Page 124 of Now and Forever

“Stunning.”

I don’t see my brother-in-law in the living room. “Jesús didn’t come?”

“No ... Work—you know how it is.”

I nod, and my sister smiles. I give her a kiss. I love her so much. My niece, who’s acting crazy, wraps herself around my waist.

“You wouldn’t believe how cool Uncle Eric’s plane is! The flight attendant gave me candy bars and vanilla milkshakes.”

Eric takes me by the hand and kisses it.

“I talked to your father and sister a couple of days ago, and they were delighted to come spend your birthday with you. Are you happy?”

Like a little girl, I grin from ear to ear.

“Very. This is the greatest gift.”

For a few seconds, we look into each other’s eyes. Love. That’s what Eric gives me. But the moment is shattered.

“I want to go to Sonia’s house!” Flyn demands.

What’s wrong with him? But, when I see his furrowed brow, I understand. He’s jealous. For him, so many strangers all of a sudden are a bad sign. Eric, aware of his nephew’s state, moves away from me and tousles Flyn’s hair in a gesture of comfort.

“We’ll go soon. Don’t worry.”

The kid spins around and sits down on the sofa, turning his back to all of us. Eric sighs, and my sister, to change the subject, butts in. “This house is a beauty.”

Eric smiles.

“Thank you, Raquel,” he says. “Show them the house and their rooms, sweetheart. We’ll have to leave for my mother’s in a couple of hours.”

I smile, and together we go to the kitchen where I introduce them to Simona and Norbert, and to Susto and Calamar. Then we go to the garage, where they whistle when they see our swanky cars.

When we leave the garage, I show them the bathrooms and the offices, and my sister, unsurprisingly, can’t stop letting out little shrieks of satisfaction while she takes it all in. When I open a door and reveal the huge indoor pool, she loses her mind.

“Oh, babe, this is unbelievable!”

“How cool!” yells Luz. “Geez, Auntie, you have a pool and everything!”

The little girl goes to the edge and touches the water. Her grandpa, amused, warns her.

“Luz, my sweetheart ... get away from the edge. You’ll fall in.”

My father quickly grabs her by the hand, but the girl pulls away, and, standing beside my sister and me, she gets a naughty look on her face.

“Should I throw you both in the pool?”

“Luz!” my sister shouts, looking at my dress.

“As soon as this girl sees a puddle of water, she goes crazy,” my father jokes.

I laugh. If my amazing dress gets wet, it’ll cause some drama, so I look at my niece knowingly.

“If you throw me in with the dress Eric gave me, I’ll get mad. If you don’t throw me in, I promise we’ll spend a long time in the pool tomorrow. Which do you prefer?”

My niece quickly puts her finger in front of mine. It’s our way of agreeing. I put my finger against hers, and we both wink an eye and smile at each other.

“OK, Auntie, but tomorrow we’ll swim, right?”

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