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| THE HEART HAS WINGS II BY MARY CATHERINE |
CHAPTER 3 |
"Who do you think it is, Delgado? C'mon, open up." Todd's voice sounded impatient. Relieved and worried at the same time, Téa undid the deadbolt and opened the door a crack. Outside, it was scarcely dawn and only the faintest light had penetrated the interior patio of the hotel. In the sky above, flocks of the doves for which Alamos was famous swooped in unison, almost in formation flight. Their signature cooing sound could be heard above the usual early morning symphony of crowing roosters that seemed a feature of every Mexican town. Noting the early hour, Téa scowled at Todd and tried to close the door. He stopped her by putting his foot on the threshold. Having pushed the door almost all the way open, he glanced down at her skimpy nightgown. "Hurry up and get dressed," he ordered. "You're wasting daylight." His eyes seemed to linger on her chest.
"Daylight! What daylight? Todd, the sun isn't even up yet." She yawned sleepily. "Come get me in a couple of hours." She ambled toward the bed and prepared to crawl under the covers. She was thwarted by Todd, who stretched out full length on the bed, smack in the middle. Leaning up on one elbow with an infuriating grin, he waved his fingers toward the bathroom.
"Go on, into the shower," he commanded. "I have a surprise for you." Téa abruptly bit back an angry tirade.
"A surprise?" she asked, intrigued in spite of herself. "What is it?"
"You'll never find out unless you get ready," he teased. Realizing that her chances of getting more sleep were slim to none, Téa gathered some clothes from the dresser and huffed into the bathroom. Todd chuckled to himself as he turned on his back, staring at the ceiling.
A short while later, Téa turned her ankle for the third time as she tried to keep up with Todd as he set a manic pace through the little town. She was wearing high-soled wooden slides--definitely not a good match for the broken, uneven pavement they encountered on some of the side streets.
"C'mon, Delgado, quit dawdling," said Todd, stopping and looking behind him impatiently. The streets were all but deserted at this early hour. Only a single old lady watched them curiously as she swept the street in front of her house.
"I can't go any faster, Todd, unless you want me to break my neck!"
He backtracked a few feet and watched as she tried to put her foot back in the sandal. "Those are really stupid shoes," he said contemptuously.
"You bought them!" she accused. "I didn't see any running shoes amongst your purchases."
"Oh, yeah," he said somewhat sheepishly. "Well, I didn't think you'd be such a wimp when it came to walking."
"I am not a wimp!" She set her jaw and continued the climb up the hill. Todd followed along behind her with a wicked grin.
Soon, they had reached the summit of the hill. They followed a narrow street at the top, stopping every once in a while to admire the lovely view of the town below. Todd soon prompted her onward, stopping in front of a nondescript building. He looked at her expectantly, but she hadn't a clue about what he wanted. "So, what do you think?" he asked, clearly annoyed at her lack of enthusiasm.
"What? The view? Yes, it's lovely, but it would have been just as nice after a couple of hours of more sleep."
"Who gives a damn about the view! I'm talking about the house!"
"The house?" Téa looked more closely at the building.
"Well, the villa, as the real estate agent insists on calling it." The street was lined with many houses that all appeared the same--white stucco façade, red tile roof, black wrought iron railings. This one seemed no different. It had a couple of balconies that faced the street, but the heavy wood doors behind them were shut tight, as was the forbidding double-doored entrance. A little further down the hill was a matching entrance, which was wide enough for a car, but Téa couldn't imagine trying to negotiate the narrow streets in a vehicle. All in all, the building resembled a fortress more than a home. "Who lives here?" asked Téa curiously. Without answering her, Todd grabbed one of the huge brass knockers and banged it noisily. The sound reverberated against the thick walls.
"Todd! It's so early. I sure hope you didn't wake…" The door opened easily revealing a well-dressed woman of about forty.
"Welcome, Señor," she said pleasantly in a heavy Spanish accent. "And Señora, of course." She stepped back, gesturing for them to enter. "I am Lourdes de la Cruz, the caretaker of this property. I hope you will find everything to your liking." Téa followed her in, a bit confused. Looking around, she stopped and stared, totally in awe.
Although the villa was nothing much to look at on the outside, its interior decoration rivaled many a palace. Everywhere they looked there was richly carved dark woodwork, polished to a lustrous shine. Rare carpets covered the tiled floors and the furniture was obviously antique, and very expensive. As they were led into the main sitting room, Téa's tongue practically hung out as she noticed the floor to ceiling bookshelves lined with leather volumes. The room was beautifully decorated, and filled with priceless collectibles, but those were by no means what made it unique. Téa couldn't help doing a double take as she confirmed for herself that the room was indeed missing an entire wall. It flowed seamlessly into an outdoor sitting area, although this wasn't any like any patio or deck that Téa had ever seen. The outdoor portion of the room was furnished exactly like the interior, with rich upholstered pieces and heavy wooden tables. Only a light cloth covering provided shade. Outside, attractive manicured lawns and flowerbeds flowed down the hill, allowing a nice view of the surrounding mountains.
"What…what is this place?" asked Téa in a voice filled with wonder.
"Ah, I see the Señora has noticed our sala grande," said Lourdes with a slight smile. "Most americanos find it quite odd, having a room that is always open, but I assure you it is a quite common feature of most of the villas in México. We have so little rain, you see. Will you be wanting to see the rest of the casa now, Señor?"
"Nah, I think we'll eat first," said Todd, watching Téa closely for her reaction.
"Very good. If you will follow me." Lourdes headed towards the back of the house.
"I don't believe this!" said Téa, looking up the carved staircase toward the second floor. "It's…it's like a fairytale. And it didn't even look fancy on the outside!"
"So you like it, then?" asked Todd.
"Of course! Thank you for arranging the tour." She had read the brochures in the hotel, describing some of the magnificent villas in Alamos. It was a popular site for vacation homes for well-heeled Mexicans, from movie stars, to oil tycoons, to politicians. The dry, warm desert air was part of the appeal of the resort, much like Palm Springs or Scottsdale. But some of the more lavish properties dated from the eighteenth century, souvenirs of the now defunct silver mines. Noting that most of the furniture was in the Spanish colonial style, Téa guessed that this was one of the older ones, obviously modernized for comfort.
Todd snorted. "Tour? I rented the place…well, that is if you like it." Téa stared at Todd as though he was a madman.
"Rented it! You mean we're going to live here?" She looked around again, swallowing a lump in her throat. "But I thought we were only in Alamos for a few days?"
"Yeah, we are, but the hotel is so busy and all, I figured we could use a little privacy. Better for hiding out." He ambled along after Lourdes, looking uneasy. "We don't have to stay if you're uncomfortable…"
"No, Todd, I love it!" she said, hurrying to catch up with him. "It's just that I thought we'd have to leave right away." She lowered her voice. "I don't want my brother to catch up with us. I couldn't bear seeing him haul you off in chains." Todd stopped and turned toward her, grabbing her lightly by the shoulders.
"But Delgado, you've been bugging me ever since we met up again, trying to get me to go back."
"Voluntarily, Todd. I wanted you to turn yourself in."
"What's the difference? I still end up in jail."
"It makes all the difference in the world, Todd. If you give yourself up, it shows the judge that you're ready to make some changes, willing to try and make amends. He or she is sure to look favorably on that, and perhaps go easy on you." For once, Todd appeared to be listening to her closely instead of zoning out on her. She paused, searching his face. "Todd, are you considering…"
"Hell no!" he shouted, letting go of her and turning his back. "I told you, Delgado, I can't go back. No judge born will ever take it easy on me." Téa stared at him. He was making less sense than usual this morning. He threw his hands out to the side helplessly. "Look, let me worry about the hows and whys of being on the run. I've had more experience than you. I…I know you really like this town and I think we can risk hanging out for a few more days. Now can we eat?" Shrugging in confusion, Téa followed him to the garden, where Lourdes was busy laying out a magnificent repast for breakfast.
There were plates full of tropical fruits, a variety of juices to choose from, and baskets of the peculiar shaped sweet rolls that Téa had seen in all the Mexican bakeries. After they were seated in the comfortable basket chairs, Lourdes took their orders, then left to prepare them. Both of them had decided to have huevos rancheros, which the housekeeper claimed as a particular specialty. As they waited, Téa couldn't help but look around her in wonder as she sipped the rich, hot coffee. Was it just a week ago that they were sleeping on the ground and living on grilled iguana? How long had she waited and hoped for any word from Todd, and now he was here right by her side, wolfing down pastries and fruit in his usual Neanderthal manner. The sudden changes were almost causing her senses to overload. This certainly was a Cinderella story come true, but try as she might, she found it hard to just relax and enjoy it. The threat of the law breathing down their necks was all too real, and she found herself wondering why Todd was dragging his feet about moving on to the next destination.
She cleared her throat. "So, are you going to buy another plane for us to travel in? Maybe with a back up engine?" She smiled, trying to hide the fact she was fishing for information.
"Nah. The Mexican authorities are really picky about who can own a plane down here. You need to know the right people and grease their palms. I don't want anyone nosing around about me too much, so I guess I'll just have to wait awhile." He shoved another piece of roll into his mouth, washing it down with coffee.
"So, where do we go from here?"
"Well, we need to get to Mexico City. I thought we might stay there a few days. It's supposed to be a cool city. They have a lot of French architecture and junk because the Frogs ran the country for a few years." He paused, glancing away a moment. "I told you you could pick where we're going after that, Delgado."
"Let me think about it, OK?" she said, just as Lourdes returned with their breakfast.
"Oh my God!" said Téa a short while later, delicately patting her lips with a woven napkin. "I can't believe I ate another huge meal like that." She looked at Todd with an impish grin. "If you keep feeding me like this, I'm going to get fat."
Todd sipped at his coffee lazily, checking her out. "I needed to make up for nearly starving you somehow. Besides, if you're worried, you could always work out. There's supposed to be a swimming pool here."
"That sounds nice. Can you join me?" The idea of spending the day lounging by the pool with Todd was very enticing.
"Maybe later," he said, reaching for yet another pastry. "I have to go into town for a while. Business."
Téa tried to hide her disappointment. "I could go with you," she said hopefully.
"Not this time, Delgado. These aren't the kind of guys I want you around. You stay here and get settled in."
"Is this about the travel arrangements?"
"Maybe."
"Well, I think I know where I'd like to go next." She fidgeted with the silverware, trying to hide her nervousness. "How about Switzerland?"
He sat back in his chair, shaking his head. "You want to go to Switzerland now? It's almost winter, Delgado. I thought you hated snow."
"Well, I've always heard about how beautiful it is there, and it just seems like an appropriate place to spend Christmas."
"I see." He took another sip of coffee. "And this newfound interest in winter scenery wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that the place is lousy with shrinks?"
Téa looked up at him, exasperated. "OK, I'll admit that it crossed my mind," she said sheepishly. "I thought maybe you might consider seeing someone while we're…"
"You don't give up, do you?" he shouted, getting to his feet abruptly. "I've told you--no more of those quacks! They don't know their ass from a…" He threw down his napkin and stalked off toward the house.
"Todd, wait!" shouted Téa, running after him. "Look, I just noticed you watching that little girl last night and I thought you might be missing Starr. If you get some help, there's a chance you might be able to…"
"Drop it, Delgado. My daughter isn't a subject for discussion right now."
"Todd…."
"No!" He rushed into the house, leaving Téa staring after him with tears in her eyes. So this is what life was going to be like from now on, she thought. Running away not only from the law, but from his feelings as well. They were in Mexico, in a villa instead of a penthouse, but suddenly the scenario seemed painfully familiar. She calls him on something he's afraid to admit and he cuts and runs. Hanging her head, Téa slowly made her way back toward the table.
"Delgado, wait." She whipped around, surprised to see Todd had followed her. "I just wanted you to know that I'm not running out on you. I really do have an appointment." He approached and wiped away a tear from her cheek. "I know you said that stuff because….well, because you're trying to help, but you've got to realize it's not what I need right now, OK?" Téa nodded, biting her lip to hold in the angry words she felt bubbling to the surface.
"I'll be back this afternoon. I told them to send the stuff up from the hotel, so you don't have to worry. Just pick whatever room you like best and chuck my stuff in one of the other ones. I'll unpack it when I get back."
"Right," said Téa through gritted teeth. Great. He still wanted separate rooms.
"I'll see you later, then," he said, leaning forward to give her a little peck on the cheek. Wonderful. A brotherly kiss.
Téa watched as he disappeared into the house with a little wave. "Go ahead and run, Manning," she said under her breath. "But you can't hide forever." Taking a deep breath, she set off to explore the villa.
