River Princess

 

Chapter 12

Opportunity

 

Something was happening.

There was an impatient feeling in her heart.

Something was happening, and she didn't know what it was.

She saw fading images of colorfully dressed people, dancing and laughing.

There was a combination of scents, apples and roasted salty meant, colognes and perfumes, silks and coiffures, melting candles and drafts sneaking in.

She felt like she was there, moving about, and laughing.

 

There was a knock on her bedroom door.

 

It was dark, fairly quiet, and she was in her bedroom. She really wanted to know when she fell asleep in the first place. She had been tossing her body and jostling her pillow, her body aching from trying to find some sort of physical comfort. No matter how exhausted she got she just couldn't sleep. So, when she woke up, she wondered exactly when she had fallen asleep.

 

She decided it had to be late at night at this point, and she believed she had no business trying to get out of bed, so she ignored the knock on her bedroom door. Whoever was behind her door knocked again, louder, and Lydia thought she would cry. She was still quite tired.

 

Her father's voice called out, “Sweetheart? It's kind of an emergency.”

 

Convinced at that moment that her father needed to be yelled at, Lydia slowly got up and stretched her muscles. The man knocked again. “Lydia?”

 

She barked out, “I'm coming!” That qualified as yelling in Lydia's mind, and so she thought she'd be sweet from then on. She found her slippers and her bathrobe. Then she quit the room.

 

Charles was right there in the hallway, looking as shitty as she felt, wearing a somewhat formal outfit. “Hey Lydia,” he said to her, not even trying to smile, “Go get your pretty diamond necklace and earrings.” Well … that was an odd request. Lydia sensed that she was in some sort of trouble, but she knew she had done nothing bad. So she got the case the jewelry rested in, and when her father put an arm around her shoulders she leaned into him.

 

He took her downstairs to the living room, where Vlad Dalca was sitting in an armchair so tranquilly that Lydia wondered if the man ever had a bad day. “What's going on?” Lydia whined.

 

Charles sat her down on a sofa and sat down beside her. He pulled her back to him so she could lean on him again. “Sweetie, we need to sell your necklace. We need the money.”

 

At first Lydia felt a cold ball of disappointment tickle her stomach, but the mentally screamed at herself, “Don't be greedy! He needs the money!”

 

“Okay ...” She yawned and snuggled her face into her father's chest, closing her eyes and pushing the case onto his lap. “Did you borrow money from Mr. Dalca or something?”

 

“Well … I might have to ...” He stroked Lydia's messy head. “We're in some trouble. I wanted to tell you ASAP. What we get for this jewelry will be a lot, a whole lot, but it won't really be enough. I'm going to sell the things Mihai gave Delia and I too, but I don't think even that would be enough.”

 

“How much trouble are we in?” she asked with a yawn.

 

His arm around her tightened. Lydia only pushed closer into his nice cozy body. She really was sleepy, alert enough to know what was going on, but sleepy.

 

“You know how your grandfather, my dad, was a gambler?”

 

Lydia groaned. “How much debt did he leave behind?”

 

“Honey … he messed up … got involved with a mob.”

 

There was a moment where nobody said anything.

 

Lydia hugged her dad. Her chest was very cold and shaky, and her head hurt. “Dad … when people say you can never get out of debt with the mob … they're joking right?”

 

Vlad said something for the first time. “No.”

 

“But ...” Lydia said as she looked up at her father's face. “This mob is far away, right? They don't have connections here … right? They can't get away with hurting us here.”

 

“They will still come,” Vlad said gently. “Their base is in New York. You once lived there. You know it is not far from Connecticut.”

 

Charles moved his head like he wanted to nod, but was too tired. “It's a fairly new family, the Passerinis. My siblings don't live in New York anymore, so they'll come after me first. That why they called me, to give me a heads up.”

 

“Oh.” That was all Lydia could think of to say.

 

“Lydia,” Vlad said, lacing his fingers together and looking at her wilting face, “If they receive all the money they are due, including the interest, they could still find excuses to use you all. Sometimes that happens with some mafias, while others simply take their money and leave you alone.”

 

“What do we do?” Lydia whispered.

 

“We're going to get them their money,” Charles told her, “and wait and see. I don't want to piss them off and call the cops. They could shoot me in the head and take you and Delia into the sex trade if they wanted.”

 

And that was when Lydia thought she was going to throw up and weep simultaneously. Luckily, Charles hugged her and kissed her face, making her feel just better enough to not do that. “I know, Lydia. It's scary. I'm scared too. Delia will be scared when I tell her. It's just terrifying.”

 

“If they hurt you,” Vlad said with a very placid smile and calm eyes, “I will cause interesting problems for them.”

 

Both Charles and Lydia took a break from their affectionate father/daughter snuggling and looked at Vlad. “What?” Charles said.

 

“What?” Lydia also said.

 

Vlad's expression did not alter, but he did stand up and walk over to where Lydia sat with her father. He reached down and took her hand, which shocked her, but didn't quite frighten her. His hand was just rough enough to feel manly. He kissed the back of her hand, and his mouth was just soft enough to feel delicious. She shivered, and she hoped her dad didn't notice. Vlad held her hand in his as he told her, “I know what I am saying is difficult for you to believe, but I swear to you that I will protect you, even if I must leap into a volcano.”

 

 

Suddenly Lydia understood that he really wasn't too creepy, and a smile kissed by tears stretched out on her face.

 

 

Vlad chuckled very softly, like some sort of laughing little bear. “I should buy a better necklace for you. That diamond is too small.”

 

Charles gripped his daughter a little tighter, but he made himself laugh.

 

***

 

Holy.

Shit.

 

Lydia received a package two days later.

It came with a note-card, handwritten.

It was the most beautiful handwriting she had ever seen, as if the man only knew how to write in calligraphy.

 

 

Dragi Lydia,

 

Am înțeles că trebuie să fi fost atât de speriat. Vă rugăm, încercați să nu fie speriat. Tatăl tău și cu mine am adunat banii. Aici este colierul am promis să-ți dau. Sper că cele 20 de carate in cea mai mare diamant sunt satisfăcătoare.

 

Dearest Lydia,

 

I understand you must have been so frightened. Please, try not to be frightened. Your father and I have gathered the money. Here is the necklace I promised to give you. I hope the 20 carats in the largest diamond are satisfactory.

 

 

Lydia thought this thing could be a murder weapon.

One carat diamonds could be expensive, depending on the cut and quality … that fifteen carat diamond necklace she had given to her father, and the earrings, were ghosts of a princess' dream. This thing Vlad Dalca had given her was ridiculous. Clearly, the man wanted to show the fuck off. How the hell could he possibly have this much money?

 

The thing looked like lace, lace made of diamonds, and a metal she was certain was white gold. Lydia put the necklace on, not quite believing how bipolar her luck was. It covered part of her throat like a collar, and continued down to her bosom. There were so … so … so many white diamonds, big and small. The largest one was in the center, round cut, twenty carats.

 

Oh my … there were matching drop earrings … and two bracelets … and a ring!

 

Delia nearly fainted when she saw the jewelry set. Charles gaped at the set as if he wasn't sure how to feel.

 

She got Vlad Dalca's cell phone number from her dad. “I can't just accept this kind of gift from him,” she told her father after she had it written down, “not after all he's done. I mean, come on, there are bracelets and a goddamn ring! I'm gonna tell him to take them back.”

 

Charles grabbed her by her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Lydia, do not piss this guy off.”

 

She stepped away from him and tilted her head in an attempt to be cute. “No worries. I'm just going to be humble and sweet and try to convince him that I don't need all this stuff.”

 

He rubbed his hands together like he was cold. “Lydia, I think he wants to fuck you.”

 

Lydia put her hands to her heart, trying to keep it from jumping out of her chest. “Don't joke like that.”

 

“I'm serious.” Charles pressed his lips together like he had a toothache for a few seconds, and then he said, “I don't think he'll try to rape you … but … well this guy looks like he's used to getting what he wants, and he might have connections to some bad people.”

 

“Well, you said you think he won't try to rape. What are you afraid of?”

 

“I'm afraid of you losing your independence before you even have a chance to get it. You're not trophy wife material. You're CEO material.”

 

He had a point.

 

***

 

Lydia called him three times before he answered, and he sounded sleepy. It was lunchtime. Lydia was taking a break from eating her meal on school campus. Vlad sounded slightly tired on the phone, but he spoke very warmly.

 

“Lydia, when I sent the gift to you, I did not expect rejection.”

 

“But, man, this is too much. I feel embarrassed. You've been so good to us! I'm not the type to take advantage of people's kindness.”

 

“If you want to return the jewelry, then come to me this evening. I will be here.”

 

“Well … ” Lydia hesitated, but then she said, “Okay.”

 

She didn't tell her parents about it, not that they didn't trust her. Lydia was accustomed to coming and leaving as she pleased.

 

She just … the man had given so much … and … how could she reject him?

 

***