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“Were you with him today? When you took the Jeep out?”
I planned on denying it, but I was exhausted from crying I no longer had the strength to lie, so I simply nodded.
“I see,” he said, staring at me for a long time I finally looked up at him. I could tell he was grappling at something, struggling with himself. It pained me to see him that way.
“Dad,” I said. “You don’t understand…”
He held up a hand, a sad smile on his face. “I think I do.”
“No, you don’t.”
His next words chilled me to the bone.
“Is he the one lola Nora spoke about? Your soulmate?”
“What?! How?! You knew her?”
Dad nodded. “I knew her from when I was growing up. She was one of the hired help of my father, back when he still had the sugarcane business. Nora and Ramon, the love of her life.”
“You knew Ramon too?”
“Yeah. He was a great photographer, and he would share the pictures he took with us. Your grandfather even bought a few of them. When the factory closed down they both did a bunch of odd jobs with the hotels for a while. Ramon enjoyed photography, but at the time there was no way he could make a living off them. I think it wasn’t until Ramon passed away that Nora decided to open up her fortune teller shop. I was always curious about her business, but I thought it was just some kind of, you know, parlor trick. But one time I was in a real bad place. I had a feeling your mom was cheating on me but I didn’t want to admit it. I was drunk and depressed, and in an act of insanity I went to her, to have her reassure me that there was no cheating going on.
“She knew who I was, of course. She remembered me from the plantation days, and she said you come to her once in a while and she gives you cookies. She studied my palm and told me not what I wanted to hear, but what I needed to know. She didn’t let me pay, but accepted the large tip I dropped in her jar. Then, just before I stepped out, she told me about your future. She said a man would come for you one day once you’ve come of age. An older man. She warned me that I may not like the idea of someone besides me loving you, but that I shouldn’t keep you from him, because he was your soulmate, and you two were meant to be together.”
I was speechless. My dad knew. He knew about Miles even before I did.
“So Tay-Tay, tell me. Is this him?”
“I… I think so.”
“Then you shouldn’t worry. From the sound of it Miles really does not want her back in his life. She might stay the night, just because it’s late and she probably can’t get a room at this hour. But talk to him, give him a chance to explain things.”
“So, you’re okay with us being together?”
“No, not really, but if he is who we think he is…” Dad shrugged. “Nothing I can do.”
“Oh, dad,” I said getting up and giving him a big hug. “You’re the best, you know that, right?”
“I know,” he said, smiling. “Now finish your dinner. I’ve got to see to our other guests.”
I stared at the door after dad had left, still reeling from what he said.
Unbelievable.
After finishing my food I took the tray back to the kitchen and helped dad out with the dishes. I still did not feel like facing Miles, so I went to bed, praying I won’t be seeing the ex in the morning.
Or ever again.
I woke up at five-thirty,as I always did, the remnants of a bad dream starring Miles and his ex-wife hottie and all the things they were doing in that room staying with me long after it should have faded away. I often wondered why that was, why the bad dreams seemed to linger around like some unwelcome guest while the good ones disappear so quickly you barely remember them.
I brushed my teeth and put on my jogging leggings, sports bra, and loose t-shirt, just like I always did. After stretching on the floor I grabbed a bottled water, went outside, and hit the trail. I did this just about every morning, except when it was raining. This day seemed no different from every other day, except it was.
It was different in one very significant way.
It was Saturday, which meant Miles was leaving back for the Mainland the next day. I had planned on spending every waking hour with him, but after last night’s fuckery I was not even sure where things stood with us.
The run helped for a time, the fresh oxygen getting pumped into my brain making it difficult for me to keep feeling bad, but when I went up to my cave and looked out over the waterfalls, the memories Miles and I made in that spot came flooding back. I sat down, hugged my knees, and swam in my sorrow and sadness.
