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"Didn't I mention Zach is an asshole?"
"You did, I still can't believe what he put his girlfriend through. You also told me that if you have a flat tire in the middle of the desert, he's the first to show up."
True. When or if you got to know Zachary Ford, you realized his heart might be even bigger than his mouth. It was definitely bigger than his dick.
Rita fixed Chelsea's floating neck pillow and let her down into the water. Instant giggles. My daughter loved water.
"So, tell me, papi, how we did it the first time I met them?"
Yay, more questions!
"Umm, Sunday barbecue. We just gathered and had a few beers."
"Let's just do that again. I'll pick up some good steaks next time I go to the market. The weather is getting warmer by the day."
"We have steaks in the freezer."
She threw me a look ever her shoulder and rolled her eyes.
"James, we have pork chops. I was talking about good steaks. Some red meat, the kind that grills tender and is perfect to make vaca frita with the leftovers."
"Vaca what?"
"Frita. It's this delicious Cuban crispy beef recipe that my grandma used to make. It tastes even better when the meat is grilled in advance."
Barbecue in the back yard it was. At least now I had a quarter of a plan.
"Love, I'll go on the back patio and do some research. Want me to fix you a little painting studio so you can go crazy outside?"
I said crazy in good faith. When Rita was in front of a canvas, she talked to herself, laughed out of the blue...honestly, it was awesome. That was Rita at her purest form.
"No, don't worry, I wanna do some charcoal sketches today."
"Ok, I'll wait for you there."
I leaned down to place a kiss on top of her head and turned to walk out.
"Ok, Trujillo, I'll be right there."
...and just like that, we both froze in place like the time itself stopped. I knew enough Spanish to recognize a fucking name when I heard one.
"Oh, my God, James...I... I am so sorry. I don't know why..."
No, she didn't, but something in her knew exactly why and this terrified me.
"It's ok, Rita."
"No, it's...It felt so weird. Why did it happen?" I wished I had an answer, and at the same time, I wished to never find out. 'Can you...Can you bathe the baby? I need a second, my heart is racing really fast."
Before my brain gathered enough power to articulate anything, she was already out the door.
I fled out of there, panicked and embarrassed. I didn’t know what happened, and my stupid brain wouldn’t put the pieces together for me.
My heart was booming in my chest like it was wrestling with my ribs, and I could feel a migraine sneaking up on me. What. Was. Going. On?
Inhale. Exhale. Hold. Repeat.
I did that until my nerves started to settle down and I could think clear again. I was glad James had to finish Chelsea's bath because a little bit of distance was good for me right then.
