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The future for them seemed so bright—if only Christopher could have been a part of it ... But no. Raina shoved that traitorous thought aside. What was wrong with her that she was still so hung up on that jerk? She sighed heavily.
“What’s wrong Aunty?” Chantal was watching her with big eyes, playing with her long black braids.
“Nothing, sweetie … just a lot of things I’m thinking about.” Raina decided to broach the subject on her mind. “How would you feel about moving houses?” She said with a degree of nervousness.
She looked at her nephew and nieces and felt as though she would drown in the love she felt for them. If they were opposed to the idea, she would have to scrap it. There was no way she could uproot them again so soon after their parent’s death without their permission.
“Where to, Aunty?” Chantal asked.
“Why?” Crystal said in the same breath as her sister.
“Well, I’m thinking of buying a bed and breakfast. I saw one today that I think might be a good home for us. It has an apartment on the third floor. We could all live there and I would be downstairs all the time while I worked.”
“What’s a bed and breakfast?” Jeremiah asked.
“It’s like a small hotel, where guests pay to sleep and eat,” Raina explained, “but instead of being big and grand like the Del Mar, it’s small and cozy, and there are only a few people who stay there, and I would be running it almost all by myself.”
“Would I have to help out?” Crystal said, making a face.
“Only if you want to,” Raina smiled.
“I would like to help out over the weekends,” Chantal said. “If you pay me,” she added.
Crystal shoved her. “We will help Aunty Raina. You don’t have to pay us.”
“You might have to change schools again,” Raina warned. The twins shrugged in unison.
“There’s way too much drama at the school we’re at now.” One of the girls said by way of voicing her approval.
“As long as the new school has a soccer team,” Jeremiah said.
“And I would get a new best friend,” Crystal said. “Shanise can go jump off a bridge.”
“It would be wonderful if you made up with Shanise, sweetheart. It’s not good to leave without making up with her. She was your first friend here when everyone else was unfriendly.”
Crystal had the grace to look ashamed and Raina patted her head. Still, she was glad that her little family approved of her plan.
That night in bed thoughts of the B&B invaded her mind. They were a welcome distraction from the pain of losing Christopher. The pain went away for long periods, but when it returned, it did so with such force that Raina wondered if she would ever get over him.
Sometimes, she remembered small details about him and the idea that she would never see him again was unimaginable.
His easy smile, his confident stroll as though nothing in the world fazed him. The way his eyes seemed to open halfway when he was asleep.
The nights alone were the worst. She had gotten used to having him sleep next to her, his limbs entwined with hers.
Nothing beat waking up to a warm, hard body, and the feelings he evoked with his fingers. Raina felt a sharp longing of desire which seemed to come from her soul. She had gone so long without sleeping with anybody that sex with Christopher had seemed like a revelation.
Christopher was selfless in bed and only after she was completely satisfied did he think of his own pleasure. Raina fell asleep past midnight, thoughts of her and Christopher making love filling her mind. He had made her feel like a proud woman. Proud of her body and the pleasure she received and got from him.
She dreamt erotic dreams of her and Christopher, which left her exhausted and empty when morning came. Her feelings of unsatisfied desire made her feel angry with Christopher and how he had left her.
Damn him! She would get over him even if it meant working herself into an early grave.
14
Kelly could never quite get used to working in Raina’s office.
As far as she was concerned, it still belonged to Raina and she felt like an imposter sitting behind the desk. She had taken over Raina’s managerial email address and she browsed through it, going through the sent emails folder to update herself on the happenings of the last couple of months at the hotel.
