Hidden Heart (45 page)

“
Alessandro, please, you
have to trust me. Nothing, absolutely nothing bad has happened. I
need a few things from home, and Adrian is on his way to pick you
up; I don’t want you driving because you sound too distraught to
drive anywhere, okay? Adrian will bring a list with what I need.
Put everything in a bag and bring it to…” Tessa heard somewhere in
the background the doorbell, then Adrian’s voice and Alessandro
frantically asking questions.

Alessandro returned to the
phone, “Adrian just got here, but he’s not telling me anything, why
didn’t you let him tell me what happened to you? It’s killing me;
please?”

Tessa sighed. She hated not
being able to tell him the truth, but she needed him there, at the
hospital with her. Then she’d tell him everything, holding his hand
and drowning in the love in his eyes and the warmth of his
embrace.

“
Alessandro, look, if
something bad would’ve happened, I wouldn’t be able to talk on the
phone, would I?”

He seemed to think, then
she heard him sigh a few times.

“
I guess you’re right. I’ll
get your things and come to the hospital with your father as soon
as possible. Tessa?” He paused for a second, then said, “Whatever
it is, we’ll get through this together. I love you!”

“
I love you,
too.”

She hung up and rested her
head on the hospital’s pillow. She closed her eyes, listening to
the rhythmic sound of the monitor registering her heartbeat.
Breathe. In and out. Everything will be all
right.

Tessa and Alessandro had
been happily married for over two years. After she found him bunked
at her cabin, they remained there for two full days, talking their
hearts out. They returned to Bucharest, starting fresh, coming
slowly to terms with the past to begin building their future. They
lived like nomads, staying a couple of days at her place, and then
moving to his. Both had strong ties to their own nests; both had
watched their houses being built and neither of them wanted to give
them up.

One day, Alessandro
suggested they sell his house, and buy another one where they’d
decide about everything together. She felt guilty and didn’t agree
with his solution, arguing that, if he sold his house, then she’d
have to sell hers. Alessandro was against the sale of her home; all
her memories, everything she ever shared with her parents and
sisters was in that house. They compromised and sold his to a
family with three children.

They lived for about half a
year in her house. They were content with the place, but wanted a
bigger one that fit better with their vision and dreams of a big
family. They fell in love with a spacious and sunny house, with a
huge backyard and a covered pool. They bought it, furnished the
place and moved in.

Alessandro bought Tessa’s
house without her knowing who the buyer was; he really wanted that
house to remain in the family, but tired of arguing with her. He
let her sisters know about his plans and they promised not to say a
word until the right time.

Tessa elected to stay
involved with the “Women In Need,” the non-profit foundation she
established after the fundraising. She opened another shelter
similar to the one managed by Dina. She loved her work, loved the
people she interacted with and continued hosting fundraising events
to sustain the shelter. She helped women believe in themselves and
encouraged them toward school and work. She helped their children
get better grades in school by hiring tutors and spending a lot of
time with them.

Tessa introduced Alessandro
to both Cristian and Adrian. Overly-protective Cristian seemed
somewhat reserved for a while, treating him with circumspection.
Soon, he realized his sister was head-over-heels in love with
Alessandro and vice versa, and Alessandro’s good nature and
easy-going personality won him over. They often spent evenings
together, Adrian’s house becoming a home filled with jokes,
laughter and games.

Cristian and Eva became
romantically involved soon after the first fundraising. He fell in
love with little Iulia, Eva’s daughter, who’d cuddle in his arms
and made smacking kisses a must. They married four months later,
electing Adrian’s estate as the wedding venue.

Alessandro never failed to
amaze Tessa. He loved her each and every day with such intensity it
often left her breathless. He spoke Romanian fluently. He expanded
his company, hiring more people and earning himself a steady place
on the financial market. He took her to Italy to meet his family.
Tessa clicked instantly with everyone, especially with Gabriela,
who became not only her sister-in-law, but also a dear
friend.

They traveled across Italy,
visiting Venice, Rome, Sicily, Naples and Pisa. For Christmas he
surprised her with a trip to Germany where, in conspiracy with
Chiara, Octavia, Cristian with his family, and Adrian joined them.
They spent a lovely one-week vacation together as a family. One
night, when everyone was seated in the family room in Chiara’s
house enjoying a nice glass of wine, Alessandro got on his knee,
opened a little black box and asked Tessa to marry him.

She got so choked up and so
emotional, it took her several seconds to answer. She stared at the
beautiful engagement ring with a solitaire square diamond
surrounded by little diamonds, which fit perfectly on her finger.
She accepted his proposal and in the months ahead, she planned the
wedding. She had always wished for a spring wedding.

Not only did Adrian walk
her down the aisle, but once again his house filled up with guests,
music and laughter. They had a lovely and intimate wedding, with
all their relatives and friends.
When
Alessandro invited her for the first dance, he finally confessed to
buying her house, slipping her old key into her hand. She was
already on cloud nine, and forgave him for being so
sneaky.

They postponed their
honeymoon for the summer. They booked a small villa in Monaco,
spending their days in the sun, playing scrabble and cards. They
took long walks in the evening after dinner and ended each night
making love. They were so happy together and so into each other,
they didn’t realize their honeymoon was soon over. The next year
for their anniversary, Alessandro booked the same villa again and
they enjoyed ten days of blissful happiness.

Now, six months into their
second year of marriage they were still madly in love with each
other. Tessa’s life had come full circle. The only thing she kept
wishing for was a baby. She got pregnant twice, once before the
wedding and once after the honeymoon, but both times ended up
miscarrying. She was left with nothing but grief and
disappointment, tears and a broken heart.

Alessandro had again tended
to her, putting on a brave face, but no matter how hard he tried to
be strong for her, she knew he suffered. Whenever there were
children around, he always played with them, made them laugh with
silly magic tricks, pulling coins out of the boys’ ears and roses
out of his sleeves for the girls. The way he looked at those little
ones, longing and loving, tore at Tessa’s heart, knowing she
couldn’t give him what he wanted.

Alessandro opened the door
abruptly and rushed to her bed, “
Amore
, what happened?” He dropped the
bag on the floor, took her face in his palms, and stared at her as
if trying to read her mind, his eyes full of dread. He tried to
pull her into his arms, but stopped, seemingly confused by all the
equipment around her bed. “Why are you hooked to all these
machines? What happened?”

Even now, after being
together for so long, Tessa still felt butterflies in her stomach
and her heart racing—the monitor’s beeping the live proof of
it.

She smiled at her husband,
holding onto his hand, and said quickly, “I shouldn’t get too
excited, it’s not good…”

The door opened and a nurse
hurried in. “Mrs. Santinelli, the doctor warned you, no strong
emotions, right? I see your husband is here; that’s good, now I
need you the breath, long, deep breathes, that’s good.” She walked
around Tessa’s bed, adjusted the drip on the IV line, checked the
clipping device on Tessa’s finger and waited. Within seconds, the
beeping returned to the rhythmic sound. “There you go, now it’s
much better.”

“
Are you all right? Do you
hurt?” Alessandro asked after the nurse left.

Tessa smiled, lifted his
hand to her lips, kissed it and then rested her face against it. “I
am fine, I swear I am. Look I have no wounds, nothing broken,
nothing to worry about.”

He looked confused, his
eyes darting between Tessa and the medical equipment. “Then, what
are all these machines? What’s that sound for?”

She listened, loving the
sound she heard as if waves broke against the shore—sometimes
faster, sometimes distant, but always coming back.

Tessa pushed the covers
away, revealing her stomach. A wide fabric belt with several
connectors wrapped around her lower abdomen. She looked at her
husband wanting to keep forever the memory of his lovely face, the
memory of that special moment that would change their lives
forever, locked in her heart like a photo in an album.

She lowered his hand and
placed it on her belly. “Bed rest for the next six months. I made
it to twelve weeks and the doctor said chances are I’ll be able to
finish this pregnancy, with some prudence and medical monitoring.”
She pressed her hand on top of his, rubbing slowly her abdomen,
“Say hi to your baby.”

Special thanks to:

Cindy and Jeff, for pushing
me to carve out the elephant inside each page. You’ve been my
critique partners turned friends throughout my writing journey and
I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your help and effort to
make me a better writer.

Nikki and Becky for being
my “editors” and standing by me when I was struggling to find my
words. I don’t know what I would’ve done without your vigilant
eyes, but don’t ask me to pay for glasses—ain’t going to
happen.

Iwona and Konrad for
providing me with the best photo I could ever think of for my book
cover. We’ve come a long way since my first letter to you and I
thank you, Iwona for being such a beautiful model and Konrad, for
being a great photographer and for capturing Iwona’s
beauty.

To my in-laws Paulie and
Robert Skiba, and to my friends Teresa, Becca, Sue, Kim, Alicia,
Joan and many others who so graciously agreed to read Tessa’s story
when it was only in a ‘first-draft’ stage and needed so much more
work, but always encouraged me to keep writing.

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

Writing multicultural books comes natural to Camelia Miron
Skiba because of her diversified background. She grew up in
Bucharest, Romania, the land of vampires and communists. For
several years she lived in Austria, Germany and Hungary then
settled in the U.S. over seven years ago. While living in those
countries, she became accustomed to their societies, languages, and
cultures.

She now lives with her
family in Arizona and works at Arizona State University.

Her passion for happy
ending stories had began during her teenage years, devouring every
book she read. She never thought that she had what it takes to
become a writer. Until one summer day when her son encouraged her
to write. And ever since, she has never looked back…

For more information about
the author please visit www.CameliaMironSkiba.com