The Cuban

by Kim Rodriguez

  “I know you didn’t mean it,” he said quietly, “but don’t ever threaten me with that again.” Without letting me see his face, he grabbed his clothes off the floor and walked out, and when I heard the front door slam shut downstairs, I dove under the comforter and cried.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  I woke up after dark to the sound of voices downstairs, and because I heard people and laughter, I thought I must be dreaming. Now, fully awake in the darkness of my bedroom, I realized there really were other people in the house, so I put on a robe and stood at the landing to see what was going on. Kieran wasn’t supposed to be back until next week, but it had to be him.

  I went down as quietly as I could to make sure I wouldn’t stumble into one of his formal dinner parties wearing nothing but a dressing gown and smudged mascara. I peeked around the corner and saw my brother, his driver, and a tall, handsome man in a navy suit walking back and forth, shuttling suitcase after suitcase into the house. I heard them both erupt into laughter together at some shared joke, my heart exploding with happiness at the sight of my brother. He always seemed so alone and melancholy, like me, and I couldn’t remember him being any other way. But tonight, he was different.

  “Kieran!” I called out from behind the sliding foyer doors, hoping I wouldn’t attract the attention of the other man. His bespoke suit looked just as expensive, which could only mean he was a business associate. I probably should have stayed upstairs, but I hadn’t seen my brother for two months and missed him quite a bit.

  “Amanda!” My brother smiled when he saw me and tugged on his companion’s sleeve. “She’s here, come on.” As they both came closer, I first noticed how carefree my brother looked, and then how tall and handsome his smiling companion was. “Amanda, come out here and meet Ken.”

  Knowing what I must look like, I stayed behind the door and shook my head no, but Kieran’s expression was so jubilant that I had to smile back. “I’m in a robe, I can’t. I just wanted to say hello.” I waved and turned to leave, but my brother jogged over, caught me by the arm and gave me a hug. “I’m so glad you’re home,” I said. He looked great, though his dark blond hair had grown a little longer than he usually wore it. In fact, he looked a lot more relaxed in a lot of ways. I don’t remember the last time I saw him wear a suit without a vest or a tie. He looked so good, I had to wonder what exactly he’d been doing in Japan.

  “Are you OK?” He noticed something was off, but I couldn’t bear to ruin his nice evening.

  “I’m fine. I just got back myself and I’ve been sleeping for the last eight hours. I still have to wake up.” I don’t think he believed me, but since Ken had come close enough to hear our conversation, he let it go. My brother’s new friend was sporty, lean and attractive, his Midwestern wholesomeness a perfect compliment to Kieran’s edgier cosmopolitan look.

  “Amanda, this is Ken Daniels.”

  “Kieran, look how I’m dressed,” I whispered, mortified.

  “That doesn’t matter.” Kieran put his hand on Ken’s shoulder. “He’s family.”

  Ken stepped closer, smiled and extended his hand. “I’ve heard so much about you, Amanda.” I took it, slightly embarrassed, but then forgetting everything when an image of Rafa’s thumb on my palm flashed through my mind.

  “Family?” I said, studying the stylish man before me. Did we have some distant relation I didn’t remember? Kieran took Ken’s left hand in his own, and held them out for me to see their matching platinum wedding bands.

  I sucked in my breath and covered my mouth as I looked at them both. “You’re married?” There could be no other explanation, but how was it possible that I didn’t even know my own brother was gay until this very moment? To call this unexpected would be an understatement to say the least. “Kieran, I didn’t know—”

  “Neither did I.” He and Ken exchanged a knowing glance. “Well, it’s complicated, but let’s just say once I met Ken, everything made sense.” Overcome with emotion, I embraced them both and wept again for the second time today. Life can be so difficult for so long, and then one day everything changes. “I think this calls for a celebration,” said Kieran. “I’ll go down and get a bottle.”

  They’d married last night in Las Vegas in a spur of the moment ceremony at the Bellagio, and over one of Kieran’s finest bottles of Bordeaux, the happy newlyweds told me the story of how they met. Shortly after his arrival in Tokyo two months ago, my brother started getting his morning coffee in the packed Starbucks around the corner from his hotel every day at seven o’clock. The baristas always had a terrible time understanding Kieran’s name, so when they called him, Kieran wouldn’t understand and miss his coffee. After about a week, Kieran changed his strategy.

  “Every day I made up a name I knew I couldn’t miss, like Shakespeare or Ben Franklin—”

  “So you can imagine, I’m in this packed Starbucks every morning at seven for a week listening to orders for Abraham Lincoln and Albert Einstein,” added Ken, finishing my brother’s sentence, “but I can’t see who’s going up to get these drinks. I’m thinking, either there are some big dead celebrities in this place, or it’s another American with a great sense of humor, but either way, I’m finding out. So the next day, when they called out coffee for Napoleon at exactly seven again, I made sure I was waiting by the counter. And there he was, the little tyrant.”

  I sat across from them, laughing along and marveling at the change in my brother and the loving, intimate body language between them. For so many years I’d watched my brother bury himself in his work, for him the easiest way to distract himself from the sad things that had happened in our lives. Losing our family had weighed very heavily upon both of us, and we’d each coped in the best way we could. For Kieran that meant endless business trips, a negligible social life and constant worry about me and my state of mind. For the first time since my parents died, Kieran was actually happy, and I knew it was because he had found true love with Ken.

  “When I picked up my coffee, Ken said, ‘Well hello there, Emperor. You look great for your age. Can I have your autograph?’ Kieran took a sip of wine and smiled from ear to ear, remembering the moment. “Everything changed after that.”

  “I fell in love with him in Rome.” Ken gazed at my brother with an expression of pure devotion. “It took Kieran a little while longer to see us as more than friends, but that was fine.”

  “Ken, you picked out the lace Valentino, didn’t you?” I asked.

  “How did you know?” The corners of his mouth turned upward into a satisfied grin. “I get invited to the fashion shows in Italy through work, so I talked Kieran into flying out with me. It was a such a romantic evening,” said Ken. “There’s nothing like Rome at night.” He finally tore his eyes away from Kieran and turned his attention back to me. “Did you like it?”

  The man who bought that dress was madly in love, Rafa had said.

  I began to tear up at the thought of Rafa. My brother and Ken exchanged a concerned glance as they set their wine glasses down and leaned in toward me. “I love it,” I choked out between sobs. “It’s very special.”

  “I knew something was wrong,” whispered Kieran.

  “Honey, tell us,” said Ken.

  “I’m not going to be a wet blanket because this is your night, but I’ll tell you so that you’re not worried, and then we’re not talking about it again.” I dabbed at a tear in the corner of my eye.

  “Oh no,” said Kieran. “Are you sick?” Ken held my brother’s hand in case he had to brace for something awful.

  “No, nothing like that.” I looked at them both and said it out loud. “I fell in love, too. On the ship.”

  “Thank God,” said Kieran, sitting back, as Ken put his arm around his shoulders.

  “He’s been obsessed with the idea that something terrible will happen now that we’re so happy,” explained Ken, patting my brother’s back. He was really cute. I could see why Kieran was smitten.

  I told them about Rafa and they literally we
re on the edge of their seats as I filled them in on what had been going on. They were particularly interested in his association with Santería.

  “Well, that explains the coconut in the driveway,” said Ken, his hand now on my brother’s knee.

  “Oh, it didn’t break did it?” Rafa would be beside himself. With the way he’d left, I wasn’t surprised he’d forgotten to take it with him.

  “No,” said Ken. “You know, recently there have been all sorts of interesting constitutional law cases regarding Santería and freedom to practice it as a religion. The Santería community must be very powerful here in Miami, because they just never lose in court. It’s a fascinating legal topic.” I thought back to how many judges and lawyers there were in Doña Delfina’s waiting room. Considering her client list, it wasn’t surprising.

  “Stop pretending to be a serious lawyer,” teased my brother. “He practices entertainment law out in Los Angeles. Tour riders and non-disclosure agreements. You should see the bizarre demands.”

  “Hey!” Ken playfully smacked my brother’s thigh. “I am a serious lawyer, thank you very much!” I just adored Ken, and I loved them both together. I was so grateful my brother had found someone so wonderful, and I told them so.

  We chatted a while longer about Japan and Ken’s life out in California when the discussion turned to the future. Ken and Kieran raised the subject carefully, as if they’d already had a conversation about it themselves.

  “Amanda, Ken’s practice is out in California, and he has three kids from his first marriage.”

  “You do?” I asked. “Do you have any photos?”

  “Are you kidding?” Ken pulled out his phone and showed me at least a dozen photos of his kids, Marc, 12, Jessica, 9, and Ethan, 5, who were absolutely adorable.

  “Kieran, you have stepchildren now! You’re a stepdad! Wait, that means I’m a step-aunt!” Things just kept getting better and better. I could see why Kieran was worried the other shoe would drop. It was too good to be true.

  “I know,” he said, puffing up with pride. “I met them on the way home. They’re fantastic.”

  “He’s already spoiled them rotten,” teased Ken.

  “Careful with that, Kieran. Rafa thinks I’m spoiled and he can’t stand it.”

  “Amanda,” said Ken, “as beautiful as you are, that man will come crawling back in a hurry, I assure you.”

  “Oh, he thinks you’re a dead ringer for that actress.”

  “Who?”

  “You know, the one who sings on the piano in that movie,” said Kieran. “I guess I can see it,” he said squinting and turning his head to the left a little.

  Ken nodded in the affirmative, crossed his legs and took another sip of wine. “Yep.”

  “Amanda, maybe I should have called last week, but I wanted you to meet Ken first, in person. It’s a lot to tell someone over the phone.”

  “How could you think I’d be anything but thrilled for you?”

  “I didn’t,” said Kieran. “But it just seemed better to wait and come see you.”

  “See me?” I asked. “Aren’t you staying?”

  An awkward silence hung in the air between us. Clearly there was something they still hadn’t told me yet. My brother rubbed his hands together.

  “Well, Ken’s life is on the west coast. He has his practice and his kids. We want to live in both places, but I’m going to be spending a lot of time out there, at least for now. Plus some of the usual business travel—”

  ‘But not as much—” interjected Ken.

  “Not as much,” agreed Kieran, squeezing his husband’s hand.

  “Oh. That’s understandable.” I couldn’t hide my disappointment, but what else could he do? Ken looked just as upset about it as my brother.

  “We’ll stay here when we visit if you like, but you keep the house, and of course I’ll still take care of the business. Eventually you might consider having a home base over there, too. You could even live with us.”

  “Stop, it’s not—”

  “Amanda, we’ve been each other’s only family for a long time, and we’ve been through a lot. Don’t think for a second I would ever leave you alone.” There it was again, the same undue concern for me that had been a constant source of stress for him, but before his mood could plummet, I put his mind at ease right away.

  “Kieran, I know you would never forget about me, and trust me, if I did feel lonely, I’d move out to LA, but for now I’m fine here.” I made sure he heard me by looking directly at him, then at Ken, then back at him. “But the house is too big for me, and Rafa doesn’t like it. Anyway, that’s if he ever comes back. We had quite an argument today.”

  “He’ll be back. Mark my words,” interjected Ken. “You’re a ten, honey.”

  “Really? Your sister-in-law?” joked Kieran. Ken shrugged and finished his wine.

  I had to laugh, but then I thought about how ugly it had gotten between us today, mostly because of me. “Kieran, let’s just see how everything plays out. I love you both for wanting to include me.”

  Kieran came over and gave me a hug. “You are my baby sister and I will always love you and take care of you.” Feeling my shoulder blades through the thin robe, he remarked, “She’s lost weight since I’ve been gone. We have to make sure she eats. She’s all bones.”

  After we polished off the bottle of wine, I stayed downstairs while Kieran gave Ken a tour of the house. I knew I’d have to excuse myself soon and give them some alone time, but I’d slept all day and had no idea what to do now. I put away the wine glasses and was about to start dragging my still unpacked luggage upstairs when my phone rang. It was Rafa.

  “Hello?” Unsure of his mood, I didn’t want to appear too excited and show my hand just yet. He’d been so adamant about not speaking until Tuesday that he could have been calling just to break it off, and my stomach turned at the thought, but it was an unfamiliar voice on the other end of the line that spoke to me in English.

  “Eh, hello, can I talk to Dr. Amanda Rose?”

  “Speaking.” I started to panic. Why would someone else have Rafa’s phone?

  “This is Sandro. I work—worked—for Doña Delfina.” His voice cracked and he took a moment to clear his throat. “She passed away tonight, about an hour ago.”

  “Tonight?” It couldn’t be.

  “She had a heart attack.” He covered the phone for a second, and got back on the line, sniffling.

  “Sandro, I’m so sorry.” I walked back to the couch and sat down.

  “I wanted to let you know that Rafa is here and he’s not taking it well.”

  “What’s he doing?”

  “He was with her when she passed and now he won’t leave her side. I mean, you know, he’s going to have to, but no one wants to go in there.”

  That didn’t sound good at all. My poor Rafa.

  “Sandro, I want to come, but he and I had a very bad argument today, and I don’t think he wants to see me. I might make it worse.” I looked in the mirror and touched my neck where he’d left the mark. It was gone now.

  “He told me.” Thinking about what had happened, I turned bright red. I hoped he hadn’t been too specific. “He said he’d been very disrespectful to you and he didn’t think you would ever speak to him again, but he definitely wasn’t angry. Um, I don’t want to overstep my bounds, but I think you’re the only person he would talk to, so if you could put that aside for now, we would all be very grateful.”

  “Of course I’ll help. Whatever you need.”

  “Can I come pick you up in ten minutes?”

  “Leave now.”

  I went upstairs and was about to take a right at the top of the stairs to my side of the house when I thought I heard Kieran and Ken on the other side. I turned in the direction of Kieran’s room, praying I wouldn’t stumble upon anything intimate.

  “Kieran!” I called out, wanting to give them plenty of notice.

  “In my bedroom!” They were still laughing and having fun, and i
t sounded like maybe they’d opened a second bottle.

  I knocked on his bedroom door and my brother answered in an open robe and pajama bottoms, looking like he was ready to party. I’d only ever seen him in sweats to go to sleep.

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to let you know I’m going out and I’m not sure when I’ll be back. I’m going to see Rafa.”

  “Did you work it out?” he asked. I caught a glimpse of Ken in the bed under the covers.

  “Not yet.”

  “Ken and I are staying until tomorrow night and we’d really like to meet him before we go to back to Los Angeles.”

  “I’ll see if I can get him to come home with me tonight, but I don’t know if he will.”

  “Do you need us to take you?” Ken, called out from across the room, obviously listening to our conversation. “It’s too late for you to be driving around by yourself alone.”

  My brother moved aside so that I could speak directly to him. “No, a car is coming.”

  “Wear an outfit that’ll rock his world,” said Ken. “Sex it up!”

  “Be careful,” said Kieran. “Call if you need us.”

  “Hey,” I said, lowering my voice. “Ken is wonderful.”

  “I know.” He glanced over his shoulder at his new husband. “I’m so lucky.”

  In fewer than ten minutes I had thrown on a fitted black turtleneck, a black pencil skirt and black pumps, and was already waiting downstairs in the living room when the Mercedes pulled into the driveway. I made it outside so quickly that Sandro barely had time to get out of the car. He didn’t look great, so I gave him a hug and let him know again how sorry I was. Though he appreciated my condolences, he stressed that he was fine, and his only concern was for Rafa.