Alejandro

by LaRuse, Renee

  Veronica gaped at the television as the screen went black and credits started rolling. “What?!” She flung herself sideways on the couch, holding the cell phone to her ear as she lay on her back.

  “Whoa. That was crazy,” Alejandro muttered through the phone.

  “This is some bull!” Veronica stomped her feet against the armrest, a mini adult tantrum. “I can’t wait three months to find out what happens to JC!”

  “The writers for UnEarthly are bastards for doing this to us.”

  Laughter burst from Veronica’s mouth. “I can’t believe you just said that.”

  “Hey, don’t try to make me look like I’m the only crazy fan here. You were thinking it.”

  “Okay, I admit, I wondered very briefly if it were possible to look up their addresses. Just so I can offer them a tip or two.”

  “The tip of your shoe up their asses?”

  She faked a gasp. “I would never do such a thing.” She put on a British accent. “I’m a lady. A lady of class and sophistication. Violence is a crutch for the mentally undeveloped. Animals, men, etcetera, etcetera.”

  “Verdad? Violence is for animals and men? Yesterday you told me you were gonna kick an elderly woman’s ass into next week.”

  “Okay, first of all...How could you call me out like that? Second of all, she keeps letting her poodle take shits on my lawn! I can only take so much poodle doo before threats begin to formulate in my mind. Despite yesterday’s rant, I do not actually intend to transport her into the future with a swift kick of my left foot. Okay?” She teased him. “Are you scared of me?”

  “Yes. I know about girls like you.”

  Veronica grinned. He never pronounced the T at the end of the word ‘about’. I love that ‘a-bough’ him. “What kinda girl am I?”

  “I’ve seen the movie Waiting to Exhale.”

  “Hahaha! I’ve never destroyed a guy’s property over a breakup. I’m the nicest, punkest ex-girlfriend ever. Quincy was throwing dishes and breaking lamps when I kicked him out and stupid me let him get away with it.”

  There was a pause. “He was breaking dishes? Qué diablo...?”

  “I know, right!” She laughed. “I wish I could see the expression on your face right now.” Veronica paused, nervous. “Hey, what if we did a video chat or something?”

  “Aw, then I could see your bedtime cuteness. Are you wearing your UnEarthly t-shirt?”

  She smiled and looked down at Luke and JC’s printed faces in the foreground and the pinwheel-like UnEarthly logo in the background of her black shirt. “Yeah.”

  “You washed all your makeup off?”

  “Mhmm.”

  “Do me a favor,” he said tenderly. “Slide the back of your fingers down your right cheek. Slowly, bella. The way I would.”

  As she obeyed his instructions her heart skipped a beat and her eyes misted.

  “Now run your thumb across your bottom lip. I’d touch you like that before I kissed you. I want you to know that you are a very beautiful woman. Every morning you brighten my day, and every evening I sleep well when I know that you are okay.”

  “I feel the same way.” She wiped a tear from her eyes. “Please, Alejandro, I want to see you.”

  “Soon.”

  “It’s been four months.”

  “Four great months,” he smiled.

  Even though she was frustrated with him, she smiled because he was smiling. “And we’ve gotten so close. Why don’t you trust me enough to give me a picture at least?”

  He took a moment to find his words. “What we have is very special to me. Never doubt that. I’ve never met—”

  “We haven’t met,” Veronica retorted.

  “I’ve never spoken to a woman like you, a woman so wonderful that it’s hard to believe you are real. I’m afraid that if I add a new element to the mix, too soon, things will be ruined. I want things to stay perfect the way they are, for as long as possible.”

  “No. Things aren’t perfect for me.”

  “I know, I know,” he sighed. “I just need a little bit more time to, like, prepare.”

  “Four months isn’t enough time to ‘prepare’? I can’t do this for much longer,” she pleaded. “My friends and family, they all think I’m a fool and that you’re not who you say you are. I feel like a complete fool.”

  “Veronica.”

  Berrroneekaaa, she mimicked in her head. “I need something. Send me a picture of your hand for God’s sake. Something, Alejandro. I deserve that after all this time.”

  “You’re right. You deserve more than that from me. Listen, I’m getting a call on the other line from my sister. She’s never called this late in the evening. It must be important. I’ll text you a picture in a few minutes. And then I will call you in the morning, mi amor. Okay?”

  “Okay. Goodnight.”

  “Sweet dreams.”

  Veronica waited on pins and needles for that fateful text message, so nervous she was sweating, and so excited she nearly peed her pants. Her cell phone was clenched in her hand as she sat on the porcelain throne. Then later in the kitchen she nearly made a peanut butter, jelly, and cell phone sandwich because she was keeping her phone so close. Every minute felt like an hour. The two hours that passed seemed like a day. Nothing arrived. No message. No picture.

  His sister was having a long conversation with him, Veronica reasoned. He had to work early in the morning as usual, so he probably went to bed late thinking he’d send her a picture tomorrow when he’d have the time and energy to look through his phone or computer for the right picture or multiple pictures to send her. “We’ll talk in the morning,” she whispered as she snuggled into her bed.

  ***

  Veronica breezed through the law office doors thirty minutes late the next day, so accustomed to Alejandro’s wakeup calls that she hadn’t set her alarm in months. Why didn’t he call me? He always calls me. A tiny intuitive voice in her gut whispered that something had happened to Alejandro, but the sound was drowned out by the surge and crash of an emotional tidal wave. How deep and strong those emotional currents were, Veronica hadn’t known until she was struck with a reality that didn’t include him. He really is a fraud. Everyone was right. How could I be so stupid? This whole time I’ve been talking to...Who? Who was I falling in love with? She texted him during her lunch break. No reply. She left a voicemail message. Her concern went unacknowledged and her call unreturned. He’s avoiding me. I thought I cared about me. He’ll never talk to me again. I love him. He’s ready to disappear from my life.

  I’m alone. Again.

  I love him.

  Being discarded by one of your best friends was more painful than being dumped by a man. In her heart, Alejandro was both her best friend and her man. No, he never asked her to be his woman, but Veronica had believed that was inevitable, believed it so strongly that for the last two months she hadn’t talked to any other men. Not even Quincy. Alejandro had thought it would be better if she didn’t see a picture of him, to spare both of them from the female mind, but the experimenters did not foresee one important variable: a woman’s heart. Yes, she had felt more comfortable being open and honest with him, but instead of maintaining a healthy emotional distance from the mysterious stranger, she’d made him perfect in her mind. Painfully flawless. Her fantasy. Her dream. Now her eyes were open and filled with tears.

  Her best friend Brooke, her coworker Carmen, her boss Ally, her sister Patience, anyone she confided in about Alejandro’s disappearance, told her he was an asshole, told her she didn’t need a man like that, and told her she could do better.

  Better. Veronica blamed herself at first for not being better, less demanding, less desperate, and more understanding so that she wouldn’t run him off. But then she turned the blame in Alejandro’s direction. Bitterness is a poison you drink hoping that the other person will suffer. Veronica knew this. However, bitterness was the only way for her to get through her days. That and working. Throwing all her energy into helping organize
Ms. Kokkino’s case against the international food company who sold the contaminated corn was easy to do. As the list of Southern Californian complainants grew longer and longer, Veronica was kept busier and busier with translating, drafting legal documents and doing research, exactly what she needed right now to distract from her pain.

  ***

  For two weeks and four days, she heard absolutely nothing from him. No texts, no calls, no emails. Nada.

  Two weeks and four days. Eighteen lonely mornings without the deep purr of his voice lifting her out of bed like the aroma of full-bodied Colombian coffee. Eighteen afternoons without a text message around lunch time to make her smile or laugh or blush. Eighteen nights of watching television solo, and silently tucking herself in at night without him lulling her to sleep with Spanish sweet-talk and air kisses. Eighteen days for her heart to grow colder. Then suddenly, one morning, he called.

  She didn’t answer. She eyed her cell phone ringing and blinking on the kitchen counter, clenched her jaw against the rush of relief she felt inside, and let the call go unanswered. He didn’t leave a message, affirming in Veronica’s mind that he didn’t have a good excuse for his selfish behavior.

  The calls didn’t stop. He called again that evening around nine, like he usually did, then again the next morning at six, just like old times. Each morning and each night he reached out to her, and each time her will weakened. One afternoon, her bitterness was dealt an incredible blow. Walking from her driveway to her house, something on her porch stopped her in her tracks. It looked as if a rose bush had sprung up from her welcome mat. As she got closer she noticed that a gold box of her favorite hazelnut chocolates had sprouted there too. A handpicked arrangement of the lushest reddest roses she’d ever seen was waiting for her at her front door. The thought that Quincy may have sent them never crossed her mind. Her knees buckled a little from the sight of Alejandro’s handwriting on the attached card.

  I miss you, Veronica. Forgive me for having an ‘undeveloped’ male brain. So many things have happened to me the last few weeks and I let them distract me from my best friend. I’m sorry.

  Love,

  A.

  P.S. Don’t freak out. I had a third party look up your address using your phone number and then mailed these gifts for me. I am not stalking you. But I won’t stop chasing after you, cariño.

  ***

  Veronica glanced at the lake in the center of the park. Dandelions were swaying all around the grassy banks. “He called me every day this week, Brooke.”

  “So! Forget him! He’s a...bootyhead!”

  “Bootyheaaaad!” Her sons echoed and then went into a fit of laughter. Hearing the sound of their three brothers laughing, the twin girls in the stroller giggled too.

  “My goofy babies,” Brooke beamed with a hand on her stomach, thinking also of the baby on the way.

  “Look at what he sent me.” Veronica shoved her cell phone at her.

  Brooke gasped and came to a halt. The stroller continued rolling forward until Veronica reached out and grabbed the handle. “Roses!” Brooke squealed, holding the screen an inch from her face to study the picture. “And those chocolates are your favorites! Oh, he’s gooood.” Brooke dropped her smile and tossed the phone back to her. “Don’t fall for it.” She started walking again.

  Veronica saved her phone from plummeting to the sidewalk. “I can’t. Every time he calls now, I feel like a drug addict, sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, crying and reciting the Serenity Prayer.”

  Brooke slowed her pace considerably. “It’s that bad?”

  “Almost.” Veronica avoided looking at Brooke’s shocked and concerned expression.

  “I’m sorry, Nica. I had no idea.”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. It’s embarrassing. I have no idea what he looks like, yet my heart feels so sure that he’s everything I need.”

  “Okay. Honestly, I thought you latched onto that guy because of what happened with Quincy. But now I see that your heart is really in this. You have to meet this guy and put yourself out of all this misery.”

  “The last time I suggested we meet, he disappeared for two weeks.”

  “This time you’ll be in control of the situation.” Brooke said. “Because this time you won’t ask him to meet you, you’re gonna tell him to meet you. Give him an ultimatum. I’m married. I know what I’m talkin’ about.”

  ***

  Veronica braced herself. “Hello?”

  “Veronica?” He exhaled a weary sigh. “I’m so happy to hear your voice. How are you?”

  His voice triggered instantaneous tears. She kept her voice steady. “Fine. How are you?”

  “I’ve had better days. There’s so much I want to tell you. Did you like your flowers?”

  “They were nice,” she said evenly. “What is it that you want to tell me?”

  “The night we last spoke with each other, my... My grandfather passed on.”

  She gasped audibly. His grandfather was his hero. “Oh my God. Tu abuelo? I didn’t know. Alejandro, I’m so, so sorry. I should’ve answered your calls.”

  “Shh, it’s okay, mi amor. I should have called you sooner but I had so many responsibilities to take care of and emotions to process. My family is no longer the same.”

  “I’m here for you, if you need to talk.”

  “Thank you. You are so sweet and caring. I’m blessed to know you, bella. One day I will talk about what’s going on in my family but not tonight. I want to listen to you tonight.”

  Aww, he’s so sweet to me. How was she supposed to give an ultimatum to a grieving man? But she didn’t want Brooke to slap her later. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

  “You can tell me anything.”

  She gulped. “I know that the last few weeks have been very rough on you. I can’t imagine what you’ve been feeling. I wish I was there to comfort you, because I care so much about you even though we’ve never met in person.”

  “My feelings are strong for you as well. I hope you know that.”

  “Alejandro, I can’t take it anymore, not seeing you. If I can’t see you in a week’s time or less, then... you’ll lose me. Seven days. I can’t waste anymore of my life with my heart on hold. A picture will not be enough. I need a face to face meeting.”

  “I’m so busy these days, Veronica. I only have a week?”

  Veronica was silent. His reluctance irritated her. “Seven days.”

  “I’ll make it happen,” he said finally. “I’ll make time to be in San Diego with you. I promise.”

  ***

  Veronica Ferris was seated at a table on an outdoor patio of the Hotel Del Coronado with her heart racing and her feet getting ashier by the minute. She hadn’t lotioned them enough and now she couldn’t stop looking down at her toes and cursing at herself. The hotel was a classy establishment but Veronica felt overdressed now that she was in the laidback atmosphere on the patio looking out at the white sand beach and the amateur surfers on the waves. She wanted to feel confident and look her best today so that if Alejandro was hideous she would feel justified in making an emergency exit. Her silky black hair was in Kim Kardashian curls, and she wore a black dress with black lace sleeves and black heels.

  On top of looking like a call girl, she looked like she was mentally challenged, because she was clutching the stick end of a silver pinwheel for dear life. UnEarthly’s logo was a silver pinwheel. Seemed like a cute idea to show up to the first date with an actual pinwheel. The shiny foil toy was defective, hardly spinning at all when the breeze came in from the ocean. She peered down at her feet again and sighed. This is a hotel, after all. Maybe the waitress could bring me a little bottle of lotion.

  “Veronica?”

  A warm chill traveled along her spine. She was too frightened to look over her shoulder at the man standing behind her. That voice. Instead her eyes followed his shadow as he rounded the table. Her heart seized inside her chest for three full seconds when at last she met his green eyes an
d took in all six feet and two inches of him. He stood frozen and stared at her for a few seconds, before he sat down in the chair opposite hers and set the orange medium-sized gift bag in his hand at the foot of the table. Veronica gaped at him with her mouth open, too stunned to even squeak out a hello.

  “I’m not what you expected?” He smiled brightly but the lines of his forehead revealed his worry.

  Speechless, she slowly shook her head.

  Seven

  Alejandro’s smile waned as her silence grew.

  Finally, Veronica blinked. The shock began to release its hold on her muscles. She regained use of her vocal chords. “You’re more than I expected.” Alejandro smiled wide again, causing a chain reaction of butterflies and yearnings in Veronica’s body.

  His skin glowed with a deep natural tan, making his green eyes pop like emerald jewels in brown sand, even though they were a bit bloodshot today. His stepmother did a good job waxing his eyebrows, leaving the natural arch of his brows untouched. Short stubble dusted his angular jaw and some of his cheekbones. The stubble was lighter than his dark brown wavy hair. The sensual pouty lips on that man made her cross her legs tighter. Beefy biceps and broad shoulders strained gently against the blue long-sleeved dress shirt he was wearing with brown linen pants. “I can’t believe it’s you,” Veronica murmured. Happy tears filled her eyes. She was moved to see his dreamy eyes become wet as well.

  “You look incredible, Veronica. I’m so happy to see you.”

  “And you look so handsome. But exhausted.”

  “Getting here from Puerto Rico wasn’t easy. There was a red-eye flight and a few layovers involved.”

  She chewed at her bottom lip, feeling terribly guilty. “You flew all the way from Puerto Rico to see me?”

  He smiled and nodded. “The flight didn’t hurt me. Don’t feel bad, nena. Everything going on with my family is what’s hurting me and draining all my energy. My grandfather founded a very big business, Veronica. His success allowed all of his family to be employed and prosperous as well. When he passed away, he left his company to me. I’m honored to head our family business, but there are people in my own family that have turned against me. My stepmother, my little brother, and others.” His eyelids grew heavier. Frown lines deepened around his mouth. “They don’t think it was fair that I was given so much power. I wish abuelo was here to guide me through this. The business is facing financial and legal troubles right now. I’m under so much stress and pressure.” He shook his head.