“I wasn't sure if she planned or desired marriage,” Ricardo said.
“As she has protected me, I have also protected her,” Micah said.“She is a chaste and virtuous young woman, although possibly one of the deadliest I know, so if you do make her a match, the young man must be about his wits, or she will snap his neck like the chicken.”
He emitted a practiced laugh which sounded more like a villain watching Mr.Bond nearly be dropped into a vat filled with hungry piranhas.
“Chaste?”Ricardo mumbled.
“Surely, Señor, you did not believe me to be the sort of man to take advantage of your daughter?I need her to watch my back and be sharp against potential threats to my life, so why would I muddle that with emotional interference?”Micah asked.“Besides, I would not want to take what is not promised to me and be unable to offer her a life at my side as my wife.Her virtue is intact.Were your plans for her to be matched, Señor?”
“Uhm, no, I had not planned for that,” Ricardo said.“You said you were looking at attending Uni abroad.Would Alita attend with you and also receive an education?”
“About that,” Micah said, making eye contact with Alita.“Based on the salary I pay her, if she does attend Uni, I will not cover the tuition as I did with schooling in Argentina.The money she is paid as my guard will have to go towards her education, books, and lab fees, as I will have to provide room and board, plus food since I cannot see living on campus in a dorm room.My father is financially secure, but I work daily for every peso in my pocket.Are you understanding my words, Señor?”
“Sí, I am,” Ricardo said.
“To conclude our conversation, I want to go over what I have said to you to ensure there are no misunderstandings between us,” Micah said.“She is my guard.I value her skillsets to protect my life.She served as a companion when I had no other, and my confidante and research assistant.As she has protected me, I have done the same for her.She is not a bedmate for me, and I have never been inappropriate with her.If she chooses to attend Uni, she is welcome to continue her employment at my side.However, funds sent home to you had to cease to prepare Alita for her next steps in life.Are we clear?”
“We are clear, Señor Delgado.”
“I shall be returning in the next month to Argentina for the Annual Regalia at Perona de la Mar,” Micah said.“Will she be welcomed into your home with loving arms at her return?”
“Sí, Sí, she will,” Ricardo said.
“Good chat; be well,” Micah said, handing Alita the phone and returning to his paperwork.He didn't look up as she spoke to her father.
Eduardo watched the young lady, and as soon as the call ended, she excused herself.He could see she was wiping away tears.He saw a larger issue that was hovering in the air like a ball of gas that no one wanted to speak of, and he wouldn't either, at least not today.Alita Mendoza was in love with his son.
The cancellation of Micah's paramour and his lack of activity outside of the chosen circle for his safety net were also red flags.His son had chosen his life partner, and it was Alita.Now, they simply had to go through the rest of the motions for him to meet the selected women Eduardo had chosen, and hopefully, his brutal honesty would not scar the girls for life.
“Well done,mijo,” Eduardo commented.
“The man is an ass,” Micah replied.“If that was truly his concern for his daughter's well-being, seems like he would have objected when she was 14, coming to live with me, versus 4 years later when she is full grown.”
“Some men see opportunity versus reality,” Eduardo said, “Did your grandfather Eleon give Mendoza a position to work for him?”
“No, Abuelo did not,” Micah said.“I asked him not to.”
“May I inquire as to why?”
“She has decisions to make about her future,” Micah said.“Daughters can't see their fathers for who they are until they are shown to be who they shall be.He is an opportunist and a lazy man, hence why I have never spoken to him until now.Alita will either make the decision to embrace a new future versus returning home to a family who took money thinking she'd been pimped out to us.I cannot respect that man.”
“And her future with you?”
“Again, in your own words Papa, time is not kind,” Micah said.“She is at an impasse.Those unfortunate women are going to be paraded like cattle in front of me to choose the lesser of the evils, and she will become jealous.”
“Is that your goal?”
“No, she loves me,” Micah said.“The line between me being her boss and her wanting to be my woman is getting thin.Without my paramours’ visits, the line is getting very thin for me as well.I am either going to have to find something to fuck or kill pretty soon because that poor girl does not need me to unleash my pent-up frustrations on that untouched body.I would ruin her, and you will be planning our wedding.”
“Good grief,” Eduardo said, not sure if he should be impressed or horrified.
“What?I am your son.I am all man, with manly appetites, and Papa, I am getting hungry as hell,” Micah said, throwing out the nefarious laugh.
Eduardo laughed himself and said, “Oh shit, the kittens are going to die.”
He referenced the term used by his eldest, Yuñior, who had been told that when he laughed, he sounded as if he was going to ride through the village to kill all the kittens to make himself a fur coat.Micah, he was afraid, would ride through the village, collect all the kittens, and boil their bodies down to make a youth serum from their bones.He took a pause, feeling the quietness of the home without the presence of his older sons.
“Do not make a decision that you can't come back from that will impact your life, son,” Eduardo cautioned.
