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My hands were itching to do something. My brain was fired up.
“Linda.”His voice was husky and laced with intimacy.Dios mío, estoy al horno.
There was a loud knock on the door, and I blinked out of my trance.
“Lucía?” a soft voice called. Dr. Martín moved to the window by the door, his hair disheveled and not in his usual combed-back style. He smiled as soon as he saw me inside, then disappeared from view. He lived across the street, so I knew he had eyes on the office on a regular basis. But since his retirement, he had never bugged me, even giving me the courtesy of calling ahead if he needed something or letting Valentina know he would be stopping by.
“Good morning?” I said as I opened the door, the statement coming out more like a question given the confusion. It was way too early for any sort of visit from anyone. “What’s wrong?” I asked, looking over at him from head to toe. I hadn’t stopped to visit since before Valentina left. I felt pain in the back of my throat, guilt immediately taking over.
“Nada,”he said, walking towards the waiting room and taking a seat in the farthest chair, where he had a view out the big window. “Why are you here so early?”
“Couldn’t sleep.”
“Is it the text messages?” he asked, a coy smile on his lips, like he knew. Because he did. He had been the only doctor in this town for decades before I came along. “People in this town are…¿cómo se dice?… Extra.”
I laughed. “Partially the text messages. Did you send Gladys over to me the other night?”
His eyes widened, and he smiled big. “Maybe?” He made a funny face, sticking his tongue out and surprising me withhis demeanor. “I told her I was retired. Perhaps she assumed you were available.”
“Has it always been this terrible?”
“Si les das la mano, te toman el codo.”Give them an inch, and they take a mile. “You have to set firm boundaries.”
I smiled at him and sat down on the nearest chair. The sun was slowly rising, a few rays coming in through the window. “You sound like Charlie.”
“Smart man,” he said with a chuckle. “But all joking aside, how’s it going?”
Awful,I wanted to say.It’s awful and I’m confused and I hate it here. It’s not where I saw myself at all.“It’s good,” I told him with a smile on my face. I reached for my hair and pulled it from its ponytail, looking for something to do while his eyes were on me. “I love it here.”
Liar. Liar.
“Alright,” he said, his voice laced with doubt. “Let’s go get coffee.”
And he stood up slowly, his right hand tucked inside his pocket and a small smile on his face.
20
LUCÍA
The rain was coming down hard,and I could see the reflection of lightning on the glass, even though it was miles away. Thunder rumbled a few seconds later, making the cat lift her head and look around, disturbing her deep slumber.
It had been a lazy day, just sitting around the house and patiently waiting for the power to come back on. It was gray and gloomy, partially due to the weather, but mostly because we had lost power the night before. The grid was just not taking it anymore.
“Lucía?” I heard from the front of the house, followed by a few clapping noises right out the entry window. The doors to the house were solid wood, so the knocking had to be pretty hard and intense for me to hear it at the back, even when it wasn’t thundering out. “Dr. Williams?” the voice repeated.
I stood, sighing slightly at the interruption. I had beendeep in thoughts about… well. Who even knew. I had nothing to distract myself except my memories. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t scroll mindlessly on social media. And I refused to walk to Santiago’s house, even though the plants were probably in desperate need of some watering. Nope. I had no business being there, hovering around Francisco, especially after what had happened two days before.
No, thank you.
Was I avoiding him? Definitely. But he was also avoiding me, so case closed.
I walked to the front, slapping on my best smile because I knew exactly what would happen once I got there. I opened the door and peeked my head out, using my legs to block the cat from getting out of the house. She was obsessed with exploring the yard, and I normally allowed it, but I was not willing to go out in the dark of the night to look for her once she couldn’t find her way back inside.
“Ah,doctora,” the elderly neighbor said. She was wearing a bright yellow raincoat reaching all the way to the middle of her calves. Her boots matched her coat, and on her head, she had one of those plastic bonnets to keep her hair dry. I squinted my eyes, taking a closer look at her head covered in small green rollers in a neat and orderly pattern. I smiled at her and stepped outside, but the moment I opened the door, the cat darted out onto the porch and to the side of the house, her fur grazing the stucco in a way that made it so she wouldn’t get wet.
“Mierda,” I muttered under my breath, looking in thedirection of the cat for a split second, then returning my gaze to the older woman in front of me.
“I’m so glad you are here,” she said, a small smile on her lips. “The gal at the pharmacy said you hadn’t taken a vacation.”
