43.

   “She is my dear friend. I love her very much.”, whispered Raymond as he searched the sky. “In a balloon of banker skins, she sails the clouds.”
    “Banker skins?”, exclaimed Pat. “I like her already.”
    “I never thought of using the bodies.”, Nanette wondered in admiration. “Think of all the possibilities: coats, purses, hats.”
    “Shoes.”, Pat continued. “And belts.”
    “You’re wandering into dangerous territory.”, warned Raymond.
    “Human skins!”, reassured Nanette. “We’re talking about human skins.”
    “Human skins?”, I asked incredulously.
    “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Oliver but bankers are human.”, sighed Pat, patting my arm.”
    “In that case, why not lamp shades?”, I suggested angrily.
    “Then again there could be an argument made that bankers aren’t human or not entirely so.”, Pat responded cautiously looking at me with ear and eyebrow raised.
    Nanette changed the subject. “So, you blow this big horn and she comes running?” 

    “If we’re lucky.” , answered Raymond. “We’ve been through a lot together. We’ve overthrown tyrants. We’ve consoled the dying and buried the dead. She’s one of us.”

  

  44.
   ‘Consoled the dying and buried the dead?’, I thought. Things were getting a bit heady. I bit my tongue. You can’t mock someone who could turn around and eat you alive. I hope she wasn’t some old hag or worse, another lizard.

   It wasn't long before an amazing apparition broke through the clouds, a great balloon of flayed skins stitched together. Smug, arrogant faces stretched across its surface. Their eyes were closed now, humbled by the eternity of their destiny. A dark figure leaned out of the basket and waived to us.
   Raymond continued. “She has seen too much tragedy but she was raised with an open mind and she knows that there is as much good in the world as there is bad.”
   “Oh great, a tragic optimist.”, muttered Pat.
   “If she can put a banker to good use, she’s more of a practical optimist.”, countered Nanette.
   “Do you think I should tell her about the accessories idea?”, queried Pat. “I know a guy who puts out some beautiful product. Maybe I could set her up with him.”
   “Maybe you could keep your mouth shut.”, frowned Nanette.

45.
   Raymond had climbed to the top of a ruined temple. His tail arched and his head lifted in salute as the basket of the balloon swung past him on its descent. “Hello, beautiful!“, he shouted.

   “Hello, dear heart!”, a voice returned.
   The dogs and I scaled a smaller ruin nearby. “Raymond thinks she is beautiful!”, Pat panted.
   “Raymond is a crocodile.”, Nanette deadpanned.
   We waved as the balloon slowly drifted by. Its ropes shimmered in the afternoon light. The silent, brooding bankers wore almost regal expressions. “We go back a long way. I have known her since she was a little girl.”, Raymond said wistfully. “Her name is Claudia, and she will show you the personal side of what I’ve been taking about, the part that hurts, the part that wounds, the part that kills.”
   The balloon floated past us and dropped into the ruins. The dogs and I rushed to the spot where the balloon had settled. We stood in front of it, our hearts pounding while we waited for her to make her appearance.

46.
   I was stunned when she stepped from the basket of the balloon in a red dress as skimpy as my red, baby blanket shorts. She was beautiful and definitely human. The canopy of the balloon gently swayed above her. Its ropes bobbed and wiggled. The bankers seemed to gaze down on us sadly as if dreaming of a life that could have been. She was dark, of mixed race with bottomless brown eyes and long, thick black hair. Her breasts gently lifted and sank as she breathed. She reached out and touched my shoulder as if making sure I was real. If this wasn't the first bite of the first peach of summer, I was dreaming. Nanette gazed up, entranced by this beautiful Amazon . Pat gazed up her dress.
   "Hello." , I stumbled.
   "Hello, handsome."
   That was it. I didn't care if I was dreaming, if I was hallucinating or this was actually real. Bingo!

47.

   Raymond hovered above us with a grin on his face. “Claudia, I would like to introduce you to Oliver and his fellow travelers, Pat and Nanette. I’ve been giving them an introductory course on terrorism and I think it’s time for some advanced studies.”
   “It would be my pleasure.”, Claudia announced regally.
    Nannette smiled. “I’m most impressed with your balloon.”
    Claudia seemed flattered. “How about a ride?”
    “We’d be delighted.”, leered Pat. Then, with a calculated grin on his face, “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but how did you get into the banker skin business?”
    “Don’t pay any attention to him.”, interrupted Nanette with a strained laugh.
    “Oh, I don’t mind at all.”, smiled Claudia. “It’s not a business, really, and I have nothing against local bankers, people's bankers. It's the corporate bankers, the IMF, the ECB, Goldman Sachs. Some of these international banks ruined my country and impoverished my people. When they laughed at our despair, we killed them. Simple as that. Now they bleed the world dry a little less. Now they contribute to it.”
   “They certainly do.”, said Pat with admiration. “The leather looks so soft and supple. Do you have more?”
   “That’s enough!”, commanded Nanette.
    “Well then,”, laughed Claudia. “Come fly with me!”
    The dogs sailed into the basket. As I struggled to pull myself up, I felt Claudia’s hands on my butt giving me shove and a squeeze. 

   "We're off in a magic balloon!, exclaimed Nanette.

   "A magic balloon of silky leather!", grinned Pat.

   "Be careful, children.", frowned Raymond. "The four of you make a big target".

  

48.

   As we lifted into the sky, Raymond looked at us longingly. “Godspeed.”, he sighed.
   Godspeed, indeed, I thought, waving good-bye. How do you introduce yourself to a goddess without putting your foot in your mouth?
   “How did you meet Raymond?”, asked Claudia.
    “He introduced himself in the middle of a river.”
    “He found you when you were lost.”, she said with conviction. 

    "He saved our lives." I answered somewhat guiltily.

    "He has saved my live more than once.", smiled Claudia.

    It was late in the day as we drifted over the clouds. “This is a bit awkward,”, I stammered, “but I don’t even know if you are real or not. This world I’ve found myself in is unlike anything in my world.”
   “And you have a problem with that?” 
   “Sometimes I do but not at the moment.”
   “Well, that’s a relief!”, laughed Claudia. “Let’s relax and watch the sunset. There’s plenty of time to get to know each other. Perhaps you will join me for dinner. Are you hungry?”
   “Very much. I haven’t eaten anything since...”. I paused to think. “I haven’t eaten anything in your world.”
   She lifted a blanket to expose a brazier. It was almost magic to watch her saute a pan of shellfish as the sun began to set. And it was a wonderful sunset. I was awed at the explosion of color and form. We ate in reverent silence as the sun slowly extinguished itself in glorious abandon while a full moon rose to replace it.

49.

   Pat and Nanette were as impressed with Claudia’s feast as I was. For the first time on this roller coaster I was completely relaxed. I picked up a steamed clam and studied it. The stratified shell reminded me of tree rings. The envelopes and leaves of meat beckoned me. They were firm yet inviting. A small puff of steam escaped their folds. Life doesn’t get any better than eating great food, I thought. Food is a refuge, whether it be great or mediocre or even paltry. It connects us. It grounds us. It is us. Why do we consider what we would choose for our last meal? Why was there a last supper in the Bible? Why are cooking for a lover and making love so similar in so many ways? Life is a tempest. Food is shelter.
   Claudia gently prodded me out of my reverie. “Is the full moon real enough for you?”, she murmured as she draped an arm over my shoulder.
   I put down my plate and stared into her dark, liquid eyes. A breath of wind lifted her hair. The moonlight shivered over the features of her face. “More real than any moon I’ve ever seen. It seems alive.” What could I say to this beautiful creature, I thought as foolish words bounced around in my head.
   “What does the full moon inspire in your world?”, breathed Claudia. 
   “Romance?”, I blundered like an idiot.
   “Well then, what are you waiting for?”
    Timing is everything as they say.