Double Obsessions

by Charlotte Sloan

  “Perhaps a chair for him,” Grace said, “so he can sit quietly while I take care of my business.”

  “Actually,” Antonio said. “Could you show her to a dressing room? She’d like to try this on.”

  “Hey! I didn’t say. . .”

  “You said you would try it on, why not now, so that you can see how right I am?”

  “How would you know anything about women’s fashion?” Grace mumbled, taking the garment and following the saleslady to a dressing room. “Thank you,” Grace said to the lady as she entered the dressing room. She changed into the jumper.

  This one, while longer than the first one, was still a bit shorter than what she normally would wear. She turned and swept her hair up to see the back. It was pretty cute. Grace imagined herself with big shades covering her eyes and an expensive purse on her arm. She had really entered a totally different lifestyle.

  “We want to see,” Antonio said.

  “I am coming. Be patient!” Grace said, emerging from the stall. She placed a hand on her hip and posed then gave a spin and made a pose again.

  “You are ready to be a model,” Antonio said.

  “Okay, give me your honest opinion, not your ‘I want to be right and Grace wrong’ opinion.”

  “I don’t have one of those opinions,” Antonio responded with a straight face. “Honestly, I think it looks good, but with your light skin, you need a color like purple or maybe blue. Do you want to try another color?”

  Grace shrugged and enjoyed playing rich girl for a little bit. She ended up getting the jumper in a dark purple color along with a pair of white capris and two shirts.

  “Next stop,” Antonio said, once again opening the door for her. “Shoes. The pair of shoes you have. . .smell a little bit.”

  Grace knew that. They were her work shoes and had never been prepared to help her walk around while she received the news of being a princess. The morning passed, and Grace made more purchases than she had made in all her years working as a waitress. There were some perks to having seemingly endless amounts of money.

  “Lunch?” Antonio asked.

  Grace wanted to agree, but she felt as though she might be sick again. “I think I just need something light, like a smoothie with no milk. I don’t know why my stomach is acting up.”

  “I’d still like something to eat,” Antonio said. He shoved a twenty-dollar bill in her hand. “Why don’t you get something you want, and I’m going over to that sandwich shop over there.”

  Grace was on her own in the big city of Chicago for the first time, but for some reason, she didn’t feel like running away. She felt drawn to Antonio. Even though he was a bit stuck up, she understood how he could be that way. He really had impeccable manners though, and Grace wondered if it was possible that they could actually work out. Her curiosity was driving her to learn more and more about this mysterious man.

  She ordered a smoothie and made her way back to the park. She spotted Antonio on a bench. He was talking to a girl, and Grace immediately felt her stomach knot up. But she shouldn’t be surprised. He had said as much the night before that if he wanted to have sex then he had better have a woman sent to his room. Grace had somehow imagined that had all changed during their morning shopping trip. Maybe Antonio’s behavior was a habit that would never be changed.

  Grace stood off to the side, wondering if she should approach and say something or just wait until the girl left. The girl seemed to be getting comfortable, so Grace made her way over. She wasn’t going to drink her whole smoothie standing up. She was tired. Grace sat on the other side of Antonio without saying anything. She continued to drink her smoothie as she searched through the bags for her new sunglasses. She finally found them and slipped them on. Unfortunately, the girl and Antonio were talking in Spanish, so Grace had no idea what flirty lines he was playing out. Grace realized that as much as the people around Antonio might try to force him to respect her and be loyal to her, he would never do so unless he really wanted to. And it seemed as though Antonio would never want to.

  Chapter 8

  When the girl finally left, Grace was sullen and silent. “Are you feeling okay?” Antonio asked.

  Grace shook her head. “I am tired and ready for a nap. Do you think we can go back now? We’ve gotten a lot.”

  “Sure,” Antonio said. “Let me eat my sandwich first, then we’ll go back.”

  Grace yawned and sat back against the bench. She really felt sleepy. She had slept pretty well the night before, so she didn’t understand herself. As the noon hour wore on, Grace slowly became sleepier, and Antonio slowly became more awake. He finished his sandwich and made a call. They continued sitting there, and Grace finally brought up the idea of going back to the hotel again.

  “Yeah, I just made a call. Our limo should pull up. I would not want to carry all these bags back to the hotel, would you?”

  Grace’s tired body was thankful. She climbed into the limo and almost fell asleep on the short stop-and-go ride back to the hotel. “Come on,” Antonio said. He took her hand to help her from the limo. He then had her take his arm again as they paraded through the lobby and to the elevator. Grace was tired of the rich life by the time they reached the penthouse. She collapsed on her bed and fell asleep.

  “We can go clubbing tomorrow,” Antonio had said to her before she fell asleep. When Grace woke up, it was dark outside. How long had she slept? Normally when she took a nap in the afternoon, it might be an hour long. This had definitely been longer than an hour. Grace ordered room service from the phone in her room then started wandering around the penthouse to see where Antonio was. He was on the phone, talking in what she thought was Spanish, and he seemed very occupied.

  Grace went about preparing another bath for herself as she waited for the food to arrive. The warm water made Grace relax, and all she wanted to do was sleep again. What was wrong with her?

  “I was thinking,” Antonio said once Grace had gotten dressed in some silky pajamas, “We could go see the aquarium. The limo can take us in the morning. We don’t have one in Aruba. We just have the ocean on all sides, so I’d like the chance to see all these animals that I don’t get to see at home.”

  “That’s fine,” Grace said. “I’m not feeling well. I’m just going to sleep some more. Good night.”

  “Good night. Sleep well,” Antonio said.

  Grace tramped back to her room and fell between the sheets, falling to sleep instantly. Maybe her nights of troubled sleep were catching up to her now.

  In the morning, Grace felt a lot better. She got dressed and made her appearance in the living room. Antonio was up and dressed sharply as always.

  “Ready to go? I thought we would get a bit of breakfast downstairs today before leaving.” Grace nodded and followed along with Antonio’s itinerary. She didn’t have a lot to say and remembering her earlier pains, she chose foods that would be soft on her stomach.

  “Have you ever been to an aquarium?” Antonio asked.

  “No,” Grace shook her head, holding her stomach. She felt so strange. In the limousine, she closed her eyes.

  “Are you sure you are feeling well?” Antonio asked.

  “Yes,” Grace nodded. “I think I’ve just caught a bug.”

  “A bug? You mean a bug bit you?”

  “No,” Grace shook her head, not amused by Antonio’s vocabulary at the moment. “It means I am sick. Like a germ, a bug.”

  “If you prefer, I can leave you to rest at the hotel,” Antonio said.

  “No! No, I’m fine,” Grace said, closing her eyes again. “I’m just a bit tired. It’s nothing.”

  When they got the aquarium, Grace was excited. She was hoping to see dolphins. She had never seen the ocean before. In fact, even just seeing the lake on the edge of Chicago was exciting. Grace couldn’t believe she would actually see the animals she had seen in movies and books for so long.

  “Does it say what kind of animals are here?” Grace asked.

  “I think in t
his paper,” Antonio said, handing her the brochure. Grace started looking through as she followed Antonio into the first room. As the first scent of fish hit her, Grace’s sensitive stomach heaved. She threw up all over the entrance to the aquarium. The acid taste in her mouth made Grace heave again, but her stomach had nothing left to throw up.

  “Oh no,” Grace moaned.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Antonio said, running around the present Grace had left on the floor and wrapping his arms around her. “Let’s just go back to the penthouse. I’ll tell someone to clean this up.”

  Grace felt like the naughty child who had ruined the trip as Antonio approached the front desk and explained what had happened. He then came back to Grace, wrapped an arm around her and brought her to the limo. He got her a cup of water and place to spit the water once she had rinsed her mouth. Grace closed her eyes and lay across the bench seat of the limo. She was pretty sure that Antonio carried her up to the room, because the next thing she knew, she was in her bed.

  “I’m pregnant,” Grace whispered to herself. All the signs were there. She’d been tired, and she’d been feeling sick and eating funny. Fear wrapped itself around her. She couldn’t be pregnant. Antonio would hate her. It’s not like Dylan would care or even try to be responsible. Even though Grace felt really strongly as though something strange was happening to her body, she wanted to make sure before she let worry take over her. In order to buy a pregnancy test, she would need to find a way to leave the penthouse by herself without anyone becoming suspicious. She would then take the test somewhere other than the penthouse so no one would jump to conclusions either way.

  Grace didn’t feel well enough to do anything at the moment, so she just drifted off to sleep. When she woke up, she was starving, and she went out to the living room. Antonio was sitting there, and he stood upon her entering the room.

  “Hey, how are you feeling?”

  “Better,” Grace gave a gentle nod, trying to figure out how she could scheme her way out.

  “Do you want some food to order up? Or is your stomach not up for real food yet? Maybe you just want mashed potatoes or something like that.”

  Grace shook her head. “I think I just need a little walk. I might pick up some food at the café downstairs. Do you want anything?”

  “I’ll go with you,” Antonio shrugged. “I’m getting pretty hungry myself.”

  Grace shook her head. “I’d rather go by myself. I just want some time to think. This is a lot. . .to take in, you know.”

  “I understand,” Antonio said. “But, I don’t know that my men will even allow you to go out by yourself.”

  “Am I going to be a prisoner all my life? Will they constantly be afraid that I am going to run away? That’s not fair to me. I just want a moment to be by myself.”

  “Can’t you have your moment in this penthouse?” Antonio swept his arm across the expansive living room.

  “Yes, I could, but I don’t want to. And I don’t think it’s fair that I be forced to suffer through sitting here day after day or only going out with you. I just want to go down to the hotel’s lobby. I’m not planning to leave the hotel.”

  Antonio shrugged. “Whatever. Do what you want.” He walked away, and Grace felt a little sick at the thought of him giving up on her like that.

  She turned and opened the door. Both Pablo and Herman were there. Estefan had seemingly disappeared. “Antonio said I could go,” she said even though she knew they wouldn’t understand. Then in a way so that she wouldn’t be flaunting her newfound freedom, Grace cautiously walked to the elevator and pressed the down button. When she reached the hotel’s lobby, she was happy that neither of the men had felt it necessary to follow her.

  Just as Grace had remembered, there was a little store that had conveniences people staying in a hotel might need. One of those things was a pregnancy test. Grace counted out some of the change she had received in waitressing tips a few days before and paid for the test. She stuffed it into her pocket as best she could then pulled her shirt down over top to cover it. She then went into the lobby’s bathroom and did the pregnancy test.

  The two bars were very clear. Grace read back over the instructions several times before accepting that her instincts had been correct. She covered her face and held the tears back. But she felt as though she was going to be sick again. She was pregnant. There was a baby inside her! Grace looked down at her stomach. It didn’t look at all different. But the pregnancy test wouldn’t lie. Grace threw the test away and stood.

  She felt as though her life was over. She had really started to like Antonio. And if he knew, then he would most likely hate her. He wouldn’t be able to accept how she had shunned any idea of becoming physical with him. Should she call Dylan?

  She felt like he should know. He was the father, but that didn’t mean he would do anything either helpful or responsible. Why should she subject herself to more embarrassment? “No, Dylan, you haven’t earned the right to know,” Grace said. She straightened her hair and left the bathroom with what she hoped appeared a confident look. She wouldn’t tell Antonio. It wouldn’t show for a while, and she could tell him then. She just didn’t know how he would react right now.

  Grace entered the penthouse a short time later. “Feel better now?” Antonio asked. But this time the question was not laced with concern. It was sarcastic.

  Grace shrugged. “Yes.” Now that she had entered the penthouse again, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do.

  “Look,” Antonio said. “If I’m stuck with you, and you’re going to be living in Aruba, you need to learn some Papiamento.”

  “What? That’s not a real language!”

  Antonio laughed. “Yes, it is! It’s one of the official languages of Aruba. Do you think I’m making this up?”

  “But I heard Pablo and Herman talking. They were speaking Spanish.”

  “Why do you say that?” Antonio asked, with his arms crossed and face amused.

  “I caught a few words,” Grace said. “I may not have been the best in my Spanish class in school, but I know enough to understand a little.”

  “Papiamento is a mix of Spanish and Dutch and everything else beautiful. So just because you heard a few words doesn’t mean it’s Spanish.” He shook his head. “Why would I make up a language?”

  Grace shrugged, smiling a little. “I don’t know. I just thought… that you were. So you speak Papiamento and English?”

  “I also speak Dutch, which is the other official language of the island and Spanish, which is easy to learn once you know Papiamento.”

  “Okay, so teach me something,” Grace said, sitting down across the coffee table from Antonio. “What will I need to know how to say?”

  “A lot,” Antonio laughed. “But, we’ll start with a few easy phrases. Morru.”

  “Morru,” Grace repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “Good morning. Do you see how it is a little similar? Morru sounds like morning.”

  Grace shrugged. “Yes, I can see the similarity. Look, can you write it down? I’m going to forget unless you write it.”

  Antonio asked for some paper and a pen, and Estefan came back in with both a few minutes later. He asked after Grace’s wellbeing then left. Grace was ready for her first lesson in Papiamento.

  Chapter 9

  After the lesson, Antonio asked if Grace felt up to going to the club. “I always have such a great time,” Antonio said. “I want you to join me.”

  Grace felt significantly better. “Yes, I wouldn’t mind going, but I have to lay down the law. Please don’t get super drunk. If you don’t know the way back or if you start getting crazy, don’t expect me to fill in for you. I don’t know this town, and I’m not going to do anything with you. I just want to be clear and up front.”

  Antonio shook his head. “We have a word for you in Papiamento: baston. It means you are like a tree. You don’t want to go anywhere or do anything fun.”

  Grace laughed. “Like a stick in the m
ud, we say. Well, I think I have a right to be a stick if I want to be.”

  Antonio rolled his eyes, but Grace could tell he was not too upset with her. “Well, let’s get ready and get a light bite to eat before we go.”

  Grace changed into some jeans and a loose blouse. She put on some heels and swept her hair up into a braided bun. With her new earrings in place, she was ready to go out. She’d never had much reason to dress up in Benton. She had dressed up sometimes to impress Dylan. She’d liked the way his eyes would light up upon seeing her. Grace wasn’t quite sure now about her motives behind dressing up at the moment, though.

  Antonio looked just as nice as Grace, and Grace felt proud that she was going out and people were going to see her with him. “Wow! If I am allowed, I must say that my wife sure looks sexy tonight,” Antonio wiggled his eyebrows.

  Grace would have enjoyed the comment except for the fact that he had to throw in the “my wife” part. She wasn’t quite ready to face that reality. “Well, thank you,” she answered.

  Antonio offered his arm, and they went out to board the limousine. When the limousine pulled up in front of the club, everyone turned to look. Now, Grace was the center of attention, the one who everyone was watching. She couldn’t help smiling.

  Antonio led her in. “Anything specific you’d like to drink?” he asked.

  Grace shrugged. She’d never been a big drinker, and she didn’t know the names of any drinks. “I’ll take whatever you want,” Grace said.

  “Wait right here,” Antonio said. “And don’t let anyone steal you.”

  Grace nodded, thinking there would be nothing to stop her from that command. She noticed Herman in one corner of the club and Pablo in another. She wasn’t sure if they were trained to fight should something happen to Antonio or if they were just there for fun while “on the job.” A man quickly approached Grace and started talking to her, but Grace immediately did what she could to make him know she wasn’t available.

  “Here’s your drink,” Antonio said, handing her a tall glass of something white. It had a fruity flavor, and Grace could barely taste the alcohol in it.