Deep Waters

flutter around her cheeks.
    She carried a bottle of chilled sauvignon blanc. Feminine mischief sparkled in her eyes. Elias knew that she was feeling very much in control of the situation. What really worried him was that he was half afraid she might be right. He drew a deep breath and summoned his resolve.
    "I didn't know if white wine would work with whatever's on the menu tonight," she said as she handed him the bottle.
    "This is a good night for sauvignon blanc." He took the wine and opened the door wide to usher her in side. "Come in."
    "Thanks." She glanced down and smiled when she saw his bare feet. Without a word she stepped out of her sandals, placed them neatly beside the door, and walked into the small front room and glanced around curiously. "What did Leighton Pitt want this after noon?"
    "He admired my sense of humor among other things." Elias inhaled the scent of her as she brushed past him. The light skirt of her gauzy dress snagged briefly on his jeans. It was going to be a very long night.
    "Free advice," Charity murmured. "Don't believe everything a salesman tells you."
    "I'll remember that."
    Crazy Otis, ensconced on top of his cage, looked up from the wooden toy he was busily gnawing. He eyed Charity with a hard stare and then muttered a churlish greeting.
    "It's easy to see why some scientists think birds are related to dinosaurs," Charity remarked. "No manners at all."
    Elias put the wine on the counter. "Otis said hello, didn't he?"
    "Who knows what he said? All Crazy Otis does is mutter and cackle." Charity strolled over to the cage and surveyed Otis at close range. "But I have to admit that he's settled in quite nicely with you. I'm glad you two have hit it off. I was a tad worried about him for a while."
    "If you hadn't taken him in, he probably would have gone under completely."
    "I didn't really know what to do for a depressed parrot. I called a vet in Seattle, but he wasn't too helpful. So I just sort of followed my instincts."
    Otis tilted his head to eye her more closely. "Heh-heh-heh."
    Charity made a face. "Not that you've ever shown so much as an ounce of gratitude, Otis."
    "He's just too proud to admit he needed you," Elias said.
    "Yeah, right. You know, Hayden once told me that Otis could talk, but I've never heard him do anything except chuckle and hiss and mutter unintelligibly."
    Elias opened a drawer to find a corkscrew. "I'm sure Otis will talk if he ever has anything to say."
    "I won't hold my breath." Charity turned away from Otis to examine the spare room. "I see your furniture hasn't arrived yet. You should have said something. I could loan you a couple of chairs and a table. I brought all my stuff from Seattle."
    "I appreciate the offer, but I don't need any more furniture."
    That wasn't strictly true, he thought as he went to work with the corkscrew. A slightly larger bed would have been nice. Making love to Charity on the narrow futon would be a challenge. Of course, he wasn't going to have to worry about it tonight. Control was every thing in Tal Kek Chara.
    "I suppose this, uh, minimalist style goes with the obscure water philosophy."
    "Tal Kek Chara. Yes."
    "Tal Kek Chara. Is that what you call it?"
    "Loosely translated, it means the Way of Water. The literal translation is a lot more complicated." Elias suddenly realized that now that Hayden was dead, he was probably the only person left in the states who knew the exact translation of the ancient words. It was an eerie, lonely feeling.
    "I see." Charity leaned down to touch the heavy glass bowl half-filled with water that sat on the low table. "This is a nice piece. Very nice."
    Elias looked across the room to where she stood gazing down into the bowl. Something twisted inside him. "I gave it to Hayden a few years ago."
    "He obviously treasured it." She ran her fingertip meditatively along the rim of the thick glass. "It's the only decorative item in the room."
    Elias thought about that. "I guess he must have liked it." The tightness inside him relaxed. She was right. Hayden must have valued the bowl very highly to have kept it here in this otherwise spartan room.
    Charity wandered across the small space to the kitchen area. "We were discussing Leighton. Did he compliment you on your humor in order to try to sell you some real estate today?"
    "No. He informed me that he's a player."
    "A player?"
    "A mover-and-shaker. Wheeler-dealer. Big man here in town. A guy in the know."
    "Hmm. Any particular reason why he would