Under the Bali Moon

“Do you think we should wait to eat with Alton and Zola?” Zena asked.

“Nah. They’ll resurface when they want to. You know young’uns don’t need breakfast,” Adan joked. “And anyway, I’m glad to have you to myself—”

Zena cut Adan off with a sharp eye and a suspicious, “Why?”

Adan went on uneasily: “Because I wanted to go over today’s exciting schedule with you and get some ideas from you about the wedding.”

“Oh. I thought all these things would’ve been handled.”

“Nah. I’m trying to be more fluid in my old age.”

“Fluid?”

“Yeah. Look, I’m trying to figure out if the wedding should be in the little temple they have down the beach or just on the beach.”

“Shouldn’t that be up to Alton and Zola? Perhaps we can let them make that decision?”

“Good point. Well, do you want to read something during the ceremony? Like a poem?”

“Again, let’s let them plan that,” Zena said.

Adan looked surprised, as if Zena was driving a hard bargain. “I guess I just want things to be really nice for them.”

“If they want things to be really nice, they’re old enough to see it through. You’ve done enough. Hell, I’ve done enough. I’m just here to support them and have fun,” Zena said. “Now, tell me about all the exciting things we have planned for today.”

“I will. But first, I want you to answer a few things for me.”

Zena didn’t respond. In fact, she turned to look away from Adan. His words, his tone, made it clear that they were edging into a conversation she was avoiding.

“Why didn’t you meet up with me in Atlanta?” Adan asked the back of Zena’s head.

He waited a second, and when she didn’t say anything, he added, “I really, really wanted to see you.”

Zena exhaled and looked down at her food. “I was busy,” she said softly.

“No one’s that busy.” Adan’s voice was softer. He actually sounded hurt. “Like all day... I called you all day.” He laughed uncomfortably.

Zena looked over at him. “Okay. Fine. I didn’t want to see you. That’s why I kept saying no.”

“Why not?”

“Why does it matter?”

“It matters because I care,” Adan said as Zena pretended to return to her eating. “I truly wanted to see you.”

“For what? You said you wanted to meet about Alton and Zola and the wedding—well, I’m here and they’re getting married. Everything is fine.” Zena stuffed a forkful of scrambled egg into her mouth.

“What if I wanted more? What if I had other reasons for wanting to see you?”

His words made Zena so nervous that she felt her mind go blank. She kept stuffing her mouth with food. At some point, she stopped chewing and was just stuffing. She couldn’t decipher what Adan was saying and had no idea how she could respond.

Adan didn’t stop, though. His voice lowered and soft, he added, “What if I wanted to spend time with you. Like a date?”

Her mouth filled with food, Zena now knew what she wanted to say, but she couldn’t. She wanted to curse and scream. To holler. A date? He had to be kidding. But eggs and bacon and fruit were in the way. Trying to struggle it all down her throat, Zena began to cough.

Adan leaned over to her and patted her back. “You okay? You okay?”

He slid his other hand onto Zena’s arm to calm her. His touch sent charges through her body. While she was choking on the food, Zena instinctively went into action, getting up and pushing Adan and his concerned face away from her.