The morning sickness was occurring more frequently. She had lost her appetite almost completely. She couldn’t eat much of the food variation in the breakfast buffet. She went to the hotel pharmacy to buy some spearmint to keep nausea down.
She was in her short pants and tank top ready for a whole day at the beach. Soon she won’t fit into any of the clothes that she brought to the island. She couldn’t occupy her mind with that yet because the more pressing issue was to find a good OBGYN and figured out how she was going to let Gabriel know that she was pregnant. She couldn’t even let herself think how he would respond to it.
“Focus,” she said to herself chewing on her bubble gum, she took a bottle of water and started the day. Gabriel was nowhere to be seen, the crew said he was there very early in the morning to check out the facility and then he left. She didn’t see him the whole day that day and it gave her a weird feeling like something was missing. She didn’t realize she was already used to seeing him around.
She browsed through her phone that night to look for the best hospital on the island. Searched through their directory for a recommended OBGYN. She tried not to use the computer on the hotel nor its phone because she knew Gabriel was closely monitoring them. She thought she would give it two more weeks before she scheduled her first appointment and tell Gabriel about it.
She had only been there for a day, she can’t ask for an off day to go to the hospital. She sat back on the bed and thought to herself, there was still time to change her mind.
Gabriel called to ask how her day went, and that was it. He obviously had other appointments across the island which he didn’t bother to explain to her. He just wasn’t around. But she was busy collecting eggs all over the island, gave basic education about the importance of preserving the sea turtles and asked for people’s cooperation to support her program.
She learned about the local culture along the way, tried the local food, got a really nice tan within days. She marked the beaches that were potential to have turtle nests in the nooks and crooney, she designed posters to be propped up around the areas. She asked around whom she needed to be in contact with in order to have someone in the authority level to keep the nests safe from poachers. She was really busy, there were too many things to do.
Before she knew it, a week had passed. It was almost sunset when she was getting ready to call it a day. She had close to 500 eggs in her shed and they were expected to hatch within two months. They built 10 pools to keep the new hatchlings before they will be ready to be released to the ocean.
When she turned around, there he was … standing on the stairs of The Peninsula in his short pants, and short sleeves shirt. She never saw him in that attire before. He took off his Gucci shades, he hadn’t shaved, his scruffy beard looked incredibly sexy on his gorgeous face.
She gasped, “Hi … I haven’t seen you in awhile,” was the first thing that came out of her mouth.
“Seafood dinner by the water?” he asked.
She was still in her short pants and tank top, glistened in sweat from being out on the beach all day. She lifted her shoulders, “Can I change first?”
He ran his eyes on her, “Nice tan … you don’t have to change, just use my jacket, … we’ll just walk to the next beach, the sun is going down soon,” he had a jacket in his hand and passed in on to her.
It smelled like him when she caught it, it was getting breezy so she took the offer. They walked side by side to the next beach. “So where did you go for a week?” she asked again.
He was looking down on the sand with both hands in his pockets, “Why? Did you miss me?”
She was amused by his response, “Maybe I missed being bossed around.”
He looked at her, “I’m sorry … did I boss you around?”
She laughed, “No, … it was a joke, why are you so serious all the time?”
He didn’t react, “Well … I kinda miss you.”
She blushed from his stare and looked away, it felt like he really meant what he said and she didn’t know how to respond to it.
“I’m flying back to Lancaster in a few days,” he said.
“For how long?” it was a spontaneous question, she had just seen him again and he was already leaving.
“I’ll be back whenever you need me here … when will you be needing me here?”
They stopped their walk and looked at each other.
How about now? They both thought of the same thing.
“I really can’t say …” she hesitated.
He studied her face, she was looking more beautiful than the last time he saw her. Her skin was freshly tanned and her face was glowing. “Well … you know how to reach me,” he said and continued their walk to the next beach.
He felt distant at times because of how reserved he was, and yet she felt like it was the closest he could ever get with anyone, and it warmed her heart. It was strange how she started to feel things for him, and the way he smelled seemed to cast a spell on her.
When they got to the next beach, it had a small dock that led to the ocean. A big boat parked in front of it. Gabriel asked for her hand and led her to the boat. It was a rich people kind of seaside dinner. They went to the upper deck of the boat where a table for two had been set up.
The waiter poured red wine on the glasses, Gabriel took one for her and one for himself. He clinked the glass and sipped. She was reluctant at first, but she couldn’t keep refusing alcohol from him and not sparked suspicion on his side. She smiled and took a sip.
He walked to the edge of the deck, she followed. The sun was setting, the sky was turning grey and orange as they watched the sun go down. “Beautiful,” Gabriel said, though his eyes were looking at her.
She smiled looking at the horizon, “I’ve been looking at it for days but this is by far the best view of Bhorma sunset.”
Gabriel raised his hand to a crew and the boat started to move. “You should enjoy the whole experience,” he said.
Fresh seafood dinner on Gabriel’s boat was a real treat. She had forgotten how it was to live in luxury, can’t say she didn’t miss it. Gabriel was around about the same age as Eddie, she was used to a man much older than her even though Eddie was by no means comparable to Gabriel. They were totally different people.
While Eddie enjoyed his royalty treatment and expanded his business for the sake of preserving his status, Gabriel seemed to have been so accustomed by it, he didn’t know any other life than the one he was born into.
It made her wonder if he ever had anyone to help him see life from a different perspective because he seemed to be longing for a place in the world.
For a man his age, she could still see the 15-year-old boy who lost his parents tragically and left with the world in his hands. All the fortune that brought power and deceit, he grew cold and distant from the world he couldn’t trust.
When he took her out on that boat ride that evening, she felt closer to him. He wanted her to be on that boat with him, looking at the same sky, the things he usually does alone. He was slowly opening up to her with very few words exchanged.