by Jessie Cooke
The driver nodded and tipped his cap. “Good to see you, too, sir. Your dinner has been arranged at your request. Everything is ready and awaiting your arrival.”
“Great!” Reece clapped his hands and rubbed his palms together. He turned towards the happy couple still canoodling. Christo was smiling with his entire being. “Can you two pull yourselves away from each other long enough for dinner, or should we get you back to the room already?” Reece teased.
Christo pulled away from Simon long enough to throw his arms around Reece in gratitude. “Thank you. Thank you. THANK YOU!” he sang, like a kid whose Christmas wishes had all come true. “I was nearly beside myself missing this man,” Christo confided. “I am forever grateful to you, Reece Hamilton.”
“Well, it’s not like I brought you the winning lottery ticket or anything. I just happened to see Simon one night when I had some business in Fort Worth. He was miserable without you. I was coming anyway, so I told him to get himself packed, he was coming with me.”
Bella stepped forward inserting herself into the budding bro-mance. “So, you knew about all this?” She said looking up at Simon accusatorily.
“I knew nothing of all the details or this Bryce Grayson stuff until we were on the plane and halfway here, Bella. Reece simply told me he had business over here. You know how property development goes; it’s all about networking just like any other job. I figured there was some connection there. He volunteered the Bryce Grayson information on the way; didn’t have to tell me any of that,” Simon explained.
“Simon warned me it would probably be hostile when we arrived,” Reece inserted. “He gave me a good scolding for setting up this . . . what did you call it?”
“A reveal,” Simon provided.
“Yeah, for setting up a reveal like this. Said it was insensitive.” Reece glanced at Bella and winked at her. “I just told him I wanted witnesses so that people would know what happened to my body after you pulled my beating heart out of my chest when you saw me.”
Bella’s fury was palpable. Reece had made her heat rise on many occasions, but this time it was different. His audacity felt like a sucker-punch to her stomach, knocking the wind right out of her, but on top of that, she hated herself for allowing him to affect her this way.
She wished she could be more like Evens in this moment: stoic and removed. She caught sight of him from the corner of her eye as he stood, slightly removed from the foursome and patiently tolerant yet uninvolved with all that was transpiring around him. He was a big black mountain in the midst of this white chaos and fury, the passions—from both ends of the spectrum—flying around him but not affecting him.
Rise above, Bella told herself as she tried to calm the raging flames that threatened to spew forth. She imagined the rage and the words like lava shooting from her mouth and melting every part of her that it touched. She knew she would be hurting herself as much if not more than Reece, not to mention she’d ruin the reunion between Simon and Christo, and they didn’t deserve that no matter what she felt Reece Hamilton deserved.
“I hope you’ll be pleased with the progress you see,” she said to Reece deciding that the business approach was most likely the best. It was something they both agreed on: making this resort the travel destination for people from all over the world from all walks of life.
“I look forward to it,” Reece said, easily transitioning to match her persona. “But I’m looking forward to dinner even more! Shall we?”
Evens nodded curtly and began weaving his way through the crowds almost like a linebacker making way for his quarterback. His shoulders broader than the average Haitian coupled with his height and dark sunglasses made him a formidable sight, so most people moved away at the sight of him. Only rarely did he have to say anything or excuse himself and the entourage he preceded.
When they made it to the car, they all piled in while Evens took care of their luggage.
“Y’all are in for a real treat,” Reece commented. “Evens has an auntie that took a liking to me when he and I first started working together. It has become one of our rituals for her to cook a meal for me when I come to the island. She is the best cook in all of Haiti, and she has graciously offered to cater our little dinner part tonight. So, tonight, you get a taste of the real Haiti.”
The car drove past encampments of tents, ramshackle hovels with corrugated tin roofs, and rubble remnants of buildings before Mother Nature devastated the country. It depressed Bella, especially when she thought of returning to Syel la Island, the heaven and paradise that most of these Haitians only dreamed of.
A small outcropping of rainbow-colored concrete buildings peeked at them down the road.
“That’s where Phara lives,” Reece pointed.
The car eventually pulled into a gravel drive. Evens got out, opened the mighty gate, got back into the car, drove through, and then exited to close the gate up before he finished chauffeuring the group down what truly consisted of a gravel alleyway where he finally parked. He opened the door for all of them, Reece exiting first, the most sure and familiar of the group.
“Oné! (Honor)” Reece shouted towards a turquoise-colored house.
“Respé! (Respect)” came a female’s voice from just within. Seconds later, the gated door opened up and a woman about four feet and ten inches came running out, both hands raised in the air. Her voice was shrill and happy, but she spoke Creole that couldn’t be understood by the majority of the group gathered.
She placed her dark hands on Reece’s face, said something as she laughed, and kissed him on each cheek affectionately. Reece was grinning the entire time, his relaxed posture communicating how comfortable he was with this woman. He laughed at her mixture of Creole and English, and Bella could hear her telling him he was too thin and that she would fix that.
Reece made all the introductions and Phara welcomed them officially into her home.
It was modest and clean, and Bella told her repeatedly how lovely the house was and how much they appreciated her hospitality. They sat at a table made from wooden pallets on a menagerie of chairs and stools, some of which Bella was sure Phara had borrowed from her neighbors. Phara laden them down with red beans and rice, fried plantains, and barbeque pork, insuring they were good and stuffed before she finally heard their pleas to cease. She joined them for coffee and told them about raising Evens and the trouble he used to get into.
Bella laughed at poor Evens’ expense, but she felt a kinship growing between them as she heard all of the secret stories his auntie had entrusted them with. By the end of the night, she was kissing Phara on the cheeks just like a dear auntie of her very own.
They all piled into the car as they were waving goodbye, thanking Phara incessantly for the memorable evening. Reece was last to get in as she kept patting his hands and pinching his cheeks.
“That one,” Phara said to Reece.
“What one?”
“That girl,” she clarified. “There’s something special about her, boy. I can see it with my own two eyes. You and her,” here she clapped her hands, “It’s in the stars. Done and done. Don’t give fate the runaround. You’re meant to be together.”
Reece peered into the car where Bella was leaning forward joking with Evens. Her laugh musical in the night air.
“I don’t think she sees it,” Reece answered. “And I’ve done a lot to hurt her.”
“You’ve got to make her see it,” Phara answered, her leathery face seeking Reece’s. “Look at me. In the eyeball.”
He obeyed, her cataract-covered eye milky in his gaze.
“It’s up to you to make her see it. Whatever you did, you’d better fix it. She is your destiny boy. I can see it as plainly as the nose on your face. And I see the spark of fire between you.”
Reece laughed. “That’s because she’d like to light me up and burn me alive probably.”
“Whatever you did, undo it,” Phara said.
“I don’t think that’s possible,” Reece answered.
“How is it you know me so well, Phara?” Reece asked her, just like he did every time he saw her.
“I tell you: God brought us all together—you, Evens, and me. A new family. And you need one in Haiti for when you’re here. Now go, and take care of my nephew.”
Reece bent down and picked the old woman up in his bear hug, spinning her easily in his embrace. He kissed her on the top of her head when he put her down.
“Mwen renmen ou (I love you),” Phara said as she received her kiss.
“Mwen renmen ou,” Reece replied just like a long-lost Haitian nephew should.
32
Bella had tried not to be curious about Reece’s exchange with Phara as they were preparing to leave, but she couldn’t help it. While they waited, she had joked around with Evens about the stories his aunt had told, but she wondered what the low voices were about as she caught the two glancing at her conspiratorially. Simon was still apologizing to Bella about not being able to warn her about what he learned before it came crashing down around her, but she wasn’t holding it against him. She couldn’t; it just wasn’t fair.
What she could hold against him was the fact that he kept pulling her attention away from Reece at the moment so that she couldn’t hear what was being said.
“Are you eavesdropping?” Christo finally asked.
“There are no eaves, so no, I’m not,” she answered quickly.
Christo leaned towards the open window of the car mirroring Bella’s posture. He could hear the voices of Phara and Reece and then cocked his head at Bella.
“I do believe that you’re listening in on a private conversation, or at least trying to,” Christo challenged.
“Well, I might be able to hear something if you two would hush up,” she hissed.
“I think it’s so sweet the way Reece is with her. I’ve never seen this side of him,” Christo mentioned.
“There are many sides of Reece you haven’t seen,” Bella said, still bitter. “Apparently that goes for me too. Seems to be kind of a theme with him.”
“I hear what you’re saying, Bella,” Simon chimed in, “and I know you are hurting. You have every right, but—well, it just seems to me that this is part of the real Reece Hamilton. He didn’t have to tell me all the details he did. He has taken full responsibility for breaking your heart and potentially losing the best thing that ever happened to him. Don’t allow your hatred to take over your happiness. I believe that deep down inside, he’d do almost anything to fix this between you, but not at the cost of being a bad father.”
The world tipped at a dangerous angle, and Bella felt like she was sliding off the edge of it.
“Do not take his side in this, either of you,” she seethed. “I will hate him for as long as I possibly can, and that’s my right.”
Christo leaned forward and grabbed her hand. “You’re right, yes. Of course, and no one’s taking sides. You just remember: all this hate might hurt him quite a bit, but it’s hurting you more.”
She knew he was right, but she wasn’t ready to concede yet. Still, part of the reason for her anger was present in the very moment in which she was eavesdropping: she was attracted to the person he was, the good-natured, easy-to-adopt soul that seemed to draw everyone in and treat them all like they were special to him. Just look at Phara.
Finally Reece climbed into the car, and the group waved goodbye one last time. He settled back as Evens drove them out the gated community again and past all the poverty that was in the main part of Port au Prince.
“I always feel like such a sham when I come here,” Reece said, his quiet voice speaking what was also on the minds of the others gathered in the car. “Like a spoiled brat who doesn’t know the first thing about real hardship.”
Bella’s first thought was to quip about the sham she knew him to be, but the setting was all wrong, and she felt as guilty as he did for being a white American among the overwhelming poverty of Haiti.
“At least you are bringing some jobs,” Christo pointed out. “Your resort will house and employ well over a hundred Haitians. That means you’ll be helping out hundreds of families.”
“Yeah, but look at the walls I’m still building between ‘us’ and ‘them’—the rich and the poor. Sometimes it makes me feel . . . I don’t know, like I’m taking advantage of life in some way. It’s just by chance that I was born in America and raised by a hard-working mother and given a good education. Evens and I could have easily been swapped by fate.”
“And then he would find you, hire you, and endear himself to one of your aunts,” Christo said, to which Reece uttered a short laugh.
“Doubtful. My aunts are pretty damn cantankerous.”
Bella chimed in. “You know, my mom always told me, ‘It’s good to walk around in other people’s shoes, but don’t forget your own in the meantime and how far they brought you too.’ I think it’s important to do for others, to feel for others, but it’s just as important to use your talents and gifts you’re given. To waste them is the greatest crime.”
Christo and Simon bobbed their heads along as Reece took a long look at Bella. She could practically hear what he was thinking, but she tried to block it out.
And that’s just part of why I love you, Bella Ryan.
It was almost as if he’d spoken it.
When the boat dropped them at the dock, it was well past midnight, and Bella was bushed.
“So, we didn’t really talk about the design progress,” she said as she fought back a yawn.
“We will tomorrow. How about breakfast at my suite? Say eight? I want to hear your greatest triumphs and trials, and then you can show me all the wonderful work you’ve done. Simon, I hope you’ll join us. The talk may be boring for you, but the tour should make up for it.”
“Sounds perfect,” both Simon and Christo answered together. They said goodnight as they walked hand-in-hand towards the villa they were sharing with Bella.
Reece caught Bella’s hand and pulled her back as the happy couple put more distance between them.
“Bella, I owe you an apology. For the surprise. Simon was right: it was pretty insensitive. I just wondered if you wouldn’t quit the job and fly straight back to Fort Worth if you knew I was involved.”
Reality smacked Bella suddenly, and she thought of the road runner and coyote cartoons. She envisioned the big black weight with white letters that indicated it weighed a thousand tons, and how the coyote struggled and pushed against it so that it would fall from a cliff. He was hoping to pulverize the road runner, but he always ended up a victim of his own scheme. Bella was that coyote, and here she was smashed flat, like in the cartoon, by this thousand-ton epiphany.
“You gave me this job,” she said slowly, the words coagulating in her mouth. “You didn’t hire me for my design. You hired me because of my name. I don’t even know if I’m worthy this job; you just recognized my name and granted me the job, just like the other ones back in Dallas. You’ve manipulated even this!” Her voice was a screeching whisper, mainly because she didn’t want Christo to hear, but also because she didn’t want it to be true.
“That’s not true, Bella,” Reece said. “I had no idea that you were even the designer until Rita confirmed it for me two weeks ago when I pressed her about it. All I ever saw were the designs and the Dreamscapes logo. I had no clue it was you. Did I hope it was? Certainly? But I couldn’t orchestrate that even if I tried. I have too many channels I’d have to go through with this corporation for it to happen. Back in Dallas, that was easy. This would take virtually an act of Congress hiring a specific person for a job I didn’t know for sure they could do, especially the way Bryce runs this business, and he’s the majority here. I’m just the partner.”
“Oh
, so now you don’t know if I can even do this job? Wow, you really know how to keep a girl guessing,” Bella said.
Reece pinched the skin of his forehead together making a crease between his brows. He had known this would be hard, but it was turning out to be a lot harder than he ever imagined.
“I’m not saying that at all. I wouldn’t trust you with my own house if I didn’t think you could do it. I know how talented you are, and I loved the designs. We’re getting off topic here. I’m trying to say ‘I’m sorry’ for springing this all on you like this. I hope that we will have a great month together and really enjoy the grand opening. I’m looking forward to spending time with you again, even if it is strictly business. Though . . . well, I’m not going to be dishonest with you, Bella. I haven’t given up on us yet.”
“Have you given up on Nicky? What about the baby you’re having with her? Hell, I don’t even know if the baby is here yet.”
“Not here yet, and no, I haven’t given up on either Nicky or the baby, but they are different than me and you.”
“From where I stand, there is no me and you. Not when you need to commit to someone else. Not when you’re having a baby with another woman. I’m sorry, Reece. I just can’t compromise. I don’t want to be just one of the women in a man’s life; I want to be the only one. You’re having a baby. You’re going to be involved with the mother of your child whether you like it or not. And you should, but that’s just not the relationship I’m trying to walk into. And especially not when the baby-mama just happens to be my best friend . . . or ex-best friend, whatever it is we are now.”
Reece cocked his head. “Did you two have a falling out?”
“More like a falling off. I haven’t spoken to her in ages. Haven’t seen her in even longer. She doesn’t even know I’m out of the country.”