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“Balthazar, now you know...” Alistair starts but Althaia steps in.
“Boys, that’s enough. We’re here for Baby Zar, not for the two of you to have one of your childish debates.”
“Exactly,” GeeGee co-signs. “And for the rest of you, if Nina lets you hold the baby make sure you wash your hands first and don’t be kissing my baby all in his face. I don’t know, nor do I wish to know where your mouths have been, so I don’t want Baby Zar breaking out with that damn baby acne. Now that everyone is here, you can eat.”
The men except for Balthazar, Yiannis and Uncle Sebastian hit the table like starving wolves. I know I did. Especially since I woke up late and didn’t have any breakfast. The ladies went to wash their hands before returning to form a hen party around Nina and the baby. They each took turns holding the younger Kourakos. Sabre held him a little longer, gushing about how she was ready to have her and Xander’s baby. When I asked him what they were having, he said they knew but wanted to wait and surprise everyone. I respected that. If I had a lady and she was pregnant, I think I would want the gender to be a surprise too. Father never knew the sex of his children until they were born, and he said it made the experience that much more memorable.
After I finished eating, I went over to Nina who has a plate of food on her lap as she talks with the ladies while Ismena holds Baby Zar. Moving closer to Ismena, I ask, “Can I?” She smiles, then let me pick the baby up and cradle him in my arms. I stared down at him. He wasn’t my child, but I knew at that moment I would protect him with everything inside of me.
I look at Nina and tell her, “My Father would say the same blessing to each of his children when they were born.I welcome you into this world with everything life has to offer you. I vow to always protect you from the darkness with my life and make sure you will see the destiny that has been bestowed upon you.” The women swoon at my words. I honestly meant every word. “As long as I draw breath, I stand behind my father’s words with Baby Zar.”
“Thank you, Yiorgos,” Nina happily says with tears in her eyes.
“You’re welcome,” I return before nuzzling Baby Zar neck, inhaling his newborn scent. I then hand him over to his grandmother, Althaia. Digging into the inner pocket of my suit, I pull out the envelope.
“Father and Mother are sorry they couldn’t be here but wanted you and Balthazar to have this for the baby.”
She sits her plate on the table, then takes the envelope.
“Please tell them I said thank you and I hope they can come soon, or we can go over there once the baby is old enough.”
I smile. “I’m sure either way would be fine with them.”
Nina opens the envelope. Her eyes widened before she quickly closes it, then calls for Balthazar.
“Zar, honey can you come here for a second?”
Thinking somethings wrong, Balthazar rushes to her side and crouches down.
“What’s wrong? Is something wrong with the baby?”
Nina shakes her head. “No, but I need you to go put this up.” She hands him the envelope.
He stares at it, then back at her. “What is this?”
“It’s a gift for the baby from my parents,” I tell him.
Balthazar peeks inside, then does the same thing Nina did. Standing, he says, “I’ll be right back.” He makes haste in leaving. I saw the amount Mother and Father sent and believe you me, it wasn’t no chump change.
I laugh low as Janae leans over to Nina and whispers, “What was it?”
Nina whispers back, “Let’s just say Baby Zar’s college fund is taken care of.”
Taking her hand in mine, I state, “I just want to say congratulation again. Thank you for letting Basil and I be a part of this. You and Balthazar have a handsome son that we are all proud of. If there is anything you all need, please don’t hesitate to call.”
“Thank you, Yiorgos and we’re happy you and Basil are here to share this with us,” she returns, shaking my hand. I give her hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go to join the men.
When Balthazar returned, we sat around for another thirty minutes or so until he invited the men to join him on his patio for more suitable drinks instead of the punch GeeGee had out for everyone. I knew this would be the time he was going to bring up the bullshit at his club. Honestly, things could’ve been much worse. If we were in my homeland, those pricks never would’ve made if from their table but now that I’m here in the States, I have to remember the laws that didn’t apply to me back in Greece were different here. I had crooked cops, judges, and members of the Parliament in my back pocket. Not to mention Father was friends with the Prime Minister. Truth be told, I’ve never liked rules or laws for that matter, but one thing I’ve learned is that there’s always a way around them.
Once on the patio, we hit the bar Balthazar has out there. With drinks in hand, we sat in patio chairs, getting comfortable.
Getting straight to it, Balthazar asks, “Did you really have to pull your guns on the men?”
Putting on a humorous expression, I reply, “No”
His hard expression never changes as he returns, “So, you say you didn’t, but you did. Do you know by brandishing your guns, the people in the club could’ve panicked and all hell could’ve broken loose?”
“But it didn’t. You asked me if wehadto pull our guns out and I told youno. The real answer is, I wanted to. You should be happy we refrained from pulling the triggers because that’s usually what happens once we get to that part, but because we were in your establishment, we didn’t.”
