Second Chances (80 page)

“Daddy!”  Rebecca and Kyle squealed in unison.  They rushed down the plush carpeted stairs to greet their father.

“Hello, Jack,” Gabriel greeted him, with an edge in his voice.  “Welcome to Rebecca’s castle.”

The two glowered at each other for a few moments.  Jack, upset because he could never compete with Gabriel’s money, and Gabriel, bothered due to his need to confront Jack over the divorce papers.  The two stood glaring each other down in an irreversible stale mate.

Isabella looked from one to the other, then back again.  “Come on, boys,” she announced, “let’s get the grill fired up for the rest of the guests.”

The day continued in a tense sort of peace accord.  Both knew not to disrupt Rebecca’s day.  There were many uncomfortable moments, moments where one or the other of them threatened to erupt.  Jack couldn’t stand that Gabriel had become the one who manned the grill.  He stood around trying to figure out how to occupy himself.  Gabriel, just as upset, hovered over the grill flipping burgers.  After seeing the children’s reaction to Jack in the castle, he realized what he’s always known, but chosen not to accept.  He could never replace Jack in the children’s hearts.  No matter how he longed for them to call him ‘daddy,’ that would never happen.  He had no right to that title biologically.

At last, when Gabriel recognized that Jack prepared to make his exit, he decided to do what he had been longing to for weeks now.  He lured Jack behind the castle, out of view and
ear shot of the rest of the remaining guests.

“I want you to sign the divorce papers,” Gabriel stated simply.  “Bella deserves to be happy.”

Jack snickered.  “So, I should just let her be happy?”

Gabriel tensed.  “Yes, you should, since you spent so many years making her miserable.”

“Oh, but I suppose you know how to make her happy, huh?”  He asked with eyes narrowed.

Gabriel showed his teeth without truly smiling.  “Of course.  I already do.  I’m not going to lie to you, Jack.  I love your children and I love Bella.  I plan to marry her.”

Jack straightened and tried to look as threatening as he could manage against a man who might be his equal in height, but definitely bore more bulk.  “You will
never
marry her,” he spat.  “I won’t allow it.”  He closed the gap between them, standing nose to nose with Gabriel.

“I haven’t hit another human being since I was fifteen,” Gabriel said sternly, holding his ground.  “I would love to make an exception for you, but today we are celebrating Rebecca’s birthday and I refuse to ruin it.”

“Aren’t you the gentleman,” Jack remarked snidely.

Gabriel straightened.  “I like to think so.  Now, I’m warning you.  Sign the divorce papers.”

Smirking and stretching, Jack began slowly.  “Well, Gabriel.  You’re a businessman.  Let’s see if we can’t come up with some sort of agreement.”  He turned around tugging at his chin.  “How much is she worth to you?  I hope you brought your check book.”  He gloated now, thinking he had struck some fabulous deal.

“Well, actually, Jack.  I think the more pressing question is how much do you value your freedom?”  He reached into his pants pocket.  “You see, I didn’t bring my check book.  I didn’t have to.  I brought this instead.”  He pulled his hand out, grasping a recording device.  Jack’s jaw dropped.  He tried to think of a way out.

“I think you may have misunderstood me,” he blathered.  “I never meant...”

“Sure you didn’t,” Gabriel cut him off.  “But it isn’t up to my discretion.  I would have to leave that in the hands of the district attorney.”  He waited to let his last words sink in.  “Is it really worth all of that?  Tell her you’ve had a change of heart.  Sign the papers, Jack, before I lose my patience.”

Jack’s shoulders sank.  Gabriel relaxed.  He knew he’d not only won the battle, but also the ultimate prize: Bella.

The last few weeks of school flew by.  And while her workload at the studio had increased tremendously due to senior portraits, her pain had been lessened by Gabriel’s continued presence in the home.  He and Maggie had all of the domestic chores divvied up so that Isabella only had to eat, sleep, work, and make a feeble attempt at putting her show together. 

“I could get used to this,” she warned Gabriel one evening as he brought her a mug of hot tea to help calm her nerves while she finished pouring over yet another set of proofs.

“I want you to.  I want it to always be like this.  I like taking care of you, looking out for you.”  He settled on the couch next to her and reached over to stroke her back.

She smiled warmly at him.  “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

“You know,” he responded, tweaking her nose, “I ask myself that same question about you every day.”  Then with a quick kiss, he left her to her photos.

On the last day of school, the last night before she and Gabriel departed on their summer vacation, Isabella returned home bursting with good news.  “Guess what!”  She screamed to Gabriel from the driveway.

He looked puzzled but pleased.  Isabella was positively glowing.  “I can’t even begin to imagine what has made you so happy.  I suppose it could be any number of things.  Why don’t you just tell me, eh?”

Isabella leapt onto the porch to stand before him giggling.  “Well, let’s see.  I’m taking my first summer off in forever.  We leave tomorrow for our own little European vacation, although I still don‘t know how you managed to convince Christopher to hold my job.  I can finally stop neglecting my children, and you.”  She reached up, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed both cheeks before planting a warm kiss on his lips.  “Oh, and my divorce is final,” she said in a manner that would suggest this was the least important revelation she had shared.  She turned her face skyward, lips puckered, and pretended to be awaiting another kiss as she allowed the words to sink in.

Gabriel picked her up and whirled her around.  “Final!  Wow!”

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment.  He didn’t seem quite as surprised as she expected him to be.  “I don’t suppose you had anything to do with that?”

“Me?  Oh, no.  Must be Jack just had a change of heart.”  He looked away.

“Funny,” Isabella began.  “That is exactly what he told my lawyer when he returned the signed papers.”

Gabriel, Isabella, Maggie and the children piled into the BMW to drive from Plattsburgh to Montreal, where they boarded a plane to New York City, then made a connection
there which took them to Paris.  By the time they left the Charles de Gaulle airport with luggage in hand at just after eight thirty in the morning, they had been traveling almost twenty-four hours.  No one slept well on the plane.  Everyone appeared exhausted, but brimming with excitement.  After they checked into the hotel, took a quick nap and an even quicker shower, they were out and about sight seeing before lunch.   

They visited the Eiffel Tower.  From up there, the entire city looked as though it radiated out from the tower.  “I have so many places I want to take you,” Gabriel whispered in Isabella’s ear.  “I want us to see and do everything together.  There are museums and shopping, and real castles.  There is Notre Dame Cathedral, cafes,...just everything.  We should go to Mont Martre.  We could purchase some landscapes from the next Monet.  Oh, and there are vineyards...”  The more he spoke, the more excited he became.

Isabella turned in his arms and placed a finger over his lips.  “Relax,” she murmured.  “We have all the time in the world, right?” 

He nodded, blushing.  “Of course, darling.”

They stayed in Paris for a week.  In that short period of time they had accomplished all Gabriel had hoped and more.  Isabella felt tireless, discovering she could go on forever with Gabriel by her side, urging her on.  She seemed to have little need for sleep when each day dawned with so much to see and do.  Her eyes sparkled constantly with excitement, and she felt as though she could burst at any given moment due to being so overjoyed with her life.  Europe had inspired her.  It showed in her work.  She snapped roll after roll of film and ended each day happily exhausted and completely fulfilled.

Maggie had made their life so simple.  She quickly offered to take the children back to the hotel when they began to show signs of exhaustion.  They loved being with her and never grumbled about missing out, as they knew Gabriel would never prevent them from partaking in anything they would truly enjoy.

On their last night in Paris, they dined at a cafe, then grabbed a taxi to the train station where they caught the sleeper train to Nice.

“Do we sleep on the train, really?”  Rebecca queried.  “I’ve never slept on a train before.  How does that work?”

“Well,” Gabriel started with a laugh, “the seats fold into three bunks on each side, with very little room in between.  We will be quite cozy tonight.”  He smiled at Isabella, then leaned over to whisper in her ear.  “We will have to sleep separately tonight I’m afraid.  I will sleep right across from you so that I can reach out and touch you as often as I need to.”

“Can’t stand to be away from me?”  Isabella asked, jokingly.  Then she saw the serious look on Gabriel’s face and found her words to be true.  He couldn’t stand being apart from her.  He always did like having her around, but now their relationship had grown more intense.  She leaned into him as she thought about it.  They had been together now for an entire month, between the three weeks at her apartment and now the week in Paris.  They were so compatible that she hadn’t even noticed.  In fact, she had grown accustomed to Gabriel’s need to be constantly touching her.  She didn’t shy from it, or his declarations of love.  Instead, she now snuggled in closer, perfectly happy.