Page 2 of After the Fire
“No, actually,” I replied. “Something bigger.”
“Okay, what do you want me to do?” She immediately knew that something was wrong. “Do you want me to come over?”
“I’m supposed to meet Manuel for coffee in a few minutes but…” I sighed. “I’m sending you something.”
I needed a moment to think, to step away from this and look at it from the outside, exactly like I would approach one of my cases. I didn’t have the luxury of time because this needed to be remedied—and fast. The clock was ticking.
My suitcase—almost ready except for my toothbrush and other toiletries—sat closed by the door to my bedroom, ready for our honeymoon to Australia and New Zealand, a trip I’d been planning for months and months, the culmination of seven years of courtship. It, too, was taunting me, almost like it knew that my marriage was over before it even started. Incomplete even before I tried to complete it.
“Okay,” I said once I texted her the photo I’d seen only minutes earlier.
“Fuck,” she rasped.
“It’s him, right?”
“Yeah, no doubt.”
“Okay,” I said as I scratched my forehead. “Okay, I’ll call you later. Please don’t worry about me. I’ll call you.”
“Victo—” she protested, but I hung up on her before she could stop me. Catalina was pregnant with her first child, and the last thing she needed right now was for me to be a burden on her and my brother. Could I figure this out? Yes. Did I have a plan? No. But I could improvise, right?
So I did something that I had never done before.
I grabbed the piece of luggage and started toward the stairs, trying to go as fast as I could, feeling the cold marble under the soles of my bare feet. I was wearing a white sundress, given to me by my grandmother when Manuel and I announced our engagement, although now it seemed foolish to be wearing such thing, given that I was suddenly single.
“Lali, I’m going outun minuto!” I yelled at the woman who was now most likely making lunch for us. I could hear her say something to me as the door closed behind me. I took a moment to fasten my sandals right outside the front door and stepped out the gate.
“Hey, baby,” Manuel said. I felt his presence even before I saw him in my periphery. He looked relaxed in his worn jeans and a wrinkled linen shirt. His hair was still damp, and he had one sleep wrinkle running from his temple to his jaw. I was already rolling my eyes so hard; I couldn’t contain myself, because not even on his wedding day did he care to do things right, sleeping until the last minute as usual.This,this was my biggest tell. “Are you going to load the suitcase in the car? You won’t need anything else for tonight?”
“How long?” I asked.
“Well, I think we can manage an hour before she catches us, but I guess we can ask for forgiveness,” he said with a cocky smirk. He knew he was charming, and he had my grandmother wrapped very tightly around his finger. “She won’t say no to me.”
“How. Long.”
“What are you talk—”
I never raised my voice; I was calm and collected. Calculating and intentional. But this was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back. I grabbed my phone and flashed the screen.
“Who sen—what is that?”
“Manuel, you know I’m not stupid. How long has this been going on? Who sent this to me? I just—”
“Baby, that isn’t me,” he said. His tell was much more noticeable than mine. I had figured it out years earlier after our first big argument. It was stupid—he told me he’d only had a few beers with his friends, but I knew it had been more than that. He bit his thumb and shifted his weight from foot to foot. “Why would you even suggest that? We’re getting married today. We shouldn’t be fighting.”
I released a sigh. No relief though. My gut told me, without a shadow of a doubt, that the man in the photo was him.
“You know what? I just need a minute to clear my head. I can’t right now,” I said.
“Where are you going? Did you tell Susana that you were going for a walk?”
“¡Basta! Stop. Stop talking. I’m not going for a walk, Manuel, please be smarter than this.”
And I left. Without knowing where to or until when, but the fear of disappointing my family was stronger than my desire to fight for my relationship. And deep down, I knew that if I stayed, Susana would end up convincing me to marry this man.
2
THE FLIGHT
