Page 37 of After the Fire
“You know, my family runs the only law practice in town. We know who is getting divorced before they even know it,” she said and grinned. “And I’m the town’s doctor.” She shrugged.
There was a moment’s pause. It wasn’t awkward. Despite us being acquaintances, the silence felt natural. Practiced.
“Are you going to tell me what brings you to town?”Ah, the interrogation has started.“Because by the sounds of it, it’s probably not my handsome brother, huh?” she said with a smile.
I felt my skin flush, not with embarrassment, but with the thought of Santiago’s body next to mine, his warm hands on my skin, the little touches here and there. I cleared my throat.
“I needed a break,” I said, wringing my hands on my lap. “And believe it or not, it was pure coincidence that I ended up here.”
“A break from what?” I didn’t think she was asking to be nosy, per se. As a matter of fact, my cousins and I had been trained specifically for this—to know which people would approach us because it was convenient to them. Susana had always been adamant that our last name was so powerful, people would only want to be close to us because we could give them something. But wasn’t that exactly the reason why Manuel and I would be marrying? Because it was a powerful union between two families? It sounded so Shakespearean it hurt.
“Life,” I replied. Lucía’s eyes were full of concern, and for the first time in a long time, I was inclined to open up. “I was supposed to get married.” She nodded while I took a sip of my water. “But on the day of the wedding, I received a photo on my phone with him and another woman in our bed.”
She gasped. “Who sent you the photo?” A logical question and something that until now, I had buried deep.
“I actually don’t know yet. I’ve been preoccupied with other things lately.” Manuel had been a coward; I had no doubts about that. And I couldn’t think of anyone who would have bailed me out of that relationship. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he sent it himself, like from a burner phone or something. He wanted an out but was too chicken shit to talk to me like an adult.”
And I hadn’t seen the signs, so why would someone else? I was too preoccupied with making my grandmother happy, and it cost me my happiness in the process.
“Ugh, what a jerk. I swear to god, men.” She sighed dramatically. “What a waste of space.” I looked out the window and heard her giggle to herself, the same reaction bubbling up in my throat. I started laughing because at this point, that was the only thing I could do.
“It’s not funny,” I said in between fits of laughter. “I wasted so much time with him… Ugh.”
A sobering thought.
“What about you?” I tilted my head, trying to understand the sudden sadness in her eyes. “Santiago mentioned you just moved back.”
“A little over a year ago,” she said with a lingering smile. “Bad breakup during residency turned into this lingering need to come back home closer to family.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked sad, a contrast to the giggling woman she’d been seconds before. “What happened?”
“My career was too demanding for him, I think.” She pursed her lips and looked out the window. “The hours are long, our free time is not ours, and he just couldn’t take it. It’s fine, I get it. He’s married now and has the cutest son. It’s what he wanted, and I’m happy for him that that’s what he got.”
“Do you want kids?” I was surprised at my question. I didn’t get close to people. “Sorry, you don’t need to answer.”
“No, it’s fine. I do, but I’m still young, and I need to be established in my career first.”
“I totally get that,” I said, fully identifying with her. She smiled in return.
“Victoria, you’ll be fine.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “My brother is a good man.”
“Don’t know what you are talking about.” I felt my skin flush beet red. I wasn’t a blusher, but thoughts of that man were wreaking havoc in my brain and on my body. “I think we’re just friends. We didn’t like each other before, but I think it’s getting better.”
“Are you guys enemies turned to friends that now go on dates?” She smiled wide, her eyes shining conspiratorially.
“How do you ev—”
“Small town, Victoria. Small, small town.”
19
THE DISCOVERY
My nerves were frayed.
Such a Susana thing to say.
Ever since getting back from lunch with Lucía, I couldn’t stop my brain from wondering.
