Carlos: A Zambrano Family Novel

by Deici, Olivia

  But then again, the love he shared with my mother had been written in the stars, he'd said.

  He had a way with words.

  “Hija, eres bella.”

  Smiling widely, I asked, “Think mom would've thought I look beautiful, too?”

  The pain that flickered in his eyes killed me. “I'm sorry.”

  He shook his head and walked towards me. “Never apologize for mentioning your mother. It keeps her alive. Not that she ever strays far from my mind, or here,” he said softly, two fingers touching the place over his heart. He waited a moment, before asking. “May I hug you?”

  “I'd love nothing more.”

  He enfolded me into his embrace gently. It felt good.

  “Okay, we are about five minutes out. Ready to do this?”

  I looked at my wedding planner, my giddiness and excitement manifesting itself into the widest smile.

  “I've never been more ready.”

  The emotion that swelled in me as I watched Iza walk ahead of me in her feminine teal dress was strong. I knew getting married would be emotional, but it was more than that. Marriage wasn't something I'd ever seen for myself.

  And yet here I was.

  Iza’s sleeveless bodice had a deep, plunging scalloped neckline that stopped two inches above a band adorned with crystals. The skirt’s hemline danced around her knees. She, like me, wore barefoot sandals.

  Gabriela walked ahead of Iza as a bridesmaid in her gorgeous teal dress. She walked with Ari, who was the flower girl. Since she was so little, Gaby walked with her for guidance. Little Ari was adorable in her cute little teal dress and crown made of sweet flowers. She carried a gorgeous little flower pomander. What a sight they were.

  Gaby’s strapless dress fell to her knees, but was different in hue and design. I wanted them to pick whichever dress they felt comfortable in, and I didn't need them to be matching. I loved ombre coloring, anyway. The color looked amazing on her tan skin, with her dark colored hair. She looked beautiful.

  Both of them wore their hair down as I did. We all had beachy wavy hair. Just a small top section of my hair was gathered at the back crown of my head with jeweled comb. Wispy, wavy hair framed my face. Attached to my comb was the sheerest fingertip veil I'd ever seen, which could easily be removed later.

  I looked into the literal sea before me, and the gorgeously decorated pergola. Wisps of white flowers hung and wound around the the wooden legs and corners. Light fabric was woven in between the overhead slats giving the appearance of the airy fabric floating.

  The sea of guests and their varying shades of beiges, teals, and blues was as striking as the ocean waves in front of them.

  Everything I’d always envisioned and never thought I'd have.

  The small quartet stopped the processional song once Iza reached the pergola. I'd noticed Roman’s eyes on her and I could tell he thought she was beautiful.

  He practically drooled.

  Carlos still hadn't turned around. He told me that he wanted to wait until Gabriela and Iza had arrived to the pergola.

  “Ready?”

  I looked over to my father, who gripped me tighter. Smiling, I nodded.

  The string quartet began playing Pachelbel’s Canon in D, and I let the magnificence of this moment absorb into my soul.

  It was my mother’s favorite, and mine, too.

  My father’s breath stilled. I looked over to him smiling.

  “She loved it. We played it at our wedding.”

  I leaned into him and he kissed my forehead. It meant so much more to me now that he'd told me that. It was like she was here, with us.

  The bass of the cello was so smooth, and as I admired its fluid melody, Carlos finally turned. When our eyes met, I saw his widen as they traveled over me. My own roamed over his light beige relaxed suit. He wore a white dress shirt, and brown belt, but stood barefoot.

  After our perusal, are eyes met again. My smile was shaky with emotion but wide with excitement. His answering one was assuring and loving.

  My father and I began walking and he took the steps down from the terrace slowly, going easy on our bare feet. The wrought iron railing was decorated with winding blooms.

  While everyone’s attention was on us, I only felt Carlos’ eyes on me, and it was like it was only me and him.

  The melody playing to our gentle walk wove a magical serenity.

  We reached the final step and moved onto the soft, fluffy sand. The teal runner that ran along the middle was made of thousands of real ombre teal-dyed flower petals mixed with pure white ones.

  The feel of them on my feet was soft. Sand enveloped my feet, in between my toes, and my white painted toenails peeked through.

  My eyes caught on Carlos again and held. His were glassy and I loved him more for it. He was an emotional, passionate man, and was never afraid to show it.

  The wind took that moment sweep around us, causing my wavy hair to fly a bit. My dress swished, and it was magnificent.

  I felt like a queen walking towards her king.

  62

  Carlos

  She took my breath away.

  When I turned and saw her standing on the terrace with her father and the smooth string quartet playing, it was like heaven came down from the sky and gifted us with life and light.

  She looked amazing.

  Her dress was a beautiful crisp white and it hugged her curvy body in all the right places. Her shoulders were deliciously bare except for the thinnest straps that I could imagine breaking with my teeth.

  I smiled.

  She'd have my ass if I did that to her dress.

  And that slight bump that housed and protected my baby.

  That right there made my throat tight.

  My eyes were moist as emotion overwhelmed me.

  God, they were everything to me.

  My world continued to float towards me in the lightest of steps over the colored petals in the sand. She was so happy, her skin was luminous. Her father walked proudly beside her and was as besotted with my wife-to-be as I was.

  She was steps away and my heart thudded hard in my chest. The need to touch her was too great to deny.

  One step.

  Two steps.

  Three steps.

  And here she was standing before me.

  Tomás hugged his daughter and kissed her cheek. The happiness I saw in her eyes as she looked up at her father was telling.

  Tomás gently took her hand and gave it to me.

  “Cuídalos. Ámalos. Protégelos.”

  Care for them.

  Love them.

  Protect them.

  “Siempre. Con mi vida.”

  Always.

  With my life.

  The priest- because my mother wouldn't have had it any other way, and was able to contact a retired one to marry us on the beach- delivered a homily as we kneeled. It was an abbreviated one, but nevertheless heartfelt.

  We exchanged classic vows. Cari loved tradition and who was I to mess with it?

  From Izzy, she took a matte gunmetal ring and slid it onto my ring finger.

  Unusual, and perfect.

  I loved it.

  Looking at the ring for a long moment, I realized I liked it there on my finger; it marked me as hers, something I had been since the very first night I was enchanted by her.

  “I, Caridad Lucero Zavala, take you, Carlos Roberto Zambrano, to be my wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of my life.”

  Her eyes were luminous with tears. One slipped down and I wiped it gently.

  I took the pavé diamond eternity wedding band and slid it on her ring finger.

  “I, Carlos Roberto Zambrano, take you, Caridad Lucero Zavala, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, all the days of my life.”

  I kissed her hand.
r />   “What God joined together, let no man put asunder. Amen.” He paused and addressed our loved ones. “Now that Carlos and Caridad have declared their love and exchanged their vows, it is my honor to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Zambrano. Carlos, you may now kiss your bride.”

  Friends and family erupted in cheers as my left arm swept around her and my right hand caressed her cheek.

  “I love you, Caridad Zambrano, and I will love you, honor you, cherish you, and protect you and our children, until my last breath.”

  Her breath caught and I moved in. Our lips touched and the applause faded into the background as my lips sealed what my heart had known all along.

  My soul forever belonged to my wife.

  63

  Cari

  If time would've had it’s way, my wedding would've passed in a blur.

  But I forced it to slow by appreciating, and taking in…

  Every. Single. Moment.

  Carlos and I danced to Marc Anthony’s I Need You as our wedding song. And again, my love showed off his slick moves and loose hips.

  The man could dance.

  And as our hips swayed and joined hands moved to the lovely, uplifting song, he sang it to me. It wasn't a whisper, either. Everyone heard him, and I have to say his voice wasn't half bad.

  It was like it was just me and him. The intensity of his eyes on mine forever seared this man into my soul.

  His serenade touched me, but it also made me laugh because he didn't have a shy bone in his body.

  And he's the one who thought of that as our song.

  He said it was because it described his love for me.

  He never did things small, so he surprised me with a second song- Bryan Adams’ (Everything I Do) I Do It For You.

  “I hope you don't mind. But this song is a pledge I’ll make over and over to you, every day of our lives.”

  The tears fell from my eyes. I wouldn't allow my head to force a negative association with this song. He'd done me a blessing by playing it now, so I could reconnect the song to a happier moment.

  This was our song, because unlike others who simply spoke these words without thought of having to manifest them, Carlos had lived them.

  He'd done everything that night, including sacrificing himself, to save me.

  So I cuddled him close as he nuzzled me, and I forced my brain to reconnect this song to a happier time, to the moment we were currently in, rather than associate it with one of the worst nights of my life.

  Then came my father-daughter dance.

  I’d let Dad pick the song.

  Dad.

  A hybrid of laughter and tears escaped me as he stepped up to Carlos and me. Carlos gave my hand to him and kissed my head.

  “Te amo, caramelo. Que disfrutes este baile con tu papá.”

  I covered my mouth, so moved emotionally I was bankrupted of words. He'd told me to enjoy this dance with my father.

  The song began and my tears never stopped. It was a beautiful song. Hija by Abraham Velazquez was about a father giving his daughter away. He asks his daughter not to forget him.

  “Nunca te olvidaré, Papá. Te quiero en mi vida para siempre.”

  His eyes were moist. I'd told him I'd never forget him and that I always wanted him in my life.

  Barefoot, I was very much shorter than him but it was still comfortable to dance with him.

  “Te quiero, mi hija.”

  Smiling, I cried happy tears as he told me he loved me.

  When our dance was over, it was time for Carlos and Maria Elena’s dance.

  And now I knew who he received the dance gene from- well, maybe I'd check Alejandro out later. Maybe it just ran in both parents.

  My husband’s dance with his mother was lively. It started out slow and heartfelt, and then they danced an amazing salsa number. The guests were on their feet cheering them.

  I lost count of the number of times my eyes focused on my husband’s amazingly suave hips.

  After we danced, we dined on typical Cuban fare, including a selection of appetizers consisting of tamales, croquetas, papas rellenas, and pastelitos. For dinner, the chefs made an elevated fancy rendition of arroz con pollo, and carne con papas. It was amazing.

  Carlos fed me and I kept playfully slapping his hand away.

  “I don't need to be fed. I can do that myself.”

  “Don't take that pleasure from me. Between the way your lips linger on my fingers and the sexy way your feet look in those pretend sandals, I want to spend the next week making love to you.”

  Pretend sandals?

  Could he get any cuter, or more hilarious?

  “Would you whisper! I don't want someone overhearing and it embarrassing me.”

  “Those fucking sandals, Caridad. Your feet have never looked so fucking sexy. I've never been into foot fetishes, but I have this new desire to bite and suck on your toes.”

  I shoved a piece of Cuban bread into his mouth. Carlos’ loud laughter drew curious eyes over to our sweetheart table.

  “Te mato!”

  “Kill me, and make yourself a widow already, on our wedding day? At least fuck me first so that I can have a happy ending and die a happy man.”

  “You're incorrigible!”

  His smile was wide and cocky.

  My eyes looked over to our wedding planner. “We’re being signaled. It's time to cut the cake and reveal the gender of our baby.”

  The grin on his face was sexy as hell. He'd made great choices in the men’s attire. But then again, Carlos had great style and knew his clothes.

  His hair had long ago relaxed from its combed back style. It looked similar to Justin Timberlake, only with Carlos’ dark silky hair. So damn sexy.

  My libido was getting pretty active.

  “Caramelo?”

  My eyes refocused on him. “Sorry.” I felt my cheeks heat.

  “What were you thinking about?” His grin needed a dose of humility and his own medicine.

  “How good your hair looks, and how badly I want to fuck you.”

  The rise of his eyebrows in surprise made me erupt in laughter.

  I walked to stand behind our cake where it stood on its own table.

  We would find out if I was making a little Carlos or a little Cari.

  I loved doing this here on our wedding day and with the people we loved.

  Our wedding confection was three square tiers of white fondant-covered cakes with the most life-like flowers cascading down the sides. It was a vanilla bean cake with guava filling.

  To.

  Die.

  For.

  I couldn't wait to inhale it. I loved guava.

  It wasn't only my libido going nuts. My appetite was getting out of hand, too.

  Carlos’ hand was over mine as we slowly made the first cut. We covered the knife with our other hands to make sure no crumbs would give the gender away prematurely, and we moved the knife to another side to finish cutting a slice.

  “Ready?”

  Our friends and family cheered and whistled at Carlos’ question. He looked at me.

  “Ready, bella? El amor de mi alma?”

  My eyes misted. He called me the love of his soul. I nodded, smiling, unable to speak. He began counting.

  “One…two…three!”

  64

  Cari

  We slid the slice out, and it was a beautiful-

  Baby blue.

  “A boy!!”

  My planner released dozens of blue butterflies into the gloaming sky behind us.

  Carlos yelled, holding up the slice. His laughter was uninhibited. He set the cake down, brought me into his arms, and swung me around. Setting me down, he whispered in my ear, “I would've been just as happy with a girl. Maybe the next one will be.”

  Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I laughed. “Can we get through this pregnancy first before talking about another?”

  His laughter filled me with happiness I'd never known. He nuzzled me and kissed me, covering my be
lly with his large hand.

  “My life, right here in my arms.”

  We’d fed each other cake. Carlos had tried to mess my mouth up, but I'd moved and got some cake on his cheek instead. Laughing, we took our first bites of the delicious dessert.

  After everyone had enjoyed their slices, and I stress enjoyed, it was time to take my garter off. I was sitting in a chair in the middle of the terrace mortified with Carlos on his knees, and hands behind his back.

  The mischievous grin on his face had me almost putting a stop to this.

  Jesus, what had I agreed to?

  The DJ played a mix of Beyoncé’s Naughty Girl, and the Mission Impossible theme song that had the guests rolling in hysterical laughter as Carlos dove underneath my skirt to pull down my garter with his teeth.

  The little rascal licked, sucked, and bit my thigh. My hands flew to my mouth, and my abdomen and cheeks hurt from giggling so hard. At one point, I covered my face in bashfulness as the only visible part of Carlos left was from his bent knees to his feet.

  “Which one?” He yelled.

  That made me laugh harder. I had two on. One was the real one that was mine, and the other I had just put on for this activity.

  “The teal one!” I could barely get the words out through my cackling.

  Finally, after what seemed like an hour but was literally a minute or two, I felt his mouth slide my garter down my leg and off my foot. He soared to his legs and held up the teal garter bellowing his victory. The applause and laughter surrounded us.

  Below the veranda, the bachelors gathered to catch the garter. Marco stood a bit away from the group, not truly wanting to participate, but not wanting to put a dent in the fun by sitting out. My brother, Roman, Diego, Marcelo, and a few other bachelors, stood waiting. Truth be told, Diego looked like a cornered animal. He stood way off to the side with Marco.

  “Look at Diego,” Carlos whispered to me. “He couldn't be more uncomfortable.”

  I knew about Diego’s reluctance for permanent relationships, and his brothers teased him mercilessly about it.

  “I think I'll try and toss it to him.”