The Symbolon Read Online Free PDF

The day he thought would never happen! She had survived the curse and had committed to their life together. The glow in his eyes was so beautiful, that she couldn’t look at that picture without feeling the extraordinary depths of his love.
    Still curled in Alex’s arms, they heard Lars tap his horn from up the hill by the main house—they were leaving! She smiled excitedly and went to the door. As she was about to step out, he stopped her.
    “Your jacket?” he reminded her gently, holding it out for her to slide into. As she did, he wrapped his arms around her, happily holding her for a few moments.
    The horn honked again. The family had taken to this system of announcing their impending arrival due to Valeria’s inability to receive their non-verbal communications. She grabbed her purse and bounded out the door.
    There was two inches of fresh snow on the ground that had already been cleared from the steps and the area in front of the cottage. Valeria took in the look of her beloved home with the fresh snow piled heavily on the evergreens, causing the deciduous trees to almost disappear, except for their thick trunks. The sky was a brilliant winter blue and the temperature a crisp thirty degrees.
    Homer, the ancient caretaker of the property, stood nearby shoveling snow off the main drive way. Alex stepped outside, with a book in his hand.
    “Val, I think I’ll bring The Odyssey , what do you want?”
    She wondered why she hadn’t considered something of this magnitude earlier. They could be gone for weeks, or more…she hoped. “Uh, Pride and Prejudice— oh, and maybe Shakespeare’s Sonnets! ” That would keep her occupied.
    Alex nodded and glanced at the old man shoveling the walk . “Grazie, Homer.”
    Although she had heard his name numerous times, hearing it now in conjunction with the poet, Homer, and The Odyssey , and then noticing the old man’s ancient movement, suddenly leant itself to a new idea. Noticing her unspoken question, Alex mouthed, What?
    She mouthed back to him, Homer? As Homer slowly lifted another scoop of snow, Valeria wondered how he had possibly cleared the walk so quickly.
    Finding her question quite hysterical, Alex let out a beautiful, rollicking laugh, a sure sign that the old man wasn’t “ the ” Homer! Immediately, the caretaker turned back around and Alex bit his lip to stop his snickering.
    Homer di dn’t seem to notice and uttered a low, guttural, “Prego.”
    Lars’ classic black Mercedes pulled up in front of them and the windows rolled down to reveal Lars, Ava, Camille, and Caleb.
    “I’ll be right back ,” Alex said as he returned to the house.
    Valeria walked toward Lars’ car. She smiled at Camille, who had her straight black hair pulled into a shiny ponytail. She was wearing a black sweater dress that set off the dark mahogany of her skin and her brilliant blue, Kewpie doll eyes.
    “Hey! We’ll see you there tomorrow!” Camille yelled excitedly . Then she teased, “And don’t worry about a thing! It causes wrinkles!”
    Seeing only four members of the family in the car, Valeria asked, “Where are the rest?”
    Lars responded, “Tav and Daphne are flying down tomorrow.”
    Ava cut in, leaning an athletic arm out the car door. “Couldn’t stand the idea of listening to them arguing all the way there!” Valeria laughed.
    The front door reopened as Alex came back out wearing his down vest and sunglasses, while carrying two suitcases in one hand, a camera bag hooked around his neck, and two bottles of water in his other hand. Valeria knew she should have offered to help him—although she knew he would never have accepted it!
    “Where’s Mani? Is he flying with Daphne and Tav?” Valeria asked.
    She noticed Alex’s slight flinch. “Uh, sorry love, Mani won’t be there.”
    Stunned and disappointed that Alex’s closest friend wouldn’t be there for the wedding, she asked incredulously, “Mani isn’t coming?”
    “Caleb’s filling the bill as