Joe woke and looked towards Jill. She was sleeping peacefully, her hair spilled around her face, long golden locks resting on the pillow, reflecting the bright light of the rising sun.
He slipped from their bed and rummaged around, pulling on his cotton pajama pants, so carefully packed but not worn until now. He opened the doors leading out onto the balcony of their villa, inhaled deep lungfuls of fresh air and looked toward the sea. Something was nagging him. Had been prodding at the back of his mind since yesterday. Even though he had a dream filled sleep he still felt relaxed on waking.
It had been a long day yesterday and they were both tired last night, they had taken comfort in each other and had finally fallen asleep wrapped tightly in each other. Joe looked again at his wife. She had been marvelous yesterday and everything had gone wonderfully. He was so proud of her. He thought about Donatello's request before they left the museum yesterday, imagining now what it might entail. Decided that it would be wonderful.
Joe was content to wait for her to wake. He returned to their bed, reaching to his nightstand and taking the novel he was reading in one hand as he rearranged the plump pillows with the other. He fixed the light white sheet around his waist. He looked back to Jill, she was still sleeping. He grinned, feeling like he was cheating as replaced the novel and selected another book; the latest biography of Putin, just published. Joe was fascinated, with Putin, with the analysis of him. He couldn't get enough information about the guy but Jill insisted that he relax his mind as well as his body on this trip so he had set it aside. Now she was fast asleep so he settled back against the pillow and quickly became engrossed. Jill's steady breathing giving him comfort, just knowing she was beside him made everything better.
Forty minutes later he set the book down on his lap, his brow furrowed, thinking. He had that feeling again. Something he read must have triggered a memory. He racked his brain. He tried to think. Went back over what he had read, what he knew about him. He had been dealing with this guy for years so what was his brain trying to tell him? What memory was tugging at his consciousness? He sighed, it was no good.
When he heard Jill inhale deeply he knew she was waking. He put the book aside. At this moment, warm and comfortable in his bed with Jill beside him he was totally content to put all thoughts of everything else aside.
He kissed her face beside her eye, down her cheek, her forehead. His heart skipped as her eyelashes flickered, brushed against his shoulder as they finally opened. He smiled as he watched her search for him, inhaled softly as their eyes made contact, as her blue eyes settled on his. She smiled, her eyes, her cheeks, her mouth, her forehead all transformed as she bathed him in the glory of her smile. She sighed deeply, 'mmm, good morning honey', she said, her words barely above a whisper as she dropped a kiss on his chest before settling into the warmth of his body.
They stayed there, safe and lazy, comfortable and secure, chatting about the day past, the shoot, the people they had met, the seriousness of Joe's meeting, the challenges the Ukrainians faced on their journey home, the bravery of their fighters, the arrangements made with Donatello. A gentle warm breeze blew across their bodies. Jill was still tired, yawning at intervals; she was so content to settle against Joe, to feel his strong body beside her, his arms around her, his lips on her skin. 'Mmmm, this is what a vacation should really be like' she murmured, nestling close to him. She fell back asleep for a while and he was content to stay where he was, listening to the crash of the ocean, the gentle rustle of the breeze through the trees, holding his most precious gift in his arms.
The blissful calm of their bedroom was a far cry from the reality in the command center nearby. In the villa up the hill news had arrived. Unwelcome news which was about to shape the day ahead, spinning the vacation into a spiral of danger and uncertainty.
