Page 42 of Tell Me What You Want, Or Leave Me

We say goodbye, and Eric slips his arm around my waist.

“Are you happy, sweetheart?”

“So happy, big guy,” I say, giving him a kiss.

We join the rest of our group, chat for hours, and enjoy ourselves. What I love about hanging out with my people is the joy, the fun, the joking around.

I find myself amused by the attention Graciela provokes. This sweet-voiced girl really knocks out the men of Jerez; Dexter watches and sighs. He knows how to control himself. This is going to take more than I had originally imagined.

“Oh, Cuchu...,” says my sister, sitting by my side and looking annoyed.

“What’s up?”

“I just saw Jesús park his car,” she whispers, a worried look on her face.

My blood instantly boils. If my idiot of an ex-brother-in-law so much as comes close, I swear I’m going to slap him so hard, he won’t need a car to get back to Madrid. Eric notices the change in me immediately.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“That imbecile Jesús is here.”

He stiffens. “It’s OK, sweetheart. We’re adults; we’re civilized people.”

His words make me laugh when I think about what happened with David, but in order to calm myself down—I just want to punch this guy who has made my sister suffer so much—I take a drink. Raquel gets up. Where is she going?

I move to grab her by the arm so she won’t go near Jesús, but she gets away from me. She walks up to Juan Alberto, who’s talking to Dexter, puts her arm around his neck, sits on his lap, and kisses him on the mouth. I’m speechless.

Wow!

I choke on my drink.

Eric takes my hand.

Dexter looks over at me, but all I can see is my sister smooching like a teenager in front of everybody.

“Raquel!” screams my ex-brother-in-law when he stumbles on the scene.

But she just goes on with her devastating kiss with Juan Alberto. Of course, she’s dragging it out, the vixen. I can practically hear her saying “sabroso!”

But things don’t end there. Totally in the moment, Juan Alberto puts his arms around my sister’s waist and passionately kisses her back as one of his hands wanders down and squeezes her butt.

For the love of God, what are they doing?

Time seems to pass in slow motion as they continue kissing until, finally, their lips part.

“Raquel, do you believe in love at first sight,” says Juan Alberto, “or do I have to kiss you again?”

Wow, I can’t believe this!

That is some melodrama, live and in person!

An ex-husband, a new lover, and the protagonist of the show who is none other than my sister.

My mouth is agape, but Eric, who’s by my side, watches everything very calmly. Sometimes it’s like he has ice in his veins. And then, with a sly look on her face that leaves me totally stunned, my sister finally recognizes her ex-husband’s presence.

“And what do you want?” she asks.

He’s speechless. His chin is trembling. I want to shout, “Take that!”

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