Anthony stifled a laugh.
“How about I call Autumn? I’m sure she’d be more than happy to hang at the house for a couple of hours.” Christy nodded toward their home which sat up on a knoll a good distance away from Anthony’s workshop.
Daisy liked Autumn, who did occasional babysitting for the family. She started jumping up and down and singing, “Autumn’s coming! Autumn’s coming!”
“Well, first I have to see if she can, honey,” Christy said. She had a feeling Autumn would be available. She always jumped at any chance to bump into Christian. Autumn had recently moved to the neighborhood. She was also in a couple of Christian’s classes and had made quick work of showing up at their front door to introduce herself and offer babysitting services after discovering she lived near the Bears. Despite her obvious crush on Christian, Autumn was good with Daisy, and Daisy liked her.
“Shouldn’t you go back to the hospital, instead of helping me in here?” Anthony inquired. “Doesn’t Ginny need you?” The concern in his voice was one of warmth and sincerity.
Christy shook her head. “We’re all going in shifts. I’m heading back tonight.”
Ginny’s family had recently suffered a tragedy and if Christy was honest, she welcomed the distraction of cleaning out Anthony’s shop to keep her mind focused elsewhere for a bit.
Anthony watched his girls as they walked hand in hand back to the house and he reflected on their new life in Fort Lauderdale.
The Bears had moved to the east coast of Florida just over a year ago. It wasn’t just because Slade had been adamant about pursuing a career in law, but also because it was obvious that Christian had been leaning toward a life of crime. And just like Christy had told Anthony six years earlier, Christian’s hot-headed temper would get him in trouble. And it had.
So, they’d moved to give both of their sons a new start in a new city. Slade, because they didn’t want the stigma of Anthony’s notoriety on the opposite coast to taint his future career, and Christian, because he’d been getting into serious trouble. The thought of one brother who might have to put another behind bars one day was too much for Christy to handle and so the decision had been made. Unfortunately, the change of scenery and new friends did nothing to squelch sixteen-year-old Christian’s tendency for acting out and he’d already spent some time in juvie.
The buzzing of Anthony’s cell phone broke through his thoughts and after a quick conversation with the person on the other end, Anthony laid the phone down and contemplated how much to tell Christy, and immediately decided against it. It would only upset her. He would meet with the person who called just to prove it was a prank. The voice sounded familiar, but since it was impossible, he would meet at the designated place and make short work out of rearranging the guy’s face for perpetrating such a hoax in the midst of Ginny’s recent tragedy.
Two hours later, Anthony and Christy, who’d been working in companionable silence, approached the last box. It was heavy. Christy popped open the top and started digging out some long-forgotten tools, handing them to Anthony who was finding a place for them.
“What’s this?” Christy asked.
Anthony turned and saw Christy, who’d been sitting cross-legged on the floor, holding up something he’d made for her years ago and never given to her.
“It’s a tiara,” he said, as he walked toward her.
“I can see that.” She smirked. “It’s super heavy.”
“Well, it is made of iron,” he answered sardonically.
She carefully inspected it, turning it around in her hands. Without looking at him she asked, “Why did you make it and how come I’ve never seen it?”
He crouched down next to her and with one hand resting on a knee, he told her, “I made it for you, Owani. A long time ago.”
“It’s beautiful, Anthony. How come you never gave it to me?” she asked.
“I was going to give it to you after you accepted my marriage proposal. Remember the first time I asked you? On the beach?” He paused. “When you said ‘no’?”
Her eyes went wide and her mouth formed a silent “oh.” “A tiara for a princess?” she asked, looking at him sideways and giving him a sweet smile.
“No,” he answered firmly. “A tiara for a queen.” He reached for it and took it out of her hands. “I could’ve bought you a real one filled with diamonds, but it wouldn’t have conveyed what I was trying to express at that time.”
“What was it you were trying to convey?” she asked, her tone sincere.
“That even though you deserved a life of ease and luxury befitting a queen, life with me would be anything but. If you’d accepted my proposal that day on the beach, you would be accepting a life that carried a heavy weight with it. Hence, an iron tiara.”
She stood then and pulled him up with her. Taking the tiara from his hand she laid it on his workbench, and turned around to face him.
“Don’t you realize that life with you has been anything but heavy, Anthony? It hasn’t been a weight. As a matter of fact, it’s been the opposite. Your patience in the beginning and the love you’ve shown me every single day since then has saved me. And if you hadn’t sought out Valerie, I don’t know where I’d be today. You relieved me of a weight, a burden that was far heavier than anything I could’ve ever experienced being with you. Your love for me prompted you to seek out the only person that could provide answers. It was right after your talk with Kit. Do you remember?”
“Of course, I remember, Owani,” he replied. “How could I forget?”
Nineteen Years Earlier
Anthony took Kit's advice, and upon returning to Naples immediately sought the one person who might possibly shed some light on the deep-rooted pain that Christy refused to share with him. He glanced around the tastefully furnished living room. French Provincial wouldn’t have been his first or even his tenth choice for furniture, but it seemed to fit the woman who sat in front of him.
Valerie was an attractive older woman who possessed an air of formality without a hint of snobbery. She wore her silver hair pulled back in a neat bun. Her perfect makeup enhanced her eyes. They were light brown and exuded intelligence, warmth and sincerity. He immediately liked her.