There are kids playing out into the distance and a few adults sunbathing nearby next to a tent.
I wade into the water. I'm wearing a bathing suit underneath a long summer dress, which I pull up to my waist to prevent it from getting wet.
My skin is alabaster white and I hadn't put on any sunscreen yet. I wonder how red I'm going to get this weekend, if I keep this up.
I don't have a towel with me, but it hardly matters.
Somewhere in the distance, the sun begins to set and light dances off the waves. I turn my eyes away from the horizon and see someone who has a similar build to someone I had lost.
He sits in the sand, looking out at the water.
I'm still a bit away, but it’s uncanny how similar he looks to Dante.
I take a few more steps forward and I lift up my sunglasses to get a closer look.
And then I realize it's him.
He gets up and starts to head toward the dunes.
I can run now, I can just turn around and walk away and it's like it never happened. It's like we never met.
But something stops me.
“Dante!” The words escape my lips. I want to take them back.
I hesitate. I want to talk to him again.
I want to figure out what happened, find out the truth. And then the memory of running into that pregnant woman and the way he helped her up stops me in my tracks.
I turn to walk away.
"Jacqueline?" Dante says, turning around. I take a step back. "Jacqueline?"
Dressed only in his swim suit, his body glistens in the setting sun. Every muscle stands out beautiful and toned. He has somehow gotten more attractive since the last time I've seen him.
I take another step back, but he takes three forward and suddenly he's right in front of me.
"Don't leave," he says, tossing his hair. It's wet, and a few droplets fall onto my face.
"What are you doing here?" he asks.
I shake my head no.
I swallow hard, bringing my arm to my forehead. I shift my weight nervously from one side to another.
"It's so good to see you." I nod. "How are you?"
“I'm good."
The tension between us can be cut with a knife.
I wait for him to break it, to tell me something along the lines it’s nice to see you, but I'm married now, but he doesn't.
"That day in the park?" I say, "I'm really sorry about that.”
I can't handle waiting anymore. I need to get to the bottom of this. I need to know who she is.
“Don’t worry about it. It was an accident," Dante says. "Marguerite is okay."
"Marguerite?" I say her name, feeling it around in my mouth. It’s uncomfortable, foreign, strange, the kind of name that belongs to a villain.
"I'm sorry that we didn't get a chance to talk…then.”
I notice that he's being careful with his words. He doesn't bring up the fact that I just ran away.
"But I wanted to reach out and talk to you again,” Dante adds.
"Okay.” I nod.
A seagull squawks overhead.
"I'm staying right over there.” He points at the pristine white mansion on the other side of the swaying grasses. "Do you want to come in for a drink, or just get out of the sun so we can talk?"
I shake my head yes, immediately regretting it.
"What about Marguerite? Is she there?" I ask, grasping onto one arm with my other hand.
"What are you talking about?"
"I don't really want to intrude on your family life,” I say, trying to be as indirectly direct as possible.
He furrows his brow.
"Oh, no, no. Marguerite and I aren't together. Is that what you thought?"
I take a step back. He takes one forward and grabs my elbow.
"Wait, did you think that Marguerite is having my baby?" I shrug, not knowing how else to react.
"No, no, not at all. She's actually…she’s my sister-in-law. She's married to my brother, Lincoln. They've been together for almost a decade. I was taking her to her doctor's appointment because he was busy at work. We went for a stroll in the park since she was feeling up to it.”
I hesitate.
I stand before him, uncertain as to whether I heard everything that's coming out of his mouth, or maybe I just made it all up.
I ask him to repeat himself and he does.
“Is that why you ran away? You thought that she was my wife and that we were having a child?" Dante asks.
I nod.
"No, it couldn't be further from the truth."
I swallow hard.
"Okay, let's go in. I think I need that drink,” I say, smiling ear to ear.
Following Dante into his home, I’m taken aback by the sheer height of the ceilings and the ornate design. The downstairs is a series of rooms flowing one into another. We walk past the library, and I hesitate and look out of the huge bay window, overlooking the ocean.
"It's beautiful here," I say.
He nods.
"Is this your house?"
"No, it's a family place, but Lincoln and Marguerite officially own it. They're coming tomorrow."
“So…you’re staying for the weekend?" I ask.
He nods, giving me a smile out of the corner of his lips. I can't help but feel consumed by the butterflies in the pit of my stomach. They first showed up when our eyes met, and have only escalated in intensity.
Dante offers me something to drink and pulls out a pitcher of lemonade. Following him out to the back patio, we sit down in Adirondack chairs and look at the expansive pool.
"I don't know what to say," I admit after a long pause and a rather uncomfortable one at that.
"I don't either.” He smiles.
I want to accuse him of not reaching out to me and to yell at him for not coming back from Chicago, but for some reason I don’t.
I'm just so relieved that he's not married and that baby isn't his that I can't even think.
"Tell me about your life," I finally say.
Our eyes meet, and he doesn't look away.
14
Jacqueline
I ask him about his life and what he's been up to, but he shakes his head no.
"Tell me about your mom," Dante says.
"She's doing well, almost totally recovered.” I smile. “They don't consider the cancer to be completely gone until it's been five years, but she's gotten another test, and she's going to have to get them every three months in the near future to make sure that it's not coming back, but so far so good.”
"I'm glad to hear that.” He sits back in his chair, looking out onto the pool.
"What you did for me…I was so upset and stuck in my grief, but I should have thanked you for saving her life."
"Well, let's be honest. When she ended up under sedation and unconscious, you weren't very happy with me and that surgery. I get it."
I swallow hard and take another sip of my lemonade.
"What about you? What's new with you?" Dante asks.
"I went back to school, finishing up my degree, looking for work. I should be done and graduating by August."
"That's great. I'm happy for you."