I answered. “Caro, tell me something promising.”
“Hi, Donovan, it’s actually Prim.”
“Oh, hey,” I said to Tulya’s best friend. Everyone knew those two were close.
“Caro said I could call. I’m so worried—I haven’t heard from Tuvy since she went to the States other than Merry Christmas. At first I was worried she was falling for you, but now I hear she’s sick. And it’s crazytown here…withthe human…and your brother’s kid…akid.” She screamed into the phone and my head started to hurt. She picked right back up at her rambling. “And Caro was saying—”
“Prim, slow down,” I demanded. She was hysterical, and I got it, but I didn’t have the patience right now.
“I can’t help it. Your brother—”
“Listen, I know, he’s a class A dick, but I’m trying to care for Tulya.”
“Tuvy,” she corrected me. “She likes Tuvy. Not Tulya.”
“Not when it comes to me. She prefers Tulya.” I didn’t know why I felt the need to set Prim straight. It wasn’t as if this was going anywhere with Tulya…
“Oh” was the response I got.
Prim was getting the picture though. Which, who knew if that was right or wrong in this moment. “Prim, there is a lot going on right now, but the most important is Tulya. She needs the medic. Can you ask Caro to go see him?”
She started whisper-sharing what I was saying to Caro in the background.
“She did,” Prim reported back. “He says it will pass.”
“In how long?”
She asked Caro and then stated, “No clue. The whole island is up in arms over your niece. Half the place is ecstatic, and the other half—well, not so much. Mostly, no one is happy about the human.”
“Her name is Valerie,” I grumbled. Despite not adoring her, she was a person with a name, and the mother of my niece.
“Rumor has it you let Valerie come here, and the shit has hit the fan.”
Standing still on the beach pathway in front of my hotel, I’d never wished harder to not be Rubian. Hawaii was on the horizon, and I wanted nothing more than to separate myself from my own family. “Again, there are many moving pieces at the moment. Put Caro on,” I told Prim. She was too far gone in an emotional state to help me.
“Tell Tuvy I love her” were her final words. Then she added softly, “I would come if I could.”
Yeah, I was getting the picture: no one was leaving Rubia to help Tulya until I restored order. Meaning plucking Valerie away from her daughter.
“Donovan, I’m trying,” Caro now said in my ear.
“Try harder. What the hell is wrong with your mother?”
“Hey, don’t take this out on me. Yours isn’t much better, and I’ll clue you in, Ceci is on a bender. She’s running around our house, muttering quiet prayers, and saying shit about one son messed up but you won’t. How you’ll be home soon to marry your betrothed.”
“Enough! Go to your mom and let her know I will come and deal with Valerie as soon as the medic gets here. I will do her bidding, but on my terms. She needs to at least pretend as if she cares for her daughter.”
“I’ll tell her. But I’ll warn you, she doesn’t do others’ terms well.”
“That’s obvious,” I added and hung up, rushing up the path to the hotel, thinking I’d been gone too long.
Tulya
Iwoke up in a jolt—a bad dream where I was standing at the altar waiting for Donovan and he never showed. Squeezing my eyes closed, I willed my heart to slow and tried to take a swallow, but the back of my throat burned like a four-alarm fire. No wonder my mouth was so dry; I’d been shallow breathing all night. I glanced at the clock reading a few minutes after seven and noted the sun peeking up through the blinds.
Looking up, I saw only Donovan. But not the version I’d dreamed of as my husband or the man who jilted me. He was sleeping in the chair in a pair of athletic shorts and no shirt. I was wondering how long he had been in here when the itching picked up again. With a trembling hand, I started to run my nails along my forearm, wondering why they felt wet. Lifting the sheet, I saw a mix of bright red blood and caked-over welts. I couldn’t help the gasp I let out.
“Shit.” Donovan sat up quickly, swearing a few more times. “Are you okay?”
