King Solomon's Journey (The Dominguez Adventures) (11 page)

            “They are great. What is it made from?’

            “They’re plantain chips with Pico de Gallo.”

            “I hope you enjoy this music.”

            Antonio brought the food to the coffee table, where they sat in the floor and ate. He enjoyed being with Amanda, and found it impossible to understand how he chased this woman down for a week, and now sat here, sharing chips and strawberries with her. It seemed unreal.

            After putting away the food, Antonio sat in one of the oversized club chairs. As Amanda neared, she sat on the floor in front of him, and then did something strange.

            “I also told you I had an ulterior motive to this story.”

            Smiling, he asked. “You did?”

            “Going back to the Divine Weave, visualize a vertical and horizontal weaving of the threads. The points at which they cross are the ‘Fulcrum Points’. In quantum physics, this point is where two opposites exchange energy. If they enter at unequal or different sizes, they still emerge equivalent.

            The matched energy creates a point of stillness. A few call it, the ‘Point of Creation’. This is where consciousness manifests. All knowledge, power, love, and light start in this place. Nothing can exist that was not here before.

            This is the point where motion becomes ‘zero’. The place where turning points begin, changes occur, and the new are born. Only polar opposites come to this place of change.

Antonio, your vision in the cave may have been at the Point of the Creation, the Fulcrum Point, and the Zero Point. The creation point of something new…” She spoke these last words softly.

Antonio stared into her eyes, and understood.

            “Amanda, I hope we were at the same frequency, and somehow shared a magnetic field without time. Maybe I entered the point at the magic time. It may be the strongest, most important point of my being that brought me there. Maybe I’ve gravitated to this place in order to define myself, or even us.

You and I became something greater in that place. You completed my existence.”

            This was an obvious source of emotion for Antonio. She had to ask.

            “Antonio, will you take me there sometime soon?”

            “Absolutely,” he agreed.

            “Thank you.”

            Amanda tried to hide the yawn of exhaustion that overcame her. Antonio saw it, and despite his need to be close to her, suggested they retire for the evening. Amanda did not argue with him, and with a soft goodnight, she headed up the stairs to sleep.

            Antonio remained for awhile, watching the weakening fire, turn into soft glowing embers. He had a great deal to process, and in his own way, he sat there and took apart everything Amanda had told him. Then he compared it with what he had thought was perhaps only a dream or hallucination within Hidden Mountain. His mind was like one of his Scrolls grids, columns of facts, columns of levels of meanings…

            Trying to find sound reason for otherworldly ideas was his coping mechanism; like riding the rivers currents; you could fight to get to the other side, or allow the current to take you to a different landing without a fight. He had always approached mysticism of other cultures with a grain of salt, this time, all he came up with was a decision to accept all he had heard, seen and experienced. Sometimes you just have to let the river take you where it will.

Chapter 11

The flame of anger, bright and brief, sharpens the barb of love."

Walter S. Landor

            Overnight, Mother Nature piled on the white stuff. It was beautiful. The cabin sat in the mountains, perfectly warm and cozy. The aroma of coffee filled the air.

            Awakening earlier, Antonio had looked in on Amanda, heard the shower running and beat a hasty retreat before he gave into his impulse to join her.  He returned downstairs to make coffee.

            Showered and dressed, Amanda entered the open expanse of the Grand Room, where Antonio had already turned the dining room table into a makeshift office. Laptops, legal pads, and several file folders were ready, lying neatly on the rectangular table.

            Antonio was busy on his computer. She stood next to him with coffee in hand.

            Glancing up, he saw Amanda standing there with a warm smile. He saw that the morning revived her, and he thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight than her smile.

            "Sorry if I wimped out on you last night, I just needed a solid night's sleep." 

            "Don't apologize, we had a long day, and we accomplished quite a bit…together." It had in fact been the best night he’d spent doing anything in a long time.

            She laughed. He prodded her. “Come on, laughing with someone is sharing, right?”

            “Sleeping in the same house with someone requires an element of trust.” Her tone revealed her own astonishment.

            He decided to tease her. “Your soul and subconscious must trust me. Now, I have to convince the rest of you.”

            Having already convinced her of more than she truly understood, she questioned how a man could look this awesome in the morning. Her thoughts were lewd.

            “Amanda, do you ski?”

            The coffee in her mouth almost flew out. She coughed, choking on the words, “Do you mean snow ski?”

            “Well, it’s a bit too cold out there for water skiing.”

            “No, I do not snow ski. I am a warm-weather loving, ‘Tropical Ocean’ type of girl.”

            “You’ve never tried.” His mouth made a mischievous grin, “Okay.”

            “Antonio, now I trust you enough to sleep in the same house, but standing up on pieces of thin wood and sliding down a mountain...no way! I cannot ski in the snow. Besides, I do not even have clothes appropriate for that sort of activity.”

            He sounded almost patronizing. “No problem, I just thought I would ask.”

            She pulled up a chair and moved it next to his. “Tell me about this.” A nearby legal pad titled ‘Earth Cycles’ contained his written notes. 

            “The Scrolls suggests that by fulfilling King Solomon’s ‘13’ Legacy, we will spare ourselves, or I should say, spare humanity from disaster. I’m trying to compile a list of possible disasters that scientists have declared as candidates between now, and the infamous December 21, 2012 at 11:11PM Universal Time.”

            That gave Amanda shivers. “Antonio, I did not realize it was a protection, and it would be time-sensitive. Damn. You’re giving a whole new meaning to the word ‘procrastination’.”

The magnitude of the revelation slapped her like a tidal wave. Nervous, she began walking around the room. Her reaction sent a pang of guilt through Antonio. Before a word could escape his lips, Amanda reprimanded him, and King Solomon.

            “This is huge, Antonio. I am a normal person. This is major. It’s damn Biblical. This is humiliating. Here I have been digressing into conversations that are minimal in comparison to this issue. There is no way I belong here. King Solomon would not, could not be enough of an idiot to believe I have something of value to offer. I’m a Mom, for heaven's sake.

            Antonio, I thought you had a great discovery with some slight spiritual implications. I did not understand that it was a deciding factor for Mankind, and a last chance for life on Earth. I am not even a PhD. Are you nuts or something?”

            She paced around the entire cabin in a nervous race. Gradually her mood escalated as her words gained speed.

            “Time is almost up, Antonio. This is dangerous. Someone may kill you. Great, here I am, falling for a guy who is going to die while trying to save humanity from their ultimate destruction.” She threw her arms into the air.

            Unsure of the reasons, he found her tirade amusing…wait a minute did she say she was falling for him? Now he really was smiling.

            “Antonio, this is not the time for levity! Do you think the fate of the world is a joke? Well let me tell you, I have plenty of…  I am not sure I can figure out how I got here. You see, this is stupid, damn it…you are crazy, and you are making me crazy! I cannot even finish a sentence much less help you compile a cohesive plan to save the world.”

            Frantic, her pacing progressively turned into a heightened panic.

            “I am humiliated, over here busy thinking…this is a cool experience, and this guy has a monumental artifact that he needs to sell to a museum. Maybe, I will somehow share that experience. It’s a wild adventure for a woman such as me."

            Her tirade had now taken her flouncing up the stairs. "More importantly, I am an idiot. An idiot more concerned about whether I am ready, or even able, to sleep with him because I want to so badly that it’s killing me.” She mimicked herself with a sarcastic voice, “Gee, I am sorry children of the world, I am sorry Mother Earth, he was way too hot, I wanted to make love to your ‘Chosen One’, and Damn you… Damn King Solomon…  Damn me!”

The bedroom door slammed.

            Antonio’s face grimaced. He thought he was only capable of making his sister that mad, and hell, he hadn’t done that in over 20 years.

            She hated him. He sat back, wondered when she would emerge from that room. Evidently, she needed some time, having already taken care of the venting. Besides, she didn’t order him to leave.

Looking around he spotted a piece of her clothing hanging from the arm of the captain’s chair. He lifted it to his face, and smelled her scent within the weave of the fabric. Holding on to it, he went to his desk to make some phone calls.

            The silence was deafening in the room. Antonio had no clue why he wasn’t in complete panic. He was concerned, and anxious. She was angrier than he’d ever seen a human being, but he knew she was still with him.

            Despite her outrage, he knew she’d do exactly what she needed to do for the cause. She might even do it for him. He wasn’t sure until her passionate outburst. Of course, now it took everything he had inside, to keep from going in that room.

            He opened a folder, and began reading a document. What it said, he had no clue. His mind elsewhere, he held the paper for appearances only.

***

            Antonio glanced at his watch. “Damn, this brings new meaning to the word ‘stubborn’.”

            Amanda would kill him if she found out that her tantrum turned him on. A temptress, wild with fury, gives new connotation to the word ‘passion’.

            Regardless, her stubborn behavior began to wear on him from behind the bedroom door, which now stayed closed for over two and half-hours. How long could a woman stay ‘holed-up’ in a bedroom?

He scanned the place for something to occupy him. Spotting his coat, he decided to get out, and take a walk over to the Angel Fire Lodge. The resort staff already cleared the sidewalks, and the brisk air would feel great. He turned to shut the door. For drama, he gripped the knob, and gave it a hearty slam. Hoping that his noisy departure would grab her attention, he smiled with pride.  

            Suddenly, he became irritated. Did she think that he regularly chased women with such vigor? He thought he made it clear that this was important. Time is precious, and he did not intend to mislead her.

            “Damn it!” His pace hastened as he approached the lodge. He grew more irritated with every step. She locked herself in a bedroom less than 24 hours after they began, before he even had the chance to see her naked.

             Antonio looked to the clouds.

            “Thanks, Solomon. Thanks for nothing, great joke. She hates me, not to mention she’s a stubborn hot-head,” he shouted. The kid shoveling snow heard him, and stared at him as if he were nuts.

            He yelled to the kid, “Women make you crazy. Remember THAT!” The kid nodded, laughing.

            Antonio entered the lodge with no idea of what in the hell he intended to do there. He felt like an idiot. Usually he went places with a purpose. Today, lacking direction, he would read pamphlets.

He sauntered around the lobby, read the Caliente Grill Menu, walked into the lounge, looked around. Scanning the En Fuego Wine Bar, he decided not to hide from her in a bar. With Amanda, that would be a devastating move.

            Antonio knew all the employees wondered what he was doing. He did not fit the ‘I’m killing time description.’  A bellman approached.

            “Sir, may I help you?”

             “Maybe you can help. Do you date women?”

            The kid hoped that Antonio wasn’t going to start flirting with him.

            “Yes sir - I like, and date women.” The kid became nervous.

            “Good, you might be able to help,” Antonio then asked the kid for advice. “I upset her, but I didn’t intend to, it was a misunderstanding. She said things loudly. Now, she hasn’t come out of the bedroom for over three hours.

            I’m here hoping that if I left, she’d come out. Now, I’m here and your staff probably thinks I’m some weirdo, or worse...

            If I go to one of your bars or lounges, I’m an ass. If I go out to the slopes, I’m having a good time and incapable of taking her seriously. If I go to a restaurant, it’s - How could you eat? I’m nauseated. If I went over there and bought her something, I’d risk insulting her as a woman - a HUGE mistake.

            Therefore, yes I would love some advice. Help, Oprah. Someone needs to tell me what to do. Women have never been my strong suit, but this one…  I care about. Are you able to help me?”

            The kid stared at him, hard.

            “Sir, I would like to help, but the best I can come up with is having you take a seat. We’ll start bringing you coffee from The Coffee House.”

            Antonio nodded. Feeling defeated, he sat in the chair as directed while the staff took turns bringing him rounds of coffee.

            This was a first for him, sitting in a lobby ‘people-watching’. Previously he’d found himself curious about the men that sat in hotel lobbies alone for extended periods. He’d always thought they were dull, lazy, or even worse – voyeurs.