Page 156 of Tell Me What You Want, Or Leave Me

“How is the lovely new mom?”

“Bloated, but glad to have you here,” I reply, happy for my sister.

“Dexter and Graciela send you many kisses and hope to come soon to meet the baby.”

My niece comes running.

“Hey, dude, what are you doing here?”

“I came to see my pretty little lady and to challenge her toMario Brothers.”

Luz throws herself into his arms. It is clear this guy knows how to win over my family.

Once Luz runs off, Juan Alberto looks at my sister, who’s in a daze, and kisses her on the lips.

“How is my queen?” he asks, right in front of my father.

Raquel kisses him back without hesitation.

“Very happy to see you.”

My father winks at me. I know he’s loving this.

“Sabrosa, tell me all about it.”

My sister, totally undone, puts a finger to his mouth.

“I’d eat you up if I could.”

Did she just say that in front of everyone?

Eric laughs. It’s clear Juan Alberto likes this. It’s clear that, after me, my father isn’t surprised by much. He’s such a good man!

When everyone finally leaves the room, the two most important men in my life hover around me, worried.

“I want to spend this special night with you, and I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world, understood?”

Half an hour later, we are all sitting around the table, and happiness has flooded my home despite my not feeling well.

This Christmas season is so different from last year, when we were just Eric, Flyn, Simona, Norbert, and me. Now my whole family is here, Eric’s family, Susto, Calamar, and Juan Alberto. Wonderful!

When Sonia offers lentils to my niece and Flyn, they wrinkle their noses. That makes me smile. But I laugh when my father offers Flyn tomato soup. His eyes sparkle. I do my best to deal with dinner. Seeing so much food and, especially, smelling it, is killing me. But everyone’s happiness makes this sacrifice worthwhile.

I squirm but tell myself I’m a champ and resist, barely eating, while everyone else stuffs themselves. My husband and Juan Alberto can’t get enough of the ham.

Once dinner’s over, we sit on the couch in front of the TV and explain to my family that we’re going to see a traditional German comedy skit.

WhenDinner for Onebegins, everyone laughs, and my sister, who’s sitting on Juan Alberto’s lap, doesn’t understand a thing.

“Oh, Cuchu, Germans are so weird!”

Eric has his arms around me on the couch, just like last year. Once the skit ends, my father, Simona, and Sonia bring us glasses with grapes, and Eric does the same as he did last year: he sets up the international channel so we can see Puerta del Sol.

Oh, my Spain!

But unlike last year, this time I don’t cry. My family’s right here in the living room, and I feel completely happy. When midnight chimes, we all talk and ask for silence at the same time (that’s a Spanish tradition). I look at Eric, who’s gazing back at me, and we swallow grape after grape without looking away from each other. I want him to be the last thing I see this year and the first thing I see in the new year.

“Happy New Year!” Flyn and Luz shout as they finish their grapes.

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