Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss. (33 page)

Victoria laughed. "Si, capisce!"
"I can't believe that's where you want to go for your honeymoon. You're going to pass over Paris, Venice, Rio de Janeiro and other spectacular places for an aquarium?" Nic said, shaking his head still in disbelief. He stared over at his wife's beautiful face. His wife...he loved that. They had been married approximately twenty minutes. Twenty amazing minutes.
Victoria had shocked him in not wanting a big wedding. Actually, she hadn't wanted a wedding at all, insisting he was all she needed. And she also commented that there wouldn't be many people, if any, to invite on her side, other than her mother. Her outlook on it had been a welcome change. He and Amber's wedding had been small, but very expensive, mostly due to Amber. And half of the people who were there, Nic wasn't friends with, so he had spent most of the reception talking to Jimmy and Raymond. Yes, he preferred Victoria's low key approach. They had gotten up early that morning and gone to City Hall. The whole process lasted less than ten minutes, but they couldn't stop touching and kissing each other.
Victoria smiled, and nodded her head. "Yep. You've been to all those other places right?"
"Yes."
"I want to experience something new with you. Somewhere you haven't already been and something you haven't already done. Since you and I have been together, we've visited some amazing places, dined in the finest restaurants...but I want to do this, well more my style if you don't mind."
He looked over at her, while she was piling a fork full of pancakes in her mouth.
"Izz good, huh?" she smiled at him, chewing around her food. He had to chuckle.
"It sure is. Because there's nothing better than pouring sugar on top of carbs and shoving it into my mouth," Nic joked, biting into his pancakes.
Victoria lovingly rolled her eyes.
"I can't believe this. I'm essentially spending what is supposed to be my wedding reception at The International House of Pancakes and you want to spend our honeymoon observing fish."
"Have you ever been to the Aquarium?"
"No."
"Neither have I, but I've always wanted to go. Hey, you asked me what I wanted."
"Which I now regret," Nic said, then dodged a packet of sugar that she threw at him. "But I still love you, Mrs. Andretti."
Victoria smiled. She would NEVER get tired of hearing that.
A few days later, they set out for their honeymoon. Victoria was so excited. She loved the thought of experiencing something new with Nic that he'd never done. 
But when they pulled into the Aquarium entrance, her heart sank.
"Oh, shit," Victoria said, as she stared at the empty parking lot. "It must be closed today. I swear, I checked it online and it's supposed to be open all year long."
"Hmm," Nic muttered, as they parked.
"Nic, we might as well turn around. I'm sorry."
"Well, we're already here, we can at least check and see if they will be open tomorrow."
Nic escorted Victoria to the ticket booth. Standing there was a man dressed in one of the park's uniforms and a big smile.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Andretti. Welcome to the Aquarium."
Victoria's mouth dropped and felt like it hit the pavement. Did he really close down the park for them? She looked up at Nic who pretended to be surprised, like he didn't know.
"Hi," Nic said, shaking the man's hand.
"Right this way, sir," the man said, leading them inside the large building. All of the lights were on, but there wasn't another soul in sight. No lines to view the exhibits, no screaming, crying kids, or cameras flashing every few seconds. Just them and the beautiful marine animals. 
Victoria couldn't stop shaking her head. She still couldn't believe it. "Oh my God, Nic...this is, it's amazing," Victoria whispered as they moved from tank to tank. She had never had the time nor money to spare to visit this Aquarium. She was mesmerized by the fish, which came in all different sizes and colors. Some were absolutely terrifying like the eels and tiger sharks...others were adorable and she would 'ooh and ahh' over them, like the penguins and seals. 
Nic walked closely behind her, again more interested in her than what they were viewing, but Victoria was quite alright with that. Every now and then his hands would grope her, but he tried to be good and somewhat pay attention.
One brightly colored fish kept following her as she walked back and forth in front of the tank. It was the cutest thing and she kept laughing at it.
"Nic, I think he likes me just as much as you do," she giggled.
"Hey, come here and close your eyes," Nic said to her, pulling her away from the stalker fish. Victoria complied and when he told her to open them, she screamed and jumped back into his chest. Staring right at her was probably the ugliest fish known to man. It was giant grouper. He was twice the size of her and had the biggest mouth that was sure to cause her nightmares.
Nic laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry baby, I'll protect you," Nic whispered into her ear.
As they continued on their tour, they walked past a tank full of jellyfish. Victoria observed their electric, neon colors and how smoothly they flowed through the water.
"Now these, I like," Nic said, staring at them.
"Hmm, beautiful and dangerous...just like my husband," Victoria retorted sarcastically. Nic chuckled as he grabbed her hand and led her to another tank.
When they reached the final room, Nic opened the doors and Victoria gasped. 
It was a large room, and the tank was from floor to ceiling and covered two walls. The tank was filled with brightly colored coral reefs and fish. And located directly in the middle of the room was a small table, beautifully decorated, with two silver covers.
"Nic, I--," Victoria was speechless. Again.
"I figured a little of your style and mine mixed together, and we couldn't go wrong with this honeymoon."
Victoria looked at the bright blue water from the tanks and then to their table. This was all way more than she would have ever expected. 

Once they sat down and Nic removed the covers from their food, Victoria could finally speak.
"Nic, thank you. This has been so incredible. Something I will never forget."
"I'm glad you like it, baby. I enjoyed it too."
They ate and talked for hours, enjoying every moment they were there. In the car on the way back to his condo, Victoria fell asleep. He sat in his parking place staring at her sleeping form for several minutes before he begrudgingly woke her up so they could go inside. 
Inside the condo, Victoria stood in the bathroom brushing her teeth and flossing. Nic stood behind her, just observing. She felt a little self-conscious, but as his wife, this is something she would normally be doing in front of him. She smiled at him in the reflection of the mirror, to ease her embarrassment. But he didn't smile back. He just continued to stare at her.
Victoria grabbed her birth control from the sink and popped one of the tiny pills out. She lifted her hand to her mouth about to swallow, when Nic's hand stopped her, causing her to drop it down the drain.
"Nic, I--," she started, before he turned her around and began kissing her. Oh, his kisses were always so sweet and powerful. She felt him pull the pack out of her hand and she heard clanking noise as he dropped it into the trash. Victoria's eyes widened, but then closed as his tongue caused her to moan.
When he finally pulled away from her, Victoria's eyes were still closed and her lips still puckered up. She slowly opened them to stare into his. "Are you sure?" she asked.
She could read the look in Nic's face. Yes, he was sure. And instead of replying, he kissed her again, and then led her out of the bathroom and to their bedroom for an unforgettable end to an already magical honeymoon.
Nic shook his real estate agent's hand. He had finally done it. After three separate cleaning crews and he and Jimmy carefully inspecting every inch for any leftover evidence, he sold his house. Fully furnished, because he didn't want to drag anything from his old life into his new one. He wanted a fresh start...in a new place. He only kept clothes, a few books, drawings and other personal keepsakes.
Getting rid of everything, including his old occupation was more refreshing than he thought it would be. He never thought he would have ever traveled down this road, and especially not for a woman. He had resigned to believe that he would never have marriage like some people did. The kind of marriage where you damn near ran red lights because you couldn't wait to get home to your wife. Or every time you saw something or heard something interesting, you thought of your spouse first because you knew they would like it. Victoria was indeed his entire world. And if that made him look weak to some people...fuck them.
They may not have had the fairytale meeting that some people share, but his love for her was no fairytale. It was as real as anything he'd ever felt in his life and only kept growing stronger with each passing day.
"Hey Vicky," Olivia said in her usual tired tone.
"Hey mama, how are you?"
"I'm okay. Am I disrupting you from anything?"
"No, you're not. I'm just packing our clothes," Victoria said, as she kicked another box out of her way. Nic had told her about selling his home and buying a new one in California. He had said it while they were lying in bed, so matter-of-factly. That was Nic, though. There hadn't really been any discussion about it, and she wanted to be mad, but she couldn't. She really wanted to go. So instead of blessing him out, she went down on him. So much for feminism.
"So when do you officially leave?"
"In two days," Victoria said, still not really believing how quickly this all happened. Her mother got quiet.
"What's wrong, mama?"
Olivia exhaled. "Well...James is sick."
Victoria immediately stopped tossing items into the boxes. "What?"
"Yeah, apparently the doctors have told him he has stomach cancer. But he's as stubborn as ever and is refusing treatment."
Victoria had a flood of emotions running through her, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what she felt. Her father was sick and possibly dying?
"Do...do you think I should go see him? I'm not sure if he would even want to see me," Victoria said, sitting down on the closet floor.
"I'm sure he does. Even if he's still mad after all this time, he would still want to see you."
"Does he know about me being married?"
"If he does, not from me. I don't really speak to him all that much. Legally we still married, but that's about it. But I did go visit him earlier this morning."
"Okay. Thank you for telling me."
Victoria hung up with her mother. It had been several months since she had last seen her father. After he had kicked her out and called her several awful names, she had thought that she would never forgive him. And she still hadn't. But God forbid that he should die without her having a chance to reconcile with him.
She grabbed her purse and left the loft.
Victoria hated hospitals. She couldn't remember the last time she had actually been in one. The weird smell and everything was eerily bright and white, even though people were sick and dying. It made her feel nauseated.
She had signed in at the front desk and walked back to see her father. His door was closed, but she gently knocked.
"What?" she heard her father ask in a pissed off manner.
Victoria took a deep breath and walked in anyway. She noticed her father sitting up in the bed watching sports on TV. He turned and glanced at her and then focused back on the game.
"Hey daddy," Victoria said, trying to let it not bother her that he ignored her entrance. But he still didn't answer. 
"Mama told me you were sick. How are you feeling right now?"
Still no answer. Victoria squeezed her hands closed and walked closer to the bed. "Are you going to ignore me?"
Finally he turned to look at her. "What do you want?" he snarled.
"I just wanted to see you, since you haven't been feeling well."
"Well maybe I don't want to see you. I still have nothing to say to you."
That stung. A lot. She glanced up at the TV and focused on the players running up and down a basketball court. She wasn't going to let her father get away with treating her like shit this time. She looked back at him.
"Funny how you hardly ever said a word to me when I was doing things the right way. No appreciation, nothing. But the moment I do one thing wrong in your eyes, you are so quick to cut me off."
"You and your mother were just ungrateful and you both looked down on me."
Oh, this man was delusional. "Daddy you had a hundred get rich quick schemes that you would constantly make me and mama help you with. We both sacrificed so much to help you, and you never seemed to give a damn about us."
James cut his eyes toward Victoria. "You were just a spoiled child."
Victoria almost laughed incredulously. "Are you kidding?! You never spoiled me a day in my life. I didn't even know what the hell that meant until I met Nic. And in case you're wondering, this is a wedding band," Victoria said, holding out the ring for her father to see. 
"We got married and will be moving to California in two days. Look daddy, I came here to see if you were alright. Not to get into an argument with you. There are things you've done that upset me, and there are things I've done that upset you. But there's no reason why you and I can't at least talk about it."
"I meant every word I said to you!" her father barked, raising his voice. "You are no daughter of mine! You think just because he puts a ring on your finger that you can erase that fact that you was nothing more than a gold digging whore with no self-respect? It won't. Now get the hell out of my room!"
Victoria stared at her father. He looked even older than she last remembered. She picked up her purse and walked towards the door, but then turned back around. "You know, I'm done trying to understand you. Trying to figure you out. You are just a mean old bitter man. I tried to love you over the years, but you made it damn near impossible. And at the end of the day, I look around and I have a family that loves me. What do you have?" she said, then walked out.
Nic could tell that the plane ride was making Victoria anxious. She was so excited, she could hardly contain herself. She had told him that she was more than ready for this new chapter in their lives. 
Nic had already flown out to see the house that he bought earlier that month, but Victoria had yet to see it. He hoped she would like it. It was located in a cute, quiet gated suburb with its own private park. The moment he saw the house, he knew that this was the one she would have picked out. 
When they finally pulled up to the house, he noticed Victoria's eyes widen. "This is our house?" she whispered. Our house. He would have to remember to play that over and over again in his head, because her saying it gave him a warm feeling. He watched as she eagerly hopped out of the car and ran to the door. Nic laughed to himself as he pulled the key from the ignition of the rental car and got out.
He followed behind Victoria as she walked in and out of every room at least three times. The first time she was shaking her head in disbelief. The second time she was learning where each room was and by the third time, she was mentally placing different things in different areas.
The house really was a nice place for a family. And Victoria really appreciated the pool. Back home, it stayed a little too chilly to really enjoy a pool, but here...the weather was perfect, and she was sure they would be taking full advantage of it.
They didn't really have any furniture, something Nic said he was leaving up to Victoria. She was extremely nervous about that venture because there was definitely a difference in decorating a small one bedroom in a rusty old apartment, and a five bedroom house with lots of space. But she was up for the challenge.
The few items that they had actually packed would be arriving the next day, along with the cable company so he could use his computer on a secure network. Not that security really mattered anymore, when it came to his business prospects. Something he could finally breathe about.
That night they had takeout while sitting on the floor in the dining room. At that moment life couldn't get much better. Nic was happy. Truly happy for the first time in a long time...but he started feeling uncomfortable. When they went to sleep on the soft carpeted floor in the master bedroom, Nic couldn't fall asleep. He could hear Victoria lightly snoring, but this dark feeling looming over him...the same one he had felt in Bali, was bothering him. And although he wasn't superstitious, he knew not to ignore that nagging feeling.
Over the course of a week, they finally got several things up and running and Victoria had been picking out little household appliances here and there. She still wasn't quite ready to take on the task of fully decorating.
Nic had driven her to the site where his new office would be. She could tell he was excited although he tried to play Mr. Cool about it. He was finally going to be an architect, something he had wanted to do since college. But they still had a little while to wait before all of the plans were finalized.
When Nic wasn't there, Victoria spent most of her time on her cell phone answering calls from her mom, Marianna and Isabelle. Those three checked up on her so much, that she highly doubted another kidnapping plot would ever happen. 
But it was on a random Tuesday when her whole life changed. Oh, boy did it change. She had been feeling a little off, so she did what most women did in that situation. Visit the local drugstore.
Victoria just couldn't believe it. She could, but she couldn't all at the same time. Pregnant?! She sat there on the bathroom counter for what felt like an hour, but in actuality had only been five minutes. Pregnant. It's definitely something that she and Nic wanted eventually, she just wasn't expecting it to happen so soon. Really soon, since they had only been married for a little over a month. She knew Nic would be happy about it, because he's the one who tossed out her birth control, but she still didn't expect it to happen SO soon. She didn't know what she felt. A part of her was ecstatic. But the other part was scared shitless.
She hopped off the counter and wrapped the device in a huge wad of tissue and placed it in the trash. Eventually a big smile spread across her face. They were going to have a baby. 
The next day a quick but suspenseful trip to an OB/GYN in the area confirmed what Victoria had suspected. But she wanted to break the news to Nic in a memorable and...sexy way. 
Nic was worn out. He had been on the phone all day with different contractors and business investors for his company. He would be so glad when the little details were out of the way, and he could get it up and running. 
When he unlocked the front door, the inside of the house was much darker than normal. He noticed there were several candles lit, giving the room a warm glow. And the heavenly smell of cooking must have connected to his senses, because his stomach grumbled as if on cue.
He quietly closed the door and walked toward the bright light coming from the kitchen. And just like that...his hunger was forgotten, as he could feel his manhood rising. Victoria stood with her back to him, giving him the perfect view of her supple, round rear in a pair of light pink lacy panties that showcased the lower part of her ass cheeks. And a garter belt clipped the sexy thigh high stockings in place, which led down to "fuck me" heels. And that was just the back of Victoria. Goddamn.
Nic loosened his tie and sat his keys on the counter. The small jingle caused her to turn around and face him. Her tits sat perfectly in the light pink lace bra. God bless Mina. He had to remember to give her an extra tip. His wife was fucking hot!