Carlos: A Zambrano Family Novel

by Deici, Olivia

  Oh, yea, forgot to mention that we were getting married at a very exclusive location- Carlos’ parents’ estate, which was delightfully beachfront. The beach and ocean made up most of the massive estate’s backyard. It was gorgeous, and I fell in love with it when I first went to family dinner in what seems like so long ago- when Iza had been kidnapped.

  The sand was white and marshmallowy soft. The way that the blue waves kissed the shore was gorgeous.

  We would have the ceremony a few feet from the shore, under an amazing pergola adorned with silk white fabric and white flowers. A beautiful soft teal runner would divide the gatherers into right and left seating.

  It will be a small ceremony. Only our families.

  Our families.

  I smiled. I never envisioned getting married much. I never figured I'd meet someone who could accept me, my baggage, and my fears. And even if I did find him, I knew there would be no one on my side except for friends.

  But now I had my father and my brother.

  And it was perfect.

  Absolutely perfect.

  About fifty friends and family would come to celebrate our love that day that was a month away. We’d asked them to wear soft beiges and varying shades of teal and blue, too.

  It would be a special day.

  With his love, our baby, and our family and friends- the day would be special indeed.

  After the ceremony, we’d eat on the large stone terrace that faced the beach.

  I was so excited.

  “Care? Is something wrong with the dress?”

  Oh, wow. I'd been in my head for a long time. Iza’s voice brought me out.

  “She's fine. She's picturing her wedding day. Am I right?” Lydia asked from beside me.

  Smiling, I nodded.

  “I recognize that look on the faces of my brides. So, Caridad. Is it comfortable? Do you feel good in the dress?”

  My hands came up to my chest in happiness.

  “More than good. I love it, Lydia. I love it! Thank you for making it exactly how I wanted and so quickly.”

  I threw my arms around her and she hugged me tightly back.

  “Ahh, the Zambrano family and mine have been friends since Cuba. Our children have grown up together. The boys-” Iza and I snickered at her reference to Marco, Roman, Carlos, and Diego- “were causing mischief with ours from a very young age. They are like my children.”

  “It is magnificent, Lydia,” Maria Elena stood, clapped her hands together, and brought them to her lips. “She's gorgeous no matter what she wears. The beauty is inside and out. But this dress. It is spectacular.” Her eyes got misty as her eyes met mine in the mirror.

  “You are an angel, Caridad. Saving Alejandro’s life, making my Carlos the happiest he's ever been, and…” her hands reached out as if to touch my belly but she stopped.

  Truth be told, having strangers touch my belly was not appreciated, but family and friends? I didn't mine in the least.

  “Go ahead. I don't mind.”

  Her smile was sweet as her eyes softened at my belly bump. She loved my baby already, and I couldn't ask for more than that.

  My baby would be loved. He or she would have more family than he or she could count with all of his or her little hands and tiny toes.

  And I loved it.

  “This beautiful little bump looks precious with this dress.”

  I didn't think I could possibly be more giddy, but my smile widened until my mouth hurt. I’d wanted my small belly to be emphasized. The cinching with the gorgeous belt-like piece below my boobs and above my belly did just that.

  I placed my hands over the ones resting on my belly.

  “This baby will be loved. This baby will be the luckiest in the world.”

  With her other hand, she reached up and touched my cheek. Unexpected tears rushed to my eyes.

  “Thank you for including me in this process. It's a blessing.”

  I began to cry.

  Pregnancy emotions.

  But also because I missed my mother. And if I couldn't have her here with me, I was so amazingly lucky to have Maria Elena.

  “Oh, sweetheart,” she said, hugging me.

  “Thank you for being here with me. I'm so lucky to have you.” I looked up to Iza. “And thank you to my sister, Iza. I'm so very lucky.”

  Iza came up and hugged me tightly.

  “You look so gorgeous, Care. Carlos is going to go out of his mind when he sees you.”

  I hugged her back.

  “Thank you, Iza. For being my person all these years. For being my sister.”

  I couldn't wait until a few weeks from now, when I'd be marrying the man I loved.

  And the father of my baby.

  59

  Carlos

  I saw the back of Marco’s head and headed towards his table.

  “Where's Ari?”

  “Spending quality time with abuela.”

  I sat down in front of him in the booth. One of the servers brought me over some water and I nodded my thanks.

  “So, hermano. I'm sure you're not here for the meatloaf special. What's up?”

  Smirking, I watched Marco but his eyes weren't on me.

  “She still catching your eye?”

  His piercing gaze centered on me.

  “She's a good woman in a shitty job with asshole customers.”

  The subject of our conversation came over.

  “Hi again. Carlos, right?”

  I nodded. “Yes. Natascha?”

  She pointed to where her name tag should've been. “Forgot it, but yes. Good memory.”

  She was warm and polite, but her eyes were sad.

  Like Marco's.

  Kind of.

  Somewhat.

  His were more dead.

  “Have you looked at the menu?”

  “Yes. I'll take the bacon burger and fries.”

  She nodded and turned to Marco.

  “You decide yet?”

  “I'll have the same. With cafecito.”

  Natascha laughed and asked if I wanted one.

  “Sounds great,” I responded.

  “Did you want soup?”

  “What's the soup today?”

  She looked at Marco. “French Onion and And Dumplings”

  “Is that one soup?” I asked.

  “No, it's two.”

  “Isn't it chicken and dumplings?” Marco asked, confused.

  “No, trust me, it's And Dumplings.”

  Marco laughed. I sat in silent observation. It wasn't all that common for Marco to laugh anymore, especially outside of my niece’s presence.

  “Why is that?” He asked.

  “I'll pay for your meal if you find chicken in there.”

  My lips automatically expanded into laughter as I heard my brother unexpectedly chuckle.

  “That bad, huh?”

  Her whisper was conspiratorial. “You've no idea.”

  “French onion, then. For both of us.”

  Natascha nodded and left. Marco’s eyes followed her.

  “She's sweet.”

  Marco’s gaze snapped to mine. His smile melted off.

  “It's normal to have feelings for someone, Marco.”

  He shook his head. “We’re not having this conversation. Why did you want to meet for lunch?”

  “Aside from wanting to spend time with my older brother? Damn, bro.”

  He snickered.

  “Naw. Listen. I don't know how to say this other than to just say it.”

  Marco's eyes became guarded.

  “Go ahead. Say it.”

  I sighed. “I love you. I don't want you to hurt more than you do. Having Cari and the baby, I don't know…” my voice faded, as emotion overwhelmed me. I breathed in deeply. “I don't know how you keep going.”

  His jaw clenched. “Ari.”

  I nodded, finding it had to speak. I swallowed a few times before continuing. “If you find the thought of sitting through the wedding difficult, it's ok, bro.
I'd understand if you can't go.”

  His hard eyes softened.

  “I appreciate your concern, hermano, but I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything.” He took a sip of his beer. “Your happiness doesn't make my grief worse.”

  His words lessened my guilt slightly. He must have seen it.

  “I want you happy. I want Roman and Diego, and Mamá and Pop happy.”

  “We want you happy, too, Marco.”

  He shook his head. “Ari makes me happy. Having my family safe and healthy makes me happy. That's all I could ask for, Los. My times is up. I live for my daughter. I have no expectation or desire for anything else.”

  Natascha came out of the kitchen and his eyes went to her immediately. He watched her as she smiled and refilled mugs.

  It occurred to me that maybe he hadn't realized the way he looked at her.

  Or maybe he didn't want to acknowledge it.

  Either way, that made me happy. That he was even able to look at another woman after Jenny was huge.

  I would not make him feel negative feelings and possibly ruin that.

  Let him discover things on his own.

  “Here you are. Burgers and soups.”

  She looked at her watch.

  “Shift almost done?”

  Her light eyes moved to Marco’s. “I have about fifteen minutes before going to my other job.”

  “Two jobs?”

  She nodded at me. “Post-doctoral supervised practical experience for clinical psychology. I'm close to completing my two years to be fully licensed and independent.”

  “Wow. That's great, Natascha.”

  Her smile was small but not the kind you'd expect from someone proud. I guess she was very modest.

  “It must be hard working here and then going to a second job.”

  She shrugged. “I need the money and benefits. We do what we must. My hours are flexible, which is convenient.”

  She looked at Marco, who’s sat listening to her. Natascha excused herself and I looked at him.

  “She's incredible.”

  He took a bite of his burger. “She's smart. I've had some interesting conversations with her.”

  I stayed quiet, grateful that he'd opened up at least that much with me. It told me that he wasn't ashamed to be speaking to another woman, which was a steady step in the right direction.

  “Anyways, I'll be at your wedding. Me and my date.” At my look, he laughed. “Ari. And I wouldn't miss it for anything.”

  I was grateful he wouldn't miss it. It wouldn’t have been the same without him there witnessing me marry the love of my life.

  60

  Carlos

  “I love it.”

  She turned towards the sliding glass doors and looked outside to the ocean-view. We’d closed on the house today. We weren't too far from my parents, something she loved.

  And I loved that she loved it.

  I'm glad that there wasn't the stereotypical cliché anti in-law sentiment. The same was true for Roman, and had been true for Marco.

  We'd picked great women who loved our family as much as we did.

  Roman was eyeing a house nearby, too.

  I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her and settled my hands over her belly.

  “I can't wait to hear the cries of babies, and the pitter-patter of little feet running through this home.”

  She moved her hands over mine. “I can't wait either. How many do you want to have?”

  I nuzzled the side of her head, and moved my pelvis closer to her. Her laughter made me smile.

  “As many as you'll let us have. I didn't think pregnancy was an aphrodisiac but looking at you, caramelo, I'm hard all the time.”

  Chortling, she said, “That sounds a bit fetishy to me.”

  My nose swept over her ear and into her fragrant hair. “No, it's not a fetish. It's looking at the woman I love who is creating and giving life to my son or daughter. It’s a miracle I get to see daily, and it blows my mind away.”

  I turned her around and framed her face with my hands.

  “You and the baby are my world.”

  Smiling in the way that she does, the way that makes my heart flutter and skip, she laid a hand on my cheek. “You are our world, daddy.”

  Smirking, I said, “Say that again, baby, while I slap your ass and fuck you from behind.”

  She rested her head on my chest, groaning. “Freak!”

  “You know you like it.”

  Cari reached up and tugged my head down. Our kiss began slow and turned ravenous. Before I knew it, I had her bent over with her arms splayed out on top of our kitchen island, as I crazily and insatiably fucked her from behind. Our cries echoed in the empty house. Luckily she only had a dress, and was able to easily right her appearance after we were done.

  “After the wedding and honeymoon, we’ll go furniture shopping.”

  “That's a lot of money for furniture to fill this house.”

  I agreed. It was huge- six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, with an office, media room, and bonus space. Grinning, I pictured each bedroom full of our children.

  “And I've been meaning to tell you, tomorrow is the last night we're spending together until after the wedding.”

  The smile evaporated from my face. “What are you taking about?”

  “We can't see each other before the wedding. You know that. Everyone knows that.”

  “I thought you weren't superstitious.”

  “I'm not, but I do love traditions. And that's one I plan on observing.”

  I shook my head. “Not me.”

  She held up her palm. “Carlos. Please. One night we don't sleep next to each other. One morning we don't see each other. It'll be fine.”

  “Maybe for you it will. I need my caramelo next to me. I need to hear her voice in the morning. Hear her snoring at night.”

  She placed her hands on her hips. “I don't snore.”

  Grinning, I disagreed. “You do.”

  She groaned in annoyance with me.

  “It's okay, babe. We all can't be perfect. There had to be something about you that wasn't. I'm just glad it's that and not something like bony and abnormally long toes, or something.”

  “What the hell?”

  Laughing, I caged her in my arms as my hands gripped the white marble island on either side of her.

  “I guess I can live without you for a day if it means that much to you.”

  “It does.”

  I kissed her. “Okay.”

  “Where are we going on our honeymoon?”

  Grinning, I popped her nose with my index finger. “Don't try to be sly. It's a surprise.”

  “Come on, just a hint. Don't deny me.” She used her finger to trace a path on my chest.

  “You have the nerve to ask for a hint about our honeymoon when you denied me the right to know the gender of my baby? You mean that kinda deny?”

  She slapped my chest. “You're going to know the gender. We all are. At the wedding. It's perfect.”

  She got on her tippy toes and kissed my chin.

  “You fucking have me wrapped around your finger, Caridad.”

  Slowly, she kissed a path to my mouth.

  “And soon, our baby will have you wrapped around his or her little fingers, too.”

  61

  Cari:

  I Do,

  Colbie Caillat

  “Are you ready?”

  Iza looked at me expectantly.

  I was beyond excited. I was not only marrying the man of my dreams, but we were finding out the gender of our baby.

  Today.

  I missed Carlos. I hadn't even allowed us to speak. Roman had called Iza and through them, we'd spoken until they called it quits because of the sappiness.

  And because it was a pain in the ass to be go-betweens.

  My eyes began watering.

  I wanted to see him.

  To touch him.

  To tell him I loved and missed him.


  “Oh no you don't. You're going to mess up your make-up. Stop. Think of anything else other than him or your baby.”

  Maria Elena laughed at us. I was so glad to have her here. My mother could never be replaced, but she was the best substitute I could have asked for.

  Smiling at Iza, I whispered, “That's impossible.”

  The wedding planner came in and told us to get ready. She was getting a huge hookup, having found one client- Iza- and having gained another by recommendation- me.

  We were in the first floor guest room of Alejandro’s estate where we got ready. A photographer had been with us taking those candid behind-the-scenes shots everyone loved. Iza was my maid-of-honor, as if there was any doubt. Carlos couldn't pick amongst his brothers, so they all were his best men.

  They hadn't had the typical bachelor party. Carlos hadn't wanted any of that. His brothers more than respected that.

  So they went on a guy’s getaway on Carlos’ yacht. Alejandro, and even my father and brother went. Booze, breeze, and fishing, they'd said.

  For us girls, we weren't the frilly bunch, but we did a day of pampering anyway. Gabriela came home from college and was a doll. It was the first time Iza and I had met her. She was sweet, but opinionated and headstrong. In this family with so many brothers, she had to be.

  We went to get manis, pedis, facials, massages, and hair treatments. We went to a long lunch and enjoyed the company.

  In the background and not far from us, was a security detail to rival a head of state’s.

  Needless to say, after our fun outing, I had been so relaxed afterwards that I’d slept like a baby.

  There was a knock on the door. Iza went to get it, peeked, and opened it to reveal my father.

  He stopped two steps into the room. For being a hardened cartel boss, he was a sentimental man.