Soul Crossing

By Web Bard (copyright 12/2000)

Part 9

Beth adjusted her camera strap as the tour group entered the ruins of the Acropolis. Reese insisted that she travel with a group instead of setting off to explore on her own. They wouldn't see each other until dinner and Reese knew she would be distracted at work if she constantly worried about her partner. Beth gave in and booked herself on the next available tour group heading for the ancient monuments.

Beth marveled at the Parthenon, the famous temple to Athena. As the group left the Parthenon, she quietly slipped away and walked over to see the olive tree that Athena planted in a competition against her brother, Poseidon. The complete solidarity and strength of this one tree nearly moved Beth to tears. She took several photos of the tree and then rejoined the group. After visiting the Theater of Dionysos, the Shrine of Asklepios, the Stoa of Eumenes, the Theater of Herodes Atticus, and the Temple of Athena Nike, the tour group loaded the bus and returned to the hotel.

Beth was exhausted from jetlag and from walking around the expansive ruins all day. She opened the door to her hotel room, threw herself on the comfortable bed and within minutes, fell asleep.

Reese turned the key in the door and walked in the room. She smiled as she saw her partner sprawled out over the entire bed. Reese put down her briefcase and kicked off her shoes. It won't hurt to rest awhile before dinner. She set the alarm to wake them up in an hour and quietly slipped into the bed beside Beth. As an automatic reflex, the smaller woman shifted her position and wrapped herself around Reese, never waking up in the process. Reese smiled and closed her eyes.

An hour later, the alarm went off and Beth jumped. "What? What was that?"

Reese stretched her arms over her head and started to giggle. "It's called an alarm clock. You've heard of them, haven't you?"

Beth leaned closer to Reese. "You think you're pretty cute, don't you? Well, you are."

She smiled and kissed the tall beauty positioned strategically below her. "How was your day at the office?"

"I have good news about that," said Reese. "We negotiated every contract and even worked through lunch. I'm finished. I'll need to stop by the office before we leave next week, but other than that, we're home free."

"Do you mind if we do one more thing in Athens before we leave tomorrow?" Beth sat up in the bed and let her hand rest on Reese's stomach. "I would really like to visit the famous outdoor city markets to do a little shopping. Would you come with me?"

"I've spent the last eight hours without you," said Reese as she placed her hand over Beth's. "I'm not letting you out of my sight, okay?"

"So it's a deal?"

"You've got a shopping partner," said Reese. "We'll visit the markets in the morning, eat lunch, and then head for Amphipolis. My grandparents are expecting us for dinner. They are very anxious to meet the woman who has captured my heart."

"I'm anxious to meet them, too," said Beth. "Do you have special plans for us for dinner or should I even ask?"

"Of course I have special plans for us," said Reese. "Especially for dinner."

"You are so mysterious," said Beth as she walked away from the bed.

Reese walked toward Beth and took her by the hand. "You have no idea."

*****************************

Reese placed her hand behind Beth's back and held the restaurant door open for her. She'll never believe this. Hell, I hardly believe it. "Hi, we have a reservation for two under Keros."

"Right this way," said the headwaiter. "As soon as you remove your shoes and leave them in the coat check area, we'll begin your dinner experience."

Beth gave Reese a puzzled look. "Remove my shoes? For dinner? Reese, what is this place?"

Reese was grinning from ear to ear. "Just do what the man says. You'll find out soon enough."

Beth did as she was told and handed her shoes and jacket to the lady at the coat check station. Reese reached over Beth and did the same.

As the two women turned the corner and started to walk into the next room, Beth let out an audible gasp. "Oh my God, Reese! There aren't any tables in here. Just beds!"

Reese started to laugh and placed her hands on her lover's shoulders. "It's okay, honey, it's supposed to be this way."

The waiter motioned for the ladies to get comfortable on the bed. He handed the women two menus and began to walk away. "I'll give you a few minutes."

"Okay, Reese," said Beth. "What kind of a kinky place is this?"

Reese laughed out loud and dropped her head down on the pillow. "It's a very exclusive restaurant that has adopted the eating patterns of the ancient Greeks, who always ate in a lounging position."

"I'm going to kill you," teased Beth as she playfully slapped Reese's arm. "I thought you had brought me to some wild, hedonistic sex place."

"Oh, that's not totally out of the question," said Reese. "But this is just dinner, I promise. Let's look at the menu."

"I have no idea what any of these dishes are, love," said Beth. "Why don't you order for me? You know what I like to eat."

"Let's see," said Reese looking intently at the menu. "Let's start with an appetizer sampler. That way, you can try a lot of things. Just so you'll know, the word for appetizer is mezedes."

The waiter returned and Reese gave him their appetizer order. She also requested a bottle of wine. She turned back toward Beth and looked again at the menu. "There's a lot of variety here. You can have lamb or pork or chicken or seafood. What's your pleasure?"

"You are."

"Well," said Reese. "You can't have me for dinner, but I'll never rule out dessert."

She glanced around to see if anyone was watching and then gave Beth a quick kiss. Even though Athens was normally tolerant of same sex couples, she didn't want to do anything embarrass her partner in public.

"I think I like this horizontal eating arrangement," said Beth with a big smile. "Look, Reese, our appetizers are here."

The waiter lowered a tray at the foot of the bed. He opened the bottle of wine, poured a small amount in a glass, and handed it to Reese to taste. She swirled the wine around the goblet, smelled it, and then swallowed a sip. "It's very nice."

After pouring two glasses of wine, he placed them on the tray next to the appetizers. "Have you decided on your entrée for this evening?"

"I'll have the Moussaka," said Reese. "And she'll have the Garides Spetsiota."

"Thank you, ladies," said the waiter. "Enjoy your appetizers."

"Reese, what exactly is Garides Spetsiota?"

"Don't worry, it's not squid or anything," said Reese. "But, I know you love shrimp. The shrimp are broiled in butter, garlic, lemon and tomato sauce. Then they top it with feta cheese. How does that sound?"

"Yummy," said Beth as she licked her lips. "What did you order?"

"Moussaka," said Reese as she reached down to pulled the appetizers closer. "It's almost like lasagna, but it's made with eggplant, seasoned meat and cheese. It's a very famous Greek dish."

Beth handed Reese one of the goblets of wine and pulled herself up higher on the pillows. "Thank you for such a fun surprise."

"I wish I could have taken a picture of you when you first saw all of the beds in here."

"I bet you do," said Beth as she smiled at her partner. "Now, tell me about the mezedes we have in front of us."

"This one is called tyropita," said Reese as she pointed to each item on the tray. "It's filo pastry filled with feta cheese. The one next to that one is called spanakopita. It's like a spinach pie. The green one there is called Dolmades. It's grape leaves stuffed with rice and herbs and spices. There's also some pita bread and olives."

Reese slid down on her side and rested on one elbow. She reached for one of the appetizers and held it to Beth's mouth for her to taste.

"Dewisshouss," said Beth as she tried to talk through the filo layers still in her mouth.

Reese chuckled at her partner and reached down for another appetizer. Within minutes, the tray was empty. "Good stuff, huh?"

Beth nodded her head in agreement.

The waiter soon appeared with their entrees. "I took the liberty of also bringing each of you a cup of Avgolemono. It's chicken soup with orzo and an egg-lemon sauce."

"Thank you," said Reese. "You're taking very good care of us."

The women ate their soup and leisurely shared food from each other's plates. After they finished their meal, Beth rolled her eyes and fell back down on the pillows.

"I'm going to explode," said Beth. "And it's going to be messy."

"I know what you mean," said Reese, who stretched out beside her friend. "It's kind of nice to just roll over and lie down, though, doncha think?"

Without a word, Beth reached over and grabbed Reese's hand. She turned slightly and looked into the steel blue eyes gazing into hers. "Do you have any possible idea of how much I love you right now?"

"I think I do," said Reese quietly. She brushed a lock of hair away from her friend's face. "Are you happy?"

"Deliriously."

"That's my girl," said Reese as she took the back of Beth's hand and kissed it. "I love you, too."

"Ahem," said the waiter as he interrupted their conversation. "Would you like to try dessert?"

Beth looked at Reese and started to giggle. Mr.Waiter, my dessert is going to be so much better than yours could ever be.

"Um, no thank you," said Reese as she placed her hand over Beth's mouth. "We would like to try some of your ouzo before we leave, though."

"Excellent choice," said the waiter. He cleared the plates and the empty bottle of wine.

"What is so funny?" Reese lifted her hand from Beth's mouth.

"If that man had any idea of what I had in mind for dessert, which would be YOU, it would curl his toes."

"You are asking for it when we get back to the hotel," teased Reese.

"I'm counting on it," said Beth with a slightly evil grin.

"Here's our ouzo," said Reese as the waiter handed her a new tray. He poured two small shot glasses with a clear, thick liquid.

"Should I leave the bottle with you?"

"That's fine," said Reese as she gave one of the shot glasses to Beth. "Thank you."

"I gather from the size of this glass that we should just throw our heads back and gulp the stuff, right?" Beth looked at Reese for an answer.

"You got it," said Reese. "I need to warn you, though. This is really strong. It will definitely get your attention."

"Cheers," said Beth as she lifted the glass to her lips. She swallowed the thick liquid in one gulp. She gasped as the strong drink made it's way down her throat. "Ackkkkk!"

Reese threw back her head and swallowed the ouzo in one gulp. "Yeowww!"

"Reese," said Beth as she put her hand on her throat. "I think we just drank lighter fluid."

"Believe it or not," said Reese. "You can light it. But it's supposed to taste better after the second or third shot. Are you up for another one?"

"I will if you will."

Reese poured two more glasses. "Cheers."

Beth repeated the earlier procedure. Well, at least it didn't burn as much this time.

Reese swallowed the contents of her glass. Hmmm. It might take one more to really get the feel of this stuff.

"One more?"

Beth started to giggle. "Are you trying to get me drunk and loose?"

"How did you guess?"

"One more, but that's it," said Beth. Reese poured two more shot glasses and they downed them together.

"Not so bad now, is it?"

"Considering that I can no longer feel my lips or the end of my fingers," said Beth as her speech began to slur. "I guess it tastes pretty good."

"We'd better go before we pass out on this bed," said Reese as the room began to move a little when she tried to focus.

The waiter returned and handed Reese the check. She gave him a credit card and asked him to include the tip. There was no way she could add. She could barely focus.

He returned and gave Reese a receipt. "Can I help you ladies up?"

"Yep," said Beth as she gave the man her hand. She then reached her hand down to help Reese. "C'mere you."

Reese stood and grabbed onto Beth's shoulder for support. They carefully and very slowly walked toward the door.

"Ladies?" The waiter stopped them as they opened the door to go outside. "You forgot your shoes and jackets."

Beth started to giggle again and Reese walked back to get their shoes and coats.

"Thank you."

Reese started to laugh as she playfully pushed Beth out of the restaurant and onto the sidewalk. "Oh, my God. I'm totally smashed."

Beth bent over. She was laughing so hard that she couldn't catch her breath. Reese reached over and put her arm around her partner's waist.

"Let's see if we can find our way back to the hotel," said Reese as she began to regain composure.

"Well," said Beth as she placed her arm around Reese's waist. "If we can't find the hotel, we can always go back and sleep at the restaurant."

"But we can't have dessert then," said Reese giving her friend a squeeze. "And I REALLY want dessert."

"Oh yeah," said Beth. "Gotta have dessert. Hey c'mere. I want a little taste right now."

The smaller blonde leaned over and nibbled on Reese's ear. Reese let her hand drop from around her lover's waist. She placed her hand behind Beth's head and pulled her into a kiss. Beth wrapped her arms around Reese's neck and began a gentle exploration of her friend’s lips. Reese's head began to swim.

"I don't know if I'm dizzy from that kiss or from the booze," said Reese. "But it's one hell of a feeling."

"Oh yeah," said Beth as she looked into Reese's eyes. "I'll put my dessert up against that waiter's any day."