Blinding Mirror

by Shelley Halima

  He opened the front door before she could ring the doorbell. Javier was wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt, more commonly known in urban circles as a “wife beater”. He was also wearing black jogging sweats. Sofia took in what was covered by a suit the night before–rippling muscles. His arms and shoulders were perfectly chiseled. She could see the firm outline of a muscular chest and stomach through the fabric of the t-shirt. She realized she was gawking and finally opened her mouth.

  “Hi! As you can see I found you okay.”

  “Welcome!” He waved her inside. “And as you can see, I like to dress down when I’m at home.”

  “I don’t blame you one bit. You have such a fantastic—um, place,” she said as she looked around.

  “Thank you. Come with me. I’m prepping dinner in the kitchen.”

  She followed behind him as they passed through the living room and dining room. She admired how he had his home decorated. It was done in a typical “men are from mars” style with big furniture, dark leathers, woods and fabrics. The kitchen was substantial and opened out onto the great room. From the huge bay windows where the kitchen nook was located, there was a view of the deck and swimming pool. A sound system was pumping saxophone-driven jazz music throughout the house.

  “I take it you aren’t suffering for clients.”

  “I guess I’m doing okay.”

  “So, what’s on the menu for tonight?”

  “Grilled vegetables and filet mignon. You’re not a vegan are you?”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “I’m only asking because of my experience last night. First, I have a confession to make. The reason I had to cut our conversation so short last night was because I had a blind date waiting for me down the street at Sambuca’s. I swear that’s my last one. I’ve had people closest to me, who know me up and down and in circles, set me up on those things and not once has it worked out.”

  “Same here. I’ve never been on a good blind date. My best friend Grace couldn’t even pick the right one. What went wrong with this one?”

  “She was a vegan. Now, I don’t have anything against vegans. My best friend Lorenzo is one and my younger sister and her husband are also. But they respect the fact that I’m not and don’t try and convert me. I’m sitting there enjoying the heck out some of the best stuffed chicken I’ve ever had and this lady is looking at me like I’m eating a baby.”

  Sofia let out a laugh.

  “It wasn’t very funny last night. I was hungry and I couldn’t even enjoy my meal. I came home and ate two sandwiches. Tell me about your last blind date.”

  “It was last year,” she began as she washed her hands and started to help slice the vegetables. “You know the rapper Eminem?”

  “Of course! You went out with him?”

  “No, I went out with the guy who’s trying his best to be Eminem. Shawty Dawg.”

  Javier burst into gales of laughter.

  “You’re kidding me, right? You went out with that clown? How did that happen?”

  “I used to date J.B. Mars and--”

  “You dated J.B. Mars?”

  “Yes. A mutual friend of ours who is a stylist for a lot of people in music convinced me to go out with Shawty. She said he was a nice guy and he is but he is just such a poseur. He spoke perfectly proper English when we were alone but when one of his fans came around he started saying things like, ‘what’s up, yo?’ and ‘gimme some love’.”

  “I knew he wasn’t hood. What a joke.”

  “And what would you know about what’s hood?” she teased.

  “Don’t let the law degree fool you. I grew up living a completely different life than the one I have now.” He picked up a platter of vegetables. “Can you grab the filets from the fridge? They’re on the top shelf.”

  “Sure.” She retrieved them and followed him outside to the deck.

  Sofia and Javier sat down at the outdoor table after they prepared their plates.

  “So your life growing up wasn’t like it is now?”

  Javier took a swig of beer.

  “No, not at all.”

  “Are you originally from here?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m a Chi-town Rican. I grew up in a neighborhood called Bucktown. My father took off when I was six, leaving my mother to raise five kids on her own.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “My mother held our family together. She worked two and sometimes three jobs. When she was out working though, I was out getting into trouble. I began running with a gang and doing things I’m not so proud of. My mother tried to talk sense into me but I was too bull-headed. I thought she was foolish for going out and working all those jobs. Sometimes I could bring home more money from the streets in one day than she made in two weeks. I tried to give her money but she would never accept it and told me not to bring dirty money into the house. She came close to kicking me out a few times but could never go through with it.”

  “How did you get on the right track and become a lawyer?”

  Javier paused for a few moments before going on.

  “My boy Joaquin literally dying in my arms is what did it.”

  Sofia opened her mouth to say something but couldn’t find the words.

  “We were tight from kindergarten. Everyone referred to us as JJ, like we were one person because you didn’t see one of us without the other. One night we called ourselves going to settle a score with members of another gang for a fight one of our boys got hurt real bad in. They were ready for us. Before we even got to the house where they hung out our car was hit, seemingly from all directions. There were four of us in the car and by some miracle we all didn’t die that night. I was the only one who didn’t get a bullet. This dude we called Zorro was driving and he ended up with three gunshot wounds. Somehow he managed to speed off. If he didn’t I know I wouldn’t be here today. He got us to the hospital but on the way there Joaquin died. The other guy with us, Pete, he was shot in the arm and shoulder. That night changed me forever. It didn’t change the other two though. As we were walking away from the cemetery after having watched Joaquin get put into the ground, Zorro who was on crutches and Pete, who had his arm in a sling, started talking about retaliation. I finally saw how foolish all of it was. We were going to keep retaliating until we were all dead or in jail. That’s exactly what happened, too. I heard Zorro was killed and Pete got sent up and was let back out only to do the same stuff all over again. Now he’s up in Stateville. I say I heard about it because my mother sent me here to live with my Uncle Roberto. I didn’t argue with her because I wanted to get away.”

  “Thank goodness you did. Who knows how your life could have turned out?”

  “That’s true. I’m sure eventually I would’ve gotten sucked back into that life either by pride or misplaced honor. I missed my family but it was for the best that I moved out here. My uncle didn’t take any mess and was stricter than my mother. I kind of resisted at first and we butted heads a lot but it was just what I needed though. I buckled down in high school and graduated. I obtained an athletic scholarship to U of NC at Chapel Hill, came back to here to Emory where I received my JD, flunked the bar the first time out then passed the second time, and here I am.”

  “That is quite simply, amazing.”

  “I don’t ever remember being referred to as amazing before,” he responded with a grin.

  “There’s a first time for everything. How did you become interested in business law?”

  “My uncle wanted to quit his job at the plant go into business for himself and open up an electrical repair shop. I would go to the library and look up a bunch of stuff on what he needed to know on the business end and that was it. It surprised me how searching through these books and trying to interpret it into layman’s terms, really caught my interest. I even put together his business plan for him to use to get a loan by going on a model of one I found. Now enough about me, I would like to find out more about you.”

  “Ah, let�
�s see. Me and my twin Isabella were born in California.”

  “Wait,” Javier interrupted. “You have a twin?”

  “Yes. We’re fraternal twins. I have a sister named Lourdes who is our mother’s first and may I add favorite child. We have different fathers. My parents divorced when Isabella and I were about two-years-old. Our father got custody of me and my twin while our mother retained custody of Lourdes.”

  “How did your father get custody? Most of the time the judge rules in favor of the mother.”

  “If you knew my mother you would know how easy it was. Just because a woman gives birth doesn’t make her a mother.”

  Javier let out a light whistle. “That’s deep. I take it you and your mother are not very close then?”

  “To say the least. I was always closest to my father and as I said; Lourdes received all of our mother’s love and attention. Isabella wasn’t as close to our father as she could’ve been. She spent most of her time pining away for a mother that didn’t want much to do with us. By us being twins you would think we’re very close but we’re not. We get along most of the time but there’s something missing. It’s like there’s this wall between us.”

  “What about your other sister?”

  “What about her? She is a carbon copy of our mother—selfish, vain, shallow, manipulative, untrustworthy…I can’t completely blame her for how she is. After all she was brought up under our mother’s influence. She was raised to think life is about nothing but shopping, rich men and more shopping. Don’t get me wrong, I like nice things too and I’ve been known to wear the magnetic strip off the back of a credit card from time to time. But to me it’s just a small part of life. For them, it is their life. It’s like their voids are shopping bags and they have to fill them constantly. Both she and our mother are in town right now. I guess the picture is a little clearer on why I had to take a breather in the lobby last night.”

  “Yes it is. It’s too bad that you don’t seem to be very close to your family.”

  “The person I feel most connected to isn’t even related to me. My friend Grace is more like a sister to me than either of my blood ones.”

  “Grace, she’s the one who runs the spa with you?”

  “Um-hmm. She and I have the type of relationship I wish I could have with my sisters. Maybe it’s in the blood. My father didn’t have good relationship with his brother.”

  “What about your mother?”

  “She doesn’t have any siblings. Her parents died before I was born. So all I have from her side of the family is our heritage.”

  “Tell me how the spa came about. That’s pretty impressive that you’re a co-business owner at your age. What are you, twenty-three, twenty-four?”

  “You’re very good. I’ll be twenty-five the thirtieth of next month. From the time we were teen-agers Grace and I were determined to do this. We planned and saved and saved and planned. My father was supportive but I know he really wanted me to work at his property management company. Isabella ended up being the one to work with him. He passed away five years ago of a brain aneurysm.”

  “My condolences to you.”

  “Thanks. It was very hard. I honestly don’t know how I made it through that. I’m a true blue Daddy’s Girl and not ashamed to admit it. But somehow I found the strength to find my way on the other side of grief. I concentrated on finishing up my courses and preparing to finally open the spa. What’s the matter? You look like you’re thinking about something.”

  “That’s because I am. You said your father’s business was a property management company?”

  “Yes. He was in business with his brother but he severed their partnership, moved here and began another business.”

  “Your father was Gino Valente wasn’t he? The company with his brother was Valente Construction and he came here and started up Valente Property Management?”

  “How did you know all of that?”

  “I know all the big names in business. I’ve read up on all the major players in finance and business and he was one of them. So he’s your father, huh? It didn’t even cross my mind that you were related. Are you serious about this running a spa or is just something to do?”

  “What do you mean am I serious? Of course I am!”

  “Sofia, I don’t mean to be rude--”

  “That’s exactly what you’re being! What if I were to ask if being a lawyer was something you were serious about or if it was just something to do?!”

  “Look, your father was loaded and I’m sure left a bunch of money to you so I’m wondering if your spa is an avenue to do something with all that money.”

  Sofia stared at him for a moment, her eyes flashing fire. She scooted her chair back and stood up. She walked back into the house, picked up her purse from the counter and headed toward the front door. Just as she put her hand on the knob she heard Javier come up behind her and felt him tug at her arm. She snatched her arm away.

  “Let go!” She turned to face him and placed a hand on her hip. “You don’t know me! Understand? I thought that’s what we were doing out there—getting to know each other. I’m opening up to you, telling you things I don’t tell to just anyone and you jump up and make all kinds of assumptions about me. For your flipping information I’ve worked since I was ten-years-old. My father had both my sister and me doing odd jobs to earn money. Just because our father was rich doesn’t mean we had everything our little hearts desired. He did not spoil us like that! Yes, our father was wealthy and yes he left us well provided for but neither of us are the type to live off of Daddy’s money! I put blood, sweat and tears into that place! This is my dream come true and I refuse to let a jerk like you minimize it to just being something like a hobby to pass the time!” She jabbed her finger at his chest. “You owe me an apology! And I want it right now!”

  Javier tried his best to not smile. In that moment she’d won his respect. He couldn’t help but give it to someone who demanded it. He saw he was completely off base in his assumptions. She wasn’t like the spoiled little rich girls he’d run into before. She looked even more pretty and enticing with her hazel eyes wild with anger and her sensuous mouth set so tight.

  “Well? I’m waiting! Don’t just stand there!”

  “I apologize, Sofia.” He put his hand over hers and pressed it to his chest. “I mean it from the heart. I’m sorry. I was wrong for saying that.”

  She tried to move her hand but he held it firm.

  “I thought you were this great guy. I even did something that I never do which is come to the home of a man I met for a minute and a half. Everything is going fine and you open your mouth and spill out that crap!”

  “I am a great guy. But I’m a guy who says the first thing that comes to his head. I’m blunt to a fault sometimes. And you know some of my clients have these little princess daughters who want to open boutiques and salons. They have no concept of what it takes to run a business, they just think it will ‘be like so cool’ as one young lady said to me. My experience with the rich kids back in school didn’t help my perception either. Quite a few of them were sliding by with subpar grades but because they had a parent who was an alumnus that gave big monetary gifts to the school they got away not putting forth much effort. I was there on my own merit and working my tail off. Yet some of these same kids would look at me like, ‘what is your Puerto Rican ass doing here?’ But I shouldn’t have instantly lumped you into that category with spoiled little rich girls. Again, I apologize. Can we please go back outside, warm up the food since I’m sure it’s cold as ice, and continue to get to know one another?”

  “No more assumptions about me.”

  “No more. I promise.”

  He pulled her to him for an embrace. She put her arms around his waist and her head to his shoulder.

  He feels so good, Sofia thought. He feels too good. He smells like cologne mixed with mesquite from the smoker and even that’s turning me on.

  When Sofia felt the evidence of him being turned on too, she k
new they’d better get back to the deck before there was no turning back. She lifted her head and looked at him.

  “Let’s go warm up that food.”

  Chapter 53

  Isabella and Olivia sat down on the patio of Milan restaurant and waited for their order. Olivia could tell something was bothering Isabella. She didn’t really care but thought it best to act as if she were interested. She reached over and stroked her arm.

  “What’s the matter, sugar plum? Didn’t you have a good time today shopping with Mommy?”

  A slight smile came to Isabella’s mouth. “Yes, I did. It was fun. I don’t go shopping nearly enough.”

  I can tell. Sofia’s wardrobe could still be brought up a notch but still; she was a better dresser than Isabella. Thank God, Lourdes inherited my sense of style.

  “I wouldn’t think you did. You look so glum. Is it boyfriend problems? You and Jeremy have a fight?”

  “Yes, um, something like that.”

  “Don’t let it trouble you. You’ll get over it. If I could make it through all the heartache men have caused me, you certainly can get over an argument.”

  “Mom, did you want to divorce Dad?”

  “No, I most certainly didn’t!” As if I’d want to voluntarily get off that gravy train. “I wanted to keep my family together. But it took more than me wanting that. Your father had to want it, and he didn’t. More than anything, I want to try and make up for some of the lost time. Once Gino restricted my visits to seeing you only in Georgia, it kind of drove a wedge between us I think. I know Sofia never wanted a relationship with me because she believed everything your father told her, but I never knew if you really wanted one with me.”

  “Why would you think that? I’ve always wanted a stronger relationship with you!”

  “You did?”

  “Yes!”

  “Maybe I thought you didn’t out of my own guilt for not fighting Gino hard enough. He had so much power and money it really was like David going up against Goliath. Only I didn’t believe I could conquer Goliath. I would love nothing more than to be closer to you.”