ArtBistro

muffled voice, "it's me". He doesn't recognize the voice. Who could it be at this hour? He stares at the door, racking his brain.

His twelve dwarf friends break out the absinthe and turn up the disco music. All of the sudden *CRAAAASSHHH*. His antique vase shattered to pieces by his wild party guests.

"Sweet baby Jesus!" He hollers....

Sinking back in sofa, letting it suck him in as he, half minded in mental haze of disillusion watched the dwarfling spectacles meander around and glancing over at the kids playing in the oils like a sandbox of glue and pigmented sand. "Damn  30 already."  he thought  taking in the spectacle of the 'Wizard from Oz' from hell.   Wondering  what  brought him to this point  in  life, just simply wondering about all the "What if?" and still trying to figure out what the angel of a woman whispered in his ear meant. He liked the sound of it, but he was hopeful.

In a sly grin, "Georg, think she stir up a Polish dish, maybe some pierogi and ham and cabbage?" he asked.

"Steven!' The dwarf man scolded, his puggy little face wrinkling like a sour prune. "That's no way to treat her, especially when she's your wife!"

"Wife!" Steven choked, "Georg, what in blue blazes are talking about! Married. Man I'm a devout bachelor! Married, oh you must be yanking my chain!"

Hesitantly he looked down at his left hand, and let out a sigh of relief.  "No ring." He huffed,

Tapping the other hand the dwarf grinned, "Forgot about the trip did you?"

Stretching his gaze across the sea of his lap to his right hand, the ring finger crowned with a circlet of gold. "What are you talking about Georg?"

"We're in Europe, remember the band's on a cruise. We  traveled here about a week ago, and was suppose to have a gig, but you knocked your head at a party. You were kind of strange after that." Georg admitted, "But you got married about a week ago."

"A week ago! Georg, this makes no sense!" Steven stammered looking across a Phillipa, who seemed lost in her swooning emotions.  "Come on you you're messing with me, isn't he?" He pleaded to her, but as tears swelled up in unspoken sorrows, he knew Georg wasn't.

Sitting down on stool, and pouring himself a Jack and water. "Okay Georg, why don't I remember any of this?"

"You've been touch and go, lately, but when we went the Virgin Isles, you met Philipa at the concert and you two went off, then her father found you and her, less than clothed. You sly dog you." Georg nudged, "Well her father being who he was, insisted on a contract."

"Marriage." Steven moaned, taking a deep drink and then pouring a straight shot and downing it.  "So I've been back a week, and on my 30th birthday, finally wake up to this nightmare." Taking another deep drink, and looking at the bottle considering to take it straight from the bottle. "Thought you said she was a Virgin."

"She was." Georg grinned. "But look on the bright side, you got one beautiful lady, till death you part."

Summing up Phillipa . She was beautiful, and elegant, and then he wondered out loud. "She does speak english or will I have to learn Greek?" he have wondered. He was horrible at second language. 'Idoit' and 'Stupid' he spoke well enough with his actions, but he tried to learn French, cause it was the language of Romance, only grew to hate it more and more.

"Yes, Steven I do speak English." Phillipa answered, her words perfumed with her Greek accent. "My Father was very gracious, and left you with my dowry, as much as he was against it. But my father, he is a man of tradition and a business man."

"What type of business is into?" Steven asked. Since it was his Father-in-law, he would like to know, he guess.

"Oh family business, honest enough." She said, as a thin smile wicked with rose petal lips. There was something sweet, yet venomous in her innocence.

"What the hell did I get myself into this time?" Steven wondered. Things like this always seemed to become progressively worse in scenerio.

For a minute he considered that things could be worse, that is until glimpses of last nights precursor slide-showed through his brain. Ughh! Sure his friends were here and all, the little ones anyway, but none of these guys and gals would understand. Especially with the marriage, the lack of perogi and now that the whiskey's all gone. He needed a guy who could help, whom he could tell. Someone with some connections that could get him out of this mess without getting anyone else involved.

Our guy Stephen turned his head to look in the sultry eyes of his newly defined little lady, "What's your dad's name?"

"Zorba," she says sleepily.

... that a sliver of morning sun that had navigated through the goodwill drapes of the bathroom window was illuminating the eyes of a creature in the corner. A quick skip of his heartbeat was immediately returned to pace as the creature transformed from shadow-lurking menace to the whimpering and submissive factions of an underfed labrador. The dog belonged to a local farmer and was often seen coursing through the backyard en route to the demise of a pheasant or over-confident squirrel. "Kirby", he'd heard the farmer yelling across fence and field.

"Come here Kirby," our guy called to the pooch, still confused and disoriented by the events of the last twenty-four hours and the piercing morning light. The dog immersed from shadow and presented new details and new questions to consider. His nose and mouth, texture painted with a gooey red substance, likely blood, and the green stripe of on the side of his coat illuminated the need for the late-night attained skills of a CSI re-run watcher. Steve pulled back his outstretched petting hand, stood tall and sighed, then calmly proclaimed the inevitable question, "Where the fuck have you been?"

...the unnerving voice of his mother. She clobbled up the loose-stones of the sidewalk with another goddamned dozen ear of corn, a wrinkled leathery purse full of used tissue and hard candy and a plastic grocery bag full of the amenities of a decent breakfast with a Capri 100 candling the side of her face. She was likely "swinging by" to cook her birthday boy up a skillet, but that very skillet was likely saturated and stained with the innards of some dwarf by now. Steve hears her approaching the door and scans the kitchen for any tell-tale signs of debauchery and madness. "Damn, I have an ant problem." He notices to himself.

"Hi, honey!" she swoons graspily through the wretched screen door.

"Hello." Phillipa greeted, unhindered by her natural state, as she glided over to Steven and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Good morning dear, whose our guess this morning?"

"Phillipa," He said, swallowing hard, "This is my Mum, Mrs. Tallus."

Phillipa's eyes widened as she rushed his  mother , giving a big hug, kissing on her cheeks, "It's an honor." She said, recomposing herself, "Your son is a wonderful man, and I am honored to have you as my Mother-in-law."  Looking down realizing her natural state.  "Perhaps I should get dressed. Allow me to make you and my husband breakfast. Please I must insist."

Mrs. Tallus nodding her head with a blank expression. "That will be fine..." She said searching for the mysterious woman's name.

"Oh forgive me. I am Phillipa Cyerus, now Phillipa Tallus. But I should get dressed." She said, now more shy.

"Well," Steven's mother said, catching her breath and regaining her composture as she watched Phillipa elegantly exit, "She's pleasant on the eyes."

"And a good cook." Steven admitted.

"Better than my cooking?" She chuckled.  "Well never been much of a cook. But that name Cyerus, it sounds familair, think it was in the news papers a couple of weeks ago. Believe something about Zorba Cyerus... think he was being investigated for mob activities of some sort or another.  With your luck, you would marry into the mob, without knowing it."  She laughed, but she seems a pleasant enough of a girl. and she's beautiful. But I'm upset with you Steven Alexander, you could have invited your own mother to the wedding. Sheessh." Looking around the kitchen. "Do happen to have tea?" She asked pleasantly.

"Please Mum." Steven choked, "You think I have tea around the house."  he said as his heart dropped into his gut. "Married into the mob. Shite!" He screamed inside his head.

"Well now that you have a wife, that will hopefully change. I'm proud of you. She's beautiful." Mrs Tallus said, her face warm with her own joy. "Now all we need is little ones. Imagine me a grandma ma. Sure they have some cute Greek name for a Gramma."

"Mum!" Steven gasped as his thoughts strangled the breath out him.

Galatea looks angry..... "Angelos didn't come home from your party last night." Her deep voice growled. "He isn't shacked up here with some whore is he?"

"Angelos, that was it". Suddenly Steve remembered the dead dwarfs name.... "Damn, what  should I tell her?" his thoughts raced.

"Sorry lady, my dog ate your husband, and now my mom and greek mobster wife are cooking what is left of  him into a stew!".... No that won't work." He thought....

"He was pretty drunk when he left.... But he was alone."  He tells her, while his eyes stay firmly focused on the porch.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!!" Galatea boomed.

"You can't even look me in the eye!"

"Steven!" His mother's voice calls from the kitchen.

I don't think you left enough meat here for this dwarf stew!"

Galatea's eyes widened.....

Steven shook his head, rubbing his throbbing temples, 'Christ! This is a nightmare." as he watched the Kirby and Galatea retreat. But something unsettling pricked his gut as the hound glanced back at licking his chops hungrily as he nudged closer to the dwarf lady, then it suddenly occurred to him, "Hey that's my dog!" or was it, he half wondered. He couldn't even remember the trip or getting married, perhaps he picked up this devil of a stray along the way. It was possible, hell anything was possible.

He spun around and shut the door, behind him as he beaded for the kitchen, hoping that his mother was joking about the Dwarf stew. She had too be yanking his chain, after all, dwarves where pretty stalky folk. There should have been plenty of meat on him, especially for a stew.

Peeking in around the corner he watched his Mother and his beautiful wife cooking away, and then glanced back into the living room. He  let out a sigh of half relief Angelo still laid whole in his pool of now dry blood.   "It's gonna take a helluva lot to clean up this mess."  He thought, "But what to do about Angelo, and Kirby who seemed to have his own wolf-like intelligence."  He tried to reason out in his thoughts.

He watched as Phillipa work the knife like a magician and herbs and seductive aroamas filled the air, drawing him into the kitchen. "Phillipa that smells wonderful." He cheered, forgetting about the dead dwarf for a moment. "But after breakfast we should really consider what to do about Angelo."

"Who?" Phillipa asked,

"The dead dwarf in the living room." He answered

Giving him an angel smile she walked over to him pressing herself against him as she gave him a loving kiss,  "Don't  worry love, I'll take care of everything. Promise. Let me call Papa, he's got a head for these things."

The aroama of her perfume, food and beauty filled his senses. He just nodded,as he watched her glide over to the phone like a princess swan and dialed out.

"Hello Papa." She greeted warmly and then went into a flurry of Greek. Steven listened intently, even though he couldn't understand a word she said. He just loved to listen. It was a beautiful language, but when Phillipa sang those mysterious words, it was like an angellic chorus. 

Phillipa nodded and then nodded again. "Thank you Papa."  and then hung up the phone, and drifted over back to him. "Papa will take care of everything. He always does. He's sending Nicholas and few of his friends here. He'll be here in about a few hours. Oh my goodness, I have make more food. Nicky and the boys, they eat like farmers." Turning to Mrs. Tallus in sudden desperation. "Mrs. Tallus, could we go to the store, I have to get more food. Nicky and the boys, they do like  to eat."

"Of course dear, but just call me Mom or Gloria which ever you would prefer. Okay?" In blushing grin, "But I would love it if you would call me Mom."

"Yes Mama." Phillipa smiled back, "You're an angel,"

Gloria patting her hand. "No dear, you are my angel. Never thought i would see this day. But let's hurry, Maybe you can teach me some Greek dishes."

"Sure!" Phillipa cheered giddily as she and Gloria skipped out the door.