Undeniably His(89)

“Soon, Dad. That’s what we’re celebrating.” Kalin steers the yacht through the bay, and we admire the view with content smiles as the warm breeze caresses our skin.

“You know you could make a fortune chartering this boat, Kalin.” Peter laughs.

“We use it mainly to woo clients, Dad. The clients we seek are worth a lot more than this boat, which is worth about forty-one million dollars.”

“Don’t tell me what you do on this boat to get them to sign on, Kalin,” Peter jests while smiling at Lauren.

“It’s harmless really, Dad.” Kalin pinches my arm and his lips quirk with amusement, and I fold my lips to stifle a grin. The yacht is cruising in the Atlantic now, and the view is breathtaking.

Kalin reaches for the cooler and fishes out a bottle of Chardonnay. “Simore Leflaie, Chevalier Saveur,” he smiles as if I am supposed to know what any of that means.

“Sounds expensive,” I say with a cheeky grin.

“Just don’t tell us how much it is,” Lauren says from across the deck.

“Just taste,” he smiles. Kalin pours us each a glass as if it is one of the greatest wines in the world. “To sweet justice. May she come soon.”

“Amen,” Peter agrees.

“Hear, hear,” Lauren and I chime in. We clink the flutes together and sip the Chardonnay, which sends a rush of fruity rich flavors over my taste buds. “Oh, dear. The rich truly do live better,” I say.

“Oh, my. This is spectacular, Kalin,” Lauren gushes.

“I don’t say this very often about wine, but this stunning. What is it?” Peter asks.

“There is only one bottle in the world, and we just opened it.” Kalin grins a wide, satisfied smile.

“Kalin?” I yelp. “Why?”

“Why? This is one of the greatest days of my life. I’m taking my parents on a yacht cruise for the first time in their lives, the most beautiful girl in the world is here with me, and I made it through the most harrowing, near-death experience of my life. Both of us.” His eyes sparkle with delight, and it’s infectious.

“Well, when you put it that way,” I say with a grin.

Kalin puts his arm around me, and I’m feeling like I’ve died and gone to heaven.

Peter and Lauren smile as the warm breeze flutters through their hair. “As delicious as the wine is, we better eat something. Annabelle made us these delicious sandwiches,” Kalin says. He checks on a few controls in the bridge and returns to us. “Smooth sailing,” he smiles.

“How did you come up with the name New Beginnings?” I ask.

“I had just returned from Europe. I was looking at this boat, and the sun was rising in beautiful amber streaks. I knew that in spite of everything, I had to get on with my life. A new beginning was dawning. In many ways, every day is a new beginning, but sometimes the ground just shifts beneath your feet, and you have to just hold on and keep going.”

We all chime in in agreement.

“I’m proud of the way you’ve handled everything that has happened, Kalin. Many men would break under the pressure.” Peter passes out sandwiches to each of us.

Kalin gazes out into the open sea. “It was certainly one of the darkest periods of my life. You certainly find out who your friends are during times like that.” His eyes drift back to us. “I honestly don’t know if I could have pulled through without all of you. Annabelle was there for me every day.”

“Where else am I going to go?” I jest.

“When I woke up and saw her face, I could feel the healing in my bones. That is how much it means to me. All of you were there for me. So we have plenty to celebrate. A seven-thousand-dollar bottle of wine is nothing compared to that.”

“Seven thousand dollars?” we all screech in unison.

“I’ll be sure and not spill any. It would be more than my car payment,” Peter snickers.

“The point is that the money is not important. When you lose everything, the only thing that matters is who you have around you. So this bottle of wine has nothing in the face of the company around me that brought me through those days. It’s just my way of saying thank you.”

“I don’t want to think about how close we were to losing you. It was the darkest day of my life.” Lauren shakes her head and takes a sip of wine.

“You’ve always been a fighter, Kalin. When someone tells you that you have no chance, you prove them wrong. You did it when you started your company and you did it when the doctor said you had very little chance of coming out of this. You’re an inspiration to all of us,” Peter says.

“Kalin believes in people more than they believe in themselves. It’s one of the reasons everyone at his company loves him so much.” I peek up at him and take a bite of my sandwich.