“Bounce me back to the café.”
“Okay.”
I waited a few seconds, guessing that Sally was figuring out a good landing spot. Then, suddenly I was in an alley, standing in a doorway, on two feet, yeah! For a moment, I was disorientated, “where’s the café?”
“Turn right, then left, it’s there.”
I did what she said and the café was on my left, the two girls still at the same table. They didn’t see me, I crossed the road again and dumped the passports in a trash bin outside the Metro station then when back to my new friends. Oh, that felt so good. “Thanks Sally.”
I’d only been gone five or six minutes; they’d only just received their order. I grinned at Melody and brought out the Reals peeling off two hundred, I handed them to her. “Thanks again, this and the dollars should cover your meal,” I said. She didn’t object, I don’t think she had paid any attention to the actual amount she’d signed for with the credit card.
I ordered coffee and watched the girls eat. Between small talk I checked them out on the heads-up. It felt a little like I was snooping but I didn’t care, they were very young. They were from wealthy families in Austin, both on Spring Break from Texas U. Melody’s father was working in Rio and she had tagged along, bringing her friend. They were heading back to Austin on Wednesday, missing a day of classes. Neither was likely to make the honor roll. Since being in Rio, both had had sex with two different guys and one time they’d had a threesome with a guy from Holland. This was written on the screen and was followed with the word ‘Private’ in black capitals.
“What’s the ‘private’ designation, Sally?”
“You can’t see the actual sex,” she answered.
“Why?”
“It’s private and consensual, all such things are blocked.”
“Explain.”
“The Cirion people have blocked all things that are innocent and private for millions of years. Only if there is a crime can they be viewed. As soon as someone walks inside their home or into a private area, like a hotel room, providing they don’t do anything wrong, it’s blocked. Out of the house they are deemed to be in public.
I had to think about that for a while. The ACLU would be happy. Seemed totally reasonable to me.
I wondered where Melody’s father was, being a Sunday, and discovered that he was being entertained by his client at Girls-a-gogo. Need I say more. Like father like daughter.
I reviewed their conversation together while I’d been gone and wasn’t surprised to find out that I was earmarked as their next conquest. I felt flattered and confused. My loins swelled and I crossed my legs awkwardly. The temptation was enormous, but Mary had only been gone a few months and I just couldn’t come to terms with the situation. I wondered what Sally thought? And that made me question why I would worry about what my computer would think? The holographic image played tricks with your mind. Interesting perspective, leave it to the phycologists to sort out.
I feigned the need to use the bathroom and didn’t return. It made me feel guilty but I had no doubt that they would find a willing male very quickly and forget about the one that got away.
I walked along Ipanema beach watching the people. The girls were everything I’d fantasized about and more. Beautiful, slim bodies a perfect shade of brown. Bikinis so small that nothing was left to the imagination. The young men had hard bodies and swim shorts that also left little to picture. Then there were the old brown bodies, men and women strolling along slowly, no doubt reminiscing about their youth and the time when they too would solicit the gazes of the voyeurs. In between the tall buildings across the street I caught sight of Christ the Redeemer. That icon of Rio and Brazil. Mary so wanted to visit the statue one day, but we always put it off until it was too late. She was a good Catholic girl, attending church often, usually without me. Yet she never criticized my lack of faith and always appeared content that her husband was faithful and what she called a ‘good family man’.
I crossed the street to a hotel and found a back stairway. “Sally, bounce me to the statue, out of sight.”
“Okay.” She didn’t need to be told what statue. I waited for two or three minutes, realizing that she was having a little difficulty finding a spot out of sight, then suddenly I was standing on a concrete landing directly behind the statue. There were steps both sides, I walked to the right and then around to the front and gazed up at the face of Jesus. My mind turned to Mary and a tear rolled gently down my cheek. I was cognizant of two nuns not too far off, watching me, I glanced at them and smiled. I could see the joy in their faces at my tears, I’m sure they believed that the statue of Jesus had caused my emotion.
I stood looking at the statue for some time, then walked to the edge of the parapet to enjoy the view of Rio de Janeiro. I’d visited few city vistas that compared with the majesty of the skyscape. The high-rise buildings and bay with all sizes of vessel, the mountains and hills and the ocean stretching as far the haze allowed. Truly a magnificent and fitting place for Jesus to watch over his flock.
It was crowded, so I moved back to allow others a better vantage point. Alone, against a wall at the back of the statue I called up Sally and asked her to join me. After a few minutes she came up the same steps I’d taken and stood close. She was dressed in a modest outfit, befitting the religious tone of the surroundings. She smiled warmly and we walked to the front of the statue.
“HE is majestic, isn’t HE?” I said. “I wish Mary was here with me. I wanted to share this with someone.” She placed her hand alongside my head and brought her mouth to my cheek as if to kiss me. I felt nothing but my heart sang. We stood for a while.
“How would Jesus rescue the people of our planet?” I asked with enthusiasm. Sally was quiet, she glanced up at the statue. “How do you expect me to be even a drop of water in an ocean that is Jesus Christ? What you ask of me in our world seems impossible. If it is predetermined that the earth will be destroyed by a galactic storm, isn’t it HIS decision, shouldn’t we just accept it? HIS followers and those who worship other religious icons will not leave this world. They will believe that they will be protected by HIS grace.” I stopped talking and waited, but it was unfair of me. I had no right to expect Sally or her makers to have an answer to those questions.
Her voice was soft and exuded compassion. “Jo-el, if Jesus was alive today, what would he say if he knew of the impending doom? Wouldn’t he work until his life ebbed away to save you. Isn’t that what he stood for? The earth is just one planet in a universe of a million planets. If the waters of the Jordan threatened to flood his village wouldn’t Jesus lead the people to safety?” She had made her point and she was right, as usual. The she said. “Blessed are the gentle for they shall inherit the earth.” I didn’t know what she meant by that, not at that moment anyway.
“You see that boy, over there in the dark blue shorts?” Sally said, breaking the reverie.
I turned and followed the direction of her eyes. The boy was studying his cell phone. He appeared to be a local, his black hair was messy and thick and his tan deep. He wore a baseball cap backwards. I nodded.