Opposite Worlds

by Sasha Pop

  “You don’t mind if she rides here?” Jessica asked.

  “No, not at all,” Rodrigo answered with an unnatural laugh. “Will you call your parents now?”

  “Yes. I didn’t want them to worry last night, but I have to now.”

  As they were driving back towards Rive Oaks, Rodrigo couldn’t help but overhear the conversation between Jessica and her (over reactive) mother. He could tell by all the “Ohs” and “Ahs” coming out from the phone that nothing Jessica was saying to calm her down was having any effect. Finally, it seemed that Jessica’s father took over the phone, and the blonde girl had to re-tell the story all over again. The dad calmly listened, scolding her a little for not calling them immediately but also giving her praise for being brave.

  “My parents will change the flight for tomorrow.”

  “Will you be alright tonight?” Rodrigo asked. He realized that it sounded that he was almost inviting himself over – but he remembered that he had left something very important at Jessica’s house. It would be trouble if anybody found the gun he had hidden.

  “I will ask my friend Marta to sleepover,” Jessica answered, pleasantly surprised with the concern he showed for her.

  “Oh, ok,” Rodrigo said. He would have to come up with a plan to retrieve the gun. Even though they were about to reach the Perry Residence, now was probably the worst time since officers were still swarming the place.

  Once they arrived, they were greeted by the same sergeant from last night.

  “Good morning Miss. My men have just finished the inventory list, we would like you to review it,” the man in the uniform said. “And you are free to go young man,” he addressed Rodrigo.

  “I guess this might take a while,” Jessica said. “You better go… I have kept you for far too long already.”

  Rodrigo silently nodded with a light smile and turned away. As he made but two steps, Jessica added:

  “Listen… do you mind if I call you? This time not for Tara…just to talk.”

  Rodrigo’s smile grew bigger at her sheepish tone.

  “I will be waiting.”

  Chapter XII

  “What, what the hell do you want?” Juanito asked, clearly pissed for being woken up so early Saturday morning. His already sour mood worsened when he heard Rodrigo asking him about training.

  “Didn’t Maestro tell us to rest this week?”

  “I know but, I really want to practice more,” Rodrigo said. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him, but after he dropped Jessica earlier, he felt a combination of uneasiness and a surge of energy inside him to fight, and to give it all to protect his life and of those close to him.

  “So you are really serious about it, huh,” Juanito said, slowly coming to his senses.

  “Can you meet me at the range in an hour?”

  Silence ensued, as Juanito clearly pondered between telling his friend to go to hell or to take up on the offer. As the time for the mission came closer, his anxiety grew too, so he picked the second option.

  “Oh damn you. Make it two hours – I will see you soon.”

  As they spent several hours shooting and practicing arduous physical exercises, with Rodrigo pushing to go harder and harder, Juanito got exhausted and about to call it quits for the day.

  “What is going on with you today? You are different somehow. The look in your eyes is different – it is like they are not dead anymore. The last time I saw you like this it was on the soccer field back in high school.”

  “We have to make it back,” Rodrigo said with a mix of bitterness in his voice. “I don’t care about anything else.”

  “We will make it back,” Juanito assured, patting him on the shoulder. “You turned out to be a lot better than I expected, not just the goody-goody from tenth grade that wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

  After taking a shower and grabbing a quick meal, they headed back each their own way into town. Rodrigo decided to use the free time he got to visit his mother at the hospital. On the way, he stopped by a farmer’s market to buy a beautiful vase of lilies, his mother’s favorite flowers. They were plentiful in Rosalinda’s hometown back in Mexico and never failed to bring back pleasant memories of her carefree childhood.

  As he was walking down the hospital hallway, he bumped into Grandma Teresa.

  “Buenas tardes Senõra Teresa. You came to visit my mother?” Rodrigo asked. To his surprise, Teresa was giving him a cold look.

  “Yes. She is suffering greatly, the poor thing. She will be happy to see you.”

  “Ok, I will be on my way then,” he excused himself, not understanding the reason behind her cold greeting.

  “Listen son, I know you since you were little so I will be direct…what are you doing associating with the likes of Juanito? Nothing good will come out of that. Your mother wouldn’t want it, even if it is to help her.”

  Rodrigo clenched his fists tightly.

  “You don’t understand. I am sorry, I have to go now,” he said, moving forward.

  “Whatever happens son, never forget who you are at heart,” the old lady added as he was already several feet away.

  Rodrigo didn’t stop - instead he just felt angry at himself for letting somebody else question his resolve.

  “I will show them all. I will come back.”

  Once he reached the tenth floor where the cancer patients undergoing Chemotherapy were hosted, he had managed to slightly calm down. This place always gave him the creeps, as he was surrounded by people in a very debilitated state, many with but a couple weeks to live left. In their eyes, he rarely could see any hope or fight, with most of them accepting they were just delaying the inevitable. He headed toward chamber number eleven where he knew his mother was typically staying whenever her state worsened. It had been almost two weeks since she had been admitted to the hospital again, and this time the doctors were not inclined to let her go. From here on, there were only two paths: either the expensive cutting-edge surgery that promised to extend the patient’s lifespan by more than twenty years, or a few more weeks of suffering and then the morgue.

  As he opened the door, Rosalinda who was lying down, at first glance unable to move, straightened herself to a sitting position to greet her son. Putting the vase of lilies at the nightstand near the bed, he hugged her tightly. Her once luxurious hair was practically gone, and heavy wrinkles were covering her previously gentle complexion.

  “My dear, how have you been? I have missed you so much.”

  The forced smile worried Rodrigo – she was clearly in pain.

  “Please relax mother, don’t force yourself. I am very happy to see you,” he said. There was so much he wanted to tell her, what was really going on in his life, but he felt forced to keep up the good spirits. After all, if his mother could do it in her condition, he had no excuse.

  They talked for several hours, with Rodrigo careful to keep the conversation light-hearted. He made up stories about his life at the university, mentioning how he was preparing well for the tests and spending time with his old friends. He surprised even himself with the details he was telling – it was almost like he never dropped out and was still living it all in his head.

  His mother was listening attentively with an unreadable smile. He wasn’t absolutely sure if she believed him, but he could not back out now.

  “My dear, and what about any new ladies in your life? I really want to live to see my grandchildren,” she said, giggling. She knew that he hadn’t dated anybody ever since high school, knowing how much Neri had meant to him. Rosalinda had only met her once, at a formal event Rodrigo had been invited to, and could understand right away why Rodrigo fell in love with her; she looked simply stunning, like a delicate flower from a different planet. However, the whimsical look Rosalinda saw in her eyes when they spoke had troubled her greatly. With her experience, Rosalinda knew that this sort of girl could never be fully trusted. She understood that Rodrigo wouldn’t listen to any warnings at the time, completely head over heels about her. Later t
hough, she regretted not doing anything to help him, nor prevent a broken heart.

  “Oh mother, what are you saying?” he asked, for some reason slightly embarrassed at hearing the question. “You know that with all the studying I don’t have time for that.” As he finished the sentence, his phone rang in the pocket. He didn’t have time to add this number to his contact list yet, but he remembered it clearly from last night. With his heart skipping a beat, he said:

  “Sorry mom, I have to take this.”

  “Yes?” he asked, after picking the call.

  “Rodrigo? It is Jessica. Is this a good time for you?” came from the other end of the line.

  He could tell the caller was slightly nervous, but he was uncomfortable too, with his mother listening nearby.

  “Yes,” he kept it vague and short.

  “Listen, my friend Marta can’t come tonight, and as you know my parents will only return tomorrow. If you don’t mind…and if you don’t have any plans…could you stay over tonight? You can stay in my brother’s room… I am really scared to be alone, after last night. I would be really grateful if you could come.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes what?” Jessica was getting confused and impatient with all the one-word answers she was getting. Was he there with somebody he didn’t want to overhear the conversation?

  “Yes, I will come. See you soon,” he added.

  “Thank you very much!”

  Rodrigo couldn’t help but smile at Jessica’s happy tone, which didn’t go unnoticed by his mother.

  “That was a friend from school,” Rodrigo said in as neutrals as possible of a tone to his mother. “Invited me to go to dinner to catch up.”

  “You better go and get ready then,” his mother said with a smile. “And don’t forget to bring her flowers too!”

  “Mom! It is not like that!” Rodrigo denied, blushing at the realization that he had been caught.

  Once he was home, he found himself carefully choosing a shirt and ironing his pants. “Why am I doing this again?” he asked himself. He wasn’t entirely sure but he kept at it. Brushing his hair carefully and putting fragrance on, Rodrigo observed his own reflection in the mirror. “It is not like this is a date or anything. A person like her could never be interested in the real me.”

  As he was driving, he remembered his mother’s suggestion to buy flowers. The only time he had bought flowers before for a girl was for Neri, which was awkward to do even after they began dating. Plus, he had no idea what kind of flowers Jessica would like. Passing the next stoplight, he noticed a park on the right side of the road which he didn’t know of before. It was already almost empty since it was getting dark, but there seemed to be a vast carpet of flowers growing in the middle in a circular pattern.

  Rodrigo parked and headed through the gate, deciding to check it out. The flowers looked somewhat similar to tulips and were red too. Seeing that one flower had been ripped from the ground, he decided to pick it up. It still looked beautiful and had the fresh aroma.

  “Maybe she will like it,” he thought.

  Once he was driving inside River Oaks, he pondered how well he fit in here at the moment, much better than in his own god-forsaken neighborhood. Driving a luxury car, dressed to impress…he could easily pass for any U of M spoiled brat with rich parents who never had to work a day in their lives. He never had dreamed of living here before, but couldn’t help but feel slightly envious of the calm lives people were leading here, while looking down on the likes of him.

  Chapter XIII

  Jessica was lying on the bed, waiting with a mix of anxiety and impatience for him. She had spent the past hour carefully choosing her appearance, so as not to appear that she was trying hard to impress, but to still display her best features. She was wearing a casual white dress of knee-length, with a grey belt underlining her slim waist, and slightly emphasizing her chest.

  After the policemen were finally done and gone, she spent several hours cleaning up the mess the house was in, and then taking a nap, completely exhausted. Once up, she lived up to her promise to call Marta. The redhead offered her sympathy and promised she would come over tonight. After a few hours, however, she called back profoundly apologizing, telling Jessica about this new hot guy from the gym that asked her out tonight and that as a result she wasn’t sure she would be going back that night.

  Jessica just said “no problem”, wishing Marta good luck for tonight. As she hung up, she wasn’t too disappointed. She had come to realize she couldn’t count on Marta when it really mattered. Plus, now she could call Rodrigo guilt-free.

  Finally, as the big clock of the saloon ticked to announce eight pm, she heard the roar of a powerful engine approaching, which could be heard from far away in their quiet neighborhood. Instinctively, she knew it had to be him. She rushed to the restroom again to take a look at herself in the mirror.

  “I hope I don’t look too flashy,” she thought. Noticing a little pimple she had missed before, she rushed to cover it up with her Channel cream. Before she could finish, she heard the door ring.

  “Crap, he is already here,” Jessica cursed. Praying he wouldn’t notice, she went downstairs to meet him. Opening the door, she realized that she wasn’t sure about how to greet him; a handshake would be too formal and a kiss on the cheek would be too close. He took the lead, stepping forward and giving her a small hug which she eagerly returned.

  As he was taking his shoes off in the hallway, she noticed he had one hand behind his back.

  “Umm…this is for you,” he said, handing her over the tulip-like flower. “I hope it will cheer you up.”

  She was touched at the gesture and found it extremely cute how he clearly had difficulty to look at her while he was offering the flower. “I guess he really is shy beneath that tough-guy persona,” she thought.

  “Thank you, it is beautiful,“ she said, slightly blushing herself, which she did not realize, but Rodrigo noticed. They were both quiet as she finished putting water in a small vase and placing there the flower, not knowing what to say.

  “Um, have you eaten dinner yet? I was about to start cooking.”

  “I can help you,” Rodrigo offered.

  “No, please sit down and rest. It is the least I can do to thank you for coming over.”

  As they both headed to the kitchen, Rodrigo remembered the big mess this place was in last night.

  “Did you clean all this up by yourself?” he asked.

  “Yes, I didn’t want my family to see the house in such a state.”

  He was impressed. It must have taken at least six hours at fast pace to clean everything up – she definitely wasn’t as fragile and delicate as she appeared.

  “Was anything missing?”

  “Only a couple valuables, nothing big. The police said the robbers tried to open the safe, but couldn’t.”

  “And what about Tara?”

  “She seems fine, still sleeping like a puppy! I will show you after we eat.”

  Rodrigo could see the gratitude in Jessica’s eyes. Once they were in the kitchen, the blonde girl put on an apron and starting preparing the ingredients to cook risotto. Rodrigo suddenly remembered what he told himself was his main goal for today’s visit.

  “I will be right back, I have to check something in the car,” he said, quickly heading towards the dining room, careful not to make noise for Jessica not to notice. He stood dead in his tracks once he realized that the vase where he had put the gun last night seemed to have been moved. “Calm down,” he told himself. If she had found it, she would probably have mentioned it already by now. Crossing his fingers, he reached with his hand deep inside the vase, and his fingers felt the cold metal. Quickly grabbing the gun, he shoved it in his back pocket and rushed outside to hide it again in the glove box.

  As he returned, Jessica noticed his breathing was fast.

  “Were you running?” she asked.

  “Yes, I didn’t want to spend another moment without seeing you, so I sprinted,”
he joked.

  She gave him a feigned mean look in return. Even though he still didn’t ever bluntly show being interested, she noticed that he had grown more comfortable making these jokes around her.

  “It smells good here,” Rodrigo commented, watching the pot begin to boil. “Do you like cooking?”

  “I do. I get to relax and put my heart into it. And I also feel I can express myself,” Jessica said. She didn’t mention that she had never cooked for anybody outside her family before.

  As she was slicing the vegetables, the grip of the knife slipped her hand with the edge of the blade slightly cutting on her finger.

  “Careful,” Rodrigo warned her, stepping in and wrapping her finger with a paper towel lying nearby. He then reached out for the shelf where he had found some first aid items last night, and took out a bandage and disinfectant. As he held her injured hand with both of his, so manly and firm, she shivered. She had a hard time getting used to his touch – it felt so natural and so provocative at the same time, even though he clearly had no second meaning behind it.

  “I will take it over from here,” he said. “You can sit down.”

  Jessica quietly obeyed, watching as he took over the knife and began confidently slicing the vegetables. She noticed the accuracy and confidence in his movements as the cucumbers were being divided into perfectly symmetrical pieces. She never thought a man could move so gracefully.

  “Wow, you are pretty good at this. You don’t like the type that would cook,” Jessica remarked.

  Rodrigo omitted telling her that he had been cooking for himself ever since he was about ten, as his mother was always working somewhere until it was well late in the evening.

  “Even though you thought I was gay at first?” he joked.

  After a few minutes, he mixed the vegetables with the risotto Jessica had prepared, giving the dish an artistic appearance. He carried the food to the dining room while Jessica set up the table. By the noise outside they could tell that it was starting to rain hard. As they sat down by a window they could tell a massive storm was coming. Once the lightning struck for the first time, Jessica instinctively pulled her chair a few inches towards Rodrigo.