Wives and Champions

by Tina Martin

  “Yep. Already talked to him. Told him to call me if he had any issues.”

  “All right, Des. See you later, then.”

  “Yep. Later.”

  Dante hung up the phone, watching Dimitrius walk into his office at the same time.

  Dimitrius rolled his wrist to check his watch. “It’s nine. Where’s Desmond?”

  “He just called. He’s not coming in today.”

  “Oh. Is everything okay with him?” Dimitrius asked, sitting down.

  “He sounded okay. Said he needed to take care of some errands or something.”

  “All right, so do we need to have this meeting or what?” Dimitrius asked with a cranky edge to his voice.

  If a person didn’t know Dimitrius, they’d think he was being rude. Dante knew this was his brother’s normal temperament. Marriage had evened him out a little, but Dimitrius hadn’t lost his astute business sense nor the stern, let’s-get-down-to-business approach that made him who he was. He was more relaxed at the bar Saturday night.

  “Do you have anything to discuss from an accounts perspective?”

  “Ah…” Dimitrius thought for a moment, then said, “I’m working on a few account updates with the I.T. department this week. Nothing to discuss concerning that, but there is one thing we’ve been putting off for a while.”

  “Which is?”

  “Grieving Hearts Connect. With the rollout of eRoll in Vegas, we sort of forgot about our previous discussions which centered around the possibility of opening up GHC to your everyday vacationer–removing the exclusivity for the grief-stricken.”

  “Actually, I didn’t forget about it.” Dante leaned back in his chair, crossed his legs with his ankle resting on his knee. “I was hoping you all forgot about it.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Reason being?”

  “That wasn’t its original purpose. GHC is an outlet to help people heal, not a party destination for a bunch of rowdy, fun-seeking vacationers. That’s not why I opened that facility.”

  “You opened it to give people what you didn’t have when Anita died. I get it. The retreat gives people time to heal, reflect and retain balance after the death of a spouse and while that’s noble of you for opening this facility, we are spending a lot of money keeping that place operating.”

  “But we’re not in the red, Dimitrius. We make a small profit from the resort.”

  Dimitrius nodded. “Even still, opening up GHC to the general population would help offset the money we lose in the fall and winter months.”

  Dante sighed inwardly. His brothers didn’t have the same attachment to GHC as he had, so they didn’t understand how important this place was to him.

  “Now, I took the liberty of having I.T. copy the GHC program we use for booking reservations in which they’ve created a test environment so we could play with different scenarios. Now, let’s say a random vacationer wanted to stay at GHC because they love the fact that it’s a five-star resort and has every amenity you could think of. In the test environment, we’ve added a field that automatically populates with a non-member premium at the time of booking.”

  “How would the system know to charge this random person an additional, non-member fee versus someone who uses the resort today?”

  “Simple. The people who’ve stayed at the GHC resort also have accounts on GHC’s website. With I.T.’s help, I linked the two systems so that, when a random vacationer keys in his or her name and books a room, the system does a sweep through the GHC database for that name. If the system doesn’t find the name, then the premium is automatically added at the time of booking.”

  “Okay. Got it.”

  “The fee is dependent upon which room they book. Also, we give them additional options to choose from in a dropdown menu. They can add spa services, room service, therapy sessions, restaurant passes and etcetera to their bill, all with pre-populated prices.”

  “Okay, so let’s say a non-member couple calls up GHC and wants to spend the weekend there. How much are we charging them per night?”

  “Two hundred, ninety-five dollars, and that’s not including the aforementioned options, nor the non-member premium.”

  “How much is the non-member premium?”

  Dimitrius lifted a shoulder. “All of this is just preliminary. I don’t have an exact figure for the non-member premium. We would have to discuss it with Des and Kurt, but if it was up to me, I’d set the price at an even hundred bucks.”

  Dante shook his head.

  “What?” Dimitrius asked. “Too high? Low?”

  “No. I just don’t see how this is going to work. How is Desmond going to spin the marketing with this? The way I see it, GHC is either a grief retreat or a recreational vacation resort. I don’t see how it can be both.”

  “Well, Des is the marketing expert. We’ll let him rack his brain trying to figure out that part of it. I need to know where you’re at on this to determine if it’s even something worth pursuing.”

  Dante exhaled loudly. “All right…if Desmond can come up with something reasonable that makes sense and will not destroy the integrity of GHC, then I may consider it.”

  “Now we’re talking,” Dimitrius said.

  “Hey, while you have this fresh on your mind, why don’t you shoot Des an email? He said he’d be checking his emails later, and I highly doubt GHC is on his radar. I know he was still looking into that Blackstone deal.”

  “Oh, yeah. What’s up with that?”

  “Not sure. Last I heard, the CEO over there–think his name was Barringer Blackstone–wasn’t interested, but then again, Desmond said the man seemed a little blindsided by his offer. Maybe after the shock wears off, Mr. Blackstone will be willing to negotiate.”

  “Maybe,” Dimitrius said standing. “Well, I’ll send Desmond an email.”

  “And copy Kurt on the email, too. He may have some ideas.”

  “All right. I’m on it.”

  * * *

  After a slower than usual morning, Dante left the office, heading straight to Emily’s boutique. She normally took her lunch break around noon and it was a few minutes after. Maybe he would get there and surprise her before she left. It had been a while since they went on a lunch date.

  When he stepped into her boutique, he instantly saw Carly, Emily’s assistant, standing behind the glass-encased counter.

  “Hi, Carly.”

  “Hey, Dante. Um, Emily stepped out for a minute.”

  Disguising a frown, he asked, “Oh, did she?”

  “Yep…‘bout thirty minutes ago. She didn’t say where she was going though.”

  “Okay. I’ll call her on her cell.”

  “Alrighty. I’ll tell her you stopped by.”

  “Thanks.” Dante slid his hands into his pockets and looked around the store. He remembered he’d once purchased Emily’s entire collection of necklaces before they’d married just to buy some extra time with her. To get under her skin. He grinned. He looked at Carly again and asked, “So how are things going here?”

  “Pretty good. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming with the volume of people inside the store. The only thing is, you never know when it’s going to happen. One minute there’s not a soul in here and the next, there’s a flood of people. But, that’s the nature of retail, I guess.”

  “Yeah, it is.” Dante turned to look at the door when he heard the bell chime. A group of women walked in. “Looks like the busy time has arrived. I’ll see you later, Carly.”

  Dante left the boutique, walking a few doors down to The Caribbean Hut, a restaurant in the same building as Emily’s Boutique. He didn’t frequent the place like Dimitrius did, but now was a good time to grab a quick lunch while he waited for Emily to return to the boutique.

  After the waiter took his order, he sat there at the booth, gazing out of the window, thinking about her. He fought hard to get Emily, made a fake online profile and all just to get to know her. A
nd after all that, even when the relationship didn’t look too promising, he purchased this very building that housed her boutique when she thought she would lose it to the greedy landlord who owned it at the time – all to ensure her happiness. He loved her that much.

  But how much did she love him? She still hadn’t told him about the baby. Would she get rid of the life they created from love? A baby? His baby? The thought made him nauseous.

  Years ago, long before Melanie, his brother, Dimitrius, was dating a woman whom he thought cared for him. Loved him. Dante had caught the woman coming out of an abortion clinic after she’d done the unthinkable behind Dimitrius back. Dimitrius took it hard. He didn’t show it, rarely ever talked about it, but it took him a long time to get over that incident. Eventually, he had learned to love again.

  “Mr. Champion, how goes it?”

  Dante looked up at the owner of the restaurant. Since purchasing the building, Dante personally renegotiated all the lease contracts for the tenants, lowering their leases to reasonable rates – more reasonable than the last owner. The tenants appreciated his generosity and thus, whenever he visited the shops, they would always offer him something for free – like his meal.

  “Hey, Shabari. How are you?”

  “Doing well, my brudda,” Shabari said in his island accent. “You know dis meals is on us. As always.”

  “I appreciate it, man, but that’s really not necessary.”

  “No, no, no. I insist.” He placed his hand on his chest then said, “It’s the least I can do for your generosity. Now, how’s that other brudda of yours?”

  “Who? Dimitrius?”

  “Yes! Haven’t seen him by here in a while.”

  “Oh. He’s good…at the office right now, actually. I’m sure he’ll be here at some point this week. He practically lives off of this place.”

  Shabari chuckled.

  The waiter came by with Dante’s food – curry chicken and white rice with a side of collard greens.

  “Well, I’ll let you enjoy your lunch,” Shabari said. “Good seeing you.”

  “You as well, Shabari. Have a good one, man.”

  Later, when he was nearing the end of his meal, Dante picked up a glass of water and took a sip while looking out of the window when his eyes caught sight of Emily crossing the street, heading to her boutique. He quickly finished the water, left a twenty-dollar bill on the table then headed out.

  Walking into the moderately busy boutique, he continued straight for the back where Emily’s office was located and stepped inside while her back was turned. He watched as she placed her purse in a file drawer and adjusted the blinds.

  “I stopped by earlier,” Dante said.

  Emily felt her heart rate quicken at the sound of his voice. She swung her head around and looked at him. “Jeez. You scared me, Dante,” she said, placing a hand over her thumping heart.

  “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

  Still frazzled, Emily asked, “Wh-what are you doing here?”

  Dante thought her question was odd. What are you doing here? Usually, she’d run up to him and greet him with a hug. Now, she was acting like he caught her in the act of something, but what? “I came by to take you out to lunch.”

  “Oh. Why didn’t you call me?”

  Dante shrugged. “Figured I didn’t have to, especially since you rarely leave the boutique to go to lunch. So where did you end up going?”

  “For lunch?” she asked as she took a seat.

  “Yes. I’m assuming that’s where you’re coming from.”

  “Oh, ah…” Emily paused. She didn’t want to lie, but she didn’t want Dante to know about the baby just yet either. “I had an appointment.”

  “You had an appointment?” Dante asked as he stepped into her office, taking a seat in the chair next to her desk.

  “Yes.”

  “What kind of appointment?”

  Emily looked at him. “Dante, why are you asking me all of these questions?”

  “Because I want to know where you were,” he said, holding her gaze.

  “I went to the doctor, then grabbed a sandwich on my back here.”

  “What doctor?”

  Emily narrowed her eyes at him. “Dante—”

  “What doctor, Emily?”

  She looked heavenward. Sighed. “Dr. Harrell.”

  “Your OBGYN doctor?”

  “Yes, Dante,” she said, looking at him again.

  “And why would you be seeing Dr. Harrell?”

  “Female stuff,” she said. “Why are you so concerned all of a sudden? I’m fine. Why don’t you tell me about your day? How was your morning?”

  Dante stared at her, held her gaze for a long time. He couldn’t take it anymore. He needed to know about the baby, and he needed to hear her say it. “Emily, do you have something to tell me?”

  “Something like what?” she asked, breaking their gaze to log into her workstation.

  Dante stood up, took a few steps until he was standing directly in front of her then took her hands into his.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Stand up.”

  “Dante…”

  “Stand up, Emily.”

  She shuddered when she looked up into his eyes. At his request, she stood while he held her hands.

  Dante released her hands to frame her face before he said, “You know I love you, don’t you?”

  Emily nodded.

  “You know I would give you the world, don’t you?”

  “Yes, Dante. I know.”

  “Then when something happens within our family, I want to know about it. When my wife goes to see a doctor, I want to know about it. That’s not me being controlling. That’s being a man who loves you. A head of household. I want to protect my family. You and Ezra mean the world to me.”

  “I know.”

  “Why did you go to see Dr. Harrell today?” he asked staring longingly into her eyes. He yearned for her to tell him the truth. If she didn’t tell him now, he wouldn’t know what to think about what she was up to.

  “Because I…um…”

  “What is it, Emily?”

  “I needed to take an official pregnancy test.”

  “A pregnancy test?”

  Emily nodded. Eyes watered.

  “And what were the results?”

  Emily closed her eyes and shook her head. A tear traveled the length of her face.

  “Emily?”

  “I’m pregnant, Dante,” she said sadly with a broken voice. “There. I said it. I’m pregnant.”

  There was no need to act surprised since he already knew. So he focused on the reason she hesitated to tell him instead. “You’re pregnant and by your reaction, I take it you’re not happy about it,” he said, wiping the tear away from her face.

  “It’s not like it was planned.”

  “It doesn’t have to be planned. Ezra wasn’t planned.”

  “No, he wasn’t, but—”

  “But what, Emily?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. It’s a woman thing.”

  “A woman thing,” he repeated. “A couple of days ago, you told me you weren’t ready for another baby. Did you know you were pregnant when you said that?”

  “I did,” she admitted.

  “So, you don’t want this baby?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Dante.”

  “Then what are you saying, because I’m confused.”

  “The same thing I said before. I’m not ready for another baby. We’re not ready. I just got back into the swing of things here at the boutique after being home with Ezra for six months and now I’m pregnant again. It’s all fine and dandy for you to be excited about having another child. You don’t have to experience any of the symptoms that come along with pregnancy. You don’t have to worry about morning sickness, heartburn, the mood changes, fatigue, bloating, and constipation. It’s not your body that has to stretch to the size of a blimp. It’s mine. And I have to change my sch
edule because of course your work is more important than mine. And your solution is for me to stay at home. To quit my job and be a full-time mother.”

  Dante frowned. He took a step back from her and said, “So you don’t want my baby?”

  “That’s not what I’m saying, Dante.”

  “Well, that’s all I hear,” he said raising his voice. “You know what…I’m going back to the office before I completely lose my mind in here.”

  “Fine. Go. I already lost my mind. Ezra needs to have at least one sane parent!”

  Dante stopped, turned around and looked at her. “You know what’s funny? And it’s not even funny…it’s more ironic than anything. I would give you anything you ever wanted in life. Anything. Just like I practically gave you this boutique and went as far as to have it redone for you. I would give you anything, Emily. But you’re complaining because you have my baby, our baby, growing inside of you like it’s the worst thing in the world. We discussed children. This isn’t new. We both wanted children.”

  “I didn’t say I didn’t want children.”

  “You just said you didn’t want the baby.”

  “No. I said I wasn’t ready.”

  “Now you’re playing with words.”

  Emily shook her head.

  “Make up your mind, Emily. I’m very decisive. You know that about me. I have no doubt in my mind that you, and a family, is what I want. It’s what I’ve always wanted, but if that’s not what you want, be straightforward with me. If this shop means more to you than our family—”

  “What?” she interrupted.

  He continued, “If this shop means more to you than our family, then just tell me that and stop wasting my time, Emily.” Dante turned away from her and walked out of the office.

  Emily held her head in her hands. Suddenly, an argument about her pregnancy had spiraled out of control into something much more.

  Chapter Nine

  “Come back here, little girl,” Melanie said, chasing Grace around the island in the kitchen. They’d just finished up lunch. Grace had one of her favorites – mashed sweet potatoes – and Melanie made a small garden salad for herself. When they were done eating, Grace waddled around the table with her little, chubby legs. She seemed proud of herself for knowing how to work them a little better now that she could run without many falls.