Page 61 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

“No, no, no. Come on, Mama.” He frowned at me.

“What?” I cocked my eyebrows in confusion.

“No sad eyes.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I grinned.

“No joking. Very serious. If you say yes now, I will drive to the church, and Father Pedro will get us married,” he said in all seriousness while I only laughed.

He was cute, and I was sure he’d make a great husband, but I wasn’t worth it. I was too broken for him. He had everything you’d want in your dream man. My heart was somewhere else. My priority was the twins and building a life for myself. I planned on staying away from relationships for as long as possible, maybe stay celibate and single forever.

I appreciated the tour he gave me every time he picked me up from my therapy session. It was like a break from the intense conversation we had. Javier had taken me to every beautiful place in Cuba and Havana, and it made me fall more in love with the place.

“So, where are you taking me today?” I asked, trying to change the topic.

He laughed lightheartedly, keeping his eyes on the road. “Guardalavaca,” he said, and almost immediately, I felt a kick that made me jump in my seat.

“Ohh, okay. Someone is excited.”

I felt another kick, and I gasped in laughter. Javier brought his hand closer and placed it on my big bump.

“Here.” I brought his hand to the spot I’d felt earlier. It took a few seconds before there was another kick.

“They must be fighting in there,” Javier said, and I laughed.

***

I went shopping for baby clothes with Yoselin during the weekend. I had been saving for this moment, and it was the most exciting thing ever.

When we returned, my whole body was aching, my back and waist hurt the most, and I lay in bed, wishing for it to stop. Mrs. Rodriguez appeared later and stripped me down to only my panties. She massaged my body with a warm towel, and it was the most magical feeling. Some days, I wished she had given birth to me. I wished she were my mother from the way she nurtured me.

For the next few weeks, I wasn’t allowed to visit the flower shop, so I spent my days brainstorming baby names even if I had done it many times while lying in bed. I hated that I thought of what Tristan would think and what name he’d pick. I didn’t plan on telling anyone about the twins. My decision to stay here was final, and I was looking for a way to explain everything to Belvina and get her to understand.

I wished I could do this with her. We’d joked about baby names when we were in middle school, even tried to match them with our crush’s last name or assumed husband’s last name. It killed me to keep this from her, but I didn’t trust anyone related to me.

I got tired of waiting in the house, and I decided to walk to the flower shop and help a little bit or just smile at customers. Halfway there, I wanted to turn back because my legs wanted to give way, and it felt like I was carrying the whole world on my shoulders.

Mrs. Rodriguez didn’t look happy when she saw me walk through the door. She immediately put me on the bench. I stood up when she wasn’t looking, so I could help arrange some flowers that didn’t fit together.

I was putting the second vase away when I felt a stabbing pain beneath my stomach. I brushed it off and tried to work on the next vase when an intense pain made me gasp and grab on to the edge of the table.

I heard a pop sound. I felt liquid trailing down my legs.

“Mrs. Rodriguez,” I groaned.

She rushed quickly to where I was.

“I think my water broke.”

18

______________________

Kayla

NOW

“You gave birth to twins?!”

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