Reluctant Gods

  “Coincidence is God's way of remaining anonymous.”

  Albert Einstein

  13

  “Wow,” I said to Leyna as she stood at the kitchen door on the deck. She was pretty before, but now she was a goddess. I looked her up and down. “You look incredible.”

  “Precisely the reaction I wanted, Sevi. Thank you.” Leyna pushed me aside as she entered to inspect the trailer.

  I followed her in. “It’s pretty worn in. But it works. The AC units keep up and the kitchen works. Hot water in the shower and the beds are comfortable.”

  From the kitchen, Leyna walked slowly through the living area and down the hall. Her dress flowed side to side about her hips at each placement of her high-heeled shoes, one in front of the other, like a model on the runway.

  She grabbed the doorjamb at each bedroom and lifted a foot as she turned slightly to take in the details inside each one. When she reached the end, she completed a runway turn, sauntered back to where I was standing, looked me up and down, smiling while she tilted her head.

  “Hmm, I guess the trailer is good for short visits, huh? You certainly look and smell good. I love the white shirt, the bleached jeans and the boots. Unbutton the shirt a bit, though, so I can see some of your chest.”

  Leyna unbuttoned a couple of buttons and ran her silken hand over my chest. My heart raced. Her hand went to my head and she mussed my hair. I always hated when someone did that. She sniffed my neck. Her perfume invited.

  “Mmm, very nice. You are very, like I said earlier, cute and handsome, and sexy I might add.”

  “Thank you,” I said as I pulled away and went to the kitchen, fixing my hair with my hand so it felt right.

  I grabbed the plate of cheese and my shaking hand dumped it on the floor. I looked up and Leyna hadn’t noticed since she was looking out the door. I hurriedly loaded the cubes back on the plate wiping off any dust that had gotten on them. I took two wine glasses out of the cabinet. “Red wine, white wine, or would you like a mixed drink?”

  She turned and said, “Mixed drink? That sounds good. How about a Yukon Jack Old Fashioned, if you have the stuff.”

  “I think I do. Alexander had someone come in to clean and stock this place before I came out.”

  I put the wine glasses back, almost breaking them in the process. I dug through the cabinet and found the Yukon Jack. Oranges and cherries were in the fridge and sugar in the cupboard.

  I muddled the oranges, smelling their sweetness, and mixed the drinks thinking this woman was going to attack me tonight. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d react if she did. She was so confident and in charge, it made me feel uneasy, yet I was taken by her beauty.

  I was convinced she was the one from my dream. Every time I looked at her face, I could see it. I passed her the drink and we clinked glasses and sipped. “Not too strong for you I hope?”

  She sniffed the drink. “Nope. Purrrfect. Mmm.” She slugged down half of it and licked her painted lips. She looked tremendously evil right then. “Let’s go out on the deck. Have any cigars?” She moved past me to the door.

  “Cigars?”

  Leyna walked carefully over the threshold. She looked like a temptress as she took a seat on the sofa, crossed her legs, and seductively bounced her foot.

  “A real sofa out here? Beats patio furniture.”

  “It’s pretty well shielded from the elements so it works. You don’t really want a cigar, do you?”

  “Why? Is there a rule against women smoking cigars? I think the nicotine, as a stimulant, tends to offset the alcohol some, so you can be an alert drunk. Plus, if you don’t get too much nicotine, it stimulates the pleasure centers, and what can be better than that?”

  Leyna let out an evil laugh, uncrossed, and tauntingly crossed her legs the other way so I saw the top of her stocking. She looked up at me as the breeze carried the sweet smell of summer to us.

  She touched her hair bun, and ran her left hand over her leg, caressing it, as she sipped. “Nice cover. Can sit in the rain out here. Cigar does sound good.”

  “I think I saw some in the booze section.” I checked and sure enough, they were there. I called out, “What flavor?”

  “Flavor? Uh, Chocolate. Who’s Alexander?”

  “He’s a friend, lawyer, protector; I’m not sure what I’d call him except he’s become indispensable to me. I couldn’t imagine life without him. He used to take care of things for Ninee Aysel and now he does the same for me.”

  I sat next to her on the couch and put my drink on the coffee table. I opened the box of chocolate cigars, and unwrapped two. I put one between her lips. She rolled it between her fingers, flicked the tip with her tongue while raising her eyebrows at me, and rolled it between her lips.

  “Mmm, nice.” She leaned in, letting her hand rest on my leg. I lit the cigar for her as she held my hand gently.

  I quickly stood, stumbled over the threshold into the kitchen, retrieved the cheese plate and placed it on the table. I sat some distance from her on the sofa. Leyna moved herself closer so I could feel her thigh against mine as she reached for a piece of cheese.

  “Delicious. Chocolate cigars, Yukon Jack, and twelve-year cheddar. Thank you for inviting me. I’m having such a good time. I’m so glad you came over today. I would have been miserable here without you.”

  “Is there no one else in your life? A boyfriend, perhaps?”

  “I never had time, really. I just play with them sometimes, that’s all. I don’t know if I could be attached to any one man.”

  Leyna finished her drink and handed me the glass. “It seems Alexander plays a big part in your life. Is he your lover?”

  “Lover? No. He would make a good catch for a man, or a woman, but as I said, he was Ninee Aysel’s assistant.”

  I rushed inside and refilled her drink. When I came back, she was leaning over the railing and her dress had slid up almost to her bottom while she looked down.

  “Here ya go.”

  “Thanks,” she said as she blew a series of smoke circles. They slowly drifted up, caught the breeze, and disappeared. “What is a Ninee?”

  “It’s short for Buyuk Nine, which means great grandmother in Turkish.”

  “Turkish? I’m Turkish. At least they tell me my ancestors were. I changed my name to DiAmore, since the name I had was so gross sounding and no one got it right. Plus, it meant stubborn addict. You’re really Turkish? A blond Turk?” Another puff of the cigar while she looked into my eyes and French inhaled; the smoke rolled from her mouth into her nostrils.

  “So I’m told by Ninee. I saw a picture of the guy, who wore these rings, a painting actually, but still very clear and he was wearing these rings. He looked exactly like me. Long hair and time period clothing with earrings, but otherwise identical.” I took another hit off the cigar and sipped my drink.

  I remembered the painting and the way it affected me when I saw it. I recalled the one of Leyna as I looked at her while she leaned against the railing. I could see the shape of her breasts through the sheer fabric, much like the way she appeared in the painting.

  I went on, “Aysel said he was a Tatar. A Caucasian Tatar with European blood. I don’t know how I can look so much like him, with our bloodlines being so mixed over the years, but I have the name and the body of this guy. How many people could even come up with the name Sevilen?”

  We were approaching territory I wasn’t sure Leyna would react favorably to. At least I was hesitant to approach it.

  Leyna nodded. “This is too weird. It’s like the other day I found this crystal and I had to have it—a broken stone. I traded an expensive emerald bracelet for it. I can’t think about all of this right now. I think I’d like to have some dinner soon.” She went to the sofa and sat down.

  “Of course. I’ll get the grill going and throw on some crab and corn.”

  “That sounds great.” She looked up at me then put her purse on her lap and opened it. Leyna sat there looking pensive, with her hand in her purse


  I went inside and couldn’t believe what was happening. She was most definitely the one. How else could all these things happen against all odds? Now, I just needed to figure out how we can both get over the overwhelming feeling of it all.

  I prepped the crab legs and corn for the grill. I poured two fresh drinks and put them on the coffee table. Leyna stared off into the woods in a daze, as the sun started to set, lighting the sky on fire. I put the food on the grill and sat next to her.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  Leyna stared at me pensively, as if something inside her had changed, then a smile grew on her face and she planted a light kiss on my lips. She sat next to me on the sofa, and pulled me back from the edge of the seat to sit back with her. She wrapped her arm over my shoulder. Her left hand ran over my thigh and her feet went on the coffee table. Grasping my right hand gently, she put it on her thigh and slid it up and down.

  Her eyes locked onto mine. “I’m fine. We just need to relax and forget about this weird shit. This stuff is for movies, not reality. Right, mister engineer?”

  “Right.” It felt unorthodox the way she had her arm over my shoulder. I wasn’t used to someone so assertive. It was awkward.

  “I think we should eat our meal and then satisfy our hunger,” Leyna breathed into my ear.

  I pulled her hand off my leg and got up. “Yeah, food. Oops. I have to check the legs, uh, crab legs.” I stood at the grill making a mess of flipping the crab and corn shakily.

  “You just put them on.”

  “They can dry out quickly. You have to be careful with them.” I turned and faced Leyna with the tongs in my hand, ready to flip them again at a moment’s notice. I changed the subject to see if I could divert her attention. “What did you say you did for a living?”

  “I didn’t. I’m a bitch. I run my people into the dirt and get fresh ones when they’re all used up. I’m a Vice President for Progpark.”

  I could tell she was proud of her position. Quite the ego. She adjusted herself on the couch so she could show me some extra thigh.

  She tossed her hair over one shoulder and sipped her drink, giving me doe eyes. She was gorgeous and alluring. Why was I afraid of her? And as much of a bitch that she seemed, why was I still attracted to her? How is she someone I’m supposed to save?

  I walked over and picked up my drink.

  “Yeah, I think I’ll have another of those,” Leyna said.

  I smiled and went inside to make her another. How many of these could she handle?

  “Here ya go.”

  “Thanks. So, you’re an engineer?”

  “Was. VP of manufacturing. Kinda retired.”

  I went back to the grill and flipped everything again. I took the long handled lighter and lit all the hanging candles around the deck, since it was getting dark. They cast a warm reassuring glow.

  Dinner was ready. We ate at the table on the deck with little discussion, both in our own thoughts. I watched Leyna as she dug out the big chunks of crab and dunked them in the melted butter. She’d tilt her head to get her mouth under the dripping flesh, and then suck the meat right into her mouth, rolling her eyes as she did. Butter dripped down her chin.

  She ran the corn on the cob over the block of butter in the dish between us and salted it. She wasted no time bringing it to her lips, leaving lipstick on the first bites, running her chops lengthwise over the kernels back and forth, until it was devoured, like the ice cream, chowder, and crab legs. Is there anything, or anyone, she wouldn’t lay waste to in record time? How could I have loved her in a past life?

  When she finished, I offered her another crab leg from my plate. She snatched it up and dug in. I hurried to finish my food before she took the rest.

  I had to broach the subject again.

  I cleaned up while Leyna sat on the couch with her back to me. She’d lift herself to one side from time to time. Each time she did, I heard the sounds of a strange night creature. I wondered if she knew I could hear her and it made me laugh. What a prize woman. A rude, aggressive, power hungry mean bitch. She became less sexy and inviting the more I knew her.

  After I was done cleaning up, I brought out coffee. She took it, wrapping her hands around the mug to warm them.

  I asked, “Are you cold? Want a coat?”

  “That would be nice. Thanks.”

  I put on a denim jacket and brought out a leather coat for her, and helped her put it on. I sat next to her. She pulled me closer by my arm and held it tight to her. “Better?” I asked.

  “Yes, thanks. Sorry I was bitchy, but this is just nuts, ya know?”

  “Maybe we should talk about it some more.”

  “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. You see that name on the tombstone?”

  “Yeah.”

  She lifted her head and looked into my eyes. “That’s why I reacted so weird in the cemetery. That was my true first, middle, and last name so it was my whole, actual, name on that stone. The age she was when she died…” She trailed off so I couldn’t hear her, hiding her eyes from me by turning away.

  “What?”

  She started again, her voice shaking, “When she died, she was the age I’m going to be on my next birthday, and my birthday is… the day she died.” Tears and mascara ran down her cheeks.

  All of a sudden, I had to help her. She had become so vulnerable. I pulled her close. She shook as she sobbed.

  “Ah! Coincidence that’s all. Nothing to be afraid of. Look at you. Do you think you’re going to die? You’re too young. Soon you’ll be back at work and you’ll forget all about it. We can both forget about all this crazy stuff. Just because I have the other half of the stone you found, means nothing. Just because I dreamt of you before I met you…nothing. Things like that are just coincidences.”

  Her eyes went wide. “Wait. You dreamt of me? You have the other half of the stone? Let me see.”

  I took the vibrating crystal from my pocket. Leyna took hers from her purse. We moved them together. The vibration multiplied.

  Leyna dropped her half. “Do you feel it?”

  “Yes.”

  I picked it up and put them back together. They formed a heart. The colors seemed lit from the inside as it illuminated our faces. I put the whole stone on the table.

  Leyna took it and rubbed it on her body. “Mmm.” She closed her eyes and held it against her forehead. “This feels so freaking good.” She shuddered, twitched. “Oh my God.” Finally, she calmed, all her muscles relaxed and she took it from her head. She put her half in her purse and handed me mine.

  Shaking, Leyna looked at me, her face streaked from the mascara. “Coincidence?” Did you plant this at the jewelry store? What are you up to? Did you call my boss and have him send me here? What’s in that thing that makes it feel so damn good?”

  “No. Aysel gave this to me. It’s from the 1400s. She said you would have the other half. There’s nothing inside.”

  “Then she must have planted it at the store. She’s trying to play matchmaker here. That’s all. No coincidence, just manipulation. I must be imagining the feeling I get from it. That gravestone is probably a fake, too.”

  She was gaining control again and she wiped her eyes, getting mascara on her fingers and her long nails. “How about we do some shots? I need to accomplish something this weekend.”

  Leyna jumped up and headed to the bathroom. I followed because of her uneven gait, and heard a bang when she bumped into the wall. She yelled, “Oops, have to pee.” The door slammed.

  I went back on the deck and snuffed out all the candles. It was getting too cold to stay outside.

  Leyna’s heels clicked back to the kitchen at an uneven pace. She kept her hands on the walls as she walked. “Tequila, señor, por favor.” She tossed her purse on the couch and wrapped her arms around my neck, her makeup refreshed.

  “Tequila it is.” I undid her arms, went to the kitchen and poured two shots. “Lemon and salt?”

  She shook her head no
and slammed it down. “Nah! Drink up, Shriner!” She lifted the shot to my mouth.

  I drank it down. “Woof. Smooth, but potent.”

  “Yeah, just like me. Have any cigarettes here?”

  I dug some out of a junk drawer, opened the pack, and lit one for her. Leyna poured two more shots and then lifted hers to toast.

  “Here’s to all that stuff being gobbledygook and crap. Long life and good sex! Tequila makes me horny.” She slammed down the second one and I followed.

  There was a sound inside my head, I think, or maybe outside. It was very loud, like blaring trumpets. The look on Leyna’s face told me she heard it, too. It grew in volume.

  It thundered, but rain wasn’t predicted. Lightning flashed in the windows, hitting the ground next to the trailer, making us both jump. I smelled the ozone from the strikes, but I also smelled something sweet. “You put different perfume on?”

  “Nope. I smell it, too.” Leyna held my arm tight as the noisy, yet rainless, storm grew. The wind made the chimes on the deck ring fiercely. The trailer filled with a blinding white light. Trumpets blared as if signaling the arrival of royalty. Leyna’s long nails dug into the flesh of my bicep.