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A little break never hurt nobody. I might as well enjoy this.
We stayedtwo weeks in the suite with no cell phones to communicate with anyone.
It was spectacular. We got to know more about each other. We played silly games. He taught me how to cook, I forced him to watch chick flicks with me, and we made love every night.
I didn’t want it to end. We were away from Karen, from gossip, and there wasn’t much to worry about here.
We were sitting on the floor in the bedroom after making love. I had his black T-shirt on while he wore only his boxer briefs. We sat in silence, our eyes gazing at the city’s surreal view from the glass wall. I’d always been so distracted that I never realized what it truly looked like until now.
I took a sip of my drink and placed my head on his shoulder. The TV played a soft song I could not recognize, but I found myself vibing with it.
“Fiona was my fiancée.”
I was surprised when he suddenly spoke.
“We dated for almost ten years, and we were planning on getting married. I had known her since I was ten, and she was my first everything.” He paused and took a sip of his drink.
“We loved each other so much. Our connection was intense. She was my best friend and so much more. We knew every detail about each other. She understood me like no one else, as if our minds were linked together. I just knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her. We got engaged when I was twenty-one. It was a drunk joke at first, but when we got sober, we made it official.” He paused and laughed briefly.
“We wanted to take things slow. We stayed engaged and lived together. It felt like we were already a married couple, and we didn’t care how long it’d take to get married. She got pregnant a year later. We wanted to call her Nadia. I had everything set in the nursery and couldn’t wait to welcome her. Nadia was the most beautiful baby girl ever.” His tone lost strength.
I’d never known he held so much pain.
He was quiet for a minute. To me, it felt more than just that. My brain wanted to know so bad, yet my heart was preparing for the setback.
“We were so happy. Everything was perfect, and our little girl was like a glue to our relationship, but I ruined everything. It was all my fault.” His hand clenched.
I entwined our hands to provide some comfort.
“I was such an idiot.” I could hear the pain in his voice.
“She was only three months old when it happened. I … I was home alone with her while Fiona was out, shopping. I was coming down the stairs with her in my arms. I … I … I missed a step … and everything happened so quick. I just remember holding her tight against my chest, trying to protect her from the fall as we crashed down the flight of stairs.” He paused and broke down.
I drew closer and put my arms around him.
“It’s okay,” I whispered. My voice wrapped around him like a veil, and his shivering seemed to stop.
“I had hit my head and blacked out. I didn’t know how long, but when I woke up …” Tears streamed down his quivering face.
“She was beneath me in a pool of blood. She wasn’t moving. No sound, and she wasn’t breathing. She was bleeding from her nose, ear, and her head. I had done that to my daughter. I killed her, Chloe. There’s no one else to blame.”
“Tristan, it’s not your fault. It was an accident.”
He shook his head at my words, blaming himself for what had happened.
“Fiona crumbled. Nadia’s death destroyed us, but it hit her harder. She stopped talking to me. We became strangers in our home, and three weeks later, I found her body in the bathtub.” He sniffled and ran his palm down his face.
“She was so young. She wanted to travel around the world, but she never got the chance to. The baby didn’t even grow to…” He gulped, choking on his tears.
“Fiona is dead, Chloe. I would’ve avoided her death. I should have been careful. I should have paid attention to Fiona and not given her some space,” he sobbed.
“Shh, it’s okay,” I whispered, stroking his hair.
I moved closer and pulled him into my arms. He cried like a baby, heavy sobs and tears, blaming himself over and over for their deaths.
“It’s okay,” I whispered, kissing his head.
“That’s why I don’t celebrate my birthday. It was the day I found Fiona’s body in the bathtub,” he told me.
