|
Gabi smiled through her tears at Antonio standing near the foot of her bed. Antonio walked slowly around and sat down softly next to her. Gabi reached up and lightly touched her hand to his cheek. It was swollen and red and he winced at her touch.
"Your nose..." she said quietly. Antonio put the back of his hand to his nose and stared at the blood. He had never fought with his brother this way before. It was vicious and violent and driven by rage. Antonio dropped his head and closed his eyes. Gabi could see the pain on his face. Gabi touched Antonio’s shoulder and moved her hand down his arm. He felt his heart dance at her touch. He opened his eyes and looked down on her. "Gabi, why didn’t you tell me? All that time in the hospital..." his deep, brown eyes begged her. She looked down into her lap. "I couldn’t tell you, Antonio." Her voice was full of sorrow. "Don’t you think I deserve to know?" he pleaded. "I was going to leave town, Antonio. I couldn’t stay. If it hadn’t been raining, if I had slept a little bit..." Antonio touched his finger to her lips. "Gabi, I love you. I don’t understand why you would leave without telling me." "Antonio, I didn’t want you to feel like you had to be responsible for..." "But I am responsible, Gabi," he interrupted gently taking her hand in his. "I AM responsible." "But, Antonio, when you woke up you said God was giving you a second chance. That you were more committed than ever to the priesthood. If I told you about the baby…" her voice faded as she thought about the life growing inside her. "Oh, Antonio," she said, suddenly afraid. "I could have lost our baby. I almost killed our baby…" "Shhh." Antonio put his arms out and Gabi sat up gently. He wrapped his arms carefully around her and held her as tightly as he could without hurting her. "Shhh, Gabi. Don’t say it. Don’t." She buried her head in his chest and sobbed against his blood stained shirt. As Antonio held Gabi, he remembered what God had told him during his near death experience...Gabi is strong, my son. She’s a very strong woman. She will be alright, Antonio. They both will. "Of course," Antonio whispered into Gabi’s hair as he closed his eyes. God had told him about their baby…he just hadn’t known at the time. Gabi leaned back and looked into Antonio’s eyes. He smiled softly at her as he pushed the hair off her forehead. Antonio touched her chin and gently pulled her face up to look directly into his. "You are my second chance, Gabi. You and this baby...our baby, are my second chance. I don’t want to ever be without you again – ever." He leaned over and gently brushed his lips against hers. Gabi trembled from the light touch of his warm lips. "Will you marry me, Gabi?" "Antonio..."Gabi’s words came out in a whisper. She couldn’t believe he was asking her to marry him. "But, Antonio, what about the Church? Are you sure? Your vows…" "Gabi," he interrupted her. "I almost lost my life once." He leaned in and kissed her gently on the forehead taking her face in his hands. "I won’t lose it again." Gabi looked up into his deep, sexy eyes. She loved this man with all her heart and soul. The tears slipped silently on to her cheeks as Antonio wiped them away with his thumb. He smiled warmly feeling the tears fill his eyes as well. "Yes," Gabi smiled. "Yes, Antonio, yes." Antonio leaned close to Gabi, his lips full and inviting. Gabi closed her eyes and moved towards him. Their lips met with the softest, most tender kiss. Antonio’s heart beat quickened as he kissed her gently. Gabi was losing herself in the warmth of his mouth when he suddenly jumped back. "Ow!" Gabi realized that she had pushed her nose against his by accident as the blood began to trickle slowly out of it again. Gabi squeezed his arms. "Oh, Antonio. I’m so sorry about what happened with Ricardo." She touched his blood stained t-shirt lightly with her hand. "I’m not worth it, you know," she said dropping her eyes. Antonio reached for a tissue and wiped his nose. "Gabi, don’t you ever say that. I don’t want you to listen to anything Ricardo said. He’s hurting, Gabi. He’s angry and frustrated...he doesn’t understand." Antonio knew what Ricardo said had cut Gabi to her core. "Give him time, Gabi. He just needs to time to get over the shock. He finds out you were hurt in a car accident then finds out that you are pregnant. You tell him that it isn’t his baby and to top it all off, he finds out that his brother is the..." he stopped suddenly. "Antonio?" Gabi said with concern. Antonio was looking at Gabi’s stomach under the blanket. His eyes filled with tears yet again as he placed his hand gently on Gabi’s stomach. He was choked with emotion as he raised his eyes to meet Gabi’s. "I’m gonna be a father, Gabi. A daddy." Gabi could see how overwhelmed Antonio truly was by all the events that had transpired. She touched his cheek softly with her hand and he closed his eyes. "I love you, Antonio. I love you so much." Antonio wrapped his arms around her and lay back against the pillows putting his legs up on the bed. He sunk down beside her, trying not to hurt either of them, and rested his head against her chest. Gabi held him close and ran her hand through his thick, soft hair. Antonio moved his left hand and rested it on Gabi’s stomach. Gabi wasn’t thinking about anything other than her, Antonio and their baby. She knew that Ricardo was probably ready to kill someone right about now, but she wouldn’t allow herself to even think about that now. All that mattered was that she was here in Antonio’s arms and they were going to be married and raise their baby together. Gabi started to sit up when she realized that Antonio had dozed off. She settled back into the bed with a broad smile across her lips, warm and safe in the arms of the man she loves. She closed her eyes and drifted off herself. THE BEACH The sun was beginning to set as Ricardo plodded along the beach. He had been walking most of the day after leaving the hospital and the fight with his brother and that... Ricardo took a drink from the bottle he carried. He closed his eyes as the liquor stung his throat. Ricardo sat on a bench facing out on the ocean. As the waves crashed on the shore, he began recalling countless occasions when he had walked into a room where Antonio and Gabi had been alone. The night before their wedding when he walked under the pier and had found them embracing tightly. The way they both had been so hesitant when Ricardo was picking a wedding date after he had been shot. The long looks...the way they always smiled at each other when one of them would enter a room...the way Antonio had run out of the rehearsal...how Gabi ran out of the wedding. Images of Gabi and Antonio making love pounded his vision. Antonio kissing Gabi passionately, Gabi unbuttoning Antonio’s shirt, Antonio lying Gabi down and climbing on top of her... Ricardo slammed the bottle against a lamp post that stood next to the bench. The jagged glass cut the inside of his palm, but he was unfazed. "How could you do this to me, Gabi...and with my own brother, a priest." Ricardo muttered under his breath. He didn’t know who to blame more, Gabi or Antonio. Ricardo closed his eyes and saw Gabi standing on the beach with Antonio. They were laughing and holding hands. Gabi’s stomach was large with their child. Antonio leaned over and kissed her while rubbing her stomach with his hand. "I know what I have to do!" Ricardo steamed as he got off the bench and left the beach.
|