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"How did we manage this?" I don't mean to ask it out loud, it just happens.
"Manage what?"
"This." I don't have a better way to phrase it. Galina quietly considers me, ruminating on the question. I consider trying again, but know it's pointless. "We never had time to talk about naming him," I say to change the subject.
"Well," she replies softly. "I just kept avoiding the topic." She sits up on the pillows, reaching out to hold our baby.
"Why would you do that?" I ask. I give him over, feeling the absence of his weight the second he's gone. The primal urge to touch him is powerful.
Cradling our child, Galina rocks him gently, her eyes warm with adoration. "Each day I woke up expecting something bad to happen. I kept thinking that the other shoe was bound to drop eventually. But here we are. Here he is."
My mouth dries out from hearing her sad explanation. "You shouldn't have had to worry like that."
"I'm not worried anymore." Kissing our baby's brow, she sighs gently. "And I have a suggestion for a name.”
“Oh?”
“What do you think of Steven? For my father."
"Steven." I smile as I hear myself say it. "I like that. Steven Isakov."
Galina clenches up, the sorrow returning to her eyes. I want to banish that emotion from her forever. "I was worried you wouldn't be for it."
Swinging my head side to side I wrap my arm around her shoulder. We're cuddling on the bed, gazing at our baby. My other hand seeks out hers, linking so our wedding rings click. "Too much of our relationship has been about us being afraid. We didn't enjoy any of the fun parts of marriage or making a family. Hell, we didn't even have a honeymoon."
"True, that usually happens before the baby."
"We're anything but usual.” I smile. “Where would you like to go?"
"What?" She laughs, like what I said was a joke.
"Our honeymoon."
"Oh, you’re being serious."
Kissing her cheek, I then kiss Steven's. "I want to take you somewhere special."
Our bodies bend together. We form a triangle, a symbol of strength... a harmony unlike any other. Galina's tone is light as star dust, but her hand clutches my own like steel. "As long as we're together, wherever we go, it will be."
47
GALINA
I've never seen so many shades of blue and green. The ocean is like a stained-glass painting, stretching for endless miles until the border merges with the cerulean sky, making it impossible to tell them apart. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen.
But I can't enjoy it, not with my heart wedged in my throat.
"Are we almost there?" I yell over the buzz of the sea-plane's engine.
The white and red plane looked sturdy when I first laid my eyes on it. Now, though, with the air yanking at the wings, jolting the plane from side to side, I feel like it’s about to split in two. I wish it was as big as the one we took to the main airport. The flight to the Maldives was long, but thanks to Arsen splurging for first class, quite comfortable.
This is anything but that.
"Excuse me?" I yell louder, trying to get the pilot's attention. "I asked how much longer until we're at the Reethi Rah resort?"
"It's okay, Galina." Arsen gives my hand a squeeze, pulling me closer to him in our seats.
"Maybe we should have taken the boat," I lament.
