Chapter 12
Grace was awakened by the door opening. She squinted at the light coming in from the hall, trying to orient herself. “What time is it?” she asked.
“Nine in the morning,” Antonio said.
Grace hardened herself when she heard his voice. She was still angry from what he had said and done. “I thought you would be awake by now,” Antonio said, blocking the light in the doorway. Surprisingly, waves of nausea were not sweeping through Grace. She was so pleased by that development that she didn’t feel as upset with Antonio.
“Look,” Antonio said. “Can I come in?”
Grace nodded toward the end of her bed. He sat down on the end.
“I was very mad yesterday,” he said. “I want to say I am sorry.”
Grace nodded out her forgiveness.
“I was not expecting you to say something like that, but I want you to know that it’s okay. I will help take care of the child. I will take care of him or her the same as I would a child of my own.”
Grace closed her eyes and let the words echo in her head. Had Antonio really just said that? “But what changed your mind?” she had to ask the question.
Antonio thought for a few minutes. Grace began to wonder if he was going to answer her at all. “I realized that my reaction was not appropriate for the situation. I reacted… strongly. You see, it is not every day that a man is married to a woman without his knowing, begins to talk with her, then learns she is pregnant as well.”
“If you want me to feel sorry for you, you must know I’m not going to feel sympathy. My situation is exactly the same. And in my defense, I didn’t know I was pregnant until just a few days ago. If I had known, I might have never been in the parking lot where I was when your men decided I would be the perfect person to kidnap.”
Antonio nodded. “Look, I’m sorry. That’s mostly what I wanted to say. I don’t want to become so angry with you.”
“Then don’t,” Grace said. “You were so angry I was scared you would hit me.”
Antonio looked down. Grace wondered if he had ever hit a woman before. “I don’t want to hit you,” Antonio turned toward her. He slid over from the end of the bed to the middle and reached out his hand to stroke her face. “I must say that the way I was raised did not prepare me to face situations such as this. But, I wouldn’t ever take out my anger on you.”
Grace nodded slowly. “I guess no one can change that.” Grace crawled out from under her sheets and snuggled up to Antonio’s side like she was a little girl. She lay her head on his chest and felt his fingers in her hair.
“What do you want to do today?” Antonio asked softly.
“Let’s go to Lake Michigan. I’ve never been swimming in a natural place in my life. I’ve only been to pools.”
“I haven’t bathed in the United States before,” Antonio said. “I think that’s an excellent idea. Do you have a bathing suit?”
Grace shook her head.
“What is it American say?” Antonio paused for a few moments. “Perhaps we should go skinny dipping.”
Grace burst out laughing. “No, thank you. Not with thousands of people watching.”
“But perhaps when it is just you and me,” Antonio smiled. “Perhaps, we should make that tub of yours into a hot tub and play a little game just you and me.”
Grace smiled. “Do you ever think about normal things?”
Antonio laughed. “What is that supposed to mean? I believe that making love with a beautiful woman is the most natural thing I could ever do.”
Grace shook her head. “I’ll make you a deal. If we go swimming in Lake Michigan, I’ll let you do whatever you want when we get back here.”
Antonio kissed the top of her head then looked down at his pants. Grace saw slight movement in the groin area, and she sucked in her breath. “Did you hear my deal?” she continued, trying to speak smoothly. “You have to do my part first.”
“Alright,” Antonio smiled. “if that is what it takes to get you to play with me, then I shall.”
“Let’s go buy you a bathing suit, then we shall go.”
Grace was suddenly glad that it had been a warm summer. She didn’t want her first experience in a lake to be a freezing one. However, her idea of visiting the lake and Antonio’s ideas were very different. She had thought they would wade in, float in the water a bit, then go get warm. However, Antonio had rented a boat. The boat had a hot tub.
Grace started laughing as soon as she saw it. “You do realize that I want to swim in the actual lake, not just in the boat.”
Antonio laughed. “Of course. I just wanted to be prepared.”
“Hey, what’s that?” Grace asked, stepping carefully to the back of the boat. She’d never been on a boat before either, and she was nervous about a sudden tipping.
“Have you ever been waterskiing?” Antonio asked.
“No, but I really want to try,” Grace said.
“Okay. Let’s get you strapped up, then I’ll have our driver take us out on the lake.”
“But how do I do it?” Grace asked. “I’ve never done it before.”
“Hold on here. Your feet go here. Keep your skis pointed up not down or you’ll fall.”
“That easy, huh?” Grace asked.
Antonio nodded. “Yes, but you should put on this life vest to be safe.” Grace took off her newly bought cover up and reached for the life vest. Antonio whistled. “Good choice on the bathing suit,” he said.
Grace snatched the life vest from him. “Behave yourself,” she said. She strapped the life vest on and balanced herself as she put on the skis. “Ready!” she called. Antonio gave a thumbs up to their driver who started off with a hard push on the pedal. Grace let go of everything, forgot everything she had been told, and fell on her face into the water.
When she came up sputtering, she had a smile on her face. “Yes, first fail!” she said. The boat came back around, and Grace tried again before letting Antonio have a turn. Of course he was a natural. Turns out that with water all around the island of Aruba, he could perform in any water sports with amazing agility. After their sporty morning, they parked the boat in the middle of the lake and climbed into the hot tub.
Grace was shivering. “I’m glad you thought about having a hot tub,” she said, sinking into the hot water. “It was a really good idea. I might have turned into an ice cube by now.”
Antonio slid over to sit next to Grace in the warm water. “I wouldn’t want that. When you unfreeze, you are never the same afterward. Besides,” he cupped his hand on Grace’s stomach. “we must be looking out for this little one.”
Grace smiled and closed her eyes. The water felt excellent, and Grace was sure that she was finally happy to be where she was with who she was with. “We only have a few more weeks,” Grace said. “I have a feeling they are going to go by quickly.”
The next few weeks did go by quickly. Grace spent as much time as she could focusing on Papiamento. She started to converse with Pablo and Herman every time she got an opportunity. Their lack of English made them great practice dummies.
“I think I have finally adjusted to the idea,” Grace said as she began packing the last of her things into a suitcase. They would be leaving in the morning to go to the airport.
“What idea?” Antonio asked, watching as Grace carefully folded each of her new items of clothing. She had been sleeping in what he had deemed his bedroom, and their clothes were all mixed together.
“The idea that I’m a princess,” Grace laughed. “And that I will be stuck with you for the rest of my life.”
“What?” Antonio protested. “I am an amazing person!”
Grace laughed. “You can be a little priggish sometimes, but you know, I shall put myself through it for the sake of Aruba.”
“Aye,” Antonio said, standing and approaching her.
Grace backed away, laughing. “I’m not that easy to catch.”
Antonio laughed and made a leap forward, his fingertips brushing her arm, but Grace charged away. They went running through the penthouse like two children playing tag. Antonio finally caught her and kissed her cheek as his arms wrapped tightly around her.
“You are mine, and I won’t let you escape!”
Grace was laughing so hard she couldn’t answer. “You must let me escape or I’ll never be ready for our flight tomorrow.”
Antonio laughed. “Fine, but I expect my underwear to be perfectly aligned.” He let Grace go, and she charged back to the bedroom.
“Who said I was going to pack your clothes? That’s your job.”
“Do I need to catch you and pin you down?” Antonio asked.
Grace laughed. “Nope, I’m good. Besides, you better be careful with me.” She patted her stomach, which still didn’t look one spot different. She loved playing the baby card, though. “You don’t want Junior to get hurt.”
“Ah, Junior’s sleeping. Besides, he’s got a lot of padding.”
Grace shook her head. “All the same.”
“Aye, Grace,” Antonio said, finally having become motivated to do his own packing. “Mi ta stima bo.”
“Mi ta stima bo,” Grace softly repeated. This time, she meant the words with all of her heart. She kissed Antonio playfully then went back to her clothes.
At the airport the next morning, Grace was exposed to the real life of Antonio. Reporters were there bright and early to snap pictures of the rogue prince returning home.
“Where did you find this beautiful woman to be your wife?” one reporter asked.
“What’s your name?” Grace made the mistake of answering the question, causing the reporters to see her as an easy target.
“When did you get married?”
“Where did you meet Prince Antonio?”
“Are you going to be living in Aruba alongside the prince?”
“Have you learned one of their two national languages?”
Grace gripped Antonio’s hand tightly, frightened by the onslaught of questions. She looked up at him, and he smiled. He whispered some words in Papiamento in her ear. Grace didn’t understand all of them but she squeezed his hand to thank him for his comfort. Grace turned back to the reporters to answer one or two of their questions. Instead, her eye snagged on a familiar face. Grace’s heart jumped, but she wasn’t sure if it was from surprise or pleasure.
There stood Dylan. He was in the airport, and he was watching her carefully. As soon as her eyes caught his, his gaze tightened. He seemed to be assessing her attention. Grace didn’t wait for him to finish. She turned back to Antonio.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said. “I’m ready to see your country.”
“Come, my Princess Grace,” Antonio said, indicating for Pablo and Herman to make a path for them to break through the reporters. “Let’s go explore our new land together.”
*****