Page 104 of Until You Came Along
“And I miss you,” he affirmed.
“Are you seducing my woman?” he asked, with his authoritative but sensual voice.
“I wouldn’t dream of it; I’m too young to die,” he said, smiling.
“It’s good that you understand things clearly,” he added.
“Stop the nonsense,” I said, looking at him with a smile.
“Hey, Hermes! Want to shoot some hoops?” Baco proposed, pointing to the basketball hoop a few meters from where we were.
“If you’re prepared to lose, I’ll play you.”
“You have no idea who you’re up against,” said Baco, getting up and heading toward where the hoop and ball were.
“We’ll see,” said his brother, and followed him.
I sat watching those two handsome men dribbling the ball and then shooting at the hoop. They were truly two very good-looking men. At that moment, Catalina approached and sat down next to me.
“It seems unreal to see them playing like this. It’s been so many years since they did that I thought I’d never see them enjoying something as simple as that game again.”
“It’s good to see them together and happy.”
“May I tell you something? I know it might not be something you want to hear, but I feel obligated to do so. I care for you very much, Delfina, and I don’t want you to leave my son’s life or ours.”
I nodded and looked at her expectantly because her comment really caught my attention.
“As you already know, several years ago Hermes suffered a double betrayal, from his girlfriend and his best friend. He caught them together the night before the wedding. You also witnessed the bitter, pessimistic, and authoritarian person he became afterward; I know you experienced it firsthand. The man you see now is the Hermes from before, the cheerful, fun Hermes, and I can see he’s demonstrative of his love,” she paused, looking at me with a smile and then continued: “We know he overcame the pain, but it’s obvious that it left scars, and I feel obligated to tell you about them.”
I didn’t want to interrupt her; I wanted her to tell me what seemed to be very important, and I was afraid the brothers would return and I’d be left wondering.
“Even though he may desire it with all his heart—in fact, we all do—I don’t think my son will ever want to get married again. We’ve talked about it, and he absolutely refuses to discuss marriage. I’m sure he does it out of fear of experiencing again what he’s already been through, but it’s almost certain that he won’t propose to you.” She looked at me distressed, as if expecting some comment from me, but I remained silent. “You might wonder why I’m telling you all this, and I want you toknow that I’m doing it because I don’t want you to leave Hermes for that reason. After all, what is a simple piece of paper when there’s a love as great as yours? I know I’m overstepping by telling you this because I don’t know what your dreams are—perhaps it’s to get married, to wear a wedding dress, I don’t know—but let me tell you that even if my son doesn’t go through with it, for him you are his woman, his wife. He has already formed a family with you, and a legal procedure won’t change that.”
We held each other's gaze for a few seconds. I noticed that Catalina was looking at me with sadness, but what she had told me neither surprised nor disappointed me. If Hermes loved me, I wasn't going to leave him for that reason.
“I appreciate your words, Catalina,” I said, and she exhaled as if my comment gave her relief. “I’m not surprised or bothered by them. I haven’t thought about marriage, and if I had the possibility of spending my whole life with Hermes, I wouldn’t worry about living together without having gone through that formality. As you rightly said, love is the most important thing. As long as there’s love and respect, we’ll be together.”
“Sweetheart, you can’t imagine how much your words reassure me. I was afraid this issue might disappoint you and you would end up leaving him,” she affirmed, taking my hands in hers.
“What are you two talking about?” his powerful voice said, and we both jumped because we were so focused on our conversation that we had completely forgotten about them.
“Women’s things,” Catalina said immediately.
“Women’s things?” Baco asked.
“We were discussing the possibility of going shopping together. Catalina wants me to accompany her to buy a dress.”
“And why is that? Do you have some event to attend?” Hermes asked, looking at her with narrowed eyes.
“Hermes, I’m old enough for you not to control my life.”
“Alright, you’re right,” he replied, and looked at Baco as if expecting a reaction from him, but he sat down unconcerned and continued with his reading.
“Let’s go in for lunch, the table must be set by now,” his mother said, as she stood up and entered the house.
???
We returned to our home when it was already getting dark. We had spent a lovely day with his family. As we were arriving, the song «You are the reason» by Calum Scott began playing on the car radio. Hermes parked in the garden, but left the radio on and the doors open. He walked around the car, helped me out, and embraced me by the waist.
