The Blue Of Your Eyes

by Jamila Mafra

“Wow! So he really wants to be with you. I'm surprised. I thought he was going to curl you up a bit more.”

  “I'm surprised too.”

  ***

  The meeting in New York took place in the restaurant of the Hotel The London NYC, where Brianna was staying. It was about nine o'clock in the morning. She was already waiting at the table when Albert appeared.

  "Albert my love. What a surprise! Why didn’t you go straight to my room? We could have met there.”

  "I decided to hurry up, and I ended up staying at another hotel, I did not want to bother you early. Brianna, I did not want to wait for you to come back because I have something very important to tell you.”

  "It must be important even to make you travel here so suddenly."

  “Brianna...”

  “Hang on. I also have something very important to tell you. This is the most important news of your life, Albert.” She stepped forward, taking a sip of coffee.

  “What's so important to tell me?”

  “You are going to be a father!”

  “What?”

  “That's right. I'm Pregnant. We must mark the date of our wedding soon.”

  “No! That can’t be true.”

  "Why not?"

  "Because... Because we're not married yet. Look, are you sure about this?”

  “Here's the exam I did at the best New York clinic.”

  “Let me see.” He took the exam from her hands.

  “Oh my God! You really are pregnant!”

  “Yes I am.”

  “That means we have to set the date of our wedding soon.”

  “Yes, we have. But please keep it a secret; do not tell your family anything. I am very ashamed.”

  "I will not tell anyone. That must be a secret. They'll only know after we get married.”

  “Albert, what's so important to you to tell me?" What made you travel all this way all of a sudden?”

  "That's what I meant, Brianna. I came here to tell you that we have to set the date of our wedding as soon as possible.”

  "I'm happy, my love. You can start to prepare everything. Go back to Ogden and give this wonderful news to your family. I need to stay here for a few more days. I'll be right back.”

  "Is not it dangerous for you to be traveling?"

  “Of course not. Albert, pregnancy is not disease.”

  He let the coffee cup fall to the floor. He felt a weakness in his fingers.

  “Careful, Albert. Are you alright?”

  “Yes I am. Suddenly my fingers lost their firmness. It must be the thrill of the news. So I'm going back to Ogden right now and preparing everything for our wedding. Goodbye, my love.”

  “See you later.”

  He kissed her strenuously. He managed not to cry with disappointment. While he was in the taxi on the way to the hotel where he would pick up his things, he whispered to himself,

  "This is not happening; this is not happening.”

  Arriving at his hotel room, Albert could not restrain his anger and shouted:

  - Dang it! What have I done with my life? I'll call Richard.” He picked up his cell phone and dialed his friend's number.

  “Hello.”

  “Richard, it's me, Albert.”

  “Albert. So, did you get to New York? How was it? Is your engagement to Brianna over?”

  "My friend, I'm desperate, I do not know what to do. My God, a terrible thing has happened! I do not know what I do, Richard, I do not know what I do! I'm going to lose forever the woman I love. Ana Lucia will be devastated when she finds out.”

  “Albert, stay calm. Tell me exactly what's going on.”

  "I'm not done with Brianna.”

  "Why aren’t you?"

  "Before I said I meant to end it all, she told me she's pregnant. I'm going to be a father!”

  "But wait a minute, are you sure about that? She may be inventing this pregnancy just so you do not end it.

  “I sure do! She showed me the exam. I have no way out; I'm bound to marry her.”

  "Listen, Albert. Do not make any decisions now. Do not call Ana Lucia yet, do not tell her anything at the moment. Is Brianna coming with you?”

  "No, she's going to stay here for a few more days in New York.”

  “Great. You get your flight back and come straight to my house, do not go to the farm. Let's talk calmly. Do not make a decision like that. Look, my friend, pregnancy does not force a man to marry someone he does not love.”

  "You're right, Richard, I'm going to the airport, take the first flight to Ogden, and I'm going straight to your house. I'm bewildered. I do not want to lose Ana Lucia.”

  "And you do not have to lose it. I'm waiting, my friend.” Richard hung up the phone.

  ***

  “Ana Lucia, what's up? Has Albert called you yet?”

  "No, he has not said anything yet. I'm pretty sure he did not break up with Brianna.”

  "Do not look like that, my friend. Come to think of it, you better forget this guy.”

  "Shelly, I don’t know if I can forget him."

  "But you'll have to."

  "I've never loved anyone that way.

  “I understand... How about taking a walk from the mall? So you get distracted a little. We spent the morning studying and solving absurd calculations. We deserve a few minutes of distraction.”

  “I am not in the mood.”

  “Girlfriend, I do not know what to do to cheer you up.”

  ***

  The doorbell of Richard's house rang.

  “Albert, come in. I was waiting for you.”

  “Excuse me.”

  "Sit down, my friend. We are alone here. Tell me everything that happened. Calmly.”

  “I am desperate. I do not know what to do. Even before I said I did not want to get married, Brianna announced the pregnancy and asked me to keep it a secret until after the wedding. I did not dare finish everything with her.” he said, already sitting on the couch with his hands on his head.

  “Albert, listen to me. Did you check the exam she showed you right?”

  "Yes, Brianna would not be able to invent such a serious thing. She did not even know I intended to leave her.”

  "Think about it, you're not required to marry her just because of the pregnancy.”

  "And you think Ana Lucia will accept that? I'm sure Brianna would ruin my life forever. She has the strong genius and would not forgive my rejection.”

  "Whether Ana Lucia will accept it or not, that's another story." What I mean is you should not marry Brianna if you do not love her. The time when men were married out of obligation is over. Albert, we are already in the 21st century. Wake up! Do not ruin your life.”

  "I'll think about what you're telling me. Tonight I'm looking for Ana Lucia to talk. I think I'm going to my house now. Worst of all, I promised Brianna that I would begin preparations for our marriage.”

  "Do not worry about that. Preparations can be postponed. For God's sake, if you do not love Brianna, do not marry her; otherwise you will be unhappy for the rest of your life, as well as hurting her.”

  “You're absolutely right. I just need the courage to leave a pregnant woman and let her be a single mother.”

  "She'd better be a single mom now and in the future find someone who really loves her than you make her unhappy after she finds out you do not love her."

  “I go to my house to refresh my mind, to reflect, and at night I talk to Ana Lucia.”

  "Learn at once: love is a war, soldier. Welcome to the battlefield. Richard patted his friend on the back.”

  ***

  It was already night. Ana Lucia was in the open field of the university doing her usual observations in the telescope.

  “Ana Lucia.”

  She turned.

  “Albert.”

  “Need to talk to you.”

  She moved closer to him.

  "You do not have to tell me anything, Alb
ert. By your silence, I presume you have not finished your engagement to Brianna, and to make matters worse you may have the nonsense to invite me to be the godmother of your marriage!” Ana Lucia exclaimed indignantly.

  "That's not what you're thinking. I did not finish the engagement with her for a very serious reason. I am obliged to marry Brianna.”

  "And what is that?"

  “She asked me to keep it a secret. But I love you, Ana Lucia! I love you to the moon and back. I confess that I am lost; I am not sure what to do. I'm feeling a blind man lost in a maze.”

  "You think I'm a fool? I know very well why you feel obligated to marry her.

  "My love, she's pregnant.”

  “I know.”

  - Ana Lucia, listen to me. If you accept my fatherhood, I give up marrying her. I face everything bad that will come just to stay with you.”

  "You know what, Albert? I do not accept being with you knowing that you will have a child with that woman! Our life will be an infinite torment as a periodic tithe. Brianna is going to disturb my life forever. We will not have peace. Do you know what it means for her to be abandoned by her son's father? Do you know what it means to her, a noble woman, to be a single mother? Do you really think she's going to accept being rejected by you like this in a good way? Look, Albert, do whatever you want out of your life. If you do not want to marry her, do not marry, but I will not stay with you knowing you have a child with another woman. No, I do not accept your condition as a father, I have already explained my motives.” she condemned aggressively.

  “Think better. I love you; it's you I want to stay with. For God's sake, give me one more chance.”

  “Chance? During all these months we lived together, we had beautiful moments and you have not had the courage to end your relationship with another woman so far! Come to think of it, you do not love me. If you really loved me, she would not be pregnant. All this time you did not have the courage to stay with me. It's too late now. Albert, you let me down a lot.

  “So you do not love me?”

  “I love you, but I can’t sacrifice my right to have a man just for me because of my feelings for you. As a future scientist, you should know that reason has to come first. Do you really think I'd be happy on your side with that woman chasing me for the rest of my life?”

  “Forgive me if I was not the man you expected ... And the worst thing is that I could not even give you a kiss... A kiss to remember this love I have for you. I need so much to kiss you. I need so much to have you in my arms.”

  “Enough! I'm tired of all this. Unfortunately, this kiss you will never have. Forget this dream of yours. Forget your madness. And do me a favor: when you walk past me through the aisles of the university and the mansion, do not look at my face. Pretend you do not know me, because I make sure you do not look at your face any more. Excuse me!” She left ruthlessly, furious, her eyes red with anger. She was about to collapse in tears. She even left her telescope behind.

  "Ana Lucia, you can’t do this to me! Come back here! Ana Lucia! Ana Lucia!” He dropped to his knees on the floor after stumbling again due to weakness in his legs.

  Ana Lucia ran into the lodge and slammed the door. She cried without stopping.

  “My friend, what happened?” But deep down, Shelly knew. “I'm not even going to ask you what the reason for your crying is. Since every time you come in here crying the reason is Albert! Oh my God! This man only makes you suffer.” Shelly told the truth.

  "Shelly, he did not break up with Brianna because she's pregnant.”

  “I already suspected.”

  “Albert proposed that I accept his father's condition and said he'd find a way to end it all. But I did not accept it, I know Brianna well and my life would become hell hotter than the planet Venus. She would torment me forever.”

  "You're absolutely right about that. That woman would not settle for being a single parent because of you.”

  "I told Albert that even if he does not marry her, I still do not get him at all.”

  "Girl, you're covered in reason. You're young and deserve to have a man just for you. Besides, if he loved you like he says, the other would not be pregnant.”

  “Men are all the same. And you can’t imagine what hurt the most.”

  “What's it?”

  "Albert had the gall to ask me for a kiss."

  “No!”

  "Yes. He said that he wanted a kiss from me to keep from memory.”

  "And you kissed him?"

  “Of course not! I have my dignity. Shelly, you can’t imagine how hard it was not to kiss him, I held myself so I would not hug him.”

  "You'd better quit your job at the mansion."

  "I can’t, I really need the money. I told Albert that I do not want him to look at my face.”

  "You did the right thing. It would not be good to go down to that point. I hope you support seeing him there every day on the farm.”

  "I'll stand for my salary. I'm going to pretend he's a stranger, a stranger.”

  “Good luck my friend. Honestly, I would not want to be in your place.”

  ***

  Brianna came into the mansion with her head held high. She found Ana Lucia entering the office. She was surprised to see her without a maid's uniform, all elegant.

  “Albert.”

  “Yes my love.”

  "Why did Ana Lucia come into your father's office? Why is not she wearing a maid's uniform?”

  "Because she's no longer a maid. It was promoted by my father. Ana Lucia has been our secretary for a month.”

  "You did not even tell me. Things have changed around here.”

  “They changed. They have changed a lot.

  “Albert, you do not seem to be happy about our marriage."

  “Your impression. I already talked to my parents about our marriage. They want to have a great engagement party next month and then get married. We can’t take too long, can we? Soon your belly will grow.”

  “Do not worry about it. I can wait another month and a half. I wear wider clothes to disguise.”

  “I have to work now. You can feel at home. I asked the maid to prepare the guest room for you to rest.”

  "You do not have to. I'll stay in my apartment myself. But every night I'll be here with you to watch the stars on the hill together.”

  “It's all right. So I'll ask my driver to leave you at home now and at night I'll pick you up to be together on the hill. I really have a lot of work around here this afternoon. I'm going to my office.”

  "All right, go to your office. Before I go home, I'd like to talk to Ana Lucia. I want to congratulate her for being promoted. She is amazing! We should invite her to be our maid of honor, after all, she's your best friend, is not she?”

  “Yeah, she's my best friend. You can go talk to her. Now I have to go, excuse me.” He left.

  Brianna whispered to herself before heading for Ana Lucia's office:

  “Liar. You think you can lie to me. You did not even kiss me.”

  She entered without knocking.

  “Is that you? Next time, knock on the door and ask to come in” Ana Lucia warned her.

  "Ana Lucia, my dear, I do not need to ask permission to enter the farm's office that will one day be mine. Albert and I are getting married. All that is his will be mine.”

  "Lucky you Brianna. Why do not you get out of here, huh?”

  "Don’t be so rude! I came here to invite you to be the godmother of my marriage, after all, you and Albert are such friends. Or you are no longer friends?”

  "You can only be going crazy or making fun of me! I would never be your maid of honor. I'm no longer Albert's friend, I hate cowardly men.”

  "You tried to steal my fiancée, but I was faster."

  “True. I noticed his speed. But you don’t have to worry about; I never meant to stay with a man committed to another woman.”

  "And it did well. The dangerous style does not s
uit you, who is so intellectual.”

  "Brianna, if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of work to do. I'm tired of your ironies.”

  “Yeah, I'll be right there. I have so many wedding things to solve. I love shopping! I've worked and studied so much, I deserve a rest.”

  “Good shopping! And please do not come back here to bother me.”

  “Excuse me.” Brianna left.

  "I can’t believe I'm going to have to put up with this woman teasing me here at work," Ana Lucia muttered to herself.

  THE HUG

  "Aunt Margareth, you need not have bothered to come here just to talk to me. You were having fun with Uncle Freddy in Los Angeles. I'll be fine.” Ana Lucia tried to reassure her.

  "I made a point of coming. Los Angeles is so close to here. Ana Lucia, your uncle is well settled in the hotel. This city is beautiful. Do not worry, Freddy and I are walking.”

  “Thanks aunt. You are the most important person I have in my life.”

  “After everything you told me over the phone, I felt compelled to come here and advise you. I feel responsible for you; after all, you are the daughter of my late sister. You're my only niece. I have to take care of you. Tell me, so now you're the secretary in the mansion and no longer a simple maid?”

  "Yes, I was promoted because I could speak French. You and Uncle Freddy encouraged me to learn before you left with him for France. Remember?”

  "Yes, I remember, and you learned quickly. You were very interested.”

  “Yes, it's a fascinating language. You started teaching me.”

  "But you do not look very happy here, which is strange for a girl who is studying what she loves and a good job. What else is going on besides your platonic passion for your boss's son? Do not hide anything from me, I'm your aunt, I love you. Trust me. I know something important is happening, you told me yourself.”

  "The truth is, I'm just on the job for the money. If it only depended on my will, I would leave here at once.”

  "Does your bitterness have anything to do with Albert?"

  "Yes, it has to do with Albert.”

  “What happened? You told me he's going to marry another woman.”