With This Secret

Two women came over to us with the baskets.

“Master Levan sent this for you,” one of them said with a smile. “We have brought sandwiches, some Spanish dishes, fruit, and sweet wine.”

Aldie sighed. “Seriously, Bianca, how is Levan even real?”

I felt my heart tighten with pain. It was wonderful how Aldie had bounced back from her own terrible ordeal but she had no idea what a mess Levan and I were in.

About ten feet behind us, three men who had come with the women, expertly and quickly began to erect what looked like a cabana. Soon, the structure was up and from the thick while poles, hung white billowing curtains. It looked utterly romantic. They left the one facing the sea open and quickly lined it with a thin mattress and cushions.

The women then laid all the food out inside. Once they were done, they walked back together towards the house, chatting away in Spanish.

After shaking the sand off our bodies, we settled into the gorgeous cabana. Aldie reached for the box of chocolate, but I just picked up what looked like a ham sandwich. Pouring us both a glass of rosé wine, I leaned back against the cushions and stared at the technicolor sky. It was truly beautiful and even in my state, I couldn’t help but acknowledge it. I looked out to the vast ocean, and allowed the serene rhythm of waves crashing against the shore to calm me.

Aldie continued to dig through the baskets in search of more treasures. Eventually, she found a glass dish of shrimp and moved to join me. She snuggled up close to me, her body warm and familiar.

For a while, it felt like old times again. Only, we had never been anywhere so magical before.

“Now that we are comfortable, tell me everything,” Aldie ordered, popping a shrimp into her mouth.

I sighed. “I don’t know whether I’m going to make sense to you, but I feel as if I’m holding on so tightly to Levan, however, the problem is he’s hanging off a dark abyss by his fingernails, and if I keep holding onto him, we’re both going to drop to our deaths.”

She turned to me, mouth full and eyes slightly widened at the dark analogy.

I met her gaze with a sad smile. “The worst part is I’m terrified for Levan, but I don’t want to let him go.”

She swallowed the food in her mouth abruptly. “Bianca, I understand things aren’t at their greatest right now, but you need to have a little faith. You don’t know because you are not part of the Russian community, but the Ivankovs are actually a force to be reckoned with. I knew that when they rescued me. Bogdan has no idea what he has done pulling the tiger’s tail like he has. No matter what it looks like now, Levan will be fine and so will you. This whole mess will be resolved, and both of you will be okay.”

“Even if his issue with Bogdan can be resolved, what about all the others who are not as easy to deal with?” I asked her. “The FBI and the government is a whole other ball game to resolve. He might end up in prison for a very, very long time or he might have to become a fugitive of the law and have to live in hiding forever. Or if that doesn’t happen, his association with the Mafia will constantly put us at risk like this. And if he were to leave, then he would have to give up his family. I don’t want him to do that, but at the same time, I can’t give him up.” I sighed and looked away.

Aldie patted my hand consoling.

I continued, “Last night he told me that he would hold onto me, which means he has probably made the decision to somehow step away from his family, so that he can be with me in peace. I should be happy but I can’t help feeling as though a day would come when he would resent me for that decision.”

“Look, if I were you, I’d give it some time,” Aldie advised. “Just battle one demon at a time, eh? We might not be able to get all the answers right now, so let’s wait until the family rids the world of that mad man, and mark my words they will, then we can move on to the rest.”

Her advice sounded so solid. My mom had always said, cross the bridges as you come to them. I took a sip of rosé and took a deep breath. “Ok, I’ll take it one day at a time.”

“Good girl. Now look at that sky. If I had seen this photo on Instagram, I would have thought the photographer had photo-shopped it to death.”

I finished the glass.