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“The other planner fell ill, so they sent in another one from the agency. It’s a man,” Junior says with a chuckle.
“What? Are they stupid or something? That guy is going to be out on his ear or in a ditch if he makes one pass at Mom.” I bite down on my bottom lip because this is going to ruin my party.
“More than likely the latter. We better break the tension.” Junior gives me a wicked grin.
I stare at my brother and scoff. After all these years, I know him better than that. He wants to see my dad rearrange this guy’s face. “You mean watch the show?”
“Whatever. It will be interesting either way.” We take off to the backyard at a steady pace, but my father had a head start.
“Fair point.”
Our father worships our mother, and her beauty hasn’t diminished in all the years after having us kids, so men, and even some women, notice. When they make a pass at her, Father treats it as a sign of disrespect and loses his temper. The giantrock on her finger should stop them, but the bastards never learn when they dare to challenge his relationship. He’s not worried about losing her, but they don’t let anyone come between them.
Damn it—we’re too late and we miss the show. The bastard is splashing around the pool, trying to scramble out, and my mother has my father by the arm. “Leave him be, my king. I’ve taught him the lesson he needed.” My brow raises when I realize it was my mother that sent him for a dip.
“Get the fuck out of my home before you drown,” my father says.
“I can’t swim.”
“Well, then, I guess you drown. Shouldn’t plan pool parties,” my mother says. My father leads her to the food tables as if there isn’t a man in our pool about to die.
I’m shocked by her response, so my brother and I go over there and help the bastard out of the pool. We each take a fumbling arm of the man, but I find him too handsy. It’s almost like he can’t keep his grip and falls back in the water twice. We finally get his dumb ass out.
“Get out, and run before my father or mother grabs a gun,” I say. My father has one on him, but he didn’t brandish it. It’s only because my father loves to wait before he kills his enemies, teasing and tormenting them before making them meet their maker. The soaking-wet fool dashes and slips several times as he makes his way out of the pool area.
“I suppose the fucker could swim well enough,” my father grumbles, watching us come over to the tables away from the pool, partially wet.
“We got him out. You can’t let him ruin my party,” I say. “Do what you do later.” I wave them off and go into the house to change my soaked clothes. Whatever he said or did must have gone too far for even my mother, so I don’t want to know what it was. It had to be terrible enough for her to react like she did. My father, though, is seething under the calm exterior; I’m wondering what’s going on behind those eyes. Things aren’t over yet for the planner boy.
After changing my clothes, I find that the pretty necklace that Ilya bought me is missing. Oh, no. I search all my wet things, and it’s not there. A rush of panic and sadness floods me, as if I’m drowning. That piece was like having him with me wherever I went, sleeping beside me, protecting me. Did it fall off in the pool?
I rush back outside and find my father and mother talking. She’s still trying to soothe him, but it’s clear that he’s seething with rage. In tears, I tell my father, “Dad, my necklace is gone.”
“What necklace?” he asks. His brow raises and I recognize the tension filling my father, but all I want is my precious gift back. I have to find it before I see Ilya again.
“The necklace Ilya bought me.” I rush over to the pool, looking down at the clear water that has settled after the chaos, and it’s not there. It would be visible against the blue liner for certain.
My father takes my hand and then pulls me into his arms, hugging me tightly. “We’ll get it back, sweetheart. It’s probably at the bottom of the pool. I’ll have the pool cleaner check the filter.”
I wrench myself back, shaking my head. “No. I know that bastard took it,” I hiss, rubbing my neck and feeling a slight sting from it being pulled off me. I thought he was a little rough when we were taking him out of the pool.
“Your mouth, young lady,” he scolds me. He brushes a strand of hair away from my face and then checks my neck with a sigh that I can’t interpret. With a sincere gaze into my eyes, he adds, “Sweet girl, if he took it, trust me. He’ll be dealt with.” Nodding, I excuse myself and slink back to my bedroom. I sit on my bed, swiping my pillow and tucking it under my arms to cradle it as I cry. I feel naked without my necklace.
A knock at the door catches me by surprise. It’s only been a few minutes since I came up here and I wonder if they found it that fast, but I doubt it. “Natalya, can I come in?” my mom asks. I swipe at my tears with the back of my hand before answering with a choked-out “yes.”
She enters gently, closing the door behind her. My father’s not far away, but she’s not letting him enter. I can tell by the gentle command she gives him to wait.
“My princess,” she sighs, coming to sit beside me on the bed. “We’ll get your necklace back. I promise you. It might just be in the drain.” She brushes her hand down my back, like when I was a little girl. The comfort is good, but it doesn’t ease the pain in my chest.
“I love that necklace,” I confess, sobs locked in my throat.
“I know. You never take it off,” she says.
“It doesn’t come off.”
“No?” Not since my father had it fixed a month after I got it. He said it was my favorite piece, so he wanted to make sureit had a good clasp. I wasn’t aware that the clasp was faulty, but dad said the market Ilya had gotten it at wasn’t the best.
“Well, I thought it didn’t, but I guess you can break it easily.” We’d been visiting his family and were on a nice outing when I’d seen the pretty necklace. It was more than I’d brought with me, so Ilya bought it for me. It was more expensive than I thought it would be, but he didn’t think twice about the cost and then even put it on for me. I felt like I belonged to him that day.
