Page 11 of Love Bites
“I guess they saw something in her,” she continued, “because from that moment on, they started inviting us to their parties. Mother dragged me along, probably hoping to bid me off to a rich bachelor, but I wasn’t interested. Fortunately, neither were they. Not until her boss started taking an interest in me.
“He told my mother he’d groom me, teach me the ways of society and help her family up the social ladder. He said he wanted me to work for him. Mother was ecstatic. I wasn’t. I didn’t want to give up my dream job, my passion, what I’d worked my ass off trying to get, to work for an architect. It made my mother angry. She told me I was selfish. How could I do this to them? She said my birth was the reason they had gotten knocked down into poverty in the first place, and I couldn’t even do that one little thing for them, to help them.”
There were tears in her eyes again. Ignacio clenched his fists. What kind of a mother would do such a thing to her daughter? She had guilt-tripped Katheryn into giving up what she loved, so she could take care of her parents, so they could be “rich”. The mere thought of it was appalling. He knew his mother would never do such a thing to him. If anything, she had bent over backward to help him achieve his career. She would never take it away from him.
“Mother harangued me every day for weeks until I couldn’t take it anymore. I quit my job and, for the next few months, was drilled on social etiquette, while being trained at my new job—working at one of their art museums—until I was good enough. Eventually, after a few years and a ridiculously high salary, I paid off our debts. My parents quit their jobs, joined the country club and live in a house I bought them, enjoying life to its fullest.”
She shrugged as if it were no big deal.
“It sounds like you were the parent,” he whispered as compassion for her filled him. How he longed to lean across the table and brush away her tears. But he suspected she wouldn’t welcome the gesture.
“I am sorry you’ve had to deal with waking up every morning, knowing you gave up what you love.” He sincerely meant it.
She opened her mouth to reply but didn’t get to do so because a waitress appeared at their side, her pen and notepad poised for writing.
“¿Puedo tomar su orden?”
When Katheryn stared at her, obviously not understanding, Ignacio translated.
“Oh, I forgot.” Katheryn picked up the menu in front of her and scanned it. She looked up at Ignacio. “To be honest, I don’t know anything about Spanish foods. What’s good here?”
He swallowed the rising lump in his throat and took the menu from her hands to scan it himself. Of course, he had no idea what any of the dishes were considering he didn’t eat food. But he couldn’t tell her that. Not yet, anyway. But what would he tell her? What if he picked something at random, and she hated it?
He read through the menu and recognized very few foods on the list. Some of the food his human mother ate and made and had even sold on the street on occasion for fun. He looked to the prices and gaped. Holy hell, human food was so expensive! At least it was in this fancy restaurant.
He was sure it would be less expensive if they bought the same foods from the street vendors. And he didn’t think that because they were friends with his mother or because he couldn’t spend the money on Katheryn—he was no slouch in that area. He just knew the money she would pay to the restaurant would go to a big corporation when it really should have gone somewhere else.
He put the menu down abruptly and smiled at Katheryn. “I would recommend we go somewhere else. Come with me.”
He stood and held out his hand for her to take. When she did so without reluctance, he smiled and pulled her to his side then walked toward the street vendors.
There were many stands lined up, the merchants hustling and bustling to get food out to the hungry customers, who gathered around their carts. There were shouts and laughter, people hurrying about their business, sitting in plastic chairs eating and talking to each other.
The ambience was obviously more relaxed and less snotty than in the restaurant. A variety of smells assaulted Ignacio’s nostrils, nearly overwhelming him. Sweat and garbage, but the most overpowering was the scent of human foods that wafted out in steamy swirls. The enormity of them churned his stomach into near nausea.
But one look at Katheryn told him that he had brought her to the right place. She inhaled the aromas and licked her lips. He could practically hear her stomach rumble over the noise.
“Anything in particular you wish to try?” he asked, gesturing at the stands.
She looked them over.
“I don’t know a lot about these foods.” She shrugged. “But I’m willing to try it all.”
That made him smile. A girl who wasn’t afraid to try new things. He liked that.
Ignacio placed a hand on the small of her back and guided her to the first stand. They had to wait in line for a mere moment before the man behind it asked in Spanish what they wanted. Ignacio eyed the selections before them. Steam rose above the slabs of meat that rested on the pans and on wooden cutting boards. The meat was browned to perfection. In bowls were chopped cilantro, onion, lime and salsa of all different colors and textures. Ignacio read the sign above the stand.“Tacos de Carnitas.”
He turned to Katheryn.
“Maybe I should order you just one taco to see if you like it. If not, we can go to another stand. Unless you wanted a whole order of six?”
She eyed the food thoughtfully. “Get me a whole order.”
His eyes widened, but he relayed the message to their server who nodded and, lightning fast, heated the tortillas, slapped them on a plate and filled each one with meat. He handed the order of five tacos to Katheryn. She took it then glanced at Ignacio.
“Aren’t you going to eat? I’d feel bad eating with you just watch.”
Crap, he hadn’t predicted this. How could he tell her he didn’t eat? That his digestive system wouldn’t break down the food, and it would cause hours of heaving and hacking until he threw it up and sweated it out of his system?
