Chapter 17
“Seas are never completely calm. The same happens in the seas of life”
—Paulo Coelho
The wedding was set for two months later, in the first week of February.
Time in which we had to organize it and Niky had to make the dress.
We were enjoying our engagement and spent most of our time together.
Most nights Henry stayed at the hotel and, if for some reason he had to go to his house, I would accompany him because neither of us wanted to sleep apart.
Living together was turning out wonderfully and we understood each other perfectly.
Little by little we were getting to know each other more, learning about habits and also some quirks, and our relationship was strengthening, growing, and becoming more secure.
I hadn’t heard any news about Sol, and Henry had confessed to me that he was determined to fire her, but when he requested to proceed with her dismissal, the Human Resources Department of his company informed him that the employee had submitted her resignation that day, and the day coincided with when I had found out she had gone on a trip.
On the other hand, I hadn’t seen her again, or at least suspected it was her, nor had she tried to contact me.
We also had no news about the person who had drugged Henry, but as the days passed, we had been forgetting about that bad moment, although the police and the investigators Henry had hired were still following the few leads they had.
Christmas was approaching and the hotel was at full capacity.
During these holidays, the movement and bustle were constant.
As every year, the hotel was decorated for the occasion in an elegant and luminous way, with Christmas details everywhere.
The most important decoration was in the grand hall with the enormous and beautiful Christmas tree that was lit day and night.
Setting it up was a tradition in our family and all three siblings participated in the decoration.
When my parents were alive, one of the regular and most fun family activities was decorating the Christmas tree.
We all put our touch on the decoration and ended up with a colorful tree full of life.
As my mother used to say: “Decorating the Christmas tree as a family is an exercise in love”.
This year was special because I had Henry in my life and, for me, he was already part of my family. The relationship with my brothers had improved, but I still noticed that they didn’t fully trust him.
On the day of setting up the tree, I informed my brothers that Henry would also participate and, to my surprise, they took it naturally.
Since it was a giant tree, most of the ornaments were put up by hotel employees, but we helped and placed the most significant ones, which were those we had brought from our house and had been purchased by our mother.
Henry seemed happy to be able to participate with us and kept thanking us.
When they told us we could go to finish the decoration, the four of us gathered in the hall and I brought the box in which the family ornaments were stored.
Bastián chose to hang a Christmas star and a gold ball, Lolo took some bells and another red ball. When I brought the box to Henry, he looked at me with emotion.
“Thank you for allowing me to share this moment with you. It’s an honor.”
“Woollardy, we’ve already resigned ourselves to the fact that you’re part of the family, so stop thanking us and fulfill the family tradition,” said Lolo, smiling, and we all laughed.
Henry took a little angel and another gold ball and placed them on the tree.
When it was my turn, I noticed they had left me the Star of Bethlehem to place at the top of the tree.
That star had a lot of sentimental value for us because it had been made by my father.
It was a beautiful golden star. When I took it, my eyes filled with tears.
My brothers looked at me and nodded, and Henry approached and held out his hand.
“This star was made by my dad,” I told him.
“It must mean a lot to you all.”
“It does, and it’s surrounded by memories of our childhood.”
Bastián and Lolo came closer and, Henry seeing their intention, let go of me to allow them to hug me.
We melted into an embrace and the three of us sobbed a little.
We knew that moment was very emotional because every year my father would lift us up, put us on his shoulders, and we would place the star.
We took turns doing it and kept track of whose turn it was each year.
Two hotel employees brought me a ladder and I began to climb the steps with all eyes fixed on me. When I reached the top, I kissed the star and placed it on the tree. As I came down, Henry approached and took my hand to help me, then hugged me tightly.
We stayed around the tree waiting for it to be lit. When it finally illuminated, the hall took on the festive air and charm of Christmas. For a few minutes the four of us remained silent, observing it and immersed in memories.
“Well, task completed,” said Bastián.
“It looks beautiful,” I affirmed. “Thank you all,” I said, looking at the employees who had helped us with the task.
“Yes, thank you all,” repeated Bastián.
“Dali, can I give you my list of what I’m asking Santa for?” said Lolo, smiling like a child, but I was sure he did it to lighten the melancholy.
“Leave it under the tree, maybe you’ll get lucky,” I responded, smiling.
“I'm going for it right now. See you,” he said as he left.
“Is he always like this?” Henry asked.
“Not always, but I think he's the most playful of the three. You know better than anyone that he can also be serious and meddlesome.”
“That's very true.”
“I'm leaving too. I'll see you at Sunday lunch,” Bastián said, saying goodbye before he left.
“Did your mom let you know if she's coming for Christmas?” I asked as we headed to the suite. It was Saturday and we weren't working.
“Niky spoke with her and she confirmed that she'll spend the holidays with my aunt, but then she'll come for the wedding preparations. She's very excited and eager to meet you in person.”
“We've talked so many times on video calls that it feels like I already know her.”
“You'll get along very well, though I should tell you that we'll see her very little because in recent years she's decided to travel and go away for several months. I don't know if it's because of her age, but she wants to spend a lot of time with her siblings.”
“And that's fine with me. It's wonderful that she has such a close relationship.”
“They're very close, like you three and like Niky and I are.”
“How she laughed when we told her about your interruption at my cousin's wedding,” I commented.
“That's something that will remain in our love story, like a legend of lovers,” he said, giving me a sweet kiss.
“No doubt about it. You'll be the romantic hero of our family.”
“Our family,” he repeated. “Sounds good, doesn't it?” And he kissed me again. “Dalina, you are my family, my home, you're the engine of my life. We're two people, but one world—you are my world, never forget that.”
And that's how romantic Henry was. Since we had reconciled, there wasn't a day that he didn't surprise me with some romantic gesture, whether it was words, actions, or gifts that showed what I meant to him.
A few days before Christmas, I met Niky at a shopping mall to buy Christmas presents.
It was Friday, but I had left the office after noon to avoid the afternoon hours when these places were packed with people and it became impossible even to walk.
We wanted to take advantage of this shopping day to enjoy each other's company and stroll around for a while.
I really enjoyed choosing and buying Christmas gifts because for me it was a time to rejoice.
Christmas was the moment to materialize feelings and surprise our loved ones with a nice gift.
Since Niky's house was the largest, we were going to spend Christmas Eve there, all together, and I had already prepared the list of what I planned to buy to do it as quickly as possible and then spend quality time with my friend.
Choosing the gifts took us more than three hours, but we were both very satisfied.
I had thought a lot about Henry's gift and had decided on a beautiful white gold wristwatch from a well-known brand.
On the back, I had asked them to engrave part of the poem “Llegaste a tiempo” (“You Arrived on Time”) by the poet Jaime Sabines:
“You weren't before or after, you were on time.
On time for me to fall in love with you”
I love you
Your Dalina
When we finished buying everything we had planned, we were really tired from so much walking, so we decided to leave the gifts in our cars and go back to sit in a café to have coffee and eat something nice.
We took the opportunity to talk about Christmas Eve dinner and some details about the wedding.
Time flew by, and it was Henry's call that made us realize it was after seven in the evening.
“Hello, my love,” I said as soon as I answered.
“Hello, beautiful, where are you?”
“I'm still at the mall with Niky.”
“You're still shopping? Did you leave anything for those of us who haven't done it yet?” he asked, and I heard him laugh.
“We're done. Now we're sitting in a café chatting.”
“Hi, brother,” Niky greeted, leaning toward the phone so he could hear her.
“Send her my regards,” Henry requested.
“I will. Are you at the hotel already?”
“Just arrived. Will you be long?”
“I don't think so. I suppose I'll be there in an hour,” I replied. “Since it's Friday, we could go out for dinner,” I suggested.
“That's a good idea, my love. Don't be long, I'm really missing you,” he said in his sensual voice, and my skin tingled all over.
“I won't be long. I love you.”
“And I love you.”
When I ended the call, Niky was looking at me with a big smile.