CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE

Elena woke in the gently swinging bed to lay for a few moments watching the sweet, sleeping man beside her. Her heart fluttered, remembering how gentle, loving he had been yet how thoroughly he had loved her and taken them even further than the rapture they usually found.

She brushed the hair back off his face, caught sight of her rings flashing light in the darkness and drew in a ragged breath. They were married! At last her lonely days were behind her, the love she had for this wonderful man could be open and fulfilled, now and in a future that promised years of joy, of belonging.

She wondered if he knew what a change these feelings for him had caused in her, how she was thrilled and a bit frightened at times by so much love and gentleness in a life that had existed on danger, coldness and unfeeling violence for so many years. It was a good change, wanted, no, craved, was more accurate, since she first spent time watching him, caring for him, touched his body and comforted him. At first she had been able to resist but as time passed and she grew to admit how much she loved and wanted to be loved, it became nearly impossible to achieve the dark, cold place that she needed to push him away.

Now they were together and her coldness was gone. It would never be possible to become the woman she once had been, to live the half life she had forced herself in to…. And just the thought made her eyes well with joy.

His eyes opened slowly, almost as if in his sleep he felt she needed him and he smiled and raised his hand to gently wipe the tears from her cheek.

“Happy tears, Liebe?” he asked softly and moved his body closer, his warmth instantly transferred to her skin.

She smiled and kissed him tenderly, then snuggled her head on his chest letting her hand slip around to his back and run across the ropes of muscle down to his waist.

“I feel complete at last…” she murmured and smiled when he whispered “Me too” against the top of her head, then rolled her to her back and grinned.

“And hungry… do you suppose Cena sent food in that hamper?”

Elena laughed at him and poked his ribs.

“You really are a romantic fool, Herr Buhler.”

“Sorry, but I’m hungry. I have a feeling we’re both going to need a lot of fuel to get through the next two days….. I for one don’t plan on being dressed in anything much more than towels until we have to go back to civilization.” He rolled off of her and sat on the edge of the bed, looking back as she lay, now on her side and grinned at him.

“Coming?” he asked and stood to walk lithely to the Kitchen area, wrapping a towel from beside the tub around his hips as he went.

Elena followed him, paused at their carry all and wrapped herself in the thin beach cover-up she found there and joined him as he raided the frig.

Indeed Cena had sent food which, combined with what had been provided at Urs request now filled the small frig to over flowing.

They collected a tray of goodies, a bottle of chilled champers, glasses and napkins and went out to the deck to feast. It was still very dark, the moon still well above the horizon and the stars still twinkling in the dark sky, below them most of the village lights were out except for around the docks as fishing boats returned then put out to sea again for a second run.

Elena nibbled on Rumaki, shared some with Urs’ who declared them fabulous and ate 3 more of the water chestnut, bacon wrapped appetizers. They scooped up various toppings for the crisp bruschetta wafers, crab and shrimp, artichoke and asiago, salsas, marinated mussels, cucumbers and cheeses, tiny stuffed tomatoes and Urs started on the assortment of desserts, washing everything down with champagne. He took a huge bite of the chocolate bombe, then kissed her, sharing the taste, not wasting anything as he licked her lips and the tiny smudge of chocolate on her chin.

“You taste even better chocolate coated,” he murmured against her neck, teasing the knot of her wrap open and letting it fall to the lounge they were sitting on. He dipped his fingers in the icing of the Chocolate bombe and made trails on her skin, following the paths with his mouth as she licked his finger clean.

His lips were covered with chocolate when he came back to her mouth and she held his head steady while he moaned and she used her hot tongue to tidy him, then dipped into his sweet mouth with growing passion.

He stood with her wrapped tight against his throbbing body, the towel gone, and gently lay her back on the sturdy table to start the journey they both wanted so eagerly to take.

**

Somehow they made it back to the swinging bed, lowered the netting and fell asleep spooned together.

It was late morning when they woke, the chatter of a pretty iridescent black bird feasting on the scraps left from their late night snack pulling them back from the dream world. Urs laughed at the antics of the bird as it tried vainly to remove a blob of chocolate icing from it’s beak, the sound of his voice causing it to fly off and try some other way to remove the unwanted morsel.

Elena sat up in bed and made the swing-bed sway as she stretched and winced when some seldom used muscles complained about their use the night before.

“I think we better shower,” Urs said with a chuckle and she looked down to find a few dark streaks…chocolate, that he had somehow missed, a few matching bits still on his body as well.

They looked at the tub but found no shower there, then Urs noticed it, tucked into one corner of the deck, just a very large shower head that jutted on a pipe out of the wall, slits in the flooring for drainage and the only screen the vines that grew around two sides on lattice work.

Liesurely showers had just been completed when the sound of the cart alerted them that someone was approaching and they quickly donned a minimum of clothing, Urs his beach trunks, Elena in her wrap again.

The maid service of 2 young women came to the entrance and asked permission to come in, quickly and efficiently did their work, though the distraction of Urs in trunks and wet hair was nearly too much for one of them who kept looking at him and giggling. They made the bed up with fresh linens, tidied the table and Kitchen and were gone again, the youngest having one last look and giggle before they started the cart and went down the hill.

“Another 5 minutes and I would have had to fight her off. You really must try to look more …. Something! You haven’t even shaved yet and she still could hardly function when she looked at you. How am I ever going to compete with all your fans, Swiss Boy?”

He just grinned at her.

“You don’t have to compete, remember? I’m well and truly caught…for life… and happy about it.”

They breakfasted on fruit and coffee, Urs put on a shirt and sandals and Elena slipped into a skimpy white bikini under her floral coverup, then they walked down the hill to the village, browsed for a while in the touristy shops and went to the dock to climb aboard a medium sized motor boat.

He wouldn’t tell her where they were going and it wasn’t until they headed into land again that she realized…. One of the turtle beaches.

“I got permission from the conservation group. They said that one of the nests should be hatching today and I thought you might like to be there and help out.”

She was enchanted…what a unique way to celebrate their wedding. They left the boat moored on the sand beside one other one, left their sandals on because of the burning sand and followed some foot prints until they could see a group of six people, dressed in shorts and tanks sitting quietly on the top of the beach watching a mound carefully. Overhead gulls circled, their raucous cries rending the peace of the place.

A good looking young Mexican man stood and introduced himself as they neared.

“Juan Carlos Ignacio…you must be Senor and Senora Buhler ….Welcome and congratulations.”

“I see the gulls have already arrived. We’re not too late are we?”

“No…there are always a few early hatchlings and those have already gone to the sea safely. We can do nothing to protect them from the predators in the water, but they are very fast once they have submerged and can hide among the stones and seaweed. We drop boat loads of stone just off shore during the rest of the year to give them some cover.”

They sat with the others near one of the depressions in the sand, an area that Juan was certain would hatch very soon. Even as he spoke a few grains trickled to one side and a tiny head appeared, struggled and flipped itself out onto the surface. One of the watchers stood and approached the edge, eyes on the gulls whose cries increased to shrieks. She waved a long slender pole in the air over the depression to deter the gulls from swooping down while Juan explained what had to be done.

“When the hatchlings begin to appear they are weary…. It is a very hard job for them to dig their way to the surface though we have gently removed as much of the barrier as possible. Within moments they will make a dash for the water and that is when they are in the most danger. The gulls will dive at them, trying to catch any they can and we must drive them off. Some will be lost but not like it would be if we were not here. Unprotected, only a handful of the hundreds would make it to the water.”

Several more little heads appeared and the gulls began to dive recklessly. All of the conservationists rose and circled the depression, chasing the birds away and suddenly the sand erupted as more and more of the tiny turtles dug their way out of the nest until there were literally hundreds, weakly climbing over each other, taking a breath of air before they started in an increasing frenzy to race for the water they must have sensed nearby.

Now it was a battle between the humans and the predators as the birds dove, screaming with rage and the people waved sticks, arms, shirts to deter them from their goal. Urs and Elena joined in, walking beside the stream of tiny bodies, waving the birds away, ducking when they were dive bombed. Urs took off his shirt and used it to swat at the cheeky birds, Elena used her coverup. They saw a couple of stragglers swept away when they strayed too far from the pack, began watching for those on the outer edges and hand carrying them back to relative safety.

Suddenly the beach was empty save the humans who stood breathless from their struggles and a lone gull who strutted forlornly pecking at small stones and shells, disappointed that the banquet he had come for had not happened. He flew away with a final shriek and the humans sat on the tumbled sand to watch the water and revel in their success.

Urs and Elena sat together. She put her hand out to caress his bare arm and smiled when he turned to look at her.

“Thank you for arranging for us to be part of this Urs. All these years I’ve put it off, every year with another excuse when there really was none. It’s perfect that we would start our new lives by participating in something like this.

He put his long arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer.

“I kind of feel like we’ve done something to give back for all the good that this world offers us. Corny, I know but that’s what I feel.”

Juan Carlos came over and sat beside them.

“There aren’t any more ready to hatch so I think the rest of the day will be quiet. A couple has volunteered to stay the rest of the day and someone else will take over tomorrow. If you ever want to come check in and see how things are going, just give whoever is here this. You’ll always be welcome. Good job today, my friends.” He handed Urs a small green laminated card with a picture of a giant sea turtle on it and on the reverse the words ‘Tortuga Amigos’ printed in yellow.

Not long after the main party left, they strolled back to the boat, waved at the couple camping out on the ridge and headed back to Yelapa.

**