Page 68 of Broken Bonds

“No more shopping today,” he concedes after a minute of consideration. “Although I’m sure you’re going to like this.”

Lionel leans back in his chair and gestures to one of the security details. It’s easy to forget they’re there, they are a bitter reminder of our situation, but the men are discreet and know how to fade into the crowd.

The SUV appears in front of us as soon as we stop in front of the valet stand, only this time there are no tense silences between us. Lionel is dedicated to pointing out some famous buildings as we move down the boulevard. As we drive away, we see the famous Hollywood sign disappear behind us. “Maybe next weekend we can go for a walk in the hills, if you want.”

I respond with a smile, I really would like that, just to be with him. Sharing something new.

About twenty minutes later, the car enters a large parking lot lined with tall palm trees, beyond which the sun reflects on the surface of the…

“No!” I squeal in disbelief. “I can’t believe it, we’re actually here!”

“Yes, we are.” He smiles.

“Can we get out of the car?” Because I want to see everything and even get my feet wet.

Lionel brought me to see the ocean and I want to experience all the sensations.

“Of course.” He turns to open the door without worrying about someone doing it for him.

The smell of salt fills the air. The roar of the waves sounds like what I heard from the shell. I close my eyes for a few seconds, focusing on feeling.

He doesn’t need money to make me happy. He just needs to be himself.

“Don’t take your shoes off just yet,” he tells me as soon as we leave the sidewalk and start walking on the sand. “It’s so warm.”

He’s wearing leather flip-flops, so I guess he’s right. On the left is the famous Santa Monica Pier with the Ferris wheel and so many people walking everywhere.

I feel like a little girl as we walk closer to the shore. With less than three yards to go, I can’t take it anymore. I don’t mind if my feet get all blistered. I’m at the beach.

Lionel kept his promise and brought me to the ocean.

I untie my shoelaces and smile at Lionel. I leave my Chucks arranged with the socks inside and pick up my long skirt a bit so that it doesn’t get wet as I run off to chase a small wave.

I raise my hands without caring about the clothes when the water almost reaches my knees.

“I’m in the ocean, Lionel,” I yell again like it wasn’t obvious. I’m blown away.

“I’m aware.” He puts his hands in his pockets and although we are separated by a few yards I feel that we are closer than ever.

A thought comes to my mind as shocked as the wave crashing into my calves, splashing salty water everywhere, making me laugh out loud. The trick in life isn’t to have the perfect cards in hand, but to learn to deal with what you have.

Chapter 22

“Alexandra, I need your help,” I say, holding the phone tight as I wait for my new friend to have some fairy godmother skills, like Cinderella’s.

The weekend has gone by as fast as the waves erasing our intertwined names written in the sand. As fast as the roller coaster that Lionel and I rode on the Santa Monica Pier, and it was wonderful. One moment we were in our bed, enjoying our Sunday, the next my husband was waking me up with a coffee before leaving for the office.

Let me pause right here, because God, Lionel in a suit.

Lionel in a suit!

Without a doubt, the man knows how to look good in one. It isn’t the expensive fabric, nor the pristine white of his starched shirt, nor the cut of his tailored suit. It’s him. All of him. The way he smells, the way he moves.

The way he looks at me.

On top of that, I think we are finally finding the way to save our relationship. It isn’t the sex—even though I don’t have any complaints in that department—but we’ve talked a lot about our expectations.

And I think I’m finally ready to let go of the resentment that I have been accumulating all these days. Maybe I forgave him too easily, perhaps someone might think that I’ve been making a storm in a glass of water, turning the same page, but none of those people are in my shoes, none of them had their lives flipped upside down in a blink.

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