30 - NAZÁR
30
NAZáR
I ride along the road back to the resort and see all the people along the way. These are residents of the island, not tourists.
“Love’s Reunion.”
“Paradise of Love.”
“The Pamela Beatrice Story.”
“The Prodigal Daughter.”
“Love’s Two-Way Street.”
Those are just a few of the signs that I see people holding up. They’re all titles of Bella’s movies. My driver, Errol, slows the car down as I stare out the window. Other signs and placards are being held up.
“Bella will always live in my heart.”
“Rest in heaven, Bella.”
“Prayers for Bella’s family.”
“Thank you, Nazár Rivas, for loaning Bella to us.”
“God bless you, Nazár.”
“We love you, Nazár Rivas.”
Confusion blows through my mind, and I dial Leona.
Rose petals litter the street leading up to the secured gates of the resort.
“Leona.”
“Hi, Nazár.”
“What the hell is going on?”
“Oh, you mean the island residents flanking the mile-long driveway to the resort with their signs and flowers?”
“Yes,” I grunt.
“Today’s the fifth anniversary of Bella’s passing.”
“I know that!” I grit out.
I’d just returned from the private cemetery where she’s buried and lain flowers on her grave. I’d sat on the ground behind her headstone, resting my head against it. Like I do every year on her birthday, our wedding anniversary, and the day of her death, I return to the cemetery and have an hour-long conversation with her.
“And I know that you know that I know,” I bark at Leona.
“Well, sir, it seems that maybe Anyssa’s little travel monologue did some good. That video has not only gone viral, but it has twelve million views .”
“Is that a good thing?”
“It’s a great thing. It means the message is getting out about you, Bella, the family, and the resort.”
“Did you ever get the issue figured out with the website?” I ask, looking at the people lining both sides of the road, waving their hands and shouting affectionately at my car as it passes.
The website for the rum distillery and the vineyard were shut down earlier today.
“Apparently, Simon, our tech guy—”
“I know who Simon is, Leona. Get to the point.”
“We received visitors to our websites today with well wishes, condolences, apologies for what you went through, and communicating their love for Bella. So many visitors that it shut down the websites.”
I drop my head slightly and squeeze my fingers on both sides of my temples as I close my eyes.
“Sir, are you okay?” Errol asks.
“Yes, Errol. Please proceed.”
He nods and opens the gates.
“Nazár?” Leona says on the other end.
“Yes?”
“Have you contacted her yet?”
“No,” I say, vowing to change that immediately.
“You should.”
“And you should mind your own business, Leona. It’s what I pay you to do,” I tell her.
“Nazár, you know that I’m right. Just as I’ve been right about everything since the beginning. Since Anyssa’s video about her views on Bella, you, and the island, not only have TV specials and podcasts about you skyrocketed, but so have your sales from the wines produced at the vineyard and the rum distillery sales,” Leona points out.
The research that people have done has been extensive regarding the work I do around the world, the properties that I hold, and my investments. Those TV specials have led to people contacting me to do business with them, whether they want me to purchase their properties or want to hire me to buy some for them.
“And I’m grateful for that,” I admit.
“As you should be. It wouldn’t hurt to express your gratitude to Anyssa, though, would it?”
I blow out a long breath. “People have been genuine in their business dealings with me since then. The morbid curiosity that used to exist seemed to have ceased.”
“I think she touched people’s hearts, Nazár. Made them see your plight and feel your frustrations.”
I pull my hand through my hair and confess, “That video has opened my world and changed the landscape for me. Guests are friendlier.”
“And I’ve done a survey, Nazár. Staff find you more approachable. Generally, you’re, overall, a kinder person to everyone you interact with except for me. You’re still an ass.”
“You wouldn’t want anything less from me, would you?”
She giggles, causing me to smile. “You’re right, I guess.”
“It does seem as if the world is opening up to me more.”
“That’s because you’ve become a more open person, embracing the world with open arms. That gruff exterior is still in place but not as harsh as it was. I just think it could be even better if you opened your heart to love the way you’ve opened it to people in general,” Leona shares.
“Maybe,” I reluctantly agree, thinking that it might not be a bad idea to call Anyssa and thank her.
I look over my shoulder as we pass through the gate to the resort. Most of those people have lived on this island their entire lives. While the world judged me, the island residents did not.
Seeing the support they’re giving me today on what has traditionally been one of the most challenging days of my life is moving. I feel the tears stinging my eyes, but for the first time, these aren’t tears of sorrow, regret, or grief. They’re tears of appreciation, of humility, of love.
“Leona, I’ll see you soon,” I say, ending the call without giving her a chance to say goodbye. “Errol, stop the car!” I call out.
“Sir?”
“Stop the car!”
He stops, and I push open the door and step out onto the road. All the people stop shouting and stare in open-mouthed fascination.
I walk to the gate and look at them. “Thank you! Thank you for your support, your prayers, and your love! Thank you all!” I shout.
The cheers and thunderous applause that go up are more than I can handle. I turn back to the car and quickly slip inside.
“Errol, proceed.”
I close my eyes and the partition between us so I can have a moment alone—time to reflect on Bella and time to gather my emotions.
I repeatedly turn the phone over in my hand. I’ve never called or texted this number since I first got it. It might be what her platform is doing or related to the reflection I did at the cemetery earlier. Whatever the reason, I’m finally ready to deal with things . . . what happened between Anyssa and me, my feelings for her, and I’m ready to release the guilt I feel about Bella’s death.
Five years have passed since Bella died, and it’s time for me to learn to live again.
The thought of hearing Anyssa’s voice again after all this time makes me whole. It’s been more than a month since I sent her away.
While I have been open to the world, as Leona pointed out, I haven’t been open to the woman responsible for creating a different landscape in my life. It’s time for me to let her know that I forgive her. I press the call button and pull the phone to my ear.
“Nazár,” she whispers.
Her voice sounds beautiful and hopeful, sending a shock to my groin. When I close my eyes, I see her kneeling, looking up at me, purring my name.
Clearing my throat, I say, “You must have my number saved in your phone.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Then how did you know that it was me?”
“Please don’t hang up on me.”
“Why would I do that?”
“The phone number that I gave you was specifically for that trip. It was in case something happened, and it landed in the wrong hands so that they wouldn’t see all the identifying information in my real phone.”
“Oh,” I say.
“You’re the only one that I gave that phone number to.”
I don’t know if I should be elated that I’m the only one with the number or angry at how far she was willing to take the game.
“I, uh . . . held onto the phone in hopes that one day you might call me. You haven’t answered any of my texts, emails, or calls.”
“Oh. Okay.”
“So, umm . . . How have you been?” she asks nervously.
“I’m fine. That’s why I was calling you.”
“Why?”
Inhaling deeply, I exhale slowly. “I wanted to say thank you.”
“For?”
“The video that you did on Bella. Me.”
“You saw that?”
“You sound surprised?”
“I am. I thought you were a busy man, and I can’t imagine you watching my channel.”
“I am busy, but let’s just say that you’ve got some fans at the resort who felt it was their duty to keep me informed on what you were doing. The day you went live with that video, it was immediately brought to me.”
“Oh.”
I know she’s thinking about how that was a few weeks ago, and I’m just now calling her.
“There have been a lot of changes in my life since that video.”
“Good, I hope.”
“Yes. There’s been an outpouring of support from the community at large. There have been people reaching out to me from all over the world. Mostly for business, but today, both of our websites were shut down because people flooded it to leave comments about Bella . . . and me.”
“Wow! That’s amazing,” she laughs.
I close my eyes, allowing that sound to pour over me. God, how I miss this woman.
“Yes, it is,” I agree. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to, Nazár. After all you’d done for me, it was the least I could do.”
“You owe me nothing.”
I wonder again what her motives are. The last thing I need is for her to do anything to me out of obligation.
“I know that, Nazár. What I did was wrong. If there were a way that I could turn back the hands of time, I would. But I cannot. All I can do is apologize again and hope we can be friends.”
“Friends,” I say simply.
“Yes.”
“You’re right. It seems that things happened between us so fast. Sometimes, I wonder if it was purely sexual.”
“It wasn’t for me,” she says.
“Are you sure? I often wonder if you weren’t just enthralled by the idea of me and what I offered. It was a new, different experience for you.”
“I know it was. In the weeks since I’ve been gone, Nazár, all I’ve thought about is you.”
“I’ve thought about you a lot too, Anyssa. I’m just still trying to get my head settled on right.”
“I understand.”
“It doesn’t mean we can’t stay in touch, though. I would love to hear from you.”
“I’d like that.”
“Well, I just called to thank you for everything you did. It’s done more for me than I can express. Not just how people have responded to it, but internally, as well.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Nazár. I hope that one day you can know true peace and healing.”
“I’m on the road to it.”
We both remain silent for a while, unsure of what to say next but not ready to break the tenuous connection.
“Well,” I say, being the first to speak up, “I have a meeting in a few minutes. It was good hearing your voice again, Anyssa.”
“Yours too,” she says softly.
I end the call wondering if I’ll hear from her again.