White Shore and Iris Calathes

White shore, first chapter and begining of chapter II and III
White shore A short fiction

Chapter I Lola

On the shores of Denmark was a tranquil sandy beach, immaculate. This shoreline was that of a small island part of a channel of islands caressed by the salty water of the North seas. The light of the sun was low in the sky and shone gently on clear waters. Rays almost blond were playing on the horizon, a theater. A fisherman’s sailing boat had been left on shore then yet without its owner in sight. A young woman named Lola was strolling on the beach, slender she was, although not that tall. Her long hair fair and wavy was stylized in a bun with a tin fairy pin. Her eyes were expressive and blue and her cheeks with freckles occasionally. Lola spoke four languages at least. She wanted to talk the more she could of her beliefs. She believed in magic firmly. She thought that kings and queens of the Rosenborg castle were cursing her. Lola’s enigmatic encounters had started last Spring as she had paid herself a visit to the castle perched on dry and green land. She had come very early in the morning the place was damp with fog and dew, and in the distance, it was the mirror of another time. As if time indeed was suspended. A castle in the hands of morning fairies, a yard of witches and wizards, of kings and queens. A fisherman had come alongside the young woman, probably the owner of that lone sailboat. The fisherman named Jan, tall fair and old had told Lola of a lords ’conspiracy. Jan had also told her that they, the powerful lords of the castle, threatened to kill her if she did not find a lost golden crown. Lola had never expected such a dim prospect had been wished for her. She had no choice but to fulfil her mission, find that crown and give it to the Lords. Lola was now in her house by the sea near a light house and in her living room she had picked a notebook writing what she had planned to help herself on her journey.

" Dear diary, Jan the old fisherman told me of a handsome young man named James who lives around and would be entirely devoted in helping me finding that lost possession of the Lords. I am ready to meet that man and probably other people along the way. I know I will have to wake up early tomorrow morning and start my mission. I know it’s a difficult challenge what is happening to me, and I never expected such a thing, however I remain optimistic and believe in a positive fate. I know I will succeed.
Yours faithfully

Lola Rose Andersen. "

The next morning Lola was thus getting ready for a meeting with that man named James Sparrow. Jan had told he was not living that far from her. They had to meet on the shore on the most picturesque side along the small rocks. Lola had dyed her hair brown, and it suited her and likewise she had outlined her blue eyes with black pencil. Nervously she twisted the rings on her fingers while waiting for Mr. James Sparrow. There was a light wind and droplets of a very thin and intermittent rain. Lola had found some shelter under a small rock folding her umbrella, the sight here was beautiful, the sea blue grey, resembled glass. Lola leaned back against the rock gently waiting for her visitor. She wondered how that man could be and so far, she only knew his name. Several minutes passed before she heard footsteps and the sudden voice of a man asking, "Are you Lola Andersen?" "Yes, I am, and I suppose you are mister James Sparrow?"
"Yes, delighted to meet you Ms. Andersen" James was a handsome man she found. Blond and dressed so elegantly he immediately pleased her and his face, she wondered if he was also from the place. "Where are you from? "Well, I am a melting pot» he replied. "My maternal grandmother was born here native of the region, and my grandfather, her husband was Swedish, they gave birth to my mother, Anna in Italy. My father, Michael Sparrow is British and was born in London, his mother, Christine was Born and grew up in Dublin. My parents Anna and Michael Sparrow met in Italy in Florence, Tuscany, on a holiday. I grew up and spent most of my childhood there before going back to Britain in my twenties, I also lived in the United -States for a decade. What about you?"

"Well, I was born here and frequented an English school. My mother Emily Rose is British. My father Dave Andersen was born in the Rosemborg Castle although he is an ordinary man not a Lord. Originally the Andersen’s are native of the region, nevertheless my grandfather moved to New Zealand when my father was a child and so they lived in Wellington for twenty years. My father met my mother here as they were both studying archeology for college. My mother Emily Rose was born in Kent in a small village named Willburg, her mother was Russian by blood although her family the Shevas had emigrated to Britain in the nineteenth century from St Petersbourg.Her name was Leah Sheva, she was Jewish. I travelled quite a lot in my life and lived abroad. As I matter of fact I left when I was eighteen and traveled for ten years. I came back here only two years ago to settle. What I know is that there's a curse with that castle. Let me tell you and I suppose it is also the reason you are here to help me. When he was thirteen my father burglarized the castle and stole one of their most expensive crowns which must be worth something like two million pounds and is of archeological value. The crown is made of very expensive jewels and carats. An enquiry was made, and the crown was not found anywhere in New Zealand. I was told now that the Lords are crossed with me for that reason, and I need to find that crown"

"Well this is precisely what old Jan told me. As you may have heard I am a highly qualified detective and specialized in stolen values and counterfeit. I graduated from the university of Chicago I came across your story in the newspaper when I was back in New York. I remember this was in the top stories of the New York Time and I was fourteen when I read it back in 1998. "I was fourteen too" Lola replied and " I remember the article way back in 1960 priceless crown of the Rosenborgs was stolen since then nor the crown neither the suspect had been found, however there's been an ongoing enquiry for years
"I had read that article too and was so frightened to be discovered, said Lola."

"Don't worry Ms. Anderson I will be somewhat of a bodyguard. Your safety is a priority to me, you won't be in danger at all. Indeed, our journey will be pleasant despite the huge work needed to accomplish our mission. You and I will enjoy our time and visit the greatest spots in Denmark. Moreover, it is likely that my neighbor and a sister of mine will complete our team, two admirable ladies I can tell." replied James

. Chapter II: James

Lola had accepted the deal and had enjoyed her consecutive meetings with James Sparrow. She discovered he had a raffish facet added to his highly cultivated soul and interest in many things in life. She enjoyed meeting him in that pub near the fire where they would talk of what they had planned to do. The man sat in the corner of the fire, he had quite a youthful complexion in his mid-thirties and looked at her with a sharp look sagacious and dreamily thoughtful or self- absorbed. He indeed looked wise and worthy of trust. He was handsome Lola found him quite seductive naturally. He was indeed worthy of trust. The more they talked the more she found that his devil-may care attitude was only a way he had to introduce himself and that he was showing signs he liked her a lot although a little surreptitiously. nobody could get mad at him for sticking a tongue from time to time. She started seeing his eyes that were sky blue as a new shelter where she would find reassurance and approbation. They would achieve a long inquiry, they would befriend, and maybe more she told herself.

Chapter III: Magic in the house

The young woman had been asked by mister Sparrow to sketch in details the whole surrounding around the castle as well as the castle itself. It took her time then she enjoyed doing so as she enjoyed more and more the time, she spent with mister Sparrow. Lola was focused on her drawings at her table. This young woman felt wrapped in a new adventure and beside her navy-blue eyes that displayed the expression of the most beautiful, frightened doe. She was quite a bold person and ready for her mission, she also wanted to improve her life standards, although her small house near the sea was very pleasant. The woman had looked deeply into people’s eyes and souls. One evening the lady was sitting in her armchair home and wondered if she always had the right perceptions.
Lola had left the living room’s window ajar and so with a view on a tiny garden in which was a small oak tree. It was not unusual to see birds coming and going freely flying toward their fates and sheltering in the garden’s trees from time to time. As she was pleasing her eyes with such a show, she noticed a small white owl dropping an envelope in the oak tree. It was not unusual to see birds coming and going freely flying toward their fates and sheltering in the garden’s trees from time to time. As she was pleasing her eyes with such a show, she noticed a small white owl dropping an envelope in the oak tree. A little surprised, she stepped in the garden quickly and fetched that letter in the tree handling it carefully.Her name had been scribbled on the envelope, stamped with a waxy crown:

“Dear Lola, The latest sketches you drew of Rosenborg are good.I put them on a computer software to generate three dimensional cardboards which will be easier tools for our search. I really appreciated the time we spent together at the pub, and I would like to meet you even more, you are quite a pleasant person to be with. Despite my work I enjoy walks in the countryside, near the harbour or in any of our gardens, I would be pleased to spend such a time in your company, we could visit a library too and have a café in a bakery. I would be glad if we meet tomorrow morning and spend that day together, what do you think? We could then spend the evening together at your home. You can answer me with a text message writing “Yes “or “no” I hope you’ll say yes, Kind regards James Sparrow.”

The next morning Lola had made herself very beautiful dressed in refined clothes. She could not wait any longer. Now she was hearing the bell ringing at her door. She walked on doorstep opening it. To her greatest surprise she saw another young woman, also beautiful, at the entrance. “Hello Lola, nice to meet you I am Laureen, James ‘neighbour I am going to spend a little of the morning with you both. I wanted to meet you I need to make new friends indeed.” Lola dressed in a lovely and long beige skirt with her long hair braided in many tiny plaits below her shoulders smiled at Laureen who she did not know but liked immediately. Laureen was a petite woman, a little tubby with harmonious curves she had long curly brown hair and two big oriental eyes.

She looked kind, with a fire in her eyes. She looked a little playful, Lola liked her expression. “Delighted to meet you Laureen” she replied. The two women talked for a couple of minutes and suddenly a man arrived in a very discreet white car, he parked it and left it. It was James Sparrow. The man dressed quite well although casually, took his bike from his car’s roof and with a gentle smile biked towards Lola and Laureen. Sparrow wore a white dressed shirt and a white hat. He would quickly swift his thick blond hair with his fingers and say “Hello” in a voice soft and present.The two women talked for a couple of minutes and suddenly a man arrived in a very discreet white car, he parked it and left it. It was James Sparrow.

The man dressed quite well although casually, took his bike from his car’s roof and with a gentle smile biked towards Lola and Laureen. The man wore a white dressed shirt and a white hat. He would quickly swift his thick blond hair with his fingers and say “Hello” in a voice soft and present. Laureen looked at James almost blushing and was playing with Lola’s plaits once there were in the car. James kissed Lola and Laureen kissed both although, clutched at Lola’s every breath wrapping herself in James' arms and letting him wrap Lola's and her ethereal beauty wakened by her presence.Lola, James and Laureen went out of James Sparrow's car after they had drove for fourty-five minutes. James had parked near the Tivoli's gardens.Although there were tempted to go to the amusment park.James lead the ladies to a more secret spot that was behind: a park. The garden's park was adorned with many trees: oak trees, plane trees, ash trees and a yew tree as well as one cherry tree.The latter were disposed harmoniously and so the park did not look cramp.It was in a perfect cosy light.A huge green path with a road paved in the middle would lead to a majestic nineteenth century mansion which had the colour of wine.

"This now has became a collective play house for children and families to come in for free, it's been like that for the last forty years. The mansion is two floored, there's an independant cafeteria for people to store food and drinks, they can even decorate the place themselves"

y novel Iris Calathes
draft for my novel Iris Calathes


Chapter I


In June, the flowers bloom and are bathed by early summer sun. And people start going out and find pleasant things to do, like going for a stroll and some even start enjoying the beaches early in the year ,even in countries where mountains predominate. And this is the exact reason why Iris was walking along the side of the huge lake of Geneva herself only a short distance from the city.

She would smile alone, a ray of sun lighting up her big blue eyes and freckles, an abundant mop of curly hair cascading down her shoulders, her hair extremely red and naturally flamboyant like real flaxen. She wore thin blue jeans, a colourful cardigan, she sometimes fetched pins from her handbag and spent hours arranging her hair up into a magnificent bun she called Greek hairstyle. She was in her early thirties, gracious, slim and beautiful.

Iris was a mysterious young woman through the eyes of many .And with such a nice complexion she had , she attracted both women and men,in an emotional and sexual manner .She was a very confident person with amazing skills: She had always been devoted to people as well as she was passionate and feminine . Some had seen her as seductive and wild while others had seen her behaving like a young caring mother. Did she possess a somewhat rebellious facet like a magnet to her soul ? Her very own soul which sometimes tricked her closest admirers, especially females, into believing she was playing a hot and cold game .Was she disappearing from anyone' sights? Really ? when she was not truly doing so. She only enjoyed reading people's minds with some distance, to read them better.


Maira Cornell was typically the type of woman who would feel passionate about her , much more will be said of Maira later on.

However what can already be said is that she also would see Iris as a sort of Venus

As much as Maira was elegant and refined ,She was frank and euphoric. She had intense ;dark eyes and strengthened brows . She had a sort of readiness - Once she had been nicknamed «as bold as an Indian man.»

The lake was stupendous and sparkling especially in midsummer where Iris would spend some time strolling along the lakeside on a green path of irregular terrain, and there was a fresh breeze which rocked the small fishing boats. Families were resting on the beach made of grass and small pebbles while ducks and majestic swans glanced, coming to the surface from time to time after a loop in the water. Children ran, alone or with each other, playing, making pairs and breaking up, crying and laughing.

Behind the path in the shade of the trees stood a shy man named Simon Davis and he had heard of Iris Calathes in the grapevine.

He was a strong- built man of Jewish origin and with his thick black hair always untidy Simon seemed regularly lost in his thoughts .He wore glasses and looked a little bit like the orchestral conductor Simon Rattle while being much younger.


Indeed he was only a year younger than Iris.His fate had been so unfortunate he had bone marrow cancer.Mercifully he was having a new treatment and his health was being stabilised

Simon had his relatives in Wisconsin, his father Jacob Davis used to sell fishing Items before his death at fifty years- old,which the cause was genetic bone marrow cancer,Simon had to lead the same fight, but fortunately he knew he had at least twenty years to live. His mother Irene who was still alive was a beauty pageant and a local school teacher.She was of Irish and Afro caribbean descent. And sometimes told Simon their family was related to Ernest Hemingway but he knew it was only a myth.

Simon Davis often offered Iris to accompany her for a walk when he saw her and Iris would enjoy Simon's company, something which led the man 's heart to beat tremendously . He was so happy ; walking alongside Iris Calathes, he would have done anything for at least a touch of her hand on his shoulders. Simon‘s entire body and soul turned dizzy as he hoped for shared romance, however he feared his friend ‘s rejection. He asked himself questions : » Will she ever love me back? What will she say if I tell her I love her ? »

Simon was a cautious man and he feared unrequited love which is also such a common fear a woman has when she falls in love with another woman.

In August Simon Davis returned from an evening with Iris, where he kissed her for the first time and remembered everything, her lips, her smell,her tongue , her hands, her hair , her hips, her breath, her wrists. Together they would go fishing along the lake trying to hook some carps . One day , they went on a boat together, the waters were slightly waving, it was late evening with a roll of slight thunder and chances of very light rain.


Simon felt Iris ‘ arm around his waist and put his arm around her waist and french- kissed her passionately . He felt something in her womanhood: he liked Calathes as a Tomboy ? Whatever he felt, it was irresistible. He wanted to make love with her on a soft ground. And so respectfully thus still with passion and a sense of achievement.An act of love soothing any feelings of shame and inappropriate guilt he might have wrongfully felt. He thought this meant something like he was going to wed Iris the very same year and endlessly make love to her while letting her take control of his soul entirely and forever. He felt elated and complete and death was not something he felt was threatening him anymore.


Iris was Greek of Pomak origin then her family had settled in the U.S already in 1800 and had been christianized.Her mother was of Russian Armenian origin but settled in Canada already in 1900, she probably had Jewish parentage but never truly knew because her family came to be faithful Christians and remained extremely devoted and this already before she was born.well Iris knew she had been baptized and it frightened her because she was told to have been plunged in cold water ;like a fish in an enormous puddle, a custom done in the orthodox rite.


Iris felt really American and was proud to be a patriotic Canadian, she spoke no Russian , even though she may have heard some of it in the church and found the language beautiful when spoken,she knew nothing of it.


Iris, who was much more experienced than Simon, felt tranquile and knew her life was about to be settled this evening - She knew Simon was going to propose- she knewshe was going to nest forever or at least for a few years . And seen as a wife-.After such a break- up she had with a lover , a man named Midas,-consequently to a ten- year sour relationship,Iris felt Simon was good to her despite the fact he was somehow apprehensive she herself was not . And she would learn to handle him and to love him .

I saw the light of the trees enlightening your beautiful dark caramel skin, you are such a pretty man " Said Iris softly.

"Do you think a princess like you wishes to marry an Irish chocolate who looks like Hemingway or more like a black Jew because his mum made him ?

asked Simon""Well- The princess I am was tired of being sexualised all day by a hot-tempered quarreling man- who thought he was the king amongst the princes .he anyone saw as his inferiors. And he would have almost killed the princess I am. " replied Iris.

Simon played with Iris’ red curls '' What a prick this guy ! Fortunately I never met him or I’d be doing him in” Said Simon.

Iris looked at him with a gentle provocative look "Oh truly! No he is not worth it .You would tired your fists for nothing"

Simon looked her straight in the eye:

“You will be my Maud Gonne, my snowball queen . A princess Romanova born again `”

Iris looked at him with an assured look and said :
“And I will take you to church and, you’ll be so uplifted , it would be exactly as if I’d appear ghostly in front of you as St Demetrius, mmm , let me find the word , lenanshee, a St Demetrius’ lenanshee- ” And she kissed him , gripping his neck and giving him a love bite.


Iris and Simon had thus planned to marry in a cosy and luminous church somewhere in the United States, however they would give themselves a whole year before taking the final decision . The visualisation of the church and beautiful Iris was something both sexual and sacred to Simon Davis who completely into his girlfriend, had almost consecrated her on his mind and in his heart .


He would fantasize on an angel and stained glass ,on a beautiful choir and he had bathed himself with psychedelic rock songs more than he would have done with the bible .He daydreamed of his Iris- the moments she was leaving him to himself .He was sending her sweet texts messages with his mobile phone, writing amateurish poetry she had inspired him and most of the verse was quite good, surprisingly good for a simple web designer who had drop college as a freshman .

Iris had gone on with studies and obtained a PHD in English linguistics,

Calathes became more and more mysterious to Davis when the matter of her studies came to the surface.


Sometimes it seemed she knew more than she had ever pretended.Simon hoped that she could tell him what it was all about . He only knew that when she was twenty-one she had enrolled in a course with the idea of doing something in relation to both the United States and Russia then she dropped the idea completely.

Iris had gone on with studies and obtained a PHD in English linguistics,

Calathes became more and more mysterious to Davis when the matter of her studies came to the surface.


Sometimes it seemed she knew more than she had ever pretended.Simon hoped that she could tell him what it was all about . He only knew that when she was twenty-one she had enrolled in a course with the idea of doing something in relation to both the United States and Russia then she dropped the idea completely.


Iris enjoyed touring on boats on the lake and she thought of buying a boat but she had to think of the cost of it which was very high, so she kept on going on tours where she could rent a fishing boat for nothing. The woman felt like a mermaid in her element , especially when she could see the cabin and the steer and the portholes, she had the basic knowledge on how to guide a boat because her father had taught her some of it during her teenage years

The couple’s apartment was quite a nice one set in the italian quarters of Carouge. If there were some low budget flats between Carouge and Plainpalais, these were not.


The interior of their flat was very pleasant; luminous with walls painted in white and peach decorated with sea-life prints and fairy tales 'creatures drawn by both . Their carpets were oriental - they had chosen the lighter shades on their rugs that were cream white and pink incised with plain roses and ornaments.



They had one big bedroom as well as a guest room to which anyone could go if a bit of solitude was needed. They had a beautiful living room and a stupendous bath room and an open kitchen. Their home was indeed a duplex. The living room was quite large with a salmon and white rug in the center, round and with roses, the ground was beige linoleum. Across the carpet stood a small fireplace made of rusty beige bricks set in the hearth which was an old spanish furniture.

The piece was white and bright decorated with small carved apollos. Behind the fireplace stood a brick bookshelf encarved in the wall. An old black Moroccan- style lamp was suspended from the ceiling and could lit the whole room.

Two rusty sofas, cream and green grass had been disposed of hastily between the living room and the open kitchen, in the front . The sofas were covered by red Scottish tweed blankets, and behind these seats was a large transparent veranda rolled to act as a proper bow window. Then one was to move out of the living room which gave way to a small perpendicular corridor .


There was the front door on the right and then was the open kitchen in front of cross -shaped floors which formed an intersection. The kitchen's walls were made of cape stone and wooden bricks, like in an old British pub - a large Swedish westside window-a bow window indeed- was set horizontally and lit the room perfectly.And as needed discreet neon lamps had been set in the ceiling.In the corner stood a modern designed stove.


In the middle was a wooden table built in a Swiss chalet style which was round, not so massive and was bright and with a Valaisanne cloth on it. And two wooden chairs .


The wall on the left where stood the fridge was hastily painted in kaki and the glass door, leading to a small garden. On the very left of the corridor was a stainless and twisted glass staircase which led to the second floor .


The bathroom was in the middle painted in dark blue. There was a black marble bath, semi hexagonal, like melted in the wall as well as a small attic with another bow window . The latrines too were marbled and stood near the bath; they were painted with blueprints of coloured fish.


A white cupboard stood on the left with bath suits, soaps and shampoos , as well as a pretty mirror hanging. It was Italian designed.On the left was found the couple‘s bedroom quite large with a double - spaced bed. A blue flower bed sheet ,under the roof of the attic , a small office , some press material , two chairs , clothes, cupboards, a small dressing with mirror, a computer and a gramophone and another Swedish bow window . The guest room was on the right and it was furnished with a small baldaquin bed , a book shelf and three footstools of Persian design.

In the middle was a wooden table built in a Swiss chalet style which was round, not so massive and was bright and with a Valaisanne cloth on it. And two wooden chairs .

Iris had gone on with studies and obtained a PHD in English linguistics,

Calathes became more and more mysterious to Davis when the matter of her studies came to the surface.


Sometimes it seemed she knew more than she had ever pretended.Simon hoped that she could tell him what it was all about . He only knew that when she was twenty-one she had enrolled in a course with the idea of doing something in relation to both the United States and Russia then she dropped the idea completely.


Iris enjoyed touring on boats on the lake and she thought of buying a boat but she had to think of the cost of it which was very high, so she kept on going on tours where she could rent a fishing boat for nothing. The woman felt like a mermaid in her element , especially when she could see the cabin and the steer and the portholes, she had the basic knowledge on how to guide a boat because her father had taught her some of it during her teenage years

The couple’s apartment was quite a nice one set in the italian quarters of Carouge. If there were some low budget flats between Carouge and Plainpalais, these were not.


The interior of their flat was very pleasant; luminous with walls painted in white and peach decorated with sea-life prints and fairy tales 'creatures drawn by both . Their carpets were oriental - they had chosen the lighter shades on their rugs that were cream white and pink incised with plain roses and ornaments.



They had one big bedroom as well as a guest room to which anyone could go if a bit of solitude was needed. They had a beautiful living room and a stupendous bath room and an open kitchen. Their home was indeed a duplex. The living room was quite large with a salmon and white rug in the center, round and with roses, the ground was beige linoleum. Across the carpet stood a small fireplace made of rusty beige bricks set in the hearth which was an old spanish furniture.

The piece was white and bright decorated with small carved apollos. Behind the fireplace stood a brick bookshelf encarved in the wall. An old black Moroccan- style lamp was suspended from the ceiling and could lit the whole room.

Two rusty sofas, cream and green grass had been disposed of hastily between the living room and the open kitchen, in the front . The sofas were covered by red Scottish tweed blankets, and behind these seats was a large transparent veranda rolled to act as a proper bow window. Then one was to move out of the living room which gave way to a small perpendicular corridor .


There was the front door on the right and then was the open kitchen in front of cross -shaped floors which formed an intersection. The kitchen's walls were made of cape stone and wooden bricks, like in an old British pub - a large Swedish westside window-a bow window indeed- was set horizontally and lit the room perfectly.And as needed discreet neon lamps had been set in the ceiling.In the corner stood a modern designed stove.


In the middle was a wooden table built in a Swiss chalet style which was round, not so massive and was bright and with a Valaisanne cloth on it. And two wooden chairs .


The wall on the left where stood the fridge was hastily painted in kaki and the glass door, leading to a small garden. On the very left of the corridor was a stainless and twisted glass staircase which led to the second floor .


The bathroom was in the middle painted in dark blue. There was a black marble bath, semi hexagonal, like melted in the wall as well as a small attic with another bow window . The latrines too were marbled and stood near the bath; they were painted with blueprints of coloured fish.


A white cupboard stood on the left with bath suits, soaps and shampoos , as well as a pretty mirror hanging. It was Italian designed.On the left was found the couple‘s bedroom quite large with a double - spaced bed. A blue flower bed sheet ,under the roof of the attic , a small office , some press material , two chairs , clothes, cupboards, a small dressing with mirror, a computer and a gramophone and another Swedish bow window . The guest room was on the right and it was furnished with a small baldaquin bed , a book shelf and three footstools of Persian design.


The couple had a small and fluffy red kitten named Toffey, one of the cutest cats ever which would always jump everywhere and bite the couple's toes in the morning. He too enjoyed climbing up on the dressing and teased Iris if he did not have food for him. He jumped on her shoulders already as a very young kitten , especially if she had her back turned.He was so beautiful when lit by sunlight through the bow window where he often had seen his own reflection with which he would try to play and sometimes he was afraid and ran away . Iris was feeding him regularly with the rest of the carps she fished and cooked and Simon was giving him a little milk, a little water and the kitten loved playing with coloured woolen balls.

“I hope he did not tear the carpet’s fringes and the curtains again, please check” often, Iris asked Simon.

Mademoiselle Iris Calathes enjoyed going to the same rusty bistrot every sunday morning and Simon joined her if he had time and was not working from home – they loved continental food- especially the French croissant the integral ones with grains, the black and white chocolate breads known in Switzerland, stuffed with black and white chocolate and dusted with very thin chip chocolate sprinkles and always with black coffees and teas. Iris cooked lamb and eggplants quite well and she served them with Persian rice, pistachios and pomegranates. She knew other things like nice poached eggs and cooked delicious Irish stew and even tried borch a couple of times.


Iris sometimes called on the phone, Georges- Peter Calathes her father a press operator, and her mother Zariah Calathes born Symonian, a calligrapher. She also loved her uncle James Symonian and her cousin Elena although Elena Kachaturian born Symonian was not an easy person. Iris’s grand – father was John Symonian and her grand – mother was Leah Levinson an orthodox Jew but she unfortunately passed away when Iris was a child just before the child’s baptism, so Iris had never truly been taught anything religious except the Mass, the church and the bible.


And she remembered how badly the priest had traumatised her once when she was eight years old because she drew a childish picture on her father‘s newly printed newspaper. She remembered what she drew, a leopard in the African savanna, she thought it was marvellous with all its black dots, beige fur and long white teeth .


Georges-Peter Calathes’ parents were Peter Calathes, an engineer and Leila Ivanja , a writer. Georges- Peter had lost all his maternal uncles during wars in WWII in region of the Balkan

Iris enjoyed buying left - wing local newspapers as well as The Economist. She enjoyed reading novels in French too : Pushkin's short stories, Premier amour de Tourgueniev La Peau de Chagrin d’Honoré de Balzac Les Fleurs du Mal de Baudelaire and Prosper Mérimée la vénus d'Ille and Nina Berberova.

She listened to space rock songs, and also liked classical music. Janacek's in the mists was amongst her favourite pieces of music. She appreciated Bartok, Balakirev, Hadjidakis , Charles- Valentin Alkan and Eric Satie as well as Chopin and Rachmaninov. She enjoyed growing small pads of heartsease flowers and put them inthe pretty vase Simon painted , the one on the living room table.




Iris worked from her home with an American university located in Chicago which had asked her to be an occasional press assistant supervising the making of didactic high -school level books, she had to check if the content was appropriate, correct ite if necessary and she had been invited to draw illustrations for the books ' pages and covers from time to time. She was not paid much for the job however she enjoyed it a lot, she worked four days a week part time : from eight o’clock to midday.Simon was sometimes hired by his own mother Irene Davis - born Cohen to illustrate her fashion magazines and he was good at it . And he had been asked by his grand- father Pierce Mullaney to create and maintain Mullaney's company ‘s website. An important company working in the manufacturing of Irish gifts and Irish gift shops across several cities in the United States

Simon Davis was a man with a florid imagination and due to the fact he had been ill he had learnt a lot about the world without even travelling enormously his mother had protected him for good reasons and he progressed well in life , however he felt there was like a breach between his florid internal world and the possibility he had to attain what he had always wished. When he met Iris he felt that this insecurity would disappear.To him she was his ideal feminine soulmate made to be his wife.

He had often remembered when his grand-father Pierce took him to Dublin when he was a teenager, they walked along the Liffey and talked together a little Often around Parnell street.

He loved literature, he had visited Dublin’s writers museum and immersed himself into books he found in shops. He adored some of William Butler Yeats’ poems and he could read university books already at fourteen. Simon was very smart and sensitive.

When he turned eighteen he had a slight psychotic breakdown because he was very much looked after by his family and his classmates had a tendency to abandon him.- He had a crush on another guy named James Cornell and Simon started thinking he was bisexual but he would not say anything because he was afraid of being called a fag . James Cornell never knew.


Anyway he felt better soon after his social worker helped him.

When he turned nineteen he obtained his college board with a correct score . He met a black prostitute . She was ten years older than his mother but he did not not mind, she stayed with him for five years but then she had to move somewhere in Chicago and it really saddened him. When he turned twenty- four his father passed away and he had another depression.He decided to learn Russian because his friend James Cornell - Zavodov had Russian background (his mother was Russian ) and Simon wanted to impress him. He had tried to succeed at Princeton university but without success he failed the first year. However he entered a school of communication, languages and management named Tool it and obtained a certificate in web design with a very high score and upper elementary certificate in Russian. He entered the Mullaney company and started working immediately. He talked to James Cornell who withheld and slighted him and being heartbroken Simon never saw him again.


Darling have you varnished the blueprints properly ?” Asked Iris

“Yes I have, lovely. replied Simon '' let's have a bath and then take a ride on a boat , let’s discuss of Penelope and Ulysse, our minds could take a ride , what do you think ?””


Iris was magnificent this evening with her red curls down her back like a ring of fire . She wore a clear and tight and long purple skirt and silver boots with laces and a woolen pull- over with beautiful ornaments sewn out of silk . Her make up mirrored her black eyelashes and turquoise eyes which were like huge blue balls so gorgeous that all hearts would have swam into these.


The twilight glowed as the sky was turning lightly orange.Simon had taken an immediate liking to watching his girlfriend and desire was burning in his body – however he had avoided jumping at her laps too hastily not to hurt her feelings.


He looked at the sky and started imaging things out of the clouds which were dissolving like the three graces , the garden of Hesperides , flocks of birds , dragons and puppies.did he starttalking to her a bit compulsively while he was very interested in her as a person too ?


He was used to use his mind to withold his internal sexual desire when he knew moments his girlfriend did not want anything sexual and sometimes he was so tired and he would fall asleep on her knees and woke up abruptly in the morning.

“Where are we honey?” asked Simon

"Well on this boat, from now on it did not change « replied Iris puffing out of laughter «come on, hun, let’s have breakfast in the cabin

“You want me to go and buy breakfast ? “ asked Simon

“ No, I want to fish and eat grilled fish right now ! “ Replied Iris

“You want to eat fried carp at seven in the morning, well ok, it’s a little crazy but ok I’ll fetch the fishing rods in the cabin “ said Simon

“ And don’t forget the coloured artificial flies in the cans” insisted Iris

“No I won’t and I won’t forget the cans of food, yummy ! yummy worms”

Said Simon amusingly.

“Oh yeah! Sexy!” replied Iris laughing, ironically

Simon fetched the material in the cabin and they started hooking carps as some bright fish had surfaced with the roaring of the boat.

“ Do you think there are sharks in here ?” Asked Iris with a crooked smile and sense of humor.

oh maybe there is Moby?” replied Simon

“ Moby? “ asked Iris “

“The great Mobydick , Mr Big fish “ ,you see what I mean said Simon

“I see you think of James Cornell,the man you call Moby Dick A hard fish to catch” Replied Iris amused and they both puffed out of laughter - “An icy heart I was not able to always understand“ added Simon

"Let’s make dinner for our new best friend James Cornell. His cute little girl Jane has her sixth birthday next week, she’ll be delighted. Do not forget he’s leaving to New zealand and you won’t see him again afterwards “ said Iris

“ oh and your cousin Helena Katchaturian is coming next week?”

“Yes she is coming and you’ll meet my parents too Zariah and Georges-Peter Calathes Have I told you about them already.”


The apartment’s garden was small but quite pleasant a fresh and large pad of green grass where were to be found small daisies, a cherry tree and an oak tree, in the months of Mai , June , July and early August.


The garden sustained an extraordinary light which reminded the bridge in Parnell street in Dublin to Simon when the bridge had been bathed with soft spring sunlight he had looked over the bridge .

And there was the fresh air and street graffities and his mind’s delusions. And the sun in early June.


Iris remembered her house in Vancouver where Autumns were particularly amazing, the shifts of colours in trees of such large forests were wonderful to photograph always .


She always had this memory of the wild whales she saw so many times.


Helena who was going to visit them in a week and had made the journey from Canada would tell them an awful lot.


Iris knew they were to move there eventually with Simon.

Iris knew some Greek she had heard at home when her father spoke it. She did not know this language as impeccably as him because this language was his mother tongue, alongside English.Still she knew quite a bit. She sometimes enjoyed reading a poem from a poet named Georges Seferiades titled the Garden with an English translation.









Iris enjoyed resting in the garden as midsummer approached and the month of August, she sat on a bench which had been found in the vicinity. She was wearing a red wine pancho and her long red curly hair took an amazingly bright colour while she was playing with a small Armenian doll.

“ What have you asked the doll , darling ?” asked Simon

“ I wished James Cornell would be sympathetic to you when he comes with little Jane and his wife “ replied Iris.


“Do you know who James Cornell's wife is ,honey ? “ Asked Simon

“ No I have not met her yet, who is she ? “

" Maira Cornell, a beautiful chick , you wanna see ? James sent me a picture of them seven years ago, wait I’ll show you “ – he fetched something on his desk

She is a bit chubby, she’s American too, well and her mum is Scandinavian American, and she has Jewish background, I think from Iran. “


“She looks amazing, I think we’ll hook up, “ replied Iris.


Iris looked at the picture again and took a liking to fantasizing about Maira Cornell. She fell in love already and very euphoric even without knowing her yet- she did not tell Simon about her heart which started beating at a mere sighting of the picture.

Iris took off her pancho and thought of making up but she was not yet on the D day , She unfortunately had to wait. New emotions started stirring her body and soul.


She would go out and buy new clothes. She had seen a dress she liked that was visible through the window of a shop.


She had found it stupendous.


The core tint of the dress was white. The dress fabric was made out of a mix of both nylon and wool. The dress 'adornments were blue and golden .These would extend from the chest to the upper knee.

They consisted of very raffined crafted pieces of wool sewn into waves and spiral seashells. The golden fabric was made out of dusky strasses and some patchworks of red flowers had been incised on the dress’ sleeves which stopped below the elbows. The dress cost a hundred and two pounds and ninety coins and Iris had bought it .


She had put it with salmon coloured lip sticks or cherry red and it suited her well.


She wore high heels made out of pink and red rhinestones and wore thin golden bracelets on both wrists and ankles .


A few days before the D day Simon Davis had had his cut and bought a chic costume and a pretty tie and thought of the arrangement of the living room table and the menu.


Iris had felt restless and she had cleaned and swept the entire flat which was now shining bright .

She thought too of the finest roses she could buy to impress the Cornells. She found a beautiful present for little Jane, a small wooden rocking horse she had bought at Franz- Carl Weber and would make her a chocolate fudge cake. She had made an interesting present for Elena, a reproduction of a painting named « The liver is the cock’s comb » by a painter named Achille Gorky.


The D day finally arrived and the bell rang and whispers had been heard behind the entrance door. Much exaltation was being felt - Maira first knocked at the door.

“Hello Maira, Hello James, hello darling Jane, I am so pleased to welcome you, come in” Iris looked at Maira and smiled at her, Maira smiled back at her. Maira looked extremely pretty this evening, short and a bit chubby but extremely beautiful, she had two big hazel eyes and very long dark brown hair with fair highlights. James was a slim man with an assertive look.

Little Jane Cornell had a happy witty smile wearing a little pink dress and scarlet ribbons on her black varnished shoes and a handful amount of hazel curls and bright round blue eyes showing the face of a clever and a very happy little girl who had this pretty look as if she had been taken from an Ivan Bibline painting .


“Jane “ said to Iris

“Yes ? “asked the little girl

“ Do you know, sweet little Jane, today it’s your birthday?”

“Yes madam Iris I came to know last week something was to come and I did not know what people were gossiping about and yesterday I was told it was all about my birthday coming!! Yesterday was Friday and my teacher Josette and school friends organised a McDonald's party for me in the classroom, I am so happy ,it is my birthday! I can barely believe it! “ said the little girl as she happily ran to and fro.


“Jane, come here, just for a second and tell me, how was your party” ? asked Iris

“Wonderful madam Iris, we made burgers in the classroom,danced with Michael Jackson ‘s songs and a TV was brought and we could watch Free Willy ! My five greatest friends were invited, Tobias, Melanie, Guillaume, Marlene and Sophie and we ate smarties cake.” replied Jane


“And have you received presents? “ asked Iris


“Oh yes plenty, a mermaid shaped barbie doll, coloured marbles, a polly pocket seashell, memory cards, a rainbow slinky toy and my mum offered me a very cute white stuffed plush seal, I have it here you wanna see?” replied the little girl. And she showed Iris an adorable plush seal she had in her Babar the Elephant school backpack .

“And what do you learn at school”? asked Iris


“ Well I am in the middle of first grade and we learned ABC and reading and numbers and gymnastics and what are neighbouring countries and writing and drawing “ replied the little girl. I started being able reading last week with my illustrated encyclopedia for children, an article on whales “ said the little girl “My teacher told me she is surprised at how fast I started reading and how good I was at typing articles for the school news

paper and I enjoy reading books so much.” Said the child.

“And which books do you enjoy reading ?” asked Iris,

“My illustrated encyclopedias and Noddy in toyland.” Said the child.

Chapter II

Jane went out on the garden playing with her father for ten minutes and Maira sat on one of the tweed chairs


“You look very glamorous Iris “

“oh thank you honey” Iris replied and touched Maira’s hand gently gripping her fingers

“ I’ll tell James and Jane to stay outside a bit more, “ said Maira

Maira mumbled something at the veranda and shut the window . She came back to Iris took her by the hand and said


“ I might be pregnant with another child , but I don’t know yet, it makes me craving for love making” Iris went to the living room and checked the bright red roses,she took two of them went outside for five seconds and offered one rose to Jane and then she went back to the living room and offered the second rose to Maira Cornell. Maira took Iris by the hand and they climbed the glass staircase and entered the guest room and locked the door. Women started holding and kissing .Maira noticed the small and pretty Italian mirror which was on


the shelf and asked Iris where she bought it . Iris replied.

“ Before entering college I took a trip to Florence in Italy and I found it in a souvenir shop, I was looking too for paintings to reproduce, I found a book on Botticelli and also a book on Arshile Gorky, I bought them both “


“I noticed some of your drafts on the shelf, you draw well, '' said Maira “ And it’s funny you look like a Boticelli ‘s sitter yourself . “ Maira was all head over heels , talking joyfully her long brown hair highlighted prettily with blond shades in waves and curls , a highlighted fringe of hair and two her big hazel eyes and lovely chubby cheeks and a very pretty chubby body, enlightened in sophisticated gipsy - style dresses and leather boots.


The two women started appreciating each other‘s company more and more. They came to caress each other softly and went undressed, touching and sucking breasts and made love on the bed breathing softly and screaming, whispering loving words to each other . They then took a quick bath and dressed back incognito.


The doorbell rang a second time, Iris’ parents entered as well as Elena. Iris hastily kissed Maira for the last time and ran downstairs to welcome the new guests. Both women knew Maira had to leave to New zealand and had to wait at least eight months before coming back to Europe or Canada for she worked as a specialist doctor in faune and flora and was extremely demanded so they knew their relationship had to remained opened for a year or two because even if they loved each - other, Maira’s job required a no strings attached behaviour even when this attitude was completely false , Maira was fundamentally extremely faithful as a person but life often had asked her to be a way too lonely bird and she hated it and was frightened to be abandoned by Iris. Iris knew she should not let her down and hoped James would always shoulder her too.


Simon took Iris back in his arms and Maira sat near Iris caressing her hand so discreetly- Jane played with her father and the Calathes all evening , she had her cake and wooden rocking horse and was overly happy, Maira, Iris, Elena Simon and James had entered philosophical and political debates the child had not understood nor had questioned, (she was completely into feeding her wooden rocking horse with marbles which gave her horse she named "Black" like a film she saw named black stallion ) superpowers which took her into Simon's lap and she teased him by stealing his hat and he played the werewolf and she had laughed enormously.





The Cornells left for New Zealand with the promise Maira made , the promise families would meet again once later in the year. Iris had cried the whole night after Maira left . Elena Kachaturian and the Calathes had been invited to stay three weeks and Irene Davis and Pierce Mullaney would be joining them in a couple of days, and so three people brought sleeping bags with them. Elena Katchaturian and Irene Davis would sleep on the ground in the guest room whereas the Calathes owned the baldaquin bed for three weeks , Pierce Mullaney would sleep on the living room’s ground with his sleeping bag near the fireplace and Iris and Simon would sleep in their bedroom. The family had regular meals together in the kitchen where more chairs had been bought for the occasion and went to the restaurant every Saturday and sometimes to the cinema the same evening .

Elena Katchaturian born Symonian was quite pretty although very casual in the way she dressed and sometimes had a bit of a surly face, she was already forty-two and her much older husband passed away when she was thirty-five and her twenty- year old son Jason left home for the army and was fighting somewhere in the Mexico border. She had a dark skin and big chocolate freezy curls, a little dry , her hair remained shortish but very thick a slightly aquiline nose and eyes very black as well as her big eye lashes and furnished brows, her chin was a bit angular and her lips thin and long, she was quite short and bony and very often mistaken for a Spaniard or an Italian, she would sometimes smoke fags and cigars and yellow her teeth as well as she was sometimes addicted to Cointreau and Amaretto , she would wear these big rhinestones black pull -overs and old fashion denim jeans with the big brown belts her mum gave her and she sometimes failed in taking her legs’hair out properly and would colour her nails in bright red and listened to Marianne Faithful and Melanie Safka and knew how to sing à la Melanie Safka for she had this sort of rocky voice undertone and her pairs had just stopped mocking her as they had always done since she had turned seventeen .

.

Irene Davis born Cohen, fifty-two years old ,was really a beauty pageant, she was tall and luscious, with a perfectly shaped body and harmonious breast and extremely thin traits in both body and face- Her Irish mother half Catholic , Half Jewish gave her an extremely interesting face with exquisite almond eyes brown and piercing you with pride and intensity And she had perfect arched brows and chubby lips, her father half afro Carribean half Egyptian Jewish who had a Palestinian grand - father gave her the allure of queen Nefertity or a Greek Godess of Cyprus,everybody wanted to end in her bed.


She had attractive hips, attractive perfume, attractive waist and breast , mysterious voice, mysterious talks where fashion and design were both a big and small part of her .

The contrast was quite stunning when Iris sat near her with her milky skin and enormous round blue eyes with tinges of black, like a sea storm, her very thin look and small breast and slendered appearance , although she was not tall ,made her gracious. Her very long red hair was often braided by Irene Davis- she had red freckles on her pretty small nose, she had cheeks' dimples and dimples in the corner of her mouth and red brows she did not even cover, she smelled of patchouli and sometimes of green tea.


The time the whole family spent together was made of instants the whole family found memorable – Pierce Mullaney was one of the greatest storyteller they had ever encountered, an old Irish man bold and fat who seemed to know a lot about life, he appreciated Iris enormously and had told her she was an like an angel sent from heaven and it moved her a lot


Iris took time for herself where she sometimes remained alone in the guest room where she sat one of the Persian footstools and she would write letters to Maira Cornell.

" Dear Maria
I hope you are doing great in Wellington and the weather is hot as always and you have plenty of things to discover with the fauna and flora there, I admire your job and I think what you do is one of the greatest things ever , you take care of mother earth and well, you save us all And as you gather and take of the earth's flowers, I hope you take great care of yours!


Send my greetings to little Jane who is probably delighted and greatly enjoys her time in Wellington. How is she doing with the schoolwork ?, I sent her a few pens, pencil cases and illustrated coloured books I am sure she will appreciate.How is James doing? I remembered you told me you were pregnant with a second child the day we made love and so I consider there's a little of me in this little one! I miss you very much and I wish I was here to take care of you! Try to come back as quickly as possible so we can nest ! I truly love you,

Your Iris

PS : I might also be expecting a little carribean warrior, more brothers, more sisters!



As Iris was looking forward to hearing from Maira she appreciated watching the garden trees and talked to Simon about many things. She felt she was pregnant but she wanted to keep it secret as a heavenly gift and tell them about it only a few months before their wedding day. Well as a matter of fact , There were eleven months left before the wedding and Iris was three weeks pregnant. As came October she was a month and three weeks pregnant something which meant a child was to be born in June 2020, she was thirty-two years- old Simon Davis started noticing something as her fiancee who only weighed 104 pounds was gaining weight

“ Dear, are you stuffing yourself with crap food or what , you gained like 22 pounds !” asked Simon

“Sim, you don’t understand , well hmm, I’m pregnant !” replied Iris.

“You are, you are.. pregnant ! Oh my God that’s amazing , a-m-a-z-i-n-g, daddy Davis , call me daddy Davis !!” Simon all of a sudden was overloaded with joy and exaltation and ran into Iris’s arms kissing her all over.


Iris was gaining weight and saw her body changing with pregnancy, her hair grow even longer, and she left it a bit bit bushy, she got rid of her jeans and started borrowing clothing to Maira Cornell who was sending her girlfriend clothing regularly via the post, Maira sent Iris pictures of her pregnancy where she had to control her weight gain with a doctor not to become overly fat and she did it well and was still amazingly pretty and little Jane amazed by the idea of a baby brother or sister to look after and as she was waiting for the baby, she was showing signs of impatience.


Maira Cornell was born Maira Fredrikson, to father Elias Fredrikson and mother Esther Iravani who was Frederikson s direct cousin , Ester Iravani parents were indeed Oscar Fredrikson and her mother Atara Iravani. Maira's father was a hairstylist and her mother a teacher. Her parents worked in Boston and were too busy to come whatever happened, Maira had a brother named Jan who was seventeen year older than herself and was the one who always looked after her as a child- he overprotected her a little, since Maira’s mother who was a very busy person however still cared a lot about her daughter and took care of her a lot at any moment she had time, however when she did not have time she asked to Jan to shoulder her sister which he did extensively , he was truly a doting father. And Maira told Iris her brother came to visit her from time in Wellington. However Iris missed Maira a lot and if it had been possible she had kept her with her in Geneva for the whole year but naturally it was not.


In Wellington the weather was both humid and hot and Maira was working with crops and birds despite her pregnancy, she cared about her job too much, she enjoyed looking after a handful numbers of them, kiwi birds , kalapos and bellbirds and many others like seals, dolphins and hooker’s sea lions. As she was working both as a vet and a crop analyst, her schedule was complete .


James Cornell was working in a bank as a financial analyst and enjoyed coming back to their studio apartment near the harbour with the constant roaring of the sea and creatures, he was taking Jane to Wellington ‘s Northland primary school in Harbour view road every morning before going to work. The Cornells had planned to stay in Wellington for two years in a half before joining the Davis’ in Vancouver, in Elena Kachaturian’s summer house- And the Davis would marry in the Armenian apostolic church of Kirkland before joining the household.



Chapter 3


Little Jane Cornell was listening carefully to the teacher‘s instructions as the class was reading The Snow Goose by Paul Gallico and they had to draw parts of the book and Jane loved doing so and was very good at it. She would draw cautiously , very much focused on her work with small blond curls slightly shading her eyes without her noticing. She was happy every time the teacher came and checked what she was doing and the teacher was pleased every day to see her. The Northland primary school being quite a small one- The atmosphere in the school remained comfy and thus ideal for the small amount of children studying .When Jane played during the school break she would always play with a little boy named Peter Smith she liked a lot , they would play with tennis table balls, marbles and slinky toys- Sometimes they played board games and one was called “La nuit des Vampires” night of the vampires, a game she was given by a neighbour in Geneva.


The game’s rule was quite easy : Its main purpose was to follow the coloured board‘s maped direction given by the cards piled and a throw of the dice and accumulate small bloody red plastic bottles . She had just started learning the basics of arithmetics and enjoyed math to some extent even though it was not amongst her favourite subjects. At home the situation was agreeable for the Cornells nevertheless it remained a bit tense and this was due to Maira’s pregnancy which would bring joy and caring but also quite a bit of pressure and sometimes worries in the small temporary household: Was everything going to be alright ? Will Jan Fredrikson be able to give a hand months after the baby’s birth if Maira goes back to work. These were James Cornell’s preoccupations and of course he thought of the name he could give to that baby, they came to know they would welcome another little girl and had chosen to name her Timea.

Maira thought of Iris everyday, she remembered her beauty with her heart pounding every time . “Oh these red curls, oh these eyes, oh timeless beauty of ancient times , why am I not alone with you? I want to kiss you, I want to hold you, hold you hands, walk in the sun and you’ll be the sky with your blue eyes but you’re not here right now and I’ll have to learn about patience.Timea soon will be born and I already think of all the good time we will spend together , I will take her to the beach and we will enjoy the sun and the salty sea, and now I start thinking of laughters which are about to start, sun cream on my feet the pale sand and maybe the moonlight , white laces in the sand in the sun, smell of this sweet sun scream , flower hats and pebbles here in Wellington.”


Simon was at home in Switzerland and doing much of the household since his wife was pregnant he was both happy and stressed about this idea of the newborn who very soon was to come. He knew that if a son was to be born he would be called Garry,Garry Davis .


Iris had noticed how pregnancy had changed her body, she’d often dye her red hair redder. She wore purple and very large dresses which would stretch with elasticity and left her at ease as her belly was growing bigger.Her red hair was the longest she ever had and baby Garry would give her the hardest kicks and she would try to refrain her son’s frustration by choosing food he would like. She went on with mashed potatoes curry rice with pineapple slices with chocolate brownies.


The baby had some taste already in the womb, he would hate spinach and love curry for example and he adored the chocolate brownies.It had been raining for two days before Iris went straight to hospital to get ready for labour before she delivers.


The hospital’s room was welcoming, smelling of rose soap and cleansing disinfectant. The walls were nicely shaded and white with small purple lilies drawn on them.


As the wind blew in the afternoon,light would pass throughout the semi opened windows and played Chinese theater for hours on these white walls Iris would watch and she thought of the many things she would have painted herself ; deers and birds , she would have added archers or even a small caribbean island with light coloured fish.


She found the room pleasant and the staff composed of one oldish arabic nurse and two charming Australian -born paramedics adorable , she would talk with one of them Gilles was his name, she'd asked him why his name was french and he had told her that his mother Marie Loizeau was of French descent and his Father Thomas Martins was Australian. Gilles was very good looking. He had long hair below his shoulders, a thin and quite muscular body and two huge sea coloured eye, a charming and welcoming tone of voice ,he seemed to be a very good listener and Iris told of her occasional belly pain she was having or asked if he liked the room setting or she 'd asked him what he was doing in life ,he told her that beyond the fact of him being a hospital nurse, paramedics specialised in deliveries, he regularly taught philosophy ,history of religions and protestantism to college board students .They discussed briefly of Kikergaard's puzzling philosophy of renouncement as well what truly is rationalism or irrationalism, Descartes came into the matter and fears of Oswald Spengler.

The Arabic nurse‘s name was Selma and she was of Algerian descent, she was born in Oran and fell in love with Auguste Cain and the sculpted lions. It was a very long story to her. She had married a man with the almost same name,of course he was not the same man, his full name was Augusto Cain Korsia and she gave birth to a little girl she had named Nina Korsia, her beloved daughter was of exquisite beauty. She looked herself like a lioness Selma would say , slim and harmonious, a graceful bird with wide blue eyes , porcelain skin and natural blond curls; she had the elegance of an ancient Greek statue and would ignate sexual desire in many of her friends, especially Russians . Nina had asked her mother of possible Russian background and Selma told her she had had a Jewish grandmother born in Kiev whose name was Margarita Rotstejn, but she was already very old by the time Nina was born, Nina never knew Rotsejn.


“Did Nina ever go to Oran with you ?” asked Iris.

Such places seem dream-like to me , not real places, a fantasy of beauty! “ she added.

“Oh yes she did ! And we played near the bronze lions and went to carousels, and she was dressed so fine and I read her of Anderson’s fary tales and Tolstoy.!” She 's thirty-two, she studied Russian literature, but she’s been gripped by this older woman Svetlana and she never married”


Iris felt her lower belly contracted and it hurt her twice as much than the pain she had during her periods. In addition to that , her weight and belly pressure tired her, but she was ready to make an effort, her back hurt a little but the nurses told her it was normal . She knew perfectly how to control her breathing and it helped her and she would ask herself “ is my child ready to pay me a visit or he is too busy emptying the biscuit box I gave him?”


”Simon Davis had planned to come soon and he discreetly arrived at this very moment

“Hello darling, Hello Mr Martins, Hello Mrs Korsia, I am so excited of Garry’s visit to the world which apparently started”! Simon said

“Hello Mr Davis, replied Gilles Martins yes your wife is starting labour and she is on the first stage, we are now on on the second of June 2020 and it is 2 pm , by tomorrow morning your child should be born , we have an extra bed for you to stay in the hall if you wish too and the cafeteria remains opened up to 11 in the evening , you can too have a shower in our restroom”


Simon held Iris' hand and made funny jokes on how Garry would look like,

“Maybe he’ll have the red-haired gene, little red-haired Garry” said Simon

“ I’m pretty sure he’ll look jet black honey “ replied Iris

All the stages of labour and delivery went well, Iris had an impeccable self control and was perfect in the way she made efforts and intense body pain was soon to be forgotten as Garry was born.


“Here is your child , welcome to the world Garry” said Mr Martins as he helped deliver and Mrs Korsia cut Garry’s umbilical cord and put him on Iris’ breast .

Iris and Simon were crying out of happiness and release ,

“Welcome little one of ours, we missed you for too long “ Said Simon to his 8.9 pounds chubby child


“What a beautiful boy you are” They said to him

Garry was already a very beautiful child, Iris was right . He had a mock of jet black hair and darkish brows and a caramel complexion like those of Ethiopian boys, with pretty chubby lips and he had big green eyes so vivid , this is why he already had such a straightforward gaze, a piercing look.


Simon held Iris' hand and made funny jokes on how Garry would look like,


“Maybe he’ll have the red-haired gene little red-haired Garry” said Simon

“ I’m pretty sure he’ll look jet black honey “ replied Iris

All the stages of labour and delivery went well, Iris had an impeccable self control and was perfect in the way she made efforts and intense body pain was soon to be forgotten as Garry was born.


“Here is your child , welcome to the world Garry” said Mr Martins as he helped deliver and Mrs Korsia cut Garry’s umbilical cord and put him on Iris’ breast .

Iris and Simon were crying out of happiness and release ,

“Welcome little one of ours, we missed you for too long “ Said Simon to his 8.9 pounds chubby child

“What a beautiful boy you are” They said to him


Garry was already a very beautiful child, Iris was right . He had mock jet black hair and darkish brows and a caramel complexion like those of Ethiopian boys, with pretty chubby lips and he had big green eyes so vivid , this is why he already had such a straightforward gaze, a piercing look.


Both his parents had noticed Garry Davis had his very own personality as he was growing up he was very intelligent , by nine months he started walking and when he turned a year old he started talking , he resembled very much his father and had caught something of the Irish spirit that perspired out of his soul and had taken enormously from his mother side too as he had something extremely solemn. the little boy had long jet black hair and would keep it long , a very sensitive child he was, he was also opinionated and revolted sometimes, however he remained extremely social and sweet prone to melancholy, Iris and Simon called him the tempest boy and really it was him and he could not have been otherwise.


When Garry turned 3 , his sister Anastacia was born, Anastacia looked different , very much like Irene Davis, although she had her brother’s eye colour, she was a mermaid to him, or a princess, Garry was fond of his sister from the start.

As they had planned Iris and Simon had to get married in Kirkland and join the Cornells’ in Elena kachaturian’s summer house where the whole household : Elena Katchaturian, The Calathes, Pierce Mullaney and The Cornells would live together.