Page 199 of Tell Me What You Want, Or Leave Me

“I’m sorry this happened, honey,” I say. “It seems the world won’t leave us alone.”

He smiles.

“We had a great time; that’s what counts. We’ll do it again.”

The next morning, when my sister gets up, she still looks like hell. She has more dark circles under her eyes, if that’s even possible. Seeing her, Simona’s surprised, but when I tell her what happened, she feels for her.

Damned love!

Sonia takes Flyn home to get him out of the way, and Eric decides to escape from the hormones and locks himself in his office with the baby. He tells me not to worry, that he’ll take care of little Eric while I deal with my sister.

I haven’t seenEmerald Madnessin days. Simona’s taped it. We have three episodes pending, including the series finale. But before watching them, I take care of my sister and convince her to call our father and have some tea.

I hear her talking to Papá while she cries and tells him about the pregnancy. Raquel cries nonstop, and, when I can’t take it anymore, I take the phone from her.

“Papá, I don’t know what you said, but she can’t stop crying.”

I hear a snort on the other end of the line.

“Oh, sweetheart, there may only be two of you, but sometimes you seem like a hundred.” That makes me smile. “I told her not to worry about a thing. If there’s room for four, there’s room for five. My new grandchild will be welcome in this house. I just told her not to be anxious and that she should talk to Juan Alberto.”

Again, my father shows us what a good person he is. Though he knows my sister’s new baby will be the source of much gossip in Jerez, he supports her. He supports us, always.

After talking to him for a while and telling him not to worry about anything, that I’ll take care of Raquel, I send him a thousand kisses and hang up. I manage to get my sister back in her room after giving her another tea, and, when she falls asleep, I breathe a sigh of relief.

I leave the room to go to see my boys. Father and son are in the office. Eric is working on his computer, and my little boy is fast asleep. After giving each of them a kiss, I look for Simona, and, like two school girls, we settle into the living room to enjoy our favorite series.

Simona turns it on, and, ready with our Kleenex, we surrender to it.

My sister comes downstairs just as the last episode begins, and we pause it. If she watches this, she’ll never stop crying.

“Raquel, if you want, take a swim in the pool. Maybe that will relax you, honey,” I say.

But no, she knows what we’re doing and drops down on the couch.

“I want to seeEmerald Madnesswith you,” she says.

Mother of God...I predict this will not go well. My pregnant sister, dismayed by the love of a Mexican, andEmerald Madness. Doesn’t look good. Doesn’t look good at all.

I try to convince her not to do it. I tell her the soap opera will remind her of her problems. But no. We wind up turning the show back on and leaving it in the hands of God.

The music makes her cry, and, when Mexico and the characters appear, it’s Niagara Falls. Simona and I try to calm her down, but she asks us to just let her watch the soap. Mother of God!

We finally focus, and Simona and I enjoy attending Esmeralda Mendoza and Luis Alfredo Quiñones’s wedding. At last!

They’re so cute. They gleam. They deserve their wonderful happiness. The mariachis play, and those of us who’ve suffered along with them on the road to true love believe we deserve it too. Esmeralda and Luis Alfredo swear eternal love gazing into each other’s eyes, and Simona and I cry. My sister wails. When their young son tells his dad, “I love you so much, Daddy,” we join my sister, and all three of us lose it.

When the show finally ends and the three of them gallop away on a horse heading toward the horizon, the box of Kleenex is empty, and we, like three fools, are spent from our shameless tears.

That night, Raquel goes to sleep right after dinner. She’s a tortured soul. I do the same. The whole ordeal is exhausting.

Eric and I go to our room, and, after giving the baby a bottle, he gifts us with a truce and falls asleep in his crib. We’re getting to know him, and we know this will only last about three hours.

Weary, I throw myself in bed and close my eyes. I need cuddling. But suddenly I hear a song at a very low volume.

“Will you dance with me?” Eric asks in a barely audible whisper.

I smile, get up, and hug him.

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