Forever Destiny

by Mia Rodriguez

“I know that it doesn’t seem that way to you,” he said gently, “But it’s affecting us.”

  “How is that?”

  “We’re about to get married. It should be the happiest time of your life but instead, you’re letting some small problem at work get to you.”

  “It’s not a small problem,” she retorted. “If you would’ve been there with that clueless superintendent—“

  “Enough already, Val,” he murmured. Of one thing he didn’t want to talk about was of the superintendent—especially with what he had found out a few days ago and had refused to mention to Valeria.

  A pause ensued for a few seconds with Leonel staring at her intently while she stared back with frustration.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking,” Leonel finally said, measuring his words.

  “Yes?” asked Valeria.

  “I really think you should go back to Marshall.”

  “What?”

  “Or try another career,” he continued. “You could make more money doing something else.”

  “Teaching is not just a paycheck to me, Leonel,” she snapped. “You know that.”

  “Why would you want to keep teaching if you don’t have to?” he mumbled as if he had asked the most logical question in the world.

  “How can you ask me that?”

  “Because you don’t make much money, students are such a problem, and the job just isn’t worth all the energy you put into it.”

  “I can’t believe you’re asking me to quit teaching,” she growled. “Don’t you know me at all?”

  “Of course I do,” he rushed. “I just don’t like you working in that district. You were better off when you were at Marshall.”

  “I’m not leaving Adelita,” she declared exasperated. “Is that clear?”

  He let out a long breath. “Okay, but don’t get so upset. I’m only looking out for you.”

  Valeria stared at him long and hard before dropping her eyesight. Leonel frowned miserably. If only he could tell her the devastating news that had almost shattered him. But he wasn’t ready for anyone to know—not even her, especially her with how she felt about the superintendent in her district. She already knew that his father had known Morales before Leonel was born. But he couldn't bring himself to tell her the earth shattering truth he had discovered. After all, what would be a good way of saying, “You know that man you can’t stand?—Superintendent Morales? Well, guess what? It turns out that the man is my father. Surprise!”

  Recently the top people at his work had found out about his father’s suicide and were concerned that Leonel might’ve inherited instability in his DNA. One of the higher ups had told him to get a psychological evaluation.

  In discussing it with his mother, she had blurted, “But Timothy wasn’t your father.”

  “What?”

  “It’s been such a burden keeping it from you all these years,” she let out, her breathing hard.

  “What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice cracking.

  “I’m sorry, Leonel, but the man who you thought was your father wasn’t.”

  She had gone on to explain the tangled web of a story between who he thought had been his dad, his biological father, and her. The two men had been best friends, their families intertwined for past generations in friendship, but they both fell in love with the same woman. She chose the wealthiest one because as she said, “It’s unrealistic to think that a person can live only on love.” But in one sole night of passion that she always regretted, Leonel was conceived. Luckily, Timothy never doubted his paternity and married her. Conrad Morales always knew he was Leonel’s father but never wanted to take responsibility for him, never wanted to meet his son.

  “I’m too young to be a father,” he had told her, deciding that the great love he had for her wasn’t enough to tie him down. Timothy Vargas never knew that he hadn’t sired Leonel.

  This blow to Leonel’s life, turning everything he thought he knew about himself upside down, threatened to squash him like an insect under a heavy shoe. He refused to tell Valeria anything about it, knowing how she felt about his mother. It would only make their rift larger, and he desperately needed them to get along. Then Valeria told him about her visit with Superintendent Morales, and he knew he had done the right thing in not telling her.

  Now Valeria was upset with him for suggesting she leave Adelita High School. Even without his biological father there, Leonel still would’ve wanted her away from that district and teaching in general. Why couldn’t she see that all he wanted for her was the best?

  “You know how much I love you, don’t you?” he asked her, a small smile on his lips.

  She nodded solemnly but didn’t say a word.

  “When we get married,” he continued enthusiastically, “we’ll be so happy together. I promise you I’ll be an attentive husband, I’ll take breakfast to you in bed, I’ll paint your toenails, and I’ll have a kiosk built next to the pond where we can snuggle in private.”

  “The pond?”

  “Our pond,” he stated.

  “We’re moving to a home with a pond?”

  “Val,” he said, smiling, “You forget that the house I live in has a pond.”

  “The house you live in?” she asked, the color draining from her face. “You mean the home you share with your mother and sisters?"

  “Yes,” he asserted.

  “You expect me to move in with them?”

  Leonel cleared his throat nervously. “I know we’ve never discussed it, but I always thought you’d want to live in such a beautiful and classy place.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” she blurted, frustrated.

  “What?”

  “You really thought I’d want to live in that overpriced thing that would swallow our paychecks while we tried to keep up with appearances? You really think I’d want to live with your mother and sisters? Really?”

  “Where do you suggest we live?” he asked angrily, “In that dump you call an apartment?”

  “It’s not a dump,” she growled.

  “It’s not exactly a palace, is it?”

  “Who says I want to live in a palace?” she retorted.

  “Val—”

  “Who are you kidding? Your family would live in a pig sty if some designer deemed it the latest thing.”

  “Val—”

  “My mother warned me and I didn’t listen,” she mumbled almost to herself.

  “What?”

  “We’re not on the same page, Leonel.”

  “What?”

  “We can’t get married.”

  “What?!”

  “We’re too different. I should’ve seen it sooner, but I was so worried about my problems with commitment that I didn’t see what was right in front of me. My mother saw it, but I didn’t.”

  “What are you talking about?” Leonel asked, his voice shaky.

  “I can’t marry you.”

  “Are you serious?” he asked, shocked.

  “You want something different out of life than I do.”

  “You don’t want love, comfort, and someone to care for you?” he choked out.

  “Of course I do but I also need understanding.”

  “Understanding?”

  “If you can’t understand why I don’t want to live in the house you live in now then you don’t understand me.”

  “Of course I understand you.”

  “But—”

  “We’ll find somewhere else to live,” he rushed.

  "Leonel—"

  "I understand you, Valeria. I do."

  “If you can’t understand why I’m a teacher then you can’t understand me,” she murmured.

  “If you feel that strongly about teaching then please forget what I said. Let’s pretend that I never asked you to quit your job.”

  “Teaching is just not a job for me. It’s a lifelong commitment to do something to make this world a better place.”
>
  “Okay, okay, I get it. You want to keep teaching. Great—let’s go on with the evening.”

  “Leonel, if we get married we’ll never make it to the end. We may be together for a few years if we’re lucky.”

  “You don’t know that,” he stated, his voice getting shaky again.

  “Yes, I do know it.”

  “But—“

  “We really don’t belong together. Believe me when I tell you that I’m not the woman for you. You’d be much happier with another type of woman.”

  “Please don’t do this.”

  “It’s for the best,” she said as she took off her engagement ring and put it on the table before she stood up to leave.

  “Don’t.”

  “I’ve got to go.”

  Outside, she managed to call for a cab from her cell phone before breaking down to cry.

  It’s for the best, she told herself.

  Chapter 27

  After Lorenzo had finished a serious conversation over the phone, he hung up. This has to work, he told himself. Finding a resolution to the problem at school was at the top of his list. His old college buddy, a journalist, seemed very interested in the story. Silently, he stared out the window for a few minutes. Kate eyed him forlornly as if she wanted to tell him something.

  “I know you don’t want to hear this, but I think you’re making a mistake,” she finally said.

  “I’ve got to do this.”

  “I realize now how strongly you feel about what’s going on at school, I really do, but I think you shouldn’t act so fast. Wait for a while to see how the pieces fall into place.”

  “I can’t do that,” he snapped.

  “You may be getting into some very hot water, and you don’t know what’s really going on. You’ll end up getting burned, and I don’t want that for you.”

  “I have to stand up for what I believe in.”

  “I’m just saying that it may backfire.”

  “You think I don’t know that, Kate? I know I may be destroying my career but I can’t sit in my corner and do nothing. Apathy is the best friend of evil. Greed and arrogance have to be confronted! They have to be uncovered, or they snowball until they destroy everything,” he exploded. “Why can’t you understand?”

  “I’m getting tired of you telling me how I don’t understand you,” she said, hurt.

  “Okay, I won’t tell you,” he said, standing up.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Outside, I need—“

  “Some space. Yes, I know,” she snapped.

  When Belisaria had suggested that Kate and her have dinner at Leonardo’s Bar and Grill because she had an important matter to discuss, Kate readily agreed. It was nice to get out of the tension in her house. This time, though, she ordered a soft drink and no alcohol at all.

  “Isn’t Gary joining us?” asked Kate as soon as they had ordered their steaks.

  “No, he’s busy preparing for court. Besides, I wanted to talk to you alone.”

  “What about?”

  Belisaria let out a long breath. “I’ve decided to go back to school to get a teaching certificate.”

  “You have?”

  “My parents told me I could move home while I went back to school. They really want me to do this.”

  “So you’re quitting on me?” Kate asked gently.

  “Not right away but soon. I hope this isn’t too much of a shock.”

  Kate gave her a reassuring smile. “Actually no. I always suspected that your heart was in teaching. Your eyes light up when you talk about your GED classes.”

  “I want you to know how much I’ve loved working for you. You’re a great employer.”

  “You’ve been the best receptionist. I’m going to hate replacing you.”

  “I’m going to hate leaving, but teaching is in my blood.”

  “That’s what Enzo says about teaching,” Kate said forlornly. “That it’s deep inside of you.”

  “He’s right.”

  Kate sighed. “If only he'd love me as much as he loves that classroom.”

  “Maybe he doesn’t deserve the way you feel about him,” Belisaria blurted.

  “What?”

  “Maybe this isn’t my place to say but you know how frank I am—Lorenzo may not be the man for you.”

  “But we’ve been together for five years.”

  “I don’t care if you’ve been together for fifty. When you’re not for each other you’re just not.”

  “You don’t think we’re for each other?”

  “No.”

  “Why do you say that?” Kate asked with growing curiosity. She would’ve been defensive except that she had a high opinion of Belisaria and of her blunt observations. There were times that her receptionist caught things in patients that Kate didn’t get.

  “He lives on a different planet than you do.”

  “What?”

  "Very different."

  "We compliment one another," Kate insisted with a shaky voice.

  Belisaria shook her head. “You can keep trying to knock a square peg into a round hole, but what do you accomplish? All you do is ruin the peg or the hole or both.”

  Chapter 28

  Valeria sat quietly in the cafeteria like a lone bird on a telephone line. Barely noticing what she was eating and deep in thought, the other teachers around her stopped trying to speak to her. In fact, the two sitting at her table finished their meals and left. She barely noticed when they had stepped away.

  “Hi,” Lorenzo said, sitting next to her with a tray on hand.

  “Hi,” she answered back.

  “I’ve got a big surprise for you,” he said excitedly.

  “You do?”

  He looked around making certain no one was listening and his voice went down a few decibels. “About that business of ours . . .”

  “Yes?”

  “Let me just say that the stuff is about to hit the fan,” he said cheerfully.

  “It is?”

  “Valeria,” he said with concern. “Is anything wrong?”

  “No, why?”

  “You’re not happy about the stuff hitting the fan?”

  Valeria managed a weak smile. “No, I’m thrilled. I really am. . . I’ve just got some personal problems.”

  “Can I help?”

  “Hey, you two,” interrupted Billy Woods as he plopped down next to them with his tray.

  “Hi,” Lorenzo said dryly.

  “Hello,” uttered Valeria.

  “What were you two whispering about?” he asked suspiciously.

  “Nothing,” Lorenzo stated firmly.

  “Nothing?”

  “Yes, nothing,” Valeria reiterated.

  Billy looked at them with irritation but didn’t push it. “How’s everything going?”

  “Fine,” Valeria said.

  “Yes, fine,” Lorenzo repeated.

  “So Valeria, where’s your ring?” Billy asked, trying to sound casual.

  Valeria almost choked on her food. “My ring?”

  “Yes, you’re engagement ring.”

  Valeria felt Lorenzo’s surprised eyes land on her hand and then on her face.

  “I’m not engaged anymore.”

  “You’re not?” Billy said with excitement while Lorenzo stared at Valeria with surprise.

  “I’d rather not talk about it.”

  “Okay, whatever you say . . . Valeria, I’m going sailing on my boat this weekend. You want to go with me?”

  Lorenzo gave him a furious glare mixed with disbelief.

  “I’m sorry, Billy, but I won’t be able to go. In fact, it’s too soon for me to be dating.”

  “I just thought you might need a distraction,” stated Billy. “Of course, we’d be going just as friends.”

  Lorenzo threw him another angry glance.

  “Thanks for the offer but I need some time alone.” Was this guy for real? wondered Valeria. This st
ud is just too much.

  “Okay, but if you change your mind, just say the word.”

  During Lorenzo’s free time, he tried to keep his mind on grading the paperwork in front of him but his thoughts wandered. What did it mean when someone broke an engagement? Was it over a lack of love or other problems?

  The door swung open and Billy barged in with his nose flaring and hard eyes.

  “What’s going on between you and Valeria?” he asked, his mouth in a grave line.

  “What?” snapped Lorenzo.

  “What’s going on between you two?”

  “We’re friends,” Lorenzo snapped again.

  “You are?” Billy asked as if he didn’t believe it.

  “Yes!”

  “Did she break her engagement because of you?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Are you breaking up with Kate?” Billy asked forcefully.

  “I don’t appreciate you asking me these stupid questions.”

  “Sorry,” Billy said, letting out a breath. “I guess I’m imagining things.”

  “Yes, you are.”

  “But—”

  “There’s nothing between Valeria and me but friendship.”

  “That’s a relief.”

  “You know, you’re acting like a jealous lover,” blurted Lorenzo.

  “I wish I was her lover. I'm so into her.”

  “But you’re not her lover,” Lorenzo said dryly.

  “I know.”

  “For the record, asking her out when her engagement just fell apart is a new low, even for you,” Lorenzo said sternly.

  “I couldn’t help it,” Billy mumbled defensively.

  “Maybe you should give her some space.”

  “She must’ve loved the guy a great deal.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Didn’t you see how broken up she was about it?” Billy asked.

  “Yes, she was pretty broken up.”

  “Shattered is more like it.”

  “You think she was shattered?” Lorenzo asked, barely being able to hide his discontent.

  “Yes, it was obvious. The poor woman is really suffering.”

  During the next few days at the kitchen table, Lorenzo opened up The El Paso News one crisp morning. Everything was finally coming to a head. His friend, Humberto, had done a very thorough job investigating his allegations. When Lorenzo had talked to Humberto, one of the best investigative journalists in El Paso, he never imagined that everything would happen so fast like a sharp ax coming down.

  Even though Lorenzo had been certain that his suspicions were correct, he never imagined this level of corruption. A whole slew of people were involved that included not only the superintendent, the principal, and the two administrative assistants. Several school board members and accountants had dipped their overstretched hands in the cookie jar and what a cookie jar it was. Millions of dollars had been embezzled.