nervous, Anna will pick up on it. You have to be calm and serene. Later, you can be the feisty Myra whom I love and adore.” Myra laughed.
When the car finally came to a stop, Myra stepped out before the driver could open the door for her. Charles followed her as they stood looking at the refurbished old monastery that was now Anna Ryland de Silva’s home. “It’s so beautiful it takes my breath away. I think I can understand why Anna doesn’t want to leave here. It’s like a magical place with all the flowers, the landscaping, the view of the Mediterranean from all sides. It’s so blue. I don’t think I noticed that before. Well, maybe I did, but I wasn’t in the mood back then that I’m in now. The breeze is heavenly, isn’t it?”
“It’s wonderful. Very peaceful. Yoko would love all these flowers,” Charles said. “I wonder how long it took to turn the old monastery into this lovely place.”
“Three long years. Anna lived in one of the outer buildings while the work was going on. In the beginning they brought all the materials up the mountain road, and then Anna had the supplies helicoptered in when she saw how long it was taking. There’s a helicopter pad in the back somewhere.”
“How many people live here?”
“I have no idea. There are at least a dozen gardeners but I think they go home in the evening. Anna is not a demanding kind of person. I’m sure she has a cook and a housekeeper. I never asked. Is it important, Charles?”
“It might be. When it’s time to leave, we’ll know everything. Should we announce ourselves?”
“I’m sure Anna is in the back in one of the open rooms. Let’s just walk around. She’ll find us.” Charles shrugged but he fell into step next to Myra. “Oh, Yoko would dearly love this place. I think all the girls would. Do you like it, Charles?”
“It’s certainly interesting. I have been here before, dear. Nothing much seems to have changed. Ah, I think I see our hostess.”
Myra waved as she ran forward. “Annie!”
“Myra! How nice to see you! You should have told me you were coming.” They hugged, kissed, and then hugged again.
“I would have if you’d answer your phone or read your mail. How are you, Annie? Nellie sends her regards. She said to tell you she’ll come over for a visit later in the year.”
Anna Ryland de Silva was tall and thin. Her long gray hair was braided and twisted in a coronet around her head, making her seem taller than she was. Round, lightly tinted glasses covered her blue eyes. She wore a long flowing dress and sandals. Myra thought Annie looked like a sixties flower child. Her eyes behind the tinted glasses were still vague and basically unfocused. It was as if one part of her was here but the rest of her was somewhere else.
So, nothing had changed since her last visit. Myra tried for a cheerful tone. “I’d like to shower and change. And then, Annie, I’d like to take a nice walk if you’re up to it.”
“But of course, Myra. Run along. You know where your room is. Charles, you look in need of a nap.”
“How astute of you, Annie. Myra slept on the plane and on the ride up the mountain. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll see you later.” Annie waved both of them off as she made her way back to one of the outdoor rooms where she spent most of her time.
It was a beautiful room with a Mediterranean flavor. The furniture was dark, the tile and mosaics so interesting one could carry on a conversation for an hour pointing out the intricacies of each tile. Anna no longer noticed the tiles or the works of art on the walls. She settled herself in a chaise with brilliant colored cushions before she turned up the volume on the plasma TV attached to the wall. Sheer organza hanging from the long open windows billowed in the soft mountain breeze. A moment later she was engrossed in the weather conditions of her adopted country, forgetting that she had guests from her homeland.
Down the hall, Myra stepped out of the shower to see Charles stretched out on the bed sound asleep. She tiptoed around as she dressed and then unpacked both their bags. She brushed out her gray hair, clasped the pearls she was never without, and left the room. At Anna’s doorway, she drew a deep breath and then let it out slowly.
“I’m ready, Annie. For heaven’s sake, are you still watching the weather station? Whatever do you get out of watching it?”
“Myra! You look wonderful! You must be happy. It shows. Are you ever going to marry that wonderful man?”
Myra perched on a chaise opposite Annie’s. “Look at me, Annie. I want you to really look at me. I need to talk to you and I want your undivided attention. But to answer your questions, yes, I am happy. I’m glad it shows. And maybe one of these days I will marry Charles.”
“That’s nice. How is Nellie?”
Myra decided it was time to take a page out of Kathryn Lucas’s book. “A hell of a lot better than you are, that’s for sure.” She reached over for the remote lying on a marble table next to where Annie was sitting. She looked at it and then stood up and tossed it as far as she could, but not before she turned off the weather channel. Annie looked on in horror. “Watch this, you weather junkie.” In the blink of an eye, Myra picked up the marble table and pitched it at the plasma TV. She clapped her hands when the screen shattered. “No more weather!” she said.
“Now get off your skinny ass because we’re going for a walk. I didn’t come all this way to watch the weather channel. I need your help.”
Annie started to cry.
Myra turned another page from the Kathryn Lucas book. “Cut the crap, Annie. All you do is cry and whine. I’m sick of it. Nellie is sick of it. Annie, look at me. We’ve been friends since that first day at Miss Ambrose’s dance studio. The three of us huddled together because there was nothing graceful about any of us. Remember how scared we were when we had to go out on the dance floor with a boy. You started to cry. Nellie kicked Miss Ambrose and I turned off the Victrola. She kicked us out and we walked home swearing allegiance to each other. We’ve been friends for almost sixty years. That allows me to do what I’m doing.”
“And you think busting up my television and throwing away my remote will make me want to help you!”
Myra turned to page three in Kathryn’s playbook and said, “I don’t give a good rat’s ass if you help me or not. I want you to get over it. And you know what it is. It’s fifteen years since you lost your family. You can’t bring them back. Not ever. They’re gone, Annie. I know what you went through. Nellie knows, too. I wanted to die when I lost Barbara, and I might have if Nikki and Charles hadn’t stepped in to help me. I wallowed in my grief just the way Nellie did. I’m proud of the fact that I was able to help her get over the worst of it. You wouldn’t let us help you, Annie. You shut us out. I’m going to help you whether you like it or not. I’m not going to give up this time.”
“Because you need my help.” Annie’s voice held a tinge of sarcasm.
Page four of Kathryn’s playbook. “Screw the help. Nellie will help me. I can’t count on you anymore. You’re useless, worthless. You exist. That’s all you do. You take up air other people need to breathe. Why haven’t you ended it all, jumped off that mountain? Because you don’t have the guts, right? I’m going to help you do that. That’s the main reason I came over here.”
Annie leaned forward, her eyes frantic behind the tinted glasses. “Are you insane, Myra? You came here to
