Page 90 of Interpreter

“But I overheard Felipe telling Marcus that if Tim didn’t pull his head out of his ass and marry you, that he would. Is this because of your visa? Did the school not offer you another position?”

I whip around and make sure Tim isn’t focused on us. He isn’t; he’s watching Oliver sign to Aspen and grinning as if life couldn’t be more perfect than it is right now.

“Felipe was teasing,” I lie. I’m sure that’s exactly what Pe said, but the fact is, it doesn’t matter now. I won’t let either of them marry me to keep me here. If I find a job, great. If I don’t, I’ll go back home. There is nothing wrong with making a difference in my own country. I will just miss the family I leave behind here.

“Milah, marry me. I will marry you. I know we broke up, but I’ve never stopped loving you. Please, let me do this for you.”

I’m already shaking my head, ready to let him down gently, when the harsh words, “Did he ask to marry you? Is that what he said?” ring out loud and clear behind me.

Fucking Cal and his big mouth. This was so not the time to have this talk.

Tim’s family goes quiet as I turn around and find Tim’s fists clenching at his waist. I shove past Cal, ignoring his lame-ass apology. What was he thinking asking me to marry him? And here of all places! Why now? We haven’t been together in forever, and now he’s all concerned about me leaving? Is he jealous? Is that what this shitshow is about? He thought… well, I don’t know what he thought. Apparently, he wasn’t thinking.

I toss down the flowers and stop a few inches from Tim.

“What does he mean, ‘marry you,’ Milah? What is going on?”

My heart aches as Tim’s tone suggests that he’s concerned Cal and I are having an affair. Not the truth that I’m losing my job and moving back home, and Cal thought he could come to my rescue. I should have told him a long time ago. Okay, fine, I should have told him at the beginning of the year. Before we kissed. Before we made love. Before we fell in love.

But I didn’t.

Because I am a big damn chicken.

I wanted to tell him—sometimes—I did, but the timing was off. And that pesky little love bug bit me and I tried finding jobs that would keep me here with them. It wasn’t until today that I realized I was going back home to Costa Rica, whether I disagreed or not. My time in the States is over.

I chance a look at Pe, maybe for a little boost of confidence, but his face is one of horror. Even he cringes about what’s in store for me. Tim has the right to be mad. He has a right to yell at me. But for some reason, him yelling isn’t what is going to crush me the most.

The loss of hope is what will devastate me the most.

“When you were hired,” I swallow, “I had just been told the day before that my position was being eliminated at the end of the school year.” I go for a smile and add, “It was the reason I had smelled of alcohol the day we met.” And he thought I was a stripper.

“But they offered you another job, right?” Tim takes stock of the faces around us. They’re all grim. Yeah, no shiny new position for me.

“Uh… no. They didn’t. I’ve been looking the entire semester, and apart from being a sucky bartender at Magic Michelle’s, I don’t have any other possibilities.”

Tim looks at Pe. “You offered her the job?”

My lighthearted, crazy Felipe holds Tim’s hard gaze, and with no humor, he tattles, “I did. She turned it down.”

The glare Tim sends my way is super harsh. “Come on,” I reason. “It’s a drag bar. I would bring down the mood with my straight self.” I look at Pe and flash him a sad smile. “Besides Marcus mans the bar. Pe can’t afford another employee.”

He really can’t, and the tear that falls from Pe’s eye proves it. Felipe is my soul sister. I’m going to miss him like I’ll miss my mint M&M’s, but I couldn’t take his business down by adding a financial strain and forcing another salary on him. I appreciated the offer, but I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night if I knew my being there caused him to struggle.

So, I turned him down.

It wasn’t an easy thing to do, but I had good intentions. If Felipe were in my shoes—let’s be real, sometimes he squeezes into them—he would do the same for me. That’s the thing about dreams—when they become a reality, losing them is devastating.

“So, you’re just going to leave?” His voice raises, and the room quiets at his commanding tone. “You were what? Going to send me a postcard or text when you landed?”

Yeah, so he’s not taking this well. Of course, I knew he wouldn’t, and I was going to tell him—after today. He needed time to focus on this concert. He had so many stressors that I didn’t want to add to them.

I sigh, tugging at the beautiful gown that makes me feel like a princess. “I was going to tell you after this concert. I didn’t want anything to affect you or have you backing out of this performance. You needed to focus.”

His laugh is bitter, and it immediately hurts my feelings. Tim and I won’t recover from this, I can tell. I betrayed him in the worst way. He opened up to me and confessed all his secrets, and I only gave him half of me. He won’t understand that I tried to find another job. I wanted to be able to say, “Hey! Guess what? I got a new job!” I didn’t want to tell him that I was being sent back home.

“Because that’s all that matters. That I do what everyone wants me to do.”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it!” Okay, so he can take that shitty attitude and shove it.

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