Beware The Fury

by C. I. Lopez

  “That’s what worries you, Freddy? What’s going to happen to that girl who’s walking away right now? Forget about Violeta. No one pays her any attention. I think everybody who knows you wonders why you’ve kept things hanging on for so long between you two when she’s clearly so wrong for you.

  “I have to go,” Federico said and placed his hand on the door.

  “It might have something to do with the fact that no one likes Violeta, but everybody loves you, Freddy. You should know that, considering how the whole town stuck behind you when things got out of hand with Yasmin’s disappearance and then Don Jose’s illness and untimely death.”

  “Please, Mabel, don’t bring that up.” Federico left and ran after Yasmin, who was already almost to the bus terminal.

  Yasmin planned to take whichever bus was about to leave so she could get away from Federico before they consummated their relationship. She wouldn’t bear to leave him.

  Federico ran from the store. “Stop, Yasmin!”

  Yasmin continued with determined steps.

  “Please, Yasmin, don’t go. Let me talk to you. God no. You can’t leave like this. Please. Not again. I can’t go through that again. Stop, please.” Federico caught up with Yasmin and embraced her right there on the street, not wanting ever to lose her again. “Please, let me explain.”

  Yasmin stopped, turned, and looked at Federico. “There’s no need for explanation. I’m a married woman with a murdering husband searching for me. He’ll kill me and anyone who gets in his way. He is vicious, and if I am going to have any future at all, I need to get away and stay hidden from him and anyone who knows me, for as long as he’s alive. Besides, you are obviously in a relationship, and I don’t want to make anyone unhappy. Please, let me go.” She pushed him away.

  Overdue tears, bottled up and restrained for years, sought release much too quickly now that she was no longer under Tomas’ emotional suppression. She’d learned at a tender age that life was hard, that dreams did not come true just because one wants them. She had no illusions about anything. Her only goal was to survive by staying hidden from Tomas. One day at a time was all she had, and she decided not to complicate her life or the lives of others that she loved. She needed to make a clean break.

  Federico watched her tears as she spoke and could not imagine losing her. “Yasmin, you’ve just come back. Please, don’t do this to me again. I can protect you right here.”

  Reverting to the poker face she used with Tomas for years, Yasmin forced herself to face the man she’d always loved. Her emotions were so raw that it was hard to maintain her expression of indifference. With every minute reminding her that her life was devastated and no firm foundation existed to stabilize it. She was hurting. It was a different kind of hurt that she had known with Tomas, but emotionally, it was tormenting just the same.

  “Federico, I don’t want you to help me anymore.”

  Expelling a quick breath of air, Federico glanced sharply at her, “Yasmin, honey, don’t make more out of Violeta’s behavior than it is. You and I have to make plans, and we’re going to keep them. Give us time to figure this out. Please, I am begging you, don’t leave me again.”

  Yasmin noticed he called her honey, an endearment on their second day after becoming reacquainted. It touched a need, gave her sustenance, and so Yasmin became lost to yet another form of domination. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders like a warrior ready for battle. This brought a tender smile to Federico’s lips, prompting another squeeze of his hand on her waist. She contained a storehouse of pride, backed only by a gentle spirit, giving her poise and graciousness many women lacked.

  “Four days is all I dare to spare,” Yasmin said. “I must stay out of sight.”

  “Four days?” Federico said, incredulous. “But I want you for a lifetime.”

  “Not while Tomas lives. I’ll need a different place to stay for four days.”

  “I know where you can be safe,” Federico said. “I’ve been remodeling my father’s farmhouse. Stay with me there. I’ll take time out of work. Nobody will see you there. Those who saw you at the hostel will think you left today, and none of them know who you are.”

  “Four days, Federico, and then I’ll have to leave.” Yasmin had foolishly hoped to make a quiet entrance back into her village without raising any attention. Her life was precarious and her future a big question mark. All she could hope for was getting through today to hopefully see tomorrow. Anything beyond that would be an unexpected bonus, just as Federico’s presence in her life had been so far. It wasn’t fair to either of them, however, to nurture an attraction that was supposed to have ended a long time ago.

  PART THREE

  Chapter 5

  Together at Last

  Yasmin felt that Federico was evading the question of his relationship with Violeta. The intimacy shared only two hours ago, awakened feelings she feared to be incapable of experiencing. It gave her a right to know what he was reluctant to tell her.

  “I’m sorry, Federico, I don’t have any right to ask you, but more importantly, maybe I don’t have the right to be with you either.” Her tone was soft but decisive.

  A heavy sigh escaped his lips. The blazing anger in his profile as he glanced out the plate glass window caused Yasmin to recoil in alarm. Reaching across, he grasped her hand and gazed at her in an utterly unnerving way.

  “Yasmin, I’m going to explain my relationship with Violeta, and then I don’t want to discuss her anymore. She and I have seen each other off and on for the past year. She initiated every date we have ever had. I never called her—not once. I don’t even know her phone number. I haven’t made any pledges or commitments to Violeta, and never intended to make any”

  If Violeta had not nearly attacked Yasmin the day before and promised further violence to be perpetrated on her, she would not have enquired into Federico’s affairs. After only the second day since she and Federico were together, Yasmin and her former fiancée were already discussing his personal relationships like two disgruntled lovers. Houses were a much safer subject, Yasmin thought, and cheerfully changed the subject.

  “I can’t wait to see what you’ve done to your father’s farmhouse.”

  Driving at a leisurely pace, in no rush to reach the house, Federico reflected on the fact that it was the first time he’d taken a day off work—ever. His life had been so routine since his father’s illness. His activities could be charted for any particular time of day since he’d started running the bank. The only variation was the time spent remodeling his father’s house. Then there were the occasions when he and Violeta went out to eat, or she came by and spent the night.

  At this moment, everything since his father’s death seemed inconsequential and unimportant. His only interest was the beautiful auburn-haired woman sitting on the seat beside him. She’d captured his every thought, his mind, and all his senses. The fact was that her image had been there all these years, lying dormant while he thought her dead.

  “I remember your father’s house was filled with flowers,” Yasmin said. “I remember it was like my mother’s house. Do you know that Eva and Santos painted mother’s house lavender and white? It’s really quite pretty. I remember Eva dreamed of having a big white house with a red roof. She must have been looking at pictures of houses in the city because that’s the way they all look.”

  Federico said, “When my mother first moved into the ranch house, before either of us was born, she modernized the house to the standards of twenty years ago. She brought from her home in the city a grand piano. As a small child, she held me on her lap and taught me rudimentary music. After she died, it was Narcisa who taught me how to play the clarinet. The empty house only had bad memories for me, but with you there, it would return to be the happy place I remembered for such a short time. I can’t wait to have you in the house, baby. My dream has always been to have you there with me. That hope was my incentive to keep it maintained and looking the way it had been.”

  “I
am genuinely touched by your words, Federico, but please, I’d appreciate it if you never called me baby. I loathe the word as an endearment.” She inhaled deeply. “I do remember your parent’s house. I am glad to hear that the work you’ve done has brought it back to its full glory, like when your mother lived there. My mother often talked about how grand it was.”

  “Working with the remodeling has been good therapy for me. I am presently working on the kitchen to bring it up to today’s standards. Now, I don’t suppose you want to tell me why you don’t want to be called baby?” Federico glanced toward her.

  “No, I do not,” she snapped in a haughty tone.

  “Then, I apologize.” His quick glance holding frosty amusement. “If my endearments offend you, then perhaps you should make out a list of everything I am not supposed to say that might be offensive to you. If you think for a minute that I have purposely said anything that might imply mockery, then perhaps you could add that to your list, too.” He grinned and glanced at Yasmin.

  When she turned to look at him, Yasmin realized he was teasing. She raised her brows, a grin softening her features. “Okay, I get the picture. I’m oversensitive, and I know you don’t deserve it.” She looked at him with a placating expression. “I’m sorry. I suppose I was taking my frustrations out on you, and I’m glad you didn’t let me get away with it.”

  “Does that mean I can call you baby? I really mean it nicely.”

  “Please don’t. The word has negative connotations, which I don’t plan to discuss with you.”

  “Why so secretive?”

  “I am secretive for the same reasons you haven’t told me all there is about your life. You’ve never told me much of anything about what happened after I left, Federico, but you know a great deal about me.”

  “Maybe that’s because there’s not much to tell.”

  “Maybe ….” she said, letting the statement trail off.

  For Federico, the truth was that he just did not like to go back to those years after Yasmin left. Her departure was followed by his father’s illness and consequent death, and then his own training and appointment at the bank. That period of his life was so terrible that he hoped to God, he never had to face anything as painful again.

  “Where do we go from here in our conversations?” She turned with a raised eyebrow.

  “Let’s make a truce that in the few days we have together, we move on to subjects we can discuss.” He took her wrist and tugged her gently toward him.

  “Such as?”

  “Such as, it’s lonely over here when you are way over there,” he said, teasing.

  “I like sitting here.”

  “Just come a little closer,” he gently tugged at her arm. “Are you aware of how rare a car bench-seat is these days? All modern cars have bucket seats, and I have to take advantage of a good thing while I can.”

  With a shrug, she allowed his magnetism to pull her towards him, almost involuntarily. So soon, she forgot her own silent advice about keeping a safe emotional distance from Federico.

  “That’s much better,” he said, pecking her on the cheek and putting his arm around her shoulders. A vision of beautiful bare breasts flashed across his memory, and he remembered the touch of his hands and lips upon silky soft skin. His temperature must have soared by twenty degrees. It became an intimate moment as he caught her looking up at him with a gentle expression of warmth. He wanted to question her about that morning, her reaction to his attempt to make love to her. The timing was all wrong, however, and the question could wait.

  Yasmin sat close to Federico. His arm was around her shoulders, the faint smell of his aftershave teasing her nostrils. Yasmin remembered him trying to make love to her. She had wanted it to happen, needing to know if she was capable of experiencing sexual pleasures with a man.

  She hated Tomas for what he did to her, hated him for taking away the joy she might have experienced through complete sexual surrender and fulfillment. The young woman wondered if she would ever know what it was like? Would she ever know the spiraling spring of passion and the convulsive completion which could be attained?

  “A penny for your thoughts?” Federico broke into her private world.

  “I am looking forward to seeing what you’ve done with your parent’s house.” She smiled.

  A few minutes later, they drove through the arches that were familiar to her. In large black letters, painted over glossy mahogany wood, were the letters: Rancho Montenegro. Within seconds they were in front of the house; a large, elegant, and stately structure painted the lightest yellow. It had periwinkle trimmings and a cascade of lavender morning glories tumbling from the entrance on one side of the ample porch.

  It was a two-story house with tall, shuttered windows. It had an extended gallery spreading across the front with the roof supported by pillars, resembling homes she’d seen in estates on the road to the city. The view of the volcano on the east side affected her the most. It was just on the other side of some pine trees in the distance where Eva’s house—her own home as a child, was located. Immediately, she loved it.

  “You’ve done an amazing job, Federico. It was always a beautiful home, but it’s so cheery and inviting!”

  “You would do me a favor if you accepted to live in it. Come, let me show you inside.”

  The interior was spacious, richly designed, elegant, and well maintained. The house was completely furnished. Yasmin lifted some of the dust covers from the furniture. She saw sofas and chairs fashioned in luxurious fabrics and the beautifully carved rosewood tables that were old and probably priceless.

  They toured the dining room, a library, a study, a den with a full bathroom, and a large breakfast room that joined the kitchen. Yasmin made up her mind that she would love to live in this house, but also knew that she would have to be satisfied with only being a resident for the four days.

  “Federico, this house is exquisite. Are these the furnishings that your mother purchased while she lived here? I remember how we were always in awe of it when we were children, but it’s even more beautiful than I remember it.”

  “In his grief, my father got rid of most of my mother’s belongings, but I have searched and repurchased most of them. The rest, I have done my best to buy replicas. She enjoyed furnishing and decorating this house. It was her life, you know, bored as she was as a rancher’s wife.”

  Federico continued as excited as a child revealing a gift purchased for someone he cherished. Showing off his new toy, dragging the girl by the hand from room to room, showing her the work he’d never shown anyone else.

  Yasmin looked around her as if seeing the house for the first time.

  “Come see the kitchen that I am currently remodeling.” Federico grabbed Yasmin again and moved fast as if trying to shake memories from his head. “As I said, it’s still underway, but it’s almost finished and entirely usable.”

  Yasmin looked at cabinets stored against one wall, due for replacement with new ones that were more modern and made of dark pine. The new floor was of eggshell ceramic tiles that looked recently finished. Between the countertop and the lower and upper cabinets, the wall shone with decorative ceramic tiles. The soffit above the cabinets, papered with a lovely leaf pattern design, added color beneath the generous ceiling lights.

  “I can’t imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to live here,” Yasmin said.

  “It’s more convenient for me to live in town, close to the bank. There are times when I work late hours, and I am on call at any time of the day or night. It’s more convenient for me. After my father became ill, we moved to town, but I like doing things with my hands, so I spent my time working here. It kept me busy during my father’s illness.”

  Yasmin’s admiration for Federico kept growing, but she wondered why he kept the ranch if he didn’t need it. “Have you considered selling the place?”

  “I could never do that, Yasmin. It gives my life purpose to remodel it and try to bring it back to its former glory, from when my mother
was alive. I need to do something, and this is what I enjoy. Banking, I do solely as a way to make a living so that I can work on this house.”

  “I never realized how big this house was.”

  “Yasmin, I know the house is too big, but it would please me to see you living in it. I know you have become used to living in beautiful places and you recognize good furnishings and the work I have done. Who else would appreciate my efforts around here?”

  “Federico, I will be honored to stay here for the time we have, if that’s the way you feel.”

  “There is one more thing I would like you to look at.” Federico took Yasmin outside to the big barn that was painted the same colors as the house. He opened the door, and her eyes saw that it was clean, without any cattle, but in the middle, there was a beautiful, old car. It was in perfect condition and finished in robin’s egg blue with shiny chrome trim.

  “What a beauty!” Yasmin nodded as she appreciated the vehicle. “I think I remember my mother mentioning seeing you with your parents in it when you rode to town. It was always an attraction when Don Jose took it out for a ride, which I understand was not often.”

  “You are right. My father bought it for my mother, but she never drove it. He wanted her to learn to drive, but she refused, preferring to stay in the house, ordering beautiful things.”

  Federico did not offer her the car. He felt she was overwhelmed enough with the offer of the house. He planned to wait and give it to her just before she left. She wouldn’t be going out during the next four days, but maybe she could have it when she left. The issue of a driver’s license could be worked out. He wanted to do something more to help her.

  “Then, it’s decided,” Federico said. “You will live here for as long as you like, and you have to be aware that I would want it to be forever.”

  “Federico, don’t.”

  “I know, but I can wish. You settle in while I go into town to pick up what we will need to live here for our four days together. If I see Violeta, I promise I will talk with her, making it crystal clear that there is nothing between her and me, and never has been. Tonight, will be special, dress up, and I will take you out for dinner to a place out of town, where no one will recognize us.”