He shakes his head and cuts a piece of chicken. “I never met someone who didn’t like living in a paradise,” he says before taking a bite.
“What’s the point of paradise if there’s no one to share it with?”
“Damn, what am I? Chopped liver?” He presses his hand to his chest in mock outrage.
“At this point, yeah.” I smirk with my head bent toward my plate.
He just scoffs and takes another bite. “Well, tough. I can’t let you go anywhere.”
“I’m not going to take this shit much more.”
“Just give him time.”
“I gave him a week already. I hate this. It’s worse than being stuck with Rafael.”
“Behave.”
I know that’s crossing the line because nothing is worse and then again, to me it’s painful to think of Santino and to know he’s abandoned me. “Whatever. I’m not going to sit around like a puppy dog. I’m going into town today.”
“No, you’re not.”
“We’ll see about that.” I empty my plate into the garbage and then wash my plate. He finishes his and then hands it to me for me to wash. We’ve set up this routine that works nicely, but even as I set the plate in the rack, I’m thinking about Santino and my mood darkens.
“If you want to go in the water, today’s a good day, but I’ll be watching you.”
“Damn you need to get a girl. Spending your day ogling me is getting out of control,” I tease. Honestly, the man ignores me like I have the plague.
“Don’t let Santino hear that, or he’ll kill me for nothing.”
“Whatever. I’m going to change.” I head into my bedroom and scoop up my latest read. It’s a great book and I’m looking forward to learning what causes them to separate and if they’ll get their happily ever after almost all us girls dream of. Since Santino took me, I’ve dreamt of a life without Rafael and it sends me into a much better mood, but I also picture Santino as my happily ever after.
Slipping out of the house, I walk along the beach for hours, thinking about life. What can I do about it? I know that just escaping Rafael is a blessing, but can I be greedy and ask for more?
“Giada, where are you going?” I stare up at the sky, wishing I can punch Joey in the face.
“I’m not going anywhere. Gosh, didn’t you say I could walk along the beach?” I remind him.
“Yes, but you’re way past the house.” I turn around and look. I can’t even see the house anymore.
“Oh goodness. I was lost in my thoughts.”
“Let’s get back to the house.”
“Ugh. Okay.” I nod and follow in step alongside him.
“Don’t look so down. Things will get better.”
“Is he seeing someone else?” It bothers me more than it should. He doesn’t owe me anything including his fidelity. I’m not his wife. Hell, I’m married to someone else, but that doesn’t stop the pain in my chest thinking of him with another woman after the stolen moments with him.
Joey sighs and then says, “No. Be patient.”
“You don’t even know what it’s like to be caged.”
“I do. I met Santino in prison.” I wasn’t aware of that. Wow.
Surprisingly, I’m not afraid of him after that revelation. “I’m sorry. It’s just I felt the taste of freedom and had it taken away.” Joey has been kind to me, but I’m lonelier than I’ve ever been and Santino’s the reason for it.
“You need to just remember that things will get better.” He’s right. They’ve already drastically improved.
Once we’re inside the house, I excuse myself to go lie down. It’s not like he spends more than a handful of minutes with me at any given time.
I WAKE UP TO THE SOUND of movement in my room. “Who’s there?”
“It’s me, Santino.”
“It’s about time.” He sweeps me into his arms and crushes his lips to mine. It feels so incredible, and then he’s gone.
I sit up in bed, realizing that it was all a dream. Uncontrollably, tears stream down my face. The sound of the phone ringing causes a break in the waterworks. It’s still light outside. I must have taken a quick nap.
Climbing out of bed, I walk out into the hallway and there’s Joey on the phone.
“Yeah, the cow is getting restless.” Did he just call me a cow? I can’t hear what Santino’s saying to him, but he just referred to me as a cow. I glance down at myself. Yes, I put on a little weight, but I was underweight before we came here, so I’m actually healthy looking.
“Okay. I’ll handle it, boss.” What’s he going to handle? Are they going to get rid of me? No. I can’t see them doing that. Either way, it appears that Santino wants nothing to do with me and is leaving me to the whims of his henchman.
There’s nothing left for me to do but find a way for me to escape. I wait until he goes to his room and then I sneak back into my room and get my things together in a tiny travel bag that’s stored in the closet. The best I can do is sleep on the beach while trying to find a job somewhere on the island. I have to play the rest of the day cool.
After I’ve gotten my gear together, I go into the living room area where Joey’s watching television. “Did you have a good nap?” he asks without turning around.
“It was fine. Is there anything made for dinner?”
“Yes, it’s in the oven.”
Just like that, the timer goes off. “I’ll get it.” I’m only going to do it so I can steal some snacks for my plan. I take out the baked spaghetti and set up the plates. I take a kitchen towel and wrap up some apples, granola bars and a couple bottles of water and scurry into my bedroom.
When I come back, Joey’s in the kitchen. “Where did you go?”
“When you got to go, you got to go,” I
