Page 69 of Now and Forever

“One ... the server knows your name, and you know his name. Two: he asked me what kind of beer I wanted, but he brought you one without asking. And three, which is vitally important: I noticed how you look at him and how he smiles.”

Marta laughs. She looks his way and then turns back to me. “We’ve seen each other a couple of times. Arthur is very charming. We’ve gone out for drinks and ...”

“Wow! I see there’s a lot to talk about here,” I tease, and Marta laughs.

I look over at this Arthur. He’s a young man about my age, tall, with tiny glasses and a kind of pretty-boy thing going on. When he sees I’m checking him out, he smiles at me, but his eyes instantly go to Marta as he picks up some glasses from the table next to us.

“He likes you a lot,” I tease.

“I know, but it can’t be,” says Marta, still laughing.

“And why not?” I ask, curious.

Marta takes a sip of her beer.

“Look closely. He’s much younger than I am. Arthur is twenty-five. He’s a boy!”

“Listen ... He’s the same age I am. How old are you anyway?”

“Twenty-nine.”

I burst out laughing, and a couple of people turn around to look at us.

“You think that about a four-year difference? Come on, Marta, please. I never imagined you would worry about something as ridiculous as age. Since when does love have an age? And before you say anything, I want you to know that if your brother were younger than I am and I liked him anyway, nothing would stop me. Absolutely nothing because, as my father says, life is for living!”

We both laugh.

“Marta, so good to see you,” says a voice behind us.

We both turn and see two men and a woman. They’re very attractive. Marta gets up and hugs them.

“Judith, let me introduce you to Anita, Reinaldo, and Klaus. These two guys work with me at the hospital, and Anita has a beautiful and very exclusive fashion store.”

They sit with us, and, forgetting my problems, I entertain myself by getting to know these guys, who quickly make us laugh. Reinaldo is Cuban, and I love his very Latin American expressions. My cell rings. It’s Eric. I don’t want to avoid him, so I pick up and try to respond as seriously as possible.

“Yes, Eric.”

“Where are you?”

Since I don’t really know where I am, and I’m sitting here watching Marta laugh with these guys, I decide to be straightforward. “I’m with your sister and some friends getting a drink.”

“What friends?” asks Eric impatiently.

“I don’t know, Eric ... some friends.”

I can hear him sigh. It really pisses him off that he can’t control where and, especially, with whom I hang out, but I really want to enjoy my time.

“What do you want?”

“Come home.”

“No.”

“Jude, I don’t know where you are or with whom,” he insists, and I take note of the tension in his voice. “I’m worried about you. Please, tell me where you are, and I’ll come get you, sweetheart.”

Silence ... a funereal silence.

“I’m going to hang up,” I say. “I want to enjoy this beautiful Three Kings’ Day, and I think I will with these folks. Certainly, I hope you also enjoy the day in the company ofyournephew. Goodbye.”

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