Page 79 of Tell Me What You Want

“Well, no, I’m not going to shut up. I haven’t seen you in way too many days, and when I call, you don’t pick up the phone. Today I come and see you, and you’re a disaster after a night out. And to top it off, you broke up with Eric.”

“Look, Raquel, I don’t want to talk about Eric, or my friends, or Fernando. I could give three shits about any of that. I’ve had a hellish week at work, and I went out last night because I needed to have some fun and forget about everything. And now here you are, yelling at me like a heartless lunatic, without realizing my head is about to explode ...”

My sister stirs her coffee, takes a sip, and begins to cry.

This is perfect! Just what I need!

I leave my seat to go hug her.

“C’mon, I’m sorry, Raquel. I’m sorry for yelling at you. But you know I can’t stand it when you stick your nose in my life ...”

“I have something to tell you, and I don’t know how to do it, hon.”

This sudden twist throws me off.

“OK, are we still talking about how Jesús cheats on you?”

My sister dries her eyes. She looks out the kitchen door to make sure my niece is entertained, and then turns back to me.

“Judith, I called you a million times to tell you.”

I nod. I’ve seen all the calls I’ve missed, but I never got back to her. I feel like utter crap.

“I ... I don’t even know where to start,” she whispers. “Everything is so ... so ...”

This is giving me goose bumps, and my neck has begun to itch. Could it be true that my fool of a brother-in-law is cheating on her?

“So ... what is it?”

My sister covers her face with her hands. I’m the worst. I know her well, and I know she’s really suffering right now.

“It’s just that I’m so ashamed.”

“Ashamed? Please, I’m your sister.”

“Jesús says he doesn’t have a lover and that he loves me, but ...”

“But?”

“On Thursday, as soon as Luz went to sleep, he closed the living room door and ... and ... he put on one of those smutty movies.”

“A porn film?”

“Yes. Oh my God, it was so vile!”

I laugh. I can’t help myself.

“I admit that watching it got my libido going and ... well ...,” she whispers. “One thing led to another, and we ended up making love in the living room ... on the floor!”

Amused that for my sister, having sex on the living room floor is a singular experience, I whisper, “Well, how was it?”

She grins. But she’s dying of shame and can’t even look at me.

“Oh, Judith,” she whispers back, “it was like when we were dating! It was pure passion!”

I grab her hands and make her look at me.

“That’s fantastic. Isn’t that what you wanted? Passion?”

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