Free The Music Trilogy by Denise Kahn Page B

course, Madame .” He picked up the pearls and nodded to the croupier who immediately put a stack of chips in front of her.
    Sela was able to gamble, play the piano, smoke cigarettes, drink Vodka and lose all of her unique jewelry, including the sash made of gems from her wedding. She remembered Ivan telling her that it had been in the Russian Royal family and was a gift from the Russian people. All she had left was the heart shaped ruby ring on her finger. Her fortune and her jewels were gone. When she lost the rest of the chips she went back to the hotel, nauseous and depressed. She fell on her bed and passed out.
    The next morning she woke up with the usual splitting headache and vomited until she couldn’t breathe anymore. She managed to ring for the concierge. A doctor was immediately dispatched to her room. He examined her and felt sorry for her. Sela saw the pity in his eyes. If she hadn’t been so weak she would have thrown him out of her room. “What is it?” She growled at him.
    “It is nothing serious, Madame , but…”
    “But what?”
    “If you stop drinking you will feel much better. You will no longer have these headaches.” He paused for a moment. Sela glared at him, but before she had a chance to curse him out he continued. “Actually, you must stop drinking.” Sela threw him an evil look. “It is not good for the… the baby,” he finished quickly.
    “The what ?”
    “You are pregnant, Madame. ”
    “Leave me!”
    “Very well, Madame , and may I say it has been a pleasure making your acquaintance. I wish you, and your baby, all the best,” the doctor said graciously. He turned around to leave.
    “Doctor?”
    “ Madame? ”
    “I apologize for my rudeness and I thank you for your kindness,” Sela said, suddenly feeling better for the first time in weeks and regretting her foul comportment. The doctor nodded and left with a smile on his face.
     
    The news jolted Sela back to reality, and she was happier than she had been in a long time. She was carrying a piece of Ivan! She sailed back to Egypt.
    Simeon waited for his little girl at the pier. She was finally coming back home. He had been worried about her, and he of course did not know that she had lost her entire fortune, or of the depression she had been through. He had received her telegram with the news and was overjoyed. He spotted her disembarking and waived frantically. Sela ran into his arms and they held each other for a very long time.
    “He gave us a wonderful gift, Daddy,” she said, crying.
    “Yes, my darling, Ivan was a special man, and in a beautiful way he lives on.” He looked at Sela’s face and gently wiped the tears from her face. “Come, the servants have been preparing all your favorite foods since very early this morning.”
    Sela laughed. “You know I am supposed to watch my diet, Doctor.”
    “Of course, of course,” he grinned, “tomorrow is another day. Today, we feast!”
     
    As mentioned, the servants had outdone themselves. They were so happy Sela was back. To them she was not only the lady of the house, but also someone who had always respected them and treated them like family. Now, it was their turn to show her how much they cared about her. They fussed around her when she arrived and showered her with good wishes for the baby. Sela hugged and kissed every one of the servants. She had missed them too.
    Simeon and Sela took their places at the ends of the long table and the servants promptly brought out succulent specialties, Greek as well as Egyptian, in platters filled with cheeses, olives, dips, meat and fish dishes, vegetables of all colors, pita breads, and of course desserts.
    Sela beamed and laughed like a young girl. The servants clapped in appreciation. “I don’t know how to thank you. You have been with me all my life, through the good and,” she hesitated, “the bad times.” She looked at each one of them. “Yo u are very special to me, you are like my family. Tonight I would