”

“You noticed her eyes?” Zoe asked a little surprised since Eva never noticed anything unless it was pointed out.

“Well we were standing really close, Zo. It was a bit hard to miss them,” Eva replied knowing Zoe trusted her completely and their banter was in jest.

“Uh huh. What was Miss Leggy with the blue eyes doing at the time?”

“Running into my shins with a mail cart,” Eva replied with a grin. “Emily was delivering mail and I crashed into her.”

“Hmm, well Miss Leggy had better watch out,” Zoe grumbled

Eva got up and pulled Zoe towards her, rolling on top, mindful of not hurting Zoe’s shoulder. She stretched the length of her body out alongside the young woman and caressed Zoe’s cheek with the back of her hand. “There’s only one woman for me.” Eva smiled, reaching down and captured her wife’s lips. The young woman moaned into Eva’s mouth at the gentleness of the kiss.

*

A gentle knocking woke Eva from her sleep. She lifted her head to check the clock and saw it was only 8:00 pm. Zoe was asleep curled up against her. Her reddish-brown hair disheveled. ‘She looks so young’, Eva thought to herself. Leaning down, Eva gave her partner a gentle kiss before getting out of bed to answer the door. She stood at the threshold and watched the young woman sleep for a few moments before putting on her robe and padding out to the front door.

Earl and Pat stood outside and greeted Eva with a kiss on the cheek before coming inside. Eva had called them earlier and asked them to come over for a few moment, she had a favor to ask.

“Hey, where’s Zoe?” Earl asked.

“She’s asleep, so lower your voice,” Eva said quietly and led the men inside to the living room.

“Is she sick?”

“She got hurt yesterday and I don’t want her to wake up,” Eva explained. She took a seat opposite the two men.

“What happened?” Earl was upset. He loved Zoe like a sister and he was quite protective.

“She crashed Mabel after her boss fired her for what I did to Henderson…”

“Since when is it a crime to dress up like you did?”

“It wasn’t that. Henderson wanted to press charges against me for assault. Then the director fired her.”

“What? That mallarka!” Earl shouted and was glared at by Eva for his use of a Greek swear word.

“Where did you pick that up from?”

“Zoe taught me,” Earl replied, scowling angrily. “I’m going to go over there tomorrow and pound his puny little head…”

“No, Earl. That won’t solve anything.” Eva put her hands on the man’s chest and pushed him down. “But if you don’t mind Zoe has a couple of art pieces that she left. Can you go and take them?”

“Absolutely,” Pat replied. “Where are they?”

“Two of the pieces are in the new artist’s gallery to be sold. I don’t want them sold.” Eva went over to a small desk at the corner and removed some money. “I don’t care how much it costs, just buy them back.”

Eva handed the money over to Earl who whistled at the amount he held in his hand. Eva had received the money as a bonus for her work during their trip to Europe and didn’t have any hesitation in using it to get Zoe’s artwork back.

“There are another two that Zoe was working on; take those from Henderson, as well. I don’t care how you do it but I want them back. They don’t deserve to have her work displayed.”

“Remind me not to get you mad, Eva,” Earl gently teased. “Where’s Mabel?”

“Out the back. She’s looking a bit rough at the moment.”

“I’ll fix her up and having her ready by tomorrow morning when Zoe wakes up,” Earl promised. He knew how much that antique motorbike meant to his young friend and he would work to the small hours to get it fixed, if needed. Earl opened the back door and left to inspect the motorcycle leaving Pat in the lounge room.

Eva cleared her throat and decided that it was the right moment to ask Pat something she never thought she would ever hear herself utter.

“Pat, um, remember how we talked about Zoe and I have a baby.”

“Yes?” Pat leaned forward and gave her a quizzical look. “With that syringe thing.”

“Yeah, um, I don’t think that’s going to work,” Eva told him and felt a little bashful. “But Zoe really wants to have a baby and…”

At that moment Earl came back inside to find his friend looking very flushed and his lover looking very surprised. “What’s going on?”

Eva sighed and decided that she wasn’t going to get far if she was shy about this. “Zoe wants to have a baby.”

“Yeah, we know that,” Earl sat down next to his lover.

“I don’t think the syringe is going to work.”

“Oh,” both men said in unison.

“What to give ..the other a try?”

Eva didn’t want to give anything a try. “No, I don’t think so.”

“So the baby thing is off?”

“Um, no,” Eva stammered and tugged on her ear in embarrassment. “You and Zoe…”

“Oh!” Pat finally got the message and looked at Earl. “Um.”

“It is Zoe, and she really wants to have a baby,” Earl replied and looked at his lover. “What do you want to do?”

Pat was uncertain but these were his friends. “Can we discuss this and tell you tomorrow?” he asked Eva.

“Absolutely, I wasn’t expecting an answer tonight,”

“Wow! This has been some evening.” Earl exhaled and ran his hand through his blond hair. “Zoe isn’t hurt too badly is she?”

“She’s got some really bad bruising and I’m taking her to the doctor tomorrow.” Eva clasped his shoulder. “Thanks for thinking about this.”

Eva saw the two men out, Earl going around the back of the house and coming back with the motorbike and Pat with the sidecar. She waved them goodnight and turned off the outside light. After closing the door, she made her way back into the bedroom. Zoe was still asleep, curled around Eva’s pillow.

Eva took off her robe and quietly tried to go back to bed. Zoe stirred and turned, sleepy green eyes opened. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, love,” Eva said softly and kissed her before scooping her up and cuddling her. “Go to sleep.”

“Okay,” Zoe mumbled and snuggled against her taller partner.

Eva sighed and closed her eyes hoping that tomorrow was going to be easier than today. It had to be.

*

Freddy sat on the sofa with his wife. He was playing ‘tag’ with his unborn children. It was the strangest of games. He found if he placed a tiny toy on her belly, the twins would kick and the toy would go flying to the floor.

Elena had endured a half hour of kicking before she called a stop to it. It was driving her crazy.

“This is fun,” her husband told her only to get a very aggrieved look.

“Not from this end it’s not.”

He smiled and went back to massaging her tired legs. They were nearly there and Elena’s pregnancy was in the final stages. He loved his wife a great deal but lately she was starting to become a little too annoyed with him, which he wasn’t enjoying. He was told at work that it was normal for a woman to go through these moods.

“So how was work?”

Freddy sat quietly for a moment. “You remember Peter and Alana?”

“Oh sure, Alana had those cute little girls,” Elena replied. They were gorgeous children who must have been the most well behaved children she had ever met.

“They died last night,” Freddy told her. It came as such a shock around the office that their colleague and friend had lost control of his car and the resulting collision had taken both his and his wife’s lives. Peter was a young man in his thirties and his wife was a couple years younger than him. “It was an accident on Jefferson Road.”

“Oh my God! What about the children?”

“They were at her mother’s place,” Freddy replied.

“Oh that is so terrible,” Elena took his hand and held it for a long time. “The poor children.”

“Hmm,” Freddy nodded. “They are lucky, sort of.”

“How? I don’t see it as being lucky.”

“Well they have their grandmother to take care of them,” Freddy reminded her. “It’s not as if they are alone.”

“Hmm, that’s true.”

“Ellie, I’ve been thinking,” Freddy came around and sat opposite his wife, taking her hands in his own. “I know this is a little morbid, but I think we should think about this,” he continued. “We don’t have anyone. I mean we don’t have any blood family and what would happen to Daniel and these little ones,” he put his hand on his wife’s belly, “if something happens to us?”

“Nothing will happen to us, sweetheart,” Elena tried to reassure her husband. She had seen him in many moods but this was the first time she had seen him scared. It was very unsettling for her.

“But what if something does?”

“I don’t know, Fredrich.”

“Peter and Alana have blood relatives to take care of their girls but we don’t and I started to think about it today.” Freddy took his wife’s hands and squeeze them gently. “I think we need to appoint legal guardians for our babies.”

“What does that mean?”

This was an area Fredrich knew a great deal about being a lawyer. He was on solid ground where the law was concerned, even though he felt very insecure in other areas of his life. “Well, you can legally name a person or persons guardians of any minor children in the event that the parents are no longer alive.”

“What happens if one of us is alive?”

“Well then the guardian doesn’t do anything. I think this is a good idea, Ellie. I know it is.” Friedrich urged his wife to see the logic. He didn’t want to leave his children as wards of the state and the fear that it might happen was making him ill.

“Who did you have in mind?”

“I don’t know. We’d have to choose someone who will want to look after our babies, and to bring them up as their own.”

Elena sighed. “You have thought about this, haven’t you?”

“All day,” her husband replied. “I really want to do this.”

“How do you do it?”

“It’s like a contract,” Friedrich explained, simplifying the legalities. “They agree to become guardians, it gets witnessed by a judge and it’s like insurance.”

“I have an idea,” Elena smiled at her husband. “How about we ask the Zoe and Eva?”

Friedrich smiled. “You think they will want to do it?”

“They adore AJ and he loves them,” Elena explained. “I think it’s a great idea.”

Friedrich took a moment and thought about his wife’s suggestion. It was the perfect choice; Zoe and Eva were dear friends who were more like family. Albert, their oldest son, loved them and he was sure it would be the same with the twins. The only likely hitch would be if the women declined their request, but he hoped they would accept. It would put his mind at ease and let him enjoy the upcoming arrival of the twins without worrying about their future.

“Let’s go and ask them!”

Elena rolled her eyes and held up her watch which read 11:00 pm. “I don’t think so. They are probably in bed by now.”

“Tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” his wife replied. “I’m not sure why you’re in such a hurry.”

“I just want to make sure our children are taken care of,” Friedrich replied and got off the sofa. He took Elena’s hands and pulled her up. He switched off the light and slowly walked to their bedroom. He was very satisfied with the solution; it was the perfect answer to his dilemma.

Chapter 10

ZOE STIRRED AND WINCED as the soreness in her body made itself known. She grimaced and opened her eyes, blinking against the light that streamed in from the window. Eva wasn’t in bed with her, which made her even more unhappy. She was sore all over; her shoulder had stiffened up and her legs felt like lead. As she lay in bed trying to decide whether she wanted to get up, the door opened slightly and Eva walked in with a tray.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” Eva greeted her. She put the tray down and went over to her scowling partner. Kneeling beside the bed, she smiled, leaned in, and kissed her softly. “How are you feeling?”

“I feel like Mabel ran over me,” Zoe grumbled. “You made breakfast?”

“Sure did,” Eva said. “Porridge.”

Zoe stared at Eva in disbelief. Not that Eva had made her breakfast. That she was used to but that Eva chose to make one of the foods she despised to even look at. “YOU made porridge?”

“For you, not for me,” Eva grinned.

“Who are you and what have you done with my Evy?” Zoe teased the older woman. The mere smell of it sent Eva out of the room and for some odd reason, Eva nearly choked when she even saw it. Zoe, out of deference to Eva’s dislike and the fact that she would be eating breakfast alone, chose not to eat it.

Eva helped her sit up and stole another kiss. She laid the tray in front of her, the bowl of porridge neatly sitting in the center, two pieces of toast with vegemite on one side and a steaming cup of tea on the other. Zoe was amused that Eva didn’t focus on the bowl containing her porridge.

“You want some vegemite?”

Eva shook her head and stretched out next to Zoe trying not to smell the porridge or look at the vegemite. She thought if she breathed in through her mouth she wouldn’t smell either of them. “I want to take you to Dr. Pappas.”

“Why? Evy, you know there is nothing wrong with me. I just fell off my bike,” Zoe asked hoping that she wasn’t going to get a visit to the doctor. She didn’t want to go anywhere, just to sit at home. “My shoulder is a bit stiff, but it’s okay.”

“Humor me, Zoe.” Eva knew that Zoe hated doctors, dentists, and hospitals, and it was a chore to get her to go. Eva had finally found a doctor Zoe liked, an older woman who cared for the health needs of the Greek community in the North Shore of Sydney.

“But you have to go to work, don’t you?” Zoe asked hoping Eva would remember that this was her second day and taking a day off wouldn’t make a great impression.

Eva grinned and tweaked her partner’s nose. “I called Debbie to say I would be later than usual.”

“Oh,” Zoe said and took a slice of toast and chewed it. “I can’t convince you that going to the doctor isn’t a good idea?”

“No,” Eva shook her head.

Zoe exhaled and then winced a little. “Remind me never to speed,” she muttered as Eva stretched out next to her and snagged a piece of toast, without the vegemite on it. “Want a piece of toast?”

Eva grinned and chomped on the toast. “Earl and Pat came over yesterday,” she said as she munched.

“Yeah?”

“Hmm, um, I asked Pat about the baby thing,” Eva mumbled not meeting Zoe’s gaze. She wasn’t going to pretend that she liked the idea, she hated it.

Zoe watched her partner carefully and ran her fingers through the dark hair. “Evy, if there was another way, I would do it.”

“I know,” Eva murmured

“What did Patty say?”

“He wanted to talk to Earl about it and he will tell us today,” Eva replied secretly hoping Pat wouldn’t go ahead with it.

“Evy,” Zoe lifted Eva’s chin with her fingers and met her partner’s eyes. “It won’t mean anything.”

Eva attempted a smile but wasn’t exactly all that successful. “It would to me, Zoe.”

“I know but this is the only way we can have a baby.”

“I know,” Eva turned away and got out of bed. “I have to get ready for work,” she mumbled and walked out of the bedroom to run a bath for herself.

Eva stopped outside the bedroom and looked back at the closed door. She stood there for a moment before heading to the bathroom. She turned on the water and watched it absentmindedly as her thoughts were centered on Zoe’s decision.

She took off her pajamas and slid into the water, letting the warm water soothe her tense muscles. The whole issue of whether to have a baby or not, how they were going to do it, when they were going to do it and a multitude of other questions whirled around in her head.

Was she being selfish in not showing support for Zoe’s decision? Was it right for her to voice her opposition? She didn’t know the answers to those questions. What Eva was certain about was that she didn’t want Zoe to be with a man, even if it was Pat. That mental image of Zoe and Pat in their bed made her angry.

“Bah,” Eva punched the water sending it splattering everywhere.

Zoe sighed and let her head drop down in contemplation of what her desire for children was doing to her partner. She didn’t want to hurt Eva but she needed this for herself. It was selfish but if she didn’t do this, they wouldn’t have children. She rested against the headrest and wondered what she was going to do. She lost all track of time as the problem occupied her mind. It wasn’t until she heard the bathtub draining that she realized she had to get up.

“Ugh,” Zoe exclaimed as she gingerly rolled and sat at the edge of the bed, letting her feet dangle over the edge. Zoe spotted Pat’s leather jacket and dark pants neatly folded near the dresser. She didn’t like the way Eva had walked out and wanted a way to cheer her up.

The image of Eva in that outfit had her heart galloping a mile a minute. She grinned to herself and got up, retrieved the pants and the jacket. She put on one of Eva’s shirts, which was way too big for her.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Zoe put on Eva’s black pants and had to laugh. The pants leg was way too long, reminding her of when she used to try on her mother’s clothes when she was younger. With one hand she struggled to keep the pants up and with the other she grabbed the jacket. Realizing she couldn’t put on the jacket without both her hands, she let go of the pants, which promptly fell down around her ankles. She looked down and shrugged.

“Oh, yeah, that’s a good look,” Zoe said out loud to her image in the mirror. She winced a little as she put the jacket on, then pulled the pants up again. Zoe gave her mirror image a wink and opened the door to go and find Eva.

Eva was on her way back in the bedroom, wrapped in a towel when she spotted Zoe. “Zoe, I’ve been thin—” Eva stopped mid-sentence. Her eyebrows went way in total surprise.

“What do you think?” Zoe did a quick spin, stopped to hitch the pants up a bit, and then did another turn.

Eva’s face creased into a huge grin and then she burst into laughter at the sight before her. Zoe grinned as she leaned against the door-frame watching Eva wipe away tears. “I guess I don’t make an intimidating Butch Zoe, huh?”

Eva came over and put her arms around her waist, looking down into twinkling emerald eyes. “You don’t need leather to be intimidating, Zo,” she said quietly and leaned down to kiss her partner. “But if you ever want to be intimidating, I suggest getting pants that fit,” Eva chuckled as she pulled up the trousers. After a moment, Eva’s expression became serious. “Zoe, I was doing a little bit of thinking,” she said as she looked down into her partner’s eyes.

“What were you thinking about?”

Eva sighed. “I don’t want to see you with anyone else.”

“I won’t be with anyone else, Evy, you know that. I would never cheat on you,” Zoe tried to reassure her but it didn’t look like she was convincing her spouse.

“You will be with Pat,” Eva mumbled. “But, if you were to have a baby, I would prefer to know that it was Pat rather than anyone else,” Eva quickly said and then stopped when Zoe’s eyebrows went up in surprise.

“Evy, I’m sure I would be jealous as well.”

“I’m not jealous,” Eva replied and knowing as soon as the words left her mouth that she was jealous. “Well maybe a bit.”

“I don’t want to do it, Evy, and believe me the syringe idea sounds even less appealing to me,” Zoe told her taking her hands and holding them close to her heart. “The idea of having sex with Pat is just icky for me, but that’s the only way.”

“I know,” Eva nodded. “Can I ask something of you?”

“Absolutely.”

“Please don’t do anything in our bed.” Eva half smiled and looked away feeling quite self conscious.

Zoe shook her head. “Evy, do you think I would do that?”

“No, but I wanted to tell you that,” Eva whispered.

“I love you, Evy, and believe me I won’t do anything to make you feel that you need to worry,” Zoe promised and hugged her unsettled partner. To her surprise Eva tears began to track down her cheeks. Reaching up, the younger woman brushed the tears away.

*

Zoe was feeling a little better and tried to convince Eva to forgo the doctor’s visit but Eva wasn’t going to be discouraged. They saw the doctor who made disapproving noises at Zoe for her riding skills or lack of them. She had seen the young woman too many times over the last four years—every time that Zoe had fallen off that motorcycle.

By the time they had left the doctor’s office, Zoe had received a stern lecture on taking care of herself. Zoe suspected Eva had had the doctor’s ear before they arrived and this was set up for her benefit.

“Wow!” Zoe looked up at the red brick building which housed the Foreign Affairs department. Eva hadn’t wanted to leave Zoe by herself, and she decided to use the opportunity to show her the new office. People were milling about the lobby as the two women entered. They got into the lift with six more people. As Zoe gazed up at the businessmen in their striped suits, she felt out of place in her casual clothes.

The lift doors opened and they exited. Eva rolled her eyes when she saw Emily coming towards her.

“Oh, Miss Haralambos, how lovely to see you this morning,” Emily gushed.

“Morning, Emily.”

Zoe looked up at the tall blond woman and grimaced. She didn’t like this Emily person and the way she was looking at her partner. It was time to show this upstart who belonged to whom. Zoe put her hand on Eva’s back in a subtle gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Eva, who turned a smile on her.

“Emily, this is Zoe Haralambos. Zoe, this is Emily.”

“Ah, the cart crasher,” Zoe gave Emily a half smile and shook her head.

Emily giggled. “Yeah, that was a really crazy accident, but I met you so it was fortuitous, don’t you think?”

Eva wondered if Emily was totally clueless. She wasn’t sure how the blond could miss the possessive stance her young partner had taken. If that didn’t signal “this is my woman,” Eva didn’t know what would.

“I have to get going.” Emily pushed the mail cart down the corridor.

Zoe snorted and glared at the other woman’s retreating back. “Do they allow blind people to push dangerous carts around?”

Eva looked down at her partner and shook her head at the jealous streak that was out in full force. ‘It must be the day for the green-eyed monster to rear her head,’ Eva thought to herself. She steered her still scowling wife through the door to her office to be greeted by Debbie. Eva was relieved that Paula wasn’t in the office; in the mood she was in, she was bound to explode at the stupid woman.

“Well, if it isn’t the globe-trotting artist gracing us with her presence!” Debbie bowed low at Zoe’s feet, which earned her a cuff across the ear.

“You’re a nut,” Zoe told her and embraced her.

“Speaking of nuts, go and see what’s in your office,” Debbie told her boss.

“Why don’t I like the sound of that?” Eva opened the door and stood in amazement at the sight before her. Zoe came around her and whistled.

Sitting on her desk was the biggest bouquet of flowers Eva had ever seen. Zoe looked at it for a moment before walking up to the desk and pulling the card out, handing it to Eva.

“Can I safely say they are not from you?” Eva asked Zoe who shook her head.

“You can safely say that,” Zoe replied and took a seat, picking one of the flowers and giving it a sniff.

Eva opened the card and as she read it, her face creased into a huge grin. She handed the card to Zoe, who looked at it and started to chuckle.

“Share the joke, ladies.” Debbie said.

“‘To our dearest friend, congratulations on the new job! Love, Earl and Pat’,” Zoe read aloud. Thrilled by the way their friends had congratulated Eva on her new job, she made a mental note to thank the boys when she got home.

“Isn’t that sweet! I love that big guy. He hasn’t decided to jump ship, has he?” Debbie asked, knowing what the answer would be but hoping nonetheless. It was a huge disappointment and a shock to Debbie to find out that Earl was a homosexual. When she had first met the tall man, she thought Eva and Earl were together. That was until she caught Eva and Zoe dancing together in Eva’s office. “Ah, before I forget, I have something from your girlfriend Emily…”

Eva gave Debbie a scowl. “She isn’t my girlfriend.”

“Well, boss, latest rumor I’ve heard is that you went to dinner with her last night.”

“WHAT? ” Eva yelled. “I was at home.”

Debbie grinned and started to laugh. “I do believe that’s called a joke,” she told her boss who glared at her.

“That’s not funny,” Eva grumbled and walked away to the other office leaving the two women gaping at her retreating form.

Debbie stood there open mouthed at Eva’s reaction. That wasn’t what she was expecting and she looked at Zoe in puzzlement. “What’s with her?” she whispered.

“Kid gloves today, Deb,” Zoe patted her on the shoulder and went after her partner who was sorting through some files in the outer office.

“Evy,” Zoe put her hand on Eva’s back. “That was a joke.”

“I know, I didn’t like it,” Eva turned away from Zoe and went back into her office. Debbie decided this was a good time to leave the two women alone. Whatever the problem was, she wasn’t going to be involved.

*

“Okay, what’s the plan?” Pat sat in the old beat-up Holden that passed for a car.

“I’ll go in and buy the artwork and bring it out here, and then you can do your thing,” Earl replied, checking his tie. He scrubbed up pretty well, he thought to himself.

“Go get ‘em.” Pat leaned across and kissed Earl for good luck. The big man grinned and got out of the car, took a deep breath, and walked towards the entrance to the art gallery. As he entered he found a few people walked around looking at the artwork. One couple stood in front of one of Zoe’s paintings and gazed at it like they were in some sort of haze. Earl slowly walked over and listened in on the conversation.

“Zoe H? I’ve never heard of her before,” the woman sniffed. “What kind of name is Zoe H?”

“What kind of name is Picasso, darling, but look at what he’s done,” her companion replied, taking a step closer to the artwork.

“I don’t like Picasso.”

“He will be worth thousands of pounds, darling, in years to come. You never know, this Zoe H may be worth thousands…”

“No, I don’t think so.”

Earl shook his head a bit. Zoe’s Dee Why Beach at Sunset was glorious. The sun was setting, casting a red/pink glow on the beach; the waters lapped at the shore and a woman in silhouette watching the sun as it set. Earl smiled, for he knew that the silhouette belonged to Eva—the set of her shoulders, the bearing. I wouldn’t mind buying it myself.

The two women went on about the brushwork and the lighting, which bored Earl, and he was happy when they decided to move on. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed a rotund little man coming towards him. “Show time,” Earl said to himself.

“Hello, I’m Amery Henderson. What can I do for you today?”

‘Let me insert my foot in your bum,’ Earl thought to himself, and then turned to smile at Henderson. “I would like to buy Dee Why Beach At Sunset.”

Henderson’s eyes lit up. “Yes, that is a beautiful painting.”

“Have you got any more artwork by that artist?”

“Yes, we do, and a couple that haven’t been completed. She was finishing them off.”

“She works here?”

“She used to. I’m afraid she wasn’t all that nice; talented artist but her manners needed improvement. You know how artists are so high strung,” Henderson waved his hands about. Earl scowled down at the little man and restrained himself from picking him up and throwing him across the room.

“Yes, well, can I see them?”

Henderson rubbed his hands together gleefully as he scrambled away. Earl rolled his eyes and sighed, wondering how Zoe had put up with him for so long.

Henderson returned with two pieces, which he set them for Earl to have a look. Earl smiled at the one called Early Morning Mist, thinking that it must be the view from the Hydro Majestic that Zoe loved so much. The mountains were shrouded in a fog with the sun just peaking over the ranges. It was a beautiful piece.

“Yes, I’ll take all of them.” Earl nodded his head. Henderson’s eyes went wide as he took the money. Earl wondered if Henderson was going to dance a little jig because of the sale.

*

Pat had waited patiently in the car for Earl and was relieved to see him exit the gallery with the artwork. Henderson followed, helping him carry everything out. Thinking quickly, Pat crouched down in the front seat.

Earl opened the trunk of the car and placed the paintings gently down, covering them with a blanket to protect them. He thanked Henderson and waved as the man left, feeling quite pleased that he had sold so many paintings in one afternoon.

“Have you got everything?” Pat asked getting out of the car.

“Yes, sure have. He was thrilled to have sold them.”

“Hmm.” Pat put his sunglasses on and straightened his jacket. “Let’s go see how that little bloke squirms, huh?”

“Go get him, Patty.” Earl watched his partner walk towards the entrance. “Hey, Pat!”

Pat turned around. “Yeah?”

“Wash your mouth out with soap afterwards, please,” Earl joked and got a grimace from his friend.

When Pat entered the gallery he put up the collar of his jacket. “Hey, Amery, where are you?”

Rachel sat up in her seat, her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs. “Can I help you, sir?”

“Yep, sure can. I want to see Amery Henderson; he does work here, right?”

“Yes, Mr. Henderson does work here, but …” Before the young woman could go in search of her boss, Henderson came out of the storeroom holding a blank canvas.

Pat closed his eyes and sighed. Whatever had possessed him to think of this idea he didn’t

know, but he hated the way Zoe had been treated. He wanted to get back at the boofhead who had made her life difficult.

“Amery, darling!” Pat exclaimed loudly. He walked up to Henderson, his hips swinging exaggeratedly from side to side.

Henderson stopped in surprise, the canvas slipping from his fingers and dropped to the floor. “Yyyess?”

“Don’t you remember me, Sweetness?”

“Ah…no,” Henderson stammered. The whole room turned to watch the two men. Rachel forgot her paperwork and just stared open-mouthed at her boss.

“Oh, come on! The name is Pat and you were at Albert’s fabulous party last week! How could you forget that?” Pat swung his arms in the air and giggled. “You sure made me a happy boy, Amery, Sweetheart!”

“What is the meaning of this?” Henderson found his voice and looked up into mischievous blue eyes. They reminded him of someone, but he wasn’t sure whom. “I don’t know you!”

“Oh, come on, Ameeee, sure you do! I sure remember you!” Pat put his arms around the man and leaned down, taking him in his arms and kissing him soundly on the mouth.

“Holy mother of God,” Rachel said.

“Mr. Henderson! What is going on?” Stacy’s voice boomed from the stairs.

Pat broke off the kiss and barely managed to keep from spitting. He cupped Henderson’s face with both hands and said in a loud voice, “I have to leave, you hot thing, but come over to my place and we will continue!” Giving the totally shocked man a wave, he bounded out of the gallery.

“Uh…” Henderson turned to the scowling director, who looked at him with disgust. “Uh…”

“In my office, now,” Stacy bellowed and turned.

Henderson stared out the gallery door in disbelief.

*

“Blech! I need a drink!” Pat took the bottle of beer that Earl held out to him. He drank a sip, rinsed his mouth, and spat the liquid out on the sidewalk. He repeated the procedure a few more times before getting into the car. “God, that was the most disgusting thing I’ve ever done.”

“I was watching, darling,” Earl said, impressed by the way Pat had totally confused and embarrassed Henderson. If he hadn’t been a little jealous of the kiss he would have laughed himself silly.

“You know I would never do that if it weren’t for Zoe.” Pat took another drink. “Yuck! Give me a cigarette, I need to get the taste out of my mouth!”

“Thank you, Pat,” Earl said as he put his arms around his partner. “Hey, I’m better than a cigarette and much sweeter!” He turned Pat towards him and kissed him, tasting the beer on his lips.

“Hmm, much better. Let’s go home.”

Chapter 11

EVA WAS FEELING UTTERLY DUMB about the way she had acted. She’d sulked in her office and Zoe hadn’t tried to talk to her about how she was behaving. It was a good move on Zoe’s part because it allowed Eva to realize that Debbie had been joking and she had overreacted.

As she drove through the afternoon peak-hour traffic, Eva glanced at Zoe, who sat with her eyes closed. She looked incredibly fragile and very tired, and all Eva wanted to do was get home and hold her and more importantly, apologize. She hoped that the boys had bought Zoe’s artwork so she could surprise her with it and somehow erase the bad day. “Are you okay, love?”

Zoe opened her eyes and blinked. “Uh, yeah. I’m just tired.”

“Won’t be long until we get home. Is the shoulder hurting?”

“Yeah,” Zoe replied wearily. “I think I’ll have an early night.” She shifted to her right and snuggled up against her partner. “How are you doing?”

Eva glanced at Zoe and shrugged. “I acted like a grouch,” she said sheepishly

“Yeah, you did,” Zoe replied and left it at that. Zoe rested her head on Eva’s shoulder as the tall woman drove them home.

Eva brought the car around the corner and to their driveway. Her smile broadened when she caught sight of the freshly painted motorcycle parked in its normal position. She made a mental note to thank her friend. “Zo, have a look what’s in our driveway.”

“Huh?” Zoe opened her eyes and gazed up at her partner, turning to look where Eva was pointing outside. A tired but happy smile creased her face as she got out of the car to inspect the motorcycle.

Eva leaned against the car door watching Zoe with a smile of her own. As much as she hated that motorcycle, she knew Zoe loved it. She would just have to deal with the anxiety it caused every time Zoe fell off and hurt herself.

“Did you do this?”

Eva shook her head. “Earl,” she explained.

At the mention of his name, the big man came out of the house and leaned over the railing. “Hey, Zoe! I thought Mabel could use a new paint job.” Earl met Eva’s eyes and nodded.

Zoe’s tiredness seemed to evaporate as she bounded up the steps to give Earl a bear hug. “Thank you, Wiggy,” she exclaimed. “Come down here! I want to give you a kiss!”

“Hey, I won’t say no to a kiss from a beautiful woman.” Earl picked up Zoe as if she was a doll, giving her a kiss on the cheek and getting one himself. “I would do anything for you, mate, you know that.”

Eva came up the steps to be met by Zoe and her best friend in an embrace. “Thank you, Earl.”

“No worries,” Earl replied, giving Eva a kiss on the cheek. “So, how was work, boss lady?”

“Don’t ask.” Eva looked at Zoe who smiled at her.

“Mine was good, Pat’s was horrendous.” Earl chuckled.

“Eva!” Zoe’s voice came from the living room.

“I think she found them,” Earl said as he followed Eva inside.

“Yes, Zoe?” Eva replied, putting her briefcase down. The paintings were all around the living room. “Nice artwork.”

Zoe turned to her partner. “You bought them back?”

“Yeah, I didn’t want those idiots to have them.” Eva was caught off-balance as Zoe rushed her in a bear hug, causing both of them to fall over onto the sofa. Eva lay on her back grinning as her spouse showered her with kisses.

“Man, that is some thank you,” Pat said, watching the pair from the kitchen.

“Hi, Pat!” Eva waved.

“You know, you two should really take that to the bedroom!” Earl teased.

Zoe sat up and grimaced. “My shoulder hurts.” Zoe gently rubbed the sore joint.

Eva got up from the sofa and put her arms around her spouse. “Why don’t you go and have a bath and I’ll make some dinner, okay?” She gave Zoe a kiss.

“Don’t worry about dinner, Eva. I’ve got it covered,” Pat told her. “Dinner for two is ready.”

“Thank you.” Eva went over to Pat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She was joined by Zoe who put her arm around her partner’s waist.

The four friends looked at each other for a moment and there was an awkward silence. “Well how about this weather?” Earl chuckled.

“This is a little uncomfortable isn’t it?” Pat remarked as he sat down on the sofa and clasped his hands in front of him hoping Earl would say something. Earl waited for Pat to start and now they both waited. Pat gave his partner a scowl before saying, “Earl and I discussed it last night and if it would help, then we’re … agreeable.”

“Oh,” Eva said disappointed with the decision. She couldn’t hide her disappointment from Zoe but she tried valiantly not to show it to the two men.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner, since you made it?” Eva asked hoping to mask her feelings and act normally.

“Nah, Zoe needs a quiet night. We can fill you on our little excursion tomorrow,” Pat replied. “We can discuss things later, okay?”

“Sure,” Zoe smiled and saw the two men to the door.

Eva had disappeared into their bedroom where she stood at the window, looking out to sea. She was acting like a spoilt child and she knew it but she just couldn’t accept that her partner would be prepared to sleep with a man. It pained her.

“Evy,” Zoe called out to her and came up from behind, putting her arms around the tall woman. “Are you okay?”

Eva shook her head. “I should be asking you that, not the other way around,” she said not wanting to turn around in case she broke down in tears again.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Eva shook her head. “Not right now,” she said quietly.

“Let’s sleep on it?”

The tall woman nodded and then turned to find Zoe gazing up at her. “I’m sorry, love, I just…”

“I know, it’s my fault. I sprung on you yesterday and it wasn’t fair,” Zoe admitted. She knew from experience that Eva hated surprises and her decision was the worst kind of surprise. Zoe took her partner’s hand and led her to the bed where they both lay down in each other’s arms.

*

Zoe sighed. She was feeling restless. It was very early in the morning, too early to wake Eva or get out of bed, so she lay there looking up at the ceiling. She turned to face her partner who was sleeping soundly on her back, her face slightly turned towards her. Zoe smiled at the look of innocence Eva had on her face.

Her eyes traveled down to the pendant Eva wore even in bed. Zoe had given it to her partner for Eva’s thirtieth birthday, which had been even better because they were in Greece. Zoe leaned over and kissed the sleeping woman lightly on the cheek. There had been a lot of special moments in their lives. She didn’t know whether all couples were like this, but if they were then the world was full of very happy, contented people. They did things that they knew would please the other, and Zoe clearly remembered one such incident, her twenty-first birthday, a special event in anyone’s life, but it had made even more special by Eva.

The day had not started off very well. It was raining, cool and windy. Eva had overslept, which was rare, even though Zoe had tried very hard to get her up in time. Eva, running late, barely had time to kiss Zoe before she rushed out of the house.

Zoe watched from the door in total amazement, astounded that the one person who mattered most in her life had forgotten her birthday. She sighed and walked back inside.

“Evy didn’t forget my graduation and she forgets my birthday?” Zoe muttered to herself as she went about cleaning the house. She waited anxiously for a phone call from Eva all day. It never came.

By afternoon she was super cranky. Her best friend Elena came over and invited her to a late afternoon brunch, but she didn’t say a word about Zoe’s birthday either. Zoe was beginning to think that she was the one who had the date wrong.

As they headed home, Zoe felt miserable that her wife and one of her best friends would forget her birthday. Opening the door to her house, she got the surprise of her life when Earl blasted her with a car horn and everyone yelled “Surprise!” Standing in front of their friends was a grinning Eva with a party hat on her head and a smile that lit up her eyes.

“Happy Birthday, Zoe!” everyone screamed out. All her friends were there—Earl, Pat, Elena and Friederich; everyone that was ‘family’. They strung up a huge banner in the living room and Louie Armstrong sang in the background.

Eva came to her and put her arms around her. “Happy twenty-first birthday, love.” She leaned down and kissed her tenderly.

“Hey, take that to the bedroom, already!” Earl shouted, making everyone laugh.

Zoe turned and stuck out her tongue, then took Eva’s hand to take her to the bedroom. She would never forget the next thing that it happened. There was a knock on the door, which Zoe ignored, thinking that someone else closer to the door would open it.

“Hey, Zo, answer the door,” Eva said and walked into the kitchen. Zoe watched her with a puzzled look on her face. She was still trying to figure out what her wife was up to when she opened the door to find a middle-aged man standing outside. He was neatly dressed in a grey suit and his hair, a little sparse at the top, was neatly combed. Zoe recognized the man and stood there dumbfounded. His blue/grey eyes twinkled and a smile creased his face.

Zoe was paralyzed. She stood there holding the door open, not moving a muscle. Eva came up behind her. “I think we have company,” she whispered in her ear. “My gift to you, Zoe.”

Zoe turned to Eva open-mouthed. She couldn’t believe who was standing there and couldn’t believe Eva had pulled it off.

“Don’t you think we should let Sir Donald Bradman into the house, Zoe?” Her wife’s cricketing hero stood outside the door. Zoe loved the game, and the man that stood before them was her model for her batting. She spent hours listening to the radio when he was batting. For Zoe’s twentieth birthday, Eva had bought tickets to see the great man play in his last game. It had been an unparalleled moment in Zoe’s life.

“Uh..” Zoe stammered.

“Thank you for coming.” Eva shook the great man’s hand and laughed a little at Zoe, who was still looking a little overawed.

“Well, there’s something I don’t usually see - a speechless Zoe!” Earl’s voice boomed out and everyone joined in the laughter.

“Happy birthday, Zoe,” Sir Don said and kissed her on the cheek.

“Thank you!” Zoe turned to Eva and looked up into twinkling blue eyes. “You are something else.”

Eva just smiled, knowing the gift was very much appreciated. She was handed her camera and spent some time taking photos of the cricketing giant and her wife.

What happened next could only be described as Zoe’s greatest wish. Sir Don invited Zoe to a game of ‘hit and run’. They spent over an hour playing cricket in the backyard and Zoe was ecstatic. Occasionally she would look up to see a smiling Eva watching her on the veranda.

Zoe smiled at the memory. That was the key. They did things to please the other and as Zoe gazed at her sleeping partner she realized that having sex with Pat wasn’t right. She hadn’t been that certain to begin with, but she knew her overwhelming desire for children had clouded her judgment. She also knew that it would render Eva’s heart in two if she did it.

Zoe pulled down the sheet to gaze at her partner and chuckled when Eva pulled it back up. “You’re awake,” she whispered into Eva’s ear.

“No, I’m not. I’m asleep,” Eva mumbled.

“I love watching you sleep.”

The young woman snuggled up to her partner, her arm firmly around her wife’s bare waist. Eva shook her head. “What were you smiling about?”

“I thought you were asleep?”

“I peeked.” Eva felt a gentle slap on her belly.

“My twenty-first birthday gift,” Zoe replied and sighed.

“Oh, that was a good one. Elena called me to say that you were ready to blow a gasket.” Eva chuckled at the memory.

“I did thank you for that, didn’t I?” Zoe asked, knowing she had thanked Eva all night long and into the early hours of the morning.

“Uh-huh, I think I remember you thanking me…though I’m not quite sure.”

“Must be that old age thing again, huh?” Zoe laughed and tickled her partner. They twisted around the bed until finally Eva ended up on top, looking down into mischievous emerald eyes.

“I’m not going to do it,” Zoe told her and cupped her beloved spouse’s cheek.

“I don’t want to make you decide…”

“Be quiet,” Zoe put her fingers over Eva’s lips to quiet her. “In my moment of insanity, I let my wish for children override my better judgment. I would never do anything to hurt you, Evy, and if I went ahead with this, that’s what I would have done.”

“It would have hurt,” Eva confessed.

“I know it would have because if you had told me that you were going to do it like that, I would have lost my mind,” Zoe continued. “The sacrifice of your trust in me isn’t worth risking.”

“You wouldn’t have lost my trust, Zoe.”

Zoe closed her eyes momentarily and opened them again, sure in the knowledge that had she gone ahead with it, she would have killed the trust between them. “Evy, that’s not true,” she said as she placed her hand over her partner’s heart.

“I love you, Zoe,” Eva smiled. She leaned down and captured the young woman’s lips and kissed her passionately. “I will always love you.”

The two women embraced each other and traded kisses for a long time. Eva was beyond relieved at her partner’s decision.

“Evy, do you think we were destined to be together?” Zoe asked, caressing her partner’s cheek.

“I think so,” Eva replied. “I don’t know how else to explain how I ended up in Larissa at that time.”

“It was God’s plan,” Zoe said firmly. “I wish He would have done it sooner.”

Eva smiled. “How much sooner?”

Zoe smiled shyly and put her head on Eva’s chest, letting her fingers trace lazy eights on her partner’s bare belly.

“Zoe, how much sooner?” Eva repeated.

“I was reading a book the other day and it got me thinking.”

“I’m in trouble when you think, Zo.” Eva got a poke in the ribs for her comment. “What were you thinking?”

“I would have liked to be your first,” Zoe said quietly.

It was a thought that crossed Eva’s mind on occasion. She also wished the young woman in her arms could have been her first and last lover. “I would have liked that, but you were a little too young for me back then, Zo,” she teased.

“Well, why don’t we try this? You dream about the first time you made love …”

“Urgh…to Greta? You want me to remember that?”

“Oh, behave yourself!” Zoe chuckled. “You dream about the first time you made love, but this time I come into your dream and it’s me that makes love to you and not Greta.”

“Interesting.”

“Yeah, and forevermore, I’m the one you think of when you think back to that time.” Zoe sighed. She it was impossible, but it was nice to think about.

“Zoe.” Eva turned over and looked into her wife’s eyes. “It’s better this way.”

“Really? Why?”

“You get the improved…” Eva waggled her eyebrows, “and sexier model than the 17-year-old one.”

“Show me,” Zoe tweaked Eva’s dimpled chin, bringing her down for a passionate kiss. The kisses were starting to progress further when the door bell rang and both women groaned in frustration.

Eva sighed and got out of bed and put on her robe. “Don’t forget where we were.”

“I won’t,” Zoe told her as they both left the bedroom and went to the door. To their surprise Elena and Friedrich, who was holding AJ in his arms, stood outside. The two women looked at each other in surprise and showed their friends into the living room.

“You’re probably wondering what we are doing here so early,” Elena said with a smile and the two women nodded. “Friedrich couldn’t wait until later.”

“Okay,” Eva said and glanced at Zoe. “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Elena shook her head. “Friedrich and I wanted to ask you something,” Elena explained and when the women didn’t say anything she continued. “Friedrich.”

Freddy cleared his throat as he let AJ squirm out of his grasp. “Elena and I would like to ask you if you would consider being guardians for the children, in the event anything happened to us,” he quickly said trying to get everything out all in one go.

Eva stared at him for a long moment. “You want us to be godparents? I thought we already were?”

Elena shook her head. “No, Friedrich means that in the event we both are not around, legally you would be responsible for the children.”

Zoe looked at Eva and then back at her friends. “Is something going to happen to you two that we should know about?”

“No!” they both said in unison.

“Okay, what’s going on then?” Eva asked her friends.

“A couple we know had two little girls and they had an accident, leaving the two little girls orphans,” Friedrich explained. “They have a grandmother to take care of them,” he continued and looked at Elena.

“We consider you both as family and we wanted to make it legal, in case anything happened,” Elena continued and smiled. “I know it’s a huge responsibility but would you consider it?” The two women looked at each other.

Elena was now a little worried by the looks the two women had on their faces. “You don’t have to tell us now. Why don’t you talk about it and let us know later?”

“Um, yes, of course,” Eva stammered. She was overwhelmed with the news and wasn’t sure what to say. She was still in a fog when her friends left and she sat on the sofa.

“Well, that was interesting,” Zoe said as she sat next to Eva.

Eva turned to her partner and blinked. “Wow.”

*

Eva stood at the window, sipping her tea and watching the botanical gardens before her. The day before she had been feeling down and the new day had brought unexpected events. Zoe’s decision not to try and have a child had made her day, but Elena and Friedrich’s offer had thrown her for a loop or, as Zoe described it with a cricketing analogy, ‘a six’. What their friends were asking was a huge responsibility.

It didn’t take long, after the initial shock had worn off, for the decision to be made. Both decided to take the day to think about it some more before they made their final decision.

Eva’s thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door and Debbie appeared, looking extremely pleased with herself. “Hey, Eva, we have a delivery.”

“On a Saturday?” Eva asked.

“Special delivery.” Debbie motioned the man who stood behind her to enter. His face was hidden by the two dozen roses that he carried.

“Sign here, sweetheart,” he drawled as he waited for Eva to put her tea down. “That bloke of yours must have done something pretty horrible to feel so guilty,” the delivery man chuckled.

Eva smiled and thanked him.

Debbie escorted him out and came back to find Eva smiling and holding a rose. “So, does Zoe have any brothers?”

“She did, but I doubt they were this romantic.”

“That’s too bad. Gosh, Eva, they’re beautiful! It’s too bad you couldn’t have the time off.”

“Hmm,” Eva replied, sitting down at her desk. The flowers covered half of her workspace and she wondered how she was going to take them home without damaging any of the petals. “When is the meeting with the Turkish ambassador?”

“There’s been a change of plans.” Debbie winced when she saw Eva’s frown.

“What’s the change?”

“Instead of 5:00 p.m., it’s now 7:00 p.m. You’re meeting with his assistant at midday and then with the Minister at 2:00 pm.”

Eva swore in German under her breath and shook her head.

“Do I want to know what you just said?”

Eva lifted her eyes and met her friend’s smiling face. “No, better not.”

“Okay, boss,” Debbie chuckled and started to walk away.

“Debbie,” Eva called her back. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said. She owed Debbie a very big apology for the way she had behaved when her friend was only trying to be funny. Debbie stopped just as she reached the door and looked back.

“You don’t have to apologize,” Debbie told her and smiled.

“Yes I do,” Eva sat down and picked up her tea cup. “It wasn’t you. It was just something that I had to sort through,” she explained. ‘That’s the understatement of the century,’ Eva thought to herself. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re forgiven,” Debbie smiled and walked back to her desk, closing the door after her.

Eva smiled as she looked at the rose, then plucked the card to read the inscription

“The rose that I give you today will fade, and wilt away. But, the love tucked in deep inside remains in my heart forever.”

Love

Z

xxxoooxxx

“Love you too, Zo,” Eva whispered and kissed the card.

Chapter 12

“I DON’T BELIEVE IT, Zoe!”

Zoe turned with a resigned look on her face. “That’s the end of that job.”

“They are boofheads,” Elena growled. “How could they fire you!”

“Easy. It was either I stop living with Eva or my job,” Zoe replied and continued to set the table.

Enrico Caruso’s voice filled the house as Zoe set two gold candleholders, a gift from her friend Elena, on the table. She spread rose petals over the white linen tablecloth and turned to give her Elena a quirky little grin.

“They wanted you to stop living with Eva?”

“Yep,” Zoe nodded. “To save my career as an artist.”

“You’re pulling my leg,” Elena grinned thinking her friend was joking. “Aren’t you?”

“Nope,” Zoe shook her head sadly. “So it was either Eva or the job.”

“You chose the job, right?” Elena giggled.

“Of course,” Zoe laughed and spread some more rose petals around the table.

“You are so romantic,” Elena chuckled as she put her hands over her expanded belly.

Zoe chuckled. “Eva is the romantic one. She’s the one who to me proposed on her knees and has sent me flowers on our anniversary for the last five years. This time I decided to send her some flowers.”

“Gosh, I wish Friedrich was romantic!”

“He’s not?”

Elena snorted. “Zoe, we’re talking here about the man who proposed in a letter.” She shook her head at the memory. Unfortunately for her husband, the letter had been sidetracked by a Nazi sympathizer in his office. What she ended up getting was a blank piece of paper and the conspirator got was a love letter. “Remember the blank letter?”

Zoe stopped for a moment before she turned to her friend. ‘Yeah, but it was sweet even if you didn’t get it!”

“Yeah, very sweet. I’m sure the Nazi who got it must have loved it,” Elena replied as they both chuckled at the memory. “So tell me how did you hurt yourself.”

Elena was horrified when she’d first seen the bruises on her friend’s face and body in the morning but decided to wait until later to find the reason she was banged up.

“I went head over handlebars.”

“I knew it. You were speeding right?”

“Yes, mama, I was,” Zoe replied facetiously. “I was upset and just went a little fast.”

“What did Eva say?”

Zoe looked at her friend and made a face. “She wasn’t happy but she was more worried about me than chastising me about going fast.”

“Zoe, you really have to slow down, especially if you going to try for a baby,” Elena pleaded with her.

Zoe glanced back. “I’m not going to have a baby.”

Elena frowned. “I thought you were going to try with that syringe thing?”

“No, we’ve decided against it. Besides, it won’t work.”

Elena sighed and went over to her friend and put her arms around the petite figure. “I’m sorry. I know how much you wanted a baby.”

“Hmm, I thought of another way.”

“The only other way to do it is if you…” Elena stopped and her eyes went wide. “You’re not, are you?” Zoe turned away and went into the kitchen quickly followed by her friend. “Zoe?”

“I asked Patty if he would…”

“Oh, my God,” Elena put her hand over her mouth in shock. “Zoe!”

“What? There isn’t any other way, El.”

Elena came over and took her by the shoulders looking into her eyes. “Zoe, that would kill Eva.”

“I know,” Zoe nodded. “That’s why I’m not doing that, either.”

Elena expelled the breath she didn’t know she was holding in and slumped in relief. “Good grief, Zoe. I think Freddy would have a massive heart attack if I ever suggested that to him.” Elena fanned herself with a magazine that lay nearby. She was certain her husband would die on the spot.

“Freddy can give you a baby, El, Eva can’t.” Zoe raised her eyebrows and stated the obvious to her pregnant friend.

“Zoe, you didn’t suggest this to Eva, did you?”

Zoe took a deep breath. “Yeah, I did.”

“Good grief.”

“Will you stop saying that,” Zoe turned and shook her finger at her friend.

“How did she take it?”

Zoe gave her friend a pained look. “She was upset. Can we change the subject?” she asked and went over to the turntable to put on another record. She didn’t want to dwell on the pain she’d brought her partner. She already felt like a fool for momentarily forgetting what was more important.

“So, are you ready for tonight?” Elena put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders and giggled.

“Oh yeah,” Zoe chuckled. “Oh El, this morning when you came over?”

“Yeah?”

“That was one of the nicest things that ever happened to us.” Zoe smiled and kissed her friend on the cheek. “Eva was gobsmacked,” she chuckled.

“So what did you two decide?”

“We would be very proud and honored to be the children’s guardians,” Zoe told her and rubbed her belly. “Did ya hear that, Larissa and Baby No Name,” she spoke to her friend’s belly.

*

Eva put down the phrasebook and sighed. She knew the Turkish Ambassador could speak perfect English, but the Minister insisted she take a crash course in Turkish. A gentle knock on the door alerted Eva to her boss’ arrival.

He entered, looking very smart in a black dinner suit. Eva noted his toupee was missing.

“Ah, you’re wondering about my hair?” Hester grinned. “Turkish society likes bald men.”

“Really?”

“Not really, but it’s a better excuse than saying my secretary set it on fire.” The Minister was in a jovial mood and his faith in his new assistant was justified by all the good reports he was hearing from various people. He had also heard the gossip; his secretary was first to tell him anything that put Eva in a bad light. But Percy Hester hadn’t survived Australian politics for over a quarter of a century by basing his decisions on idle gossip.

He whistled in appreciation when Eva stood up. Her black dress was belted in the middle and came down to just below her knees. Spike heels added to her considerable height, which was now well over six inches taller than her boss.

“You look very beautiful.” The Minister took her gloved hand and kissed it, then settled her stole around her shoulders.

“Thank you.”

They were driven to the Turkish Embassy in a car that had been sent by the Ambassador. When the arrived, they were met by the envoy, a tall, distinguished-looking gentleman with a thin moustache and jet-black hair.

“Mer-ha-ba” the Ambassador greeted them and bowed. “Or g’day,” he added in perfect English.

“Tah-nush-tu-u-mus-a mem-non oled-doom, Ambassador Bedir.” Eva took his hand as she expressed her thanks.

The Ambassador was pleasantly surprised and laughed. “That was very kind of you, Miss Haralambos. It’s very nice to meet you too. Please come in.”

Hester’s smile grew when the Ambassador took Eva’s arm and led her down the hall.

“Come along, Percy,” the Ambassador admonished the Minister, who shook his head and followed.

*

The streets lights beckoned Eva home as she drove through nearly deserted streets. The evening had gone extremely well, and she had enjoyed meeting the Ambassador’s wife, who had joined them for dinner. Towards the end of the evening, Eva’s mind had been elsewhere even as she tried to keep her attention on what was happening around her.

As she rounded the corner into the driveway, her heart skipped a beat. Sitting on the top step was her partner in a loose shirt and long shorts. Eva couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

Zoe tilted her head to the right giving her partner an impish grin. “Good evening, Mrs. H.”

Eva got out of the car, then remembered the roses and went back for them, plucking a flower from the bunch. She went over to her partner and opened her arms. Zoe didn’t need to be asked twice; she happily bolted up from the step and into Eva’s embrace.

“Birlikte her geçen gün, kalbimde ve hislerimde daha önemli bir yer alIyorsun,” Eva whispered into her ear.

“Tesh-eh kyoor ed-eh-rim,” Zoe replied and started to chuckle at Eva’s reaction.

“You know how to speak Turkish?”

“No, that’s the only phrase I know, thank you. Mihali had a Turkish friend and that’s all I can remember. What did you say?”

Eva stroked her cheek and smiled. “Every day that we are together, you take a more important place in my heart and feelings.”

“Oh, that’s so beautiful.”

“Like you,” Eva said quietly and leaned down, taking her lover’s face in her hands. “Happy anniversary,” she said and kissed her softly on the lips.

Zoe took Eva’s hand and led her up the steps and into their house, closing the door behind them. The dining room was bathed in candlelight from candles “Oh, Zoe, this is beautiful!”

Zoe put her arms around her partner’s belted waist and looked up. “Like you,” she repeated Eva’s words from earlier. “Are you hungry?”

“I can eat whatever you have made.”

“That isn’t what I asked you, Evy. Are you hungry?”

Eva looked down guiltily. The Turks were a hospitable people and she was beyond being satisfied. “Um…not really.”

“Well, we can have the dinner for breakfast,” Zoe replied and began to unbuckle Eva’s belt.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Eva asked. When Zoe looked up and grinned, Eva chuckled. “For food, Zoe.”

“I won’t starve.”

“Okay…so what do you want to do?”

“What do I want to do…hmm,” Zoe tapped a finger against her chin in thought. “Well, first we have to get rid of this belt.”

Eva took it off and threw it against the sofa, a familiar feeling of anticipation running through her body as she took in the lustful expression on her partner’s face.

“Then we get rid of these gloves…” Zoe stepped back from the taller woman.

Eva slowly took off one glove and threw it over her shoulder. She held out her other hand and let Zoe pull the glove off. Zoe threw that glove near the belt. Eva then unfastened the straps around each ankle, kicking her shoes towards the fireplace.

Zoe stood back with a grin, watching as Eva reached around and unzipped her dress. She let it slide down her body and tossed it away. She winced a bit when it hit the fireplace and then shrugged.

“Keep going…” Zoe commanded gently.

Zoe was smiling, but Eva noticed that her young lover was breathing just a tad harder now. The tall woman enjoyed the passion and ardour in her partner’s gaze. She also enjoyed the feeling that it evoked in her own body. All she had to do was to think of Zoe .. simply picture her face .. and she was instantly aroused. Now was no different.

Eva reached around her body once more, quickly unfastening the hooks to her strapless bra and casually letting it fall from one hand, revealing the previously hidden treasure, which caused Zoe to lick her dry lips and swallow.

“Enjoying the show, love?” Eva asked, releasing her silk stockings from her garter belt. If Eva hadn’t herself been so excited by Zoe’s response to her impromptu striptease, she would have laughed aloud. Zoe could scarcely remove her gaze from the long expanse of leg as Eva ran her own hand along the stocking, rolling it down and allowing it to slip off the end of her foot. She deliberately took her time, her eyes brazenly capturing the younger woman’s as she repeated the torturous process along her other leg. She heard Zoe’s sharp intake of air and the breathless sigh as she removed her panties and garter belt. Wearing nothing more than a Mona Lisa smile, Eva advanced upon the younger woman, who began backing into the bedroom.

Eva followed and the chestnut-haired girl turned away from her with a teasing grin.

“I see you’re still clothed, Mrs. H. We’ll have to do something about that.” Eva slipped an arm around Zoe’s waist, pulling the smaller woman around to face her and bending down to place a series of kisses along her neck and shoulders. Eva’s fingers quickly unfastened the buttons of her wife’s blouse, pulling the cloth off the smaller woman’s shoulders. The first skin-on-skin contact caused both women to moan.

Eva ran her palms up Zoe’s chest, gently cupping a rounded breast in each hand. It wasn’t like Zoe not to wear a bra, even around the house. Eva was even more surprised when she unfastened the top button on Zoe’s shorts and pulled the zipper all the way down. Her questing hands immediately cupped a smooth, firm backside. She chuckled. “In a hurry dressing this morning, love, or were you simply anxious to celebrate our anniversary?”

Zoe looked up at her partner with a sheepish expression on her beautiful face. “I didn’t want to waste any time once you got home,” she admitted.

Eva slid the young woman’s shorts down, lowering their bodies onto the bed as she did. Rising slightly, she pressed her body along her wife’s, pausing to kiss and lick along the sweet-tasting skin.

“Mmm, that was fun…what next?” Eva asked. She gazed lovingly at her lover’s blissfully expression. “Zoe, let me look at your eyes, love,” Eva asked. Zoe happily complied. “I love you…” Eva whispered. With her free hand, she cupped Zoe’s face and brought her lips down for a passionate kiss, which turned into two, and then three, until Zoe was moaning at the extraordinary feel of the tongue teasing her own. Eva moved her kisses across the young woman’s jaw and down her neck as Zoe slipped one hand into her wife’s dark locks to hold her closer.

Eva couldn’t resist the idea of marking the young woman beneath her and sucked hard at the taut skin at her neck. A languid moan escaped Zoe’s lips at the intense sensation, and she pulled Eva’s head downward, tilting her head to one side in silent invitation. Eva lavished her lover’s body with exquisite attention. No area went long without being ministered to and eventually Zoe squirmed and groaned in equal parts anticipation and frustration.

“Evy! Do you plan on teasing me until I die from anticipation?”

Eva chuckled, never slowing her movements. “Getting frustrated so soon, my love? This is just a little foreplay.”

“Dear God, if this is the foreplay, I’m not going to survive the rest,” Zoe blurted out.

Eva’s lilting laughter filled the young woman’s senses and suddenly Zoe felt Eva’s warm breath against her ear. “You’re ready to go?”

“Yes!” Zoe hissed loudly which caused Eva to laugh as their bodies pressed together on the bed. She didn’t want her lover to explode from the anticipation. A small whimper escaped from between Zoe’s lips as she reached up to entangle both hands in Eva’s soft, dark hair. “Mmm … that feels so, so good,” the young woman murmured.

“You’re right, love, it does,” Eva’s lips whispered against the silky skin.

Eva kissed the girl’s ear, lightly running the tip of her tongue along the edge. At the feel of the beautiful young woman in her arms, Eva closed her eyes at the pleasure that ran through her body in response to the sensations. She decided to take her time and explore her partner’s body, choosing a slow seduction to drive the beauty beneath her to the very brink.

“Relax, my love,” she whispered, feeling Zoe’s muscles twitch in anticipation of her touch.

“Are you crazy? Evy, you want me to relax right now? With you touching me this way?” Zoe responded impatiently.

“Good things come to those who wait, love,” Eva replied with a hoarse whisper, her breath warm against Zoe’s ear, doing much more to the young woman than Zoe anticipated.

The throaty chuckle that followed the dark-haired woman’s comments caused goose flesh to surface along Zoe’s skin. She could feel an intense feeling of warmth circling out from her belly, settling in the area between her legs. Her nipples hardened at the mere sound of her lover’s voice, and Zoe couldn’t hold back a small moan of desire.

“Oh, yes,” Eva sighed, as she viewed Zoe’s body responding to her. She suddenly felt the same passionate desire rise within her own body. She ran her hands back up the same smooth skin, this time on the inside of her lover’s thighs. Zoe released another tiny whimper, which turned into a full throated groan as Eva continued to let her hands slide up further, stopping to let the palms of both hands cover two perfect breasts.

Eva could feel the hard points of flesh pressing into her palms and was nearly undone by the electric jolt that clenched hard at her abdomen, running down to her center. Her own breathing was becoming ragged now as she watched her young wife bring her own hands up to cover Eva’s. Zoe pressed the hands against her chest, reveling in the sparks of pleasure the action caused.

“So nice,” Eva groaned, watching her normally sexually-shy partner’s forward behavior. Zoe turned her head to look at her lover, reaching up and letting her fingertips stroke the face that was leaning in toward her. The young woman ran her index finger along her wife’s soft lips, letting the digit trail down across a proud jaw, stopping to tease the small indentation in Eva’s chin.

Eva graced the young woman with a tender, lopsided smile and reached in to place a gentle kiss on those sweet lips. Opening her mouth slightly, she ran the tip of her tongue along the edge of her wife’s upper lip before capturing the mouth in a slow, sensual kiss. Her mouth swallowed up Zoe’s moans as the young woman reacted, not only to the kiss, but to her wife’s hands that continually teased her body. They continued this way for a while longer, Eva’s hands seemingly caressing everywhere at once.

Eva felt their kisses become more insistent, more passionate as the moments passed. One long arm snaked around the smaller woman’s waist. The intensity of the kisses grew as Eva’s tongue explored the sweetness of her lover’s mouth. When at last the two women reluctantly pulled apart, they were each flushed and breathing in short gasps.

Eva reached down and tenderly kissed her partner once more, her hand sliding along the flat abdomen, her fingers swirling past the curls to feel warm silky flesh. She stroked the smooth flesh lightly.

“Oh, Evy,” Zoe murmured against her wife’s lips. “Please don’t tease me any longer! I can’t stand it. I feel like I’m going to die if I don’t feel your touch.”

Eva couldn’t help the easy smile that spread across her normally reticent features. Her younger

partner had a flair for melodrama and now was no exception. The dark-haired woman felt the same breathless anticipation, however. Capturing the young woman’s lips once more, Eva stroked the warm flesh beneath her fingers, pressing them slowly deeper. To Zoe, the pace was achingly slow.

“Please,” Zoe pleaded, her legs spreading wider in silent invitation.

Unable to prevent the groan that escaped from her own lips, Eva accepted the soundless invitation and entered her partner, immediately feeling the inescapable rush of her own impending release. It took only moments for Zoe’s body, which had indeed been teased to the brink, to tense and arch against the woman who held her. Both women cried out as they rushed headlong into the arms of their climax, their bodies jumping and quivering against one another.

“Oh God, I love you,” Zoe murmured, letting out a contented sigh and resting her head on Eva’s breast as Eva’s arms wound tightly around her. “Happy anniversary, my love.” Zoe slid up Eva’s body and gave her a gentle kiss.

Chapter 13

EVA WOKE TO THE early morning sun shining on her face, and she winced. One of these days she would have to do something about getting shutters for the bedroom window instead of the curtain they had. Their window overlooked the back yard and beyond that, the ocean, so she didn’t think anyone would be peeking in.

She soon forgot about the open curtain and smiled at the memory of the previous evening. A light snoring noise assured Eva that her younger partner was sound asleep. Zoe lay curled on her side, her chestnut hair messed up, with a slight smile on her lips. Eva couldn’t help but smile. She leaned over and gently kissed her on the cheek before pulling the sheet up over her. The previous night’s lovemaking had been intense. It had overwhelmed her senses when Zoe had turned the tables and made Eva forget her own name.

She reluctantly got out of bed, put on her robe and padded out of the bedroom, closing the door quietly behind her. Once in the living room, Eva surveyed the mess her impromptu striptease had caused. The expensive dress she’d worn to dinner was lying haphazardly across the fireplace.

“Well, it’s a good thing the fireplace wasn’t lit,” Eva mumbled to herself as she picked up her dress, shoes, belt, gloves and fur stole that littered the floor and the fireplace.

She smiled when she picked up the garter belt and hose. The lust in her partner’s eyes had been worth the slow striptease. After putting the clothes in the laundry, she took her shoes and placed them in the shoe closet, then hung up the stole on its padded hanger.

On the way to the kitchen Eva looked up and then did a double take. On the wall was a painting of the Mona Lisa … but with a difference. Zoe had painted the Mona Lisa, but with Eva’s face. The tall woman stared at it for a moment and then burst out laughing.

Eva felt arms around her waist as her partner pressed against her back. “Good morning.” she turned around in Zoe’s embrace and looked down into sparkling emerald eyes. She leaned down and kissed her tenderly. “How do you feel?”

“Wonderful,” Zoe replied. She tenderly stroked her partner’s cheek. “Thank you for last night.”

Eva smiled. “My pleasure, love.”

“So do you like the Mona Eva?” Zoe chuckled and glanced up at the painting.

“I’m not sure what Leonardo would say to your plagiarizing his artwork, love, but I love it!”

“Well, we won’t tell Leo about it.”

Eva shook her head and laughed. “Zoe, you are one of a kind.” She took Zoe’s hand and they both sat on the sofa, Zoe deciding to straddle Eva’s lap. “Are you comfortable?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe replied, wiggling her behind. “Evy, I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

“We’re not still on that, are we?”

“Well, yeah,” Zoe replied. “I hurt you and …”

“I was upset, love, it’s over,”

“I don’t want to ever upset you like that again,” Zoe revealed as she leaned down and kissed Eva.

“Too bad I’m not a man,” Eva joked.

“I’m glad you’re not a man,” Zoe grinned.

“Me too,” Eva chuckled and then saw the look on Zoe’s face. Eva’s hands rested on her partner’s back. “Zoe, what’s the matter?”

Zoe shook her head and then sat back. “Did you ever wish that I was more experienced, uh, you know, in pleasuring you?”

“Good grief, love, last night you nearly made me forget who I was,” Eva teased her. She smiled. “Zoe, you satisfy me physically, mentally, and spiritually. It’s not about ‘pleasuring me or how well you do it. It’s not like that with us.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t love someone, Zoe, the act is meaningless. It feels hollow. It’s sex rather than lovemaking. When I’m with you, it’s lovemaking. I would never describe what we share as just sex. I give you my love and you give me yours. It’s unconditional. Am I making any sense?” Eva asked. She took Zoe’s hands and held them tightly to her heart.

Zoe nodded. “I think so.”

“What I shared with Greta was different. I didn’t know what love was back then. Not the kind I share with you. What I shared with a man was empty for me. “

“I was just wondering if you ever thought about it,” Zoe said a little sheepishly.

“Well I wasn’t thinking about it last night,” Eva grinned. “In fact, I’ve never actually sat down and thought about it. Do you remember the first night we spent together??” Eva wrapped her strong arms around the younger woman’s waist and looked into her eyes. “You trusted me, Zoe. No one ever trusted me like that.”

“I’m confused. I spent the night with you, you didn’t do anything…”

“Zoe, my love. I was the German commander’s daughter. I could have been using you for my own desires …”

Zoe snorted.

“It’s true, Zoe. You gave me your trust. Did you trust me?”

“Yes, my heart told me to trust you.”

“And your head?” Eva asked. She knew the answer to that question. “You wanted to kill me only days before …”

“I didn’t know you then, Evy.”

“But you trusted that I wouldn’t betray you. Zoe. You trusted me. When we make love it’s not just sex. Lovemaking is unselfish. We’ve been together for five years now and I’m still learning how to please you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Last night you showed me what you wanted from our lovemaking, so never be afraid to tell me what you need.” Eva leaned down and kissed Zoe gently. “Hey, why are you crying?”

Zoe sniffed back the tears and looked up. “It’s silly.”

“What’s silly?” Eva brushed away the tears from her partner’s cheek.

“I didn’t think about what it would have done to you if I’d had sex with Pat,” Zoe revealed and watched Eva’s face closely. She didn’t miss the pained expression that flitted past her partner’s face.

“It would have been a means to an end,” Eva shrugged.

“It would have been but it would have cost us,” Zoe admitted. “Fate is really funny sometimes.”

“Fate?”

“If the war hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have met. If you hadn’t come to Larissa with Muller, I would never have left Larissa, never learned how to be an artist, never fallen in love with you, probably married someone Mama and Papa would have arranged for me to marry… and …”

“And?”

“You would have been with Greta,” Zoe said quietly, her green eyes focusing on Eva’s chest.

“I doubt it, love,” Eva replied, lifting Zoe’s face to meet her eyes. Ever since Zoe had met Greta, Eva’s relationship with the woman had been like a thorn in her side. Despite Eva’s reassurances, Zoe still felt inadequate when it came to their lovemaking. It was something Eva couldn’t figure out. Zoe was a confidant young woman but when it came to this matter, she was lost.

“If the war hadn’t happened, you would still be in Berlin with Greta …”

“I wouldn’t have married the love of my life, wouldn’t have spent five glorious years together, would not have the Mona Eva in my living room. I would most likely been dead, love. Greta was my first lover, but she had plans that didn’t involve me and Muller had plans that did involve me.”

“She’s an idiot.”

“Yes, we know that.” Eva chuckled. “Zoe, don’t feel that I need you to be anything more than what you are. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I feel silly.”

“Don’t feel silly. You know you can tell me anything, even if you do think it’s silly.”

“Okay,” Zoe mumbled and played with the cord that held Eva’s robe closed. She grinned when she pulled the cord and the robe fell open to reveal Eva’s breasts.

Eva looked down at the open robe. “Are we done talking?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Do you want to have some breakfast?”

“Hmm…what’s my other choice?”

“You can give me a back rub,” Eva suggested and attempted to get up from the sofa. Zoe’s legs tightened around her waist and her arms twined around her neck.

“Or we can sit here and kiss,” Zoe suggested and kissed her partner passionately.

“Or we can sit here and kiss,” Eva said a little hoarsely before Zoe captured her lips again.

*

Eva looked up into a cloudless sky and sighed. It was a glorious day; the weather was warm but not hot, just the way she liked it. Zoe was talking non-stop and pausing every now and then at the windows to browse.

After church they’d decided to take a nice easy stroll along the beach and wander into some of the shops. One day on her way to work, Eva had spied the new bookstore and gone in. She’d found a book that she wanted to surprise Zoe with and had asked the owner to put it aside. She was certain Zoe was going to enjoy it.

“I would like to buy the book I asked you to keep last week,” she said to the shop owner.

“You were here before?” Zoe asked.

Eva grinned. “I found it when I was going to work. I thought I would surprise you.”

“You thought it would surprise me that you found another bookstore? Evy, every bookstore in the area knows they are going to make money when you walk inside!”

Jack, the shop owner laughed. “You mean she’s a bookworm?”

Zoe snorted. “Eva is the poster child for the bookworms.”

“Now I have to buy some books, Zoe, to show this nice man that it’s not a lie!” Eva said in mock outrage.

“Oh yeah, I’m sure you’re heartbroken.” Zoe swatted her on the behind. “Okay, so tell me what the surprise is apart from you finding another bookstore that doesn’t know you and our money on a personal level?”

“This.” Eva produced the huge book. Zoe’s eyes went wide when she saw the author’s name.

“Wow! How did you find this?” Zoe asked, tearing her eyes off the book to Eva’s beaming face. “Wow,” Zoe said quietly. The art book, In All Creation, by her old art teacher Miss Lucia was one she had been looking for ever since she’d left the University.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why is this book so special?”

Eva grinned. “Zoe is an artist and her work is featured in this book. I’ve been searching for over a year to find it.”

“Really?” the shopkeeper asked, amazed that he had a gifted artist in his shop. “So, what’s your name?”

“Zoe Haralambos,” Eva supplied. Zoe was busy thumbing through the book, completely oblivious to the owner’s questions.

“Zoe H?”

Eva’s grin broadened. “Yep, this is Zoe H.” She put her hands in her pockets and rocked slightly back and forth with pride.

“Wow! Oh, wait.” The proprietor took the book from Zoe and thumbed to a painting of the harbor at sunset with a lone ship sailing under the Harbour Bridge. “I love this painting!”

Zoe beamed. “Thank you.”

“Do you still have it?”

“Yes, we do,” Eva replied.

“Would you sell it to me? I’ve looked at that picture ever since I got the book and it reminded me of when I was a little boy fishing off the heads in Sydney Harbor with my dad at sunset. You’ve captured the moment.”

“You want to buy it?” Zoe asked.

“Yes! Would you consider selling your artwork here?”

“You want me to sell my artwork in your shop?” She was now beyond being surprised and heading towards shock. “Are you sure?”

The man smiled. “Yes, I’m quite sure, if you are willing to sell them here.”

Eva grinned and put her arm around Zoe’s shoulders. “Do you want to do that?”

Zoe nodded.

“Excellent! Oh my! This is so exciting!” the shop owner gushed. “I could move those books over here and make room for a small gallery over there … I think this is going to be great!”

“Can we discuss this alone for a moment Mr. …”

“Jack Lankin,” Jack introduced himself. “You take all the time you need. I’ll just go over there and redesign the shop,” he said and walked off, muttering to himself.

“This is a good opportunity, love,” Eva whispered to Zoe who was floating above cloud nine.

“Evy, I don’t believe this is happening.”

Eva grinned. “I do. You deserve it. There is something we need to tell before we agree to it, though.”

“What’s that?”

“About us.”

“Oh, why do we need to tell him? It’s none of his business and he might not give me this opportunity.”

“We have to be honest with him, love. We’re going to be doing business with him and I would feel better if he knew.”

“Okay,” Zoe acquiesced, hoping they weren’t going to do a quick getaway from the bookstore, “but if he starts throwing books at us, you catch some before we leave.”

Eva called the man back. “Jack, before we agree to this arrangement, we need to tell you something.”

“You’re lovers,” Jack told them matter-of-factly and smiled.

The two women looked at each other and then back at him. Jack snorted and shook his head. “I’ve seen you two before.”

“You have?”

“Christmas party at Pat’s place,” Jack grinned. “I’m a friend of theirs. I was there with my lover, Ronald.”

“Oh,” Both women looked at each other for a moment then Zoe burst out laughing.

*

The screams of children reverberated around the house as the birthday party was well under way. Streamers and balloons were strewn everywhere as AJ’s friends played games and enjoyed their gathering.

AJ’s fourth birthday was a special event and Eva gazed lovingly at her ‘nephew’ as he showed off the camera he had received for his birthday.

“You would think that was made of gold,” Elena whispered to her tall friend. “He loves it.”

“I loved it as well,” Eva chuckled. “How are you doing?”

Elena smiled. The two women had come early to prepare for the party and Zoe had taken over in setting things up, relieving Elena of the hard work. She was feeling very tired; not surprising since she was a week away from giving birth.

“I would be very happy it Larissa and Baby No Name,” Elena chuckled at Zoe’s nickname for the second twin, ” would come early.”

“I thought it was very nice of you to name one of the babies Larissa,” Eva smiled. “It thrilled Zoe.”

“I know,” Elena chuckled. “She nearly fell over when I suggested it.”

“It means a lot.”

“I know,” Elena put her hand on Eva’s shoulder and squeezed. “You and Zoe mean a lot to this family.”

A smile creased Eva’s face as she nodded and accepted the sentiment. “Danke,” she thanked her friend in German. They lapsed into German when they were together; it was easier than English. Eva was comfortable in speaking Greek with her partner but if she had a choice, she would stick to German.

Elena laughed as a streamer was wrapped around her head. “I think it’s time for the birthday boy to blow out his candles.”

Eva smiled as AJ laughed and did a little jig when his cake came out with four burning candles embedded in the cake.

“Wait,” Elena stopped her son from blowing out the candles. “You have to make a wish.”

“I do?”

“Yes,” his mother laughed at the look on her son’s face.

“Will it come true?”

“Absolutely,” Elena replied. “Now take a deep breath and blow them out,” she instructed. The young boy scrunched up his face in concentration. He opened one eye and looked at Eva, who blew him a kiss. He grinned impishly at her and blew out one of the candles. A moment later he was helped with the rest and merriment soon ensued with his friends all wanting some cake.

*

Eva had been taking photos of the party and was stealing a quiet moment in the kitchen when Zoe walked in with an empty plate.

“Hey there, why are you in here?”

“Too many people in there,” Eva replied.

“Oh,” Zoe put the plate in the sink before going over to her partner. “Do you want to have a little party of our own later?”

“Is that an invitation, Miss Zoe?” Eva grabbed her by her waist and brought her down on her lap.

“Maybe,” Zoe replied and kissed her partner before getting up in time to avoid horrifying Mrs. Nager with their kissing.

“Close,” Eva whispered and watched as Zoe blew her a kiss and left the kitchen.

Chapter 14

EVA STEPPED OVER THE painter’s drop sheets trying not to get paint on her dress or her shoes. That latter was a lost cause as she felt a squish and looked down to find her left shoe now had a white sploge.

“Argh,” Eva growled under her breath and gave the painter a look as she entered her office.

“Debbie, do you have any Mentholated Spirits?”

Debbie looked up and shook her head. Eva was the fourth person that day to ask her the question; everyone was getting paint splattered on them. “No, boss.”

“What shoe size do you wear?” Eva glared at her shoes.

“Six,” Debbie replied and saw Eva’s scowl. “Sorry boss.”

Eva turned to Hester’s secretary and the question died on her lips when she saw the scowl on the older woman’s face. “Forget that idea,” she muttered and left the office.

“Why didn’t she ask me?” Paula huffed.

Debbie rolled her eyes. Eva was damned if she did something and damned if she didn’t. “Because you would have told her to get lost.”

“Don’t be silly, she can’t go to a meeting with paint-splattered shoes,” Paula replied.

“Give me strength,” Debbie muttered under her breath hoping the old battleaxe would go back to her office soon or she was going to kill her.

*

Paula opened the door to Hester’s office feeling quite sure that he wasn’t going to walk in. The minister was in a meeting and wouldn’t be returning to his office for at least a few more hours. She closed the door quietly behind her, feeling like she was in a spy novel.

She’d finally found the perfect way to get rid of the troublesome woman. It was so perfect she wanted to pat herself on the back for thinking of it. She opened the filing cabinet and removed three files, rearranging the others as to not to show anything was missing. She would have proof to show Mr. Hester how much of a liability Eva Haralambos was.

The door opened suddenly and Paula stumbled against the desk, her hand on her heart. Her friend Clarice stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. She flipped the light on and frowned.

“What are you doing, Paula?”

“Oh, geez, Clari, you scared me into next week!”

“Paula, why are you filing in a dark office? Sometimes I worry about you,” Clarice chuckled and went down on her knees to pick up the scattered papers from the files.

“I’m working on the plan.”

“Uh-huh, and you had to sneak around your own office to do it?”

“Give me those!” Paula said indignantly. “Is the kraut back from her meeting?”

Clarice handed the files to her friend and got up off the floor, dusting herself off. “No, she’s on level two with Mrs. Eggleton in Personnel.”

“Really? What is that about?” Paula’s interest was piqued.

“Beats me,” Clarice shrugged. “So what’s your plan?”

“I’m going to show Hester that she can’t be trusted,” Paula grinned. “This is such a perfect plan.”

“Are you sure it will work?”

“Absolutely 100% sure,” Paula leaned against the desk and laughed. “I’m surprised I didn’t think of this earlier.”

“Are you going to tell Debbie? We don’t want her in trouble; she’s a good egg.”

“Of course I am! I just want that … that … woman gone,” Paula huffed and walked out, leaving Clarice in the office.

*

Paula strode to the assistant’s office, giving the workmen who were painting the ceilings a disgusted look. She couldn’t figure out why they couldn’t do their maintenance work at night when no one was around. It was inconvenient and only yesterday her favorite skirt had been damaged by drops of paint.

The door to the office was open and Paula stood for a moment while the harried secretary answered three phone calls in succession. Paula liked Debbie; she found her easygoing and quite chatty.

“Time for a break,” Paula announced. She closed the door and took a seat across from the younger woman. “Do you remember when you first arrived I told you I had a plan to get Miss Haralambos relocated.”

Debbie blinked and sighed. “Yes, I remember. Look, Paula, I’m really …”

“No need, I understand! Really, I do. She has you working like a dog. I can see that, and so can the others.” Paula pulled out the files and laid them on Debbie’s desk. “These will get her in serious trouble.”

Debbie picked up one file which seemed innocuous enough.. She was about to open it when Paula stopped her.

“Don’t read it! You’ll get into trouble and I don’t want that.”

“If it’s classified, why isn’t it in the safe?

Paula sighed dramatically. “Mr. Hester wanted to review the file and it was sent to him yesterday. It’s all hush-hush!”

“Have you read it?”

“Of course not! It’s all hush-hush, like I said.”

“So what do you want me to do with it?” Debbie asked. She was tired and she had a splitting headache.

“Put it in her briefcase. She takes it home and I’m assuming she won’t open it to do work.”

Debbie thought she was dreaming and tapped the side of her head with the heel of her hand. “Ow,” she said quietly. “Sorry, big headache. Go on.”

Paula looked at her for a moment and continued. “I tell the Minister I can’t find the files that he told me need to go back to ASIO. The files are gone, there is a search, and whammo! They show up in her briefcase.”

“And she gets arrested for spying,” Debbie finished. “Is that right?”

“Oh, no, no, no! I’m sure she will wriggle out of this quite convincingly, like she picked up the files by mistake. You know the sort of political double-speak they come up with.”

“Uh-huh, okay. So if she gets out of it, how do you get her fired?”

“Oh no, it’s the first stage. Once the Minister sees that he can’t trust her, we go to the second stage.”

“Right,” Debbie said, wondering how many spy movies Paula had seen to come up with such a ridiculous idea.

“So where’s her briefcase?” Paula looked around the office.

“She’s got it with her. Give them to me and I’ll put them in when she isn’t looking,” Debbie offered with a smile.

“Ah, thank you. I have to go to the second floor; let me know if you have any problems.” Paula waved and left the office, leaving Debbie shaking her head.

Debbie looked at the files in her hands and wondered what would happen if she put them in Paula’s desk instead of giving them to Eva. The door opened again and Eva was standing half in and half out, talking to one of the workmen. Her black jacket was now splotched with paint.

“Look, sweetheart, I’m sorry about your jacket.” Debbie could only see the bottom half of the man’s white overalls.

“How long is this going to be in front of my office?” Eva asked.

“I dunno, sweetheart, maybe the rest of the day. My job is to paint it, but the boys are having some trouble with securing this part…see this part?”

Eva leaned out and looked up, scowling at the ceiling. She sighed and closed the door. “This was my favorite jacket,” she muttered as she took the jacket off, inspecting the paint splotch. “And my shoes! At this rate my whole outfit is going to be black and white,” Eva muttered as she hung her jacket on a chair and rolled up the sleeves of her shirt.

“I know you’re not in the right mood at the moment, but Paula was here…”

“Oh, joy,” Eva said, going into her office to get the spare jacket that hung behind her door. “What trouble is she brewing now?” she asked, returning to Debbie’s desk.

“This kind of trouble,” Debbie handed the files to her puzzled boss.

“Oh, dear,” Eva muttered. “Why did she bring these here?”

“To get you into trouble.” Debbie rolled her eyes.

Eva sighed. “I’ll have to take them back to the Minister’s office. I don’t want these lying around here. ” She tapped the end of the file against her chin. “I’m meeting the Minister in a few minutes anyway; I think I’ll take them with me and give them to him.” She put on her jacket and picked up the files.

“Have you had lunch?”

“No, I’ll grab something after my next meeting,” Eva replied, opening the door. “Once more into the breach,” she said dramatically, grinning at her secretary before stepping out. She turned to sidestep the painter’s drop sheet when she heard a noise from above.

“Watch out!” the painter screamed.

“Oh, bloody hell!” the other painter cried out as the paint bucket and the ladder leaned precariously.

Everything felt like it went into slow motion for Eva as she saw the paint drum heading her way. She tried to move, but didn’t have enough time. The paint bucket slammed into her head and threw her against the opposite wall, knocking her out.

Pandemonium broke out on the floor with everyone coming out of their offices. Debbie, horrified, rushed over to Eva’s side. The files, now forgotten, were haphazardly strewn across the floor, some of them covered with paint and blood. Debbie got down on her knees and cradled Eva’s head. Blood was pouring freely from a deep gash on her forehead and the back of her head. She heard someone call an ambulance but her focus was on her injured boss.

*

Percy Hester was furious; furious with the engineering department for scheduling the painting during the day and furious at the inept painters who had caused the accident. They milled about not knowing what to do. He wasn’t sure what angered him the most. He knelt beside his assistant. Her secretary was holding a makeshift bandage to Eva’s head to stop the bleeding, which was extensive. It was on the floor, on Debbie’s shirt and all over the front of Eva’s shirt.

“Forester! Did you call the ambulance?” Hester growled, not looking at the gawking young man who nervously stood by, unsure of what to do with himself.

“Y—yes sir. Is she going to be all right?”

“I don’t know. Do I look like a doctor? ” the Minister growled. He looked up to see his secretary standing there, wringing her hands.

“Paula, get me the boofhead in charge of engineering.”

“Yes, sir,” the older woman said, grateful for something to do, and scrambled back into her office.

Hester looked up gratefully to see two ambulance men rushing towards him “The paint bucket hit her on the back of the head and she hit the wall.”

“I’ve never heard of that one before,” The ambulance man gave the Minister a nod. “Did she regain consciousness?”

“No,” Hester said with a sigh. He sat back and allowed the team to take over. Eva’s face was quite pale, and a huge bruise was already forming on the left side of her face where she had hit the wall.

Debbie watched them as they took over. She didn’t want to be the one to tell Zoe that her partner was injured; she decided she would contact Earl or Pat. Certain that getting a phone call from her would lead Zoe to think the worst, Debbie decided to err on the side of caution and let Earl talk to Zoe.

Debbie still had the presence of mind to pick up the files that were spread all around Eva and shoved them under her arm, shielding them from anyone who might recognize them. She knelt beside the Minister and leaned in. “Sir, I need to speak to you.”

Hester gave her an incredulous look. “I’m a little busy right now. Debbie, can’t it wait?”

“No sir, it can’t. Please, this is important.”

“All right, you have five minutes. I want to go with her to the hospital.” Hester got up from the floor and looked down at his trousers and shirt, which were covered in paint. “I really didn’t like this suit anyway,” he muttered to himself as he followed Debbie into the office and closed the door. “All right, what is so important?” he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

Debbie took a deep breath and handed the paint-damaged papers to the minister. He took them and read a few paragraphs, quickly realizing what they were.

“How did you get these?”

“To cut a very long story short, Paula gave them to me to put in Eva’s briefcase. I’m not sure if you know, sir, but Paula doesn’t like Eva all that much.”

“Yes, I do know, but what you are implying goes beyond simple acrimony. You do realize that?”

“Yes, sir, I realize that. I told Eva before she stepped out and got hit by the flying paint bucket. She was going to meet with you and hand them over at the meeting.” Debbie didn’t think the day could get any worse.

“Did you get them all? We can’t have sensitive documents lying around outside.”

“Yes, sir, I did. Some of them are covered in paint, but I’m sure I got them all.”

“All right, I won’t be able to deal with this until I get back. I’m going to have to speak to Eva about this and then we will solve the problem.”

They both turned to the door when a light tap was heard and Forester stuck his head in. “Sir, the ambulance is leaving.”

“I’ll be right there,” he told the young man and turned to Debbie when the door closed again. “Get on the phone to Zoe and let her know what happened.”

*

Zoe heard a car roll up the driveway and frowned. She looked up at the clock, which read 3:00 p.m., and hoped it wasn’t another encyclopedia salesman. She had already gotten rid of two of them. Being at home had its disadvantages and one of them was pesky salesmen who tried to sell her everything from vacuum cleaners to hair restorers.

She opened the door and poked her head outside and was taken aback to see Earl’s Holden. Opening the door wider, she stepped outside. “Hey, Wiggy, did you get an early break from work?”

Earl shook his head and crossed over to the steps. He had been going through ways to tell Zoe about Eva and every time he said something aloud, it sounded stupid. He wished Pat were around; he was better at sensitive chats. He spotted Elena and thanked God that He was listening to his prayers.

“Hey, Zoe. Um…”

“Hi, Earl, want to come in for some tea?” Elena asked, letting go of AJ, who ran towards the big man and flew off the steps squealing. Usually Earl would catch him and toss him in the air; however, this time he just caught him and held him.

“What’s wrong, Earl?”

“Uh, um…Debbie called me…she said that Eva was in an accident.” He stopped when Zoe’s eyes opened wide and he was scared she would collapse. Elena put her arms around her friend and gently pushed her down onto the steps.

“Oh, Evy…what happened?” Zoe stammered, afraid of the answer to her question.

“AJ, come here, sweetie.” The little boy scampered out of Earl’s arms to his mother. “Go and get a glass of water for Aunty Zoe, okay?” The little boy nodded and ran into the house.

“Where is she?” Zoe asked, her voice breaking, betraying her fears. She had to be strong; Eva would need her, and it wasn’t the time to fall apart.

“She’s at Royal Prince Alfred…I don’t know the full story, Sweetie. Debbie told me they took her there and told me to come and tell you.”

“It wasn’t with the car?”

“No, it was at work. That’s all I know.”

AJ came out of the house very slowly with a glass of water, being very careful not to spill any, and gave it to Zoe. He watched her drink it and smiled at her. “I love you, Aunty Zoe,” he said and kissed her on the cheek.

Zoe gave the young boy a smile and kissed him. “I love you too, AJ.” She turned to her friend and said, “I’ll call you, El.”

“No, you won’t. I’m coming with you. You go on ahead and I’ll lock up the house and leave a message for Friedrich. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry about a thing, okay?” Elena embraced her dear friend, who was on the verge of tears. “She’s going to be okay,” she whispered and watched as Earl helped Zoe into the car.

*

The car ride was exceedingly long, the traffic on the bridge once again causing problems. Earl glanced sideways at his friend, who was now very pale.

“Zoe, she’s going to be fine,” he tried to reassure her.

Zoe gave him a weak smile. Her mind was on her injured partner, conjuring up the images of the last time Eva was hurt and in pain.

The Americans rumbled into town scattering the remaining Germans; it was a dream come true. The day she had waited for years and was certain she would be celebrating in the streets. She didn’t see it. Didn’t savor the victory.

While the Americans were liberating her home, Zoe was trying to save Eva’s life. It was a moment in her life she would remember forever; Reinhardt standing over Eva’s body had enraged her. Zoe ran her hand threw her hair and exhaled. Captain Jurgen Reinhardt … she hadn’t thought of that particular bastard in years. Muller had ordered Eva’s death because he had found out about their relationship and it fell on Reinhardt to kill Eva. Zoe shuddered a the memory of that fateful day.

It was the end of the German occupation of Larissa during World War II and the end of the conflict in Greece. When the Americans rode into Larissa and liberated the town, it had been a blur to Zoe; her attention was focused on her new lover, who lay in the large tent the Americans had set up to treat the wounded. Zoe had managed to convince the Americans that Eva was not a Nazi but worked for the Greek Resistance. They didn’t believe her at first but their friend Athanasios Klaras had intervened at the right moment and convinced the Americans of Eva’s story.

The moment when she had found Eva was one that was seared in Zoe’s mind. Captain Reinhardt standing over Eva’s body was the image she had every time she closed her eyes in the months following the ending of the war for Greece and for them.

Zoe had killed before but this was different; more personal. She was not going to stand around and let Eva die. She had shot the Captain so many times, she didn’t think anyone would recognize that kraut if they tried. She had lost too much to allow the Germans to steal her future again.

Zoe took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. It had been only a short space of time from the decision she’d made to shoot Eva in revenge for the death of her family to fighting for her life. Life was just not so damn simple as she thought.

“A penny for your thoughts, ” Earl asked. He held the steering wheel with one hand, and with the other he scooped his friend closer, letting her lean on him. “She’s going to be okay.”

Chapter 15

EARL MUTTERED TO HIMSELF as he tried to find a parking spot near the hospital. “You would think they would have a decent parking lot,” Earl groused. He looked over at Zoe, who was staring out the window, oblivious to his problems.

Earl finally found a spot and parked the car. He was quite sure it was illegal to park there, but he wasn’t going to worry about it. If he got a parking fine, well, he got a parking fine, he thought to himself.

They walked briskly down the road towards the huge edifice. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital was the largest hospital in Sydney and the oldest. Its sandstone entrance was quite beautiful, and under other circumstances Zoe would have stopped to admire it. They entered the lobby area which, with its high ornate ceilings, looked almost like a church, with a tiny chapel to the right.

Zoe was impatient to find her partner. “Come on,” she muttered as she watched the elevator stop at every floor of the twelve-floor building.

Earl glanced at his friend and hoped the elevator got there soon before Zoe decided to take the steps. To his relief, the elevator finally arrived and Zoe was inside before the doors had a chance to open fully.

As soon as the elevator came to a stop, Zoe once again shot through the doors. Waiting near the elevator were Debbie and Hester, both covered in paint.

“Where is she?” Zoe asked the Minister without offering a greeting to Eva’s boss.

Earl put his arm around his friend and turned her face towards him. “I want you to calm down, Zoe. You’re not going to do Eva any good if she sees you out of control. You know how disturbed she gets if you’re upset.” He leaned down and whispered into her ear. Zoe looked up at her friend, who leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It’s going to be okay,” Earl promised, hoping he wasn’t going to be made into a liar.

Hester walked up to Zoe and took her hand. “Zoe, sit down for a minute. I want you to listen to me, okay?”

Zoe nodded. She wasn’t calm at all and the last thing she wanted was to listen to Percy Hester right now. What she wanted was to be with Eva, to hold her. She wanted to see for herself that Eva was okay.

“Eva was hurt when she was hit by a paint drum,” Hester told the shocked young woman. He couldn’t quite believe how the accident had happened himself. “When Eva walked out of her office, the painters lost control of their ladders. The paint drum was sitting on a scaffold in between the two ladders.”

“That’s so stupid,” Earl muttered.

“Yes, it is and when I get back to the office, heads are going to roll,” Hester muttered, then realized he should have used another phrase. He turned his attention back to the young woman. “Eva walked out at the wrong time. It was too late for her to do anything and the paint drum knocked her into the wall. She was bleeding …”

Hester wanted to kick himself for revealing that information when he saw Zoe’s face blanch. “Zoe, it’s not all that bad; scalp wounds tend to bleed a great deal. Look, when the doctor comes out he can tell you better than I can. I’m a politician, not a doctor,” he joked, getting a half smile from the young woman. “I told the admitting nurse that you are her sister, so you won’t have a problem.

He mentally patted himself on the back for that nifty footwork, knowing that if he had told them that Eva didn’t have any relatives, Zoe wouldn’t be allowed to see her no matter how much she pleaded.

The doors opened and a middle-aged man wearing green scrubs walked into the waiting area. “Uhmm, relatives for Eva Haralambos?”

Zoe jumped up, her bag crashing the floor in disarray. She spared one glance at it before going to the doctor.

“Would you come with me, please?” He held out his hand indicating the small room next to the waiting area. Zoe was on the verge of tears again until Earl came up beside her, carrying Zoe’s bag, and took her by the hand.

The room was very sparse, with two green cloth chairs on one side and a sofa that had seen better days on the other. One wall held a chalkboard; the other, a window that overlooked the jacaranda trees outside. Zoe sat on the edge of the seat, her hand in Earl’s large one. He gave it a small squeeze and a smile before turning to the doctor.

“I’m Zoe, and this our friend Earl Wiggins.”

“I’m Dr. Fielding,” the doctor said, settling in one of the well-worn chairs. “I’m in charge of the Emergency Service here. I know it’s a shock to find out your sister was admitted after an accident and I’m sure you are eager to ask me questions. I thought I would start by telling you the extent of her injuries.”

“Okay,” Zoe said in a small voice.

“Miss Haralambos has a orange-sized bump at the back of her head that needed some stitches and one smaller one,” the doctor tapped the center of his forehead, “here as well. That’s where the paint bucket hit her.”

“How many?” Zoe asked.

“Five on the back and three on the front. That isn’t a problem. She also has some bruising to her face, from when she hit the wall. She’s a very lucky young woman that she wasn’t killed by the bucket hitting here.” Fielding gently put his finger on Zoe’s temple. “She smacked the wall just above the eye socket. She’s got a bit of bruising and a hairline fracture just under her eyebrow.”

“A hairline fracture? What’s that?” Earl asked.

The doctor left his chair and used the chalk to draw a head with eyes, adding a single line above one eye. “That’s a hairline fracture. It’s a crack, if you like. It will heal on its own, but we will have to monitor her for a little bit. She sustained a concussion from hitting the wall so she’s going to be feeling quite unsettled.” He drew a brain inside the skull to illustrate his point. “The brain sits in fluid, and when the head collides with something, like a wall, the brain bounces around and hits the skull. That bruises the soft tissue and basically you have a brain bruise.”

“Is she going to be all right?”

“Miss Haralambos, like any bruise, it will heal, but the brain is such an unknown quantity for us, even with all the medical discoveries we’ve made. I don’t want to alarm you or anything like that, but your sister may have some headaches and may get a little dizzy after all this is over. I can’t guarantee you that nothing will happen; no doctor can.”

Earl sighed. Zoe held his hand so tightly he had lost feelings in his fingers. She needed to get out of this small room and in to see her wife as quickly as possible.

“She will be able to lead a normal life, right?” Earl asked.

“Oh yeah, definitely. This isn’t a serious head injury, but like I said, head injuries are not something we can pass off lightly. I’m not trying to scare you.”

Earl gave him a look to say he had done just that, but he restrained himself from voicing that opinion.

“Is her back all right?” Zoe asked.

“Her back?”

“Evy has a back problem,” Zoe said and looked up at Earl.

“Her back is fine as far as I can tell. The paint bucket went for her head. It would have sailed right on over and hit the wall, but she is tall and she got in the way,” the registrar replied.

“Is she awake?”

“She is. She’s a bit groggy at the moment, but she knows her name and what day it is. She didn’t at first which worried us but she does now. She doesn’t remember being hit by the drum, but that’s to be expected after a blow like that. We had a little bit of a problem in trying to understand her. When she came to, she wasn’t speaking English.”

“She was born in Austria,” Zoe replied a little worried that Eva had lapsed into German.

“We soon got her talking in English so she hasn’t forgotten that,” the register tried to joke and saw that it fell quite flat.

“Can I see her, please?”

“Of course, just remember she is groggy and she may not know you are there,” the doctor cautioned.

*

Zoe stopped in front of the ward doors and took a deep breath. She was feeling very shaky and wanted to throw up. The images in her mind were upsetting her and she hoped the sight of her partner lying helpless in the hospital bed wasn’t going to be as bad as the pictures in her head.

“It won’t help Eva if she sees you upset, Zo,” Earl whispered.

“I know,” Zoe replied and pushed the door to the ward.

It was a busy place with three beds to the left and three to the right and a nurse’s station in the middle. Each bed was separated from the others by a curtain. Eva was in bay three, which was on the other side of the room. Zoe made her way down the long room, past the nurse’s station, and stood waiting for Earl.

A nurse was bent over a prone figure on the bed. Zoe couldn’t see her partner well, as the nurse was blocking her view; when she finally straightened, Zoe put her hand to her mouth. A strangled cry came out as she saw Eva. The tall woman lay on her side with a white sheet and a thin blanket up to her shoulders. A white bandage was wrapped around her head, and her face was covered with a huge bruise.

“Yes, can I help you?” the nurse asked, blocking Zoe’s view again.

“This is Eva’s sister,” Earl told the nurse, whose features softened as she let the young woman pass her. “When will she be moved?”

“Later tonight, I suspect. I believe she will go to a private room. And you are?” the nurse asked.

“A friend,” Earl replied. He waited for the nurse to ask him to get out, but she didn’t so he turned and went inside the cubicle.

Zoe sighed as she looked at her beloved partner. She found a chair and brought it close, taking Eva’s hand, which was cold to her touch. Half of Eva’s face was covered in a huge bruise that had turned purple and her left eye was completely swollen shut. Gently stroking the bruised cheek, Zoe wanted to cry.

“Hi there,” she said, sniffing back her tears when she saw Eva’s bloodshot blue eye open. Eva looked completely dazed. Zoe brought Eva’s hand to her lips and kissed it.

“Kamen Sie mit der Serie?” Eva asked, her voice a raspy whisper that broke Zoe’s heart even as she gave a surprised laugh.

“What did she say?” Earl asked, kneeling next to Zoe.

“She wanted to know if I came by train.”

“Ooh ohh, scrambled brains,” Earl gently teased.

Zoe got up from her chair and kissed Eva gently on the lips as Earl stood, blocking the view so that the nurse couldn’t see them. “I love you, Evy.”

“I want to go home,” Eva replied, closing her good eye.

“I know, love, but you can’t.” Zoe said quietly bending down and giving her a kiss on her bandaged head. “Look on the bright side; you’re going to be home with me for a little bit.”

Eva tried to smile, but grimaced in pain.

Zoe noticed the nurses hadn’t cleaned the blood from her hair yet. She noticed a brown paper sack underneath the bed with Eva’s name on them. She assumed it was Eva’s clothes

“Earl, can you ask the nurse when they are going to move her?”

“Already did, Stretch. She said later tonight. Tell me what you want from home and I’ll go and pick it up,” Earl replied, standing up again.

Zoe smiled. “Thank you, Wiggy.”

Earl snorted. “I’ll get the stuff that isn’t woman stuff, you know,” he said and blushed.

Zoe smiled at her friend. The curtain was pulled back slightly and Elena came around and gasped when she saw Eva.

Earl nodded to her and smiled. “I’ll be outside. When you’re ready give me a shout, okay?”

Zoe nodded and got up from her chair. She gave the big man the biggest hug she could manage and looked up into his blue eyes. “Thank you, Wiggy.”

“You’re going to make me cry and it’s not a pretty sight,” the big man said, kissing the top of her head. He left the cubicle and went outside.

“So, how’s Miss Eva doing?” Elena asked, keeping up a lighthearted tone.

“She’s off with the fairies at the moment,” Zoe replied and hugged her best friend.

“Want me to stay with you?”

“I would love that, El, but can you do me a favor?”

“Anything.”

“Earl is going back home to collect some stuff, but he’s a little on the shy side about collecting Eva’s pajamas and…”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, Elena chuckled. “Tell me where they are and I’ll bring them over.”

Zoe sat back down and took Eva’s larger hand in hers. Elena rested her hand on Zoe’s shoulder and the young woman looked up. “I don’t know what I’d do if I ever lost her,” Zoe said quietly.

Elena took a deep breath. “Zoe, stop being a goof. Eva is going to be fine. She used her head to stop a paint bucket. Next time we’ll buy her a helmet,” she gently teased.

Zoe smiled and brought the limp hand to her lips, kissing it softly.

*

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Hester told Zoe. He put his arm around her shoulders as they walked down the corridor to Eva’s new room. “Eva’s health insurance won’t need to be touched. It was an accident at work and I’ve already rung up our personnel department.”

“Percy, how could something that stupid happen?” Zoe asked. She had really come to like the older man. Her friendship with the Minister had grown out of a mutual love for cricket, discovered on their recent European trip on which Zoe tagged along. Being away from Eva for an extended period was not something Zoe wanted. So, when the opportunity came up for Eva to replace her boss, Richard Farmer, as an interpreter, they both decided that Zoe was going to come with them.

“I don’t know, Zoe. I’m going back to the office now and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

“It could have been worse…”

They stopped in front of the room. “It might have been, but you know, Zoe, if we go through life wondering what might have been, we fail to enjoy what is in front of us.”

“You’re a philosopher as well as a politician?” Zoe joked with him. “I knew there was a reason I voted for you.”

The Minister laughed. “Hey, wasn’t it because of my good looks?”

Zoe snorted, which only made Hester chuckle. He adored this optimistic young woman. She reminded him of his youngest, who was off somewhere in Europe, seeing the world and doing her “overseas experience”, as all young Australians did.

They both entered to find the nurse fussing over Eva, who was irritable at being poked and prodded. Zoe went over to her side and leaned down.

“Evy, Percy is here.”

Hester came around to where Zoe stood and sat down on the chair to be able to see Eva’s face. “You know, Eva, the next time you want to redecorate the office, can I suggest not doing it with your face?” He got a hint of a smile from Eva, which encouraged him. She looked like she had gone ten rounds in a boxing match and she was the loser. “I want you to rest up and don’t worry about a thing. Okay?”

Eva nodded her head slightly and closed her eyes.

“I think I’ve overstayed my welcome,” Hester said quietly to Zoe. “Don’t worry about a thing.”

*

“Evy, I’m going to get rid of that white thing you’re wearing, okay?”

Eva grunted. Her nausea had returned. She hoped she wasn’t going to throw up; it would antagonize the pounding headache she’d had for several hours despite the painkillers the doctor had given her.

Zoe pulled back the covers and undid the knot at the back of the white tunic. Tiny flecks of paint still adhered to Eva’s back. “You know, you would think they would have enough material to finish these things,” Zoe muttered, more to keep herself busy than anything else. She decided to give her partner a sponge bath later when she wasn’t feeling so sick. The nursing staff was grateful for the extra help.

She put on Eva’s pajama top as gently as she could and buttoned it up.

“I feel sick,” Eva muttered.

“Do you need to throw up again?” Zoe whispered and got a nod. “You know we can take turns at throwing up,” she joked, referring to her tendency to ‘urp’ in sympathy with anyone else who felt sick. She got a weak grin for her effort, which pleased her.

Eva didn’t have a chance to answer any further before her stomach rebelled, retching into the basin Zoe held for her. The ordeal only made her head pound again. Zoe held her shoulders until she finished, then put the basin away. She picked up a small washcloth and cleaned Eva’s face, being as gentle as she could be.

“What happened?” Eva rasped out after the room stopped spinning.

“Well, the painters had a paint drum on a ladder. You stepped out and whammo, you got hit in the head.”

“Feels like a herd of elephants sat on it,” Eva muttered, causing Zoe to giggle.

“You have a few stitches in the back of your head and a couple in the front. You cracked your head here.” Zoe traced the small indentation above Eva’s eye.

Eva sighed. “Are you okay?”

Zoe chuckled. “I’ve had better days, Evy, but I’m okay.”

Eva grunted before closing her eyes. Zoe watched her sleep for a few minutes, pulling the blanket around her. Looking down at her watch, she was startled to find it was only 7:00 p.m. She felt as if she’d run a marathon, she was so tired.

The door opened and the nurse came back inside. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are over.”

“Can’t I stay here? I won’t be a bother…”

The nurse smiled. “I’m sorry…”

Zoe didn’t want to go home to an empty house. She hated sleeping alone and it was going to be even worse while she was worrying about Eva. “Okay, she’s sleeping now.”

The nurse nodded and smiled at the young woman. “I’ll take good care of her,” she promised.

Zoe gave her partner a kiss goodbye. “I love you,” she whispered. She lingered at the door, watching Eva sleep, then closed the door behind her.

Zoe was tired, hungry and emotionally spent. She slumped against the wall and began to cry. Strong arms wrapped around her and she looked up to find Elena’s concerned face. She sniffed back tears and fell into her embrace.

“They won’t let me stay.”

“I know. Come on, let’s go home.”

“I don’t want to go home, El. The house doesn’t have the one thing I need,” Zoe mumbled. She noticed Earl and Pat were lingering near the exit.

“You’re not staying there by yourself, Zo. You’re going to stay with us until Eva comes home. Do you feel like eating my special spaghetti bolognaise? I promise not to poison you,” she joked, getting a snort from her friend.

Zoe looked back and blew a kiss to her partner before following her friends away from where her partner lay.

*

A light breeze ruffled Pat’s hair as he sat outside, looking at the stars. His thoughts were on his partner and what he would do if Earl ever got hurt. Thinking about it made him ill and he shook his head to try and clear the images that formed.

They had arrived home, quiet and withdrawn. Freddy had surprised them when they came back. A pot roast was waiting for them in the kitchen. It was a beautiful gesture that had brought a lump to his throat. Pat remembered his grandfather’s words, ‘Thoughts can be expressed but it’s the act that shows the man you are,’ and sighed. The deeds spoke louder than the words for his grandfather.

“A penny for them, Patty,” Earl asked quietly, taking a seat next to his partner and putting his arm around Pat’s shoulders. He sighed. “What a day.”

“What a stupid accident,” Pat muttered. “They were asking for trouble.” He let out a snort. “Is Zoe asleep?”

“Yeah. Elena said that AJ wanted to keep Zoe company and slept with her.

“How is she?”

“I think she’s going to fall apart,” Earl replied. “Damn it, Pat, if anything happens to Eva, that girl is going to be lost to us as well. I don’t think she can survive without Eva.”

“I think Zoe is stronger than you give her credit for, Earl,” Pat replied and looked up into the darkened heavens. “She’s got a hidden strength about her.”

Earl snorted. “I’ve no doubt she’s strong; she wouldn’t have survived everything she did and still be sane.”

“If she can survive those horrors, I think she can survive losing Eva if,” Pat tapped the wooden leg of the sofa, “if that ever happened.”

Earl shook his head. “No, she won’t. It’s different. I don’t think I could survive losing you.”

Pat looked up at him and smiled. “You big softie.”

“You know my secret, now I’ll have to kill you,” Earl teased his lover. “I think Zoe would fall apart if anything happened to Eva.”

“What about Eva?”

“She would lock herself away, not speak to a soul, and die very slowly. That’s how I see it.”

“That’s a little melodramatic isn’t it?”

Earl shook his head. “Eva’s world revolves around Zoe. Everything she does, she does for Zoe.”

“Is that normal? I mean, your whole world revolving around one person?”

“It’s called love,” Earl replied, grinning broadly. “When I first met Eva, I thought she was cold and aloof. She was withdrawn, didn’t say much and just did her job.”

“Is that why you asked to kiss her?” Pat grinned. He’d heard the story many times from Zoe, who loved telling it.

“Nah. I was supposed to be the factory Romeo; I had to kiss her. I figured out she was a lesbian when I caught her and Zoe kissing. So I figured she would understand and wouldn’t rat on me,” Earl replied.

“That was some risk to take.”

“Yeah, it was.” Eva could have easily destroyed the Casanova facade Earl had built around himself. “But she didn’t and she kissed me.”

“Was she a good kisser?”

Earl looked down at his lover. “Not as good as you.”

“Good save, pretty boy,” Pat teased. He brought the big man down for a passionate kiss. “So, Tip, what made you change your mind about her? Don’t tell me it was because she kissed you?”

“No. It was when I met Zoe for the first time. She was this tiny thing bundled up against the cold and sitting on the brick fence waiting for Eva. She must have been around 18 at the time. When Eva came out, Pat, I swear it was like looking at a different woman. Her whole face just lit up. They invited me over and we became friends. Everything Eva does, she thinks of how it will affect Zoe. Zoe is her life.”

“Hmm. Do you believe in soul mates, Tip?” Pat asked.

Earl took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking about the question. “Do we have one partner that we are destined to be with? That would mean our lives were mapped out and we’re going through the motions.”

“Maybe. Eva and Zoe were destined to meet and be together. How else do you explain how they got together?”

“I can’t.”

“So are they two halves of a whole?”

“Yeah, I think they are. One can’t survive without the other. Eva once told me that if it weren’t for Zoe, she would be dead. So, I believe it. As my mate Will Shakespeare said, ‘there are more things on earth, Horatio … ’”

Pat made a gagging noise and swatted Earl on the leg. “Don’t quote Shakespeare at me. Quote me Browning or Yeats!”

“Yes, sir,” Earl chuckled, taking his lover in his arms and closing his eyes. He was indeed blessed to have this man in his life and he firmly believed that Eva and Zoe were fated to be with each other.

“Is that why Zoe decided against us doing it?” Pat asked cringing a little with the way he said it.

“Doing it?” Earl grinned. “I’m glad she did.”

“You are?”

“Yeah,” Earl replied. “It was icky thinking of you and Zo.”

Pat smiled in the darkness. “Were you jealous?”

Earl shrugged. “I didn’t like it.”

“But you said you didn’t mind,” Pat reminded him of the long conversation and their decision. “Were you lying?”

“No, I just wanted to give them what they wanted. But I still didn’t feel right,” Earl shrugged his broad shoulders and put his arm around his partner. He was more than happy when he heard Zoe had changed her mind.

Chapter 16

“YOU CAN’T SAVE HER now,” Reinhardt laughed and motioned to the still figure on the cabin floor. Zoe’s breath caught; Eva was lying a pool of her own blood.

The all-too-familiar scene caused the young woman to search madly for the gun she had held in her hand when she’d entered the cabin. It was gone. She stared in shock at the laughing, blue-eyed Reinhardt.

“So what are you going to do now, little Zoe?” he mocked her.

“Kill you!” Zoe snarled but to her utter shock, she couldn’t move. Couldn’t go forward, couldn’t do anything but stare helplessly at the horrid scene. “No!”

“But I want to,” Reinhardt chanted devilishly. “You didn’t think you’d saved her, did you?”

“No, please,” Zoe pleaded as she watched her lover lying so deathly still on the floor. She wanted to see some sign of life. She looked up to the grinning Nazi who showed her the gun in his outstretched hand.

“Just for you, little one,” Reinhardt turned away and aimed the gun at Eva and fired repeatedly.

“NOOOOOO!” Zoe screamed and bolted upright. Her breath came in deep, raging gasps as sweat dripped from her brow. “Eva!”

“Hey, I’ve got you,” Elena crooned as she held her shaking friend. Only moments before, little AJ had come running into his parents’ bedroom to tell his mother that Aunty Zoe was talking in her sleep and scaring him. Elena had quickly realized Zoe was having a nightmare and had raced to her side. Elena was shaking herself as she hugged her friend and tried to soothe her, rocking her in her arms. She wasn’t surprised that Zoe was having nightmares

Zoe held onto her friend for dear life, her heart beating so loudly she knew Elena could hear it.

“He was killing her again,” Zoe panted, her green eyes wide and frightened. “Reinhardt .. was beating her and then he shot her.” The words dissolved into a massive sob as Zoe collapsed against her friend.

“It’s over, Zoe,” Elena whispered, holding her close. She calmly stroked her friend’s hair and tried to calm her. She was worried by the startled and unfocused look in Zoe’s eyes. Whatever the nightmare was, it was a horrifying experience for her friend. “He’s gone, Zoe, and he can’t hurt her.” The young woman took her friend’s face in her hands. “Do you understand?” she crooned softly. “They cannot hurt her or you anymore, Zoe.” Elena spoke each word slowly and distinctly. She kissed Zoe’s forehead tenderly.

Slowly, a tiny bit at a time, Zoe’s awareness began to bring her back to reality. She blinked away the tears welling in her eyes and took a deep breath. “Oh, God,” she moaned as Elena held her.

“It was just a nightmare, Zo.” Elena wrapped her arms around the petite woman and got into bed with her. She smiled when Zoe snuggled next to her.

“It was so real,” Zoe whispered.

“Want to talk about it?” Elena asked, knowing if they discussed it Zoe might be able to get some rest.

Zoe looked up and exhaled slowly trying to calm her beating heart that was threatening to explode out of her chest. She blinked back tears. She remained silent for a moment. “I was back at the cabin and Reinhardt killed Eva,” her voice broke as she described the nightmare.

“Did Reinhardt hurt Eva in Greece?” Elena gently asked. She had heard a very brief description of how Zoe had saved Eva’s life from Eva, but she hadn’t tried to get Zoe to talk about it. She knew when Zoe was ready to talk, she would. Elena understood that some things were best left in the past; her own nightmares of her life during World War II were enough for her and she didn’t want them to relive it by talking about those horrible years. She knew that Zoe felt the same way.

Elena didn’t know much about Eva’s past other than when her stepfather’s reappearance a few years previously had made her life difficult. The young woman’s memories of that time were a little happier since she had met and fallen in love with her beloved husband, Friedrich. The tall woman was extremely private and Elena was certain that Eva wouldn’t open up to her. Furthermore, Elena suspected there was some memories that were best left buried and weren’t helped by being discussed.

Zoe looked up in warm brown eyes and nodded. “Muller ordered Eva’s death when he found out about us.” Zoe took a shuddering breath and stopped for a moment.

“Bastard,” Elena muttered causing Zoe to look up.

“Eva’s lesbianism made him less of a man.” Zoe shook her head still not being able to understand how someone could brutalize their own child, even if the child wasn’t ‘of his blood’. It was inhuman.

“What did Reinhardt have to do with it?”

Zoe took a deep breath. “He took Eva to a cabin because he knew I would go to when I found out she was there. He wanted …” Zoe stopped and closed her eyes. She exhaled slowly, still a little unsettled. “He wanted me to see her being killed.”

“But that’s not what happened?” Elena gently prodded her friend.

“No, I stopped him,” Zoe said quietly and for the first time smiled. “I stopped him good.”

Elena smiled. “You did, huh?”

“Yeah, I blew his face right off. Bastard,” Zoe muttered. “He was going to shoot Eva again.”

“He’d already shot her?”

“Yeah,” Zoe shuddered a little at the memory. Her partner was lying on the floor of the cabin, still bound to a chair. “He wasn’t satisfied that he’d beat her; he had to shoot her too.”

Elena shook her head sadly. “It’s a good thing you turned up.”

Zoe looked up. “He was waiting for me to finish the job.”

“Oh.”

Zoe sighed and closed her eyes. “You know El, the best thing to ever happen to me has been Eva.”

“I think she would say the same thing about you,” Elena replied and gave her friend a gentle squeeze. “What do you like about her the most?” she asked knowing if anything could get Zoe out of a mood, it would be talking about her partner.

Zoe looked at Elena and smiled. “Her gentle soul.”

Elena was surprised, she hadn’t expected that answer. “Her gentle soul?”

“She is so gentle, El. Even when she’s angry, it doesn’t last long.” Zoe smiled as the image of her partner warmed her heart. “She can be like a little girl sometimes and I forget she’s older than me.”

“I don’t think age has anything to do with it, my friend.”

“You don’t?”

“No, people can be the same age and still not be right for each other,” Elena explained. “Age doesn’t matter.”

“I suppose not,” Zoe shrugged and fell silent.

“So, is it just her soul you love?” Elena grinned hoping to get Zoe to think positive thoughts. She’d had her share of nightmares and Friedrich always made sure he did something to cheer her up before they went back to sleep.

“And her body,” Zoe giggled causing Elena to laugh along with her. “Oh boy! Do I love that body,” she mumbled to herself.

“Aunty Zoe, are you okay now?” AJ asked and scrambled onto the bed. He held out his favorite bear, Rufus. “You can sleep with Rufus, if you like.”

Zoe took the bear and hugged it to her chest. “Danke, AJ,” she said in German causing the little boy to giggle. He’d never heard his aunty Zoe talk German and this was a little treat for him.

“Ich liebe dich,” he told her and gave her a quick kiss before running out of the room.

“Well I think my son has a new girlfriend,” Elena chuckled. “You know what he said, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah, he loves me,” Zoe smiled. “Eva lapses into German when …” Zoe stopped and remembered who she was talking to. A pink hue rose from her chest and colored her ears, turning them a bright shade of red.

“Got a bit of sunburn there, Miss Zoe?” Elena teased.

“I miss her, El,” Zoe sighed. “She is going to be okay, isn’t she?”

“She’s got big bumps on the head, that’s all,” Elena reassured, hoping that’s all it was. “You get worse bumps falling off that infernal motorcycle.”

“I had a friend when I was seven.” Zoe stopped and shook her head to try and clear the memory of little Dimitra. “She fell off the roof.”

“Ouch! What happened?”

“We were playing on the chicken shed and she jumped,” Zoe reminisced “She landed on her head and wasn’t the same afterwards, El. She was different. You know …” Zoe stammered.

“That won’t happen to Eva,” Elena tried to reassure her friend, saying a silent prayer she was speaking the truth.

“Dimitra was a little slow afterwards,” Zoe continued and was oblivious to Elena’s reassurance. “The other kids called her Dummy Dimi.”

“That’s cruel.”

“Yeah, it was,” Zoe replied quietly. “You don’t think that will happen to Evy. Do you?” Zoe looked up expectantly at her friend who shook her head. “I hope not,” Zoe mumbled and cuddled next to Elena who held her until she fell asleep.

Elena watched her friend sleep for a moment before covering her up and turning off the light. She would pray that Eva wouldn’t suffer the same fate as little Dimitra.

*

“Are you okay in there, Zoe?” Elena leaned on the bathroom door, wincing when she heard the retching going on inside. Her heart went out to her friend who had managed to sleep only fitfully after her nightmare. When Elena had checked on her in the morning, Zoe was still asleep. Somewhat reassured, Elena had gone back to her own bed.

“What is Mama doing? AJ looked at his mother and then turned to his father.

Freddy replied and picked his son up. “We have to be really quiet, okay?”

“Why?”

“Aunty Zoe is a little sick.”

“Oh, that’s bad,” the little boy said and put his fingers to his lips. “I’ll shush.”

Zoe came out of the bathroom wiping her mouth with a face cloth, looking very pale. Elena put her arm around her friend’s shoulders.

“Not good, huh? How you doing my friend?”

“It’s no picnic,” Zoe muttered “Apart from throwing up and missing Eva? I’m fine,” Zoe replied.

“Do you feel like eating something? It would help with the nausea.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“Zoe, you have to eat. You’re going to get sick, if you don’t eat,” Elena told her sternly. “I’ll tell Eva on you.”

Zoe gave her a look. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me,” Elena threatened and smiled when Zoe shook her head in defeat and headed for the kitchen.

“You don’t play fair.”

Elena chuckled. “I’m a mother. I don’t have to play fair.”

*

The light streamed into the room causing its occupant to wince in pain. Eva groaned and tried to shift to the other side. She only succeeded in making herself dizzy. The night had been a long one filled with pain as she’d tried to stop the pounding in her head, which still felt like a herd of elephants had taken up residence behind her eyes.

Eva wanted to move again; her neck was cramped in the position she was in and she was sure if she didn’t move, her neck would stiffen up even more, adding to her misery. “That’s all I need now,” Eva muttered to herself. The only problem was if she moved, her head would protest again then her stomach would follow.

During the night, she’d tried to turn and had forgotten about the stitches at the back of her head. Sleeping on her side wasn’t her favorite position, nor was sleeping alone. She’d shared her bed with Zoe for the last four years. It didn’t feel right not to have Zoe next to her.

Adding to her extreme irritability was her night nurse, Sue. Eva was certain the older woman took perverse pleasure in waiting until she was asleep and then waking her. It was a cycle that went on for twelve hours; sleep, wake, throw up and then more raging headache.

Sue thought she was going to be assaulted when she’d woken Eva one particular time and the tall woman had lashed out, nearly bowling the older woman over. What the nurse was not aware of was that Eva had opened her good eye at the precise moment the nurse had approached with a syringe filled with a painkiller in her hand. Eva was startled and flashed back to another time and place when she had been a prisoner and been tortured because she was a lesbian. It was so real that Eva cried out, startling her nurse into dropping the syringe.

The morning brought more prodding, some more painkillers and a sponge bath. Eva wasn’t sure whether to be extremely happy she was having a bath or mortified by being bathed by Sue. The nurse had made small talk and tried to put her at ease, which only made Eva shyer.

Now the room was very quiet, only the distant sound of a train running along its tracks could be heard, and Eva sighed. She closed her eye and began to drift off when the door opened again and the day nurse entered. Eva tried to avoid opening her eye to see who it was.

“Good morning, Eva. My name is Danielle. I’m your day nurse,” the nurse chatted away, checking Eva’s bandaged head.

Eva sighed. “Hullo,” she mumbled.

“Do you feel like breakfast?”

Eva blanched at the thought of eating anything, which she knew would only end up in the basin as soon as she moved her head. “No.”

“Didn’t think you would, but the kitchen staff brought up some cereal anyway. I was concussed last year and I felt like death warmed over,” Danielle chatted away, straightening up the covers and tucking them under the mattress. “I’m going to let you get some sleep because I’m quite sure you haven’t had any overnight, all right?”

Eva would have kissed the woman if she could have moved without causing a major earthquake in her head.. She must have looked pathetically grateful to the nurse, who chuckled. “Yes, I know exactly how you feel.” Danielle patted Eva’s legs. She went over to the curtains and closed them before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

*

Danielle looked up from the patient notes she was writing to the sound of the lift doors opening. It was still very early in the morning. She smiled when she saw the young woman coming towards her. The handsome young man stood back, a huge bunch of flowers in his arms. ‘The young man is probably her brother,’ Danielle thought to herself. He was as tall as Eva with the same thick, black hair and the bluest eyes Danielle had ever seen. Her attention was brought back to the young woman who stood in front of her.

“I’m Zoe Haralambos, um ….”

“Ah, you must be Eva’s sister,” Danielle said and smiled.

The notes she had on her patient indicated that her next of kin was one sister; she was surprised it wasn’t her brother. The nurse was very surprised to find the young woman looked nothing like her tall patient.

“How is she?”

“She’s good. She’s tired because she didn’t get any sleep, so you may find her nodding off,” Danielle explained. Her patient was one of the most placid people she’d ever had to nurse. Concussed patients usually gave her some trouble. She was grateful that she didn’t have to wake her up during the night, like her friend, Sue, did.

“Was she in pain?!” Zoe asked alarmed at the news.

“She does have a bit of pain, but that’s to be expected from an injury like hers. She is more alert than she was yesterday, despite not getting any sleep. We gave her a sponge bath and washed her hair and that made her felt much better.”

“Can I go in and see her?”

“Of course you can. Just don’t worry if she nods off.”

“I’ll just sit with her,” Zoe smiled. “Can Pat come in too?”

“Well, only for a short while. You don’t want to tire her out.” Danielle got a nod from the young woman and she watched as the two walked down the corridor. “Probably her boyfriend,” she muttered. “Nice bum,” she commented then went back to the patient notes.

Eva heard the door open and sighed. She was waiting for the inevitable prod to wake her up when she felt a gentle kiss on her cheek, which made her smile. There was no mistaking who it belonged to. Eva opened her good eye and focused on Zoe’s face. She could see the dark shadows underneath her wife’s eyes. Zoe looked tired but her smile was a sight for sore eyes or in her case, sore eye, Eva mused to herself.

“What language are we speaking today?” Zoe teased. She was extraordinarily pleased with herself for making Eva smile.

“Swahili,” Eva rasped in Greek getting a laugh from Zoe. Zoe turned to a puzzled Pat who was standing awkwardly at the side. “Pat’s here,” she said in English.

Pat moved to where Eva could see him. He put the flowers down and pulled the chair up. “Hi there, Eva.”

“Hullo, Pat.”

“So I hear you like demolishing walls with your head. Do you want to come over and remodel our house?” Pat teased.

Zoe chuckled as she put the flowers in a vase filing it up with water.

“Funny,” Eva told him.

Pat smiled warmly at her and kissed her on the cheek. “I’m going to go. I don’t want to tire you out. Get some rest.” He hugged Zoe goodbye and left the room, leaving the two women alone.

Zoe came back to Eva’s side pulling the chair closer to the bed. She took Eva’s hand out of the covers and held it.

“Did you get any sleep?” Eva asked.

“A little. Probably a lot more than you did,” Zoe replied. “I missed not hearing your heart when I woke up. I hate waking up alone.”

“I’m sorry, love.”

“It’s not your fault, Evy. Now hush up and go to sleep. The nurse told me you didn’t sleep well last night.”

“The nurse Gestapo,” Eva mumbled in German, confusing Zoe who only understood the word ‘Gestapo’.

“Huh?”

Eva didn’t answer and Zoe, a little concerned, leaned forward to find her partner had fallen asleep. Zoe watched her partner for a moment, comforted by the steady breathing. She took out a large pad and a pencil and began to sketch the sleeping woman.

“I love you, Evy,” Zoe whispered and kissed her gently.

Chapter 17

“HEY, HOW’S EVA DOING?”

Freddy looked up as David entered the office with a stack of files in his arms and a sandwich perched on top.

“What happened to her?” Abels asked not bothering to look up from the typewriter he was laboring over.

“She was hit in the head with a paint bucket,” Freddy replied, helping David with the files.

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” Abels muttered under his breath and hit the keys a little harder. His attention was focused on finding the next letter he needed and didn’t see their reaction to his callous remark.

“Wanker,” David muttered the curse under his breath and made rude gestures towards Abels who had his back to them. Freddy grinned. The atmosphere in the cramped office had become strained since Abels search in Eva’s file had become known. No matter how much they tried to convince Abels that he was wrong; he continued to hold fast that Eva had pulled the wool over their eyes.

Freddy turned his attention to his friend who had now settled across him with his sandwich. “Ellie tells me she’s doing better, although she still looks like she went 10 rounds with Joe Louis,” Freddy replied, “and got trampled by a herd of elephants for good measure.”

“Ouch,” David munched on his sandwich. “I’m going over with Debbie later tonight.”

“Another brother, huh?” the two men laughed. At the current rate that Eva was acquiring siblings, she was going to have a very big family since the hospital only allowed family to visit to help in her recovery.

“I’m the third Irish brother,” David grinned.

“Mama was really busy,” Freddy continued the joke and they both laughed even harder when Abels looked up and scowled at them.

“Oh, before I forget,” David leaned down and pulled a file from the pile on the floor, “boss man says this is the list you wanted.” He gave the file to Freddy who took it and placed it on his desk.

“How long is it?”

“Beats me, I didn’t have a chance to look at it,” David replied as he took a cigarette. “Hey are you and Elena going for that romantic weekend for your anniversary?”

Freddy nodded. “Eva said that we shouldn’t miss it and she should be out of hospital by then,” he grinned. “Our sisters are ready babysitters.”

“And you’re hoping El has the babies first right?” David grinned.

“That would help.” Freddy threw a scrunched up paper at his friend who promptly batted it away where it landed on top of Abels’ typewriter. Abels sighed and threw the paper in the nearest paperbin.

“Do you have to smoke that here?”

David glanced at Freddy and shook his head slightly before turning to his colleague who was giving him what Zoe called ‘the monumental’. “Yes,” he said and lit the cigarette. “What’s the list?”

“The Tribunal has released its names of collaborators from the concentration camps,” Freddy opened the file and began to read the long list of names. He often wondered how and why Jews would sell out their own until he was in this position and then it had become very clear. It sickened him and he’d made it a special priority to track those who had collaborated with the Germans and sent their fellow Jews to their deaths.

“More work,” David muttered taking a drag from his cigarette.

Abels looked up from his typewriter at the two men, his battle with the typewriter forgotten as he listened in on the conversation.

“I think these scum were worse than the Nazis,” Freddy added as he continued to stare at the names on the paper.

“Where’s the list from?”

“All over but I think this list,” Freddy held up the paper, “is from the Bedzin.”

Abels returned his stare at the paper in the typewriter, listening as the two men discussed the collaborators. After a moment, he yanked the paper out of the typewriter, threw it in the bin and walked out.

*

The days following the accident found Eva in a routine of being roused from sleep, taking medication and lying in bed waiting for Zoe to arrive. She was getting tired of being in bed, doing nothing but being sick and throwing up. The dizziness and pain in her head had subsided somewhat, more due to the painkillers than anything else, she was sure. She also had a small victory in being able to go to the bathroom by herself, which pleased her no end. Her bruises had turned a deep purple with some yellow shading, which horrified her when she saw them in the mirror. She wasn’t a vain woman but the sight of her swollen eye and the stitches made her look like Frankenstein had run amok.

She was sitting up in bed and trying to eat her lunch which didn’t look all that appetizing. She glanced at Zoe who was arranging some flowers that had come from the Maintenance Department with a note apologizing for the errant paint bucket.

“Zo,” Eva called out to her partner with a mouthful of mashed potato that tasted like sand. “Taste this and tell me if it’s me.”

Zoe took a bite from Eva’s fork and grimaced. “Yuck, what is that?”

“Mashed potato.” Eva played with the peas and pushed them around with her fork. “I went to the bathroom today.”

Zoe glanced at her spouse for a moment in puzzlement then realized what Eva had said. “What a good little girl,” she teased cupping the bruised cheek. “You get a kiss.” Zoe leaned down and kissed her on the lips.

“That’s funny,” Eva half smiled. “It felt really nice. I didn’t like it when someone washed me,”

Zoe perched herself on Eva’s bed. “You don’t mind when I do it.” The younger woman leaned across and tweaked the only part of her partner’s face that wasn’t sore, her nose.

“I’m going to need extra loving care when I get home.” Eva fell back on her pillow, forgetting her injured head. “Ow.”

“Oh you poor thing,” Zoe kissed her partner and stared into one blue eye. “I missed you so much.”

“It won’t be long, love.”

“I hope not. I don’t like sleeping with bears,” Zoe grinned.

Eva was about to ask why she was sleeping with a bear when the door swung open and a very tiny visitor ran in followed by Elena. The visitors were restricted to family only which meant Eva had acquired another two sisters in Elena and Debbie and four brothers, Earl, Pat, David and Friedrich. Zoe was certain the nursing staff didn’t quite believe the ‘large family’, but they allowed them through.

“Well if it isn’t AJ, the wonder boy,” Zoe picked him up and planted a big kiss on the boy’s belly making him squeal.

“How are you today, Miss Eva?” Elena asked. She came closer and gave her bedridden friend a kiss on the cheek that wasn’t bruised. “Your bruises look a little…”

“Frankensteinish,” Eva finished the sentence for her.

“No, I was going to say they are looking better,” Elena replied as Zoe brought her a chair. She put AJ on the bed with Eva.

“Owie,” the little boy scrunched up his face when he saw Eva for the first time since the accident. “Does it hurt?”

“A little,” Eva said and invited him to sit with her, which he accepted readily.

A tiny hand tenderly touched Eva’s bruised cheek. “That looks bad,” AJ said. He squirmed a little as Eva leaned down to accept a kiss from the young boy. Unfortunately, the move caused her to have a little dizzy spell. She tried to cover it but by the look on Zoe’s face she knew she hadn’t fooled her partner. She was thankful she was lying down or else she knew she would have fallen over.

“I have Rufus to make you feel better. Aunty Zoe had Rufus but she doesn’t need him anymore,” AJ continued and gave Eva the bear that had kept Zoe company in the evenings.

Eva looked up at Zoe as her partner mouthed ‘later’. “Can I keep Rufus until I get out?”

“Yes, but don’t allow him to get hurt, okay?”

“I promise I won’t allow him to get hurt,” Eva told the young boy solemnly.

Zoe watched as her partner played with AJ for a few more minutes and then noticed the tired look and she motioned to Elena.

“Okay, AJ, time to let Aunty Eva sleep,”

“Rufus will keep you company.” AJ kissed his Aunty Eva again and Zoe helped him off the bed. They said their goodbyes and left, leaving the two women alone.

“You’re tired,” Zoe stated the obvious and removed the various books and magazines from the bed.

“Why did you have Rufus?” Eva asked then yawned.

Zoe stopped for a moment and wasn’t sure if she should tell Eva about the nightmare. “I had a nightmare,” she said as she pulled the chair towards the bed and sat down. She held Eva’s hand and squeezed it gently.

“Reinhardt?” Eva asked knowing her partner’s recurring nightmare was centered on the man who had nearly killed her. They both had demons that surfaced when they least expected them. This was Zoe’s demon and Eva had spent many nights holding her partner and helping her through it.

“I killed that bastard but he still comes back,” Zoe muttered. “I was so worried about you and I kept thinking about Dimi and…”

“Dimi? Is there anyone woman I should know about?” Eva gently teased and yawned again.

Zoe wanted to slap herself. “Dimitra. She was a girl I knew back home.”

“Did Dimi know Reinhardt?”

Zoe smiled. “No, she fell off the chicken shed roof.”

Eva frowned “Ow,” she said realizing that it wasn’t a good idea. “She fell off?”

“Yeah, we were jumping off seeing if we could fly like the chickens,” Zoe shrugged. “Dimi went first and fell on her head.”

“Ow,” Eva empathized with the young girl.

“Hmm, well I thought of her as well,” Zoe continued. “Then Reinhardt made an appearance.”

“He fell off the chicken shed as well?” Eva smiled.

“No,” Zoe took a breath and let it out slowly. “He killed you and I couldn’t stop it.”

“Oh,” Eva responded by pulling Zoe closer to her. The younger woman put her arms around Eva’s neck and buried her face against the soft skin. “It’s okay, love. I’m okay.”

“I know,” Zoe sniffed. “I was so worried about you.”

“What did Dimi have to do with it?’

Zoe sighed and looked up at her partner’s very tired face. “I thought you were going to end up like Dimi. She hurt her brain really badly.”

“Oh,” Eva finally got the connection. “Well I won’t be able to play the violin but I’ll be okay.”

Zoe frowned and looked at her partner with a puzzled expression on her face. “You don’t play the violin.”

“I know, so we are lucky that I can’t play,” Eva joked as she held Zoe’s hand, squeezing it gently in reassurance. “Don’t worry, love. I’m okay,” she said and yawned again, causing Zoe to fuss over her for a few moments. “Thanks,” she said sleepily and let her eyes close. Zoe sat on the chair and watched her sleep.

*

A Week later.

“Just a little bit more,” the nurse checked Eva’s stitches as Eva patiently waited for the inspection to finish. She couldn’t help herself from smiling since she had been told she was going home in the next day or so.

“What are you smiling about?” Danielle asked Eva while she re-bandaged her head. “By the way, the stitches in the back are healing nicely.”

“I’m going home soon,” Eva replied, feeling quite relieved that she was indeed leaving the hospital.

“You sure are,” the nurse smiled back. “I think we’ll be taking those out tomorrow. In the meantime, would you like to sit outside for a little bit?”

“Can I?”

“Sure, but not for a too long or you might end up seeing more of the bathroom than you like. You’re not feeling nauseous at the moment, are you?”

“Not at the moment,” Eva reassured her nurse. Not that she was going to admit it even if she was. She was sick of lying in bed. After Danielle helped her sit up, she let her feet dangle over the side of the bed for a moment so that she could get her bearings.

“We’ll sit for a moment. Is the room doing the merry-go-round?” Danielle asked, knowing the answer by the expression on her patient’s face. Eva sat on the edge of the bed for a few moments before nodding to continue. Danielle helped her down, letting Eva lean on her and supporting most of her weight. “Hey, how tall are you?”

Eva realized the nurse was no taller than Zoe. “Six-two.”

“That’s tall,” the nurse replied, getting Eva settled on the wheelchair. She plucked the blanket off the bed and tucked it around her lap. “Doing okay there?”

Getting a nod from Eva, she opened the doors leading to a small balcony that overlooked a park. She wheeled Eva out to the sunny balcony, near an overhanging jacaranda tree then went back inside the room.

Eva closed her eyes and let the warmth of the sun relax her. She wasn’t feeling nauseous, even though she’d had some breakfast earlier. What she wanted most, apart from getting out of the hospital, was to hold her partner without worrying if someone was going to interrupt them. To snuggle up and just hold her. In all the years they’d been together, they’d never had a night apart from each other and it felt strange now to sleep alone. Eva had spent 24 years of her life sleeping alone and she’d hated it. Not having Zoe sleep with her was like missing a part of herself.

She heard the door open and assumed it was Danielle coming back to check on her so she kept her eyes closed.

“Good morning, Evy.” Zoe greeted her, bending down for a kiss.

Eva opened her eyes and gave her partner a dazzling smile. “I was thinking about you.”

“Really? What were you thinking about?” Zoe asked as she pulled up a chair and sat next to her. Eva took her hand and kissed it.

“That I missed you and I want to hold you again.” She patted her lap for Zoe to sit down.

“No way,” Zoe protested.

“Please? I’ve missed holding you,” Eva pleaded. Zoe rolled her eyes, put down the basket she was holding and, as gently as possible, climbed onto Eva’s lap.

“Oh, I like this,” Zoe mumbled, stroking Eva’s cheek. “I’ve missed you so much,” she whispered and tenderly kissed Eva gently on the lips. They broke apart, looking into each other’s eyes and smiling. “Has Nurse Danielle been nice?”

“She’s okay.”

“Yeah she’s not as rough as your night nurse.”

“Don’t I know it,” Eva replied having been on the receiving end of the older nurse’s ministrations. “She has a sailor’s hands.”

“Was she the one who washed you?”

“Unfortunately,” Eva grumbled. “She wanted to know about the scars.” Eva whispered as Zoe held her. The scars on the tall woman’s back were a constant reminder of the brutal treatment she’d received at the hands of her stepfather, who had administered the beatings, and of her uncle who had tried, unsuccessfully, to find a ‘cure’ for her lesbianism. It wasn’t good for Captain Hans Muller, Nazi wunderkind, to be known to have a homosexual daughter. Her body bore the physical scars and her mind bore the mental ones that were sometimes harder to endure.

“Why did she ask about them?” Zoe asked.

“I guess she was curious,” Eva shrugged. “She was also the nurse that I hit that first night.”

“You hit a nurse?”

“I had a nightmare.” Eva pursed her lips in thought then took a deep breath. “I don’t know if it was a nightmare or a flashback. I just opened my eye and I saw her with a syringe…”

“And you lost it?”

Eva licked her lips and nodded. “I lost it.”

“Why?”

“I hate hospitals, Zo, I really do,” Eva stated the obvious. Zoe knew all about Eva’s aversions to hospitals and doctors; not that she was thrilled with them but Eva would do anything not to step into a hospital. The smell was the worst for her; it triggered memories that she wanted to forget. Zoe was first aware of her phobia when Eva had a near panic attack soon after visiting a friend. Over the years, Eva’s fear had dissipated somewhat.

“I know, Evy. What happened with Jackboot Sue?”

“She was going to give me something and I …” Eva scratched her ear and looked a little sheepish as she related her story. “I pushed her away and the syringe fell on the floor.”

“Oh, did you tell her about …?”

“No,” Eva replied. “She told me off and she sounded so much like the nurse at … I just felt trapped.”

“We both had a rough time that night,” Zoe sighed and intertwined her fingers with her partner’s. “I can’t wait to take you home so I can pamper you.”

The two women sat outside for some time as they talked. They both missed being able to cuddle and just relax in each other’s company. As soon as Zoe thought her partner’s energy was flagging, she brought her back inside.

Chapter 18

SHE WAS FINALLY GOING home, an event Eva had been looking forward to as though it were Christmas. The stitches on the back of her head were itchy and she resisted the urge to scratch through the gauze. The doctor had told her there would only going be a small scar but that it would be soon covered by her hair when it grew back. ‘Well, there’s one scar I won’t be able to see,’ Eva thought to herself.

Overall she was feeling a bit on the woozy side and the doctor had warned her not to do anything strenuous. Eva wasn’t in any hurry to rush around; the furthest she was aiming for was the bedroom and bathroom.

She rested her head on Zoe’s shoulder and closed her eyes. The car ride was exceedingly slow, with Earl apologizing for every pothole the car found to go over. The hospital stay had tested Eva’s patience and her mood had swung from moment to moment. She hated being so out of control emotionally.

Another pothole, another apology came from Earl, who winced himself when the car went over it. Zoe looked down at her partner’s pale face and sighed. “Almost there, Evy.” Zoe rubbed her hand over her partner’s back, getting a small groan from Eva.

Finally Earl turned into their driveway and stopped the car. Pat got out of the front seat, removed the bag from the back, then took the steps to the house two at a time. Elena was waiting for them as they arrived.

“Hey, we’re home,” Zoe whispered and got a nod from Eva who wasn’t in the mood to talk.

“I’ll take her in,” Earl said as he put one arm under Eva’s knees and the other around her back, lifting her out of the car.

“I can walk,” Eva grumbled.

He grinned. “Yeah, I know, Mate, but Zoe is going to have my hide if you fall and we have to go back to the hospital. You don’t want Zoe to beat me up, do you?” Earl straightened up with Eva in his arms. “You’ve lost weight,” he said as he took the steps to the house.

Earl carefully made his way into the bedroom with his precious cargo and laid Eva down on the bed, while Pat shut the curtains and put away the bag in military precision. The moment Eva had found out she could go home, Earl and Pat magically turned up at the hospital, settled Eva in her wheelchair and took her to the car where Zoe was waiting.

Eva stretched out on the bed. She put her arm over her eyes and exhaled. That was the bumpiest ride she’d ever had, but she silently blessed their friends for being so loyal. She could hear Zoe talking outside to the boys and then drifted off.

Zoe came back inside to find Eva asleep. She watched the tall woman for a long moment before taking a blanket and covering her. “Sleep well, Evy,” she whispered and kissed her gently.

*

Eva took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She had a small headache but other than that fell fine. The nap had done her a lot of good. A hint of jasmine wafted through the open window and the sound of Zoe in the kitchen gave her a sense of peace. No more proddings from nurses or 5:00 am wakeups to see if she was asleep. Eva turned her head when the door opened and Zoe entered with a tray.

“Hey, there. Have a nice nap?”

“It was nice,” Eva smiled as Zoe put the tray down and helped her sit up. Eva wanted to tell her partner she was perfectly capable of sitting up without help but she restrained herself. Zoe had been worried about her for the last two weeks. She wanted to fuss over her partner and Eva was going to let her.

“You must have been really tired. You were out for several hours,” Zoe told her and set the tray in front of her.

Eva was surprised to find one of her favourite dishes; stuffed tomatoes and peppers with baked potatoes, a cup of hot tea and to finish off the meal, a piece of cheesecake. “Did you make this today?”

“El did the cheesecake but I did the stuffed tomatoes. I needed something to do while you were asleep,” Zoe smiled.

“You could have had a rest yourself, love,” Eva replied knowing Zoe was tired from the worry and being at the hospital every day from 9:00 am to 8:00 pm. Her only time for a rest was when they shooed everyone out at midday for two hours. Eva was certain Zoe didn’t rest and the dark circles under the younger woman’s eyes were a testament to it.

“I’m okay,” Zoe shrugged. She hadn’t really slept in two weeks and when she did, it was fitfully and full of dreams she would rather forget.

“I think you need to have some rest, love,” Eva held out her hand and Zoe took it and held it against her heart.

“You’re home and that’s all that matters,” Zoe said and kissed her partner’s hand. “Now eat up. You’ve lost too much weight.”

Eva closed her eyes and inhaled the wonderful aroma of the food. “Oh boy, I bet this is better than the slop at the hospital,” she said and began to eat in earnest, which pleased her partner no end.

*

Zoe closed her eyes and exhaled. She was tired and her entire body hurt if she moved a muscle. The constant worry and anxiety came crashing to earth as she stretched out on the sofa. She didn’t want to go to bed but wanted to unwind a little. Eva had eaten and was dozing again which was good.

Zoe’s thoughts went to the previous day’s events. Danielle had given her a lot to think about with the news of the new techniques the doctors were using for scar removal. She had been late getting to the hospital because she’d overslept and Elena hadn’t wanted to wake her. That annoyed Zoe but she kept her temper in check, knowing her friend was only trying to help.

As soon as Zoe walked through the door she knew that something had happened. Eva was lying on her side and uncommunicative, other than a curt greeting to Zoe. Over the past ten days Zoe had seen Eva in all kinds of moods, but this was different; this wasn’t Eva’s normal behaviour, even when she was annoyed. After taking the chair and dragging it next to the bed, Zoe rested her hand on Eva’s waist.

“Evy, what’s the matter?”

“I have a headache,” Eva mumbled.

“Uh-huh, and nothing else is bothering you?”

“No,” Eva muttered. “I’m just tired,” she said and closed her eyes. That was the end of the conversation. Zoe sat back in her chair, surprised then angry at Eva’s dismissal.. Zoe’s temper was about to explode when she checked herself. Eva was the one who was hurt. She had a right to feel surly if she wanted to. When Eva had fallen asleep so Zoe decided she would ask Danielle what the problem was. She made her way to the nurse’s station and waited patiently as Danielle answered the phone.

“Can I talk to you for a minute?” Zoe asked when the nurse hung up the phone.

“Certainly,” the nurse replied and led Zoe into one of the side rooms.

Once inside, Zoe took a deep breath and turned from the window that overlooked the hospital gardens. “Danielle, did something happen overnight with Eva?”

Danielle shook her head. “Not that I know of.”

“Did anything happen this morning?”

“Well, I helped her with a fresh set of pajamas,” Danielle related not quite understanding what the concern Eva’s sister was showing.

“Ah,” Zoe nodded in understanding. “Eva is a little shy about her scars.”

“They are pretty extensive,” the nurse replied. “Was it an accident?”

“No,” Zoe shook her head.

“Ah, I see,” the nurse nodded. “I did suggest that if they bothered her … some of them look like they are painful … to see a plastic surgeon.”

“A plastic surgeon?”

“Yes, he can remove some of the scarring,” the nurse suggested. “I didn’t mean to pry into her business, Zoe. You do care for her and I can see that, but having the scars removed will go a long way toward improving her self-esteem.”

“Will this plastic surgery remove the scars?”

“Not all of them, but the majority, I’m sure, can be removed.”

“Will this surgery make her back completely scar free, like mine?” Zoe asked hopefully.

Danielle sighed. “No, it won’t.”

“Will it mean more pain for Eva?”

“In the short term, yes.”

“More pain and still there will be scarring,” Zoe summarized.

“Yes,” Danielle nodded.

Zoe sat down on the sofa and let her head rest backwards. “I thought you were going to say that it would remove them.”

“The scarring is deep, Zoe, and I don’t think it’s possible to remove them all, but they can do something to help her.” Danielle had explained the procedure and told her that she had worked with a plastic surgeon who was trying some new techniques that had achieved good results.

Zoe didn’t think about it any more because her eyes drooped and her tired body gave out. She fell asleep on the sofa letting the book she held fall to the floor with a thud.

Chapter 19

“PSST! PSST!” PAT HISSED and tugged on Zoe’s jacket before turning back to the door. They were both in Jack’s office looking over the new display for the art section. Zoe and Jack turned around to stare at Pat, who was looking out the door. Zoe gave Jack a shrug before turning her attention to her friend.

“What’s the matter, Patty? Sprung a leak?” Zoe joked and turned back to the advertising leaflets for her first art exhibition. Jack had created the leaflet, which displayed Eva’s photographs of Zoe’s artwork on the front and a small blurb at the back. Her artwork was selling quite well at Turn The Page, to her utter amazement. Jack was getting orders for family portraits and other requests; so far, her most unusual order had been for a painting to be done from an old photograph of someone’s grandparents.

“Oy, Zoe! Come here!” Pat turned and took Zoe’s hand causing her to stumble into him. “Look.” He pointed outside.

“Oh, my God,” Zoe said. She couldn’t believe her eyes, but it was true. Her old nemesis, Amery Henderson, was in the shop, in particular, in the artwork section. Zoe watched for a moment as Henderson stopped at every painting, nodded a couple of times and then moved on to the next. She wondered if he only had one suit since it was the same one she had seen him in every day when she worked at the Gallery.

Jack joined them at the door to see what the fuss was about. “So, what am I supposed to be looking at?”

“Do you see that bald-headed guy with the really bad suit?”

“Yep, sure do. That’s called a customer, Pat,” Jack joked. “We like that type of people.”

Zoe groaned at the bad joke. “Do you know him?”

“Not well enough to invite him to dinner.” Jack chuckled. “He’s been in the shop a few times. Why?”

“Amery Henderson.” Zoe spat out the name, which still left a bitter taste in her mouth. It had been a few months since Zoe had been sacked from the Gallery but the humiliation of it still stung the young woman.

Jack was very aware of the story of Amery Henderson and Zoe’s dismissal. On one hand it was despicable but Jack thanked his lucky stars that Zoe was now showcasing her artwork in his store. The NSW Art Gallery’s loss was his gain. “That is Amery Henderson?”

“Yep,” Pat muttered as he continued to watch the man.

“Ugly bastard! I was going to sell him two of your work!” Jack paled a little at the sight of Zoe’s angry face. “Don’t kill me, Zoe!”

Zoe sat down on the chair, muttering to herself in Greek. Jack turned to Pat, who just shrugged.

“Don’t ask. It’s all Greek to me.” Pat grinned. “You know, Zoe, you were lucky, Mate. You didn’t have to kiss the guy.” He shuddered at the memory.

“I still think you should have gotten a rabies shot for that,” Zoe said.

“That would have hurt,” Pat replied and went back to watching Henderson. “Hey, Jack, do you still want him as a customer?”

Jack wondered what Pat meant and decided to go along with whatever he was cooking up. He had became fast friends with Zoe and Eva after realizing they had Pat and Earl’s friendship in common. “What’s going on in that fiendish mind of yours? By the way, you can’t kiss him again. I don’t have any smelling salts for the ladies in the tea shop,” Jack teased him, indicating area above the book store which was a new addition. Zoe had suggested to him that a tea house would be just the thing tired shoppers would want to go to.

“Nah, I wouldn’t kiss him again,” Pat replied and removed his tie, loosened his shirt and removed it then ruffled his hair, giving the shirt to Zoe to hold. Both Jack and Zoe watched in amazement.

“And don’t damage any books or artwork, ” Jack whispered, watching his friend move toward the rotund art dealer.

Pat took a look to see if anyone else was in the art section and, satisfied that Henderson was by himself, he winked at Zoe and left the office.

“Eva is not going to believe this,” Zoe mumbled as she watched Pat waltz up to the unsuspecting older man.

“Amery!” Pat screeched.

Henderson was admiring the artwork when he heard the screech and turned around. His eyes went wide upon catching sight of the shirtless man who was leering at him. He took a step and backed into the wall, dropping his hat in the process.

“Isn’t it wonderful to see you?” Pat wrapped his arm around the older man’s shoulders. “How have you been?”

“Oh NO! Not you again!”

Henderson remembered the strange man that hugged and kissed him at the Gallery. He shuddered at the memory. He could still remember the tirade from the director, who had been livid when she’d caught Henderson with this man draped over him. His demotion had been a cruel blow, but he was somewhat grateful that he hadn’t been sacked. What made the whole thing even most sickening was the kiss. The memory of the man’s mouth on his made him sick to his stomach. He didn’t think he would ever recover from it.

“You remember me!” Pat squealed in delight.

“Yes, I remember you,” Henderson nodded, his double chin bopping up and down.

“You cheeky devil! At the Gallery, you said you didn’t remember.” Pat squeezed the man’s cheek and then gently slapped him. He took Henderson’s hand and placed it on his chest. “You feel that? My heart is beating for you, Amery.”

Henderson roughly took his hand back as if it was burnt and stared at it, then looked back at Pat, who was trying valiantly not to laugh. “You’re crazy!”

“Crazy for you, baby!” Pat kissed his hand and batted his eyelashes.

“You are disgusting,” Henderson screamed at the top of his voice. He pushed Pat out of the way and ran out of the shop, his hat forgotten. He stopped, looked back for a moment and then took off at a run again.

Zoe was on her knees on the floor laughing hysterically. Tears streamed down her face as Pat rejoined them. Zoe fought to stop laughing, but gave up and lay on the floor.

Jack wasn’t sure who was funnier, Zoe or Pat. “I don’t think Mr. Henderson will ever come into my bookshop again,” he said, grinning. “Frankly, I couldn’t care less.”

“Oh, God,” Zoe wailed, hitting the carpet with her hand and starting another wave of hysterical laughter. Every time Zoe would begin to stop laughing, she would look at Pat and start up anew.

*

Zoe was still chuckling when she put the key in the door. When Zoe entered, Louis Armstrong filled the house. Over the course of the last month Eva had taken to playing jazz during the day to relax her. The American musician was one of their favorites. Zoe removed her jacket as she walked into the living room and stopped short when she saw the ‘addition’ to the decor. In the center of the room was a huge wooden box.

“Hmhm,” Zoe leaned over the crate then smiled when she saw the sender’s name and address. Leaving the living room, she headed into the bedroom, which was empty. Zoe left her bag and jacket on the bed and went in search of her partner.

She found Eva in the bathroom, lying in the tub, her head resting on the rim, which was cushioned by a towel. Zoe leaned against the door jam and watched her for a few moments. Her partner’s injuries had now completely healed and all that remained visible was a tiny scar above her right eyebrow. Eva’s eyes were closed and her hands rested against the rim of the porcelain tub. Zoe slowly backed out of the bathroom and went into Eva’s darkroom. After finding the camera she wanted, she put in a new roll of film.

She quietly made her way back to the bathroom. Eva looked so much at peace, with a tiny smile playing on her lips, that Zoe wanted to get a few photos and then join her in the bath.

Eva was aware her partner was home and she smiled slightly to herself as her partner went in search of a camera. She had given up trying to dissuade Zoe from taking photos of her and just went with it. After Zoe had used what appeared to be an entire roll of film taking snapshots of her, Eva opened her eyes and turned to the door.

“Are you finished yet?”

Zoe grinned. “I thought you were asleep.” She left the camera on the chair and knelt beside the tub. “Hi,” she said and kissed Eva. “What have you been doing?”

“I tried to do some gardening but my world started to spin, so I stopped.” Eva shrugged. She had grown accustomed to the dizzy spells that made life a little difficult. The doctor had told her she would experience them and headaches. She got both in good measure, which frustrated her.

“Ah, and here I thought I was the only thing to make your head spin,” Zoe joked, giving Eva a gentle kiss.

“You make my world spin,” Eva took her partner’s slender hands in her own and kissed them.

“Omi sent your things.” Zoe shifted and sat on the edge of the tub. “Did you open it yet?”

“No, I was waiting for you,” Eva replied. “There’re a lot of memories in that crate and I wanted to share them with you.”

“Aw, you are so sweet.” Zoe leaned down and kissed her partner again , “not to mention wet,” she said when Eva splashed her.

“Do you want some company?” Zoe put her arms around her partner’s neck “I have something to tell you and we got some mail.”

“On one condition.” Eva held up her finger.

“Anything.”

“You get naked.” Eva chuckled when Zoe quickly removed her clothes, letting them drop on the tiles.

“You did say to get naked, right?”

“Yeah.” Eva nodded quickly, gazing at her partner’s flawless body for a long time. Zoe was a petite woman with curves in all the right places. Eva found the sight breathtaking. She moved back and let Zoe sit in between her long legs. The smaller woman lay back against Eva and rested against her chest.

“Oh nice,” Eva murmured as she put her arms around Zoe. “What’s happened at the bookshop?” she asked, distracting her partner by nuzzling her neck.

“Henderson came into the shop and …” Zoe stopped when Eva’s started nibbling on her ear “Uh … um and um…” she stammered when Eva resumed nuzzling her neck, her hands cupping Zoe’s breasts. “Uh.”

Eva stopped and grinned. “What about the bookshop?” she asked as Zoe elicited a frustrated groan..

“Uh … bookshop?” Zoe’s mind couldn’t form a coherent thought, let alone pick up her story. All she could think about was what Eva’s hands were doing to her.. She finally surrendered to her partner’s touch and forgot all about the bookshop.

Chapter 20

EVA SIGHED WITH contentment as she lay on the couch. After their leisurely bath, during which she had teased her partner until the younger woman couldn’t take it anymore, they had retired to the bedroom for a much more comfortable time. Eva smiled as she recalled of the depths of her partner’s passion. Zoe always gave herself completely when they made love. It was only one of the things Eva treasured about her partner.

Eva sat up carefully, swinging her long legs over the side of the couch. When the room stopped spinning, the tall woman eased herself forward, reaching into the large, wooden box that sat on the floor near the couch. Her fingers encountered a slim, cloth-covered volume. One of the surprises in the crate were two journals. One was her own, which she had totally forgotten about and was surprised to find had survived.

Zoe entered the living room with two hot cups of cocoa, which she placed on the coffee table next to Eva. Her partner made some room and they both cuddled up, with Zoe leaning back against the tall woman’s chest. Eva handed Zoe the dog-earred journal then picked up one of the cups of cocoa. After she had enjoyed a mouthful of the sweet liquid, she glanced at her partner who was trying to read the book and she smiled.

“Find anything interesting?”

Zoe looked up and smiled. “You wrote so neatly,” she said and held the book up. “Evy, this in code.”

“Yes, it is,” Eva chuckled. “My mother opened my diary one day and I was mortified so I decided to write in a code a friend devised.”

“Can you read it?”

Eva put down the cocoa and held out her hand. Zoe handed the book over. Eva flipped through a few pages and came to the spot she wanted to read out loud.

“‘Today’,” Eva began to read, “‘I have found that I like girls. Well, one girl in particular. She is really pretty and I forget my name around her’.” Eva made a face as Zoe’s eyebrows disappeared under her bangs. Eva continued to read, “‘Does that mean I’m like Marlene?’”

“Who’s Marlene?” Zoe asked.

Eva swooned at the name and fell back on the sofa with her hand over her eyes. “Oh, I had dreams about that woman.”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah,” Eva sighed. “Marlene Dietrich, the actress. She was such a beautiful woman.”

“And a lesbian?”

“Poster gal for us,” Eva confirmed, handing the journal back to Zoe.

“Hmm, don’t know her,” Zoe shook her head.

Eva grinned and eased Zoe forward, bringing her long legs to hang off the side of the couch. She knelt next to the crate and rummaged through papers and photos until she found what she was looking for. “Ah ha!” Eva looked at the yellowed photo and sighed dramatically. “This is Marlene Dietrich,” she said and gave the photo to Zoe.

It was a black and white photo, yellowing at the sides. The woman at the center of the picture had a cigarette in a stub-holder which looked rather elegant, despite Zoe’s aversion to smoking. She wore a black fur coat draped around her. “She’s beautiful.”

“Willie called me Marlene for a while,” Eva chuckled in remembering her childhood friend. She picked up a photo and looked at it for a long moment.

“Who’s that?” Zoe asked and indicated the photo.

“Before you came along, love, this was my best friend,” Eva gave the photo to Zoe who gazed at it. One teenager in the picture was very familiar; it was Eva, with long, braided hair and wearing a Hitler Youth uniform. Next to her was a young boy in his early teens with blonde hair and light colored eyes. The two youngsters had their arms around each other and were laughing into the camera.

“What’s his name?” Zoe asked as Eva resumed her position behind her.

“Wilhelm Maximilion Leon Niklas Becker,” Eva replied and laughed. Willie’s full name was a source of fun for Eva who found it extraordinarily funny to have four names. “Willie.”

“Willie?”

“Hmm, he was my best friend,” Eva looked at the photo that brought back happy memories of her childhood. There weren’t many moments that she could remember fondly but her friendship with Willie was the best thing that had happened to the young girl. “You know for a long time I wondered why I fell in love with you so quickly,” Eva said, playing with a lock of Zoe’s chestnut hair.

“You did?” Zoe turned around and looked up. “It wasn’t because I wanted to kill you?”

“No, that wasn’t it,” Eva chuckled. “You and Willie are so alike.”

“We are?”

“Hm,” Eva nodded. From the moment Zoe had entered her life on that autumn day, she felt like she had known Zoe for all of her life. Despite her misgivings, despite the threat of being found out by her stepfather she couldn’t help herself into liking the young woman. Finally she had let go of the fear and gave in to loving her. “You both have the same love of life and you’re not afraid of anything.” Eva curled the wavy tresses around Zoe’s ear.

“I’m afraid of things,” Zoe said a little puzzled since they both knew where Zoe’s fears lay.

“I don’t mean that, love, I mean you’re not afraid to see what’s over the next hill,” Eva tried to explain. “Willie was like that.”

“So I remind you of Willie?”

Eva nodded. “Oh my goodness, yes,” Eva chuckled. “He had a joy about him and wanted to see the world. I loved him.”

“You did?” Zoe’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

“Not that way, Zo,” Eva kissed her partner. “Willie was like my brother.”

Zoe smiled to herself. Eva seldom talked about her past with so much passion in her voice. Whoever this Willie was, she knew it was someone that made her partner happy. That alone made Wilhelm Maximilion Leon Niklas Becker one of Zoe’s favourite people.

“What happened to him?”

Eva shook her head sadly. “I don’t know. Willie followed his father into the army and wanted to be a career soldier.”

“I was just beginning to like Willie,” Zoe mumbled. All the German soldiers she met were rude, arrogant bullies who made her life hell. “Nazi bullies.”

“Oh no, love, Willie wasn’t like that. Not really,” Eva defended her friend whom she knew wouldn’t disgrace himself or his family in following the Nazi creed. “He had a beautiful soul, Zo, he really did.”

“Then why did he go into the army?”

“He wanted to be a soldier ever since he was ten,” Eva explained and thought back to all the ‘war games’ they’d played. Eva sometimes won but she suspected Willie had let her win on those occasions. “He wasn’t a Nazi.”

“I thought all soldiers were Nazis,” Zoe titled her head back a bit and looked at her partner who was shaking her head. “They weren’t?”

“Not all of them. Many were career soldiers,” Eva explained. “Willie’s mother was Jewish.”

“Oh wow,” Zoe was amazed at that revelation. She wondered how the young man was able to be in the Hitler Youth and have Jewish blood flowing through him.

“His mother died when Willie was eleven,” Eva told her, sensing Zoe’s next question. “His father remarried a few years after that.”

“That’s sad.”

“Hmm,” Eva nodded in agreement. “Willie was the first person I told that I loved girls.”

“What did he do?”

Eva smiled. “He was shaken and it had taken him a few days to talk to me about it,” she related. “He’s the only boy I ever kissed willingly.”

“Really?”

“Hmm,” Eva grinned and began to relate the story which caused Zoe to grin. She could see a young Eva, all gangly and shy, quite easily in her mind’s eye.

It was an unusually warm day for winter as the two children trudged back home, a little hot and tired from school. The young girl was taller than the boy, her dark hair in plaits. The young boy was of middling height and his voice had begun breaking at the most inopportune times. His blond hair was neatly cropped and he had large blue eyes.

“Willie, have you kissed a girl yet?” Eva asked her best friend.

“No, have you?” Willie chuckled and then kicked a rock.

Eva flicked him around the ears for the bad joke.

“Ow!” Willie threw his hands over his ears to protect them. “So have you?”

“No,” Eva replied. She’d never kissed anyone. She wasn’t about to count kissing her grandmother or her mother in that equation. “Does Mutti or Omi count?”

The young boy snorted. “No!”

“Hilda got kissed today.”

Willie made a noise that was halfway between a cough and a snort. He didn’t like the girl and she was always trying to boss him around. “She kissed a dog?”

Eva laughed out loud. “No!”

“Lucky dog,” Willie replied and was about to get another flick across his ears but managed to avoid Eva’s fingers.

“Jurgen kissed her,” Eva said as they came out of the classroom.

Willie spluttered and gagged at the news. “Jurgen is blind.”

They walked along for a few more minutes before Eva turned to Willie. “Want to kiss me?”

“You want me to kiss you??!” Willie cried out aghast at what his best friend was asking.

“Have you gone deaf?”

Willie went a bright shade of red as they turned into a lane leading to their houses. “Um…are you sure you want me to kiss you?”

“Why? Am I too ugly?” Eva asked feeling a little hurt that her best friend wouldn’t want to kiss her.

“NO!” Willie yelled and they both stopped. “No, I mean…Eva you are a beautiful girl. Even more beautiful than Marlene Dietrich!”

Eva’s frown turned into a huge smile over that compliment. She adored Marlene Dietrich, who was a beautiful woman. She secretly had a crush on the movie star but didn’t tell anyone about that except her friend Willie.

“Really?”

“Yes, really!”

Eva giggled. “So you want to kiss me or not?”

“I thought you didn’t like boys?!”

“You’re not a boy,” Eva reasoned and kicked a stone.

Willie looked puzzled. “Evil, you need to get glasses.” They both laughed and walked a little bit further.

“Yes,” Willie said and stopped. Eva looked down bashfully even though it had been her idea. Willie licked his lips which suddenly had gone all dry. “Don’t laugh okay?”

“Okay,” Eva nodded.

Willie took a deep breath and ever so gently kissed Eva on the lips. The young girl opened her eyes and grinned. “I liked that.”

Willie blushed. He took Eva’s hand and walked home together, quite pleased that they both had finally gotten kissed.

Zoe laughed and nearly fell off the sofa. Eva’s arms around her were the only thing keeping her from doing so.

“So you both got kissed.”

“Yeah but that was the only time because it felt funny kissing your own brother,” Eva laughed.

“Why did he call you Evil?”

Eva remained silent until Zoe turned to find her partner had gone a bright shade of red. “Oh goody! This is going to be a great story.”

“I’m not proud of it,” Eva said and then giggled. Zoe couldn’t believe how her partner was behaving. She made a mental note to herself to write to Eva’s grandmother to thank her for sending the crate; they contained memories that made her Eva happy and that was all that was important to Zoe.

“Really?”

“Yes really,” Eva grinned. “You really want to hear it?”

Zoe nodded enthusiastically.

“Well okay,” Eva relented. It was one of those moments in her life that had brought her both embarrassment and joy. She’d always thought the embarrassment overshadowed the joy in being with her friend. “We had this really old woman who lived on the corner…”

“The local witch?”

“Yeah,” Eva smiled. “You had one too?”

“Old Mrs Trikali,” Zoe replied. “We called her Trikala Trikali,” she scrunched up her nose at the silliness of calling the old woman ‘a lunatic’. “So what happened with your witch?”

“She pelted us with grapes as we walked past every morning to go to school,” Eva chuckled. “She was a mean old thing. One day Willie suggested we collect grapes so we can throw some back at her.”

“Oh no.”

Eva leaned back and laughed. “We got into so much trouble.”

“You were going to steal grapes?” Zoe asked in mock outrage at her partner.

“No, I was going to fling them back at her,” Eva replied and chuckled at the memory. “But we had a problem. The wall was high and Willie was shorter than me so I went over.”

“How old were you then?”

“Oh we must have been thirteen. I was really tall for my age,” Eva replied. “So I jumped over to get the grapes …”

“Where was Willie?”

“Over the fence waiting for me to come back. He was standing on this wooden crate and he could barely see over the wall.” Eva leaned back and laughed at the memory. “Well, the old lady had a dog named Satan.”

“The old lady called her dog Satan?”

“Yeah,” Eva said and started to laugh again.

“Satan sees me on the ground collecting the fallen grapes.” Eva wiped the tears running down her face

“Oh no!”

“Oh yes,” Eva continued. “He went straight for my butt. When Satan bit me, I jumped so high, I could have cleared the wall.”

“How big was this dog?”

The question set Eva off again and she couldn’t stop. “A sausage dog!” she finally squeaked out.

“You got bit by a tiny little thing?”

“I had a small butt,” Eva laughed. “I climbed over the wall and fell next to Willie who was killing himself laughing.”

“Is that why you were nicknamed Evil?”

Eva nodded. “Satan bit me in the garden!” she laughed and wiped the tears from her eyes. “I had a dog bite on my butt for days.”

“I don’t remember seeing a dog bite,” Zoe teased and tried to grab her partner’s backside and getting into a tussle on the sofa. She found herself looking up into clear bright blue eyes. “You were Evil.”

“Willie made me do it,” she laughed.

Zoe gazed up at her partner. “I love the way you laugh.”

“You do?”

“My mother used to say that it warmed her heart when she was happy and that’s what it does to me,” Zoe cupped her partner’s cheek. “You warm my heart.”

“You set a fire in mine,” Eva smiled and then kissed the younger woman. They sat together for some time as Eva shared her life before the war, giving Zoe more insight into what the young Eva was like. The crate had given the tall woman some real happy memories. After a few minutes, Zoe slipped down onto the floor and began searching through the contents of the crate.

“Evy, this journal is in Greek,” Zoe said, holding the other journal in her hand as she flipped through the pages.

“Oh, can I see?” Eva asked and Zoe handed it to her. For a long moment Eva starred at the very familiar handwriting. “It’s my mother’s,” she said and closed the book.

“Don’t you want to read it?”

“I’m a little scared,” Eva confessed. After a moment, she handed the journal back to Zoe.

“Um, go to January 15, 1937,” she suggested.

“Is that a special day?”

Eva nibbled her lip for a moment. “It’s the day I told Mutti that I was a lesbian.”

“Oh,” Zoe sat down cross-legged with her back against the couch. She flipped through the journal and did find the date. She turned to at her partner who looked at the book with a little hesitation and apprehension. “Do you want me to read it?”

“No,” Eva said quietly and then changed her mind. “Yes.”

Zoe glanced at her now very anxious spouse and began to read. “‘Today my child told me I may never be a grandmother. My heart tells me I love her with everything that I am, but my mind is beyond shocked.’”

“Oh,” Eva hung her head and waited for Zoe to continue.

“Eva Panayiota,” Zoe stopped and reread the name again, “Evy, I didn’t know you had a middle name.”

Eva looked up in surprise. “I don’t.”

“Well according to this, you do,” Zoe grinned. “Panayiota.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Zoe leaned across and showed her partner the name in the journal. “Father H would be so happy,” she said knowing Eva’s real father, who was named Panayiotis, would be beyond happy that in a small way, his teenage lover hadn’t forgotten him. “Do you want me to continue?”

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Eva said in English, mimicking her friend Earl.

“‘Eva Panayiota is the child I’ve always wanted. She is so beautiful and smart. I’m disappointed today but I’m her mother and I can’t and won’t abandon her like my parents have done with me. It reminds me of Edith Braur, her son is a homosexual. She pushed him away and threw him out of the house’.”

“So that’s what happened to him,” Eva muttered thinking back to the unanswered questions about her young classmate who hadn’t come back to school after the summer break.

Zoe read ahead and then stopped. “Oh that’s sad.”

“What is?”

Zoe looked up and sighed. “Erik committed suicide,” she said quietly and began to read again. “‘That poor boy hung himself. I don’t think I could live with myself if I was the reason my little girl killed herself, God forbid. I don’t want her to be a lesbian. I don’t’.” Zoe stopped and took a sip of her cocoa that had gone cold. “‘I want to have grandchildren and great grandchildren but I know I won’t. As Pany told me the last time he saw me, sometimes we don’t get what we want. Life is like that. I love my little girl and I will always love her, even if she is a lesbian’.”

Eva smiled. In the end her mother loved her and that was all Eva needed to hear, although it pained her to listen to her mother’s words without having her alive and well.

“‘I have decided not to tell Hans. May God forgive me for keeping this from him but I don’t want him to hurt my little girl. I know he will’,” Zoe stopped and looked up to find Eva had leaned back on the sofa and had her eyes closed, listening to Zoe reading. “‘Maybe Evy will change her mind and Hans will never find out’.”

“That’s enough, love,” Eva said quietly and opened her eyes. “I don’t want to hear anymore.”

Zoe didn’t protest and put the book down. She climbed back onto the couch where Eva was sitting and curled up next to her partner. “She loved you very much.”

“I know,” Eva replied her voice breaking a little. Zoe tightened her hold around her lover as Eva broke down and let the tears fall.

Chapter 21

A CLAP OF THUNDER rattled the bedroom window which woke Eva from a wonderful dream. She lifted her head off the pillow and scowled at the rain-splattered glass. She wanted to stay in bed, curled up against Zoe. Eva wondered how Zoe could sleep through a thunderstorm, yet wake when Eva was having a bad night.

“Zoe, wake up,” Eva whispered and gently shook her by the shoulder.

“Hmm,” came the sleepy reply. “I don’t want to.”

“I have to go to work, love.” Eva liked the sound of that. She had spent close to two months at home doing paperwork, but it helped concentrate her energies, helped her relieve some of the tension.

Zoe turned around and opened one sleepy emerald eye, regarding the tall woman with a scowl. “It’s only …” Zoe twisted her head around to see the clock, ” … 7:00 a.m., Eva. You don’t start work till 9:00 a.m.”

“The early bird catches the worm, Zoe.”

“Well, this bird is going to back to sleep,” Zoe replied and curled back up. “Stop pouting,” she added.

“I’m not pouting,” Eva said, curling around Zoe’s body.

“Zoe, want to have breakfast with me?”

“Are you cooking?”

“Um…I was hoping you would make me those nice pancakes.”

Zoe chuckled and turned the other way to face a grinning Eva. “So you want me to get out of bed and make you pancakes?”

Eva nodded enthusiastically.

“I made breakfast yesterday?” Zoe reminded her partner, tapping Eva’s dimpled chin.

“But you make it so well.”

Zoe gave her spouse a look before closing her eyes. “Oh okay,” Eva mumbled putting her hand over her eyes in defeat. “What about if I make the pancakes and you join me for breakfast?”

“Oh I don’t know, Evy, it’s a hard choice. Do I stay in bed alone or watch you make breakfast? Let me think about this.” Zoe closed her eyes and scrunched up her nose in thought. She opened one eye to spy what Eva was doing and caught her lying on her back laughing.

“I’ll throw in a striptease if you join me for breakfast.”

“A striptease…hmm…” Zoe rolled over and nuzzled Eva’s neck. “Evy, you’re already halfway there.” She lifted the blanket to see that Eva wore a lot of skin and midnight blue lacy underwear.

Eva looked down her own body. “Good point,” she said and they both laughed.

Zoe sighed contently and let her fingers trace around Eva’s belly button, feeling like she had finally got her Eva back. The tall woman was much more relaxed and feeling better than she had done for months.

“Are you looking forward to going to work?”

Eva nodded. “I think it’s going to be good to get back to normal.”

“Do me a favour?”

Eva looked down at the dark head resting on her chest and smiled. “Of course.”

“You haven’t heard what it is yet, Evy.”

“I don’t have to. I’d promise you the world if I could.” She laughed when Zoe blew a raspberry upon her belly.

“Promise me three things. One, you won’t forget to have lunch.”

“Done.”

“Two, don’t talk to any blind mail sorters pushing carts with mountain size crushes on you.”

“She’s not blind, love.”

Zoe snorted.

Eva shook her head and laughed. “You are something else, Zoe. Okay, what’s number three?”

“If you see a painter, come back home.”

“Is that it?”

“Yep,” Zoe replied and looked up into twinkling blue eyes. “You think you can do that?”

“Well, if you come and have lunch with me I won’t forget to eat. I’m not sure I can avoid the blind mail girl, but I can do number three.”

“I’m going with El to the doctor and I’ll come over later. I’ll bring a nice picnic basket.”

“Perfect,” Eva replied and rolled out of bed. Zoe leaned on her elbow, watching Eva sit for a moment before getting up and stretching to get the kinks out. Zoe enjoyed this morning ritual, more than she would admit.

“Enjoying the view?” Eva asked, not bothering to turn around. She knew Zoe had a smile on her face. It was the same every morning. She didn’t mind the close examination; it was something that made her feel special. Despite the many scars scattered all over her body, her partner still found her attractive.

“I’m enjoying the view a great deal, thank you.” Zoe nodded, noticing the sagging shoulders. She pulled back the covers and sat up on the side of the bed, watching Eva as she got dressed. “What’s on your mind, Miss Eva?”

“What makes you think something is on my mind?”

“Little things. I won’t reveal my secrets,” Zoe gently teased. “Are you worried about today?”

Eva shook her head. “Nope, not really. I’m going to be doing light stuff, but I do have a meeting with Hester about the problem with Paula.”

Zoe groaned. She really hated that woman, which surprised her. She didn’t believe in expending so much energy on a wasted emotion, but Paula got under her skin. She would have dismissed the woman from her mind but for one thing … Paula had gone after Eva and, to Zoe, that was one mistake too many. “Have I told you how much I think that woman really needs a personality transplant?”

Eva nodded gravely. “Yes, love, you have.”

“Well, let me repeat it, the woman is a major boofhead,” Zoe muttered, leaving the bed and grabbing Eva’s shirt from her hands, helping to dress her, much to Eva’s amusement. “So if boofy Paula is not on your mind, what is?”

“You’re going to think it’s silly.”

“Really?” Zoe asked looking up at her partner. “Tell me and if I think it’s silly I’ll kiss you.”

“And if it’s not silly?”

“I’ll let you kiss me.” Zoe shrugged. “So spill it.” She wrapped her arms around the taller woman’s waist.

Eva hesitated for a moment, returning Zoe’s embrace. She couldn’t figure out how Zoe always managed to know what to say or do to get her to reveal her feelings. No one, not even her grandmother, was that perceptive.

“Um, it’s when you look at me when I’m getting out of bed and I see it in your eyes.” Eva tried to express her feelings at how she felt when she saw the pure lust in her partner’s eyes. “I’m … um … desirable to you.”

Zoe blinked in surprise and was speechless for a few moments. She cupped her partner’s face in her hands and looked up. “You are the most desirable woman on the planet to me.”

“I am?”

“You are,” Zoe gently pulled Eva back toward the bed and turned her around, causing the tall woman to sit then lie back on the mattress. Zoe climbed onto the bed and straddled the tall woman’s body, looking down into sapphire coloured eyes that glistened with tears. “I love and lust after you,” she whispered before lowering herself to kiss the prone woman.

*

Eva smiled to herself. It felt good to be back. She didn’t even mind the musty smell of the elevator or the annoying music it played as it crawled to the top floor, where people she didn’t even know greeted her.

She got out of the elevator and stopped. The mail cart stood alone near her office, waiting for its owner. “Oh, Zoe, I think I’m going to break a promise.” Eva chuckled to herself and walked around the cart. She pushed the door in to find Emily engaged in an animated conversation with Debbie. Both women stopped talking when Eva stepped into the office.

“Oh, Miss Haralambos! You’re back,” Emily gushed enthusiastically and went over to Eva. “I am so glad you’re back!” To Eva’s surprise, Emily hugged her tightly before releasing her. “I was just asking Debbie if the rumors were true.”

“What rumors?” Eva asked, straightening out her jacket and thinking that the woman was indeed fortunate that Zoe wasn’t with her or she might be filling in forms about a blind mail cart pusher to Personnel.

“Is it true you have brain damage?” Emily asked, gravely rubbing Eva’s shoulder and putting her arm around Eva’s waist.

Eva stiffened at the woman’s touch. She looked over Emily’s head in shock at Debbie, who only shrugged and gave her a pained expression.

“No, Emily, I don’t have brain damage,” Eva replied. Letting her annoyance come out in her voice, she added, “Can you please not touch me?”

Emily quickly removed her hand. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I know you must feel very upset, what with the damage to your head. Maybe when you’re feeling better we can discuss it.” She turned to Debbie and waved goodbye.

Eva stared at the closed door incredulously. “Not in this lifetime,” she muttered.

Debbie came around her desk and stood in front of her. “Can I hug you or does your brain damage prevent me?” she teased and got a lopsided grin from her friend. Debbie put her arms around her friend and gently squeezed.

“Welcome back, boss.”

“Thank you. So, I’ve got brain damage, huh?”

“Well it’s better than last week’s rumour,” Debbie replied, going back to her desk and leaving Eva standing there with an expectant look on her face.

“Okay, I’ll play. What was the rumor last week?”

“The damage to your brain was so bad you were in Callam Park,” Debbie said with a straight face, referring to a mental institution that mothers threatened their children with to get them to listen. Eva groaned. “Does this place do any work?”

“Beats me, I work so hard I don’t have time to gossip,” Debbie replied solemnly and began to laugh when she saw the look on Eva’s face. “Now before you are buried in the paperwork in your office, I have to tell you that your office is going to be repainted …”

“What?” Eva yelled surprising herself and her secretary.

Debbie started to laugh. “It’s a joke, don’t kill me, it wasn’t mine. Honest. Mr. Hester thought it was funny.”

“You’re fired,” Eva grumbled and walked into her office.

Debbie chuckled. “Oh good, a vacation. Just what I need.”

Chapter 22

ELENA SAT ON THE veranda sipping a cup of tea. She had been feeling out of sorts all morning with twinges that she thought might be contractions but, since she had had false starts with Albert and Beth, she didn’t think they were serious. As a result, she had been quite difficult to live with the last few days. She was certain of this but her husband was a saint. He never complained even when he was awakened in the middle of the night to get Elena a drink of water or a bar of chocolate.

Elena’s patience had evaporated more with each day that passed. She was tired of being pregnant, tired of her sore back, tired of her sore legs, tired of her enormous size which gave her all sorts of problems. Pregnancy did not agree with this young woman.

Despite that she was eagerly looking forward to seeing her twins. Her oldest son, AJ, was a handful but gave her life boundless joy. She and Friedrich had also had a little girl, Beth, who had tragically died after contracting a vicious strain of influenza when Elena was into her fourth month with the twins. The death of her baby girl had been traumatic and had left them both devastated. If it hadn’t been for the support of her husband and her friends, Elena doubted she would have survived it. She had to for the sake of the two tiny lives that were inside her body.

“Hey.” Zoe came around the corner from her house and sat opposite her friend. “Are you ready to go.”

“In a bit.”

Zoe pulled the picnic basket in front of her and looked at her friend for a long moment. Elena looked tired, which wasn’t unexpected since she was close to the delivery date for the twins. “Are you okay?”

Elena was about to reply tersely when she stopped herself. Taking in a deep breath and releasing it, she nodded. “I’m bloated.”

“You look beautiful,” Zoe said simply and sat back as her friend looked back at her in disbelief. “You do, El, you look beautiful.”

“I’m bloated like a whale.”

“Whales aren’t bloated,” Zoe replied with a small smile.

“Okay, I’m bloated like a puffer fish,” Elena amended and put her hands on her swelled belly.

Zoe nibbled her lip in thought and then shook her head. “No, you don’t look like a puffer fish either,” she said. She got up from her seat and knelt beside her friend. “You look radiant. You’re tired from carrying Larissa and Baby No Name. This too shall pass.”

Elena scowled. “Zoe, you have no idea what this is like.”

“No, I don’t,” Zoe replied quietly and took her friend’s hand. “But I know what I see and I can see a woman who is going to give birth to two beautiful babies.”

“Two babies you’re going to be changing nappies for.” Elena smiled for the first time that morning.

“I’m up to the task and so is Eva,” Zoe smiled.

“Does Eva know she will be changing nappies?”

“Of course,” Zoe giggled. “We both will.”

“And baby sit?”

“Absolutely,” Zoe nodded. “But I think Evy draws the line at 2 am feedings.”

Elena chuckled and ruffled Zoe’s chestnut-colored hair. “You are good for me, Zo.”

“Of course I am,” Zoe chuckled. “It’s in the contract I signed.”

“Don’t ever change, my friend.” Elena crooked her finger and Zoe rose a little to get a kiss on the cheek. “So, what are you doing with the picnic basket?”

“Going to feed Eva after we go to the doctor’s office.” Zoe opened the hamper and showed Elena the Coca Cola cans and sandwiches she had made earlier.

“Eva likes Coca Cola, does she?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe nodded. “And roast beef sandwiches.”

Elena smiled at her friend. “I told you she was going to be okay.”

Zoe nodded thoughtfully. “I know. She still gets dizzy spells and gets very tired, but I don’t think she’s going to be like Dimi. Thank God.”

“You were seriously worried about that, weren’t you?” Elena asked gently.

Zoe nodded and sat back down on her chair. She glanced away towards the garden trying to convey in words how she felt during that dark time. “I just didn’t want her to end up like that.”

“But she hasn’t.”

“No,” Zoe smiled. “She’s getting better. She was very excited this morning about going back to work.”

“So, have you called her yet?” Elena smirked.

“No,” Zoe replied as she played with the handles of the picnic basket.

Elena frowned. “Who are you and what have you done with Zoe?”

Zoe glanced up and smiled. “Evy said she was going to be in a meeting with Hester this morning so she wouldn’t be there, even if I did call.”

“Oh,” Elena chuckled. “But you are going to call, right?”

“Of course.”

The two friends looked at each other and laughed. Elena felt a little better and her mood had brightened. She was amazed how good she felt whenever she got together with Zoe.

“Where’s AJ?”

“Angela is babysitting. He’s got a bit of a cold, so I thought it better that he stay at home,” Elena replied.

“Okay. Well, I’m going to put this in the car.” Zoe held up the basket and then scooted down the stairs to go to the car which was parked outside.

Elena watched her go and smiled. She sat there for a few more as she finished her tea. By leaning on the table, she was able to get up, but when she did, she felt a hearty cramp shot through her stomach. She inhaled sharply and sat down again.

“Argh, this is not good,” she muttered and grimaced as a second cramp hit her. “Oh boy, not good at all.” She took several breaths to steady herself. “Zoe!” she called out hoping her friend was coming back. “You cherubs in a hurry?” she quietly addressed her belly, rubbing slow circles across the swollen area.

Seconds passed as hours as Elena sat there stroking her belly. Slowly, the pain built again, then receded. She was beyond relieved when she saw Zoe coming towards her. Her friend took one look at her and bolted to her side, dropping to her knees in front next to Elena.

“What’s wrong?”

“I think Larissa and Baby No Name want to come early.” Elena took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

“Oh no, they can’t!” Zoe stood in alarm. “No, no, no.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” Elena told her and she was about to chuckle at Zoe’s response when a full contraction hit. “Oh, Zoe! I think we’d better go to the hospital.”

“Right, the hospital,” Zoe repeated and bolted for the car, leaving Elena still sitting on the chair.

Elena shook her head and tried to get up herself. A moment later Zoe came rushing back, looking very sheepishly at her friend. “I forgot to get you.”

“No kidding,” Elena replied as Zoe held her arm and helped get her up. Elena leaned against her friend for a long moment and they slowly made their way down the path from the back yard to the front to where the car was parked.

“Oh, this isn’t good,” Zoe muttered to herself and helped Elena sit in the front.

“Zoe,” Elena put her hand on Zoe’s arm to get her attention. “You want to stay calm here.”

“I am calm,” Zoe replied and fumbled with the keys to the ignition. “Oh yeah, really calm.”

“I can see that,” Elena mumbled as Zoe swore under her breath as she dropped the keys. She picked them up and inserted them into the ignition. She then stopped and swore loudly in Greek.

“I can’t drive,” Zoe muttered in disgust. “You have to.”

Elena gave her a look and then pointed to the her belly. “I don’t think so, Zoe. Call a taxi,” Elena suggested as another contraction hit her. “Ohhhh boooy!”

“Oh, a taxi won’t get here fast enough, El.” Zoe let her head fall on the steering wheel for a moment, trying to figure out a solution to their problem. After a moment she looked up. “I’ve got it!”

“Please don’t give it to me. I’ve got enough to worry about,” Elena mumbled

“Don’t go anywhere,” Zoe told her and raced out of the car and disappeared down her own driveway.

Elena took deep breaths and slowly counted until Zoe came back. She didn’t have to wait long as Zoe came racing out of the driveway on her motorcycle. “Oh no,” Elena whispered.

“Come on, El.” Zoe ran around to Elena’s side and helped her out of the car. “I’ve cleared away everything in the sidecar and it’s going to be perfect.”

“A perfect way to kill us,” Elena murmured scowling at the sidecar. “Just don’t go fast.”

“Elena, I promise to drive really carefully,” Zoe assured her friend and crossed herself.

Elena shook her head, but she let Zoe help her get into the sidecar. It was a very tight fit. She knew it was a bad idea, but the car had died and they didn’t have time to try to work out why. The taxi would take forever to get there and so she put her life and her babies in the hands of her friend.

“Zoe….” Elena frowned as Zoe shoved the helmet onto her head, patted her belly and turned to put on her own helmet and gloves.

“Yes?”

“Forget what I said about going slow okay?” Elena grimaced when another jolt of pain hit her.

“Oh, okay.” Zoe fumbled with her keys again. “Damn it,” she muttered and then sat very still for a moment, offering a silent prayer to the motorcycle god, asking for guidance on their journey. Finally, Zoe turned the key and started the bike. She gunned the engine and they roared off down the road with Elena holding on for dear life, offering her own silent prayer.

*

The door was ajar and Abels entered the office. He was a little disappointed to find it vacant and was about to leave when someone cleared their throat behind him. He turned to find Paula scowling at him.

“Yes?”

“Um, I was looking for Eva Haralambos.” Abels half smiled and indicated the door.

“Isn’t her secretary in the office?” Paula asked not bothering to wait for an answer as she looked inside herself to find it empty. “I guess not.”

“I’ll come back.”

“Who are you?” Paula demanded not liking the look of the man nor his accent. Another Kraut and a Jew no less. She sighed.

“I’m Isaac Abels.” Abels tipped his hat and smiled.

“Where are you from, Mr Abels?”

“Um, Germany,” he replied, a little puzzled to be asked the question.

“No,” Paula frowned. “I meant which department are you from?” she asked indicating the ID batch he wore with the department’s name obscured.

“Oh,” Abels glanced down at his badge and turned it around, displaying his security information. “I’m from War Crimes Section.”

“So, you are finally going to catch her, huh? I knew it,” Paula clasped her hands in glee. “I just knew it!”

“Pardon?”

“That woman.” Paula pointed to the door with Eva’s name on it. “She’s a war criminal.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Haralambos is not her real name, you know.” Paula’s double chin wobbled as she nodded to Abels. “It’s Muller.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Her father was a Nazi and you know what they say.” Paula leaned in and whispered, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Abels tugged on his ear. “Do you have any proof of that?”

“No, but you can be sure she’s a Nazi.”

“I can’t do much without the proof, Mrs…”

“Williams, Paula Williams,” she introduced herself.

“Mrs. Williams, as I said we can’t do anything without proof.”

“You just have to dig, Mr. Abels and you will find the proof,” Paula replied. “I know it.”

“Hmm, you may have a point.”

Paula smiled. This was the first time someone had actually considered her theory without resorting to laughing at her. Her opinion of the man changed drastically. “Thank you. I knew she was a no good, lesbian Nazi.”

Abels scratched his chin in thought. “You know Miss Haralambos?”

“Oh do I know her,” Paula scowled. “I wish I had never met the stupid woman.”

“Really?”

“Yes, if you have time, I can tell you all about her,” Paula nodded towards her office. “Come in and I’ll tell you all about her.”

Abels smiled. “Well, I do have some time before I have to go back to my office,” he replied and followed the older woman into her office.

*

“Oh, NO! NO! NO!” Zoe screamed into the wind as a siren blared behind her. She had been racing along and driving through a few red lights on the way to the hospital. Elena was somewhat distracted to pay attention and Zoe was hoping that they weren’t going to have an accident. She stopped the motorcycle and hopped off, hoping to meet the police officer before he started writing in his citation book.

“Zoe!” Elena yelled out when another contraction hit.

“Oh boy,” Zoe looked back and was about to hop back on the motorcycle and take off.

“Do you know you ran through a red light, Miss?” The police officer glared at Zoe who was looking frantically back at her friend. “Miss?”

“Ah look, Constable, um, my friend. …”

“Don’t tell me your friend told you to go fast?”

Zoe rolled her eyes and took a deep breath. “Actually, yes she did because…”

“Now, now, young lady, you know the road rules….”

Zoe put her hands on her head and exhaled. “Listen, Constable…”

“ZOE!” Elena screamed out getting the attention of both figures standing on the roadway. “My water just broke!”

“Oh, God,” Zoe groaned, heading back to the motorcycle and peering into the sidecar. “Ick.”

Elena slapped her friend’s hand in frustration. “Zoe, I’m going to have these babies right here!” she threatened.

“You’re in labor?” The policeman came over and peered into the sidecar.

“No, Constable, I’m peeing on myself,” Elena muttered angrily and shook her head at the stupidity of it all.

“Oh, follow me then!” the officer ordered. A very relieved Zoe hopped back on the bike and this time she smiled when the siren was turned on. “Hang on, El, the cavalry has arrived.”

“Oh, goodie.”

Zoe put the motorcycle into gear and followed the police car through the streets. As they neared the hospital, she grinned. She maneuvered the motorcycle up the driveway to the Emergency Entrance to the hospital where they were met by two nurses. “Hey, El, they’re coming to take you away!”

“Funny,” Elena muttered and stopped for a moment giving her friend a kiss.

Zoe smiled broadly as she sat on the motorcycle for a moment, watching the nurse wheel her friend into the hospital. But when she got off her bike, her smile turned to a scowl when she saw the police officer writing in his citation book.

Chapter 23

“THAT IS A VERY SERIOUS allegation, Mr. Abels,” Percy Hester leaned across his desk and glared at the man who stood before him.

“Yes, sir, I know and that is why I brought it to your attention,” Isaac said smoothly and then smiled. The information the secretary had given him was bordering on corruption and he suspected that Eva Haralambos wasn’t all that she appeared to be.

“Sit.” Hester waved to the man who took a seat and crossed his legs. “There are procedures in place for this complaint. Why bring it to me?”

“She’s your assistant, sir,” Abels replied. “This also impacts on your position as the Minister concerned.

“Oh, it does, does it?”

“As a legal officer for the Commonwealth, I believe it’s your duty to …”

“Cut the baloney, Mr. Abels,” Hester scowled at him and sat back in his chair. “I am well aware of who you are and I’m also aware of what my responsibilities are.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good.” Hester nodded and flipped the intercom to his secretary. “Paula, contact Miss Haralambos and ask her to come to my office.”

Abels stood to leave but was stopped by Hester’s gesture to stay. “You, sit,” he ordered.

“Sir, I have other…”

“Yes, I’m sure you do but when someone makes serious allegations against my assistant, I would prefer them made face to face.” The Minister smiled and took out a cigarette. He offered one to Abels, who declined.

*

Her face hurt. Eva ran her hand over her features and continued to smile. She couldn’t help it. She was back at work and she was happy. The office squabbles and all the other office annoyances were small and manageable. All those weeks at home had made her stir crazy; she wanted to be busy and as much as she loved having Zoe with her, she missed being useful. Zoe didn’t allow her to do any chores and it was only after pleading like a child that she was able to do some gardening. Eva knew Zoe didn’t want her to strain herself but her partner had taken caring for her to a new level.

She took a sip of her tea as she gazed outside her window and smiled again. The door opened and Debbie walked through with a scowl on her face. She stood for a moment watching Eva.

“Deb, life is good.” Eva sighed contently and sipped her tea.

Debbie’s scowl intensified as she walked around the desk, took the teacup and sniffed it. “What are you drinking?”

“Tea.”

“Sure you are. Did Zoe give you anything to perk you up?”

“No,” Eva smiled back. “I even managed to deal with Mr. Jackson in Maintenance without thinking of how I can sack him.

“You can’t anyway. He’s public service,” her secretary said and then shrugged.

“More’s the pity,” Eva sighed. “What’s on this afternoon?”

“Just got a call from Mr. Hester’s office. He wants you pronto.”

“Pronto?”

Debbie smiled. “Yes, it means ‘right now’. I think it may have to do with that Paula thing.”

“Oh.” Eva had spent some of the time in the hospital thinking about the troublesome woman who disliked her on a scale Eva didn’t think possible, given that she hadn’t done anything to the woman to warrant it. “Didn’t he say he was going to discuss that tomorrow?”

“Yep, sure did.”

“I guess he changed his mind.” Eva shrugged. She took her jacket off the back of the seat and put it on. “You’re coming with me.”

“I am?”

“You are,” Eva replied and strode out of the room leaving Debbie to close up and follow. They arrived at Mr. Hester’s office and entered to find the outer office vacant.

“In here, Eva.”

Eva entered the office and was very surprised to see Isaac Abels on a nearby chair. Paula was on the other side and two seats in front of the Minister’s desk were vacant.

“So how’s the first day back?” he asked. Percy knew his assistant worked hard and he had actually grilled Debbie when Eva went to the staff room for some tea. He didn’t want her to rush back to work but she had convinced him that she was feeling fine and was ready.

“You don’t know?” Eva replied, a well-shaped eyebrow going up.

Hester chuckled. “Now, now, I’m just curious.”

“First day back has been hectic, but nice,” Eva replied.

“That’s good.” The Minister smiled at his assistant. The electric fan whirled overhead, making the room a little cooler, but with the door closed, he assumed it was going to get stuffy very soon. “Now, do you know Mr. Abels here?”

“Yes, sir,” Eva turned to the young man and smiled.

“Mr. Abels has made some serious allegations that concern you.” Hester leaned back. “I thought it would better if he addressed them to you,” he concluded and indicated to Abels to get on with it.

The younger man cleared his throat. “On your recent trip with the Minister it has been noted that you took along your…” Abels stopped trying to find the right word to describe Eva’s ‘companion’.

“Partner,” Eva supplied.

“Lover,” Abels said and looked up to find a very bemused Eva looking back at him. “The Commonwealth paid for your airfare and accommodations since you were on duty, but we have no record of who paid for your… lover’s.”

Eva glanced at Hester who was trying valiantly to suppress a smile. She knew her boss was aware that Eva had paid for Zoe’s expenses. She turned back to Abels who was trying not to look too smug. “Debbie, can you go into the top drawer of my desk and get the Europe file?”

Debbie nodded and walked out of the office.

“Is that your serious allegation, Mr. Abels?”

“It is considered fraudulent, Miss Haralambos. Your lover is not considered a family member and the Commonwealth doesn’t condone the use of federal funds to take someone .. like that on a holiday.”

“Well, that’s good to know, Mr. Abels,” Eva smiled and nodded to Debbie who had returned with the file. “Firstly, I paid for Zoe’s airfare,” she said handed the man a copy of the documents supporting her payment.

Abels took it and stared at it for a moment before giving it back.

“Zoe’s accommodations were also paid for by me.” Eva handed him another receipt.

“What about in Larissa?” Abels asked as he glanced at his notes.

“Zoe is from Larissa and we stayed in her house. I believe the Commonwealth owes her money for my accommodations for the week we were there,” she said and heard Hester cough. She knew her boss was close to laughing.

Abels grunted and had another look at the paperwork. With a sigh he looked up and met Paula’s gaze. The older woman looked away. “Well, it seems my information was wrong,” he blustered, handing the forms back to Eva.

“It would appear so,” Eva replied. “Or, to be precise … incomplete,” she added quietly, glancing briefly at Paula.

“I would like a copy of those receipts.”

“A copy has already been sent to the Attorney General’s department and I’m quite sure you can get a copy from them,” Eva suggested, closing the file and handing it back to Debbie. Her secretary was also ready to burst out laughing.

“Yes, I’ll do that.” Abels stood. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Hester, and for clearing this matter up,” he said rather formally. He turned to Eva, who had stood and now towered over him. She stepped aside and let him pass. Abels quickly left the office, closing the door behind him.

The room was quiet for a few moments before Hester and Debbie burst out laughing.

“Oh, God!” Hester thumped on the desk and wiped his eyes. “How to win friends and impress the Minister in one easy lesson.”

Paula remained in her seat and fidgeted in embarrassment. Everyone present was well aware of where the ‘allegations’ had originated.

“Now that the clown act has finished, I want to welcome you back, Eva,” the Minister chuckled. “The place hasn’t been the same without you and, while you were gone, my workload increased tenfold.” After a moment, he got serious. He opened the desk drawer, taking out a folder and opening it up. “However, we do have a pressing matter to discuss, here. We had a security breach two months ago that was quite serious. Paula, Debbie has told me you handed her classified material. Is that correct?” Hester asked, looking over his glasses at his secretary.

Paula squirmed in her seat and glanced at Debbie for a moment before looking down at her hands.

“Well?”

“I did not,” Paula replied, meeting Eva’s eyes.

“So, how did they end being splattered with paint along with Eva?” Hester turned to Eva, who wore a pained expression, then turned back to his secretary. “Surely someone must have taken the file.”

“Maybe your assistant took them.”

Eva’s eyebrows shot up at the ridiculous statement.

“Maybe she did.” Hester nodded his head.

Eva glanced at him and decided she wasn’t going to say anything until she saw where her boss was going.

“However, she would have to have been in two places at once for that to have happened. I put the file back when I returned from a meeting. At that moment, Miss Haralambos was in another meeting. Unless she was in both offices at the same time, I can’t see how she could have taken the file, can you?”

Paula nibbled her lip in concentration. “Debbie took it.”

“What? What utter rubbish.” Debbie exploded from her seat and glared back at the older woman. “You are a lying—”

“Debbie.” Eva leaned forward in her seat and put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Calm down for a minute.”

“Debbie, did you take the file?” the Minister asked, already getting tired.

“No, sir, I certainly did not. Paula came into the office, handed me the file and said that I should put it in Eva’s briefcase.”

“Why?”

The young woman looked at Eva, who nodded for her to continue. “Paula doesn’t like Eva and she was looking for ways to get her dismissed.”

The Minister chewed the tip of his pencil and rolled in between his fingers. Office politics gave him a headache. On some days, it was worse than what he had experienced in Parliament with the Opposition. “Is this true, Paula?”

“It’s true that I don’t like Miss Haralambos. That’s not a crime as far as I know. She’s a homosexual and doesn’t deserve to be in the position you put her in and I won’t back down from that. I don’t think the law has changed about homosexuals. It’s still illegal,” Paula replied, looking directly at Eva.

Eva sat there looking at the woman with distaste. It wasn’t because Paula was so disgustingly prejudiced, Eva could deal with that. But it was her unyielding belief that she was right, without ever having taken the time to think how her views affected others.

Percy Hester had heard enough. “Debbie, you can go back to your office.”

Debbie nodded, looked at Eva for a moment before leaving the meeting, closing the door quietly behind her.

“Paula, you have two choices: you can own up to stealing the file and trying to implicate Miss Haralambos, or I will have to order the Administrative Tribunal to look into this. They will take legal action if any Commonwealth property was taken illegally.”

“What about her?” Paula hissed.

“What about Miss Haralambos? She is my assistant and unless you have some evidence to show that she has been negligent in her duties, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“She’s a homosexual!”

“Why does it bother you so much that I’m a lesbian?” Eva cocked her head to a right angle and looked at the older woman. She was secretly pleased when the older woman blanched at the word ‘lesbian’.

“Because it’s illegal and disgusting.”

“Who made you judge and jury?” Eva asked tersely.

“God forbids it!” Paula shook her finger at her in anger. “It’s an abomination.”

Eva shook her head and decided that she wasn’t going to get through to a woman who believed in a God that hated so much.

“Has Miss Haralambos made any advances toward you?” Hester asked not looking at Eva, who had an outraged look on her face.

“No!”

“Has she done anything to warrant an official reprimand or grounds for dismissal?

“Maybe.”

“Pardon?” Eva asked.

Hester was getting a headache. “And they are, specifically…?”

“There are a lot of very impressionable young people working in this department, sir. She has influenced their thinking.”

Eva’s eyebrows went as high as they could. To say she was shocked would be an understatement. Her patience was running out very quickly. “What in God’s name are you talking about?”

“Yes, what are you talking about?” Hester asked, taking two aspirin out from the bottle he kept in his desk.

“Young Emily, sir.”

“Emily? Who’s Emily?”

“She’s the clerk who delivers my mail,” Eva replied.

“Ah! So you do know who Emily is!” Paula jabbed her finger into the air between them.

“Of course I know who Emily is. I also know Joe, our janitor, Derek in security and the various cleaning staff. I didn’t know it was a crime to know these people’s names,” Eva snapped back. She was getting her own headache and her temper was showing through, much to Hester’s surprise. He’d never seen Eva angry .. mildly annoyed, but never angry.

“What about Emily?” Hester sighed.

“She’s besotted with her, can’t stop talking about her and just about worships the ground she walk on!”

“I think you’ve just lost me,” Hester said, massaging his temples. “What does Emily have to do with the stolen files?”

“Sir, by this … person being here, you are telling the rest of the department that it’s okay to be a lesbian and young Emily is following her like a puppy.”

“Is that right?” The Minister nodded.

“Yes, sir.”

“Poppycock,” he huffed.

“Pardon?” Paula looked at her boss with a bewildered look on her face.

“You heard me!” Hester bellowed. “You are using that as an excuse for your prejudice. Eva has done nothing to warrant a reprimand or dismissal. You have.”

Paula’s mouth hung open in shock. “Sir?”

“Paula, I am disgusted to say that you have vilified and slandered a decent, hard-working woman. I don’t have control over your feelings, nor do I want to, but when you work here, I expect you to leave your personal bias at home. Yes, Eva is a lesbian. I knew that when I hired her. And I certainly don’t have to explain my decisions to you!” Percy let out an exasperated sigh. “I suggest that you take the rest of the day off. I’ll be speaking to Personnel.”

“B—But…”

“Do you want to press charges?” Hester turned to Eva, who had her head bowed.

Eva looked up and shook her head. “No, sir, I don’t.”

Hester shook his head. “Consider yourself very lucky, Paula. I’m going to ask Personnel to transfer you and we are going to discuss this in private later. You may go now.”

Paula sat there for a moment, still reeling from the news. She got up slowly, taking her notebook, and left the office, closing the door quietly behind her.

*

Debbie was frantic. The call from Zoe had set her nerves on edge. Zoe had been talking at a mile a minute, not bothering to stop to take a breath. All Debbie managed to understand was that Zoe was at the hospital and Elena was in labor. They couldn’t get a hold of Friedrich and Zoe was frantic.

Eva was still in the Minister’s office and Debbie was biting her nails. She was sure if Eva was delayed any longer, she wouldn’t have any nails left to bite. Tapping a ruler against her chin, she paced up and down the office and every few minutes looked up at the clock.

To her utmost relief Eva came into the office with a stack of files in her hands. She was talking to the Minister. As soon as Eva took a look at Debbie’s expression, her casual manner changed.

“What’s the matter?” Eva asked anxiously.

“Zoe is at the hospital,” Debbie blurted out.

Eva’s eyes went wide. She dumped the files in Debbie’s hands and bolted out of the office and down the stairs, taking them two at a time, not bothering to wait for the lift. She dashed into the car park, nearly bowling over the parking attendant in her haste. When she got to her car she realized she didn’t have the keys to her car. Eva cried out in frustration and let fly with a few choice German curses, which scared the attendant even more thoroughly. She turned around to head back up to her office when she was met at the stairwell by Debbie.

“Will you stop!” Debbie screamed.

“What!” Eva barked, snatching her keys from Debbie’s hand.

“Let me finish for God’s sake!”

“Go!” Eva growled, her hand on the door to the car. Debbie took a firm hold on the taller woman’s arms.

“Zoe is at the hospital with Elena,” Debbie said slowly. Eva stopped and leaned against the door in relief. What she had thought had happened, hadn’t.

“You could have said that in the first place,” Eva admonished her friend.

“I would have,” Debbie chuckled, “if you’d hung around a minute. Listen, Zoe does need you because they can’t find Friedrich and she was really frantic.”

Eva took a deep breath and reached for the car door again.

“But you are not driving,” Debbie told her, taking back the keys. She pushed Eva aside and climbed behind the wheel.

“What?”

“Oh, get in, will you? I’m driving. The last thing Zoe needs is for you to have an accident.” Debbie chuckled at her boss’ surprised look. “Do you want to go or stay here and give me the evil eye?” She turned the key and started the car.

“Drive!” Eva ordered, hurrying around to the other side of the car. She yanked open the door and sat down on the passenger seat, slamming the door afterward.

Debbie drove the car slowly out of the car park and onto the main road. “Where are we headed?”

“King George V Hospital,” Eva replied. It wasn’t the closest maternity hospital, but it was one of the best in the Sydney area. “Can’t this car go any faster?” Eva leaned over and took a look at the speedometer.

“No, not unless you want me to have an accident. I’m already going over the speed limit.”

Eva kept looking at her watch, staring out at the traffic and rechecking the speedometer. “You know, if I got out I think I could run faster than the speed you are doing,” she muttered.

“Yeah, sure,” Debbie chuckled.

*

Eva opened the car door long before Debbie actually came to a stop. She was worried about Elena with the twins coming early and also worried about her partner, who was probably scared out of her mind. She ran from the car to the hospital lobby and was halted by a group of people who blocked her path. She groaned with frustration until she was able to get the directions she needed.

Avoiding the lift once again, Eva took the steps up to the sixth floor, passing several people along the way. Her only concern now was Zoe. Upon opening the stairwell door she found a nearly empty waiting room. Feeling totally lost she swiveled around, trying to find someone to ask where Ward 6 North was.

“Eva!”

Eva turned around to find her partner waving at her and, with a relieved sigh, she ran to her. Zoe closed the gap between them and almost cried in relief. “I’m so glad you’re here!”

“Is Elena okay?”

“I don’t know. They won’t tell me,” Zoe sniffed.

“Are you okay?” Eva rubbed her partner’s back soothingly.

“Yeah.”

“How did you get here? Did Elena drive?”

Zoe looked up into her partner’s inquiring look. “We rode in on Mabel.”

“What about…?” Eva stopped and her eyes widened when her brain processed Zoe’s statement. She stared at her partner. “Oh, you didn’t!”

“I was really careful.”

“Oh God,” Eva exhaled. “Is she okay?”

“Well she was doing a lot of yelling at me,” Zoe replied. She didn’t mention the pinching. Whenever a contraction hit, Elena had grabbed her thigh and wouldn’t let go until it passed. It was a painful experience for both of them. “Did you drive?” Zoe asked.

“No, Debbie did,” Eva replied and ran her hand through her dark hair. “Debbie said you were at the hospital and my mind just went crazy.”

Zoe smiled despite her anxiety over Elena. “You worry too much.”

“No kidding. You think so?” Eva looked down and smiled.

“And you’re sweaty.” Zoe ran her fingers down Eva’s sweaty cheek.

Eva shook her head and went to the small bathroom next to the waiting room. After splashing some water on her face, she felt a little better, more in control of herself. She was quite sure she would have to apologize to the car park attendant for her behavior.

“Now do you feel better?” The younger woman put her hand on Eva’s back.

Eva nodded. “I’m just a little excited.”

Zoe chuckled. “Okay.” She ran her hands through Eva’s hair to straighten it. “Why is your shirt wet?”

“Uh…I kinda did the miracle mile thing.”

“Miracle mile?”

“I raced down the stairs at work and then I raced up the stairs here.”

Zoe shook her head but was happy to have her partner with her. Her own heart was racing that miracle mile and she prayed that Elena would give birth to two healthy babies. She deserved that and more.

“Ah, Evy …” Zoe took out a slip of paper from her purse.

“What’s that?”

Zoe smiled. “A speeding ticket,” she said and handed the paper to Eva. “The officer was going to let me off but…”

“But?”

“He said if I went to the dance with him, he would tear up the ticket.” Zoe shrugged.

Eva grinned. “No dance,” she said as she held up the ticket.

“No,” Zoe grinned and then laughed with along with Eva who put her arms around her.

Chapter 24

“HE DID WHAT?” Zoe starred at her partner in disbelief. They were in the reception area, waiting for any news on Elena and the twins.

“I think Paula had her nose in it.” Eva sighed. She leaned back against the hard chair and twisted a little to iron out the kink in her lower back. “I think I’m having sympathy pains.”

“Is your back hurting a lot?” Zoe leaned and whispered.

“No,” Eva said and then glanced at Zoe. She didn’t need Zoe to tell her that she wasn’t believed. “Well, a little.”

“Right,” Zoe muttered and threaded her hand behind the small of Eva’s back and massaged it gently. She smiled when Eva closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. “Nice?”

“Oh yeah,” Eva whispered.

“So, what happened with Mr. Boofhead.”

“I sent him packing and I’m going to send him the bill for my stay at your house…”

“Excuse me?” Zoe eyebrows hiked up into her bangs. “My house?”

Eva bowed her head and sighed. They’d had a ‘debate’ that lasted for days concerning their joint ownership of the property in Greece. Eva had finally conceded and gave the round to her determined spouse. Zoe had taken the extra step of drawing up a new deed and adding Eva’s name to the paperwork, which surprised and touched the older woman. Eva never expected nor wanted any ownership of property of Zoe’s former home. She was happy with what the home and the property in Sydney. Zoe had other ideas.

“Our house,” Eva amended and smiled. “I keep forgetting.”

“I know, it must be old age,” Zoe gently teased her partner and let her off the hook, again. “What bill?”

“Well the Commonwealth pays for accommodations of it’s staff so technically the Government owes you for my accommodations.”

“Technically you’re wrong,” Zoe grinned.

“I know,” Eva grinned. “I can’t claim accommodations expenses for my own house.”

“See, I knew you would finally understand,” Zoe chuckled and tweaked Eva’s chin. She glanced around to where Freddy was wearing a path in the linoleum. “I think you’d better go over there and try to get him mind off this.”

Eva gave her a skeptical look. “Zoe, his wife is having twins.”

“Yes, but if you told him about Boofhead Abels, his mind will be occupied with that idiot.”

Eva smiled. “You know, you are really a brilliant woman.”

“I know,” Zoe buffed her nails on her shirt. “It’s a gift.”

“I would kiss you if I could.” Eva got up, relieved to get out of that chair, and bent down and kissed the top of Zoe’s head.

Eva approached her friend who was indeed wearing out a path in the linoleum. AJ was sitting on the plastic chair playing with his toy cars, quite oblivious to the events going on around him.

“So, are you here for a reason?” Eva attempted a joke which fell flat as Freddy turned and gave her a look.

“Elena is having our babies,” he told her and the began to pace again.

“Okay.” Eva couldn’t help but chuckle at her frazzled friend. She put her arm around her friend’s shoulder and stopped him. Freddy was a good deal shorter than the tall woman and he looked up.

“Why do I feel like I’m a kid again when you do that?” Freddy asked and smiled.

“No idea,” Eva chuckled. “We have a problem.”

“With what?”

Eva sat down next to AJ, who took the opportunity to crawl into his favorite aunty’s lap. Freddy sat next to her to listen.

“Isaac Abels,” Eva said. “He made an official complaint against me.”

“What?” Freddy asked incredulously. “Why did that ba..ad man do now?” Freddy stopped himself from cursing in front of his son.

“That BAD man basically accused me of defrauding the Commonwealth,” Eva explained and absently played with AJ’s toy fire truck.

“That…B-A-S-T-A-R-D,” Freddy couldn’t help himself and spelled out the word, making Eva smile.

“Well the B-I-T-C-H, Paula fed him the information,” Eva told him getting into the spelling routine. “I think I may have made an enemy,” she muttered.

Freddy sighed. “I caught him looking at your file the other day.”

“Great.”

“I think it’s our fault that he got interested in you,” Freddy told her apologetically.

“Really? What did you do?”

“Told him you weren’t his type,” Freddy grinned.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep, he thought you and Earl were a couple and then when he found out that you weren’t together, he got that gleam in his eye,” Freddy explained taking AJ onto his lap.

“Great,” Eva shook her head. “So he got wind that I’m a lesbian?”

“No, we didn’t tell him!” Freddy shook his head. “That’s none of his business.”

“D-A-M-N right,” Eva spelt out.

“I’m not sure how he figured you had a record in the War Crimes archives, but he went in search of it.”

“So I should expect more trouble from him?”

“Maybe…”

Eva rolled her eyes. “I’ll let Zoe know to add him to the list,” she said and sighed. The ‘Yucky’ List’, as Zoe called it, was people that hurt her.

“He’s already on that list,” Zoe said and walked towards them. “Hey, Freddy, the nurse wants you. I think you may have some B-A-B-I-E-S,” she spelt out and started laughing.

Her friend handed AJ to Eva and quickly made his way to the nurses’ station.

After a few moments, Eva, Zoe, Earl, Pat, David and Debbie were gathered around, waiting for the news. Freddy had disappeared through the door and everyone was a little antsy.

Their friend walked out with a huge grin on his face.

“So what did we end up with?” Zoe asked, hating the anticipation.

Freddy grinned. “Nikolas David Jacobs,” he said amidst his friends’ laughter. “He weighed in at 5 lbs., 13 oz, measuring 46.5cm.” He looked at his best friend and smiled. David was beaming at having his friend give his name to his son.

“Yes!” Earl pumped his fist in the air. “A boy! Woohoo!” Everyone joined in the laughter until Freddy held up his hands and looked at his friends.

“And Larissa Zoe, weighing in at 6 lbs., 1 oz and measuring 48 cm.” Freddy grinned. “They are the most beautiful babies I have ever seen!”

Everyone burst into hearty congratulations for their friend. It came as a shock to Zoe to find Elena had honored her with the addition of her name to the baby’s name. Eva put her arm around her partner’s shoulder. She could feel Zoe’s happiness at the honor bestowed upon her by her friend.

Zoe leaned against the nursery glass and gazed at the two Jacobs twins. Eva put her hand on her wife’s shoulder and gently squeezed.

“Nikolas is a quiet baby,” Eva commented on the sleeping child who looked so much like his father. “I think they gave him the wrong name.”

“Why?” Zoe asked and looked up.

“He’s a little Freddy,” Eva laughed. “Minus the glasses.”

Zoe chuckled. “Larissa doesn’t look like him.”

“No,” Eva replied and watched the baby’s fist thrust outside the tight blanket. The infant was very much wide awake. While her brother had dark hair, the little girl’s hair was lighter. “Larissa Zoe,” Eva said quietly and gazed lovingly at her partner.

Zoe looked up. “I didn’t know she was going to do that.”

“That’s why it’s called a surprise, love,” Eva smiled. “She’s a feisty one.” Eva gazed at the baby and couldn’t help but smile. She had fallen in love with the twins. She waved at the little girl and made a face at her, much to Zoe’s amusement.

They both turned to find Freddy coming towards them with AJ in tow. He couldn’t stop smiling and he reached into his jacket and handed a big fat cigar to Eva. “I know you don’t smoke, Zoe,” he said apologetically.

“No, but I do,” Eva took the cigar and accepted the light from her friend. She smoked the cigar for a few moments. Eva smoked cigarettes occasionally but cigars were a very special treat. It had been a long time since she had indulged in one.

“I think I’m going to see El,” Zoe scrunched up her nose at her partner who smiled at her and took another puff of her cigar. “Enjoy.”

“Oh, I will,” Eva replied as she turned to gaze at the babies with Freddy.

*

Elena was sore. No, she was beyond sore. She had tried to take a nap but the euphoria of the birth and her overall tiredness kept her from achieving her goal. She turned to find Zoe walking into the room with a huge bunch of flowers which were nearly as tall as her diminutive friend.

“Hey there,” Zoe said and put the flowers down. She went over to her friend and hugged her tightly. “Mama des gutenmorgens,” Zoe said in German which delighted Elena.

“Kalimera,” Elena replied in Greek causing the two friends to laugh. Elena stopped and grimaced. “I don’t think I’m going to do that for a while,” she chuckled.

“I saw them.” Zoe sat gingerly on the bed.

“You did? They are beautiful, aren’t they?”

Zoe nodded. “Nikolas looks like Freddy.”

Elena grinned. “Freddy is already calling him ‘MiniMe’,” she chuckled. “Larissa looks like my mama,” she said and smiled.

“She does?”

“Hmm, my mama had your coloring, Zo.” Elena sighed. The day also held some sad times for the young woman. Her beloved mother was not there to see her granddaughter. Sara had died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, one of many who didn’t survive Hitler’s final solution. “She was a very beautiful woman.”

“Why didn’t you give…”

“Mutti never liked her name,” Elena shrugged.

“Thank you for calling her Zoe as well,” Zoe hugged her friend. “That was sneaky.”

Elena felt rather proud of herself for not revealing that secret to Zoe. “It was something I wanted to do, to thank you for your friendship.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” Zoe sniffed and hugged her again. “Thank you.”

“Has Eva seen the babies?”

Zoe nodded. “Eva is enchanted with them, we both are” she told her friend. “We were at the nursery and she was waving and making faces at Larissa.”

Elena laughed. “She really loves children.”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe grinned. She wasn’t going to reveal that Eva’s heart’s desire was to have children and explain why her tall partner couldn’t conceive. It wasn’t her place to reveal something so personal, even to Elena. Zoe’s desire for children was very different from her partner’s . Zoe mentally shook herself out of her thoughts. “You won’t have any problem with getting her to change the diapers,” she chuckled.

Chapter 25

FREDDY CAME RUNNING down the corridor to where the sound of crashing and loud swearing could be heard coming from his office. He found the office staff had gathered at the doorway.

“Let me through.” Freddy elbowed people out of the way. To his utter amazement he found David and Abels fighting. More to the point, David was taking a swing at Abels. The punch connected, sending the shorter man backward into the filing cabinets.

“Dave!” Freddy yelled out and grabbed hold of David, preventing him from kicking the prone man.

“Don’t, Freddy!” David yelled at him and tried to extradite himself from Freddy’s hold. “That bastard…”

“What’s the matter?” Freddy asked trying to calm his friend, who was the angriest he had ever seen him. He was sporting a split lip of his own and a bruised eye which was darkening.

David cursed in German at Abels, who struggled to his feet and sat down on the nearest chair, feeling like he had been hit with a 2x4 across the head and then trampled by a herd of elephants.

David snarled at Abels who didn’t meet his gaze. “Benzona!” David spat out, using the Hebrew curse word for ‘son-of-a-bitch’, which surprised Abels.

“She’s a Nazi whore!” Abels spat back and backed away as David surged forward and nearly flattened Freddy as the shorter man barely restrained him.

“STOP IT!” Freddy yelled.

“This Benzona had the balls to make an official complaint against Eva!”

“I know,” Freddy replied and snarled at Abels. “Asswipe,” he muttered.

“Fucking bastard!” David yelled and was about to launch himself again when their boss made it through the throng assembled at the door.

“Alright, gentlemen, I think it’s time to cool it!” Simon Ashcroft yelled out to the three men, who turned to find a very irate man glaring back at them. “My office! NOW!” Ashcroft ordered and did an about turn. He glared at the office workers who quickly dispersed.

*

Abels sat in the chair opposite his boss and gingerly felt around his split lip. On the opposite side of the office sat David, who was glaring at Abels and Freddy who sat between them.

“So, what was the war going on?” He asked them.

“That bastard attacked me,” Abels muttered.

“That bastard has a name,” Ashcroft glared at Abels and shook his head.

“I attacked you, you son-of-a-bitch, because you are a sniveling little shit,” David spat out.

Ashcroft shook his head to clear it and sat down. “Okay, tell me why the sniveling little shit deserved to be pummeled.” He turned to an outraged Abels. “You called him names first,” he told the shorter man. He hated treating grown men like children but he had broken up arguments among his children that were more civilized.

“He made an official complaint against Eva,” David replied.

“Eva Haralambos?” Ashcroft asked incredulously. He had met the woman on quite a few occasions and the impression he got was a very quiet, professional woman. He knew she was the Minister’s assistant and from the rumors floating around the place, she was a homosexual but he wasn’t about to seek details of that fact. “Why?”

“He went to the Minister to claim Eva had defrauded the Commonwealth,” David explained.

“That’s the information I had…”

“Bullshit,” David spat out. “You went searching for something to nail her with.”

“Is that true, Mr. Abels?”

“Well, I did go to the Minister,” Abels replied, feeling like he was getting into territory he knew would find him in hot water.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

“I was in the area…”

“What were you doing in Foreign Affairs. I’m not aware of any cases that needed their input.”

“No sir,” Abels mumbled.

“Gentlemen, I think we have enough to worry about with Jerry’s death,” Ashcroft sighed. One of his investigators had been found dead with his throat cut. It had been a gruesome discovery which had left him cold with fury. Jerry Lakey was one of his best investigators. “I don’t need you three behaving like children.”

“How is Mrs. Lakey?” Freddy asked. He didn’t know Jerry all that well, even though they had worked in the same department for some time.

“She’s a mess,” Ashcroft replied.

“Do we have any leads?” Freddy asked.

Ashcroft took a deep breath and released it slowly. “This was an inside job,” Ashcroft replied after a moment. The three men sat in silence as the news hit them.

“Are you sure?” David asked, his attention now on his boss.

“No, but who else would know he was going to be there to meet an informant?” Ashcroft asked, leaving the men with no doubt that their colleague had been murdered by one of their own.

“Do we have any witnesses?” Abels leaned forward and asked.

“No,” Ashcroft exhaled. “Gentlemen, I don’t need your bickering.” He pulled out a file and placed it on his desk. “Isaac, I am transferring you.”

“What?” Abels stood and glared at his boss, or former boss.

“You two can go.” Ashcroft motioned to David and Freddy, who both grinned as they left. He waited for the door to shut and then turned to Abels. “I have received too many complaints against you, Mr. Abels.”

“Bullshit.”

“I beg your pardon?” Ashcroft leaned back on his chair and glared at the man. “You have a very abrasive style.”

“I get the job done.”

“Not the way I want it done,” Ashcroft replied and leaned forward. “When I have the Foreign Affairs Minister contact me directly to tell me that I’m losing control of my department, I have to act.”

“I only thought …”

“I don’t really care what you thought, Mr. Abels. You don’t go around making false accusations. Least of all against the Minister’s assistant AND then accusing the Minister of being in on the fraud,” Ashcroft explained. He had been very shocked to get the phone call from Percy Hester. He had copped an earful from the irate Minister, which left him in no doubt he had to remove Abels or else Hester would use him for target practice. People had underestimated the Minister and Abels had done so to his own detriment. “I have already authorized your transfer.”

“This is a mistake,” Abels muttered.

Ashcroft leaned forward. “No, Mr. Abels, not transferring you would be a mistake. Learn to be less abrasive.”

Abels looked up at his former boss and shook his head. Without another word he got up and left the office. He was seething with rage and stalked down the corridor.

*

Eva played with the stuffed toy sitting on her desk. Her lunch hours of late were spent in the Farmers Department Store or, more to the point, in the toy section of the Farmers Department Store. Even the salesladies knew her by name, which amused Zoe and Elena. She couldn’t pass the toy section without buying a toy for the twins. She couldn’t seem to help herself.

A light tap on the door was followed by Percy Hester coming in with a sheet of paper in his hand. He grinned when he saw the stuffed teddy bear. “Nikolas or Larissa?”

Eva looked up and tossed him the teddy, which he caught. “Larissa,” she replied. “I bought Nikky a toy truck.”

“Eva, the boy is just a few weeks old.”

“I know,” Eva shrugged and grinned.

Hester took a seat opposite her while he played with the bear. “Abels is gone.”

“What?”

“I called Ashcroft and I got him transferred.” Hester played with the bear. He looked up to find Eva starring at him in disbelief. “What?”

“Why did you do that?”

“Because I can.” Hester stared at her and smiled. “Sometimes you forget that I’m a politician. I specialize in skullduggery.”

“I’m sure, but…”

“You’re sure I specialize in skullduggery?” Hester asked, amused at the look of utter confusion on Eva’s face. “Relax, Eva. Everything has been taken care of.”

“I hate that.”

“What?”

“Whenever someone tells me that ‘everything is taken of’, it has the tendency to come back and bite me in the rear,” Eva sighed.

“You’re a pessimist,” Hester chuckled. “Now, I have a job for you. I want you to come with me to the airport and meet a dignitary that’s coming in from the U.S.” Hester watched Eva’s face. “Do you want to know who it is?”

“That would help,” Eva quipped.

The Minister looked at the paper and handed it over to her. She accepted it with a small frown before starting to read. Once she had scanned the information, her eyes went wide, which was exactly what Hester had anticipated. He was rather proud of himself for remembering that Eva had mentioned the man when they had been discussing the Olympics.

“Are you serious?”

“Yep, sure am.”

“I’m ready,” Eva got up from her seat and with a flurry put on her coat.

“Why, Miss Haralambos, do you think you can?” Hester teased, knowing she would jump through hoops to meet this particular dignitary.

“Thank you.” Eva grinned.

*

Eva checked herself out in the mirror of the women’s bathroom and grinned in the mirror. She couldn’t wait to go home and tell Zoe. This was something she had wanted to do for many years, to actually meet the man who had humbled Hitler. “Jesse Owens,” she said quietly.

The 1936 Olympics had been intended by Hitler to show the world the supremacy of the Aryan race. His plan had unraveled when a black American athlete took to the track. As Eva watched him run, she had been awestruck by his power and agility. Eva had been about to actually meet the man when her father had dragged her away, telling her that blacks were inferior to whites, which Eva thought was completely stupid as the man had just proved otherwise in front of thousands of people.

She joined Hester and the rest of the welcoming party at the tarmac to await the arrival of Mr. Owens. Eva’s palms got a little sweaty and she rubbed them against her pants suit, which amused Hester.

Jesse Owens stepped out of the plane, followed by the rest of his entourage. He was a dignified-looking gentleman with short black hair and piercing dark eyes. Eva was star struck for the first time in her life. Percy Hester approached the man and they talked for a few moments before he introduced the rest of the party to him.

“Mr. Owens, this is my assistant, Eva Haralambos.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Miss Haralambos.”

Eva’s mind went blank for a few moments and she stuck her hand out. “I saw you run in Berlin and that was incredible.”

Owens smiled. The Olympics had allowed him to rise above the color of his skin, to dispel the prejudice he and the rest of the black community endured in the United States and elsewhere. It amazed him that he was treated with respect and feted by world leaders when he couldn’t even vote in his own country. The Olympics in Berlin had been a turning point in his life and he hoped that his ‘celebrity’ would help break down the racial prejudice.

“You were there?”

“Yes sir,” Eva grinned. “You were poetry in motion.”

Owens laughed. He never heard anyone express it that way before. “Thank you.”

Eva felt like she was floating and watched as Hester ushered the former athlete away. She had finally met the man and she felt like screaming with joy.

*

Eva sang along with Frank Sinatra on the car radio. She didn’t like the singer but she was in such a good mood that she couldn’t help herself. Upon arriving home and pulling into her driveway, Eva sat at the wheel looking at the house. She couldn’t wait to get inside to tell Zoe about Jesse Owens.

“Zoe! Zoe! Zoe!” Eva called out excitedly as she hurried through the house.

“Out here!” Zoe called out from the back.

Eva put down her briefcase and wondered what her partner was doing outside in the cold.

She leaned out of the kitchen door and stopped. Zoe was seated on the sofa sketching.

“Hi there. Aren’t you cold?” Eva asked, dropping down on one knee and giving her partner a kiss.

“Nope, the rain inspires me.”

“Uh-huh.” Eva looked at the drawing, a sketch of Pat and Earl set against the backdrop of the sea. For a woman who hadn’t grown up near the sea, Zoe loved it and a lot of her artwork was based in or around water and usually included Eva. “That’s a nice change, Zo.”

“I do draw other people, you know.”

“You do?” Eva laughed and sat with her back against the sofa.

Zoe stopped drawing and ran her hand through the dark locks, gently scratching Eva’s scalp, making sure to avoid the recent injury. Zoe was sure if Eva was a cat she would be purring. “So, how was work?”

“Oh, work!” Eva turned and took Zoe’s hands. “You won’t believe who I met at the airport.”

“Uh, let me see…the Prime minister?”

“Nope.” Eva shook her head.

“That photographer you love so much?”

“Margaret Bourke-White? Don’t I wish.”

“Winston Churchill?”

“That old windbag? Nope.”

Zoe chuckled. “I give up. Who did you meet that has got you this excited?”

Eva went up on her knees and cupped her partner’s face. “Jesse Owens.”

Zoe gave her a blank stare. “Who?”

“Jesse Owens, love.”

“I’ve never heard of him, Evy. Is he a photographer?”

Eva groaned and let her head fall on her partner’s chest. “Oh, no, Zoe!”

Bemused, Zoe asked, “I’m sorry, love. Want to tell me why he inspired my Evy to get all excited?”

Eva looked up. “Okay, think back to 1936, the Summer Olympics in Berlin …”

“Evy, I was eight years old. My memories only stretch as far back as trying not to drown in the river,” Zoe chuckled.

“Oh, okay.” Eva thought for a moment. “Remember how Hitler said that whites were superior to blacks?”

“Uh-huh.”

“During the Olympics, a black athlete from America beat everyone else in the one-hundred-meter dash, the two-hundred-meter dash and the broad jump. He also won a gold medal in the four-hundred-meter relay.”

Eva took a breath. Her partner still looked perplexed. “Zoe, love, that was Jesse Owens!”

“That’s nice.” Zoe smiled.

Eva rolled her eyes and groaned. “Zoe, this is the guy who made Hitler look stupid. He was black and the Nazis thought that only white people were superior.”

Zoe’s eyes went wide.

‘Now she gets excited,’ Eva thought on seeing Zoe’s expression.

“I love the guy!” Zoe proclaimed. “I don’t know him, but if anyone can make Hitler look stupid, then I like them. Did you meet him at the Olympics?”

Eva shook her head sadly. “No, my father was furious that a black athlete beat the best of the Fatherland so he stormed off, taking me with him.”

“Did you say hello to him?”

Eva smiled broadly. “I got tongue-tied but I managed not to disgrace myself.”

“I love it when you’re happy,” Zoe pulled her partner down for a kiss.

“And I got Larissa a new toy,” Eva pulled out the bear as Zoe made room on the sofa. Eva crawled in next to her partner and sighed contently. “Hester got Abels sacked from the WCS.”

Zoe laughed. “Good ol’ Percy.”

“This is going to bite us in the butt, Zo,” Eva muttered.

“No it’s not,” Zoe reassured her pessimistic partner. “He’s nobody.”

“You think so?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe reassured her. “I don’t want to talk about that boofhead. Have you got a picture of this Jessie Owens?”

Eva sat up suddenly. “I bet I have a photo of him in those boxes!” She got up excitedly and raced inside.

“That was easy,” Zoe chuckled to herself and got up from the sofa to follow her partner inside.

Chapter 26

“HEY THERE, BB.”

Elena smiled as Eva ‘talked’ to the infant in her arms as they entered the Judge’s office. Eva’s nickname for baby Larissa had proved very apt as the child was already rather boisterous and much more vocal than her twin brother. ‘Bossy Boots’ had ruled the Jacobs household for the past few weeks. Her brother, Nicky was a much more quiet and placid child.

They were in the Judge’s chambers to sign the guardianship papers. After a short delay with Eva being laid up in the hospital from her accident and then her recovery, the Jacobs had decided to get the paperwork for guardianship signed. Elena thought her husband was stressing over this matter a little too much but that was normal for her loving husband. If something had to be done, he wanted it done yesterday.

The tall woman pried the baby out of Elena’s arms and began to make faces at the child, who gurgled back which only encouraged Eva even more.

Zoe leaned against Elena and poked her in the ribs. “It’s a lost cause,” Zoe said. It had been a revelation for their friends over the past weeks to see Eva with the children. Zoe knew how much she doted on AJ but the twins brought out a playful side to her partner that was rarely seen outside their circle of close friends.

Zoe leaned down and picked up the much more sedate Nicky. “Prying Larissa out of Evy’s arms is tough,” she said to Elena as they took their seats. Eva had the baby on her knees and was playing a game of catch with her fingers.

Judge Harry entered along with Freddy and David. Young AJ held his father’s hand and sat with him as the judge sat behind his desk.

The older man surveyed the happy environment. It was clearly evident that Eva and Zoe were comfortable with the children. He was more than happy to help out doing the paperwork for his friends. They didn’t need a judge but he thought it would be better just to stop any problems in the future. They all hoped the paperwork was only a formality and wouldn’t really be needed. It was more of an insurance policy.

Freddy removed the forms from his briefcase and gave them to the Judge.

“Now, you are aware of the implications of this?” Harry addressed Eva who stopped playing with Larissa and gave her back to Elena to concentrate on what she was about to do.

“Yes, Zoe and I discussed it.”

“Okay. Just for the record, so to speak, I will outline what you already have read.” Harry picked up his glasses and put them. “I’ll try and minimize the legalese and put it into plain English.” He waited for everyone to say something but they all remained silent, so he continued.

“Both of you will be listed as primary guardians. In the event of the deaths of their parents, Friedrich Albert, age 30 and Elena Louisa, age 28, you will have power of attorney over their property and possessions. You will also be legal guardians to Albert Jeremiah, four years old, Larissa Zoe, six weeks old, and Nicolas David, six weeks old, until they reach 21 years of age. Do you understand that?”

“Yes,” Eva and Zoe said in unison.

Judge Harry smiled. “I didn’t think it would be no,” he said and they all chuckled. Everyone was a bit nervous which he thought was amusing. “In accordance with the wishes of the parents, the children are to be brought up in the Jewish faith. I realize that both of you are Christians, so does that pose a problem?”

Eva glanced at Zoe who shook her head. “No, if the need arises, we can attend Church for ourselves and the Synagogue for the children.”

“Provisions have been made for the children’s financial well-being. In the event of this guardianship arrangement coming into being, Eva Haralambos will be the Executor of

the estate of Friederich and Elena Jacobs. Do you agree to that?”

“Yes,” Eva nodded.

“The house at 58 Pacific Crescent, North Sydney will be passed on to Albert Jeremiah, Larissa Zoe and Nicolas David as an inheritance,” Judge Harry continued and then glanced up at Eva. “The amount of Ł10,000 has been set aside to help in the…”

“No,” Eva shook her head.

“What?” Freddy turned to his friend in puzzlement.

“I said, no, Freddy. I’m not about to accept money to take care of these children.” Eva shook her head.

“But…”

“No, we don’t want the money,” Zoe supported Eva’s stance.

“But you didn’t say anything when I suggested it last week.” Freddy frowned. He didn’t like that the women had refused the money.

“We thought about it and it’s not right,” Eva replied. “If we are to do it,” Eva rapped her knuckles on the wooden desk, “and I hope we don’t, but if it … happens, we won’t do it because there is money involved.”

“No, that’s not the reason we suggested it,” Elena, said hoping her friends weren’t insulted by the gesture.

“I know it’s not,” Eva replied. “But we don’t like it. We want to do this without the money being held out.”

“Eva, it’s not a bribe,” Judge Harry spoke up trying to understand Eva’s reasoning.

“I know that, too,” Eva replied. “We just don’t feel comfortable about accepting money for this,” she said and turned to Freddy and Elena. “It doesn’t mean we don’t want to look after the children. We do, but we just don’t want to get paid for it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely,” Eva nodded.

“Okay, then,” Freddy shrugged. “Strike that out, Harry.”

“Do you want the children to go to a Jewish school?” Eva turned to her friend.

“No,” Freddy shook his head. “It doesn’t have to be.”

“I think that’s about it,” Judge Harry said as he read through the rest of the paperwork. “Now, Freddy, do you have anything to add?”

“I hope this doesn’t ever happen,” Freddy quipped and got round of chuckles from the group.

“Other than that,” Judge Harry replied. “It just needs your signatures.”

The two women came together and they both looked over the paperwork for a final read through. They had the paperwork read over by their lawyer and the legal jargon explained before they agreed to sign. Eva signed and then Zoe before giving the paperwork back to Judge Harry.

*

“You’re making a mistake!”

Freddy rolled his eyes and sighed. Isaac Abels was cleaning out his desk and giving his opinion on everything, as usual. Freddy was tired of listening to the man who seemed to be taking an enormous amount of time to accomplish such a simply task. He hoped Abels would have disappeared sooner. David was due back from a meeting and the last thing he wanted was for the two men to meet again.

“Hurry up and leave,” Freddy muttered under his breath and tried again to focus on the file in front of him.

Abels grunted. “Listen to me. What you just did was tantamount to throwing away your children’s future.”

Freddy looked up sharply at the man who was leaning on his desk. “What?”

“I heard you signed guardianship papers and gave them to that lesbian whore,” Abels replied with a sneer.

Freddy rolled his eyes. “You just don’t give up, do you?”

“Just because she’s your friend, doesn’t mean I have to like her,” Abels shrugged.

“That’s fine because you don’t have to worry about liking her or disliking her.”

“We Jews have to stick together.”

“Is that right?” Freddy asked sarcastically.

“Absolutely,” Abels replied. “There won’t be ever another holocaust. We were sheep to the slaughter then. No more.”

“What does that have to do with Eva?”

“She’s a Nazi whore.”

“Will you STOP saying that,” Freddy rose from his seat. “Look, I don’t care what you think.”

Abels shrugged. “It’s the truth,” he said and turned to pick up a box. “Your children deserve better.”

“Do they now?” David leaned against the door jam and glared at Abels. “I suppose you would be the best choice?”

“Better than a Nazi Bitch and her lesbian whore and you wouldn’t have to pay me either.”

David laughed. “Boy, you have it bad. She’s waaay out of your league, my boy.”

Freddy chuckled which only annoyed Abels. He glared at Freddy and picked up the last of his possessions and threw them in the box. “I don’t go after Nazis as friends.”

“Get the hell out of this office before I use your head to mop up your blood from the linoleum,” David muttered. “Asshole.”

Abels sneered. “Your day will come.”

“I’m shaking in my shoes,” David chuckled and resisted the urge to kick the man in the backside as he passed him. “Be good, Dave,” he muttered to himself as he walked into the office.

“How did he know about that?” Freddy asked his friend who took a seat opposite him.

“You had the paperwork on your desk, mate,” David replied and took out a cigarette.

Freddy grunted. “They didn’t take the money.”

David smiled. “Told you they wouldn’t.”

“They didn’t like us even suggesting it much, either.”

“Did Zoe rip your head off?” David chuckled and took a drag from the cigarette. He watched the smoke rise and turned to his friend.

“No,” Freddy smiled. “She had Nicky in her arms.”

“Young Nick saved his old man.”

“Funny,” Freddy grinned. “Hey, I need your car.”

“My car? What’s wrong with your beast?”

“Going to car heaven very soon,” Freddy sighed. The beat up old Ford sedan was a good candidate for the junkyard. “We’re going to the South Coast.”

“Oh,” David grinned. “Three rugrats not enough for you?”

Freddy laughed. “Ellie has threatened to turn me into a soprano if we have anymore.”

“So, what’s this for then?”

“Elena needs a holiday and I’ve got some time off.” Freddy smiled. “I thought we’d go to Vincentia to do some sleeping in and long walks on the beach.”

“And no baby making,” David guffawed.

Freddy smiled and shook his head. “One track mind.”

“Yeah, right,” David pulled the keys out of his pocket and threw them at Freddy who plucked them out of the air.

“You’re a life saver.”

“I’m a saint,” David replied. A rolled up paper ball hit him on the head and both men laughed before returning to their work. After a moment, Freddy scratched his head in puzzlement and turned to his friend.

“Hey, Dave, there’s a page missing from this list.” Freddy held up the file.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah, it goes from page 10 to page 12,” Freddy replied and flipped through the pages, hoping someone had put them out of order. “I’ll write for another list.”

“That could take a while,” David replied as he looked over Freddy’s shoulder at the file.

“I know,” Freddy muttered. He picked up the file and walked out of the office feeling annoyed that his investigation would be put further behind by the missing page.

*

The tea house was quiet as the two friends sat down in an empty booth, the baby stroller with their precious cargo settled between them. The women were on their weekly shopping trip, which was an event both enjoyed.

“Are you sure Eva doesn’t mind?” Elena asked for the second time as she perused the menu.

“I told you, El, Eva is looking forward to it.” Zoe swatted her friend with the menu. “We have the spare bedroom and she’s already put chairs around the bed so AJ won’t fall off.”

Elena smiled. “He’s four years old. He won’t fall off.”

“I know that, but Eva said she wants to make sure,” Zoe chuckled. “She was ready to go out and buy a single bed.”

“I’ll bring the bassinets for the babies…”

“No need,” Zoe grinned. “Evy bought two last week.”

“She bought two bassinets?”

“Yeah,” Zoe nodded. “Blue for Nicky and pink for Larissa.”

The waiter soon arrived and they ordered, then waited for the man to leave before continuing their discussion. Elena felt contented to be back to her routine. She enjoyed this time with her friend; they could shop without having to drag their partners along. Friedrich hated shopping and always wore the same pained expression on his face the entire time. She loved him but he wasn’t the type to go window shopping.

“So, what are you going to be doing on the South Coast?”

Elena smiled. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“Sounds relaxing,” Zoe giggled. “Won’t that drive Freddy nuts?”

“Probably,” Elena laughed. “He needs some time off as well. He’s been working too hard with the collaborator thing.”

“I don’t get that, El,” Zoe said as the waiter came back and placed her tea and the cheesecake she had ordered in front of her. “Why would someone help the Nazis?”

Elena sighed. “Wish I knew, Zo.” Elena took a sip of her tea. “I knew one of those collaborators.”

“Where?”

“A woman in Bergen,” Elena replied quietly.

“But if she collaborated, wouldn’t she have escaped the camps?”

Elena looked at her friend and shook her head sadly. “They were rounded up after they served out their usefulness.”

“Oh,” Zoe whispered. “Well,” she said quietly, “serves them right.”

Elena shrugged. “Did you have any in Greece?”

“Oh yeah,” Zoe nodded. “Unfortunately. I couldn’t believe anyone could betray their country.”

“What happened to them?”

“He were executed,” Zoe replied. She had been present at one of those executions and it had made her sick to witness it. The traitor had been shot and then hung by the Greek Resistance. His disloyal actions had caused the death of twenty partisans.

“Did you know him?”

Zoe looked down at her cheesecake and played with her fork for a moment. “He was my cousin.”

“Oh no.” Elena put her hand to her mouth in shock. “Oh, Zoe.”

“He betrayed his family and the Resistance, El.”

“Oh I know, Zo, but he was family.”

Zoe nodded. “What was worse, his mother was killed by Muller as well and he saw it. I just couldn’t figure it out.”

“Did you ask him?”

Zoe shook her head. “I didn’t want to speak to him. He was a traitor.”

“But…”

“He stopped being family the day he betrayed his friends,” Zoe shrugged. “He met his Maker and whatever he did, he will be punished.”

The two friends sat in silence eating their cheesecake until Zoe looked up. “You know El, I’m really glad you’re my friend.”

Elena looked up and smiled. “Where did that come from?”

“From my heart,” Zoe grinned. “I just wanted you to know that.”

“I already know that, Zo,” Elena leaned over and ruffled her friend’s hair. “Let’s see if you thank me after your babysitting duties.”

“We are ready to take on that arduous duty,” Zoe replied seriously and then broke out in giggles.

“I think you’re both going to need a trip away to the Blue Mountains after this,” Elena chuckled. “You haven’t gone to your Hydro Majestic in quite a while.”

Zoe sighed at thinking about the luxurious hotel they enjoyed visiting. “Evy was talking about buying a property in the Blue Mountains.”

“And you’re going to sell your place up here?” Elena asked in alarm.

“Oh no,” Zoe patted her hand in reassurance. “We won’t sell the house; we just want to have a house up there instead of going to the hotel every time.” Zoe glanced at the pram to find Larissa wide awake. “Hello there,” she cooed to the baby girl and picked her up. “You have such pretty eyes,” she told her. The baby had steel grey eyes which reminded Elena of her dear mother. Larissa gazed back at Zoe and then yawned, causing both women to chuckle.

Chapter 27

ZOE LOOKED DOWN at the baby and smiled as she nursed little Larissa with the bottle her mother had prepared for them. Elena and Friedrich had left a few hours earlier. Elena wasn’t all that thrilled on leaving the twins behind, despite her desire for a break with her husband. Zoe was quite sure if she had these adorable children she wouldn’t be able to part from them either.

The infant’s beautiful short black hair stuck out in all directions, making her look like she had stuck her finger in a power point. Larissa gazed back at her and Zoe smiled. She touched the little girl’s nose. She was a beautiful child and her gray eyes had started to lighten which surprised Zoe. They were starting to become gray-blue in color. “You’re going to have the boys .. ” she told the child and then chuckled, “..or the girls, in such a state.”

Zoe sighed. She wanted to have children of her own but if she couldn’t, their ‘niece’ and ‘nephews’ would have to fill the void. She wasn’t sure if that would be enough. “Oh snap out of it, silly,” she scolded herself and Larissa made a gurgling noise and let go of bottle’s teet.

“You’ve had enough?” Zoe asked her as she draped the towelette, then brought the baby to her shoulder. She rocked back and forth in the rocking chair Elena had bought over.

“I wonder what your Aunty Eva is up to,” Zoe said quietly to the baby, who had closed her eyes and was dozing quietly. After getting up from the rocker, Zoe made her way back into the bedroom.

Lying flat on her back in their bed, dressed in a pair of light, summer pajamas, was Eva. Her eyes were shut and AJ curled up against her, with Eva’s left arm around him. Her other arm was wrapped around Nicky, wearing only his nappy, because of the hot and humid night. The baby was nestled on her chest, his tiny fist under his face. It was a beautiful sight as Zoe stood in the doorway holding Larissa.

She quietly made her way to Larissa’s crib and settled the little girl, then she quietly left the room and went into Eva’s darkroom. She picked up Eva’s new camera and went back into the bedroom.

Eva woke to the light of the flash, a little disorientated but soon aware that she was holding Nicky in her arms. “Zo?”

“Who else would be taking a photo of you in your nighties, love?” Zoe teased. She pried Nicholas out of Eva’s arms and took him to his crib, giving him a kiss before settling him down.

Eva was now wide-awake. She got out of bed and took the sleeping AJ in her arms. “I’ll put him in his own bed,” she said and quietly walked out with her precious cargo. She soon came back inside and settled back in bed. Zoe rested her head on Eva’s chest.

“What time is it?”

“Two-thirty. Larissa was hungry.”

“Nicky was a bit agitated.”

Zoe chuckled. “He stirred in his sleep and you thought he was agitated?”

Eva looked down and grinned. “Yeah, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.”

Zoe patted her partner on the belly and laughed. “I can get used to this.” She looked up at the strong profile.

“To what? Two AM feedings?” Eva chuckled.

“Having children around,” Zoe replied quietly. “It’s different with children in the house.”

Eva looked down at the dark head and ran her fingers through her partner’s hair. “Are you reconsidering your decision?” she asked with some trepidation, hoping that Zoe hadn’t changed her mind about having children.

Zoe looked up. “No,” she said and cupped her partner’s cheek. “Will you stop worrying? I told you I wasn’t going to do that.”

“Well you said…”

Zoe sighed. “Eva, you really need to trust me.”

“I do trust you, Zoe,” Eva replied a little hurt by Zoe’s comment. “I do.”

“Then why are you still worried?”

“I’m a born worry-wart,” Eva replied as she pulled Zoe to her. “I see how you are with the twins and I just figured…”

“I love the twins and AJ, but that doesn’t mean I’ve changed my mind.”

“Have you thought about it?” Eva persisted. She wasn’t sure why she was still worrying about Zoe’s decision. It had rattled her and she didn’t like the feeling of sitting on the fence waiting to see what Zoe would do.

“Yes, I’ve thought about it,” Zoe admitted. “But I’m not going to do it. Now I don’t want to hear about this again, okay?”

“Okay,” Eva replied and smiled. “I’m…”

“A worry-wart. My beautiful worry-wart,” Zoe smiled and kissed her tenderly before snuggling down next to her partner. “Now go to sleep, you’re working tomorrow.”

Eva turned off the bedside light. “Today,” she said quietly as they both drifted off to sleep.

*

The road was dark despite the full moon and a car raced down the curved road. The darkness was broken by the sound of screeching tires and a thud. The silence returned once again to the lonely stretch of road.

Zoe woke with a jolt, her heart beating hard against her breastbone. She blinked and quickly looked around her. Eva was asleep as were the babies in their bassinets. Zoe exhaled and ran her hand through her damp hair. “Oh boy.”

Eva turned to find Zoe sitting upright in bed. “What’s the matter, love?”

“Um,” Zoe frowned. “I had a really weird dream.”

“Are you okay?” Eva asked and joined her as they both sat up. She put her arm around her partner. “Was it a nightmare?”

“Um, no, I don’t think so,” Zoe sounded distracted as she settled back down and rested her head on Eva’s shoulder. A distant memory made Zoe feel very uneasy and she scowled.

“Want to talk about it?” Eva asked gently.

Zoe looked up. “Do you believe in premonitions?”

“I don’t know. Do you?” Eva asked.

Zoe didn’t answer for a very long time. “When I was a very young, I had a dream that my mama was going to die.”

“We all have that dream, love,” Eva tried to reassure her partner.

“Hm, this was very vivid, Evy. It was raining and very cold and I could see my mama dead in the rain,” Zoe quietly revealed a dream she had never told to anyone.

Eva didn’t say anything for she knew that dream had become reality. Zoe’s mother was indeed killed on a rainy, cold day. Coincidence or destiny, Eva wasn’t certain.

Zoe looked up at her partner. “I was right, Evy.”

“So you believe something is going to happen?”

“Yes,” Zoe replied and sighed. “I’m going to call the hotel,” she said and got out of bed to go to the telephone.

“They wouldn’t be there yet, love,” Eva said and realized Zoe wasn’t listening as she left the room. Just as Eva was going to get out of bed to join her, Zoe returned looking very sheepish.

“It’s 3:00 AM and the phone is ringing out,” she muttered and got back into bed and cuddled up to her partner.

“Call them in the morning,” Eva murmured as they both drifted off the sleep.

*

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Eva woke up at the noise. It was coming from the window and she decided to ignore it. She was about to close her eyes when she saw the shadowed figure against the window.

“What in God’s name?” she muttered. Zoe was fast asleep and she gently eased herself out of her partner’s embrace to investigate. She quietly opened the window further and stuck her head out to find Earl standing outside.

“What are you doing?” Eva whispered loudly.

“Come out here,” Earl whispered back and motioned for her to join him outside.

“Why?”

“It’s important.”

Eva glanced behind her to her sleeping spouse. Shaking her head, Eva slipped on her robe and left the bedroom. She quietly made her way out to the back yard where Earl was waiting.

“You could have climbed through the window,” Earl muttered.

Eva chuckled at the suggestion. “Last time I did that, I fell two stories and broke my ankle. We do have a front door. Come inside,” she said and they both walked into the kitchen.

Earl grunted and ran his hands through his disheveled blond hair. Eva looked at him and noticed he was wearing his pajamas. “Earl, why are you here?”

“David called me.”

“Uh huh,” Eva yawned.

“Freddy and Elena have been in an accident.”

Eva was shocked and stared at her friend for a few moments “Where?”

“Somewhere on the highway. David called from Mercy Hospital and he said we need to get down there, fast.”

“What about..”

“Patty is going to look after the children,” he said as Pat came through the open gate which separated their properties and joined them in the kitchen. They all stood around talking for a few moments trying to decide the best way to get to the hospital which was several hours away.

“How come no one invited me to this party?” Zoe asked and yawned. She had woken a few minutes earlier and heard whispers coming from the kitchen.

Eva came up to her partner and put her arms around her. “Freddy and Elena had an accident, love.”

“I knew it, Evy,” Zoe’s voice cracked with emotion as she looked up at her partner’s worried face. “Are they okay?”

“We don’t know. David called from Mercy Hospital and Pat’s going to stay here to look after the children.”

“Oh, God,” Zoe whispered. “Okay .. well .. let’s get dressed,” she said and pulled Eva towards the bedroom.

Eva glanced at the two men and went back inside to prepare for a trip she was sure would only bring unhappiness.

Chapter 29

“YOU KNOW YOU’RE NOT supposed to be angry with me,” Eva whispered to her partner who had moments ago replied quite tersely to her. Eva knew Zoe’s reaction was based on fear of the unknown; of what they would find shortly at the hospital. She also knew that Zoe got angry when dealing with grief. It wasn’t rational, it wasn’t realistic but that was Zoe.

This time her anger was directed at her partner.

“I’m not angry with you,” Zoe replied.

“I know you’re not, Zo,” Eva smiled and kissed the young woman tenderly. Eva gently turned Zoe’s face towards her. “I know you’re angry, I know you’re worried but you can’t do anything at the moment.”

“This happens all the time,” Zoe muttered.

“What happens all the time?”

“I get close to someone and they die,” Zoe replied her voice breaking with emotion. “They always die.”

“I didn’t die,” Eva stated very simply.

“You nearly died … twice.”

“Once,” Eva corrected her. “The second time wasn’t a ‘near death experience’.”

“Once or twice, it’s the same thing. I’m a jinx,” Zoe muttered and cuddled in Eva’s embrace, trying to get some comfort as her emotions ran the gamut of fear to worry and back to fear.

“You don’t believe that,” Eva looked down at the dark head resting on her shoulder. “Do you?”

“Yes.”

“You’re not a jinx, Zoe, you’re my lucky charm.” Eva raised Zoe’s chin with her fingers and looked into emerald-colored eyes that were awash with tears. “You’re not a jinx.”

“Why do people die on me?”

“People die, love. It’s just the way it is.” Eva tried to reassure her younger partner. “It’s fate.”

“Rubbish,” Zoe muttered. “Well it’s fated that everyone that comes in contact with me, dies.”

Eva smiled. “Zoe, you’re being melodramatic.”

“I’m Greek, I’m supposed to be melodramatic,” Zoe replied. She looked up to find Eva smiling at her and she shook head and buried herself in her partner’s embrace. “I mean it.”

“Zoe, accidents happen.”

Zoe looked up with a scowl. “Why do you always have to be so pragmatic?”

“To balance your melodramatic nature,” Eva teased getting the desire result from her partner who snorted. They fell into a companionable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Eva noticed Earl had lit a cigarette and she decided she desperately needed a smoke herself. She leaned forward in her seat and found the cigarette packet lying on the seat next to Earl.

Earl glanced at her briefly as Eva took out a cigarette. Wordlessly he held his cigarette next to hers and waited until it lit.

Zoe watched them both for a moment before Eva returned to her place. “You know, I really hate the smell of those but …” Zoe surprised Eva by taking the cigarette off her. “I think I need it.”

With that she put the cigarette to her mouth and tried to take a pull on it, which only produced a coughing fit.

“Are you sure?” Eva asked as she thumped lightly on her partner’s back.

“Yeah,” Zoe managed to say before she took a huge gulp of air. “Or maybe not,” she said and gave the cigarette back to Eva.

Earl glanced in the rear-view mirror at the commotion in the back. Despite his own worry, Zoe’s antics had made him smile.

His attention went back to the road. He worried about his friends in the car, but also about his friend David. The man’s voice had broken several times as he tried to tell Earl as much as he knew about the accident.

“Are we there yet?” Zoe asked for the third time, leaning forward again and addressing herself to Earl.

“Not quite, Stretch,” Earl replied, only slightly irritated at the repeated question. “But soon.” Zoe sat back against Eva.

Earl had a bizarre memory of numerous car trips with his parents, hearing his younger brother ask the same question over and over. He remembered how his father had patiently endured the repeated inquiry. A small, private smile tweaked at the corner of the big man’s mouth.

They had traveled a half hour more when the Earl saw a pink hue on the horizon as the sun began its assent. He was grateful to finally see the stark white building come into view as they drove up the hillside. The hospital stood against a backdrop of the Pacific Ocean and a small town. Normally Earl would stop the car to look at the vista before him, but not on this morning.

After Earl found parking in the sparse car park, the trio walked briskly to the Information desk and into the Emergency Department where David would be waiting for them.

Zoe felt sick as they entered the emergency area. It’s light-green walls, showing dark marks of relentless public abuse, housed forlorn, plastic chairs, countless paper cups, either sitting empty or half-filled with murky liquids. The depressing corridor reminded Zoe of Eva’s accident and she shuddered. They quickly spotted David who was slumped against the wall, his eyes closed.

“David?” Eva leaned forward, putting her hand on his shoulder.

David stood and embraced Eva tightly and began to cry. The action shocked all of them as they stood together. Eva did the only thing she could do; she held him tight.

“I’m sorry,” David said as he regained his composure, feeling embarrassed at having broken down. He nearly toppled back into the chair behind him.

“What happened?” Eva asked, sitting beside him. Zoe took the chair next to Eva.

“The police called me to say they were here,” David exhaled loudly and slumped against the wall. “I’m listed as his next of kin. They tell me that it was an accident and it looks like Freddy lost control of the car. They say he was speeding.”

“Freddy speeding?” Earl squawked, his doubt obvious in his tone. The tall blond man dejectedly shoved his hands in his pockets.

“That’s what they’re saying,” David shrugged. “The copper reckons Freddy lost control, spun out into the bush and hit a tree.”

“Oh God,” Eva said quietly, taking a hold of Zoe’s hand and squeezing it tightly.

“That car was not speeding,” David said hoarsely, shaking his head. “Freddy is a good driver and doesn’t speed.” David stated the obvious. All of Freddy’s friends knew he always drove cautiously and was often teased about being slow even on the open road. David was certain it had to be something that Freddy couldn’t control; and it wasn’t the speed.

“Where’s the car?” Earl asked quietly.

“I don’t know. They took it away,” David replied.

“Where are Friedrich and Elena?” Zoe asked.

“Freddy’s in surgery. I haven’t been able to find out any information on Elena. They said they’ll come out and talk to us when you arrived.”

Eva looked at Zoe and threw caution to the wind and embraced her. The implication of David’s statement only meant one thing and it wasn’t what they had been praying for during the last few hours.

The door opened once again and Judge Harry entered with two steaming cups of tea. On seeing his friends, he put the cups down at the nearby coffee table.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Harry whispered to Eva. “Where are the children?”

“Pat is looking after them,” Eva explained as Harry hugged Zoe. “AJ was asleep and I didn’t want to tell him anything until we know for sure.”

“Hmm, there’s no point in causing the child grief,” Harry agreed and handed the cup of tea to Zoe instead of David who smiled. “You look like you need this.”

Zoe wrapped her hands around the cup. “Just what I need,” she mumbled and took a sip of the steaming liquid.

Harry handed the other cup to Eva who took it gratefully. They hadn’t had any breakfast and her stomach had started to complain.

They soon settled down in the small waiting room. The minutes dragged on into hours as they waited for news. The anxious group looked up expectantly whenever they saw a nurse or a doctor pass, but each time they were disappointed.

Two hours later, Zoe stood at the window and watched Eva take a drag of her cigarette. The tall woman had stepped out onto the smoking area, a narrow porch just outside the Emergency Room. Zoe had lost count how many cigarettes her partner had smoked since they’d arrived. Earl and David, who weren’t far behind in their smoking duels, had joined her.

“How are you doing?” Harry put his hand on the young woman’s shoulder.

Zoe glanced up at him. Judge Harry had become like a father figure to her. With the absence of Father Haralambos, she looked up to him and respected the older man. “I’m having a really bad dream.”

“Me too,” the judge answered. “How’s Eva?”

Zoe glanced again at her partner who was leaning against one of the porch’s posts, trying to relieve the aching in her back. “Her back is hurting.”

Judge Harry looked out and saw nothing out of the ordinary, other than the three friends talking and smoking. “How can you tell?”

“She’s leaning on that post to support her back,” Zoe replied. “She won’t tell me but I’ve figured out how to spot little signs. It’s sitting on these seats,” she indicated the plastic chairs that had to be the most uncomfortable chairs she had sat in. After a few moments, Zoe turned to the Judge. “Harry, can’t you lean on the police to find out what’s happening?”

Judge Harry grinned. “Lean on the police? Where did you hear that from?”

Zoe shrugged. “Well, can’t you?”

“I already have.”

“And?”

“They don’t know anything yet but they think it was an accident,” the Judge replied and forestalled Zoe protests by putting his hand on her shoulder. “I know, Zoe, but these things take time.”

Zoe shook her head and sat down again as the trio from outside came back inside to resume their long wait.

*

Eva exhaled slowly and turned the page of the magazine, not even bothering to read it. Her head snapped up when the door opened and a surgeon in green scrubs came toward them.

“Yes?” David asked impatiently and motioned to the doctor to hurry up. Earl placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder.

The surgeon sighed. “I’m sorry, but Mr. Jacobs died during the operation.” There was a collective gasp at his words. “We couldn’t save him,” he said quietly. “His injuries were too … formidable.” Four sets of eyes stared at him in disbelief. “Are you Zoe Haralambos?” he asked Eva who shook her head and indicated her partner next to her. “Mrs. Jacobs is in intensive care, at the moment.”

Zoe found she was holding her breath and she felt light-headed. She swayed, grateful that Eva was holding her. Eva sat the smaller woman down, kneeling beside her while holding her hand. David had sat down also and cradled his head in his hands.

“That means she will be okay, doesn’t it?” Zoe asked hoping the surgeon would agree with her. Daring him to agree with her.

The surgeon played with the mask he held in his hands. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Zoe inquired sharply. “Doctors are supposed to know! You’re supposed to make people well.”

“Miss Haralambos, I can’t predict…”

“Yes, you can! You know what’s going to happen. You do!” Zoe stood and stomped off a little, leaving Eva to gaze at her partner’s back a few feet from them. Zoe turned back to look at the surgeon. “YOU have to make her better. She has three babies to look after who love her and want her home. She has her friends who love her.” Zoe’s voice broke as she struggled to convey what Elena meant to them all. “She’s gone through hell and survived and no stupid road accident is going to beat her. You have to make her better.” Zoe brushed the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand.

Eva went over and took her partner in her arms, not caring who watched.

“It’s not that easy…”

“You can make her better, if you wanted to,” Zoe dared the surgeon. “Can’t you?”

The surgeon looked at the beseeching eyes of the young woman and wished with all his heart he could say he could fix everything and make it better. “I will try my best,” he answered and placed his hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “We will all try our best.”

“Can I see her?”

“I’ll let the nurse you’re here,” he answered and walked away to make the arrangements.

“She has to pull through, Evy. She just has to,” Zoe whispered.

“I know, love,” Eva replied. Three children had lost their father and she didn’t want them to lose their mother as well. The twins would never know the kind-hearted and gentle man who had been their father. Now it was possible they would never know their brave mother, as well.

David stood and shook his head. “It’s not possible.”

“I know, mate,” Earl said. “I know someone in the traffic accident bureau. I’m sure he will tell us.”

“Can he?”

“For sure! They test these things, you know, to see if the brakes were working and stuff.”

“The brakes are new,” David said quietly. “I had them replaced at Joe’s Garage two days ago.”

Chapter 30

A CHILD’S LAUGHTER was heard as Eva and Zoe made their way slowly down the corridor. Zoe turned around to see where the laughter was coming from. Racing up the corridor was a young girl, her golden curls bopping everywhere as she laughed. Her mother held her hand and was giving the child an indulgent look that only a mother could.

It annoyed Zoe. ‘How can people happy at such a terrible time?’ she thought to herself as she turned back to her partner, who had stopped when she realized Zoe wasn’t beside her. Eva was in her own grief stricken haze, oblivious to the child’s antics.

They both watched as the mother and the child passed them, then silently walked towards the Intensive Care Unit. Earl and David wanted answers from the police and thus had decided that sitting waiting for the report wasn’t good enough. Harry had set out organizing funeral arrangements. None of them could believe their dear friend had passed away. Each dealt with the news differently; Earl, David and Zoe with anger, Eva and Harry with resignation.

The two women stopped outside the door to the ICU, hesitating for a few moments and not willing to step inside.

“She won’t die, will she?” Zoe asked her partner, giving her a pleading look. She wanted Eva to tell her that everything was going to be all right. The worse had happened and Friedrich was gone but they still had Elena.

Eva wanted, for all she was worth, to give that assurance but found she couldn’t. Her heart screamed, ‘Say it! Tell her she will be fine!’, but her mind had heard the surgeon’s comments and she couldn’t form the words. “I don’t know, love,” she answered quietly.

Without another word Zoe pushed the door open and entered the ward. It was a large area with beds on both sides, each separated from the next by a curtain. Zoe shuddered as the memory of Eva’s recent accident and hospitalization came to her memory. Zoe wanted to retch from the smell. She hated that smell; only bad memories were associated with the chlorine, sickly smell. At the center of the large ward was a nurse’s station. The ward was very quiet with muted voices forming a quiet background to the myriad of proficient activities being performed throughout the area.

“We’re looking for Mrs. Elena Jacobs,” Eva spoke quietly to the nurse, who looked inquiringly at them.

“Are you family?”

“Yes,” Eva replied.

The nurse looked down at her roster and then back up. “Mrs. Jacobs has been moved to a room of her own.”

Eva quickly glanced at her partner who was looking a little pale. “How is…?”

“I can’t tell you that, Miss…”

“Eva Haralambos and this is Zoe,” Eva introduced themselves quickly, hoping to get the formalities out of the way and down to learning the facts about Elena’s change in room assignment.

“Miss Haralambos, Dr. McNeill is treating your…”

“Sister,” Zoe supplied.

“Yes, well Dr. McNeill is treating her. He will be here shortly.”

Zoe let out an exasperated sigh and looked up at Eva, who put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, stopping the outburst that was just below the surface, waiting to explode.

“I understand your frustration and your worry at this time,” the nurse continued. The young woman had witnessed too many episodes of the frustration and helplessness of family members unable to help their loved ones in this time of crisis. Often the nursing staff were on the receiving end of those frustrations. This was more so working in the Intensive Care Unit, where emotions ran high and tempers frayed easily. “Would you like to see her before Dr. McNeill gets here?”

“Yes, thank you,” Eva replied and smiled at the nurse. They made their way down the long corridor, the sounds of their shoes making a slight echo on the linoleum floor, which Eva found made her uncomfortable. She glanced at Zoe. “Are you okay?” Eva knew the answer but she had to ask; she had to do something, worry about Zoe - anything to get her mind away from Friedrich’s death and Elena’s injuries.

Zoe looked up, tears glistened in her eyes. “No,” she said quietly.

After what seemed a very long trek, the nurse stopped and entered a room. The two women followed. What they saw stopped them cold. The room was small; a single bed lay in the middle with a bedside table nearby. It was Spartan and quite cold looking. The drapes on the single window were dark green which blocked out the light outside, casting the room into semi-darkness. The only illumination was from a light to the side of the bed which gave a golden color to the room. Another nurse was checking the patient and looked up as the visitors entered.

In the bed, Elena lay quietly, seemingly at peace, a large bandage covering her head. A dark purplish bruise ran from under the bandage to her jaw. She was covered up to her chest by a white sheet and a blue blanket, the insignia of the hospital emblazoned all over it.

Oblivious to the nurses, Zoe pushed a chair forward; the scraping sound made Eva flinch.

“Hey, El,” Zoe’s greeted her comatose friend, trying to inject warmth into her voice. She took the limp hand and gently squeezed it, hoping that Elena would awaken and squeeze it back. That didn’t happen. “Eva is here,” Zoe said as she kissed her friend gently on the cheek, unable to stop the tears that ran down her face.

The nurses watched for a moment before turning away at the very private exchange. Eva glanced at them and nodded her thanks. As they passed through the door, the ward nurse quietly addressed Eva.

“I’ll let Dr. McNeill know you are here when he arrives,” the nurse whispered and left the room. Eva picked up the other chair and set it down next to Zoe. Elena looked peaceful and she wondered if she could hear Zoe talking to her.

Zoe stopped for a moment and looked at Eva’s tear-stained face. Wordlessly Eva took her in her arms as Zoe’s heart wrenching sobs echoed in the small room. Her own tears fell unchecked. The pain of Friedrich’s death came crashing down on both of them.

*

“El, you should have seen Nicky. He christened Eva’s blue shirt properly,” Zoe’s voice broke a little as she held onto her friend’s hand. “It’s yellow and blue now,” she finished with a strangled laugh.

Eva put her arm around Zoe and brought her towards her. She kissed her temple softly. Just as they parted the door opened as Dr. McNeill and the nurse entered. “Zoe,” Eva said and tapped her partner lightly on the shoulder.

Zoe reluctantly let go of Elena’s hand and turned in her seat to face the doctor who had extended his hand toward the two women. As they shook hands, the doctor introduced himself.

“I’m Dr. Jack McNeill, Mrs. Jacob’s doctor. Nurse Matthews informed me you had arrived.”

“Eva and Zoe Haralambos,” Eva introduced them both.

After a brief glimpse at his patient, the doctor gestured toward a small alcove, nestled in the far corner of the room. Eva stood up and gently took her partner’s hand, guiding Zoe toward the space the doctor had indicated. As the three of them huddled in the undersized area, the doctor spoke quietly.

“Miss Haralambos, your sister sustained quite severe injuries. As you can see, she has some extensive bruising to her face and her skull was fractured.”

Zoe gulped quietly, squeezing Eva’s hand tightly.

“We are more concerned about the internal injuries.”

“Can you fix those?” Zoe asked and glanced back at the prone figure. She turned back to the doctor and fixed him with a look that dared him to say otherwise.

Dr. McNeill glanced at his notes, more for some relief from Zoe’s beseeching look. “Your sister is dying.”

The two women looked at the doctor in total shock. They were expecting grave news but not so boldly to be told that nothing could be done.

“No,” Zoe shook her head slowly. “No, you can’t give up.”

“We are not giving up, Miss Haralambos. We are doing everything we can to save her but…”

Zoe stepped forward suddenly and stabbed her finger against the man’s chest. “You don’t give up.”

Eva was taken by surprise for a moment as was the doctor who leaned away from the angry woman. She put her hands on Zoe’s shoulders. “Zoe..”

“No, Evy, they’re giving up.”

“They’re not giving up, lo…” Eva stopped herself from using the loving expression. She threw caution aside and reverted to Greek, not caring what the English-speaking doctor thought of the rude gesture. She moved between the doctor and her agitated partner, taking both of Zoe’s hands and forcing her to focus attention on her face. . “Listen to me. He’s not giving up, okay.”

“But that’s what he said,” Zoe angrily replied and scowled at the hapless doctor who was now occupying his time with the patient chart.

“Zoe, yelling at him won’t make Elena better. Let’s hear what he has to say,” Eva reasoned with her. After a strained moment, Zoe relaxed her aggressive position. She took a deep breath and turned to the doctor, who was patiently waiting for them to finish their conversation.

“I’m sorry,” she said to him, lowering her voice as she told herself she needed to remain calm.

Dr. McNeill nodded his acceptance of the apology. He had been on the receiving end of countless verbal outbursts and could understand the young woman’s grief. “Miss Haralambos, we are doing the best we can to save your sister. Believe me if I could, I would save everyone,” he told them. “We will look after Mrs. Jacobs, and make her as comfortable as we can.”

“She’s not in pain?”

The doctor shook his head which seemed to reassure the two women. “No.”

“Will she wake up?”

“I don’t know,” he replied softly.

Nothing further was said as the three stood there for a few moments. Finally Dr. McNeill closed the patient chart. “We will do our best,” he told them. He gave Zoe a reassuring pat on the shoulder as he walked out of the room, leaving the two women alone.

*

Eva yawned and leaned against the wall. She had gone down to the cafeteria for a cup of tea and brought Zoe back something to eat and drink. Along the way back to Intensive Care area, she had met Earl, David and Harry. When they were advised that not all of them could be in Elena’s room at the same time, Eva had gone back to the waiting room with Harry.

She closed her eyes as tiredness set in.

“How you doing?”

“I’ve had better days,” Eva replied and kept her eyes shut. After a tense pause, Eva spoke quietly. “They don’t think she’s going to make it.”

“I know,” Harry replied.

Eva opened her eyes and glanced at her friend. “Zoe isn’t giving up.”

“I doubt that woman would give up on anything.”

Eva nodded. “It’s true, Zoe doesn’t ever give up.”

“But you have.”

“I saw the look in the doctor’s eye. He’s given up, Harry.”

Harry sniffed. “For everything, there is a season,” he said quietly.

“A Time to be born, A Time to die,” Eva finished the quote from the Bible.

“Alas, that time is here.”

“When is the funeral?”

“On Thursday. There are some rituals we have to observe, as is the custom,” Harry replied. “Friedrich would have wanted that.”

“What rituals?”

“There is the custom of friends watching over the body…”

“I want to participate,” Eva interrupted him. “Can women take part?”

“Yes, of course,” he reassured her. “I’ll make the arrangements.”

Eva leaned back against the wall. “Friedrich would want all his friends there.”

“Indeed,” Harry nodded. “Indeed.”

*

“Zoe,” Eva shook Zoe gently by the shoulder. The younger woman had fallen asleep in her chair beside the bed.

“Huh?” Zoe woke up disoriented and blinked several times before she realized where she was. “Damn! I thought this whole thing was a nightmare,” she muttered. “What time is it?”

“Two a.m.,” Eva replied. “I’m going back home, love, to pick up some things for Elena and also to rescue Patty from the kids.”

“The children!” Zoe sat up and slapped her head. “I totally forgot.”

“It’s okay, love,” Eva comforted her partner, knowing Zoe’s focus was on Elena. “I called Patty and he said that the babies are okay but AJ is a little upset at our absence.”

“Oh no.”

“That’s why I’m going back home.”

“Who’s driving?”

“Me,” Eva replied.”

“No,” Zoe shook her head.

“Zoe, I have to go back…”

“No, you’re not going alone.” Zoe stood up. “You’ve been in pain most of the night and I won’t let you go by yourself.”

“I’m not in pain, love,” Eva replied. She had suffered some discomfort with a migraine and her back ached but those irritations had receded a little.

Zoe gave her a look. “Eva, don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying to you, Zoe. I did have a headache but it’s gone now.”

“And your back?” Zoe asked her and gave her a skeptical look challenging her partner to contradict her.

“That’s a bit achy,” Eva admitted. She wasn’t sure how Zoe always knew when her back hurt, but she had long ago given up trying to figure that out.

“We’re coming back after we pick up the kids?”

“Yes, straight back. Judge Harry has arranged a room for us and the children,” Eva explained as she picked up their bag.

Zoe leaned over the bed and spoke to Elena. “El, we’re going to rescue Patty from the babies, but we’ll be back soon okay,” she said and kissed her friend on the cheek.

As Eva led her out of the room, she glanced back at the bed for a moment. “Don’t go anywhere,” she whispered.

Chapter 31

THE HOUSE WAS QUIET, devoid of the usual sounds associated with it. The Jacobs house was similar to her own home. The color scheme was similar; white walls and dark green trim. A huge fireplace dominated the living room with a flokati rug thrown over the bare timber floor. It was a home that was filled with love and open to her at any time.

Eva’s goal of going in, collecting the items she needed and getting out was quickly destroyed when she entered the house. Memories of long dinners, good company and stimulating conversations were now a memory. At first Eva didn’t think she had anything in common with Friedrich but they had soon developed a friendship based on their mutual love of opera. It intrigued Eva that, since coming to Australia, she had more male friends than female and they all shared two common threads: a love for opera and photography.

Eva went into the living room and sat down. Taking a deep breath she let it out slowly as the enormity of the day’s events finally pierced through her protective wall. She had lost a dear friend and was about to lose another. Eva bowed her head and cried.

She would now be responsible for the Jacobs children and the task seemed daunting. She fell to her knees on the flokati rug and prayed; prayed that she would have the strength to raise these children to love God, never to forget their parents and to teach them wrong from right. She wanted children but was unable to have them. Zoe wanted children but her path to conception was something they had resolved not to take.

Eva had known that accepting Friedrich’s and Elena’s guardianship role held the remote possibility that she would be responsible for their children but hadn’t really believed it would happen. Now it was happening and she felt an anvil-sized weight settle on her shoulders. She and Zoe were going to be accountable for three young lives; to care for them, provide for them and teach them what their parents couldn’t.

Eva wiped her tears and got up from the floor. As she did, her gaze fell upon the many photos arranged on the fireplace mantle. She crossed living room and reviewed the pictures. One photo made her smile despite her grief.

It was the winter of 1947 and the four friends had gathered in the Snowy Mountains for a weekend away together. It was a brutal July day; cold, snowing and perfect for Christmas in July. A rather strange way to celebrate Christmas, five months early, but they were in Australia where things were done a little differently.

Not that the Jacobs celebrated Christmas but it was a good excuse for an extended weekend away. Eva delighted in taking the photos that would become treasured memories.

To her utter amazement she found that Zoe couldn’t really ski but, in her usual style, she tried hard not to fall down. Eva was certain the best photos she had taken were of Zoe with an upended ski on her head and a goofy expression on her face.

Eva could ski quite well having gone to the Austrian Alps when she was a child with her stepfather and her mother. She was most surprised to find that Friedrich also knew how to ski and they both laughed at their respective spouses’ attempts.

Eva’s attention was drawn to the picture of the two friends as they were falling over each other and laughing so hard she thought she heard Zoe gasping for air. She couldn’t resist taking the photo of two very happy women who appeared to be as happy as children with new toys.

Eva picked up the photo and sighed. So many memories.

“Eva?”

Eva jumped at the sound of her name as Judge Harry stuck his head in the door. “Need some help in here?”

Judge Harry had driven down with them, partly to ensure the girls arrived safely and also to organize the funeral.

“Ja, bin ich fein,” (Yes, I’m fine) Eva mumbled, not realizing she had reverted to German.

Judge Harry stood at the entrance to the living room “Das ist gut,” he said and smiled.

Eva stopped and looked up. “Sorry.”

The older man came over and put his arm around her shoulders. “Speaking German to me isn’t a crime, you know.”

“I got lost in the memories,” Eva said quietly. She returned the photo to its place on the mantle.

“That’s why I came over. I thought I might help,” Harry replied, knowing exactly how his friend was feeling. “It would have been too hard for Zoe.”

‘It would have been impossible,’ Eva thought to herself but merely nodded.

“I guess we’d better get started?”

“Yes,” Eva nodded and they separated and went into different rooms, Harry to find a suit for his friend and Eva to find clothes for the children and AJ.

They quickly found the items they were looking for, left the house and closed the front door. Harry put the suit in his car and bid farewell to Eva. She watched the car slowly reverse out of the driveway.

Eva thought she was best able to come to the house and get the items they needed. She had tried to shut down her emotional responses, but she discovered that was just not possible. She had found a family with these people, people she trusted. Despite years of telling herself she wasn’t going to trust anyone again, Zoe had entered her life and then Elena and then Friedrich.

Eva pounded the steering wheel in frustration at the unfairness of life. Then she started her car for the short trip around the corner back to her home.

Zoe had stayed with the children, not wanting to enter the Jacobs house. She couldn’t bring herself to do it which Eva understood. It had taken Zoe ten years to go back to her own home in Larissa after her mother was killed. The trip to their friends’ home had overwhelmed Eva and it would have shattered Zoe.

She drove into the driveway and was a little perplexed to see AJ sitting on the top step with their recently adopted cat, Aphrodite. The young boy was brushing the cat with one of her old brushes which made her smile. The cat was a ginger and white run-of-the-mill house cat that Zoe had found one day in the back yard.

“Hey, AJ,” Eva greeted the young boy and sat down on the bottom step.

“Aunty Zoe is mad,” the young boy said and sniffed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. He frowned and a tiny furrow appeared that caught Eva off guard. She hadn’t noticed it before but AJ looked so much like his father that at that instant, it was as though Friedrich were looking back at her. She mentally shook herself and concentrated on the dark-haired child.

“Aunty Zoe is not mad at you,” Eva reassured him and moved onto the next step.

“Yes she is,” AJ persisted. “She was yelling really loud and hurting a tree.”

“Hurting a tree?” Eva asked a little perplexed. Eva patted her lap and the young boy scampered down and joined her.

“The tree has an ouchie,” AJ said quite seriously.

“The tree has an ouchie?” Eva repeated and then smiled. “Okay.” Eva ruffled the young boy’s dark hair. “Let’s go find out why the tree is having an ouchie from Aunty Zoe and then we’re going for a drive.”

“Can we take Aphrodite?” AJ asked and held up the cat. “Can we?”

Eva smiled. “I don’t think she likes cars, AJ.”

“Do you like cars?” The young boy turned the cat to face him and spoke to her. The cat merely looked at him with disinterest. “I guess not,” he mumbled and went back to patting the cat’s head. “When are we going?”

“Soon,” Eva ruffled his hair as they both stood. AJ took Eva’s hand and led her inside and back to the kitchen. Stopping at the door leading to the backyard, he pointed.

Zoe was mad. There wasn’t any doubt about that and the avocado tree was feeling the brunt of her anger. The tree shook with every strike of Zoe’s cricket bat; its thick trunk bore the deep marks. Eva looked down at AJ and gave the young boy a smile.

“Why don’t you go into the living room and play with Aphrodite while I speak to Aunty Zoe.”

“Okay.”

Eva watched the young boy walk back, the cat following behind him. She came down the stairs and stopped halfway to where Zoe was located.

“Zoe,” Eva said softly, fully aware of what Zoe was capable of when she was angry and out of her mind with grief.

“I hate HIM!” Zoe yelled in rage.

“Who, love?”

“I HATE GOD!” Zoe screamed and wiped away tears using the back of her hand. “I HATE HIM!”

Eva closed the brief gap and put her arms around her partner, who collapsed in her arms, sobbing. The abused cricket bat fell beside her as the two women sat down against the tree. Eva stroked the chestnut-colored hair as her wife let out all the grief and anger.

“I hate him, Evy.”

“Why?”

“He takes everything I love,” Zoe sobbed. “Everyone I love.”

“Zoe, God’s not to blame.”

“Yes he is!” Zoe screamed.

Eva sighed. “We can’t blame Him for this. It was an accident.”

Zoe closed her eyes and sniffed back tears. “It hurts, Evy.”

“I know,” Eva whispered. “It’s going to hurt more but we have to be strong for the children…the babies and AJ.”

“How are we going to tell him?” Zoe’s voice broke and the tears started again as Eva rocked her, trying to comfort her.

“I’m not sure but God will provide the strength,” Eva whispered.

“You have a stronger faith, Evy.”

Eva shook her head. “No, not stronger.”

“Why does He take all the good people and leave the animals?”

“Do you think we’re animals?” Eva looked down at her partner and tried to lighten the mood a little with some levity.

Zoe frowned.

“You know if I were an animal, do you know what I think I would be?”

“A gazelle,” Zoe mumbled not wanting to play the game but liking the image of the graceful animal to resemble her loving partner.

“A giraffe,” Eva chuckled at her own joke about her height and got a wry smile from her partner. Eva stroked her wife’s cheek and said, “Zoe, we can’t blame God for everything.”

“Why doesn’t He punish the bad people instead of hurting the good?”

Eva sighed, not being able to answer that particular thorny question. “I don’t know, love.”

“I wish Father H was here.”

“So do I,” Eva agreed. Having her father with them would have given them the extra spiritual support they both needed.

“AJ thinks you are mad at him.”

“Does he?”

“Yes, he was sitting outside with the cat thinking you were screaming at him,” Eva told her as

Zoe got up. Eva examined the bat, which now had huge chunks of wood missing from it.

Zoe spotted the small dark head peaking out from the kitchen door and smiled despite her tears. “AJ?”

AJ came out but still held back a little until Eva motioned for him to come down the stairs, which he did readily.

“You’re not mad at me?”

Zoe felt stupid. She had let her own grief blind her, allowing a young child to believe he was the source of her anger. She felt shame at her actions. She went down on one knee and beckoned the child to her. “No, I am never mad at you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure,” Zoe brought the child to her and hugged him tightly. “I’m sorry, AJ.”

“Are you okay?”

“No, but I will be,” Zoe answered truthfully and glanced at Eva who was still sitting on the grass with her back to the tree. They would need to tell the young boy of his father’s passing and soon of his mother’s serious condition. Eva wasn’t sure how one told a four-year-old that his entire world had changed in the space of a day.

Chapter 32

EVA LEANED HER HEAD back and tried to stop her eyes from closing. She didn’t know the time but, from the darkness outside, she assumed it was late. The two-hour trip back had been uneventful and only made bearable by AJ singing ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ every time he saw a star. She struggled to open her eyes and glanced at Zoe who was asleep in the chair and holding her friend’s hand tightly.

They had decided not to tell the young boy that his father had passed away; it was too traumatic to be told that fact so soon after hearing that his beloved mama was sick. Eva tried to inject some optimism in her voice. She was lying but she didn’t know how else to do it.

AJ had come to the hospital a little scared. As he took Eva’s hand, they both went into the room. Zoe couldn’t watch and left, the tears falling even before she passed into the hallway.

“Mutti is sick?” Big brown eyes looking up at Eva nearly broke her heart.

Eva went down on her knees. “Mutti is very sick.”

“Where’s Papa?”

“He had to go somewhere,” Eva replied lamely. She didn’t know what else to say.

AJ frowned. “Can I get up there?” he asked, pointing one small finger at the hospital bed.

Eva lifted the young boy up and watched as he lay next to his mother. “Mutti?” he said softly and caressed his mother’s cheek.

Eva turned away from the image that would be forever seared into her mind. She tried valiantly to control herself. After a few moments she regained control and turned back to find the young boy talking to Elena as if she could hear him. Eva was about to say something when she realized that AJ was singing to his mother.

“Mutti likes that song,” he said and smiled at Eva who smiled back at him. “I’m going to leave Rufus here with her so he can help her feel better.”

Rufus was the much-loved teddy bear that went everywhere AJ went. It was the first gift the young boy had received and he treasured the bear, even though it had now seen better days.

Eva helped the young boy off the bed and she sat down on the chair with AJ in her lap.

“Mutti is sleeping, isn’t she?”

“Yes.”

“She doesn’t like it when I wake her,” AJ told her. “I’ll wait until she is awake.” With that the young boy snuggled in Eva’s arms and watched his mother ‘sleep’.

That had been hours ago. AJ had fallen asleep and when he awoke he was disappointed his mother was still asleep and then began asking for his father. It took Earl and David quite some time to convince the youngster to come with them. The twins were with the two women and were asleep.

Eva yawned and checked on Nicky and then Larissa. Satisfied the twins were sleeping soundly, she went back to resting in the chair and soon fell asleep.

*

“Zoe?”

Zoe heard her name and felt the gentle shake. She opened her eyes and stared into warm brown eyes. “El?” Zoe asked a little bewildered. She glanced at the bed where her friend was still lying. Zoe did a double take and stared at the image before her.

“Damn it! I’m dreaming,” she muttered and shook her head. She closed her eyes tightly.

“No, you’re not,” the soft voice told her.

“Yes, I am,” Zoe nodded and resisted the urge to open her eyes. “Go away.”

“Zoe, open your eyes.”

Zoe opened one eye; the image of her friend was still there. “You’re not real.”

“Yes, I am,” Elena smiled and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. The young woman’s features were normal, lacking the ugly bruising and other evidence of her recent injuries.

“I’m going insane,” Zoe mumbled in Greek.

“Don’t speak Greek to me, Zo,” Elena chuckled and sat on the bed. She looked back at the prone figure and sighed. “I do look a bit banged up.”

“Oh boy,” Zoe muttered.

“Zoe, it is me,” Elena grinned and opened her arms as her friend fell into them and hugged her. Zoe began to cry. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. I’m crying and it’s a dream.”

“I’m not a dream, Zo, I’m … ” Elena stopped and scratched her chin in thought, “I’m not sure what I am.”

Zoe scowled. She glanced to where Eva was fast asleep. “I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this, I don’t believe this,” she kept muttering and walked away from the bed trying to get the apparition to leave. She pinched herself. “Ouch.”

“Did that hurt?”

“Yes,” Zoe muttered and rubbed the spot where she had pinched herself.

“See, you’re not dreaming,” Elena chuckled. “Zoe, stop being a goof.”

The words stopped Zoe in her tracks and she looked back. “El?” she asked, still skeptical at the apparition.

“Yes,” Elena smiled. “Finally.”

“And who is that?” Zoe she asked her friend’s doppelganger.

“Me,” Elena replied quietly. “I don’t have too long to go, Zo.”

“No,” Zoe shook her head. “You can’t go.”

“Friedrich needs me, Zo.”

Tears started to fall down Zoe’s cheeks. “You can’t go,” she repeated. Zoe came to where the vision stood and looked into her friend’s eyes. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t lose me, Zoe,” Elena smiled. “You will always have me in your heart and mind.”

“I don’t want you just in my heart and mind.”

“You want to forget me?”

“Never!”

“Then don’t forget me,” the apparition smiled. “Remember me, Zoe. Remember the good times. Remember the times we laughed so much I had to change my underwear.” Elena stroked her friend’s cheek. “All the times we played practical jokes on each other.”

Despite her grief, Zoe smiled.

“Remember when you raced around on that infernal motorbike and how we went around corners. Remember the double fudge ice cream in the summer and the hot chocolate we would have after classes.” Elena’s eyes twinkled. “Remember the first time we met and how you became my friend, my sister.”

Zoe’s eyes welled up with tears as her friend related the happy memories they had shared.

“Remember that night? You saved my soul.”

“I did that?”

“You did that,” Elena nodded. “I was so despondent that I never thought another human being would love me. But there you were and you became my friend.”

“It wasn’t hard,” Zoe hiccupped.

Elena smiled and took her friend’s hand. “Remember dancing in the rain after we graduated, remember all the good times. Tell them to my babies as they grow.” Elena’s eyes welled up with tears. “Tell them how much I love them, how much their papa loved them.”

“I will,” Zoe choked back tears as her voice broke.

“You will be a wonderful mother, Zo. You and Eva will take care of our babies.”

“I promise we will.”

“I know you will.” Elena cupped her friend’s cheek. “You love so much and give so freely, Zoe. You were my friend when no one else cared.” Elena wiped the tear that tracked down Zoe’s face. “You made me laugh so much and if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have met my Friedrich.”

Zoe took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“I can leave knowing my babies will have a loving home,” Elena said and went over to where Eva was fast asleep. “Treasure her,” she indicated Eva.

“I do.”

“I know but treasure her even more.” Elena smiled. “My babies are going to have two wonderful people looking after them.

“I’m going to miss you,” Zoe replied hoarsely.

“Remember when you told me that the dead can hear our thoughts?”

“Yes,” Zoe nodded

“Well, I’ll hear you. I’ll always be here,” she tapped Zoe’s chest lightly. “Always.” Elena put one hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “I want one more thing from you, Zo.”

“What’s that?”

“When the time comes, I want you to be strong,” Elena said as she took hold of Zoe’s hands. “Be strong for Eva.”

“I don’t know if …”

“She’s going to need you.”

“I will. I promise,” Zoe nodded and crossed herself.

“I want you to say the Kaddish for me,” Elena asked her voice sounding a little faint. The two friends hugged each other fiercely, not wanting to let go. “Ask Harry,” she said. “It’s time to go, my friend.”

Zoe closed her eyes and then felt a warmth overpower her and she swayed a little. She opened her eyes to a silent room. Elena lay on the bed, a tiny smile now adorning her lips. Zoe knew she had left them. She moved quietly to where Eva sat asleep in the chair and knelt down.

“Evy,” she said gently shaking her.

“Hmm,” Eva opened her eyes, a little stiff from sleeping in the chair. “Are you okay?”

“Elena has passed away,” Zoe told her quietly and they both looked over to the prone figure.

Eva let her head drop for a moment as she said a silent prayer and crossed herself. She took her spouse into her arms and held her tightly. They held onto each other as they both wept.

Chapter 33

IT HAD BEEN A long night as the news of Elena’s death eventually reached all their friends. Eva had spent some time with Zoe as they consoled each other. Zoe related the extraordinary event of Elena ‘visiting’ her. Eva was surprised but believed her partner because she knew faith could move mountains, even if only figuratively. She didn’t doubt that Zoe’s love for their friend was instrumental in giving Zoe some solace.

Eva needed to make the arrangements for the funeral for she knew her spouse was in no condition to do so. The little bit of consolation Zoe had experienced from Elena’s ‘appearance’ had provided some help to her in coping with her friend’s death.

Both women were bone tired but they had plans to make. Zoe had stayed at the hospital to find out what needed to be done and the task of telling young AJ had been left in Eva’s hands, a task she didn’t want or thought she would ever have to undertake.

Eva had watched the young boy sleep in the big double bed of the hotel room they had rented. She didn’t want to wake him to face the reality that his parents were ‘newly deceased’. She had taken a deep breath and walked very slowly to the bed.

Telling the young boy had been one of the hardest things she had ever done. It tore her heart apart to see the young boy’s face go from puzzlement, confusion and then the realization that his beloved Mutti and Papa were no longer going to be there.

“Will I see them again?” he asked Eva.

Eva closed her eyes briefly then opened them. “One day you will.”

“I will?” AJ asked excitedly.

“Yes, one day they will hold you,” Eva put her arms around him tightly, “and hug you,” she gently squeezed as the little boy melted into her embrace. “They will tell you that they missed you and they loved you lots.”

“Lots?”

“Lots and lots,” Eva smiled and brushed away the tears that slowly tracked down the young boy’s face. “They love you.”

“Why did they leave?”

Eva swallowed back the lump in her throat and tried not to lose her composure. Not yet. “Well, sometimes God calls us to be with Him and Mutti and Papa are now angels working with God.”

“God is not nice,” AJ sighed and sniffed back tears. Eva held him as the young boy began to cry. “He took Mutti and Papa away.”

“Only for a short while,” Eva tried but even to her it sounded lame. She wasn’t sure how a four-year-old could understand the concept of Heaven.

“I had a dream,” AJ said quietly. “Papa told me to be a good boy.”

“Was it a good dream?”

AJ nodded his head and wiped his nose with the back of his pajama sleeve. He looked up at Eva and smiled. “We were playing rugby and Papa said I had to be a good boy.”

Eva smiled as she kissed the top of his dark head.

“He said I am a big brother now and I have to take care of my little brother and sister.”

Eva nodded not trusting herself to speak for a few moments as AJ related the dream and the good time he’d had with his father. Rugby and cricket were AJ’s favorite sports. Friedrich, Earl, David and Harry frequently had a ‘men’s day out’ when they took the young boy to the rugby games or cricket matches.

“You are the big brother, young man,” Eva smiled as the boy puffed out his chest.

“Is Mutti going to help God?”

Eva nodded. “She will and so will your papa. They will watch over you.”

“They will?”

“They will help God to turn on the sun and, at night, you will see thousands of stars, and your Mutti and Papa will be keeping them all lit all night,” Eva said knowing a little lie now would help ease the pain. It was something her mother had told her when her friend had died so many years ago. Eva had found comfort when she looked up into the stars, knowing that her friend was looking down.

“Really?”

“Really,” Eva smiled at the excited tone in the boy’s voice. “My mama will be with them.”

“She will?”

“Yes, every night when I look up and see the stars, I know she is taking care of me,” Eva explained. “God gives them chores to do.” She grinned knowing that analogy would help the young boy to understand.

“Will Papa help in pouring out the rain?”

Eva chuckled at the idea of Friedrich watering the world. He had hated weeding their garden and wasn’t all that inclined to cutting the lawn. But he did it anyway. It had become a family joke when AJ pushed a small plastic lawnmower around the yard to “help” his father.

“Yes, your Papa will pour out the rain.”

“He isn’t going to like that.” AJ shook his head slowly which caused Eva to wipe the tears from her eyes. They sat in silence for a few moments, both lost in their own thoughts. Finally AJ looked up.

“Aunty Eva, is it my fault?”

Eva was taken aback by the question. Earnest gray eyes looked back at her, waiting for her answer.

“No,” Eva said slowly. “It’s not your fault.”

“Yes it is,” AJ closed his eyes and began to cry again.

“No.” Eva gently turned the young boy’s face up. “It’s not your fault.”

“I wished it.”

Eva blinked. “You wished it?”

“I did.”

“What did you wish?”

“At my birthday party,” AJ’s voice broke and the little boy began to sob.

“No, no, no, AJ,” Eva shook her head and caressed his cheek, trying to console the little boy. “No, it’s not your fault.”

“But,” AJ hiccupped, “b-but I said I wanted to have you as a Mutti as well.”

Eva was stunned. Not that AJ loved her as much to wish that she was his mother as well but that he actually had made a wish about it. “You did?” Eva asked, brushing back his dark hair.

“I wished it and it happened,” AJ said quietly.

Eva wasn’t sure how to respond to that. She took a deep breath and hoped she could find the words to comfort him. “You’ve always had three Muttis,” she said quietly.

“Three?”

“Your Mutti, your Aunty Zoe and me.”

“I did?”

“You did.” Eva smiled down at him and tapped her finger against his nose.

“Really?”

Eva nodded. “Really. Aunty Zoe and I loved you before you were born.”

“Oh.”

“Well,” Eva shifted a little on the bed, now going into familiar territory. She had thought about how to explain this to AJ on the way to the hotel. “Before you were born, your Mutti and Papa told us we are going to be your godmothers. That means that if Mutti and Papa were away, we would take care of you. A Godmother looks after you, takes you out and helps you to grow up.” Eva wiped the young boy’s face. “You see you didn’t have to wish for more, you had it.”

“Oh.”

“So it’s not your fault.”

AJ looked up at Eva. “It’s not my fault?”

“No, it will never be your fault.” Eva held the young boy in her arms and said a quick prayer thanking God for the quick thinking to solve a potentially serious problem.

“Aunty Eva?”

“Yes?”

“I love you,” AJ said quietly and put his tiny arms around Eva’s waist. That act brought Eva’s tears flowing freely at the simple loving gesture.

Chapter 34

A THICK, HEAVY GLOOM hung in the air, or so it seemed to Zoe, as she looked up into gray clouds. The color matched her emotional state. The funeral service had been heartbreaking and Zoe had successfully avoided looking at the matching caskets.

She had found Eva starring straight ahead with a glazed look in her eyes that Zoe had never seen there before. Little AJ had sat between them, holding Eva’s hand tightly while Zoe hovered over the twins in their bassinet. To their right sat Earl, Pat, David and Judge Harry - the four pall bearers.

They’d spent the night before holding vigil over the bodies, as was the Jewish custom. It was painful but Zoe was determined to honor her friends and maintained some composure even when she helped to prepare Elena’s body for burial. She had kept chatting to her friend as though Elena could hear her. No one was going to tell her that the dead couldn’t hear. To Zoe’s reasoning, if she kept talking, she wouldn’t have to stop and think about what she was doing.

Now, as they slowly made their way to the cemetery in a long black convoy, their headlights turned on as a mark of respect, the other cars on the road slowed and gave them priority. The cemetery was where Zoe was determined to be strong, for both of them. She had a task to do and she was determined to do it in honor of her friends.

“Are you okay?” Eva leaned across and gently squeezed Zoe’s hand.

“No,” Zoe whispered and looked up. AJ was perched on Eva’s lap looking out the window at the people milling about. “Are you?”

“No,” Eva admitted. “We’ll get through this,” she said before leaning across and giving Zoe a kiss. “Together,” she whispered before they parted. The car doors on either side opened and they stepped out.

Zoe took a deep breath and let it out as the hearse bearing the two caskets also stopped. She blinked and then crossed herself. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to find Alma Hester, Percy Hester’s wife. A tall, distinguished looking woman, Alma was the image of competence. She had long hair which was liberally sprinkled with white and kept in a bun. She reminded Zoe of a great aunt she loved from home; someone with whom she would be herself and not feel she was being judged.

Although Zoe knew she was a conservative woman and deeply religious, Alma accepted them for who they were. It was a very rare thing in the society they lived in and Zoe loved the older woman for it. Alma Hester was Percy’s strength, both in politics and behind the scenes.

“How you are sweetheart?” the older woman asked, giving Zoe a hug.

“I feel like I’m dying, too,” Zoe murmured, glancing around at the milling mourners. The funeral had attracted a large group of people. Politicians that Friedrich had known, his co-workers and others…all had come to show their respect and affection for their friends.

“I know it’s going to be difficult…”

Zoe nodded and accepted the older woman’s reassuring hug. She had a job to do and was determined not to break down. She felt another gentle pressure on her shoulder. She didn’t need to turn around to know who it was. Eva’s distinctive perfume and presence gave Zoe renewed strength.

Alma watched the two women for a moment. “I’m going to rescue Percy from the babies,” she said and smiled. “If you need anything, I’ll be just over to the side.”

“Thank you,” Eva and Zoe said in unison and watched the tall woman walk away.

“Where’s AJ?” Zoe asked and looked around for the young boy. He had been with Eva the whole week and hadn’t wanted to leave her side. The nights had been difficult and they often found the him climbing into their bed to sleep between them.

“David and Wiggy asked him to walk with them,” Eva replied. She exhaled slowly trying to get the butterflies in her stomach to settle and wished for a cigarette to calm her. She felt overwhelmed as the events played out and on more than one occasion felt she was going in slow motion; everything seemed so unreal.

“I’m going to say it in Yiddish.”

Eva blinked for a moment at Zoe’s announcement. Not that she wasn’t half-expecting it, but Zoe’s matter of fact delivery stunned her for a moment. They had discussed how Zoe was going to say the Kaddish, the Jewish prayer of mourning. It was customary for a loved one to say the prayer as the caskets were lowered into the ground. Judge Harry had given Zoe the words written in English and also the Yiddish version.

Zoe took out the card with the words and looked at them again. She had spent the previous evening going over the words with Harry and memorizing them.

“She would like that,” Zoe mumbled. “Probably laughing her head off at me for mispronouncing the words, but I think she would like it.”

In the middle of the assembled crowd Eva brought the younger woman to her and hugged her fiercely. She wanted to kiss her spouse, to reassure her, to give her strength but all she could do is convey her feelings in a hug. Zoe looked up and smiled.

“Thank you,” she whispered as Eva gently squeezed her hand.

“You can do it.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. You are a strong woman, love,” Eva whispered as the Rabbi came towards them. It was time.

Zoe felt a trickle of sweat rolling down her cheek as she stood near the grave. She swallowed and took a deep breath. As the clouds parted and a shaft of sunlight filtered through, Zoe began to tremble.

She glanced at Eva whose small smile reassured her and she turned back toward the gravesites. She took out the card and in a clear voice, Zoe began the Kaddish.

“Yeetgadal v’ yeetkadash sh’mey rabbah,”

May His great Name grow exalted and sanctified,

Zoe stopped when the entire congregation uttered “Amen.” She looked around in mild surprise before resuming the prayer.

“B’almah dee v’rah kheer’utey.”

in the world that He created as He willed.

“V’ yamleekh malkhutei,b’chahyeykhohn, uv’ yohmeykhohn,”

May He give reign to His kingship in your lifetimes and in your days,

Zoe continued and stopped to take a deep breath. Tears ran down her face as she continued reciting the prayer.

uv’chahyei d’chohl beyt yisrael,

and in the lifetimes of the entire Family of Israel,

ba’agalah u’veez’man kareev, v’eemru: Amein.

swiftly and soon. Now respond: Amen.

Zoe stopped as the congregation recited the next line with her.

“Y’hey sh’met rabbah m’varach l’alam u’l’almey almahyah.”

“May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.”

“Amen,” they said in unison and a silence fell over the mourners for a moment as Zoe resumed the prayer.

Y’hey sh’met rabbah m’varach l’alam u’l’almey almahyah.

May His great Name be blessed forever and ever.

Yeet’barakh, v’ yeesh’tabach, v’ yeetpa’ar, v’ yeetrohmam, v’ yeet’nasei,

Blessed, praised, glorified, exalted, extolled,

v’ yeet’hadar, v’ yeet’aleh, v’ yeet’halal sh’mey d’kudshah b’reekh hoo

mighty, upraised, and lauded be the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He

Once again Zoe stopped as the assembled mourners recited the next line.

b’reekh hoo

Blessed is He

Zoe took the opportunity to wipe her eyes and take a deep breath before continuing.

L’eylah meen kohl beerkhatah v’sheeratah,

beyond any blessing and song,

toosh’b’chatah v’nechematah, da’ameeran b’al’mah, v’eemru: Amein

praise and consolation that are uttered in the world. Now respond: Amen.

Zoe closed her eyes as the caskets were lowered. Taking a deep breath as the mourners uttered “Amen,” she continued.

Y’hei shlamah rabbah meen sh’mahyah,v’chahyeem

May there be abundant peace from Heaven, and life

aleynu v’al kohl yisrael. V’eemru: Amein

upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen.

The mourners again recited, “Amen.”

Oseh shalom beem’roh’mahv, hoo ya’aseh shalom,

He Who makes peace in His heights, may He make peace,

aleynu v’al kohl yisrael. V’eemru: Amein

upon us and upon all Israel. Now respond: Amen.

Zoe stopped and put the card in her pocket as the mourners repeated “Amen”. She stared at one of the caskets. “Goodbye, my sister,” she said quietly.

Zoe was handed a shovel and reversed it, as was also part of the custom. Together with Eva, Earl, David, Pat and Judge Harry, she used the shovel backwards and ushered the loose soil into the grave. Zoe felt her knees give way and she nearly fell, but was restrained by Eva’s steady hand.

“I got you,” Eva whispered as she took her partner’s hand.

The ceremony complete, the mourners stood in two rows and allowed Eva and Zoe, along with AJ, Alma and Percy with the babies, as well as David with Debbie, Earl, Pat and Judge Harry to pass through.

Eva glanced back at the grave. “Goodbye my friends,” she whispered.

*

Five Weeks Later…

EVA QUIETLY CLOSED THE back door behind her, noiselessly crossing to the back porch railing and placing her hands on the smooth, worn wood. The soft, dark blanket of silence that surrounded her was oddly comforting. After the exhausting pace of the past five weeks, the tall woman welcomed the quiet and, for once, the solitude. She stood immobile for a moment, trying to settle her mind and her feelings.

The emotional turmoil of the recent events had brought a raging upheaval into their lives, one from which Eva was uncertain her young partner would ever recover. First the tragic nature of Elena’s and Friedrich’s deaths, then the staggering realization that she and Zoe were now parents…and had three young children depending on them for the rest of all their lives. Zoe had faced the devastation of her friends’ passing with her usual strength; she had even handled the Kaddish at the gravesite with grace and maturity. Eva wasn’t really surprised, but she knew the ceremony - and all it represented - had taken a heavy toll on her beloved’s soul. It would be a long time before the younger woman’s easy laughter would grace the rooms of their home, Eva told herself.

Slowly, almost painfully, the new family had progressed toward a semblance of order, Eva and Zoe making those adjustments necessary to care for the babies and young AJ. It had been a laborious and sometimes frustrating process but, Eva had to admit, things were finally ‘settling down’, as Debbie had predicted, into an acceptable - yet constantly changing - routine.

Eva flopped down on the scruffy sofa, stretching out her long body. She ran her fingers through her dark hair and let out a long, tired breath. After closing her eyes for a moment, the tall woman let her head drop onto the back of the sofa. She inhaled deeply, rubbed the stiffness in her neck, and let out another long breath. ‘Well, my love,’ Eva silently addressed her sleeping partner. ‘We’ll face each day as it comes. Together.’ Sleepy blue eyes opened to scan the quiet darkness that enveloped the back yard. Long minutes passed as the tall woman reviewed the recent changes in her world.

As her mind replayed the events, Eva reached into the pocket of the lightweight bathrobe she wore. Her fingers found the crumpled package of cigarettes she had absently stashed there. Without thinking, she withdrew the package, sliding the book of matches out from beneath the cellophane wrapping. Eva shook out a cigarette, silently striking a match and inhaling. As the cloud of smoke encircled her, another random thought occurred to her; she had been smoking much more in the past few weeks than in a long, long time. She made a silent vow to curb the activity, mostly because she knew Zoe really didn’t like the smell or the unpleasant taste it left on her lips. But, Eva admitted, smoking around the children wasn’t really healthy, either.

In spite of all the changes, they had brought her a deep joy, a contentment she had come to believe she would never know. Even though the circumstances of the three youngsters coming into their lives were and would always be a painful memory, Eva had already thanked God a number of times for bringing the tiny, beautiful babies and the precious AJ into their home. Zoe was showing a wonderful knack for caring for the three-month old twins and Eva couldn’t begin to express her happiness at being allowed to become a parent, no matter how unfortunate the incident causing that fact had been. A genuine blessing was the way Eva considered it. A deep feeling of thankfulness filled the dark-haired woman’s chest. She vowed to do her very best for Nicky, Larissa and AJ, for as long as she lived.

Thinking of the four-year-old boy - her son now, in the eyes of the law - Eva’s thoughts again turned melancholy. The youngster had responded to the news of his parents’ deaths with a combination of confusion, bewilderment and finally, resentment. In the weeks following the unpleasant news, AJ had become quiet, pensive and occasionally even rebellious, on more occasions than Eva thought ‘normal’, admitting her experience in these matters was skimpy, at best. Still, trusting her heart, and her usual affinity for the young boy, Eva knew, even though she knew AJ loved Zoe and her without hesitation, the young boy was still not fully comfortable with his ‘new parents’.

She couldn’t quite put her finger on what exactly was bothering the youngster and, she had to admit, some of her concern was tempered with her own disappointment at the fact that AJ seemed to have accepted Zoe entirely, while still remaining somewhat distant from Eva, herself. He easily referred to and addressed Zoe as ‘Mama’, yet, he continued to address Eva as ‘Aunty Eva’, almost as if he were reluctant to accept the tall woman in her new role.

‘Don’t be so selfish,’ the dark-haired woman chided herself. ‘He’s four years old and has just lost the two people he thought would be with him forever.’ Eva blew out an impatient mouthful of smoke. ‘Have some understanding for how he feels!’ With an angry hand, Eva flicked the cigarette stub into the darkness. She crossed her arms over her chest, glowering into the stillness. A moment later, a sound behind her made her jump.

Eva turned quickly, just as the back door crept open. After a moment, a dark, tousled head

appeared around the wooden frame. Sleepy brown eyes scanned the porch before coming to rest on Eva’s blue stare. The tall women slowly turned toward the child in the doorway.

“AJ?” Eva said softly. “What’s wrong? Bad dream?”

The young boy slowly advanced through the door, taking care to close the panel noiselessly behind him. Eva’s lips curled in a grin at the sight of the slight figure in rumpled pajamas, his small, bare feet padding silently toward her.

AJ ran a hand through his disheveled hair, impatiently sweeping the dark locks away from his forehead. He took a few more steps toward Eva, stopping at the end of the couch and putting his hands on the cushioned arm.

“No,” the youngster answered quietly. “I couldn’t sleep ‘cause it’s too hot in my room.”

Eva’s smile grew. She was also uncomfortable when the night air remained warm and humid. She gently ran her fingers through the young boy’s hair.

“Yeah, I have trouble sleeping when it’s hot, too.”

A moment of silence hung over the porch. Eva was about to speak again when AJ’s voice silenced her.

“Can I sit out here with you for a while? We can look at the stars together.”

Eva’s heart lurched tightly at the plaintive tone in the boy’s voice. She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. She settled herself against the back cushions, patting the space beside her.

“I’d like that,” she told AJ. “C’mon, sit next to me.”

A small, but happy grin lit the boy’s face as he scampered around the end of the couch and crawled up onto the wide cushion. As soon as he landed on the couch, AJ scooted closer to Eva, snuggling into her side and laying his dark head against her chest. Eva let out a contented sigh as AJ did the same. Together they listened to the muted, cryptic sounds of the dark night.

After a moment, Eva began to hum, a gentle, soothing ballad she remembered hearing from her mother whenever a bad dream had awakened her. As her voice floated over the air, she ran her fingers through the boy’s dark locks. A quick glance at AJ showed a small smile on the boy’s face.

“So,” Eva began as her humming ended, “you didn’t have a bad dream?”

“Nope,” AJ quipped, snuggling closer to Eva. “I heard you come out here and thought…” The boy squirmed around to gaze into her face. “You don’t mind me being here, do you?” he asked, a bit anxiously.

Eva’s soft laugh answered his question. She pulled the boy into a gentle hug. “No, of course not,” she assured him. “I’m sorry if I woke you up, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too,” AJ said, returning to his comfortable position. “Hey, look!” the boy said, pointing to the sky. “There’s Sirio,” he announced, referring to the bright star Eva had shown him on numerous occasions of star-gazing.

“Sirius,” Eva corrected kindly. “Yup, that’s Sirius, alright. Good job finding that one.”

AJ smiled widely, basking in the tall woman’s praise.

“Can you find Achernar?” Eva asked the boy, content to continue with the game, even though she knew it was certainly much too late for AJ to be out of bed.

The youngster scanned the sky, a comically serious expression on his face. Finally, he raised a small hand and pointed. “Right there. See it?”

“Sure can,” Eva agreed. “That’s Achernar. Good job again.”

They continued with the amusement for another quarter of an hour until AJ’s long, squeaky yawns interrupted the game. Eva smiled at the young face.

“Do you think you can get back to sleep, now?”

Another yawn postponed AJ’s answer. Sleepy brown eyes met her blue ones.

“Yes, I think I’m tired again,” the boy admitted. He sat back from Eva and stretched his short arms toward the sky. After delivering another wide-mouthed yawn, AJ slid himself forward, finally managing to get his boy-sized feet onto the wooden floor of the porch. He held out one small hand toward Eva.

“C’mon, Mutti. Maybe you can sleep now, too.”

Eva’s sat totally still for a moment, afraid she had heard only what her heart had wished. She blinked sudden tears away, gulping against her surprise. Finally, she answered her son.

“Yes, I think I can, too.” The tall woman slid off the couch, extending her arms toward the boy. “Want a ride, big guy?”

AJ’s tired face lit up happily. He raised his arms and nearly leaped into Eva’s arms. She gathered the boy close, depositing a warm kiss to the soft cheek against her shoulder. AJ wrapped his arms around Eva’s neck.

“I love you, Mutti,” the youngster murmured, hugging tightly.

“I love you, too, AJ,” Eva whispered. She raised her eyes to the sky, silently offering a thankful prayer. Holding the young boy to her chest, the tall woman slowly walked toward the back door. She began humming the song her mother had taught her.

An instant before Eva swung open the screened panel, a slender, auburn-haired figure quietly escaped the kitchen and slipped into the hall near the bedrooms. Zoe let out a muffled sigh as she heard Eva move into AJ’s room.

“Thank you, God,” the young woman whispered.

Chapter 35

One Year Later …

THE AFTERNOON SUN cast long shadows across the memorial headstones of the Botany Cemetery. It had a prime location; the view was spectacular as it faced the sparkling Pacific Ocean and the entrance to Sydney’s magnificent harbor. Not that it’s inhabitants could appreciate it.

The serene afternoon was interrupted by an old yellow and black motorcycle with a black sidecar that chugged along the pathway. In the sidecar, a collection of bright red bougainvillea’s and white jasmine recently cut from the driver’s garden peaked out.

The motorcycle slowed and its diminutive driver maneuvered the old bike towards twin headstones. The rider slowed, took off her helmet and ran her hands through unruly auburn locks.

Today had been a good day for Zoe; her artwork was selling at the bookstore and she had received several offers from people who wanted to her to paint their portraits. That had been a surprise. The offers of work had turned from a small trickle into a steady stream which kept her busy. The past year had seen the biggest upheaval of her life and, she had to admit, she hadn’t been sure she would be able to handle the responsibility of raising three children. Her beloved spouse remained the main reason their instant family had succeeded.

Their lives had changed dramatically over the course of the year. Where they had been a couple, they were now a family with three children to take care of. It had been a shock to both of them but they’d adjusted to the change. They’d had to.

The support of their friends had been invaluable and as a result on occasion, they’d been able go to their own little private retreat in the Blue Mountains to recharge their batteries. It also allowed them to be alone with each other. They’d been so busy giving their attention to AJ and the twins, they’d forgotten to have time for each other. Finally Eva had realized she had spent very little quality time with her spouse.

Eva had come home the next day to announce she’d booked a room at the Hydro Majestic Hotel. She told Zoe to pack because they were leaving for the resort that night. To say it was a surprise would have been an understatement. David and Debbie Harrison, and their baby boy Freddy, had volunteered to babysit.

AJ, however, had been upset and it had taken Eva over an hour to convince the young boy they were coming back. She’d promised she would call when they got there and every night they were away.

The Hotel had been just as she had remembered it. They’d asked for the same room as on their first year anniversary and savored the time re-connecting. It had given them both a respite from the stresses their new family had brought and reaffirmed their love for each other. Ever since then, they had arranged to have ‘their time’ together after the children had gone to bed.

Zoe got off the motorcycle, placed her gloves in the helmet and laid it on the seat. She took the flowers and brought them up for a sniff. The wonderful smell of the jasmine reminded her so much of her partner. It was Eva’s favorite flower and one that she grew in the front of the house and in the back near the window. Eva loved jasmine and, on a summer’s night, the aroma carried into their bedroom.

Zoe was a regular visitor to the cemetery, taking fresh flowers every couple of weeks. Tending to her friends’ graves gave her solace. Zoe wasn’t sure why but she found peace in doing the small tasks. Eva often came with her but today the petite woman was alone.

Zoe slowly walked up a slight incline towards the gravesites as her thoughts turned from her spouse to her dear friends. She kneeled down at Elena’s grave and removed the dead flowers and some fallen leaves.

“Hey, El,” she said and brushed away some pebbles from the headstone. “I had a great day today,” she continued.

Zoe’s ‘chats’ with Elena had become a source of bewilderment for her friends and passersby, in fact anyone who had witnessed them … everyone except Eva, who understood Zoe’s need to talk to her deceased friend. Zoe needed the ‘connection’. She knew her spouse couldn’t lose her friend entirely and the act of tending to her grave was a way for Elena to remain a part of Zoe’s life. Zoe had done the same thing when her mother was killed and the only way she kept her sanity was to ‘speak’ to her and tend to her grave.

“Sold some paintings and now Mrs. Crapp … ” Zoe giggled at the name as she sat cross-legged on the grass nearby. “Well, Mrs. Crapp wants me paint her portrait. That’s going to pay for AJ’s birthday gift,” she grinned.

A butterfly passed her and landed on the headstone, sat there for a moment before fluttering away. Zoe watched it for a few moments and smiled. “AJ started school last week. I’m not sure who was more upset. Eva was so worked up about it and I felt like going to school with him.” Zoe chuckled at the memory.

The first day at school for the young boy had been a momentous occasion. They had looked into every school that was run by the Jewish Community, investigated the schools and talked to the headmaster of each school. Zoe was sure that most parents didn’t do this but they weren’t like most parents. The headmasters also found it most unusual for Christians to be looking for Jewish schools until Eva explained their promise.

“He’s grown taller, El. He’s a handsome young man and I think we’ll be having girls flocking to see him.” Zoe grinned and took out the photo she kept in her purse. It was a family portrait that Eva had taken recently. They were in the park and Zoe was seated on a chair with the twins, with AJ standing proudly next to her. Eva had set the camera on a timer and quickly came around, scooped AJ into her arms and the photo was taken. What made the scene extra special was the way the five-year-old was looking up at Eva. If anyone would ask what pure love looked like, Zoe showed them this photo.

“He’s taken to mimicking Evy, which is funny,” Zoe continued. “And he’s never far from her side. The two of them have a very special bond.” She played with a blade of grass and twirled it around in thought.

“As for Larissa … that girl is a real handful, El. I remember my mama saying she wished I would have children that were as rambunctious as I was,” Zoe laughed. “I think my mama is having a great old laugh at me now. If you see her up there, tell her to stop laughing, okay?”

She looked up to find a couple strolling quietly along the path, the woman was crying and her husband was consoling her, as best he could. Zoe’s green gaze followed them until they disappeared.

“Evy’s nickname for her … Bossy Boots … is still really accurate, El. She’s really running the Haralambos household.” Zoe leaned back on her elbows and looked up at the sky. “Yesterday, I can honestly tell you I aged 10 years. I know, I can feel it,” Zoe chuckled. “Larissa is walking and playing ‘hide and seek’ all the time. We made sure she wouldn’t escape outside. Earl even made lattices for the doorways which keep Miss Larissa inside.” Zoe shook her head happily. “I’m not sure how Father H managed an orphanage but then he has the patience of a saint.”

Zoe began to arrange the flowers as she spoke and put them in a small vase at the base of the grave. She then proceeded to remove the weeds that were just budding through the grass.

“Anyway, we lost Lari last week, but not for long, though. We finally found her but not until I’d had a heart attack; she was hiding in the laundry,” Zoe chuckled as she worked. “She had the biggest grin on her face. Nicky is so quiet. I think Larissa is making up for it. She hates porridge and Eva has tried to get her to eat it. I gave up a long time ago but Evy persists,” Zoe giggled. “Last week, Evy tried again and the porridge ended up all over her. I wish I had the camera just to get the look on her face.”

The Battle of the Porridge was played out every morning and every morning Eva would lose the battle. Zoe wasn’t sure if Larissa really didn’t like porridge or just enjoyed the game. On most occasions, Eva would get the porridge thrown back at her, which made Zoe wonder if porridge was good for your face, since that’s where Eva usually wore it. To Eva’s utter disgust, the child loved vegemite and would eat it without hesitation.

“Eva got a promotion the other day, but she’s not happy about it,” Zoe contemplated the blades of green sticking up through the cracks of the headstone. She plucked them out. “She has to go to Canberra when Parliament is sitting and she hates that.” Zoe sighed. Her partner’s new position caused her to worry too much and gave her headaches. Zoe suspected it was a legacy of the accident with the painter’s drum.

She knew what Eva really wanted to do, but she was certain the tall woman wouldn’t follow her dream of becoming a professional photographer. “I worry about her, El.”

“Ahhllo, Meesa Zoe.”

Zoe looked up to see one of the grave diggers, Marko Farsio. Over the past year Zoe had befriended the older man and always listened to stories about the his family and his grandchildren. She remembered her father used to say that people always had an interesting story to tell about themselves. She had been just ten years old or so but she could still remember her father encouraging her to greet everyone she met with a handshake, a smile and a ready ear.

Marko Farsio had worked at the cemetery since immigrating from Sicily just before the war. Not many Australians wanted the grave digger’s job and he found it a steady income, if a bit morose.

“How is Mrs. Farsio?” Zoe asked remembering the man’s wife.

“Ah, mia Maria, she’s-a gudd, looking after the leela ones,” he replied in a thick Italian accent. He trotted across the small lane and stopped in front of the graves. He crossed himself before turning to Zoe. “You a good-a girl, Meesa Zoe.”

Zoe smiled and nodded. “I try to be but sometimes I get into trouble. My father used to say I was good when I was asleep,” she chuckled.

Marko smiled and his eyes crinkled in amusement at Zoe’s words. “Alberto … he’s a-starta school?”

“Yes,” Zoe smiled. “He loves it.”

“This-a gudd. School is a-gudd for children. And how are the bambinos?”

“Growing.” Zoe took out the photo and showed it to the older man. “They are both walking,” she said proudly. It had been a big event when Larissa took her first tentative steps, quickly followed by her brother. She was certain Eva had taken an entire roll of film of their little babies as they took a couple of steps, then promptly fell down.

“Ah, now you ina beega trouble,” Marko grinned. “Before-a you know, the boysa will be outside, asking her to the dancing parties.”

Zoe smiled. “Well, we have some time before that happens.”

“Si, but it comes-a so quickly,” Marko chuckled. “Nice-a peetch,” he said, handing back the photograph.

“Thank you, Eva took it.”

“Si. Essa gudd to see two seesters who love-a each other veddy much. Familia is important,” the older man said and smiled.

Zoe grinned. “Yes, it is,” she said.

“How is-a Meesa Eva?”

“She’s good. She’s home with the babies and AJ.”

“She has a day offa from her work?”

Zoe smiled. “Yes, her office is surviving without her for a day.”

“That’s-a gudd, she worka too hard for that Minister.” Marko took out a crumpled packed of cigarettes and offered one to Zoe, who shook her head. “Ahma hear-a heem on the radio, very much hot air.”

Zoe chuckled at the description of her friend, the new Attorney General. Percy Hester’s elevation to the position had been a recent one and a shock to all of them. The Prime Minister reshuffled his cabinet and the promotion meant a great deal of organizational shifting. Which in turn meant more work for Eva, as Percy’s assistant.

“He’s not so bad, Mr. Farsio.”

“You knowa heem?”

“Yes, he’s a rather nice man.”

“Eesa a politico,” Marko grinned and then looked up at the darkening heavens. “I must-a go before ees too dark. Maria - she’s-a no like-a me driving at night. You take care-a youseff, okay?”

“I will,” Zoe promised.

“Gudd-a girl. And no drive-a too fast.” He smiled and put on his cap as he walked slowly down the path.

“Why does everyone say that to me?” Zoe glanced back at the grave “I don’t drive fast,” Zoe stopped and looked up into the heavens. “Well, not that fast,” she added “You know what El? Evy is giving me driving lessons.” Zoe chuckled and then sobered up. “I’m giving up Mabel.”

Zoe waited for a moment and then smiled. She was sure Elena was cheering loudly at the news that she would put away the ‘infernal motorbike’, as Elena had called it. “I know you’re happy but I’m going to miss her,” Zoe quipped, then giggled softly.

Zoe looked at the motorbike nearby, it’s bright yellow and black coloring was a familiar sight in the neighborhood. “But I think it’s time to put her away until the babies grow,” she said wistfully. “Although teaching me to drive a car is turning Eva’s dark hair white,” Zoe chuckled. She took a deep sigh and looked around the area to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. “I’d better get home, El. Eva worries when I’m driving late, too.” Zoe let her hand rest on the headstone for a moment before getting up and walking quietly to where her motorbike was parked.

“Good night my friend,” she said putting on her helmet. The cemetery was quiet once again as the motorbike’s distinctive sound left the area.

*

A gentle breeze blew in through the window and fluttered the lace windows in the semi-darkened bedroom. The only light emanated from the golden glow of the bedside lamp.

Eva sat up in bed reading a letter and looked up when the door opened and Zoe entered with two cups of tea. Eva took the offered cup and inhaled the sweet aroma.

Zoe put down her cup and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed to curl up next to her tall partner. She noted Eva still had the letter in her hand.

“Why are you wigged out about this?” she asked taking the letter from Eva’s hands. She couldn’t read it since it was written in German.

“Wigged out?” Eva asked raising an eyebrow in surprise.

“Yeah, it means you’re all in knots,” Zoe teased, handing the letter back to Eva.

“Wigged out,” Eva murmured quietly.

“Yep, wigged out,” Zoe chuckled and tweaked Eva’s dimpled chin. “What’s eating you, Evy?”

Eva took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Omi is going to Aiden.”

“Ah,” Zoe said and then frowned. “And?”

“Aiden is in Austria.”

“Okay, and is Aiden so bad that you don’t want your grandmother to go there?”

Eva took a sip of her tea and put it down on the bedside table. “My uncle Dieter lives in Aiden.”

Zoe was about to sip her tea when she stopped mid-sip. “The bastard that hurt you?”

“Yeah.”

“Why is your grandmother going there?”

“I don’t know. She said she wanted to see Uncle Dieter and tell him about my stepfather.” Eva sighed. Aiden held nightmares that Eva hoped she could banish from her mind, even though her body bore the scars from that Hell on earth. “Omi doesn’t know about Aiden.”

“Aiden is the place …? “

“Yes,” Eva nodded and exhaled very slowly. She had told Zoe about the mistreatment and abuse she had suffered at the hands of her uncle at her father’s behest. The town was always ‘that place’ and Eva thought, if she didn’t say the word, somehow her nightmares might just disappear.

“Is your grandmother going for good?”

“No, she’s just going to visit for a few months,” Eva replied and smiled when Zoe’s nuzzled her neck. “Zo, you’re distracting me.”

“I know,” Zoe giggled. “That’s the idea,” she replied and kissed her softly. “Let the demons die, love,” the younger woman advised, taking the letter and tossing it onto the floor beside the bed.

“I’m trying, Zoe, I really am,” Eva took Zoe’s hand and kissed it. “That place just has a way of getting under my skin.”

Zoe sighed and snuggled up. She played with Eva’s pajama buttons. “I know what you mean. You know, you would think Muller would find somewhere else to hide.”

“I guess he doesn’t want to run forever.”

“The best place to hide is in the open,” Zoe said, remembering something an old Resistance comrade had told her.

Eva looked down at the dark head resting on her chest and smiled. “And that works?”

“Yep, did for me,” Zoe looked up, smiled and winked causing her partner to laugh. “You wouldn’t go looking for an assassin in the middle of the Nazi nest, now would you?”

“You weren’t an assassin, love,” Eva chuckled.

“Well I wasn’t very good at it, let’s leave it at that,” Zoe lifted herself and looked into clear blue eyes. “You’re not supposed to fall in love with the target.”

“You’re not?” Eva grinned. She brushed away an errant lock of chestnut-colored hair. They looked into each other’s eyes for a long moment before Eva captured Zoe’s lips for a warm and sensual kiss.

“Oh that was so nice.” Zoe grinned and smack her lips.

“You liked that, huh?”

“Oh yeah, you’re good at that,” Zoe kissed her lover again. “Yep it’s still magic.”

“So glad you think so,” Eva chuckled, marveling at how Zoe had managed to get her mind off Aiden, even for a short time. Aiden was black and horrible but the woman in her arms was light and happiness personified. Eva felt she was blessed beyond anything she had imagined or dared to wish for. They traded kisses and affectionately teased each other until Eva remembered something. “Oh, Harry called.”

“That’s nice,” Zoe said a little distracted by her partner’s warm breath against her neck.

“He said the adoption wouldn’t be a problem.”

“That’s nice,” Zoe murmured not really paying attention. Her body was sending out signals that didn’t involve her ears or her brain.

Eva leaned up and looked at Zoe who had her eyes closed with huge grin on her face. “Zoe, you should learn not to talk so much,” she teased.

Zoe opened her eyes and frowned. “Lady, you’re distracting me.”

“Me?” Eva pointed to herself.

“Yes, be quiet,” Zoe admonished and began to unbutton her partner’s sleeping shirt, which she slid off and threw next to the bed. “I have other things on my mind.”

“I was hoping for a good snooze,” Eva half-heartedly tried to get out of Zoe’s embrace and found herself unable to move. “You mean business,” she chuckled.

“Evy?”

“Yes?”

“You talk too much,” Zoe put her fingers against her partner’s lips. “Shhh.”

Eva turned off the bedside lamp and they were both bathed in the moonlight that filtered in through the window. “I love you, Zoe.”

“I love you to, Evy. Now shush,” Zoe mumbled in the semi-darkness as their lips met in sensual pleasure.

THE END