and brandy tray, setting it in front of Helen and then departing. Helen took one whiff of the strong brew and almost passed out. Standing up suddenly, she took several steps away, then turned to the guests who were all staring curiously. “I’m sorry,” Helen started to say, “but Marie forgot something. I’ll be right back. Dimitri, would you pour?” she asked, then left without waiting for his response.
She made it all the way to the hallway between the kitchen and the living room before her mind blanked out on her. She fell to the ground in a dead faint, unaware of anything or anyone.
Dimitri watched Helen leave, his mind racing to figure out what was going on. Helen looked like she’d just seen a ghost and no one was believing her story about Marie forgetting something.
He walked over to the coffee tray and stared down at the various pots. A gentle, aging hand settled on his sleeve, halting him from the mundane task of pouring coffee for his guests. “Dimitri, how about if I pour and you go see what’s happened to Helen?” Danielle Oporous suggested. “She didn’t look well.”
Dimitri smiled gratefully at the elderly woman, then disappeared in the direction Helen had taken.
When he stepped into the hallway, he swore violently under his breath when he saw Helen’s body laying on the hard, marble floor. “Call an ambulance,” he yelled toward the kitchen. He was only slightly aware of Marie stepping into the hallway, then just as quickly disappearing, hopefully to call for an ambulance. Dimitri picked up Helen’s hand and felt for a pulse. When he found it, he moved his hands quickly down her body, searching for injuries. His mind started to panic when he found no visible signs of a problem. Lifting her into his arms, he carried her into his office, the closest room to her present position, and lowered her gently down onto a leather sofa. He then felt her forehead and almost fainted with relief himself when he saw her eyes flicker.
Marie came in with the wireless phone to her ear, speaking quickly in Greek. “Tell them to hurry,” he snapped, holding Helen’s shoulder with one hand when she tried to sit up and touching her forehead with the other, trying to determine if she was sick.
“Just stay where you are. An ambulance is on the way,” he said quickly, soothingly. “Where do you hurt?” he asked gently.
“Hurt?” Helen asked, confused by all the commotion. “I’m fine. Why am I lying on the sofa?”
“You were lying in the hallway just a moment ago.”
“Why?”
Dimitri almost laughed at the ridiculous question. “That’s exactly what I’d like to know,” he said.
Helen shook her head, then stopped when the dizziness returned. “I’m fine. I’m just tense,” she said. “The coffee makes me feel sick.”
Marie’s eyes watched her closely and she stopped talking into the phone. When a smile slowly formed over her face, she laughed out loud and spoke rapidly into the phone again. Helen had no idea what she said, her Greek still not good enough to even converse stiltingly.
“What’s so funny?” Helen asked, still trying to sit up and push Dimitri’s hand away at the same time.
Marie spoke to Dimitri and walked away, chuckling in what Helen could only describe as gleeful. “What did she say?” Helen asked, finally able to sit up and noticed that his expression was not gleeful, but outright stunned.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, forgetting instantly that she was angry with him. He was worried and it showed all over his face. “Maybe you should sit down,” she said, standing up and pulling him over to the sofa. She pushed at his shoulders until he was now sitting. Bending down, she looked into his eyes and felt his forehead. “Dimitri, are you okay?” she asked, almost terrified of anything happening to him.
Dimitri’s eyes slowly started to refocus again and he looked at her, his eyes taking it all in as slowly, he started to smile.
Helen shook her head and tsked. “Dimitri, if you aren’t sick then I’m not sure what’s going on. Why are you looking at me so strangely?”
He still just sat there and watched her and eventually, Helen huffed away. “If you’re going to simply stare at me, then I’m going to go see about our guests. I assume they are still having coffee?” she asked, not bothering to turn back to face him.
All the air in Helen’s lungs left her when she was suddenly caught up in Dimitri’s