A Royally Beautiful Mess

by Carol Moncado

  Darius interjected. “I’m afraid there’s been a mix up, and we don’t have reservations after all. Those responsible have already been dealt with, but it means Esther and I won’t be dining here. Can you recommend another restaurant with dancing?”

  Jonathan frowned and turned. “Andrew, my reservation was for four, correct?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He turned back to Darius. “As my brother and sister-in-law were unable to make it at the last minute, perhaps you would join us? We did promise you a meal sometime.”

  Darius glanced at Esther who gave a slight shrug. “That would be fine.”

  A minute later, they were seated, with more apologies following in their wake, and the promise of a free dinner for all four of them.

  “I heard your brother made an announcement not too long ago.” Jonathan looked at his wife and winked. “Congratulations are in order.”

  Darius wasn’t sure if Kenzie knew who they were - or just that they were well-to-do clients of Jonathan’s company.

  Kenzie spoke up. “Jonathan promised to take me and Lorelai to San Majoria over Christmas break. My best friend was there not too long ago and loved it, though some of the paparazzi got a little too close to their private beach.”

  Esther shook her head. “Ever since they took some pictures of the Crown Princess that, out of context, looked far more salacious than they really were, the tabloid photographers have become increasingly bold.”

  “She married him, though didn’t she?” Kenzie asked. “And had a baby?”

  Esther nodded. “But the paparazzi still become more forward than ever before.”

  “I understand that.”

  Jonathan wrapped an arm around his wife’s back. “Several of them followed my wife on motorcycles and nearly ran her off the road. By the time she got to our property, I was waiting with my shotgun and police were nearly there.”

  “I heard about that.” Darius reached for Esther’s hand and covered it with his own. “That must have been petrifying.”

  “I’d rather not relive it if you don’t mind.” She shook her head as if to clear it and looked at Esther. “Instead, why don’t you tell me about your favorite beach in San Majoria?”

  Esther winced. “I’m afraid my favorite beaches are of the very private variety. Owned by my family.”

  Kenzie leaned a little closer. “I bet they’re very nice beaches, too. Fit for a king even.”

  So she did know.

  Esther gave her a bright smile. “You could say that.”

  A waitress came by and took their drink orders. Darius just asked for water since he was driving. Esther did as well. He’d noticed she did. Was that because she didn’t want a glass of wine if he didn’t have one?

  Neither Jonathan nor Kenzie ordered a glass either.

  After the waitress left, Darius looked at them. “Just because I’m still a fairly new driver and don’t want a glass of wine doesn’t mean you guys can’t have one.”

  Jonathan chuckled. “Thanks, but I’m a recovering alcoholic. Have been since I was a teenager.” He took Kenzie’s hand and gave her the most tender smile Darius had seen between two people that weren’t his parents. “And Kenzie has an even better reason. She’s expecting our second child next year.”

  Darius waited for Esther’s hand to clench into a fist and for her to hide it under the table, but she never did.

  Maybe she was finally doing better with all of this after all.

  Esther was able to give Jonathan and Kenzie a genuine smile. “That’s wonderful news. What does your daughter think?”

  Kenzie smiled. “She’s in love with the idea of being an older sister. For so long, it was just the two of us, now she’s got a daddy she adores, and a baby on the way.”

  This was why her father wanted them to learn to take care of themselves. Though they’d lived on a budget for the last six weeks, it hadn’t been very restrictive and didn’t include anything like rent or utilities. No one knew what the future held, and there was always the chance they’d need to make it on their own someday.

  She also needed to tell Darius her news. The doctor’s visit had gone well. The heartbeat had been strong. There was no reason to suspect a repeat of last time. In fact, the doctor assured her that the baby had stopped developing within a week or so of conception last time. There was no indication she shouldn’t carry this baby to term.

  Dinner came. Conversation continued. Laughter sounded.

  And when they finished, Darius asked her to dance. This time, her dress didn’t have a keyhole for his thumb to brush across, but warmth from his hand splayed against her lower back was almost as nice.

  “There had to be more to why you wanted to come out tonight,” she told him. “If you scheduled it weeks ago and double-checked Monday.”

  Darius kissed her temple then rested his chin against it. “There is. If you didn’t bring it up, I wasn’t going to, and you really seem to be okay so... I used one of those online things and based on what it told me, today could have been your due date.”

  He hadn’t forgotten. Esther gave him a sad smile. “I know. I didn’t know you did. I was trying to focus on the good things in my life, and the paper that I need to finish this weekend.”

  With a smooth move, he spun her around the dance floor. “I hope I’m one of those good things.”

  “You definitely are.”

  “And you are one of the best things in my life. But I do have something to tell you.”

  Her heart started to thump. “What?”

  “Nothing quite so bad, at least I don’t think so.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I spoke with your father.”

  She closed her eyes. “I don’t think anything good has ever come after that statement unless the man is about to propose, and we’re already married.”

  That made him laugh. “Nothing like that. I just mentioned the idea of our families doing Christmas together.”

  Esther stopped and looked up at him. “You did what?”

  Gentle pressure from Darius started her moving again. “We talked briefly about it a while ago. I think it would do my family some good to get out of Eyjania, and your father could be a good influence on my brother. We can make it immediate families only and get him away from my uncle for a little while.”

  “Okay.” She blinked a few times to clear her mind. “Where do we put two giant...” She looked around then whispered. “...royal families around here?”

  “I already talked to Jonathan about it. There’s an estate on the lake that has a single man living on it. He’s occasionally rented it out for things like this. It has more than enough room for both of our families, though some of my siblings will have to double up. All of the married couples, my brother, and my mother, will have their own suites. That’s six. Four more for my siblings. Two for yours since there’s one of each gender. Your nephew is young enough he’ll stay with his parents, I’m sure. Then there are three little girls in your family. One of the larger suites has three rooms connected. They could stay in one of them with parents on either side, unless the parents want the girls with them.”

  “You’ve thought of everything, haven’t you?”

  “It probably won’t be on Christmas,” he admitted. “My family, your parents, and at least your oldest sister will need to be home Christmas Day, but we can do Christmas Day on Christmas Eve here.”

  “Is everyone buying everyone else presents?” She wrinkled her noise. “That could take forever.”

  “No. No presents for anyone over ten. That leaves just your nieces, and it’s more likely to be a couple of gifts from my family to the children in yours. Or maybe we just don’t do presents since they won’t be here Christmas Day anyway.”

  “Then okay.” And maybe they’d tell all of them her good news at the same time.

  After a couple more dances, they bid farewell to Jonathan and Kenzie. Esther was more than ready. She’d told them her sniffles were just a cold, but the
medication she’d taken to cover her symptoms was wearing off if it had fully worked in the first place since she was pregnant. The headache had been the worst of it.

  Darius left enough cash on the table to cover their part of the check, which hadn’t yet come. They’d been told it was taken care of as they sat down, but he probably didn’t want to assume. If it was, the waitress, who had been exceptional, would get an extra big tip.

  Darius helped her with her long coat. The weather had turned much colder during the day. Thank God for heated seats.

  As they drove home, the roads became wet. Drizzle covered the windshield, but didn’t seem to come off the way it should.

  “It’s frizzle.” Darius’s voice sounded grim.

  “What?”

  “Frozen drizzle. Not really sleet or freezing rain, but freezing drizzle.”

  “Do you need to pull off and let security drive us home?”

  He shook his head. “We get this at home, but worse. It’s not that bad. The roads are wet but not frozen.”

  She could hear the silent yet.

  The closer they got to home, the more relieved she was.

  A creek formed the boundary of their neighborhood. Darius slowed and turned onto the bridge crossing it.

  Before he could turn all the way, he slammed on the brakes.

  Esther saw the deer then felt the car fishtail as everything went into slow motion.

  The deer ran.

  The car skidded.

  The railing grew closer.

  The SUV slammed through it.

  The split-second feeling of weightlessness.

  The ground and rushing water filling the windshield.

  The sickening crunch.

  Her body whipping forward and back at the sudden stop.

  Both hands covering her abdomen as she prayed, Not again.

  17

  It took a minute for Darius to clear his head. “Star?”

  He reached to the right, but didn’t take his seatbelt off. Not when the car wasn’t flat. The seatbelt was the only thing keeping him from falling forward into the steering wheel.

  “I’m okay.” Esther’s groan wasn’t very convincing.

  “Darius! Esther!” That had to be their security team. “Don’t move!” Ian’s voice cut through the fog.

  “We’re okay!” he called back. “Mostly.”

  “Dare, there’s something I haven’t told you.” Esther’s voice sounded weak and desperate at the same time. “I was going to tell you when we got home.”

  “It’s all right. Tell me later. Save your energy.”

  “I’m pregnant, Dare.”

  His heart thudded to a stop. “What?”

  “Almost eleven weeks. I wanted to tell you, but I needed to see the doctor first. I saw her the other day. I was waiting for the right time.”

  He found her hand and squeezed. “It’s going to be all right.” He’d already started praying.

  “I wanted you to be the first to know, but the emergency personnel will want to look at us. They’ll need to know.”

  Ian appeared at Esther’s door. “We’re going to try to get you out of here, ma’am. Your door is easier to get to. Then we’ll get you out, sir. Emergency personnel are on their way.”

  Every member of the security team was also trained as an EMT. Darius had never been more grateful for his father-in-law’s insistence on this. He wasn’t sure the same applied in Eyjania.

  The door creaked open. The car wasn’t completely on its nose, but not nearly flat either. Maybe a forty-five degree angle.

  “Okay, Esther, tell me where it hurts.” Ian started to evaluate her before moving her.

  “My head, but I’ve had a splitting headache all day. I don’t think I hit it on anything. My chest and shoulder hurts, too, but I think it’s from the seatbelt.”

  When she hesitated, Darius squeezed her hand. “Tell him.”

  “I’m almost eleven weeks pregnant.”

  Ian took it in stride. “Okay. I’m going to check you over then see if we can move you. I want to get you in another vehicle as quickly as we can because it’s cold out here tonight.”

  “Thank you.”

  Pain began to seep into Darius’s consciousness. His head, chest, and neck all ached. His right ankle throbbed with pain beginning to radiate upward.

  “Okay. Esther, I’m going to help you out. I see no evidence of an injury that would require more assistance. Your legs or ankles don’t hurt, do they?”

  “No.”

  Several more people appeared outside the car.

  “Do you need any help?” one called.

  “Emergency services are on their way,” Ian told the man. “I have medic training, though, and it’s safe to move her. Can you help Esther to my vehicle on the road?”

  “Sure.”

  Esther squeezed his hand then Darius heard the click of her seatbelt.

  A minute later, Ian rested a hand on Darius shoulder. “How are you feeling, sir?”

  “About like Esther.” Darius managed to squeeze the words out from between clenched teeth. “But my ankle hurts like...” He stopped himself before muttering an obscenity.

  Sirens could be heard in the distance.

  “Okay. I can’t get to the other side well enough to get you out by myself. With your ankle in pain, I’d rather let the EMTs decide how best to move you.”

  Sirens merged on their location.

  “I’ll be right back. I want to talk to them.”

  “I’ll be right here,” Darius groaned.

  A few minutes later, the emergency personnel appeared on Darius’s side of the car. Moments after that, they helped him up the hill to the waiting ambulance. They were already checking Esther out. Eventually, it was decided they both should be seen in the emergency room, but didn’t necessarily need a ride in the ambulance as neither of them were hurt too badly.

  Darius sat in the back seat of the other SUV with his leg stretched out in front of him. Esther took the front passenger seat.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Ian got him a wheelchair and pushed him in while Esther insisted on walking by his side rather than be pushed in a chair of her own.

  They spoke with the attendant at the desk. She gave them paperwork to fill out.

  They sat on a couch and started working on them.

  “At some point, I need to see if I’m supposed to legally change my name,” Esther told him. “Maybe next time I go home.”

  “Except the marriage hasn’t been filed yet,” Darius reminded her from between clenched teeth. His ankle throbbed, but the pain didn’t seem to have gotten any worse.

  “Good point.”

  Darius took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Hey. I’m really happy about the baby.” He gave her a small kiss.

  “I know. I am, too.”

  “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  Her smile looked as forced as his felt. “I know.”

  Ian arrived to sit with them. He helped fill out the paperwork and turned it in for them. The triage nurse took their vitals and frowned when Esther said she was pregnant.

  “You’ve got a bit of a fever, ma’am. I’ll make sure they get you back as quick as I can.”

  Darius could see the worry flitting across her face and wished he could take her hand or hold her.

  “If we could be in the same place, that would be great,” Darius told her.

  “I’ll see what I can do.” The nurse left for a moment then returned. “We’ve got space for both of you. I’m going to send you back to the waiting room, but someone will come get you in a minute.”

  Darius smiled at her as he focused on ignoring the pain. “Thanks.”

  True to her word, they lay in hospital beds in less than ten minutes, next to each other, off a small hallway. A curtain could be pulled to make it two separate areas, but they were open allowing them to see each other and talk.

  Darius was grateful for the pain meds he was given, but another half an hour pas
sed before a doctor came back in to talk with them about their test results.

  “The flu?” Esther blinked.

  “Influenza A to be exact,” the doctor told her. “How were you feeling before the accident?”

  “I’ve had the sniffles and a horrific headache, though medication helped.”

  “Did you feel like you’d been hit by a truck?”

  Esther shook her head. “I didn’t feel great, but nothing that bad.”

  “You were running a slight fever when you arrived, and it’s gone up since then. You’re far enough along that, barring something odd, the flu shouldn’t affect the baby. I can give you an antiviral. It’s not a cure, but it should lessen the severity and length of the symptoms.” He clasped the iPad between his hands as he twirled side to side just a bit on the stool. “You will be miserable for a few days regardless. Having been in a car accident then the flu making you feel like you’ve been hit by a truck, you’re going to need a lot of rest for the next while.”

  “How long?” Esther asked him. “Bed rest?”

  “Not bed rest per se, though I’d recommend talking to your OB/GYN about any concerns. I just mean that you’ll likely be more or less bedridden for the better part of a week, and it may be several weeks before you start feeling truly normal again.”

  Esther closed her eyes which blocked the blinding hospital lights.

  “Okay, so Mr. Quatremaine. How are you feeling?”

  “Like I got hit by Esther’s truck.”

  The doctor chuckled. “We tested you for the flu as well, but you came back negative, for the moment at least. You’ve been exposed, so keep an eye out for symptoms. Call your primary care physician if you feel them coming on.”

  “I don’t have one. Haven’t needed one since we moved.”

  “I’m sure Jonathan can help,” Ian interjected quietly.

  “Most likely,” Darius replied.

  “Good. You have resources.”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” Her husband managed to choke out a laugh.

  “Good because you’re going to be laid up for a while, too. Not as bad as your wife is going to feel, but you’ve got a nasty sprain in that ankle. You’re going to be off your feet for a bit. I’ll give you a handout for how to take care of it for the next week or so. I’ll give you a number for the physical therapists. They’ll want to see you. You may not need therapy, but you might. It’ll depend on how it heals. You may need crutches.”