WAR #3
Simo could easily see that the loss of Xan’s father was still a very sensitive subject for him.
He felt bad for the guy, and that surprised him.
“Your father… I can’t believe I am going to tell you this…
” Simo sighed and gave Xan a little smile, “…was my hero growing up, and even still, to this day.” He saw the shock on Xan’s face and nodded.
“Oh… I don’t know what to say. I knew my father as a different man than you and Wiki describe… I wish I knew him better.”
Simo felt the sadness emanating from this man, Xander, whom at one time he wanted to hate.
But now, grudgingly, Simo had respect for.
“It must be hard for you… but I think he wanted a better life for you. We hide things away from people we love…” Simo stopped cold.
Seeing Jessie’s smile in his mind. Things of late began to hit home and hard.
“Are you ok?” Xander quickly replied, concerned.
“Ha…” Simo began to play it off, then stopped. What next came out of his mouth, on its own accord, shocked him to his core. “I was forced to kill a woman on a mission for the US government… I—I can still see it. Oh, I’m sorry…”
“No, it’s ok. What happened?”
Xan’s voice was more than sincere. Simo took a moment, then told him all he could. He watched Xan carefully; it seemed like he really did care as he heard his story.
Xander set his hand briefly on Simo’s thick shoulder. “It must have been horrible… I wish I could say something to help you… but from what you described, you had no choice… that woman made her choice. Simo, I can’t help but say it: she was already dead when she strapped that bomb onto herself.”
Simo stared at Xander for several long moments, then he spoke. “I… never considered that. Thank you.”
“Of course.”
Simo paused watching Xander. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure.”
“Why did you try to fight your love for Halo?” Simo felt bad suddenly, because his question seemed to hurt Xan. “I…”
“No, Simo. It’s ok.” Xander sighed. “Here is my secret story…. something that only Halo and Evie know… Halo saved my life back on that film set where we first met so long ago.”
“What? What did she do?”
“Backstory… I caught Evie. It wasn’t what you think, but it was enough to kill me inside.
She blamed me for everything, then took Athena and left.
I… I didn’t want to live anymore. I fell into a depression…
I knew I should have gotten help, but the easy way out…
” Xander shrugged his shoulders. “…was easier. I was texting Athena to say ‘goodbye’ on Halo’s film set. I was going to catch a bus…”
Simo felt Xander’s hurt as if it were his own. He interrupted, “You were leaving?”
Xander smiled. “No, Simo. I was going to leave the set and walk in front of a bus… I was timing them.”
“What happened?”
“Halo happened. She was watching me the whole time. Our eyes met, and it felt like I was standing right in front of her. It was funny, in hindsight, as it looked like she was surrounded in a beautiful golden halo. Her, ok, this is going to sound silly…”
“No, keep going,” Simo urged.
“Ok… it’s like her light filled up all the cracks and missing pieces in my heart. But there was no way I could speak to her as she came up to me… I realized I had to be there for Athena and Evie… I turned and walked away from her.”
Simo nodded and patted Xander’s shoulder. “This was at the park in Portland, nea?”
“Oh… yes. How?”
“Halo had us stop there. She was very lost without you. She told us of when she saw you there…”
“Oh, I didn’t know.”
“Xan, I am not supposed to discuss this... especially to Halo.” He waited for Xander’s go-ahead, and he nodded he understood. “I saw Halo hurt a long time ago… her first love. It was nothing like when she thought she lost you. I want you to know this.”
“Thank you, Simo. So, I guess to answer your question, Halo is my life. Of all people, Evie made me admit it. If I get a year or a hundred with Halo… I will take anything I can get to be with her. Marooned on the island, I tried to stay away from her, too. Life without her was a hell on earth… I am lucky she still wanted me.”
Simo stared at Xander. “Hell?” Simo asked.
“Oh yeah. A living hell.” Xander cocked his head at Simo. “Uh… I see how Jessie looks at you… it’s very different than Eleni does.”
Simo closed his eyes, raised his eyebrows, and nodded. “Yes. I understand this hell you speak of.”
“You think your job is too dangerous for a relationship…”
Simo was caught off guard. “Who told you?”
Xander shook his head and pursed his lips.
“No one. I get it. I couldn't go after Joel if Halo had been there telling me not to. I had to keep her away… push her as far away as I could to get done what needed to be done. Like I said, it was pure hell. But she and Athena are safe now… even if it had cost me my life. I had to do the right thing…”
Simo suddenly had a deeper respect for this man. He realized what Theo and the others saw in this guy. “I saved Jessie’s life. Then… right afterward, she saved mine. We shared a bullet over it all…”
“Oh, wow…” Xander gasped.
Simo gave Xander the short version of that incident and how he came to be here. It left Xander speechless. “Xan, I have to keep Jessie away…”
“Simo, I am so sorry. Man to man? If you love her… life is too short. I say be with her as much as you can, when you can. Sorry to know you are living in hell. But it’s a hell of your own making… I know what I’m talking about.”
Simo didn’t reply to Xander’s comment. Instead, he segued back to something Xan had said. “That ‘right thing’ has a name, a word in Greek: philotimo. Do you know this word?” Xander stared off as if he were transported to another time and place. Simo waited and watched. Eventually, Xan nodded.
“I remember my father saying that word. He told me I would understand that word one day if I felt it in my bones… I forgot all about that until just now.”
“It is what you have been doing, but were torn between two ‘right’ things, nea?”
“Oh God… yes!” Xander said, still staring off. He turned to Simo and stuck out his hand.
Simo immediately gripped his hand and shook it firmly. “Thank you, Simo. I… I get it now, thank you.”
“You are welcome… my friend.”
Xander smiled. “Yes, I like that.”
“I’m still going to call you Hero Boy,” Simo laughed.
“Sounds good, Gigas!”
Simo guffawed. “I better get you home. Halo is there now.” Simo pointed to the clock. “I should explain myself to her, but I am afraid she is going to kill me…” Simo pointed at Xander’s banged-up head.
Xander laughed. “Well… let me talk to her first, then.”
Simo nodded in agreement and started the car. “Hey, how come I never hear you say ‘fuck’? I was trying so hard to piss you off.” Simo laughed.
“Oh… well, I only save it for special occasions!”
For some odd reason, they both began to laugh hysterically as Simo drove Xander home.
Xander slowly walked into the kitchen, and Halo gasped in shock at his appearance. “Xander!” she yelped. “Oh my God! What—what happened? Were you in an accident?”
He dropped his bag and began chewing on his laughter as Halo rushed up and held him. She ran her fingers all over his bumps and cuts. He winced as she found the goose egg on his head.
“Xander! Why are you laughing like that? What the hell happened?”
“Got into a fight with Simo…”
“What the hell?” She gasped. “I’m going to call Ari right…”
“No, it’s fine!” He laughed.
“How can you say it’s fine? He beat you up!”
Xander chuckled. “You should see him…”
Her eyes opened wide, and she stared at him with her mouth open. “What?”
Xander turned to the kitchen doorway. “Simo, I think it’s safe for you to come in now.”
Halo looked up in shock. Simo was smiling, but looked like he, too, was just as beat up.
“I came to say sorry. I took things…”
“We,” Xander corrected. “We.”
Simo chuckled. “We took things a bit too far today.”
Halo was dumbfounded and at a loss for what to say or do. She kept glancing back and forth from Simo to Xander. “So—so everything is okay with you two?”
Xander nodded, chuckling. “I knew payback was going to be a bitch.”
“Ha!” Simo guffawed. “Best fight in a long time… Hero Boy!”
“Just don’t forget that, Gigas!” Xander laughed in return.
Simo laughed, then looked at Halo, who was shocked watching both of them. “As you can tell, your man did very good today. You should be proud of him. I didn’t go easy on him… I might even call it a draw.” Simo laughed and pointed his finger at Xander. “Just don’t go bragging about it.”
Xander laughed and held up his hands. “Not me!”
“OK, I am going to go soak in a hot tub for a long time. Tomorrow we will work on small arms only, nea?”
Xander nodded rapidly. “Thank God!”
“Halo, again I am sorry.”
“Uh… okay?” she mumbled quietly.
They watched as the big man chuckled all the way out of the kitchen.
“Xander? What happened?”
Just then, Athena came into the room. “Hey, was Simo just here? Oh my God, Dad! You okay?”
Halo and Xander laughed together, then Halo pointed at Xander. “You tell her.”
“Uh, I got into a fight with Simo.”
“AND YOU ARE STILL ALIVE?” She gasped in shock.
Halo's eyes sparkled. “Athena, you missed how bad Simo looked…”
Xander smiled as Athena’s mouth nearly hit the floor. “OK, okay, let me explain…”