And The Heart Grows Fonder

And The Heart Grows Fonder Part 10

CHAPTER 9

"Mr. Maxckmillian, I didn't know you were...uh, you were waiting in the car?"

Viktor refrained from acknowledging the response and took two large steps to reach his wife's side. He paused to look down at her.

His eyes narrowed at the stark pallor of her brown skin. "She's passed out."

"Yes, I asked the boy to put a call through to 911, but he insisted on calling you instead. I didn't know you would be right outside."

Viktor paid Arie no attention, laying his hand on Audrianna's forehead and then two fingers on the base of her throat to check her pulse. He splayed his hand on her lower abdomen. He was about to lift the hem of her dress to check for spotting when he gave the priest a stern look. "Do you mind?"

Arie looked both indignant and shy as his cheeks and nose pinched red, but he gave Viktor his back all the same.

Viktor lifted the rim of her dress to look below and breathed a sigh of relief as he noted no blood or spotting, but she was out like a light. That was strange even for her.

"She is pregnant again, isn't she?" The statement fell into the air like a bomb dropping, and had the effect of a suspense-filled moment for when the pin from a grenade was removed and thrown into the air and everyone in the room stared at it, knowing what would happen when it hit the ground.

Viktor gave the priest's back a black look, annoyed the man showed dejected shoulders at such an assumption. He answered him all the same. "Yes." Viktor made to lift her up and get her out of the room that oozed the scent of the priest that agitated Viktor's nose.

"Do you think that is wise?"

Viktor's response was immediate, aggressive. He approached the priest and with a hand on his upper arm, spun him around with such force that the young man nearly lost his balance. Anger made the crescendo of his voice heavily accented, "Say to my v'ace-- What?"

Viktor could see the tell-tale nervous tic of the priest swallowing, but he prodded on. The man turned wavering eyes in the direction of Audrianna, and appeared to harden with mustered resolve he did not have before. The act burned Viktor something fierce. It was as though the sight of her gave him courage to act and he did not like the unannounced failing one fucking bit.

"She's a small woman. You should give her body time to heal before burdening her with more offspring."

"Small woman? Small woman?" Before Viktor realized it, he had said the words aloud. Twice. He moved quickly, before the priest could track his approach, and snatched the white ring slip from around his collar. He squeezed the fabric, shaking his fist at the man with the stunned expression and the hand at his throat. Viktor's voice was calm, too calm. Deadly. "For what I am about to say to you, you won't need this." He stared at the priest, unwavering. "What happens between us--" Viktor flicked his index finger back and forth in the direction of his wife and himself. "--when we get down to business, is between us, and is of no concern to you. So whatever controversies you may fantasize in that head of yours, whether real or imagined, you keep to yourself. Leave your brain to contemplate the Sunday morning flock you contend with." He pointed to his wife on the bed. "This woman right here is mine, and off limits. Understood?"

Viktor seemed to water down Father Arie's intent to some extent as the priest turned beet red. He looked away and his eyes appeared to look down a bottomless pit whose distance was so vast that discovering the length of the depths was more meaningful than discovering the meaning of life. The priest's all-at-once dour mood rubbed Viktor the wrong way even more.

Viktor had half a mind to pitch the offending collar he held into the corner. And the priest along with it. Instead, he grasped Arie's hand and lifted it. He put the white clergy slip into the man's hand and used his other hand to close the priest's fingers around it. Viktor's black eyes bore into the other man's perfect crystal blue gaze, held in unwavering austerity. Solid. Strong. The priest was stoic and bore no ill will.

Fearing he would lash out at the man for such a response, Viktor turned, lifted his wife in his arms, focused on the boy who stood in the doorway, and nodded in the direction of the hallway. "Come," he said to him. Exiting the room and standing beside Nikolai, he gave the boy a silent look that encouraged him to close the door.