A loud gasp comes through the line and a squeal of excitement.
"Where are you? Are you ok? Are you hurt?" she blurts out.
"I'm fine. I'm… really, honestly fine. But listen, I don't have a lot of time."
"Talk to me, Kit. What can I do?" she says.
I take a deep breath, then start explaining my situation. The more I talk, the more I surprise myself. I tell her about how I think I'm falling for him and how I'm terrified of getting hurt. I even tell her about the baby and beg her, pleading with all my heart, that she doesn't breathe a word of it to anyone.
Valery listens patiently, and the silence on the other end of the line starts to worry me.
"Val?" I ask, after a while.
"Sweetie, I actually know exactly how you feel. I'm so sorry you've been going through all of this alone."
"Really?" I stammer.
"Really. I'm so tired of all this fighting. It's unnecessary and pointless. It needs to end. I won't tell anyone, but we need to fix this. We need to find a way to get our brothers to talk to Bardil so this can be resolved."
"I know… but how?"
She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "I might need to telloneperson," she says.
"Who?"
"Talia. With his sister on board, we have a better chance," she explains.
After a moment of consideration, I agree.
"Actually, he's taking me out tomorrow. To a market. He said that Talia loves to go, and it might be the perfect place for us to bump into her… "
We plan for twenty minutes, deciding how this all might be possible. Talia coming back into Bardil's life can be the first step to showing him that his family isn't against him—and neither is mine. It's a gentle attempt to get him to open himself to new possibilities.
After that, phase two will kick in, and as scary as it is, I'm eager to get it over with so we leave all of this drama behind us.
When my call with Valery ends, I switch off the phone and hide it under my mattress with the walkie-talkie. Hopefully, he'll just think he lost it and grab a new set. I might need it again.
For the rest of the day, I'm anxiously excited. This might actually work. This might be the beginning of the end of all the negative things happening.
I might even dare to have real hope that Bardil and I could be something more than just secretly growing closer. My whole life will change if this plan works!
Chapter 19 - Bardil
Nikita is clearly excited for our adventure day exploring the Miami market in the gardens.
All night last night, she was smiling and cheerful, and this morning she got up before me and made me coffee in bed.
A sweet gesture. In fact, I don't think anyone has ever made me coffee in bed.
"You're already dressed and ready to go," I tease her, sitting up in bed to take the coffee from her.
She's wearing a gorgeous floral dress. Short, flaring out around her thighs. The pink and blue flowers catch the shade of her cheeks and the blue of her eyes. Her long, dark hair is pulled up into a wild bun. Curls and strands fall out and bounce around when she wiggles happily.
"I'm really excited. What time does it start?" she smiles, sitting on the edge of the bed.
I glance at my watch. "I reckon by eight or nine it should be in full swing?"
"Should we grab breakfast there?"
