“Oh, no, Captain.” Sabrina smiled uncomfortably. “You’ve got it wrong.”
It was difficult to say who was more embarrassed. “Please accept my apologies, Signora Grigory, my
mistake.”
The Captain saluted, inclined his head, and hastily backed away from the pool deck.
There was no way for the Captain to know that Vlad had continued to take precautions even after they had married. His harsh comments about unwed parents and his own stated desire never to have a child all came back to Sabrina then, and she pushed away the sadness. In her deepest heart, she had to acknowledge the melancholy, because she now knew she would have loved to bear his child. But he had been adamant. They didn’t even have to discuss it, and she would never bring it up.
Their manufactured relationship would not stretch to a living, breathing addition. Besides, she had Alex to love. Wanting more was selfish.
She settled her sunglasses firmly on her nose and made her way into their stateroom for a cool shower. As the ten days of their vacation had gone on, Sabrina couldn’t help but notice that Vlad spent more and more time taking urgent calls and corresponding with his deputies via computer. His stamina was such that he was able to accomplish all of that while still paying attention to her and Alex, and taking them to see all the sights along the fabled coast.
Sabrina knew now that he had spent considerable hours before the wedding taking care of pressing business so they could have their honeymoon. As much as she wanted to believe it was so they could spend private time as a couple, or as a family, she knew the entire vacation was just another PR exercise.
Their photos had even appeared in the Italian press, and no doubt elsewhere. No photos from the yacht appeared anywhere. Thankfully, Vlad had far too much security for their privacy to be invaded here, but on their jaunts to town to shop or to enjoy a café, they had been discreetly photographed. Vlad was unsurprised, and she knew he judged the publicity to be positive for his foundations.
She had even taken some photographs of her own with the new camera Vlad had bestowed upon her as a wedding gift and insisted she carry. It was difficult not to be inspired by the breathtaking coastline.
But as always, she was most stirred by Alex and now by Vlad. She had taken a sweet photo of them while they walked ahead of her, Alex on Vlad’s shoulders. She’d called to them and when they turned, she’d snapped them. It would be a good keepsake of this trip when they got back to New York.
****
Yesterday it rained and Sabrina had secretly been thankful for a break from the strong Italian sun that seemed to sap all of her energy. The rainy day made it impossible to sightsee and Vlad caught up on his email while Sabrina and Alex rested below deck.
Today it was beautifully clear, and Alex, little boy style, had been raring to go since dawn. It was all
Sabrina could do to keep him busy as they waited for Vlad to respond to some urgent calls.
They were sitting on deck chairs after an early breakfast as Sabrina occupied Alex with a small local map to plot their itinerary for the day. Alex’s baseball cap, a gift from one of the crew that was too large for his head, was caught by the strong post-storm breeze and blew into the water.
“My hat!” the little boy called out and in the way of most emergencies, time seemed to stand still, as he simply clambered up the short rail and jumped into the water after it, all before Sabrina’s astonished eyes.
“Alex,” she shrieked over and over as the little boy landed in the water and began paddling toward his hat. The crew came running from all directions as Sabrina, her eyes never leaving him, watched Alex begin to struggle in the sea.
She climbed up to the rail and, without any of Alex’s speed or grace, scrambled over it. Her thin sandals slipped as she struggled to find purchase as well as the courage to jump in after him. He was even farther away now, his red T-shirt getting smaller and smaller. “Alex,” she screamed again and again, her voice a terrified rasp and completely useless as it was carried away by the wind.
“Sabrina.” Suddenly Vlad was at her side, throwing off his shirt and kicking off his boat shoes. Without saying another word, he dove into the water straight toward the spot where she had last seen Alex’s small form.
One of the crew dove in after Vlad and Captain Ferrara put his jacket around Sabrina’s shaking shoulders.
In moments, Vlad reached Alex and in short minutes he, Vlad, and the mate who had given Alex the hat and who had, guilt stricken, jumped into the water as well, were all back on board. The entire episode took less than five minutes, but Sabrina had aged years.
“Well, that’s one exciting way to get your day going, young Alex.” Vlad held the boy securely in his arms and spoke to him in a low, soothing voice. They were both sodden, the little boy shivering.
“The sea water was c-c-cold…and the waves…” Alex searched for the right word. “The waves were stronger than me.” He shivered anew. “But they weren’t stronger than you, Dad.”
Vlad froze in the act of rubbing the boy up and down with a towel. Then he looked straight into Alex’s eyes.
“You were very brave, Alex. But remember, we talked about never going in for a swim without another swimmer. You forgot that. You scared us.”
“I scared me, too,” Alex said, and the entire crew, who had, in the midst of the drama descended from their posts and converged to where Vlad and Alex were in forward part of yacht, laughed in relief.
Sabrina stood off to the side, not wet but shuddering in reaction, the smell of the sea usually so invigorating to her was right now an awful stench. She was still in shock, unable to laugh with relief like the rest of them. She was trying to behave in the calm, reasonable way that Vlad was exhibiting, when it was
all she could do not to retch. If anything had happened to Alex! If anything had happened to Vlad!
Sabrina knew enough to realize that Alex’s fears would be redoubled if she reacted in the way her instincts were demanding. She knew Alex had acted impulsively, but with confidence due to his newly acquired swimming skill. Any negativity or fear on her part would undo that confidence in a heartbeat.
Vlad knew that. He had known exactly what to do, how to behave. He hadn’t even reacted to Alex’s mispronunciation of Vlad to Dad.
Thank God, nothing had happened to either of them. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop seeing the whole terrifying scenario again in her mind’s eye. Nauseous fear took over and Sabrina ran below to the head and promptly lost her breakfast.
Although they had planned to see Capri’s famed Blue Grotto, the storm meant the seas weren’t calm enough for anyone to enter the area. Instead, dry and in a change of clothes, Vlad organized a dinghy to Amalfi, and they spent their final day going in and out of the market stalls showcasing souvenirs and local olives, oil and delicacies. Sabrina chose gifts for Lacey, Mrs. Egan, and Mrs. Field. She was extremely happy to spend the day on solid ground. Alex seemed to have completely recovered from his dunk into the sea, but the whole incident caused Sabrina to rethink her fear of telling Vlad the facts of Alex’s birth.
She was through being a wimp. Vlad had the right to know the complete truth about her and Alex. He genuinely cared for Alex, and Sabrina really could not see him completely rejecting the little boy now. Would he?