49
Let”s negotiate
I grabbed the spare phone I kept in the room and called my mother as soon as Romeo left the house.
It wasn”t the first time I had destroyed an object in a fit of nerves, so I made sure to always have a spare on hand.
I needed to talk to her about my discovery regarding Adriano; after all, she was his grandmother, and I needed her support to raise my nephew. It took me a couple of calls to reach her. Just when I was about to hang up, she answered with an annoyed tone.
”Am I catching you at a bad time?” I knew her well enough to know that I was.
”A bit, honestly. What”s up, Nikita?”
”Can I come pick you up wherever you are, and we talk? It”s a complex matter.”
”Now”s not a good time, better we meet tomorrow and have lunch together.” I could imagine why she didn”t have time for me.
”Mom, are you sleeping with the enemy?” She let out a nervous chuckle, and although she surely tried to cover the phone”s microphone, I heard her whisper an apology. It took her ten seconds to get back on the line.
”So, what”s going on?” That was the most I would get from her.
”Adriano is Yuri”s son.” Best to cut to the chase.
”What?!” Her voice cracked.
”You”re a grandmother, mom.”
”I”m too young to be a grandmother. And what”s this nonsense about your husband”s child? Who”s been feeding you this nonsense?”
”It”s no nonsense. My husband took care of the child without knowing if he was his father.” I heard her sigh on the other end of the line. ”Yuri and Romeo had a threesome in university, and the result was Adriano.”
”Then he could be anyone”s.”
”I thought the same, that”s why on Monday we went for DNA tests which showed that the child is a Korolev. So I want you to take him to San Petersburgo when you go back.”
”To San Petersburgo?”
”That”s what I said. I don”t give a damn if my husband doesn”t want to, that child is ours and you need to raise him.”
”Me?! Are you insane?! I”ve already birthed and raised four, I”m not about to sacrifice more for... for...”
”Your grandson! Your grand-son!” I exclaimed impatiently.
”No, that child is a bastard, a slip-up of your brother, a loose spermatozoon that if we had known about, we would have gotten rid of, so don”t come now trying to dump the kid on me. He”s as much your relative as mine, so step up, and if your husband wants to take care of him, perfect by me, I won”t oppose.”
”Are you telling me you”re okay with my husband wanting to keep Yuri”s son?! He”s not his!”
”What I”m saying is that I”m not going to take responsibility; it”s my turn to live life now. I already sacrificed enough for you four, and I raised you all. Now it”s my turn to have fun and not take on something that”s already taken care of. ”
”But it”s your duty! Plus, you”ve more than earned your motherhood badge, what’s one more?”
”The motherhood badge? Oh no, I won”t go there. Do you think being a mother is fun? Then you raise your nephew. I had you because you are my children, and I love you for that same reason, but that”s it, I”ve done my part, end of the game, I don’t want to adopt anyone. I’ll treat that child fairly, maybe take him out for snacks or buy him a little something, but that’s all. I have no intention of sacrificing my future, I”m sorry.” Now I knew whom I had gotten my attitude towards motherhood from.
”I can”t believe what you”re saying,” I urged her, hoping she would reconsider.
”Well, accept it. I’m telling you and I’ll say it again: that owl is yours. And get it out of your head that I”ll return to Russia; I”m really enjoying Spain and I”m thinking about settling here, with your sisters.”
”In Capuleto’s house?” I asked, annoyed. I couldn’t believe my mother might like my father-in-law!
”Wherever I damn please, I’m old enough to make my own decisions and sleep with whomever I want,” she argued sternly. ”I answered to your father for a long time, and now that he’s dead, I only answer to myself. You may be the new Vor v zakone, but I”m your mother, you owe me respect, and there”s nothing above that.” What a scolding she just gave me! ”I”ve always respected your decisions, whether I liked them or not, now you”ll respect mine.”
”So, in summary, you”re not planning to help me.”
”To raise Adriano? No, I’m sorry. Now you”re married, Romeo is your new family and your nephew is part of the package. Besides, you”ve already told me that your husband doesn’t want him to leave his side, that he loves him like a son. Well, perfect, don”t annoy Romeo with nonsense.” Nonsense? My mother was truly one of a kind. ”It”s easier to win men over with honey than with vinegar, and considering your awful temper, you should make a vinaigrette to see if they don”t ask for a divorce.”
”If she had been in front of me, I would have strangled her.
”Thanks a lot for your help, Mom,” I said abruptly.
”You”re welcome. You know I”m here to enlighten you with my wisdom, after all, I do have a few years on you. Do you need help with anything else?” How cheeky!
”No, I”m hanging up now. Oh, and take a little piece of advice from me before I hang up: Make sure your new lover puts a ring on your finger before he has a heart attack from all that Viagra, or before my gun accidentally discharges into the back of his neck.”
I hung up the phone in a huff. It was crystal clear that I was on my own in this. Great! I would keep my nephew! But I wouldn”t allow for the world that he didn”t know who his father was or that he carried the Capuleto surname!
I went up to my room for a bikini and went out to the garden to swim away my bad mood. As soon as Brutus saw me appear, he came over for his dose of affection, which was an ear scratch before I dove headfirst into the water. The dog kept an eye on me, especially since I had put one of my t-shirts on his favorite cushion to help him calm down and forget about my legs.
Half an hour later, with part of my anger drowned in the water, I lay down on one of the hammocks and watched the sunset while giving some affection to my enamored dog, who kept hitting my arm with his paw.
Once he was satisfied with the pampering, he lay down on the ground, and I dozed off with the last rays of sunlight warming my skin.
I woke up feeling something covering my body. I slowly opened my eyes, drowsy, and saw my husband carefully placing a bathrobe over me. As soon as he realized I was watching him intently, he gave me a sad smile.
”I didn”t mean to wake you.”
”Did you want me to sleep in the garden with the dog? How considerate.” At my remark, he laughed.
”I actually wanted time to prepare the table, so that when you woke up, it would be filled with that Chinese food you love so much.”
”You went to get my favorite food to bribe me?” I asked, lifting my body.
”More like, to make peace and reach an agreement. Adri won”t be spending the night at home; I asked Julieta to keep him so we can talk without worrying about him hearing anything inappropriate.”
I put on the bathrobe and R offered me his hand to help me stand up. He took the opportunity to pull me close and rub my arms.
”You smell like tequila and bar.”
”Yes, I”ve had a few, it”s been a long time since I last stopped by to talk to Dante.”
”And you guys went all out...”
”Enough for me to realize that I can”t be so obtuse about certain things.” He ran his hand through my wet hair and tucked it behind my ear. ”I don”t want to fight with you and I”m willing to give in if you are too.” I looked at him thoughtfully.
”Really?”
”Yes, dinner and negotiations?”
”That sounds good, I like both,” I admitted softly.
He took my hand and we walked to the table filled with bags.
We unpacked the food and set up dinner.
On the countertop rested a beautiful bouquet of flowers with an envelope sticking out.
”Are these for the cook?” I asked sharply.
”You know they”re not.” I approached and smelled them.
”Have you cheated on me?” I asked, turning my head.
”No! Why would you say that?”
”Because it”s the main reason a husband brings his wife flowers.”
”Not your husband,” he muttered amusingly.
”And what”s this?” I pulled at the white envelope.
”Open it and you”ll find out.”
He watched me, nervous yet hopeful. His dark eyes sparkled as I read aloud what was written on a similarly colored piece of paper.
”A voucher for a secret destination to get to know each other better.” I looked up surprised. ”Is this your way of taking me somewhere mysterious, dismembering me, and feeding me to the sharks so no one can ever find my body?” He clapped his hand on the table.
”You”ve spoiled plan B.”
”And what was plan A?”
”Well, in that one, we”d talk while walking under marvelous sunsets, eat off each other”s fingers, and make love until dawn found our bodies hopelessly in love,” he flirted, cornering me.
”Uuuh, then I”m sure I”ll end up dead because I”ve never fallen in love.”
”That”s because you didn”t know me.” His cockiness made me smile.
”Do you really see yourself making someone like me fall head over heels for you?” His pupils moved from my eyes to my lips. ”That”s a high bet with low chances of success.”
”Those are my favorite kinds, ever since I said ”I do,” I knew you”d be a great challenge.” He pretended to kiss me, moving in slowly, only to veer off and press his lips against the corner of mine. ”Let”s eat.”
We didn”t bring up my nephew immediately. Neither of us wanted to spoil the delicacies. We reviewed the events of the past days, including the unpleasant ones—the shooting, the kidnapping of our men, the discovery that Cheng was Miss Wang, and Adriano.
”I”m willing to have him live with us,” I declared, preferring to be the one to lay down the first card.
My husband looked pleased.
”I”m glad to hear that. I”ll concede that we talk to him about his real father, but we”ll do it under Julieta”s supervision; I don’t want it to be another trauma for the boy...”
”That sounds good. And about the surname?” I probed.
”We”ll discuss it calmly when we return from the trip; first with the lawyer, and then with Adriano. I understand your need for your nephew to carry your surname, though I consider myself his father at heart. I hope you don”t mind me using that term. I”d like for Adriano to understand that he doesn”t just have one father, but two.”
”You know it’s going to be hard for me to warm up to the kid, even if he”s my nephew, given my terrible maternal instinct, right?”
”We have our whole lives to get used to each other. We”ll work on it; my sister can help us with that too.”
”With everything she has to do, we”ll have to pay her a salary,” I chuckled quietly.
”Julieta will do it gladly; she loves Adri as much as I do and wants him to be happy.”
I had no choice but to agree, so I gave in.
”Okay,” I murmured, finishing my glass of wine.
”Have we reached an agreement?” My husband seemed astonished.
”Yes, I think so.”
”Now I just have to choose the place to take you.”
”Was the trip serious?”
”Very serious, we need it. It will only be a few days and then we”ll tackle everything that comes our way; it will be good for us to disconnect and get to know each other a bit more.” He reached out across the table, and I placed my hand in his warm palm, feeling his warmth seeping into my skin. ”Beach or mountain?”