Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 10.3: The Pool

That night, Reine tossed and turned for what seemed like hours. She regretted going to bed so early, but by the time she had finally given up on trying to get some rest, the house was eerily quiet. Everyone else had apparently retired for the night. 

After finding both the kitchen and living room empty, she had a sudden urge to head to the basement. It was odd for her want to revisit the place which caused her such fear and discomfort just that morning, but she had nothing else to do, so she followed her instincts.

The underwater lights illuminating the pool made the otherwise dark space seem even more cavernous. Their filtered reflection bounced off the tall ceiling, making Reine comfortable enough to walk around the perimeter. The colorful lane markers were gone, and the surface of the water was an unbroken, aquamarine sheet.

She stayed several feet from the edge, lest she fall in again. While Morgan was there to pull her out that morning, no one was around now to help.

Stopping midway across the room, she sat down and crossed her legs. Her heart beat feverishly in her chest, so she continued to sit motionless just staring at the slightly undulating surface until her breathing resumed its normal rhythm.

Scooting forward a few inches at a time, she continued the same waiting game until she felt relaxed enough to venture further. The next move took her all the way to the edge of the pool. She debated dipping her feet into the water, but ultimately decided against it.

Hearing footsteps coming down the stairs, she turned her attention to the door. There was only one person she expected to come through it, and she was right.

Max's face remained stoic; he didn't seem surprised to find her there.

Determined not to be the one to break the silence, she maintained her quiet focus on the water even when he sat down beside her. After a few minutes, however, she couldn't keep her musings to herself any longer.

"I fell in the lagoon, didn't I? That's why I'm so frightened of the water? You tried to save me, but I was too far away."

His head snapped toward her. "How could you know that?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," she said with a shrug. "Tuesday morning, I had some time before my flight back from Venice so I went for a walk. I ended up staring at the lagoon for a really long time. It was like I was watching a movie. I saw you clear enough to recognize you that night at the party. I know it's crazy after what you've told me, but is it possible for a memory to suddenly resurface like that? Or was my mind just plugging in the gap?"

He sighed. "Occasionally, returning to a place with a lot of emotional impact can trigger something which feels like déjà vu. And you are certainly correct about how you died. We had been on Murano to pick out a chandelier for our palazzo. It was my wedding present to you. You chose one with dozens of pink and white flowers." He smiled at the memory. "We were on our way back across the lagoon when the storm hit. It came so suddenly. You should have never even been there to begin with."

She was relishing hearing all of the details, but his last comments hurt. "Are you trying to say it was my fault?"

He interlaced his fingers in his lap. "All I'm saying is that if you hadn't insisted on coming to Venice, you wouldn't have been able to fall into the lagoon that night," he said.

Reine balled her fist. In spite of their apparent history, she didn't know Max well enough, and she still wasn't comfortable arguing with him. He had certainly shown himself to be the type who put the blame on others without ever thinking he could be responsible for something going wrong. However, when it was time to take credit, it was probably only natural he got commended. She imagined this gave him a big ego, and it most likely served him well in the business world. It also probably helped him get this far in his current status. However, it didn't help to endear her to him.