Aubrey/Biebe/Skinner/Thorne: A Roman Holiday
(with a little of someone else)
by Atonia
Part 10
Jack and Terry took the afternoon to rest up from their ordeal with the Roman guards, Dino took himself off to the airport and John and Max went to the police station with Toni and then took her shopping for that leather she wanted.
“What do you think?” John modeled a black leather coat.
“Look like you might be part of a Mafia gang.” Max answered modeling a jacket of his own.
“Okay so I need some help here,” he slipped out of the coat. “I can wear leather in Maine you know I don’t think I ever had a leather jacket.
“Try this one on,” Max gave him the one he had.
“It’s too tight.”
“Are you that much bigger than me?”
“I guess so, more muscles.”
“Right.”
“Haven’t you guys found anything yet?” Toni came over bringing a couple of jackets with her.
“I don’t think those will fit love.”
“Not for you Max, for Donna and Connie, Connie’s not going to be pregnant forever and this is not too heavy for Provence.”
“That’s sweet of you Toni,” John said. “Max says this makes me look like a hood, what do you think?”
“A hood? Well…no dear that won’t do at all.” Toni found John a nice jacket that fit him. Max did fine on his own she noticed and smiled at him. “You like to shop don’t you?”
“Sometimes. I like yours it looks good on you.”
“Find one like that for Terry.”
“Just like it?”
“Oh does that bother you?”
“No, not if you want it for him.” Max ran his hand over the jacket he had on and sighed. He’d find another for himself maybe a little different cut.
They spent several hours shopping and carried all the bags and boxes back to the hotel. Toni opened her door and pushed the shopping in. She found Terry in his boxer shorts lying across the bed, he woke when she came in the room.
“Hey luv, find something did ya?”
Toni walked over to the bed and noticed the bruises on his shoulders and a dark one on his side.
“Terry, you were hurt.” She sat down on the side of the bed and kissed his bruises.
“Nothing serious honey. I had to take Jack to hospital, it seems he neglected to tell anyone he’d been injured in a sea battle before he got here. He’s okay now we got him some antibiotics. Hey shopping make you cry?”
“No, I’m out having fun and…”
“That’s what you were supposed to do today, come here luv,” he pulled her down beside him and put his arms around her.
“You act like what you did was nothing, no problem but it was something…you could have been killed or seriously wounded…oh Terry.”
“Yeah but none of that happened, I’m here whole and loving you Toni.”
“Are you really okay, you wouldn’t lie to me…”
“I was just a little tired today, I haven’t been sleeping much since you disappeared and last night was taxing. I got myself checked out at hospital and I’m good to go, nothing broken just bruised.”
She ran her hand across his chest, “and we came here to get away by ourselves, a little time alone. I get sucked away to Maximus’s world and when I come back all my seasons are here. I wonder sometimes if you and I will ever have any peace…really ever. It only comes in short periods, a few months and then something else happens. You’re all battered and bruised again…and I love you so much you deserve more than this Terry.”
“This is what life is Toni, sunshine and cloudy days. We once lived an idyllic life when we were at the House of Four Seasons, not so much as a headache. The day I came to you when we left the first thing that happened to me was that I cut my finger and bled before I even got out of London. That’s when I knew I was a real living breathing bleeding man. I wouldn’t have it any other way luv. We have to take what comes and deal with it and when peace comes…treasure it.”
“I treasure you,” she smiled and kissed his shoulder. “Maybe the next time I think about us going away together we should just go upstairs to our room and close the door.”
“The door is closed now and you have on way too many clothes.”
“I’ve been in and out of them all afternoon, become quite good at taking them off,” Toni got up and began to undress.
“Hmm, you’ve been with Max and John all afternoon…”
“I was trying on clothes Mr. Thorne and I spent lots of your money not to mention some of John’s and Max’s
“As long as you spent some of Max’s money I’ll forgive you.”
“I did, he took me to Prada. Is this what you had in mind?” She slipped back in the bed with him.
“Prada’s got nothing on you babe.”
Terry did take them all out to eat and not wanting to end the evening they walked for awhile and ended up at the Pantheon.
“Looks rather like a great lump in the dark, not very impressive from the outside.” Max observed.
“Somehow I thought it would be bigger,” Toni said.
They walked inside, it was still lit with discreet lamps and not many people inside.
A circle of moonlight through the opening in the top drew Toni and she led Terry to it and stood there looking up, “Maybe the gods are shining on us tonight,” she said and looked back at Terry. He drew her into his arms and kissed her.
“Look at that,” Jack said. “They’re bathed in moonlight.”
“A pretty picture that would make, wish I’d brought my camera.” John said.
“I hope it’s a good omen.”
“Do you believe in omen’s Jack?” Max asked.
“You don’t spend as much time at sea as I have without believing in something Max.” He turned and smiled as the few people inside began clapping for Terry and Toni. They broke apart and moved out of the circle of light.
“I didn’t know we were the entertainment for the night,” Toni laughed.
“It was a good show,” Jack said.
Toni fell in beside Jack on their way back to the hotel, “when are you going to tell me about moving from one world to another?”
“I can tell you now, you may not have noticed it when it happened to you because you didn’t know what to look for. You concentrate on where you want to go and you will feel it, a pull a tugging at your being, you let yourself go with it, it’s a bit unsettling at first you may be a little disoriented but you soon right yourself. If you ever feel that pull when you’re thinking about about…say me,” he smiled, “break that thought up otherwise you may find yourself at sea.”
“What about the window that opened in France when you were a prisoner?”
“Ah, well I had summoned you, I drew you there, that was a different thing altogether. A little of the brother to brother magic involved there also.”
“I know when you summoned me, I was in Paris and you said ‘come soon’, that came into my mind.”
“I should never have done that and would not but I was very ill at the time.”
“I’m glad you did, otherwise I might not be talking to you tonight. Does your side bother you tonight?”
“No, not at all, some magic pills from hospital. I slept most of the afternoon and am feeling much better tonight.”
“Terry said you were stabbed.”
“And so I was, dirty bugger. I must begin making my way back to my ship.”
“I hate to see you go.”
“Ah, Pet this was to be your holiday it’s a little crowded don’t you think?”
“I’ve given up on holidays, I only thought we might have a little time alone away from everything and everybody. Didn’t work out that way at all.”
“Why not go to the House of Four Seasons?”
“I thought about that but…the house is all about four seasons, I was trying for just Terry and I.”
“But it is his season, Pet there would be no other influences.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Jack there are memories there, they don’t go away. There is something of all of you still there.”
“Toni, you cannot escape them, they are within you and each of us. Wherever you go they will go with you. It’s part of who you are now.”
“They’re all good memories too but there are times when I want him all to myself, with no one else.”
“Then close your mind and empty it…let him fill the space he can if you will let him. I know this can happen I filled you in France when we went down the Seine.”
“Yes you did but I was aware if it and let it happen. I think I could have prevented it…maybe.”
“You are strong, Pet but not that strong. “
Max fell in beside them, “What is he filling your head with tonight?”
They both laughed.
The next morning Toni was going through the bags and boxes of shopping in her room and came across a handbag she’d picked out for Donna that had got in with her bags. She took it downstairs to John’s room. He was trying to pack having got a flight out at noon.
“Hey, John I found this bag that belongs with your stuff.”
“ I can’t get it all in the bag anyway.” He moved away from the luggage he was trying to close.
“Oh let me look…no wonder you should either fold things flat or roll them up.” Toni began repacking his bag for him. “ Don’t you have a carryon bag?”
“Um yeah somewhere here.” Toni finished his packing.
“There you are all set to go,” She turned and he caught her in his arms.
“Not quite,” he kissed her slowly and thoroughly. “Slap me if you want to.”
“No…I don’t think I want to slap you, John.”
“It was always cold, there was always snow and ice and fireplaces…and warm beds.”
“There’s not any snow.”
“I know…I guess I don’t know how to…to ask you or maybe you don’t want to…”
“You want to take me to bed.”
“Yeah, I do.”
“What’s stopping you?”
“I don’t know Toni,” he dropped his arms from around her and walked over to the window and ran his hand through his long hair. “I’m not some kind of prude you know?” He turned to her, “help me out here?”
“John, could it be because you made a choice the day you left the House…it wasn’t me you chose. Your wife and your children meant more to you than I did otherwise I know you would never have left like you did. I admire you for that…that commitment that courage that honesty and your love that you have for your family. I love you for it.”
“I still love you even if for some damn reason I can’t bring myself to make love to you again, I feel like some schoolboy…scared.”
“Not scared of me?”
“No…of myself. It couldn’t go anywhere now anyway look where we are both married with kids. I don’t regret what I did and I don’t think you regret your decision to take Terry out.”
“No, I don’t.”
“So…why try and build up the fire with the flue closed, nowhere for the heat to go.”
“You’re right so why are you beating yourself up over it?” She kept her composure but she wanted to sit on the side of the bed and cry. He wanted to but couldn’t bring himself to love her as he once did, it hurt although she knew he hadn’t meant it that way.
“Well…because I know you would if I wanted you to. You have with Max and Jack.”
“Is that what bothers you? Jack was a special situation…he was summoned. And Max…” she turned away from him, “Max is…he’s just…it just is.”
“I’m sorry Toni, it’s none of my business what you do with who…I’m hitting out at you instead of myself. My own problem is not yours.”
“Well…what a problem it is. If you’re um all packed and everything now, I’ll uh go on and finish um sorting out my things. Have a good trip home and say hello to Donna for me.” She smiled.
“Toni…”
“Bye, John.” She closed the door behind her and ran down the hall to the elevator. It opened and she got on not paying any attention to whether it was going up or down. She had her hand over her eyes when the door opened again.
“Toni…what’s wrong with you?”
“Max,” she went into his arms and the elevator took her back to the same floor she’d just left.
She was crying when the door opened again, “No…no I don’t want to be here.”
“Hey, come with me,” Max led her to his room and closed the door. “Where’ve you been, what’s made you so upset, or who?”
“No…I…I shouldn’t have.”
“Toni?”
Max thought…Jack was downstairs with Terry so it was John. “What did John do?”
“Nothing,” she wiped her face, “nothing, Max. I fell in love with him because he is the man he is. He’s not mine anymore and I just realized how much that can hurt. Please…you’re not going in there and say a thing to him…no Max.”
Max was off the bed and headed toward the door, “Toni, I will not stand by and let you be hurt by that sanctimonious bastard.”
“He’s not…he’s honest. What he said was true, why build a fire with the flue closed. It can only cause smoke and confusion I know this, nowhere for the heat to go. Oh Max it’s the same with us isn’t it?”
“Not exactly,” he moved back over and sat down beside her. “It’s different with us…you know it and I know it. John took himself away…that’s not your doing, not your problem. He had no right to hurt you I don’t care what he feels or thinks. Are you okay now? I’ll take you to the elevator and push the up button for you, get off on the next floor and go to room 312,” he smiled and hugged her.
Toni was smiling now and he took her to the elevator and then marched himself down the hall and knocked on John’s door.
Fifteen minutes later John was on the elevator going up to Toni’s room.
“John…what?”
“I’ve come to apologize to you.”
“You don’t have to…”
“Yes…I do I don’t want to leave out of here today knowing I’ve hurt you. I didn’t mean to Toni. We’ve come a long way since the House days, both of us. I still love you sweetheart don’t ever doubt that. Don’t be mad at me because I’m an idiot.”
“I don’t doubt that love, John,” she swallowed, “I love you too and I hope to see you soon at Thanksgiving. I’m not mad at you I understand…I do.”
“We’ll be there,” he hugged and kissed her, “try and salvage something of your holiday I think we’re all clearing out today. ”
“Thanks for coming and for spending some time with me,” She kissed his cheek, “Bye.”
Toni closed the door and smiled, no wonder Max had been in such a hurry to get her back on the elevator. She loved them all each and every one of them. She and Terry had two days left in Rome, she’d shopped and seen the sights there didn’t seem much else to do but close the door and shut out the world.
TBC