Chapter 15

15

K arrington

July

A month had passed since our honeymoon, and we hadn’t spent any time together. We barely talked. I could blame it on work, and though that was partly true, it wasn’t all of it. Eyela was an indirect reflection of one of the things I hated most about the mafia. Enjoying time with her, getting close to her, it felt like I was betraying my principles. Regardless of what was going on between us, when I was home, she would play. I think she did that because she knew it would make me come to her, whether we talked or not. Whether that was the case or not, I’d always come.

As soon as I heard her on the harp, it put me in a trance. My feet made their way to her music room without my permission. She looked beautiful in a pink mini dress that puffed out at the bottom. Her hair was flat ironed and covering the side of her face. Ankle bracelets on both ankles made me want them on my shoulders. She always sat and walked on her tip toes when she wasn’t wearing heels. Tonight was no different. Her feet were just as gracefully poised and arched as her posture.

She stopped playing and looked at me.

“Play,” I demanded, and it was the first word I’d spoken to her all week.

Her head tilted and she eyed me intently. After tugging her thumbs for a few seconds, she moved from the harp to her grand piano. The moment she began to play, my eyes closed. There was healing in her hands… her fingers. Every time she played the piano, Eyela soothed me. Each key stroked felt like a tap against my heart that brought it back to life. I may not have wanted to marry her, but God looked out for me by blessing me with her.

My eyes watered as I listened to each chord. Had I not experienced her, I wouldn’t have believed there was healing power in music. When she played, it was like she provided a safe space for me to hurt, to heal, to feel, to grieve. Though I didn’t cry, I did get emotional every time. She made me grieve my art and feel jealousy over her having hers. She made me grieve Luna Ray and feel grateful that I had Eyela. She made me grieve my father and feel pride that he trusted me to carry on his legacy. All the things I didn’t give myself permission to express vocally, she filled me with emotionally when she played.

She played for two hours, and by the time she was done, I felt empty of everything that consumed me. Standing, I muttered a quick thank you before making my way outside.

The Next Evening

Coincidently, I was spending tonight with the crew and Eyela had gone out as well. I had Frasier sending me updates every thirty minutes. The last video he sent me showed her dancing with her girls, but as soon as they all sat down, I saw sadness in her eyes. I wondered if that was because of me… because of us. We had a slight disagreement earlier, and I hadn’t been able to get it out of my head.

I’d come home with plans to stay long enough to shower and get ready for the lounge. There wasn’t anything unusual about smelling dinner because we had private chefs that cooked three times a day when we were here. What did catch me off guard was the sight of Eyela in a beautiful silk dress with an apron around her. At the sight of me, her eyes lit up and she quickly pulled the apron off.

“Hi.” She spoke as I took slow steps in the kitchen.

“Hey. What’s this?”

“I made dinner. I was hoping we could enjoy it together.”

A tortured chuckle escaped me as I shook my head. “I already made plans, little one.”

“Oh.” Sadness covered her face as she looked back at the stove. “Can you maybe be a little late? I made your favorites.”

“Eyela, I—”

“I’m bored,” she blurted. “And lonely. And I know I can be with friends and family. I’m actually meeting up with the girls later. I mean lonely in here.” She took a small step in my direction. “Lonely for you.”

I wanted to tell her I was lonely for her too. That I’d been missing her like crazy. That it was hard staying away from her. But instead of any of that coming out I said, “You know this isn’t a real marriage, right?”

Her eyes rolled and she huffed. “I don’t need you to remind me of that.”

“Obviously you do.”

Eyela chuckled softly as her hands lifted. “I don’t mean to talk back but—”

“You shouldn’t even have to say that. You should have the confidence to speak freely without fear of it being taken as disrespect. The fact that you feel like you can’t speak your mind with me is proof this whole arranged marriage bullshit needs to end.”

“That’s not why I said that!” she yelled softly, and it was the first time I’d heard her raise her voice outside of the bedroom. I’d never heard her curse either, and that was actually kind of cute.

“Then why did you?”

“Out of my respect for you.” Chuckling, she turned and gripped the stove. “Just go, Karrington. I’ll make the guards plates, so this won’t go to waste.”

I should have told her it was fine. That I appreciated the gesture. Instead, I just walked away.

Me: Take my wife home. Call me when you get there.

After texting Frasier, I put my phone in my pocket and gave my attention to the guys. It was cool having a night out with them, but I wanted to get home and make things right with my wife. As soon as Frasier let me know they were pulling up, I headed out, determined to get back on Eyela’s good side.

Back Home

After a quick trip to the Russian market, I headed home. I was grateful they stayed open until one in the morning, because I needed to grab something that I knew would make Eyela smile. I didn’t know what all she wanted on the tray, so I got out all the ingredients we had at home that I figured she might want to add plus what I’d purchased then looked for her. When I found her in the guest bedroom pouting, I chuckled.

“What you doing in here?”

“Getting ready for bed since you summoned me.”

“It didn’t occur to you that I had you to come home for a reason? And I’m not sure why you think you’re going to sleep in here.”

Her eyes rolled as she crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you want, Karrington?”

“To have a late snack with my wife since I ruined dinner. I heard it was really good.”

“Too bad you couldn’t find out for yourself.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll cook for me again when I’m back in your good graces.”

“Maybe.” A ghost of a smile lifted the corners of her mouth before she forced it down.

“Come on. I want to show you something.”

With slight hesitation, she climbed out of bed. After grabbing her robe, she allowed me to take her hand and lead her downstairs to the dining room. As soon as she saw the spread across the table, she gasped and giggled.

“You got me caviar?”

“I did.”

Eyela walked over to the table and sniffed the bouquet of roses I’d gotten as well. “Are you going to join me?”

“Yeah, if that’s cool with you.”

“I’d like that.”

She washed her hands then prepared the spread of caviar, salted plain chips, Doritos, chopped chives, pickles, and crème fraiche. I didn’t care for the taste of it, but I indulged every now and again. Antonne and Haley had put me on to sturgeon caviar, which wasn’t as salty, so I could deal with that.

I told her I would only have one spoon of it, and she giggled. “You don’t like it?”

“Probably not as much as you. I don’t even like when shrimp and fish tastes too fishy.”

“Hmm…” She poured us both shots of vodka then a flute of champagne. “I get what you’re saying. The brand determines the quality and what you eat with it. If you have the right brand and the right chip, it’s good. I definitely wouldn’t advise you to have a bump.”

“Oh hell nah. I’m not doing that.” Her giggle was like music to my ears. As we sat down, I confessed, “I’m sorry, little one. I know this isn’t all it will take to make amends, but I want to dissolve the discord that has been brewing between us since our honeymoon.”

Her smile lowered as she sighed and put a small amount of caviar on her hand for a bump.

“It’s okay,” she muttered, causing me to use her chin to tilt her face in my direction.

“No it’s not. I didn’t really have time to work through a lot of things before the wedding, and I’ve been inadvertently taking that out on you by not being with you. Whether you believe it or not, I’ve been suffering too.”

Her head shook as she took a deep breath. “We don’t have to talk about this tonight. Let’s just enjoy each other’s company.”

I felt like she was doing that because she didn’t believe me but that was cool. I’d show her with my actions. My face twisted as she did the bump of caviar and didn’t bother to chase it down with anything. She laughed and covered her mouth as I said, “I should have asked for a kiss before you ate that.”

“You’re going to eat it, too, so you can still kiss me.” After putting a small amount of crème fraiche and caviar on a cheesy Dorito, she held it up to my mouth. “Here. Taste it like this.”

I thought it over for a second before obliging her. Adding it to the Dorito with the crème fraiche made all the difference in the world. I could eat it like that with no problem.

“Okay, so that’s not so bad.”

Her shoulders hiked and she did a shimmy before we took a shot of vodka. Eyela’s arm wrapped around my neck, and she pulled me close for a kiss. For the next several hours, we ate and talked, and it felt like I had my wife back.