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Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 30
(The Road To Sicily.)Opal, Doug, Moonstruck and Buttercup were seated again at the table in Maverick's house. They had talked for a long time, drank tea and ate pudding.The pudding was a slice of heaven. Cinnamon leaves were boiled in water then strained, spices and prunes were added, the potato mixture was sweetened with honey, everything was combined into one bowl. Then the pudding was baked outside, where the fire coals were beneath the pot and on top of the steel cover.The soft cake was placed before them on broad leaves and had fresh cherries decorating the edges. "So how has your stay been here?"Maverick asked."It was restful."Opal replied, who had slept consistently and worried about none of the problems that exploded ever since she had moved back to Mala. Doug rubbed her stomach some nights ago and swore he felt the child move. His eyes beamed and he rested his head on her tummy and spoke to the baby, all the time massaging her stomach. Soon his hands were teasing betw
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 31
(Road Trip.)Where there were four, there are now five.They went down a passage behind Maverick and his two guards. Opal, Doug, Buttercup, Moonstruck and Bruce.It was adorable the way Moonstruck's cheeks had turned crimson as she tried to explain Bruce to the rest of the group, understanding the bond of soulmates, no one had objected.This passage was indeed special, different from all the others. The walls were the soft cushion of what fat looked like in the body, the colour was of white paint falling into a bucket of red and combined into a pale pink. Dirt was beneath their feet but above and around them, was another substance completely. Touching it was like sinking into a luxurious foam mattress.At the end of the tunnel was a dead end. They were sealed in, or so they thought, until Maverick touched the wall and spoke to it."Grant access to Sicily."He said.The structure began to melt away unsystematically, like fire put to plastic. Once there was enough space, Maverick turned
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 32
(An Evening Out.)Buttercup was emotionally afraid, but mentally fearless.You never knew you were lonely until you found somewhere that you belonged. She belonged with her friends.They had rented rooms in The Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, bought new clothes and were all getting ready to eat out.Buttercup walked the red carpet hallway, admiring the art on the walls and in the ceilings. She met her friends in an area where the sky could be seen from the roof of a square glass.She saw them sitting in the chairs around the fountain."Ready Everyone?"Doug said, as soon as she had arrived.He had on a short sleeve shirt, so white that his skin appeared even darker and a white pair of pants over black leather sandals."Yes. Where should we go?"Moonstruck asked, wearing a pleated black skirt and a ruffled front, orange blouse, her black pantyhose slipped into flat shoes."Let's take a walk and decide where to dine from there."Opal answered. She looked wonderful in cream dress pants, a zipp
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 33
(The Eye.)Where have I been?Well, I have been in the Caribbean on vacation, sipping coconut water through a straw and walking the beach in swimwear.I am just joking. I wish I was though.It has been a week and I have watched the friends travel across Sicily, enjoying the sites and creating unforgettable memories."I look fat in this?"Opal complained to Doug as she pulled a dress over her head. She had started to wear loose-fitting clothing, but that was expected as the child grew inside of her."You look beautiful "Doug said to her reassuringly. Opal pouted and Doug kissed that pout. Then he kissed her again much, much deeper.They had reservations at a restaurant tonight, just the two of them.The dress was being tugged back over Opal's head as her tongue tasted his.I closed the door on that episode and gave them some privacy. The dinner reservation was cancelled.***********************I went over to Moonstruck and Bruce."My Birthday will be soon."Moonstruck held Bruce's
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 34
(Changing Faces.)Buttercup returned to the hotel, she had spent the day alone, visiting a honey house that had different flavours of honey.Her eyes widen when she tasted the creative ways of adding other spices to the sticky food. After which she toured the pastures, where lines of bee boxes were positioned under the fruit trees and she wore protective gear to avoid being stung, by the swarms of bees roaming the area.Next Buttercup took a taxi across the warm countryside, passed a sunken house that was buried in a crater of volcanic residue.Finally, she ended the day by going up the charred landscape of cold Mount Etna. Here she saw burnt lands and beyond that vibrant, green forest.Many craters were wide and deep from every direction and filled with rocks formed from cooled lava. Buttercup felt a sense of accomplishment for climbing the highest mountain in Italy. When the sunset rose to heat up her temperature, then dropped quickly into the blue ocean, the golden rays went out
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 35
(The Valley Of Temples.)The next day, Opal, Doug, Buttercup, Moonstruck and Bruce, were all shaded by umbrellas going up the road of the hill, to the temples. They stopped now and then, like the other stream of tourists, to look over the ridges at the steep drop of the pregnant countryside. Rose bushes and low shrubs ran along the roadsides that cars drove on to get to this heritage location and the fruit trees were blossoming. It was like stepping into the era of ancient Greece. The twelve-meter wall was chipped away by the axe of time, a large stone fortress that trees squeezed themselves into and grew from the curves of the rocks. Other trees and stones were thrown about on the dusty ground, scattered like toys on a kindergarten floor. Opal walked right into an oval gap in the wall and smiled at Doug's camera.******************The well-preserved temple of Concordia towered over them from a raised base. Like all the other temples, it turned its eyes eastward.The limestone col
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 36
(A Birthday Gift Gone Wrong.)It was their last night in Sicily. They had gotten what they had come here for. Opal kept the three stone tablets in her suitcase and thought of it no more. Tonight was Moonstruck's night. Today was Moonstruck's birthday.They had gone out into the town and ordered a chocolate cake from the bakery. Moonstruck loved chocolate, she was always munching on a Hershey bar every chance she got.The top of the cake was of white chocolate with brown chocolate dripping down the sides and colourful sprinkles around the bottom, set in a silver tray.Sixteen candles cast bright light upon Moonstruck's face.Sixteen was the age every girl dreamed of. The age when make-up was allowed, the leash of parenting was loosened, dreams drew closer to fulfilment and one walked the tight ropes of feeling like a woman and knowing you were not quite there as yet.Moonstruck spent the day at a spa, Doug's treat. While everyone else went out to get presents for her. Moonstruck go
Beautiful Creatures. Chapter 37
(Sail your way into my heart.)"Leaving so soon."Hercules sneaked up behind Buttercup at the airport.She turned and was surprised when she saw him there, his suitcase balancing on the foot of his jeans.Earlier Hercules had seen the group dragging their bags out the hotel's front door. They hailed two cabs and instructed the driver to take them to the airport. Hercules had rushed to his room to pack, all the time hoping that he would get to the airport before they left.**************************He was out of breath, but he tried to appear as cool as possible.The two teenagers were at the water fountain lapping up the squirting liquid. The other man Hercules had seen Buttercup with and the pregnant woman, were talking to the lady at the counter, an impatient line behind them.Buttercup was just about to sit in one of the plastic chairs when Hercules came along."Didn't expect to run into you."She ran a hand down her long floral dress and sat. "These unexpected meetings."Hercul