Wicked Forest (DeBeers 2)

"I've been tracked down," he said.

"What do you mean?" I sat up.

"I have this big client in France. He owns property in Palm Beach and he is heading up a conglomerate to invest in and build a new hotel there. Its very involved, but it looks like it will happen and yours truly will reap mucho moola for us."

He went to the closet and began to choose his clothes. "Where are you going? It's so early."

"I have to meet him and two of his associates in Nice." He smiled. "I'm giving you this little intermission, this little break from being totally consumed by Thatcher Eaton, but it won't be for long:'

"Break? How long will you be gone?"

"It's a meeting and then lunch. I'll be back by mid-afternoon," he said. "You wanted to do some shopping for gifts anyway, and I w

as never very good at that, never had the patience for it. I'd only be a drag and spoil it for you. We're having dinner here tonight," he added quickly. "I've arranged for the best table, one by the window with a view that will knock your socks off."

"But this is our honeymoon, Thatcher. How can you have arranged for a business meeting?"

"I didn't exactly arrange it. As I said, they tracked me down, and there is some urgency to it all. It's actually a great idea to take advantage of my presence here. I can meet with some of the other partners, and it would save me a trip back to France in a few weeks. This is definitely the lesser of two evils, Willow. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"How are you getting to Nice?"

"They have sent a car for me. These are heavy hitters. honey. They spare no expense, and that, my dear, includes my lofty legal fees as well as a piece of the action."

He kissed me on the cheek.

'Don't look so down. Remember what they say, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder.' "

"I thought our hearts were fond enough of each other," I retorted.

"Never too much fondness. It's always good to have some to spare. Don't pick up any handsome young Frenchman while I'm away," he warned, and headed out.

"Thatcher," I moaned, but he was gone.

I fell back on my pillow and pouted for a while before deciding he was right. A little private time was probably healthy, and I did want to get the shopping done. I ate by myself on the patio, read the

International Herald Tribune, and then got dressed and began to walk the cobblestone streets, visiting shops, thinking about gifts that would please Mother. Amou. Linden, and even Thatcher's parents, not that there was anything they would appreciate for more than a fleeting few seconds.

In one shop where they made interesting signs and little posters, they had a quote taken from Sigmund Freud. I thought Professor Fuentes would love to hang it in his office, so I bought it and had it sent to him.

It read. "The great question that has never been answered and which I have not yet been able to answer despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul is, 'What does a woman want?' "

I laughed to myself, imagining the look on his face when he opened the package and read that, especially considering the female students he had in his classes, including me.

After shopping, I sat in a small courtyard restaurant and had a salad, some wonderful French bread, and a glass of merlot. Below the patio a young man was sitting on a bench and playing an accordion. I thought he was very good, although most of his tunes were melancholy. It left me thoughtful, and I hated being dropped into a pit of pensive and philosophical thought on this happiest of all holidays.

Afterward, I went to the pool and sunbathed on a lounge. The people around me were from Germany, other parts of France, and even Japan. The mixture of different languages, the spools of laughter that unraveled from the happy couples around me, soon became background music to my ears, and before I realized it. I dozed off. I didn't wake until I felt a nudge and looked up to see Thatcher smiling down at me.

"You're getting a little too much sun, Willow. Your face is very red."

"Oh," I cried, sitting up quickly, "I must have fallen asleep. Maybe the wine at lunch--"

"So that's what you do when I leave you for a little while? Drink yourself silly, huh?" he teased.

I glanced at my watch. It was a little after four.

"You haven't exactly been gone for a little while," I complained.

"I know, This became a little more complicated than I had expected. Did you get your shopping done?"