Page 122 of Wishing for La Luna
I know no peace sin ti.
Still waters run deep
Es Rio
Aunque me consta que nunca se te olvida
Yeah…hahaha…You can’t forget me either
Bueno que nos pase.
29
Rio
Every time I sit in Dr. Jacinda’s waiting room, I have a brand-new Luna thing I need to talk to her about. Today is weird because I don’t have to be here. This isn’t part of our schedule. It’s either I come here or I go out, and I don’t trust myself in the streets. The hurt is too intense, and I see myself trying to cope in the old ways.
That’s how I find myself staring at the wall of books. I’m waiting for her in the quiet. Music is my enemy right now because she has become my muse. So, I’m in punishment with my thoughts…like most of today.
The door cracks open, and Dr. Jacinda steps out with a short but attractive woman with jet-black wavy hair, killer curves, and insanely high heels. She’s familiar, and when her gaze lands on me, her bold red lips spread into a smile.
“Hi, I’m Mel.”
And that’s when it hits me. Amelia Solis. She looks young, like a regular pretty girl, and not aJefa de Jefasin New York—except for the designer clothing and the sharp edge in her eyes.
“I’m Rio.”
She chuckles. “I know.” She looks at the doctor and back at me. “I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“No,” I say and then add, “You’ve gotten me out of a lot of stuff. But you made sure Luna didn’t get fired. I’m most grateful for that.”
She winks at me and leaves through a side door. People are waiting for her there.
Dr. Jacinda waves me in. Her office is always neat except for the usual tables where there are scattered boxes and figurines. She explained that it's for people to play if they’re into it.
We don’t ever sit at her desk or any of those tables. Instead, she has rocking chairs by the roaring fire. It’s always cold in this room, and I wonder if that’s a technique of hers. My Caribbean heart is happy for the fire.
"I'm sorry you had to encounter another client. I try to space out my appointments to honor your privacy. However, at times, I’m unable to plan effectively when we receive last-minute requests from two parties, which is what happened today. This is also a great segue to, what’s going on?”
“I spent the night with Luna last night,” I blurt out.
“Okay. Good thing?”
There’s such a calm demeanor about her, and she’s always unassuming, which is annoying today. I need her to fill in the blanks. If it were good, I wouldn’t have called her. I know she can tell but forces me to say the words.
“I don’t know. Parts were good and the rest is fucked…sorry.”
She folds her hands on her lap, delicately. “I’m an optimist, so tell me the good, and we’ll get to the fucked after.”
Fucked.
The word coming from her jars me, and she smiles because she must know she shocked me. “Is it the word or my age that bugs you?”
“Both,” I say. “I feel bad enough that I said it, but I didn’t expect you to repeat it…it’s hard talking to you like this.”
“Rio, I’m a mother of five and a soon-to-be grandmother again. That requires lots of sex and sex conversations. There’s nothing you can tell me that I have not heard or experienced. So why don’t we bypass the assumptions, and you tell me what happened and why it’s affecting you to the point that you called me, of all people…voluntarily.”
I don’t know what to say, except, “I want to be respectful.”
